They probed the sample with an innovative experimental technique that revealed the three-dimensional architecture of the mammoth’s genome.
Hendrik Poinar, an evolutionary geneticist at McMaster University in Canada, was “floored” — the technique had successfully captured the original geometry of long stretches of DNA, a feat never before accomplished with an ancient DNA sample.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” said Dr. Poinar, who reviewed the paper for the journal.
An organism’s full genome resides in cell nuclei, in long, unfragmented DNA strands called chromosomes.
“To have the actual architectural structure of the genome, which suggests gene expression patterns, that’s a whole other level,” Dr. Poinar said.
Persons:
—, Hendrik Poinar, ”, Poinar
Organizations:
McMaster University
Locations:
Houston, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Siberia, Canada