April 23, 2015: Mammoth Whole Genome Was Sequenced

The whole genome of Woolly Mammoth was sequenced, and the result was published in the journal Current Biology. Scientists used the genetic analysis to investigate the cause of the extinction of mammoths. The sequencing results showed that the mammoth had serious inbreeding problems about 5,000 years before the extinction, and also showed that there was a dip in the mammoth population 300,000 years ago. The team has further experimented with implanting the genes of mammoth into existing elephant’s cells, and believes that introducing mammoth may be possible one day in the future.

Reference
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(15)00420-0
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32432693

Image Source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolly_mammoth

Author

GeneOnline