• Question: what is the most intrsesting genes of an animal or thing you have ever seen? thx

    Asked by bella12 to Barbara, Matt, Ravinder, Sophie, Tristan on 16 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Sophie Robinson

      Sophie Robinson answered on 16 Mar 2015:

      The most interesting gene I have ever worked on is a gene which codes for a protein that is like having a little Pacman inside all our cells. Most organisms have these little Pacman proteins in their cells to chew up unwanted material. The Pacman protein is actually an enzyme which chews up faulty molecules within our cells to stop them damaging us.

    • Photo: Barbara Shih

      Barbara Shih answered on 17 Mar 2015:

      The most interesting gene I came across is probably a gene called SHH, it’s important in growth of digits on limbs, organization of the brain, controls stem cell division, and have been suggested to be involved in development of cancer. Most importantly, it’s called Sonic hedgehog! (named after a game character)

    • Photo: Matthew Moore

      Matthew Moore answered on 17 Mar 2015:

      That’s a great question!

      Probably the biosynthetic gene clusters of bacteria. These are clusters of genes which can be absolutely massive, perhaps 100,000 base pairs of DNA long and they, through complex regulation, protein antibiotics to kill other bacteria they’re competing with. Some evolved billions of years ago!

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