Latest Chromosome Stories
Inherited mutation links exploding chromosomes to cancer An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered. Their study, published online today in Cell, also presents the first whole genome sequence...
A new University of Florida study shows genomes of a recently formed plant species to be highly unstable, a phenomenon that may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences. Published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study is the first to document chromosomal variation in natural populations of a recently formed plant species following whole genome doubling, or polyploidy. Because many agricultural crops are young polyploids, the data may be used...
Tree frogs that look similar hear chromosome difference in calls; offers new insight to frog evolution When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates who share the same number of chromosomes as they do. The discovery offers insight into how new frog species may have evolved. Carl Gerhardt, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences in the...
Stowers researchers gain new insight into the chromosome separation process Each time a cell divides -- and it takes millions of cell divisions to create a fully grown human body from a single fertilized cell -- its chromosomes have to be accurately divvied up between both daughter cells. Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research used, ironically enough, the single-celled organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae -- commonly known as baker's yeast -- to gain new insight into the...
North Carolina State University researchers have uncovered evidence that evolutionary “breakpoints” on canine chromosomes are also associated with canine cancer. Mapping these “fragile” regions in dogs may also have implications for the discovery and treatment of human cancers. When new species evolve, they leave genetic evidence behind in the form of “breakpoint regions.” These regions are sites on the genome where chromosomes broke during speciation (when new species of dogs...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolutionary history shows that human populations likely originated in Africa, and the Genographic Project, the most extensive survey of human population genetic data to date, suggests where they went next. A study by the Project finds that modern humans migrated out of Africa via a southern route through Arabia, rather than a northern route by way of Egypt. These findings will be highlighted today at a conference at the National Geographic Society....
An international team of scientists, including biologists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, may have pinpointed for the first time the mechanism responsible for cell polyploidy, a state in which cells contain more than 2 paired sets of chromosomes. When it comes to human chromosomes and the genes they carry, our tissue cells prefer matched pairs. Bundled within the nucleus of our cells are 46 chromosomes, one set of 23 inherited from each of our parents. Thus, we are...
Vocabulary of epigenetics expanding In 2009, the DNA alphabet expanded. Scientists discovered that an extra letter or "sixth nucleotide" was surprisingly abundant in DNA from stem cells and brain cells. Now, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have mapped the patterns formed by that letter in the brains of mice, observing how its pattern of distribution in the genome changes during development and aging. Those patterns, stable or dynamic depending on the gene, suggest...
Parasite genomes speak of evolution by changes in gene, region and chromosome number, not by mutation in genes Two remarkable discoveries were today revealed by researchers into genome analysis of Leishmania parasites. These results uncovered a surprising level of variation at the genome structure level. First, they found that the DNA sequence of individual strains of each species populations is almost completely identical. It appears that only a small number of genes may cause...
Geneticists at Emory University School of Medicine have demonstrated a method that enables the routine amplification of all the genes on the X chromosome. The technology allows the rapid and highly accurate sequencing and identification of novel genetic variants affecting X chromosome genes. The method, developed in cooperation with RainDance Technologies, is described in the Oct. 2011 issue of Genomics. Senior author Michael Zwick, PhD, assistant professor of human genetics at Emory...
