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Mahesh

19/12/22 08:20 AM IST

Genes responsible for long lifespan of banyan, peepal trees identified

In News
  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have carried out whole genome sequencing of banyan (Ficus benghalensis) and peepal ( Ficus religiosa) from leaf tissue samples.
Reasons
  • The work helped in identifying 17 genes in the case of banyan and 19 genes of peepal with multiple signs of adaptive evolution (MSA) that play a pivotal role in the long-time survival of these two  Ficus species.
  • Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to the Moraceae family.
  • The lifespan of the banyan tree is expected to be 200 – 500 years. Peepal trees, on the other hand, can survive up to 2500.
  • They also undertook a comprehensive genome-wide phylogenetic analysis with 50 other angiosperm plant species, including four other sequenced Ficus species.
Genome Sequencing
  • All organisms (microorganisms, plants, mammals) have a unique genetic code, or genome, that is composed of nucleotide bases- adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine (A, T, C, and G).
  • If you know the sequence of the bases in an organism, you have identified its unique DNA fingerprint or pattern, and determining the order of bases is called sequencing.
  • Whole genome sequencing is a laboratory procedure that determines the order of bases in the genome of an organism at a single time.
  • This includes sequencing all of an organism’s chromosomal DNA as well as DNA contained in the mitochondria and, for plants, in the chloroplast.
Advantages
  • Human whole genome sequencing (WGS) is starting to usher in a new era of personalized medicine to improve public health. By allowing the entire genome of a person to be sequenced, every gene can be turned into digital data for analysis.
  • Identifies probable causal variants for additional follow-up investigations of gene expression and regulation mechanisms by providing a high-resolution.
  • Provides a base-by-base scan of the genome by capturing both large and small variants that targeted techniques would overlook.
  • Delivers substantial amounts of data quickly to facilitate the assembly of novel genomes
Limitations
  • Mutations that lead to diseases may be mistaken for normal genes giving false negative results.
  • Conversely, a gene could be misread as a mutation that is expected to lead to an adverse condition, whereas in reality, the person is not harboring such a mutation in their genome (a false positive).
  • The majority of the technologies currently in use have limited capabilities for identifying so-called structural variations, even though DNA sequencing technologies are quite accurate in deciphering the sequence.
Source- The Hindu

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