Codon evolution is governed by linear formulas.

sorimachi submitted, created time 10 months 3 weeks (www.springerlink.com)

A new discavery that codon evolution is governed by linear formulas based on simple calculations of a lot of genomic data. This study has been dirived from the evidence that a gene assembly coding 3,000-7,000 amino acid residues represents the whole genome (Mycoscience 44(5): 415-417, 2003); genome is constructed homogeneously with putative small units coding similar amino acid compositions.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: genome evolution protein-coding gene genome assembly DNA genome Genome Biology codon usage optimization Neural Coding amino acid replacement amino acid

'Painkiller' gene turned off in mice

Eric wu submitted, created time 1 year 2 weeks (www.newscientist.com)

Mice lacking a key protein took longer to react to a painful stimulus, prompting hopes for a new class of painkillers

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: mouse model painkillers pain management anesthesiology pain gnotobiotic mice protein-coding gene

Tracking the evolution of alternatively spliced exons within the Dscam family

m.giddings submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.biomedcentral.com)

The Dscam gene in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, contains twenty-four exons, four of which are composed of tandem arrays that each undergo mutually exclusive alternative splicing (4, 6, 9 and 17), potentially generating 38,016 protein isoforms. This degree of transcript diversity has not been found in mammalian homologs of Dscam. The researchers examined the molecular evolution of exons within this gene family to locate the point of divergence for this alternative splicing pattern.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: exons protein-coding gene alternative splicing (AS) fruit flies protein isoforms

TFIIS elongation factor and Mediator act in conjunction during transcription initiation in vivo

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.pnas.org)

The transcription initiation and elongation steps of protein-coding genes usually rely on unrelated protein complexes. However, the TFIIS elongation factor is implicated in both processes.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: elongation factor Mediator transcription protein-coding gene

Variation in the gene coding for the M5 Muscarinic receptor (CHRM5) influences cigarette dose but is not associated with dependence to drugs of addiction

annatto submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.biomedcentral.com)

"Researchers' data suggest that variation within the CHRM5 locus may play an important role in tobacco and cannabis but not alcohol addiction in European ancestry populations.This is the first study to show an association between CHRM5 and substance use in humans. These data support the further investigation of this gene as a risk factor in substance use and dependence."

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: CHRM5 Gene Profiling protein-coding gene gene-hunting technique

Discovering multiple transcripts of human hepatocytes using massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS)

captainclaw submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.biomedcentral.com)

"Apart from a large number of protein-coding genes, some of the antisense transcripts expressed in hepatocytes could play important roles in transcriptional interference via a cis-/trans-regulation mechanism. Their result proved a comprehensively transcriptomic atlas of human hepatocytes using MPSS technique, which could be served as an available resource for an in-depth understanding of human liver biology and diseases."

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: diseases MPSS technique protein-coding gene