Tags: genome

pictorial diagram of fern leaf parts and sections, with text on white
Genome evolution in the modern fern

Defying all expectations, a fern no larger than a dinner plate currently holds the title for highest chromosome count, with a whopping 720 pairs crammed into each of its nuclei. This penchant of ferns for hoarding DNA has stumped scientists, and the intractable size of their genomes has made it difficult to sequence, assemble and interpret them. Two new papers published in the journal Nature Plants are rewriting history with the first full-…

magazine cover illustration with white text and crystals on leaf
When pollen comes of age

New research from the University of Georgia has determined when pollen comes of age and begins expressing its own genome, a major life cycle transition in plants. Each grain of pollen is actually its own multicellular organism – with two to 40 cells, depending on the species. Pollen expresses its own genome and is genetically distinct from its parent plant. That means pollen grains from a single flower can have different traits and…

photo of man standing in corn stalks
Genetics research paves way for better corn plants

The newly assembled genomes of 26 different genetic lines of corn illustrate the crop’s rich genetic diversity and lay the groundwork for a better understanding of what genetic mechanisms account for crop traits prized by farmers. The mapping of the 26 genomes, published recently in the journal Science, was a team effort co-led by University of Georgia’s Kelly Dawe that will help scientists piece together the puzzle of corn genetics.…

photo of man in research lab, arms folded
Researcher receives $3M NIH award to continue exploring bacterial immune systems

Michael Terns of the University of Georgia is the recipient of a $3 million Maximizing Investigator Research Award, or MIRA, from the National Institutes of Health to further research on CRISPR—bacterial immune systems harnessed as powerful human gene-editing tools—and to begin studying Anti-CRISPR, or ACR, proteins used by viruses to evade the CRISPR immune systems. “We’re studying a global viral pandemic. Rather than a virus against…

photo of woman in greenhouse, with plants
Devos part of team to unlock switchgrass genome

As reported Jan. 27 in Nature, a nationwide team that includes UGA faculty member Katrien Devos has produced a high-quality reference sequence of the complex switchgrass genome, marking a critical step for a plant species that has long been studied for its potential application in the production of biofuels. The team was led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the U.S.…

graphic with blue letter son white background, bug and cell illustration
Sharing the Knowledge: NIH Award Supports Expanded Genomics Data Resource

A team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Georgia provides thousands of researchers around the world with access to the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genomics Database (EuPathDB.org), a collection of resources for analyzing large-scale datasets associated with microbial pathogens. These include the parasites responsible for malaria, sleeping sickness, and toxoplasmosis; the fungi responsible for thrush, aspergillosis and…

photo of many potatoes, with several cut open
Just in time for Thanksgiving: new data on the sweetpotato

A globally important food crop as well as a staple at every* American Thanksgiving table, Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) has widely recognized potential to alleviate hunger, vitamin A deficiency, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Biofortification with pro-vitamin A-rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) in SSA has led to millions of Africans being spared the devastating effects of vitamin A deficiency, a main cause of…

women interior portrait
Life and meaning: Carolyn Medine

Terrific Focus on the Faculty profile of Dr. Carolyn Medine, joint-appointed professor in the department of religion and the Institute for African American Studies: I have always loved the arts and been obsessed with the “BQs” — the big questions, as one of my teachers at UNC called them — the eternal questions about life and meaning. My area is arts, literature and religion, and I get to work on cultural production of all kinds. I think that…
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