February 16, 2015—In a statement timed to coincide with the federal holiday celebrating his birthday, Dr. Washington of the Dr. Washington Institute announced the completion by his laboratory of whole genome sequencing of the cherry (Prunus avium) pie.
“We were going to sequence the tree, Prunus avium,” Dr. Washington explained, “but somebody was already doing that. Besides, our last R01 application was scored so far below the NIH payline, we were underwater.” The Dr. Washington lab then made a bold move. “I’ve always been a fan of the ‘omics’ approach and thought I could blend my expertise in genetics and quantitative analysis with my background in protein, lipid, and polysaccharide chemistry. I was uniquely posed to investigate a uniquely American subject—the cherry pie. Pi-omics will be the next hot field,” he predicted.
“Our whole genome approach to a widely used foodstuff could lead to translational farm-to-table applications,” he added. Dr. Washington was drawn to cherry products as a research subject after a childhood trauma. “Cherry trees, at least in my part of Virginia, are known for sudden trunk failure,” he declared, “And I told my dad that I had nothing do with it. No one believed me but now I have the data. Those pits are heavier than they look.”
Dr. Washington will, of course, be off today for the federal holiday. Dr. Washington’s grad students (“Shout out to Dave and Maureen—Keep up the good work.”) will not. “Someone has got to keep the sequencers going,” Dr. Washington explained.
About the Author:
John Fleischman was the ASCB Senior Science Writer from 2000 to 2016. Best unpaid perk of the job? Working with new grad students and Nobel Prize winners.
