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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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FROM ABROAD Shark holds secret to human DNA Sharks and humans may not look like they have much in common, but scientists reckon they can use them to unlock the secrets of our own DNA. Following a landmark study of the puffer fish that won international acclaim, researchers at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore have picked the oddball elephant shark as their next project. For selecting that particular species, lead researcher Byrappa Venkatesh had scoured the world’s fish markets, aquariums and pet shops.“Sharks and humans are like distant cousins, sharing similar sets of genes (factors responsible for specific characteristics of parents being passed to their offspring) as well as body plan and physiology,” explained Associate Professor Venkatesh. “They have a well-developed immune system similar to humans, so by comparing the genes of both species, we should get useful clues to understanding human diseases”. The elephant shark is actually what is called a chimera - a type of “jawed vertebrate” which shared an ancestor with humans 500 million years ago.More than a decade ago, Prof. Venkatesh, together with Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner and other colleagues,recognised that the puffer fish genome could be used as a model for analysing the human genome (the full set of genes in a being) sequence. Such analyses may lead to a better understanding of how human genes work and, therefore, better medical treatment.The work won the team Singapore’s National Science Award last year.It also inspired the setting up of an international consortium in 2000 that went on to map the entire genome sequence of the puffer fish, or fugu. The fugu has the smallest known genome among animals with a backbone - with essentially the same genes as humans, but squeezed into one-eighth the space. The elephant shark genome is three times larger than the fugu’s, but what makes it special is that scientists discovered that some genes it shares with humans are absent in the puffer fish. Said the institute’s executive director, Professor David Lane: “This shark genome offers tremendous potential to help unravel the complexity of our own DNA.” While the genomes of other vertebrates such as the mouse, rat, chimpanzee and chicken have already been sequenced, this has never been attempted on the shark family The team searched the globe for more than two years to come up with a shark that had a genome small enough to be sequenced easily. Their findings have been published in the latest issue of the renowned scientific journal Current Biology, and talks are under way to develop a major international genome project. Courtesy: The Straits Times |
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