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- CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The most
detailed map ever produced of cattle genes and the first comparison map
of cattle and human genomes show that many genes, and even whole chromosomes,
are configured in the same way in the two species, scientists report.
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- "The comparative map has enormous predictive power,"
said lead researcher Harris Lewin, director of the W.M. Keck Center for
Comparative and Functional Genomics at the University of Illinois.
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- "For the first time, we can move from a point on
the human genome to the equivalent point on the cattle genome. That will
allow us to use the map of one species to identify genes controlling important
traits in the other, such as those influencing lactation, reproduction
and resistance to infectious diseases."
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- The maps appear in the September issue of the journal
Genome Research by scientists at two universities after a three-year collaboration
led by Lewin, a professor of animal sciences, holder of the Gutgsell Endowed
Chair and director of the UI Biotechnology Center. Among the major contributors
to the research were co-authors Mark R. Band, a postdoctoral research associate;
Joshua H. Larson, a graduate student in the UI department of animal sciences;
and James E. Womack, the W.P. Luse Endowed Professor at Texas A University.
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- A pullout poster of the comparative map is included in
the journal, courtesy of AniGenics Inc., an animal genomics company, and
Research Genetics, a major supplier of tools and reagents for genome research
and subsidiary of Invitrogen Corp.
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- The research -- funded by the USDA National Research
Initiative -- combined the sequencing of small segments of genes, known
as expressed sequence tags, and sophisticated bioinformatics tools developed
at the UI with a radiation hybrid cell panel, a unique resource for gene
mapping developed by Womack,s laboratory.
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- A total of 1,087 genetic markers were placed on the radiation
hybrid map, which includes 768 known genes. About 92 percent of all cattle
chromosomal DNA is included on the map. This represents a four-fold increase
in the total number of all cattle genes mapped previously, Lewin said.
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- Among the known genes, 638 (83 percent) could be identified
as identical to human genes that also have positional information on human
chromosomes, the researchers reported. Knowing the order of the same genes
on the chromosomes of humans and cattle permitted the construction of the
first "whole-genome comparative map" and revealed large regions
of conservation of gene order in the two genomes. An examination of the
comparative map revealed up to 149 conserved chromosome segments in humans
and cattle, including four whole chromosomes that appear to have the same
genes in both species, despite the two species being separated by more
than 60 million years of evolution.
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- Among other firsts in the report were the identification
of up to 48 novel genes, predicted mapping of 48 unmapped human genes on
the basis of the cattle-map position, and the number of chromosome rearrangements
during evolution resulting in the present organization of the cattle and
human genomes.
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- Eventually, Lewin said, the cattle genome will be completely
sequenced, ultimately leading to a more detailed picture of the evolutionary
events that distinguish the different mammals. "In the end" he
said, "we will understand the molecular genetic basis for the major
phenotypic differences among the mammals. This will have enormous scientific
and practical significance, particularly in the area of food safety, animal
health, and the competitiveness of our domestic beef and dairy industries."
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- Note: This story has been adapted from a news release
issued by University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign for journalists
and other members of the public. If you wish to quote from any part of
this story, please credit University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
as the original source. You may also wish to include the following link
in any citation:
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