By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
It took scientists a decade to sequence the complete genome Scientists have finished sequencing the mouse genome after a 10-year effort. The humble mouse is the experimental workhorse in laboratories worldwide, so this high-quality genome sequence will aid in the fight against human disease. The search for novel treatments could benefit from a greater understanding of the mouse genetic code, which is about 75% similar to our own. An international team of researchers have published details of the work in the open-access journal PLoS Biology. The sequence comprises the full complement of genetic material in the nucleus of a cell. It is effectively the genetic "instruction booklet" for a living animal. The mouse (Mus musculus) becomes only the second mammal after humans to have its complete genome laid bare. But draft sequences have been published for the chimp, dog, rat, cat, macaque and even the duck-billed platypus. The mouse is the animal most often used to better understand human illnesses and how they develop. Research carried out using mice has led to advances in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and many other conditions. "In retrospect, our previous picture of the mouse genome was incomplete," said Dr Leo Goodstadt from the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford. "Only when all the missing pieces of the genomic puzzle had been filled in did we realise that we had been missing large numbers of genes found only in mice, and not in humans." The researchers were able to identify more than 20,000 genes coding for proteins in the mouse. About 5,000 mouse genes arose after the ancestors of mice and humans went their separate evolutionary ways. The mouse genome sequencing effort began in 1999, and a draft sequence was published in 2002. The cost, borne by US and UK sequencing centres, is estimated to exceed $100m (£62m). Some groups oppose animal experimentation, campaigning to ban or limit the animals used. In the UK, growth in the use of genetically modified (GM) animals - mainly mice - is largely responsible for a steady rise in the numbers of animals used in experiments since 1997. Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
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Após um esforço que vem de há dez anos, cientistas finalmente acabaram a sequenciação do genoma do rato. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido por laboratórios em todo o mundo e devido à qualidade da sequência obtida julga-se que o seu estudo possa também ajudar ao combate a doenças que ocorrem em seres humanos.

De acordo com os cientistas, cerca de 75% do genoma do rato é similar ao humano. 

O rato (''Mus musculus'') torna-se assim o segundo mamífero a ver o seu genoma sequenciado, a seguir ao humano.

O Prof. Chris Ponting, da universidade de Oxford, refere:



Os resultados do trabalho foram publicados na revista científica de acesso livre, PLoS Biology.