>>Paradigm Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGM - news) published details of the first discovery of the synteny (genetic similarity) between two filamentous fungi -- Magnaporthe grisae, a tropical rice pathogen, and Neurospora crassa, the classic bread mold. The findings have application in industrial-scale fermentation, crop protection and antifungal chemical discovery. The paper, ``Regions of Microsynteny in Magnaporthe grisae and Neurospora crassa,'' authored by seven Paradigm scientists, appeared in the July 26, 2001 issue of Fungal Genetics and Biology.
``Until this finding, the degree of similarity between filamentous fungal genomes was largely speculative. This study shows that filamentous fungi are very different from baker's yeast,'' said John Hamer, Ph.D., Vice President, Research for Paradigm Genetics. ``Now, due to the completion of sequencing of Neurospora crassa by the Whitehead Institute, and our own efforts in the sequencing and annotation of Magnaporthe grisae, we have been able to show that there are striking similarities in the gene order and structure of two very different fungi. These results will allow us to speed the discovery of new pathways and antifungal targets for our product development pipeline.''
N. crassa has long been used in the study of basic genetics and was the basis for the ``one gene one enzyme'' hypothesis published by Beadle and Tatum in 1941. Their theory -- each gene determines the structure of a specific enzyme that, in turn, allows a single chemical reaction to proceed -- is foundational to the field of molecular biology.<<
snip
Cheers, Tuck |
