The oyster genome has been sequenced, raising hopes that we’ll soon understand oyster sauce stickiness, the frailty of oyster young, the mollusc’s ability to stick to all the wrong things, and how to make pearls. Xinhua

Unfortunately, the team of Chinese and US scientists have not yet published their sequence in a peer-reviewed journal. This is not unusual for BGI-Shenzhen, the genomics institute behind the effort, which often publishes genome sequences first by press release. (see Nature’s feature on the BGI)

There’s no doubt practical applications are in mind, and patents are ready to be taken out. One co-leader of the project, Guo Ximing of Rutgers University in New Jersey, is the scientific and technical advisor for 4Cs Breeding Technologies, Inc, a company seeking “new proprietary genetics technologies for shellfish aquaculture, and to market these technologies to shellfish hatcheries and aquaculturists to improve the quality and marketability of hatchery products.” Oyster breeding has an annual estimated US$3.5 billion value. Guo’s team will likely target genes that explain why such a high percentage of plentiful oyster yields die. They want “faster growing oysters with a higher survival rate.”

Zhang Guofan, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oceanology and the other co-leader of the project, says they will also be trying to find a way to make oysters stop sticking to bottoms of ships, which they slow, and underwater pipes, which they clog. The scientists also hope to figure out the “super viscosity” of oysters, which could lead to industrial applications in “construction, craft production, and machinery maintenance.”

The genome itself is relatively small at 800 million base pairs (compared to 3 billion for the human) but it has an impressive 20,000 genes, which might not be too much different from the human tally. This genome project, a first for molluscs, may also offer clues to understanding the more than 100 varieties that exist in coastal areas around the world.