Genetics

Epigenetics (76)
Gene expression (114)
Gene therapy (152)
Genes (52)
Genetic code (65)
Genetics (455)
Genomics (1057)
Genotype (20)
Genus (248)
Human genetics (20)
Molecular genetics (19)
Optogenetics (86)
Transgenics (27)

Synopsis: Biotech: Genetics:

When the scientists corrected a loss-of-function PKC mutation in the genome of a colon cancer cell line

"Assessments of patients based upon the latest diagnostic criteria may boost the field's chances of finding new genetic markers for PTSD,

such as gene therapy or new drugs that regulate the chemicals associated with PTSD symptoms

#Tracking subtle brain mutations systematically DNA sequences were thought once to be identical from cell to cell,

This capability is a significant advance for genetics research and provides a new way to study both the normal brain and brain disorders such as epilepsy and autism.

"highly sensitive whole-genome sequencing of single neurons and a new technology that identifies inserted bits of DNA caused by retrotransposons,

"says Christopher Walsh, MD, Phd, chief of Genetics and Genomics at Boston Children's and co-senior author on the paper."

which developed methods to sequence the genomes of single neurons, and represents the first time single neurons have been sequenced in their entirety.

study published by Walsh's lab in 2014 used single-neuron sequencing to detect copy number variants--another type of mutation affecting the number of copies of chromosomes or chromosome fragments.

#Genome wide expression changes in vascular tissue identified due to infection/diet Source: Boston University Medical Centeralthough it has been shown that a diet high in fat

These findings which currently appear inbmc Genomics suggest that future therapies for this disease may need to be individualized.

In this study the researchers used four experimental groups to compare genome-wide expression changes in vascular tissue.

In collaboration with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at Boston University the researchers performed genome-wide microarray profiling

The prostate cancer study identified 20"hotspots"of greatest chromosomal instability as additions or deletions in less than 0. 5 percent of the total DNA present in human chromosomes.

It examines the entire genome rather than known specific gene point mutations. Robust mutation panels vastly improve monitoring

Since the entire genome was surveyed, the researchers were able to identify a non-coding region of the genome as a"hotspot,

"which may be generating previously unrecognized chromosomal control elements in prostate cancer. The other 19"hotspots"were involved rich in genes in replication

The researchers speculate that byproducts from other bacteria infections in other diseases might change gene expression using similar mechanisms.

the first such finding regarding this gene in a mammalian species. Myc is found in the genomes of all animals,

Genome-wide patterns of gene expression showed that Myc heterozygotes had significant differences in pathways related to metabolism and the immune system.

The emergence of fluorescent proteins and transgenic techniques over the past 20 years has transformed biomedical research,

SCAPE can also be combined with optogenetics and other tissue manipulations during imaging because, unlike other systems,

#Biogen idec Columbia to Conduct Collaborative Genetics Research Biogen idec and Columbia University Medical center have formed a $30 million strategic alliance to conduct genetics discovery research on the underlying causes of disease

and analysis facility and shared postdoctoral program will be established at Columbia to support collaborative genetics studies.

The agreement will integrate genomics research conducted at Columbia with Biogen idec understanding of disease mechanisms and pathways,

and expertise in discovering new medicines. ur understanding of human genetics is rapidly expanding, and there is growing recognition that the elucidation of the genetic causes of disease will have a transformative effect on both patient care

founding director of Columbia University Institute for Genomic Medicine. his collaboration marries the exceptional drug development expertise of Biogen with cutting-edge genomics expertise at Columbia University Medical center.

Biogen idec. e are committed to working with leading institutions such as Columbia to advance basic genetic research and,

and Columbia to investigate the genomes of patients showing unusual treatment responses or unique disease presentations and to explore the connections among genes, pathways,

The new facility will have broad genetic research capabilities and the capacity to launch and complete whole-genome sequencing projects rapidly.

It will allow for rapid population-scale DNA sequencing across a broad range of disease areas, focusing on diseases with significant unmet clinical need such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

We expect that the alliance will dramatically advance our understanding of the genetics of these devastating diseases and ultimately lead to mechanism-based treatments, a key aspect of Columbia precision-medicine initiative. c

Also similar were protein markers. aive cells have differences in gene expression, but also in their epigenome,

and less than 1%get genetic testing. Familial DCM is enetically heterogeneous says Arbustini. That means several different genes may cause the disease.

#Massive study closes in on cancers risk markers Cancer research has taken a huge leap forward with scientists now able to identify more than 80 genetic markers found to increase the risk of breast ovarian and prostate cancer.

for cancer in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Genetics. The research was led by scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in the UK,

Overall, the study found that common genetic variation links all these cancers. This can be described as a genetic'spelling mistake'

where an A g, C or T in the genetic code has been replaced with another letter. The spelling mistake is called Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP.

'We're on the verge of being able to use our knowledge of these genetic variations to develop a test that could complement breast cancer screening

'COGS is the largest genotyping project in the world targeting identification of genetic changes that influence the risk of common cancers.

Bringing together biologists, chemists, microbiologists, biochemists, molecular geneticists and biotechnologists from universities, biotech firms and food and pharmaceutical multinationals from around Europe, Polymode has identified now its first eadingand ritingenzymes.

which could help explain how non-genetic material is inherited. Non-genetic material is material that is not part of the chromosomes, the chains in the cell nucleus

which contain the genes. Genes are the sequence of nucleic acids which provide the assembly instructions for a living organism,

helping scientists to better understand how gene expression is controlled. Indeed, the ultimate goal, explains project coordinator Dr Lars Jansen,

and the functioning of a living organism), was the only carrier of genetic information. Everything else was merely a product of these genes."

'the part of the chromosome (a long structure of DNA found in the cell nucleus, containing all the characteristics of a living organism) that controls its behaviour.

An important inheritance This is epigenetic inheritance i e. inheritance above the level of genes. This means that heritable changes in gene expression are caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence.

Epicentromere's success in this field came from uncovering the mechanism by which cells recruit new proteins.

This represents a major step in understanding the role of epigenetic systems t

#Aquaszero#New product to make drinking water safer Aquaszero New product to make drinking water safer Arsenic may be found as a water

with the first completion of the sequencing of the genome for one species of the bacterium, Streptomyces coelicolor.

unravelling the secrets of the genome revealed a new mystery. It was known that the bacterium produced four different antibiotics

but the genome sequence revealed the potential for around 20. The known antibiotics represented only 20%of the possible total.

'hitherto lying undetected within the genome.''We could see the genes were there, but there was no product,

whether this genetic information was just redundant, or whether it could be used to trigger the production of new antibiotic compounds.'

'Meanwhile, the genomes of other streptomycete species had been sequenced and all had shown the same pattern, with between 12 and 15'cryptic pathways'.'

Researchers analyzed the sustainability of the US dairy industry from 1944 to 2012 and found advances in genetics

##since it was discovered in 1972â##has been that we can t culture the human viruses in a cell culture dish##says Stephanie Karst associate professor in the molecular genetics and microbiology department at University of Florida College of Medicine.##

can we even get gene expression in paper?####says Pardee. Using a standard laser printer stocked with special wax-based inks he printed patterns of small dots onto uncoated filter paper.

and if some are susceptible could they harness the power of mouse genetics to figure out what genes make someone susceptible to the disease.

when infected with the virus. The team was able to show that a combination of genes were involved in producing a range of disease symptoms such that the genetic variation of the mice directly led to the variety of symptoms that the disease produced.

##A basic understanding of how our genetics influence susceptibility to viral infections and affect disease development is absolutely critical to creating much needed therapeutic interventions.##

and a research assistant professor of genetics in the UNC School of medicine says:####Public perception of Ebola infection typically focuses on the high mortality rate following hemorrhagic fever

##During an outbreak it is often difficult to assess the role that genetic variation plays in determining disease severity in people.

And if we re going to develop treatments then we need to know about this genetic variation.##

Telomeres are caps on the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides the telomeres get a little shorter.

and the Marburg virus The device identifies individual viruses based on size variations resulting from distinct genome lengths and other factors.

Taylor and coauthor Jeremy Bruenn professor of biological sciences research viral##fossil genes##â##chunks of genetic material that animals and other organisms acquire from viruses during infection.

One fossil gene called VP35 appeared in the same spot in the genomes of four different rodent species:

##These rodents have billions of base pairs in their genomes so the odds of a viral gene inserting itself at the same position in different species at different times are very small##Taylor says.##

##The genetic material in the VP35 fossil was more closely related to Ebola than to Marburg indicating that the lines leading to these viruses had begun already diverging from each other in the Miocene.

Boosting NT3 production through gene therapy in humans could also be an option he says but a drug-based approach would be simpler

Topping the list was p53 a protein often called the##guardian of the genome ##because it causes damaged out of control cells to commit suicide

The discovery of a aternal age effectfor mitochondrial diseases could be a valuable tool for genetic counseling, report researchers.

They also found a close relative of ptena in the amoeba which they called lpten that performs the same functions of ptena but to a lesser degreeâ a possible bench player in the amoeba s genome.

infect cells by ejecting their genetic information into a host cell. But how does the usually rigid DNA packaged inside a virus shell flow from the virus to the cell?

The repulsive forces formed by the layered strands of genetic material exert a large amount of pressure on the capsid

or months says Mark Pallen professor of microbial genomics at University of Warwick Medical school. Plus relying on laboratory culture means using techniques that date back to the 1880s.

while also giving us key insights into their genome sequences and the lineages that they belong to.

Last year they used metagenomics to obtain an outbreak strain genome from stool samples from an E coli outbreak

and to recover TB genomes from Hungarian mummies approximately 200 years-old. Earlier this year they recovered the genome of Brucella melitensis

which causes an infection called brucellosis in livestock and humans from a 700-year-old skeleton from Sardinia Italy.

and progress new treatments to the clinic at a much quicker rate a key goal of co-authors Martin Donnelley and David Parsons of the CF Gene therapy group at the Women s and Children s Hospital and the University

Collaborators at the Genome Institute at Washington University School of medicine used DNA sequencing to tally the bacterial populations in 922 stool samples from 58 premature infants.

and will soon be available through the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the UC Davis School of veterinary medicine.

which appears online in the journal Human genetics r

#Wearable vapor sensor can smell diabetes A wearable vapor sensor could monitor diseases such as diabetes

Gradinaru also leads Caltech Beckman Institute BIONIC center for optogenetics and tissue clearing and plans to offer training sessions to researchers interested in learning how to use PACT

says Robert Koenekoop, professor of human genetics, pediatric surgery, and ophthalmology at Mcgill University. t is giving hope to many patients who suffer from this devastating retinal degeneration.

The microbe contains interesting genetic sequences, but it has proven challenging to culture in the lab. Researchers used the device, called Slipchip,

He and his colleagues began by looking for bacterial species that contained a set of specific genetic sequences.

The microbes carrying these genetic sequences are found abundantly in and on the human body, but have been difficult to grow in the lab. To grow these elusive microbes,

Ismagilov and his colleagues obtained enough genetic material to sequence a high-quality draft genome of the organism.

When he first introduced optogenetics, which allows scientists to control individual nerves using light, a similar proportion of labs were not initially set up to easily implement the new technology,

modeled after his optogenetics courses, to help disseminate the techniques. The work is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National institute of mental health, National Science Foundation, the National Instituteon Drug abuse, the Simons Foundation,

and linking the data to the residential addresses of approximately 1000 participants in the Northern California-based Childhood Risk of Autism from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study.

The results appear in PLOS Genetics. It is possible that low-nutrient diets set off the same pathways in us to put our cells in a quiescent state says David R. Sherwood an associate professor of biology at Duke university.

With optogenetic tools that allowed the team to tune the firing frequency of these Chat+neurons up and down with laser light,

People in a given geographical area are more likely to have similar genetics. When they also have genetic traits typically found in other, distant regions,

The discovery of a certain genotype might indicate the potential for a genetic disease and suggest that diagnostic testing be done.

there is evidence that specific genotypes respond differently to medicationsaking this information potentially useful when selecting the most effective therapy and appropriate dosage.

The investigators are currently designing a study to correlate pharmacokineticshe time course of drug metabolismith genotype.

The findings appear online this week in the journal PLOS Genetics. his discovery provides novel insight into the genetic cause of a form of cleft palate through the use of a less conventional animal model says study leader Professor Danika Bannasch,

a veterinary geneticist at the UC Davis School of veterinary medicine. t also demonstrates that dogs have multiple genetic causes of cleft palate that we anticipate will aid in the identification of additional candidate genes relevant to human cleft palate.

By conducting a genome-wide study of these particular retrievers with a naturally occurring cleft palate,

which protects the ends of our chromosomes from damage, are extremely likely to develop melanoma, new research shows.

and a senior co-author of the study published in Nature Genetics. ince this gene has previously been identified as a target for the development of new drugs, in the future,

The team set out to identify the hereditary mutations that account for the other 60 percent by sequencing part of the genome of 184 patients with hereditary melanoma caused by unknown mutations.

regions that protect chromosomes from damage. The team found that there were also cases of other cancer types in families with these hereditary mutations such as leukemia

and is a prime example of how genomics can transform public health, says Julia Newton Bishop,

When the team measured gene expression first in the stem cells, and then reevaluated the cells once they had become neurons,

associate researcher in genetics at Yale university and co-lead author of the study. Researchers were interested in using mice without the FAT10 gene to study its role in sepsis

which vary in genetic sequence, exhibit different properties that can be used to, for example, distinguish them from each other in an ultrasound image.

For example if we want to understand the genetics of how silk is produced we must first understand how silk worms evolved over time

since accurate measures of organismal relationships are fundamental to our interpretation of morphology genetics and physiology to name a few. ust as the diversity of insects has always been a problem for scientists the project s goal of analyzing a large number of insect transcriptomes posed a major challenge

Transcription factors known as genetic switches drive gene expression in plants based on external stresses such as light rain soil quality

and the fact that now all of its genome has been sequenced. The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award and the National institutes of health National Institute of General Medical supported the work e

and their associated behaviors the researchers used a technique called optogenetics. In optogenetics neurons are altered genetically

so that they express light-sensitive proteins from microbial organisms. Then by shining a light on these modified neurons via a tiny fiber optic cable inserted into the brain researchers can control the activity of the cells as well as their associated behaviors.

Using this optogenetic approach Anderson s team was able to selectively switch on the neurons associated with social behaviors

For example if a lone mouse began spontaneously self-grooming the researchers could halt this behavior through the optogenetic activation of the social neurons.

They documented for the first time the presence of genetic material for the bluetongue virus in female midges that were collected during two consecutive winter seasons.

A second component a single short strand of genetic material (DNA) then binds to the Neutravidin creating a small molecular complex. he system is still in its infancy.

What Smolke s team has done now is to carefully reprogram the yeast genome the master instruction set that tells every organism how to live to behave like a poppy

Since she wanted to produce several different opioids her team hacked the yeast genome in slightly different ways to produce each of the slightly different opioid formulations such as oxycodone or hydrocodone.

#Rapeseed genes could take the bite out of broccoli Scientists have unraveled the genetic code of the rapeseed plant

Published in the journal Science the findings will help scientists understand how plant genomes evolve in the context of domestication.

Broccoli cauliflower Brussels sprouts Chinese cabbage turnip collared greens mustard canola oil all these are different incarnations of the same plant genus Brassica. hole-genome sequencing efforts like this one allow us to address two fundamental

questionssays Eric Lyons assistant professor in the School of Plant Sciences at University of Arizona. ow does stored the genetic information in the genome help us understand the functions of the organism

and what does the structure of the genome tell us about the evolution of genomes in general?

(or Brassica napus) genome contains a large number of genes more than 100000 due to the fact that it arose from a merger between two parent species Brassica rapa (Chinese cabbage)

and others. he rapeseed genome has a very interesting historysays Haibao Tang a senior scientist of bioinformatics. s a result of the merger event it ended up with four copies of each gene.

The genome defines what Brassicas are.?It also defines what kids hate to eatlyons says. he bitterness in some cultivars such as broccoli

and we find that precisely those genes that code for those compounds were lost from the rapeseed genome. he sequencing effort provides scientists

That led the researchers to study the genetic relationships of all fungus-growing ants in South america including all five known and six newly-discovered species of the genus Mycocepurus to determine

and nuclear genomes of these parasitic ants and their host in an effort to confirm speciation

and the underlying genetic mechanism. he parasitic ants need to exercise discretion because taking advantage of the host species is considered taboo in ant society.

and progress new treatments to the clinic at a much quicker rate a key goal of co-authors Martin Donnelley and David Parsons of the CF Gene therapy group at the Women s and Children s Hospital and the University

Gradinaru also leads Caltech s Beckman Institute BIONIC center for optogenetics and tissue clearing and plans to offer training sessions to researchers interested in learning how to use PACT

Now detailed reanalysis by an international team of researchers including Robert B. Eckhardt professor of developmental genetics

and genetics research of insects Kawahara says. here is a DNA revolution taking place. This is an important time in the history of science

They also combined 33 new transcriptomes a set of RNA molecules with 13 genomes both

of which hold genetic material for organisms. The researchers identified 2696 genes by breaking down the DNA down and piecing it back together Kawahara says.

#Rice genome could answer the 9 billion-people question Researchers have sequenced the complete genome of African rice a hardy crop that could help feed the world s growing population. ice feeds

Now with the completely sequenced African rice genome scientists and agriculturalists can search for ways to cross Asian

The African rice genome is especially important because many of the genes code for traits that make African rice resistant to environmental stress such as long periods of drought high salinity in the soils

and flooding. ow that we have a precise knowledge of the genome we can identify these traits more easily

what geneticists call physical maps a tool that enables scientists to understand the structure of the genome.

and donated it to the Rice Genome Project making sequencing of that complete genome possible.

Much of the evolutionary analysis of the genome was performed by plant sciences doctoral candidate Muhua Wang and by Carlos Machado of the University of Maryland.

Yeisoo Yu a research associate professor in Wing s research group at the Arizona Genomics Institute led the sequencing effort.

In analyzing the 33000 genes that make up the African rice genome the researchers discovered that during the process of domestication Africans

Additionally the sequenced genome helps resolve questions about whether African rice originally was domesticated in one region or in several locations across Africa.

By comparing the genome with what is known about the genetic structure of wild varieties Wing

From 1998 to 2005 Wing led the US effort to help sequence the genome of Asian rice which is the only other domesticated rice species. Those results were published in the journal Nature in 2005

and analyzing the genomes of the wild relatives of African and Asian rice. y understanding the entire genus at a genome level we have a whole new pool of genetic variation that can be used to combat pests

and plant pathogenswing says. One example would be adding disease resistance genes from all of the wild rice varieties to a species of cultivated rice creating a new super-crop that is resistant to diseases and pests.

Whereas biological motors are made of protein researchers are trying to create synthetic motors based on DNA the genetic materials in cells that consist of a sequence of four chemical bases:

but now we have data on almost all the RNA molecules in a cell more than 10000 different RNASASSMANN says. e are the first to determine on a genome-wide basis the structures of the RNA molecules in a plant

and thereby influence gene expression the more we may be breed able to or develop with biotechnological methods crops that are more resistant to those stresses.

because it is the first plant species to have its full genome sequenced and has the greatest number of genetic tools available.

It is a critical component in the pathway of gene expression which controls an organism s function.

or a few RNAS you can t get a pattern. ow that we have genome-wide information for a particular organism we can start to abstract patterns of how RNA structure influences gene expression and ultimately plant function.

Are there universal rules that will be true for all organisms for how RNA structure influences gene expression?

and on the interaction between genotypes and the environment as they have tried to breed wheat that is resistant to PHS but with little success so far.

But now findings published in the journal PLOS ONE suggest that the solution may lie not with genetics alone but rather with a combination of genetic and epigenetic factors.

he complex Rddm machinery is composed of several proteins that guide the genome in response to growth developmental and stress signals.

Studies of a fungus called Cryptococcus show the process of sexual reproduction can result in extra bundles of genetic material

or chromosomes that can be beneficial to the organism s survival. The results are published in the journal PLOS Biology. hese studies turn our view of the functions of sex by 180 degrees

but can actually create it from scratchsays Joseph Heitman the study s senior author and professor and chair of molecular genetics and microbiology at the Duke university School of medicine.

because if there are two identical genomes coming together the end product should be the same as if the fungi had cloned just itself through asexual reproductionsays Heitman. e were trying to get a sense of is it just spinning its wheels

or having more than the normal number of DNA-packaging chromosomes. Aneuploidy is well known to be deleterious in humans causing genetic disorders like Down s syndrome or trisomy 21.

But having an extra chromosome can actually be beneficial in microbes like Cryptococcus where it has been shown to confer drug resistance to the antifungal fluconazole.

For example offspring with an extra copy of chromosome 9 or 10 became drug resistant and were able to outcompete their parent

or adaptive the fungi can lose the chromosome just as easily as they gained it. In fact we showed that

and let them lose their extra chromosomes they also lose their new properties and go back to behaving just like their parent did. he key finding he says llustrates how unisexual reproduction introduces limited genetic diversity in clonal populations already well adapted to an environment

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