Introduction
Recently, much interest has developed in characterizing the biodiversity that occurs in different habitats. Rain forests, wetlands, and deep sea thermal vents may all come to mind when you hear the words "biodiversity" and "habitat." One part of this effort involves determining the DNA sequence of organisms living in these habitats.

Another habitat of interest to many people is the human body. The human digestive tract contains 1010-1012 bacteria per gram of contents. Considering these bacteria, and those that live on the skin and mucous membranes, there is far more genetic potential in the bacteria that reside on and in humans than there is in the human genome. Again, DNA sequence analysis constitutes one approach to characterizing this diversity.

Back to main Scenario page      continue