Mississippi State University scientists are being nationally recognized by “Science,” a weekly report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science that is considered the world’s leading journal of original research, global news and commentary.
“Science’s” December issue showcased three articles written by MSU scientists. The articles focused on the evolution of birds, crocodilians and the relationship between those two animals and dinosaurs. 
Daniel G. Peterson, director of MSU’s Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology (IGBB), said he is honored to be recognized, but is more excited for the work than anything else.
“It feels good to be recognized. We’ve been working a long time to build a national reputation in this area,” Peterson said. “This is the cutting edge of biological research. Until about 12 years ago, Mississippi State had no capabilities in this aspect. After a strategic hire of myself and about four other faculty members, it led to a lot of collaboration and building of research.”
Often thought of as the blueprints of an organism, the genome is the genetic materical that makes up an organism.
Peterson started the crocodilian genome initiative in 2007 with David Ray, a former MSU assistant professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, plant pathology and entomology, who currently works as an associate professor of biological sciences at Texas Tech University. 
“My interest in this project is that it was cool. It started with a grant with a man named Dr. Ray. Originally, we were just looking to do a little bit of sequencing of these three different crocodilian genomes: the Australian saltwater crocodile, American alligator and Indian gharial,” Peterson said. “I’m primarily a plant biologist. From a personal standpoint, it is just cool to work on something that could bite you. Plant and cotton don’t capture the attention of people as much as when you talk about crocodiles and alligators. Suddenly, people start listening.”
Ray also collaborated with Federico Hoffmann, assistant professor of biochemistry at MSU, on two of the three articles. One article focused on the evolution of birds through comparative genomics. 
Hoffmann said his passion for science and curiosity for knowledge fueled his motivation to complete the avian genome research.
“I love science. I have always wanted to be a part of the genome project ever since I came to the U.S. I have always wanted to be some type of explorer, much like Indiana Jones. My work allows me to explore things that no one has seen before. We get to see the genomes of animals, and it is fascinating,” Hoffmann said. “I am a curious human being by nature. I do this because I like to learn. I would bet that for many scientists, curiosity is what drives us.”
Hoffmann said the genome is so valuable because there is always so much to learn. 
“The genome carries the instruction for all of us. We can know the instructions, but we can’t know how those instructions become a particular person. The genome carries millions and millions of single letters, one after another,” Hoffmann said. “One principle we try to use is comparing different creatures. We assume that the traits that have survived for all these years serve as some sort of functional importance.”
Mike Vandewege, MSU computational biology graduate student, said he is happy to work with Hoffman.
“When I started my bachelor’s degree, I didn’t think I’d ever see my name on a ‘Science’ paper, let alone while I’m still a graduate student. That in itself is pretty exciting,” Vandewege said. “I’m grateful that I get to go to work everyday and do exactly what I want to do, but very few people care about the work that we do, so it’s nice when it actually gets recognized.”
Vandewege said research is invaluable and he is proud of the work   he has done and will continue to do. 
“Scientific research has put mankind on the moon, controlled the spread of diseases and perfected global communication among many other things. We’re always doing something,” he said. “The crocodilian project only made up a fraction of the projects we’re working on, and all of our projects are vastly different from that work. Nothing would be possible without research and development.”