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More than 50% of the 13,666 Drosophila melanogaster genes are now reported to contain a P-element or piggyBac insertion. Some of these insertions have been used to create molecularly defined deletions spanning more than 50% of the genome.
The excretory systems of closely related worm species have distinct morphological and functional features. A new study now shows that evolutionary gain of lin-48 expression in the excretory duct cell in Caenorhabditis elegans is responsible for the unique excretory system innovations present in this species.
After establishing a pattern of gene expression that identifies a desired drug effect in leukemia cells (e.g., differentiation), post-treatment gene expression can be used to screen candidate compounds for their ability to induce the target phenotype.
The hyh mutation that underlies a form of congenital hydrocephalus has been traced to the gene encoding αSnap, a membrane trafficking protein. The mutation causes mis-sorting of apical proteins and precocious neurogenesis.
Humans with mutations in SOX3 have panhypopituitarism, but the developmental mechanisms underlying this defect are unknown. Conditional disruption of Sox3 in mice now suggests that anterior pituitary development depends on Sox3 expression in the overlying neural ectoderm, which establishes midline structures and regulates production of inductive BMP and FGF signals.
