Archive for the 'SciLit' Category

Extensive evolutionary changes in regulatory element activity during human origins are associated with altered gene expression and positive selection. PLoS Genet. 2012

April 12, 2015

Changes in [DHS] #regulatory element activity…[over 3 primates] associated w/ altered…expression & pos. selection
http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002789

DHS across 3 primates finds species specific sites associated with differential expression & positive selection

Shibata Y, Sheffield NC, Fedrigo O, Babbitt CC, Wortham M, Tewari AK, London D, Song L, Lee BK, Iyer VR, Parker SC, Margulies EH, Wray GA, Furey TS, Crawford GE*. Extensive evolutionary changes in regulatory element activity during human origins are
associated with altered gene expression and positive selection. PLoS Genet. 2012 Jun; 8(6):e1002789. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002789. Epub 2012 Jun 28. PubMed PMID: 22761590; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3386175

SUMMARY (from csds):

The study is focused on analyzing genotype-phenotype correlation by looking at the evolution of DHS sites across three primate genomes: human, chimp and macaque. By comparing the data they were able to identify common DHS sites across the three species (sites that show similar DHS levels) and also species-specific sites. All the assays were supported by ChiP experiments. The study identified >2000 regulatory elements that were gained/lost since the divergence of
human and chimp. Looking at DNase and RNAseq data the authors show that the enrichment of regulatory elements next to genes with species-specific expression, suggests that the gain or loss of DHS sites impacts transcript abundance. The human DHS sites were enhanced for chromatin marks predictive of enhancers, while common regions were preferentially associated with promoters and insulators. By looking at species specificity, they found that species-specific DHS gains are cell type specific while both species specific DHS gains and losses are subject to positive selection. The common DHS sites are conserved and are suggested to have roles involving transcription and general housekeeping.

Circadian Enhancers Coordinate Multiple Phases of Rhythmic Gene Transcription In Vivo

April 5, 2015

Circadian #Enhancers Coordinate… Rhythmic… Transcription http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674%2814%2901310-5
Periodicity helps find #eRNAs/enhancers & their targets

Identification of a large set of rare complete human knockouts : Nature Genetics : Nature Publishing Group

April 3, 2015

A large set [1171] of rare complete human knockouts
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3243.html ~8% Icelanders have one; from a larger set of ~5K genes w/ #LOFs

Also:

In Iceland’s DNA, New Clues to Disease-Causing Genes – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/science/in-icelands-dna-clues-to-what-genes-may-cause-disease.html

by Carl Zimmer
QT:{{”
The Decode researchers looked for human knockouts in Iceland — and found a lot of them. Nearly 8 percent of Icelanders lack a working version of a gene. All told, the Decode team identified 1,171 genes shut down in Icelandic knockouts.
In a 2012 study, Dr. MacArthur and his colleagues were able to identify just 253 genes knocked out in humans.
“}}

GM microbes created that can’t escape the lab : Nature News & Comment

April 1, 2015

GM microbes…that can’t escape the lab
http://www.nature.com/news/gm-microbes-created-that-can-t-escape-the-lab-1.16758 Repurposing stops to synthetic amino acids; useful for biofuels & communities

Church & Isaacs

Analyses of allele-specific gene expression in highly divergent mouse crosses identifies pervasive allelic imbalance : Nature Genetics : Nature Publishing Group

March 29, 2015

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3222.html

Nat Genet. 2015 Mar 2. doi: 10.1038/ng.3222. [Epub ahead of print]

Analyses of allele-specific gene expression in highly divergent mouse crosses identifies pervasive allelic imbalance.

Crowley JJ1, Zhabotynsky V1, Sun W2, Huang S3, Pakatci IK3, Kim Y1, Wang JR3, Morgan AP4, Calaway JD4, Aylor DL1, Yun Z1, Bell TA4, Buus RJ4, Calaway ME4, Didion JP4, Gooch TJ4, Hansen SD4, Robinson NN4, Shaw GD4, Spence JS1, Quackenbush CR1, Barrick CJ1, Nonneman RJ1, Kim K5, Xenakis J5, Xie Y1,Valdar W6, Lenarcic AB1, Wang W3, Welsh CE3, Fu CP3, Zhang Z3, Holt J3, Guo Z3, Threadgill DW7, Tarantino LM8, Miller DR4, Zou F5, McMillan L3, Sullivan PF9, Pardo-Manuel de Villena F4.

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v47/n4/full/ng.3222.html

Carefully controlled allele expt – hets midway in expr betw homs for parents for 76pct (additive model) but 25pct hets diff. from parents

ASE in…divergent mouse crosses identifies pervasive allelic imbalance, 80%, w/ 60% closely following additive model
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3222.html

Cheese Rind Communities Provide Tractable Systems for In Situ and In Vitro Studies of Microbial Diversity

March 29, 2015

Scientists & cheesemakers gather for (microbial) culture
http://www.nature.com/news/scientists-and-cheesemakers-gather-for-microbial-culture-1.15776 #Cheese is big for #microbiome differences one can taste

Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414007454

Microbiologists are on a quest to catalogue and control the bacteria that make each raw-milk cheese unique.
Ewen Callaway
27 August 2014

Syntrophic exchange in synthetic microbial communities

March 28, 2015

Syntrophic exchange in synthetic #microbial communities [& their evolution] http://www.pnas.org/content/111/20/E2149.abstract Trading metabolically costly amino acids

Reverse engineering of TLX oncogenic transcriptional networks identifies RUNX1 as tumor suppressor in T-ALL

March 27, 2015

RUNX1 is most connected in TLX1 & 3 expr. net. It’s a tumor suppressor disabled by LOF mutations.

Rev. engineering…identifies RUNX1 as tumor suppressor in T-ALL http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v18/n3/full/nm.2610.html It’s the most connected TF in the expression network

Nat Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 Sep 1.
Nat Med. 2012 Feb 26; 18(3): 436–440.
Published online 2012 Feb 26. doi: 10.1038/nm.2610

Giusy Della Gatta,1 Teresa Palomero,1,2 Arianne Perez-Garcia,1 Alberto Ambesi-Impiombato,1 Mukesh Bansal,3Zachary W. Carpenter,1 Kim De Keersmaecker,4,5 Xavier Sole,6,7 Luyao Xu,1 Elisabeth Paietta,8,9 Janis Racevskis,8,9Peter H Wiernik,8,9 Jacob M Rowe,10 Jules P Meijerink,11 Andrea Califano,1,3 and Adolfo A. Ferrando1,2,12

JAMA Network | JAMA | Stealth Research: Is Biomedical Innovation Happening Outside the Peer-Reviewed Literature?

March 23, 2015

Is Biomedical Innovation Happening Outside the Peer-Reviewed Literature? http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2110977 Focuses on diagnostics company, #Theranos

QT:{{”
This Viewpoint discusses the need for scientific transparency when biomedical innovation takes place outside of the peer-reviewed literature.
“}}

by J Ioannidis

From noncoding variant to phenotype via SORT1 at the 1p13 cholesterol locus : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

March 23, 2015

From noncoding variant to phenotype…at…#cholesterol locus http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7307/full/nature09266.html
Gold standard ex of #SNP functional effect: LDL changes

Kiran Musunuru,
Alanna Strong,
Maria Frank-Kamenetsky,
et al.

Nature 466, 714–719 (05 August 2010) doi:10.1038/nature09266

Changes LDL level