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The chips are down - genotyping on a plate
September 30, 2003An exciting and powerful service, using a new tool to investigate the genetics of human diseases, is announced today [1st October]. MRC geneservice, located in Cambridge, UK, is now able to supply researchers with fast and sensitive Affymetrix SNP genotyping in order to identify genome-wide linkage of diseases to particular markers in the human genome.
The GeneChip'˘ Mapping Assay kit from Affymetrix enables genotyping of more than 11,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a single array using only 250 ng of human genomic DNA for each sample. These SNPs are used as bi-allelic genetic markers for the localization of genes underlying specific diseases by testing DNA samples from families with those conditions. The result is a highly informative genome-wide genetic map with an unprecedented resolution.. The high density of markers, the high call rate, accuracy and speed of the method represents a significant stride forward in genome mapping.
The team at MRC geneservice has a wealth of experience in using Affymetrix expression arrays and in conventional disease gene-hunting using genetic linkage. The team is now able to offer a highly customised and efficient Affymetrix SNP genotyping service for human mapping arrays, having already run more than 250 chips during service development. In addition, the simultaneous introduction of a top-quality processing pipeline makes this service a cost-effective solution for researchers who lack the technology, expertise and infrastructure to undertake these experiments in their own laboratories.
This high power and efficiency should give researchers the ability to more readily link disease to parts of the human genome where specific disease genes might lie. This is one of the necessary first steps in understanding if and how some people are more at risk of contacting genetic diseases. Eventually this understanding might lead to more finely tuned therapies.
Dr Sawcer from the University of Cambridge Neurology Unit who works on the genetic analysis of multiple sclerosis, explained that after some pilot project work on 20 samples: "The high genotyping success rate, genotyping accuracy and dense map of SNPs means that the Affymetrix chip is able to quickly and efficiently extract very nearly all the available linkage information from an affected sib pair."
ScienceSources
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A Northwestern University study has found a surprising similarity among four quite different organisms. The simplest organism, a bacterium called H. pylori, uses the same number of biochemical reactions (around 300) as yeast, the largest, most complex organism of the group, when optimizing growth.
Plants display 'molecular amnesia'
Plant researchers from McGill University and the University of California, Berkeley, have announced a major breakthrough in a developmental process called epigenetics. They have demonstrated for the first time the reversal of what is called epigenetic silencing in plants.
Research in twins defines shared features of the human gut microbial communities: variations linked to obesity
Trillions of microbes make their home in the gut, where they help to break down and extract energy and nutrients from the food we eat. Yet, scientists have understood little about how this distinctive mix of microbes varies from one individual to the next.
Tool Helps Identify Gene Function in Soybeans, Could Lead to Better Crop Performance, say MU Researchers
In the race for bioengineered crops, sequencing the genome could be considered the first leg in a multi-leg relay.
Ice beetles impacted by climate change
In the summer of 1968, Dave Kavanaugh set off on a hike that would change the course of his life. As a second-year medical student at the University of Colorado, he had joined a climbing club with a few members of the biophysics department, and the group had set their sights on Gray's Peak-the ninth highest mountain in Colorado.
Stanford blood scanner detects even faint indicators of cancer
A team led by Stanford researchers has developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival.
CSHL scientists discover a new way in which epigenetic information is inherited
Hereditary information flows from parents to offspring not just through DNA but also through the millions of proteins and other molecules that cling to it.
Solar-Powered Sea Slugs Live Like Plants
The lowly sea slug, "Elysia chlorotica," may not seem like the most exciting of creatures, but don't be fooled: it behaves like a plant and is solar-powered, says a Texas A&M University biologist who has been studying these tiny creatures for the past decade and, along with collaborators from several universities, has identified a possible cause of their ability to behave like plants.
Researchers recreate SARS virus, open door for potential defenses against future strains
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have synthetically reconstructed the bat variant of the SARS coronavirus (CoV) that caused the SARS epidemic of 2003.
Synthetic virus supports a bat origin for SARS
SARS - severe acute respiratory syndrome - alarmed the world five years ago as the first global pandemic of the 21st century. The coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that sickened more than 8,000 people - and killed nearly 800 of them - may have originated in bats, but the actual animal source is not known.
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