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What does the mapping of the human genome mean
for aging research?
The Latest Research |
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The latest research on sequencing non-human
genomes |
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The work of the Human Genome Project has not only focused on the human
genome. Scientists have long known that our gene sequences are closely
aligned with those of other species (e.g., we share 98% of our genes with
non-human primates). They have studied the genes of simpler organisms
for many years, utilizing the knowledge to examine not only those simple
organisms, but applying it to our understanding of human genetics.
The Human Genome Project has sequenced several other organisms' genomes.
Some of the most studied include:
 Yeast
Roundworms
Fruit
flies
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Yeast |
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Some of the most valuable information to come from the studies that resulted
in the sequencing of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) relates
to genes that play a role in aging. Yeast carry genes that can promote longevity.
One of these genes is RAS2, which modulates important cellular metabolic
pathways, determines stress responses, and regulates other genes. Many of
the genetic pathways used by yeast cells to increase their longevity have
been found to have correlates in the roundworm, the fruit fly, and in mammals.
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Roundworms |
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In the February, 2000, Annals of Medicine, Drs. Aboobaker and Blaxter
of the University of Edinburgh call the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans
the "model organism of choice" for researchers, because it is
a simple organism, its genome has been completely sequenced, and many of
its genes have human corollaries. One of these genes, clk-1, has both human
and yeast corollaries, and in the two simpler organisms, those genes have
been tied to life span determination. Further elucidation of their action
and research aimed at understanding the function of the human version of
those genes may well lead to insights into human aging.
The similarities between the genome of the roundworm and the genome of
the human also holds promise in the area of drug development. Scientists
expect to be able to use the worms to further understand the human genes
involved in diseases and to use the worm genes to design drugs that are
targeted at specific genes. In an article in Parkinsonism and Related
Disorders, Drs. Nass, Miller and Blakely of Vanderbilt University
School of Medicine write of the potential to study Parkinson's disease
using a roundworm model, and indeed, a genetically engineered version
of the roundworm has been cultured that carries a gene that causes some
of the symptoms of human Parkinson's disease.
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Fruit flies |
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The fruit fly's genome was sequenced before the sequencing of the human
genome was completed. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, carries
about 13,600 genes in its genome. About 70% of these genes are common to
all organisms (other than bacteria). Impressive similarities have been found
between 177 of the fruit fly's genes and 289 human genes known to be associated
with disease. These similarities offer much promise to scientists as they
study the genetic origins of human disease and how to treat those diseases.
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