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In an unprecedented study, the researchers analyzed the complete sequence of a fern's DNA. The team was so determined to examine the genome of the floating fern, Azolla filiculoides, that they set up an online campaign to raise money for the project.
Study first author Fay-Wei Li is a professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute . Professor Li began his mission of inspecting the genome of Azolla when he was a student at Duke University under the direction of Professor Kathleen Pryer, who had been trying to fund the project for almost 20 years. 19659002] The duo created an online campaign on a crowdfunding site called Experiment.com
This strategy succeeded so well that the project received 147% of its goal, bringing $ 22,160 from 123 supporters
. led to an offer from the Beijing Institute of Genomics (BGI) to provide free all the sequencing of the project.
Professor Li explained why the researchers found this particular project so intriguing.
"The Azolla has a really cool biology and evolutionary history," said Professor Li. "The Azolla is in symbiosis with cyanobacteria for nitrogen fixation and, for this reason, it is used as green manure for paddy fields in Asia for hundreds of years
The analysis revealed that Azolla lacks the genes necessary for arbuscular proliferation. the mycorrhizal and nodular symbiosis of roots, which aquatic ferns do not create. The ferns contained several genes specific to their interaction with Nostoc, cyanobionte, which had already been sequenced.
"Now that we have genomes available for fern and cyanobacteria, it is very promising to tap into the secrets of this natural biofertilizer that could contribute to future sustainable farming practices," said Professor Pryer
Researchers were excited to discover the origin of an important insecticidal gene in ferns, which was recently isolated and transferred to cotton plants where it was found protects against insects
"When walking in a forest, it is usually very striking that ferns show little or no insect damage."
The insecticide gene was unique to ferns, which explains why most other plants are not as resistant.The experts also discovered that the gene was most likely transferred from a bacterium.
"In d In other words, the ability of ferns to repel herbivorous insects is probably due to a "genetic donation" of bacteria, "said Professor Li. 19659002] With additional funding from the project, the team has also sequenced a second fern, Salvinia cucullata. The analysis of these two genomes made it possible to answer many questions and also raised new ones, so that the researchers plan to continue the sequencing of ferns
"We will proceed to a sequence of fernstatic genomes " "As part of the 10K Plant Genomes Project collaboration, we are working with BGI to strategically sample the fern tree of life for genome sequencing. Currently, we have about 10 species of ferns in the sequencing pipeline. "
" The approval and confirmation by the public and the media that our project was important was a fantastic awareness and learning experience for us. It is very reassuring to discover first-hand that people care about pure science! "
The study is published in the journal Nature Plants .
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By Chrissy Sexton ] Earth.com Staff Writer
Image Credit: Laura Dijkhuizen
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