Inherited deafness has been shown to have high genetic heterogeneity. For many decades, linkage analysis and candidate gene approaches have been the main tools to elucidate the genetics of hearing loss. However, this associated study design is costly, time-consuming, and unsuitable for small families. This is mainly due to the inadequate numbers of available affected individuals, locus heteroge...

BACKGROUND Sheep (Ovis aries) were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region about 9,000-8,000 years ago. Currently, few mitochondrial (mt) DNA studies are available on archaeological sheep. In particular, no data on archaeological European sheep are available. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here we describe the first portion of mtDNA sequence of a Copper Age European sheep. DNA was extract...

RNase MRP is a eukaryotic endoribonuclease involved in nucleolar and mitochondrial RNA processing events. RNase MRP is a ribonucleoprotein particle, which is structurally related to RNase P, an endoribonuclease involved in pre-tRNA processing. Most of the protein components of RNase MRP have been reported to be associated with RNase P as well. In this study we determined the association of thes...

The invasive Iberian slug, Arion lusitanicus, is spreading through Europe and poses a major threat to horticulture and agriculture. Natural enemies, capable of killing A. lusitanicus, may be important to our understanding of its population dynamics in recently invaded regions. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to study predation on A. lusitanicus by carabid beetles in the field. A first m...

The combination of exceptionally high species diversity, high host specificity, and a complex reproduction system raises many questions about the underlying mechanisms triggering speciation in the flatworm genus Gyrodactylus. The coevolutionary history with their goby hosts was investigated using both topology- and distance-based approaches; phylogenies were constructed of the V4 region of the ...

Sampling of remote inland aquatic habitats in South Africa has constantly been yielding novel endemic freshwater crab species (Potamonautes MacLeay,1838). During the present study, we report on discovery and description two new baziya sp. nov., P. mariepskoppie nov.) from Afrotemperate forested mountain regions Eastern Cape Mpumalanga provinces Africa, respectively. Phylogenetic evidence derive...

Background: Based on the studies, variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes is associated with increased susceptibility to diseases including cancer. Opiate abusers are at high risk for diseases. In this study, we measured the mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes in a group of opiate abusers compared with those in healthy individuals. Met...

OBJECTIVES Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in humans and genetic causes are estimated to cause more than 50% of all incidents of congenital hearing loss. To develop an efficient method for a genetic diagnosis of hearing loss, we have developed and validated a genetic hearing loss DNA chip that allows the simultaneous analysis of 7 different mutations in the GJB2, SLC26A4, and t...

The pathogenetic mechanism of the human mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene mutation at position 1555, associated with non-syndromic deafness and aminoglycoside-induced deafness, has been investigated in 33 transformants obtained by transferring mitochondria from lymphoblastoid cell lines into human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-less (rho *206) cells. In this nearly constant nuclear background, 15 transfor...