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Characterization of a new human XPF mutation (XFE) that leads to profound DNA intrastrand crosslink sensitivity and progeroid symptoms is reported, indicating that the accumulation of DNA damage induces a metabolic response aimed at extending life span rather than maintaining growth.
Production of stomata, the gas-exchange structure in plants, requires asymmetric cell division and cell type differentiation in an orderly manner. Identification of a key switch gene for the fate transition of stomatal precursor cells revealed a compelling view that consecutive actions of three closely related bHLH proteins control stomatal differentiation, a mechanism strikingly similar to cell-type differentiation in animals.
This paper, one of two published that show Sld2 and Sld3 constitute the minimal group of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) targets necessary to promote replication, also finds that the function of G1 CDKs in replication is not just to activate the S-phase CDKs, but also to regulate the Cdc7 kinase regulatory subunit, Dbf4.
The expression of each of the roughly 22,000 genes of the mouse genome has been mapped, at cellular resolution, across all major structures of the mouse brain, revealing that 80% of all genes appear to be expressed in the brain.
Last year the first map of single nucleotide changes was published; now an international consortium has mapped even larger areas of differences, called copy number variants. These variants are at least 1,000-base-pair differences between individual people, and have been linked to both benign and disease-causing changes in the human genome.
An essential component of evaluating and improving global health is access to appropriate diagnostic tools. Through this series of papers we hope to further the dissemination of current knowledge on global health diagnostic needs for the conditions that most severely affect those living in the developing world.