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Cisca Wijmenga reflects on a seminal publication by Houwen et al. that set the stage for genome-wide association studies and inspired her to dedicate her lab to complex trait genetics.
Xia et al. highlight an unexpected horizontal gene transfer event, whereby the sweet potato whitefly has harnessed a host plant detoxification mechanism to resist its defences.
From the June 2021 issue onwards, Nature Reviews Genetics will publish Journal Club articles, which explore a historical scientific publication that has served as inspiration to the author.
Qifa Zhang describes how a 2008 publication in Nature Biotechnology on transgenic purple tomatoes inspired him to tackle food security by improving the nutrient and culinary value of black rice.
Two new studies in Science use lineage tracking in humans to show that among the first few embryonic cells originating from post-fertilization cell divisions, there can be substantial imbalance in their contributions to mature tissues.
Neil Gemmell recalls the pioneering work published in 1968 by Britten and Kohne, which ignited in him an enduring fascination as to why eukaryotic genomes contain substantial fractions of repetitive DNA.
In a study in Science, Lopatkin et al. identify mutations in metabolic genes of Escherichia coli that lead to antibiotic resistance. Functional analyses of the mutations support the view that metabolic dysfunction helps pathogens escape the lethal effects of antibiotics.
A paper published in Nature Methods describes integrative DNA and protein tagging (iDAPT). iDAPT is a new approach for analysing both genomic (iDAPT-seq) and proteomic (iDAPT-MS) components of accessible chromatin from a single nuclear lysate.
In a report in Molecular Cell, Wang et al. describe genome oligopaint via local denaturation fluorescence in situ hybridization (GOLD FISH). This Cas9-superhelicase-based DNA-FISH method locally denatures DNA at physiological temperatures and provides an improved signal-to-background ratio.
A study in Current Biology demonstrates the use of environmental DNA to monitor the abundance and composition of airborne grass pollen on a national scale. Integration with health data can infer the effects of specific pollen types on respiratory health.
A new study by Cosby et al., investigating the role of DNA transposable elements in exon shuffling, reports that transposase capture is a recurrent process in evolution underlying the origin of new regulators of gene expression.
In this paper, the authors present sequence data from ancient mammoth specimens, including samples more than 1 million years old. The sequences provide insights into mammoth evolution and reveal that distinct mammoth lineages were present in eastern Siberia during the Early Pleistocene.
The TOPMed consortium report whole-genome sequencing data from 53,831 ethnically diverse participants. They describe the key features of the genetic variation and produce data resources for future medical research by the wider scientific community.
Park et al. describe in Cell how CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing can be used as a time recorder in mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo, including reporting the timescales of cellular events such as chemical exposure and inflammation.
A report in Molecular Cell describes short capped RNA sequencing (scaRNA-seq), which is used to show that, in differentiating cells, enhancers predominantly regulate gene expression by modulating transcription initiation, and not pause release as previously supposed.
A recent study in Nature presents a method that integrates data from chromosome imaging, nuclear bodies and chromatin states to build a picture of the nuclear layout at the single-cell level.
Two new studies report the assembled genomes of the Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) and the African lungfish (Protopterus annectens), which provide insights into the water-to-land transition.
Three new studies identify different types of de novo and somatic mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with potential insights into underlying molecular mechanisms.
