The Iowa Stater
September1996
Student tracks elephant genes
he difference between an elephant and a grape, as the old joke goes, is
that the grape is purple. But scientists soon may be able to respond with
some genetic details, thanks in part to the research project of an ISU
student.Nikki Elavsky, a junior in animal science/pre-vet, spent her summer identifying and sequencing possible disease-resistant genes in the endangered Asian and threatened African elephants. There is a four-letter alphabet for genes and sequencing genes involves figuring out what order those letters are in.
Even though the elephants are rare, little work has been done on
their genetic sequences.
"Research is very expensive, so most genetic research is done on commercially profitable animals, not wild ones," Elavsky said.
The blood samples Elavsky used came from five Asian elephants in California and one African elephant at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Her research was supported by a Howard Hughes grant.
"Initially, I thought about working with pigs, but Dr. (Max) Rothschild (professor of animal science) came to me with elephant blood samples and that seemed more interesting," Elavsky said.
Elavsky hopes her work eventually is used to help breed elephants for maximum genetic diversity.
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