• Question: if your animal were to win this competition what would you do with the information it gives you and why?

    Asked by emjh210605 to Barn Owl, Brown garden snail, Common Crane, Emperor Dragonfly, Hazel Dormouse, Catshark, Scotch Thistle, St Kilda Wren on 9 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Emperor Dragonfly

      Emperor Dragonfly answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      The first thing I would do with the information from the genome sequence, was to try to work out why it is so big – the genome of another dragonfly in the same genus as the Emperor Dragonfly (Anax) is estmated at about 1.5 Giga basepairs – that 1,500 MILLION DNA basepairs. By comparison the human genome is 3,000 MLLIION DNA base pairs (so about twice).

      Most insects have genome of 150-200 Million DNA base pairs, so the Emperor Dragonfly genome is 10 times as big as we would expect… In some organisms this is because their genome has duplicated several times so they have lots of copies, and others it is because their genome has lots of parasites (like worms in an animal’s gut) that do them no good, but the just have to carry around. Once we know why it is so big then that will give us an idea of whether this is linked why dragonflies have been around for so long without really changing very much (they are sometimes called “living fossils” for this reason). For example when scientists sequenced the Elephant genome it turned out that they have lots of copies of a gene involved in repairing DNA – this might explain wh elephants can have so many cells, and live for so long without having high rates of cancer – clearly of importance to human health.

      So, we cannot really say what the information will tell us, but we have a first question (why is it so big) that we can answer once we have the sequence data. That answer will lead who knows where – perhaps to information about cancer, like the elephant? This also tells you why scientists are scientists – we don’t know what the answers are, but we know how to ask questions, and then there will be more questions… Just like yours!

    • Photo: Lesser-Spotted Catshark

      Lesser-Spotted Catshark answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      Great question. Sequencing a genome is a huge job but it is still only half the battle. To do something useful with that information is where the real challenge begins. Luckily for the catshark we have a team of scientists around the world who are ready to take on that challenge. We will be able to answer general questions like ‘how many genes does it have’ and ‘how different is it from humans’ which are very important from an evolutionary perspective. However, the real power of having a genome sequence is that it gives you the ability to do new and exciting experiments that wouldn’t be possible without a sequenced genome. We can ask questions about cellular and developmental biology like ‘which genes are responsible for tooth regeneration, and do humans have those same genes’ and ‘why are sharks skeletons made mostly of cartilage, while ours are made mostly of bone ‘ or questions about ecology and the environment like ‘how will higher sea temperatures due to climate change affect shark growth and development’ or ‘are lesser-spotted catsharks in the process of becoming more than one species’. Having the genome sequenced will make answering these and many more questions possible for the first time. And because the data will be publicly available anyone – even you – can use it to answer your favourite question.

    • Photo: Common Crane

      Common Crane answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      It is really simple – by knowing the information, the scientists will be able to understand better how different conditions influence common cranes and so help to this beautiful species to return to UK. They disappeared from UK about 400 years ago and just started coming back. Thus, it is important to understand common cranes so that their disappearance will not happen again.

    • Photo: Tomeu the snail

      Tomeu the snail answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      In nearly all people, the heart is on the left hand side – except in 1 in 10,000 people. Similarly, nearly all garden snails have a shell that coils clockwise – except 1 in million snails, like ‘Jeremy’. As we think that the same genes are involved in making the left and right side of the human body and the left and right side of a snail’s body, studying snails can help to understand our own body.

      If we are successful, we would use the garden snail genome sequence as a starting point for finding out why snails such as ‘Jeremy’ are so unusual in coiling anticlockwise. We would then see if the same genes are involved in setting the left and right side of human bodies.

      It won’t necessarily cure any diseases but it will be very interesting to find out.

    • Photo: Hazel Dormouse

      Hazel Dormouse answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      The Hazel Dormouse is iconic to the UK. It is their natural habitat and native home but due to the increasing urbanisation, they have lost a lot of their homes and resources. Because they hibernate for over half the year, they don’t have very much time to be able to relocate and start a new life and have a new family which is why the population is declining. They can now only naturally be found in the South of England out of the whole UK! A small population was re-introduced to the Midlands and Yorkshire but it is unknown how well they are doing.

      By looking inside of the genes we can decide how better to support them. We can also see if certain diseases are also causing their populations to decrease and how we can help them. I am also confident that, because humans and mice have such similar DNA, we could find something in their to help us too!

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