The ship rat, or black rat, is one of the most infamous invasive species in the world. They’re intelligent, adaptable, and they multiply like… well… ship rats.
February 11, 2013 is one of the days I won’t forget in my academic life. I was so excited, enthusiastic and more than ready to pursue my Master’s programme in Bioinformatics, which was designed to start with some intense course work to get everyone up to speed with the computing skills essential for research projects. But I was in for a rude awakening.
We have recently completed the first high-quality genome of a stick insect using link read technology, but what does this mean? And why is a gold standard reference genome important to New Zealand’s conservation efforts?
Sequencing is an essential part of creating a genome, be it human, stick insect, kākāpō or sheep (all genomes Genomics Aotearoa is currently working on).
Genomics research is an emerging frontier that will mean applications such as personalised medicine being developed for New Zealand-specific problems, and something that will see an increasing focus on the needs of Māori populations.