Researchers at the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute recently completed sequencing human chromosome 19, the most gene-rich of all the human chromosomes. This achievement is described in the April 1 edition of the journal Nature.
Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National laboratories are part of the Joint Genome Institute, based in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Chromosome 19, at 55.8 million bases or letters of genetic code, although representing only about 2 percent of the human genome, features nearly 1,500 genes. They include genes that code for such diseases as insulin-dependent diabetes, myotonic dystrophy, migraines, and familial hypercholesterolemia (an inherited form of elevated blood cholesterol), which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Embedded in this sequence information are critical regulatory networks of genes tasked with controlling such functions as repairing DNA damage caused by exposure to radiation and to other environmental pollutants. Studies of DNA-repair genes, initiated at the DOE national laboratories, are yielding insights into the development of certain cancers, many of which appear to be caused by defects in DNA-repair pathways. Also, new insights are being gleaned about other gene families implicated in detoxifying and excreting chemicals foreign to the body.
To read the news release, click here.