First Shark Genome Decoded

First Shark Genome Decoded

Summary: An international team of researchers including the scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Immunibiology and Epigenetics. They have sequenced and analyzed the genome of the elephant shark, by comparing the elephant shark's genome and other vertebrate genomes. This has made it clear why sharks are made out of cartilage and not bone and that the immune system of sharks is much simpler then the human immune system. The analysis of the immune system showed that sharks seem to lack T-helper lymphocytes, which were considered important for defending against viral/bacterial infections, diabetes, and arthritis within vertebrates. Though even without T-helper lymphocytes, sharks still seem to have a strong immune system and live very long. Onto the structure  of the sharks cartilage, is that there is a family of genes which are not present in sharks but are in bony vertebrates and are needed for bone formation. This could mean a better understanding of bone diseases for humans.

Relevance: This article relates to the genomes and the human genome project. This connects to chapter 12 where we learned about how the nucleus contains genomes and how genomes are the complete set of genetic material in an organism. The genome is able to fit into the nucleus of a single cell because of DNA's incredible packaging system. DNA first wraps proteins called histones, then DNA wraps into a helical fiber and then it is wrapped further until it becomes a "super-coil". By wrapping the DNA more, it gets compacted into a chromosome. It also connects back to the Human Genome Project because by finding out about other genomes, we can diagnose, treat, and maybe even prevent some common illnesses.

Author: boehm@immunbio.mpg.de
Published: January 8, 2014
Link: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/01/08/first_shark_genome_decoded.html
By: Simin Li