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This Review describes tools and approaches for characterizing short tandem repeats in the human genome from whole-genome sequencing data. Furthermore, the authors discuss how these recent developments have helped to better understand the effect of short tandem repeats on human health and disease.
Amnon Koren recalls two papers from 2001 and 2002 that laid the foundations for a new field by using microarrays to measure DNA replication timing across the genome.
Vincent Courdavault and Nicolas Papon highlight two articles in Nature, published in 2006 and 2013, that reported the biosynthesis of a complex natural plant product to treat malaria in engineered yeast.
Shinichi Morishita recalls a seminal publication by Weber and Myers, who in 1997 proposed a direct whole-genome shotgun sequencing approach to tackle the human genome.
The Farm Animal GTEx project introduces a new resource for pigs, in which they map genetic variation to differences in gene expression across thousands of samples.
Multiple mechanisms have evolved to prevent or trap deleterious unwanted transcripts. The unwanted transcript hypothesis proposes that selection at synonymous sites favours mutations that prevent the generation of unwanted transcripts or that make native transcripts appear ‘wanted’ by being GC-rich.
A study in Nature Biotechnology reports a platform that combines lentivirus capabilities with antibody recognition for targeted cell delivery and genome editing.
To successfully invade bacteria, bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements must overcome numerous types of bacterial defence systems. Here, the authors review the discovery and mechanisms of direct inhibitors of bacterial defence systems, as well as their applications in biotechnology.
Beer et al. use multiple complementary approaches to show that declining densities of the Tasmanian devil have had evolutionary effects on gene flow and selection in the subordinate predator, the spotted-tail quoll.
In this Review, Patrick Keeling proposes that the eukaryotic-specific processes of phagocytosis and endosymbiosis are unlikely to increase the frequency of horizontal gene transfers, because most of the transferred genes will be non-essential and will thus not be selected for the long term.
In this Review, the authors summarize recent progress in cell–cell interaction (CCI) research. They describe the recent evolution in computational tools that underpin CCI studies, discuss improvements in experimental methods enabling more high-throughput analyses of CCIs, and highlight future directions for the field.
Genomic technologies have greatly improved the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases. Here, the authors review emerging approaches for the identification of disease-causal genetic variants as well as omic technologies that show great potential for variant interpretation.
In this Review, the authors summarize and discuss guidelines for omics benchmarking. They highlight common oversights and difficulties, offer guidance for frequently encountered issues and provide a structured form that can be used for comprehensive reporting of benchmarking studies.
In this Review, Hwang and co-authors outline single-molecule fluorescence imaging techniques that can be used in living cells to visualize individual molecules involved in the spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression. This Review also delves into the biological insights gained through these methodologies.
Mashaal Sohail reflects on a 2011 Nature study by Smillie et al., which analysed human microbiome data to show that microbial ecology, rather than phylogeny or geography, is a key driver of horizontal gene transfer.
