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Phylogenetic analysis is pervading every field of biological study. The authors review and assess the main methods of phylogenetic analysis — including parsimony, distance, likelihood and Bayesian methods — and provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate approach and software package.
This Review describes how genome-wide analyses have provided various insights into the most lethal malarial parasite,Plasmodium falciparum, including determinants of antimalarial drug resistance. The authors also propose how genetic tools can be refined to monitor future therapeutic interventions.
Although genome sequencing is becoming routine, genome annotation is becoming increasingly challenging. The authors provide an overview of the steps and software tools that are available for annotating eukaryotic genomes, and describe the best practices for sharing, quality checking and updating the annotation.
This Review provides a broad overview of the regulation of and by histone methylation. A balance between dynamism and stability is highlighted by links to disease and ageing, and current studies are exploring these histone marks in the context of inheritance.
Owing to the important role of microRNAs in gene regulation, profiling repertoires of expressed microRNAs can be informative in basic research and clinical settings. This Review describes the methods that are available for microRNA profiling and considerations for choosing among analytical options.
Participant-centred initiatives use social media technologies to allow long-term interactive partnerships to be established between study participants and researchers. These varied initiatives improve research governance and quality and give participants greater knowledge of and control over how their data are used.