by Jason W. Tate  , Bruce F. O'Hara  and Sainan Wei

Received: 23 April 2022;  Published: 15 June 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202156

The term chimera refers to an organism with cell lines from two or more distinct zygotes. Human chimerism may occur naturally or artificially. Although rare, advancements in genetics and genomics have resulted in the identification of additional natural human chimeras. Three forms of naturally occurring chimerism have been documented in humans: blood group chimerism, microchimerism, and fusion chimerism. Fusion chimerism may occur through several means. Sex-chromosome discordant chimerism refers to individuals with [...]

by Rie Sasaki  , Hiroto Ito  and Masami Okamoto

Received: 01 March 2022;  Published: 14 June 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202155

In this study, we examined the effect of a combination of surface topographies (fiber alignments) and different stiffness of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) substrates on the direct relationship between anti-cancer drug (CDDP) sensitivity for MDA-MB-231 cells and mesenchymal properties under both normal and hypoxic conditions. In addition, we studied the induction of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). The CDDP treatment under hypoxia indicated poor adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells as well as significant repression of [...]

by Arpitha Shankar Bandi  and Prashant Kaushik

Received: 22 March 2022;  Published: 23 May 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202154

India is home to several medicinal herbs including turmeric. Turmeric is one of the major produces of India, primarily due to its unique and valuable medicinal and therapeutic properties. However, the growth and yield of turmeric are greatly affected by salt stress in certain parts of the country, especially those near water bodies where significant yield losses have been reported. To mitigate these losses caused by salt stress, certain plant breeding methods, transgenic approaches, and candidate genes along with i [...]

by Florence Naillat

Received: 25 August 2021;  Published: 26 April 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202153

In the last four decades, transgenic and knockout mouse models have helped to understand the mechanisms of mammalian sex determination, germ cell development, and adult gonad functions. We have gained crucial insights into molecular factors and pathways of the cells generating either the supporting gonadal cells or germ cells of both sexes. In this review, we highlighted some of the main gene networks and regulatory mechanisms involved in the plasticity of sex-determining pathways that help to establish a functiona [...]

by Bernard R. Baum  and Douglas A. Johnson

Received: 07 January 2022;  Published: 24 April 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202152

We have investigated the utility of the 5S nrDNA, a conserved, multicopy gene family organized into tandem repeats as a tool for genetic analyses in a wide variety of genera. Previous work in the Triticeae (Poaceae) demonstrated that the prior identification of unit classes based upon the 5S nrDNA NTS, greatly facilitates analysis. We investigated the potential of defining unit classes in other plant genera and several animal genera as a step towards future phylogenetic analyses. Our results demonstrate that in in [...]

by Masahiro Sato  , Issei Saitoh  , Yuki kiyokawa  , Eri Akasaka  , Shingo Nakamura  , Satoshi Watanabe  and Emi Inada

Received: 21 January 2022;  Published: 11 April 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202151

Adipose tissue is distributed throughout the body as fat depots. The amount of adipose tissue increases with age. In mice, epididymal fat depots in males and gonadal fat depots in females are associated with the reproductive system. Regarding fat depots in females, the adipose tissue under the skin can be easily exposed via surgery when the ovary, oviduct, and uterus are pulled out and exposed. As handling adipose tissue is relatively easy, adipocytes might be good targets for genetic manipulation (including gene d [...]

by Anand Kumar  , Ningthai Longmei  , Pardeep Kumar  and Prashant Kaushik

Received: 25 July 2021;  Published: 21 March 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2201150

Maize is consumed as a food and used as an industrial product in the form of starch, pharmaceuticals, alcoholic beverages, oil, cosmetics, and textiles. In ancient times, landraces were more popular due to the presence of high genetic variability, resistance to biotic and abiotic factors, and the heterogeneous nature of maize; however, it has been replaced by improved and uniform cultivars with a higher yield. Modern maize has more homogeneity that enhances its vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, we [...]

by Carine Vassy  , Laurence Brunet  and Christine Noiville

Received: 02 September 2021;  Published: 25 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2201149

This article examines the regulation of the screening of fetal abnormalities in France before and after the implementation of the new technique of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in 2013. In addition, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the regulatory framework in addressing the ethical and social issues raised by this technique from a legal and sociological perspective. The analysis reveals that the regulations, consistent with that applied to other prenatal screening techniques, fail to take proper a [...]

by OBM Genetics Editorial Office

Received: 17 February 2022;  Published: 22 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2201148

by Junhyeong T. Park  , Junseong A. Park  , Igor F. Tsigelny  and Valentina L. Kouznetsova

Received: 07 December 2021;  Published: 13 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2201147

The occurrence of various mutation patterns, such as changes in the DNA sequence and the loss of some sequences, is called a “mutational signature,” and they represent the molecular fingerprints that exist for the type of mutation occurring in a specific gene. Our study elucidates the correlations of mutational signatures in frequently mutated cancer genes with general mutational signatures previously found for different cancers. We hypothesized that the top twenty most frequently mutated genes (MFMG) of a cancer t [...]