The Unique Genome of a Bladderwort

Recently Scientist have mapped out the genome of the bladderwort to find astonishing discoveries. The bladderwort is a small carnivorous aquatic plant found nearly everyone on the planet. It has a relatively small genome when compared to other plants, about 80 million base pairs. But what is astonishing is the very large number of genes it possesses. It has 28500 genes which is very high for the amount of genetic information stored. Scientist have found that this is due to a very high rate of genetic turnover in the plant. It has been shown to have a whole genome duplication three times. To account for this high rate of duplication there is also a high rate of deletion. The species has been found to quickly delete unused and duplicated genes constantly leading to a very specific and gene dense genome. A bladderwort has about 3% of non-functional DNA while humans have nearly 90%. This strategy is most likely an adaptation for the very variable and unpredictable environments bladderworts live in and allows them to quickly adapt and change to new environments. This is an astonishing discovery in the field of genetics due to the high density of translated regions in the bladderwort's genome.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/02/23/the-mysterious-genes-of-carnivorous-bladderwort-reveal-themselves/


Akhil

Project Sheds Light on What Drives Genes

Yesterday, 23andMe received FDA approval for Bloom Syndrome testing. Blood syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder associated with a variety of serious illnesses including an increased risk for cancer. The FDA considers each genetic test individually, assessing both its validity and any potential harmful outcomes of knowing such results. Bloom syndrome testing is most relevant to potential parents as both individuals need to be carriers for their potential child to contract the disease - the FDA found no harm in potential parents knowing such information. This is an important step towards future approval of genetic testing and an exciting look at what the future of DTC genetic testing holds. It is likely that 23andMe will continue to petition the approval of more tests.

Links for News Articles:
Extreme Tech
Huffington Post

Related:
Original FDA warning letter

Saira Agarwala 

Survival for some endangered species hinges on ‘Frozen Zoo’

My cocktail chatter is about how scientist and zoologist are using genetic material to create an archive of the genomes of endangered species. The article discuss what the possibilities are when the genetic material of a species is stored for later use. The possibilities are "endless" but the article points out the cost, difficulty, and technological limits that exist. This artificial gives a fascinating look into what has been called the "Frozen Zoo."

Monday, February 9th

"Among New York Subway’s Millions of Riders, a Study Finds Many Mystery Microbes"

This past Thursday, researchers at Cornell developed the first map of microbes found on the New York City subway system.  The study was originally published in Cell Systems, explains the usefulness and development process of the "PathoMap"- or "pathogen map" that the researchers developed. With approximately 5.5 million people riding the subway on an average weekday, the surfaces touched are teeming with microorganisms and DNA. Surprisingly, it was found that almost half of the DNA found did not match any known organism, and only 0.2% of the DNA matched that of the human genome. Dr. Christopher E. Mason, the head researcher, originally got the idea for the study when dropping his daughter off at pre-school, and watching "her explore her new surroundings by happily popping objects into her mouth" Dr. Mason began to wonder "How much is being transferred, on which kinds of things?"  This lead him to study the NYC subway system, where adults often get a bit too close to one another.  According to the New York Times, the "PathoMap" is a baseline assessment, which can be used in the future to determine the potential spread of specific diseases, or even bioterrorism mitigation. 

“MPs Say Yes to Three Person Babies”

My cocktail chatter is about how MPs in the UK have decided to create a law allowing three people to produce babies. The purpose of this seemingly odd idea is to eliminate genetic diseases from being passed down from mother to child, and so on. This technique was referred to as the “light at the end of a dark tunnel” for many families. There are currently two different methods that can be performed in order to prevent the spread of these genetic diseases. The first method involves repairing an embryo that has unhealthy mitochondria, while the second involves repairing a mother’s egg that has been tainted with these unhealthy mitochondria. Both involve the replacing of the donor mother’s nucleus in either her embryo or egg, with the mother’s nucleus, while keeping the healthy mitochondria of the donor. Essentially the donor mother is providing either the embryo or egg along with healthy mitochondria, and the real mother’s nucleus is being placed inside. The exact means by which this process is done is not mentioned however. Although the ethics behind this idea is still being debated and contested, it was approved in the UK. I really enjoyed reading these articles because this idea is not one I would have ever thought to be possible. The article I read was published by BBC and additional information can be found at USA Today and CNN.

Genomic evolution of pregnancy

[Cocktail chatter by Alexandra Arnold]

My cocktail chatter is about how ancient “genetic parasites” spurred evolution o pregnancy in mammals. A group of scientists went with Dr. Vincent Lynch, assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, to look at the origins of pregnancy in mammals. By characterizing the pregnant uterine transcriptomes, they found that thousands of genes had evolved endometrial expression during the origins of mammalian pregnancy. They found that as development went from a hard eggshell to the soft tissue surrounded by placenta now, that there was a stronger connection between the mother and the developing egg, which had evolved into a stronger and more successful pregnancy, especially with the increase of maternal-fetal communication. They also found many cells to regulate decidualization as well as immune suppression genes to stop the mother’s body from attacking the fetus. I found this article and the additional information to be incredibly interesting. It was really interesting learning about different fetal developments in animals and it was great seeing how it evolved over time from all those years ago. It is amazing seeing what genes can do and how much of an impact they really have.