Honey & Beekeeping in the News
US Scientists Assemble Honeybee Genome
Reuters
Wed Jan 7, 7:18 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The honeybee has joined the growing collection of animals whose gene maps are available for anyone to see, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The sequence of the bee, known scientifically as Apis mellifera, is published on the Internet for researchers in biology and agriculture to use, the National Human Genome Research Institute reported.
The sequence shows the bee genome is about one-tenth the size of the human genome, containing about 300 million DNA base pairs, or matching rungs on the ladderlike double helix that makes up DNA.
Now scientists have to decide where the genes lie in all this information, and what they do.
Among the many databases where the sequence can be found is GenBank at http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/Genbank.
Richard Gibbs of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston led the effort.
The honey bee, used not only to produce honey but to pollinate, is studied by biologists keen on finding out about human health issues such as allergies.
The insect's social behavior is also of interest.
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