2011 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript
This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2011. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.
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I read in an article that geneticists have found the miniaturizing gene that produces toy dog breeds. My students were asking if it's possible for that gene to one day be used to produce other mini animals. I think some of my students would like to have the mini giraffe you see in the DirectTV commercials ; )
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Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.:
I am the Scientific Liaison to the Director for Extramural Activities. For over ten years I have managed the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) grant portfolio, having participated in the Large-scale Sequencing Program, which managed the Human Genome Project, and the Human Microbiome Project, an effort to sequence the DNA of microbes (e.g. bacteria) that live in and on humans and the ENCODE Project, an effort to identify functional DNA elements in the human genome. Her background is in population genetics and molecular evolution.
Well, in theory, it's possible that we could do this someday. We would have to find the relevant genes, understand the way they work, and be able to introduce them into different animals. All difficult things to do. Might be easier to breed the small traits, like they have done in dogs over the years. Although, since they are large and take longer to reproduce, it might be very hard to breed giraffes that way. |
| Peru High School in IN (teacher) |
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