Genetics & Molecular Biology

Mainly two types of RNA viz coding RNA and non-coding RNA were recognised. Although 90 percent of the genome is transcribed but only a small fraction i.e. 1.5 percent transcribed RNA is used for coding the protein sequence as mRNA. The major portion of non-coding RNA ( which mainly comprised of rRNA, tRNA , mi RNA, si RNA, snoRNA and snRNA) ) has been assigned several functions in disease development including their role in cancer development. Around 88.5 percent of the RNA transcripts are the source of noncoding RNA having regulatory functions. Around 450,000 ncRNA are genes are coded. Many…

Applicatoin of biotechnology in regeneration of rice (Oryza sativa), Maize, Eucalyptus, hot pepper, guava (Psidium guajava L.) stone fruit (Pinis pinea) and compares the features of in vitro grown plant to in vivo plants, Transgenic plants production and application, generating marker-free transgenic plants, genetic engineering and metabolic engineering of plant, molecular farming, abiotic stress tolerance, transgenic in floriculture and ornamental plants, celery, Secondary metabolite production with special reference to sennoside, genetic transformation of potato and biosafety concerns,…

Combination of biology and technology is in practice. Attempts have been made to bring them together in different parts of the world. We have made a simple attempt to bring biology and technology together in applications of biotechnology which could be useful to reserachers and students alike. "Large number of transgenic crop plants have now been released for commercial production using transformation technologies. Virus-mediated, chemical mediated microinjection, electroporation, particle-bombardment and other transformation methods are routinely used. However, problems are associated…

We accept that genetics make some people smarter though few consider instead that genes may be making us dumber, but deleting the RGS14 gene in mice did make them smarter - by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found. Bring on the psychic fans! Mice with the disabled RGS14 gene were able to remember objects they'd explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice, suggesting that RGS14's presence limits some forms of learning and memory, shows the study in Proceedings of the…

Isolated Microspore Embryogenesis in Cereals: Aspects and Prospects Archana Chugh and François Eudes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, 5403 1st Avenue South, PO Box-3000, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4B1, CANADA. Telephone: 1-403-317-3358/3338, Fax: 1-403-382-3156 e-mail: chugha@agr.gc.ca, eudesf@agr.gc.ca Abstract Developmental switch of microspores towards embryogenic pathway leading to haploid plant formation, is manifestation of the dictum of ‘cellular totipotency’ at its best. Isolated microspore culture provides an excellent system to study molecular mechanism(s…

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is when a woman's ovaries stop working before she is 40.  Missed periods are usually the first sign of POF. Later symptoms may be similar to those of natural menopause.  Most women with POF cannot get pregnant naturally. Fertility treatments help a few women; others use donor eggs to have children. There is no treatment that will restore normal ovarian function, though many health care providers suggest taking hormones until age 50.   According to the International Premature Ovarian Failure Association, between 1 and 4% of women suffer from POF…

Researchers say they have found 13 genes linked to human body mass. Starting with DNA samples extracted from Icelanders' white blood cells banked in 1991 and 2002 by scientists there as part of the AGES–Reykjavik study of individuals in the general population, scientists used a customized, genome-wide profiling method dubbed CHARM (comprehensive high-throughput arrays for relative methylation) to look for regions that were the most variable, all chemically marked by DNA methylation.  The DNA methylation analyses revealed epigenetic fingerprints which are unique to each individual and…

An important enzyme that acts in the nervous system may lead to new treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Our cells contain a network of tubes known as microtubules that are made of protein and serve as tracks for the shuttling of materials from one part of the cell to another.   Microtubules in parts of neurons in the brain that send signals, for example, are loaded with chemical additions called acetylation marks. Microtubules in parts of neurons that receive signals, on the other hand, have few.  Acetylation marks were discovered in 1983, and…

A research team says they have discovered one of the key drivers of human evolution and diversity, accounting for changes that occur between different generations of people. Professor Alec Jeffreys, who discovered DNA fingerprinting at the University of Leicester in 1984, and has spent the decades since investigating what he describes as "pretty bizarre bits of DNA" - highly variable repeated parts of DNA called 'minisatellites' - found in the human genome. Jeffreys observed that these seemed to be changing and "picking up mutations at an extraordinary rate" when compared to other DNA. In a…

Scientists at the universities in Tübingen and Mainz say they have developed a blood test that can provide conclusive proof of gene doping - even after 56 days. To date, it has been impossible to prove that an athlete had undergone gene doping but they say the new test provides a clear answer based on whether or not transgenic DNA is present in blood samples. Transgenic DNA (tDNA) does not stem from the person being tested but has been transferred into their body, often via viruses, in order to create performance-enhancing substances such as erythropoetin (EPO) for forming red blood cells.…