http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041021075155.htm
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute
Date: 2004-10-21
Researchers Trim Count Of Human Genes To 20,000-25,000
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE), today published its scientific description of the finished human genome sequence, reducing the estimated number of human protein-coding genes from 35,000 to only 20,000-25,000, a surprisingly low number for our species.
...
Additionally, researchers used the finished human genome to identify and characterize 33 nearly intact genes that have recently acquired one or more mutations, causing them to stop functioning, or “die.” Scientists pinpointed these non-functioning genes, referred to as pseudogenes, in the human genome by aligning them with the mouse and rat genomes, in which the corresponding genes have maintained their functionality. Interestingly, researchers determined that 10 of these pseudogenes in the human genome sequence appear to have coded for proteins involved in olfactory reception, which helps to explain why humans have fewer functional olfactory receptors and, consequently, a poorer sense of smell than rodents. The molecular biology of the sense of smell was just recognized by the awarding of a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck.
Next, the researchers aligned the 33 pseudogenes with the draft sequence of the chimpanzee genome to determine whether they were still functional before Homo sapiens’ divergence from great apes about 5 million years ago. The analysis revealed that 27 of the pseudogenes were non-functional in both humans and chimps. However, five of the genes that were inactive in humans were found to be still functional in chimpanzees. “The identification of these pseudogenes and their functional counterparts in chimpanzee provides fertile ground for future research projects,” said Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., director of Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston, which currently is sequencing the genome of another non-human primate, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute
Date: 2004-10-21
Researchers Trim Count Of Human Genes To 20,000-25,000
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE), today published its scientific description of the finished human genome sequence, reducing the estimated number of human protein-coding genes from 35,000 to only 20,000-25,000, a surprisingly low number for our species.
...
Additionally, researchers used the finished human genome to identify and characterize 33 nearly intact genes that have recently acquired one or more mutations, causing them to stop functioning, or “die.” Scientists pinpointed these non-functioning genes, referred to as pseudogenes, in the human genome by aligning them with the mouse and rat genomes, in which the corresponding genes have maintained their functionality. Interestingly, researchers determined that 10 of these pseudogenes in the human genome sequence appear to have coded for proteins involved in olfactory reception, which helps to explain why humans have fewer functional olfactory receptors and, consequently, a poorer sense of smell than rodents. The molecular biology of the sense of smell was just recognized by the awarding of a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck.
Next, the researchers aligned the 33 pseudogenes with the draft sequence of the chimpanzee genome to determine whether they were still functional before Homo sapiens’ divergence from great apes about 5 million years ago. The analysis revealed that 27 of the pseudogenes were non-functional in both humans and chimps. However, five of the genes that were inactive in humans were found to be still functional in chimpanzees. “The identification of these pseudogenes and their functional counterparts in chimpanzee provides fertile ground for future research projects,” said Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., director of Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston, which currently is sequencing the genome of another non-human primate, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).
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