Sequencing and Analysis of the Hydra Genome
Chapman, Kirkness et al., Nature
An international research collaboration reports their sequencing and analysis of the Hydra magnipapillata genome, and compare it to the genomes of several other organisms. "The Hydra genome has been shaped by bursts of transposable element expansion, horizontal gene transfer, trans-splicing, and simplification of gene structure and gene content that parallel simplification of the Hydra life cycle," the authors write. They team suggests that comparisons of the Hydra genome to the reported sequences of other animals have helped them to elucidate the evolution of several of the organism's characteristics.
But This Way You Don't Get to Enjoy the Wine and Cheese
May 07, 2009
If you couldn't make it to Cold Spring Harbor this year for the Biology of Genomes meeting, don't miss Daniel MacArthur's blogtastic coverage. He's been posting highlights of the sessions to his Genetic Future blog, including the opening talks on cancer genomics from Mike Stratton and Elaine Mardis. "The overall picture was pretty clear: large-scale DNA sequencing is already transforming our understanding of the genetic architecture of cancer, but we are still at the very beginning of this process," he writes.
In another post he covers a session on genetics of complex traits, which he calls "a whirlwind tour of cutting-edge research in diverse regions of the genetics sphere, ranging from mapping environmental response genes in yeast to dissecting the genetic basis of human complex diseases in humans." Speakers there included Jonathan Cohen, Philip Awadalla, Peter Donnelly, and Elin Grundberg.
