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Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is a method for detecting regional variation in DNA copy number between a test and a control genomic sample. It is used to find the location of large changes including deletions, duplications and amplifications.
The SIR2-domain-containing protein DSR2 from Bacillussubtilis protects against SPR phage infection via NAD+ depletion. Some phages express anti-DSR2 proteins, blocking bacterial immunity.
This Timeline article reviews the evolution of both prenatal and pre-implantation genetic testing, from their historic origins to ongoing development and implementation of tools for genome-wide single-cell and cell-free fetal DNA analysis. Future developments and some of the ethical issues that arise from these new technologies are also discussed.
Beat Keller, Thomas Wicker and colleagues compare the genomes of 46 isolates of powdery mildew, Blumeria graminis. They find that B. graminis f. sp. triticale, a pathogen growing on triticale (a wheat × rye hybrid plant), is a hybrid of B. graminis f. sp. tritici and B. graminis f. sp. secalis, which grow on wheat and rye, respectively.
Plant pathogens can evolve new host specificities and overcome host resistances over surprisingly few generations, a process that is greatly accelerated by agricultural practices. A new study provides a striking example in which the rapid emergence of a new pathogen via introgressive hybridization mirrors the evolution of a hybrid cereal crop.
Genomic analysis combined with functional screening has identified an extracellular non-membrane bound form of the ephrin receptor EPHA7 as a tumour suppressor in follicular lymphoma that could be exploited therapeutically.