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.
This Week in Science
July 03, 2009
In news this week, scientists and universities are asking US Congress "not to expand a $2 billion research program for small businesses" because it would likely cut money that could otherwise go toward research projects.
In a policy forum article, lead author Sandra Soo-Jin Lee from Stanford looks at quality standards in genetic ancestry testing, ultimately calling for government regulation of this field. Blogger Blaine Bettinger offers his thoughts on the article here.
A paper from EMBL researchers looks at Polycomb group proteins in Drosophila, finding a significant role for O-GlcNAc glycosylation in gene silencing performed by these proteins. Jeffrey Simon at the University of Minnesota has a perspectives piece on the work.
Scripps' Reza Ghadiri is senior author on a paper introducing a family of oligomers that "efficiently self-assembles by means of reversible covalent anchoring of nucleobase recognition units onto simple oligo-dipeptide backbones [thioester peptide nucleic acids (tPNAs)] and undergoes dynamic sequence modification in response to changing templates in solution," according to the abstract. The team notes that the characteristics of the peptide nucleic acids "might prove advantageous for the design or selection of catalytic constructs or biomaterials that are capable of dynamic sequence repair and adaptation."
