Scientists have recently announced the completion of two projects that sequenced both pig and cucumber genomes. According to the reports, this scientific achievement stands to have a tremendous impact on future research, particularly in the areas of human medicine and agriculture. As I read through the article my first question was, and probably that of most people, what the heck is genome sequencing anyway?

After a quick trip to my favourite search engine and a visit back to my days in high school biology (who knew I would use this stuff again?!), here is what I learned:
All living matter is made up of millions of cells that are directed to perform various functions by their genetic makeup or DNA. The DNA strand is made up of millions of its four component parts, called nucleotides, which determine the genetic sequence of the organism’s DNA.

Identifying the study subject’s particular genome sequence can tell us details about how the animal or plant grows, defends itself from disease and produces the characteristics and behaviours that we identify the plant or animal with.

While I think I will leave this type of work to the professionals, I was most intrigued about the part of the announcement that describes the possible impacts this research will have on human medicine and the agricultural sector. What will this understanding do to our Sunday pork loin roasts or my grandmother’s cucumber sandwiches?

A link to agriculture

As scientists now have an understanding of how plants and animals express certain characteristics, they can genetically modify organisms to express more of the desired characteristics and less of those that are not so desirable. Being able to help organisms express their most desired characteristics will reduce waste, increase productivity of an organization, save producers time and money and produce higher yielding, higher quality food products necessary to feed a growing and starving world.

As the latest organisms to contribute to the ongoing research in genetic sequencing, the genomes of pigs and cucumbers hold the secret to more than a great tasting roast and a refreshing crunch. For example, in a swine breed that commonly develops leg problems, scientists will be able to isolate the sequence that controls leg conformation and be able to modify that gene to lower or even eliminate the occurrence of that type of problem. Pig producers, particularly those in dry areas, will be able to raise livestock who use water more efficiently and have a resistance to parasites and zoonotic diseases, such as H1N1, which also happens to affect humans. As pork represents about 40% of the world meat production, overcoming these common challenges should have a pretty huge effect on the global economy. Being pretty health conscious, I get pretty excited at the prospect of increased food quality and the promises of lower fat pork products. And since pig organs are commonly used for transplantation into humans, the more information we have about them, the better chance of transplant success.

Similarly, in cucumbers, understanding how the plants defend themselves from something like the mosaic virus, scientists can help develop a plant that expresses those characteristics and thus reduce the amount of crop lost to this common cucumber disease or any other type of pest. They will also be able to develop varieties that germinate faster, have a greater cold tolerance, have larger yields and have the potential to grow in a wider variety of climates. As the cucumber is a representative of the cucurbit family, which includes pumpkins, melon, squash and watermelon, this research will extend to a large variety of crops that have economic consequences worldwide.

A continuing challenge

While this story is encouraging, it can’t be finished without mentioning that there are many concerns about using biotechnology to change the way we raise or grow our food supply. Even as the genome sequencing of these organisms leads to a greater understanding of how they work, pigs and cucumbers are just a small part of a larger natural system. Genome sequencing research and biotechnology have the amazing potential to change our economy, human health and agricultural systems in many positive ways, we just have to be prepared to address the challenges that this new technology will bring along the way.

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