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Volume 28 Issue 3, July 2001

Stained glass by Susan Bayer-Fishman.

Editorial

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News & Views

  • Large-scale mutagenesis of the mouse genome is an essential task associated with the Human Genome Project. The two opposing schools of direct and reverse genetics have demonstrated comparable advantages, and yet large numbers of mutant lines have mostly been the prerogative of direct genetics. An improved gene-trapping resource now brings reverse genetics one step closer.

    • Ian J. Jackson
    News & Views
  • One of three loci previously associated with autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia (adPEO) encodes ANT1, a mitochondrial nucleotide transporter. Now, mutations in two other genes are found in people with adPEO. One of these encodes a new helicase, Twinkle, which is related to the product of bacteriophage T7 gene 4, and co-localizes with mitochondrial DNA. The identification of Twinkle adds a new star to the expanding constellation of 'helicase diseases'.

    • Carlos T. Moraes
    News & Views
  • Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is critical to morphogenesis and homeostasis. The identification of inactivating mutations in a gene encoding one of its modifying enzymes, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), in people with a hereditary disorder in which the bones disintegrate, represents the first genetic evidence that the proteolysis of the ECM mediates human growth and development. It also underscores the need for an intricate balance between breakdown and deposition of the ECM.

    • Thiennu H. Vu
    News & Views
  • Association studies have rarely been used in plant genetics, in part because of the risk of false positives caused by population structure. A study of flowering time in maize makes the first use of recent 'structured association' methods—statistical approaches that use independent loci to control for the effects of structure and admixture.

    • Jonathan K. Pritchard
    News & Views
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Commentary

  • The clinical use of pharmacogenetic drugs will require that a sample of a patient's DNA be tested before a drug is prescribed. Although pharmacogenetic tests pose fewer risks than genetic tests for disease mutations, they might still reveal personal information that could be used adversely to a patient's interests. Informed consent and privacy of pharmacogenetic test results may be essential in most clinical uses of pharmacogenetic drugs.

    • John A. Robertson
    Commentary
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