Project Search

Ranidae/Bullfrogs are the “true frogs” that have the widest global distribution. As the largest amphibian family, bullfrogs have an undeniable role as sentinel species, food source and in insect control. However, no reference genome was available for them before this project. This project sequenced, assembled, and annotated the first bullfrog genome and built a Bullfrog Annotation Resource for Transcriptome (BART). The bullfrog genome is twice as long as the human genome; the annotation of this genome could not only largely facilitate bullfrog research, but also have the potential to improve our environment and impact human health. For example, the abnormal bullfrog development led by environmental disruption of thyroid hormone (TH), mirrors human perinatal development that also requires TH. The bioinformatics tools and the data/resources generated from this project has led to a few proposals including one to Genome Canada LSARP 2015 competition and one to the NIH Research Project (R01) Grant Program.