An international team of researchers has mapped Nemo’s genome, providing the research community with an invaluable resource to decode the response of fish to environmental changes, including climate change.
An international team of researchers has mapped Nemo’s genome, providing the research community with an invaluable resource to decode the response of fish to environmental changes, including climate change.
In a breakthrough study led by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE), researchers used high-tech sequencing tools to create one of the most complete genetic maps for the orange clownfish, a common reef inhabitant and star of the Disney movie, Finding Nemo.
“This genome provides an essential blueprint for understanding every aspect of the reef fish’s biology,” said lead author Dr Robert Lehmann of KAUST in Saudi Arabia.
“It contains 26,597 protein coding genes. And like the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle, it took patience and time to assemble.”
Read more at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Image: The orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) is one of the most important species for studying the ecology and evolution of coral reef fishes. (Credit: Tane Sinclair-Taylor)
