MICE and humans are closer kin than anyone expected, according to an analysis of mouse chromosome 16.
鈥淎 2.5 per cent difference across the genome is probably a reasonable estimate,鈥� says Richard Mural of Celera, the company based in Rockville, Maryland, which has compared the mouse chromosome with human DNA. His team found that of 731 mouse genes, only 14 lacked a counterpart in humans.
Celera鈥檚 analysis appears in Science (vol 296, p 1661), and the company has published the entire chromosome sequence on the Internet. However, the rest of Celera鈥檚 mouse genome sequence will be available only to paying subscribers.
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