Table of contents
March 2008 Vol 9 No 3
Also this month:
- Article series: The Art and Design of Genetic Screens
Historical Profiles
From the editors
p157 | doi:10.1038/nrg2330
Research Highlights
Technology: Rebuilding a life from scratch | PDF (189 KB)
p158 | doi:10.1038/nrg2328
Technology: Colour-changing worms | PDF (149 KB)
p159 | doi:10.1038/nrg2333
Gene expression: Decoding translation | PDF (139 KB)
p159 | doi:10.1038/nrg2334
Evo–devo: Preparing for take off | PDF (237 KB)
p160 | doi:10.1038/nrg2325
Human genomics: The finer points of human recombination | PDF (171 KB)
p160 | doi:10.1038/nrg2329
In brief
Gene expression | Mitochondrial genetics | Gene expression | PDF (104 KB)
p161 | doi:10.1038/nrg2331
Microbial evolution: Selection always hits the bullseye | PDF (211 KB)
p162 | doi:10.1038/nrg2324
Development: DV patterning in time and AP space | PDF (187 KB)
p162 | doi:10.1038/nrg2326
Genomics: Danger! Uncertain alignments! | PDF (240 KB)
p162 | doi:10.1038/nrg2327
In brief
Genome biology | Epigenetics | Systems biology | Population genetics | PDF (96 KB)
p163 | doi:10.1038/nrg2332
Human disease: Genetic determinants of lipid profiles | PDF (293 KB)
p164 | doi:10.1038/nrg2321
Reviews
Toll-like receptors — taking an evolutionary approach
François Leulier & Bruno Lemaitre
p165 | doi:10.1038/nrg2303
Toll-like receptors have important functions in immunity and development across the animal kingdom. An evolutionary analysis suggests that the analogous immune functions have arisen independently in vertebrates and invertebrates.
Genome-wide approaches to studying chromatin modifications
Dustin E. Schones & Keji Zhao
p179 | doi:10.1038/nrg2270
In multicellular organisms, the identity of a cell is determined by its unique gene expression pattern, which is remembered and passed on to daughter cells by epigenetic mechanisms. Recent technical advances are enabling researchers to look at how epigenetic changes are coordinated on a genome-wide scale, thus giving rise to a new field of epigenomics.
Article series: The Art and Design of Genetic Screens
The art and design of genetic screens: maize
Héctor Candela & Sarah Hake
p192 | doi:10.1038/nrg2291
A variety of forward and reverse genetics screening tools are available in maize. The rich natural allelic variation of this species is also being used to map the genes underlying biologically and agronomically important traits that are also relevant to other cereal crops.
Genome instability: a mechanistic view of its causes and consequences
Andrés Aguilera & Belén Gómez-González
p204 | doi:10.1038/nrg2268
Genomic instability encompasses a range of genetic alterations from point mutations to chromosome rearrangements. From the perspective of cis and trans-acting elements, these authors provide a mechanistic perspective on the origin of genomic instability.
Learning how to live together: genomic insights into prokaryote–animal symbioses
Andrés Moya, Juli Peretó, Rosario Gil & Amparo Latorre
p218 | doi:10.1038/nrg2319
Symbiosis is an important source of evolutionary innovation. Genome sequencing and metagenomics have accelerated our understanding of the broad phylogenetic reach of this phenomenon, its complex and diverse nature, and the evolutionary paths followed by eukaryotic hosts and their prokaryotic symbionts.
Perspectives
Article series: Historical Profiles
Timeline
Theodor and Marcella Boveri: chromosomes and cytoplasm in heredity and development
Helga Satzinger
p231 | doi:10.1038/nrg2311
Theodor Boveri is best remembered for his chromosome theory of heredity. However, the contributions that he and his wife, Marcella O'Grady Boveri, made to the early days of genetics are greater than just this.
Science and society
The ethics of human gene transfer
Jonathan Kimmelman
p239 | doi:10.1038/nrg2317
The application of gene therapy to treat human disorders has made many advances in recent years, although many ethical challenges associated with this type of intervention remain unresolved. This Perspective describes the special challenges posed by research in this field.
