After five weeks and thousands of votes, 25 Genomes has come to a close. We can now announce the Flourishing Zone species that will have its genome sequenced by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute next year:
Fen Raft Spider
A huge thank you to all the Species Champions for taking part, you were all brilliant!
Congratulations- now you have to go and catch a couple to squash and sequence. A bit cold for them though this time of year; they will be hibernating under a rock or tree crevice?! Is a rule that if they cannot be found within a one week period there is a transferable vote and…?!
Gieven their rarity and protected status, they’re sufficiently versatile to give up a single leg for science and grow a new one (as long as they’re not adult (moulted skins also yield DNA)! Amazingly, they’re under water just now, presumably in air pockets, but will re-appear whenever needed….
Excellent news… always wondered what was going on in spider genomes!