The record for the longest DNA sequence ever decoded was held by Australian researchers. Scientists from the U.K. recently seized the decoding crown. Their reading was shown to be of a sequence twice as big as that of the prior title-holders. The new winner was also proven to be about 10,000 times longer than the average DNA sequence. The winning researchers hailed from Nottingham University. They were led by Matt Loose.
It is notable that it is the difficult art of sequencing, which generally requires chopping of DNA and then reassembling it, is under the microscope in this instance, rather than the type of DNA read, or the data found therein. Getting the work done more quickly and effectively is the focus of the ongoing friendly competition. Loose’s team achieved their win by using a very small nanopore sequencing machine.
Due to ever-improving technology it’s been shown that the original genome put together in 2001 could now be replicated for a very cost-effective 1000 dollars. The biggest obstacle, however, remains in the reassembling of the chopped code. Accurate reassembly requires that the order be accurate. Getting the order accurate remains the most imperative and difficult task to achieve in this ongoing competition.
Key Takeaways:
- The Australian record for reading the longest DNA sequence has been broken.
- The new winners have read a sequence that qualifies as 10,000 longer than the average sequence.
- The sequence that won the UK researchers the title of longest sequence readers was twice as large as that of the Australian readers.
“A team of UK scientists have claimed the record for decoding the world’s longest DNA sequence.”
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46046024
