Learning from a ‘Living Fossil’
Published:05 Sep.2021 Source:Michigan State University
Michigan State researchers Ingo Braasch and Andrew Thompson are now decoding some of those secrets. Leading a project that included more than two dozen researchers spanning three continents, the Spartans have assembled the most complete picture of the bowfin genome to date.
‘For the first time, we have what's called a chromosome-level genome assembly for the bowfin,’ said Braasch, an assistant professor of integrative biology in the College of Natural Science. ‘If you think of the genome like a book, what we had in the past was like having all the pages ripped out in pieces. Now, we’ve put them back in the book.’ ‘And in order,’ added Thompson, a postdoctoral researcher in Braasch’s lab and the first author of the new research report, published Aug. 30 in the journal Nature Genetics.