Bacterium with fewest numbers of genes
Q. Which of the following is/are true about genes?
1) In the natural world, no living organism is ever known to possess fewer than 1000 genes.
2) The human genome has about 25,000 genes.- Published on 01 Apr 16a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER: Both 1 and 2
- Scientists report the making of a living, replicating and stable cell that uses the minimum number of genes — 473 — to be considered biologically ‘alive’.
- The efforts dovetail with the fundamental question of whether there are a minimum number of genes without which a cell would be dead.
- That question is also of immense practical interest as there is an entire subfield — called synthetic biology — that’s modifying bacteria and other microorganisms at the level of genes to make organic machines that can be employed to, for instance, clear oil spills and industrial enzymes. To build complex organisms would mean having a fine-grained understanding of why some genes are more essential than others.
