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Surprising gene discovery
September 10, 2004Researchers at the University of Bergen are now able to present new information on the HOX genes - the "software" to design animals. The findings are published in today's issue of Nature.
Some years ago researchers at the Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology at the UoB discovered the smallest genome among vertebrates in a tiny urochordate called Oikopleura dioica. The organism is five millimetres long and the genome consists of only 70 million megabases (Mb). Although the human genome is forty times bigger in comparison, this organism makes an excellent model. Studies of the compact oikopleura-genome may contribute to shedding new light on the human genome, and the researchers have made several surprising discoveries so far.
In the research that serves as the basis for a new article in Nature researchers at the Sars have examined the so-called HOX genes. These are important genes that are common for all animals. They play a role in controlling the development from the fertilised egg to the formation of the general body structure. In humans these genes ensure that the fingers and the ribs take the right shape and length.
From insects to human beings HOX genes are lined up tightly together in the chromosomes like pearls on a string. It is also believed that this grouping and sequence have had great significance for the genes to function in a proper and coordinated way. In other words, the HOX gene sitting first in line on the chromosome controls for example the development of the back part of the brain, the second gene is responsible for the upper part of the neck and so on along the body axis. However, when the researchers at the Sars Centre found these genes in Oikopleura dioica, it turned out that this was not the case here. These genes are not lined up tightly at all, but it still seems that their function is about the same as in animals where the genes are closer together.
"This discovery is interesting because it indicates that the generally accepted theory about the position and function of HOX genes is too simple. This work also has relevance for understanding the development of body shapes in the animal world in general" says Rolf Brudvik Edvardsen, research fellow, who - together with three Master's students - is a co-author of the article "Hox cluster disintegration with persistent anteroposterior order of expression in Oikopleura dioica" in Nature.
The research is led by Professor Daniel Chourrout, director of the Sars Centre. The Centre has also cooperated with two genome centres in Paris and Berlin.
Research Council of Norway, The
From insects to human beings HOX genes are lined up tightly together in the chromosomes like pearls on a string. It is also believed that this grouping and sequence have had great significance for the genes to function in a proper and coordinated way. In other words, the HOX gene sitting first in line on the chromosome controls for example the development of the back part of the brain, the second gene is responsible for the upper part of the neck and so on along the body axis. However, when the researchers at the Sars Centre found these genes in Oikopleura dioica, it turned out that this was not the case here. These genes are not lined up tightly at all, but it still seems that their function is about the same as in animals where the genes are closer together.
"This discovery is interesting because it indicates that the generally accepted theory about the position and function of HOX genes is too simple. This work also has relevance for understanding the development of body shapes in the animal world in general" says Rolf Brudvik Edvardsen, research fellow, who - together with three Master's students - is a co-author of the article "Hox cluster disintegration with persistent anteroposterior order of expression in Oikopleura dioica" in Nature.
The research is led by Professor Daniel Chourrout, director of the Sars Centre. The Centre has also cooperated with two genome centres in Paris and Berlin.
Research Council of Norway, The
Genome Current Events and Genome News RSSTime of day matters to thirsty trees, U of T researcher discovers
The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues in the department of cell and systems biology at the St. George campus.
Genetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease
Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Scientists at UA, collaborating institutions decode maize genome
Scientists from the University of Arizona led by Arizona Genomics Institute director Rod A. Wing and from collaborating institutions have deciphered the complete genetic code of the maize plant for the first time.
Ancestry attracts, but love is blind
People preferentially marry those with similar ancestry, but their decisions are not necessarily based on hair, eye or skin colour.
WPI Researchers Take Aim at Hard-to-Treat Fungal Infections
A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections.
Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators
A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors.
Causative gene of a rare disorder discovered by sequencing only protein-coding regions of genome
For the first time, scientists have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a mendelian disorder.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth.
Maize cell wall genes identified, giving boost to biofuel research
Purdue University scientists have helped identify and group the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in maize, an effort that expands their ability to discover ways to produce the biomass best suited for biofuels production.
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