Rat Genome Unveiled

The lab rat (Rattus norvegicus) is an indispensable tool in experimental medicine and drug development, having made inestimable contributions to human health. Almost all disease-linked human genes have counterparts in the rat. Pinpointing these should help researchers to develop genetic rat models of human disease.

The sequence was obtained using a novel strategy and is a high-quality draft that covers 90% of the genome. It is the third complete mammalian genome to be decoded, allowing three-way comparisons to be made with the human and mouse genomes. The rat genome is smaller than its human equivalent, but larger than that of the mouse. All three encode a similar number of genes - probably between 25,000 and 30,000. The new information should enable researchers to determine which characteristics are specific to rodents and which are shared by all mammals.

"Beyond its value in unlocking the treasures of rat biology, analysis of the rat genome sequence will also help biologists to identify and understand human genes and gene regulation, and to study mammalian genome evolution," says Kerstin Lindblad-Toh in an accompanying News and Views feature.

CONTACT:

Richard Gibbs
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
USA
Tel: +1 713 798 6539
E-mail: agibbs@bcm.tmc.edu

Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
Whitehead Institute, MIT
Cambridge, MA
USA
Tel: +1 617 252 1477
E-mail: kersli@genome.wi.mit.edu

(C) Nature press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza