The complex binding of PRDM9

A recent study investigates the in vitro DNA binding behavior of PRDM9, a zinc finger protein involved in the localization of recombination hotspots in mammals.Please see related research article: http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/4/R35     

Birds do it,bees do it,worms and ciliates do it too: DNA methylation from unexpected corners of the tree of life

Studies describing intricate patterns of DNA methylation in nematode and ciliate are controversial due to the uncertainty of genomic evolutionary conservation of DNA methylation enzymes.See related research articles http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/R99 and http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/R100     

Identification of evolutionarily meaningful information within the mammalian RNA editing landscape

A large comparative genomic sequence study has determined the extent of conservation between RNA editing sites within the mammalian evolutionary tree.See related research by Pinto et al., http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/1/R5     

Timber! Felling the loblolly pine genome

Conventional short read sequences derived from haploid DNA were extended into long super-reads enabling assembly of the massive 22 Gbp loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, genome.See related research http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/3/R59     

Binding the boundaries of chromatin domains

A new study proposes an integrated framework to improve our understanding of the multiple functions of insulator elements, and their architectural role in the genome.See related research; http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/6/R82     

Of RNA-binding proteins and their targets: interaction determines expression

Combining the prediction of interactions between mRNAs and RNA-binding proteins with experimental expression profiles uncovers novel regulatory paradigms concerning proliferation and differentiation processes.See related research, http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/1/R13     

Insecticide resistance comes of age

A new study integrates biochemistry, genetics and structural biology to reveal the mechanism of metabolic resistance in a vector mosquito in unprecedented detail.See related research http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/2/R27     

Bringing non-human primate research into the post-genomic era: how monkeys are teaching us about elite controllers of HIV/AIDS

Whole-genome sequencing of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques reveals novel candidate loci for controlling simian immunodeficiency virus replication.See related Research, http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/11/478     

Host genetic architecture and the landscape of microbiome composition: humans weigh in

Comparative analyses of the control of mammalian microbiomes by host genetic architecture reveal striking conserved features that have implications for the evolution of host–microbiome interactions.See related Research article: http://www.genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/191     

SNES makes sense? Single-cell exome sequencing evolves

Technologies for single-cell sequencing are improving steadily. A recent study describes a new method for interrogating all coding sequences of the human genome at single-cell resolution.See related research by Leung et al., http://genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/55     

Mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription

A new study identifies the long noncoding RNA Pint as a regulator of cellular proliferation and a target of the p53 pathway. See related Research, http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/9/R104     

Smaug destroys a huge treasure

Smaug, a protein repressing translation and inducing mRNA decay, directly controls an unexpectedly large number of maternal mRNAs driving early Drosophila development.See related research, http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/1/R4Regulation of translation and mRNA stability is a key aspect of early metazoan development. One of the best studied factors involved in these processes is the Drosophila protein Smaug. In this issue of Genome Biology, Chen et al. [1] report that a large number of maternal mRNAs in the fly embryo are probably regulated directly by Smaug.     

Interactome analysis brings splicing into focus

The spliceosome is a huge molecular machine that assembles dynamically onto its pre-mRNA substrates. A new study based on interactome analysis provides clues about how splicing-regulatory proteins modulate assembly of the spliceosome to either activate or repress splicing.Please see related Research article: http://www.genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/119/abstract     

An enigmatic satellite

McLaughlin and Chadwick describe an X-linked tandem repeat that is transcribed, conserved and defies X inactivation. Is it selfish, functional or just an oddity?See research article: http://genomebiology.com/2011/12/4/R37     

MicroRNAs circulate around Alzheimer's disease

A select group of microRNAs identified in blood samples can differentiate between Alzheimer''s disease, other neurological disorders and age-matched healthy controls with high accuracy.Please see related Research article, http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/7/R78Millions of people suffer from Alzheimer''s disease (AD) every year, and the number of afflicted individuals is expected to increase drastically worldwide as the elderly population expands. AD is the most common form of dementia and often onsets after age 65. Currently, analysis of cerebrospinal fluid proteins, such as Aβ42, tau and p-tau, can only truly indicate a confirmation of AD diagnosis based on a clinical suspicion, or as a differential diagnosis from other neurological diseases that cause dementia-like symptoms. Thus, the search to find early-stage biomarkers of this disease is of utmost importance.Recently, blood-based biomarkers for AD have been proposed as attractive diagnostic tools, as they are non-invasive, highly specific and sensitive, and can be isolated with standard laboratory equipment. A number of studies have identified such blood-based AD biomarkers and demonstrated promising results. For example, one study reported a panel of three blood markers (cortisol, von Willebrand factor and oxidized low-density lipoprotein antibodies) that distinguished AD patients from healthy controls [1], while another group identified 18 proteins in blood plasma that could differentiate AD patients from controls with clinically relevant accuracy, sensitivity and specificity [2].