Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 2 april 2019

Science Says: Why scientists prize plant, animal genomes

By MALCOLM RITTER in some mosquitoes, which
NEW YORK (AP) — Just could then be released to
about every week, it spread the variants though
seems, scientists publish the wild populations, Vosshall
unique DNA code of some said. Those variants, or oth-
creature or plant. Just in ers, might also work for re-
February, they published ducing threats of spread-
the genome for the straw- ing Zika and yellow fever,
berry, the paper mulberry Vosshall and Matthews
tree, the great white shark said.
and the Antarctic blackfin — A similar strategy might
icefish. be used to make mosquito
They also announced that, populations overproduce
thanks to a crowdfunding males. That would reduce
campaign, they’d pro- mosquito bites in the short
duced the genome of Lil term — only females bite
BUB, a female cat with a — and open the door to
large internet following. shrinking wild populations
That followed a notable through genetic engineer-
advance in January: an ing. The new genome re-
improved genome for the vealed details of the DNA
axolotl, a salamander re- stretch that makes mos-
nowned for regrowing sev- quitoes develop as males,
ered limbs and other body which Matthews called
parts. “step one” in pursuing the
Scientists have been un- make-more-males strat-
covering genomes for egy.
quite a while. The first from The salamander genome
an animal — a worm — This Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019 photo shows male mosquitos at the the Vosshall Laboratory at published in January built
came in 1998. Now, the Rockefeller University in New York. on a previous publication
technology has advanced Associated Press by European scientists last
far enough that scien- That achievement came make up the innards of the Vosshall said. And that year. Although its genome
tists last year announced from analyzing the DNA of DNA molecule. The order could lead to better lures is about 10 times the size
a project to produce the 80 mosquito brothers. They of those compounds along for mosquito traps, as well of the human one, which
genomes for all life forms were born in Leslie Voss- the molecule is the code; as better repellents. Maybe makes the analysis harder,
on Earth other than bac- hall’s lab at Rockefeller Uni- it creates “words” that we scientists can find some- the axolotl’s regenerating
teria and single-celled or- versity in New York, where call genes. thing “10,000 times more capabilities are an obvious
ganisms called archaea. thousands of mosquitoes The mosquito genome, for disgusting” to a mosquito lure.
They called it a “moonshot swarmed in cages recently example, is about 1.28 bil- than the old standby, DEET, Axolotls can replace “al-
for biology.” as Krithika Venkataraman lion letters long, a bit less she said. most anything you can cut
But what’s the point of un- was trying to make some than half the length of the — They found new details off of them, as long as you
covering new genomes? more. human version. Knowing about genes that let some don’t cut off their heads,”
For scientists, a detailed She stuck a tube that pro- the DNA sequence lets sci- mosquitoes resist certain says Jeramiah Smith of the
look under the hood of truded from her mouth like entists manipulate it with insecticides. That’s a possi- University of Kentucky in
their favorite organism pro- a straw into a transpar- gene editing techniques, ble step toward predicting Lexington, an author of the
vides a foothold for learn- ent cube filled with male said Ben Matthews of the what insecticides would more recent genome pa-
ing the deepest secrets of mosquitoes. Then she re- Vosshall lab, who was part be useless for fighting cer- per.
their objects of attention, it peatedly sucked about 30 of the international team tain populations, as well as But Smith points to anoth-
leads to discoveries about males at a time into the that published the refined a potential lead for com- er trick that might pay off
how life works, and possibly tube. She counted them, description of the mosquito ing up with new chemical sooner for human medi-
how to prevent disease. and then blew them into genome last November. weapons against the in- cine: The salamander can
Take the mosquito. Late another cube that housed And once researchers start- sect. also heal large wounds
last year, researchers pub- females. Before long, the ed analyzing that version of — They found previously without scarring.
lished a much-improved two sexes were mating. the DNA code, discoveries unknown targets for a ma- As for learning how to let
description of the DNA You can think of a genome began to pop out. jor class of insecticides. people grow back a sev-
code for a particularly as an instruction book for — They nearly doubled That could open the door ered arm, he figures that’s
dangerous species of mos- building a living thing. Its the known size of a family to designing new versions a long way off.
quito: Aedes aegypti, no- language is a four-letter of genes that help mosqui- that target mosquitoes “That probably won’t be
torious for spreading Zika, alphabet, which stand for toes sense information from while sparing beneficial in- useful for me,” joked Smith,
dengue and yellow fever. the four compounds that their environment, such as sects and posing less risk to who’s 42. “I’ll be dead, so
the odor of humans. That people. I won’t need to grow my
was “totally, mind-blow- — They narrowed the arm back.”
ingly, unexpected,” Voss- search for genetic variants And Lil BUB ? She’s the size
hall said. (Vosshall’s sal- that prevent some Aedes of a kitten even though
ary is paid by the Howard aegypti mosquitoes from she’s 8 years old, and has a
Hughes Medical Institute, infecting people with den- number of other odd traits.
which also supports The As- gue, a severe flu-like illness Scientists looked for ge-
sociated Press Health & Sci- that sickens millions every netic mutations, and found
ence Department.) year. If those variants can altered genes that appear
Further study may reveal be identified, scientists to be responsible for her ex-
surprises about what mos- might use genetic engi- tra toes and for a rare bone
quitoes pay attention to, neering to reproduce them disease.q