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Two new studies in Science combine single-cell RNA sequencing with either lineage tracing or a computational framework to link transcriptomes to future developmental trajectories.
Pathogens are wreaking havoc on bee populations. A study in Science describes how bacteria in the guts of bees can be engineered to protect their hosts from two particular pests, deformed wing virus and Varroa mites.
This Review outlines a broad, universal framework for systems biology applied to infectious disease research. From study design and omics data collection, analysis, visualization and interpretation to translational outcomes, the authors illustrate how systems biology can provide insights into host–pathogen relationships for the betterment of human health.
RNA interference (RNAi) effector proteins have highly conserved roles in chromosome function. This Review traces the evolutionary history of RNAi components and discusses their lesser-known roles in regulating chromosome segregation, gene dosage and DNA damage resolution, from unicellular eukaryotes to mammals.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-mediated gene delivery has had long-term therapeutic effects for several diseases, including haemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Genetically modifying AAV vectors to increase their transduction efficiency, vector tropism and ability to avoid the host immune response may further increase the success of AAV gene therapy.
Although single reference genomes are valuable resources, they do not capture genetic diversity among individuals. Sherman and Salzberg discuss the concept of ‘pan-genomes’, which are reference genomes that encompass the genetic variation within a given species. Focusing particularly on large eukaryotic pan-genomes, they describe the latest progress, the varied methodological approaches and computational challenges, as well as applications in fields such as agriculture and human disease.
Two new studies in Molecular Cell report a role for antisense oligonucleotides in inducing transcriptional termination, with important implications for the interpretation of functional studies of long non-coding RNAs.
A Genome Research study reports gene expression and DNA methylation profiles of multiple tissues sampled from the same individuals across humans, chimpanzees and rhesus macaques.
Two new studies on snake venom glands have implications for improved anti-venom development. One describes the de novo assembly of an Indian cobra reference genome and venom gland transcriptome; the other describes the derivation of snake venom gland organoids.
Direct-to-consumer epigenetic tests have the potential to reveal sensitive information about individuals, such as disease risk and exposure history. Yet regulation lags behind purely genetics-based tests. In this Comment article, the authors discuss the salient ethical and legal considerations of direct-to-consumer epigenetic tests.
In this Review, Gasperini, Tome and Shendure discuss the evolving definitions of transcriptional enhancers, as well as diverse modern experimental tools to identify them. The authors describe how these diverse mindsets and methods provide differing but complementary insights into enhancers, each with notable strengths and caveats. They discuss how such views and approaches might be combined in a comprehensive catalogue of functional enhancers.
The pathology of heritable human traits and diseases often affects a narrow range of tissues, even when causal genes are expressed widely across the body. In this Review, Hekselman and Yeger-Lotem discuss the latest understanding of tissue specificity in human traits and disease, including the diverse underlying molecular mechanisms, experimental and bioinformatics resources to leverage omics data, and implications for understanding disease aetiology.
