Dr. Mohammed Al-Suweil, the President of King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology (KACST) has announced that a team of researchers from King Abdul-Aziz City for Sciences and Technology (KACST) and Beijing Genome Institute have succeeded in mapping the Arabian Camel Genome, describing this development as an important scientific achievement. Addressing a press conference along with Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Fahd Abdulrahman Balghunym and Head of Beijing Genome Institute Dr Jan Wan, Dr al-Suweil said this development will have a positive impact on the national economy because it will lead to the development and improvement of progeny through getting acquainted with genes. This development will also pave the way for developing examination means on diseases that inflict camels, he said. Dismantling the code of hereditary information for any creature will lead to drawing a hereditary map, he said. Dr al-Suweil pointed out that genome studies are part of advanced scientific studies, he said adding that the preparation of the Arabian camel genome has come through the keenness of the agriculture ministry to find solutions for obstacles that face camels sector in the Kingdom taking into account that studies in this respect are very little. KACST has adopted this project for studying the hereditary stock of the Arabian camel and determination of all of its genes, said Dr al-Suweil noting that the project has effectively contributed to the preparation of national cadres for conducting scientific researches in the fields of genetic engineering. --MORE
