Dog DNA reveals man's link with best friend (unexpectedly similiar)

[papau]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/09/25/dog.genetics.ap/index.html

Dog DNA reveals man's link with best friend
Rough draft of canine genetic structure completed
Thursday, September 25, 2003 Posted: 2:18 PM EDT (1818 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Man's best friend, in this case a male poodle, is genetically more similar to humans than is the mouse, a more commonly used laboratory animal, according to researchers who have completed the first rough draft sequence of the genes of a dog. ….The rough draft shows dogs have about 2.4 billion base pairs of DNA, or about half a billion fewer than humans. Ewen F. Kirkness of the institute for Genomic Research, the first author of the study, said that genetic sequence is important for medical research because dogs share about 360 of the same genetic disorders that are known in humans. <snip>

… Kirkness said the dog is much more genetically similar to humans than is the mouse, even though mice and humans are closer together on the tree of evolution. All mammals, at one point, had a common ancestor. But dogs are known to have diverged toward an independent species about 95 million years ago. The mouse and humans both diverged about 87 million years ago, making mice closer to humans in time. "We are much closer to the dog than to the mouse in terms of our gene content and structure," said Venter. "But if you do the evolutionary tree, we are on the same linage as the mouse. The mouse is evolving at a much faster rate." <snip>

The researchers achieved what is called 1.5 X coverage of the dog genome. This means many DNA fragments remain and the results are less accurate than the completed sequences of some other species. For instance, the mouse has been sequenced to a 8 X coverage, which is considered ideal and essentially complete. But Venter said because of the genetic sequences already completed for other species, particularly the human and the mouse, his team was able through comparison to quickly identify genes and gene regulatory elements in the dog genome that match those in other mammals. Using this technique from species to species will enable researchers to more quickly and at less cost identify the genetic source of many human disorders, he said. <snip>

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. I figure

that a common genetic link can be found within all life on the planet.

[treepig]

2. . . . in this case a male poodle . .

perhaps therein lies the explanation for the unexpected similarities between dog and man - they may have inadvertently sequenced tony blair!

[demnan]

4. You beat me

I had that Tony Blair joke on the tip of my tongue!

[TheBlob]

3. Oh great,

Now we can expect this argument to be used as a case for more animal testing on dogs.

[cprise]

5. So Mice really are pan-dimensional beings!

When do the Vogons arrive... do I still have time for a pint and a towel?

[TheReligiousLeft]

6. A comparision of 2 "Dogs"

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