PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
28-Nov-2014
Contact: Dr. Patricia Marquardt patricia.marquardt@molgen.mpg.de 49-308-413-1716 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanckpress
This news release is available in German.
Humans don't like being alone, and their genes are no different. Together we are stronger, and the two versions of a gene - one from each parent - need each other. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin have analysed the genetic makeup of several hundred people and decoded the genetic information on the two sets of chromosomes separately. In this relatively small group alone they found millions of different gene forms. The results also show that genetic mutations do not occur randomly in the two parental chromosome sets and that they are distributed in the same ratio in everyone.
In 2001 scientists announced the successful decoding of the first human genome. Since then, thousands more have been sequenced. The price of a genetic analysis will soon fall below the 1,000 dollar mark. Given this rapid pace of development, it's easy to forget that the technology used only reads a mixed product of genetic information. The analytical methods commonly employed do not take into account the fact that every person has two sets of genetic material. "So they are ignoring an essential property of the human genome. However, it's important to know, for example, how mutations are distributed between the two chromosome sets," says Margret Hoehe from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, who carried out the study.
Hoehe and her team have developed molecular genetic and bioinformatic methods that make it possible to sequence the two sets of chromosomes in a human separately. The researchers decoded the maternal and paternal parts of the genome in 14 people and supplemented their analysis with the genetic material of 372 Europeans from the 1000 Genomes Project. "Fourteen people may not sound like a lot, but given the technical challenge, it is an unprecedented achievement," says Hoehe.
The results show that most genes can occur in many different forms within a population: On average, about 250 different forms of each gene exist. The researchers found around four million different gene forms just in the 400 or so genomes they analysed. This figure is certain to increase as more human genomes are examined. More than 85 percent of all genes have no predominant form which occurs in more than half of all individuals. This enormous diversity means that over half of all genes in an individual, around 9,000 of 17,500, occur uniquely in that one person - and are therefore individual in the truest sense of the word.
The gene, as we imagined it, exists only in exceptional cases. "We need to fundamentally rethink the view of genes that every schoolchild has learned since Gregor Mendel's time. Moreover, the conventional view of individual mutations is no longer adequate. Instead, we have to consider the two gene forms and their combination of variants," Hoehe explains. When analysing genomes, scientists should therefore examine each parental gene form separately, as well as the effects of both forms as a pair.
According to the researchers, mutations of genes are not randomly distributed between the parental chromosomes. They found that 60 percent of mutations affect the same chromosome set and 40 percent both sets. Scientists refer to these as cis and trans mutations, respectively. Evidently, an organism must have more cis mutations, where the second gene form remains intact. "It's amazing how precisely the 60:40 ratio is maintained. It occurs in the genome of every individual - almost like a magic formula," says Hoehe. The 60:40 distribution ratio appears to be essential for survival. "This formula may help us to understand how gene variability occurs and how it affects gene function."
Read the original post:
- June 11th At Westport, CT: Federal Red Flags, HIPAA Security Rules and Fraud Prevention - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Do not learn Dvorak! - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- You Can’t Solve Problems By Making It Illegal To Have The Problem - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- A Force Fix for Healthcare - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Yahble, HIT, Bubblecon, BIZDEV!, Solid State - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- 15 things that suck about the Palm Pre - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- What an Indie Genomics Lab Looks Like - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Practice Fusion: Class D Felony? - February 26th, 2010 [February 26th, 2010]
- Practice Fusion Responds - March 7th, 2010 [March 7th, 2010]
- Practice Fusion: Do the math: $44,000 is a LIE - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- How Much Until Doctors Approve of 23andMe? - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Biochemicals as Media, Not Methods - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- More Practice Fusion Reality Distortion - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Same Test Results: 23andMe is Myriad is BRCA is Medicine - March 12th, 2010 [March 12th, 2010]
- BRCA is 23andMe is Myriad is Medicine - March 13th, 2010 [March 13th, 2010]
- Getting Serious About Genomics as Common Medical Practice - March 15th, 2010 [March 15th, 2010]
- The New John Mackey of Genetics: Linda Avey? - March 15th, 2010 [March 15th, 2010]
- Keep the Medical, Well, Medical - March 16th, 2010 [March 16th, 2010]
- If 23andMe shuts down, it won’t be for some mundane reason like the bills weren’t paid - March 16th, 2010 [March 16th, 2010]
- If I Run A Medical Practice, How Do I Use A 23andMe? - March 17th, 2010 [March 17th, 2010]
- 23andMe Contract in Bad Faith - March 19th, 2010 [March 19th, 2010]
- Doctors CANNOT Use 23andMe Due To 23andMe’s Bad Faith Contract - March 20th, 2010 [March 20th, 2010]
- Pathway Compared to 23andMe and Navigenics - March 22nd, 2010 [March 22nd, 2010]
- There’s a Word for “Views Differ” When One View Is The State - March 24th, 2010 [March 24th, 2010]
- Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. USPTO, et al. – Opinion - March 29th, 2010 [March 29th, 2010]
- Birth of a Super Villain - April 3rd, 2010 [April 3rd, 2010]
- “Medical Products” like 23andMe must not become the new “Financial Products” - April 4th, 2010 [April 4th, 2010]
- How I Would Apply Genomic Technology In Clinical Use Today - April 5th, 2010 [April 5th, 2010]
- Gmail Enterprise: World’s Best EMR - April 6th, 2010 [April 6th, 2010]
- Brief Primer on Health Law Compliance - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Spoiler: You ARE the “Valids” - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Rachel Lehmann-Haupt Line by Line Take Down - April 9th, 2010 [April 9th, 2010]
- Is Medicare Bankrupt? What the Hell Is Going On? - April 17th, 2010 [April 17th, 2010]
- The Big Shuffle: Medicare Cuts Rates by 21.3% (but not “technically”) - April 17th, 2010 [April 17th, 2010]
- “Tech Hiring Binge” == “Fear for Your Job, Nerds” - April 18th, 2010 [April 18th, 2010]
- How Bad is Bad? $.20 on the Private Medical Insurance Dollar - April 20th, 2010 [April 20th, 2010]
- Update: How Bad is Bad? It Used to Be $.45 on the Medical Insurance Dollar - April 20th, 2010 [April 20th, 2010]
- World’s Best “EMR” for $1000: Google Spreadsheets + iPad - April 21st, 2010 [April 21st, 2010]
- Don’t Insult Me with your “AOL Keyword” Strategy, Google Health - April 21st, 2010 [April 21st, 2010]
- How to Play LAWGAMES - April 23rd, 2010 [April 23rd, 2010]
- Top 4 Predatory Schemes Encroaching on American Medicine: Part 1 - April 25th, 2010 [April 25th, 2010]
- What’s the Big Deal About iPads? - April 27th, 2010 [April 27th, 2010]
- Got Google Android for Google I/O - April 27th, 2010 [April 27th, 2010]
- Google Enterprise meets HIPAA and HITECH Compliant Laws - April 29th, 2010 [April 29th, 2010]
- Pixels of Accuracy CHALENGE: Diagnostic Medical Imaging - April 29th, 2010 [April 29th, 2010]
- 23andMe Launder AlioGenetics Doesn’t Even Bother to Remove 23andMe Logo - April 30th, 2010 [April 30th, 2010]
- Anthem of CT Denies $600 Until “Subscriber Responds to our Coordination of Benefits Questionnaire” - May 1st, 2010 [May 1st, 2010]
- Apple And Google Team Up To Launch Revolutionary Mobile Health System - May 1st, 2010 [May 1st, 2010]
- Funny Pictures from This Year Building the Medical Practice - May 6th, 2010 [May 6th, 2010]
- Remote Medical Video Monitoring on iPad and iPhone - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Google Calendar Overhead Waiting Room Display - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Various Whiteboards on Solid State Medical Operations - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- The Raw Facts about Counsyl - May 7th, 2010 [May 7th, 2010]
- Brawndo: Still Mutilating Thirst, Still Not Yet Sold at the Stop-n-Shop Pharmacy - May 9th, 2010 [May 9th, 2010]
- Video: Google Enterprise to Outsource Medical Administration - May 9th, 2010 [May 9th, 2010]
- Gattaca: “The Matrix” of Genomics - May 11th, 2010 [May 11th, 2010]
- 23andMe Now Diagnoses Fatal Tay-Sachs Disease - May 12th, 2010 [May 12th, 2010]
- Why Was Pathway Targeted for FDA Enforcement and Not 23andMe? - May 15th, 2010 [May 15th, 2010]
- John Dolan on Aging and the Horrifying Conclusion of GWAS - May 16th, 2010 [May 16th, 2010]
- Sam R. Riley Wants To Tell You About Practice Fusion - May 17th, 2010 [May 17th, 2010]
- Response to “Genomic Medicine: Lost” - May 19th, 2010 [May 19th, 2010]
- Death And Taxes: CMS to IRS - May 19th, 2010 [May 19th, 2010]
- Please Stop Antagonizing the AMA - May 26th, 2010 [May 26th, 2010]
- Dan Vorhaus, Attorney At Law, Legally Advises Medical Doctors Can Use 23andMe To Provide Medical Advice - May 28th, 2010 [May 28th, 2010]
- Singularity Summit 2010 in San Francisco to Explore Intelligence Augmentation - June 7th, 2010 [June 7th, 2010]
- OpenPCR: DNA amplification for anyone - June 10th, 2010 [June 10th, 2010]
- FDA sends letters to 5 genetic testing companies - June 11th, 2010 [June 11th, 2010]
- Amazon And The NIH Team Up To Put Human Genome In The Cloud - March 31st, 2012 [March 31st, 2012]
- ReproSource Comments on New Study Linking Infertility to Genetics - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Genetics 101 Part 1: What are genes? - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Red Ice Radio - David Icke - Hour 1 - The Manipulation of Humanity - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Genetics Part 5: Human Genetic Disorders - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- C2CAM - The Nephilim, Genetic Manipulation - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Human Nature talk with Robert Sapolsky, Gabor Mate, James Gilligan, Richard Wilkinson - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Human Genetic Diseases - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Alien Scientist on Genetics, Implants - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Research and Markets: Genetics, 6th Edition International Student Version Continues To Educate Today's Students for ... - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Myriad Genetics to Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Health Care Conference - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Genetics may explain some people's dislike of meat - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- 'Blond Genes' May Vary Around the World - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]