First feline genome sequenced: cats meow into the Genetic Era
By Antonio Marques • Nov 2nd, 2007 • Category: DNA, Genetics, News
They are cute, they are nice, and now they are sequenced. Together with dogs, rats, mice, chimps, cows and humans, cats have just gotten their genome sequenced. But not all of it… just about 60%.
By using what is commonly referred as the “shot-gun” approach, where DNA is cut to pieces, sequenced and pasted back together (leaving some gaps in between), Dr. O’Brian and colleagues have managed to decipher about 60% of the cat’s genome with a more complete version expected for next year.
With a cost above $2.4 million so far, complete genome sequencing is far from cheap, but the benefits of understanding how the genes work and to be able to shed some light into diseases’ mechanisms, not only feline but also human, surely more than pays for these projects’ costs.
“We can start to interpret them in terms of one of evolution’s special creations, which is also probably one of the greatest predators that ever lived.” Dr. Stephen O’Brian
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