Human Genetic Variation Alters Anthrax Toxin Sensitivity
Martchenko, Candille et al., PNAS
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine show that genetic variation affecting capillary morphogenesis gene 2, or CMG2, dramatically alters toxin sensitivity in humans. In its analysis, the team reports on "a CMG2 single-nucleotide polymorphism occurring frequently in African and European populations [that they found] independently altered toxin uptake." The group goes on to suggest "testing of genomically characterized human cell populations may offer a broadly useful strategy for elucidating effects of genetic variation on infectious disease susceptibility."
Finding the Number
September 03, 2010
Raphael Kopan and his colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis write in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols about a pyrosequencing-based method to determine the copy number of any allele from any genome. Their approach, called reference query pyrosequencing, takes "advantage of the fact that pyrosequencing can accurately measure the molar ratio of DNA fragments in a mixture that differ by a single nucleotide," they write. At Bench Marks, the Executive Editor of CSH Protocols David Crotty adds that "RQPS is rapid, inexpensive, sensitive, and adaptable to high-throughput approaches."
good stuff!
good stuff!