e-magazine
Bringing Debt Down
A nationwide audit raises alarms over risks from local government debts
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Weekly Watch
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Science/Technology
Science/Technology
UPDATED: January 17, 2014
Chinese Scientists Unravel Locust Genome
Share

Chinese scientists have decoded the genome sequence of the migratory locust, providing new ways of combating the destructive pest, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced Thursday.

The genome sequence is at 6.5 gigabytes, the largest animal genome sequence so far, according to research headed by Le Kang of the Institute of Zoology at the CAS.

The findings indicate that the large genome size is likely to be because of transposable element proliferation combined with slow rates of loss for these elements, they reported in the journal Nature Communications.

In the research, scientists found significant expansion of gene families associated with energy consumption and detoxification, consistent with long-distance flight capacity and phytophagy.

The scientists assessed changes in gene families related to long-distance migration, feeding and other biological processes unique to the locust and identified genes that might serve as potential pesticide targets.

Hundreds of potential insecticide target genes have been reported, the authors noted in their paper.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2014)



 
Top Story
-Onset of 4G Era
-A Speedier Era
-Illuminating Hope for Peace
-Special Coverage: Focus on Korean Peninsula
-Funding SMEs
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved