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Greg Barsh and colleagues show that two loci for dark skin in mice result from mutations in Rps19 and Rps20, encoding the ribosomal proteins S19 and S20. They further show that the dark skin phenotype and other pleiotropic effects of these mutations, including reduced erythrocyte count and body size, are mediated through stabilization of p53.
Bradley Cairns and colleagues report a high-resolution strand-specific transcriptome of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. They survey the transcriptome under multiple growth conditions using an RNA-DNA hybridization mapping (HybMap) technique, and find that most of the euchromatic genome is transcribed.
Mark Daly and colleagues present results of a combined analysis of data from three recent genome-wide association studies for Crohn's disease, followed by replication in a large independent sample collection. Their results confirm 11 previously reported risk loci and provide genome-wide significant evidence for 21 new loci associated with the disease.
Wolf Reik and Ian Dunham and colleagues cloned and sequenced the complete IGF2-H19 locus in tammar wallaby, a marsupial. Functional analyses revealed conservation of imprinting mechanisms, including germline DNA methylation, between marsupials and eutherians.
Eric Schadt and colleagues report the construction of yeast regulatory networks from multiple sources of large-scale functional genomic data, and show that a network constructed from the integration of genotypic, transcription factor binding site, and protein–protein interaction data is the most predictive.
Using Xenopus epidermis as a model, John Wallingford and colleagues show that the planar cell polarity protein Dishevelled, acting in concert with Inturned and Rho, controls the apical positioning of basal bodies. Subsequently, Dvl and Rho are also required for directional ciliary beating, suggesting that a common signaling apparatus governs both apical docking and planar polarization of basal bodies.
Edward Morrisey and colleagues show that mice lacking the transcription factor Gata6 in the lung epithelium have an increased number of bronchioalveolar stem cells during development and in the context of lung regeneration. Additional evidence suggests that a Gata6-Wnt pathway regulates the balance of stem cell expansion and epithelial differentiation in the lung.
Jiri Bartek and colleagues find that a common variant reducing NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 activity is a potential predictor of response to epirubicin chemotherapy in women with breast cancer. Cell-based assays suggest three modes of action for the enzyme via the p53 and TNF–NF-κB pathways and by direct detoxification of reactive oxygen species.