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Voyage To Sequence DNA From the World's Oceans

Posted by simoniker on from the blub-blub dept.

joehoya writes "Wired has an extensive article about an expedition with the goal of discovering new microbial species and new genes in the world's oceans. The expedition is led by J. Craig Venter, who is best known for his involvement in the race to sequence the Human Genome. This is a really fascinating expedition with a pretty high geek quotient. I know, as I set up many of the computer and other electronic systems aboard, and traveled with the expedition as far as the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. In fact, you can see me (ok, the side of my head) in one of the article's pictures, next to the Captain while helping to take a sea water sample."

7 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Patents? by mangu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you think software patents are bad, then what about gene patents? It seems that a big part of any gene sequencing project these days is an effort to find patentable genes. How can one patent what has existed for thousands or millions of years in nature is beyond my comprehension...

    1. Re:Patents? by mmmmmhotpants · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No one ever patented the human genome. I agree, patenting what exists in nature has no merit.
      Nevertheless, I think gene/DNA sequence patents will be very important and fair. There are a handful of researchers today who engineering new proteins and genes which are better than anything found in nature; others create nano-machines built out of DNA/RNA sequences. After millions/billions of dollars of research, dedication, supercomputing, etc. I think these scientists and engineers have every right to claim a patent on their creation. At the present time writing biocode is many orders of magnitude more expensive than contributing to sourceforge (i.e. expensive scientific equipment vs. a PC). Without gene patents, unless you're Craig Venter or Paul Allen and just have money to play with for the sake of discovery, there is no motivation what-so-ever to create future theraputics and bio-devices.

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  2. What about... by eieken · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The worlds oceans are going to be one of the last bastions of untouched life. Shores and beaches are being dug up and recreational boating and such already puts alot of pollution into small bodies of water like lakes and streams, not to mention industrial waste. In the middle of the ocean is one of the last places where life can grow unhindered. For the most part.

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  3. Cool by John+Jorsett · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Once we have the genetic codes of all species recorded, we won't need the actual creatures any longer. If we have a future requirement for an actual Green-Tinged Fin Wiggler we can just make one. Goodbye Endangered Species Act.

  4. possibly dumb question... by Daniel+Ellard · · Score: 4, Interesting
    If they just grab DNA out of microbes they find floating around in the ocean, how will they know what genes correspond to what? Wouldn't it make more sense to sequence the DNA of things about which we have some knowledge?

    (This isn't a rhetorical question -- I'm simply curious but ignorant.)

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  5. wanna blast the ocean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    NCBI has the "Sargasso Sea" here : BLAST the Environmental Samples data

  6. Sequence and hope for the best? by theluckyleper · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am a microbiologist (IAAM?), and while the notion of sequencing so much random genetic material is interesting, I can't really see much point other than hoping to stumble upon something unexpected. And even then...

    Yes, I RTFA, but I still don't get the point. Venter says he wants to create an artificial genome into which DNA could be inserted and tested... so crazy. You can't just stick DNA into a genome and "see what it does", you have to have the entire cellular aparatus to translate the sequence into protein. So, assuming that they somehow come up with an artificial cell (or use an existing organism with genome removed), SO MANY factors can affect the final form of the protein. You cannot assume that the protein will fold properly, unless it is constructed in its native cellular environment.

    And even assuming you can get the protein to fold properly... then what? He said he'd use robots to perform a million experiments at once, sure. So you stick the protein into glucose solution, and see what it does... and into fructose solution... and so on. Sure, you could do this with simple substrates, but what if the protein is designed to act on a combination of substrates, or in conjunction with other proteins!?

    So, it would seem to me, that the best you could ever hope to achieve with this approach is the discovery of ultra-simple proteins (which will fold correctly in any circumstance) which act upon ultra-simple substrates.

    Though, in truth, he states that he's looking for something to possibly break down C02, so perhaps if his focus is narrow enough, the discovery of even a simple protein might get things on the right track...

    Anyway, I guess it's not the way I'd go about doing things, but sailing around the globe sounds like a fun way to do research. Good luck, guys!

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