Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences (381 bp) from 100 thoroughbreds in 19 of the most common matrilineal female families were used to reconstruct a founder female population for the thoroughbred ( approximately 1650-1750 AD). Seventeen haplotypes were found to have contributed to the 19 female lineages. In order to place the reconstructed founder population in wider historical context, w...

BACKGROUND Sexual transmission accounts for the majority of HIV-1 infections. In over 75% of cases, infection is initiated by a single variant (transmitted/founder virus). However, the determinants of virus selection during transmission are unknown. Host cell-cell interactions in the mucosa may be critical in regulating susceptibility to infection. We hypothesized in this study that specific im...

In the Drosophila embryo, a distinct class of myoblasts, designated as muscle founders, prefigures the mature pattern of somatic body wall muscles. Each founder cell appears to be instrumental in generating a single larval muscle with a defined identity. The NK homeobox gene S59 was the first of a growing number of proposed 'identity genes' that have been found to be expressed in stereotyped pa...

The final pattern of the Drosophila larval body wall muscles depends critically on the prior segregation of muscle founder cells. We would like to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms which ensure the precise allocation and placement of these muscle founder cells. We have begun our analysis by examining the role of the segment polarity genes, known to be involved in the patterning of ...

Haplotypes constructed from Y-chromosome markers were used to trace the origins of Native Americans. Our sample consisted of 2,198 males from 60 global populations, including 19 Native American and 15 indigenous North Asian groups. A set of 12 biallelic polymorphisms gave rise to 14 unique Y-chromosome haplotypes that were unevenly distributed among the populations. Combining multiallelic varia...

Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is one of the most important freshwater aquaculture species in China. However, its small size and lower meat yield limit its edible value. Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of mammalian muscle growth. But, the function of Mstn in fish remains elusive. To explore roles of mstn gene in fish growth and create a strain of yellow catfish with high amou...

BACKGROUND Although there are different strains of HIV-1 in a chronically infected individual, only one or limited virus strains are successfully transmitted to a new individual. The reason for this "transmission bottleneck" is as yet unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A human cervical explant model was used to measure HIV-1 transmission efficiency of viral strains from chronic infection...

Congenital long QT syndrome (cLQTS) is a genetic disorder predisposing to ventricular arrhythmia, syncope and sudden death. Over 700 different cLQTS-causing mutations in 13 genes are known. The genetic spectrum of LQTS in 44 South African cLQTS patients (23 known to carry the South African founder mutation p.A341V in KCNQ1) was established by screening for mutations in the coding regions of KCN...

During Drosophila embryogenesis, motor axons leave the central nervous system (CNS) as two separate bundles, the segmental nerve (SN) and intersegmental nerve (ISN). From these, axons separate (defasciculate) progressively in a characteristic pattern, initially as nerve branches and then as individual axons, to innervate target muscles [1] [2]. This pattern of branching resembles the outgrowth ...

The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a genetic reference panel of recombinant inbred lines of mice, designed for the dissection of complex traits and gene networks. Each line is independently descended from eight genetically diverse founder strains such that the genomes of the CC lines, once fully inbred, are fine-grained homozygous mosaics of the founder haplotypes. We present an analysis of 120 CC...