5 hours agoShareSaveJonah WalkerSome butterflies and moths also have an exceptionally large number of species. Dr Meier has already decoded the DNA of a thousand species of butterflies and moths.But spiders, butterflies and moths are just the start of one of the most ambitious genetic projects ever undertaken. The plan is to decipher the genetic code of every single plant, animal and fungus on the planet in the next 10 years.”Just like all plants, animals and fungus we have very similar DNA,” Dr Meier told BBC News.”By understanding the DNA of all the different organisms, we learn about the general principles of how genes work and what the function of dark DNA is, and so it also helps us find out a lot about ourselves”Researchers have decoded the DNA of 3,000 different species so far as part of the Earth BioGenome Project.The aim is to decode 10,000 next year and complete all 1.8 million living species in the next decade. The knowledge gained, scientists hope, will enable them to gain an unprecedented insight into how all living things evolved and the intricate interrelationships between them.
