Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering what it would cost to get the genetics on a snake mapped out? Maybe not the entire genome for the animal, but just enough to identify what makes a certain morph unique? I know I would be willing to pay a few bucks to find out what the exact genetic association is between a Butter, Mojave and a Lesser. Maybe get a couple drops of that Platty Daddy's blood for good measure too? Ralph would do it for science, or maybe if you let him record the whole process on video for You Tube (LOl, his videos are great).

I bet people would donate to answer those questions, I know I would.

I was reading about quantitative trait locus mapping & multifactorial traits (big words)and it is amazing what gene mapping can do?

Then again it might be 4million to run these experiments...

QTL mapping won't work to identify the gene that's responsible for a mutation since ball python mutations aren't multifactorial traits. Actually mapping the ball python genome? Cost prohibitive, and even more importantly, you'd have to convince someone to use valuable lab and computer time to do it.

I am actually amazed that people having landed on Ball Pythons as a scientific project a lot sooner. Especially with their significant genetic variability, easy breed-ability, relatively low housing costs, and long life.
The potential for Evo Devo research is enormous. As well as metabolic and neurological research. People always think *rats* are the answer, but they have been use for so long I wonder how "natural" their systems still are.
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2.4 ball pythons
1.1 kingsnakes
0.1 crazy cat
?.? ASFs
1.0 husband

Rats, besides their ease of breeding, short life spans, and high fecundity, are used because of their (relatively) close relation to humans. Being mammals, medical treatments and diseases can be better studied than if one were to use a reptile.

I'm aware of that. Just as mice, monkeys, pigs, and dogs are used for their mammalian similarities. But I think snakes have a lot more to offer than science realizes. We already use plants and insects to study genetic and hormonal issues, why not snakes for metabolisms?
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2.4 ball pythons
1.1 kingsnakes
0.1 crazy cat
?.? ASFs
1.0 husband

I always found it hilarious that some guy spends 35 years in the rainforest studying a plant just because the indigenous people claim that it cures a stomach ache? I say take tums and forget about it. Ball Pythons are gentic amazements compared to that and they should be studied in depth!

People do study snakes, for a variety of reasons. Metabolism studies have been done with a variety of animals, big and small. Yes, there are a ton of ball python mutations out there, but there are also a ton of mutations in drosophila. Ball pythons, while pretty, aren't exactly suited for research purposes.

I am not a scientist, but was simply reading about gene and QTL mapping and this sounded like a way to identify somethings gene locus & alleles and the phenotypes they produce? I am prpbably incorrect, or just decribing it wrong. You seem to know more about it than I. Even if someone could genetically map the difference or similarity between a Butter, Lesser and a Yellow Belly it would be awesome..

I work in a university lab for a professor that studies evolution in plants. She's done a lot of QTL work.

QTLs are just markers on chromosomes. It's possible to develop a general idea of where and on which chromosome the gene for a certain trait is found, BUT you first have to produce the markers and get DNA data from a LOT of breedings. It's a long and expensive process. The most prohibitive step in the process would be developing markers in the first place. Since very little is known about the ball python genome, it would be a long and expensive process.

Now, if you were to do a QTL study and ballpark where in the genome the gene occurred, you'd then have to sequence the segment to determine what the gene is. From breedings that have already been done, it is clear that the genes for lesser, mojave, butter, phantom, russo, and the special are all on the same allele. Same with yellowbelly and the het superstripe.