QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online September 2, 2003

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content

Piecing together genetic mosaics

The analysis of genetically mosaic organisms, which carry subsets of cells that are mutant for one or more genes, can reveal important information about a gene's role in development. In the first of a series of educational Primer articles on this topic, Yochem and Herman (see p. 4761) describe how genetic mosaics are generated, identified and analysed in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. As they discuss, genetic mosaics can provide a way around the problem of embryonic lethality that is caused by some genetic mutations. They also allow researchers to ask key questions about how a gene functions in development, such as whether a gene acts cell autonomously (when its loss effects only the cells that express it) or non-cell autonomously (when its loss affects other, sometimes wild-type, cells). Genetic mosaic approaches to testing a gene's function have thus shed important light on developmental mechanisms in this and other organisms.

Related articles in Development:

Investigating C. elegans development through mosaic analysis

John Yochem and Robert K. Herman
Development 2003 130: 4761-4768. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S V Tavtigian, A M Deffenbaugh, L Yin, T Judkins, T Scholl, P B Samollow, D de Silva, A Zharkikh, and A Thomas Comprehensive statistical study of 452 BRCA1 missense substitutions with classification of eight recurrent substitutions as neutral J. Med. Genet., April 1, 2006; 43(4): 295 - 305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Cousineau, C. Abaji, and A. Belmaaza BRCA1 Regulates RAD51 Function in Response to DNA Damage and Suppresses Spontaneous Sister Chromatid Replication Slippage: Implications for Sister Chromatid Cohesion, Genome Stability, and Carcinogenesis Cancer Res., December 15, 2005; 65(24): 11384 - 11391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Aguilar-Mahecha, B. F. Hales, and B. Robaire Effects of Acute and Chronic Cyclophosphamide Treatment on Meiotic Progression and the Induction of DNA Double-Strand Breaks in Rat Spermatocytes Biol Reprod, June 1, 2005; 72(6): 1297 - 1304. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Feki, C.-E. Jefford, P. Durand, J. Harb, H. Lucas, K.-H. Krause, and I. Irminger-Finger BARD1 Expression During Spermatogenesis Is Associated with Apoptosis and Hormonally Regulated Biol Reprod, November 1, 2004; 71(5): 1614 - 1624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Hamer, H. B. Kal, C. H. Westphal, T. Ashley, and D. G. de Rooij Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Expression and Activation in the Testis Biol Reprod, April 1, 2004; 70(4): 1206 - 1212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content