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Asked by harrybaxter1 to St Kilda Wren, Scotch Thistle, Hazel Dormouse, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Crane, Catshark, Brown garden snail, Barn Owl on 13 Nov 2017.
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Emperor Dragonfly answered on 13 Nov 2017:
Wellllll…. you can do lots of things, but the main point of sequencing a genome is to analyse the DNA sequence to see what genes are present, and which genes we might expect to be there, that are not. In this way we can compare genomes and understand how particular genes make an organism like it it – for example modern flies have only two wings, but dragonflies (and lots of other insects) have four, suggesting this is the starting state. Studying dragonfly genes could help us work how organisms use their genes to replace existing organs, or build new ones in their place!
Also I’m particularly interested in what the non-gene stuff is – Dragonflies have genomes that are around half the size of the human genome, and ten times bigger than a typical insect, so finding what all that extra DNA is and does is very interesting – it might tell us what Dragonflies have been around for so long without changing very much.
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Common Crane answered on 14 Nov 2017:
Common cranes went extinct in the UK about 400 years ago and are just coming back. By analysing the DNA sequence, we will be able to know more about how the different factors influence common cranes and thus prevent this happening again.
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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! -
St Kilda Wren answered on 15 Nov 2017:
You can do a lot of things with DNA (though we still can’t make a real Jurassic Park, I’m afraid). DNA is an incredibly simple and yet incredibly complex molecule made up of only four bases which are organised in such a way that they become the blueprint for every living organism. By looking at different parts of the genetic code we can find out all sorts of things, such as: are some individuals more susceptible to a certain disease? Why are some individuals bigger/smaller than others? How long ago did two species become distinct? And so much more. We are also able to alter the genetic code. For example, a famous palaeontologist, Jack Horner, has been working with scientists to reverse-engineer a chicken into a sort-of-dinosaur (e.g. allowing its teeth to grow). They are doing this by activating genes which are no longer active in modern birds. That sort of thing is strictly regulated, of course, to make sure that the animals are ok and that the researchers are doing everything correctly.
Just think about all the cool questions we could answer if we sequenced the genome of the St. Kilda wren!
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Lesser-Spotted Catshark answered on 17 Nov 2017:
You probably get the idea by reading these earlier replies that there are many different types of experiments or biological problems that can be addressed using a genome sequence. Each scientist has their own research speciality area and so what they will do will usually be linked to this. Mine is the evolution, development and regeneration of the skeleton but equally the catshark genome will be used by scientists interested in conservation biology, population genetics, shark behaviour etc.
It may also be worth nothing that there is a further research specialization, called ‘genomics’ which studies genomes ‘for their own sake’ rather than to apply to a specific problem. I do some of this as well and it has been quite important in discovering fundamentally new ways that the genome is organized and operates to create an organism. Researchers in this field are still discovering completely new things about the human genome, despite having had the sequence already for decades!
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