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UrduA new technique developed at Berkeley Lab will make it much easier for researchers to discover the traits or activities encoded by genes of unknown function in microbes, a key step toward understanding the roles and impact of individual species within the planet’s diverse microbiomes.
Tag: Gene Function
Finding Gene Neighbors Leads to New Protein Functions
As scientists have developed new technologies for gene sequencing, the availability of sequenced genes has grown exponentially, but scientists’ ability to decipher the functions encoded in these sequences has not kept pace. In this study, researchers working with green algae discovered that physically clustered genes in eukaryotic genomes can be maintained over hundreds of millions of years. This phenomenon can help predict function.
Study Shows Evolution Turns Genes Back On to Regain Function
Genes often mutate and lose their function over long-term evolution, which could be good if that stops drug resistance or cancer. A study by Stony Brook University researchers, published online in PNAS, shows that evolution can exploit positive feedback (PF) within cells to restore gene function.
Software competition advances understanding of genetic function
Sequencing a genome doesn’t necessarily reveal the functions of individual genes. An Iowa State University scientist helps to organize a competition to evaluate the accuracy of software programs that predict gene function. The recently published results of the latest competition included 144 entries from 68 teams.