Showing papers in "Trends in Genetics in 2017"

TL;DR: Recent studies demonstrating the role of lncRNAs in regulating gene expression and nuclear organization and the involvement of the most-abundant and conserved lncRNA, metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), in gene expression control are highlighted.

TL;DR: This review surveys the first experimental approaches that assay, in parallel, multiple molecular types from the same single cell, before considering the challenges and opportunities afforded by these and future technologies.

TL;DR: It is argued that m6A provides a fast mean to post-transcriptionally maximize gene expression, and appears to have a second function during developmental transitions by targeting m 6A-marked transcripts for degradation.

TL;DR: Current knowledge on lncRNAs is reviewed and the most recent discoveries of the underlying mechanisms related to their formation are highlighted, highlighting their potential as key regulators in gene expression networks and generating new RNA species with unexpected formats.

TL;DR: Recent advances in understanding the interplay between epigenetic regulators and EMT transcription factors are discussed and how these findings could be used to establish new therapeutic approaches to tackle EMT-related diseases are discussed.

TL;DR: Re-engineered protein-only nucleases such as mtZFN and mitoTALEN function effectively in mammalian mitochondria, although efficient delivery of nucleic acids into the organelle remains elusive and the existence of an endogenous mechanism for nucleic acid import into mammalian mtDNA, a prerequisite for mitochondrial CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, remains controversial.

TL;DR: This Opinion article reemphasizes the unique abilities of RNAs to form myriad structures as well as to interact with other RNAs, DNA, and proteins, which provide them with unique and powerful abilities.

TL;DR: It is argued that the domestication of TE proteins may often be the only evolutionary path toward the mitigation of the cost incurred by their own selfish activities.

TL;DR: The key studies and technological advances that have shaped the understanding of the dimensions, dynamics, and biological relevance of the mammalian noncoding transcriptome are described.

TL;DR: The genetic code, which defines the amino acid sequence of a protein, also contains information that influences the rate and efficiency of translation, and interactions between adjacent codons and wobble base pairing are key.

TL;DR: Technical and philosophical limitations of various screening approaches are discussed, along with avenues for future research into diverse molecular mechanisms contributing to mitotic error.

TL;DR: It is reviewed here how regulatory divergence between species can result in hybrid dysfunction, including recent theoretical support for this model and empirical evidence for regulatory divergence within species and evidence for misregulation as a source of hybrid dysfunction.

TL;DR: A historical perspective on the progress made in MS genetics is presented and current work geared towards creating a more complete model that accurately represents the genetic landscape of MS susceptibility is discussed.

TL;DR: It is concluded that although there is evidence for a beneficial effect of TE activation under stress conditions, the relationship between TEs and the eukaryotic stress response is quite complex.

TL;DR: The neural crest is a transient, multipotent population of cells that arises at the border of the developing nervous system and undergoes an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition to delaminate and migrate, often to distant locations in the embryo.

TL;DR: This work highlights some of the mammalian regulatory innovations driven by specific KRAB-ZFPs, including genomic imprinting, meiotic recombination hotspot choice, and placental growth.

TL;DR: The active form of U7 snRNP contains the HLB component FLASH, the histone cleavage complex, and a subset of polyadenylation factors including the endonuclease CPSF73.

TL;DR: Recent discoveries regarding the ALT mechanism are reviewed, and how DNA repair pathways converge to maintain the length and functional integrity of telomere shortening or crisis is discussed, implicating ALT telomeres as DNA repair hot spots.

TL;DR: This work reviews recent progress in the genetics of carotenoid processing and focuses on examples from several classes of genes coding for scavenger receptors, β-carotene oxygenases, and ketolases, finding that they are conserved across deep phylogenetic timescales.

TL;DR: Ocular lens development represents an advantageous system in which to study regulatory mechanisms governing cell fate decisions, extracellular signaling, cell and tissue organization, and the underlying gene regulatory networks.

TL;DR: The apparent similarity of the variance in recombination rate among individuals between distantly related species suggests that the relative costs and benefits of recombination that establish the upper and lower bounds may be similar across species.

TL;DR: This review elaborate on piRNA biogenesis in Drosophila somatic and germline cells and focuses on the mechanisms by which pi RNA precursor transcription is regulated and highlight recent work that has advanced understanding of piRNA precursor processing to mature piRNAs.

TL;DR: The requirements and prospects of explanatory and predictive clinical genomics in IBD are discussed and the number of potential candidate genes is high, and interventional evidence is still emerging.

TL;DR: The current knowledge and most recent discoveries relating to alternative functions and biogenesis strategies for Ago-associated RNAs in mammals are reviewed.

TL;DR: Proper execution of asymmetric organogenesis is critical to health, making furthering the understanding of L-R development an important concern.

TL;DR: Current understanding of two types of regulatory mechanisms are discussed: those that prolong RNAi inheritance through amplification and maintenance of heritable small RNAs, and those that limit the persistence of ancestral RNAi by, for example, employing negative feedback loops to reset the transmission of epigenetic information.

TL;DR: This work has suggested that many pathogenic microbes have evolved a 'two-speed' genome with regions that show increased variability and that are enriched in transposable elements and pathogenicity-related genes.

TL;DR: Recent experimental data are discussed which, at a minimum, fully substantiate L1 mosaicism in early embryonic development and neural cells, including post-mitotic neurons.

TL;DR: Currently available methodology and results with regard to sex-limited chromosomes sequencing and assembly are reviewed, focusing on vertebrates, but bringing in some examples from other taxa.

TL;DR: An overview of methodologies using Ribo-seq to map the positions of millions of translating ribosomes in the cell and outlining their assumptions, data requirements, and availability is presented.