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Posts Tagged ‘genes’

The Most Studied Genes of Maize (and why we love kernel phenotypes)

Mar 2nd, 2010
by James.
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Of the fifteen most studied genes in maize (cool graphical table included), thirteen can have kernel phenotypes when mutated. Why? Because of what a geneticist can tell from looking at a single ear of corn that shows such a mutant phenotype (details inside).

How many maize/corn genes have actually been studied? (Not a lot)

Feb 22nd, 2010
by James.
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Executive summary: the maize genome project found 32,690 high confidence genes in the maize genome, MaizeGDB records only 1181 named genes in the maize genome (excluding genes carried in the small genomes of chloroplasts and mitochondria), or less than 4% of the number of identified genes.

What does it mean to be a named gene? Why is that number so low? Why are we still able to make reasonable guesses about the functions of genes that have been never been studied? The answers to these questions inside.

Of course plants are more genetically complex!

Nov 21st, 2009
by James.
2 comments

Let’s remember back to a time before the human genome project published it’s first draft assembly in 2001. The genome of C. elegans a tiny nematode had already been published with ~20,000 genes. The C. elegans genome is one 1/30 the size of the human genome and the tiny worms are so small that biologists [...]