The genetic code of the rat joined the growing list of creatures whose DNA has been mapped on Wednesday and experts said it will make the laboratory rat, already beloved by scientists, an even better tool for fighting human disease.
The rat is only the third species to be sequenced to such a degree, after the completed human genome sequence in April last year and the draft mouse genome in December 2002.
It confirms that the laboratory rat is in fact a good choice for medical research. Almost all human genes associated with diseases have counterparts in the rat genome, the researchers write in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
"This is an investment that is destined to yield major payoffs in the fight against human disease," Dr. Elias Zerhouni, head of the National Institutes of Health that funded most of the research, said in a statement.
"For nearly 200 years, the laboratory rat has played a valuable role in efforts to understand human biology and to develop new and better drugs," he added. "Now, armed with this sequencing data, a new generation of researchers will be able to greatly improve the utility of rat models and thereby improve human health."
The researchers, led by a team at Baylor College of Medicine's Genome Sequencing Center in Texas, chose the Brown Norway strain of laboratory rat, known scientifically as Rattus norvegicus.
This species was best known in the past for infecting ships and is distinct from the smaller black rat, Rattus rattus, notorious for spreading plague.
"As we build upon the foundation laid by the Human Genome Project, it's become clear that comparing the human genome with those of other organisms is the most powerful tool available to understand the complex genomic components involved in human health and disease," said Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
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