Genomics Content

No Evidence of a Common Set of Regeneration Genes

Andy Fell — August 19, 2024 - 2:57pm

Some animals, especially those that have been around for a long time in evolutionary terms, possess extraordinary abilities to regenerate lost limbs or organs. These animals, such as flatworms, salamanders and zebrafish, are not at all closely related, suggesting that the ability to regenerate goes far back in evolutionary time. Is it possible to find a common set of genes for regeneration, that could unlock a new understanding of this process?

More Than Meows: How Bacteria Help Cats Communicate

Andy Fell — November 15, 2023 - 10:15am

Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study from the University of California, Davis, shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families of bacteria living in their anal glands. The work was published Nov. 8 in Scientific Reports.

��ɫ��Ƶ Researchers Unlock Valuable Information in Chicken Genome

Andy Fell — May 04, 2023 - 3:03pm

Chickens provide one of the world's most popular animal proteins, with billions of birds grown every year for eggs and meat. Interpreting the farm animal’s genome is vital for understanding how genes control traits, such as growth, feed efficiency, reproduction and disease resistance.

Zoonomia Consortium Unveils Mammal Genomes, Creates Evolutionary Timeline

Andy Fell — April 27, 2023 - 11:00am

Mammals are an extraordinarily diverse and successful group of animals, from the tiniest pygmy shrew to the mighty blue whale, and including, of course, ourselves. In a special issue of the journal Science published today (April 27), the Zoonomia Consortium shows how comparing the genomes of 240 modern mammals sheds light on mammalian evolution, with implications for conservation and understanding human and animal health.

Revealing the Genome of the Common Ancestor of All Mammals

Andy Fell — September 27, 2022 - 9:30am

Every modern mammal, from a platypus to a blue whale, is descended from a common ancestor that lived about 180 million years ago. We don’t know a great deal about this animal, but the organization of its genome has now been computationally reconstructed by an international team of researchers. The work is published Sept. 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Genomics by Africans for Africans

Andy Fell — March 15, 2022 - 11:49am

The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) has published a position paper in Nature highlighting the goals, priorities, and roadmap of the Africa-led effort to sequence the genomes of 105,000 species of plants, animals, fungi and protists that are endemic to the continent.

Sequencing Puts Carnivore Chromosomes in Context

Andy Fell — February 21, 2022 - 4:28pm

Studies comparing animal genomes generally focus on the DNA sequence itself. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis shows how the three-dimensional scaffolding of chromosomes is related across several species of carnivores, offering a new approach of “comparative scaffotyping” that could be used to identify related genes across species and place them in context. The work, published the week of Feb.

How the Earth BioGenome Project Can Untangle Mysteries of Life on Earth

Andy Fell — January 19, 2022 - 12:49pm

The Earth BioGenome Project, launched in 2018, is moving from planning and pilot projects to major production sequencing. The goal of the project is to complete reference genomes for all species of eurkaryotic life on Earth: animals, plants, fungi, algae and other organisms that package their DNA into a nucleus. The new phase of the project is marked with a special feature collection of articles in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Discovery Increases Likelihood of Growing Food Despite Drought

Andy Fell — May 18, 2021 - 8:35am

University of California scientists have discovered genetic data that will help food crops like tomatoes and rice survive longer, more intense periods of drought on our warming planet.

Genome Sequencing Shows Climate Barrier to Spread of Africanized Bees

Andy Fell — October 21, 2020 - 10:20am

Since the 1950s, “Africanized” honeybees have spread north and south across the Americas until apparently coming to a halt in California and northern Argentina. Now genome sequencing of hundreds of bees from the northern and southern limits shows a gradual decline in African ancestry across hundreds of miles, rather than an abrupt shift.