Tiny but mighty: sequencing tardigrades to unlock all life’s genomes
Wellcome Sanger Institute researchers are collecting tardigrades from moss to sequence their genomes using a picogram-input method that extracts DNA and RNA from a single specimen and amplifies the material with PCR. The Tree of Life programme now sequences about 48 genomes per week, adding to a growing catalog that already includes thousands of genomes; tardigrades’ very small genomes and remarkable resilience may reveal genes behind desiccation and cryptobiosis, with potential biomedicine and biotechnology insights.