The process designated RIP (repeat-induced point mutation) alters duplicated DNA sequences in the sexual cycle of Neurospora crassa. We tested whether non-Neurospora sequences are susceptible to RIP, explored the basis for the observed immunity to this process of a diverged tandem duplication that probably arose by a natural duplication followed by RIP (the Neurospora zeta-eta region), and inve...

Two Amerindian demographic shifts are attributed to climate change in the northwest plains of North America: at approximately 11,000 calendar years before present (yr BP), Amerindian culture apparently split into foothills-mountains vs. plains biomes; and from 8,000-5,000 yr BP, scarce archaeological sites on the open plains suggest emigration during xeric "Altithermal" conditions. We reconstru...

Aristaless-like homeobox 4 (ALX4) gene is an important transcription regulator in skull and limb development. In humans and mice ALX4 mutations or loss of function result in a number of skeletal and organ malformations, including polydactyly, tibial hemimelia, omphalocele, biparietal foramina, impaired mammary epithelial morphogenesis, alopecia, coronal craniosynostosis, hypertelorism, depresse...

Six kinds of new insertion sequences (ISs), IS667 to IS672, a group II intron (Oi.Int), and an incomplete transposon (Tn852loi) were identified in the 3,630,528-bp genome of the extremely halotolerant and alkaliphilic Oceanobacillus iheyensis HTE831. Of 19 ISs identified in the HTE831 genome, 7 were truncated, indicating the occurrence of internal rearrangement of the genome. All ISs except IS6...

GM1-gangliosidosis is a lysosomal storage disease that is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder, predominantly caused by structural defects in the -galactosidase gene (GLB1). The molecular cause of GM1-gangliosidosis in Alaskan huskies was investigated and a novel 19-bp duplication in exon 15 of the GLB1 gene was identified. The duplication comprised positions 1688– 1706 of the GLB1 cDNA...

The t(9;22) in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may be reciprocal or, in a minority of cases, may result in an extensive deletion of a portion of the major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr) of the BCR. This report provides evidence of the duplication of small segments within the M-bcr in a small group of patients with CML. Southern blots of Bgl II and Bgl II/BamHI double-digested DNA from the...

BACKGROUND p53 gene variants i.e. 16 bp duplication in intron 3, Arg72Pro in exon 4 and G>A in intron 6 have been reported to modulate susceptibility to various malignancies. Therefore, the present study evaluated the role of these p53 polymorphisms in oral cancer susceptibility in a population from Gujarat, West India. METHOD Genotype frequencies at the three p53 loci in 110 controls and 79 ...