| 1. |
- Willer, Cristen J., et al.
(författare)
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Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 41:1, s. 25-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Common variants at only two loci, FTO and MC4R, have been reproducibly associated with body mass index (BMI) in humans. To identify additional loci, we conducted meta-analysis of 15 genome-wide association studies for BMI (n > 32,000) and followed up top signals in 14 additional cohorts (n > 59,000). We strongly confirm FTO and MC4R and identify six additional loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)): TMEM18, KCTD15, GNPDA2, SH2B1, MTCH2 and NEGR1 (where a 45-kb deletion polymorphism is a candidate causal variant). Several of the likely causal genes are highly expressed or known to act in the central nervous system (CNS), emphasizing, as in rare monogenic forms of obesity, the role of the CNS in predisposition to obesity.
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| 2. |
- Haas, Brian J., et al.
(författare)
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Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 461:7262, s. 393-398
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement(1). To this day, it affects world agriculture by causing the most destructive disease of potato, the fourth largest food crop and a critical alternative to the major cereal crops for feeding the world's population(1). Current annual worldwide potato crop losses due to late blight are conservatively estimated at $6.7 billion(2). Management of this devastating pathogen is challenged by its remarkable speed of adaptation to control strategies such as genetically resistant cultivars(3,4). Here we report the sequence of the P. infestans genome, which at similar to 240 megabases (Mb) is by far the largest and most complex genome sequenced so far in the chromalveolates. Its expansion results from a proliferation of repetitive DNA accounting for similar to 74% of the genome. Comparison with two other Phytophthora genomes showed rapid turnover and extensive expansion of specific families of secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes that are induced during infection or are predicted to have activities that alter host physiology. These fast-evolving effector genes are localized to highly dynamic and expanded regions of the P. infestans genome. This probably plays a crucial part in the rapid adaptability of the pathogen to host plants and underpins its evolutionary potential.
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| 3. |
- Ahn, Jiyoung, et al.
(författare)
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Quantitative trait loci predicting circulating sex steroid hormones in men from the NCI-Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3).
- 2009
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2083 .- 0964-6906. ; 18:19, s. 3749-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Twin studies suggest a heritable component to circulating sex steroid hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). In the NCI-Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, 874 SNPs in 37 candidate genes in the sex steroid hormone pathway were examined in relation to circulating levels of SHBG (N = 4720), testosterone (N = 4678), 3 alpha-androstanediol-glucuronide (N = 4767) and 17beta-estradiol (N = 2014) in Caucasian men. rs1799941 in SHBG is highly significantly associated with circulating levels of SHBG (P = 4.52 x 10(-21)), consistent with previous studies, and testosterone (P = 7.54 x 10(-15)), with mean difference of 26.9 and 14.3%, respectively, comparing wild-type to homozygous variant carriers. Further noteworthy novel findings were observed between SNPs in ESR1 with testosterone levels (rs722208, mean difference = 8.8%, P = 7.37 x 10(-6)) and SRD5A2 with 3 alpha-androstanediol-glucuronide (rs2208532, mean difference = 11.8%, P = 1.82 x 10(-6)). Genetic variation in genes in the sex steroid hormone pathway is associated with differences in circulating SHBG and sex steroid hormones.
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| 6. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Alarm cues experienced by cane toad tadpoles affect post-metamorphic morphology and chemical defences
- 2009
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 23, s. 126-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary: In many anuran species, larvae modify their developmental trajectories and behaviour in response to chemical cues that predict predator risk. Recent reviews highlight a dearth of studies on delayed (post-metamorphic) consequences of larval experience. 2 We raised cane toad (Bufo marinus) tadpoles either under control conditions or in the presence of non-lethal predator cues (crushed conspecifics). 3 Exposure to these chemical cues massively reduced size at metamorphosis, as predicted by theory. Parotoid glands were larger relative to body size in post-metamorphic animals from the experimental treatment, suggesting higher investment in chemical defences. 4 Exposure to chemical cues from crushed conspecifics during larval life reduced total bufadienolide content of metamorphs, but increased amounts of one specific bufadienolide (bufalin). 5 Hence, cane toads respond to perceived predation risk in the aquatic environment by metamorphosing at a smaller size and modifying their investment in defensive toxins during post-metamorphic life. 6 Phenotypically flexible responses to larval conditions vary among amphibian taxa, and can involve significant carry-over effects into post-metamorphic life.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Hayes, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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Ontogenetic variation in the chemical defenses of cane toads (Bufo marinus): toxin profiles and effects on predators.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 35, s. 391-399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We conducted a quantitative and qualitative chemical analysis of cane toad bufadienolides-the cardioactive steroids that are believed to be the principal cane toad toxins. We found complex shifts in toxin composition through toad ontogeny: (1) eggs contain at least 28 dominant bufadienolides, 17 of which are not detected in any other ontogenetic stage; (2) tadpoles present a simpler chemical profile with two to eight dominant bufadienolides; and (3) toxin diversity decreases during tadpole life but increases again after metamorphosis (larger metamorph/juvenile toads display five major bufadienolides). Total bufadienolide concentrations are highest in eggs (2.64 +/- 0.56 mu mol/mg), decreasing during tadpole life stages (0.084 +/- 0.060 mu mol/mg) before rising again after metamorphosis (2.35 +/- 0.45 mu mol/mg). These variations in total bufadienolide levels correlate with toxicity to Australian frog species. For example, consumption of cane toad eggs killed tadpoles of two Australian frog species (Limnodynastes convexiusculus and Litoria rothii), whereas no tadpoles died after consuming late-stage cane toad tadpoles or small metamorphs. The high toxicity of toad eggs reflects components in the egg itself, not the surrounding jelly coat. Our results suggest a dramatic ontogenetic shift in the danger that toads pose to native predators, reflecting rapid changes in the types and amounts of toxins during toad development.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Lettre, Guillaume, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of ten loci associated with height highlights new biological pathways in human growth
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 40:5, s. 584-591
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Height is a classic polygenic trait, reflecting the combined influence of multiple as-yet- undiscovered genetic factors. We carried out a meta-analysis of genome-wide association study data of height from 15,821 individuals at 2.2 million SNPs, and followed up the strongest findings in 410,000 subjects. Ten newly identified and two previously reported loci were strongly associated with variation in height (P values from 4 x 10(-7) to 8 x 10(-22)). Together, these 12 loci account for similar to 2% of the population variation in height. Individuals with <= 8 height-increasing alleles and >= 16 height-increasing alleles differ in height by similar to 3.5 cm. The newly identified loci, along with several additional loci with strongly suggestive associations, encompass both strong biological candidates and unexpected genes, and highlight several pathways (let-7 targets, chromatin remodeling proteins and Hedgehog signaling) as important regulators of human stature. These results expand the picture of the biological regulation of human height and of the genetic architecture of this classical complex trait.
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