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Mitochondrial DNA reproduces asexually and is therefore susceptible to the accumulation of deleterious mutations. Recent results suggest that there is purifying selection against such mutations within the female germ line, which has important consequences for studies of evolution and human disease.
This Review discusses the role of BMP signalling in neural patterning. Comparative evo–devo analyses show that this genetic system has a conserved function in organizing the developing central nervous system and that it was probably already present in the bilaterian ancestor.
Wiki pages and commenting Interconnected networks of databases and analytical tools will be needed to drive biological research in the twenty-first century. What should such a cyberinfrastructure look like? Which components are in place already? And how do we progress from here?
Sequenced genomes are accumulating rapidly, but our understanding of the functions they encode is progressing more slowly. This Review investigates the amount of functional sequence in metazoan genomes, how it has evolved and how it differs between species.
In addition to their roles in mRNA quality control, nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) factors are emerging as multitasking players in gene expression and genome integrity. These functions involve both the NMD process itself and pathways that are apparently unconnected to NMD.
The dog is a unique model of human complex disease, and its remarkable population history makes trait mapping especially powerful. This article reviews the mapping strategies available in dogs, some key biological findings and the implications for other experimental organisms.
