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Anonymous: The Human Genome Project and Deployment of Biometrics
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Contact: Neha Okhandiar n.okhandiar@qmul.ac.uk 20-788-27927 Queen Mary, University of London

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have sequenced the genetic code of a birch tree for the first time, which could help protect British birch populations.

The genome, which is around 450 million letters, will help researchers understand the genetic basis of traits such as disease resistance and growth shape.

There are over sixty species of birch trees around the world, with huge ecological and commercial importance. They are an essential part of the Boreal forest located around the North Pole, which is the world's largest land-based ecosystem. The team sequenced the genome of a dwarf birch tree from Scotland, a species that is nationally scarce in Britain but common further north in Europe.

Lead researcher Dr Richard Buggs, from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences said: "Dwarf birch is an excellent model for birch genomics, as its small size makes it easy to grow and experiment with, and it has a smaller genome than some other birch species. This genome sequence is a valuable resource for scientists studying birch trees around the world."

The threat of an American pest is currently hanging over British birch populations. The bronze birch borer - a type of beetle - is a common and serious threat to birch trees in North America. British birch species show unusually low resistance to the pest, unlike their American counterparts, and if the pest were to come into the UK then it could cause widespread devastation.

Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director of Trees for Life, a charity that conserves dwarf birch near Loch Ness, said: "This is a tremendous breakthrough. Together with our woodland restoration work at Dundreggan, where we have one of the greatest concentrations of dwarf birch in Scotland, it will do much to benefit the conservation of this important species."

Queen Mary, alongside conservationists Trees for Life, and Highland Birchwoods are partnering to supervise a PhD student, James Borrell, who is surveying the genetic diversity of dwarf birch populations in Scotland.

James said: "This newly sequenced genome will be a hugely valuable tool in our effort to conserve this species. We are building on this to survey the genomic diversity of dwarf birch trees in Britain to inform management strategies."

Excerpt from:
Researchers decode birch tree genome sequence for the first time

ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2012) Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have sequenced the genetic code of a birch tree for the first time, which could help protect British birch populations.

The genome, which is around 450 million letters, will help researchers understand the genetic basis of traits such as disease resistance and growth shape.

There are over sixty species of birch trees around the world, with huge ecological and commercial importance. They are an essential part of the Boreal forest located around the North Pole, which is the world's largest land-based ecosystem. The team sequenced the genome of a dwarf birch tree from Scotland, a species that is nationally scarce in Britain but common further north in Europe.

Lead researcher Dr Richard Buggs, from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences said: "Dwarf birch is an excellent model for birch genomics, as its small size makes it easy to grow and experiment with, and it has a smaller genome than some other birch species. This genome sequence is a valuable resource for scientists studying birch trees around the world."

The threat of an American pest is currently hanging over British birch populations. The bronze birch borer -- a type of beetle -- is a common and serious threat to birch trees in North America. British birch species show unusually low resistance to the pest, unlike their American counterparts, and if the pest were to come into the UK then it could cause widespread devastation.

Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director of Trees for Life, a charity that conserves dwarf birch near Loch Ness, said: "This is a tremendous breakthrough. Together with our woodland restoration work at Dundreggan, where we have one of the greatest concentrations of dwarf birch in Scotland, it will do much to benefit the conservation of this important species."

Queen Mary, alongside conservationists Trees for Life, and Highland Birchwoods are partnering to supervise a PhD student, James Borrell, who is surveying the genetic diversity of dwarf birch populations in Scotland.

James said: "This newly sequenced genome will be a hugely valuable tool in our effort to conserve this species. We are building on this to survey the genomic diversity of dwarf birch trees in Britain to inform management strategies."

The research was carried out jointly with the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). It is published in the journal Molecular Ecology.

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Birch tree genome sequenced for first time

Researchers are using genomics to breed a better Thanksgiving bird.

Poultry perfection: Breeders can use genome analysis to improve agricultural animals, even beyond superior specimens like this male turkey.

When many Americans see that roasted turkey on Thanksgiving, it may appear as if the bird has already reached perfection. But genomic scientists are searching for ways to improve the domesticated turkey so that it grows faster, produces better quality meat, and can resist farmyard afflictions.

The turkey genome project, which began in 2008 and is headed by the University of Minnesota and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, is putting together its final assembly of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs, and is already developing tools that will allow livestock breeders to select better birds. With the genome sequence, we are able to measure traits that we cant easily measure in a farm setting, says Julie Long, a research physiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland, and a member of the turkey genome project. For example, disease resistance and the efficiency with which a bird turns its food into muscle are difficult traits to measure. Its pretty easy to tell which birds are growing bigger and faster, says Long, but there are other traits that we cant really measure. And thats where the turkey genome comes in.

Long and her collaborators are developing a DNA microarrary of thousands of positions in the turkey genome that are known to vary from bird to bird. Turkey breeders will be able to use this DNA microarray to determine which of the animals have exactly the right genetic makeup for breeding.

Researchers have already published the pig genome and have also developed a DNA microarray for genomic breeding of the animal. The idea, says Martien Groenen, a genome scientist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and a lead author on the pork project, is that for the first couple of generations, breeders will measure a trait, such as meat quality or disease resistance, and at the same time track DNA variations with the DNA microarray to find those changes that link to that trait, he says. Then, after a couple of generations, breeders can use the chip for genotype-based breeding rather than measuring the [trait] over and over again, says Groenen.

Disease resistance is a particularly important trait because of its huge impact on animal health and welfare, says Kent Reed, a genome scientist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota and a member of the turkey genome project. If you have healthier animals, then you dont need as much interventions such as antibiotics, says Reed.

In the future, some breeders may even turn to direct methods for changing animal genomes. A technology called genome editing allows researchers to change DNA bases at specific sites in the genome. The method is already making its way into experimental therapies for humans (see Researchers Announce a Breakthrough on HIV/AIDS Treatment), and researchers at Genus, an animal breeding company that specializes in cow and pig genetics, are exploring its use in pigs. In principle, the method should work in any animal, including our favorite holiday bird.

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Pass the Turkey Genome