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Genome GalaxyCongratulations Team Joshua Tree! Want to support fellow genome researchers competing in this PacBio competition? All you have to do is vote: http://www.pacb.com/smrtgrant or visit experiment.com/genome-galaxyApr 15, 20160
Karen ArabasBackerCongrats Joshua Tree team!Mar 29, 20160
Michael R. McKainResearcherI thought we would make our original goal. The amount of support, both by numbers and amount donated, has been amazing and more than I anticipated. I think this project, along with other genomes that have been done on Experiment, demonstrate that people have a lot of interest in these types of studies. They also like to see work they can relate to. Who doesn't love Joshua tree?Mar 20, 20160
Jenny WayfarerBackerCongratulations! Did you think you would get this far? What would you say is the best part of this whole experience?Mar 19, 20160
Jeremy B. YoderResearcherThanks, everyone! This has gone so well, we're going to try for a stretch goal in the time we have left — details on that are coming very soon.Mar 19, 20160- gcBackerSo great!Mar 18, 20160
- J B YoderBackerCONGRATULATIONS!!!Mar 17, 20160
Barbara Stebbins-BoazBackerFantastic and best of luck going forward.Mar 17, 20160
Dylan GoldadeBackerCongrats to all the researchers, and thanks to my fellow supporters!Mar 17, 20160
Karen McFarlane HolmanBackerYAY! It's fully funded! Congratulations and I hope pledges keep rolling in!!Mar 17, 20160
Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherWell, James, we're all motivated by different things. ;-) Thanks for coming to the fundraising party tonight. We're very happy to have your support.Mar 15, 20160
James Austin RedfernBackerI want to say I did this for scientific advancement but really it was for pizza.Mar 15, 20160- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherWe'll get there. Right now it's about building a reference genome. Then we'll start resequencing and quantifying genetic variation within and between Joshua trees.Mar 13, 20160
- Dylan GoldadeBackerC'moooon divergence, show me the divergence!Mar 13, 20160
Dave RigsbyBackerGood luck! Go Bearcats!Mar 11, 20160
Kendra MingoBackerThanks so much Dave! Go Bearcats!Mar 12, 20160- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherThanks so much for your support and your kind words about the project! Please help us spread the word!Mar 11, 20160
Sanjida RangwalaBackerI have a personal and professional interest in this project! Best to you and looking forward to the data! Sanjida (staff scientist, NCBI, RefSeq)Mar 11, 20160
Timothee PoisotBackerJoshua trees are a very cool and emblematic model for coevolution, adaptation, and many other evo-bio topics. This is a top-notch group of people. I'm sure they'll do something amazing.Mar 11, 20160- Jeremy B. YoderResearcherThanks!Mar 11, 20160
Victor A. AlbertBackerHow many WGDs, guys?Mar 09, 20160- Michael R. McKainResearcherThere is one from 40-30 million years ago. There haven't been any more recent whole genome duplications event leading up to Joshua tree.Mar 09, 20160
Jim Leebens-MackResearcherCheck out Michael's excellent paper ancient polyploidy in Yucca, Agave and relatives - http://www.amjbot.org/content/99/2/397.fullMar 09, 20160- Jack BitzerThanks for that. I grow Morus nigra (notorious polyploid) in the Joshuas of Kern County. Looking for the answer to the 30 million year question of "why Joshuas....here?"Mar 24, 20180
- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherThank you so much!Mar 08, 20160
- SusanBackerGreat project that helps plants and people…. .keep up the good work. I hope this becomes a reality!Mar 08, 20160
Cindy WuBackerI love Joshua Trees!Mar 07, 20160
Don NegriBackerI visited Joshua Tree in 1978. Sitting on top of a hill looking out over the vast desert I was contemplating my future. That was the day I decided to apply to graduate school. Joshua Tree is part of my DNA.Mar 07, 20160- Jim Leebens-MackResearcherThanks for the comment, Don. Joshua Trees really do inspire imagination and admiration for the ruggedly beautiful landscapes of the Mojave!Mar 07, 20160
- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherThank you to WU for this generous contribution and for helping bring this project to life!Mar 04, 20160
Willamette UniversityBackerWe are glad to be able to offer a pledge to cover the platform fee for the Joshua Tree Genome Project. That way all the individual donations will benefit the actual costs of the genome sequencing.Mar 04, 20160- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherThanks for your kind words, and thanks for supporting us!Mar 04, 20160
- Grant GoddenBackerThis is an interested project. Good luck!Mar 04, 20160
- Grant GoddenBacker*interesting. oopsMar 04, 20160
Emily DouglasBackerGood luck, Professor!Mar 04, 20160
Ian StreetBackerLooking forward to what you'll find with this project. Plus more plant genomes is always a good resource!Mar 01, 20160- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherUnfortunately, one of the challenges of working with a non-model organism is that many of the standard tools we might use (such as cell culture) are not available.Mar 01, 20160
- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherHey Craig, I should defer to Jim and Mike to address some of these questions, but one of the criteria for the reference individual was low heterozygosity, and that we had full sib families growing in the greenhouse, which will use as a mapping population.Mar 01, 20160
Craig Henry CarlsonBackerHow will you deal with the heterozygosity in the assembly? What requirements were agreed upon to select the reference genotype? Can they be cultured in vitro?Mar 01, 20160- Jim Leebens-MackResearcherHi Craig, Right, heterozygosity can be a major challenge for genome assembly. Pilot data suggests that the individual to be sequenced is inbred. The first phase of the project will allow us to document the level and pattern of heterozygosity across the genome more precisely. Our findings will allow us to estimate how much long read sequencing we will need to do to accommodate heterozygosity in a more comprehensive refined assembly.Mar 01, 20160
- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherThank you for your kind words. We're pretty excited about the team we've assembled!Feb 29, 20160
Malia GehanBackerWillamette University + Danforth Center! Looks like a great project and team. Cheers!Feb 29, 20160
Kenny JacksonBackerRamona Flatz is on this project. Please send a buck or two. The number of supporters counts for a matching grant bonus, not the dollar amount! Thank youFeb 29, 20160- Jeremy B. YoderResearcherRight on all counts. Thanks for your support!Feb 29, 20160
- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherWhat a great idea!Feb 25, 20160
Yves Van de PeerWhy not ask U2 to sponsor (I'm not kidding).Feb 24, 20160- Christopher Irwin SmithResearcherWell, we got in touch with their publicists, but so far no reply. None the less, it was a great suggestion. In the meantime, please do help to spread the word. If we have more donors than any of the other liberal arts colleges on March 16th, we will receive an extras $2000 from Experiment. Best wishes, ChrisMar 04, 20160
Jason P ScheinBackerLove these trees. Good luck!Feb 24, 20160- Jeremy B. YoderResearcherThanks!Feb 24, 20160
