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Asked by paracetamol98 to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 27 Jun 2012.
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Nuala Carson answered on 27 Jun 2012:
hey paracetamol98,
I’m not 100% sure but i think a map of a malaria genome is essentially like drawing a map of a city except the city is the gene and all the important roads and landmarks are like the DNA in the gene. I don’t know how they go about doing it but i think it helps to understand if certain genes are related to malaria, which would allow them to develop more accurate cures and antidotes.
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James Verdon answered on 27 Jun 2012:
Hi paracetamol,
The genome of an animal is its complete DNA. The DNA contains all the information needed to make an organism. DNA is a lot like a code – there are only 4 types or letters – G, A, T, and C. These are put together in a certain order along the DNA, so basically GACTATGCTGGTATGCTA, but keep on going for millions and millions of letters, and that is your genome.
Genome sequencing is where they work out every letter in the DNA code. However, some parts of the code, individual genes, can be really important, while some bits are basically junk and don’t do anything. So in genome mapping, they sequence the DNA but create a map to show where the really important bits are.
Malaria is a parasite – a tiny organism that gets into the blood via mosquito bites and infects your liver. So by mapping the DNA of the parasite, we can try to find out what its weaknesses are and what treatments might be best to cure it.
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James Pope answered on 27 Jun 2012:
Hi paracetamol98,
A great question and not much I can add to Nuala and James V’s answers, I do know that we have also mapped the human genome, which was a massive project because of all the small bits and pieces that make us up.
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