Wednesday, September 07, 2011
An endangered species, Przewalski's horse, is much more distantly related to the domestic horse, and likely have a much more diverse gene pool, than researchers previously had hypothesized, reports a team of investigators led by Kateryna Makova, associate professor of biology at Penn State. The new study's findings could be used to inform conservation efforts to save the endangered horse species, of which only 2,000 individuals remain in parts of China and Mongolia, and in wildlife reserves in California and Ukraine.
The scientists tested the portion of the genome passed exclusively from mother to offspring -- the mitochondrial DNA -- of four Przewalski's horse lineages and compared the data to DNA from the domestic horse (Equus caballus). They concluded that, although previous scientists had assumed that Przewalski's horse and the domestic horse had diverged around the time that horses were domesticated -- about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago -- the real time of the two species' divergence from one another is much more ancient. (more)
Monday, June 27, 2011
A revolutionary species-preservation approach based on whole-genome analyses of two Tasmanian devils -- one that had died of a contagious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) and one healthy animal -- has been used to develop a theoretical model to predict which individuals would need to be kept in captivity to maximize chances of preserving enough genetic diversity for the species to survive.
The research helps to formulate one possible plan of action to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil -- a marsupial found in the wild exclusively in the Australian island-state of Tasmania. The research model also may be extended to other endangered species. (more)
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
A rare, ancient polar bear fossil discovered in Norway in 2004 is yielding a treasure trove of essential information about the age and evolutionary origins of the species. A paper published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Penn State, the University at Buffalo, the University of Oslo and other institutions is filling in key pieces of the evolutionary history of polar bears and brown bears, including their response to past climate changes. (more)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller opened new frontiers in molecular biology when they successfully sequenced the woolly mammoth genome last year. "This is really the first time that we have been able to study an extinct animal in the same detail as the ones living in our own time," explains Schuster, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. The approach they developed may help explain past extinction events--and prevent future ones. (more)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Technological advances in DNA sequencing make it possible to determine how living things are related by analyzing the ways in which their genes have been rearranged on chromosomes. However, inferring these evolutionary relationships from rearrangement events requires massive computing impossible even on the most advanced computing systems available today. (more)
Monday, January 12, 2009
All the genes that the exotic Tasmanian Tiger inherited only from its mother will be revealed by an international team of scientists in a research paper published today (Jan. 13) in the online edition of Genome Research. The research marks the first successful sequencing of genes from this carnivorous marsupial, which looked like a large tiger-striped dog and became extinct in 1936. The research also opens the door to the widespread, nondestructive use of museum specimens to learn why mammals become extinct and how extinctions might be prevented. "Our goal is to learn how to prevent endangered species from going extinct," said Webb Miller, a Penn State professor of biology and of computer science and engineering and a member of the research team that includes scientists from the United States, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. "I want to learn as much as I can about why large mammals become extinct because all my friends are large mammals," Miller said. "However, I am expecting that publication of this paper also will reinvigorate discussions about possibly bringing the extinct Tasmanian Tiger back to life." (more)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fox News interviewed on Tuesday (Nov. 25) morning Stephan Schuster, Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and co-leader of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal. The research team -- co-led by Webb Miller, professor of biology and of computer science and engineering -- has worked to sequence the genetic makeup of the woolly mammoth. An online link to the interview is available in the full version of this article. (more)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Researcher Stephan Schuster, Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and co-leader of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal, is scheduled to be featured on two national television news shows. The research team sequenced the genetic makeup of the woolly mammoth. Schuster appeared Thursday (Nov. 20) on the "CBS Evening News" and was interviewed for a future segment of ABC's morning news program, "Good Morning America." An online link to the CBS segment is available in the full version of this article. (more)
