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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		How sequencing the entire bat genome helps researchers
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:03
	Publish Date:		2016-05-24 00:00:00
	Description:		How do genes properly distinguish an arm from a leg during development? In a recent study on bats, researcher Nadav Ahituv of the University of California, San Francisco found that a total of 7000 genes were expressed differently in the wing versus the hind leg. His team did this by sequencing the bat’s entire genome, and found that switches known as “enhancers” control these wing formation genes. "So we made a fully annotated genome so we can find where the switches are, near what genes they are, and what genes they might be regulating. Enhancers are sort of the on switch, they tell the gene when to turn on, and at what level, and at what location. Most genes have what's called a promoter, right next to them. And so the enhancers are sort of the promoter of the promoter, they tell the promoter when to turn on the gene." But not all genes expressed in either the wing or the leg may be directly involved in their development. "More functional studies will need to be done to prove that but at least, in terms of the number of genes that we saw that are different, it’s quite high."
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