Scientists crack koala's genetic code, may hold key to survival

    Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-03 01:36:51|Editor: yan
    Video PlayerClose

    SYDNEY, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A consortium of international scientists has cracked the koala's genetic code in a breakthrough for future conservation efforts.

    The full koala genome sequence published may hold the key to saving one of Australia's most beloved creatures, which are threatened by habitat loss, population fragmentation and susceptibility to disease.

    With over 50 scientists from over 20 countries working together for the past five years, mapping the 26,000 genes in the koala genome was no easy feat.

    "If you had an entire encyclopedia and you chopped it up into 3.4 billion pieces, which is how many pieces we found in the koala genome, threw it on the floor and then had to blindly put it all back together so that it made sense -- mapping a genome is very much the same," director of the Australian Museum Research Institute and lead author of the study Professor Rebecca Johnson explained to Xinhua.

    With only three other marsupials in history ever genetically sequenced, Johnson and her team had very little to use as a reference point, making the process excruciatingly difficult and extremely challenging.

    Now, the koala's high-quality genome map means a brighter future for the species and a better chance at survival.

    "We have been able to develop the markers that are linked to the genome and that can tell us all about the diversity of koalas," Johnson said.

    "By looking at populations of koalas all over the country, including captive populations, we can ensure that they have lots of genetic diversity which is really important for conservation purposes."

    On top of this, the project was able to identify particular immune genes which will hold great significance to scientists studying koala diseases.

    "There are some groups just looking at the individual variation of the detoxification gene and there are other groups that are using the immune gene information to development a vaccine for chlamydia -- a disease that is devastating to the koala population," Johnson said.

    The study also uncovered the secrets of the koala's strange diet, which consists of a limited range of eucalyptus leaves.

    "The amount of eucalyptus would be toxic or fatal to most other mammals so the genome allows us to understand how they can do that," Johnson said.

    "And that is through an expansion of a family of metabolic enzymes that effectively allow koalas to detoxify such a large amount of poison at a really great rate."

    Johnson will now turn her attention to finding and adding more koala markers, in order to understand what the genetic diversity of the koala population looks like around Australia.

    "Here at the museum we are really interested in the conservation genetics," she said.

    "So we are adding an extra dimension to the bio sequencing with some very old specimens we have in the museum, up to 150 years old, so that we can identify if much diversity has been lost over time," Johnson said.

    "Museum specimens are really good for understanding what the past looks like to make sure that we can make the best decisions for future conservation."

    TOP STORIES
    EDITOR’S CHOICE
    MOST VIEWED
    EXPLORE XINHUANET
    010020070750000000000000011105521372968081
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 131美女爽爽爽爱做视频| 久久午夜电影网| Channel| 日韩在线免费播放| 四虎永久免费地址在线观看| 91久久香蕉国产线看观看软件| 成年人看的毛片| 亚洲AV永久无码精品表情包| 狠狠综合久久综合网站| 国产一区二区不卡| 亚洲国产最大av| 在线日韩av永久免费观看| 中文字幕免费在线观看动作大片| 樱花草在线社区www| 亚洲黄色免费观看| 美女无遮挡免费视频网站| 国产成人污污网站在线观看| 97精品国产一区二区三区| 最近日本免费观看高清视频| 国产一级一片免费播放视频| 2021最新热播欧美极品| 嫩草影院精品视频在线观看| 亚洲欧洲另类春色校园小说 | 天堂www网最新版资源官网| 日本一本在线观看| 免费污视频在线| 野外三级国产在线观看| 国产精品亚洲一区二区三区久久| heyzo在线播放| 成品人视频ww入口| 久久成人国产精品一区二区 | 一本一道精品欧美中文字幕| 欧美高清video| 午夜精品一区二区三区在线观看| 风间由美性色一区二区三区| 国产精品亚洲欧美大片在线看| 99热精品国产麻豆| 怡红院精品视频| 久久99国产一区二区三区| 爱情岛讨论坛线路亚洲高品质 | 2018天天干天天射|