In the short term, the genome of the Naval Shipworm will be lots of use to the fuel industry.
You might have heard that farm byproducts are sometimes turned into fuel for cars and trucks – this will be even more important in the future as we run out of oil. The naval shipworm can digest wood – a really useful trick that very few organisms can perform.
If we can work out how the naval shipworm breaks down wood, using the genome, we might be able to make the fuel production process much more efficient, and use plant material that presently is just thrown away.
In the long term, there are also benefits that are difficult to define, but still important! Any animal genome tells you how an organism lives and grows. You never know what else will be useful for us to know about in the future!
The deep sea is a vastly understudied ecosystem where marine research has been typically restricted to shallower waters. It is a remote and challenging environment but it harbours a vast array of species with really unique adaptions to survive the harsh environment – the abyssal grenadier being one of them. The abyssal grenadier is a good species to study not just for its unique adaptions but also because it lives in all of the worlds ocean. It is less common for one species to have such a wide distribution.
Full genome sequencing of the abyssal grenadier would allow for exploration into the genes responsible for survival in the extreme environment of the deep sea as well as providing a better understanding of species distribution and how these species cope with environmental stress and anthropogenic changes. A greater understanding of the ecology and evolution of deep-sea species not only expands our scientific knowledge but it also develops a much-needed stewardship of our oceans!
Great question! Twisted-wing flies are very extreme parasites, their body has dramatically adapted to infect their poor hosts. Sequencing their genomes will help scientists to better understand what parasites do, informing strategies to fight other parasites like the ones infecting humans.
There are severals ways in which sequencing the starfish genome could benefit humanity:
1. It would help scientists find out how starfish can regenerate their arms. If we understand how starfish regenerate, we may find new ways to help human tissues regenerate when people are injured.
2. Starfish have lots of tube feet that produce “sticky” proteins that help them stick to the surface they are walking on and these proteins stay sticky when they are wet. Sequencing the starfish genome would help to identify these “sticky” proteins, which may then be useful in surgery (helping tissues stick together while they heal).
3. Starfish produce molecules that stop bacteria growing on their body surface. Sequencing the starfish genome would help identify these molecules, which may then be useful as new antibiotics (helping to deal with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance).
It takes a highly trained eye to tell a 100 year old Brachiopod shell from a 100 million year old one – they are virtually unchanged over those millions of years. So sequencing their genome might give and answer to a very simple and important question,- how?
Comments
Abyssal Grenadier commented on :
The deep sea is a vastly understudied ecosystem where marine research has been typically restricted to shallower waters. It is a remote and challenging environment but it harbours a vast array of species with really unique adaptions to survive the harsh environment – the abyssal grenadier being one of them. The abyssal grenadier is a good species to study not just for its unique adaptions but also because it lives in all of the worlds ocean. It is less common for one species to have such a wide distribution.
Full genome sequencing of the abyssal grenadier would allow for exploration into the genes responsible for survival in the extreme environment of the deep sea as well as providing a better understanding of species distribution and how these species cope with environmental stress and anthropogenic changes. A greater understanding of the ecology and evolution of deep-sea species not only expands our scientific knowledge but it also develops a much-needed stewardship of our oceans!
Twisted-wing fly commented on :
Great question! Twisted-wing flies are very extreme parasites, their body has dramatically adapted to infect their poor hosts. Sequencing their genomes will help scientists to better understand what parasites do, informing strategies to fight other parasites like the ones infecting humans.
Common starfish commented on :
There are severals ways in which sequencing the starfish genome could benefit humanity:
1. It would help scientists find out how starfish can regenerate their arms. If we understand how starfish regenerate, we may find new ways to help human tissues regenerate when people are injured.
2. Starfish have lots of tube feet that produce “sticky” proteins that help them stick to the surface they are walking on and these proteins stay sticky when they are wet. Sequencing the starfish genome would help to identify these “sticky” proteins, which may then be useful in surgery (helping tissues stick together while they heal).
3. Starfish produce molecules that stop bacteria growing on their body surface. Sequencing the starfish genome would help identify these molecules, which may then be useful as new antibiotics (helping to deal with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance).
Brachiopod commented on :
It takes a highly trained eye to tell a 100 year old Brachiopod shell from a 100 million year old one – they are virtually unchanged over those millions of years. So sequencing their genome might give and answer to a very simple and important question,- how?