Latest recombination Stories

Cancer cells are resourceful survivors with plenty of tricks for staying alive. Researchers have uncovered one of these stratagems, showing how cells lacking the tumor suppressor BRCA1 can resume one form of DNA repair, sparing themselves from stagnation or death. The study appears in the January 21st issue of The Journal of Cell Biology. The BRCA1 protein helps to mend double-strand DNA breaks by promoting homologous recombination. Without it, cells can amass broken, jumbled, and fused...

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A new study suggests that the reason worker bees are such a highly skilled and specialized workforce is that the genes controlling their behavior are re-shuffled frequently, helping evolution build a better bee. The new research from York University, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), sheds light on how sterile worker bees evolved charismatic and cooperative behaviors. These behaviors include...

Research from the University of Melbourne has shown that two different vaccine viruses- used simultaneously to control the same condition in chickens- have combined to produce new infectious viruses, prompting early response from Australia's veterinary medicines regulator. The vaccines were used to control infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT), an acute respiratory disease occurring in chickens worldwide. ILT can have up to 20% mortality rate in some flocks and has a significant economic and...

The study, published yesterday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), looked at how genes on sex-linked chromosomes are passed down generations and linked to fertility, using the specific example of the W chromosome in female chickens. The results confirm that although these chromosomes have shrunk over millions of years, and have lost many of their original genes, those that remain are extremely important in predicting fertility and are, therefore, unlikely...

Gene Is Involved in Fanconi Anemia – Thale Cress as Model Organism Scientists of KIT and the University of Birmingham have identified relevant new functions of a gene that plays a crucial role in Fanconi anemia, a life-threatening disease. The FANCM gene is known to be important for the stability of the genome. Now, the researchers found that FANCM also plays a key role in the recombination of genetic information during inheritance. For their studies, the scientists used thale cress as a...

A study published in BioMed Central's Biology Direct journal reports the existence of a previously undetected group of viruses and, more importantly, a new type of viral genome that could have huge implications for theories of viral emergence and evolution. Viruses are the most abundant organisms on earth, yet little is known about their evolutionary history since they have exceptionally high rates of genetic mutation which are difficult to track. Viral metagenomics, however, is becoming...

A single gene mutation can sweep through a population, opening the door for the concept of 'species' in bacteria Bacteria are the most populous organisms on the planet. They thrive in almost every known environment, adapting to different habitats by means of genetic variations that provide the capabilities essential for survival. These genetic innovations arise from what scientists believe is a random mutation and exchange of genes and other bits of DNA among bacteria that sometimes...

A recent study posted in Nature Genetics explains that researchers have found that Chlamydia has been evolving differently than previously thought. The researchers used whole genome sequencing to find these results. Their findings show the exchange of DNA between different strains of the STD to form new strains is more common than expected. The researchers came about their findings while working with hospitals to improve their testing and detection of Chlamydia, particularly different...

Whole genome analysis of Chlamydia trachomatis highlights risks with current method of tracking In a study released today in Nature Genetics, researchers have found that Chlamydia has evolved more actively than was previously thought. Using whole genome sequencing the researchers show that the exchange of DNA between different strains of Chlamydia to form new strains is much more common than expected. The team highlights that current clinical testing methods do not capture the variation...

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....