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Anders Albrechtsen, Sofie Castella, Gitte Andersen, Torben Hansen, Oluf Pedersen and Rasmus Nielsen
The statistics of testing genetic associations rely on one-single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-at-a-time analysis, but combinations of SNPs are likely responsible for phenotypic differences. In this article, a Bayesian method is developed for identifying sets of SNPs and environmental factors that increase disease risk or change the distribution of a quantitative trait. This method is computationally feasible for a large number of possible interactions and differs from most previous approaches in that it retains effective statistical power even for testing pairwise and higher interactions.
Loss-of-function alleles of the JIL-1 histone H3S10 kinase enhance position-effect variegation at pericentric sites in Drosophila heterocromatin, pp. 1355–1358
Xiaomin Bao, Huai Deng, Jørgen Johansen, Jack Girton and Kristen M. Johansen
Modification of higher-order chromatin structure is linked to epigenetic control of gene activation and silencing. Results presented in this article suggest that the histone H3S10 kinase, encoded by JIL-1, functions to maintain euchromatic domains and counteract heterochromatization.
Evidence for de novo evolution of testis-expressed genes in the Drosophila yakuba/Drosophila erecta clade, pp. 1131–1137
David J. Begun, Heather A. Lindfors, Andrew D. Kern and Corbin D. Jones
Testis-specific expressed sequence tags should be a good place to look for rapidly evolving genes, and Begun and colleagues hit pay dirt there in three such X-linked genes in Drosophila yakuba and D. erecta. A 500-kb region of the X chromosome seems to be a hotspot for the origin of testis-biased genes in Drosophila.
toutvelu, a regulator of heparan sulfate proteoglycan biosynthesis, controls guidance cues for germ-cell migration, pp. 905–912
Girish Deshpande, Nilay Sethi and Paul Schedl
Germ-cell migration to the gonad during Drosophila embryogenesis depends upon a combination of repulsive and attractive cues. One of the attractive cues produced by somatic gonadal precursor cells is Hedgehog (Hh). The authors present evidence that toutvelu, a gene involved in heparan sulphate proteoglycan biosynthesis, is required in the transmission of the Hh signal to the migrating germ cells.
Inorganic phosphate deprivation causes tRNA nuclear accumulation via retrograde transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pp. 841–852
Rebecca L. Hurto, Amy Hin Yan Tong, Charles Boone and Anita K. Hopper
Transfer RNA (tRNA) functions in the cytoplasm, so why does it sometimes go to the nucleus? The authors find that phosphate depletion causes tRNAs to move to the nucleus, suggesting that retrograde transport of tRNA may be a means by which cells downregulate gene expression under unfavorable growth conditions.
Mutations in cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIa cause neurodegeneration and motor dysfunction in Drosophila, pp. 937–946
Wensheng Liu, Radhakrishnan Gnanasambandam, Jeffery Benjamin, Gunisha Kaur, Patricia B. Getman, Alan J. Siegel, Randall D. Shortridge and Satpal Singh
It is increasingly clear that mitochondrial energy generation is crucial for proper function of the nervous system. Mutations in levy, a gene of Drosophila encoding a subunit of cytochrome c oxidase, cause temperature-sensitive paralysis, age-dependent bang-induced paralysis, progressive neurodegeneration, and reduced life span. These phenotypes parallel those of mitochondrial encephalomyopathies in humans, so levy mutants provide a nice model for working out the basis of this type of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy.
Joint estimates of quantitative trait locus effect and frequency using synthetic recombinant populations of Drosophila melanogaster, pp. 1261–1281
Stuart J. Macdonald and Anthony D. Long
Taking a cue from mouse geneticists, Macdonald and Long use an eight-way cross to map quantitative trait loci (QTL). A key advantage of this approach is that it lets them simultaneously estimate effect and allele frequency for each QTL. Mapping QTL in eight-way recombinant populations will help distinguish between models that seek to explain the maintenance of genetic variation.
A novel nonnull ZIP1 allele triggers meiotic arrest with synapsed chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pp. 773–787
Neal Mitra and G. Shirleen Roeder
If chromosomes do not pair during meiosis, a checkpoint is triggered that arrests progression through meiosis. The authors identify a novel mutation affecting the yeast SC component Zip1 that results in arrest in meiotic prophase. The authors suggest that an aberrant SC forms in this mutant that triggers the synapsis checkpoint. Since the SC in this mutant is morphologically normal, this mutation represents the first clear separation-of-function mutant for the ZIP1 gene.
Asymmetric postmating isolation: Darwin's corollary to Haldane's rule, pp. 1059–1088
Michael Turelli and Leonie C. Moyle
Dobzhansky–Muller incompatibilities (DMIs) involving uniparentally inherited genetic factors typically result in asymmetrical fertility in reciprocal crosses between closely related species. This article models two-locus DMIs to make quantitative and qualitative predictions concerning the patterns of this asymmetry in parental species crosses and in the hybrid F1 generation.
Transcription of the 1.688 satellite DNA family is under the control of RNA interference machinery in Drosophila melanogaster ovaries, pp. 1343–1349
Lev Usakin, José Abad, Vasily V. Vagin, Beatriz de Pablos, Alfredo Villasante and Vladimir A. Gvozdev
This article adds to the growing body of evidence that RNA interference (RNAi) operates to silence gene expression. A mutation in the spn-E gene of Drosophila, known to be involved in RNAi in oocytes, increases transcription of both strands of 1.688 satellite repeats in germinal tissues. The effects of the spn-E mutation are most pronounced for pericentromeric satellites on autosomes, where it causes an increase in acetylation of K9 of histone H3 and Taf1 occupancy.
Sex-specific viability, sex linkage and dominance in genomic imprinting, pp. 1101–1118
Jeremy Van Cleve and Marcus W. Feldman
Genes subject to genomic imprinting are expressed only from the chromosome of a particular parent. It has been suggested that genomic imprinting could evolve due to sex-specific selection, but this article shows that the coefficient of dominance is the crucial parameter determining the evolution of imprinting. Sex-specific selection is important only when fitnesses are approximately additive. Thus, the pattern of imprinted genes across species could be more diverse than previously thought.
Thirty-one flavors of Drosophila Rab proteins, pp. 1307–1322
Jun Zhang, Karen L. Schulze, P. Robin Hiesinger, Kaye Suyama, Stream Wang, Matthew Fish, Melih Acar, Roger A. Hoskins, Hugo J. Bellen and Matthew P. Scott
Thirty-one Rab proteins control organelle movements and modulate signal transduction in development in Drosophila. To understand why so many Rab proteins are needed, the authors create a set of transgenic flies to screen for loss- and gain-of-function mutations in chosen tissues at defined developmental stages. They generate fluorescent protein-tagged wild-type, dominant-negative, and constitutively active forms of 31 Rab proteins. These transgenic lines provide a useful tool kit for investigating Rab functions.
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