The first thought one might have when sojourning at a local bay, may be to get themselves into the crystal clear waters; maybe admire the landscape and vegetation for a while. But the idea of how such things come to being does not usually cross one’s mind. Two plant species commonly encountered here are the endemics Maltese Sea-lavender (Limonium melitense; Leħjet ix-Xiħ) and Zerafa’s Sea-lavender (L. zeraphae; Limonju ta’ Zerafa). A group of scientists, at the University of Malta, working on the project EDGE (Endemic de novo Genomes), is attempting to reveal just this. How do these plants manage to survive in such a habitat?
In order to understand the ways and means by which our endemic species react and change to suit their environment, imagine all their inherited information (the DNA) as a ‘series of recipe books’ (the genome). Each ‘book’ (a chromosome) contains a series of ‘recipes’ (genes) each of which gives the ‘cook’ (the cells internal machinery) the necessary instructions on how and when it can produce a ‘dish’ (a protein, usually). While we are certainly capable of understanding most of the language being used, the books themselves cannot simply be opened and read. The current technology only allows reading short stretches at any one time. Therefore, the solution currently in use is analogous to passing the books through a shredder and then reconnect the resulting fragments, which are very appropriately called reads. This is done computationally, using bioinformatics.
The group is planning to decipher the whole genome of the endemic Sea-lavender species, read by read. The genes that they possess will be decoded. By comparing the genes from different species, they hope to figure out from where these genes were inherited. In this way, they will figure out the evolutionary history and the relations of these species.
Another long-term objective of EDGE is to understand which genes enable these plants to exist and thrive in such an environment and how their genome has changed to prepare the plants for this. If these genes can be passed on to crops, a continuous food supply would be ensured as climate change ensues. But that is a story for another day!
Dorita Galea is reading for a PhD in Genomics and Bioinformatics at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking of the University of Malta. She lectures in biology at Ġ.F. Abela Junior College. Maria Galea is a student in the Faculty of Science, University of Malta. She is reading for a degree in Biology.
Project EDGE is financed by the Malta Council for Science & Technology, for and on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology, through the Research Excellence Programme.
Did you know?
• India loves yoghurt so much it has a lactobacillus yoghurt-fermenting bacterium as its national microbe.
• The Maori word for ‘France’ is ‘wiwi’ coming from the French ‘oui-oui’.
• If you publish a book in Norway, the government will buy 1,000 copies and distribute them to libraries around the country.
• Antarctica did not have a name for 80 years. It used to be called Australia, but when the country we now call Australia nicked its name in the early 19th century, it left Antarctica without a formal title until the 1890s.
• The world’s oldest known bird, an albatross called Wisdom, became a mother again last month at the age of 70.
For more trivia see: www.um.edu.mt/think
Sound bites
• The hummingbird is named after its pleasant humming sound when it hovers in front of flowers to feed. But only now has it become clear how the wing generates the hummingbird’s namesake sound when it is beating rapidly at 40 beats per second. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, Sorama, a TU/e spin-off company, and Stanford University meticulously observed hummingbirds using 12 high-speed cameras, six pressure plates and 2,176 microphones. They discovered that the soft and complex feathered wings of hummingbirds generate sound in a fashion similar to how the simpler wings of insect do. The new insights could help make devices like fans and drones quieter.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210316083758.htm
• The giraffe is a truly puzzling animal. With its exceptional anatomy and suite of evolutionary adaptations, the giraffe is an outstanding case of animal evolution and physiology. Now, an international team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Northwestern Polytechnical University in China have produced a high-quality genome from the giraffe and investigated which genes are likely to be responsible for its unique biological features.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210317155201.htm
For more soundbites listen to Radio Mocha www.fb.com/RadioMochaMalta/.