The art and design of genetic screens: caenorhabditis elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was chosen as a model genetic organism because its attributes, chiefly its hermaphroditic lifestyle and rapid generation time, make it suitable for the isolation and characterization of genetic mutants. The most important challenge for the geneticist is to design a genetic screen that will identify mutations that specifically disrupt the biological process of interest. Since 1974, when Sydney Brenner published his pioneering genetic screen, researchers have developed increasingly powerful methods for identifying genes and genetic pathways in C. elegans.     

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an evolving technique that provides a practical alternative to prenatal diagnosis and termination of pregnancy for couples who are at substantial risk of transmitting a serious genetic disorder to their offspring. Samples for genetic testing are obtained from oocytes or cleaving embryos after in vitro fertilization. Only embryos that are shown to be free of the genetic disorders are made available for replacement in the uterus, in the hope of establishing a pregnancy. PGD has provided unique insights into aspects of reproductive genetics and early human development, but has also raised important new ethical issues about assisted human reproduction.     

Beverage specific alcohol intake in a population-based study: Evidence for a positive association between pulmonary function and wine intake

Background  

Lung function is a strong predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Previous studies suggest that alcohol exposure may be linked to impaired pulmonary function through oxidant-antioxidant mechanisms. Alcohol may be an important source of oxidants; however, wine contains several antioxidants. In this study we analyzed the relation of beverage specific alcohol intake with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in a random sample of 1555 residents of Western New York, USA.     

Lipid rafts and B-cell activation

The B-cell antigen receptor acts during B-cell activation both to initiate signalling cascades and to transport antigen into the cell for subsequent processing and presentation. Recent evidence indicates that membrane microdomains, termed lipid rafts, have a role in B-cell activation as platforms for B-cell receptor (BCR) signalling and might also act in antigen trafficking. Lipid rafts might facilitate the regulation of the BCR during B-cell development by B-cell co-receptors, and during viral infection. So, lipid rafts seem to be an important new piece of the B-cell signalling puzzle.     

Synthesis and hybridization studies of a 5-aminopentanoic acid nucleobase (APN) dimer

We have prepared a 5-aminopentanoic acid nucleobase (APN) dimer and investigated its hybridization capabilities to complementary DNA using both UV melting and NMR techniques.     

Gramene: development and integration of trait and gene ontologies for rice

Gramene (http://www.gramene.org/) is a comparative genome database for cereal crops and a community resource for rice. We are populating and curating Gramene with annotated rice (Oryza sativa) genomic sequence data and associated biological information including molecular markers, mutants, phenotypes, polymorphisms and Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). In order to support queries across various data sets as well as across external databases, Gramene will employ three related controlled vocabularies. The specific goal of Gramene is, first to provide a Trait Ontology (TO) that can be used across the cereal crops to facilitate phenotypic comparisons both within and between the genera. Second, a vocabulary for plant anatomy terms, the Plant Ontology (PO) will facilitate the curation of morphological and anatomical feature information with respect to expression, localization of genes and gene products and the affected plant parts in a phenotype. The TO and PO are both in the early stages of development in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute, TAIR and MaizeDB as part of the Plant Ontology Consortium. Finally, as part of another consortium comprising macromolecular databases from other model organisms, the Gene Ontology Consortium, we are annotating the confirmed and predicted protein entries from rice using both electronic and manual curation.