Category Archives: Genome

ElaineMardislives for dream machines, from her glossy red Audi S5 to the roomful of shiny new DNA sequencers housed at the Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. As co-director of the institute and director of technology development, Mardis leads teams that are using genome science to transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

A self-professed tech geek, Mardis has been a pioneer of the technological breakthroughs that made it possible to decrypt the 3 billion-plus As and Ts, Gs and Cs that make up the human genome.

Since the 1990s, her team has often been the first to test-drive new sequencing machines. They sequenced the first whole animal, the flatworm, in 1998, and then pushed the systems to handle big chunks of bigger genomes billions of base pairs.

The result: A decade ago, reading off one single human genome was a billion-dollar effort. Today, the price tag is around $8,000 and falling fast; it will soon be feasible to sequence each persons complete DNA as part of routine medicine.

The implications for cancer are promising.

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Genome-Based Cancer Treatment: A Q&A with Elaine Mardis

Scientists who sequenced the genome of the world's oldest cancer say their findings reveal the origin and evolution of the disease.

The transmissible genital cancer affects dogs, and it first appeared in a single dog that lived about 11,000 years ago. The cancer survived the death of that first host because the dog transferred cancer cells to other dogs during mating, according to the researchers.

The genome of this cancer -- which causes genital tumors on dogs around the world -- has about 2 million mutations. That's many more than are found in most human cancers, which typically have between 1,000 and 5,000 mutations.

"The genome of this remarkable long-lived cancer has demonstrated that, given the right conditions, cancers can continue to survive for more than 10,000 years despite the accumulation of millions of mutations," study author Dr. Elizabeth Murchison, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge in England, said in an institute news release.

The researchers also discovered that the genome of this cancer still contained genetic variants of the first dog to have the cancer. The dog likely had a short, straight coat and was either grey/brown or black. It may have resembled an Alaskan Malamute or Husky. It's not known if the dog was a male or female, but it was relatively inbred.

"We do not know why this particular individual [dog] gave rise to a transmissible cancer," Murchison said. "But it is fascinating to look back in time and reconstruct the identity of this ancient dog whose genome is still alive today in the cells of the cancer that it spawned."

According to study senior author Sir Mike Stratton, director of the Sanger Institute, "the genome of the transmissible dog cancer will help us to understand the processes that allow cancers to become transmissible."

He explained in the news release that "although transmissible cancers are very rare, we should be prepared in case such a disease emerged in humans or other animals. Furthermore, studying the evolution of this ancient cancer can help us to understand factors driving cancer evolution more generally."

More information

The Morris Animal Foundation has more about dogs and cancer.

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Dog cancer dates back 11,000 years

Saudi Human Genome Program (English version)

By: Saudi Genome

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Saudi Human Genome Program (English version) - Video

God #39;s Genome Name

By: Alexandria Church

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God's Genome Name - Video

PS053 - Professional Flowers - GENOME SHUFLR - A-SIDE Program
GENOME SHUFLR cassette coming february 2014 edt 25 / pink c34 / full color labels jcard mylar hand-painted slip pressed flowers http://professionalflower...

By: PatientSoundsAV

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PS053 - Professional Flowers - GENOME SHUFLR - A-SIDE Program - Video

Cheap genome mapping
From Spark on CBC Radio http://cbc.ca/spark/ -- Biotech company Illumina says it can sequence a full human genome for $1000, long considered a watershed tar...

By: Spark from CBC Radio

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Cheap genome mapping - Video

JGH TV - Breakthroughs in Genetics and the Human Genome
Dr. Roderick McInnes, Director of the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital, gives an informational lecture on genetics and the human genome. L...

By: Hpital gnral juif / Jewish General Hospital

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JGH TV - Breakthroughs in Genetics and the Human Genome - Video

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The genome of the world's oldest continuously surviving cancer - an 11,000-year-old genital cancer in dogs that can be transmitted during mating - is helping scientists understand underlying factors that drive cancer evolution in general.

The latest study, in which researchers describe the genome and evolution of the cancer, has been published in the journal Science.

They note that cancer normally lives and dies with a single person. There is no need to panic, however, as there is currently no known transmissible cancer in humans.

But in dogs, one ancient cancer can be caught from another dog, causing genital tumors.

The genome of this cancer carries around 2 million mutations, the researcher say. This is many more than those found in human cancers, which usually have between 1,000 and 5,000 mutations.

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Transmissible dog cancer genome sheds light on cancer evolution

The cancer, called canine transmissible venereal tumor, or CTVT, continues living in todays modern dog population. It is the third known contagious cancer in the world passed from one dog to another when they have sex, or lick another infected dog, NBC News reports.

According to a new study published in the journal Science, the cancers genome carries about 2 million mutations. Scientists sequenced one particular mutation from cancer cells taken from two infected dogs -- an Australian Aboriginal camp dog and an American cocker spaniel from Brazil. The findings found that the cancer originated 11,368 years ago in an ancient breed of dog with short, straight coat that was either grey, brown or black. Its gender could not be determined, but it was most likely inbred.

"The genome of this remarkable long-lived cancer has demonstrated that, given the right conditions, cancers can continue to survive for more than 10,000 years despite the accumulation of millions of mutations," Dr. Elizabeth Murchison, a genetics researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge in England, said in a statement. "We do not know why this particular individual gave rise to a transmissible cancer. But it is fascinating to look back in time and reconstruct the identity of this ancient dog whose genome is still alive today in the cells of the cancer that it spawned."

The fact that the cancer came from an inbred dog may shed light on how the disease has managed to survive. Inbreeding allowed odd genetic mutations to form and may have "facilitated the cancer's escape from its hosts' immune systems," the studys authors wrote. "'Super cancer' is a good designation," Murchison said.

CTVT is an extremely rare cancer that began to spread around the world in the last 500 years. The latest findings may help scientists gain a better understanding of contagious cancers.

"The genome of the transmissible dog cancer will help us to understand the processes that allow cancers to become transmissible," Professor Sir Mike Stratton, senior author and director of the Sanger Institute, said. "Although transmissible cancers are very rare, we should be prepared in case such a disease emerged in humans or other animals. Furthermore, studying the evolution of this ancient cancer can help us to understand factors driving cancer evolution more generally."

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World’s Oldest Cancer Originated In 11,000-Year-Old Dog, Ancient Canine Genome ‘Is Still Alive Today’

Jan. 23, 2014 A cancer normally lives and dies with a person, however this is not the case with a sexually transmitted cancer in dogs. In a study published in Science, researchers have described the genome and evolution of this cancer that has continued living within the dog population for the past 11,000 years.

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the world's oldest continuously surviving cancer, a transmissible genital cancer that affects dogs. This cancer, which causes grotesque genital tumors in dogs around the world, first arose in a single dog that lived about 11,000 years ago. The cancer survived after the death of this dog by the transfer of its cancer cells to other dogs during mating.

The genome of this 11,000-year-old cancer carries about two million mutations -- many more mutations than are found in most human cancers, the majority of which have between 1,000 and 5,000 mutations. The team used one type of mutation, known to accumulate steadily over time as a "molecular clock," to estimate that the cancer first arose 11,000 years ago.

"The genome of this remarkable long-lived cancer has demonstrated that, given the right conditions, cancers can continue to survive for more than 10,000 years despite the accumulation of millions of mutations," says Dr Elizabeth Murchison, first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge.

The genome of the transmissible dog cancer still harbors the genetic variants of the individual dog that first gave rise to the cancer 11,000 years ago. Analysis of these genetic variants revealed that this dog may have resembled an Alaskan Malamute or Husky. It probably had a short, straight coat that was colored either grey/brown or black. Its genetic sequence could not determine if this dog was a male or a female, but did indicate that it was a relatively inbred individual.

"We do not know why this particular individual gave rise to a transmissible cancer," says Dr Murchison, "But it is fascinating to look back in time and reconstruct the identity of this ancient dog whose genome is still alive today in the cells of the cancer that it spawned."

Transmissible dog cancer is a common disease found in dogs around the world today. The genome sequence has helped scientists to further understand how this disease has spread.

"The patterns of genetic variants in tumors from different continents suggested that the cancer existed in one isolated population of dogs for most of its history," says Dr Murchison. "It spread around the world within the last 500 years, possibly carried by dogs accompanying seafarers on their global explorations during the dawn of the age of exploration."

Transmissible cancers are extremely rare in nature. Cancers, in humans and animals, arise when a single cell in the body acquires mutations that cause it to produce more copies of itself. Cancer cells often spread to different parts of the body in a process known as metastasis. However, it is very rare for cancer cells to leave the bodies of their original hosts and to spread to other individuals. Apart from the dog transmissible cancer, the only other known naturally occurring transmissible cancer is an aggressive transmissible facial cancer in Tasmanian devils that is spread by biting.

"The genome of the transmissible dog cancer will help us to understand the processes that allow cancers to become transmissible," says Professor Sir Mike Stratton, senior author and Director of the Sanger Institute. "Although transmissible cancers are very rare, we should be prepared in case such a disease emerged in humans or other animals. Furthermore, studying the evolution of this ancient cancer can help us to understand factors driving cancer evolution more generally."

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Genome of longest-living cancer: 11,000-year-old living dog cancer reveals its origin, evolution