Genetics and Medicine: an evolving relationship

The rapid expansion of knowledge in human and medical genetics has revealed at least 6 percent average heterozygosity per structural gene locus, in excess of 2300 Mendelian (single gene) variants and several hundred chromosomal variants in man. This means that with the exception of monozygous twins, no two individuals are alike in their phenotype. Therefore, each person has a relative state of health, and genetic factors contribute significantly to disease. The ubiquity of genetic diversity requires the development of services for genetic screening, diagnosis, and counseling to prevent and treat a major portion of disease in modern society. Specific programs in Quebec and Canada illustrate how individuals and populations can be served by such services. Better education of citizens and health professionals in human genetics is essential for the further improvement of genetics services in society.     

An abundance of rare functional variants in 202 drug target genes sequenced in 14,002 people

Rare genetic variants contribute to complex disease risk; however, the abundance of rare variants in human populations remains unknown. We explored this spectrum of variation by sequencing 202 genes encoding drug targets in 14,002 individuals. We find rare variants are abundant (1 every 17 bases) and geographically localized, so that even with large sample sizes, rare variant catalogs will be largely incomplete. We used the observed patterns of variation to estimate population growth parameters, the proportion of variants in a given frequency class that are putatively deleterious, and mutation rates for each gene. We conclude that because of rapid population growth and weak purifying selection, human populations harbor an abundance of rare variants, many of which are deleterious and have relevance to understanding disease risk.     

等位基因结构变异及差异表达研究进展

等位基因的结构变异及差异表达在多种生物中普遍存在。等位基因差异表达对基因的表达起了很重要的调控作用,并最终可能与生物的表型多态性联系起来。但是,由于问题的复杂性和缺乏有效的技术,等位差异表达与基因表达变化乃至表型变化之间的关系至今没有解决,因此对等位差异表达在各种生物中所起的作用仍然是低估的。本文从等位基因差异表达产生的原因、其生物学意义以及检测方法等方面对目前等位基因结构变异及差异表达的研究进展做一简单介绍。     

A stem cell molecular signature

Mechanisms regulating self-renewal and cell fate decisions in mammalian stem cells are poorly understood. We determined global gene expression profiles for mouse and human hematopoietic stem cells and other stages of the hematopoietic hierarchy. Murine and human hematopoietic stem cells share a number of expressed gene products, which define key conserved regulatory pathways in this developmental system. Moreover, in the mouse, a portion of the genetic program of hematopoietic stem cells is shared with embryonic and neural stem cells. This overlapping set of gene products represents a molecular signature of stem cells.     

Implantation of genetically engineered fibroblasts into mice: implications for gene therapy

In a variety of human genetic diseases, replacement of the absent or defective protein provides significant therapeutic benefits. As a model for a somatic cell gene therapy system, cultured murine fibroblasts were transfected with a human growth hormone (hGH) fusion gene and cells from one of the resulting clonal lines were subsequently implanted into various locations in mice. Such implants synthesized and secreted hGH, which was detectable in the serum. The function of the implants depended on their location and size, and on the histocompatibility of the donor cells with their recipients. The expression of hGH could be modified by addition of regulatory effectors, and, with appropriate immunosuppression, the implants survived for more than 3 months. This approach to gene therapy, here termed "transkaryotic implantation," is potentially applicable to many genetic diseases in that the transfected cell line can be extensively characterized prior to implantation, several anatomical sites are suitable for implantation, and regulated expression of the gene of therapeutic interest can be obtained.     

Diversity of human copy number variation and multicopy genes

Copy number variants affect both disease and normal phenotypic variation, but those lying within heavily duplicated, highly identical sequence have been difficult to assay. By analyzing short-read mapping depth for 159 human genomes, we demonstrated accurate estimation of absolute copy number for duplications as small as 1.9 kilobase pairs, ranging from 0 to 48 copies. We identified 4.1 million "singly unique nucleotide" positions informative in distinguishing specific copies and used them to genotype the copy and content of specific paralogs within highly duplicated gene families. These data identify human-specific expansions in genes associated with brain development, reveal extensive population genetic diversity, and detect signatures consistent with gene conversion in the human species. Our approach makes ~1000 genes accessible to genetic studies of disease association.     

A systematic survey of loss-of-function variants in human protein-coding genes

Genome-sequencing studies indicate that all humans carry many genetic variants predicted to cause loss of function (LoF) of protein-coding genes, suggesting unexpected redundancy in the human genome. Here we apply stringent filters to 2951 putative LoF variants obtained from 185 human genomes to determine their true prevalence and properties. We estimate that human genomes typically contain ~100 genuine LoF variants with ~20 genes completely inactivated. We identify rare and likely deleterious LoF alleles, including 26 known and 21 predicted severe disease-causing variants, as well as common LoF variants in nonessential genes. We describe functional and evolutionary differences between LoF-tolerant and recessive disease genes and a method for using these differences to prioritize candidate genes found in clinical sequencing studies.     

番茄果实中类胡萝卜素的合成及其调控

由于代谢途径中的某些关键酶丧失活性,番茄中类胡萝卜素的成分发生变化,产生出色彩斑斓的各种突变体,为研究类胡萝卜素的合成过程和调控机理提供了良好的材料基础。研究表明,番茄发育过程中对基因转录水平进行的调控是决定类胡萝卜素构成和含量的主要手段,但转录后调控和产物反馈抑制也不容忽视。随着越来越多的类胡萝卜素基因被分离、鉴定,通过基因修饰可以按照人们的需求生产特定的类胡萝卜素。     

Genetic factors in type 2 diabetes: the end of the beginning?

The intensive search for genetic variants that predispose to type 2 diabetes was launched with optimism, but progress has been slower than was hoped. Even so, major advances have been made in the understanding of monogenic forms of the disease which together represent a substantial health burden, and a few common gene variants that influence susceptibility have now been unequivocally identified. Armed with a better understanding of the tools needed to detect such genes, it seems inevitable that the rate of progress will increase and the relevance of genetic information to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diabetes will become increasingly tangible.     

Comment on papers by Evans et al. and Mekel-Bobrov et al. on Evidence for Positive Selection of MCPH1 and ASPM

Evans et al. and Mekel-Bobrov et al. (Reports, 9 September 2005, p. 1717 and 1720, respectively) reported that human genetic variants of Microcephalin (MCPH1) and abnormal spindle-like microcephaly associated (ASPM) are under strong positive selection. We genotyped these variants in 9000 children and find no meaningful associations with brain size and various cognitive measures, which indicates that contrary to previous speculations, ASPM and MCPH1 have not been selected for brain-related effects.     

基因编辑技术及其在作物育种中的应用与安全管理

基因组编辑技术是研究基因功能和对生物体基因进行定向改造的有力工具。随着近几年CRISPR/Cas9技术的快速发展,基因组编辑技术在作物育种领域起着越来越重要的作用。介绍了ZNFs、TALENs和CRISPR/Cas9系统的原理及在作物育种领域的研究进展,重点论述了CRISPR系统相关的变体和该系统在植物基因功能研究和作物育种中的进展。同时,也论述了基因编辑作物的检测方法及不同国家和地区对基因编辑作物的监管态度,重点介绍了美国、欧盟以及我国目前的监管态度,并分析了基因编辑作物存在的问题和发展趋势。为我国基因编辑作物的研究、安全管理和商业化批准提供了参考。     

Chitin induces natural competence in Vibrio cholerae

The mosaic-structured Vibrio cholerae genome points to the importance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in the evolution of this human pathogen. We showed that V. cholerae can acquire new genetic material by natural transformation during growth on chitin, a biopolymer that is abundant in aquatic habitats (e.g., from crustacean exoskeletons), where it lives as an autochthonous microbe. Transformation competence was found to require a type IV pilus assembly complex, a putative DNA binding protein, and three convergent regulatory cascades, which are activated by chitin, increasing cell density, and nutrient limitation, a decline in growth rate, or stress.     

运用布尔网络模型和贝叶斯网络模型推测基因调控网络的比较研究

基因调控网络的研究从基因之间相互作用的角度揭示复杂的生命现象,是功能基因组学研究的重要内容,也是当前生物信息学研究的前沿。布尔网络模型和贝叶斯网络模型都是研究基因调控网络的有力工具。本文分别采用布尔网络模型和贝叶斯网络模式推测基因调控网络,实验结果显示布尔网络推测出了7条正确的调控关系,而贝叶斯网络仅推测出5条正确的调控关系,在本实验中推测基因之间的调控关系正确数布尔网络模型优于贝叶斯网络模型。     

Using a combination of SAR element and enhancer to increase the expression level of hybrid genes in transgenic animals

A regulatory element consisting of a MAR element sequence of Drosophila heat shock genes and enhancer from a long terminal repeat of the mouse mammary tumor virus is created for studying the possibility of increasing the expression level of hybrid genes in transgenic animals. Two lines of transgenic mice containing the described regulatory element and hybrid gene intended for expressing human beta interferon in milk of transgenic animals are obtained by the method of coinjection into the pronuclei of murine zygotes. It is shown that the use of the given regulatory element doesn’t lead to an increase of activity of human beta interferon in milk compared with transgenic rabbits containing only the hybrid gene for expressing beta interferon. Furthermore, a decrease of tissue-specific expression of beta interferon is observed with the use of the regulatory element.     

A regulatory SNP causes a human genetic disease by creating a new transcriptional promoter

We describe a pathogenetic mechanism underlying a variant form of the inherited blood disorder alpha thalassemia. Association studies of affected individuals from Melanesia localized the disease trait to the telomeric region of human chromosome 16, which includes the alpha-globin gene cluster, but no molecular defects were detected by conventional approaches. After resequencing and using a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation and expression analysis on a tiled oligonucleotide array, we identified a gain-of-function regulatory single-nucleotide polymorphism (rSNP) in a nongenic region between the alpha-globin genes and their upstream regulatory elements. The rSNP creates a new promoterlike element that interferes with normal activation of all downstream alpha-like globin genes. Thus, our work illustrates a strategy for distinguishing between neutral and functionally important rSNPs, and it also identifies a pathogenetic mechanism that could potentially underlie other genetic diseases.