Mid April 2009 papers

Some interest papers.

New tools for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery and analysis accelerating plant biotechnology, Robert Henry, Keith Edwards, Plant Biotechnology Journal 7(4):311-311.

Discovering genetic polymorphisms in next-generation sequencing data, Michael Imelfort, Chris Duran, Jacqueline Batley, David Edwards, Plant Biotechnology Journal 7(4):312-317.

Single nucleotide polymorphism discovery in barley using autoSNPdb, Chris Duran, Nikki Appleby, Megan Vardy, Michael Imelfort, David Edwards, Jacqueline Batley, Plant Biotechnology Journal 7(4):326-333.

A unique virulence factor for proliferation and dwarfism in plants identified from a phytopathogenic bacterium, Ayaka Hoshi, Kenro Oshima, Shigeyuki Kakizawa, Yoshiko Ishii, Johji Ozeki, Masayoshi Hashimoto, Ken Komatsu, Satoshi Kagiwada, Yasuyuki Yamaji, and Shigetou Namba, PNAS 106(15):6416-6421 (April 14, 2009).

Obesity: Be cool, lose weight, Stephen R. Farmer, Nature 458:839-840 (16 April 2009).
To lose weight, would you rather diet, exercise or subject yourself to cool temperatures? The last choice is not such an odd one, as adult humans have brown fat tissue that burns calories in response to cold.

Biochemistry: Anchors away, Maria Paola Costi and Stefania Ferrari, Nature 458:840-841 (16 April 2009).
Nature often adopts several approaches to crack the same problem. The finding that the mechanism of a crucial enzyme in certain disease-causing bacteria differs from that in mammals offers scope for drug discovery.

Genetics of gene expression: Putting radiation response on the map, Louisa Flintoft, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:278 (May 2009).

Plant development: Paternal control regulates division, Elizabeth Neame, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:280-281 (May 2009).

Epigenetics: A silent inheritance, Francesca Cesari, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:283 (May 2009).

Linking DNA methylation and histone modification: patterns and paradigms, Howard Cedar & Yehudit Bergman, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:295-304 (May 2009).
DNA methylation and histone modification are important for regulating gene expression and chromatin structure. New evidence suggests there are multiple levels of crosstalk between these marks. Understanding this crosstalk will be important for elucidating the role of epigenetics in development and disease.

Survival of the flexible: hormonal growth control and adaptation in plant development, Hanno Wolters & Gerd Jürgens, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:305-317 (May 2009).
Plant growth is controlled by both intrinsic and environmental signals and is mediated by hormonal signalling. Hormones are important for maintaining and regulating stem cell compartments in postembryonic plants, and current research is revealing many interactions between different hormone pathways.

Validating, augmenting and refining genome-wide association signals, John P. A. Ioannidis, Gilles Thomas & Mark J. Daly, Nature Reviews Genetics 10:318-329 (May 2009).
Genome-wide association studies have identified many promising links between genetic variants and human traits. However, the steps from the initial identification of associated markers to the reliable validation of the causal variant are long and tortuous, as the authors describe.