Genetics and Genomics

摘要

Sequencing the genomes of humans and other organisms has revolutionized life science. Its impact: has already extended beyond molecular biology, into such fields as medical diagnostics, medical therapy, and agriculture. "The sequencing of DNA and all the related genomics activity is mainline activity now," declares Ronald Phillips, director of the Center for Microbial and Plant Genomics and search committee chair in the University of Minnesota's Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. "From my perspective it ties together biology, agriculture, and medicine." Certainly genomics has had a huge impact on academic research. "It has just expanded the possibilities of information analysis in all kinds of directions, and has challenged a lot of ingrained theories, which is a good thing," says Kevin Becker, head of the Gene Expression and Genomics Unit at the National Institute on Aging. "It has rolled the dice and reset a lot of programs." Deepak Srivastava, professor and director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of California, San Francisco, agrees. "It's had an enormous impact in our recognition of the significance of parts of the genome that previously weren't fully understood. For example, the comparative sequencing of multiple organisms has made it clear that many previously unrecognized areas of the genome are equally important, including areas that regulate genes. And the recent discovery of genes that encode microRNAs will play a critical role in every process in the organisms."