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- Hillier, Ladeana W, et al.
(author)
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Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provide unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution
- 2004
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In: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 432:7018, s. 695-716
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present here a draft genome sequence of the red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus. Because the chicken is a modern descendant of the dinosaurs and the first non-mammalian amniote to have its genome sequenced, the draft sequence of its genome--composed of approximately one billion base pairs of sequence and an estimated 20,000-23,000 genes--provides a new perspective on vertebrate genome evolution, while also improving the annotation of mammalian genomes. For example, the evolutionary distance between chicken and human provides high specificity in detecting functional elements, both non-coding and coding. Notably, many conserved non-coding sequences are far from genes and cannot be assigned to defined functional classes. In coding regions the evolutionary dynamics of protein domains and orthologous groups illustrate processes that distinguish the lineages leading to birds and mammals. The distinctive properties of avian microchromosomes, together with the inferred patterns of conserved synteny, provide additional insights into vertebrate chromosome architecture.
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| 2. |
- Twigger, S, et al.
(author)
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Rat Genome Database : A comparative genomics platform for rat mouse and human.
- 2001
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In: Journal of Molecular Medicine. - : Springer. - 0946-2716 .- 1432-1440. ; , s. B30-
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Rat Genome Database (RGD) is a NIH funded project who’s stated mission is “to collect, consolidate, and integrate data generated from ongoing rat genetic and genomic research efforts and make these data widely available to the scientific community.” In a collaboration between the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Jackson Lab, the National Center for Biotechnology and Information and the Genetics Lundberg Laboratory, Gothenburg, Sweden, RGD has been created to meet these stated aims. The primary focus of RGD is to aid Rat researchers in their work studying the rat as a model organism for human disease. To support these studies we have integrated a large amount of rat genetic and genomic resources in RGD and these are constantly being expanded through ongoing literature curation. One of the major features of RGD version 1.1, released in January of this year, is incorporation of QTL data to facilitate physiological genomics studies relating disease with the genome. In addition, a dynamic sequence-based homology tool is in final testing which will enable Rat, Mouse and Human researchers to view mapped genes and sequences and their locations in the other two organisms. We hope to release this tool in the second quarter of 2001. This will facilitate the application of results in one species to experiments in another species. In collaboration with the Mouse Genome Database and NCBI, close links are being created between RGD and MGD, LocusLink and UniGene to increase access to each set of data. To support its other general functions RGD has a variety of tools available for the rat researcher, plus ones that are equally useful to researchers working in other organisms and a sampling of these tools will be presented. Thus RGD is not only a valuable resource for those working with the rat but also for researchers in other model organisms wishing to harness the existing genetic and physiological data available in the rat to complement their own work.
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| 3. |
- Fahlke, Claudia, 1964, et al.
(author)
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Rearing experiences and stress-induced plasma cortisol as early risk factors for excessive alcohol consumption in nonhuman primates
- 2000
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In: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. - : Wiley. - 0145-6008 .- 1530-0277. ; 24, s. 644-650
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of early rearing and stress-induced rise of plasma cortisol collected during infancy as a biological predictors of adult alcohol consumption in nonhuman primates. Methods: Ninety-seven female and male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were investigated. They were reared for their first 6 months of life either without mothers or other adults but with constant access to same-aged peers (peer-reared), or as controls with their mothers (mother-reared). When subjects reached 6 months of age, they underwent a series of four sequential weeks of 4-day social separations. Blood was drawn 1 and 2 hr after initiation of the 4-day separation periods, and the plasma was assayed for plasma cortisol concentrations. When the subjects were young adults (approximately 50 months of age), they were tested for voluntary intake of alcohol for 1 hr per day, 4 days a week, during a period of 5 to 7 weeks under normal living conditions. Results: The social separation challenge increased infant plasma cortisol concentrations, with peerreared subjects exhibiting higher stress-induced cortisol concentrations than mother-reared animals. Subjects that responded to the social separation challenge with high cortisol levels consumed significantly more alcohol per kilogram of body weight as adults than subjects with a low cortisol response to the separation challenge, regardless of rearing condition. In addition, male and peer-reared subjects consumed significantly more alcohol than female and mother-reared subjects, respectively. Conclusions: These findings suggest that early rearing experiences, such as! adult absence, and high plasma cortisol concentrations early in life after a social separation stressor, are useful psychobiological predictors of future high alcohol consumption among nonhuman primates.
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