Patrick Minx

TL;DR: The results of an international collaboration to produce and make freely available a draft sequence of the human genome are reported and an initial analysis is presented, describing some of the insights that can be gleaned from the sequence.

TL;DR: The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reported the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: The Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far, finding the diversity and abundance of each habitat’s signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals.

TL;DR: The sequence of the maize genome reveals it to be the most complex genome known to date and the correlation of methylation-poor regions with Mu transposon insertions and recombination and how uneven gene losses between duplicated regions were involved in returning an ancient allotetraploid to a genetically diploid state is reported.

TL;DR: A map-based, finished quality sequence that covers 95% of the 389 Mb rice genome, including virtually all of the euchromatin and two complete centromeres, and finds evidence for widespread and recurrent gene transfer from the organelles to the nuclear chromosomes.