human genome function: Topics by WorldWideScience.org

Sample records for human genome function

Defining functional DNA elements in the human genome

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Kellis, Manolis; Wold, Barbara; Snyder, Michael P.; Bernstein, Bradley E.; Kundaje, Anshul; Marinov, Georgi K.; Ward, Lucas D.; Birney, Ewan; Crawford, Gregory E.; Dekker, Job; Dunham, Ian; Elnitski, Laura L.; Farnham, Peggy J.; Feingold, Elise A.; Gerstein, Mark; Giddings, Morgan C.; Gilbert, David M.; Gingeras, Thomas R.; Green, Eric D.; Guigo, Roderic; Hubbard, Tim; Kent, Jim; Lieb, Jason D.; Myers, Richard M.; Pazin, Michael J.; Ren, Bing; Stamatoyannopoulos, John A.; Weng, Zhiping; White, Kevin P.; Hardison, Ross C.

2014-01-01

With the completion of the human genome sequence, attention turned to identifying and annotating its functional DNA elements. As a complement to genetic and comparative genomics approaches, the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project was launched to contribute maps of RNA transcripts, transcriptional regulator binding sites, and chromatin states in many cell types. The resulting genome-wide data reveal sites of biochemical activity with high positional resolution and cell type specificity that facilitate studies of gene regulation and interpretation of noncoding variants associated with human disease. However, the biochemically active regions cover a much larger fraction of the genome than do evolutionarily conserved regions, raising the question of whether nonconserved but biochemically active regions are truly functional. Here, we review the strengths and limitations of biochemical, evolutionary, and genetic approaches for defining functional DNA segments, potential sources for the observed differences in estimated genomic coverage, and the biological implications of these discrepancies. We also analyze the relationship between signal intensity, genomic coverage, and evolutionary conservation. Our results reinforce the principle that each approach provides complementary information and that we need to use combinations of all three to elucidate genome function in human biology and disease. PMID:24753594
An Upper Limit on the Functional Fraction of the Human Genome.

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Graur, Dan

2017-07-01

For the human population to maintain a constant size from generation to generation, an increase in fertility must compensate for the reduction in the mean fitness of the population caused, among others, by deleterious mutations. The required increase in fertility due to this mutational load depends on the number of sites in the genome that are functional, the mutation rate, and the fraction of deleterious mutations among all mutations in functional regions. These dependencies and the fact that there exists a maximum tolerable replacement level fertility can be used to put an upper limit on the fraction of the human genome that can be functional. Mutational load considerations lead to the conclusion that the functional fraction within the human genome cannot exceed 25%, and is probably considerably lower. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Functional assessment of human enhancer activities using whole-genome STARR-sequencing.

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Liu, Yuwen; Yu, Shan; Dhiman, Vineet K; Brunetti, Tonya; Eckart, Heather; White, Kevin P

2017-11-20

Genome-wide quantification of enhancer activity in the human genome has proven to be a challenging problem. Recent efforts have led to the development of powerful tools for enhancer quantification. However, because of genome size and complexity, these tools have yet to be applied to the whole human genome. In the current study, we use a human prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP as a model to perform whole human genome STARR-seq (WHG-STARR-seq) to reliably obtain an assessment of enhancer activity. This approach builds upon previously developed STARR-seq in the fly genome and CapSTARR-seq techniques in targeted human genomic regions. With an improved library preparation strategy, our approach greatly increases the library complexity per unit of starting material, which makes it feasible and cost-effective to explore the landscape of regulatory activity in the much larger human genome. In addition to our ability to identify active, accessible enhancers located in open chromatin regions, we can also detect sequences with the potential for enhancer activity that are located in inaccessible, closed chromatin regions. When treated with the histone deacetylase inhibitor, Trichostatin A, genes nearby this latter class of enhancers are up-regulated, demonstrating the potential for endogenous functionality of these regulatory elements. WHG-STARR-seq provides an improved approach to current pipelines for analysis of high complexity genomes to gain a better understanding of the intricacies of transcriptional regulation.
Meta genome-wide network from functional linkages of genes in human gut microbial ecosystems.

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Ji, Yan; Shi, Yixiang; Wang, Chuan; Dai, Jianliang; Li, Yixue

2013-03-01

The human gut microbial ecosystem (HGME) exerts an important influence on the human health. In recent researches, meta-genomics provided deep insights into the HGME in terms of gene contents, metabolic processes and genome constitutions of meta-genome. Here we present a novel methodology to investigate the HGME on the basis of a set of functionally coupled genes regardless of their genome origins when considering the co-evolution properties of genes. By analyzing these coupled genes, we showed some basic properties of HGME significantly associated with each other, and further constructed a protein interaction map of human gut meta-genome to discover some functional modules that may relate with essential metabolic processes. Compared with other studies, our method provides a new idea to extract basic function elements from meta-genome systems and investigate complex microbial environment by associating its biological traits with co-evolutionary fingerprints encoded in it.
Clinical Implications of Human Population Differences in Genome-wide Rates of Functional Genotypes

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Ali eTorkamani

2012-11-01

Full Text Available There have been a number of recent successes in the use of whole genome sequencing and sophisticated bioinformatics techniques to identify pathogenic DNA sequence variants responsible for individual idiopathic congenital conditions. However, the success of this identification process is heavily influenced by the ancestry or genetic background of a patient with an idiopathic condition. This is so because potential pathogenic variants in a patient’s genome must be contrasted with variants in a reference set of genomes made up of other individuals’ genomes of the same ancestry as the patient. We explored the effect of ignoring the ancestries of both an individual patient and the individuals used to construct reference genomes. We pursued this exploration in two major steps. We first considered variation in the per-genome number and rates likely functional derived (i.e., non-ancestral, based on the chimp genome single nucleotide variants and small indels in 52 individual whole human genomes sampled from 10 different global populations. We took advantage of a suite of computational and bioinformatics techniques to predict the functional effect of over 24 million genomic variants, both coding and non-coding, across these genomes. We found that the typical human genome harbors ~5.5-6.1 million total derived variants, of which ~12,000 are likely to have a functional effect (~5000 coding and ~7000 non-coding. We also found that the rates of functional genotypes per the total number of genotypes in individual whole genomes differ dramatically between human populations. We then created tables showing how the use of comparator or reference genome panels comprised of genomes from individuals that do not have the same ancestral background as a patient can negatively impact pathogenic variant identification. Our results have important implications for clinical sequencing initiatives.
New bioinformatic tool for quick identification of functionally relevant endogenous retroviral inserts in human genome.

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Garazha, Andrew; Ivanova, Alena; Suntsova, Maria; Malakhova, Galina; Roumiantsev, Sergey; Zhavoronkov, Alex; Buzdin, Anton

2015-01-01

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and LTR retrotransposons (LRs) occupy ∼8% of human genome. Deep sequencing technologies provide clues to understanding of functional relevance of individual ERVs/LRs by enabling direct identification of transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) and other landmarks of functional genomic elements. Here, we performed the genome-wide identification of human ERVs/LRs containing TFBS according to the ENCODE project. We created the first interactive ERV/LRs database that groups the individual inserts according to their familial nomenclature, number of mapped TFBS and divergence from their consensus sequence. Information on any particular element can be easily extracted by the user. We also created a genome browser tool, which enables quick mapping of any ERV/LR insert according to genomic coordinates, known human genes and TFBS. These tools can be used to easily explore functionally relevant individual ERV/LRs, and for studying their impact on the regulation of human genes. Overall, we identified ∼110,000 ERV/LR genomic elements having TFBS. We propose a hypothesis of "domestication" of ERV/LR TFBS by the genome milieu including subsequent stages of initial epigenetic repression, partial functional release, and further mutation-driven reshaping of TFBS in tight coevolution with the enclosing genomic loci.
PROBING GENOME MAINTENANCE FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RECQ1

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Furqan Sami

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The RecQ helicases are a highly conserved family of DNA-unwinding enzymes that play key roles in protecting the genome stability in all kingdoms of life.'Human RecQ homologs include RECQ1, BLM, WRN, RECQ4, and RECQ5β.'Although the individual RecQ-related diseases are characterized by a variety of clinical features encompassing growth defects (Bloom Syndrome and Rothmund Thomson Syndrome to premature aging (Werner Syndrome, all these patients have a high risk of cancer predisposition.'Here, we present an overview of recent progress towards elucidating functions of RECQ1 helicase, the most abundant but poorly characterized RecQ homolog in humans.'Consistent with a conserved role in genome stability maintenance, deficiency of RECQ1 results in elevated frequency of spontaneous sister chromatid exchanges, chromosomal instability, increased DNA damage and greater sensitivity to certain genotoxic stress.'Delineating what aspects of RECQ1 catalytic functions contribute to the observed cellular phenotypes, and how this is regulated is critical to establish its biological functions in DNA metabolism.'Recent studies have identified functional specialization of RECQ1 in DNA repair; however, identification of fundamental similarities will be just as critical in developing a unifying theme for RecQ actions, allowing the functions revealed from studying one homolog to be extrapolated and generalized to other RecQ homologs.
Annotating the Function of the Human Genome with Gene Ontology and Disease Ontology.

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Hu, Yang; Zhou, Wenyang; Ren, Jun; Dong, Lixiang; Wang, Yadong; Jin, Shuilin; Cheng, Liang

2016-01-01

Increasing evidences indicated that function annotation of human genome in molecular level and phenotype level is very important for systematic analysis of genes. In this study, we presented a framework named Gene2Function to annotate Gene Reference into Functions (GeneRIFs), in which each functional description of GeneRIFs could be annotated by a text mining tool Open Biomedical Annotator (OBA), and each Entrez gene could be mapped to Human Genome Organisation Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) gene symbol. After annotating all the records about human genes of GeneRIFs, 288,869 associations between 13,148 mRNAs and 7,182 terms, 9,496 associations between 948 microRNAs and 533 terms, and 901 associations between 139 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and 297 terms were obtained as a comprehensive annotation resource of human genome. High consistency of term frequency of individual gene (Pearson correlation = 0.6401, p = 2.2e - 16) and gene frequency of individual term (Pearson correlation = 0.1298, p = 3.686e - 14) in GeneRIFs and GOA shows our annotation resource is very reliable.
Functional Coverage of the Human Genome by Existing Structures, Structural Genomics Targets, and Homology Models.

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2005-08-01

Full Text Available The bias in protein structure and function space resulting from experimental limitations and targeting of particular functional classes of proteins by structural biologists has long been recognized, but never continuously quantified. Using the Enzyme Commission and the Gene Ontology classifications as a reference frame, and integrating structure data from the Protein Data Bank (PDB, target sequences from the structural genomics projects, structure homology derived from the SUPERFAMILY database, and genome annotations from Ensembl and NCBI, we provide a quantified view, both at the domain and whole-protein levels, of the current and projected coverage of protein structure and function space relative to the human genome. Protein structures currently provide at least one domain that covers 37% of the functional classes identified in the genome; whole structure coverage exists for 25% of the genome. If all the structural genomics targets were solved (twice the current number of structures in the PDB, it is estimated that structures of one domain would cover 69% of the functional classes identified and complete structure coverage would be 44%. Homology models from existing experimental structures extend the 37% coverage to 56% of the genome as single domains and 25% to 31% for complete structures. Coverage from homology models is not evenly distributed by protein family, reflecting differing degrees of sequence and structure divergence within families. While these data provide coverage, conversely, they also systematically highlight functional classes of proteins for which structures should be determined. Current key functional families without structure representation are highlighted here; updated information on the "most wanted list" that should be solved is available on a weekly basis from http://function.rcsb.org:8080/pdb/function_distribution/index.html.
Significance of functional disease-causal/susceptible variants identified by whole-genome analyses for the understanding of human diseases.

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Hitomi, Yuki; Tokunaga, Katsushi

2017-01-01

Human genome variation may cause differences in traits and disease risks. Disease-causal/susceptible genes and variants for both common and rare diseases can be detected by comprehensive whole-genome analyses, such as whole-genome sequencing (WGS), using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here, in addition to the application of an NGS as a whole-genome analysis method, we summarize approaches for the identification of functional disease-causal/susceptible variants from abundant genetic variants in the human genome and methods for evaluating their functional effects in human diseases, using an NGS and in silico and in vitro functional analyses. We also discuss the clinical applications of the functional disease causal/susceptible variants to personalized medicine.
A statistical framework to predict functional non-coding regions in the human genome through integrated analysis of annotation data.

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Lu, Qiongshi; Hu, Yiming; Sun, Jiehuan; Cheng, Yuwei; Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Zhao, Hongyu

2015-05-27

Identifying functional regions in the human genome is a major goal in human genetics. Great efforts have been made to functionally annotate the human genome either through computational predictions, such as genomic conservation, or high-throughput experiments, such as the ENCODE project. These efforts have resulted in a rich collection of functional annotation data of diverse types that need to be jointly analyzed for integrated interpretation and annotation. Here we present GenoCanyon, a whole-genome annotation method that performs unsupervised statistical learning using 22 computational and experimental annotations thereby inferring the functional potential of each position in the human genome. With GenoCanyon, we are able to predict many of the known functional regions. The ability of predicting functional regions as well as its generalizable statistical framework makes GenoCanyon a unique and powerful tool for whole-genome annotation. The GenoCanyon web server is available at http://genocanyon.med.yale.edu.
Human social genomics.

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Steven W Cole

2014-08-01

Full Text Available A growing literature in human social genomics has begun to analyze how everyday life circumstances influence human gene expression. Social-environmental conditions such as urbanity, low socioeconomic status, social isolation, social threat, and low or unstable social status have been found to associate with differential expression of hundreds of gene transcripts in leukocytes and diseased tissues such as metastatic cancers. In leukocytes, diverse types of social adversity evoke a common conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA characterized by increased expression of proinflammatory genes and decreased expression of genes involved in innate antiviral responses and antibody synthesis. Mechanistic analyses have mapped the neural "social signal transduction" pathways that stimulate CTRA gene expression in response to social threat and may contribute to social gradients in health. Research has also begun to analyze the functional genomics of optimal health and thriving. Two emerging opportunities now stand to revolutionize our understanding of the everyday life of the human genome: network genomics analyses examining how systems-level capabilities emerge from groups of individual socially sensitive genomes and near-real-time transcriptional biofeedback to empirically optimize individual well-being in the context of the unique genetic, geographic, historical, developmental, and social contexts that jointly shape the transcriptional realization of our innate human genomic potential for thriving.
Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project.

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Birney, Ewan; Stamatoyannopoulos, John A; Dutta, Anindya; Guigó, Roderic; Gingeras, Thomas R; Margulies, Elliott H; Weng, Zhiping; Snyder, Michael; Dermitzakis, Emmanouil T; Thurman, Robert E; Kuehn, Michael S; Taylor, Christopher M; Neph, Shane; Koch, Christoph M; Asthana, Saurabh; Malhotra, Ankit; Adzhubei, Ivan; Greenbaum, Jason A; Andrews, Robert M; Flicek, Paul; Boyle, Patrick J; Cao, Hua; Carter, Nigel P; Clelland, Gayle K; Davis, Sean; Day, Nathan; Dhami, Pawandeep; Dillon, Shane C; Dorschner, Michael O; Fiegler, Heike; Giresi, Paul G; Goldy, Jeff; Hawrylycz, Michael; Haydock, Andrew; Humbert, Richard; James, Keith D; Johnson, Brett E; Johnson, Ericka M; Frum, Tristan T; Rosenzweig, Elizabeth R; Karnani, Neerja; Lee, Kirsten; Lefebvre, Gregory C; Navas, Patrick A; Neri, Fidencio; Parker, Stephen C J; Sabo, Peter J; Sandstrom, Richard; Shafer, Anthony; Vetrie, David; Weaver, Molly; Wilcox, Sarah; Yu, Man; Collins, Francis S; Dekker, Job; Lieb, Jason D; Tullius, Thomas D; Crawford, Gregory E; Sunyaev, Shamil; Noble, William S; Dunham, Ian; Denoeud, France; Reymond, Alexandre; Kapranov, Philipp; Rozowsky, Joel; Zheng, Deyou; Castelo, Robert; Frankish, Adam; Harrow, Jennifer; Ghosh, Srinka; Sandelin, Albin; Hofacker, Ivo L; Baertsch, Robert; Keefe, Damian; Dike, Sujit; Cheng, Jill; Hirsch, Heather A; Sekinger, Edward A; Lagarde, Julien; Abril, Josep F; Shahab, Atif; Flamm, Christoph; Fried, Claudia; Hackermüller, Jörg; Hertel, Jana; Lindemeyer, Manja; Missal, Kristin; Tanzer, Andrea; Washietl, Stefan; Korbel, Jan; Emanuelsson, Olof; Pedersen, Jakob S; Holroyd, Nancy; Taylor, Ruth; Swarbreck, David; Matthews, Nicholas; Dickson, Mark C; Thomas, Daryl J; Weirauch, Matthew T; Gilbert, James; Drenkow, Jorg; Bell, Ian; Zhao, XiaoDong; Srinivasan, K G; Sung, Wing-Kin; Ooi, Hong Sain; Chiu, Kuo Ping; Foissac, Sylvain; Alioto, Tyler; Brent, Michael; Pachter, Lior; Tress, Michael L; Valencia, Alfonso; Choo, Siew Woh; Choo, Chiou Yu; Ucla, Catherine; Manzano, Caroline; Wyss, Carine; Cheung, Evelyn; Clark, Taane G; Brown, James B; Ganesh, Madhavan; Patel, Sandeep; Tammana, Hari; Chrast, Jacqueline; Henrichsen, Charlotte N; Kai, Chikatoshi; Kawai, Jun; Nagalakshmi, Ugrappa; Wu, Jiaqian; Lian, Zheng; Lian, Jin; Newburger, Peter; Zhang, Xueqing; Bickel, Peter; Mattick, John S; Carninci, Piero; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Weissman, Sherman; Hubbard, Tim; Myers, Richard M; Rogers, Jane; Stadler, Peter F; Lowe, Todd M; Wei, Chia-Lin; Ruan, Yijun; Struhl, Kevin; Gerstein, Mark; Antonarakis, Stylianos E; Fu, Yutao; Green, Eric D; Karaöz, Ulaş; Siepel, Adam; Taylor, James; Liefer, Laura A; Wetterstrand, Kris A; Good, Peter J; Feingold, Elise A; Guyer, Mark S; Cooper, Gregory M; Asimenos, George; Dewey, Colin N; Hou, Minmei; Nikolaev, Sergey; Montoya-Burgos, Juan I; Löytynoja, Ari; Whelan, Simon; Pardi, Fabio; Massingham, Tim; Huang, Haiyan; Zhang, Nancy R; Holmes, Ian; Mullikin, James C; Ureta-Vidal, Abel; Paten, Benedict; Seringhaus, Michael; Church, Deanna; Rosenbloom, Kate; Kent, W James; Stone, Eric A; Batzoglou, Serafim; Goldman, Nick; Hardison, Ross C; Haussler, David; Miller, Webb; Sidow, Arend; Trinklein, Nathan D; Zhang, Zhengdong D; Barrera, Leah; Stuart, Rhona; King, David C; Ameur, Adam; Enroth, Stefan; Bieda, Mark C; Kim, Jonghwan; Bhinge, Akshay A; Jiang, Nan; Liu, Jun; Yao, Fei; Vega, Vinsensius B; Lee, Charlie W H; Ng, Patrick; Shahab, Atif; Yang, Annie; Moqtaderi, Zarmik; Zhu, Zhou; Xu, Xiaoqin; Squazzo, Sharon; Oberley, Matthew J; Inman, David; Singer, Michael A; Richmond, Todd A; Munn, Kyle J; Rada-Iglesias, Alvaro; Wallerman, Ola; Komorowski, Jan; Fowler, Joanna C; Couttet, Phillippe; Bruce, Alexander W; Dovey, Oliver M; Ellis, Peter D; Langford, Cordelia F; Nix, David A; Euskirchen, Ghia; Hartman, Stephen; Urban, Alexander E; Kraus, Peter; Van Calcar, Sara; Heintzman, Nate; Kim, Tae Hoon; Wang, Kun; Qu, Chunxu; Hon, Gary; Luna, Rosa; Glass, Christopher K; Rosenfeld, M Geoff; Aldred, Shelley Force; Cooper, Sara J; Halees, Anason; Lin, Jane M; Shulha, Hennady P; Zhang, Xiaoling; Xu, Mousheng; Haidar, Jaafar N S; Yu, Yong; Ruan, Yijun; Iyer, Vishwanath R; Green, Roland D; Wadelius, Claes; Farnham, Peggy J; Ren, Bing; Harte, Rachel A; Hinrichs, Angie S; Trumbower, Heather; Clawson, Hiram; Hillman-Jackson, Jennifer; Zweig, Ann S; Smith, Kayla; Thakkapallayil, Archana; Barber, Galt; Kuhn, Robert M; Karolchik, Donna; Armengol, Lluis; Bird, Christine P; de Bakker, Paul I W; Kern, Andrew D; Lopez-Bigas, Nuria; Martin, Joel D; Stranger, Barbara E; Woodroffe, Abigail; Davydov, Eugene; Dimas, Antigone; Eyras, Eduardo; Hallgrímsdóttir, Ingileif B; Huppert, Julian; Zody, Michael C; Abecasis, Gonçalo R; Estivill, Xavier; Bouffard, Gerard G; Guan, Xiaobin; Hansen, Nancy F; Idol, Jacquelyn R; Maduro, Valerie V B; Maskeri, Baishali; McDowell, Jennifer C; Park, Morgan; Thomas, Pamela J; Young, Alice C; Blakesley, Robert W; Muzny, Donna M; Sodergren, Erica; Wheeler, David A; Worley, Kim C; Jiang, Huaiyang; Weinstock, George M; Gibbs, Richard A; Graves, Tina; Fulton, Robert; Mardis, Elaine R; Wilson, Richard K; Clamp, Michele; Cuff, James; Gnerre, Sante; Jaffe, David B; Chang, Jean L; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Lander, Eric S; Koriabine, Maxim; Nefedov, Mikhail; Osoegawa, Kazutoyo; Yoshinaga, Yuko; Zhu, Baoli; de Jong, Pieter J

2007-06-14

We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
Human genetics and genomics a decade after the release of the draft sequence of the human genome

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2011-01-01

Substantial progress has been made in human genetics and genomics research over the past ten years since the publication of the draft sequence of the human genome in 2001. Findings emanating directly from the Human Genome Project, together with those from follow-on studies, have had an enormous impact on our understanding of the architecture and function of the human genome. Major developments have been made in cataloguing genetic variation, the International HapMap Project, and with respect to advances in genotyping technologies. These developments are vital for the emergence of genome-wide association studies in the investigation of complex diseases and traits. In parallel, the advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies has ushered in the 'personal genome sequencing' era for both normal and cancer genomes, and made possible large-scale genome sequencing studies such as the 1000 Genomes Project and the International Cancer Genome Consortium. The high-throughput sequencing and sequence-capture technologies are also providing new opportunities to study Mendelian disorders through exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. This paper reviews these major developments in human genetics and genomics over the past decade. PMID:22155605
A decade of human genome project conclusion: Scientific diffusion about our genome knowledge.

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Moraes, Fernanda; Góes, Andréa

2016-05-06

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was initiated in 1990 and completed in 2003. It aimed to sequence the whole human genome. Although it represented an advance in understanding the human genome and its complexity, many questions remained unanswered. Other projects were launched in order to unravel the mysteries of our genome, including the ENCyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE). This review aims to analyze the evolution of scientific knowledge related to both the HGP and ENCODE projects. Data were retrieved from scientific articles published in 1990-2014, a period comprising the development and the 10 years following the HGP completion. The fact that only 20,000 genes are protein and RNA-coding is one of the most striking HGP results. A new concept about the organization of genome arose. The ENCODE project was initiated in 2003 and targeted to map the functional elements of the human genome. This project revealed that the human genome is pervasively transcribed. Therefore, it was determined that a large part of the non-protein coding regions are functional. Finally, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure emerged. The mechanistic functioning of the genome has been redrafted, revealing a much more complex picture. Besides, a gene-centric conception of the organism has to be reviewed. A number of criticisms have emerged against the ENCODE project approaches, raising the question of whether non-conserved but biochemically active regions are truly functional. Thus, HGP and ENCODE projects accomplished a great map of the human genome, but the data generated still requires further in depth analysis. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44:215-223, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Genome projects and the functional-genomic era.

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Sauer, Sascha; Konthur, Zoltán; Lehrach, Hans

2005-12-01

The problems we face today in public health as a result of the -- fortunately -- increasing age of people and the requirements of developing countries create an urgent need for new and innovative approaches in medicine and in agronomics. Genomic and functional genomic approaches have a great potential to at least partially solve these problems in the future. Important progress has been made by procedures to decode genomic information of humans, but also of other key organisms. The basic comprehension of genomic information (and its transfer) should now give us the possibility to pursue the next important step in life science eventually leading to a basic understanding of biological information flow; the elucidation of the function of all genes and correlative products encoded in the genome, as well as the discovery of their interactions in a molecular context and the response to environmental factors. As a result of the sequencing projects, we are now able to ask important questions about sequence variation and can start to comprehensively study the function of expressed genes on different levels such as RNA, protein or the cell in a systematic context including underlying networks. In this article we review and comment on current trends in large-scale systematic biological research. A particular emphasis is put on technology developments that can provide means to accomplish the tasks of future lines of functional genomics.
From prediction to function using evolutionary genomics: human-specific ecotypes of Lactobacillus reuteri have diverse probiotic functions.

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Spinler, Jennifer K; Sontakke, Amrita; Hollister, Emily B; Venable, Susan F; Oh, Phaik Lyn; Balderas, Miriam A; Saulnier, Delphine M A; Mistretta, Toni-Ann; Devaraj, Sridevi; Walter, Jens; Versalovic, James; Highlander, Sarah K

2014-06-19

The vertebrate gut symbiont Lactobacillus reuteri has diversified into separate clades reflecting host origin. Strains show evidence of host adaptation, but how host-microbe coevolution influences microbial-derived effects on hosts is poorly understood. Emphasizing human-derived strains of L. reuteri, we combined comparative genomic analyses with functional assays to examine variations in host interaction among genetically distinct ecotypes. Within clade II or VI, the genomes of human-derived L. reuteri strains are highly conserved in gene content and at the nucleotide level. Nevertheless, they share only 70-90% of total gene content, indicating differences in functional capacity. Human-associated lineages are distinguished by genes related to bacteriophages, vitamin biosynthesis, antimicrobial production, and immunomodulation. Differential production of reuterin, histamine, and folate by 23 clade II and VI strains was demonstrated. These strains also differed with respect to their ability to modulate human cytokine production (tumor necrosis factor, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-5, IL-7, IL-12, and IL-13) by myeloid cells. Microarray analysis of representative clade II and clade VI strains revealed global regulation of genes within the reuterin, vitamin B12, folate, and arginine catabolism gene clusters by the AraC family transcriptional regulator, PocR. Thus, human-derived L. reuteri clade II and VI strains are genetically distinct and their differences affect their functional repertoires and probiotic features. These findings highlight the biological impact of microbe:host coevolution and illustrate the functional significance of subspecies differences in the human microbiome. Consideration of host origin and functional differences at the subspecies level may have major impacts on probiotic strain selection and considerations of microbial ecology in mammalian species. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on
The Functional Genomics Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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Johnson, Dabney; Justice, Monica; Beattle, Ken; Buchanan, Michelle; Ramsey, Michael; Ramsey, Rose; Paulus, Michael; Ericson, Nance; Allison, David; Kress, Reid; Mural, Richard; Uberbacher, Ed; Mann, Reinhold

1997-12-31

The Functional Genomics Initiative at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory integrates outstanding capabilities in mouse genetics, bioinformatics, and instrumentation. The 50 year investment by the DOE in mouse genetics/mutagenesis has created a one-of-a-kind resource for generating mutations and understanding their biological consequences. It is generally accepted that, through the mouse as a surrogate for human biology, we will come to understand the function of human genes. In addition to this world class program in mammalian genetics, ORNL has also been a world leader in developing bioinformatics tools for the analysis, management and visualization of genomic data. Combining this expertise with new instrumentation technologies will provide a unique capability to understand the consequences of mutations in the mouse at both the organism and molecular levels. The goal of the Functional Genomics Initiative is to develop the technology and methodology necessary to understand gene function on a genomic scale and apply these technologies to megabase regions of the human genome. The effort is scoped so as to create an effective and powerful resource for functional genomics. ORNL is partnering with the Joint Genome Institute and other large scale sequencing centers to sequence several multimegabase regions of both human and mouse genomic DNA, to identify all the genes in these regions, and to conduct fundamental surveys to examine gene function at the molecular and organism level. The Initiative is designed to be a pilot for larger scale deployment in the post-genome era. Technologies will be applied to the examination of gene expression and regulation, metabolism, gene networks, physiology and development.
The expanding universe of cohesin functions: a new genome stability caretaker involved in human disease and cancer.

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Mannini, Linda; Menga, Stefania; Musio, Antonio

2010-06-01

Cohesin is responsible for sister chromatid cohesion, ensuring the correct chromosome segregation. Beyond this role, cohesin and regulatory cohesin genes seem to play a role in preserving genome stability and gene transcription regulation. DNA damage is thought to be a major culprit for many human diseases, including cancer. Our present knowledge of the molecular basis underlying genome instability is extremely limited. Mutations in cohesin genes cause human diseases such as Cornelia de Lange syndrome and Roberts syndrome/SC phocomelia, and all the cell lines derived from affected patients show genome instability. Cohesin mutations have also been identified in colorectal cancer. Here, we will discuss the human disorders caused by alterations of cohesin function, with emphasis on the emerging role of cohesin as a genome stability caretaker.
The Past, Present, and Future of Human Centromere Genomics

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Megan E. Aldrup-MacDonald

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The centromere is the chromosomal locus essential for chromosome inheritance and genome stability. Human centromeres are located at repetitive alpha satellite DNA arrays that compose approximately 5% of the genome. Contiguous alpha satellite DNA sequence is absent from the assembled reference genome, limiting current understanding of centromere organization and function. Here, we review the progress in centromere genomics spanning the discovery of the sequence to its molecular characterization and the work done during the Human Genome Project era to elucidate alpha satellite structure and sequence variation. We discuss exciting recent advances in alpha satellite sequence assembly that have provided important insight into the abundance and complex organization of this sequence on human chromosomes. In light of these new findings, we offer perspectives for future studies of human centromere assembly and function.

The Human Genome Initiative of the Department of Energy

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

The structural characterization of genes and elucidation of their encoded functions have become a cornerstone of modern health research, biology and biotechnology. A genome program is an organized effort to locate and identify the functions of all the genes of an organism. Beginning with the DOE-sponsored, 1986 human genome workshop at Santa Fe, the value of broadly organized efforts supporting total genome characterization became a subject of intensive study. There is now national recognition that benefits will rapidly accrue from an effective scientific infrastructure for total genome research. In the US genome research is now receiving dedicated funds. Several other nations are implementing genome programs. Supportive infrastructure is being improved through both national and international cooperation. The Human Genome Initiative of the Department of Energy (DOE) is a focused program of Resource and Technology Development, with objectives of speeding and bringing economies to the national human genome effort. This report relates the origins and progress of the Initiative.
An integrative approach to predicting the functional effects of small indels in non-coding regions of the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferlaino, Michael; Rogers, Mark F; Shihab, Hashem A; Mort, Matthew; Cooper, David N; Gaunt, Tom R; Campbell, Colin

2017-10-06

Small insertions and deletions (indels) have a significant influence in human disease and, in terms of frequency, they are second only to single nucleotide variants as pathogenic mutations. As the majority of mutations associated with complex traits are located outside the exome, it is crucial to investigate the potential pathogenic impact of indels in non-coding regions of the human genome. We present FATHMM-indel, an integrative approach to predict the functional effect, pathogenic or neutral, of indels in non-coding regions of the human genome. Our method exploits various genomic annotations in addition to sequence data. When validated on benchmark data, FATHMM-indel significantly outperforms CADD and GAVIN, state of the art models in assessing the pathogenic impact of non-coding variants. FATHMM-indel is available via a web server at indels.biocompute.org.uk. FATHMM-indel can accurately predict the functional impact and prioritise small indels throughout the whole non-coding genome.
Characterization of noncoding regulatory DNA in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Elkon, Ran; Agami, Reuven

2017-08-08

Genetic variants associated with common diseases are usually located in noncoding parts of the human genome. Delineation of the full repertoire of functional noncoding elements, together with efficient methods for probing their biological roles, is therefore of crucial importance. Over the past decade, DNA accessibility and various epigenetic modifications have been associated with regulatory functions. Mapping these features across the genome has enabled researchers to begin to document the full complement of putative regulatory elements. High-throughput reporter assays to probe the functions of regulatory regions have also been developed but these methods separate putative regulatory elements from the chromosome so that any effects of chromatin context and long-range regulatory interactions are lost. Definitive assignment of function(s) to putative cis-regulatory elements requires perturbation of these elements. Genome-editing technologies are now transforming our ability to perturb regulatory elements across entire genomes. Interpretation of high-throughput genetic screens that incorporate genome editors might enable the construction of an unbiased map of functional noncoding elements in the human genome.
Human-specific HERV-K insertion causes genomic variations in the human genome.

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Wonseok Shin

Full Text Available Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV sequences account for about 8% of the human genome. Through comparative genomics and literature mining, we identified a total of 29 human-specific HERV-K insertions. We characterized them focusing on their structure and flanking sequence. The results showed that four of the human-specific HERV-K insertions deleted human genomic sequences via non-classical insertion mechanisms. Interestingly, two of the human-specific HERV-K insertion loci contained two HERV-K internals and three LTR elements, a pattern which could be explained by LTR-LTR ectopic recombination or template switching. In addition, we conducted a polymorphic test and observed that twelve out of the 29 elements are polymorphic in the human population. In conclusion, human-specific HERV-K elements have inserted into human genome since the divergence of human and chimpanzee, causing human genomic changes. Thus, we believe that human-specific HERV-K activity has contributed to the genomic divergence between humans and chimpanzees, as well as within the human population.
Identification and classification of conserved RNA secondary structures in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jakob Skou; Bejerano, Gill; Siepel, Adam

2006-01-01

The discoveries of microRNAs and riboswitches, among others, have shown functional RNAs to be biologically more important and genomically more prevalent than previously anticipated. We have developed a general comparative genomics method based on phylogenetic stochastic context-free grammars...... for identifying functional RNAs encoded in the human genome and used it to survey an eight-way genome-wide alignment of the human, chimpanzee, mouse, rat, dog, chicken, zebra-fish, and puffer-fish genomes for deeply conserved functional RNAs. At a loose threshold for acceptance, this search resulted in a set......, the results nevertheless provide evidence for many new human functional RNAs and present specific predictions to facilitate their further characterization....
The zebrafish reference genome sequence and its relationship to the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Kerstin; Clark, Matthew D; Torroja, Carlos F; Torrance, James; Berthelot, Camille; Muffato, Matthieu; Collins, John E; Humphray, Sean; McLaren, Karen; Matthews, Lucy; McLaren, Stuart; Sealy, Ian; Caccamo, Mario; Churcher, Carol; Scott, Carol; Barrett, Jeffrey C; Koch, Romke; Rauch, Gerd-Jörg; White, Simon; Chow, William; Kilian, Britt; Quintais, Leonor T; Guerra-Assunção, José A; Zhou, Yi; Gu, Yong; Yen, Jennifer; Vogel, Jan-Hinnerk; Eyre, Tina; Redmond, Seth; Banerjee, Ruby; Chi, Jianxiang; Fu, Beiyuan; Langley, Elizabeth; Maguire, Sean F; Laird, Gavin K; Lloyd, David; Kenyon, Emma; Donaldson, Sarah; Sehra, Harminder; Almeida-King, Jeff; Loveland, Jane; Trevanion, Stephen; Jones, Matt; Quail, Mike; Willey, Dave; Hunt, Adrienne; Burton, John; Sims, Sarah; McLay, Kirsten; Plumb, Bob; Davis, Joy; Clee, Chris; Oliver, Karen; Clark, Richard; Riddle, Clare; Elliot, David; Eliott, David; Threadgold, Glen; Harden, Glenn; Ware, Darren; Begum, Sharmin; Mortimore, Beverley; Mortimer, Beverly; Kerry, Giselle; Heath, Paul; Phillimore, Benjamin; Tracey, Alan; Corby, Nicole; Dunn, Matthew; Johnson, Christopher; Wood, Jonathan; Clark, Susan; Pelan, Sarah; Griffiths, Guy; Smith, Michelle; Glithero, Rebecca; Howden, Philip; Barker, Nicholas; Lloyd, Christine; Stevens, Christopher; Harley, Joanna; Holt, Karen; Panagiotidis, Georgios; Lovell, Jamieson; Beasley, Helen; Henderson, Carl; Gordon, Daria; Auger, Katherine; Wright, Deborah; Collins, Joanna; Raisen, Claire; Dyer, Lauren; Leung, Kenric; Robertson, Lauren; Ambridge, Kirsty; Leongamornlert, Daniel; McGuire, Sarah; Gilderthorp, Ruth; Griffiths, Coline; Manthravadi, Deepa; Nichol, Sarah; Barker, Gary; Whitehead, Siobhan; Kay, Michael; Brown, Jacqueline; Murnane, Clare; Gray, Emma; Humphries, Matthew; Sycamore, Neil; Barker, Darren; Saunders, David; Wallis, Justene; Babbage, Anne; Hammond, Sian; Mashreghi-Mohammadi, Maryam; Barr, Lucy; Martin, Sancha; Wray, Paul; Ellington, Andrew; Matthews, Nicholas; Ellwood, Matthew; Woodmansey, Rebecca; Clark, Graham; Cooper, James D; Cooper, James; Tromans, Anthony; Grafham, Darren; Skuce, Carl; Pandian, Richard; Andrews, Robert; Harrison, Elliot; Kimberley, Andrew; Garnett, Jane; Fosker, Nigel; Hall, Rebekah; Garner, Patrick; Kelly, Daniel; Bird, Christine; Palmer, Sophie; Gehring, Ines; Berger, Andrea; Dooley, Christopher M; Ersan-Ürün, Zübeyde; Eser, Cigdem; Geiger, Horst; Geisler, Maria; Karotki, Lena; Kirn, Anette; Konantz, Judith; Konantz, Martina; Oberländer, Martina; Rudolph-Geiger, Silke; Teucke, Mathias; Lanz, Christa; Raddatz, Günter; Osoegawa, Kazutoyo; Zhu, Baoli; Rapp, Amanda; Widaa, Sara; Langford, Cordelia; Yang, Fengtang; Schuster, Stephan C; Carter, Nigel P; Harrow, Jennifer; Ning, Zemin; Herrero, Javier; Searle, Steve M J; Enright, Anton; Geisler, Robert; Plasterk, Ronald H A; Lee, Charles; Westerfield, Monte; de Jong, Pieter J; Zon, Leonard I; Postlethwait, John H; Nüsslein-Volhard, Christiane; Hubbard, Tim J P; Roest Crollius, Hugues; Rogers, Jane; Stemple, Derek L

2013-04-25

Zebrafish have become a popular organism for the study of vertebrate gene function. The virtually transparent embryos of this species, and the ability to accelerate genetic studies by gene knockdown or overexpression, have led to the widespread use of zebrafish in the detailed investigation of vertebrate gene function and increasingly, the study of human genetic disease. However, for effective modelling of human genetic disease it is important to understand the extent to which zebrafish genes and gene structures are related to orthologous human genes. To examine this, we generated a high-quality sequence assembly of the zebrafish genome, made up of an overlapping set of completely sequenced large-insert clones that were ordered and oriented using a high-resolution high-density meiotic map. Detailed automatic and manual annotation provides evidence of more than 26,000 protein-coding genes, the largest gene set of any vertebrate so far sequenced. Comparison to the human reference genome shows that approximately 70% of human genes have at least one obvious zebrafish orthologue. In addition, the high quality of this genome assembly provides a clearer understanding of key genomic features such as a unique repeat content, a scarcity of pseudogenes, an enrichment of zebrafish-specific genes on chromosome 4 and chromosomal regions that influence sex determination.
The zebrafish reference genome sequence and its relationship to the human genome

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Kerstin; Clark, Matthew D.; Torroja, Carlos F.; Torrance, James; Berthelot, Camille; Muffato, Matthieu; Collins, John E.; Humphray, Sean; McLaren, Karen; Matthews, Lucy; McLaren, Stuart; Sealy, Ian; Caccamo, Mario; Churcher, Carol; Scott, Carol; Barrett, Jeffrey C.; Koch, Romke; Rauch, Gerd-Jörg; White, Simon; Chow, William; Kilian, Britt; Quintais, Leonor T.; Guerra-Assunção, José A.; Zhou, Yi; Gu, Yong; Yen, Jennifer; Vogel, Jan-Hinnerk; Eyre, Tina; Redmond, Seth; Banerjee, Ruby; Chi, Jianxiang; Fu, Beiyuan; Langley, Elizabeth; Maguire, Sean F.; Laird, Gavin K.; Lloyd, David; Kenyon, Emma; Donaldson, Sarah; Sehra, Harminder; Almeida-King, Jeff; Loveland, Jane; Trevanion, Stephen; Jones, Matt; Quail, Mike; Willey, Dave; Hunt, Adrienne; Burton, John; Sims, Sarah; McLay, Kirsten; Plumb, Bob; Davis, Joy; Clee, Chris; Oliver, Karen; Clark, Richard; Riddle, Clare; Eliott, David; Threadgold, Glen; Harden, Glenn; Ware, Darren; Mortimer, Beverly; Kerry, Giselle; Heath, Paul; Phillimore, Benjamin; Tracey, Alan; Corby, Nicole; Dunn, Matthew; Johnson, Christopher; Wood, Jonathan; Clark, Susan; Pelan, Sarah; Griffiths, Guy; Smith, Michelle; Glithero, Rebecca; Howden, Philip; Barker, Nicholas; Stevens, Christopher; Harley, Joanna; Holt, Karen; Panagiotidis, Georgios; Lovell, Jamieson; Beasley, Helen; Henderson, Carl; Gordon, Daria; Auger, Katherine; Wright, Deborah; Collins, Joanna; Raisen, Claire; Dyer, Lauren; Leung, Kenric; Robertson, Lauren; Ambridge, Kirsty; Leongamornlert, Daniel; McGuire, Sarah; Gilderthorp, Ruth; Griffiths, Coline; Manthravadi, Deepa; Nichol, Sarah; Barker, Gary; Whitehead, Siobhan; Kay, Michael; Brown, Jacqueline; Murnane, Clare; Gray, Emma; Humphries, Matthew; Sycamore, Neil; Barker, Darren; Saunders, David; Wallis, Justene; Babbage, Anne; Hammond, Sian; Mashreghi-Mohammadi, Maryam; Barr, Lucy; Martin, Sancha; Wray, Paul; Ellington, Andrew; Matthews, Nicholas; Ellwood, Matthew; Woodmansey, Rebecca; Clark, Graham; Cooper, James; Tromans, Anthony; Grafham, Darren; Skuce, Carl; Pandian, Richard; Andrews, Robert; Harrison, Elliot; Kimberley, Andrew; Garnett, Jane; Fosker, Nigel; Hall, Rebekah; Garner, Patrick; Kelly, Daniel; Bird, Christine; Palmer, Sophie; Gehring, Ines; Berger, Andrea; Dooley, Christopher M.; Ersan-Ürün, Zübeyde; Eser, Cigdem; Geiger, Horst; Geisler, Maria; Karotki, Lena; Kirn, Anette; Konantz, Judith; Konantz, Martina; Oberländer, Martina; Rudolph-Geiger, Silke; Teucke, Mathias; Osoegawa, Kazutoyo; Zhu, Baoli; Rapp, Amanda; Widaa, Sara; Langford, Cordelia; Yang, Fengtang; Carter, Nigel P.; Harrow, Jennifer; Ning, Zemin; Herrero, Javier; Searle, Steve M. J.; Enright, Anton; Geisler, Robert; Plasterk, Ronald H. A.; Lee, Charles; Westerfield, Monte; de Jong, Pieter J.; Zon, Leonard I.; Postlethwait, John H.; Nüsslein-Volhard, Christiane; Hubbard, Tim J. P.; Crollius, Hugues Roest; Rogers, Jane; Stemple, Derek L.

2013-01-01

Zebrafish have become a popular organism for the study of vertebrate gene function1,2. The virtually transparent embryos of this species, and the ability to accelerate genetic studies by gene knockdown or overexpression, have led to the widespread use of zebrafish in the detailed investigation of vertebrate gene function and increasingly, the study of human genetic disease3–5. However, for effective modelling of human genetic disease it is important to understand the extent to which zebrafish genes and gene structures are related to orthologous human genes. To examine this, we generated a high-quality sequence assembly of the zebrafish genome, made up of an overlapping set of completely sequenced large-insert clones that were ordered and oriented using a high-resolution high-density meiotic map. Detailed automatic and manual annotation provides evidence of more than 26,000 protein-coding genes6, the largest gene set of any vertebrate so far sequenced. Comparison to the human reference genome shows that approximately 70% of human genes have at least one obvious zebrafish orthologue. In addition, the high quality of this genome assembly provides a clearer understanding of key genomic features such as a unique repeat content, a scarcity of pseudogenes, an enrichment of zebrafish-specific genes on chromosome 4 and chromosomal regions that influence sex determination. PMID:23594743
Localizing recent adaptive evolution in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Williamson, Scott H; Hubisz, Melissa J; Clark, Andrew G

2007-01-01

, clusters of olfactory receptors, genes involved in nervous system development and function, immune system genes, and heat shock genes. We also observe consistent evidence of selective sweeps in centromeric regions. In general, we find that recent adaptation is strikingly pervasive in the human genome......-nucleotide polymorphism ascertainment, while also providing fine-scale estimates of the position of the selected site, we analyzed a genomic dataset of 1.2 million human single-nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped in African-American, European-American, and Chinese samples. We identify 101 regions of the human genome...
Recent and ongoing selection in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Rasmus; Hellmann, Ines; Hubisz, Melissa

2007-01-01

The recent availability of genome-scale genotyping data has led to the identification of regions of the human genome that seem to have been targeted by selection. These findings have increased our understanding of the evolutionary forces that affect the human genome, have augmented our knowledge...... of gene function and promise to increase our understanding of the genetic basis of disease. However, inferences of selection are challenged by several confounding factors, especially the complex demographic history of human populations, and concordance between studies is variable. Although such studies...
Exploring Protein Function Using the Saccharomyces Genome Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Edith D

2017-01-01

Elucidating the function of individual proteins will help to create a comprehensive picture of cell biology, as well as shed light on human disease mechanisms, possible treatments, and cures. Due to its compact genome, and extensive history of experimentation and annotation, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an ideal model organism in which to determine protein function. This information can then be leveraged to infer functions of human homologs. Despite the large amount of research and biological data about S. cerevisiae, many proteins' functions remain unknown. Here, we explore ways to use the Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD; http://www.yeastgenome.org ) to predict the function of proteins and gain insight into their roles in various cellular processes.
"Orphan" retrogenes in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciomborowska, Joanna; Rosikiewicz, Wojciech; Szklarczyk, Damian; Makałowski, Wojciech; Makałowska, Izabela

2013-02-01

Gene duplicates generated via retroposition were long thought to be pseudogenized and consequently decayed. However, a significant number of these genes escaped their evolutionary destiny and evolved into functional genes. Despite multiple studies, the number of functional retrogenes in human and other genomes remains unclear. We performed a comparative analysis of human, chicken, and worm genomes to identify "orphan" retrogenes, that is, retrogenes that have replaced their progenitors. We located 25 such candidates in the human genome. All of these genes were previously known, and the majority has been intensively studied. Despite this, they have never been recognized as retrogenes. Analysis revealed that the phenomenon of replacing parental genes with their retrocopies has been taking place over the entire span of animal evolution. This process was often species specific and contributed to interspecies differences. Surprisingly, these retrogenes, which should evolve in a more relaxed mode, are subject to a very strong purifying selection, which is, on average, two and a half times stronger than other human genes. Also, for retrogenes, they do not show a typical overall tendency for a testis-specific expression. Notably, seven of them are associated with human diseases. Recognizing them as "orphan" retrocopies, which have different regulatory machinery than their parents, is important for any disease studies in model organisms, especially when discoveries made in one species are transferred to humans.
Deorphanizing the human transmembrane genome: A landscape of uncharacterized membrane proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Babcock, Joseph J; Li, Min

2014-01-01

The sequencing of the human genome has fueled the last decade of work to functionally characterize genome content. An important subset of genes encodes membrane proteins, which are the targets of many drugs. They reside in lipid bilayers, restricting their endogenous activity to a relatively specialized biochemical environment. Without a reference phenotype, the application of systematic screens to profile candidate membrane proteins is not immediately possible. Bioinformatics has begun to show its effectiveness in focusing the functional characterization of orphan proteins of a particular functional class, such as channels or receptors. Here we discuss integration of experimental and bioinformatics approaches for characterizing the orphan membrane proteome. By analyzing the human genome, a landscape reference for the human transmembrane genome is provided.
Transposable element activity, genome regulation and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lu; Jordan, I King

2018-03-02

A convergence of novel genome analysis technologies is enabling population genomic studies of human transposable elements (TEs). Population surveys of human genome sequences have uncovered thousands of individual TE insertions that segregate as common genetic variants, i.e. TE polymorphisms. These recent TE insertions provide an important source of naturally occurring human genetic variation. Investigators are beginning to leverage population genomic data sets to execute genome-scale association studies for assessing the phenotypic impact of human TE polymorphisms. For example, the expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analytical paradigm has recently been used to uncover hundreds of associations between human TE insertion variants and gene expression levels. These include population-specific gene regulatory effects as well as coordinated changes to gene regulatory networks. In addition, analyses of linkage disequilibrium patterns with previously characterized genome-wide association study (GWAS) trait variants have uncovered TE insertion polymorphisms that are likely causal variants for a variety of common complex diseases. Gene regulatory mechanisms that underlie specific disease phenotypes have been proposed for a number of these trait associated TE polymorphisms. These new population genomic approaches hold great promise for understanding how ongoing TE activity contributes to functionally relevant genetic variation within and between human populations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Budding off: bringing functional genomics to Candida albicans

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Matthew Z.

2016-01-01

Candida species are the most prevalent human fungal pathogens, with Candida albicans being the most clinically relevant species. Candida albicans resides as a commensal of the human gastrointestinal tract but is a frequent cause of opportunistic mucosal and systemic infections. Investigation of C. albicans virulence has traditionally relied on candidate gene approaches, but recent advances in functional genomics have now facilitated global, unbiased studies of gene function. Such studies include comparative genomics (both between and within Candida species), analysis of total RNA expression, and regulation and delineation of protein–DNA interactions. Additionally, large collections of mutant strains have begun to aid systematic screening of clinically relevant phenotypes. Here, we will highlight the development of functional genomics in C. albicans and discuss the use of these approaches to addressing both commensalism and pathogenesis in this species. PMID:26424829
Initial genomics of the human nucleolus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Attila Németh

2010-03-01

Full Text Available We report for the first time the genomics of a nuclear compartment of the eukaryotic cell. 454 sequencing and microarray analysis revealed the pattern of nucleolus-associated chromatin domains (NADs in the linear human genome and identified different gene families and certain satellite repeats as the major building blocks of NADs, which constitute about 4% of the genome. Bioinformatic evaluation showed that NAD-localized genes take part in specific biological processes, like the response to other organisms, odor perception, and tissue development. 3D FISH and immunofluorescence experiments illustrated the spatial distribution of NAD-specific chromatin within interphase nuclei and its alteration upon transcriptional changes. Altogether, our findings describe the nature of DNA sequences associated with the human nucleolus and provide insights into the function of the nucleolus in genome organization and establishment of nuclear architecture.
Initial Genomics of the Human Nucleolus

Science.gov (United States)

Németh, Attila; Conesa, Ana; Santoyo-Lopez, Javier; Medina, Ignacio; Montaner, David; Péterfia, Bálint; Solovei, Irina; Cremer, Thomas; Dopazo, Joaquin; Längst, Gernot

2010-01-01

We report for the first time the genomics of a nuclear compartment of the eukaryotic cell. 454 sequencing and microarray analysis revealed the pattern of nucleolus-associated chromatin domains (NADs) in the linear human genome and identified different gene families and certain satellite repeats as the major building blocks of NADs, which constitute about 4% of the genome. Bioinformatic evaluation showed that NAD–localized genes take part in specific biological processes, like the response to other organisms, odor perception, and tissue development. 3D FISH and immunofluorescence experiments illustrated the spatial distribution of NAD–specific chromatin within interphase nuclei and its alteration upon transcriptional changes. Altogether, our findings describe the nature of DNA sequences associated with the human nucleolus and provide insights into the function of the nucleolus in genome organization and establishment of nuclear architecture. PMID:20361057
Evolution of the NANOG pseudogene family in the human and chimpanzee genomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maughan Peter J

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The NANOG gene is expressed in mammalian embryonic stem cells where it maintains cellular pluripotency. An unusually large family of pseudogenes arose from it with one unprocessed and ten processed pseudogenes in the human genome. This article compares the NANOG gene and its pseudogenes in the human and chimpanzee genomes and derives an evolutionary history of this pseudogene family. Results The NANOG gene and all pseudogenes except NANOGP8 are present at their expected orthologous chromosomal positions in the chimpanzee genome when compared to the human genome, indicating that their origins predate the human-chimpanzee divergence. Analysis of flanking DNA sequences demonstrates that NANOGP8 is absent from the chimpanzee genome. Conclusion Based on the most parsimonious ordering of inferred source-gene mutations, the deduced evolutionary origins for the NANOG pseudogene family in the human and chimpanzee genomes, in order of most ancient to most recent, are NANOGP6, NANOGP5, NANOGP3, NANOGP10, NANOGP2, NANOGP9, NANOGP7, NANOGP1, and NANOGP4. All of these pseudogenes were fixed in the genome of the human-chimpanzee common ancestor. NANOGP8 is the most recent pseudogene and it originated exclusively in the human lineage after the human-chimpanzee divergence. NANOGP1 is apparently an unprocessed pseudogene. Comparison of its sequence to the functional NANOG gene's reading frame suggests that this apparent pseudogene remained functional after duplication and, therefore, was subject to selection-driven conservation of its reading frame, and that it may retain some functionality or that its loss of function may be evolutionarily recent.
G-Quadruplexes Involving Both Strands of Genomic DNA Are Highly Abundant and Colocalize with Functional Sites in the Human Genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej S Kudlicki

Full Text Available The G-quadruplex is a non-canonical DNA structure biologically significant in DNA replication, transcription and telomere stability. To date, only G4s with all guanines originating from the same strand of DNA have been considered in the context of the human nuclear genome. Here, I discuss interstrand topological configurations of G-quadruplex DNA, consisting of guanines from both strands of genomic DNA; an algorithm is presented for predicting such structures. I have identified over 550,000 non-overlapping interstrand G-quadruplex forming sequences in the human genome--significantly more than intrastrand configurations. Functional analysis of interstrand G-quadruplex sites shows strong association with transcription initiation, the results are consistent with the XPB and XPD transcriptional helicases binding only to G-quadruplex DNA with interstrand topology. Interstrand quadruplexes are also enriched in origin of replication sites. Several topology classes of interstrand quadruplex-forming sequences are possible, and different topologies are enriched in different types of structural elements. The list of interstrand quadruplex forming sequences, and the computer program used for their prediction are available at the web address http://moment.utmb.edu/allquads.
Inversion variants in human and primate genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Catacchio, Claudia Rita; Maggiolini, Flavia Angela Maria; D'Addabbo, Pietro; Bitonto, Miriana; Capozzi, Oronzo; Signorile, Martina Lepore; Miroballo, Mattia; Archidiacono, Nicoletta; Eichler, Evan E; Ventura, Mario; Antonacci, Francesca

2018-05-18

For many years, inversions have been proposed to be a direct driving force in speciation since they suppress recombination when heterozygous. Inversions are the most common large-scale differences among humans and great apes. Nevertheless, they represent large events easily distinguishable by classical cytogenetics, whose resolution, however, is limited. Here, we performed a genome-wide comparison between human, great ape, and macaque genomes using the net alignments for the most recent releases of genome assemblies. We identified a total of 156 putative inversions, between 103 kb and 91 Mb, corresponding to 136 human loci. Combining literature, sequence, and experimental analyses, we analyzed 109 of these loci and found 67 regions inverted in one or multiple primates, including 28 newly identified inversions. These events overlap with 81 human genes at their breakpoints, and seven correspond to sites of recurrent rearrangements associated with human disease. This work doubles the number of validated primate inversions larger than 100 kb, beyond what was previously documented. We identified 74 sites of errors, where the sequence has been assembled in the wrong orientation, in the reference genomes analyzed. Our data serve two purposes: First, we generated a map of evolutionary inversions in these genomes representing a resource for interrogating differences among these species at a functional level; second, we provide a list of misassembled regions in these primate genomes, involving over 300 Mb of DNA and 1978 human genes. Accurately annotating these regions in the genome references has immediate applications for evolutionary and biomedical studies on primates. © 2018 Catacchio et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
Human Genome Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Block, S. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Cornwall, J. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Dally, W. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Dyson, F. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Fortson, N. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Joyce, G. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Kimble, H. J. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Lewis, N. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Max, C. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Prince, T. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Schwitters, R. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Weinberger, P. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office; Woodin, W. H. [The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA (US). JASON Program Office

1998-01-04

The study reviews Department of Energy supported aspects of the United States Human Genome Project, the joint National Institutes of Health/Department of Energy program to characterize all human genetic material, to discover the set of human genes, and to render them accessible for further biological study. The study concentrates on issues of technology, quality assurance/control, and informatics relevant to current effort on the genome project and needs beyond it. Recommendations are presented on areas of the genome program that are of particular interest to and supported by the Department of Energy.

Accelerated Evolution of Conserved Noncoding Sequences in theHuman Genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prambhakar, Shyam; Noonan, James P.; Paabo, Svante; Rubin, EdwardM.

2006-07-06

Genomic comparisons between human and distant, non-primatemammals are commonly used to identify cis-regulatory elements based onconstrained sequence evolution. However, these methods fail to detect"cryptic" functional elements, which are too weakly conserved amongmammals to distinguish from nonfunctional DNA. To address this problem,we explored the potential of deep intra-primate sequence comparisons. Wesequenced the orthologs of 558 kb of human genomic sequence, coveringmultiple loci involved in cholesterol homeostasis, in 6 nonhumanprimates. Our analysis identified 6 noncoding DNA elements displayingsignificant conservation among primates, but undetectable in more distantcomparisons. In vitro and in vivo tests revealed that at least three ofthese 6 elements have regulatory function. Notably, the mouse orthologsof these three functional human sequences had regulatory activity despitetheir lack of significant sequence conservation, indicating that they arecryptic ancestral cis-regulatory elements. These regulatory elementscould still be detected in a smaller set of three primate speciesincluding human, rhesus and marmoset. Since the human and rhesus genomesequences are already available, and the marmoset genome is activelybeing sequenced, the primate-specific conservation analysis describedhere can be applied in the near future on a whole-genome scale, tocomplement the annotation provided by more distant speciescomparisons.
On the Immortality of Television Sets: ?Function? in the Human Genome According to the Evolution-Free Gospel of ENCODE

OpenAIRE

Graur, Dan; Zheng, Yichen; Price, Nicholas; Azevedo, Ricardo B.R.; Zufall, Rebecca A.; Elhaik, Eran

2013-01-01

A recent slew of ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Consortium publications, specifically the article signed by all Consortium members, put forward the idea that more than 80% of the human genome is functional. This claim flies in the face of current estimates according to which the fraction of the genome that is evolutionarily conserved through purifying selection is less than 10%. Thus, according to the ENCODE Consortium, a biological function can be maintained indefinitely without selec...
The characterization of twenty sequenced human genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly Pelak

2010-09-01

Full Text Available We present the analysis of twenty human genomes to evaluate the prospects for identifying rare functional variants that contribute to a phenotype of interest. We sequenced at high coverage ten "case" genomes from individuals with severe hemophilia A and ten "control" genomes. We summarize the number of genetic variants emerging from a study of this magnitude, and provide a proof of concept for the identification of rare and highly-penetrant functional variants by confirming that the cause of hemophilia A is easily recognizable in this data set. We also show that the number of novel single nucleotide variants (SNVs discovered per genome seems to stabilize at about 144,000 new variants per genome, after the first 15 individuals have been sequenced. Finally, we find that, on average, each genome carries 165 homozygous protein-truncating or stop loss variants in genes representing a diverse set of pathways.
Convergent functional genomics of psychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Niculescu, Alexander B

2013-10-01

Genetic and gene expression studies, in humans and animal models of psychiatric and other medical disorders, are becoming increasingly integrated. Particularly for genomics, the convergence and integration of data across species, experimental modalities and technical platforms is providing a fit-to-disease way of extracting reproducible and biologically important signal, in contrast to the fit-to-cohort effect and limited reproducibility of human genetic analyses alone. With the advent of whole-genome sequencing and the realization that a major portion of the non-coding genome may contain regulatory variants, Convergent Functional Genomics (CFG) approaches are going to be essential to identify disease-relevant signal from the tremendous polymorphic variation present in the general population. Such work in psychiatry can provide an example of how to address other genetically complex disorders, and in turn will benefit by incorporating concepts from other areas, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genome-Wide Prediction and Analysis of 3D-Domain Swapped Proteins in the Human Genome from Sequence Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, Atul Kumar; Sowdhamini, Ramanathan

2016-01-01

3D-domain swapping is one of the mechanisms of protein oligomerization and the proteins exhibiting this phenomenon have many biological functions. These proteins, which undergo domain swapping, have acquired much attention owing to their involvement in human diseases, such as conformational diseases, amyloidosis, serpinopathies, proteionopathies etc. Early realisation of proteins in the whole human genome that retain tendency to domain swap will enable many aspects of disease control management. Predictive models were developed by using machine learning approaches with an average accuracy of 78% (85.6% of sensitivity, 87.5% of specificity and an MCC value of 0.72) to predict putative domain swapping in protein sequences. These models were applied to many complete genomes with special emphasis on the human genome. Nearly 44% of the protein sequences in the human genome were predicted positive for domain swapping. Enrichment analysis was performed on the positively predicted sequences from human genome for their domain distribution, disease association and functional importance based on Gene Ontology (GO). Enrichment analysis was also performed to infer a better understanding of the functional importance of these sequences. Finally, we developed hinge region prediction, in the given putative domain swapped sequence, by using important physicochemical properties of amino acids.
The spotted gar genome illuminates vertebrate evolution and facilitates human-teleost comparisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Braasch, Ingo; Gehrke, Andrew R; Smith, Jeramiah J; Kawasaki, Kazuhiko; Manousaki, Tereza; Pasquier, Jeremy; Amores, Angel; Desvignes, Thomas; Batzel, Peter; Catchen, Julian; Berlin, Aaron M; Campbell, Michael S; Barrell, Daniel; Martin, Kyle J; Mulley, John F; Ravi, Vydianathan; Lee, Alison P; Nakamura, Tetsuya; Chalopin, Domitille; Fan, Shaohua; Wcisel, Dustin; Cañestro, Cristian; Sydes, Jason; Beaudry, Felix E G; Sun, Yi; Hertel, Jana; Beam, Michael J; Fasold, Mario; Ishiyama, Mikio; Johnson, Jeremy; Kehr, Steffi; Lara, Marcia; Letaw, John H; Litman, Gary W; Litman, Ronda T; Mikami, Masato; Ota, Tatsuya; Saha, Nil Ratan; Williams, Louise; Stadler, Peter F; Wang, Han; Taylor, John S; Fontenot, Quenton; Ferrara, Allyse; Searle, Stephen M J; Aken, Bronwen; Yandell, Mark; Schneider, Igor; Yoder, Jeffrey A; Volff, Jean-Nicolas; Meyer, Axel; Amemiya, Chris T; Venkatesh, Byrappa; Holland, Peter W H; Guiguen, Yann; Bobe, Julien; Shubin, Neil H; Di Palma, Federica; Alföldi, Jessica; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Postlethwait, John H

2016-04-01

To connect human biology to fish biomedical models, we sequenced the genome of spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), whose lineage diverged from teleosts before teleost genome duplication (TGD). The slowly evolving gar genome has conserved in content and size many entire chromosomes from bony vertebrate ancestors. Gar bridges teleosts to tetrapods by illuminating the evolution of immunity, mineralization and development (mediated, for example, by Hox, ParaHox and microRNA genes). Numerous conserved noncoding elements (CNEs; often cis regulatory) undetectable in direct human-teleost comparisons become apparent using gar: functional studies uncovered conserved roles for such cryptic CNEs, facilitating annotation of sequences identified in human genome-wide association studies. Transcriptomic analyses showed that the sums of expression domains and expression levels for duplicated teleost genes often approximate the patterns and levels of expression for gar genes, consistent with subfunctionalization. The gar genome provides a resource for understanding evolution after genome duplication, the origin of vertebrate genomes and the function of human regulatory sequences.
Insights from Human/Mouse genome comparisons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pennacchio, Len A.

2003-03-30

Large-scale public genomic sequencing efforts have provided a wealth of vertebrate sequence data poised to provide insights into mammalian biology. These include deep genomic sequence coverage of human, mouse, rat, zebrafish, and two pufferfish (Fugu rubripes and Tetraodon nigroviridis) (Aparicio et al. 2002; Lander et al. 2001; Venter et al. 2001; Waterston et al. 2002). In addition, a high-priority has been placed on determining the genomic sequence of chimpanzee, dog, cow, frog, and chicken (Boguski 2002). While only recently available, whole genome sequence data have provided the unique opportunity to globally compare complete genome contents. Furthermore, the shared evolutionary ancestry of vertebrate species has allowed the development of comparative genomic approaches to identify ancient conserved sequences with functionality. Accordingly, this review focuses on the initial comparison of available mammalian genomes and describes various insights derived from such analysis.
Characterizing genomic alterations in cancer by complementary functional associations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong Wook; Botvinnik, Olga B; Abudayyeh, Omar; Birger, Chet; Rosenbluh, Joseph; Shrestha, Yashaswi; Abazeed, Mohamed E; Hammerman, Peter S; DiCara, Daniel; Konieczkowski, David J; Johannessen, Cory M; Liberzon, Arthur; Alizad-Rahvar, Amir Reza; Alexe, Gabriela; Aguirre, Andrew; Ghandi, Mahmoud; Greulich, Heidi; Vazquez, Francisca; Weir, Barbara A; Van Allen, Eliezer M; Tsherniak, Aviad; Shao, Diane D; Zack, Travis I; Noble, Michael; Getz, Gad; Beroukhim, Rameen; Garraway, Levi A; Ardakani, Masoud; Romualdi, Chiara; Sales, Gabriele; Barbie, David A; Boehm, Jesse S; Hahn, William C; Mesirov, Jill P; Tamayo, Pablo

2016-05-01

Systematic efforts to sequence the cancer genome have identified large numbers of mutations and copy number alterations in human cancers. However, elucidating the functional consequences of these variants, and their interactions to drive or maintain oncogenic states, remains a challenge in cancer research. We developed REVEALER, a computational method that identifies combinations of mutually exclusive genomic alterations correlated with functional phenotypes, such as the activation or gene dependency of oncogenic pathways or sensitivity to a drug treatment. We used REVEALER to uncover complementary genomic alterations associated with the transcriptional activation of β-catenin and NRF2, MEK-inhibitor sensitivity, and KRAS dependency. REVEALER successfully identified both known and new associations, demonstrating the power of combining functional profiles with extensive characterization of genomic alterations in cancer genomes.
Forces shaping the fastest evolving regions in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pollard, Katherine S; Salama, Sofie R; King, Bryan

2006-01-01

Comparative genomics allow us to search the human genome for segments that were extensively changed in the last approximately 5 million years since divergence from our common ancestor with chimpanzee, but are highly conserved in other species and thus are likely to be functional. We found 202...... genomic elements that are highly conserved in vertebrates but show evidence of significantly accelerated substitution rates in human. These are mostly in non-coding DNA, often near genes associated with transcription and DNA binding. Resequencing confirmed that the five most accelerated elements...... contributed to accelerated evolution of the fastest evolving elements in the human genome....
Opening plenary speaker: Human genomics, precision medicine, and advancing human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Eric D

2016-08-01

Starting with the launch of the Human Genome Project in 1990, the past quarter-century has brought spectacular achievements in genomics that dramatically empower the study of human biology and disease. The human genomics enterprise is now in the midst of an important transition, as the growing foundation of genomic knowledge is being used by researchers and clinicians to tackle increasingly complex problems in biomedicine. Of particular prominence is the use of revolutionary new DNA sequencing technologies for generating prodigious amounts of DNA sequence data to elucidate the complexities of genome structure, function, and evolution, as well as to unravel the genomic bases of rare and common diseases. Together, these developments are ushering in the era of genomic medicine. Augmenting the advances in human genomics have been innovations in technologies for measuring environmental and lifestyle information, electronic health records, and data science; together, these provide opportunities of unprecedented scale and scope for investigating the underpinnings of health and disease. To capitalize on these opportunities, U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced a major new research endeavor - the U.S. Precision Medicine Initiative. This bold effort will be framed around several key aims, which include accelerating the use of genomically informed approaches to cancer care, making important policy and regulatory changes, and establishing a large research cohort of >1 million volunteers to facilitate precision medicine research. The latter will include making the partnership with all participants a centerpiece feature in the cohort's design and development. The Precision Medicine Initiative represents a broad-based research program that will allow new approaches for individualized medical care to be rigorously tested, so as to establish a new evidence base for advancing clinical practice and, eventually, human health.
On the immortality of television sets: "function" in the human genome according to the evolution-free gospel of ENCODE.

Science.gov (United States)

Graur, Dan; Zheng, Yichen; Price, Nicholas; Azevedo, Ricardo B R; Zufall, Rebecca A; Elhaik, Eran

2013-01-01

A recent slew of ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Consortium publications, specifically the article signed by all Consortium members, put forward the idea that more than 80% of the human genome is functional. This claim flies in the face of current estimates according to which the fraction of the genome that is evolutionarily conserved through purifying selection is less than 10%. Thus, according to the ENCODE Consortium, a biological function can be maintained indefinitely without selection, which implies that at least 80 - 10 = 70% of the genome is perfectly invulnerable to deleterious mutations, either because no mutation can ever occur in these "functional" regions or because no mutation in these regions can ever be deleterious. This absurd conclusion was reached through various means, chiefly by employing the seldom used "causal role" definition of biological function and then applying it inconsistently to different biochemical properties, by committing a logical fallacy known as "affirming the consequent," by failing to appreciate the crucial difference between "junk DNA" and "garbage DNA," by using analytical methods that yield biased errors and inflate estimates of functionality, by favoring statistical sensitivity over specificity, and by emphasizing statistical significance rather than the magnitude of the effect. Here, we detail the many logical and methodological transgressions involved in assigning functionality to almost every nucleotide in the human genome. The ENCODE results were predicted by one of its authors to necessitate the rewriting of textbooks. We agree, many textbooks dealing with marketing, mass-media hype, and public relations may well have to be rewritten.
Human genome and philosophy: what ethical challenge will human genome studies bring to the medical practices in the 21st century?

Science.gov (United States)

Renzong, Q

2001-12-01

A human being or person cannot be reduced to a set of human genes, or human genome. Genetic essentialism is wrong, because as a person the entity should have self-conscious and social interaction capacity which is grown in an interpersonal relationship. Genetic determinism is wrong too, the relationship between a gene and a trait is not a linear model of causation, but rather a non-linear one. Human genome is a complexity system and functions in a complexity system of human body and a complexity of systems of natural/social environment. Genetic determinism also caused the issue of how much responsibility an agent should take for her/his action, and how much degrees of freedom will a human being have. Human genome research caused several conceptual issues. Can we call a gene 'good' or 'bad', 'superior' of 'inferior'? Is a boy who is detected to have the gene of Huntington's chorea or Alzheimer disease a patient? What should the term 'eugenics' mean? What do the terms such as 'gene therapy', 'treatment' and 'enhancement' and 'human cloning' mean etc.? The research of human genome and its application caused and will cause ethical issues. Can human genome research and its application be used for eugenics, or only for the treatment and prevention of diseases? Must the principle of informed consent/choice be insisted in human genome research and its application? How to protecting gene privacy and combating the discrimination on the basis of genes? How to promote the quality between persons, harmony between ethnic groups and peace between countries? How to establish a fair, just, equal and equitable relationship between developing and developed countries in regarding to human genome research and its application?
CRISPR-Cas9 epigenome editing enables high-throughput screening for functional regulatory elements in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Klann, Tyler S; Black, Joshua B; Chellappan, Malathi; Safi, Alexias; Song, Lingyun; Hilton, Isaac B; Crawford, Gregory E; Reddy, Timothy E; Gersbach, Charles A

2017-06-01

Large genome-mapping consortia and thousands of genome-wide association studies have identified non-protein-coding elements in the genome as having a central role in various biological processes. However, decoding the functions of the millions of putative regulatory elements discovered in these studies remains challenging. CRISPR-Cas9-based epigenome editing technologies have enabled precise perturbation of the activity of specific regulatory elements. Here we describe CRISPR-Cas9-based epigenomic regulatory element screening (CERES) for improved high-throughput screening of regulatory element activity in the native genomic context. Using dCas9 KRAB repressor and dCas9 p300 activator constructs and lentiviral single guide RNA libraries to target DNase I hypersensitive sites surrounding a gene of interest, we carried out both loss- and gain-of-function screens to identify regulatory elements for the β-globin and HER2 loci in human cells. CERES readily identified known and previously unidentified regulatory elements, some of which were dependent on cell type or direction of perturbation. This technology allows the high-throughput functional annotation of putative regulatory elements in their native chromosomal context.
Human genome project: revolutionizing biology through leveraging technology

Science.gov (United States)

Dahl, Carol A.; Strausberg, Robert L.

1996-04-01

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international project to develop genetic, physical, and sequence-based maps of the human genome. Since the inception of the HGP it has been clear that substantially improved technology would be required to meet the scientific goals, particularly in order to acquire the complete sequence of the human genome, and that these technologies coupled with the information forthcoming from the project would have a dramatic effect on the way biomedical research is performed in the future. In this paper, we discuss the state-of-the-art for genomic DNA sequencing, technological challenges that remain, and the potential technological paths that could yield substantially improved genomic sequencing technology. The impact of the technology developed from the HGP is broad-reaching and a discussion of other research and medical applications that are leveraging HGP-derived DNA analysis technologies is included. The multidisciplinary approach to the development of new technologies that has been successful for the HGP provides a paradigm for facilitating new genomic approaches toward understanding the biological role of functional elements and systems within the cell, including those encoded within genomic DNA and their molecular products.
Complete Genome Sequence of the Human Gut Symbiont Roseburia hominis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Travis, Anthony J.; Kelly, Denise; Flint, Harry J

2015-01-01

We report here the complete genome sequence of the human gut symbiont Roseburia hominis A2-183(T) (= DSM 16839(T) = NCIMB 14029(T)), isolated from human feces. The genome is represented by a 3,592,125-bp chromosome with 3,405 coding sequences. A number of potential functions contributing to host...
The spotted gar genome illuminates vertebrate evolution and facilitates human-to-teleost comparisons

Science.gov (United States)

Braasch, Ingo; Gehrke, Andrew R.; Smith, Jeramiah J.; Kawasaki, Kazuhiko; Manousaki, Tereza; Pasquier, Jeremy; Amores, Angel; Desvignes, Thomas; Batzel, Peter; Catchen, Julian; Berlin, Aaron M.; Campbell, Michael S.; Barrell, Daniel; Martin, Kyle J.; Mulley, John F.; Ravi, Vydianathan; Lee, Alison P.; Nakamura, Tetsuya; Chalopin, Domitille; Fan, Shaohua; Wcisel, Dustin; Cañestro, Cristian; Sydes, Jason; Beaudry, Felix E. G.; Sun, Yi; Hertel, Jana; Beam, Michael J.; Fasold, Mario; Ishiyama, Mikio; Johnson, Jeremy; Kehr, Steffi; Lara, Marcia; Letaw, John H.; Litman, Gary W.; Litman, Ronda T.; Mikami, Masato; Ota, Tatsuya; Saha, Nil Ratan; Williams, Louise; Stadler, Peter F.; Wang, Han; Taylor, John S.; Fontenot, Quenton; Ferrara, Allyse; Searle, Stephen M. J.; Aken, Bronwen; Yandell, Mark; Schneider, Igor; Yoder, Jeffrey A.; Volff, Jean-Nicolas; Meyer, Axel; Amemiya, Chris T.; Venkatesh, Byrappa; Holland, Peter W. H.; Guiguen, Yann; Bobe, Julien; Shubin, Neil H.; Di Palma, Federica; Alföldi, Jessica; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Postlethwait, John H.

2016-01-01

To connect human biology to fish biomedical models, we sequenced the genome of spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), whose lineage diverged from teleosts before the teleost genome duplication (TGD). The slowly evolving gar genome conserved in content and size many entire chromosomes from bony vertebrate ancestors. Gar bridges teleosts to tetrapods by illuminating the evolution of immunity, mineralization, and development (e.g., Hox, ParaHox, and miRNA genes). Numerous conserved non-coding elements (CNEs, often cis-regulatory) undetectable in direct human-teleost comparisons become apparent using gar: functional studies uncovered conserved roles of such cryptic CNEs, facilitating annotation of sequences identified in human genome-wide association studies. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the sum of expression domains and levels from duplicated teleost genes often approximate patterns and levels of gar genes, consistent with subfunctionalization. The gar genome provides a resource for understanding evolution after genome duplication, the origin of vertebrate genomes, and the function of human regulatory sequences. PMID:26950095
Genomic hypomethylation in the human germline associates with selective structural mutability in the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

Full Text Available The hotspots of structural polymorphisms and structural mutability in the human genome remain to be explained mechanistically. We examine associations of structural mutability with germline DNA methylation and with non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR mediated by low-copy repeats (LCRs. Combined evidence from four human sperm methylome maps, human genome evolution, structural polymorphisms in the human population, and previous genomic and disease studies consistently points to a strong association of germline hypomethylation and genomic instability. Specifically, methylation deserts, the ~1% fraction of the human genome with the lowest methylation in the germline, show a tenfold enrichment for structural rearrangements that occurred in the human genome since the branching of chimpanzee and are highly enriched for fast-evolving loci that regulate tissue-specific gene expression. Analysis of copy number variants (CNVs from 400 human samples identified using a custom-designed array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH chip, combined with publicly available structural variation data, indicates that association of structural mutability with germline hypomethylation is comparable in magnitude to the association of structural mutability with LCR-mediated NAHR. Moreover, rare CNVs occurring in the genomes of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and developmental delay and de novo CNVs occurring in those diagnosed with autism are significantly more concentrated within hypomethylated regions. These findings suggest a new connection between the epigenome, selective mutability, evolution, and human disease.
Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birney, Ewan; Stamatoyannopoulos, John A; Dutta, Anindya

2007-01-01

We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses...
Building the sequence map of the human pan-genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Ruiqiang; Li, Yingrui; Zheng, Hancheng

2010-01-01

analysis of predicted genes indicated that the novel sequences contain potentially functional coding regions. We estimate that a complete human pan-genome would contain approximately 19-40 Mb of novel sequence not present in the extant reference genome. The extensive amount of novel sequence contributing...
Functional toxicogenomic assessment of triclosan in human HepG2 cells using genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen

Science.gov (United States)

Thousands of chemicals for which limited toxicological data are available are used and then detected in humans and the environment. Rapid and cost-effective approaches for assessing the toxicological properties of chemicals are needed. We used CRISPR-Cas9 functional genomic scree...

Human Contamination in Public Genome Assemblies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kryukov, Kirill; Imanishi, Tadashi

2016-01-01

Contamination in genome assembly can lead to wrong or confusing results when using such genome as reference in sequence comparison. Although bacterial contamination is well known, the problem of human-originated contamination received little attention. In this study we surveyed 45,735 available genome assemblies for evidence of human contamination. We used lineage specificity to distinguish between contamination and conservation. We found that 154 genome assemblies contain fragments that with high confidence originate as contamination from human DNA. Majority of contaminating human sequences were present in the reference human genome assembly for over a decade. We recommend that existing contaminated genomes should be revised to remove contaminated sequence, and that new assemblies should be thoroughly checked for presence of human DNA before submitting them to public databases.
Implications of the Human Genome Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kitcher, P.

1998-11-01

The Human Genome Project (HGP), launched in 1991, aims to map and sequence the human genome by 2006. During the fifteen-year life of the project, it is projected that $3 billion in federal funds will be allocated to it. The ultimate aims of spending this money are to analyze the structure of human DNA, to identify all human genes, to recognize the functions of those genes, and to prepare for the biology and medicine of the twenty-first century. The following summary examines some of the implications of the program, concentrating on its scientific import and on the ethical and social problems that it raises. Its aim is to expose principles that might be used in applying the information which the HGP will generate. There is no attempt here to translate the principles into detailed proposals for legislation. Arguments and discussion can be found in the full report, but, like this summary, that report does not contain any legislative proposals.
Experimental-confirmation and functional-annotation of predicted proteins in the chicken genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McCarthy Fiona M

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The chicken genome was sequenced because of its phylogenetic position as a non-mammalian vertebrate, its use as a biomedical model especially to study embryology and development, its role as a source of human disease organisms and its importance as the major source of animal derived food protein. However, genomic sequence data is, in itself, of limited value; generally it is not equivalent to understanding biological function. The benefit of having a genome sequence is that it provides a basis for functional genomics. However, the sequence data currently available is poorly structurally and functionally annotated and many genes do not have standard nomenclature assigned. Results We analysed eight chicken tissues and improved the chicken genome structural annotation by providing experimental support for the in vivo expression of 7,809 computationally predicted proteins, including 30 chicken proteins that were only electronically predicted or hypothetical translations in human. To improve functional annotation (based on Gene Ontology, we mapped these identified proteins to their human and mouse orthologs and used this orthology to transfer Gene Ontology (GO functional annotations to the chicken proteins. The 8,213 orthology-based GO annotations that we produced represent an 8% increase in currently available chicken GO annotations. Orthologous chicken products were also assigned standardized nomenclature based on current chicken nomenclature guidelines. Conclusion We demonstrate the utility of high-throughput expression proteomics for rapid experimental structural annotation of a newly sequenced eukaryote genome. These experimentally-supported predicted proteins were further annotated by assigning the proteins with standardized nomenclature and functional annotation. This method is widely applicable to a diverse range of species. Moreover, information from one genome can be used to improve the annotation of other genomes and
Genomic divergences among cattle, dog and human estimated from large-scale alignments of genomic sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shade Larry L

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Approximately 11 Mb of finished high quality genomic sequences were sampled from cattle, dog and human to estimate genomic divergences and their regional variation among these lineages. Results Optimal three-way multi-species global sequence alignments for 84 cattle clones or loci (each >50 kb of genomic sequence were constructed using the human and dog genome assemblies as references. Genomic divergences and substitution rates were examined for each clone and for various sequence classes under different functional constraints. Analysis of these alignments revealed that the overall genomic divergences are relatively constant (0.32–0.37 change/site for pairwise comparisons among cattle, dog and human; however substitution rates vary across genomic regions and among different sequence classes. A neutral mutation rate (2.0–2.2 × 10(-9 change/site/year was derived from ancestral repetitive sequences, whereas the substitution rate in coding sequences (1.1 × 10(-9 change/site/year was approximately half of the overall rate (1.9–2.0 × 10(-9 change/site/year. Relative rate tests also indicated that cattle have a significantly faster rate of substitution as compared to dog and that this difference is about 6%. Conclusion This analysis provides a large-scale and unbiased assessment of genomic divergences and regional variation of substitution rates among cattle, dog and human. It is expected that these data will serve as a baseline for future mammalian molecular evolution studies.
Segmenting the human genome based on states of neutral genetic divergence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuruppumullage Don, Prabhani; Ananda, Guruprasad; Chiaromonte, Francesca; Makova, Kateryna D

2013-09-03

Many studies have demonstrated that divergence levels generated by different mutation types vary and covary across the human genome. To improve our still-incomplete understanding of the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon, we analyze several mutation types simultaneously, anchoring their variation to specific regions of the genome. Using hidden Markov models on insertion, deletion, nucleotide substitution, and microsatellite divergence estimates inferred from human-orangutan alignments of neutrally evolving genomic sequences, we segment the human genome into regions corresponding to different divergence states--each uniquely characterized by specific combinations of divergence levels. We then parsed the mutagenic contributions of various biochemical processes associating divergence states with a broad range of genomic landscape features. We find that high divergence states inhabit guanine- and cytosine (GC)-rich, highly recombining subtelomeric regions; low divergence states cover inner parts of autosomes; chromosome X forms its own state with lowest divergence; and a state of elevated microsatellite mutability is interspersed across the genome. These general trends are mirrored in human diversity data from the 1000 Genomes Project, and departures from them highlight the evolutionary history of primate chromosomes. We also find that genes and noncoding functional marks [annotations from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE)] are concentrated in high divergence states. Our results provide a powerful tool for biomedical data analysis: segmentations can be used to screen personal genome variants--including those associated with cancer and other diseases--and to improve computational predictions of noncoding functional elements.
Genome engineering in human cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Minjung; Kim, Young-Hoon; Kim, Jin-Soo; Kim, Hyongbum

2014-01-01

Genome editing in human cells is of great value in research, medicine, and biotechnology. Programmable nucleases including zinc-finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and RNA-guided engineered nucleases recognize a specific target sequence and make a double-strand break at that site, which can result in gene disruption, gene insertion, gene correction, or chromosomal rearrangements. The target sequence complexities of these programmable nucleases are higher than 3.2 mega base pairs, the size of the haploid human genome. Here, we briefly introduce the structure of the human genome and the characteristics of each programmable nuclease, and review their applications in human cells including pluripotent stem cells. In addition, we discuss various delivery methods for nucleases, programmable nickases, and enrichment of gene-edited human cells, all of which facilitate efficient and precise genome editing in human cells.
Long-range autocorrelations of CpG islands in the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Koester

Full Text Available In this paper, we use a statistical estimator developed in astrophysics to study the distribution and organization of features of the human genome. Using the human reference sequence we quantify the global distribution of CpG islands (CGI in each chromosome and demonstrate that the organization of the CGI across a chromosome is non-random, exhibits surprisingly long range correlations (10 Mb and varies significantly among chromosomes. These correlations of CGI summarize functional properties of the genome that are not captured when considering variation in any particular separate (and local feature. The demonstration of the proposed methods to quantify the organization of CGI in the human genome forms the basis of future studies. The most illuminating of these will assess the potential impact on phenotypic variation of inter-individual variation in the organization of the functional features of the genome within and among chromosomes, and among individuals for particular chromosomes.
Genomics and the human genome project: implications for psychiatry

OpenAIRE

Kelsoe, J R

2004-01-01

In the past decade the Human Genome Project has made extraordinary strides in understanding of fundamental human genetics. The complete human genetic sequence has been determined, and the chromosomal location of almost all human genes identified. Presently, a large international consortium, the HapMap Project, is working to identify a large portion of genetic variation in different human populations and the structure and relationship of these variants to each other. The Human Genome Project h...
Genome-wide binding and transcriptome analysis of human farnesoid X receptor in primary human hepatocytes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Zhan

Full Text Available Farnesoid X receptor (FXR, NR1H4 is a ligand-activated transcription factor, belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. FXR is highly expressed in the liver and is essential in regulating bile acid homeostasis. FXR deficiency is implicated in numerous liver diseases and mice with modulation of FXR have been used as animal models to study liver physiology and pathology. We have reported genome-wide binding of FXR in mice by chromatin immunoprecipitation - deep sequencing (ChIP-seq, with results indicating that FXR may be involved in regulating diverse pathways in liver. However, limited information exists for the functions of human FXR and the suitability of using murine models to study human FXR functions.In the current study, we performed ChIP-seq in primary human hepatocytes (PHHs treated with a synthetic FXR agonist, GW4064 or DMSO control. In parallel, RNA deep sequencing (RNA-seq and RNA microarray were performed for GW4064 or control treated PHHs and wild type mouse livers, respectively.ChIP-seq showed similar profiles of genome-wide FXR binding in humans and mice in terms of motif analysis and pathway prediction. However, RNA-seq and microarray showed more different transcriptome profiles between PHHs and mouse livers upon GW4064 treatment.In summary, we have established genome-wide human FXR binding and transcriptome profiles. These results will aid in determining the human FXR functions, as well as judging to what level the mouse models could be used to study human FXR functions.
Genome-wide associations of gene expression variation in humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara E Stranger

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The exploration of quantitative variation in human populations has become one of the major priorities for medical genetics. The successful identification of variants that contribute to complex traits is highly dependent on reliable assays and genetic maps. We have performed a genome-wide quantitative trait analysis of 630 genes in 60 unrelated Utah residents with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe using the publicly available phase I data of the International HapMap project. The genes are located in regions of the human genome with elevated functional annotation and disease interest including the ENCODE regions spanning 1% of the genome, Chromosome 21 and Chromosome 20q12-13.2. We apply three different methods of multiple test correction, including Bonferroni, false discovery rate, and permutations. For the 374 expressed genes, we find many regions with statistically significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs with expression variation in lymphoblastoid cell lines after correcting for multiple tests. Based on our analyses, the signal proximal (cis- to the genes of interest is more abundant and more stable than distal and trans across statistical methodologies. Our results suggest that regulatory polymorphism is widespread in the human genome and show that the 5-kb (phase I HapMap has sufficient density to enable linkage disequilibrium mapping in humans. Such studies will significantly enhance our ability to annotate the non-coding part of the genome and interpret functional variation. In addition, we demonstrate that the HapMap cell lines themselves may serve as a useful resource for quantitative measurements at the cellular level.
Genome-Wide Associations of Gene Expression Variation in Humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The exploration of quantitative variation in human populations has become one of the major priorities for medical genetics. The successful identification of variants that contribute to complex traits is highly dependent on reliable assays and genetic maps. We have performed a genome-wide quantitative trait analysis of 630 genes in 60 unrelated Utah residents with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe using the publicly available phase I data of the International HapMap project. The genes are located in regions of the human genome with elevated functional annotation and disease interest including the ENCODE regions spanning 1% of the genome, Chromosome 21 and Chromosome 20q12-13.2. We apply three different methods of multiple test correction, including Bonferroni, false discovery rate, and permutations. For the 374 expressed genes, we find many regions with statistically significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs with expression variation in lymphoblastoid cell lines after correcting for multiple tests. Based on our analyses, the signal proximal (cis- to the genes of interest is more abundant and more stable than distal and trans across statistical methodologies. Our results suggest that regulatory polymorphism is widespread in the human genome and show that the 5-kb (phase I HapMap has sufficient density to enable linkage disequilibrium mapping in humans. Such studies will significantly enhance our ability to annotate the non-coding part of the genome and interpret functional variation. In addition, we demonstrate that the HapMap cell lines themselves may serve as a useful resource for quantitative measurements at the cellular level.
Genomic binding profiles of functionally distinct RNA polymerase III transcription complexes in human cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Moqtaderi, Zarmik; Wang, Jie; Raha, Debasish; White, Robert J; Snyder, Michael; Weng, Zhiping; Struhl, Kevin

2010-05-01

Genome-wide occupancy profiles of five components of the RNA polymerase III (Pol III) machinery in human cells identified the expected tRNA and noncoding RNA targets and revealed many additional Pol III-associated loci, mostly near short interspersed elements (SINEs). Several genes are targets of an alternative transcription factor IIIB (TFIIIB) containing Brf2 instead of Brf1 and have extremely low levels of TFIIIC. Strikingly, expressed Pol III genes, unlike nonexpressed Pol III genes, are situated in regions with a pattern of histone modifications associated with functional Pol II promoters. TFIIIC alone associates with numerous ETC loci, via the B box or a novel motif. ETCs are often near CTCF binding sites, suggesting a potential role in chromosome organization. Our results suggest that human Pol III complexes associate preferentially with regions near functional Pol II promoters and that TFIIIC-mediated recruitment of TFIIIB is regulated in a locus-specific manner.
The human genome project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worton, R.

1996-01-01

The Human Genome Project is a massive international research project, costing 3 to 5 billion dollars and expected to take 15 years, which will identify the all the genes in the human genome - i.e. the complete sequence of bases in human DNA. The prize will be the ability to identify genes causing or predisposing to disease, and in some cases the development of gene therapy, but this new knowledge will raise important ethical issues
Genome-wide siRNA-based functional genomics of pigmentation identifies novel genes and pathways that impact melanogenesis in human cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anand K Ganesan

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Melanin protects the skin and eyes from the harmful effects of UV irradiation, protects neural cells from toxic insults, and is required for sound conduction in the inner ear. Aberrant regulation of melanogenesis underlies skin disorders (melasma and vitiligo, neurologic disorders (Parkinson's disease, auditory disorders (Waardenburg's syndrome, and opthalmologic disorders (age related macular degeneration. Much of the core synthetic machinery driving melanin production has been identified; however, the spectrum of gene products participating in melanogenesis in different physiological niches is poorly understood. Functional genomics based on RNA-mediated interference (RNAi provides the opportunity to derive unbiased comprehensive collections of pharmaceutically tractable single gene targets supporting melanin production. In this study, we have combined a high-throughput, cell-based, one-well/one-gene screening platform with a genome-wide arrayed synthetic library of chemically synthesized, small interfering RNAs to identify novel biological pathways that govern melanin biogenesis in human melanocytes. Ninety-two novel genes that support pigment production were identified with a low false discovery rate. Secondary validation and preliminary mechanistic studies identified a large panel of targets that converge on tyrosinase expression and stability. Small molecule inhibition of a family of gene products in this class was sufficient to impair chronic tyrosinase expression in pigmented melanoma cells and UV-induced tyrosinase expression in primary melanocytes. Isolation of molecular machinery known to support autophagosome biosynthesis from this screen, together with in vitro and in vivo validation, exposed a close functional relationship between melanogenesis and autophagy. In summary, these studies illustrate the power of RNAi-based functional genomics to identify novel genes, pathways, and pharmacologic agents that impact a biological phenotype
Genomic characterization of large heterochromatic gaps in the human genome assembly.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Altemose

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The largest gaps in the human genome assembly correspond to multi-megabase heterochromatic regions composed primarily of two related families of tandem repeats, Human Satellites 2 and 3 (HSat2,3. The abundance of repetitive DNA in these regions challenges standard mapping and assembly algorithms, and as a result, the sequence composition and potential biological functions of these regions remain largely unexplored. Furthermore, existing genomic tools designed to predict consensus-based descriptions of repeat families cannot be readily applied to complex satellite repeats such as HSat2,3, which lack a consistent repeat unit reference sequence. Here we present an alignment-free method to characterize complex satellites using whole-genome shotgun read datasets. Utilizing this approach, we classify HSat2,3 sequences into fourteen subfamilies and predict their chromosomal distributions, resulting in a comprehensive satellite reference database to further enable genomic studies of heterochromatic regions. We also identify 1.3 Mb of non-repetitive sequence interspersed with HSat2,3 across 17 unmapped assembly scaffolds, including eight annotated gene predictions. Finally, we apply our satellite reference database to high-throughput sequence data from 396 males to estimate array size variation of the predominant HSat3 array on the Y chromosome, confirming that satellite array sizes can vary between individuals over an order of magnitude (7 to 98 Mb and further demonstrating that array sizes are distributed differently within distinct Y haplogroups. In summary, we present a novel framework for generating initial reference databases for unassembled genomic regions enriched with complex satellite DNA, and we further demonstrate the utility of these reference databases for studying patterns of sequence variation within human populations.
HGVA: the Human Genome Variation Archive

OpenAIRE

Lopez, Javier; Coll, Jacobo; Haimel, Matthias; Kandasamy, Swaathi; Tarraga, Joaquin; Furio-Tari, Pedro; Bari, Wasim; Bleda, Marta; Rueda, Antonio; Gr?f, Stefan; Rendon, Augusto; Dopazo, Joaquin; Medina, Ignacio

2017-01-01

Abstract High-profile genomic variation projects like the 1000 Genomes project or the Exome Aggregation Consortium, are generating a wealth of human genomic variation knowledge which can be used as an essential reference for identifying disease-causing genotypes. However, accessing these data, contrasting the various studies and integrating those data in downstream analyses remains cumbersome. The Human Genome Variation Archive (HGVA) tackles these challenges and facilitates access to genomic...
Mammalian-specific genomic functions: Newly acquired traits generated by genomic imprinting and LTR retrotransposon-derived genes in mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko-Ishino, Tomoko; Ishino, Fumitoshi

2015-01-01

Mammals, including human beings, have evolved a unique viviparous reproductive system and a highly developed central nervous system. How did these unique characteristics emerge in mammalian evolution, and what kinds of changes did occur in the mammalian genomes as evolution proceeded? A key conceptual term in approaching these issues is "mammalian-specific genomic functions", a concept covering both mammalian-specific epigenetics and genetics. Genomic imprinting and LTR retrotransposon-derived genes are reviewed as the representative, mammalian-specific genomic functions that are essential not only for the current mammalian developmental system, but also mammalian evolution itself. First, the essential roles of genomic imprinting in mammalian development, especially related to viviparous reproduction via placental function, as well as the emergence of genomic imprinting in mammalian evolution, are discussed. Second, we introduce the novel concept of "mammalian-specific traits generated by mammalian-specific genes from LTR retrotransposons", based on the finding that LTR retrotransposons served as a critical driving force in the mammalian evolution via generating mammalian-specific genes.
Human Germline Genome Editing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ormond, Kelly E; Mortlock, Douglas P; Scholes, Derek T; Bombard, Yvonne; Brody, Lawrence C; Faucett, W Andrew; Garrison, Nanibaa' A; Hercher, Laura; Isasi, Rosario; Middleton, Anna; Musunuru, Kiran; Shriner, Daniel; Virani, Alice; Young, Caroline E

2017-08-03

With CRISPR/Cas9 and other genome-editing technologies, successful somatic and germline genome editing are becoming feasible. To respond, an American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) workgroup developed this position statement, which was approved by the ASHG Board in March 2017. The workgroup included representatives from the UK Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors, Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors, International Genetic Epidemiology Society, and US National Society of Genetic Counselors. These groups, as well as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Asia Pacific Society of Human Genetics, British Society for Genetic Medicine, Human Genetics Society of Australasia, Professional Society of Genetic Counselors in Asia, and Southern African Society for Human Genetics, endorsed the final statement. The statement includes the following positions. (1) At this time, given the nature and number of unanswered scientific, ethical, and policy questions, it is inappropriate to perform germline gene editing that culminates in human pregnancy. (2) Currently, there is no reason to prohibit in vitro germline genome editing on human embryos and gametes, with appropriate oversight and consent from donors, to facilitate research on the possible future clinical applications of gene editing. There should be no prohibition on making public funds available to support this research. (3) Future clinical application of human germline genome editing should not proceed unless, at a minimum, there is (a) a compelling medical rationale, (b) an evidence base that supports its clinical use, (c) an ethical justification, and (d) a transparent public process to solicit and incorporate stakeholder input. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. All rights reserved.
Functional modules, mutational load and human genetic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaghloul, Norann A; Katsanis, Nicholas

2010-04-01

The ability to generate a massive amount of sequencing and genotyping data is transforming the study of human genetic disorders. Driven by such innovation, it is likely that whole exome and whole-genome resequencing will replace regionally focused approaches for gene discovery and clinical testing in the next few years. However, this opportunity brings a significant interpretative challenge to assigning function and phenotypic variance to common and rare alleles. Understanding the effect of individual mutations in the context of the remaining genomic variation represents a major challenge to our interpretation of disease. Here, we discuss the challenges of assigning mutation functionality and, drawing from the examples of ciliopathies as well as cohesinopathies and channelopathies, discuss possibilities for the functional modularization of the human genome. Functional modularization in addition to the development of physiologically relevant assays to test allele functionality will accelerate our understanding of disease architecture and enable the use of genome-wide sequence data for disease diagnosis and phenotypic prediction in individuals. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The detailed 3D multi-loop aggregate/rosette chromatin architecture and functional dynamic organization of the human and mouse genomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knoch, Tobias A; Wachsmuth, Malte; Kepper, Nick

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The dynamic three-dimensional chromatin architecture of genomes and its co-evolutionary connection to its function-the storage, expression, and replication of genetic information-is still one of the central issues in biology. Here, we describe the much debated 3D architecture...... of the human and mouse genomes from the nucleosomal to the megabase pair level by a novel approach combining selective high-throughput high-resolution chromosomal interaction capture (T2C), polymer simulations, and scaling analysis of the 3D architecture and the DNA sequence. RESULTS: The genome is compacted...... into a chromatin quasi-fibre with ~5 ± 1 nucleosomes/11 nm, folded into stable ~30-100 kbp loops forming stable loop aggregates/rosettes connected by similar sized linkers. Minor but significant variations in the architecture are seen between cell types and functional states. The architecture and the DNA sequence...

Human Genome Sequencing in Health and Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia; Lupski, James R.; Gibbs, Richard A.

2013-01-01

Following the “finished,” euchromatic, haploid human reference genome sequence, the rapid development of novel, faster, and cheaper sequencing technologies is making possible the era of personalized human genomics. Personal diploid human genome sequences have been generated, and each has contributed to our better understanding of variation in the human genome. We have consequently begun to appreciate the vastness of individual genetic variation from single nucleotide to structural variants. Translation of genome-scale variation into medically useful information is, however, in its infancy. This review summarizes the initial steps undertaken in clinical implementation of personal genome information, and describes the application of whole-genome and exome sequencing to identify the cause of genetic diseases and to suggest adjuvant therapies. Better analysis tools and a deeper understanding of the biology of our genome are necessary in order to decipher, interpret, and optimize clinical utility of what the variation in the human genome can teach us. Personal genome sequencing may eventually become an instrument of common medical practice, providing information that assists in the formulation of a differential diagnosis. We outline herein some of the remaining challenges. PMID:22248320
Annotating the human genome with Disease Ontology

Science.gov (United States)

Osborne, John D; Flatow, Jared; Holko, Michelle; Lin, Simon M; Kibbe, Warren A; Zhu, Lihua (Julie); Danila, Maria I; Feng, Gang; Chisholm, Rex L

2009-01-01

Background The human genome has been extensively annotated with Gene Ontology for biological functions, but minimally computationally annotated for diseases. Results We used the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) MetaMap Transfer tool (MMTx) to discover gene-disease relationships from the GeneRIF database. We utilized a comprehensive subset of UMLS, which is disease-focused and structured as a directed acyclic graph (the Disease Ontology), to filter and interpret results from MMTx. The results were validated against the Homayouni gene collection using recall and precision measurements. We compared our results with the widely used Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) annotations. Conclusion The validation data set suggests a 91% recall rate and 97% precision rate of disease annotation using GeneRIF, in contrast with a 22% recall and 98% precision using OMIM. Our thesaurus-based approach allows for comparisons to be made between disease containing databases and allows for increased accuracy in disease identification through synonym matching. The much higher recall rate of our approach demonstrates that annotating human genome with Disease Ontology and GeneRIF for diseases dramatically increases the coverage of the disease annotation of human genome. PMID:19594883
An integrated map of genetic variation from 1.092 human genomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abecasis, Goncalo R.; Auton, Adam; Brooks, Lisa D.

2012-01-01

By characterizing the geographic and functional spectrum of human genetic variation, the 1000 Genomes Project aims to build a resource to help to understand the genetic contribution to disease. Here we describe the genomes of 1,092 individuals from 14 populations, constructed using a combination ...
Partnering for functional genomics research conference: Abstracts of poster presentations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-06-01

This reports contains abstracts of poster presentations presented at the Functional Genomics Research Conference held April 16--17, 1998 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Attention is focused on the following areas: mouse mutagenesis and genomics; phenotype screening; gene expression analysis; DNA analysis technology development; bioinformatics; comparative analyses of mouse, human, and yeast sequences; and pilot projects to evaluate methodologies.
The bonobo genome compared with the chimpanzee and human genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Prüfer, Kay; Munch, Kasper; Hellmann, Ines; Akagi, Keiko; Miller, Jason R.; Walenz, Brian; Koren, Sergey; Sutton, Granger; Kodira, Chinnappa; Winer, Roger; Knight, James R.; Mullikin, James C.; Meader, Stephen J.; Ponting, Chris P.; Lunter, Gerton; Higashino, Saneyuki; Hobolth, Asger; Dutheil, Julien; Karakoç, Emre; Alkan, Can; Sajjadian, Saba; Catacchio, Claudia Rita; Ventura, Mario; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Eichler, Evan E.; André, Claudine; Atencia, Rebeca; Mugisha, Lawrence; Junhold, Jörg; Patterson, Nick; Siebauer, Michael; Good, Jeffrey M.; Fischer, Anne; Ptak, Susan E.; Lachmann, Michael; Symer, David E.; Mailund, Thomas; Schierup, Mikkel H.; Andrés, Aida M.; Kelso, Janet; Pääbo, Svante

2012-01-01

Two African apes are the closest living relatives of humans: the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus). Although they are similar in many respects, bonobos and chimpanzees differ strikingly in key social and sexual behaviours1–4, and for some of these traits they show more similarity with humans than with each other. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the bonobo genome to study its evolutionary relationship with the chimpanzee and human genomes. We find that more than three per cent of the human genome is more closely related to either the bonobo or the chimpanzee genome than these are to each other. These regions allow various aspects of the ancestry of the two ape species to be reconstructed. In addition, many of the regions that overlap genes may eventually help us understand the genetic basis of phenotypes that humans share with one of the two apes to the exclusion of the other. PMID:22722832
Human genome. 1993 Program report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-03-01

The purpose of this report is to update the Human Genome 1991-92 Program Report and provide new information on the DOE genome program to researchers, program managers, other government agencies, and the interested public. This FY 1993 supplement includes abstracts of 60 new or renewed projects and listings of 112 continuing and 28 completed projects. These two reports, taken together, present the most complete published view of the DOE Human Genome Program through FY 1993. Research is progressing rapidly toward 15-year goals of mapping and sequencing the DNA of each of the 24 different human chromosomes.
Big Data Analysis of Human Genome Variations

KAUST Repository

Gojobori, Takashi

2016-01-25

Since the human genome draft sequence was in public for the first time in 2000, genomic analyses have been intensively extended to the population level. The following three international projects are good examples for large-scale studies of human genome variations: 1) HapMap Data (1,417 individuals) (http://hapmap.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/downloads/genotypes/2010-08_phaseII+III/forward/), 2) HGDP (Human Genome Diversity Project) Data (940 individuals) (http://www.hagsc.org/hgdp/files.html), 3) 1000 genomes Data (2,504 individuals) http://ftp.1000genomes.ebi.ac.uk/vol1/ftp/release/20130502/ If we can integrate all three data into a single volume of data, we should be able to conduct a more detailed analysis of human genome variations for a total number of 4,861 individuals (= 1,417+940+2,504 individuals). In fact, we successfully integrated these three data sets by use of information on the reference human genome sequence, and we conducted the big data analysis. In particular, we constructed a phylogenetic tree of about 5,000 human individuals at the genome level. As a result, we were able to identify clusters of ethnic groups, with detectable admixture, that were not possible by an analysis of each of the three data sets. Here, we report the outcome of this kind of big data analyses and discuss evolutionary significance of human genomic variations. Note that the present study was conducted in collaboration with Katsuhiko Mineta and Kosuke Goto at KAUST.
Comparative analyses identified species-specific functional roles in oral microbial genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tsute; Gajare, Prasad; Olsen, Ingar; Dewhirst, Floyd E.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The advent of next generation sequencing is producing more genomic sequences for various strains of many human oral microbial species and allows for insightful functional comparisons at both intra- and inter-species levels. This study performed in-silico functional comparisons for currently available genomic sequences of major species associated with periodontitis including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (AA), Porphyromonas gingivalis (PG), Treponema denticola (TD), and Tannerella forsythia (TF), as well as several cariogenic and commensal streptococcal species. Complete or draft sequences were annotated with the RAST to infer structured functional subsystems for each genome. The subsystems profiles were clustered to groups of functions with similar patterns. Functional enrichment and depletion were evaluated based on hypergeometric distribution to identify subsystems that are unique or missing between two groups of genomes. Unique or missing metabolic pathways and biological functions were identified in different species. For example, components involved in flagellar motility were found only in the motile species TD, as expected, with few exceptions scattered in several streptococcal species, likely associated with chemotaxis. Transposable elements were only found in the two Bacteroidales species PG and TF, and half of the AA genomes. Genes involved in CRISPR were prevalent in most oral species. Furthermore, prophage related subsystems were also commonly found in most species except for PG and Streptococcus mutans, in which very few genomes contain prophage components. Comparisons between pathogenic (P) and nonpathogenic (NP) genomes also identified genes potentially important for virulence. Two such comparisons were performed between AA (P) and several A. aphrophilus (NP) strains, and between S. mutans + S. sobrinus (P) and other oral streptococcal species (NP). This comparative genomics approach can be readily used to identify functions unique to
Forces shaping the fastest evolving regions in the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine S Pollard

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Comparative genomics allow us to search the human genome for segments that were extensively changed in the last approximately 5 million years since divergence from our common ancestor with chimpanzee, but are highly conserved in other species and thus are likely to be functional. We found 202 genomic elements that are highly conserved in vertebrates but show evidence of significantly accelerated substitution rates in human. These are mostly in non-coding DNA, often near genes associated with transcription and DNA binding. Resequencing confirmed that the five most accelerated elements are dramatically changed in human but not in other primates, with seven times more substitutions in human than in chimp. The accelerated elements, and in particular the top five, show a strong bias for adenine and thymine to guanine and cytosine nucleotide changes and are disproportionately located in high recombination and high guanine and cytosine content environments near telomeres, suggesting either biased gene conversion or isochore selection. In addition, there is some evidence of directional selection in the regions containing the two most accelerated regions. A combination of evolutionary forces has contributed to accelerated evolution of the fastest evolving elements in the human genome.
Human Genome Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-01-01

The DOE Human Genome program has grown tremendously, as shown by the marked increase in the number of genome-funded projects since the last workshop held in 1991. The abstracts in this book describe the genome research of DOE-funded grantees and contractors and invited guests, and all projects are represented at the workshop by posters. The 3-day meeting includes plenary sessions on ethical, legal, and social issues pertaining to the availability of genetic data; sequencing techniques, informatics support; and chromosome and cDNA mapping and sequencing.
Human genome I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1989-01-01

An international conference, Human Genome I, was held Oct. 2-4, 1989 in San Diego, Calif. Selected speakers discussed: Current Status of the Genome Project; Technique Innovations; Interesting regions; Applications; and Organization - Different Views of Current and Future Science and Procedures. Posters, consisting of 119 presentations, were displayed during the sessions. 119 were indexed for inclusion to the Energy Data Base
High-density rhesus macaque oligonucleotide microarray design using early-stage rhesus genome sequence information and human genome annotations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magness Charles L

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Until recently, few genomic reagents specific for non-human primate research have been available. To address this need, we have constructed a macaque-specific high-density oligonucleotide microarray by using highly fragmented low-pass sequence contigs from the rhesus genome project together with the detailed sequence and exon structure of the human genome. Using this method, we designed oligonucleotide probes to over 17,000 distinct rhesus/human gene orthologs and increased by four-fold the number of available genes relative to our first-generation expressed sequence tag (EST-derived array. Results We constructed a database containing 248,000 exon sequences from 23,000 human RefSeq genes and compared each human exon with its best matching sequence in the January 2005 version of the rhesus genome project list of 486,000 DNA contigs. Best matching rhesus exon sequences for each of the 23,000 human genes were then concatenated in the proper order and orientation to produce a rhesus "virtual transcriptome." Microarray probes were designed, one per gene, to the region closest to the 3' untranslated region (UTR of each rhesus virtual transcript. Each probe was compared to a composite rhesus/human transcript database to test for cross-hybridization potential yielding a final probe set representing 18,296 rhesus/human gene orthologs, including transcript variants, and over 17,000 distinct genes. We hybridized mRNA from rhesus brain and spleen to both the EST- and genome-derived microarrays. Besides four-fold greater gene coverage, the genome-derived array also showed greater mean signal intensities for genes present on both arrays. Genome-derived probes showed 99.4% identity when compared to 4,767 rhesus GenBank sequence tag site (STS sequences indicating that early stage low-pass versions of complex genomes are of sufficient quality to yield valuable functional genomic information when combined with finished genome information from
Non-canonical ribosomal DNA segments in the human genome, and nucleoli functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kupriyanova, Natalia S; Netchvolodov, Kirill K; Sadova, Anastasia A; Cherepanova, Marina D; Ryskov, Alexei P

2015-11-10

Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in the human genome is represented by tandem repeats of 43 kb nucleotide sequences that form nucleoli organizers (NORs) on each of five pairs of acrocentric chromosomes. RDNA-similar segments of different lengths are also present on (NOR)(-) chromosomes. Many of these segments contain nucleotide substitutions, supplementary microsatellite clusters, and extended deletions. Recently, it was shown that, in addition to ribosome biogenesis, nucleoli exhibit additional functions, such as cell-cycle regulation and response to stresses. In particular, several stress-inducible loci located in the ribosomal intergenic spacer (rIGS) produce stimuli-specific noncoding nucleolus RNAs. By mapping the 5'/3' ends of the rIGS segments scattered throughout (NOR)(-) chromosomes, we discovered that the bonds in the rIGS that were most often susceptible to disruption in the rIGS were adjacent to, or overlapped with stimuli-specific inducible loci. This suggests the interconnection of the two phenomena - nucleoli functioning and the scattering of rDNA-like sequences on (NOR)(-) chromosomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
GenPlay Multi-Genome, a tool to compare and analyze multiple human genomes in a graphical interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Lajugie, Julien; Fourel, Nicolas; Bouhassira, Eric E

2015-01-01

Parallel visualization of multiple individual human genomes is a complex endeavor that is rapidly gaining importance with the increasing number of personal, phased and cancer genomes that are being generated. It requires the display of variants such as SNPs, indels and structural variants that are unique to specific genomes and the introduction of multiple overlapping gaps in the reference sequence. Here, we describe GenPlay Multi-Genome, an application specifically written to visualize and analyze multiple human genomes in parallel. GenPlay Multi-Genome is ideally suited for the comparison of allele-specific expression and functional genomic data obtained from multiple phased genomes in a graphical interface with access to multiple-track operation. It also allows the analysis of data that have been aligned to custom genomes rather than to a standard reference and can be used as a variant calling format file browser and as a tool to compare different genome assembly, such as hg19 and hg38. GenPlay is available under the GNU public license (GPL-3) from http://genplay.einstein.yu.edu. The source code is available at https://github.com/JulienLajugie/GenPlay. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Zebrafish models for the functional genomics of neurogenetic disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabashi, Edor; Brustein, Edna; Champagne, Nathalie; Drapeau, Pierre

2011-03-01

In this review, we consider recent work using zebrafish to validate and study the functional consequences of mutations of human genes implicated in a broad range of degenerative and developmental disorders of the brain and spinal cord. Also we present technical considerations for those wishing to study their own genes of interest by taking advantage of this easily manipulated and clinically relevant model organism. Zebrafish permit mutational analyses of genetic function (gain or loss of function) and the rapid validation of human variants as pathological mutations. In particular, neural degeneration can be characterized at genetic, cellular, functional, and behavioral levels. Zebrafish have been used to knock down or express mutations in zebrafish homologs of human genes and to directly express human genes bearing mutations related to neurodegenerative disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy, ataxia, hereditary spastic paraplegia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), epilepsy, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, fronto-temporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. More recently, we have been using zebrafish to validate mutations of synaptic genes discovered by large-scale genomic approaches in developmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and non-syndromic mental retardation. Advances in zebrafish genetics such as multigenic analyses and chemical genetics now offer a unique potential for disease research. Thus, zebrafish hold much promise for advancing the functional genomics of human diseases, the understanding of the genetics and cell biology of degenerative and developmental disorders, and the discovery of therapeutics. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Zebrafish Models of Neurological Diseases. Copyright Â© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
[Efficient genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells through CRISPR/Cas9].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Gai-gai; Li, Shuang; Wei, Yu-da; Zhang, Yong-xian; Ding, Qiu-rong

2015-11-01

The RNA-guided CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-associated Cas9 nuclease has offered a new platform for genome editing with high efficiency. Here, we report the use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to target a specific genomic region in human pluripotent stem cells. We show that CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to disrupt a gene by introducing frameshift mutations to gene coding region; to knock in specific sequences (e.g. FLAG tag DNA sequence) to targeted genomic locus via homology directed repair; to induce large genomic deletion through dual-guide multiplex. Our results demonstrate the versatile application of CRISPR/Cas9 in stem cell genome editing, which can be widely utilized for functional studies of genes or genome loci in human pluripotent stem cells.
Origins of the Human Genome Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, J D; Cook-Deegan, R M

1991-01-01

The Human Genome Project has become a reality. Building on a debate that dates back to 1985, several genome projects are now in full stride around the world, and more are likely to form in the next several years. Italy began its genome program in 1987, and the United Kingdom and U.S.S.R. in 1988. The European communities mounted several genome projects on yeast, bacteria, Drosophila, and Arabidospis thaliana (a rapidly growing plant with a small genome) in 1988, and in 1990 commenced a new 2-year program on the human genome. In the United States, we have completed the first year of operation of the National Center for Human Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), now the largest single funding source for genome research in the world. There have been dedicated budgets focused on genome-scale research at NIH, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for several years, and results are beginning to accumulate. There were three annual meetings on genome mapping and sequencing at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, in the spring of 1988, 1989, and 1990; the talks have shifted from a discussion about how to approach problems to presenting results from experiments already performed. We have finally begun to work rather than merely talk. The purpose of genome projects is to assemble data on the structure of DNA in human chromosomes and those of other organisms. A second goal is to develop new technologies to perform mapping and sequencing. There have been impressive technical advances in the past 5 years since the debate about the human genome project began. We are on the verge of beginning pilot projects to test several approaches to sequencing long stretches of DNA, using both automation and manual methods. Ordered sets of yeast artificial chromosome and cosmid clones have been assembled to span more than 2 million base pairs of several human chromosomes, and a region of 10 million base pairs has been assembled for
CRISPR/Cas9 for Human Genome Engineering and Disease Research.

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Xiong, Xin; Chen, Meng; Lim, Wendell A; Zhao, Dehua; Qi, Lei S

2016-08-31

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated 9 (Cas9) system, a versatile RNA-guided DNA targeting platform, has been revolutionizing our ability to modify, manipulate, and visualize the human genome, which greatly advances both biological research and therapeutics development. Here, we review the current development of CRISPR/Cas9 technologies for gene editing, transcription regulation, genome imaging, and epigenetic modification. We discuss the broad application of this system to the study of functional genomics, especially genome-wide genetic screening, and to therapeutics development, including establishing disease models, correcting defective genetic mutations, and treating diseases.
An overview of the human genome project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batzer, M.A.

1994-01-01

The human genome project is one of the most ambitious scientific projects to date, with the ultimate goal being a nucleotide sequence for all four billion bases of human DNA. In the process of determining the nucleotide sequence for each base, the location, function, and regulatory regions from the estimated 100,000 human genes will be identified. The genome project itself relies upon maps of the human genetic code derived from several different levels of resolution. Genetic linkage analysis provides a low resolution genome map. The information for genetic linkage maps is derived from the analysis of chromosome specific markers such as Sequence Tagged Sites (STSs), Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTRs) or other polymorphic (highly informative) loci in a number of different-families. Using this information the location of an unknown disease gene can be limited to a region comprised of one million base pairs of DNA or less. After this point, one must construct or have access to a physical map of the region of interest. Physical mapping involves the construction of an ordered overlapping (contiguous) set of recombinant DNA clones. These clones may be derived from a number of different vectors including cosmids, Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes (BACs), P1 derived Artificial Chromosomes (PACs), somatic cell hybrids, or Yeast Artificial Chromosomes (YACs). The ultimate goal for physical mapping is to establish a completely overlapping (contiguous) set of clones for the entire genome. After a gene or region of interest has been localized using physical mapping the nucleotide sequence is determined. The overlap between genetic mapping, physical mapping and DNA sequencing has proven to be a powerful tool for the isolation of disease genes through positional cloning.
2004 Structural, Function and Evolutionary Genomics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglas L. Brutlag Nancy Ryan Gray

2005-03-23

This Gordon conference will cover the areas of structural, functional and evolutionary genomics. It will take a systematic approach to genomics, examining the evolution of proteins, protein functional sites, protein-protein interactions, regulatory networks, and metabolic networks. Emphasis will be placed on what we can learn from comparative genomics and entire genomes and proteomes.

Human-specific protein isoforms produced by novel splice sites in the human genome after the human-chimpanzee divergence

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Kim Dong Seon

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evolution of splice sites is a well-known phenomenon that results in transcript diversity during human evolution. Many novel splice sites are derived from repetitive elements and may not contribute to protein products. Here, we analyzed annotated human protein-coding exons and identified human-specific splice sites that arose after the human-chimpanzee divergence. Results We analyzed multiple alignments of the annotated human protein-coding exons and their respective orthologous mammalian genome sequences to identify 85 novel splice sites (50 splice acceptors and 35 donors in the human genome. The novel protein-coding exons, which are expressed either constitutively or alternatively, produce novel protein isoforms by insertion, deletion, or frameshift. We found three cases in which the human-specific isoform conferred novel molecular function in the human cells: the human-specific IMUP protein isoform induces apoptosis of the trophoblast and is implicated in pre-eclampsia; the intronization of a part of SMOX gene exon produces inactive spermine oxidase; the human-specific NUB1 isoform shows reduced interaction with ubiquitin-like proteins, possibly affecting ubiquitin pathways. Conclusions Although the generation of novel protein isoforms does not equate to adaptive evolution, we propose that these cases are useful candidates for a molecular functional study to identify proteomic changes that might bring about novel phenotypes during human evolution.
The mobile genetic element Alu in the human genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novick, G.E. [Florida International Univ., Miami, FL (United States); Batzer, M.A.; Deininger, P.L. [Louisiana State Univ. Medical Center, New Orleans, LA (United States)] [and others

1996-01-01

Genetic material has been traditionally envisioned as relatively static with the exception of occasional, often deleterious mutations. The sequence DNA-to-RNA-to-protein represented for many years the central dogma relating gene structure and function. Recently, the field of molecular genetics has provided revolutionary information on the dynamic role of repetitive elements in the function of the genetic material and the evolution of humans and other organisms. Alu sequences represent the largest family of short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) in humans, being present in an excess of 500,000 copies per haploid genome. Alu elements, as well as the other repetitive elements, were once considered to be useless. Today, the biology of Alu transposable elements is being widely examined in order to determine the molecular basis of a growing number of identified diseases and to provide new directions in genome mapping and biomedical research. 66 refs., 5 figs.
National Human Genome Research Institute

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... Care Genomic Medicine Working Group New Horizons and Research Patient Management Policy and Ethics Issues Quick Links for Patient Care Education All About the Human Genome Project Fact Sheets Genetic Education Resources for ...
Efficient assembly of de novo human artificial chromosomes from large genomic loci

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Stromberg Gregory

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human Artificial Chromosomes (HACs are potentially useful vectors for gene transfer studies and for functional annotation of the genome because of their suitability for cloning, manipulating and transferring large segments of the genome. However, development of HACs for the transfer of large genomic loci into mammalian cells has been limited by difficulties in manipulating high-molecular weight DNA, as well as by the low overall frequencies of de novo HAC formation. Indeed, to date, only a small number of large (>100 kb genomic loci have been reported to be successfully packaged into de novo HACs. Results We have developed novel methodologies to enable efficient assembly of HAC vectors containing any genomic locus of interest. We report here the creation of a novel, bimolecular system based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs for the construction of HACs incorporating any defined genomic region. We have utilized this vector system to rapidly design, construct and validate multiple de novo HACs containing large (100–200 kb genomic loci including therapeutically significant genes for human growth hormone (HGH, polycystic kidney disease (PKD1 and ß-globin. We report significant differences in the ability of different genomic loci to support de novo HAC formation, suggesting possible effects of cis-acting genomic elements. Finally, as a proof of principle, we have observed sustained ß-globin gene expression from HACs incorporating the entire 200 kb ß-globin genomic locus for over 90 days in the absence of selection. Conclusion Taken together, these results are significant for the development of HAC vector technology, as they enable high-throughput assembly and functional validation of HACs containing any large genomic locus. We have evaluated the impact of different genomic loci on the frequency of HAC formation and identified segments of genomic DNA that appear to facilitate de novo HAC formation. These genomic loci
Multi-scale structural community organisation of the human genome.

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Boulos, Rasha E; Tremblay, Nicolas; Arneodo, Alain; Borgnat, Pierre; Audit, Benjamin

2017-04-11

Structural interaction frequency matrices between all genome loci are now experimentally achievable thanks to high-throughput chromosome conformation capture technologies. This ensues a new methodological challenge for computational biology which consists in objectively extracting from these data the structural motifs characteristic of genome organisation. We deployed the fast multi-scale community mining algorithm based on spectral graph wavelets to characterise the networks of intra-chromosomal interactions in human cell lines. We observed that there exist structural domains of all sizes up to chromosome length and demonstrated that the set of structural communities forms a hierarchy of chromosome segments. Hence, at all scales, chromosome folding predominantly involves interactions between neighbouring sites rather than the formation of links between distant loci. Multi-scale structural decomposition of human chromosomes provides an original framework to question structural organisation and its relationship to functional regulation across the scales. By construction the proposed methodology is independent of the precise assembly of the reference genome and is thus directly applicable to genomes whose assembly is not fully determined.
Widespread of horizontal gene transfer in the human genome.

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Huang, Wenze; Tsai, Lillian; Li, Yulong; Hua, Nan; Sun, Chen; Wei, Chaochun

2017-04-04

A fundamental concept in biology is that heritable material is passed from parents to offspring, a process called vertical gene transfer. An alternative mechanism of gene acquisition is through horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which involves movement of genetic materials between different species. Horizontal gene transfer has been found prevalent in prokaryotes but very rare in eukaryote. In this paper, we investigate horizontal gene transfer in the human genome. From the pair-wise alignments between human genome and 53 vertebrate genomes, 1,467 human genome regions (2.6 M bases) from all chromosomes were found to be more conserved with non-mammals than with most mammals. These human genome regions involve 642 known genes, which are enriched with ion binding. Compared to known horizontal gene transfer regions in the human genome, there were few overlapping regions, which indicated horizontal gene transfer is more common than we expected in the human genome. Horizontal gene transfer impacts hundreds of human genes and this study provided insight into potential mechanisms of HGT in the human genome.
Using Markov chains of nucleotide sequences as a possible precursor to predict functional roles of human genome: a case study on inactive chromatin regions.

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Lee, K-E; Lee, E-J; Park, H-S

2016-08-30

Recent advances in computational epigenetics have provided new opportunities to evaluate n-gram probabilistic language models. In this paper, we describe a systematic genome-wide approach for predicting functional roles in inactive chromatin regions by using a sequence-based Markovian chromatin map of the human genome. We demonstrate that Markov chains of sequences can be used as a precursor to predict functional roles in heterochromatin regions and provide an example comparing two publicly available chromatin annotations of large-scale epigenomics projects: ENCODE project consortium and Roadmap Epigenomics consortium.
Implementing genomics and pharmacogenomics in the clinic: The National Human Genome Research Institute's genomic medicine portfolio.

Science.gov (United States)

Manolio, Teri A

2016-10-01

Increasing knowledge about the influence of genetic variation on human health and growing availability of reliable, cost-effective genetic testing have spurred the implementation of genomic medicine in the clinic. As defined by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), genomic medicine uses an individual's genetic information in his or her clinical care, and has begun to be applied effectively in areas such as cancer genomics, pharmacogenomics, and rare and undiagnosed diseases. In 2011 NHGRI published its strategic vision for the future of genomic research, including an ambitious research agenda to facilitate and promote the implementation of genomic medicine. To realize this agenda, NHGRI is consulting and facilitating collaborations with the external research community through a series of "Genomic Medicine Meetings," under the guidance and leadership of the National Advisory Council on Human Genome Research. These meetings have identified and begun to address significant obstacles to implementation, such as lack of evidence of efficacy, limited availability of genomics expertise and testing, lack of standards, and difficulties in integrating genomic results into electronic medical records. The six research and dissemination initiatives comprising NHGRI's genomic research portfolio are designed to speed the evaluation and incorporation, where appropriate, of genomic technologies and findings into routine clinical care. Actual adoption of successful approaches in clinical care will depend upon the willingness, interest, and energy of professional societies, practitioners, patients, and payers to promote their responsible use and share their experiences in doing so. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Functional genomics in renal transplantation and chronic kidney disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilflingseder, J.

2010-01-01

For the past decade, the development of genomic technology has revolutionized modern biological research. Functional genomic analyses enable biologists to study genetic events on a genome wide scale. Examples of applications are gene discovery, biomarker determination, disease classification, and drug target identification. Global expression profiles performed with microarrays enable a better understanding of molecular signature of human disease, including acute and chronic kidney disease. About 10 % of the population in western industrialized nations suffers from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Treatment of end stage renal disease, the final stage of CKD is performed by either hemo- or peritoneal dialysis or renal transplantation. The preferred treatment is renal transplantation, because of the higher quality of life. But the pathophysiology of the disease on a molecular level is not well enough understood and early biomarkers for acute and chronic kidney disease are missing. In my studies I focused on genomics of allograft biopsies, prevention of delayed graft function after renal transplantation, anemia after renal transplantation, biocompatibility of hemodialysis membranes and peritoneal dialysis fluids and cardiovascular diseases and bone disorders in CKD patients. Gene expression profiles, pathway analysis and protein-protein interaction networks were used to elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of the disease or phenomena, identifying early biomarkers or predictors of disease state and potentially drug targets. In summery my PhD thesis represents the application of functional genomic analyses in chronic kidney disease and renal transplantation. The results provide a deeper view into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of kidney disease. Nevertheless, future multicenter collaborative studies, meta-analyses of existing data, incorporation of functional genomics into large-scale prospective clinical trials are needed and will give biomedical
Structured RNAs in the ENCODE selected regions of the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Washietl, Stefan; Pedersen, Jakob Skou; Korbel, Jan O

2007-01-01

Functional RNA structures play an important role both in the context of noncoding RNA transcripts as well as regulatory elements in mRNAs. Here we present a computational study to detect functional RNA structures within the ENCODE regions of the human genome. Since structural RNAs in general lack...... with the GENCODE annotation points to functional RNAs in all genomic contexts, with a slightly increased density in 3'-UTRs. While we estimate a significant false discovery rate of approximately 50%-70% many of the predictions can be further substantiated by additional criteria: 248 loci are predicted by both RNAz...
High-confidence assessment of functional impact of human mitochondrial non-synonymous genome variations by APOGEE.

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Stefano Castellana

2017-06-01

Full Text Available 24,189 are all the possible non-synonymous amino acid changes potentially affecting the human mitochondrial DNA. Only a tiny subset was functionally evaluated with certainty so far, while the pathogenicity of the vast majority was only assessed in-silico by software predictors. Since these tools proved to be rather incongruent, we have designed and implemented APOGEE, a machine-learning algorithm that outperforms all existing prediction methods in estimating the harmfulness of mitochondrial non-synonymous genome variations. We provide a detailed description of the underlying algorithm, of the selected and manually curated training and test sets of variants, as well as of its classification ability.
Drosophila and genome-wide association studies: a review and resource for the functional dissection of human complex traits

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Wangler, Michael F.; Hu, Yanhui

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified thousands of susceptibility loci for common diseases with complex genetic etiologies. Although the susceptibility variants identified by GWAS usually have only modest effects on individual disease risk, they contribute to a substantial burden of trait variation in the overall population. GWAS also offer valuable clues to disease mechanisms that have long proven to be elusive. These insights could lead the way to breakthrough treatments; however, several challenges hinder progress, making innovative approaches to accelerate the follow-up of results from GWAS an urgent priority. Here, we discuss the largely untapped potential of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, for functional investigation of findings from human GWAS. We highlight selected examples where strong genomic conservation with humans along with the rapid and powerful genetic tools available for flies have already facilitated fine mapping of association signals, elucidated gene mechanisms, and revealed novel disease-relevant biology. We emphasize current research opportunities in this rapidly advancing field, and present bioinformatic analyses that systematically explore the applicability of Drosophila for interrogation of susceptibility signals implicated in more than 1000 human traits, based on all GWAS completed to date. Thus, our discussion is targeted at both human geneticists seeking innovative strategies for experimental validation of findings from GWAS, as well as the Drosophila research community, by whom ongoing investigations of the implicated genes will powerfully inform our understanding of human disease. PMID:28151408
Recurrent DNA inversion rearrangements in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flores, Margarita; Morales, Lucía; Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia

2007-01-01

Several lines of evidence suggest that reiterated sequences in the human genome are targets for nonallelic homologous recombination (NAHR), which facilitates genomic rearrangements. We have used a PCR-based approach to identify breakpoint regions of rearranged structures in the human genome...... to human genomic variation is discussed........ In particular, we have identified intrachromosomal identical repeats that are located in reverse orientation, which may lead to chromosomal inversions. A bioinformatic workflow pathway to select appropriate regions for analysis was developed. Three such regions overlapping with known human genes, located...
Complete Genome Sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, Strain Cuniculi A: The Loss of Infectivity to Humans Is Associated with Genome Decay

Science.gov (United States)

Šmajs, David; Zobaníková, Marie; Strouhal, Michal; Čejková, Darina; Dugan-Rocha, Shannon; Pospíšilová, Petra; Norris, Steven J.; Albert, Tom; Qin, Xiang; Hallsworth-Pepin, Kym; Buhay, Christian; Muzny, Donna M.; Chen, Lei; Gibbs, Richard A.; Weinstock, George M.

2011-01-01

Treponema paraluiscuniculi is the causative agent of rabbit venereal spirochetosis. It is not infectious to humans, although its genome structure is very closely related to other pathogenic Treponema species including Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, the etiological agent of syphilis. In this study, the genome sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, strain Cuniculi A, was determined by a combination of several high-throughput sequencing strategies. Whereas the overall size (1,133,390 bp), arrangement, and gene content of the Cuniculi A genome closely resembled those of the T. pallidum genome, the T. paraluiscuniculi genome contained a markedly higher number of pseudogenes and gene fragments (51). In addition to pseudogenes, 33 divergent genes were also found in the T. paraluiscuniculi genome. A set of 32 (out of 84) affected genes encoded proteins of known or predicted function in the Nichols genome. These proteins included virulence factors, gene regulators and components of DNA repair and recombination. The majority (52 or 61.9%) of the Cuniculi A pseudogenes and divergent genes were of unknown function. Our results indicate that T. paraluiscuniculi has evolved from a T. pallidum-like ancestor and adapted to a specialized host-associated niche (rabbits) during loss of infectivity to humans. The genes that are inactivated or altered in T. paraluiscuniculi are candidates for virulence factors important in the infectivity and pathogenesis of T. pallidum subspecies. PMID:21655244
Complete genome sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, strain Cuniculi A: the loss of infectivity to humans is associated with genome decay.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Šmajs

Full Text Available Treponema paraluiscuniculi is the causative agent of rabbit venereal spirochetosis. It is not infectious to humans, although its genome structure is very closely related to other pathogenic Treponema species including Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, the etiological agent of syphilis. In this study, the genome sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, strain Cuniculi A, was determined by a combination of several high-throughput sequencing strategies. Whereas the overall size (1,133,390 bp, arrangement, and gene content of the Cuniculi A genome closely resembled those of the T. pallidum genome, the T. paraluiscuniculi genome contained a markedly higher number of pseudogenes and gene fragments (51. In addition to pseudogenes, 33 divergent genes were also found in the T. paraluiscuniculi genome. A set of 32 (out of 84 affected genes encoded proteins of known or predicted function in the Nichols genome. These proteins included virulence factors, gene regulators and components of DNA repair and recombination. The majority (52 or 61.9% of the Cuniculi A pseudogenes and divergent genes were of unknown function. Our results indicate that T. paraluiscuniculi has evolved from a T. pallidum-like ancestor and adapted to a specialized host-associated niche (rabbits during loss of infectivity to humans. The genes that are inactivated or altered in T. paraluiscuniculi are candidates for virulence factors important in the infectivity and pathogenesis of T. pallidum subspecies.
Genome-wide identification of coding and non-coding conserved sequence tags in human and mouse genomes

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Maggi Giorgio P

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The accurate detection of genes and the identification of functional regions is still an open issue in the annotation of genomic sequences. This problem affects new genomes but also those of very well studied organisms such as human and mouse where, despite the great efforts, the inventory of genes and regulatory regions is far from complete. Comparative genomics is an effective approach to address this problem. Unfortunately it is limited by the computational requirements needed to perform genome-wide comparisons and by the problem of discriminating between conserved coding and non-coding sequences. This discrimination is often based (thus dependent on the availability of annotated proteins. Results In this paper we present the results of a comprehensive comparison of human and mouse genomes performed with a new high throughput grid-based system which allows the rapid detection of conserved sequences and accurate assessment of their coding potential. By detecting clusters of coding conserved sequences the system is also suitable to accurately identify potential gene loci. Following this analysis we created a collection of human-mouse conserved sequence tags and carefully compared our results to reliable annotations in order to benchmark the reliability of our classifications. Strikingly we were able to detect several potential gene loci supported by EST sequences but not corresponding to as yet annotated genes. Conclusion Here we present a new system which allows comprehensive comparison of genomes to detect conserved coding and non-coding sequences and the identification of potential gene loci. Our system does not require the availability of any annotated sequence thus is suitable for the analysis of new or poorly annotated genomes.
Mapping and annotating obesity-related genes in pig and human genomes.

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Martelli, Pier Luigi; Fontanesi, Luca; Piovesan, Damiano; Fariselli, Piero; Casadio, Rita

2014-01-01

Background. Obesity is a major health problem in both developed and emerging countries. Obesity is a complex disease whose etiology involves genetic factors in strong interplay with environmental determinants and lifestyle. The discovery of genetic factors and biological pathways underlying human obesity is hampered by the difficulty in controlling the genetic background of human cohorts. Animal models are then necessary to further dissect the genetics of obesity. Pig has emerged as one of the most attractive models, because of the similarity with humans in the mechanisms regulating the fat deposition. Results. We collected the genes related to obesity in humans and to fat deposition traits in pig. We localized them on both human and pig genomes, building a map useful to interpret comparative studies on obesity. We characterized the collected genes structurally and functionally with BAR+ and mapped them on KEGG pathways and on STRING protein interaction network. Conclusions. The collected set consists of 361 obesity related genes in human and pig genomes. All genes were mapped on the human genome, and 54 could not be localized on the pig genome (release 2012). Only for 3 human genes there is no counterpart in pig, confirming that this animal is a good model for human obesity studies. Obesity related genes are mostly involved in regulation and signaling processes/pathways and relevant connection emerges between obesity-related genes and diseases such as cancer and infectious diseases.
Genome editing reveals a role for OCT4 in human embryogenesis.

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Fogarty, Norah M E; McCarthy, Afshan; Snijders, Kirsten E; Powell, Benjamin E; Kubikova, Nada; Blakeley, Paul; Lea, Rebecca; Elder, Kay; Wamaitha, Sissy E; Kim, Daesik; Maciulyte, Valdone; Kleinjung, Jens; Kim, Jin-Soo; Wells, Dagan; Vallier, Ludovic; Bertero, Alessandro; Turner, James M A; Niakan, Kathy K

2017-10-05

Despite their fundamental biological and clinical importance, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the first cell fate decisions in the human embryo are not well understood. Here we use CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing to investigate the function of the pluripotency transcription factor OCT4 during human embryogenesis. We identified an efficient OCT4-targeting guide RNA using an inducible human embryonic stem cell-based system and microinjection of mouse zygotes. Using these refined methods, we efficiently and specifically targeted the gene encoding OCT4 (POU5F1) in diploid human zygotes and found that blastocyst development was compromised. Transcriptomics analysis revealed that, in POU5F1-null cells, gene expression was downregulated not only for extra-embryonic trophectoderm genes, such as CDX2, but also for regulators of the pluripotent epiblast, including NANOG. By contrast, Pou5f1-null mouse embryos maintained the expression of orthologous genes, and blastocyst development was established, but maintenance was compromised. We conclude that CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing is a powerful method for investigating gene function in the context of human development.
Systematic tissue-specific functional annotation of the human genome highlights immune-related DNA elements for late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiongshi Lu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Continuing efforts from large international consortia have made genome-wide epigenomic and transcriptomic annotation data publicly available for a variety of cell and tissue types. However, synthesis of these datasets into effective summary metrics to characterize the functional non-coding genome remains a challenge. Here, we present GenoSkyline-Plus, an extension of our previous work through integration of an expanded set of epigenomic and transcriptomic annotations to produce high-resolution, single tissue annotations. After validating our annotations with a catalog of tissue-specific non-coding elements previously identified in the literature, we apply our method using data from 127 different cell and tissue types to present an atlas of heritability enrichment across 45 different GWAS traits. We show that broader organ system categories (e.g. immune system increase statistical power in identifying biologically relevant tissue types for complex diseases while annotations of individual cell types (e.g. monocytes or B-cells provide deeper insights into disease etiology. Additionally, we use our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations in an in-depth case study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD. Our analyses suggest a strong connection between LOAD heritability and genetic variants contained in regions of the genome functional in monocytes. Furthermore, we show that LOAD shares a similar localization of SNPs to monocyte-functional regions with Parkinson's disease. Overall, we demonstrate that integrated genome annotations at the single tissue level provide a valuable tool for understanding the etiology of complex human diseases. Our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations are freely available at http://genocanyon.med.yale.edu/GenoSkyline.
Systematic tissue-specific functional annotation of the human genome highlights immune-related DNA elements for late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qiongshi; Powles, Ryan L; Abdallah, Sarah; Ou, Derek; Wang, Qian; Hu, Yiming; Lu, Yisi; Liu, Wei; Li, Boyang; Mukherjee, Shubhabrata; Crane, Paul K; Zhao, Hongyu

2017-07-01

Continuing efforts from large international consortia have made genome-wide epigenomic and transcriptomic annotation data publicly available for a variety of cell and tissue types. However, synthesis of these datasets into effective summary metrics to characterize the functional non-coding genome remains a challenge. Here, we present GenoSkyline-Plus, an extension of our previous work through integration of an expanded set of epigenomic and transcriptomic annotations to produce high-resolution, single tissue annotations. After validating our annotations with a catalog of tissue-specific non-coding elements previously identified in the literature, we apply our method using data from 127 different cell and tissue types to present an atlas of heritability enrichment across 45 different GWAS traits. We show that broader organ system categories (e.g. immune system) increase statistical power in identifying biologically relevant tissue types for complex diseases while annotations of individual cell types (e.g. monocytes or B-cells) provide deeper insights into disease etiology. Additionally, we use our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations in an in-depth case study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Our analyses suggest a strong connection between LOAD heritability and genetic variants contained in regions of the genome functional in monocytes. Furthermore, we show that LOAD shares a similar localization of SNPs to monocyte-functional regions with Parkinson's disease. Overall, we demonstrate that integrated genome annotations at the single tissue level provide a valuable tool for understanding the etiology of complex human diseases. Our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations are freely available at http://genocanyon.med.yale.edu/GenoSkyline.

A framework for annotating human genome in disease context.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei; Wang, Huisong; Cheng, Wenqing; Fu, Dong; Xia, Tian; Kibbe, Warren A; Lin, Simon M

2012-01-01

Identification of gene-disease association is crucial to understanding disease mechanism. A rapid increase in biomedical literatures, led by advances of genome-scale technologies, poses challenge for manually-curated-based annotation databases to characterize gene-disease associations effectively and timely. We propose an automatic method-The Disease Ontology Annotation Framework (DOAF) to provide a comprehensive annotation of the human genome using the computable Disease Ontology (DO), the NCBO Annotator service and NCBI Gene Reference Into Function (GeneRIF). DOAF can keep the resulting knowledgebase current by periodically executing automatic pipeline to re-annotate the human genome using the latest DO and GeneRIF releases at any frequency such as daily or monthly. Further, DOAF provides a computable and programmable environment which enables large-scale and integrative analysis by working with external analytic software or online service platforms. A user-friendly web interface (doa.nubic.northwestern.edu) is implemented to allow users to efficiently query, download, and view disease annotations and the underlying evidences.
Finding function: evaluation methods for functional genomic data

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Barrett Daniel R

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Accurate evaluation of the quality of genomic or proteomic data and computational methods is vital to our ability to use them for formulating novel biological hypotheses and directing further experiments. There is currently no standard approach to evaluation in functional genomics. Our analysis of existing approaches shows that they are inconsistent and contain substantial functional biases that render the resulting evaluations misleading both quantitatively and qualitatively. These problems make it essentially impossible to compare computational methods or large-scale experimental datasets and also result in conclusions that generalize poorly in most biological applications. Results We reveal issues with current evaluation methods here and suggest new approaches to evaluation that facilitate accurate and representative characterization of genomic methods and data. Specifically, we describe a functional genomics gold standard based on curation by expert biologists and demonstrate its use as an effective means of evaluation of genomic approaches. Our evaluation framework and gold standard are freely available to the community through our website. Conclusion Proper methods for evaluating genomic data and computational approaches will determine how much we, as a community, are able to learn from the wealth of available data. We propose one possible solution to this problem here but emphasize that this topic warrants broader community discussion.
Implementing genomics and pharmacogenomics in the clinic: The National Human Genome Research Institute’s genomic medicine portfolio

Science.gov (United States)

Manolio, Teri A.

2016-01-01

Increasing knowledge about the influence of genetic variation on human health and growing availability of reliable, cost-effective genetic testing have spurred the implementation of genomic medicine in the clinic. As defined by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), genomic medicine uses an individual’s genetic information in his or her clinical care, and has begun to be applied effectively in areas such as cancer genomics, pharmacogenomics, and rare and undiagnosed diseases. In 2011 NHGRI published its strategic vision for the future of genomic research, including an ambitious research agenda to facilitate and promote the implementation of genomic medicine. To realize this agenda, NHGRI is consulting and facilitating collaborations with the external research community through a series of “Genomic Medicine Meetings,” under the guidance and leadership of the National Advisory Council on Human Genome Research. These meetings have identified and begun to address significant obstacles to implementation, such as lack of evidence of efficacy, limited availability of genomics expertise and testing, lack of standards, and diffficulties in integrating genomic results into electronic medical records. The six research and dissemination initiatives comprising NHGRI’s genomic research portfolio are designed to speed the evaluation and incorporation, where appropriate, of genomic technologies and findings into routine clinical care. Actual adoption of successful approaches in clinical care will depend upon the willingness, interest, and energy of professional societies, practitioners, patients, and payers to promote their responsible use and share their experiences in doing so. PMID:27612677
Justice and the Human Genome Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, T.F.; Lappe, M. (eds.)

1992-01-01

Most of the essays gathered in this volume were first presented at a conference, Justice and the Human Genome, in Chicago in early November, 1991. The goal of the, conference was to consider questions of justice as they are and will be raised by the Human Genome Project. To achieve its goal of identifying and elucidating the challenges of justice inherent in genomic research and its social applications the conference drew together in one forum members from academia, medicine, and industry with interests divergent as rate-setting for insurance, the care of newborns, and the history of ethics. The essays in this volume address a number of theoretical and practical concerns relative to the meaning of genomic research.
Justice and the Human Genome Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, T.F.; Lappe, M. [eds.

1992-12-31

Most of the essays gathered in this volume were first presented at a conference, Justice and the Human Genome, in Chicago in early November, 1991. The goal of the, conference was to consider questions of justice as they are and will be raised by the Human Genome Project. To achieve its goal of identifying and elucidating the challenges of justice inherent in genomic research and its social applications the conference drew together in one forum members from academia, medicine, and industry with interests divergent as rate-setting for insurance, the care of newborns, and the history of ethics. The essays in this volume address a number of theoretical and practical concerns relative to the meaning of genomic research.
Decoding the human genome

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva. Audiovisual Unit; Antonerakis, S E

2002-01-01

Decoding the Human genome is a very up-to-date topic, raising several questions besides purely scientific, in view of the two competing teams (public and private), the ethics of using the results, and the fact that the project went apparently faster and easier than expected. The lecture series will address the following chapters: Scientific basis and challenges. Ethical and social aspects of genomics.
Analysing human genomes at different scales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Siyang

The thriving of the Next-Generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in the past decade has dramatically revolutionized the field of human genetics. We are experiencing a wave of several large-scale whole genome sequencing studies of humans in the world. Those studies vary greatly regarding cohort...... will be reflected by the analysis of real data. This thesis covers studies in two human genome sequencing projects that distinctly differ in terms of studied population, sample size and sequencing depth. In the first project, we sequenced 150 Danish individuals from 50 trio families to 78x coverage....... The sophisticated experimental design enables high-quality de novo assembly of the genomes and provides a good opportunity for mapping the structural variations in the human population. We developed the AsmVar approach to discover, genotype and characterize the structural variations from the assemblies. Our...
Big Data Analysis of Human Genome Variations

KAUST Repository

Gojobori, Takashi

2016-01-01

Since the human genome draft sequence was in public for the first time in 2000, genomic analyses have been intensively extended to the population level. The following three international projects are good examples for large-scale studies of human
Genome-wide analysis of the human Alu Yb-lineage

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Carter Anthony B

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Alu Yb-lineage is a 'young' primarily human-specific group of short interspersed element (SINE subfamilies that have integrated throughout the human genome. In this study, we have computationally screened the draft sequence of the human genome for Alu Yb-lineage subfamily members present on autosomal chromosomes. A total of 1,733 Yb Alu subfamily members have integrated into human autosomes. The average ages of Yb-lineage subfamilies, Yb7, Yb8 and Yb9, are estimated as 4.81, 2.39 and 2.32 million years, respectively. In order to determine the contribution of the Alu Yb-lineage to human genomic diversity, 1,202 loci were analysed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR-based assays, which amplify the genomic regions containing individual Yb-lineage subfamily members. Approximately 20 per cent of the Yb-lineage Alu elements are polymorphic for insertion presence/absence in the human genome. Fewer than 0.5 per cent of the Yb loci also demonstrate insertions at orthologous positions in non-human primate genomes. Genomic sequencing of these unusual loci demonstrates that each of the orthologous loci from non-human primate genomes contains older Y, Sg and Sx Alu family members that have been altered, through various mechanisms, into Yb8 sequences. These data suggest that Alu Yb-lineage subfamily members are largely restricted to the human genome. The high copy number, level of insertion polymorphism and estimated age indicate that members of the Alu Yb elements will be useful in a wide range of genetic analyses.
Mutant power: using mutant allele collections for yeast functional genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Kaitlyn L; Kumar, Anuj

2016-03-01

The budding yeast has long served as a model eukaryote for the functional genomic analysis of highly conserved signaling pathways, cellular processes and mechanisms underlying human disease. The collection of reagents available for genomics in yeast is extensive, encompassing a growing diversity of mutant collections beyond gene deletion sets in the standard wild-type S288C genetic background. We review here three main types of mutant allele collections: transposon mutagen collections, essential gene collections and overexpression libraries. Each collection provides unique and identifiable alleles that can be utilized in genome-wide, high-throughput studies. These genomic reagents are particularly informative in identifying synthetic phenotypes and functions associated with essential genes, including those modeled most effectively in complex genetic backgrounds. Several examples of genomic studies in filamentous/pseudohyphal backgrounds are provided here to illustrate this point. Additionally, the limitations of each approach are examined. Collectively, these mutant allele collections in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the related pathogenic yeast Candida albicans promise insights toward an advanced understanding of eukaryotic molecular and cellular biology. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
The complete nucleotide sequence, genome organization, and origin of human adenovirus type 11

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, Daniel; Furthmann, Anne; Sandig, Volker; Lieber, Andre

2003-01-01

The complete DNA sequence and transcription map of human adenovirus type 11 are reported here. This is the first published sequence for a subgenera B human adenovirus and demonstrates a genome organization highly similar to those of other human adenoviruses. All of the genes from the early, intermediate, and late regions are present in the expected locations of the genome for a human adenovirus. The genome size is 34,794 bp in length and has a GC content of 48.9%. Sequence alignment with genomes of groups A (Ad12), C (Ad5), D (Ad17), E (Simian adenovirus 25), and F (Ad40) revealed homologies of 64, 54, 68, 75, and 52%, respectively. Detailed genomic analysis demonstrated that Ads 11 and 35 are highly conserved in all areas except the hexon hypervariable regions and fiber. Similarly, comparison of Ad11 with subgroup E SAV25 revealed poor homology between fibers but high homology in proteins encoded by all other areas of the genome. We propose an evolutionary model in which functional viruses can be reconstituted following fiber substitution from one serotype to another. According to this model either the Ad11 genome is a derivative of Ad35, from which the fiber was substituted with Ad7, or the Ad35 genome is the product of a fiber substitution from Ad21 into the Ad11 genome. This model also provides a possible explanation for the origin of group E Ads, which are evolutionarily derived from a group C fiber substitution into a group B genome
Human Germline Genome Editing

OpenAIRE

Ormond, Kelly E.; Mortlock, Douglas P.; Scholes, Derek T.; Bombard, Yvonne; Brody, Lawrence C.; Faucett, W. Andrew; Garrison, Nanibaa’ A.; Hercher, Laura; Isasi, Rosario; Middleton, Anna; Musunuru, Kiran; Shriner, Daniel; Virani, Alice; Young, Caroline E.

2017-01-01

With CRISPR/Cas9 and other genome-editing technologies, successful somatic and germline genome editing are becoming feasible. To respond, an American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) workgroup developed this position statement, which was approved by the ASHG Board in March 2017. The workgroup included representatives from the UK Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors, Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors, International Genetic Epidemiology Society, and US National Society of Gen...
Genome Architecture and Its Roles in Human Copy Number Variation

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Lu Chen

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Besides single-nucleotide variants in the human genome, large-scale genomic variants, such as copy number variations (CNVs, are being increasingly discovered as a genetic source of human diversity and the pathogenic factors of diseases. Recent experimental findings have shed light on the links between different genome architectures and CNV mutagenesis. In this review, we summarize various genomic features and discuss their contributions to CNV formation. Genomic repeats, including both low-copy and high-copy repeats, play important roles in CNV instability, which was initially known as DNA recombination events. Furthermore, it has been found that human genomic repeats can also induce DNA replication errors and consequently result in CNV mutations. Some recent studies showed that DNA replication timing, which reflects the high-order information of genomic organization, is involved in human CNV mutations. Our review highlights that genome architecture, from DNA sequence to high-order genomic organization, is an important molecular factor in CNV mutagenesis and human genomic instability.
SNUGB: a versatile genome browser supporting comparative and functional fungal genomics

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Kim Seungill

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Since the full genome sequences of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were released in 1996, genome sequences of over 90 fungal species have become publicly available. The heterogeneous formats of genome sequences archived in different sequencing centers hampered the integration of the data for efficient and comprehensive comparative analyses. The Comparative Fungal Genomics Platform (CFGP was developed to archive these data via a single standardized format that can support multifaceted and integrated analyses of the data. To facilitate efficient data visualization and utilization within and across species based on the architecture of CFGP and associated databases, a new genome browser was needed. Results The Seoul National University Genome Browser (SNUGB integrates various types of genomic information derived from 98 fungal/oomycete (137 datasets and 34 plant and animal (38 datasets species, graphically presents germane features and properties of each genome, and supports comparison between genomes. The SNUGB provides three different forms of the data presentation interface, including diagram, table, and text, and six different display options to support visualization and utilization of the stored information. Information for individual species can be quickly accessed via a new tool named the taxonomy browser. In addition, SNUGB offers four useful data annotation/analysis functions, including 'BLAST annotation.' The modular design of SNUGB makes its adoption to support other comparative genomic platforms easy and facilitates continuous expansion. Conclusion The SNUGB serves as a powerful platform supporting comparative and functional genomics within the fungal kingdom and also across other kingdoms. All data and functions are available at the web site http://genomebrowser.snu.ac.kr/.
Systematic tissue-specific functional annotation of the human genome highlights immune-related DNA elements for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Science.gov (United States)

Abdallah, Sarah; Ou, Derek; Wang, Qian; Hu, Yiming; Lu, Yisi; Liu, Wei; Li, Boyang; Mukherjee, Shubhabrata; Crane, Paul K.; Zhao, Hongyu

2017-01-01

Continuing efforts from large international consortia have made genome-wide epigenomic and transcriptomic annotation data publicly available for a variety of cell and tissue types. However, synthesis of these datasets into effective summary metrics to characterize the functional non-coding genome remains a challenge. Here, we present GenoSkyline-Plus, an extension of our previous work through integration of an expanded set of epigenomic and transcriptomic annotations to produce high-resolution, single tissue annotations. After validating our annotations with a catalog of tissue-specific non-coding elements previously identified in the literature, we apply our method using data from 127 different cell and tissue types to present an atlas of heritability enrichment across 45 different GWAS traits. We show that broader organ system categories (e.g. immune system) increase statistical power in identifying biologically relevant tissue types for complex diseases while annotations of individual cell types (e.g. monocytes or B-cells) provide deeper insights into disease etiology. Additionally, we use our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations in an in-depth case study of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). Our analyses suggest a strong connection between LOAD heritability and genetic variants contained in regions of the genome functional in monocytes. Furthermore, we show that LOAD shares a similar localization of SNPs to monocyte-functional regions with Parkinson’s disease. Overall, we demonstrate that integrated genome annotations at the single tissue level provide a valuable tool for understanding the etiology of complex human diseases. Our GenoSkyline-Plus annotations are freely available at http://genocanyon.med.yale.edu/GenoSkyline. PMID:28742084
HGVA: the Human Genome Variation Archive.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Javier; Coll, Jacobo; Haimel, Matthias; Kandasamy, Swaathi; Tarraga, Joaquin; Furio-Tari, Pedro; Bari, Wasim; Bleda, Marta; Rueda, Antonio; Gräf, Stefan; Rendon, Augusto; Dopazo, Joaquin; Medina, Ignacio

2017-07-03

High-profile genomic variation projects like the 1000 Genomes project or the Exome Aggregation Consortium, are generating a wealth of human genomic variation knowledge which can be used as an essential reference for identifying disease-causing genotypes. However, accessing these data, contrasting the various studies and integrating those data in downstream analyses remains cumbersome. The Human Genome Variation Archive (HGVA) tackles these challenges and facilitates access to genomic data for key reference projects in a clean, fast and integrated fashion. HGVA provides an efficient and intuitive web-interface for easy data mining, a comprehensive RESTful API and client libraries in Python, Java and JavaScript for fast programmatic access to its knowledge base. HGVA calculates population frequencies for these projects and enriches their data with variant annotation provided by CellBase, a rich and fast annotation solution. HGVA serves as a proof-of-concept of the genome analysis developments being carried out by the University of Cambridge together with UK's 100 000 genomes project and the National Institute for Health Research BioResource Rare-Diseases, in particular, deploying open-source for Computational Biology (OpenCB) software platform for storing and analyzing massive genomic datasets. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
Genome Editing: A New Approach to Human Therapeutics.

Science.gov (United States)

Porteus, Matthew

2016-01-01

The ability to manipulate the genome with precise spatial and nucleotide resolution (genome editing) has been a powerful research tool. In the past decade, the tools and expertise for using genome editing in human somatic cells and pluripotent cells have increased to such an extent that the approach is now being developed widely as a strategy to treat human disease. The fundamental process depends on creating a site-specific DNA double-strand break (DSB) in the genome and then allowing the cell's endogenous DSB repair machinery to fix the break such that precise nucleotide changes are made to the DNA sequence. With the development and discovery of several different nuclease platforms and increasing knowledge of the parameters affecting different genome editing outcomes, genome editing frequencies now reach therapeutic relevance for a wide variety of diseases. Moreover, there is a series of complementary approaches to assessing the safety and toxicity of any genome editing process, irrespective of the underlying nuclease used. Finally, the development of genome editing has raised the issue of whether it should be used to engineer the human germline. Although such an approach could clearly prevent the birth of people with devastating and destructive genetic diseases, questions remain about whether human society is morally responsible enough to use this tool.
Human genomics projects and precision medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco-Ramiro, F; Peiró-Pastor, R; Aguado, B

2017-09-01

The completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2001 opened the floodgates to a deeper understanding of medicine. There are dozens of HGP-like projects which involve from a few tens to several million genomes currently in progress, which vary from having specialized goals or a more general approach. However, data generation, storage, management and analysis in public and private cloud computing platforms have raised concerns about privacy and security. The knowledge gained from further research has changed the field of genomics and is now slowly permeating into clinical medicine. The new precision (personalized) medicine, where genome sequencing and data analysis are essential components, allows tailored diagnosis and treatment according to the information from the patient's own genome and specific environmental factors. P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) medicine is introducing new concepts, challenges and opportunities. This review summarizes current sequencing technologies, concentrates on ongoing human genomics projects, and provides some examples in which precision medicine has already demonstrated clinical impact in diagnosis and/or treatment.
The human noncoding genome defined by genetic diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

di Iulio, Julia; Bartha, Istvan; Wong, Emily H M; Yu, Hung-Chun; Lavrenko, Victor; Yang, Dongchan; Jung, Inkyung; Hicks, Michael A; Shah, Naisha; Kirkness, Ewen F; Fabani, Martin M; Biggs, William H; Ren, Bing; Venter, J Craig; Telenti, Amalio

2018-03-01

Understanding the significance of genetic variants in the noncoding genome is emerging as the next challenge in human genomics. We used the power of 11,257 whole-genome sequences and 16,384 heptamers (7-nt motifs) to build a map of sequence constraint for the human species. This build differed substantially from traditional maps of interspecies conservation and identified regulatory elements among the most constrained regions of the genome. Using new Hi-C experimental data, we describe a strong pattern of coordination over 2 Mb where the most constrained regulatory elements associate with the most essential genes. Constrained regions of the noncoding genome are up to 52-fold enriched for known pathogenic variants as compared to unconstrained regions (21-fold when compared to the genome average). This map of sequence constraint across thousands of individuals is an asset to help interpret noncoding elements in the human genome, prioritize variants and reconsider gene units at a larger scale.
Predicting Tissue-Specific Enhancers in the Human Genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pennacchio, Len A.; Loots, Gabriela G.; Nobrega, Marcelo A.; Ovcharenko, Ivan

2006-07-01

Determining how transcriptional regulatory signals areencoded in vertebrate genomes is essential for understanding the originsof multi-cellular complexity; yet the genetic code of vertebrate generegulation remains poorly understood. In an attempt to elucidate thiscode, we synergistically combined genome-wide gene expression profiling,vertebrate genome comparisons, and transcription factor binding siteanalysis to define sequence signatures characteristic of candidatetissue-specific enhancers in the human genome. We applied this strategyto microarray-based gene expression profiles from 79 human tissues andidentified 7,187 candidate enhancers that defined their flanking geneexpression, the majority of which were located outside of knownpromoters. We cross-validated this method for its ability to de novopredict tissue-specific gene expression and confirmed its reliability in57 of the 79 available human tissues, with an average precision inenhancer recognition ranging from 32 percent to 63 percent, and asensitivity of 47 percent. We used the sequence signatures identified bythis approach to assign tissue-specific predictions to ~;328,000human-mouse conserved noncoding elements in the human genome. Byoverlapping these genome-wide predictions with a large in vivo dataset ofenhancers validated in transgenic mice, we confirmed our results with a28 percent sensitivity and 50 percent precision. These results indicatethe power of combining complementary genomic datasets as an initialcomputational foray into the global view of tissue-specific generegulation in vertebrates.

De novo assembly of a haplotype-resolved human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Hongzhi; Wu, Honglong; Luo, Ruibang; Huang, Shujia; Sun, Yuhui; Tong, Xin; Xie, Yinlong; Liu, Binghang; Yang, Hailong; Zheng, Hancheng; Li, Jian; Li, Bo; Wang, Yu; Yang, Fang; Sun, Peng; Liu, Siyang; Gao, Peng; Huang, Haodong; Sun, Jing; Chen, Dan; He, Guangzhu; Huang, Weihua; Huang, Zheng; Li, Yue; Tellier, Laurent C A M; Liu, Xiao; Feng, Qiang; Xu, Xun; Zhang, Xiuqing; Bolund, Lars; Krogh, Anders; Kristiansen, Karsten; Drmanac, Radoje; Drmanac, Snezana; Nielsen, Rasmus; Li, Songgang; Wang, Jian; Yang, Huanming; Li, Yingrui; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Wang, Jun

2015-06-01

The human genome is diploid, and knowledge of the variants on each chromosome is important for the interpretation of genomic information. Here we report the assembly of a haplotype-resolved diploid genome without using a reference genome. Our pipeline relies on fosmid pooling together with whole-genome shotgun strategies, based solely on next-generation sequencing and hierarchical assembly methods. We applied our sequencing method to the genome of an Asian individual and generated a 5.15-Gb assembled genome with a haplotype N50 of 484 kb. Our analysis identified previously undetected indels and 7.49 Mb of novel coding sequences that could not be aligned to the human reference genome, which include at least six predicted genes. This haplotype-resolved genome represents the most complete de novo human genome assembly to date. Application of our approach to identify individual haplotype differences should aid in translating genotypes to phenotypes for the development of personalized medicine.
Identification of endogenous retroviral reading frames in the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiuf Carsten

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs comprise a large class of repetitive retroelements. Most HERVs are ancient and invaded our genome at least 25 million years ago, except for the evolutionary young HERV-K group. The far majority of the encoded genes are degenerate due to mutational decay and only a few non-HERV-K loci are known to retain intact reading frames. Additional intact HERV genes may exist, since retroviral reading frames have not been systematically annotated on a genome-wide scale. Results By clustering of hits from multiple BLAST searches using known retroviral sequences we have mapped 1.1% of the human genome as retrovirus related. The coding potential of all identified HERV regions were analyzed by annotating viral open reading frames (vORFs and we report 7836 loci as verified by protein homology criteria. Among 59 intact or almost-intact viral polyproteins scattered around the human genome we have found 29 envelope genes including two novel gammaretroviral types. One encodes a protein similar to a recently discovered zebrafish retrovirus (ZFERV while another shows partial, C-terminal, homology to Syncytin (HERV-W/FRD. Conclusions This compilation of HERV sequences and their coding potential provide a useful tool for pursuing functional analysis such as RNA expression profiling and effects of viral proteins, which may, in turn, reveal a role for HERVs in human health and disease. All data are publicly available through a database at http://www.retrosearch.dk.
New developments of RNAi in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis: prospects for high-throughput, genome-wide, functional genomics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tercio Goes

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The Fungal Genome Initiative of the Broad Institute, in partnership with the Paracoccidioides research community, has recently sequenced the genome of representative isolates of this human-pathogen dimorphic fungus: Pb18 (S1, Pb03 (PS2 and Pb01. The accomplishment of future high-throughput, genome-wide, functional genomics will rely upon appropriate molecular tools and straightforward techniques to streamline the generation of stable loss-of-function phenotypes. In the past decades, RNAi has emerged as the most robust genetic technique to modulate or to suppress gene expression in diverse eukaryotes, including fungi. These molecular tools and techniques, adapted for RNAi, were up until now unavailable for P. brasiliensis.In this paper, we report Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation of yeast cells for high-throughput applications with which higher transformation frequencies of 150±24 yeast cell transformants per 1×106 viable yeast cells were obtained. Our approach is based on a bifunctional selective marker fusion protein consisted of the Streptoalloteichus hindustanus bleomycin-resistance gene (Shble and the intrinsically fluorescent monomeric protein mCherry which was codon-optimized for heterologous expression in P. brasiliensis. We also report successful GP43 gene knock-down through the expression of intron-containing hairpin RNA (ihpRNA from a Gateway-adapted cassette (cALf which was purpose-built for gene silencing in a high-throughput manner. Gp43 transcript levels were reduced by 73.1±22.9% with this approach.We have a firm conviction that the genetic transformation technique and the molecular tools herein described will have a relevant contribution in future Paracoccidioides spp. functional genomics research.
A human genome-wide loss-of-function screen identifies effective chikungunya antiviral drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Karlas, Alexander; Berre, Stefano; Couderc, Thérèse; Varjak, Margus; Braun, Peter; Meyer, Michael; Gangneux, Nicolas; Karo-Astover, Liis; Weege, Friderike; Raftery, Martin; Schönrich, Günther; Klemm, Uwe; Wurzlbauer, Anne; Bracher, Franz; Merits, Andres; Meyer, Thomas F; Lecuit, Marc

2016-05-12

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a globally spreading alphavirus against which there is no commercially available vaccine or therapy. Here we use a genome-wide siRNA screen to identify 156 proviral and 41 antiviral host factors affecting CHIKV replication. We analyse the cellular pathways in which human proviral genes are involved and identify druggable targets. Twenty-one small-molecule inhibitors, some of which are FDA approved, targeting six proviral factors or pathways, have high antiviral activity in vitro, with low toxicity. Three identified inhibitors have prophylactic antiviral effects in mouse models of chikungunya infection. Two of them, the calmodulin inhibitor pimozide and the fatty acid synthesis inhibitor TOFA, have a therapeutic effect in vivo when combined. These results demonstrate the value of loss-of-function screening and pathway analysis for the rational identification of small molecules with therapeutic potential and pave the way for the development of new, host-directed, antiviral agents.
Experimental Approaches for Defining Functional Roles of Microbes in the Human Gut

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dantas, Gautam; Sommer, Morten; Degnan, Patrick H.

2013-01-01

The complex and intimate relationship between humans and their gut microbial communities is becoming less obscure, due in part to large-scale gut microbial genome-sequencing projects and culture-independent surveys of the composition and gene content of these communities.These studies build upon...... ofmicrobial genome and community profiling projects, and the loss-of-function and gain-of-function strategies long employed in model organisms are now being extended to microbial genes, species, and communities from the human gut. These developments promise to deepen our understanding of human gut host...
The Mouse Genome Database (MGD): facilitating mouse as a model for human biology and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Eppig, Janan T; Blake, Judith A; Bult, Carol J; Kadin, James A; Richardson, Joel E

2015-01-01

The Mouse Genome Database (MGD, http://www.informatics.jax.org) serves the international biomedical research community as the central resource for integrated genomic, genetic and biological data on the laboratory mouse. To facilitate use of mouse as a model in translational studies, MGD maintains a core of high-quality curated data and integrates experimentally and computationally generated data sets. MGD maintains a unified catalog of genes and genome features, including functional RNAs, QTL and phenotypic loci. MGD curates and provides functional and phenotype annotations for mouse genes using the Gene Ontology and Mammalian Phenotype Ontology. MGD integrates phenotype data and associates mouse genotypes to human diseases, providing critical mouse-human relationships and access to repositories holding mouse models. MGD is the authoritative source of nomenclature for genes, genome features, alleles and strains following guidelines of the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice. A new addition to MGD, the Human-Mouse: Disease Connection, allows users to explore gene-phenotype-disease relationships between human and mouse. MGD has also updated search paradigms for phenotypic allele attributes, incorporated incidental mutation data, added a module for display and exploration of genes and microRNA interactions and adopted the JBrowse genome browser. MGD resources are freely available to the scientific community. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
From the genome to the phenome and back: linking genes with human brain function and structure using genetically informed neuroimaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siebner, H R; Callicott, J H; Sommer, T

2009-01-01

In recent years, an array of brain mapping techniques has been successfully employed to link individual differences in circuit function or structure in the living human brain with individual variations in the human genome. Several proof-of-principle studies provided converging evidence that brain...... imaging can establish important links between genes and behaviour. The overarching goal is to use genetically informed brain imaging to pinpoint neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to behavioural intermediate phenotypes or disease states. This special issue on "Linking Genes to Brain Function...... in Health and Disease" provides an overview over how the "imaging genetics" approach is currently applied in the various fields of systems neuroscience to reveal the genetic underpinnings of complex behaviours and brain diseases. While the rapidly emerging field of imaging genetics holds great promise...
Genomic Enzymology: Web Tools for Leveraging Protein Family Sequence-Function Space and Genome Context to Discover Novel Functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlt, John A

2017-08-22

The exponentially increasing number of protein and nucleic acid sequences provides opportunities to discover novel enzymes, metabolic pathways, and metabolites/natural products, thereby adding to our knowledge of biochemistry and biology. The challenge has evolved from generating sequence information to mining the databases to integrating and leveraging the available information, i.e., the availability of "genomic enzymology" web tools. Web tools that allow identification of biosynthetic gene clusters are widely used by the natural products/synthetic biology community, thereby facilitating the discovery of novel natural products and the enzymes responsible for their biosynthesis. However, many novel enzymes with interesting mechanisms participate in uncharacterized small-molecule metabolic pathways; their discovery and functional characterization also can be accomplished by leveraging information in protein and nucleic acid databases. This Perspective focuses on two genomic enzymology web tools that assist the discovery novel metabolic pathways: (1) Enzyme Function Initiative-Enzyme Similarity Tool (EFI-EST) for generating sequence similarity networks to visualize and analyze sequence-function space in protein families and (2) Enzyme Function Initiative-Genome Neighborhood Tool (EFI-GNT) for generating genome neighborhood networks to visualize and analyze the genome context in microbial and fungal genomes. Both tools have been adapted to other applications to facilitate target selection for enzyme discovery and functional characterization. As the natural products community has demonstrated, the enzymology community needs to embrace the essential role of web tools that allow the protein and genome sequence databases to be leveraged for novel insights into enzymological problems.
In silico pattern-based analysis of the human cytomegalovirus genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigoutsos, Isidore; Novotny, Jiri; Huynh, Tien; Chin-Bow, Stephen T; Parida, Laxmi; Platt, Daniel; Coleman, David; Shenk, Thomas

2003-04-01

More than 200 open reading frames (ORFs) from the human cytomegalovirus genome have been reported as potentially coding for proteins. We have used two pattern-based in silico approaches to analyze this set of putative viral genes. With the help of an objective annotation method that is based on the Bio-Dictionary, a comprehensive collection of amino acid patterns that describes the currently known natural sequence space of proteins, we have reannotated all of the previously reported putative genes of the human cytomegalovirus. Also, with the help of MUSCA, a pattern-based multiple sequence alignment algorithm, we have reexamined the original human cytomegalovirus gene family definitions. Our analysis of the genome shows that many of the coded proteins comprise amino acid combinations that are unique to either the human cytomegalovirus or the larger group of herpesviruses. We have confirmed that a surprisingly large portion of the analyzed ORFs encode membrane proteins, and we have discovered a significant number of previously uncharacterized proteins that are predicted to be G-protein-coupled receptor homologues. The analysis also indicates that many of the encoded proteins undergo posttranslational modifications such as hydroxylation, phosphorylation, and glycosylation. ORFs encoding proteins with similar functional behavior appear in neighboring regions of the human cytomegalovirus genome. All of the results of the present study can be found and interactively explored online (http://cbcsrv.watson.ibm.com/virus/).
Virtual Northern analysis of the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evan H Hurowitz

2007-05-01

Full Text Available We applied the Virtual Northern technique to human brain mRNA to systematically measure human mRNA transcript lengths on a genome-wide scale.We used separation by gel electrophoresis followed by hybridization to cDNA microarrays to measure 8,774 mRNA transcript lengths representing at least 6,238 genes at high (>90% confidence. By comparing these transcript lengths to the Refseq and H-Invitational full-length cDNA databases, we found that nearly half of our measurements appeared to represent novel transcript variants. Comparison of length measurements determined by hybridization to different cDNAs derived from the same gene identified clones that potentially correspond to alternative transcript variants. We observed a close linear relationship between ORF and mRNA lengths in human mRNAs, identical in form to the relationship we had previously identified in yeast. Some functional classes of protein are encoded by mRNAs whose untranslated regions (UTRs tend to be longer or shorter than average; these functional classes were similar in both human and yeast.Human transcript diversity is extensive and largely unannotated. Our length dataset can be used as a new criterion for judging the completeness of cDNAs and annotating mRNA sequences. Similar relationships between the lengths of the UTRs in human and yeast mRNAs and the functions of the proteins they encode suggest that UTR sequences serve an important regulatory role among eukaryotes.
Virtual Northern analysis of the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurowitz, Evan H; Drori, Iddo; Stodden, Victoria C; Donoho, David L; Brown, Patrick O

2007-05-23

We applied the Virtual Northern technique to human brain mRNA to systematically measure human mRNA transcript lengths on a genome-wide scale. We used separation by gel electrophoresis followed by hybridization to cDNA microarrays to measure 8,774 mRNA transcript lengths representing at least 6,238 genes at high (>90%) confidence. By comparing these transcript lengths to the Refseq and H-Invitational full-length cDNA databases, we found that nearly half of our measurements appeared to represent novel transcript variants. Comparison of length measurements determined by hybridization to different cDNAs derived from the same gene identified clones that potentially correspond to alternative transcript variants. We observed a close linear relationship between ORF and mRNA lengths in human mRNAs, identical in form to the relationship we had previously identified in yeast. Some functional classes of protein are encoded by mRNAs whose untranslated regions (UTRs) tend to be longer or shorter than average; these functional classes were similar in both human and yeast. Human transcript diversity is extensive and largely unannotated. Our length dataset can be used as a new criterion for judging the completeness of cDNAs and annotating mRNA sequences. Similar relationships between the lengths of the UTRs in human and yeast mRNAs and the functions of the proteins they encode suggest that UTR sequences serve an important regulatory role among eukaryotes.
Unexplored therapeutic opportunities in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Oprea, Tudor I; Bologa, Cristian G; Brunak, Søren; Campbell, Allen; Gan, Gregory N; Gaulton, Anna; Gomez, Shawn M; Guha, Rajarshi; Hersey, Anne; Holmes, Jayme; Jadhav, Ajit; Jensen, Lars Juhl; Johnson, Gary L; Karlson, Anneli; Leach, Andrew R; Ma'ayan, Avi; Malovannaya, Anna; Mani, Subramani; Mathias, Stephen L; McManus, Michael T; Meehan, Terrence F; von Mering, Christian; Muthas, Daniel; Nguyen, Dac-Trung; Overington, John P; Papadatos, George; Qin, Jun; Reich, Christian; Roth, Bryan L; Schürer, Stephan C; Simeonov, Anton; Sklar, Larry A; Southall, Noel; Tomita, Susumu; Tudose, Ilinca; Ursu, Oleg; Vidovic, Dušica; Waller, Anna; Westergaard, David; Yang, Jeremy J; Zahoránszky-Köhalmi, Gergely

2018-05-01

A large proportion of biomedical research and the development of therapeutics is focused on a small fraction of the human genome. In a strategic effort to map the knowledge gaps around proteins encoded by the human genome and to promote the exploration of currently understudied, but potentially druggable, proteins, the US National Institutes of Health launched the Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) initiative in 2014. In this article, we discuss how the systematic collection and processing of a wide array of genomic, proteomic, chemical and disease-related resource data by the IDG Knowledge Management Center have enabled the development of evidence-based criteria for tracking the target development level (TDL) of human proteins, which indicates a substantial knowledge deficit for approximately one out of three proteins in the human proteome. We then present spotlights on the TDL categories as well as key drug target classes, including G protein-coupled receptors, protein kinases and ion channels, which illustrate the nature of the unexplored opportunities for biomedical research and therapeutic development.
Genetic recombination pathways and their application for genome modification of human embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Nieminen, Mikko; Tuuri, Timo; Savilahti, Harri

2010-10-01

Human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from early human embryo and retain a potential to differentiate into all adult cell types. They provide vast opportunities in cell replacement therapies and are expected to become significant tools in drug discovery as well as in the studies of cellular and developmental functions of human genes. The progress in applying different types of DNA recombination reactions for genome modification in a variety of eukaryotic cell types has provided means to utilize recombination-based strategies also in human embryonic stem cells. Homologous recombination-based methods, particularly those utilizing extended homologous regions and those employing zinc finger nucleases to boost genomic integration, have shown their usefulness in efficient genome modification. Site-specific recombination systems are potent genome modifiers, and they can be used to integrate DNA into loci that contain an appropriate recombination signal sequence, either naturally occurring or suitably pre-engineered. Non-homologous recombination can be used to generate random integrations in genomes relatively effortlessly, albeit with a moderate efficiency and precision. DNA transposition-based strategies offer substantially more efficient random strategies and provide means to generate single-copy insertions, thus potentiating the generation of genome-wide insertion libraries applicable in genetic screens. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Annotating individual human genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Torkamani, Ali; Scott-Van Zeeland, Ashley A; Topol, Eric J; Schork, Nicholas J

2011-10-01

Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have made it possible to rapidly, accurately and affordably sequence entire individual human genomes. As impressive as this ability seems, however, it will not likely amount to much if one cannot extract meaningful information from individual sequence data. Annotating variations within individual genomes and providing information about their biological or phenotypic impact will thus be crucially important in moving individual sequencing projects forward, especially in the context of the clinical use of sequence information. In this paper we consider the various ways in which one might annotate individual sequence variations and point out limitations in the available methods for doing so. It is arguable that, in the foreseeable future, DNA sequencing of individual genomes will become routine for clinical, research, forensic, and personal purposes. We therefore also consider directions and areas for further research in annotating genomic variants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ANNOTATING INDIVIDUAL HUMAN GENOMES*

Science.gov (United States)

Torkamani, Ali; Scott-Van Zeeland, Ashley A.; Topol, Eric J.; Schork, Nicholas J.

2014-01-01

Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have made it possible to rapidly, accurately and affordably sequence entire individual human genomes. As impressive as this ability seems, however, it will not likely to amount to much if one cannot extract meaningful information from individual sequence data. Annotating variations within individual genomes and providing information about their biological or phenotypic impact will thus be crucially important in moving individual sequencing projects forward, especially in the context of the clinical use of sequence information. In this paper we consider the various ways in which one might annotate individual sequence variations and point out limitations in the available methods for doing so. It is arguable that, in the foreseeable future, DNA sequencing of individual genomes will become routine for clinical, research, forensic, and personal purposes. We therefore also consider directions and areas for further research in annotating genomic variants. PMID:21839162
Development and application of Human Genome Epidemiology

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jingwen

2017-12-01

Epidemiology is a science that studies distribution of diseases and health in population and its influencing factors, it also studies how to prevent and cure disease and promote health strategies and measures. Epidemiology has developed rapidly in recent years and it is an intercross subject with various other disciplines to form a series of branch disciplines such as Genetic epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, drug epidemiology and tumor epidemiology. With the implementation and completion of Human Genome Project (HGP), Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) has emerged at this historic moment. In this review, the development of Human Genome Epidemiology, research content, the construction and structure of relevant network, research standards, as well as the existing results and problems are briefly outlined.
The humankind genome: from genetic diversity to the origin of human diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Belizário, Jose E

2013-12-01

Genome-wide association studies have failed to establish common variant risk for the majority of common human diseases. The underlying reasons for this failure are explained by recent studies of resequencing and comparison of over 1200 human genomes and 10 000 exomes, together with the delineation of DNA methylation patterns (epigenome) and full characterization of coding and noncoding RNAs (transcriptome) being transcribed. These studies have provided the most comprehensive catalogues of functional elements and genetic variants that are now available for global integrative analysis and experimental validation in prospective cohort studies. With these datasets, researchers will have unparalleled opportunities for the alignment, mining, and testing of hypotheses for the roles of specific genetic variants, including copy number variations, single nucleotide polymorphisms, and indels as the cause of specific phenotypes and diseases. Through the use of next-generation sequencing technologies for genotyping and standardized ontological annotation to systematically analyze the effects of genomic variation on humans and model organism phenotypes, we will be able to find candidate genes and new clues for disease's etiology and treatment. This article describes essential concepts in genetics and genomic technologies as well as the emerging computational framework to comprehensively search websites and platforms available for the analysis and interpretation of genomic data.
Human Ageing Genomic Resources: new and updated databases

Science.gov (United States)

Tacutu, Robi; Thornton, Daniel; Johnson, Emily; Budovsky, Arie; Barardo, Diogo; Craig, Thomas; Diana, Eugene; Lehmann, Gilad; Toren, Dmitri; Wang, Jingwei; Fraifeld, Vadim E

2018-01-01

Abstract In spite of a growing body of research and data, human ageing remains a poorly understood process. Over 10 years ago we developed the Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), a collection of databases and tools for studying the biology and genetics of ageing. Here, we present HAGR’s main functionalities, highlighting new additions and improvements. HAGR consists of six core databases: (i) the GenAge database of ageing-related genes, in turn composed of a dataset of >300 human ageing-related genes and a dataset with >2000 genes associated with ageing or longevity in model organisms; (ii) the AnAge database of animal ageing and longevity, featuring >4000 species; (iii) the GenDR database with >200 genes associated with the life-extending effects of dietary restriction; (iv) the LongevityMap database of human genetic association studies of longevity with >500 entries; (v) the DrugAge database with >400 ageing or longevity-associated drugs or compounds; (vi) the CellAge database with >200 genes associated with cell senescence. All our databases are manually curated by experts and regularly updated to ensure a high quality data. Cross-links across our databases and to external resources help researchers locate and integrate relevant information. HAGR is freely available online (http://genomics.senescence.info/). PMID:29121237
Mapping genomic features to functional traits through microbial whole genome sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Zeng, Erliang; Liu, Dan; Jones, Stuart E; Emrich, Scott

2014-01-01

Recently, the utility of trait-based approaches for microbial communities has been identified. Increasing availability of whole genome sequences provide the opportunity to explore the genetic foundations of a variety of functional traits. We proposed a machine learning framework to quantitatively link the genomic features with functional traits. Genes from bacteria genomes belonging to different functional traits were grouped to Cluster of Orthologs (COGs), and were used as features. Then, TF-IDF technique from the text mining domain was applied to transform the data to accommodate the abundance and importance of each COG. After TF-IDF processing, COGs were ranked using feature selection methods to identify their relevance to the functional trait of interest. Extensive experimental results demonstrated that functional trait related genes can be detected using our method. Further, the method has the potential to provide novel biological insights.
The Human Genome Project: how do we protect Australians?

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Stott Despoja, N

It is the moon landing of the nineties: the ambitious Human Genome Project--identifying the up to 100,000 genes that make up human DNA and the sequences of the three billion base-pairs that comprise the human genome. However, unlike the moon landing, the effects of the genome project will have a fundamental impact on the way we see ourselves and each other.

The genome in three dimensions: a new frontier in human brain research.

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Mitchell, Amanda C; Bharadwaj, Rahul; Whittle, Catheryne; Krueger, Winfried; Mirnics, Karoly; Hurd, Yasmin; Rasmussen, Theodore; Akbarian, Schahram

2014-06-15

Less than 1.5% of the human genome encodes protein. However, vast portions of the human genome are subject to transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, and many noncoding regulatory DNA elements are thought to regulate the spatial organization of interphase chromosomes. For example, chromosomal "loopings" are pivotal for the orderly process of gene expression, by enabling distal regulatory enhancer or silencer elements to directly interact with proximal promoter and transcription start sites, potentially bypassing hundreds of kilobases of interspersed sequence on the linear genome. To date, however, epigenetic studies in the human brain are mostly limited to the exploration of DNA methylation and posttranslational modifications of the nucleosome core histones. In contrast, very little is known about the regulation of supranucleosomal structures. Here, we show that chromosome conformation capture, a widely used approach to study higher-order chromatin, is applicable to tissue collected postmortem, thereby informing about genome organization in the human brain. We introduce chromosome conformation capture protocols for brain and compare higher-order chromatin structures at the chromosome 6p22.2-22.1 schizophrenia and bipolar disorder susceptibility locus, and additional neurodevelopmental risk genes, (DPP10, MCPH1) in adult prefrontal cortex and various cell culture systems, including neurons derived from reprogrammed skin cells. We predict that the exploration of three-dimensional genome architectures and function will open up new frontiers in human brain research and psychiatric genetics and provide novel insights into the epigenetic risk architectures of regulatory noncoding DNA. Copyright © 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Rare and common regulatory variation in population-scale sequenced human genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen B Montgomery

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Population-scale genome sequencing allows the characterization of functional effects of a broad spectrum of genetic variants underlying human phenotypic variation. Here, we investigate the influence of rare and common genetic variants on gene expression patterns, using variants identified from sequencing data from the 1000 genomes project in an African and European population sample and gene expression data from lymphoblastoid cell lines. We detect comparable numbers of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs when compared to genotypes obtained from HapMap 3, but as many as 80% of the top expression quantitative trait variants (eQTVs discovered from 1000 genomes data are novel. The properties of the newly discovered variants suggest that mapping common causal regulatory variants is challenging even with full resequencing data; however, we observe significant enrichment of regulatory effects in splice-site and nonsense variants. Using RNA sequencing data, we show that 46.2% of nonsynonymous variants are differentially expressed in at least one individual in our sample, creating widespread potential for interactions between functional protein-coding and regulatory variants. We also use allele-specific expression to identify putative rare causal regulatory variants. Furthermore, we demonstrate that outlier expression values can be due to rare variant effects, and we approximate the number of such effects harboured in an individual by effect size. Our results demonstrate that integration of genomic and RNA sequencing analyses allows for the joint assessment of genome sequence and genome function.
A map of human genome variation from population-scale sequencing.

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Abecasis, Gonçalo R; Altshuler, David; Auton, Adam; Brooks, Lisa D; Durbin, Richard M; Gibbs, Richard A; Hurles, Matt E; McVean, Gil A

2010-10-28

The 1000 Genomes Project aims to provide a deep characterization of human genome sequence variation as a foundation for investigating the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Here we present results of the pilot phase of the project, designed to develop and compare different strategies for genome-wide sequencing with high-throughput platforms. We undertook three projects: low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 179 individuals from four populations; high-coverage sequencing of two mother-father-child trios; and exon-targeted sequencing of 697 individuals from seven populations. We describe the location, allele frequency and local haplotype structure of approximately 15 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, 1 million short insertions and deletions, and 20,000 structural variants, most of which were previously undescribed. We show that, because we have catalogued the vast majority of common variation, over 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual are present in this data set. On average, each person is found to carry approximately 250 to 300 loss-of-function variants in annotated genes and 50 to 100 variants previously implicated in inherited disorders. We demonstrate how these results can be used to inform association and functional studies. From the two trios, we directly estimate the rate of de novo germline base substitution mutations to be approximately 10(-8) per base pair per generation. We explore the data with regard to signatures of natural selection, and identify a marked reduction of genetic variation in the neighbourhood of genes, due to selection at linked sites. These methods and public data will support the next phase of human genetic research.
77 FR 2735 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meetings

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. Date: February 13... Extramural Research National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4076, MSC 9305...
75 FR 51828 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meetings

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. Date: February 7... Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4076, MSC 9305, Bethesda, MD...
77 FR 2304 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-17

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome....S.C. 281(d)(4)), notice is hereby given that the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI... meeting of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. Background materials on the proposed...
77 FR 64816 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., National Human Genome Research Institute. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with... invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: Board of Scientific Counselors, National Human Genome...
75 FR 2147 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meetings

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Council for Human Genome Research. The meetings will be open to the public as indicated below, with... Extramural Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4076, MSC 9305...
76 FR 65204 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-20

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., National Human Genome Research Institute. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with... invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: Board of Scientific Counselors, National Human Genome...
75 FR 60467 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-30

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., National Human Genome Research Institute. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with... invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: Board of Scientific Counselors, National Human Genome...
Human Genome Research: Decoding DNA

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dropdown arrow Site Map A-Z Index Menu Synopsis Human Genome Research: Decoding DNA Resources with of the DNA double helix during April 2003. James D. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were company Celera announced the completion of a "working draft" reference DNA sequence of the human
The human genome as public: Justifications and implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayefsky, Michelle J

2017-03-01

Since the human genome was decoded, great emphasis has been placed on the unique, personal nature of the genome, along with the benefits that personalized medicine can bring to individuals and the importance of safeguarding genetic privacy. As a result, an equally important aspect of the human genome - its common nature - has been underappreciated and underrepresented in the ethics literature and policy dialogue surrounding genetics and genomics. This article will argue that, just as the personal nature of the genome has been used to reinforce individual rights and justify important privacy protections, so too the common nature of the genome can be employed to support protections of the genome at a population level and policies designed to promote the public's wellbeing. In order for public health officials to have the authority to develop genetics policies for the sake of the public good, the genome must have not only a common, but also a public, dimension. This article contends that DNA carries a public dimension through the use of two conceptual frameworks: the common heritage (CH) framework and the common resource (CR) framework. Both frameworks establish a public interest in the human genome, but the CH framework can be used to justify policies aimed at preserving and protecting the genome, while the CR framework can be employed to justify policies for utilizing the genome for the public benefit. A variety of possible policy implications are discussed, with special attention paid to the use of large-scale genomics databases for public health research. © Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Mitotic control of human papillomavirus genome-containing cells is regulated by the function of the PDZ-binding motif of the E6 oncoprotein

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Marsh, Elizabeth K.; Delury, Craig P.; Davies, Nicholas J.; Weston, Christopher J.; Miah, Mohammed A.L.; Banks, Lawrence; Parish, Joanna L.

2017-01-01

The function of a conserved PDS95/DLG1/ZO1 (PDZ) binding motif (E6 PBM) at the C-termini of E6 oncoproteins of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types contributes to the development of HPV-associated malignancies. Here, using a primary human keratinocyte-based model of the high-risk HPV18 life cycle, we identify a novel link between the E6 PBM and mitotic stability. In cultures containing a mutant genome in which the E6 PBM was deleted there was an increase in the frequency of abnormal mitoses, including multinucleation, compared to cells harboring the wild type HPV18 genome. The loss of the E6 PBM was associated with a significant increase in the frequency of mitotic spindle defects associated with anaphase and telophase. Furthermore, cells carrying this mutant genome had increased chromosome segregation defects and they also exhibited greater levels of genomic instability, as shown by an elevated level of centromere-positive micronuclei. In wild type HPV18 genome-containing organotypic cultures, the majority of mitotic cells reside in the suprabasal layers, in keeping with the hyperplastic morphology of the structures. However, in mutant genome-containing structures a greater proportion of mitotic cells were retained in the basal layer, which were often of undefined polarity, thus correlating with their reduced thickness. We conclude that the ability of E6 to target cellular PDZ proteins plays a critical role in maintaining mitotic stability of HPV infected cells, ensuring stable episome persistence and vegetative amplification. PMID:28061478
Mitotic control of human papillomavirus genome-containing cells is regulated by the function of the PDZ-binding motif of the E6 oncoprotein.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Elizabeth K; Delury, Craig P; Davies, Nicholas J; Weston, Christopher J; Miah, Mohammed A L; Banks, Lawrence; Parish, Joanna L; Higgs, Martin R; Roberts, Sally

2017-03-21

The function of a conserved PDS95/DLG1/ZO1 (PDZ) binding motif (E6 PBM) at the C-termini of E6 oncoproteins of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types contributes to the development of HPV-associated malignancies. Here, using a primary human keratinocyte-based model of the high-risk HPV18 life cycle, we identify a novel link between the E6 PBM and mitotic stability. In cultures containing a mutant genome in which the E6 PBM was deleted there was an increase in the frequency of abnormal mitoses, including multinucleation, compared to cells harboring the wild type HPV18 genome. The loss of the E6 PBM was associated with a significant increase in the frequency of mitotic spindle defects associated with anaphase and telophase. Furthermore, cells carrying this mutant genome had increased chromosome segregation defects and they also exhibited greater levels of genomic instability, as shown by an elevated level of centromere-positive micronuclei. In wild type HPV18 genome-containing organotypic cultures, the majority of mitotic cells reside in the suprabasal layers, in keeping with the hyperplastic morphology of the structures. However, in mutant genome-containing structures a greater proportion of mitotic cells were retained in the basal layer, which were often of undefined polarity, thus correlating with their reduced thickness. We conclude that the ability of E6 to target cellular PDZ proteins plays a critical role in maintaining mitotic stability of HPV infected cells, ensuring stable episome persistence and vegetative amplification.
Human genome and genetic sequencing research and informed consent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwakawa, Mayumi

2003-01-01

On March 29, 2001, the Ethical Guidelines for Human Genome and Genetic Sequencing Research were established. They have intended to serve as ethical guidelines for all human genome and genetic sequencing research practice, for the purpose of upholding respect for human dignity and rights and enforcing use of proper methods in the pursuit of human genome and genetic sequencing research, with the understanding and cooperation of the public. The RadGenomics Project has prepared a research protocol and informed consent document that follow these ethical guidelines. We have endeavored to protect the privacy of individual information, and have established a procedure for examination of research practices by an ethics committee. Here we report our procedure in order to offer this concept to the patients. (authors)
All about the Human Genome Project (HGP)

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... Care Genomic Medicine Working Group New Horizons and Research Patient Management Policy and Ethics Issues Quick Links for Patient Care Education All About the Human Genome Project Fact Sheets Genetic Education Resources for ...
Genome sequences and comparative genomics of two Lactobacillus ruminis strains from the bovine and human intestinal tracts

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

2011-08-30

Abstract Background The genus Lactobacillus is characterized by an extraordinary degree of phenotypic and genotypic diversity, which recent genomic analyses have further highlighted. However, the choice of species for sequencing has been non-random and unequal in distribution, with only a single representative genome from the L. salivarius clade available to date. Furthermore, there is no data to facilitate a functional genomic analysis of motility in the lactobacilli, a trait that is restricted to the L. salivarius clade. Results The 2.06 Mb genome of the bovine isolate Lactobacillus ruminis ATCC 27782 comprises a single circular chromosome, and has a G+C content of 44.4%. In silico analysis identified 1901 coding sequences, including genes for a pediocin-like bacteriocin, a single large exopolysaccharide-related cluster, two sortase enzymes, two CRISPR loci and numerous IS elements and pseudogenes. A cluster of genes related to a putative pilin was identified, and shown to be transcribed in vitro. A high quality draft assembly of the genome of a second L. ruminis strain, ATCC 25644 isolated from humans, suggested a slightly larger genome of 2.138 Mb, that exhibited a high degree of synteny with the ATCC 27782 genome. In contrast, comparative analysis of L. ruminis and L. salivarius identified a lack of long-range synteny between these closely related species. Comparison of the L. salivarius clade core proteins with those of nine other Lactobacillus species distributed across 4 major phylogenetic groups identified the set of shared proteins, and proteins unique to each group. Conclusions The genome of L. ruminis provides a comparative tool for directing functional analyses of other members of the L. salivarius clade, and it increases understanding of the divergence of this distinct Lactobacillus lineage from other commensal lactobacilli. The genome sequence provides a definitive resource to facilitate investigation of the genetics, biochemistry and host
Radiation-induced instability of human genome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryabchenko, N.N.; Demina, Eh.A.

2014-01-01

A brief review is dedicated to the phenomenon of radiation-induced genomic instability where the increased level of genomic changes in the offspring of irradiated cells is characteristic. Particular attention is paid to the problems of genomic instability induced by the low-dose radiation, role of the bystander effect in formation of radiation-induced instability, and its relationship with individual radiosensitivity. We believe that in accordance with the paradigm of modern radiobiology the increased human individual radiosensitivity can be formed due to the genome instability onset and is a significant risk factor for radiation-induced cancer
A set of BAC clones spanning the human genome.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krzywinski, M.; Bosdet, I.; Smailus, D.; Chiu, R.; Mathewson, C.; Wye, N.; Barber, S.; Brown-John, M.; Chan, S.; Chand, S.; Cloutier, A.; Girn, N.; Lee, D.; Masson, A.; Mayo, M.; Olson, T.; Pandoh, P.; Prabhu, A.L.; Schoenmakers, E.F.P.M.; Tsai, M.Y.; Albertson, D.; Lam, W.W.; Choy, C.O.; Osoegawa, K.; Zhao, S.; Jong, P.J. de; Schein, J.; Jones, S.; Marra, M.A.

2004-01-01

Using the human bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) fingerprint-based physical map, genome sequence assembly and BAC end sequences, we have generated a fingerprint-validated set of 32 855 BAC clones spanning the human genome. The clone set provides coverage for at least 98% of the human
Megabase replication domains along the human genome: relation to chromatin structure and genome organisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Audit, Benjamin; Zaghloul, Lamia; Baker, Antoine; Arneodo, Alain; Chen, Chun-Long; d'Aubenton-Carafa, Yves; Thermes, Claude

2013-01-01

In higher eukaryotes, the absence of specific sequence motifs, marking the origins of replication has been a serious hindrance to the understanding of (i) the mechanisms that regulate the spatio-temporal replication program, and (ii) the links between origins activation, chromatin structure and transcription. In this chapter, we review the partitioning of the human genome into megabased-size replication domains delineated as N-shaped motifs in the strand compositional asymmetry profiles. They collectively span 28.3% of the genome and are bordered by more than 1,000 putative replication origins. We recapitulate the comparison of this partition of the human genome with high-resolution experimental data that confirms that replication domain borders are likely to be preferential replication initiation zones in the germline. In addition, we highlight the specific distribution of experimental and numerical chromatin marks along replication domains. Domain borders correspond to particular open chromatin regions, possibly encoded in the DNA sequence, and around which replication and transcription are highly coordinated. These regions also present a high evolutionary breakpoint density, suggesting that susceptibility to breakage might be linked to local open chromatin fiber state. Altogether, this chapter presents a compartmentalization of the human genome into replication domains that are landmarks of the human genome organization and are likely to play a key role in genome dynamics during evolution and in pathological situations.

Distinct p53 genomic binding patterns in normal and cancer-derived human cells

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Botcheva K.; McCorkle S. R.; McCombie W. R.; Dunn J. J.; Anderson C. W.

2011-12-15

We report here genome-wide analysis of the tumor suppressor p53 binding sites in normal human cells. 743 high-confidence ChIP-seq peaks representing putative genomic binding sites were identified in normal IMR90 fibroblasts using a reference chromatin sample. More than 40% were located within 2 kb of a transcription start site (TSS), a distribution similar to that documented for individually studied, functional p53 binding sites and, to date, not observed by previous p53 genome-wide studies. Nearly half of the high-confidence binding sites in the IMR90 cells reside in CpG islands, in marked contrast to sites reported in cancer-derived cells. The distinct genomic features of the IMR90 binding sites do not reflect a distinct preference for specific sequences, since the de novo developed p53 motif based on our study is similar to those reported by genome-wide studies of cancer cells. More likely, the different chromatin landscape in normal, compared with cancer-derived cells, influences p53 binding via modulating availability of the sites. We compared the IMR90 ChIPseq peaks to the recently published IMR90 methylome1 and demonstrated that they are enriched at hypomethylated DNA. Our study represents the first genome-wide, de novo mapping of p53 binding sites in normal human cells and reveals that p53 binding sites reside in distinct genomic landscapes in normal and cancer-derived human cells.
Helminth Genomics: The Implications for Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Brindley, Paul J.; Mitreva, Makedonka; Ghedin, Elodie; Lustigman, Sara

2009-01-01

More than two billion people (one-third of humanity) are infected with parasitic roundworms or flatworms, collectively known as helminth parasites. These infections cause diseases that are responsible for enormous levels of morbidity and mortality, delays in the physical development of children, loss of productivity among the workforce, and maintenance of poverty. Genomes of the major helminth species that affect humans, and many others of agricultural and veterinary significance, are now the subject of intensive genome sequencing and annotation. Draft genome sequences of the filarial worm Brugia malayi and two of the human schistosomes, Schistosoma japonicum and S. mansoni, are now available, among others. These genome data will provide the basis for a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in helminth nutrition and metabolism, host-dependent development and maturation, immune evasion, and evolution. They are likely also to predict new potential vaccine candidates and drug targets. In this review, we present an overview of these efforts and emphasize the potential impact and importance of these new findings. PMID:19855829
Tempo and mode of genomic mutations unveil human evolutionary history.

Science.gov (United States)

Hara, Yuichiro

2015-01-01

Mutations that have occurred in human genomes provide insight into various aspects of evolutionary history such as speciation events and degrees of natural selection. Comparing genome sequences between human and great apes or among humans is a feasible approach for inferring human evolutionary history. Recent advances in high-throughput or so-called 'next-generation' DNA sequencing technologies have enabled the sequencing of thousands of individual human genomes, as well as a variety of reference genomes of hominids, many of which are publicly available. These sequence data can help to unveil the detailed demographic history of the lineage leading to humans as well as the explosion of modern human population size in the last several thousand years. In addition, high-throughput sequencing illustrates the tempo and mode of de novo mutations, which are producing human genetic variation at this moment. Pedigree-based human genome sequencing has shown that mutation rates vary significantly across the human genome. These studies have also provided an improved timescale of human evolution, because the mutation rate estimated from pedigree analysis is half that estimated from traditional analyses based on molecular phylogeny. Because of the dramatic reduction in sequencing cost, sequencing on-demand samples designed for specific studies is now also becoming popular. To produce data of sufficient quality to meet the requirements of the study, it is necessary to set an explicit sequencing plan that includes the choice of sample collection methods, sequencing platforms, and number of sequence reads.
Repeat associated mechanisms of genome evolution and function revealed by the Mus caroli and Mus pahari genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Thybert, David; Roller, Maša; Navarro, Fábio C.P.; Fiddes, Ian; Streeter, Ian; Feig, Christine; Martin-Galvez, David; Kolmogorov, Mikhail; Janoušek, Václav; Akanni, Wasiu; Aken, Bronwen; Aldridge, Sarah; Chakrapani, Varshith; Chow, William; Clarke, Laura; Cummins, Carla; Doran, Anthony; Dunn, Matthew; Goodstadt, Leo; Howe, Kerstin; Howell, Matthew; Josselin, Ambre-Aurore; Karn, Robert C.; Laukaitis, Christina M.; Jingtao, Lilue; Martin, Fergal; Muffato, Matthieu; Nachtweide, Stefanie; Quail, Michael A.; Sisu, Cristina; Stanke, Mario; Stefflova, Klara; Van Oosterhout, Cock; Veyrunes, Frederic; Ward, Ben; Yang, Fengtang; Yazdanifar, Golbahar; Zadissa, Amonida; Adams, David J.; Brazma, Alvis; Gerstein, Mark; Paten, Benedict; Pham, Son; Keane, Thomas M.; Odom, Duncan T.; Flicek, Paul

2018-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms driving lineage-specific evolution in both primates and rodents has been hindered by the lack of sister clades with a similar phylogenetic structure having high-quality genome assemblies. Here, we have created chromosome-level assemblies of the Mus caroli and Mus pahari genomes. Together with the Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus genomes, this set of rodent genomes is similar in divergence times to the Hominidae (human-chimpanzee-gorilla-orangutan). By comparing the evolutionary dynamics between the Muridae and Hominidae, we identified punctate events of chromosome reshuffling that shaped the ancestral karyotype of Mus musculus and Mus caroli between 3 and 6 million yr ago, but that are absent in the Hominidae. Hominidae show between four- and sevenfold lower rates of nucleotide change and feature turnover in both neutral and functional sequences, suggesting an underlying coherence to the Muridae acceleration. Our system of matched, high-quality genome assemblies revealed how specific classes of repeats can play lineage-specific roles in related species. Recent LINE activity has remodeled protein-coding loci to a greater extent across the Muridae than the Hominidae, with functional consequences at the species level such as reproductive isolation. Furthermore, we charted a Muridae-specific retrotransposon expansion at unprecedented resolution, revealing how a single nucleotide mutation transformed a specific SINE element into an active CTCF binding site carrier specifically in Mus caroli, which resulted in thousands of novel, species-specific CTCF binding sites. Our results show that the comparison of matched phylogenetic sets of genomes will be an increasingly powerful strategy for understanding mammalian biology. PMID:29563166
Viral symbiosis and the holobiontic nature of the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Francis Patrick

2016-01-01

The human genome is a holobiontic union of the mammalian nuclear genome, the mitochondrial genome and large numbers of endogenized retroviral genomes. This article defines and explores this symbiogenetic pattern of evolution, looking at the implications for human genetics, epigenetics, embryogenesis, physiology and the pathogenesis of inborn errors of metabolism and many other diseases. © 2016 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The Human Genome Project: big science transforms biology and medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Hood, Leroy; Rowen, Lee

2013-01-01

The Human Genome Project has transformed biology through its integrated big science approach to deciphering a reference human genome sequence along with the complete sequences of key model organisms. The project exemplifies the power, necessity and success of large, integrated, cross-disciplinary efforts - so-called 'big science' - directed towards complex major objectives. In this article, we discuss the ways in which this ambitious endeavor led to the development of novel technologies and analytical tools, and how it brought the expertise of engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians together with biologists. It established an open approach to data sharing and open-source software, thereby making the data resulting from the project accessible to all. The genome sequences of microbes, plants and animals have revolutionized many fields of science, including microbiology, virology, infectious disease and plant biology. Moreover, deeper knowledge of human sequence variation has begun to alter the practice of medicine. The Human Genome Project has inspired subsequent large-scale data acquisition initiatives such as the International HapMap Project, 1000 Genomes, and The Cancer Genome Atlas, as well as the recently announced Human Brain Project and the emerging Human Proteome Project.
In the Beginning was the Genome: Genomics and the Bi-textuality of Human Existence.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwart, H A E Hub

2018-04-01

This paper addresses the cultural impact of genomics and the Human Genome Project (HGP) on human self-understanding. Notably, it addresses the claim made by Francis Collins (director of the HGP) that the genome is the language of God and the claim made by Max Delbrück (founding father of molecular life sciences research) that Aristotle must be credited with having predicted DNA as the soul that organises bio-matter. From a continental philosophical perspective I will argue that human existence results from a dialectical interaction between two types of texts: the language of molecular biology and the language of civilisation; the language of the genome and the language of our socio-cultural, symbolic ambiance. Whereas the former ultimately builds on the alphabets of genes and nucleotides, the latter is informed by primordial texts such as the Bible and the Quran. In applied bioethics deliberations on genomics, science is easily framed as liberating and progressive, religious world-views as conservative and restrictive (Zwart 1993). This paper focusses on the broader cultural ambiance of the debate to discern how the bi-textuality of human existence is currently undergoing a transition, as not only the physiological, but also the normative dimension is being reframed in biomolecular and terabyte terms.
From hacking the human genome to editing organs.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobita, Takamasa; Guzman-Lepe, Jorge; Collin de l'Hortet, Alexandra

2015-01-01

In the recent decades, human genome engineering has been one of the major interesting research subjects, essentially because it raises new possibilities for personalized medicine and biotechnologies. With the development of engineered nucleases such as the Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), the Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and more recently the Clustered Regularly Interspaced short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), the field of human genome edition has evolved very rapidly. Every new genetic tool is broadening the scope of applications on human tissues, even before we can completely master each of these tools. In this review, we will present the recent advances regarding human genome edition tools, we will discuss the numerous implications they have in research and medicine, and we will mention the limits and concerns about such technologies.
A scored human protein-protein interaction network to catalyze genomic interpretation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Taibo; Wernersson, Rasmus; Hansen, Rasmus B

2017-01-01

Genome-scale human protein-protein interaction networks are critical to understanding cell biology and interpreting genomic data, but challenging to produce experimentally. Through data integration and quality control, we provide a scored human protein-protein interaction network (InWeb_InBioMap,......Genome-scale human protein-protein interaction networks are critical to understanding cell biology and interpreting genomic data, but challenging to produce experimentally. Through data integration and quality control, we provide a scored human protein-protein interaction network (In...
77 FR 59933 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-10-01

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research....D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute...
76 FR 29772 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2011-05-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research... of Scientific Review, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health...
Templated sequence insertion polymorphisms in the human genome

Science.gov (United States)

Onozawa, Masahiro; Aplan, Peter

2016-11-01

Templated Sequence Insertion Polymorphism (TSIP) is a recently described form of polymorphism recognized in the human genome, in which a sequence that is templated from a distant genomic region is inserted into the genome, seemingly at random. TSIPs can be grouped into two classes based on nucleotide sequence features at the insertion junctions; Class 1 TSIPs show features of insertions that are mediated via the LINE-1 ORF2 protein, including 1) target-site duplication (TSD), 2) polyadenylation 10-30 nucleotides downstream of a “cryptic” polyadenylation signal, and 3) preference for insertion at a 5’-TTTT/A-3’ sequence. In contrast, class 2 TSIPs show features consistent with repair of a DNA double-strand break via insertion of a DNA “patch” that is derived from a distant genomic region. Survey of a large number of normal human volunteers demonstrates that most individuals have 25-30 TSIPs, and that these TSIPs track with specific geographic regions. Similar to other forms of human polymorphism, we suspect that these TSIPs may be important for the generation of human diversity and genetic diseases.
Population genetic inference from personal genome data: impact of ancestry and admixture on human genomic variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidd, Jeffrey M; Gravel, Simon; Byrnes, Jake; Moreno-Estrada, Andres; Musharoff, Shaila; Bryc, Katarzyna; Degenhardt, Jeremiah D; Brisbin, Abra; Sheth, Vrunda; Chen, Rong; McLaughlin, Stephen F; Peckham, Heather E; Omberg, Larsson; Bormann Chung, Christina A; Stanley, Sarah; Pearlstein, Kevin; Levandowsky, Elizabeth; Acevedo-Acevedo, Suehelay; Auton, Adam; Keinan, Alon; Acuña-Alonzo, Victor; Barquera-Lozano, Rodrigo; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Eng, Celeste; Burchard, Esteban G; Russell, Archie; Reynolds, Andy; Clark, Andrew G; Reese, Martin G; Lincoln, Stephen E; Butte, Atul J; De La Vega, Francisco M; Bustamante, Carlos D

2012-10-05

Full sequencing of individual human genomes has greatly expanded our understanding of human genetic variation and population history. Here, we present a systematic analysis of 50 human genomes from 11 diverse global populations sequenced at high coverage. Our sample includes 12 individuals who have admixed ancestry and who have varying degrees of recent (within the last 500 years) African, Native American, and European ancestry. We found over 21 million single-nucleotide variants that contribute to a 1.75-fold range in nucleotide heterozygosity across diverse human genomes. This heterozygosity ranged from a high of one heterozygous site per kilobase in west African genomes to a low of 0.57 heterozygous sites per kilobase in segments inferred to have diploid Native American ancestry from the genomes of Mexican and Puerto Rican individuals. We show evidence of all three continental ancestries in the genomes of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and African American populations, and the genome-wide statistics are highly consistent across individuals from a population once ancestry proportions have been accounted for. Using a generalized linear model, we identified subtle variations across populations in the proportion of neutral versus deleterious variation and found that genome-wide statistics vary in admixed populations even once ancestry proportions have been factored in. We further infer that multiple periods of gene flow shaped the diversity of admixed populations in the Americas-70% of the European ancestry in today's African Americans dates back to European gene flow happening only 7-8 generations ago. Copyright © 2012 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
77 FR 5035 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-02-01

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77 FR 58402 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-09-20

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research...: To review and evaluate grant applications. Place: National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635...
78 FR 55752 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2013-09-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research.... Pozzatti, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review Branch, National Human Genome Research...
78 FR 56905 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-09-16

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78 FR 107 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-01-02

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... evaluate grant applications. Place: National Human Genome Research Institute, 3rd Floor Conference Room....D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute...
75 FR 8374 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-02-24

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78 FR 64222 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2013-10-28

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77 FR 60706 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-10-04

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77 FR 20646 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-04-05

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78 FR 21382 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-04-10

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... applications. Place: National Human Genome Research Institute, Suite 4076, 5635 Fisher's Lane, Bethesda, MD..., National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4075...
78 FR 20933 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-04-08

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76 FR 22112 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-04-20

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78 FR 31953 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-05-28

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75 FR 10488 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2010-03-08

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research...- 4280, [email protected]gov . Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research Institute Special...
76 FR 65204 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2011-10-20

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75 FR 8373 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-02-24

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77 FR 12604 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-03-01

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77 FR 22332 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-04-13

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77 FR 8268 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-02-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... applications. Place: National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635 Fisher's Lane, Room 4076, Rockville, MD..., CIDR, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite...
75 FR 19984 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2010-04-16

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76 FR 28056 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-05-13

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Counselors, National Human Genome Research Institute. The meeting will be closed to the public as indicated... National Human Genome Research Institute, including consideration of personnel qualifications and...
76 FR 3642 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2011-01-20

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76 FR 17930 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-03-31

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75 FR 52537 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-08-26

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76 FR 58023 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-09-19

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76 FR 28056 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2011-05-13

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75 FR 2148 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-01-14

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77 FR 28888 - National Human Genome Research Institute Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-05-16

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78 FR 70063 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-11-22

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Counselors, National Human Genome Research Institute. The meeting will be closed to the public as indicated... NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE, including consideration of personnel qualifications and...
78 FR 9707 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2013-02-11

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77 FR 71604 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-12-03

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76 FR 5390 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-01-31

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75 FR 13558 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-03-22

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75 FR 32957 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-06-10

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2013-03-07

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75 FR 53703 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-09-01

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About human genome Acerca del genoma humano

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojica Tobias

2000-12-01

Full Text Available The sequence ofthe human genome, an undertaking ofadvanced countries, is nearly complete. In fact The Human Genome Project has around 85% ofthe genome sequenced 4 times on the average, with an accuracy of roughly 1 in 1000 nucleotides. Celera Genomics, on the other hand, has 99% of the sequence of one person, with an accuracy of slightly less than 1 in 100. The Human Genome project trives to produce a physical map for public consumption following a step by step strategy, in which the researcher sequences short DNA fragments belonging to Iarger fragments of known relative
position. Celera Genomics wants to have very rapidly a physical map which can be quickly used to develop genetic tests and drugs, which can be later sold. We feel that the sequence ofthe human genome is something, which will widen the gap between advanced and backward countries.En este artículo se revisan los eventos, alrededor del secuenciamiento del genoma humano, que han llevado a tanta excitación en los medios noticiosos y académicos en meses recientes. Se explican las estrategias que han llevado a que tengamos dos borradores diferentes pero complementarios, la estrategia llevada a cabo con el dinero
de los contribuyentes que consiste en establecer el orden de fragmentos grandes de DNA antes de ser secuenciados y la estrategia llevada a cabo con dineros aportados por la industria privada, con la intención de explotar gananciosamente el conocimiento derivado del genoma humano. El genoma humano a mediados del año 2000 es
un borrador incompleto que cubre aliededor del 85% de la secuencia con una precisión de un error en 1000 y el 99% de la secuencia con una precisión menor de 1 en 100 nucleótidos, También se discuten algunas de las posibles avenidas
FR-like EBNA1 binding repeats in the human genome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Herouel, Aymeric Fouquier; Birgersdotter, Anna; Werner, Maria

2010-01-01

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is widely spread in the human population. EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is a transcription factor that activates viral genes and is necessary for viral replication and partitioning, which binds the EBV genome cooperatively. We identify similar EBNA1 repeat binding sites in the human genome using a nearest-neighbor positional weight matrix. Previously experimentally verified EBNA1 sites in the human genome are successfully recovered by our approach. Most importantly, 40 novel regions are identified in the human genome, constituted of tandemly repeated binding sites for EBNA1. Genes located in the vicinity of these regions are presented as possible targets for EBNA1-mediated regulation. Among these, four are discussed in more detail: IQCB1, IMPG1, IRF2BP2 and TPO. Incorporating the cooperative actions of EBNA1 is essential when identifying regulatory regions in the human genome and we believe the findings presented here are highly valuable for the understanding of EBV-induced phenotypic changes.
FGWAS: Functional genome wide association analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chao; Thompson, Paul; Wang, Yalin; Yu, Yang; Zhang, Jingwen; Kong, Dehan; Colen, Rivka R; Knickmeyer, Rebecca C; Zhu, Hongtu

2017-10-01

Functional phenotypes (e.g., subcortical surface representation), which commonly arise in imaging genetic studies, have been used to detect putative genes for complexly inherited neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, existing statistical methods largely ignore the functional features (e.g., functional smoothness and correlation). The aim of this paper is to develop a functional genome-wide association analysis (FGWAS) framework to efficiently carry out whole-genome analyses of functional phenotypes. FGWAS consists of three components: a multivariate varying coefficient model, a global sure independence screening procedure, and a test procedure. Compared with the standard multivariate regression model, the multivariate varying coefficient model explicitly models the functional features of functional phenotypes through the integration of smooth coefficient functions and functional principal component analysis. Statistically, compared with existing methods for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), FGWAS can substantially boost the detection power for discovering important genetic variants influencing brain structure and function. Simulation studies show that FGWAS outperforms existing GWAS methods for searching sparse signals in an extremely large search space, while controlling for the family-wise error rate. We have successfully applied FGWAS to large-scale analysis of data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative for 708 subjects, 30,000 vertices on the left and right hippocampal surfaces, and 501,584 SNPs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Genome-wide RNA-seq analysis of human and mouse platelet transcriptomes

Science.gov (United States)

Rowley, Jesse W.; Oler, Andrew J.; Tolley, Neal D.; Hunter, Benjamin N.; Low, Elizabeth N.; Nix, David A.; Yost, Christian C.; Zimmerman, Guy A.

2011-01-01

Inbred mice are a useful tool for studying the in vivo functions of platelets. Nonetheless, the mRNA signature of mouse platelets is not known. Here, we use paired-end next-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to characterize the polyadenylated transcriptomes of human and mouse platelets. We report that RNA-seq provides unprecedented resolution of mRNAs that are expressed across the entire human and mouse genomes. Transcript expression and abundance are often conserved between the 2 species. Several mRNAs, however, are differentially expressed in human and mouse platelets. Moreover, previously described functional disparities between mouse and human platelets are reflected in differences at the transcript level, including protease activated receptor-1, protease activated receptor-3, platelet activating factor receptor, and factor V. This suggests that RNA-seq is a useful tool for predicting differences in platelet function between mice and humans. Our next-generation sequencing analysis provides new insights into the human and murine platelet transcriptomes. The sequencing dataset will be useful in the design of mouse models of hemostasis and a catalyst for discovery of new functions of platelets. Access to the dataset is found in the “Introduction.” PMID:21596849
76 FR 19780 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-04-08

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome Research Institute, National... . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.172, Human Genome Research, National Institutes of...
76 FR 3917 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-01-21

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75 FR 56115 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-09-15

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76 FR 3643 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-01-20

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78 FR 24223 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-04-24

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76 FR 35224 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-06-16

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome...). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIR, National Human Genome Research..., [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research...
76 FR 22407 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-04-21

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75 FR 48977 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-08-12

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome.... Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome Research..., [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research...
77 FR 74676 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-12-17

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4075, Bethesda.... 93.172, Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: December 11, 2012. David...
75 FR 26762 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-05-12

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75 FR 35821 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-06-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome Research [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research...
78 FR 47715 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-08-06

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Person: Camilla E. Day, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome Research [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research...
77 FR 31863 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-05-30

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76 FR 79199 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-12-21

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76 FR 66731 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-10-27

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76 FR 10909 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-02-28

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75 FR 52538 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-08-26

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76 FR 35223 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-06-16

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76 FR 36930 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-06-23

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77 FR 35991 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-06-15

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77 FR 61770 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2012-10-11

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76 FR 63932 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-10-14

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75 FR 8977 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-02-26

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75 FR 67380 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-11-02

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Unexplored therapeutic opportunities in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oprea, Tudor I; Bologa, Cristian G; Brunak, Søren

2018-01-01

A large proportion of biomedical research and the development of therapeutics is focused on a small fraction of the human genome. In a strategic effort to map the knowledge gaps around proteins encoded by the human genome and to promote the exploration of currently understudied, but potentially d...... as well as key drug target classes, including G protein-coupled receptors, protein kinases and ion channels, which illustrate the nature of the unexplored opportunities for biomedical research and therapeutic development....
Body maps on the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherniak, Christopher; Rodriguez-Esteban, Raul

2013-12-20

Chromosomes have territories, or preferred locales, in the cell nucleus. When these sites are taken into account, some large-scale structure of the human genome emerges. The synoptic picture is that genes highly expressed in particular topologically compact tissues are not randomly distributed on the genome. Rather, such tissue-specific genes tend to map somatotopically onto the complete chromosome set. They seem to form a "genome homunculus": a multi-dimensional, genome-wide body representation extending across chromosome territories of the entire spermcell nucleus. The antero-posterior axis of the body significantly corresponds to the head-tail axis of the nucleus, and the dorso-ventral body axis to the central-peripheral nucleus axis. This large-scale genomic structure includes thousands of genes. One rationale for a homuncular genome structure would be to minimize connection costs in genetic networks. Somatotopic maps in cerebral cortex have been reported for over a century.
Linkage disequilibrium of evolutionarily conserved regions in the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johnson Todd A

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The strong linkage disequilibrium (LD recently found in genic or exonic regions of the human genome demonstrated that LD can be increased by evolutionary mechanisms that select for functionally important loci. This suggests that LD might be stronger in regions conserved among species than in non-conserved regions, since regions exposed to natural selection tend to be conserved. To assess this hypothesis, we used genome-wide polymorphism data from the HapMap project and investigated LD within DNA sequences conserved between the human and mouse genomes. Results Unexpectedly, we observed that LD was significantly weaker in conserved regions than in non-conserved regions. To investigate why, we examined sequence features that may distort the relationship between LD and conserved regions. We found that interspersed repeats, and not other sequence features, were associated with the weak LD tendency in conserved regions. To appropriately understand the relationship between LD and conserved regions, we removed the effect of repetitive elements and found that the high degree of sequence conservation was strongly associated with strong LD in coding regions but not with that in non-coding regions. Conclusion Our work demonstrates that the degree of sequence conservation does not simply increase LD as predicted by the hypothesis. Rather, it implies that purifying selection changes the polymorphic patterns of coding sequences but has little influence on the patterns of functional units such as regulatory elements present in non-coding regions, since the former are generally restricted by the constraint of maintaining a functional protein product across multiple exons while the latter may exist more as individually isolated units.

Rates of genomic divergence in humans, chimpanzees and their lice.

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Johnson, Kevin P; Allen, Julie M; Olds, Brett P; Mugisha, Lawrence; Reed, David L; Paige, Ken N; Pittendrigh, Barry R

2014-02-22

The rate of DNA mutation and divergence is highly variable across the tree of life. However, the reasons underlying this variation are not well understood. Comparing the rates of genetic changes between hosts and parasite lineages that diverged at the same time is one way to begin to understand differences in genetic mutation and substitution rates. Such studies have indicated that the rate of genetic divergence in parasites is often faster than that of their hosts when comparing single genes. However, the variation in this relative rate of molecular evolution across different genes in the genome is unknown. We compared the rate of DNA sequence divergence between humans, chimpanzees and their ectoparasitic lice for 1534 protein-coding genes across their genomes. The rate of DNA substitution in these orthologous genes was on average 14 times faster for lice than for humans and chimpanzees. In addition, these rates were positively correlated across genes. Because this correlation only occurred for substitutions that changed the amino acid, this pattern is probably produced by similar functional constraints across the same genes in humans, chimpanzees and their ectoparasites.
Haemophilus influenzae genome evolution during persistence in the human airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettigrew, Melinda M; Ahearn, Christian P; Gent, Janneane F; Kong, Yong; Gallo, Mary C; Munro, James B; D'Mello, Adonis; Sethi, Sanjay; Tettelin, Hervé; Murphy, Timothy F

2018-04-03

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) exclusively colonize and infect humans and are critical to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In vitro and animal models do not accurately capture the complex environments encountered by NTHi during human infection. We conducted whole-genome sequencing of 269 longitudinally collected cleared and persistent NTHi from a 15-y prospective study of adults with COPD. Genome sequences were used to elucidate the phylogeny of NTHi isolates, identify genomic changes that occur with persistence in the human airways, and evaluate the effect of selective pressure on 12 candidate vaccine antigens. Strains persisted in individuals with COPD for as long as 1,422 d. Slipped-strand mispairing, mediated by changes in simple sequence repeats in multiple genes during persistence, regulates expression of critical virulence functions, including adherence, nutrient uptake, and modification of surface molecules, and is a major mechanism for survival in the hostile environment of the human airways. A subset of strains underwent a large 400-kb inversion during persistence. NTHi does not undergo significant gene gain or loss during persistence, in contrast to other persistent respiratory tract pathogens. Amino acid sequence changes occurred in 8 of 12 candidate vaccine antigens during persistence, an observation with important implications for vaccine development. These results indicate that NTHi alters its genome during persistence by regulation of critical virulence functions primarily by slipped-strand mispairing, advancing our understanding of how a bacterial pathogen that plays a critical role in COPD adapts to survival in the human respiratory tract.
New genes expressed in human brains: implications for annotating evolving genomes.

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Zhang, Yong E; Landback, Patrick; Vibranovski, Maria; Long, Manyuan

2012-11-01

New genes have frequently formed and spread to fixation in a wide variety of organisms, constituting abundant sets of lineage-specific genes. It was recently reported that an excess of primate-specific and human-specific genes were upregulated in the brains of fetuses and infants, and especially in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognition. These findings reveal the prevalent addition of new genetic components to the transcriptome of the human brain. More generally, these findings suggest that genomes are continually evolving in both sequence and content, eroding the conservation endowed by common ancestry. Despite increasing recognition of the importance of new genes, we highlight here that these genes are still seriously under-characterized in functional studies and that new gene annotation is inconsistent in current practice. We propose an integrative approach to annotate new genes, taking advantage of functional and evolutionary genomic methods. We finally discuss how the refinement of new gene annotation will be important for the detection of evolutionary forces governing new gene origination. Copyright © 2012 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.
76 FR 66076 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2011-10-25

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome... Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: October 19...
78 FR 61851 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-10-04

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Human Genome Research Institute Special... a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate grant applications. Place: National Human Genome...
75 FR 80509 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2010-12-22

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome... Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: December 16...
The noncoding human genome and the future of personalised medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowie, Philip; Hay, Elizabeth A; MacKenzie, Alasdair

2015-01-30

Non-coding cis-regulatory sequences act as the 'eyes' of the genome and their role is to perceive, organise and relay cellular communication information to RNA polymerase II at gene promoters. The evolution of these sequences, that include enhancers, silencers, insulators and promoters, has progressed in multicellular organisms to the extent that cis-regulatory sequences make up as much as 10% of the human genome. Parallel evidence suggests that 75% of polymorphisms associated with heritable disease occur within predicted cis-regulatory sequences that effectively alter the 'perception' of cis-regulatory sequences or render them blind to cell communication cues. Cis-regulatory sequences also act as major functional targets of epigenetic modification thus representing an important conduit through which changes in DNA-methylation affects disease susceptibility. The objectives of the current review are (1) to describe what has been learned about identifying and characterising cis-regulatory sequences since the sequencing of the human genome; (2) to discuss their role in interpreting cell signalling pathways pathways; and (3) outline how this role may be altered by polymorphisms and epigenetic changes. We argue that the importance of the cis-regulatory genome for the interpretation of cellular communication pathways cannot be overstated and understanding its role in health and disease will be critical for the future development of personalised medicine.
The diploid genome sequence of an individual human.

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Samuel Levy

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Presented here is a genome sequence of an individual human. It was produced from approximately 32 million random DNA fragments, sequenced by Sanger dideoxy technology and assembled into 4,528 scaffolds, comprising 2,810 million bases (Mb of contiguous sequence with approximately 7.5-fold coverage for any given region. We developed a modified version of the Celera assembler to facilitate the identification and comparison of alternate alleles within this individual diploid genome. Comparison of this genome and the National Center for Biotechnology Information human reference assembly revealed more than 4.1 million DNA variants, encompassing 12.3 Mb. These variants (of which 1,288,319 were novel included 3,213,401 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, 53,823 block substitutions (2-206 bp, 292,102 heterozygous insertion/deletion events (indels(1-571 bp, 559,473 homozygous indels (1-82,711 bp, 90 inversions, as well as numerous segmental duplications and copy number variation regions. Non-SNP DNA variation accounts for 22% of all events identified in the donor, however they involve 74% of all variant bases. This suggests an important role for non-SNP genetic alterations in defining the diploid genome structure. Moreover, 44% of genes were heterozygous for one or more variants. Using a novel haplotype assembly strategy, we were able to span 1.5 Gb of genome sequence in segments >200 kb, providing further precision to the diploid nature of the genome. These data depict a definitive molecular portrait of a diploid human genome that provides a starting point for future genome comparisons and enables an era of individualized genomic information.
Functional genomics in the study of mind-body therapies.

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Niles, Halsey; Mehta, Darshan H; Corrigan, Alexandra A; Bhasin, Manoj K; Denninger, John W

2014-01-01

Mind-body therapies (MBTs) are used throughout the world in treatment, disease prevention, and health promotion. However, the mechanisms by which MBTs exert their positive effects are not well understood. Investigations into MBTs using functional genomics have revolutionized the understanding of MBT mechanisms and their effects on human physiology. We searched the literature for the effects of MBTs on functional genomics determinants using MEDLINE, supplemented by a manual search of additional journals and a reference list review. We reviewed 15 trials that measured global or targeted transcriptomic, epigenomic, or proteomic changes in peripheral blood. Sample sizes ranged from small pilot studies (n=2) to large trials (n=500). While the reliability of individual genes from trial to trial was often inconsistent, genes related to inflammatory response, particularly those involved in the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, were consistently downregulated across most studies. In general, existing trials focusing on gene expression changes brought about by MBTs have revealed intriguing connections to the immune system through the NF-κB cascade, to telomere maintenance, and to apoptotic regulation. However, these findings are limited to a small number of trials and relatively small sample sizes. More rigorous randomized controlled trials of healthy subjects and specific disease states are warranted. Future research should investigate functional genomics areas both upstream and downstream of MBT-related gene expression changes-from epigenomics to proteomics and metabolomics.
78 FR 66752 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-06

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... National Human Genome Research Institute Special Emphasis Panel, October 15, 2013, 01:00 p.m. to October 15, 2013, 02:30 p.m., National Human Genome Research Institute, 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 3055, Rockville...
Isotope-based medical research in the post genome era: Gene-orchestrated life functions in medicine seen and affected by isotopes. Workshop report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feinendegen, L.E.

1997-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a workshop on Isotope-Based Medical Research in the Post Genome Era at NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, November 12--14, 1997. The workshop aimed at identifying the role of stable and radioisotopes for advanced diagnosis and therapy of a wide range of illnesses using the new information that comes from the human genome program. In this sense, the agenda addressed the challenge of functional genomics in humans. The workshop addressed: functional genomics in clinical medicine; new diagnostic potentials; new therapy potentials; challenge to tracer- and effector-pharmaceutical chemistry; and project plans for joint ventures
Isotope-based medical research in the post genome era: Gene-orchestrated life functions in medicine seen and affected by isotopes. Workshop report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feinendegen, L.E.

1997-12-31

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a workshop on Isotope-Based Medical Research in the Post Genome Era at NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, November 12--14, 1997. The workshop aimed at identifying the role of stable and radioisotopes for advanced diagnosis and therapy of a wide range of illnesses using the new information that comes from the human genome program. In this sense, the agenda addressed the challenge of functional genomics in humans. The workshop addressed: functional genomics in clinical medicine; new diagnostic potentials; new therapy potentials; challenge to tracer- and effector-pharmaceutical chemistry; and project plans for joint ventures.
Repeat associated mechanisms of genome evolution and function revealed by the Mus caroli and Mus pahari genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thybert, David; Roller, Maša; Navarro, Fábio C P; Fiddes, Ian; Streeter, Ian; Feig, Christine; Martin-Galvez, David; Kolmogorov, Mikhail; Janoušek, Václav; Akanni, Wasiu; Aken, Bronwen; Aldridge, Sarah; Chakrapani, Varshith; Chow, William; Clarke, Laura; Cummins, Carla; Doran, Anthony; Dunn, Matthew; Goodstadt, Leo; Howe, Kerstin; Howell, Matthew; Josselin, Ambre-Aurore; Karn, Robert C; Laukaitis, Christina M; Jingtao, Lilue; Martin, Fergal; Muffato, Matthieu; Nachtweide, Stefanie; Quail, Michael A; Sisu, Cristina; Stanke, Mario; Stefflova, Klara; Van Oosterhout, Cock; Veyrunes, Frederic; Ward, Ben; Yang, Fengtang; Yazdanifar, Golbahar; Zadissa, Amonida; Adams, David J; Brazma, Alvis; Gerstein, Mark; Paten, Benedict; Pham, Son; Keane, Thomas M; Odom, Duncan T; Flicek, Paul

2018-04-01

Understanding the mechanisms driving lineage-specific evolution in both primates and rodents has been hindered by the lack of sister clades with a similar phylogenetic structure having high-quality genome assemblies. Here, we have created chromosome-level assemblies of the Mus caroli and Mus pahari genomes. Together with the Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus genomes, this set of rodent genomes is similar in divergence times to the Hominidae (human-chimpanzee-gorilla-orangutan). By comparing the evolutionary dynamics between the Muridae and Hominidae, we identified punctate events of chromosome reshuffling that shaped the ancestral karyotype of Mus musculus and Mus caroli between 3 and 6 million yr ago, but that are absent in the Hominidae. Hominidae show between four- and sevenfold lower rates of nucleotide change and feature turnover in both neutral and functional sequences, suggesting an underlying coherence to the Muridae acceleration. Our system of matched, high-quality genome assemblies revealed how specific classes of repeats can play lineage-specific roles in related species. Recent LINE activity has remodeled protein-coding loci to a greater extent across the Muridae than the Hominidae, with functional consequences at the species level such as reproductive isolation. Furthermore, we charted a Muridae-specific retrotransposon expansion at unprecedented resolution, revealing how a single nucleotide mutation transformed a specific SINE element into an active CTCF binding site carrier specifically in Mus caroli , which resulted in thousands of novel, species-specific CTCF binding sites. Our results show that the comparison of matched phylogenetic sets of genomes will be an increasingly powerful strategy for understanding mammalian biology. © 2018 Thybert et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
A Closer Look at Bacteroides: Phylogenetic Relationship and Genomic Implications of a Life in the Human Gut

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsson, Fredrik H.; Ussery, David; Nielsen, Jens

2011-01-01

The human gut is extremely densely inhabited by bacteria mainly from two phyla, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and there is a great interest in analyzing whole-genome sequences for these species because of their relation to human health and disease. Here, we do whole-genome comparison of 105...... of extracytoplasmic function σ factors (ECF σ factors) and two component systems for extracellular signal transduction compared to other Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi species. A whole-genome phylogenetic analysis shows a very little difference between the Parabacteroides and Bacteroides genera. Further analysis shows...... of members of the Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi phylum by whole genome comparison. Gut living Bacteroides have an enriched set of glycan, vitamin, and cofactor enzymes important for diet digestion....
Genomic features of human limb specific enhancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Shahid; Amina, Bibi; Anwar, Saneela; Minhas, Rashid; Parveen, Nazia; Nawaz, Uzma; Azam, Syed Sikandar; Abbasi, Amir Ali

2016-10-01

To elucidate important cellular and molecular interactions that regulate patterning and skeletal development, vertebrate limbs served as a model organ. A growing body of evidence from detailed studies on a subset of limb regulators like the HOXD cluster or SHH, reveals the importance of enhancers in limb related developmental and disease processes. Exploiting the recent genome-wide availability of functionally confirmed enhancer dataset, this study establishes regulatory interactions for dozens of human limb developmental genes. From these data, it appears that the long-range regulatory interactions are fairly common during limb development. This observation highlights the significance of chromosomal breaks/translocations in human limb deformities. Transcriptional factor (TF) analysis predicts that the differentiation of early nascent limb-bud into future territories entail distinct TF interaction networks. Conclusively, an important motivation for annotating the human limb specific regulatory networks is to pave way for the systematic exploration of their role in disease and evolution. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Suicidal function of DNA methylation in age-related genome disintegration.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazin, Alexander L

2009-10-01

This article is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of 5-methylcytosine discovery in DNA. Cytosine methylation can affect genetic and epigenetic processes, works as a part of the genome-defense system and has mutagenic activity; however, the biological functions of this enzymatic modification are not well understood. This review will put forward the hypothesis that the host-defense role of DNA methylation in silencing and mutational destroying of retroviruses and other intragenomic parasites was extended during evolution to most host genes that have to be inactivated in differentiated somatic cells, where it acquired a new function in age-related self-destruction of the genome. The proposed model considers DNA methylation as the generator of 5mC>T transitions that induce 40-70% of all spontaneous somatic mutations of the multiple classes at CpG and CpNpG sites and flanking nucleotides in the p53, FIX, hprt, gpt human genes and some transgenes. The accumulation of 5mC-dependent mutations explains: global changes in the structure of the vertebrate genome throughout evolution; the loss of most 5mC from the DNA of various species over their lifespan and the Hayflick limit of normal cells; the polymorphism of methylation sites, including asymmetric mCpNpN sites; cyclical changes of methylation and demethylation in genes. The suicidal function of methylation may be a special genetic mechanism for increasing DNA damage and the programmed genome disintegration responsible for cell apoptosis and organism aging and death.
Functional Toxicogenomic Assessment of Triclosan in Human HepG2 Cells Using Genome-Wide CRISPR-Cas9 Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Pu; Zhang, Xiaowei; Xie, Yuwei; Guan, Miao; Villeneuve, Daniel L; Yu, Hongxia

2016-10-04

There are thousands of chemicals used by humans and detected in the environment for which limited or no toxicological data are available. Rapid and cost-effective approaches for assessing the toxicological properties of chemicals are needed. We used CRISPR-Cas9 functional genomic screening to identify the potential molecular mechanism of a widely used antimicrobial triclosan (TCS) in HepG2 cells. Resistant genes at IC50 (the concentration causing a 50% reduction in cell viability) were significantly enriched in the adherens junction pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and PPAR signaling pathway, suggesting a potential role in the molecular mechanism of TCS-induced cytotoxicity. Evaluation of the top-ranked resistant genes, FTO (encoding an mRNA demethylase) and MAP2K3 (a MAP kinase kinase family gene), revealed that their loss conferred resistance to TCS. In contrast, sensitive genes at IC10 and IC20 were specifically enriched in pathways involved with immune responses, which was concordant with transcriptomic profiling of TCS at concentrations of CRISPR-Cas9 fingerprint may reveal the patterns of TCS toxicity at low concentration levels. Moreover, we retrieved the potential connection between CRISPR-Cas9 fingerprint and disease terms, obesity, and breast cancer from an existing chemical-gene-disease database. Overall, CRISPR-Cas9 functional genomic screening offers an alternative approach for chemical toxicity testing.
Modeling the integration of bacterial rRNA fragments into the human cancer genome.

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Sieber, Karsten B; Gajer, Pawel; Dunning Hotopp, Julie C

2016-03-21

Cancer is a disease driven by the accumulation of genomic alterations, including the integration of exogenous DNA into the human somatic genome. We previously identified in silico evidence of DNA fragments from a Pseudomonas-like bacteria integrating into the 5'-UTR of four proto-oncogenes in stomach cancer sequencing data. The functional and biological consequences of these bacterial DNA integrations remain unknown. Modeling of these integrations suggests that the previously identified sequences cover most of the sequence flanking the junction between the bacterial and human DNA. Further examination of these reads reveals that these integrations are rich in guanine nucleotides and the integrated bacterial DNA may have complex transcript secondary structures. The models presented here lay the foundation for future experiments to test if bacterial DNA integrations alter the transcription of the human genes.
Contribution of type W human endogenous retroviruses to the human genome: characterization of HERV-W proviral insertions and processed pseudogenes.

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Grandi, Nicole; Cadeddu, Marta; Blomberg, Jonas; Tramontano, Enzo

2016-09-09

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are ancient sequences integrated in the germ line cells and vertically transmitted through the offspring constituting about 8 % of our genome. In time, HERVs accumulated mutations that compromised their coding capacity. A prominent exception is HERV-W locus 7q21.2, producing a functional Env protein (Syncytin-1) coopted for placental syncytiotrophoblast formation. While expression of HERV-W sequences has been investigated for their correlation to disease, an exhaustive description of the group composition and characteristics is still not available and current HERV-W group information derive from studies published a few years ago that, of course, used the rough assemblies of the human genome available at that time. This hampers the comparison and correlation with current human genome assemblies. In the present work we identified and described in detail the distribution and genetic composition of 213 HERV-W elements. The bioinformatics analysis led to the characterization of several previously unreported features and provided a phylogenetic classification of two main subgroups with different age and structural characteristics. New facts on HERV-W genomic context of insertion and co-localization with sequences putatively involved in disease development are also reported. The present work is a detailed overview of the HERV-W contribution to the human genome and provides a robust genetic background useful to clarify HERV-W role in pathologies with poorly understood etiology, representing, to our knowledge, the most complete and exhaustive HERV-W dataset up to date.
Functional Metagenomic Investigations of the Human Intestinal Microbiota

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aimee Marguerite Moore

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The human intestinal microbiota encode multiple critical functions impacting human health, including, metabolism of dietary substrate, prevention of pathogen invasion, immune system modulation, and provision of a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes accessible to pathogens. The complexity of this microbial community, its recalcitrance to standard cultivation and the immense diversity of its encoded genes has necessitated the development of novel molecular, microbiological, and genomic tools. Functional metagenomics is one such culture-independent technique used for decades to study environmental microorganisms but relatively recently applied to the study of the human commensal microbiota. Metagenomic functional screens characterize the functional capacity of a microbial community independent of identity to known genes by subjecting the metagenome to functional assays in a genetically tractable host. Here we highlight recent work applying this technique to study the functional diversity of the intestinal microbiota, and discuss how an approach combining high-throughput sequencing, cultivation, and metagenomic functional screens can improve our understanding of interactions between this complex community and its human host.

75 FR 44800 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... for Human Genome Research. The meeting will be closed to the public in accordance with the provisions... Committee: National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. Date: August 18, 2010. Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m...
Functional genomics of beer-related physiological processes in yeast

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hazelwood, L.A.

2009-01-01

Since the release of the entire genome sequence of the S. cerevisiae laboratory strain S288C in 1996, many functional genomics tools have been introduced in fundamental and application-oriented yeast research. In this thesis, the applicability of functional genomics for the improvement of yeast in
Gain-of-function mutagenesis approaches in rice for functional genomics and improvement of crop productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Moin, Mazahar; Bakshi, Achala; Saha, Anusree; Dutta, Mouboni; Kirti, P B

2017-07-01

The epitome of any genome research is to identify all the existing genes in a genome and investigate their roles. Various techniques have been applied to unveil the functions either by silencing or over-expressing the genes by targeted expression or random mutagenesis. Rice is the most appropriate model crop for generating a mutant resource for functional genomic studies because of the availability of high-quality genome sequence and relatively smaller genome size. Rice has syntenic relationships with members of other cereals. Hence, characterization of functionally unknown genes in rice will possibly provide key genetic insights and can lead to comparative genomics involving other cereals. The current review attempts to discuss the available gain-of-function mutagenesis techniques for functional genomics, emphasizing the contemporary approach, activation tagging and alterations to this method for the enhancement of yield and productivity of rice. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Analysis of cis-elements that facilitate extrachromosomal persistence of human papillomavirus genomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pittayakhajonwut, Daraporn; Angeletti, Peter C.

2008-01-01

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are maintained latently in dividing epithelial cells as nuclear plasmids. Two virally encoded proteins, E1, a helicase, and E2, a transcription factor, are important players in replication and stable plasmid maintenance in host cells. Recent experiments in yeast have demonstrated that viral genomes retain replication and maintenance function independently of E1 and E2 [Angeletti, P.C., Kim, K., Fernandes, F.J., and Lambert, P.F. (2002). Stable replication of papillomavirus genomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J. Virol. 76(7), 3350-8; Kim, K., Angeletti, P.C., Hassebroek, E.C., and Lambert, P.F. (2005). Identification of cis-acting elements that mediate the replication and maintenance of human papillomavirus type 16 genomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J. Virol. 79(10), 5933-42]. Flow cytometry studies of EGFP-reporter vectors containing subgenomic HPV fragments with or without a human ARS (hARS), revealed that six fragments located in E6-E7, E1-E2, L1, and L2 regions showed a capacity for plasmid stabilization in the absence of E1 and E2 proteins. Interestingly, four fragments within E7, the 3' end of L2, and the 5' end of L1 exhibited stability in plasmids that lacked an hARS, indicating that they possess both replication and maintenance functions. Two fragments lying in E1-E2 and the 3' region of L1 were stable only in the presence of hARS, that they contained only maintenance function. Mutational analyses of HPV16-GFP reporter constructs provided evidence that genomes lacking E1 and E2 could replicate to an extent similar to wild type HPV16. Together these results support the concept that cellular factors influence HPV replication and maintenance, independently, and perhaps in conjunction with E1 and E2, suggesting a role in the persistent phase of the viral lifecycle
Automated whole-genome multiple alignment of rat, mouse, and human

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brudno, Michael; Poliakov, Alexander; Salamov, Asaf; Cooper, Gregory M.; Sidow, Arend; Rubin, Edward M.; Solovyev, Victor; Batzoglou, Serafim; Dubchak, Inna

2004-07-04

We have built a whole genome multiple alignment of the three currently available mammalian genomes using a fully automated pipeline which combines the local/global approach of the Berkeley Genome Pipeline and the LAGAN program. The strategy is based on progressive alignment, and consists of two main steps: (1) alignment of the mouse and rat genomes; and (2) alignment of human to either the mouse-rat alignments from step 1, or the remaining unaligned mouse and rat sequences. The resulting alignments demonstrate high sensitivity, with 87% of all human gene-coding areas aligned in both mouse and rat. The specificity is also high: <7% of the rat contigs are aligned to multiple places in human and 97% of all alignments with human sequence > 100kb agree with a three-way synteny map built independently using predicted exons in the three genomes. At the nucleotide level <1% of the rat nucleotides are mapped to multiple places in the human sequence in the alignment; and 96.5% of human nucleotides within all alignments agree with the synteny map. The alignments are publicly available online, with visualization through the novel Multi-VISTA browser that we also present.
GIANT API: an application programming interface for functional genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Andrew M; Wong, Aaron K; Fisk, Ian; Troyanskaya, Olga G

2016-07-08

GIANT API provides biomedical researchers programmatic access to tissue-specific and global networks in humans and model organisms, and associated tools, which includes functional re-prioritization of existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) data. Using tissue-specific interaction networks, researchers are able to predict relationships between genes specific to a tissue or cell lineage, identify the changing roles of genes across tissues and uncover disease-gene associations. Additionally, GIANT API enables computational tools like NetWAS, which leverages tissue-specific networks for re-prioritization of GWAS results. The web services covered by the API include 144 tissue-specific functional gene networks in human, global functional networks for human and six common model organisms and the NetWAS method. GIANT API conforms to the REST architecture, which makes it stateless, cacheable and highly scalable. It can be used by a diverse range of clients including web browsers, command terminals, programming languages and standalone apps for data analysis and visualization. The API is freely available for use at http://giant-api.princeton.edu. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
Determining and comparing protein function in Bacterial genome sequences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesth, Tammi Camilla

of this class have very little homology to other known genomes making functional annotation based on sequence similarity very difficult. Inspired in part by this analysis, an approach for comparative functional annotation was created based public sequenced genomes, CMGfunc. Functionally related groups......In November 2013, there was around 21.000 different prokaryotic genomes sequenced and publicly available, and the number is growing daily with another 20.000 or more genomes expected to be sequenced and deposited by the end of 2014. An important part of the analysis of this data is the functional...... annotation of genes – the descriptions assigned to genes that describe the likely function of the encoded proteins. This process is limited by several factors, including the definition of a function which can be more or less specific as well as how many genes can actually be assigned a function based...
Genome editing: a robust technology for human stem cells.

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Chandrasekaran, Arun Pandian; Song, Minjung; Ramakrishna, Suresh

2017-09-01

Human pluripotent stem cells comprise induced pluripotent and embryonic stem cells, which have tremendous potential for biological and therapeutic applications. The development of efficient technologies for the targeted genome alteration of stem cells in disease models is a prerequisite for utilizing stem cells to their full potential. Genome editing of stem cells is possible with the help of synthetic nucleases that facilitate site-specific modification of a gene of interest. Recent advances in genome editing techniques have improved the efficiency and speed of the development of stem cells for human disease models. Zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated system are powerful tools for editing DNA at specific loci. Here, we discuss recent technological advances in genome editing with site-specific nucleases in human stem cells.
Genome and gene alterations by insertions and deletions in the evolution of human and chimpanzee chromosome 22

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volfovsky Natalia

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Understanding structure and function of human genome requires knowledge of genomes of our closest living relatives, the primates. Nucleotide insertions and deletions (indels play a significant role in differentiation that underlies phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees. In this study, we evaluated distribution, evolutionary history, and function of indels found by comparing syntenic regions of the human and chimpanzee genomes. Results Specifically, we identified 6,279 indels of 10 bp or greater in a ~33 Mb alignment between human and chimpanzee chromosome 22. After the exclusion of those in repetitive DNA, 1,429 or 23% of indels still remained. This group was characterized according to the local or genome-wide repetitive nature, size, location relative to genes, and other genomic features. We defined three major classes of these indels, using local structure analysis: (i those indels found uniquely without additional copies of indel sequence in the surrounding (10 Kb region, (ii those with at least one exact copy found nearby, and (iii those with similar but not identical copies found locally. Among these classes, we encountered a high number of exactly repeated indel sequences, most likely due to recent duplications. Many of these indels (683 of 1,429 were in proximity of known human genes. Coding sequences and splice sites contained significantly fewer of these indels than expected from random expectations, suggesting that selection is a factor in limiting their persistence. A subset of indels from coding regions was experimentally validated and their impacts were predicted based on direct sequencing in several human populations as well as chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and two subspecies of orangutans. Conclusion Our analysis demonstrates that while indels are distributed essentially randomly in intergenic and intronic genomic regions, they are significantly under-represented in coding sequences. There are
Comparison of phasing strategies for whole human genomes.

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Choi, Yongwook; Chan, Agnes P; Kirkness, Ewen; Telenti, Amalio; Schork, Nicholas J

2018-04-01

Humans are a diploid species that inherit one set of chromosomes paternally and one homologous set of chromosomes maternally. Unfortunately, most human sequencing initiatives ignore this fact in that they do not directly delineate the nucleotide content of the maternal and paternal copies of the 23 chromosomes individuals possess (i.e., they do not 'phase' the genome) often because of the costs and complexities of doing so. We compared 11 different widely-used approaches to phasing human genomes using the publicly available 'Genome-In-A-Bottle' (GIAB) phased version of the NA12878 genome as a gold standard. The phasing strategies we compared included laboratory-based assays that prepare DNA in unique ways to facilitate phasing as well as purely computational approaches that seek to reconstruct phase information from general sequencing reads and constructs or population-level haplotype frequency information obtained through a reference panel of haplotypes. To assess the performance of the 11 approaches, we used metrics that included, among others, switch error rates, haplotype block lengths, the proportion of fully phase-resolved genes, phasing accuracy and yield between pairs of SNVs. Our comparisons suggest that a hybrid or combined approach that leverages: 1. population-based phasing using the SHAPEIT software suite, 2. either genome-wide sequencing read data or parental genotypes, and 3. a large reference panel of variant and haplotype frequencies, provides a fast and efficient way to produce highly accurate phase-resolved individual human genomes. We found that for population-based approaches, phasing performance is enhanced with the addition of genome-wide read data; e.g., whole genome shotgun and/or RNA sequencing reads. Further, we found that the inclusion of parental genotype data within a population-based phasing strategy can provide as much as a ten-fold reduction in phasing errors. We also considered a majority voting scheme for the construction of a
Genome Editing in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

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Carlson-Stevermer, Jared; Saha, Krishanu

2017-01-01

Genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) enables the generation of reporter lines and knockout cell lines. Zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and CRISPR/Cas9 technology have recently increased the efficiency of proper gene editing by creating double strand breaks (DSB) at defined sequences in the human genome. These systems typically use plasmids to transiently transcribe nucleases within the cell. Here, we describe the process for preparing hPSCs for transient expression of nucleases via electroporation and subsequent analysis to create genetically modified stem cell lines.
CTDB: An Integrated Chickpea Transcriptome Database for Functional and Applied Genomics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohit Verma

Full Text Available Chickpea is an important grain legume used as a rich source of protein in human diet. The narrow genetic diversity and limited availability of genomic resources are the major constraints in implementing breeding strategies and biotechnological interventions for genetic enhancement of chickpea. We developed an integrated Chickpea Transcriptome Database (CTDB, which provides the comprehensive web interface for visualization and easy retrieval of transcriptome data in chickpea. The database features many tools for similarity search, functional annotation (putative function, PFAM domain and gene ontology search and comparative gene expression analysis. The current release of CTDB (v2.0 hosts transcriptome datasets with high quality functional annotation from cultivated (desi and kabuli types and wild chickpea. A catalog of transcription factor families and their expression profiles in chickpea are available in the database. The gene expression data have been integrated to study the expression profiles of chickpea transcripts in major tissues/organs and various stages of flower development. The utilities, such as similarity search, ortholog identification and comparative gene expression have also been implemented in the database to facilitate comparative genomic studies among different legumes and Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the CTDB represents a resource for the discovery of functional molecular markers (microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms between different chickpea types. We anticipate that integrated information content of this database will accelerate the functional and applied genomic research for improvement of chickpea. The CTDB web service is freely available at http://nipgr.res.in/ctdb.html.
Convergent functional genomics in addiction research - a translational approach to study candidate genes and gene networks.

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Spanagel, Rainer

2013-01-01

Convergent functional genomics (CFG) is a translational methodology that integrates in a Bayesian fashion multiple lines of evidence from studies in human and animal models to get a better understanding of the genetics of a disease or pathological behavior. Here the integration of data sets that derive from forward genetics in animals and genetic association studies including genome wide association studies (GWAS) in humans is described for addictive behavior. The aim of forward genetics in animals and association studies in humans is to identify mutations (e.g. SNPs) that produce a certain phenotype; i.e. "from phenotype to genotype". Most powerful in terms of forward genetics is combined quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and gene expression profiling in recombinant inbreed rodent lines or genetically selected animals for a specific phenotype, e.g. high vs. low drug consumption. By Bayesian scoring genomic information from forward genetics in animals is then combined with human GWAS data on a similar addiction-relevant phenotype. This integrative approach generates a robust candidate gene list that has to be functionally validated by means of reverse genetics in animals; i.e. "from genotype to phenotype". It is proposed that studying addiction relevant phenotypes and endophenotypes by this CFG approach will allow a better determination of the genetics of addictive behavior.
Sequence space coverage, entropy of genomes and the potential to detect non-human DNA in human samples

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Maley Carlo C

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genomes store information for building and maintaining organisms. Complete sequencing of many genomes provides the opportunity to study and compare global information properties of those genomes. Results We have analyzed aspects of the information content of Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Arabidopsis thaliana, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Escherichia coli (K-12 genomes. Virtually all possible (> 98% 12 bp oligomers appear in vertebrate genomes while 98% to D. melanogaster (12–17 bp, C. elegans (11–17 bp, A. thaliana (11–17 bp, S. cerevisiae (10–16 bp and E. coli (9–15 bp. Frequencies of unique oligomers in the genomes follow similar patterns. We identified a set of 2.6 M 15-mers that are more than 1 nucleotide different from all 15-mers in the human genome and so could be used as probes to detect microbes in human samples. In a human sample, these probes would detect 100% of the 433 currently fully sequenced prokaryotes and 75% of the 3065 fully sequenced viruses. The human genome is significantly more compact in sequence space than a random genome. We identified the most frequent 5- to 20-mers in the human genome, which may prove useful as PCR primers. We also identified a bacterium, Anaeromyxobacter dehalogenans, which has an exceptionally low diversity of oligomers given the size of its genome and its GC content. The entropy of coding regions in the human genome is significantly higher than non-coding regions and chromosomes. However chromosomes 1, 2, 9, 12 and 14 have a relatively high proportion of coding DNA without high entropy, and chromosome 20 is the opposite with a low frequency of coding regions but relatively high entropy. Conclusion Measures of the frequency of oligomers are useful for designing PCR assays and for identifying chromosomes and organisms with hidden structure that had not been previously recognized. This information may be used to detect
Sequence space coverage, entropy of genomes and the potential to detect non-human DNA in human samples

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhandong; Venkatesh, Santosh S; Maley, Carlo C

2008-01-01

Background Genomes store information for building and maintaining organisms. Complete sequencing of many genomes provides the opportunity to study and compare global information properties of those genomes. Results We have analyzed aspects of the information content of Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Arabidopsis thaliana, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Escherichia coli (K-12) genomes. Virtually all possible (> 98%) 12 bp oligomers appear in vertebrate genomes while 98% to < 2% of possible oligomers in D. melanogaster (12–17 bp), C. elegans (11–17 bp), A. thaliana (11–17 bp), S. cerevisiae (10–16 bp) and E. coli (9–15 bp). Frequencies of unique oligomers in the genomes follow similar patterns. We identified a set of 2.6 M 15-mers that are more than 1 nucleotide different from all 15-mers in the human genome and so could be used as probes to detect microbes in human samples. In a human sample, these probes would detect 100% of the 433 currently fully sequenced prokaryotes and 75% of the 3065 fully sequenced viruses. The human genome is significantly more compact in sequence space than a random genome. We identified the most frequent 5- to 20-mers in the human genome, which may prove useful as PCR primers. We also identified a bacterium, Anaeromyxobacter dehalogenans, which has an exceptionally low diversity of oligomers given the size of its genome and its GC content. The entropy of coding regions in the human genome is significantly higher than non-coding regions and chromosomes. However chromosomes 1, 2, 9, 12 and 14 have a relatively high proportion of coding DNA without high entropy, and chromosome 20 is the opposite with a low frequency of coding regions but relatively high entropy. Conclusion Measures of the frequency of oligomers are useful for designing PCR assays and for identifying chromosomes and organisms with hidden structure that had not been previously recognized. This information may be used to
Genomic and Functional Approaches to Understanding Cancer Aneuploidy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taylor, Alison M.; Shih, Juliann; Ha, Gavin; Gao, Galen F.; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Berger, Ashton C.; Schumacher, Steven E.; Wang, Chen; Hu, Hai; Liu, Jianfang; Lazar, Alexander J.; Caesar-Johnson, Samantha J.; Demchok, John A.; Felau, Ina; Kasapi, Melpomeni; Ferguson, Martin L.; Hutter, Carolyn M.; Sofia, Heidi J.; Tarnuzzer, Roy; Wang, Zhining; Yang, Liming; Zenklusen, Jean C.; Zhang, Jiashan (Julia); Chudamani, Sudha; Liu, Jia; Lolla, Laxmi; Naresh, Rashi; Pihl, Todd; Sun, Qiang; Wan, Yunhu; Wu, Ye; Cho, Juok; DeFreitas, Timothy; Frazer, Scott; Gehlenborg, Nils; Getz, Gad; Heiman, David I.; Kim, Jaegil; Lawrence, Michael S.; Lin, Pei; Meier, Sam; Noble, Michael S.; Saksena, Gordon; Voet, Doug; Zhang, Hailei; Bernard, Brady; Chambwe, Nyasha; Dhankani, Varsha; Knijnenburg, Theo; Kramer, Roger; Leinonen, Kalle; Liu, Yuexin; Miller, Michael; Reynolds, Sheila; Shmulevich, Ilya; Thorsson, Vesteinn; Zhang, Wei; Akbani, Rehan; Broom, Bradley M.; Hegde, Apurva M.; Ju, Zhenlin; Kanchi, Rupa S.; Korkut, Anil; Li, Jun; Liang, Han; Ling, Shiyun; Liu, Wenbin; Lu, Yiling; Mills, Gordon B.; Ng, Kwok Shing; Rao, Arvind; Ryan, Michael; Wang, Jing; Weinstein, John N.; Zhang, Jiexin; Abeshouse, Adam; Armenia, Joshua; Chakravarty, Debyani; Chatila, Walid K.; de Bruijn, Ino; Gao, Jianjiong; Gross, Benjamin E.; Heins, Zachary J.; Kundra, Ritika; La, Konnor; Ladanyi, Marc; Luna, Augustin; Nissan, Moriah G.; Ochoa, Angelica; Phillips, Sarah M.; Reznik, Ed; Sanchez-Vega, Francisco; Sander, Chris; Schultz, Nikolaus; Sheridan, Robert; Sumer, S. Onur; Sun, Yichao; Taylor, Barry S.; Wang, Jioajiao; Zhang, Hongxin; Anur, Pavana; Peto, Myron; Spellman, Paul; Benz, Christopher; Stuart, Joshua M.; Wong, Christopher K.; Yau, Christina; Hayes, D. Neil; Parker, Joel S.; Wilkerson, Matthew D.; Ally, Adrian; Balasundaram, Miruna; Bowlby, Reanne; Brooks, Denise; Carlsen, Rebecca; Chuah, Eric; Dhalla, Noreen; Holt, Robert; Jones, Steven J.M.; Kasaian, Katayoon; Lee, Darlene; Ma, Yussanne; Marra, Marco A.; Mayo, Michael; Moore, Richard A.; Mungall, Andrew J.; Mungall, Karen; Robertson, A. Gordon; Sadeghi, Sara; Schein, Jacqueline E.; Sipahimalani, Payal; Tam, Angela; Thiessen, Nina; Tse, Kane; Wong, Tina; Berger, Ashton C.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Cherniack, Andrew D.; Cibulskis, Carrie; Gabriel, Stacey B.; Gao, Galen F.; Ha, Gavin; Meyerson, Matthew; Schumacher, Steven E.; Shih, Juliann; Kucherlapati, Melanie H.; Kucherlapati, Raju S.; Baylin, Stephen; Cope, Leslie; Danilova, Ludmila; Bootwalla, Moiz S.; Lai, Phillip H.; Maglinte, Dennis T.; Van Den Berg, David J.; Weisenberger, Daniel J.; Auman, J. Todd; Balu, Saianand; Bodenheimer, Tom; Fan, Cheng; Hoadley, Katherine A.; Hoyle, Alan P.; Jefferys, Stuart R.; Jones, Corbin D.; Meng, Shaowu; Mieczkowski, Piotr A.; Mose, Lisle E.; Perou, Amy H.; Perou, Charles M.; Roach, Jeffrey; Shi, Yan; Simons, Janae V.; Skelly, Tara; Soloway, Matthew G.; Tan, Donghui; Veluvolu, Umadevi; Fan, Huihui; Hinoue, Toshinori; Laird, Peter W.; Shen, Hui; Zhou, Wanding; Bellair, Michelle; Chang, Kyle; Covington, Kyle; Creighton, Chad J.; Dinh, Huyen; Doddapaneni, Harsha Vardhan; Donehower, Lawrence A.; Drummond, Jennifer; Gibbs, Richard A.; Glenn, Robert; Hale, Walker; Han, Yi; Hu, Jianhong; Korchina, Viktoriya; Lee, Sandra; Lewis, Lora; Li, Wei; Liu, Xiuping; Morgan, Margaret; Morton, Donna; Muzny, Donna; Santibanez, Jireh; Sheth, Margi; Shinbrot, Eve; Wang, Linghua; Wang, Min; Wheeler, David A.; Xi, Liu; Zhao, Fengmei; Hess, Julian; Appelbaum, Elizabeth L.; Bailey, Matthew; Cordes, Matthew G.; Ding, Li; Fronick, Catrina C.; Fulton, Lucinda A.; Fulton, Robert S.; Kandoth, Cyriac; Mardis, Elaine R.; McLellan, Michael D.; Miller, Christopher A.; Schmidt, Heather K.; Wilson, Richard K.; Crain, Daniel; Curley, Erin; Gardner, Johanna; Lau, Kevin; Mallery, David; Morris, Scott; Paulauskis, Joseph; Penny, Robert; Shelton, Candace; Shelton, Troy; Sherman, Mark; Thompson, Eric; Yena, Peggy; Bowen, Jay; Gastier-Foster, Julie M.; Gerken, Mark; Leraas, Kristen M.; Lichtenberg, Tara M.; Ramirez, Nilsa C.; Wise, Lisa; Zmuda, Erik; Corcoran, Niall; Costello, Tony; Hovens, Christopher; Carvalho, Andre L.; de Carvalho, Ana C.; Fregnani, José H.; Longatto-Filho, Adhemar; Reis, Rui M.; Scapulatempo-Neto, Cristovam; Silveira, Henrique C.S.; Vidal, Daniel O.; Burnette, Andrew; Eschbacher, Jennifer; Hermes, Beth; Noss, Ardene; Singh, Rosy; Anderson, Matthew L.; Castro, Patricia D.; Ittmann, Michael; Huntsman, David; Kohl, Bernard; Le, Xuan; Thorp, Richard; Andry, Chris; Duffy, Elizabeth R.; Lyadov, Vladimir; Paklina, Oxana; Setdikova, Galiya; Shabunin, Alexey; Tavobilov, Mikhail; McPherson, Christopher; Warnick, Ronald; Berkowitz, Ross; Cramer, Daniel; Feltmate, Colleen; Horowitz, Neil; Kibel, Adam; Muto, Michael; Raut, Chandrajit P.; Malykh, Andrei; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S.; Barrett, Wendi; Devine, Karen; Fulop, Jordonna; Ostrom, Quinn T.; Shimmel, Kristen; Wolinsky, Yingli; Sloan, Andrew E.; De Rose, Agostino; Giuliante, Felice; Goodman, Marc; Karlan, Beth Y.; Hagedorn, Curt H.; Eckman, John; Harr, Jodi; Myers, Jerome; Tucker, Kelinda; Zach, Leigh Anne; Deyarmin, Brenda; Hu, Hai; Kvecher, Leonid; Larson, Caroline; Mural, Richard J.; Somiari, Stella; Vicha, Ales; Zelinka, Tomas; Bennett, Joseph; Iacocca, Mary; Rabeno, Brenda; Swanson, Patricia; Latour, Mathieu; Lacombe, Louis; Têtu, Bernard; Bergeron, Alain; McGraw, Mary; Staugaitis, Susan M.; Chabot, John; Hibshoosh, Hanina; Sepulveda, Antonia; Su, Tao; Wang, Timothy; Potapova, Olga; Voronina, Olga; Desjardins, Laurence; Mariani, Odette; Roman-Roman, Sergio; Sastre, Xavier; Stern, Marc Henri; Cheng, Feixiong; Signoretti, Sabina; Berchuck, Andrew; Bigner, Darell; Lipp, Eric; Marks, Jeffrey; McCall, Shannon; McLendon, Roger; Secord, Angeles; Sharp, Alexis; Behera, Madhusmita; Brat, Daniel J.; Chen, Amy; Delman, Keith; Force, Seth; Khuri, Fadlo; Magliocca, Kelly; Maithel, Shishir; Olson, Jeffrey J.; Owonikoko, Taofeek; Pickens, Alan; Ramalingam, Suresh; Shin, Dong M.; Sica, Gabriel; Van Meir, Erwin G.; Zhang, Hongzheng; Eijckenboom, Wil; Gillis, Ad; Korpershoek, Esther; Looijenga, Leendert; Oosterhuis, Wolter; Stoop, Hans; van Kessel, Kim E.; Zwarthoff, Ellen C.; Calatozzolo, Chiara; Cuppini, Lucia; Cuzzubbo, Stefania; DiMeco, Francesco; Finocchiaro, Gaetano; Mattei, Luca; Perin, Alessandro; Pollo, Bianca; Chen, Chu; Houck, John; Lohavanichbutr, Pawadee; Hartmann, Arndt; Stoehr, Christine; Stoehr, Robert; Taubert, Helge; Wach, Sven; Wullich, Bernd; Kycler, Witold; Murawa, Dawid; Wiznerowicz, Maciej; Chung, Ki; Edenfield, W. Jeffrey; Martin, Julie; Baudin, Eric; Bubley, Glenn; Bueno, Raphael; De Rienzo, Assunta; Richards, William G.; Kalkanis, Steven; Mikkelsen, Tom; Noushmehr, Houtan; Scarpace, Lisa; Girard, Nicolas; Aymerich, Marta; Campo, Elias; Giné, Eva; Guillermo, Armando López; Van Bang, Nguyen; Hanh, Phan Thi; Phu, Bui Duc; Tang, Yufang; Colman, Howard; Evason, Kimberley; Dottino, Peter R.; Martignetti, John A.; Gabra, Hani; Juhl, Hartmut; Akeredolu, Teniola; Stepa, Serghei; Hoon, Dave; Ahn, Keunsoo; Kang, Koo Jeong; Beuschlein, Felix; Breggia, Anne; Birrer, Michael; Bell, Debra; Borad, Mitesh; Bryce, Alan H.; Castle, Erik; Chandan, Vishal; Cheville, John; Copland, John A.; Farnell, Michael; Flotte, Thomas; Giama, Nasra; Ho, Thai; Kendrick, Michael; Kocher, Jean Pierre; Kopp, Karla; Moser, Catherine; Nagorney, David; O'Brien, Daniel; O'Neill, Brian Patrick; Patel, Tushar; Petersen, Gloria; Que, Florencia; Rivera, Michael; Roberts, Lewis; Smallridge, Robert; Smyrk, Thomas; Stanton, Melissa; Thompson, R. Houston; Torbenson, Michael; Yang, Ju Dong; Zhang, Lizhi; Brimo, Fadi; Ajani, Jaffer A.; Angulo Gonzalez, Ana Maria; Behrens, Carmen; Bondaruk, Jolanta; Broaddus, Russell; Czerniak, Bogdan; Esmaeli, Bita; Fujimoto, Junya; Gershenwald, Jeffrey; Guo, Charles; Lazar, Alexander J.; Logothetis, Christopher; Meric-Bernstam, Funda; Moran, Cesar; Ramondetta, Lois; Rice, David; Sood, Anil; Tamboli, Pheroze; Thompson, Timothy; Troncoso, Patricia; Tsao, Anne; Wistuba, Ignacio; Carter, Candace; Haydu, Lauren; Hersey, Peter; Jakrot, Valerie; Kakavand, Hojabr; Kefford, Richard; Lee, Kenneth; Long, Georgina; Mann, Graham; Quinn, Michael; Saw, Robyn; Scolyer, Richard; Shannon, Kerwin; Spillane, Andrew; Stretch, Jonathan; Synott, Maria; Thompson, John; Wilmott, James; Al-Ahmadie, Hikmat; Chan, Timothy A.; Ghossein, Ronald; Gopalan, Anuradha; Levine, Douglas A.; Reuter, Victor; Singer, Samuel; Singh, Bhuvanesh; Tien, Nguyen Viet; Broudy, Thomas; Mirsaidi, Cyrus; Nair, Praveen; Drwiega, Paul; Miller, Judy; Smith, Jennifer; Zaren, Howard; Park, Joong Won; Hung, Nguyen Phi; Kebebew, Electron; Linehan, W. Marston; Metwalli, Adam R.; Pacak, Karel; Pinto, Peter A.; Schiffman, Mark; Schmidt, Laura S.; Vocke, Cathy D.; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Worrell, Robert; Yang, Hannah; Moncrieff, Marc; Goparaju, Chandra; Melamed, Jonathan; Pass, Harvey; Botnariuc, Natalia; Caraman, Irina; Cernat, Mircea; Chemencedji, Inga; Clipca, Adrian; Doruc, Serghei; Gorincioi, Ghenadie; Mura, Sergiu; Pirtac, Maria; Stancul, Irina; Tcaciuc, Diana; Albert, Monique; Alexopoulou, Iakovina; Arnaout, Angel; Bartlett, John; Engel, Jay; Gilbert, Sebastien; Parfitt, Jeremy; Sekhon, Harman; Thomas, George; Rassl, Doris M.; Rintoul, Robert C.; Bifulco, Carlo; Tamakawa, Raina; Urba, Walter; Hayward, Nicholas; Timmers, Henri; Antenucci, Anna; Facciolo, Francesco; Grazi, Gianluca; Marino, Mirella; Merola, Roberta; de Krijger, Ronald; Gimenez-Roqueplo, Anne Paule; Piché, Alain; Chevalier, Simone; McKercher, Ginette; Birsoy, Kivanc; Barnett, Gene; Brewer, Cathy; Farver, Carol; Naska, Theresa; Pennell, Nathan A.; Raymond, Daniel; Schilero, Cathy; Smolenski, Kathy; Williams, Felicia; Morrison, Carl; Borgia, Jeffrey A.; Liptay, Michael J.; Pool, Mark; Seder, Christopher W.; Junker, Kerstin; Omberg, Larsson; Dinkin, Mikhail; Manikhas, George; Alvaro, Domenico; Bragazzi, Maria Consiglia; Cardinale, Vincenzo; Carpino, Guido; Gaudio, Eugenio; Chesla, David; Cottingham, Sandra; Dubina, Michael; Moiseenko, Fedor; Dhanasekaran, Renumathy; Becker, Karl Friedrich; Janssen, Klaus Peter; Slotta-Huspenina, Julia; Abdel-Rahman, Mohamed H.; Aziz, Dina; Bell, Sue; Cebulla, Colleen M.; Davis, Amy; Duell, Rebecca; Elder, J. Bradley; Hilty, Joe; Kumar, Bahavna; Lang, James; Lehman, Norman L.; Mandt, Randy; Nguyen, Phuong; Pilarski, Robert; Rai, Karan; Schoenfield, Lynn; Senecal, Kelly; Wakely, Paul; Hansen, Paul; Lechan, Ronald; Powers, James; Tischler, Arthur; Grizzle, William E.; Sexton, Katherine C.; Kastl, Alison; Henderson, Joel; Porten, Sima; Waldmann, Jens; Fassnacht, Martin; Asa, Sylvia L.; Schadendorf, Dirk; Couce, Marta; Graefen, Markus; Huland, Hartwig; Sauter, Guido; Schlomm, Thorsten; Simon, Ronald; Tennstedt, Pierre; Olabode, Oluwole; Nelson, Mark; Bathe, Oliver; Carroll, Peter R.; Chan, June M.; Disaia, Philip; Glenn, Pat; Kelley, Robin K.; Landen, Charles N.; Phillips, Joanna; Prados, Michael; Simko, Jeffry; Smith-McCune, Karen; VandenBerg, Scott; Roggin, Kevin; Fehrenbach, Ashley; Kendler, Ady; Sifri, Suzanne; Steele, Ruth; Jimeno, Antonio; Carey, Francis; Forgie, Ian; Mannelli, Massimo; Carney, Michael; Hernandez, Brenda; Campos, Benito; Herold-Mende, Christel; Jungk, Christin; Unterberg, Andreas; von Deimling, Andreas; Bossler, Aaron; Galbraith, Joseph; Jacobus, Laura; Knudson, Michael; Knutson, Tina; Ma, Deqin; Milhem, Mohammed; Sigmund, Rita; Godwin, Andrew K.; Madan, Rashna; Rosenthal, Howard G.; Adebamowo, Clement; Adebamowo, Sally N.; Boussioutas, Alex; Beer, David; Giordano, Thomas; Mes-Masson, Anne Marie; Saad, Fred; Bocklage, Therese; Landrum, Lisa; Mannel, Robert; Moore, Kathleen; Moxley, Katherine; Postier, Russel; Walker, Joan; Zuna, Rosemary; Feldman, Michael; Valdivieso, Federico; Dhir, Rajiv; Luketich, James; Mora Pinero, Edna M.; Quintero-Aguilo, Mario; Carlotti, Carlos Gilberto; Dos Santos, Jose Sebastião; Kemp, Rafael; Sankarankuty, Ajith; Tirapelli, Daniela; Catto, James; Agnew, Kathy; Swisher, Elizabeth; Creaney, Jenette; Robinson, Bruce; Shelley, Carl Simon; Godwin, Eryn M.; Kendall, Sara; Shipman, Cassaundra; Bradford, Carol; Carey, Thomas; Haddad, Andrea; Moyer, Jeffey; Peterson, Lisa; Prince, Mark; Rozek, Laura; Wolf, Gregory; Bowman, Rayleen; Fong, Kwun M.; Yang, Ian; Korst, Robert; Rathmell, W. Kimryn; Fantacone-Campbell, J. Leigh; Hooke, Jeffrey A.; Kovatich, Albert J.; Shriver, Craig D.; DiPersio, John; Drake, Bettina; Govindan, Ramaswamy; Heath, Sharon; Ley, Timothy; Van Tine, Brian; Westervelt, Peter; Rubin, Mark A.; Lee, Jung Il; Aredes, Natália D.; Mariamidze, Armaz; Cherniack, Andrew D.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Meyerson, Matthew

2018-01-01

Aneuploidy, whole chromosome or chromosome arm imbalance, is a near-universal characteristic of human cancers. In 10,522 cancer genomes from The Cancer Genome Atlas, aneuploidy was correlated with TP53 mutation, somatic mutation rate, and expression of proliferation genes. Aneuploidy was
Retrocopy contributions to the evolution of the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haussler David

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evolution via point mutations is a relatively slow process and is unlikely to completely explain the differences between primates and other mammals. By contrast, 45% of the human genome is composed of retroposed elements, many of which were inserted in the primate lineage. A subset of retroposed mRNAs (retrocopies shows strong evidence of expression in primates, often yielding functional retrogenes. Results To identify and analyze the relatively recently evolved retrogenes, we carried out BLASTZ alignments of all human mRNAs against the human genome and scored a set of features indicative of retroposition. Of over 12,000 putative retrocopy-derived genes that arose mainly in the primate lineage, 726 with strong evidence of transcript expression were examined in detail. These mRNA retroposition events fall into three categories: I 34 retrocopies and antisense retrocopies that added potential protein coding space and UTRs to existing genes; II 682 complete retrocopy duplications inserted into new loci; and III an unexpected set of 13 retrocopies that contributed out-of-frame, or antisense sequences in combination with other types of transposed elements (SINEs, LINEs, LTRs, even unannotated sequence to form potentially novel genes with no homologs outside primates. In addition to their presence in human, several of the gene candidates also had potentially viable ORFs in chimpanzee, orangutan, and rhesus macaque, underscoring their potential of function. Conclusion mRNA-derived retrocopies provide raw material for the evolution of genes in a wide variety of ways, duplicating and amending the protein coding region of existing genes as well as generating the potential for new protein coding space, or non-protein coding RNAs, by unexpected contributions out of frame, in reverse orientation, or from previously non-protein coding sequence.
Characterization and distribution of repetitive elements in association with genes in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Kai-Chiang; Tseng, Joseph T; Tsai, Shaw-Jenq; Sun, H Sunny

2015-08-01

Repetitive elements constitute more than 50% of the human genome. Recent studies implied that the complexity of living organisms is not just a direct outcome of a number of coding sequences; the repetitive elements, which do not encode proteins, may also play a significant role. Though scattered studies showed that repetitive elements in the regulatory regions of a gene control gene expression, no systematic survey has been done to report the characterization and distribution of various types of these repetitive elements in the human genome. Sequences from 5' and 3' untranslated regions and upstream and downstream of a gene were downloaded from the Ensembl database. The repetitive elements in the neighboring of each gene were identified and classified using cross-matching implemented in the RepeatMasker. The annotation and distribution of distinct classes of repetitive elements associated with individual gene were collected to characterize genes in association with different types of repetitive elements using systems biology program. We identified a total of 1,068,400 repetitive elements which belong to 37-class families and 1235 subclasses that are associated with 33,761 genes and 57,365 transcripts. In addition, we found that the tandem repeats preferentially locate proximal to the transcription start site (TSS) of genes and the major function of these genes are involved in developmental processes. On the other hand, interspersed repetitive elements showed a tendency to be accumulated at distal region from the TSS and the function of interspersed repeat-containing genes took part in the catabolic/metabolic processes. Results from the distribution analysis were collected and used to construct a gene-based repetitive element database (GBRED; http://www.binfo.ncku.edu.tw/GBRED/index.html). A user-friendly web interface was designed to provide the information of repetitive elements associated with any particular gene(s). This is the first study focusing on the gene
Understanding our genetic inheritance: The US Human Genome Project, The first five years FY 1991--1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1990-04-01

The Human Genome Initiative is a worldwide research effort with the goal of analyzing the structure of human DNA and determining the location of the estimated 100,000 human genes. In parallel with this effort, the DNA of a set of model organisms will be studied to provide the comparative information necessary for understanding the functioning of the human genome. The information generated by the human genome project is expected to be the source book for biomedical science in the 21st century and will by of immense benefit to the field of medicine. It will help us to understand and eventually treat many of the more than 4000 genetic diseases that affect mankind, as well as the many multifactorial diseases in which genetic predisposition plays an important role. A centrally coordinated project focused on specific objectives is believed to be the most efficient and least expensive way of obtaining this information. The basic data produced will be collected in electronic databases that will make the information readily accessible on convenient form to all who need it. This report describes the plans for the U.S. human genome project and updates those originally prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the National Research Council (NRC) in 1988. In the intervening two years, improvements in technology for almost every aspect of genomics research have taken place. As a result, more specific goals can now be set for the project.
Child Development and Structural Variation in the Human Genome

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ying; Haraksingh, Rajini; Grubert, Fabian; Abyzov, Alexej; Gerstein, Mark; Weissman, Sherman; Urban, Alexander E.

2013-01-01

Structural variation of the human genome sequence is the insertion, deletion, or rearrangement of stretches of DNA sequence sized from around 1,000 to millions of base pairs. Over the past few years, structural variation has been shown to be far more common in human genomes than previously thought. Very little is currently known about the effects…

Human Genome Editing and Ethical Considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Singh, Bahadur

2016-04-01

Editing human germline genes may act as boon in some genetic and other disorders. Recent editing of the genome of the human embryo with the CRISPR/Cas9 editing tool generated a debate amongst top scientists of the world for the ethical considerations regarding its effect on the future generations. It needs to be seen as to what transformation human gene editing brings to humankind in the times to come.
Ancient Human Genome Sequence of an Extinct Palaeo-Eskimo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Morten; Li, Yingrui; Lindgreen, Stinus

2010-01-01

We report here the genome sequence of an ancient human. Obtained from approximately 4,000-year-old permafrost-preserved hair, the genome represents a male individual from the first known culture to settle in Greenland. Sequenced to an average depth of 20x, we recover 79% of the diploid genome...... possible phenotypic characteristics of the individual that belonged to a culture whose location has yielded only trace human remains. We compare the high-confidence SNPs to those of contemporary populations to find the populations most closely related to the individual. This provides evidence...
Genome-wide comparative analysis reveals human-mouse regulatory landscape and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Denas, Olgert; Sandstrom, Richard; Cheng, Yong; Beal, Kathryn; Herrero, Javier; Hardison, Ross C; Taylor, James

2015-02-14

Because species-specific gene expression is driven by species-specific regulation, understanding the relationship between sequence and function of the regulatory regions in different species will help elucidate how differences among species arise. Despite active experimental and computational research, relationships among sequence, conservation, and function are still poorly understood. We compared transcription factor occupied segments (TFos) for 116 human and 35 mouse TFs in 546 human and 125 mouse cell types and tissues from the Human and the Mouse ENCODE projects. We based the map between human and mouse TFos on a one-to-one nucleotide cross-species mapper, bnMapper, that utilizes whole genome alignments (WGA). Our analysis shows that TFos are under evolutionary constraint, but a substantial portion (25.1% of mouse and 25.85% of human on average) of the TFos does not have a homologous sequence on the other species; this portion varies among cell types and TFs. Furthermore, 47.67% and 57.01% of the homologous TFos sequence shows binding activity on the other species for human and mouse respectively. However, 79.87% and 69.22% is repurposed such that it binds the same TF in different cells or different TFs in the same cells. Remarkably, within the set of repurposed TFos, the corresponding genome regions in the other species are preferred locations of novel TFos. These events suggest exaptation of some functional regulatory sequences into new function. Despite TFos repurposing, we did not find substantial changes in their predicted target genes, suggesting that CRMs buffer evolutionary events allowing little or no change in the TFos - target gene associations. Thus, the small portion of TFos with strictly conserved occupancy underestimates the degree of conservation of regulatory interactions. We mapped regulatory sequences from an extensive number of TFs and cell types between human and mouse using WGA. A comparative analysis of this correspondence unveiled the
Research for genetic instability of human genome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hori, T.; Takahashi, E.; Tsuji, H.; Yamauchi, M.; Murata, M.

1992-01-01

In the present review paper, the potential relevance of chromosomal fragile sites to carcinogenesis and mutagenesis is discussed based on our own and other's studies. Recent evidence indicate that fragile sites may act as predisposition factors involved in chromosomal instability of the human genome and that the sites may be preferential targets for various DNA damaging agents including ionizing radiation. It is also demonstrated that some critical genomic rearrangements at the fragile sites may contribute towards oncogenesis and that individuals carrying heritable form of fragile site may be at the risk. Although clinical significance of autosomal fragile sites has been a matter of discussion, a fragile site of the X chromosome is known to be associated with an X-linked genetic diseases, called fragile X syndrome. Molecular events leading to the fragile X syndrome have recently been elucidated. The fragile X genotype can be characterized by an increased amount of p(CCG)n repeat DNA sequence in the FMR-1 gene and the repeated sequences are shown to be unstable in both meiosis and mitosis. These repeats might exhibit higher mutation rate than is generally seen in the human genome. Further studies on the fragile sites in molecular biology and radiation biology will yield relevant data to the molecular mechanisms of genetic instability of the human genome as well as to better assessment of genetic effect of ionizing radiation. (author)
Report on the Human Genome Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tinoco, I.; Cahill, G.; Cantor, C.; Caskey, T.; Dulbecco, R.; Engelhardt, D. L.; Hood, L.; Lerman, L. S.; Mendelsohn, M. L.; Sinsheimer, R. L.; Smith, T.; Soll, D.; Stormo, G.; White, R. L.

1987-04-01

The report urges DOE and the Nation to commit to a large. multi-year. multidisciplinary. technological undertaking to order and sequence the human genome. This effort will first require significant innovation in general capability to manipulate DNA. major new analytical methods for ordering and sequencing. theoretical developments in computer science and mathematical biology, and great expansions in our ability to store and manipulate the information and to interface it with other large and diverse genetic databases. The actual ordering and sequencing involves the coordinated processing of some 3 billion bases from a reference human genome. Science is poised on the rudimentary edge of being able to read and understand human genes. A concerted. broadly based. scientific effort to provide new methods of sufficient power and scale should transform this activity from an inefficient one-gene-at-a-time. single laboratory effort into a coordinated. worldwide. comprehensive reading of "the book of man". The effort will be extraordinary in scope and magnitude. but so will be the benefit to biological understanding. new technology and the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
Continued colonization of the human genome by mitochondrial DNA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miria Ricchetti

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Integration of mitochondrial DNA fragments into nuclear chromosomes (giving rise to nuclear DNA sequences of mitochondrial origin, or NUMTs is an ongoing process that shapes nuclear genomes. In yeast this process depends on double-strand-break repair. Since NUMTs lack amplification and specific integration mechanisms, they represent the prototype of exogenous insertions in the nucleus. From sequence analysis of the genome of Homo sapiens, followed by sampling humans from different ethnic backgrounds, and chimpanzees, we have identified 27 NUMTs that are specific to humans and must have colonized human chromosomes in the last 4-6 million years. Thus, we measured the fixation rate of NUMTs in the human genome. Six such NUMTs show insertion polymorphism and provide a useful set of DNA markers for human population genetics. We also found that during recent human evolution, Chromosomes 18 and Y have been more susceptible to colonization by NUMTs. Surprisingly, 23 out of 27 human-specific NUMTs are inserted in known or predicted genes, mainly in introns. Some individuals carry a NUMT insertion in a tumor-suppressor gene and in a putative angiogenesis inhibitor. Therefore in humans, but not in yeast, NUMT integrations preferentially target coding or regulatory sequences. This is indeed the case for novel insertions associated with human diseases and those driven by environmental insults. We thus propose a mutagenic phenomenon that may be responsible for a variety of genetic diseases in humans and suggest that genetic or environmental factors that increase the frequency of chromosome breaks provide the impetus for the continued colonization of the human genome by mitochondrial DNA.
Insights into Modern Human Prehistory Using Ancient Genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Melinda A; Fu, Qiaomei

2018-03-01

The genetic relationship of past modern humans to today's populations and each other was largely unknown until recently, when advances in ancient DNA sequencing allowed for unprecedented analysis of the genomes of these early people. These ancient genomes reveal new insights into human prehistory not always observed studying present-day populations, including greater details on the genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow that characterized past human populations, particularly in early Eurasia, as well as increased insight on the relationship between archaic and modern humans. Here, we review genetic studies on ∼45000- to 7500-year-old individuals associated with mainly preagricultural cultures found in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Identification of copy number variants defining genomic differences among major human groups.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lluís Armengol

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Understanding the genetic contribution to phenotype variation of human groups is necessary to elucidate differences in disease predisposition and response to pharmaceutical treatments in different human populations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have investigated the genome-wide profile of structural variation on pooled samples from the three populations studied in the HapMap project by comparative genome hybridization (CGH in different array platforms. We have identified and experimentally validated 33 genomic loci that show significant copy number differences from one population to the other. Interestingly, we found an enrichment of genes related to environment adaptation (immune response, lipid metabolism and extracellular space within these regions and the study of expression data revealed that more than half of the copy number variants (CNVs translate into gene-expression differences among populations, suggesting that they could have functional consequences. In addition, the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs that are in linkage disequilibrium with the copy number alleles allowed us to detect evidences of population differentiation and recent selection at the nucleotide variation level. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results provide a comprehensive view of relevant copy number changes that might play a role in phenotypic differences among major human populations, and generate a list of interesting candidates for future studies.
Functional Insights from Structural Genomics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forouhar,F.; Kuzin, A.; Seetharaman, J.; Lee, I.; Zhou, W.; Abashidze, M.; Chen, Y.; Montelione, G.; Tong, L.; et al

2007-01-01

Structural genomics efforts have produced structural information, either directly or by modeling, for thousands of proteins over the past few years. While many of these proteins have known functions, a large percentage of them have not been characterized at the functional level. The structural information has provided valuable functional insights on some of these proteins, through careful structural analyses, serendipity, and structure-guided functional screening. Some of the success stories based on structures solved at the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (NESG) are reported here. These include a novel methyl salicylate esterase with important role in plant innate immunity, a novel RNA methyltransferase (H. influenzae yggJ (HI0303)), a novel spermidine/spermine N-acetyltransferase (B. subtilis PaiA), a novel methyltransferase or AdoMet binding protein (A. fulgidus AF{_}0241), an ATP:cob(I)alamin adenosyltransferase (B. subtilis YvqK), a novel carboxysome pore (E. coli EutN), a proline racemase homolog with a disrupted active site (B. melitensis BME11586), an FMN-dependent enzyme (S. pneumoniae SP{_}1951), and a 12-stranded {beta}-barrel with a novel fold (V. parahaemolyticus VPA1032).
Telomeres and genomic damage repair. Their implication in human pathology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, Maria del R.; Dubner, Diana; Michelin, Severino; Gisone, Pablo; Carosella, Edgardo D.

2002-01-01

Telomeres, functional complexed that protect eukaryotic chromosome ends, participate in the regulation of cell proliferation and could play a role in the stabilization of genomic regions in response to genotoxic stress. Their significance in human pathology becomes evident in several diseases sharing genomic instability as a common trait, in which alterations of the telomere metabolism have been demonstrated. Many of them are also associated with hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation and cancer susceptibility. Besides the specific proteins belonging to the telomeric complex, other proteins involved in the DNA repair machinery, such as ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, PARP/tankyrase system, DNA-PK and RAD50-MRE11-NBS1 complexes, are closely related with the telomere. This suggests that the telomere sequesters DNA repair proteins for its own structure maintenance, with could also be released toward damaged sites in the genomic DNA. This communication describes essential aspects of telomere structure and function and their links with homologous recombination, non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), V(D)J system and mismatch-repair (MMR). Several pathological conditions exhibiting alterations in some of these mechanisms are also considered. The cell response to ionizing radiation and its relationship with the telomeric metabolism is particularly taken into account as a model for studying genotoxicity. (author)
78 FR 68856 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-15

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Nakamura, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review Branch, National Human Genome Research...-402-0838. [[Page 68857
Genomic signatures of diet-related shifts during human origins.

Science.gov (United States)

Babbitt, Courtney C; Warner, Lisa R; Fedrigo, Olivier; Wall, Christine E; Wray, Gregory A

2011-04-07

There are numerous anthropological analyses concerning the importance of diet during human evolution. Diet is thought to have had a profound influence on the human phenotype, and dietary differences have been hypothesized to contribute to the dramatic morphological changes seen in modern humans as compared with non-human primates. Here, we attempt to integrate the results of new genomic studies within this well-developed anthropological context. We then review the current evidence for adaptation related to diet, both at the level of sequence changes and gene expression. Finally, we propose some ways in which new technologies can help identify specific genomic adaptations that have resulted in metabolic and morphological differences between humans and non-human primates.
77 FR 64816 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: October 16, 2012. David Clary, Program... Conference Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human...
76 FR 9031 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-16

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome...- 402-8837, [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human...
75 FR 62548 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-12

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome...- 402-8837, [email protected] . Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human...
78 FR 11898 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-20

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome....172, Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: February 13, 2013. David Clary... Conference Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer CIDR, National Human...
78 FR 77477 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS). Dated: December 17, 2013. David Clary... Conference Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human...
Beyond the human genome: Microbes, methaphors and what it means to be human in an interconnected post-genomic world

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nerlich, B.; Hellsten, I.R.

2009-01-01

Four years after the completion of the Human Genome Project, the US National Institutes for Health launched the Human Microbiome Project on 19 December 2007. Using metaphor analysis, this article investigates reporting in English-language newspapers on advances in microbiomics from 2003 onwards,
A Secure Alignment Algorithm for Mapping Short Reads to Human Genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yongan; Wang, Xiaofeng; Tang, Haixu

2018-05-09

The elastic and inexpensive computing resources such as clouds have been recognized as a useful solution to analyzing massive human genomic data (e.g., acquired by using next-generation sequencers) in biomedical researches. However, outsourcing human genome computation to public or commercial clouds was hindered due to privacy concerns: even a small number of human genome sequences contain sufficient information for identifying the donor of the genomic data. This issue cannot be directly addressed by existing security and cryptographic techniques (such as homomorphic encryption), because they are too heavyweight to carry out practical genome computation tasks on massive data. In this article, we present a secure algorithm to accomplish the read mapping, one of the most basic tasks in human genomic data analysis based on a hybrid cloud computing model. Comparing with the existing approaches, our algorithm delegates most computation to the public cloud, while only performing encryption and decryption on the private cloud, and thus makes the maximum use of the computing resource of the public cloud. Furthermore, our algorithm reports similar results as the nonsecure read mapping algorithms, including the alignment between reads and the reference genome, which can be directly used in the downstream analysis such as the inference of genomic variations. We implemented the algorithm in C++ and Python on a hybrid cloud system, in which the public cloud uses an Apache Spark system.
Integrative Annotation of Variants from 1092 Humans: Application to Cancer Genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khurana, Ekta; Fu, Yao; Colonna, Vincenza

2013-01-01

Identifying Important Identifiers Each of us has millions of sequence variations in our genomes. Signatures of purifying or negative selection should help identify which of those variations is functionally important. Khurana et al. (1235587) used sequence polymorphisms from 1092 humans across 14...... sites tended to occur in network hub promoters. Many recurrent somatic cancer variants occurred in noncoding regulatory regions and thus might indicate mutations that drive cancer....

Research for genetic instability of human genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hori, T.; Takahashi, E.; Tsuji, H.; Yamauchi, M. (National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)); Murata, M.

1992-01-01

In the present review paper, the potential relevance of chromosomal fragile sites to carcinogenesis and mutagenesis is discussed based on our own and other's studies. Recent evidence indicate that fragile sites may act as predisposition factors involved in chromosomal instability of the human genome and that the sites may be preferential targets for various DNA damaging agents including ionizing radiation. It is also demonstrated that some critical genomic rearrangements at the fragile sites may contribute towards oncogenesis and that individuals carrying heritable form of fragile site may be at the risk. Although clinical significance of autosomal fragile sites has been a matter of discussion, a fragile site of the X chromosome is known to be associated with an X-linked genetic diseases, called fragile X syndrome. Molecular events leading to the fragile X syndrome have recently been elucidated. The fragile X genotype can be characterized by an increased amount of p(CCG)n repeat DNA sequence in the FMR-1 gene and the repeated sequences are shown to be unstable in both meiosis and mitosis. These repeats might exhibit higher mutation rate than is generally seen in the human genome. Further studies on the fragile sites in molecular biology and radiation biology will yield relevant data to the molecular mechanisms of genetic instability of the human genome as well as to better assessment of genetic effect of ionizing radiation. (author).
A genomic point-of-view on environmental factors influencing the human brain methylome.

Science.gov (United States)

LaSalle, Janine M

2011-07-01

The etiologic paradigm of complex human disorders such as autism is that genetic and environmental risk factors are independent and additive, but the interactive effects at the epigenetic interface are largely ignored. Genomic technologies have radically changed perspective on the human genome and how the epigenetic interface may impact complex human disorders. Here, I review recent genomic, environmental, and epigenetic findings that suggest a new paradigm of "integrative genomics" in which genetic variation in genomic size may be impacted by dietary and environmental factors that influence the genomic saturation of DNA methylation. Human genomes are highly repetitive, but the interface of large-scale genomic differences with environmental factors that alter the DNA methylome such as dietary folate is under-explored. In addition to obvious direct effects of some environmental toxins on the genome by causing chromosomal breaks, non-mutagenic toxin exposures correlate with DNA hypomethylation that can lead to rearrangements between repeats or increased retrotransposition. Since human neurodevelopment appears to be particularly sensitive to alterations in epigenetic pathways, a further focus will be on how developing neurons may be particularly impacted by even subtle alterations to DNA methylation and proposing new directions towards understanding the quixotic etiology of autism by integrative genomic approaches.
GeNemo: a search engine for web-based functional genomic data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yongqing; Cao, Xiaoyi; Zhong, Sheng

2016-07-08

A set of new data types emerged from functional genomic assays, including ChIP-seq, DNase-seq, FAIRE-seq and others. The results are typically stored as genome-wide intensities (WIG/bigWig files) or functional genomic regions (peak/BED files). These data types present new challenges to big data science. Here, we present GeNemo, a web-based search engine for functional genomic data. GeNemo searches user-input data against online functional genomic datasets, including the entire collection of ENCODE and mouse ENCODE datasets. Unlike text-based search engines, GeNemo's searches are based on pattern matching of functional genomic regions. This distinguishes GeNemo from text or DNA sequence searches. The user can input any complete or partial functional genomic dataset, for example, a binding intensity file (bigWig) or a peak file. GeNemo reports any genomic regions, ranging from hundred bases to hundred thousand bases, from any of the online ENCODE datasets that share similar functional (binding, modification, accessibility) patterns. This is enabled by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo-based maximization process, executed on up to 24 parallel computing threads. By clicking on a search result, the user can visually compare her/his data with the found datasets and navigate the identified genomic regions. GeNemo is available at www.genemo.org. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
77 FR 50140 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-20

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome..., Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: August 13, 2012. Anna Snouffer, Deputy..., Bethesda, MD 20892. Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human...
76 FR 50486 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-15

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome... Conference Call). Contact Person: Camilla E. Day, PhD, Scientific Review Officer, CIDR, National Human Genome...- 402-8837, [email protected] . (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.172, Human...
Explaining human uniqueness: genome interactions with environment, behaviour and culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Varki, Ajit; Geschwind, Daniel H; Eichler, Evan E

2008-10-01

What makes us human? Specialists in each discipline respond through the lens of their own expertise. In fact, 'anthropogeny' (explaining the origin of humans) requires a transdisciplinary approach that eschews such barriers. Here we take a genomic and genetic perspective towards molecular variation, explore systems analysis of gene expression and discuss an organ-systems approach. Rejecting any 'genes versus environment' dichotomy, we then consider genome interactions with environment, behaviour and culture, finally speculating that aspects of human uniqueness arose because of a primate evolutionary trend towards increasing and irreversible dependence on learned behaviours and culture - perhaps relaxing allowable thresholds for large-scale genomic diversity.
The Complete Sequence of a Human Parainfluenzavirus 4 Genome

Science.gov (United States)

Yea, Carmen; Cheung, Rose; Collins, Carol; Adachi, Dena; Nishikawa, John; Tellier, Raymond

2009-01-01

Although the human parainfluenza virus 4 (HPIV4) has been known for a long time, its genome, alone among the human paramyxoviruses, has not been completely sequenced to date. In this study we obtained the first complete genomic sequence of HPIV4 from a clinical isolate named SKPIV4 obtained at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). The coding regions for the N, P/V, M, F and HN proteins show very high identities (95% to 97%) with previously available partial sequences for HPIV4B. The sequence for the L protein and the non-coding regions represent new information. A surprising feature of the genome is its length, more than 17 kb, making it the longest genome within the genus Rubulavirus, although the length is well within the known range of 15 kb to 19 kb for the subfamily Paramyxovirinae. The availability of a complete genomic sequence will facilitate investigations on a respiratory virus that is still not completely characterized. PMID:21994536
The Complete Sequence of a Human Parainfluenzavirus 4 Genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Yea

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Although the human parainfluenza virus 4 (HPIV4 has been known for a long time, its genome, alone among the human paramyxoviruses, has not been completely sequenced to date. In this study we obtained the first complete genomic sequence of HPIV4 from a clinical isolate named SKPIV4 obtained at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (Ontario, Canada. The coding regions for the N, P/V, M, F and HN proteins show very high identities (95% to 97% with previously available partial sequences for HPIV4B. The sequence for the L protein and the non-coding regions represent new information. A surprising feature of the genome is its length, more than 17 kb, making it the longest genome within the genus Rubulavirus, although the length is well within the known range of 15 kb to 19 kb for the subfamily Paramyxovirinae. The availability of a complete genomic sequence will facilitate investigations on a respiratory virus that is still not completely characterized.
Genomic heterogeneity among human and nonhuman strains of hepatitis A virus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemon, S.M.; Chao, S.F.; Jansen, R.W.; Binn, L.N.; LeDuc, J.W.

1987-01-01

Cloned cDNA probes derived from the P1 and P2 regions of the genome of HM175 virus, a reference strain of human hepatitis A virus (HAV), failed to hybridize under standard stringency criteria with RNA from PA21 and PA33 viruses, two epizootiologically related HAV strains recovered from naturally infected New World owl monkeys. Hybridization of these probes to PA21 RNA was only evident under reduced stringency conditions. However, cDNA representing the 5' nontranslated region of the MH175 genome hybridized equally to HM175 and PA21 RNA under standard stringency conditions, while a probe derived from the 3', 1400 bases of the genome yielded a reduced hybridization signal with PA21 RNA. In contrast, no differences could be discerned between HM175 virus and three other HAV strains of human origin (GR8, LV374, and MS1) in any region of the genome, unless increased stringency conditions were used. These results suggest that PA21 and PA33 are unique among HAV isolates and may represent a virus native to the owl monkey. Despite extremely poor homology within the P1 region, which encodes capsid polypeptides, monoclonal antibody analysis confirmed that the immunodominant neutralization epitopes of HAV were highly conserved between HM175 and PA21 viruses. These data provide molecular evidence for the existence of HAV strains unique to nonhuman species and indicate that strict conservation of antigenic function may accompany substantial genetic divergence in HAV
Functional profiling of cyanobacterial genomes and its role in ecological adaptations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratna Prabha

2016-09-01

Full Text Available With the availability of complete genome sequences of many cyanobacterial species, it is becoming feasible to study the broad prospective of the environmental adaptation and the overall changes at transcriptional and translational level in these organisms. In the evolutionary phase, niche-specific competitive forces have resulted in specific features of the cyanobacterial genomes. In this study, functional composition of the 84 different cyanobacterial genomes and their adaptations to different environments was examined by identifying the genomic composition for specific cellular processes, which reflect their genomic functional profile and ecological adaptation. It was identified that among cyanobacterial genomes, metabolic genes have major share over other categories and differentiation of genomic functional profile was observed for the species inhabiting different habitats. The cyanobacteria of freshwater and other habitats accumulate large number of poorly characterized genes. Strain specific functions were also reported in many cyanobacterial members, of which an important feature was the occurrence of phage-related sequences. From this study, it can be speculated that habitat is one of the major factors in giving the shape of functional composition of cyanobacterial genomes towards their ecological adaptations.
Genomics Portals: integrative web-platform for mining genomics data.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinde, Kaustubh; Phatak, Mukta; Johannes, Freudenberg M; Chen, Jing; Li, Qian; Vineet, Joshi K; Hu, Zhen; Ghosh, Krishnendu; Meller, Jaroslaw; Medvedovic, Mario

2010-01-13

A large amount of experimental data generated by modern high-throughput technologies is available through various public repositories. Our knowledge about molecular interaction networks, functional biological pathways and transcriptional regulatory modules is rapidly expanding, and is being organized in lists of functionally related genes. Jointly, these two sources of information hold a tremendous potential for gaining new insights into functioning of living systems. Genomics Portals platform integrates access to an extensive knowledge base and a large database of human, mouse, and rat genomics data with basic analytical visualization tools. It provides the context for analyzing and interpreting new experimental data and the tool for effective mining of a large number of publicly available genomics datasets stored in the back-end databases. The uniqueness of this platform lies in the volume and the diversity of genomics data that can be accessed and analyzed (gene expression, ChIP-chip, ChIP-seq, epigenomics, computationally predicted binding sites, etc), and the integration with an extensive knowledge base that can be used in such analysis. The integrated access to primary genomics data, functional knowledge and analytical tools makes Genomics Portals platform a unique tool for interpreting results of new genomics experiments and for mining the vast amount of data stored in the Genomics Portals backend databases. Genomics Portals can be accessed and used freely at http://GenomicsPortals.org.
ChromaSig: a probabilistic approach to finding common chromatin signatures in the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary Hon

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Computational methods to identify functional genomic elements using genetic information have been very successful in determining gene structure and in identifying a handful of cis-regulatory elements. But the vast majority of regulatory elements have yet to be discovered, and it has become increasingly apparent that their discovery will not come from using genetic information alone. Recently, high-throughput technologies have enabled the creation of information-rich epigenetic maps, most notably for histone modifications. However, tools that search for functional elements using this epigenetic information have been lacking. Here, we describe an unsupervised learning method called ChromaSig to find, in an unbiased fashion, commonly occurring chromatin signatures in both tiling microarray and sequencing data. Applying this algorithm to nine chromatin marks across a 1% sampling of the human genome in HeLa cells, we recover eight clusters of distinct chromatin signatures, five of which correspond to known patterns associated with transcriptional promoters and enhancers. Interestingly, we observe that the distinct chromatin signatures found at enhancers mark distinct functional classes of enhancers in terms of transcription factor and coactivator binding. In addition, we identify three clusters of novel chromatin signatures that contain evolutionarily conserved sequences and potential cis-regulatory elements. Applying ChromaSig to a panel of 21 chromatin marks mapped genomewide by ChIP-Seq reveals 16 classes of genomic elements marked by distinct chromatin signatures. Interestingly, four classes containing enrichment for repressive histone modifications appear to be locally heterochromatic sites and are enriched in quickly evolving regions of the genome. The utility of this approach in uncovering novel, functionally significant genomic elements will aid future efforts of genome annotation via chromatin modifications.
The genome of a Mongolian individual reveals the genetic imprints of Mongolians on modern human populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Haihua; Guo, Xiaosen; Zhang, Dong; Narisu, Narisu; Bu, Junjie; Jirimutu, Jirimutu; Liang, Fan; Zhao, Xiang; Xing, Yanping; Wang, Dingzhu; Li, Tongda; Zhang, Yanru; Guan, Baozhu; Yang, Xukui; Yang, Zili; Shuangshan, Shuangshan; Su, Zhe; Wu, Huiguang; Li, Wenjing; Chen, Ming; Zhu, Shilin; Bayinnamula, Bayinnamula; Chang, Yuqi; Gao, Ying; Lan, Tianming; Suyalatu, Suyalatu; Huang, Hui; Su, Yan; Chen, Yujie; Li, Wenqi; Yang, Xu; Feng, Qiang; Wang, Jian; Yang, Huanming; Wang, Jun; Wu, Qizhu; Yin, Ye; Zhou, Huanmin

2014-11-05

Mongolians have played a significant role in modern human evolution, especially after the rise of Genghis Khan (1162[?]-1227). Although the social cultural impacts of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian population have been well documented, explorations of their genome structure and genetic imprints on other human populations have been lacking. We here present the genome of a Mongolian male individual. The genome was de novo assembled using a total of 130.8-fold genomic data produced from massively parallel whole-genome sequencing. We identified high-confidence variation sets, including 3.7 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 756,234 short insertions and deletions. Functional SNP analysis predicted that the individual has a pathogenic risk for carnitine deficiency. We located the patrilineal inheritance of the Mongolian genome to the lineage D3a through Y haplogroup analysis and inferred that the individual has a common patrilineal ancestor with Tibeto-Burman populations and is likely to be the progeny of the earliest settlers in East Asia. We finally investigated the genetic imprints of Mongolians on other human populations using different approaches. We found varying degrees of gene flows between Mongolians and populations living in Europe, South/Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The analyses demonstrate that the genetic impacts of Mongolians likely resulted from the expansion of the Mongolian Empire in the 13th century. The genome will be of great help in further explorations of modern human evolution and genetic causes of diseases/traits specific to Mongolians. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Learning about the Human Genome. Part 2: Resources for Science Educators. ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Haury, David L.

This ERIC Digest identifies how the human genome project fits into the "National Science Education Standards" and lists Human Genome Project Web sites found on the World Wide Web. It is a resource companion to "Learning about the Human Genome. Part 1: Challenge to Science Educators" (Haury 2001). The Web resources and…
The Human Genome Project (HGP): dividends and challenges: a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Human Genome Project (HGP): dividends and challenges: a review. ... Genomic studies have given profound insights into the genetic organization of ... with it will be an essential part of modern medicine and biology for years to come.
Human genome-microbiome interaction: metagenomics frontiers for the aetiopathology of autoimmune diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Gundogdu, Aycan; Nalbantoglu, Ufuk

2017-04-01

A short while ago, the human genome and microbiome were analysed simultaneously for the first time as a multi-omic approach. The analyses of heterogeneous population cohorts showed that microbiome components were associated with human genome variations. In-depth analysis of these results reveals that the majority of those relationships are between immune pathways and autoimmune disease-associated microbiome components. Thus, it can be hypothesized that autoimmunity may be associated with homeostatic disequilibrium of the human-microbiome interactome. Further analysis of human genome-human microbiome relationships in disease contexts with tailored systems biology approaches may yield insights into disease pathogenesis and prognosis.
What does it mean to be genomically literate?: National Human Genome Research Institute Meeting Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurle, Belen; Citrin, Toby; Jenkins, Jean F; Kaphingst, Kimberly A; Lamb, Neil; Roseman, Jo Ellen; Bonham, Vence L

2013-08-01

Genomic discoveries will increasingly advance the science of medicine. Limited genomic literacy may adversely impact the public's understanding and use of the power of genetics and genomics in health care and public health. In November 2011, a meeting was held by the National Human Genome Research Institute to examine the challenge of achieving genomic literacy for the general public, from kindergarten to grade 12 to adult education. The role of the media in disseminating scientific messages and in perpetuating or reducing misconceptions was also discussed. Workshop participants agreed that genomic literacy will be achieved only through active engagement between genomics experts and the varied constituencies that comprise the public. This report summarizes the background, content, and outcomes from this meeting, including recommendations for a research agenda to inform decisions about how to advance genomic literacy in our society.
In-depth comparative analysis of malaria parasite genomes reveals protein-coding genes linked to human disease in Plasmodium falciparum genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xuewu; Wang, Yuanyuan; Liang, Jiao; Wang, Luojun; Qin, Na; Zhao, Ya; Zhao, Gang

2018-05-02

Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent malaria parasite capable of parasitizing human erythrocytes. The identification of genes related to this capability can enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying human malaria and lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for malaria control. With the availability of several malaria parasite genome sequences, performing computational analysis is now a practical strategy to identify genes contributing to this disease. Here, we developed and used a virtual genome method to assign 33,314 genes from three human malaria parasites, namely, P. falciparum, P. knowlesi and P. vivax, and three rodent malaria parasites, namely, P. berghei, P. chabaudi and P. yoelii, to 4605 clusters. Each cluster consisted of genes whose protein sequences were significantly similar and was considered as a virtual gene. Comparing the enriched values of all clusters in human malaria parasites with those in rodent malaria parasites revealed 115 P. falciparum genes putatively responsible for parasitizing human erythrocytes. These genes are mainly located in the chromosome internal regions and participate in many biological processes, including membrane protein trafficking and thiamine biosynthesis. Meanwhile, 289 P. berghei genes were included in the rodent parasite-enriched clusters. Most are located in subtelomeric regions and encode erythrocyte surface proteins. Comparing cluster values in P. falciparum with those in P. vivax and P. knowlesi revealed 493 candidate genes linked to virulence. Some of them encode proteins present on the erythrocyte surface and participate in cytoadhesion, virulence factor trafficking, or erythrocyte invasion, but many genes with unknown function were also identified. Cerebral malaria is characterized by accumulation of infected erythrocytes at trophozoite stage in brain microvascular. To discover cerebral malaria-related genes, fast Fourier transformation (FFT) was introduced to extract
Structure-based inference of molecular functions of proteins of unknown function from Berkeley Structural Genomics Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sung-Hou; Shin, Dong Hae; Hou, Jingtong; Chandonia, John-Marc; Das, Debanu; Choi, In-Geol; Kim, Rosalind; Kim, Sung-Hou

2007-09-02

Advances in sequence genomics have resulted in an accumulation of a huge number of protein sequences derived from genome sequences. However, the functions of a large portion of them cannot be inferred based on the current methods of sequence homology detection to proteins of known functions. Three-dimensional structure can have an important impact in providing inference of molecular function (physical and chemical function) of a protein of unknown function. Structural genomics centers worldwide have been determining many 3-D structures of the proteins of unknown functions, and possible molecular functions of them have been inferred based on their structures. Combined with bioinformatics and enzymatic assay tools, the successful acceleration of the process of protein structure determination through high throughput pipelines enables the rapid functional annotation of a large fraction of hypothetical proteins. We present a brief summary of the process we used at the Berkeley Structural Genomics Center to infer molecular functions of proteins of unknown function.
Rapid detection of structural variation in a human genome using nanochannel-based genome mapping technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cao, Hongzhi; Hastie, Alex R.; Cao, Dandan

2014-01-01

mutations; however, none of the current detection methods are comprehensive, and currently available methodologies are incapable of providing sufficient resolution and unambiguous information across complex regions in the human genome. To address these challenges, we applied a high-throughput, cost......-effective genome mapping technology to comprehensively discover genome-wide SVs and characterize complex regions of the YH genome using long single molecules (>150 kb) in a global fashion. RESULTS: Utilizing nanochannel-based genome mapping technology, we obtained 708 insertions/deletions and 17 inversions larger...... fosmid data. Of the remaining 270 SVs, 260 are insertions and 213 overlap known SVs in the Database of Genomic Variants. Overall, 609 out of 666 (90%) variants were supported by experimental orthogonal methods or historical evidence in public databases. At the same time, genome mapping also provides...

Human Rhinovirus B and C Genomes from Rural Coastal Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agoti, Charles N.; Kiyuka, Patience K.; Kamau, Everlyn; Munywoki, Patrick K.; Bett, Anne; van der Hoek, Lia; Kellam, Paul; Nokes, D. James; Cotten, Matthew

2016-01-01

Primer-independent agnostic deep sequencing was used to generate three human rhinovirus (HRV) B genomes and one HRV C genome from samples collected in a household respiratory survey in rural coastal Kenya. The study provides the first rhinovirus genomes from Kenya and will help improve the
Cognitive genomics: Linking genes to behavior in the human brain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genevieve Konopka

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Correlations of genetic variation in DNA with functional brain activity have already provided a starting point for delving into human cognitive mechanisms. However, these analyses do not provide the specific genes driving the associations, which are complicated by intergenic localization as well as tissue-specific epigenetics and expression. The use of brain-derived expression datasets could build upon the foundation of these initial genetic insights and yield genes and molecular pathways for testing new hypotheses regarding the molecular bases of human brain development, cognition, and disease. Thus, coupling these human brain gene expression data with measurements of brain activity may provide genes with critical roles in brain function. However, these brain gene expression datasets have their own set of caveats, most notably a reliance on postmortem tissue. In this perspective, I summarize and examine the progress that has been made in this realm to date, and discuss the various frontiers remaining, such as the inclusion of cell-type-specific information, additional physiological measurements, and genomic data from patient cohorts.
De novo assembly of a haplotype-resolved human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cao, Hongzhi; Wu, Honglong; Luo, Ruibang

2015-01-01

The human genome is diploid, and knowledge of the variants on each chromosome is important for the interpretation of genomic information. Here we report the assembly of a haplotype-resolved diploid genome without using a reference genome. Our pipeline relies on fosmid pooling together with whole-...
Repetitive elements may comprise over two-thirds of the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A P Jason de Koning

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Transposable elements (TEs are conventionally identified in eukaryotic genomes by alignment to consensus element sequences. Using this approach, about half of the human genome has been previously identified as TEs and low-complexity repeats. We recently developed a highly sensitive alternative de novo strategy, P-clouds, that instead searches for clusters of high-abundance oligonucleotides that are related in sequence space (oligo "clouds". We show here that P-clouds predicts >840 Mbp of additional repetitive sequences in the human genome, thus suggesting that 66%-69% of the human genome is repetitive or repeat-derived. To investigate this remarkable difference, we conducted detailed analyses of the ability of both P-clouds and a commonly used conventional approach, RepeatMasker (RM, to detect different sized fragments of the highly abundant human Alu and MIR SINEs. RM can have surprisingly low sensitivity for even moderately long fragments, in contrast to P-clouds, which has good sensitivity down to small fragment sizes (∼25 bp. Although short fragments have a high intrinsic probability of being false positives, we performed a probabilistic annotation that reflects this fact. We further developed "element-specific" P-clouds (ESPs to identify novel Alu and MIR SINE elements, and using it we identified ∼100 Mb of previously unannotated human elements. ESP estimates of new MIR sequences are in good agreement with RM-based predictions of the amount that RM missed. These results highlight the need for combined, probabilistic genome annotation approaches and suggest that the human genome consists of substantially more repetitive sequence than previously believed.
Isolation of the functional human excision repair gene ERCC5 by intercosmid recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mudgett, J.S.; MacInnes, M.A.

1990-01-01

The complete human nucleotide exicision repair gene ERCC5 was isolated as a functional gene on overlapping cosmids. ERCC5 corrects the excision repair deficiency of Chinese hamster ovary cell line UV135, of complementation group 5. Cosmids that contained human sequences were obtained from a UV-resistant cell line derived from UV135 cells transformed with human genomic DNA. Individually, none of the cosmids complemented the UV135 repair defect; cosmid groups were formed to represent putative human genomic regions, and specific pairs of cosmids that effectively transformed UV135 cells to UV resistance were identified. Analysis of transformants derived from the active cosmid pairs showed that the functional 32-kbp ERCC5 gene was reconstructed by homologous intercosmid recombination. The cloned human sequences exhibited 100% concordance with the locus designated genetically as ERCC5 located on human chromosome 13q. Cosmid-transformed UV135 host cells repaired cytotoxic damage to levels about 70% of normal and repaired UV-irradiated shuttle vector DNA to levels about 82% of normal
Human genome and open source: balancing ethics and business.

Science.gov (United States)

Marturano, Antonio

2011-01-01

The Human Genome Project has been completed thanks to a massive use of computer techniques, as well as the adoption of the open-source business and research model by the scientists involved. This model won over the proprietary model and allowed a quick propagation and feedback of research results among peers. In this paper, the author will analyse some ethical and legal issues emerging by the use of such computer model in the Human Genome property rights. The author will argue that the Open Source is the best business model, as it is able to balance business and human rights perspectives.
Functional noncoding sequences derived from SINEs in the mammalian genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishihara, Hidenori; Smit, Arian F A; Okada, Norihiro

2006-07-01

Recent comparative analyses of mammalian sequences have revealed that a large number of nonprotein-coding genomic regions are under strong selective constraint. Here, we report that some of these loci have been derived from a newly defined family of ancient SINEs (short interspersed repetitive elements). This is a surprising result, as SINEs and other transposable elements are commonly thought to be genomic parasites. We named the ancient SINE family AmnSINE1, for Amniota SINE1, because we found it to be present in mammals as well as in birds, and some copies predate the mammalian-bird split 310 million years ago (Mya). AmnSINE1 has a chimeric structure of a 5S rRNA and a tRNA-derived SINE, and is related to five tRNA-derived SINE families that we characterized here in the coelacanth, dogfish shark, hagfish, and amphioxus genomes. All of the newly described SINE families have a common central domain that is also shared by zebrafish SINE3, and we collectively name them the DeuSINE (Deuterostomia SINE) superfamily. Notably, of the approximately 1000 still identifiable copies of AmnSINE1 in the human genome, 105 correspond to loci phylogenetically highly conserved among mammalian orthologs. The conservation is strongest over the central domain. Thus, AmnSINE1 appears to be the best example of a transposable element of which a significant fraction of the copies have acquired genomic functionality.
Functional genomics and proteomics - the role of nuclear medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haberkorn, U.; Altmann, A.; Eisenhut, M.

2002-01-01

Now that the sequencing of the human genome has been completed, the basic challenges are finding the genes, locating their coding regions and predicting their functions. This will result in a new understanding of human biology as well as in the design of new molecular structures as potential novel diagnostic or drug discovery targets. The assessment of gene function may be performed using the tools of the genome program. These tools represent high-throughput methods used to evaluate changes in the expression of many or all genes of an organism at the same time in order to investigate genetic pathways for normal development and disease. This will lead to a shift in the scientific paradigm: In the pre-proteomics era, functional assignments were derived from hypothesis-driven experiments designed to understand specific cellular processes. The new tools describe proteins on a proteome-wide scale, thereby creating a new way of doing cell research which results in the determination of three-dimensional protein structures and the description of protein networks. These descriptions may then be used for the design of new hypotheses and experiments in the traditional physiological, biochemical and pharmacological sense. The evaluation of genetically manipulated animals or newly designed biomolecules will require a thorough understanding of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology and the experimental approaches will involve many new technologies, including in vivo imaging with single-photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography. Nuclear medicine procedures may be applied for the determination of gene function and regulation using established and new tracers or using in vivo reporter genes such as enzymes, receptors, antigens or transporters. Pharmacogenomics will identify new surrogate markers for therapy monitoring which may represent potential new tracers for imaging. Also, drug distribution studies for new therapeutic biomolecules are needed, at least
Functional genomics and proteomics - the role of nuclear medicine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haberkorn, U. [Heidelberg Univ. (Germany). Abt. fuer Klinische Nuklearmedizin; German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Altmann, A. [German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Eisenhut, M. [German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany). Dept. of Radiopharmacy

2002-01-01

Now that the sequencing of the human genome has been completed, the basic challenges are finding the genes, locating their coding regions and predicting their functions. This will result in a new understanding of human biology as well as in the design of new molecular structures as potential novel diagnostic or drug discovery targets. The assessment of gene function may be performed using the tools of the genome program. These tools represent high-throughput methods used to evaluate changes in the expression of many or all genes of an organism at the same time in order to investigate genetic pathways for normal development and disease. This will lead to a shift in the scientific paradigm: In the pre-proteomics era, functional assignments were derived from hypothesis-driven experiments designed to understand specific cellular processes. The new tools describe proteins on a proteome-wide scale, thereby creating a new way of doing cell research which results in the determination of three-dimensional protein structures and the description of protein networks. These descriptions may then be used for the design of new hypotheses and experiments in the traditional physiological, biochemical and pharmacological sense. The evaluation of genetically manipulated animals or newly designed biomolecules will require a thorough understanding of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology and the experimental approaches will involve many new technologies, including in vivo imaging with single-photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography. Nuclear medicine procedures may be applied for the determination of gene function and regulation using established and new tracers or using in vivo reporter genes such as enzymes, receptors, antigens or transporters. Pharmacogenomics will identify new surrogate markers for therapy monitoring which may represent potential new tracers for imaging. Also, drug distribution studies for new therapeutic biomolecules are needed, at least
[Genetic system for maintaining the mitochondrial human genome in yeast Yarrowia lipolytica].

Science.gov (United States)

Isakova, E P; Deryabina, Yu I; Velyakova, A V; Biryukova, J K; Teplova, V V; Shevelev, A B

2016-01-01

For the first time, the possibility of maintaining an intact human mitochondrial genome in a heterologous system in the mitochondria of yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is shown. A method for introducing directional changes into the structure of the mitochondrial human genome replicating in Y. lipolytica by an artificially induced ability of yeast mitochondria for homologous recombination is proposed. A method of introducing and using phenotypic selection markers for the presence or absence of defects in genes tRNA-Lys and tRNA-Leu of the mitochondrial genome is developed. The proposed system can be used to correct harmful mutations of the human mitochondrial genome associated with mitochondrial diseases and for preparative amplification of intact mitochondrial DNA with an adjusted sequence in yeast cells. The applicability of the new system for the correction of mutations in the genes of Lys- and Leu-specific tRNAs of the human mitochondrial genome associated with serious and widespread human mitochondrial diseases such as myoclonic epilepsy with lactic acidosis (MELAS) and myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) is shown.
Dynamic association of NUP98 with the human genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Liang

Full Text Available Faithful execution of developmental gene expression programs occurs at multiple levels and involves many different components such as transcription factors, histone-modification enzymes, and mRNA processing proteins. Recent evidence suggests that nucleoporins, well known components that control nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking, have wide-ranging functions in developmental gene regulation that potentially extend beyond their role in nuclear transport. Whether the unexpected role of nuclear pore proteins in transcription regulation, which initially has been described in fungi and flies, also applies to human cells is unknown. Here we show at a genome-wide level that the nuclear pore protein NUP98 associates with developmentally regulated genes active during human embryonic stem cell differentiation. Overexpression of a dominant negative fragment of NUP98 levels decreases expression levels of NUP98-bound genes. In addition, we identify two modes of developmental gene regulation by NUP98 that are differentiated by the spatial localization of NUP98 target genes. Genes in the initial stage of developmental induction can associate with NUP98 that is embedded in the nuclear pores at the nuclear periphery. Alternatively, genes that are highly induced can interact with NUP98 in the nuclear interior, away from the nuclear pores. This work demonstrates for the first time that NUP98 dynamically associates with the human genome during differentiation, revealing a role of a nuclear pore protein in regulating developmental gene expression programs.
Genomics Portals: integrative web-platform for mining genomics data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghosh Krishnendu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A large amount of experimental data generated by modern high-throughput technologies is available through various public repositories. Our knowledge about molecular interaction networks, functional biological pathways and transcriptional regulatory modules is rapidly expanding, and is being organized in lists of functionally related genes. Jointly, these two sources of information hold a tremendous potential for gaining new insights into functioning of living systems. Results Genomics Portals platform integrates access to an extensive knowledge base and a large database of human, mouse, and rat genomics data with basic analytical visualization tools. It provides the context for analyzing and interpreting new experimental data and the tool for effective mining of a large number of publicly available genomics datasets stored in the back-end databases. The uniqueness of this platform lies in the volume and the diversity of genomics data that can be accessed and analyzed (gene expression, ChIP-chip, ChIP-seq, epigenomics, computationally predicted binding sites, etc, and the integration with an extensive knowledge base that can be used in such analysis. Conclusion The integrated access to primary genomics data, functional knowledge and analytical tools makes Genomics Portals platform a unique tool for interpreting results of new genomics experiments and for mining the vast amount of data stored in the Genomics Portals backend databases. Genomics Portals can be accessed and used freely at http://GenomicsPortals.org.
The genomic signature of human rhinoviruses A, B and C.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spyridon Megremis

Full Text Available Human rhinoviruses are single stranded positive sense RNA viruses that are presented in more than 50% of acute upper respiratory tract infections. Despite extensive studies on the genetic diversity of the virus, little is known about the forces driving it. In order to explain this diversity, many research groups have focused on protein sequence requirements for viable, functional and transmissible virus but have missed out an important aspect of viral evolution such as the genomic ontology of the virus. This study presents for the first time the genomic signature of 111 fully sequenced HRV strains from all three groups HRV-A, HRV-B and HRV-C. We observed an HRV genome tendency to eliminate CpG and UpA dinucleotides, coupling with over-representation of UpG and CpA. We propose a specific mechanism which describes how rapid changes in the HRV genomic sequence can take place under the strict control of conservation of the polypeptide backbone. Moreover, the distribution of the observed under- and over-represented dinucleotides along the HRV genome is presented. Distance matrice tables based on CpG and UpA odds ratios were constructed and viewed as heatmaps and distance trees. None of the suppressions can be attributed to codon usage or in RNA secondary structure requirements. Since viral recognition is dependent on RNA motifs rich in CpG and UpA, it is possible that the overall described genome evolution mechanism acts in order to protect the virus from host recognition.
Annotating functional RNAs in genomes using Infernal.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawrocki, Eric P

2014-01-01

Many different types of functional non-coding RNAs participate in a wide range of important cellular functions but the large majority of these RNAs are not routinely annotated in published genomes. Several programs have been developed for identifying RNAs, including specific tools tailored to a particular RNA family as well as more general ones designed to work for any family. Many of these tools utilize covariance models (CMs), statistical models of the conserved sequence, and structure of an RNA family. In this chapter, as an illustrative example, the Infernal software package and CMs from the Rfam database are used to identify RNAs in the genome of the archaeon Methanobrevibacter ruminantium, uncovering some additional RNAs not present in the genome's initial annotation. Analysis of the results and comparison with family-specific methods demonstrate some important strengths and weaknesses of this general approach.
A periodic pattern of SNPs in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Bo Eskerod; Villesen, Palle; Wiuf, Carsten

2007-01-01

By surveying a filtered, high-quality set of SNPs in the human genome, we have found that SNPs positioned 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 bp apart are more frequent than SNPs positioned 3, 5, 7, or 9 bp apart. The observed pattern is not restricted to genomic regions that are known to cause sequencing...... periodic DNA. Our results suggest that not all SNPs in the human genome are created by independent single nucleotide mutations, and that care should be taken in analysis of SNPs from periodic DNA. The latter may have important consequences for SNP and association studies....... or alignment errors, for example, transposable elements (SINE, LINE, and LTR), tandem repeats, and large duplicated regions. However, we found that the pattern is almost entirely confined to what we define as "periodic DNA." Periodic DNA is a genomic region with a high degree of periodicity in nucleotide usage...
Human genomic disease variants: a neutral evolutionary explanation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudley, Joel T; Kim, Yuseob; Liu, Li; Markov, Glenn J; Gerold, Kristyn; Chen, Rong; Butte, Atul J; Kumar, Sudhir

2012-08-01

Many perspectives on the role of evolution in human health include nonempirical assumptions concerning the adaptive evolutionary origins of human diseases. Evolutionary analyses of the increasing wealth of clinical and population genomic data have begun to challenge these presumptions. In order to systematically evaluate such claims, the time has come to build a common framework for an empirical and intellectual unification of evolution and modern medicine. We review the emerging evidence and provide a supporting conceptual framework that establishes the classical neutral theory of molecular evolution (NTME) as the basis for evaluating disease- associated genomic variations in health and medicine. For over a decade, the NTME has already explained the origins and distribution of variants implicated in diseases and has illuminated the power of evolutionary thinking in genomic medicine. We suggest that a majority of disease variants in modern populations will have neutral evolutionary origins (previously neutral), with a relatively smaller fraction exhibiting adaptive evolutionary origins (previously adaptive). This pattern is expected to hold true for common as well as rare disease variants. Ultimately, a neutral evolutionary perspective will provide medicine with an informative and actionable framework that enables objective clinical assessment beyond convenient tendencies to invoke past adaptive events in human history as a root cause of human disease.
Safeguarding genome integrity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Claus Storgaard; Syljuåsen, Randi G

2012-01-01

Mechanisms that preserve genome integrity are highly important during the normal life cycle of human cells. Loss of genome protective mechanisms can lead to the development of diseases such as cancer. Checkpoint kinases function in the cellular surveillance pathways that help cells to cope with D...
Learning about human population history from ancient and modern genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoneking, Mark; Krause, Johannes

2011-08-18

Genome-wide data, both from SNP arrays and from complete genome sequencing, are becoming increasingly abundant and are now even available from extinct hominins. These data are providing new insights into population history; in particular, when combined with model-based analytical approaches, genome-wide data allow direct testing of hypotheses about population history. For example, genome-wide data from both contemporary populations and extinct hominins strongly support a single dispersal of modern humans from Africa, followed by two archaic admixture events: one with Neanderthals somewhere outside Africa and a second with Denisovans that (so far) has only been detected in New Guinea. These new developments promise to reveal new stories about human population history, without having to resort to storytelling.
77 FR 67385 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Human Genome Research Institute Special Emphasis Panel, October 29, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to October 30...
78 FR 65342 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-31

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Human Genome Research Institute Special Emphasis Panel, October 17, 2013, 08:00 a.m. to October 17...

76 FR 65738 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-24

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Human Genome Research Institute Special Emphasis Panel, November 29, 2011, 8 a.m. to November 29...
76 FR 71581 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-18

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Human Genome Research Institute Special Emphasis Panel, November 22, 2011, 12 p.m. to November 22...
Distinct functions of human RecQ helicases during DNA replication.

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, Vaclav; Dobrovolna, Jana; Janscak, Pavel

2017-06-01

DNA replication is the most vulnerable process of DNA metabolism in proliferating cells and therefore it is tightly controlled and coordinated with processes that maintain genomic stability. Human RecQ helicases are among the most important factors involved in the maintenance of replication fork integrity, especially under conditions of replication stress. RecQ helicases promote recovery of replication forks being stalled due to different replication roadblocks of either exogenous or endogenous source. They prevent generation of aberrant replication fork structures and replication fork collapse, and are involved in proper checkpoint signaling. The essential role of human RecQ helicases in the genome maintenance during DNA replication is underlined by association of defects in their function with cancer predisposition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Exploring the post-genomic world: differing explanatory and manipulatory functions of post-genomic sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Christina; Carlson, Siobhan M; McDonald, Fiona; Jones, Mavis; Graham, Janice

2016-01-02

Richard Lewontin proposed that the ability of a scientific field to create a narrative for public understanding garners it social relevance. This article applies Lewontin's conceptual framework of the functions of science (manipulatory and explanatory) to compare and explain the current differences in perceived societal relevance of genetics/genomics and proteomics. We provide three examples to illustrate the social relevance and strong cultural narrative of genetics/genomics for which no counterpart exists for proteomics. We argue that the major difference between genetics/genomics and proteomics is that genomics has a strong explanatory function, due to the strong cultural narrative of heredity. Based on qualitative interviews and observations of proteomics conferences, we suggest that the nature of proteins, lack of public understanding, and theoretical complexity exacerbates this difference for proteomics. Lewontin's framework suggests that social scientists may find that omics sciences affect social relations in different ways than past analyses of genetics.
National human genome projects: an update and an agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Joon Yong

2017-01-01

Population genetic and human genetic studies are being accelerated with genome technology and data sharing. Accordingly, in the past 10 years, several countries have initiated genetic research using genome technology and identified the genetic architecture of the ethnic groups living in the corresponding country or suggested the genetic foundation of a social phenomenon. Genetic research has been conducted from epidemiological studies that previously described the health or disease conditions in defined population. This perspective summarizes national genome projects conducted in the past 10 years and introduces case studies to utilize genomic data in genetic research.
PGG.Population: a database for understanding the genomic diversity and genetic ancestry of human populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chao; Gao, Yang; Liu, Jiaojiao; Xue, Zhe; Lu, Yan; Deng, Lian; Tian, Lei; Feng, Qidi; Xu, Shuhua

2018-01-04

There are a growing number of studies focusing on delineating genetic variations that are associated with complex human traits and diseases due to recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies. However, identifying and prioritizing disease-associated causal variants relies on understanding the distribution of genetic variations within and among populations. The PGG.Population database documents 7122 genomes representing 356 global populations from 107 countries and provides essential information for researchers to understand human genomic diversity and genetic ancestry. These data and information can facilitate the design of research studies and the interpretation of results of both evolutionary and medical studies involving human populations. The database is carefully maintained and constantly updated when new data are available. We included miscellaneous functions and a user-friendly graphical interface for visualization of genomic diversity, population relationships (genetic affinity), ancestral makeup, footprints of natural selection, and population history etc. Moreover, PGG.Population provides a useful feature for users to analyze data and visualize results in a dynamic style via online illustration. The long-term ambition of the PGG.Population, together with the joint efforts from other researchers who contribute their data to our database, is to create a comprehensive depository of geographic and ethnic variation of human genome, as well as a platform bringing influence on future practitioners of medicine and clinical investigators. PGG.Population is available at https://www.pggpopulation.org. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
77 FR 55853 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, September 10, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to September 11, 2012, 5...
CMS: a web-based system for visualization and analysis of genome-wide methylation data of human cancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Fei; Doderer, Mark S; Huang, Yi-Wen; Roa, Juan C; Goodfellow, Paul J; Kizer, E Lynette; Huang, Tim H M; Chen, Yidong

2013-01-01

DNA methylation of promoter CpG islands is associated with gene suppression, and its unique genome-wide profiles have been linked to tumor progression. Coupled with high-throughput sequencing technologies, it can now efficiently determine genome-wide methylation profiles in cancer cells. Also, experimental and computational technologies make it possible to find the functional relationship between cancer-specific methylation patterns and their clinicopathological parameters. Cancer methylome system (CMS) is a web-based database application designed for the visualization, comparison and statistical analysis of human cancer-specific DNA methylation. Methylation intensities were obtained from MBDCap-sequencing, pre-processed and stored in the database. 191 patient samples (169 tumor and 22 normal specimen) and 41 breast cancer cell-lines are deposited in the database, comprising about 6.6 billion uniquely mapped sequence reads. This provides comprehensive and genome-wide epigenetic portraits of human breast cancer and endometrial cancer to date. Two views are proposed for users to better understand methylation structure at the genomic level or systemic methylation alteration at the gene level. In addition, a variety of annotation tracks are provided to cover genomic information. CMS includes important analytic functions for interpretation of methylation data, such as the detection of differentially methylated regions, statistical calculation of global methylation intensities, multiple gene sets of biologically significant categories, interactivity with UCSC via custom-track data. We also present examples of discoveries utilizing the framework. CMS provides visualization and analytic functions for cancer methylome datasets. A comprehensive collection of datasets, a variety of embedded analytic functions and extensive applications with biological and translational significance make this system powerful and unique in cancer methylation research. CMS is freely accessible
Crossed wires: 3D genome misfolding in human disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Heidi K; Phillips-Cremins, Jennifer E

2017-11-06

Mammalian genomes are folded into unique topological structures that undergo precise spatiotemporal restructuring during healthy development. Here, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of how the genome folds inside the 3D nucleus and how these folding patterns are miswired during the onset and progression of mammalian disease states. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying the link among genome misfolding, genome dysregulation, and aberrant cellular phenotypes. We also discuss cases in which the endogenous 3D genome configurations in healthy cells might be particularly susceptible to mutation or translocation. Together, these data support an emerging model in which genome folding and misfolding is critically linked to the onset and progression of a broad range of human diseases. © 2017 Norton and Phillips-Cremins.
77 FR 27471 - National Human Genome Research Institute Amended Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-10

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute Amended Notice of Meeting Notice is hereby given of a change in the meeting of the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, May 21, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to May 22, 2012, 5:00 p.m...
Attitudes towards the Human Genome Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahroudi, Julie; Shaw, Geraldine

Attitudes concerning the Human Genome Project were reported by faculty (N=40) and students (N=66) from a liberal arts college. Positive attitudes toward the project involved privacy, insurance and health, economic purposes, reproductive purposes, genetic counseling, religion and overall opinions. Negative attitudes were expressed regarding…
Chromosomal locations of members of a family of novel endogenous human retroviral genomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horn, T.M.; Huebner, K.; Croce, C.; Callahan, R.

1986-01-01

Human cellular DNA contains two distinguishable families of retroviral related sequences. One family shares extensive nucleotide sequence homology with infectious mammalian type C retroviral genomes. The other family contains major regions of homology with the pol genes of infectious type A and B and avian type C and D retroviral genomes. Analysis of the human recombinant clone HLM-2 has shown that the pol gene in the latter family is located within an endogenous proviral genome. The authors show that the proviral genome in HLM-2 and the related recombinant clone HLM-25 are located, respectively, on human chromosomes 1 and 5. Other related proviral genomes are located on chromosomes 7, 8, 11, 14, and 17
The human genome: Some assembly required. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

The Human Genome Project promises to be one of the most rewarding endeavors in modern biology. The cost and the ethical and social implications, however, have made this project the source of considerable debate both in the scientific community and in the public at large. The 1994 Graduate Student Symposium addresses the scientific merits of the project, the technical issues involved in accomplishing the task, as well as the medical and social issues which stem from the wealth of knowledge which the Human Genome Project will help create. To this end, speakers were brought together who represent the diverse areas of expertise characteristic of this multidisciplinary project. The keynote speaker addresses the project`s motivations and goals in the larger context of biological and medical sciences. The first two sessions address relevant technical issues, data collection with a focus on high-throughput sequencing methods and data analysis with an emphasis on identification of coding sequences. The third session explores recent advances in the understanding of genetic diseases and possible routes to treatment. Finally, the last session addresses some of the ethical, social and legal issues which will undoubtedly arise from having a detailed knowledge of the human genome.
Whole-genome sequence-based analysis of thyroid function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taylor, Peter N.; Porcu, Eleonora; Chew, Shelby

2015-01-01

Normal thyroid function is essential for health, but its genetic architecture remains poorly understood. Here, for the heritable thyroid traits thyrotropin (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4), we analyse whole-genome sequence data from the UK10K project (N = 2,287). Using additional whole-genome seque...
Primary structure of the human follistatin precursor and its genomic organization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimasaki, Shunichi; Koga, Makoto; Esch, F.

1988-01-01

Follistatin is a single-chain gonadal protein that specifically inhibits follicle-stimulating hormone release. By use of the recently characterized porcine follistatin cDNA as a probe to screen a human testis cDNA library and a genomic library, the structure of the complete human follistatin precursor as well as its genomic organization have been determined. Three of eight cDNA clones that were sequenced predicted a precursor with 344 amino acids, whereas the remaining five cDNA clones encoded a 317 amino acid precursor, resulting from alternative splicing of the precursor mRNA. Mature follistatins contain four contiguous domains that are encoded by precisely separated exons; three of the domains are highly similar to each other, as well as to human epidermal growth factor and human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor. The genomic organization of the human follistatin is similar to that of the human epidermal growth factor gene and thus supports the notion of exon shuffling during evolution
Genomics and the Ark: an ecocentric perspective on human history.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwart, Hub; Penders, Bart

2011-01-01

Views of ourselves in relationship to the rest of the biosphere are changing. Theocentric and anthropocentric perspectives are giving way to more ecocentric views on the history, present, and future of humankind. Novel sciences, such as genomics, have deepened and broadened our understanding of the process of anthropogenesis, the coming into being of humans. Genomics suggests that early human history must be regarded as a complex narrative of evolving ecosystems, in which human evolution both influenced and was influenced by the evolution of companion species. During the agricultural revolution, human beings designed small-scale artificial ecosystems or evolutionary "Arks," in which networks of plants, animals, and microorganisms coevolved. Currently, our attitude towards this process seems subject to a paradoxical reversal. The boundaries of the Ark have dramatically broadened, and genomics is not only being used to increase our understanding of our ecological past, but may also help us to conserve, reconstruct, or even revivify species and ecosystems to whose degradation or (near) extinction we have contributed. This article explores the role of genomics in the elaboration of a more ecocentric view of ourselves with the help of two examples, namely the renaissance of Paleolithic diets and of Pleistocene parks. It argues that an understanding of the world in ecocentric terms requires new partnerships and mutually beneficial forms of collaboration and convergence between life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
CRISPR Genome Engineering for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaterji, Somali; Ahn, Eun Hyun; Kim, Deok-Ho

2017-01-01

The emergence of targeted and efficient genome editing technologies, such as repurposed bacterial programmable nucleases (e.g., CRISPR-Cas systems), has abetted the development of cell engineering approaches. Lessons learned from the development of RNA-interference (RNA-i) therapies can spur the translation of genome editing, such as those enabling the translation of human pluripotent stem cell engineering. In this review, we discuss the opportunities and the challenges of repurposing bacterial nucleases for genome editing, while appreciating their roles, primarily at the epigenomic granularity. First, we discuss the evolution of high-precision, genome editing technologies, highlighting CRISPR-Cas9. They exist in the form of programmable nucleases, engineered with sequence-specific localizing domains, and with the ability to revolutionize human stem cell technologies through precision targeting with greater on-target activities. Next, we highlight the major challenges that need to be met prior to bench-to-bedside translation, often learning from the path-to-clinic of complementary technologies, such as RNA-i. Finally, we suggest potential bioinformatics developments and CRISPR delivery vehicles that can be deployed to circumvent some of the challenges confronting genome editing technologies en route to the clinic.
Inhibition of Human Cytomegalovirus pUL89 Terminase Subunit Blocks Virus Replication and Genome Cleavage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yan; Mao, Lili; Kankanala, Jayakanth; Wang, Zhengqiang; Geraghty, Robert J

2017-02-01

The human cytomegalovirus terminase complex cleaves concatemeric genomic DNA into unit lengths during genome packaging and particle assembly. This process is an attractive drug target because cleavage of concatemeric DNA is not required in mammalian cell DNA replication, indicating that drugs targeting the terminase complex could be safe and selective. One component of the human cytomegalovirus terminase complex, pUL89, provides the endonucleolytic activity for genome cleavage, and the domain responsible is reported to have an RNase H-like fold. We hypothesize that the pUL89 endonuclease activity is inhibited by known RNase H inhibitors. Using a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format as a screening assay, we found that a hydroxypyridonecarboxylic acid compound, previously reported to be an inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus RNase H, inhibited pUL89 endonuclease activity at low-micromolar concentrations. Further characterization revealed that this pUL89 endonuclease inhibitor blocked human cytomegalovirus replication at a relatively late time point, similarly to other reported terminase complex inhibitors. Importantly, this inhibitor also prevented the cleavage of viral genomic DNA in infected cells. Taken together, these results substantiate our pharmacophore hypothesis and validate our ligand-based approach toward identifying novel inhibitors of pUL89 endonuclease. Human cytomegalovirus infection in individuals lacking a fully functioning immune system, such as newborns and transplant patients, can have severe and debilitating consequences. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved anti-human cytomegalovirus drugs mainly target the viral polymerase, and resistance to these drugs has appeared. Therefore, anti-human cytomegalovirus drugs from novel targets are needed for use instead of, or in combination with, current polymerase inhibitors. pUL89 is a viral ATPase and endonuclease and is an attractive target for anti-human cytomegalovirus
Primer on molecular genetics. DOE Human Genome Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-04-01

This report is taken from the April 1992 draft of the DOE Human Genome 1991--1992 Program Report, which is expected to be published in May 1992. The primer is intended to be an introduction to basic principles of molecular genetics pertaining to the genome project. The material contained herein is not final and may be incomplete. Techniques of genetic mapping and DNA sequencing are described.
Human Genome Project discoveries: Dialectics and rhetoric in the science of genetics

Science.gov (United States)

Robidoux, Charlotte A.

The Human Genome Project (HGP), a $437 million effort that began in 1990 to chart the chemical sequence of our three billion base pairs of DNA, was completed in 2003, marking the 50th anniversary that proved the definitive structure of the molecule. This study considered how dialectical and rhetorical arguments functioned in the science, political, and public forums over a 20-year period, from 1980 to 2000, to advance human genome research and to establish the official project. I argue that Aristotle's continuum of knowledge--which ranges from the probable on one end to certified or demonstrated knowledge on the other--provides useful distinctions for analyzing scientific reasoning. While contemporary scientific research seeks to discover certified knowledge, investigators generally employ the hypothetico-deductive or scientific method, which often yields probable rather than certain findings, making these dialectical in nature. Analysis of the discourse describing human genome research revealed the use of numerous rhetorical figures and topics. Persuasive and probable reasoning were necessary for scientists to characterize unknown genetic phenomena, to secure interest in and funding for large-scale human genome research, to solve scientific problems, to issue probable findings, to convince colleagues and government officials that the findings were sound and to disseminate information to the public. Both government and private venture scientists drew on these tools of reasoning to promote their methods of mapping and sequencing the genome. The debate over how to carry out sequencing was rooted in conflicting values. Scientists representing the academic tradition valued a more conservative method that would establish high quality results, and those supporting private industry valued an unconventional approach that would yield products and profits more quickly. Values in turn influenced political and public forum arguments. Agency representatives and investors sided

Unexpected observations after mapping LongSAGE tags to the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duret Laurent

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background SAGE has been used widely to study the expression of known transcripts, but much less to annotate new transcribed regions. LongSAGE produces tags that are sufficiently long to be reliably mapped to a whole-genome sequence. Here we used this property to study the position of human LongSAGE tags obtained from all public libraries. We focused mainly on tags that do not map to known transcripts. Results Using a published error rate in SAGE libraries, we first removed the tags likely to result from sequencing errors. We then observed that an unexpectedly large number of the remaining tags still did not match the genome sequence. Some of these correspond to parts of human mRNAs, such as polyA tails, junctions between two exons and polymorphic regions of transcripts. Another non-negligible proportion can be attributed to contamination by murine transcripts and to residual sequencing errors. After filtering out our data with these screens to ensure that our dataset is highly reliable, we studied the tags that map once to the genome. 31% of these tags correspond to unannotated transcripts. The others map to known transcribed regions, but many of them (nearly half are located either in antisense or in new variants of these known transcripts. Conclusion We performed a comprehensive study of all publicly available human LongSAGE tags, and carefully verified the reliability of these data. We found the potential origin of many tags that did not match the human genome sequence. The properties of the remaining tags imply that the level of sequencing error may have been under-estimated. The frequency of tags matching once the genome sequence but not in an annotated exon suggests that the human transcriptome is much more complex than shown by the current human genome annotations, with many new splicing variants and antisense transcripts. SAGE data is appropriate to map new transcripts to the genome, as demonstrated by the high rate of cross
Chromatin structure and evolution in the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dunlop Malcolm G

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evolutionary rates are not constant across the human genome but genes in close proximity have been shown to experience similar levels of divergence and selection. The higher-order organisation of chromosomes has often been invoked to explain such phenomena but previously there has been insufficient data on chromosome structure to investigate this rigorously. Using the results of a recent genome-wide analysis of open and closed human chromatin structures we have investigated the global association between divergence, selection and chromatin structure for the first time. Results In this study we have shown that, paradoxically, synonymous site divergence (dS at non-CpG sites is highest in regions of open chromatin, primarily as a result of an increased number of transitions, while the rates of other traditional measures of mutation (intergenic, intronic and ancient repeat divergence as well as SNP density are highest in closed regions of the genome. Analysis of human-chimpanzee divergence across intron-exon boundaries indicates that although genes in relatively open chromatin generally display little selection at their synonymous sites, those in closed regions show markedly lower divergence at their fourfold degenerate sites than in neighbouring introns and intergenic regions. Exclusion of known Exonic Splice Enhancer hexamers has little affect on the divergence observed at fourfold degenerate sites across chromatin categories; however, we show that closed chromatin is enriched with certain classes of ncRNA genes whose RNA secondary structure may be particularly important. Conclusion We conclude that, overall, non-CpG mutation rates are lowest in open regions of the genome and that regions of the genome with a closed chromatin structure have the highest background mutation rate. This might reflect lower rates of DNA damage or enhanced DNA repair processes in regions of open chromatin. Our results also indicate that dS is a poor
Functional organization of the transcriptome in human brain

Science.gov (United States)

Oldham, Michael C; Konopka, Genevieve; Iwamoto, Kazuya; Langfelder, Peter; Kato, Tadafumi; Horvath, Steve; Geschwind, Daniel H

2009-01-01

The enormous complexity of the human brain ultimately derives from a finite set of molecular instructions encoded in the human genome. These instructions can be directly studied by exploring the organization of the brain’s transcriptome through systematic analysis of gene coexpression relationships. We analyzed gene coexpression relationships in microarray data generated from specific human brain regions and identified modules of coexpressed genes that correspond to neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. These modules provide an initial description of the transcriptional programs that distinguish the major cell classes of the human brain and indicate that cell type–specific information can be obtained from whole brain tissue without isolating homogeneous populations of cells. Other modules corresponded to additional cell types, organelles, synaptic function, gender differences and the subventricular neurogenic niche. We found that subventricular zone astrocytes, which are thought to function as neural stem cells in adults, have a distinct gene expression pattern relative to protoplasmic astrocytes. Our findings provide a new foundation for neurogenetic inquiries by revealing a robust and previously unrecognized organization to the human brain transcriptome. PMID:18849986
Genomic islands predict functional adaptation in marine actinobacteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Penn, Kevin; Jenkins, Caroline; Nett, Markus; Udwary, Daniel; Gontang, Erin; McGlinchey, Ryan; Foster, Brian; Lapidus, Alla; Podell, Sheila; Allen, Eric; Moore, Bradley; Jensen, Paul

2009-04-01

Linking functional traits to bacterial phylogeny remains a fundamental but elusive goal of microbial ecology 1. Without this information, it becomes impossible to resolve meaningful units of diversity and the mechanisms by which bacteria interact with each other and adapt to environmental change. Ecological adaptations among bacterial populations have been linked to genomic islands, strain-specific regions of DNA that house functionally adaptive traits 2. In the case of environmental bacteria, these traits are largely inferred from bioinformatic or gene expression analyses 2, thus leaving few examples in which the functions of island genes have been experimentally characterized. Here we report the complete genome sequences of Salinispora tropica and S. arenicola, the first cultured, obligate marine Actinobacteria 3. These two species inhabit benthic marine environments and dedicate 8-10percent of their genomes to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Despite a close phylogenetic relationship, 25 of 37 secondary metabolic pathways are species-specific and located within 21 genomic islands, thus providing new evidence linking secondary metabolism to ecological adaptation. Species-specific differences are also observed in CRISPR sequences, suggesting that variations in phage immunity provide fitness advantages that contribute to the cosmopolitan distribution of S. arenicola 4. The two Salinispora genomes have evolved by complex processes that include the duplication and acquisition of secondary metabolite genes, the products of which provide immediate opportunities for molecular diversification and ecological adaptation. Evidence that secondary metabolic pathways are exchanged by Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) yet are fixed among globally distributed populations 5 supports a functional role for their products and suggests that pathway acquisition represents a previously unrecognized force driving bacterial diversification
The Human Genome Project: An Imperative for International Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Allende, J. E.

1989-01-01

Discussed is the Human Genome Project which aims to decipher the totality of the human genetic information. The historical background, the objectives, international cooperation, ethical discussion, and the role of UNESCO are included. (KR)
[Manipulation of the human genome: ethics and law].

Science.gov (United States)

Goulart, Maria Carolina Vaz; Iano, Flávia Godoy; Silva, Paulo Maurício; Sales-Peres, Silvia Helena de Carvalho; Sales-Peres, Arsênio

2010-06-01

The molecular biology has provided the basic tool for geneticists deepening in the molecular mechanisms that influence different diseases. It should be noted the scientific and moral responsibility of the researchers, because the scientists should imagine the moral consequences of the commercial application of genetic tests, since this fact involves not only the individual and their families, but the entire population. Besides being also necessary to make a reflection on how this information from the human genome will be used, for good or bad. The objective of this review was to bring the light of knowledge, data on characteristics of the ethical application of molecular biology, linking it with the rights of human beings. After studying literature, it might be observed that the Human Genome Project has generated several possibilities, such as the identification of genes associated with diseases with synergistic properties, but sometimes modifying behavior to genetically intervene in humans, bringing benefits or social harm. The big challenge is to decide what humanity wants on this giant leap.
Resources for Functional Genomics Studies in Drosophila melanogaster

Science.gov (United States)

Mohr, Stephanie E.; Hu, Yanhui; Kim, Kevin; Housden, Benjamin E.; Perrimon, Norbert

2014-01-01

Drosophila melanogaster has become a system of choice for functional genomic studies. Many resources, including online databases and software tools, are now available to support design or identification of relevant fly stocks and reagents or analysis and mining of existing functional genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, etc. datasets. These include large community collections of fly stocks and plasmid clones, “meta” information sites like FlyBase and FlyMine, and an increasing number of more specialized reagents, databases, and online tools. Here, we introduce key resources useful to plan large-scale functional genomics studies in Drosophila and to analyze, integrate, and mine the results of those studies in ways that facilitate identification of highest-confidence results and generation of new hypotheses. We also discuss ways in which existing resources can be used and might be improved and suggest a few areas of future development that would further support large- and small-scale studies in Drosophila and facilitate use of Drosophila information by the research community more generally. PMID:24653003
MIPS bacterial genomes functional annotation benchmark dataset.

Science.gov (United States)

Tetko, Igor V; Brauner, Barbara; Dunger-Kaltenbach, Irmtraud; Frishman, Goar; Montrone, Corinna; Fobo, Gisela; Ruepp, Andreas; Antonov, Alexey V; Surmeli, Dimitrij; Mewes, Hans-Wernen

2005-05-15

Any development of new methods for automatic functional annotation of proteins according to their sequences requires high-quality data (as benchmark) as well as tedious preparatory work to generate sequence parameters required as input data for the machine learning methods. Different program settings and incompatible protocols make a comparison of the analyzed methods difficult. The MIPS Bacterial Functional Annotation Benchmark dataset (MIPS-BFAB) is a new, high-quality resource comprising four bacterial genomes manually annotated according to the MIPS functional catalogue (FunCat). These resources include precalculated sequence parameters, such as sequence similarity scores, InterPro domain composition and other parameters that could be used to develop and benchmark methods for functional annotation of bacterial protein sequences. These data are provided in XML format and can be used by scientists who are not necessarily experts in genome annotation. BFAB is available at http://mips.gsf.de/proj/bfab
Comparative Genomics Analysis of Streptococcus Isolates from the Human Small Intestine Reveals their Adaptation to a Highly Dynamic Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Van den Bogert, Bartholomeus; Boekhorst, Jos; Herrmann, Ruth; Smid, Eddy J.; Zoetendal, Erwin G.; Kleerebezem, Michiel

2013-01-01

The human small-intestinal microbiota is characterised by relatively large and dynamic Streptococcus populations. In this study, genome sequences of small-intestinal streptococci from S. mitis, S. bovis, and S. salivarius species-groups were determined and compared with those from 58 Streptococcus strains in public databases. The Streptococcus pangenome consists of 12,403 orthologous groups of which 574 are shared among all sequenced streptococci and are defined as the Streptococcus core genome. Genome mining of the small-intestinal streptococci focused on functions playing an important role in the interaction of these streptococci in the small-intestinal ecosystem, including natural competence and nutrient-transport and metabolism. Analysis of the small-intestinal Streptococcus genomes predicts a high capacity to synthesize amino acids and various vitamins as well as substantial divergence in their carbohydrate transport and metabolic capacities, which is in agreement with observed physiological differences between these Streptococcus strains. Gene-specific PCR-strategies enabled evaluation of conservation of Streptococcus populations in intestinal samples from different human individuals, revealing that the S. salivarius strains were frequently detected in the small-intestine microbiota, supporting the representative value of the genomes provided in this study. Finally, the Streptococcus genomes allow prediction of the effect of dietary substances on Streptococcus population dynamics in the human small-intestine. PMID:24386196
Genomic and Functional Approaches to Understanding Cancer Aneuploidy.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Alison M; Shih, Juliann; Ha, Gavin; Gao, Galen F; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Berger, Ashton C; Schumacher, Steven E; Wang, Chen; Hu, Hai; Liu, Jianfang; Lazar, Alexander J; Cherniack, Andrew D; Beroukhim, Rameen; Meyerson, Matthew

2018-04-09

Aneuploidy, whole chromosome or chromosome arm imbalance, is a near-universal characteristic of human cancers. In 10,522 cancer genomes from The Cancer Genome Atlas, aneuploidy was correlated with TP53 mutation, somatic mutation rate, and expression of proliferation genes. Aneuploidy was anti-correlated with expression of immune signaling genes, due to decreased leukocyte infiltrates in high-aneuploidy samples. Chromosome arm-level alterations show cancer-specific patterns, including loss of chromosome arm 3p in squamous cancers. We applied genome engineering to delete 3p in lung cells, causing decreased proliferation rescued in part by chromosome 3 duplication. This study defines genomic and phenotypic correlates of cancer aneuploidy and provides an experimental approach to study chromosome arm aneuploidy. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Short template switch events explain mutation clusters in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Löytynoja, Ari; Goldman, Nick

2017-06-01

Resequencing efforts are uncovering the extent of genetic variation in humans and provide data to study the evolutionary processes shaping our genome. One recurring puzzle in both intra- and inter-species studies is the high frequency of complex mutations comprising multiple nearby base substitutions or insertion-deletions. We devised a generalized mutation model of template switching during replication that extends existing models of genome rearrangement and used this to study the role of template switch events in the origin of short mutation clusters. Applied to the human genome, our model detects thousands of template switch events during the evolution of human and chimp from their common ancestor and hundreds of events between two independently sequenced human genomes. Although many of these are consistent with a template switch mechanism previously proposed for bacteria, our model also identifies new types of mutations that create short inversions, some flanked by paired inverted repeats. The local template switch process can create numerous complex mutation patterns, including hairpin loop structures, and explains multinucleotide mutations and compensatory substitutions without invoking positive selection, speculative mechanisms, or implausible coincidence. Clustered sequence differences are challenging for current mapping and variant calling methods, and we show that many erroneous variant annotations exist in human reference data. Local template switch events may have been neglected as an explanation for complex mutations because of biases in commonly used analyses. Incorporation of our model into reference-based analysis pipelines and comparisons of de novo assembled genomes will lead to improved understanding of genome variation and evolution. © 2017 Löytynoja and Goldman; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
The Human Genome Project: big science transforms biology and medicine

OpenAIRE

Hood, Leroy; Rowen, Lee

2013-01-01

The Human Genome Project has transformed biology through its integrated big science approach to deciphering a reference human genome sequence along with the complete sequences of key model organisms. The project exemplifies the power, necessity and success of large, integrated, cross-disciplinary efforts - so-called ‘big science’ - directed towards complex major objectives. In this article, we discuss the ways in which this ambitious endeavor led to the development of novel technologies and a...
Distinguishing between "function" and "effect" in genome biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Doolittle, W Ford; Brunet, Tyler D P; Linquist, Stefan; Gregory, T Ryan

2014-05-09

Much confusion in genome biology results from conflation of possible meanings of the word "function." We suggest that, in this connection, attention should be paid to evolutionary biologists and philosophers who have previously dealt with this problem. We need only decide that although all genomic structures have effects, only some of them should be said to have functions. Although it will very often be difficult or impossible to establish function (strictly defined), it should not automatically be assumed. We enjoin genomicists in particular to pay greater attention to parsing biological effects. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Plant Metabolomics : the missiong link in functional genomics strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hall, R.D.; Beale, M.; Fiehn, O.; Hardy, N.; Summer, L.; Bino, R.

2002-01-01

After the establishment of technologies for high-throughput DNA sequencing (genomics), gene expression analysis (transcriptomics), and protein analysis (proteomics), the remaining functional genomics challenge is that of metabolomics. Metabolomics is the term coined for essentially comprehensive,
The Human Genome Diversity Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavalli-Sforza, L. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

1994-12-31

The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGD Project) is an international anthropology project that seeks to study the genetic richness of the entire human species. This kind of genetic information can add a unique thread to the tapestry knowledge of humanity. Culture, environment, history, and other factors are often more important, but humanity`s genetic heritage, when analyzed with recent technology, brings another type of evidence for understanding species` past and present. The Project will deepen the understanding of this genetic richness and show both humanity`s diversity and its deep and underlying unity. The HGD Project is still largely in its planning stages, seeking the best ways to reach its goals. The continuing discussions of the Project, throughout the world, should improve the plans for the Project and their implementation. The Project is as global as humanity itself; its implementation will require the kinds of partnerships among different nations and cultures that make the involvement of UNESCO and other international organizations particularly appropriate. The author will briefly discuss the Project`s history, describe the Project, set out the core principles of the Project, and demonstrate how the Project will help combat the scourge of racism.
INVESTIGATIONS INTO MOLECULAR PATHWAYS IN THE POST GENOME ERA: CROSS SPECIES COMPARATIVE GENOMICS APPROACH

Science.gov (United States)

Genome sequencing efforts in the past decade were aimed at generating draft sequences of many prokaryotic and eukaryotic model organisms. Successful completion of unicellular eukaryotes, worm, fly and human genome have opened up the new field of molecular biology and function...
Editor's Highlight: High-Throughput Functional Genomics Identifies Modulators of TCE Metabolite Genotoxicity and Candidate Susceptibility Genes.

Science.gov (United States)

De La Rosa, Vanessa Y; Asfaha, Jonathan; Fasullo, Michael; Loguinov, Alex; Li, Peng; Moore, Lee E; Rothman, Nathaniel; Nakamura, Jun; Swenberg, James A; Scelo, Ghislaine; Zhang, Luoping; Smith, Martyn T; Vulpe, Chris D

2017-11-01

Trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial chemical and environmental contaminant, is a human carcinogen. Reactive metabolites are implicated in renal carcinogenesis associated with TCE exposure, yet the toxicity mechanisms of these metabolites and their contribution to cancer and other adverse effects remain unclear. We employed an integrated functional genomics approach that combined functional profiling studies in yeast and avian DT40 cell models to provide new insights into the specific mechanisms contributing to toxicity associated with TCE metabolites. Genome-wide profiling studies in yeast identified the error-prone translesion synthesis (TLS) pathway as an import mechanism in response to TCE metabolites. The role of TLS DNA repair was further confirmed by functional profiling in DT40 avian cell lines, but also revealed that TLS and homologous recombination DNA repair likely play competing roles in cellular susceptibility to TCE metabolites in higher eukaryotes. These DNA repair pathways are highly conserved between yeast, DT40, and humans. We propose that in humans, mutagenic TLS is favored over homologous recombination repair in response to TCE metabolites. The results of these studies contribute to the body of evidence supporting a mutagenic mode of action for TCE-induced renal carcinogenesis mediated by reactive metabolites in humans. Our approach illustrates the potential for high-throughput in vitro functional profiling in yeast to elucidate toxicity pathways (molecular initiating events, key events) and candidate susceptibility genes for focused study. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Combinations of chromosome transfer and genome editing for the development of cell/animal models of human disease and humanized animal models.

Science.gov (United States)

Uno, Narumi; Abe, Satoshi; Oshimura, Mitsuo; Kazuki, Yasuhiro

2018-02-01

Chromosome transfer technology, including chromosome modification, enables the introduction of Mb-sized or multiple genes to desired cells or animals. This technology has allowed innovative developments to be made for models of human disease and humanized animals, including Down syndrome model mice and humanized transchromosomic (Tc) immunoglobulin mice. Genome editing techniques are developing rapidly, and permit modifications such as gene knockout and knockin to be performed in various cell lines and animals. This review summarizes chromosome transfer-related technologies and the combined technologies of chromosome transfer and genome editing mainly for the production of cell/animal models of human disease and humanized animal models. Specifically, these include: (1) chromosome modification with genome editing in Chinese hamster ovary cells and mouse A9 cells for efficient transfer to desired cell types; (2) single-nucleotide polymorphism modification in humanized Tc mice with genome editing; and (3) generation of a disease model of Down syndrome-associated hematopoiesis abnormalities by the transfer of human chromosome 21 to normal human embryonic stem cells and the induction of mutation(s) in the endogenous gene(s) with genome editing. These combinations of chromosome transfer and genome editing open up new avenues for drug development and therapy as well as for basic research.
Identification of novel biomass-degrading enzymes from genomic dark matter: Populating genomic sequence space with functional annotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Hailan; Froula, Jeff; Du, Changbin; Kim, Tae-Wan; Hawley, Erik R; Bauer, Stefan; Wang, Zhong; Ivanova, Nathalia; Clark, Douglas S; Klenk, Hans-Peter; Hess, Matthias

2014-08-01

Although recent nucleotide sequencing technologies have significantly enhanced our understanding of microbial genomes, the function of ∼35% of genes identified in a genome currently remains unknown. To improve the understanding of microbial genomes and consequently of microbial processes it will be crucial to assign a function to this "genomic dark matter." Due to the urgent need for additional carbohydrate-active enzymes for improved production of transportation fuels from lignocellulosic biomass, we screened the genomes of more than 5,500 microorganisms for hypothetical proteins that are located in the proximity of already known cellulases. We identified, synthesized and expressed a total of 17 putative cellulase genes with insufficient sequence similarity to currently known cellulases to be identified as such using traditional sequence annotation techniques that rely on significant sequence similarity. The recombinant proteins of the newly identified putative cellulases were subjected to enzymatic activity assays to verify their hydrolytic activity towards cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass. Eleven (65%) of the tested enzymes had significant activity towards at least one of the substrates. This high success rate highlights that a gene context-based approach can be used to assign function to genes that are otherwise categorized as "genomic dark matter" and to identify biomass-degrading enzymes that have little sequence similarity to already known cellulases. The ability to assign function to genes that have no related sequence representatives with functional annotation will be important to enhance our understanding of microbial processes and to identify microbial proteins for a wide range of applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Origins of the Human Genome Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cook-Deegan, Robert (Affiliation: Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences)

1993-07-01

The human genome project was borne of technology, grew into a science bureaucracy in the United States and throughout the world, and is now being transformed into a hybrid academic and commercial enterprise. The next phase of the project promises to veer more sharply toward commercial application, harnessing both the technical prowess of molecular biology and the rapidly growing body of knowledge about DNA structure to the pursuit of practical benefits. Faith that the systematic analysis of DNA structure will prove to be a powerful research tool underlies the rationale behind the genome project. The notion that most genetic information is embedded in the sequence of CNA base pairs comprising chromosomes is a central tenet. A rough analogy is to liken an organism's genetic code to computer code. The coal of the genome project, in this parlance, is to identify and catalog 75,000 or more files (genes) in the software that directs construction of a self-modifying and self-replicating system -- a living organism.

Origins of the Human Genome Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook-Deegan, Robert

1993-07-01

The human genome project was borne of technology, grew into a science bureaucracy in the US and throughout the world, and is now being transformed into a hybrid academic and commercial enterprise. The next phase of the project promises to veer more sharply toward commercial application, harnessing both the technical prowess of molecular biology and the rapidly growing body of knowledge about DNA structure to the pursuit of practical benefits. Faith that the systematic analysis of DNA structure will prove to be a powerful research tool underlies the rationale behind the genome project. The notion that most genetic information is embedded in the sequence of CNA base pairs comprising chromosomes is a central tenet. A rough analogy is to liken an organism's genetic code to computer code. The coal of the genome project, in this parlance, is to identify and catalog 75,000 or more files (genes) in the software that directs construction of a self-modifying and self-replicating system -- a living organism.
Functional genomics approaches in parasitic helminths.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagen, J; Lee, E F; Fairlie, W D; Kalinna, B H

2012-01-01

As research on parasitic helminths is moving into the post-genomic era, an enormous effort is directed towards deciphering gene function and to achieve gene annotation. The sequences that are available in public databases undoubtedly hold information that can be utilized for new interventions and control but the exploitation of these resources has until recently remained difficult. Only now, with the emergence of methods to genetically manipulate and transform parasitic worms will it be possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in nutrition, metabolism, developmental switches/maturation and interaction with the host immune system. This review focuses on functional genomics approaches in parasitic helminths that are currently used, to highlight potential applications of these technologies in the areas of cell biology, systems biology and immunobiology of parasitic helminths. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The complete genome sequence and analysis of the human pathogen Campylobacter lari

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miller, WG; Wang, G; Binnewies, Tim Terence

2008-01-01

Campylobacter lari is a member of the epsilon subdivision of the Proteobacteria and is part of the thermotolerant Campylobacter group, a clade that includes the human pathogen C. jejuni. Here we present the complete genome sequence of the human clinical isolate, C. lari RM2100. The genome of strain...... RM2100 is approximately 1.53 Mb and includes the 46 kb megaplasmid pCL2100. Also present within the strain RM2100 genome is a 36 kb putative prophage, termed CLIE1, which is similar to CJIE4, a putative prophage present within the C. jejuni RM1221 genome. Nearly all (90%) of the gene content...... in strain RM2100 is similar to genes present in the genomes of other characterized thermotolerant campylobacters. However, several genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis and energy metabolism, identified previously in other Campylobacter genomes, are absent from the C. lari RM2100 genome. Therefore, C...
Genome editing of human pluripotent stem cells to generate human cellular disease models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiran Musunuru

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Disease modeling with human pluripotent stem cells has come into the public spotlight with the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2012 to Drs John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. This discovery has opened the door for the generation of pluripotent stem cells from individuals with disease and the differentiation of these cells into somatic cell types for the study of disease pathophysiology. The emergence of genome-editing technology over the past few years has made it feasible to generate and investigate human cellular disease models with even greater speed and efficiency. Here, recent technological advances in genome editing, and its utility in human biology and disease studies, are reviewed.
Characterization of Aeromonas hydrophila wound pathotypes by comparative genomic and functional analyses of virulence genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Grim, Christopher J; Kozlova, Elena V; Sha, Jian; Fitts, Eric C; van Lier, Christina J; Kirtley, Michelle L; Joseph, Sandeep J; Read, Timothy D; Burd, Eileen M; Tall, Ben D; Joseph, Sam W; Horneman, Amy J; Chopra, Ashok K; Shak, Joshua R

2013-04-23

Aeromonas hydrophila has increasingly been implicated as a virulent and antibiotic-resistant etiologic agent in various human diseases. In a previously published case report, we described a subject with a polymicrobial wound infection that included a persistent and aggressive strain of A. hydrophila (E1), as well as a more antibiotic-resistant strain of A. hydrophila (E2). To better understand the differences between pathogenic and environmental strains of A. hydrophila, we conducted comparative genomic and functional analyses of virulence-associated genes of these two wound isolates (E1 and E2), the environmental type strain A. hydrophila ATCC 7966(T), and four other isolates belonging to A. aquariorum, A. veronii, A. salmonicida, and A. caviae. Full-genome sequencing of strains E1 and E2 revealed extensive differences between the two and strain ATCC 7966(T). The more persistent wound infection strain, E1, harbored coding sequences for a cytotoxic enterotoxin (Act), a type 3 secretion system (T3SS), flagella, hemolysins, and a homolog of exotoxin A found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Corresponding phenotypic analyses with A. hydrophila ATCC 7966(T) and SSU as reference strains demonstrated the functionality of these virulence genes, with strain E1 displaying enhanced swimming and swarming motility, lateral flagella on electron microscopy, the presence of T3SS effector AexU, and enhanced lethality in a mouse model of Aeromonas infection. By combining sequence-based analysis and functional assays, we characterized an A. hydrophila pathotype, exemplified by strain E1, that exhibited increased virulence in a mouse model of infection, likely because of encapsulation, enhanced motility, toxin secretion, and cellular toxicity. Aeromonas hydrophila is a common aquatic bacterium that has increasingly been implicated in serious human infections. While many determinants of virulence have been identified in Aeromonas, rapid identification of pathogenic versus nonpathogenic
Genome-to-genome analysis highlights the effect of the human innate and adaptive immune systems on the hepatitis C virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, M Azim; Pedergnana, Vincent; L C Ip, Camilla; Magri, Andrea; Von Delft, Annette; Bonsall, David; Chaturvedi, Nimisha; Bartha, Istvan; Smith, David; Nicholson, George; McVean, Gilean; Trebes, Amy; Piazza, Paolo; Fellay, Jacques; Cooke, Graham; Foster, Graham R; Hudson, Emma; McLauchlan, John; Simmonds, Peter; Bowden, Rory; Klenerman, Paul; Barnes, Eleanor; Spencer, Chris C A

2017-05-01

Outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and treatment depend on viral and host genetic factors. Here we use human genome-wide genotyping arrays and new whole-genome HCV viral sequencing technologies to perform a systematic genome-to-genome study of 542 individuals who were chronically infected with HCV, predominantly genotype 3. We show that both alleles of genes encoding human leukocyte antigen molecules and genes encoding components of the interferon lambda innate immune system drive viral polymorphism. Additionally, we show that IFNL4 genotypes determine HCV viral load through a mechanism dependent on a specific amino acid residue in the HCV NS5A protein. These findings highlight the interplay between the innate immune system and the viral genome in HCV control.
Comparative genomics of human and non-human Listeria monocytogenes sequence type 121 strains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathrin Rychli

Full Text Available The food-borne pathogen Listeria (L. monocytogenes is able to survive for months and even years in food production environments. Strains belonging to sequence type (ST121 are particularly found to be abundant and to persist in food and food production environments. To elucidate genetic determinants characteristic for L. monocytogenes ST121, we sequenced the genomes of 14 ST121 strains and compared them with currently available L. monocytogenes ST121 genomes. In total, we analyzed 70 ST121 genomes deriving from 16 different countries, different years of isolation, and different origins-including food, animal and human ST121 isolates. All ST121 genomes show a high degree of conservation sharing at least 99.7% average nucleotide identity. The main differences between the strains were found in prophage content and prophage conservation. We also detected distinct highly conserved subtypes of prophages inserted at the same genomic locus. While some of the prophages showed more than 99.9% similarity between strains from different sources and years, other prophages showed a higher level of diversity. 81.4% of the strains harbored virtually identical plasmids. 97.1% of the ST121 strains contain a truncated internalin A (inlA gene. Only one of the seven human ST121 isolates encodes a full-length inlA gene, illustrating the need of better understanding their survival and virulence mechanisms.
A SNP-centric database for the investigation of the human genome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kohane Isaac S

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs are an increasingly important tool for genetic and biomedical research. Although current genomic databases contain information on several million SNPs and are growing at a very fast rate, the true value of a SNP in this context is a function of the quality of the annotations that characterize it. Retrieving and analyzing such data for a large number of SNPs often represents a major bottleneck in the design of large-scale association studies. Description SNPper is a web-based application designed to facilitate the retrieval and use of human SNPs for high-throughput research purposes. It provides a rich local database generated by combining SNP data with the Human Genome sequence and with several other data sources, and offers the user a variety of querying, visualization and data export tools. In this paper we describe the structure and organization of the SNPper database, we review the available data export and visualization options, and we describe how the architecture of SNPper and its specialized data structures support high-volume SNP analysis. Conclusions The rich annotation database and the powerful data manipulation and presentation facilities it offers make SNPper a very useful online resource for SNP research. Its success proves the great need for integrated and interoperable resources in the field of computational biology, and shows how such systems may play a critical role in supporting the large-scale computational analysis of our genome.
The whole genome sequences and experimentally phased haplotypes of over 100 personal genomes.

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Mao, Qing; Ciotlos, Serban; Zhang, Rebecca Yu; Ball, Madeleine P; Chin, Robert; Carnevali, Paolo; Barua, Nina; Nguyen, Staci; Agarwal, Misha R; Clegg, Tom; Connelly, Abram; Vandewege, Ward; Zaranek, Alexander Wait; Estep, Preston W; Church, George M; Drmanac, Radoje; Peters, Brock A

2016-10-11

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, it is estimated that more than 200,000 individual whole human genomes have been sequenced. A stunning accomplishment in such a short period of time. However, most of these were sequenced without experimental haplotype data and are therefore missing an important aspect of genome biology. In addition, much of the genomic data is not available to the public and lacks phenotypic information. As part of the Personal Genome Project, blood samples from 184 participants were collected and processed using Complete Genomics' Long Fragment Read technology. Here, we present the experimental whole genome haplotyping and sequencing of these samples to an average read coverage depth of 100X. This is approximately three-fold higher than the read coverage applied to most whole human genome assemblies and ensures the highest quality results. Currently, 114 genomes from this dataset are freely available in the GigaDB repository and are associated with rich phenotypic data; the remaining 70 should be added in the near future as they are approved through the PGP data release process. For reproducibility analyses, 20 genomes were sequenced at least twice using independent LFR barcoded libraries. Seven genomes were also sequenced using Complete Genomics' standard non-barcoded library process. In addition, we report 2.6 million high-quality, rare variants not previously identified in the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms database or the 1000 Genomes Project Phase 3 data. These genomes represent a unique source of haplotype and phenotype data for the scientific community and should help to expand our understanding of human genome evolution and function.
A BAC clone fingerprinting approach to the detection of human genome rearrangements

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Krzywinski, Martin; Bosdet, Ian; Mathewson, Carrie; Wye, Natasja; Brebner, Jay; Chiu, Readman; Corbett, Richard; Field, Matthew; Lee, Darlene; Pugh, Trevor; Volik, Stas; Siddiqui, Asim; Jones, Steven; Schein, Jacquie; Collins, Collin; Marra, Marco

2007-01-01

We present a method, called fingerprint profiling (FPP), that uses restriction digest fingerprints of bacterial artificial chromosome clones to detect and classify rearrangements in the human genome. The approach uses alignment of experimental fingerprint patterns to in silico digests of the sequence assembly and is capable of detecting micro-deletions (1-5 kb) and balanced rearrangements. Our method has compelling potential for use as a whole-genome method for the identification and characterization of human genome rearrangements. PMID:17953769
Identifying anti-growth factors for human cancer cell lines through genome-scale metabolic modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ghaffari, Pouyan; Mardinoglu, Adil; Asplund, Anna

2015-01-01

Human cancer cell lines are used as important model systems to study molecular mechanisms associated with tumor growth, hereunder how genomic and biological heterogeneity found in primary tumors affect cellular phenotypes. We reconstructed Genome scale metabolic models (GEMs) for eleven cell lines...... based on RNA-Seq data and validated the functionality of these models with data from metabolite profiling. We used cell line-specific GEMs to analyze the differences in the metabolism of cancer cell lines, and to explore the heterogeneous expression of the metabolic subsystems. Furthermore, we predicted...... for inhibition of cell growth may provide leads for the development of efficient cancer treatment strategies....
Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Based Genome Engineering in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

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Kime, Cody; Mandegar, Mohammad A; Srivastava, Deepak; Yamanaka, Shinya; Conklin, Bruce R; Rand, Tim A

2016-01-01

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPS cells) are rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for biomedical discovery. The advent of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS cells) with human embryonic stem (hES)-cell-like properties has led to hPS cells with disease-specific genetic backgrounds for in vitro disease modeling and drug discovery as well as mechanistic and developmental studies. To fully realize this potential, it will be necessary to modify the genome of hPS cells with precision and flexibility. Pioneering experiments utilizing site-specific double-strand break (DSB)-mediated genome engineering tools, including zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), have paved the way to genome engineering in previously recalcitrant systems such as hPS cells. However, these methods are technically cumbersome and require significant expertise, which has limited adoption. A major recent advance involving the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) endonuclease has dramatically simplified the effort required for genome engineering and will likely be adopted widely as the most rapid and flexible system for genome editing in hPS cells. In this unit, we describe commonly practiced methods for CRISPR endonuclease genomic editing of hPS cells into cell lines containing genomes altered by insertion/deletion (indel) mutagenesis or insertion of recombinant genomic DNA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Microbial genome-wide association studies: lessons from human GWAS.

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Power, Robert A; Parkhill, Julian; de Oliveira, Tulio

2017-01-01

The reduced costs of sequencing have led to whole-genome sequences for a large number of microorganisms, enabling the application of microbial genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Given the successes of human GWAS in understanding disease aetiology and identifying potential drug targets, microbial GWAS are likely to further advance our understanding of infectious diseases. These advances include insights into pressing global health problems, such as antibiotic resistance and disease transmission. In this Review, we outline the methodologies of GWAS, the current state of the field of microbial GWAS, and how lessons from human GWAS can direct the future of the field.
Coordinated international action to accelerate genome-to-phenome with FAANG, the Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes project : open letter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Archibald, A.L.; Bottema, C.D.; Brauning, R.; Burgess, S.C.; Burt, D.W.; Casas, E.; Cheng, H.H.; Clarke, L.; Couldrey, C.; Dalrymple, B.P.; Elsik, C.G.; Foissac, S.; Giuffra, E.; Groenen, M.A.M.; Hayes, B.J.; Huang, L.S.; Khatib, H.; Kijas, J.W.; Kim, H.; Lunney, J.K.; McCarthy, F.M.; McEwan, J.; Moore, S.; Nanduri, B.; Notredame, C.; Palti, Y.; Plastow, G.S.; Reecy, J.M.; Rohrer, G.; Sarropoulou, E.; Schmidt, C.J.; Silverstein, J.; Tellam, R.L.; Tixier-Boichard, M.; Tosser-klopp, G.; Tuggle, C.K.; Vilkki, J.; White, S.N.; Zhao, S.; Zhou, H.

2015-01-01

We describe the organization of a nascent international effort, the Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes (FAANG) project, whose aim is to produce comprehensive maps of functional elements in the genomes of domesticated animal species.
Toxicogenomics: Applications of new functional genomics technologies in toxicology

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Heijne, W.H.M.

2004-01-01

Toxicogenomics studies toxic effects of substances on organisms in relation to the composition of the genome. It applies the functional genomics technologies transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics that determine expression of the genes, proteins and metabolites in a sample. These methods could
MALINA: a web service for visual analytics of human gut microbiota whole-genome metagenomic reads.

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Tyakht, Alexander V; Popenko, Anna S; Belenikin, Maxim S; Altukhov, Ilya A; Pavlenko, Alexander V; Kostryukova, Elena S; Selezneva, Oksana V; Larin, Andrei K; Karpova, Irina Y; Alexeev, Dmitry G

2012-12-07

MALINA is a web service for bioinformatic analysis of whole-genome metagenomic data obtained from human gut microbiota sequencing. As input data, it accepts metagenomic reads of various sequencing technologies, including long reads (such as Sanger and 454 sequencing) and next-generation (including SOLiD and Illumina). It is the first metagenomic web service that is capable of processing SOLiD color-space reads, to authors' knowledge. The web service allows phylogenetic and functional profiling of metagenomic samples using coverage depth resulting from the alignment of the reads to the catalogue of reference sequences which are built into the pipeline and contain prevalent microbial genomes and genes of human gut microbiota. The obtained metagenomic composition vectors are processed by the statistical analysis and visualization module containing methods for clustering, dimension reduction and group comparison. Additionally, the MALINA database includes vectors of bacterial and functional composition for human gut microbiota samples from a large number of existing studies allowing their comparative analysis together with user samples, namely datasets from Russian Metagenome project, MetaHIT and Human Microbiome Project (downloaded from http://hmpdacc.org). MALINA is made freely available on the web at http://malina.metagenome.ru. The website is implemented in JavaScript (using Ext JS), Microsoft .NET Framework, MS SQL, Python, with all major browsers supported.
The role of human endogenous retroviruses in brain development and function.

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Mortelmans, Kristien; Wang-Johanning, Feng; Johanning, Gary L

2016-01-01

Endogenous retroviral sequences are spread throughout the genome of all humans, and make up about 8% of the genome. Despite their prevalence, the function of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in humans is largely unknown. In this review we focus on the brain, and evaluate studies in animal models that address mechanisms of endogenous retrovirus activation in the brain and central nervous system (CNS). One such study in mice found that TRIM28, a protein critical for mouse early development, regulates transcription and silencing of endogenous retroviruses in neural progenitor cells. Another intriguing finding in human brain cells and mouse models was that endogenous retrovirus HERV-K appears to be protective against neurotoxins. We also report on studies that associate HERVs with human diseases of the brain and CNS. There is little doubt of an association between HERVs and a number of CNS diseases. However, a cause and effect relationship between HERVs and these diseases has not yet been established. © 2016 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells: Harnessing human genetics in a dish.

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González, Federico

2016-07-01

Because of their extraordinary differentiation potential, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can differentiate into virtually any cell type of the human body, providing a powerful platform not only for generating relevant cell types useful for cell replacement therapies, but also for modeling human development and disease. Expanding this potential, structures resembling human organs, termed organoids, have been recently obtained from hPSCs through tissue engineering. Organoids exhibit multiple cell types self-organizing into structures recapitulating in part the physiology and the cellular interactions observed in the organ in vivo, offering unprecedented opportunities for human disease modeling. To fulfill this promise, tissue engineering in hPSCs needs to be supported by robust and scalable genome editing technologies. With the advent of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, manipulating the genome of hPSCs has now become an easy task, allowing modifying their genome with superior precision, speed, and throughput. Here we review current and potential applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology in hPSCs and how they contribute to establish hPSCs as a model of choice for studying human genetics. Developmental Dynamics 245:788-806, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
HelmCoP: an online resource for helminth functional genomics and drug and vaccine targets prioritization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahar Abubucker

Full Text Available A vast majority of the burden from neglected tropical diseases result from helminth infections (nematodes and platyhelminthes. Parasitic helminthes infect over 2 billion, exerting a high collective burden that rivals high-mortality conditions such as AIDS or malaria, and cause devastation to crops and livestock. The challenges to improve control of parasitic helminth infections are multi-fold and no single category of approaches will meet them all. New information such as helminth genomics, functional genomics and proteomics coupled with innovative bioinformatic approaches provide fundamental molecular information about these parasites, accelerating both basic research as well as development of effective diagnostics, vaccines and new drugs. To facilitate such studies we have developed an online resource, HelmCoP (Helminth Control and Prevention, built by integrating functional, structural and comparative genomic data from plant, animal and human helminthes, to enable researchers to develop strategies for drug, vaccine and pesticide prioritization, while also providing a useful comparative genomics platform. HelmCoP encompasses genomic data from several hosts, including model organisms, along with a comprehensive suite of structural and functional annotations, to assist in comparative analyses and to study host-parasite interactions. The HelmCoP interface, with a sophisticated query engine as a backbone, allows users to search for multi-factorial combinations of properties and serves readily accessible information that will assist in the identification of various genes of interest. HelmCoP is publicly available at: http://www.nematode.net/helmcop.html.
Protein annotation in the era of personal genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holberg Blicher, Thomas; Gupta, Ramneek; Wesolowska, Agata

2010-01-01

the differences between many individuals of the same species-humans in particular-the focus needs be on the functional impact of individual residue variation. To fulfil the promises of personal genomics, we need to start asking not only what is in a genome but also how millions of small differences between......Protein annotation provides a condensed and systematic view on the function of individual proteins. It has traditionally dealt with sorting proteins into functional categories, which for example has proven to be successful for the comparison of different species. However, if we are to understand...... individual genomes affect protein function and in turn human health. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

The genus Romboutsia : genomic and functional characterization of novel bacteria dedicated to life in the intestinal tract

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerritsen, J.

2015-01-01

The genus Romboutsia: genomic and functional characterization of novel bacteria dedicated to life in the intestinal tract
PhD thesis Jacoline Gerritsen, 2015

Abstract

Humans, like other mammals, are not single-species organisms, but they
Genome-wide linkage analysis for human longevity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beekman, Marian; Blanché, Hélène; Perola, Markus

2013-01-01

Clear evidence exists for heritability of human longevity, and much interest is focused on identifying genes associated with longer lives. To identify such longevity alleles, we performed the largest genome-wide linkage scan thus far reported. Linkage analyses included 2118 nonagenarian Caucasian...
Identification of functional SNPs in the 5-prime flanking sequences of human genes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenhard Boris

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Over 4 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs are currently reported to exist within the human genome. Only a small fraction of these SNPs alter gene function or expression, and therefore might be associated with a cell phenotype. These functional SNPs are consequently important in understanding human health. Information related to functional SNPs in candidate disease genes is critical for cost effective genetic association studies, which attempt to understand the genetics of complex diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's, etc. Robust methods for the identification of functional SNPs are therefore crucial. We report one such experimental approach. Results Sequence conserved between mouse and human genomes, within 5 kilobases of the 5-prime end of 176 GPCR genes, were screened for SNPs. Sequences flanking these SNPs were scored for transcription factor binding sites. Allelic pairs resulting in a significant score difference were predicted to influence the binding of transcription factors (TFs. Ten such SNPs were selected for mobility shift assays (EMSA, resulting in 7 of them exhibiting a reproducible shift. The full-length promoter regions with 4 of the 7 SNPs were cloned in a Luciferase based plasmid reporter system. Two out of the 4 SNPs exhibited differential promoter activity in several human cell lines. Conclusions We propose a method for effective selection of functional, regulatory SNPs that are located in evolutionary conserved 5-prime flanking regions (5'-FR regions of human genes and influence the activity of the transcriptional regulatory region. Some SNPs behave differently in different cell types.
Harnessing Omics Big Data in Nine Vertebrate Species by Genome-Wide Prioritization of Sequence Variants with the Highest Predicted Deleterious Effect on Protein Function.

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Rozman, Vita; Kunej, Tanja

2018-05-10

Harnessing the genomics big data requires innovation in how we extract and interpret biologically relevant variants. Currently, there is no established catalog of prioritized missense variants associated with deleterious protein function phenotypes. We report in this study, to the best of our knowledge, the first genome-wide prioritization of sequence variants with the most deleterious effect on protein function (potentially deleterious variants [pDelVars]) in nine vertebrate species: human, cattle, horse, sheep, pig, dog, rat, mouse, and zebrafish. The analysis was conducted using the Ensembl/BioMart tool. Genes comprising pDelVars in the highest number of examined species were identified using a Python script. Multiple genomic alignments of the selected genes were built to identify interspecies orthologous potentially deleterious variants, which we defined as the "ortho-pDelVars." Genome-wide prioritization revealed that in humans, 0.12% of the known variants are predicted to be deleterious. In seven out of nine examined vertebrate species, the genes encoding the multiple PDZ domain crumbs cell polarity complex component (MPDZ) and the transforming acidic coiled-coil containing protein 2 (TACC2) comprise pDelVars. Five interspecies ortho-pDelVars were identified in three genes. These findings offer new ways to harness genomics big data by facilitating the identification of functional polymorphisms in humans and animal models and thus provide a future basis for optimization of protocols for whole genome prioritization of pDelVars and screening of orthologous sequence variants. The approach presented here can inform various postgenomic applications such as personalized medicine and multiomics study of health interventions (iatromics).
The functional genomic studies of curcumin.

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Huminiecki, Lukasz; Horbańczuk, Jarosław; Atanasov, Atanas G

2017-10-01

Curcumin is a natural plant-derived compound that has attracted a lot of attention for its anti-cancer activities. Curcumin can slow proliferation of and induce apoptosis in cancer cell lines, but the precise mechanisms of these effects are not fully understood. However, many lines of evidence suggested that curcumin has a potent impact on gene expression profiles; thus, functional genomics should be the key to understanding how curcumin exerts its anti-cancer activities. Here, we review the published functional genomic studies of curcumin focusing on cancer. Typically, a cancer cell line or a grafted tumor were exposed to curcumin and profiled with microarrays, methylation assays, or RNA-seq. Crucially, these studies are in agreement that curcumin has a powerful effect on gene expression. In the majority of the studies, among differentially expressed genes we found genes involved in cell signaling, apoptosis, and the control of cell cycle. Curcumin can also induce specific methylation changes, and is a powerful regulator of the expression of microRNAs which control oncogenesis. We also reflect on how the broader technological progress in transcriptomics has been reflected on the field of curcumin. We conclude by discussing the areas where more functional genomic studies are highly desirable. Integrated OMICS approaches will clearly be the key to understanding curcumin's anticancer and chemopreventive effects. Such strategies may become a template for elucidating the mode of action of other natural products; many natural products have pleiotropic effects that are well suited for a systems-level analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Understanding the Human Genome Project: Using Stations to Provide a Comprehensive Overview

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Soto, Julio G.

2005-01-01

A lesson was designed for lower division general education, non-major biology lecture-only course that included the historical and scientific context, some of the skills used to study the human genome, results, conclusions and ethical consideration. Students learn to examine and compare the published Human Genome maps, and employ the strategies…
Non-genomic effects of vitamin D in human spermatozoa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomberg Jensen, Martin; Dissing, Steen

2012-01-01

The spectrum for vitamin D (VD) mediated effects has expanded in recent years. Activated VD (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) binds to the VD receptor (VDR) and mediates non-genomic effects through the alternative ligand binding-pocket (VDR-ap) or regulates gene transcription through the genomic binding......-pocket. VDR and VD-metabolizing enzymes are expressed in human testis, male reproductive tract and mature spermatozoa, and VD is considered important for male reproduction. Expression of the VD-inactivating enzyme CYP24A1 at the annulus of human spermatozoa distinguish normal and infertile men with high...... specificity, and CYP24A1 expression is positively correlated with all semen variables and suggested as a marker for both semen quality and VD responsiveness. Moreover, spermatozoa are transcriptionally silent and are therefore a unique model to study non-genomic effects. 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) induced a rapid...
Integrating the genomic architecture of human nucleolar organizer regions with the biophysical properties of nucleoli.

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Mangan, Hazel; Gailín, Michael Ó; McStay, Brian

2017-12-01

Nucleoli are the sites of ribosome biogenesis and the largest membraneless subnuclear structures. They are intimately linked with growth and proliferation control and function as sensors of cellular stress. Nucleoli form around arrays of ribosomal gene (rDNA) repeats also called nucleolar organizer regions (NORs). In humans, NORs are located on the short arms of all five human acrocentric chromosomes. Multiple NORs contribute to the formation of large heterochromatin-surrounded nucleoli observed in most human cells. Here we will review recent findings about their genomic architecture. The dynamic nature of nucleoli began to be appreciated with the advent of photodynamic experiments using fluorescent protein fusions. We review more recent data on nucleoli in Xenopus germinal vesicles (GVs) which has revealed a liquid droplet-like behavior that facilitates nucleolar fusion. Further analysis in both XenopusGVs and Drosophila embryos indicates that the internal organization of nucleoli is generated by a combination of liquid-liquid phase separation and active processes involving rDNA. We will attempt to integrate these recent findings with the genomic architecture of human NORs to advance our understanding of how nucleoli form and respond to stress in human cells. © 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.
Annotating non-coding regions of the genome.

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Alexander, Roger P; Fang, Gang; Rozowsky, Joel; Snyder, Michael; Gerstein, Mark B

2010-08-01

Most of the human genome consists of non-protein-coding DNA. Recently, progress has been made in annotating these non-coding regions through the interpretation of functional genomics experiments and comparative sequence analysis. One can conceptualize functional genomics analysis as involving a sequence of steps: turning the output of an experiment into a 'signal' at each base pair of the genome; smoothing this signal and segmenting it into small blocks of initial annotation; and then clustering these small blocks into larger derived annotations and networks. Finally, one can relate functional genomics annotations to conserved units and measures of conservation derived from comparative sequence analysis.
Ribosomal RNA Genes Contribute to the Formation of Pseudogenes and Junk DNA in the Human Genome.

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Robicheau, Brent M; Susko, Edward; Harrigan, Amye M; Snyder, Marlene

2017-02-01

Approximately 35% of the human genome can be identified as sequence devoid of a selected-effect function, and not derived from transposable elements or repeated sequences. We provide evidence supporting a known origin for a fraction of this sequence. We show that: 1) highly degraded, but near full length, ribosomal DNA (rDNA) units, including both 45S and Intergenic Spacer (IGS), can be found at multiple sites in the human genome on chromosomes without rDNA arrays, 2) that these rDNA sequences have a propensity for being centromere proximal, and 3) that sequence at all human functional rDNA array ends is divergent from canonical rDNA to the point that it is pseudogenic. We also show that small sequence strings of rDNA (from 45S + IGS) can be found distributed throughout the genome and are identifiable as an "rDNA-like signal", representing 0.26% of the q-arm of HSA21 and ∼2% of the total sequence of other regions tested. The size of sequence strings found in the rDNA-like signal intergrade into the size of sequence strings that make up the full-length degrading rDNA units found scattered throughout the genome. We conclude that the displaced and degrading rDNA sequences are likely of a similar origin but represent different stages in their evolution towards random sequence. Collectively, our data suggests that over vast evolutionary time, rDNA arrays contribute to the production of junk DNA. The concept that the production of rDNA pseudogenes is a by-product of concerted evolution represents a previously under-appreciated process; we demonstrate here its importance. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
The human homolog of S. cerevisiae CDC27, CDC27 Hs, is encoded by a highly conserved intronless gene present in multiple copies in the human genome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devor, E.J.; Dill-Devor, R.M. [Univ. of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City (United States)

1994-09-01

We have obtained a number of unique sequences via PCR amplification of human genomic DNA using degenerate primers under low stringency (42{degrees}C). One of these, an 853 bp product, has been identified as a partial genomic sequence of the human homolog of the S. cerevisiae CDC27 gene, CDC27Hs (GenBank No. U00001). This gene, reported by Turgendreich et al. is also designated EST00556 from Adams et al. We have undertaken a more detailed examination of our sequence, MCP34N, and have found that: 1. the genomic sequence is nearly identical to CDC27Hs over its entire 853 bp length; 2. an MCP34N-specific PCR assay of several non-human primate species reveals amplification products in chimpanzee and gorilla genomes having greater than 90% sequence identity with CDC27Hs; and 3. an MCP34N-specific PCR assay of the BIOS hybrid cell line panel gives a discordancy pattern suggesting multiple loci. Based upon these data, we present the following initial characterization: 1. the complete MCP34N sequence identity with CDC27Hs indicates that the latter is encoded by an intronless gene; 2. CDC27Hs is highly conserved among higher primates; and 3. CDC27Hs is present in multiple copies in the human genome. These characteristics, taken together with those initially reported for CDC27Hs, suggest that this is an old gene that carries out an important but, as yet, unknown function in the human brain.
Discovery of functional elements in 12 Drosophila genomes using evolutionary signatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stark, Alexander; Lin, Michael F; Kheradpour, Pouya

2007-01-01

Sequencing of multiple related species followed by comparative genomics analysis constitutes a powerful approach for the systematic understanding of any genome. Here, we use the genomes of 12 Drosophila species for the de novo discovery of functional elements in the fly. Each type of functional e...... individual motif instances with high confidence. We also study how discovery power scales with the divergence and number of species compared, and we provide general guidelines for comparative studies....
The pathological consequences of impaired genome integrity in humans; disorders of the DNA replication machinery.

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O'Driscoll, Mark

2017-01-01

Accurate and efficient replication of the human genome occurs in the context of an array of constitutional barriers, including regional topological constraints imposed by chromatin architecture and processes such as transcription, catenation of the helical polymer and spontaneously generated DNA lesions, including base modifications and strand breaks. DNA replication is fundamentally important for tissue development and homeostasis; differentiation programmes are intimately linked with stem cell division. Unsurprisingly, impairments of the DNA replication machinery can have catastrophic consequences for genome stability and cell division. Functional impacts on DNA replication and genome stability have long been known to play roles in malignant transformation through a variety of complex mechanisms, and significant further insights have been gained from studying model organisms in this context. Congenital hypomorphic defects in components of the DNA replication machinery have been and continue to be identified in humans. These disorders present with a wide range of clinical features. Indeed, in some instances, different mutations in the same gene underlie different clinical presentations. Understanding the origin and molecular basis of these features opens a window onto the range of developmental impacts of suboptimal DNA replication and genome instability in humans. Here, I will briefly overview the basic steps involved in DNA replication and the key concepts that have emerged from this area of research, before switching emphasis to the pathological consequences of defects within the DNA replication network; the human disorders. Copyright © 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Report of the second Human Genome Diversity workshop

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NONE

1992-12-31

The Second Human Genome Diversity Workshop was successfully held at Penn State University from October 29--31, 1992. The Workshop was essentially organized around 7 groups, each comprising approximately 10 participants, representing the sampling issues in different regions of the world. These groups worked independently, using a common format provided by the organizers; this was adjusted as needed by the individual groups. The Workshop began with a presentation of the mandate to the participants, and of the procedures to be followed during the workshop. Dr. Feldman presented a summary of the results from the First Workshop. He and the other organizers also presented brief comments giving their perspective on the objectives of the Second Workshop. Dr. Julia Bodmer discussed the study of European genetic diversity, especially in the context of the HLA experience there, and of plans to extend such studies in the coming years. She also discussed surveys of world HLA laboratories in regard to resources related to Human Genome Diversity. Dr. Mark Weiss discussed the relevance of nonhuman primate studies for understanding how demographic processes, such as mate exchange between local groups, affected the local dispersion of genetic variation. Primate population geneticists have some relevant experience in interpreting variation at this local level, in particular, with various DNA fingerprinting methods. This experience may be relevant to the Human Genome Diversity Project, in terms of practical and statistical issues.
The cacao Criollo genome v2.0: an improved version of the genome for genetic and functional genomic studies.

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Argout, X; Martin, G; Droc, G; Fouet, O; Labadie, K; Rivals, E; Aury, J M; Lanaud, C

2017-09-15

Theobroma cacao L., native to the Amazonian basin of South America, is an economically important fruit tree crop for tropical countries as a source of chocolate. The first draft genome of the species, from a Criollo cultivar, was published in 2011. Although a useful resource, some improvements are possible, including identifying misassemblies, reducing the number of scaffolds and gaps, and anchoring un-anchored sequences to the 10 chromosomes. We used a NGS-based approach to significantly improve the assembly of the Belizian Criollo B97-61/B2 genome. We combined four Illumina large insert size mate paired libraries with 52x of Pacific Biosciences long reads to correct misassembled regions and reduced the number of scaffolds. We then used genotyping by sequencing (GBS) methods to increase the proportion of the assembly anchored to chromosomes. The scaffold number decreased from 4,792 in assembly V1 to 554 in V2 while the scaffold N50 size has increased from 0.47 Mb in V1 to 6.5 Mb in V2. A total of 96.7% of the assembly was anchored to the 10 chromosomes compared to 66.8% in the previous version. Unknown sites (Ns) were reduced from 10.8% to 5.7%. In addition, we updated the functional annotations and performed a new RefSeq structural annotation based on RNAseq evidence. Theobroma cacao Criollo genome version 2 will be a valuable resource for the investigation of complex traits at the genomic level and for future comparative genomics and genetics studies in cacao tree. New functional tools and annotations are available on the Cocoa Genome Hub ( http://cocoa-genome-hub.southgreen.fr ).
Ginseng Genome Database: an open-access platform for genomics of Panax ginseng.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakodi, Murukarthick; Choi, Beom-Soon; Lee, Sang-Choon; Kim, Nam-Hoon; Park, Jee Young; Jang, Woojong; Lakshmanan, Meiyappan; Mohan, Shobhana V G; Lee, Dong-Yup; Yang, Tae-Jin

2018-04-12

The ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is a perennial herbaceous plant that has been used in traditional oriental medicine for thousands of years. Ginsenosides, which have significant pharmacological effects on human health, are the foremost bioactive constituents in this plant. Having realized the importance of this plant to humans, an integrated omics resource becomes indispensable to facilitate genomic research, molecular breeding and pharmacological study of this herb. The first draft genome sequences of P. ginseng cultivar "Chunpoong" were reported recently. Here, using the draft genome, transcriptome, and functional annotation datasets of P. ginseng, we have constructed the Ginseng Genome Database http://ginsengdb.snu.ac.kr /, the first open-access platform to provide comprehensive genomic resources of P. ginseng. The current version of this database provides the most up-to-date draft genome sequence (of approximately 3000 Mbp of scaffold sequences) along with the structural and functional annotations for 59,352 genes and digital expression of genes based on transcriptome data from different tissues, growth stages and treatments. In addition, tools for visualization and the genomic data from various analyses are provided. All data in the database were manually curated and integrated within a user-friendly query page. This database provides valuable resources for a range of research fields related to P. ginseng and other species belonging to the Apiales order as well as for plant research communities in general. Ginseng genome database can be accessed at http://ginsengdb.snu.ac.kr /.
The human Genome project and the future of oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, Francis S.

1996-01-01

The Human Genome Project is an ambitious 15-year effort to devise maps and sequence of the 3-billion base pair human genome, including all 100,000 genes. The project is running ahead of schedule and under budget. Already the effects on progress in disease gene discovery have been dramatic, especially for cancer. The most appropriate uses of susceptibility testing for breast, ovarian, and colon cancer are being investigated in research protocols, and the need to prevent genetic discrimination in employment and health insurance is becoming more urgent. In the longer term, these gene discoveries are likely to usher in a new era of therapeutic molecular medicine
New families of human regulatory RNA structures identified by comparative analysis of vertebrate genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Brian J; Moltke, Ida; Roth, Adam; Washietl, Stefan; Wen, Jiayu; Kellis, Manolis; Breaker, Ronald; Pedersen, Jakob Skou

2011-11-01

Regulatory RNA structures are often members of families with multiple paralogous instances across the genome. Family members share functional and structural properties, which allow them to be studied as a whole, facilitating both bioinformatic and experimental characterization. We have developed a comparative method, EvoFam, for genome-wide identification of families of regulatory RNA structures, based on primary sequence and secondary structure similarity. We apply EvoFam to a 41-way genomic vertebrate alignment. Genome-wide, we identify 220 human, high-confidence families outside protein-coding regions comprising 725 individual structures, including 48 families with known structural RNA elements. Known families identified include both noncoding RNAs, e.g., miRNAs and the recently identified MALAT1/MEN β lincRNA family; and cis-regulatory structures, e.g., iron-responsive elements. We also identify tens of new families supported by strong evolutionary evidence and other statistical evidence, such as GO term enrichments. For some of these, detailed analysis has led to the formulation of specific functional hypotheses. Examples include two hypothesized auto-regulatory feedback mechanisms: one involving six long hairpins in the 3'-UTR of MAT2A, a key metabolic gene that produces the primary human methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine; the other involving a tRNA-like structure in the intron of the tRNA maturation gene POP1. We experimentally validate the predicted MAT2A structures. Finally, we identify potential new regulatory networks, including large families of short hairpins enriched in immunity-related genes, e.g., TNF, FOS, and CTLA4, which include known transcript destabilizing elements. Our findings exemplify the diversity of post-transcriptional regulation and provide a resource for further characterization of new regulatory mechanisms and families of noncoding RNAs.
On the limits of computational functional genomics for bacterial lifestyle prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barbosa, Eudes; Röttger, Richard; Hauschild, Anne-Christin

2014-01-01

We review the level of genomic specificity regarding actinobacterial pathogenicity. As they occupy various niches in diverse habitats, one may assume the existence of lifestyle-specific genomic features. We include 240 actinobacteria classified into four pathogenicity classes: human pathogens (HPs...
Evolutionary forces shaping genomic islands of population differentiation in humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hofer Tamara

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Levels of differentiation among populations depend both on demographic and selective factors: genetic drift and local adaptation increase population differentiation, which is eroded by gene flow and balancing selection. We describe here the genomic distribution and the properties of genomic regions with unusually high and low levels of population differentiation in humans to assess the influence of selective and neutral processes on human genetic structure. Methods Individual SNPs of the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP showing significantly high or low levels of population differentiation were detected under a hierarchical-island model (HIM. A Hidden Markov Model allowed us to detect genomic regions or islands of high or low population differentiation. Results Under the HIM, only 1.5% of all SNPs are significant at the 1% level, but their genomic spatial distribution is significantly non-random. We find evidence that local adaptation shaped high-differentiation islands, as they are enriched for non-synonymous SNPs and overlap with previously identified candidate regions for positive selection. Moreover there is a negative relationship between the size of islands and recombination rate, which is stronger for islands overlapping with genes. Gene ontology analysis supports the role of diet as a major selective pressure in those highly differentiated islands. Low-differentiation islands are also enriched for non-synonymous SNPs, and contain an overly high proportion of genes belonging to the 'Oncogenesis' biological process. Conclusions Even though selection seems to be acting in shaping islands of high population differentiation, neutral demographic processes might have promoted the appearance of some genomic islands since i as much as 20% of islands are in non-genic regions ii these non-genic islands are on average two times shorter than genic islands, suggesting a more rapid erosion by recombination, and iii most loci are

Genome-wide survey in African Americans demonstrates potential epistasis of fitness in the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Heming; Choi, Yoonha; Tayo, Bamidele; Wang, Xuefeng; Morris, Nathan; Zhang, Xiang; Broeckel, Uli; Hanis, Craig; Kardia, Sharon; Redline, Susan; Cooper, Richard S; Tang, Hua; Zhu, Xiaofeng

2017-02-01

The role played by epistasis between alleles at unlinked loci in shaping population fitness has been debated for many years and the existing evidence has been mainly accumulated from model organisms. In model organisms, fitness epistasis can be systematically inferred by detecting nonindependence of genotypic values between loci in a population and confirmed through examining the number of offspring produced in two-locus genotype groups. No systematic study has been conducted to detect epistasis of fitness in humans owing to experimental constraints. In this study, we developed a novel method to detect fitness epistasis by testing the correlation between local ancestries on different chromosomes in an admixed population. We inferred local ancestry across the genome in 16,252 unrelated African Americans and systematically examined the pairwise correlations between the genomic regions on different chromosomes. Our analysis revealed a pair of genomic regions on chromosomes 4 and 6 that show significant local ancestry correlation (P-value = 4.01 × 10 -8 ) that can be potentially attributed to fitness epistasis. However, we also observed substantial local ancestry correlation that cannot be explained by systemic ancestry inference bias. To our knowledge, this study is the first to systematically examine evidence of fitness epistasis across the human genome. © 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.
Novel mouse model recapitulates genome and transcriptome alterations in human colorectal carcinomas.

Science.gov (United States)

McNeil, Nicole E; Padilla-Nash, Hesed M; Buishand, Floryne O; Hue, Yue; Ried, Thomas

2017-03-01

Human colorectal carcinomas are defined by a nonrandom distribution of genomic imbalances that are characteristic for this disease. Often, these imbalances affect entire chromosomes. Understanding the role of these aneuploidies for carcinogenesis is of utmost importance. Currently, established transgenic mice do not recapitulate the pathognonomic genome aberration profile of human colorectal carcinomas. We have developed a novel model based on the spontaneous transformation of murine colon epithelial cells. During this process, cells progress through stages of pre-immortalization, immortalization and, finally, transformation, and result in tumors when injected into immunocompromised mice. We analyzed our model for genome and transcriptome alterations using ArrayCGH, spectral karyotyping (SKY), and array based gene expression profiling. ArrayCGH revealed a recurrent pattern of genomic imbalances. These results were confirmed by SKY. Comparing these imbalances with orthologous maps of human chromosomes revealed a remarkable overlap. We observed focal deletions of the tumor suppressor genes Trp53 and Cdkn2a/p16. High-level focal genomic amplification included the locus harboring the oncogene Mdm2, which was confirmed by FISH in the form of double minute chromosomes. Array-based global gene expression revealed distinct differences between the sequential steps of spontaneous transformation. Gene expression changes showed significant similarities with human colorectal carcinomas. Pathways most prominently affected included genes involved in chromosomal instability and in epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Our novel mouse model therefore recapitulates the most prominent genome and transcriptome alterations in human colorectal cancer, and might serve as a valuable tool for understanding the dynamic process of tumorigenesis, and for preclinical drug testing. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sequencing and analysis of an Irish human genome.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Tong, Pin

2010-01-01

Recent studies generating complete human sequences from Asian, African and European subgroups have revealed population-specific variation and disease susceptibility loci. Here, choosing a DNA sample from a population of interest due to its relative geographical isolation and genetic impact on further populations, we extend the above studies through the generation of 11-fold coverage of the first Irish human genome sequence.
The Human Genome Project: applications in the diagnosis and treatment of neurologic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, G A

1998-10-01

The Human Genome Project (HGP), an international program to decode the entire DNA sequence of the human genome in 15 years, represents the largest biological experiment ever conducted. This set of information will contain the blueprint for the construction and operation of a human being. While the primary driving force behind the genome project is the potential to vastly expand the amount of genetic information available for biomedical research, the ramifications for other fields of study in biological research, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, our understanding of evolution, effects on agriculture, and implications for bioethics are likely to be profound.
The polydeoxyadenylate tract of Alu repetitive elements is polymorphic in the human genome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Economou, E.P.; Bergen, A.W.; Warren, A.C.; Antonarakis, S.E.

1990-01-01

To identify DNA polymorphisms that are abundant in the human genome and are detectable by polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic DNA, the authors hypothesize that the polydeoxyadenylate tract of the Alu family of repetitive elements is polymorphic among human chromosomes. Analysis of the 3' ends of three specific Alu sequences showed two occurrences, one in the adenosine deaminase gene and other in the β-globin pseudogene, were polymorphic. This novel class of polymorphism, termed AluVpA [Alu variable poly(A)] may represent one of the most useful and informative group of DNA markers in the human genome
Targets of balancing selection in the human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andrés, Aida M; Hubisz, Melissa J; Indap, Amit

2009-01-01

Balancing selection is potentially an important biological force for maintaining advantageous genetic diversity in populations, including variation that is responsible for long-term adaptation to the environment. By serving as a means to maintain genetic variation, it may be particularly relevant...... to maintaining phenotypic variation in natural populations. Nevertheless, its prevalence and specific targets in the human genome remain largely unknown. We have analyzed the patterns of diversity and divergence of 13,400 genes in two human populations using an unbiased single-nucleotide polymorphism data set......, a genome-wide approach, and a method that incorporates demography in neutrality tests. We identified an unbiased catalog of genes with signatures of long-term balancing selection, which includes immunity genes as well as genes encoding keratins and membrane channels; the catalog also shows enrichment...
Human intronless genes: Functional groups, associated diseases, evolution, and mRNA processing in absence of splicing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grzybowska, Ewa A.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Functional characteristics of intronless genes (IGs). ► Diseases associated with IGs. ► Origin and evolution of IGs. ► mRNA processing without splicing. -- Abstract: Intronless genes (IGs) constitute approximately 3% of the human genome. Human IGs are essentially different in evolution and functionality from the IGs of unicellular eukaryotes, which represent the majority in their genomes. Functional analysis of IGs has revealed a massive over-representation of signal transduction genes and genes encoding regulatory proteins important for growth, proliferation, and development. IGs also often display tissue-specific expression, usually in the nervous system and testis. These characteristics translate into IG-associated diseases, mainly neuropathies, developmental disorders, and cancer. IGs represent recent additions to the genome, created mostly by retroposition of processed mRNAs with retained functionality. Processing, nuclear export, and translation of these mRNAs should be hampered dramatically by the lack of splice factors, which normally tightly cover mature transcripts and govern their fate. However, natural IGs manage to maintain satisfactory expression levels. Different mechanisms by which IGs solve the problem of mRNA processing and nuclear export are discussed here, along with their possible impact on reporter studies.
Fenton reaction induced cancer in wild type rats recapitulates genomic alterations observed in human cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinya Akatsuka

Full Text Available Iron overload has been associated with carcinogenesis in humans. Intraperitoneal administration of ferric nitrilotriacetate initiates a Fenton reaction in renal proximal tubules of rodents that ultimately leads to a high incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC after repeated treatments. We performed high-resolution microarray comparative genomic hybridization to identify characteristics in the genomic profiles of this oxidative stress-induced rat RCCs. The results revealed extensive large-scale genomic alterations with a preference for deletions. Deletions and amplifications were numerous and sometimes fragmented, demonstrating that a Fenton reaction is a cause of such genomic alterations in vivo. Frequency plotting indicated that two of the most commonly altered loci corresponded to a Cdkn2a/2b deletion and a Met amplification. Tumor sizes were proportionally associated with Met expression and/or amplification, and clustering analysis confirmed our results. Furthermore, we developed a procedure to compare whole genomic patterns of the copy number alterations among different species based on chromosomal syntenic relationship. Patterns of the rat RCCs showed the strongest similarity to the human RCCs among five types of human cancers, followed by human malignant mesothelioma, an iron overload-associated cancer. Therefore, an iron-dependent Fenton chemical reaction causes large-scale genomic alterations during carcinogenesis, which may result in distinct genomic profiles. Based on the characteristics of extensive genome alterations in human cancer, our results suggest that this chemical reaction may play a major role during human carcinogenesis.
Characterization of canine osteosarcoma by array comparative genomic hybridization and RT-qPCR: signatures of genomic imbalance in canine osteosarcoma parallel the human counterpart.

Science.gov (United States)

Angstadt, Andrea Y; Motsinger-Reif, Alison; Thomas, Rachael; Kisseberth, William C; Guillermo Couto, C; Duval, Dawn L; Nielsen, Dahlia M; Modiano, Jaime F; Breen, Matthew

2011-11-01

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most commonly diagnosed malignant bone tumor in humans and dogs, characterized in both species by extremely complex karyotypes exhibiting high frequencies of genomic imbalance. Evaluation of genomic signatures in human OS using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) has assisted in uncovering genetic mechanisms that result in disease phenotype. Previous low-resolution (10-20 Mb) aCGH analysis of canine OS identified a wide range of recurrent DNA copy number aberrations, indicating extensive genomic instability. In this study, we profiled 123 canine OS tumors by 1 Mb-resolution aCGH to generate a dataset for direct comparison with current data for human OS, concluding that several high frequency aberrations in canine and human OS are orthologous. To ensure complete coverage of gene annotation, we identified the human refseq genes that map to these orthologous aberrant dog regions and found several candidate genes warranting evaluation for OS involvement. Specifically, subsequenct FISH and qRT-PCR analysis of RUNX2, TUSC3, and PTEN indicated that expression levels correlated with genomic copy number status, showcasing RUNX2 as an OS associated gene and TUSC3 as a possible tumor suppressor candidate. Together these data demonstrate the ability of genomic comparative oncology to identify genetic abberations which may be important for OS progression. Large scale screening of genomic imbalance in canine OS further validates the use of the dog as a suitable model for human cancers, supporting the idea that dysregulation discovered in canine cancers will provide an avenue for complementary study in human counterparts. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Human Genome Project and Biology Education.

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, Joseph D.

1996-01-01

Highlights the importance of the Human Genome Project in educating the public about genetics. Discusses four challenges that science educators must address: teaching for conceptual understanding, the nature of science, the personal and social impact of science and technology, and the principles of technology. Contains 45 references. (JRH)
A compact view of isochores in the draft human genome sequence

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pavlíček, Adam; Pačes, Jan; Clay, O.; Bernardi, G.

2002-01-01

Roč. 511, 1-3 (2002), s. 165-169 ISSN 0014-5793 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A079 Keywords : genome organisation * mammalian DNA * human genome Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 3.912, year: 2002
The FUN of identifying gene function in bacterial pathogens; insights from Salmonella functional genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammarlöf, Disa L; Canals, Rocío; Hinton, Jay C D

2013-10-01

The availability of thousands of genome sequences of bacterial pathogens poses a particular challenge because each genome contains hundreds of genes of unknown function (FUN). How can we easily discover which FUN genes encode important virulence factors? One solution is to combine two different functional genomic approaches. First, transcriptomics identifies bacterial FUN genes that show differential expression during the process of mammalian infection. Second, global mutagenesis identifies individual FUN genes that the pathogen requires to cause disease. The intersection of these datasets can reveal a small set of candidate genes most likely to encode novel virulence attributes. We demonstrate this approach with the Salmonella infection model, and propose that a similar strategy could be used for other bacterial pathogens. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Functional interrogation of non-coding DNA through CRISPR genome editing.

Science.gov (United States)

Canver, Matthew C; Bauer, Daniel E; Orkin, Stuart H

2017-05-15

Methodologies to interrogate non-coding regions have lagged behind coding regions despite comprising the vast majority of the genome. However, the rapid evolution of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genome editing has provided a multitude of novel techniques for laboratory investigation including significant contributions to the toolbox for studying non-coding DNA. CRISPR-mediated loss-of-function strategies rely on direct disruption of the underlying sequence or repression of transcription without modifying the targeted DNA sequence. CRISPR-mediated gain-of-function approaches similarly benefit from methods to alter the targeted sequence through integration of customized sequence into the genome as well as methods to activate transcription. Here we review CRISPR-based loss- and gain-of-function techniques for the interrogation of non-coding DNA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Human Genome Project: Information access, management, and regulation. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McInerney, J.D.; Micikas, L.B.

1996-08-31

The Human Genome Project is a large, internationally coordinated effort in biological research directed at creating a detailed map of human DNA. This report describes the access of information, management, and regulation of the project. The project led to the development of an instructional module titled The Human Genome Project: Biology, Computers, and Privacy, designed for use in high school biology classes. The module consists of print materials and both Macintosh and Windows versions of related computer software-Appendix A contains a copy of the print materials and discs containing the two versions of the software.
National human genome projects: an update and an agenda

OpenAIRE

An, Joon Yong

2017-01-01

Population genetic and human genetic studies are being accelerated with genome technology and data sharing. Accordingly, in the past 10 years, several countries have initiated genetic research using genome technology and identified the genetic architecture of the ethnic groups living in the corresponding country or suggested the genetic foundation of a social phenomenon. Genetic research has been conducted from epidemiological studies that previously described the health or disease conditions...
RNAi-Based Functional Genomics Identifies New Virulence Determinants in Mucormycosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trung Anh Trieu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mucorales are an emerging group of human pathogens that are responsible for the lethal disease mucormycosis. Unfortunately, functional studies on the genetic factors behind the virulence of these organisms are hampered by their limited genetic tractability, since they are reluctant to classical genetic tools like transposable elements or gene mapping. Here, we describe an RNAi-based functional genomic platform that allows the identification of new virulence factors through a forward genetic approach firstly described in Mucorales. This platform contains a whole-genome collection of Mucor circinelloides silenced transformants that presented a broad assortment of phenotypes related to the main physiological processes in fungi, including virulence, hyphae morphology, mycelial and yeast growth, carotenogenesis and asexual sporulation. Selection of transformants with reduced virulence allowed the identification of mcplD, which encodes a Phospholipase D, and mcmyo5, encoding a probably essential cargo transporter of the Myosin V family, as required for a fully virulent phenotype of M. circinelloides. Knock-out mutants for those genes showed reduced virulence in both Galleria mellonella and Mus musculus models, probably due to a delayed germination and polarized growth within macrophages. This study provides a robust approach to study virulence in Mucorales and as a proof of concept identified new virulence determinants in M. circinelloides that could represent promising targets for future antifungal therapies.
An efficient genotyping method for genome-modified animals and human cells generated with CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Xu, Yajie; Yu, Shanshan; Lu, Lu; Ding, Mingqin; Cheng, Jing; Song, Guoxu; Gao, Xing; Yao, Liangming; Fan, Dongdong; Meng, Shu; Zhang, Xuewen; Hu, Shengdi; Tian, Yong

2014-09-19

The rapid generation of various species and strains of laboratory animals using CRISPR/Cas9 technology has dramatically accelerated the interrogation of gene function in vivo. So far, the dominant approach for genotyping of genome-modified animals has been the T7E1 endonuclease cleavage assay. Here, we present a polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-based (PAGE) method to genotype mice harboring different types of indel mutations. We developed 6 strains of genome-modified mice using CRISPR/Cas9 system, and utilized this approach to genotype mice from F0 to F2 generation, which included single and multiplexed genome-modified mice. We also determined the maximal detection sensitivity for detecting mosaic DNA using PAGE-based assay as 0.5%. We further applied PAGE-based genotyping approach to detect CRISPR/Cas9-mediated on- and off-target effect in human 293T and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Thus, PAGE-based genotyping approach meets the rapidly increasing demand for genotyping of the fast-growing number of genome-modified animals and human cell lines created using CRISPR/Cas9 system or other nuclease systems such as TALEN or ZFN.
Distant homology between yeast photoreactivating gene fragment and human genomic digests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meechan, P.J.; Milam, K.M.; Cleaver, J.E.

1985-01-01

Hybridization of DNA coding for the yeast DNA photolyase to human genomic DNA appears to allow one to determine whether a conserved enzyme is coded for in human cells. Under stringent conditions (68 0 C), hybridization is not found between the cloned yeast fragment (YEp13-phr1) and human or chick genomic digests. At less stringent conditions (60 0 C), hybridization is observed with chick digests, indicating evolutionary divergence even among organisms capable of photo-reactivation. At 50 0 C, weak hybridization with human digests was observed, indicating further divergence from the cloned gene. Data concerning the precise extent of homology and methods to clone the chick gene for use as another probe are discussed
Locating protein-coding sequences under selection for additional, overlapping functions in 29 mammalian genomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Michael F; Kheradpour, Pouya; Washietl, Stefan

2011-01-01

conservation compared to typical protein-coding genes—especially at synonymous sites. In this study, we use genome alignments of 29 placental mammals to systematically locate short regions within human ORFs that show conspicuously low estimated rates of synonymous substitution across these species. The 29......-species alignment provides statistical power to locate more than 10,000 such regions with resolution down to nine-codon windows, which are found within more than a quarter of all human protein-coding genes and contain ~2% of their synonymous sites. We collect numerous lines of evidence that the observed...... synonymous constraint in these regions reflects selection on overlapping functional elements including splicing regulatory elements, dual-coding genes, RNA secondary structures, microRNA target sites, and developmental enhancers. Our results show that overlapping functional elements are common in mammalian...
Mechanistically Distinct Pathways of Divergent Regulatory DNA Creation Contribute to Evolution of Human-Specific Genomic Regulatory Networks Driving Phenotypic Divergence of Homo sapiens.

Science.gov (United States)

Glinsky, Gennadi V

2016-09-19

Thousands of candidate human-specific regulatory sequences (HSRS) have been identified, supporting the hypothesis that unique to human phenotypes result from human-specific alterations of genomic regulatory networks. Collectively, a compendium of multiple diverse families of HSRS that are functionally and structurally divergent from Great Apes could be defined as the backbone of human-specific genomic regulatory networks. Here, the conservation patterns analysis of 18,364 candidate HSRS was carried out requiring that 100% of bases must remap during the alignments of human, chimpanzee, and bonobo sequences. A total of 5,535 candidate HSRS were identified that are: (i) highly conserved in Great Apes; (ii) evolved by the exaptation of highly conserved ancestral DNA; (iii) defined by either the acceleration of mutation rates on the human lineage or the functional divergence from non-human primates. The exaptation of highly conserved ancestral DNA pathway seems mechanistically distinct from the evolution of regulatory DNA segments driven by the species-specific expansion of transposable elements. Genome-wide proximity placement analysis of HSRS revealed that a small fraction of topologically associating domains (TADs) contain more than half of HSRS from four distinct families. TADs that are enriched for HSRS and termed rapidly evolving in humans TADs (revTADs) comprise 0.8-10.3% of 3,127 TADs in the hESC genome. RevTADs manifest distinct correlation patterns between placements of human accelerated regions, human-specific transcription factor-binding sites, and recombination rates. There is a significant enrichment within revTAD boundaries of hESC-enhancers, primate-specific CTCF-binding sites, human-specific RNAPII-binding sites, hCONDELs, and H3K4me3 peaks with human-specific enrichment at TSS in prefrontal cortex neurons (P sapiens is driven by the evolution of human-specific genomic regulatory networks via at least two mechanistically distinct pathways of creation of

A human genome-wide library of local phylogeny predictions for whole-genome inference problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schwartz Russell

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many common inference problems in computational genetics depend on inferring aspects of the evolutionary history of a data set given a set of observed modern sequences. Detailed predictions of the full phylogenies are therefore of value in improving our ability to make further inferences about population history and sources of genetic variation. Making phylogenetic predictions on the scale needed for whole-genome analysis is, however, extremely computationally demanding. Results In order to facilitate phylogeny-based predictions on a genomic scale, we develop a library of maximum parsimony phylogenies within local regions spanning all autosomal human chromosomes based on Haplotype Map variation data. We demonstrate the utility of this library for population genetic inferences by examining a tree statistic we call 'imperfection,' which measures the reuse of variant sites within a phylogeny. This statistic is significantly predictive of recombination rate, shows additional regional and population-specific conservation, and allows us to identify outlier genes likely to have experienced unusual amounts of variation in recent human history. Conclusion Recent theoretical advances in algorithms for phylogenetic tree reconstruction have made it possible to perform large-scale inferences of local maximum parsimony phylogenies from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP data. As results from the imperfection statistic demonstrate, phylogeny predictions encode substantial information useful for detecting genomic features and population history. This data set should serve as a platform for many kinds of inferences one may wish to make about human population history and genetic variation.
Human Cancer Models Initiative | Office of Cancer Genomics

Science.gov (United States)

The Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI) is an international consortium that is generating novel human tumor-derived culture models, which are annotated with genomic and clinical data. In an effort to advance cancer research and more fully understand how in vitro findings are related to clinical biology, HCMI-developed models and related data will be available as a community resource for cancer research.
Human genome-microbiome interaction: metagenomics frontiers for the aetiopathology of autoimmune diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Nalbantoglu, Ufuk

2017-01-01

A short while ago, the human genome and microbiome were analysed simultaneously for the first time as a multi-omic approach. The analyses of heterogeneous population cohorts showed that microbiome components were associated with human genome variations. In-depth analysis of these results reveals that the majority of those relationships are between immune pathways and autoimmune disease-associated microbiome components. Thus, it can be hypothesized that autoimmunity may be associated with homeostatic disequilibrium of the human-microbiome interactome. Further analysis of human genome–human microbiome relationships in disease contexts with tailored systems biology approaches may yield insights into disease pathogenesis and prognosis. PMID:28785422
Genome-wide association identifies OBFC1 as a locus involved in human leukocyte telomere biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Daniel; Neuhausen, Susan L; Hunt, Steven C; Kimura, Masayuki; Hwang, Shih-Jen; Chen, Wei; Bis, Joshua C; Fitzpatrick, Annette L; Smith, Erin; Johnson, Andrew D; Gardner, Jeffrey P; Srinivasan, Sathanur R; Schork, Nicholas; Rotter, Jerome I; Herbig, Utz; Psaty, Bruce M; Sastrasinh, Malinee; Murray, Sarah S; Vasan, Ramachandran S; Province, Michael A; Glazer, Nicole L; Lu, Xiaobin; Cao, Xiaojian; Kronmal, Richard; Mangino, Massimo; Soranzo, Nicole; Spector, Tim D; Berenson, Gerald S; Aviv, Abraham

2010-05-18

Telomeres are engaged in a host of cellular functions, and their length is regulated by multiple genes. Telomere shortening, in the course of somatic cell replication, ultimately leads to replicative senescence. In humans, rare mutations in genes that regulate telomere length have been identified in monogenic diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which are associated with shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and increased risk for aplastic anemia. Shortened LTL is observed in a host of aging-related complex genetic diseases and is associated with diminished survival in the elderly. We report results of a genome-wide association study of LTL in a consortium of four observational studies (n = 3,417 participants with LTL and genome-wide genotyping). SNPs in the regions of the oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding folds containing one gene (OBFC1; rs4387287; P = 3.9 x 10(-9)) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4 gene (CXCR4; rs4452212; P = 2.9 x 10(-8)) were associated with LTL at a genome-wide significance level (P a gene associated with LTL (P = 1.1 x 10(-5)). The identification of OBFC1 through genome-wide association as a locus for interindividual variation in LTL in the general population advances the understanding of telomere biology in humans and may provide insights into aging-related disorders linked to altered LTL dynamics.
On the Immortality of Television Sets: “Function” in the Human Genome According to the Evolution-Free Gospel of ENCODE

Science.gov (United States)

Graur, Dan; Zheng, Yichen; Price, Nicholas; Azevedo, Ricardo B.R.; Zufall, Rebecca A.; Elhaik, Eran

2013-01-01

A recent slew of ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Consortium publications, specifically the article signed by all Consortium members, put forward the idea that more than 80% of the human genome is functional. This claim flies in the face of current estimates according to which the fraction of the genome that is evolutionarily conserved through purifying selection is less than 10%. Thus, according to the ENCODE Consortium, a biological function can be maintained indefinitely without selection, which implies that at least 80 − 10 = 70% of the genome is perfectly invulnerable to deleterious mutations, either because no mutation can ever occur in these “functional” regions or because no mutation in these regions can ever be deleterious. This absurd conclusion was reached through various means, chiefly by employing the seldom used “causal role” definition of biological function and then applying it inconsistently to different biochemical properties, by committing a logical fallacy known as “affirming the consequent,” by failing to appreciate the crucial difference between “junk DNA” and “garbage DNA,” by using analytical methods that yield biased errors and inflate estimates of functionality, by favoring statistical sensitivity over specificity, and by emphasizing statistical significance rather than the magnitude of the effect. Here, we detail the many logical and methodological transgressions involved in assigning functionality to almost every nucleotide in the human genome. The ENCODE results were predicted by one of its authors to necessitate the rewriting of textbooks. We agree, many textbooks dealing with marketing, mass-media hype, and public relations may well have to be rewritten. PMID:23431001
Tripolar mitosis and partitioning of the genome arrests human preimplantation development in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Ottolini, Christian S; Kitchen, John; Xanthopoulou, Leoni; Gordon, Tony; Summers, Michael C; Handyside, Alan H

2017-08-29

Following in vitro fertilisation (IVF), only about half of normally fertilised human embryos develop beyond cleavage and morula stages to form a blastocyst in vitro. Although many human embryos are aneuploid and genomically imbalanced, often as a result of meiotic errors inherited in the oocyte, these aneuploidies persist at the blastocyst stage and the reasons for the high incidence of developmental arrest remain unknown. Here we use genome-wide SNP genotyping and meiomapping of both polar bodies to identify maternal meiotic errors and karyomapping to fingerprint the parental chromosomes in single cells from disaggregated arrested embryos and excluded cells from blastocysts. Combined with time lapse imaging of development in culture, we demonstrate that tripolar mitoses in early cleavage cause chromosome dispersal to clones of cells with identical or closely related sub-diploid chromosome profiles resulting in intercellular partitioning of the genome. We hypothesise that following zygotic genome activation (ZGA), the combination of genomic imbalance and partial genome loss disrupts the normal pattern of embryonic gene expression blocking development at the morula-blastocyst transition. Failure to coordinate the cell cycle in early cleavage and regulate centrosome duplication is therefore a major cause of human preimplantation developmental arrest in vitro.
Functional genomics in forage and turf - present status and future ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The combination of bioinformatics and genomics will enhance our understanding ... This review focuses on recent advances and applications of functional genomics for large-scale EST projects, global gene expression analyses, proteomics, and ... ESTs, microarray, proteomics, metabolomics, Medicago truncatula, legume.
Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics

OpenAIRE

Lemke, Amy A.; Harris-Wai, Julie N.

2015-01-01

Along with rapid advances in human genomics, policies governing genomic data and clinical technologies have proliferated. Stakeholder engagement is widely lauded as an important methodology for improving clinical, scientific, and public health policy decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholder engagement is used to develop policies in genomics research and public health areas, as well as to identify future priorities for conducting evidence-based stakeholder engag...
Comparative Genetic Analyses of Human Rhinovirus C (HRV-C) Complete Genome from Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Khaw, Yam Sim; Chan, Yoke Fun; Jafar, Faizatul Lela; Othman, Norlijah; Chee, Hui Yee

2016-01-01

Human rhinovirus-C (HRV-C) has been implicated in more severe illnesses than HRV-A and HRV-B, however, the limited number of HRV-C complete genomes (complete 5′ and 3′ non-coding region and open reading frame sequences) has hindered the in-depth genetic study of this virus. This study aimed to sequence seven complete HRV-C genomes from Malaysia and compare their genetic characteristics with the 18 published HRV-Cs. Seven Malaysian HRV-C complete genomes were obtained with newly redesigned primers. The seven genomes were classified as HRV-C6, C12, C22, C23, C26, C42, and pat16 based on the VP4/VP2 and VP1 pairwise distance threshold classification. Five of the seven Malaysian isolates, namely, 3430-MY-10/C22, 8713-MY-10/C23, 8097-MY-11/C26, 1570-MY-10/C42, and 7383-MY-10/pat16 are the first newly sequenced complete HRV-C genomes. All seven Malaysian isolates genomes displayed nucleotide similarity of 63–81% among themselves and 63–96% with other HRV-Cs. Malaysian HRV-Cs had similar putative immunogenic sites, putative receptor utilization and potential antiviral sites as other HRV-Cs. The genomic features of Malaysian isolates were similar to those of other HRV-Cs. Negative selections were frequently detected in HRV-Cs complete coding sequences indicating that these sequences were under functional constraint. The present study showed that HRV-Cs from Malaysia have diverse genetic sequences but share conserved genomic features with other HRV-Cs. This genetic information could provide further aid in the understanding of HRV-C infection. PMID:27199901
ScreenBEAM: a novel meta-analysis algorithm for functional genomics screens via Bayesian hierarchical modeling | Office of Cancer Genomics

Science.gov (United States)

Functional genomics (FG) screens, using RNAi or CRISPR technology, have become a standard tool for systematic, genome-wide loss-of-function studies for therapeutic target discovery. As in many large-scale assays, however, off-target effects, variable reagents' potency and experimental noise must be accounted for appropriately control for false positives.
Draft genome of neurotropic nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, causative agent of human eosinophilic meningitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Hoi-Sen; Eamsobhana, Praphathip; Lim, Phaik-Eem; Razali, Rozaimi; Aziz, Farhanah Abdul; Rosli, Nurul Shielawati Mohamed; Poole-Johnson, Johan; Anwar, Arif

2015-08-01

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a bursate nematode parasite that causes eosinophilic meningitis (or meningoencephalitis) in humans in many parts of the world. The genomic data from A. cantonensis will form a useful resource for comparative genomic and chemogenomic studies to aid the development of diagnostics and therapeutics. We have sequenced, assembled and annotated the genome of A. cantonensis. The genome size is estimated to be ∼260 Mb, with 17,280 genomic scaffolds, 91X coverage, 81.45% for complete and 93.95% for partial score based on CEGMA analysis of genome completeness. The number of predicted genes of ≥300 bp was 17,482. A total of 7737 predicted protein-coding genes of ≥50 amino acids were identified in the assembled genome. Among the proteins of known function, kinases are the most abundant followed by transferases. The draft genome contains 34 excretory-secretory proteins (ES), a minimum of 44 Nematode Astacin (NAS) metalloproteases, 12 Homeobox (HOX) genes, and 30 neurotransmitters. The assembled genome size (260 Mb) is larger than those of Pristionchus pacificus, Caenorhabditis elegans, Necator americanus, Caenorhabditis briggsae, Trichinella spiralis, Brugia malayi and Loa loa, but smaller than Haemonchus contortus and Ascaris suum. The repeat content (25%) is similar to H. contortus. The GC content (41.17%) is lower compared to P. pacificus (42.7%) and H. contortus (43.1%) but higher compared to C. briggsae (37.69%), A. suum (37.9%) and N. americanus (40.2%) while the scaffold N50 is 42,191. This draft genome will facilitate the understanding of many unresolved issues on the parasite and the disorder it causes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PRISM offers a comprehensive genomic approach to transcription factor function prediction

KAUST Repository

Wenger, A. M.; Clarke, S. L.; Guturu, H.; Chen, J.; Schaar, B. T.; McLean, C. Y.; Bejerano, G.

2013-01-01

The human genome encodes 1500-2000 different transcription factors (TFs). ChIP-seq is revealing the global binding profiles of a fraction of TFs in a fraction of their biological contexts. These data show that the majority of TFs bind directly next to a large number of context-relevant target genes, that most binding is distal, and that binding is context specific. Because of the effort and cost involved, ChIP-seq is seldom used in search of novel TF function. Such exploration is instead done using expression perturbation and genetic screens. Here we propose a comprehensive computational framework for transcription factor function prediction. We curate 332 high-quality nonredundant TF binding motifs that represent all major DNA binding domains, and improve cross-species conserved binding site prediction to obtain 3.3 million conserved, mostly distal, binding site predictions. We combine these with 2.4 million facts about all human and mouse gene functions, in a novel statistical framework, in search of enrichments of particular motifs next to groups of target genes of particular functions. Rigorous parameter tuning and a harsh null are used to minimize false positives. Our novel PRISM (predicting regulatory information from single motifs) approach obtains 2543 TF function predictions in a large variety of contexts, at a false discovery rate of 16%. The predictions are highly enriched for validated TF roles, and 45 of 67 (67%) tested binding site regions in five different contexts act as enhancers in functionally matched cells.
PRISM offers a comprehensive genomic approach to transcription factor function prediction

KAUST Repository

Wenger, A. M.

2013-02-04

The human genome encodes 1500-2000 different transcription factors (TFs). ChIP-seq is revealing the global binding profiles of a fraction of TFs in a fraction of their biological contexts. These data show that the majority of TFs bind directly next to a large number of context-relevant target genes, that most binding is distal, and that binding is context specific. Because of the effort and cost involved, ChIP-seq is seldom used in search of novel TF function. Such exploration is instead done using expression perturbation and genetic screens. Here we propose a comprehensive computational framework for transcription factor function prediction. We curate 332 high-quality nonredundant TF binding motifs that represent all major DNA binding domains, and improve cross-species conserved binding site prediction to obtain 3.3 million conserved, mostly distal, binding site predictions. We combine these with 2.4 million facts about all human and mouse gene functions, in a novel statistical framework, in search of enrichments of particular motifs next to groups of target genes of particular functions. Rigorous parameter tuning and a harsh null are used to minimize false positives. Our novel PRISM (predicting regulatory information from single motifs) approach obtains 2543 TF function predictions in a large variety of contexts, at a false discovery rate of 16%. The predictions are highly enriched for validated TF roles, and 45 of 67 (67%) tested binding site regions in five different contexts act as enhancers in functionally matched cells.
The international Genome sample resource (IGSR): A worldwide collection of genome variation incorporating the 1000 Genomes Project data.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Laura; Fairley, Susan; Zheng-Bradley, Xiangqun; Streeter, Ian; Perry, Emily; Lowy, Ernesto; Tassé, Anne-Marie; Flicek, Paul

2017-01-04

The International Genome Sample Resource (IGSR; http://www.internationalgenome.org) expands in data type and population diversity the resources from the 1000 Genomes Project. IGSR represents the largest open collection of human variation data and provides easy access to these resources. IGSR was established in 2015 to maintain and extend the 1000 Genomes Project data, which has been widely used as a reference set of human variation and by researchers developing analysis methods. IGSR has mapped all of the 1000 Genomes sequence to the newest human reference (GRCh38), and will release updated variant calls to ensure maximal usefulness of the existing data. IGSR is collecting new structural variation data on the 1000 Genomes samples from long read sequencing and other technologies, and will collect relevant functional data into a single comprehensive resource. IGSR is extending coverage with new populations sequenced by collaborating groups. Here, we present the new data and analysis that IGSR has made available. We have also introduced a new data portal that increases discoverability of our data-previously only browseable through our FTP site-by focusing on particular samples, populations or data sets of interest. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
Genomic variation landscape of the human gut microbiome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schloissnig, Siegfried; Arumugam, Manimozhiyan; Sunagawa, Shinichi

2013-01-01

Whereas large-scale efforts have rapidly advanced the understanding and practical impact of human genomic variation, the practical impact of variation is largely unexplored in the human microbiome. We therefore developed a framework for metagenomic variation analysis and applied it to 252 faecal...... polymorphism rates of 0.11 was more variable between gut microbial species than across human hosts. Subjects sampled at varying time intervals exhibited individuality and temporal stability of SNP variation patterns, despite considerable composition changes of their gut microbiota. This indicates...
Lineage-specific expansions of retroviral insertions within the genomes of African great apes but not humans and orangutans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris T Yohn

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Retroviral infections of the germline have the potential to episodically alter gene function and genome structure during the course of evolution. Horizontal transmissions between species have been proposed, but little evidence exists for such events in the human/great ape lineage of evolution. Based on analysis of finished BAC chimpanzee genome sequence, we characterize a retroviral element (Pan troglodytes endogenous retrovirus 1 [PTERV1] that has become integrated in the germline of African great ape and Old World monkey species but is absent from humans and Asian ape genomes. We unambiguously map 287 retroviral integration sites and determine that approximately 95.8% of the insertions occur at non-orthologous regions between closely related species. Phylogenetic analysis of the endogenous retrovirus reveals that the gorilla and chimpanzee elements share a monophyletic origin with a subset of the Old World monkey retroviral elements, but that the average sequence divergence exceeds neutral expectation for a strictly nuclear inherited DNA molecule. Within the chimpanzee, there is a significant integration bias against genes, with only 14 of these insertions mapping within intronic regions. Six out of ten of these genes, for which there are expression data, show significant differences in transcript expression between human and chimpanzee. Our data are consistent with a retroviral infection that bombarded the genomes of chimpanzees and gorillas independently and concurrently, 3-4 million years ago. We speculate on the potential impact of such recent events on the evolution of humans and great apes.
Evolutionary constraint and disease associations of post-translational modification sites in human genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jüri Reimand

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Interpreting the impact of human genome variation on phenotype is challenging. The functional effect of protein-coding variants is often predicted using sequence conservation and population frequency data, however other factors are likely relevant. We hypothesized that variants in protein post-translational modification (PTM sites contribute to phenotype variation and disease. We analyzed fraction of rare variants and non-synonymous to synonymous variant ratio (Ka/Ks in 7,500 human genomes and found a significant negative selection signal in PTM regions independent of six factors, including conservation, codon usage, and GC-content, that is widely distributed across tissue-specific genes and function classes. PTM regions are also enriched in known disease mutations, suggesting that PTM variation is more likely deleterious. PTM constraint also affects flanking sequence around modified residues and increases around clustered sites, indicating presence of functionally important short linear motifs. Using target site motifs of 124 kinases, we predict that at least ∼180,000 motif-breaker amino acid residues that disrupt PTM sites when substituted, and highlight kinase motifs that show specific negative selection and enrichment of disease mutations. We provide this dataset with corresponding hypothesized mechanisms as a community resource. As an example of our integrative approach, we propose that PTPN11 variants in Noonan syndrome aberrantly activate the protein by disrupting an uncharacterized cluster of phosphorylation sites. Further, as PTMs are molecular switches that are modulated by drugs, we study mutated binding sites of PTM enzymes in disease genes and define a drug-disease network containing 413 novel predicted disease-gene links.
Genome-wide discovery of drug-dependent human liver regulatory elements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin P Smith

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Inter-individual variation in gene regulatory elements is hypothesized to play a causative role in adverse drug reactions and reduced drug activity. However, relatively little is known about the location and function of drug-dependent elements. To uncover drug-associated elements in a genome-wide manner, we performed RNA-seq and ChIP-seq using antibodies against the pregnane X receptor (PXR and three active regulatory marks (p300, H3K4me1, H3K27ac on primary human hepatocytes treated with rifampin or vehicle control. Rifampin and PXR were chosen since they are part of the CYP3A4 pathway, which is known to account for the metabolism of more than 50% of all prescribed drugs. We selected 227 proximal promoters for genes with rifampin-dependent expression or nearby PXR/p300 occupancy sites and assayed their ability to induce luciferase in rifampin-treated HepG2 cells, finding only 10 (4.4% that exhibited drug-dependent activity. As this result suggested a role for distal enhancer modules, we searched more broadly to identify 1,297 genomic regions bearing a conditional PXR occupancy as well as all three active regulatory marks. These regions are enriched near genes that function in the metabolism of xenobiotics, specifically members of the cytochrome P450 family. We performed enhancer assays in rifampin-treated HepG2 cells for 42 of these sequences as well as 7 sequences that overlap linkage-disequilibrium blocks defined by lead SNPs from pharmacogenomic GWAS studies, revealing 15/42 and 4/7 to be functional enhancers, respectively. A common African haplotype in one of these enhancers in the GSTA locus was found to exhibit potential rifampin hypersensitivity. Combined, our results further suggest that enhancers are the predominant targets of rifampin-induced PXR activation, provide a genome-wide catalog of PXR targets and serve as a model for the identification of drug-responsive regulatory elements.
MARRVEL: Integration of Human and Model Organism Genetic Resources to Facilitate Functional Annotation of the Human Genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Julia; Al-Ouran, Rami; Hu, Yanhui; Kim, Seon-Young; Wan, Ying-Wooi; Wangler, Michael F; Yamamoto, Shinya; Chao, Hsiao-Tuan; Comjean, Aram; Mohr, Stephanie E; Perrimon, Norbert; Liu, Zhandong; Bellen, Hugo J

2017-06-01

One major challenge encountered with interpreting human genetic variants is the limited understanding of the functional impact of genetic alterations on biological processes. Furthermore, there remains an unmet demand for an efficient survey of the wealth of information on human homologs in model organisms across numerous databases. To efficiently assess the large volume of publically available information, it is important to provide a concise summary of the most relevant information in a rapid user-friendly format. To this end, we created MARRVEL (model organism aggregated resources for rare variant exploration). MARRVEL is a publicly available website that integrates information from six human genetic databases and seven model organism databases. For any given variant or gene, MARRVEL displays information from OMIM, ExAC, ClinVar, Geno2MP, DGV, and DECIPHER. Importantly, it curates model organism-specific databases to concurrently display a concise summary regarding the human gene homologs in budding and fission yeast, worm, fly, fish, mouse, and rat on a single webpage. Experiment-based information on tissue expression, protein subcellular localization, biological process, and molecular function for the human gene and homologs in the seven model organisms are arranged into a concise output. Hence, rather than visiting multiple separate databases for variant and gene analysis, users can obtain important information by searching once through MARRVEL. Altogether, MARRVEL dramatically improves efficiency and accessibility to data collection and facilitates analysis of human genes and variants by cross-disciplinary integration of 18 million records available in public databases to facilitate clinical diagnosis and basic research. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Parvovirus B19 synthetic genome: sequence features and functional competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Manaresi, Elisabetta; Conti, Ilaria; Bua, Gloria; Bonvicini, Francesca; Gallinella, Giorgio

2017-08-01

Central to genetic studies for Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is the availability of genomic clones that may possess functional competence and ability to generate infectious virus. In our study, we established a new model genetic system for Parvovirus B19. A synthetic approach was followed, by design of a reference genome sequence, by generation of a corresponding artificial construct and its molecular cloning in a complete and functional form, and by setup of an efficient strategy to generate infectious virus, via transfection in UT7/EpoS1 cells and amplification in erythroid progenitor cells. The synthetic genome was able to generate virus with biological properties paralleling those of native virus, its infectious activity being dependent on the preservation of self-complementarity and sequence heterogeneity within the terminal regions. A virus of defined genome sequence, obtained from controlled cell culture conditions, can constitute a reference tool for investigation of the structural and functional characteristics of the virus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resurrection of DNA function in vivo from an extinct genome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J Pask

2008-05-01

Full Text Available There is a burgeoning repository of information available from ancient DNA that can be used to understand how genomes have evolved and to determine the genetic features that defined a particular species. To assess the functional consequences of changes to a genome, a variety of methods are needed to examine extinct DNA function. We isolated a transcriptional enhancer element from the genome of an extinct marsupial, the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus or thylacine, obtained from 100 year-old ethanol-fixed tissues from museum collections. We then examined the function of the enhancer in vivo. Using a transgenic approach, it was possible to resurrect DNA function in transgenic mice. The results demonstrate that the thylacine Col2A1 enhancer directed chondrocyte-specific expression in this extinct mammalian species in the same way as its orthologue does in mice. While other studies have examined extinct coding DNA function in vitro, this is the first example of the restoration of extinct non-coding DNA and examination of its function in vivo. Our method using transgenesis can be used to explore the function of regulatory and protein-coding sequences obtained from any extinct species in an in vivo model system, providing important insights into gene evolution and diversity.
New roles of the human Suv3 helicase in genome maintenance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Venø, Susanne Trillingsgaard

During her PhD studies, Susanne Trillingsgaard Venø carried out research into the role of the human Suv3 protein in stabilising the human genome – DNA. Suv3 is a helicase that separates the two strands of the DNA’s double helix. Throughout our lives, the DNA in our cells is constantly exposed...... maintenance. Based on these new research results, the Suv3 protein could be a valuable model for genome stability as an important factor in our understanding of why we get old....
A human-specific de novo protein-coding gene associated with human brain functions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan-Yun Li

2010-03-01

Full Text Available To understand whether any human-specific new genes may be associated with human brain functions, we computationally screened the genetic vulnerable factors identified through Genome-Wide Association Studies and linkage analyses of nicotine addiction and found one human-specific de novo protein-coding gene, FLJ33706 (alternative gene symbol C20orf203. Cross-species analysis revealed interesting evolutionary paths of how this gene had originated from noncoding DNA sequences: insertion of repeat elements especially Alu contributed to the formation of the first coding exon and six standard splice junctions on the branch leading to humans and chimpanzees, and two subsequent substitutions in the human lineage escaped two stop codons and created an open reading frame of 194 amino acids. We experimentally verified FLJ33706's mRNA and protein expression in the brain. Real-Time PCR in multiple tissues demonstrated that FLJ33706 was most abundantly expressed in brain. Human polymorphism data suggested that FLJ33706 encodes a protein under purifying selection. A specifically designed antibody detected its protein expression across human cortex, cerebellum and midbrain. Immunohistochemistry study in normal human brain cortex revealed the localization of FLJ33706 protein in neurons. Elevated expressions of FLJ33706 were detected in Alzheimer's brain samples, suggesting the role of this novel gene in human-specific pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. FLJ33706 provided the strongest evidence so far that human-specific de novo genes can have protein-coding potential and differential protein expression, and be involved in human brain functions.
Specificity and functional interaction of the polymerase complex proteins of human and avian metapneumoviruses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.T. de Graaf (Marieke); S. Herfst (Sander); E.J.A. Schrauwen (Eefje); Y. Choi (Ying); B.G. van den Hoogen (Bernadette); A.D.M.E. Osterhaus (Albert); R.A.M. Fouchier (Ron)

2008-01-01

textabstractHuman metapneumovirus (HMPV) and avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) have a similar genome organization and protein composition, but a different host range. AMPV subgroup C (AMPV-C) is more closely relaled to HMPV than other AMPVs. To investigate the specificity and functional interaction of
Genome-to-genome analysis highlights the impact of the human innate and adaptive immune systems on the hepatitis C virus

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Camilla; Magri, Andrea; Von Delft, Annette; Bonsall, David; Chaturvedi, Nimisha; Bartha, Istvan; Smith, David; Nicholson, George; McVean, Gilean; Trebes, Amy; Piazza, Paolo; Fellay, Jacques; Cooke, Graham; Foster, Graham R; Hudson, Emma; McLauchlan, John; Simmonds, Peter; Bowden, Rory; Klenerman, Paul; Barnes, Eleanor; Spencer, Chris C. A.

2018-01-01

Outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and treatment depend on viral and host genetic factors. We use human genome-wide genotyping arrays and new whole-genome HCV viral sequencing technologies to perform a systematic genome-to-genome study of 542 individuals chronically infected with HCV, predominately genotype 3. We show that both HLA alleles and interferon lambda innate immune system genes drive viral genome polymorphism, and that IFNL4 genotypes determine HCV viral load through a mechanism that is dependent on a specific polymorphism in the HCV polyprotein. We highlight the interplay between innate immune responses and the viral genome in HCV control. PMID:28394351
Comparative analysis of genome maintenance genes in naked mole rat, mouse, and human

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.L. Macrae (Sheila L.); Q. Zhang (Quanwei); C. Lemetre (Christophe); I. Seim (Inge); R.B. Calder (Robert B.); J.H.J. Hoeijmakers (Jan); Y. Suh (Yousin); V.N. Gladyshev (Vadim N.); A. Seluanov (Andrei); V. Gorbunova (Vera); J. Vijg (Jan); Z.D. Zhang (Zhengdong D.)

2015-01-01

textabstractGenome maintenance (GM) is an essential defense system against aging and cancer, as both are characterized by increased genome instability. Here, we compared the copy number variation and mutation rate of 518 GM-associated genes in the naked mole rat (NMR), mouse, and human genomes. GM
Human genome education model project. Ethical, legal, and social implications of the human genome project: Education of interdisciplinary professionals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiss, J.O. [Alliance of Genetic Support Groups, Chevy Chase, MD (United States); Lapham, E.V. [Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (United States). Child Development Center

1996-12-31

This meeting was held June 10, 1996 at Georgetown University. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a multidisciplinary forum for exchange of state-of-the-art information on the human genome education model. Topics of discussion include the following: psychosocial issues; ethical issues for professionals; legislative issues and update; and education issues.
Predicting human height by Victorian and genomic methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Aulchenko, Yurii S; Struchalin, Maksim V; Belonogova, Nadezhda M; Axenovich, Tatiana I; Weedon, Michael N; Hofman, Albert; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Kayser, Manfred; Oostra, Ben A; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Janssens, A Cecile J W; Borodin, Pavel M

2009-08-01

In the Victorian era, Sir Francis Galton showed that 'when dealing with the transmission of stature from parents to children, the average height of the two parents, ... is all we need care to know about them' (1886). One hundred and twenty-two years after Galton's work was published, 54 loci showing strong statistical evidence for association to human height were described, providing us with potential genomic means of human height prediction. In a population-based study of 5748 people, we find that a 54-loci genomic profile explained 4-6% of the sex- and age-adjusted height variance, and had limited ability to discriminate tall/short people, as characterized by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). In a family-based study of 550 people, with both parents having height measurements, we find that the Galtonian mid-parental prediction method explained 40% of the sex- and age-adjusted height variance, and showed high discriminative accuracy. We have also explored how much variance a genomic profile should explain to reach certain AUC values. For highly heritable traits such as height, we conclude that in applications in which parental phenotypic information is available (eg, medicine), the Victorian Galton's method will long stay unsurpassed, in terms of both discriminative accuracy and costs. For less heritable traits, and in situations in which parental information is not available (eg, forensics), genomic methods may provide an alternative, given that the variants determining an essential proportion of the trait's variation can be identified.
DOE Human Genome Program contractor-grantee workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-01-01

This volume contains the proceedings for the DOE Human Genome Program`s Contractor-Grantee Workshop V held in Sante Fe, New Mexico January 28, February 1, 1996. Presentations were divided into sessions entitled Sequencing; Mapping; Informatics; Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues; and Infrastructure. Reports of individual projects described herein are separately indexed and abstracted for the database.
Molecular Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Stably Expressing Human PET Reporter Genes After Zinc Finger Nuclease-Mediated Genome Editing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfs, Esther; Holvoet, Bryan; Ordovas, Laura; Breuls, Natacha; Helsen, Nicky; Schönberger, Matthias; Raitano, Susanna; Struys, Tom; Vanbilloen, Bert; Casteels, Cindy; Sampaolesi, Maurilio; Van Laere, Koen; Lambrichts, Ivo; Verfaillie, Catherine M; Deroose, Christophe M

2017-10-01

Molecular imaging is indispensable for determining the fate and persistence of engrafted stem cells. Standard strategies for transgene induction involve the use of viral vectors prone to silencing and insertional mutagenesis or the use of nonhuman genes. Methods: We used zinc finger nucleases to induce stable expression of human imaging reporter genes into the safe-harbor locus adeno-associated virus integration site 1 in human embryonic stem cells. Plasmids were generated carrying reporter genes for fluorescence, bioluminescence imaging, and human PET reporter genes. Results: In vitro assays confirmed their functionality, and embryonic stem cells retained differentiation capacity. Teratoma formation assays were performed, and tumors were imaged over time with PET and bioluminescence imaging. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the application of genome editing for targeted integration of human imaging reporter genes in human embryonic stem cells for long-term molecular imaging. © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
Linkage disequilibrium between STRPs and SNPs across the human genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Payseur, Bret A; Place, Michael; Weber, James L

2008-05-01

Patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) reveal the action of evolutionary processes and provide crucial information for association mapping of disease genes. Although recent studies have described the landscape of LD among single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from across the human genome, associations involving other classes of molecular variation remain poorly understood. In addition to recombination and population history, mutation rate and process are expected to shape LD. To test this idea, we measured associations between short-tandem-repeat polymorphisms (STRPs), which can mutate rapidly and recurrently, and SNPs in 721 regions across the human genome. We directly compared STRP-SNP LD with SNP-SNP LD from the same genomic regions in the human HapMap populations. The intensity of STRP-SNP LD, measured by the average of D', was reduced, consistent with the action of recurrent mutation. Nevertheless, a higher fraction of STRP-SNP pairs than SNP-SNP pairs showed significant LD, on both short (up to 50 kb) and long (cM) scales. These results reveal the substantial effects of mutational processes on LD at STRPs and provide important measures of the potential of STRPs for association mapping of disease genes.
Prediction of Complex Human Traits Using the Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de los Campos, Gustavo; Vazquez, Ana I; Fernando, Rohan

2013-01-01

Despite important advances from Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), for most complex human traits and diseases, a sizable proportion of genetic variance remains unexplained and prediction accuracy (PA) is usually low. Evidence suggests that PA can be improved using Whole-Genome Regression (WGR......) models where phenotypes are regressed on hundreds of thousands of variants simultaneously. The Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction G-BLUP, a ridge-regression type method) is a commonly used WGR method and has shown good predictive performance when applied to plant and animal breeding populations....... However, breeding and human populations differ greatly in a number of factors that can affect the predictive performance of G-BLUP. Using theory, simulations, and real data analysis, we study the erformance of G-BLUP when applied to data from related and unrelated human subjects. Under perfect linkage...
GaussianCpG: a Gaussian model for detection of CpG island in human genome sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Ning; Guo, Xuan; Zelikovsky, Alexander; Pan, Yi

2017-05-24

As crucial markers in identifying biological elements and processes in mammalian genomes, CpG islands (CGI) play important roles in DNA methylation, gene regulation, epigenetic inheritance, gene mutation, chromosome inactivation and nuclesome retention. The generally accepted criteria of CGI rely on: (a) %G+C content is ≥ 50%, (b) the ratio of the observed CpG content and the expected CpG content is ≥ 0.6, and (c) the general length of CGI is greater than 200 nucleotides. Most existing computational methods for the prediction of CpG island are programmed on these rules. However, many experimentally verified CpG islands deviate from these artificial criteria. Experiments indicate that in many cases %G+C is human genome. We analyze the energy distribution over genomic primary structure for each CpG site and adopt the parameters from statistics of Human genome. The evaluation results show that the new model can predict CpG islands efficiently by balancing both sensitivity and specificity over known human CGI data sets. Compared with other models, GaussianCpG can achieve better performance in CGI detection. Our Gaussian model aims to simplify the complex interaction between nucleotides. The model is computed not by the linear statistical method but by the Gaussian energy distribution and accumulation. The parameters of Gaussian function are not arbitrarily designated but deliberately chosen by optimizing the biological statistics. By using the pseudopotential analysis on CpG islands, the novel model is validated on both the real and artificial data sets.
GWIS: Genome-Wide Inferred Statistics for Functions of Multiple Phenotypes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwboer, H.A.; Pool, R.; Dolan, C.V.; Boomsma, D.I.; Nivard, M.G.

2016-01-01

Here we present a method of genome-wide inferred study (GWIS) that provides an approximation of genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for a variable that is a function of phenotypes for which GWAS summary statistics, phenotypic means, and covariances are available. A GWIS can be
Whole genome analysis of selected human and animal rotaviruses identified in Uganda from 2012 to 2014 reveals complex genome reassortment events between human, bovine, caprine and porcine strains.

Science.gov (United States)

Bwogi, Josephine; Jere, Khuzwayo C; Karamagi, Charles; Byarugaba, Denis K; Namuwulya, Prossy; Baliraine, Frederick N; Desselberger, Ulrich; Iturriza-Gomara, Miren

2017-01-01

Rotaviruses of species A (RVA) are a common cause of diarrhoea in children and the young of various other mammals and birds worldwide. To investigate possible interspecies transmission of RVAs, whole genomes of 18 human and 6 domestic animal RVA strains identified in Uganda between 2012 and 2014 were sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq platform. The backbone of the human RVA strains had either a Wa- or a DS-1-like genetic constellation. One human strain was a Wa-like mono-reassortant containing a DS-1-like VP2 gene of possible animal origin. All eleven genes of one bovine RVA strain were closely related to those of human RVAs. One caprine strain had a mixed genotype backbone, suggesting that it emerged from multiple reassortment events involving different host species. The porcine RVA strains had mixed genotype backbones with possible multiple reassortant events with strains of human and bovine origin.Overall, whole genome characterisation of rotaviruses found in domestic animals in Uganda strongly suggested the presence of human-to animal RVA transmission, with concomitant circulation of multi-reassortant strains potentially derived from complex interspecies transmission events. However, whole genome data from the human RVA strains causing moderate and severe diarrhoea in under-fives in Uganda indicated that they were primarily transmitted from person-to-person.
The Human Genome Diversity (HGD) Project. Summary document

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-12-31

In 1991 a group of human geneticists and molecular biologists proposed to the scientific community that a world wide survey be undertaken of variation in the human genome. To aid their considerations, the committee therefore decided to hold a small series of international workshops to explore the major scientific issues involved. The intention was to define a framework for the project which could provide a basis for much wider and more detailed discussion and planning--it was recognized that the successful implementation of the proposed project, which has come to be known as the Human Genome Diversity (HGD) Project, would not only involve scientists but also various national and international non-scientific groups all of which should contribute to the project`s development. The international HGD workshop held in Sardinia in September 1993 was the last in the initial series of planning workshops. As such it not only explored new ground but also pulled together into a more coherent form much of the formal and informal discussion that had taken place in the preceding two years. This report presents the deliberations of the Sardinia workshop within a consideration of the overall development of the HGD Project to date.
Genomic resources for gene discovery, functional genome annotation, and evolutionary studies of maize and its close relatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Shi, Xue; Liu, Lin; Li, Haiyan; Ammiraju, Jetty S S; Kudrna, David A; Xiong, Wentao; Wang, Hao; Dai, Zhaozhao; Zheng, Yonglian; Lai, Jinsheng; Jin, Weiwei; Messing, Joachim; Bennetzen, Jeffrey L; Wing, Rod A; Luo, Meizhong

2013-11-01

Maize is one of the most important food crops and a key model for genetics and developmental biology. A genetically anchored and high-quality draft genome sequence of maize inbred B73 has been obtained to serve as a reference sequence. To facilitate evolutionary studies in maize and its close relatives, much like the Oryza Map Alignment Project (OMAP) (www.OMAP.org) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) resource did for the rice community, we constructed BAC libraries for maize inbred lines Zheng58, Chang7-2, and Mo17 and maize wild relatives Zea mays ssp. parviglumis and Tripsacum dactyloides. Furthermore, to extend functional genomic studies to maize and sorghum, we also constructed binary BAC (BIBAC) libraries for the maize inbred B73 and the sorghum landrace Nengsi-1. The BAC/BIBAC vectors facilitate transfer of large intact DNA inserts from BAC clones to the BIBAC vector and functional complementation of large DNA fragments. These seven Zea Map Alignment Project (ZMAP) BAC/BIBAC libraries have average insert sizes ranging from 92 to 148 kb, organellar DNA from 0.17 to 2.3%, empty vector rates between 0.35 and 5.56%, and genome equivalents of 4.7- to 8.4-fold. The usefulness of the Parviglumis and Tripsacum BAC libraries was demonstrated by mapping clones to the reference genome. Novel genes and alleles present in these ZMAP libraries can now be used for functional complementation studies and positional or homology-based cloning of genes for translational genomics.
Genome-wide association studies in Africans and African Americans: Expanding the Framework of the Genomics of Human Traits and Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Peprah, Emmanuel; Xu, Huichun; Tekola-Ayele, Fasil; Royal, Charmaine D.

2014-01-01

Genomic research is one of the tools for elucidating the pathogenesis of diseases of global health relevance, and paving the research dimension to clinical and public health translation. Recent advances in genomic research and technologies have increased our understanding of human diseases, genes associated with these disorders, and the relevant mechanisms. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have proliferated since the first studies were published several years ago, and have become an important tool in helping researchers comprehend human variation and the role genetic variants play in disease. However, the need to expand the diversity of populations in GWAS has become increasingly apparent as new knowledge is gained about genetic variation. Inclusion of diverse populations in genomic studies is critical to a more complete understanding of human variation and elucidation of the underpinnings of complex diseases. In this review, we summarize the available data on GWAS in recent-African ancestry populations within the western hemisphere (i.e. African Americans and peoples of the Caribbean) and continental African populations. Furthermore, we highlight ways in which genomic studies in populations of recent African ancestry have led to advances in the areas of malaria, HIV, prostate cancer, and other diseases. Finally, we discuss the advantages of conducting GWAS in recent African ancestry populations in the context of addressing existing and emerging global health conditions. PMID:25427668
Genome-wide association studies in Africans and African Americans: expanding the framework of the genomics of human traits and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Peprah, Emmanuel; Xu, Huichun; Tekola-Ayele, Fasil; Royal, Charmaine D

2015-01-01

Genomic research is one of the tools for elucidating the pathogenesis of diseases of global health relevance and paving the research dimension to clinical and public health translation. Recent advances in genomic research and technologies have increased our understanding of human diseases, genes associated with these disorders, and the relevant mechanisms. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have proliferated since the first studies were published several years ago and have become an important tool in helping researchers comprehend human variation and the role genetic variants play in disease. However, the need to expand the diversity of populations in GWAS has become increasingly apparent as new knowledge is gained about genetic variation. Inclusion of diverse populations in genomic studies is critical to a more complete understanding of human variation and elucidation of the underpinnings of complex diseases. In this review, we summarize the available data on GWAS in recent African ancestry populations within the western hemisphere (i.e. African Americans and peoples of the Caribbean) and continental African populations. Furthermore, we highlight ways in which genomic studies in populations of recent African ancestry have led to advances in the areas of malaria, HIV, prostate cancer, and other diseases. Finally, we discuss the advantages of conducting GWAS in recent African ancestry populations in the context of addressing existing and emerging global health conditions.
The "most wanted" taxa from the human microbiome for whole genome sequencing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony A Fodor

Full Text Available The goal of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP is to generate a comprehensive catalog of human-associated microorganisms including reference genomes representing the most common species. Toward this goal, the HMP has characterized the microbial communities at 18 body habitats in a cohort of over 200 healthy volunteers using 16S rRNA gene (16S sequencing and has generated nearly 1,000 reference genomes from human-associated microorganisms. To determine how well current reference genome collections capture the diversity observed among the healthy microbiome and to guide isolation and future sequencing of microbiome members, we compared the HMP's 16S data sets to several reference 16S collections to create a 'most wanted' list of taxa for sequencing. Our analysis revealed that the diversity of commonly occurring taxa within the HMP cohort microbiome is relatively modest, few novel taxa are represented by these OTUs and many common taxa among HMP volunteers recur across different populations of healthy humans. Taken together, these results suggest that it should be possible to perform whole-genome sequencing on a large fraction of the human microbiome, including the 'most wanted', and that these sequences should serve to support microbiome studies across multiple cohorts. Also, in stark contrast to other taxa, the 'most wanted' organisms are poorly represented among culture collections suggesting that novel culture- and single-cell-based methods will be required to isolate these organisms for sequencing.

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