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The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa played a historic role in experimental biology and became a model system for genetic research. Stimulated by a systematic effort to collect wild strains initiated by Stanford geneticist David Perkins, the genus Neurospora has also become a basic model for the study of evolutionary processes, speciation, and population biology. In this chapter, we will first trace the history that brought Neurospora into the era of population genomics. We will then cover the major contributions of population genomic investigations using Neurospora to our understanding of microbial biogeography and speciation, and review recent work using population genomics and genome-wide association mapping that illustrates the unique potential of Neurospora as a model for identifying the genetic basis of (potentially adaptive) phenotypes in filamentous fungi. The advent of population genomics has contributed to firmly establish Neurospora as a complete model system and we hope our review will entice biologists to include Neurospora in their research.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0199-0_13 | DOI Listing |
Genet Med
September 2025
Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK; The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Fulham Road, London, UK. Electronic address:
Purpose: Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC) is a rare cancer susceptibility syndrome exclusively attributable to pathogenic variants in FH (HGNC:3700). This paper quantitatively weights the phenotypic context (PP4/PS4) of such very rare variants in FH.
Methods: We collated clinical diagnostic testing data on germline FH variants from 387 individuals with HLRCC and 1,780 individuals with renal cancer, and compared the frequency of 'very rare' variants in each phenotypic cohort against 562,295 population controls.
Genet Med
September 2025
Division of Medical Genetics, University of Washington School of Medicine.
Purpose: The fourth phase of the Electronic Medical Records and Genome Network (eMERGE4) is testing the return of 10 polygenic risk scores (PRS) across multiple clinics. Understanding the perspectives of health-system leaders and frontline clinicians can inform plans for implementation of PRS.
Methods: Fifteen health-system leaders and 20 primary care providers (PCPs) took part in semi-structured interviews.
Biotechniques
September 2025
Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute, Tufts Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered more stable than mRNA, but the impact of progressive thawing of biological samples after freezing as may happen during shipping delays has not been quantified. To address this, we utilized digital PCR to estimate the absolute concentrations of select miRNAs following progressive thawing of human plasma and maintenance at ambient temperature. Specifically, we quantified let-7b-3p, miR-144-5p, miR-150-5p, miR-517a-3p, miR-524-5p, and miR-1283, which have varying abundance in plasma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBJPsych Open
September 2025
Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK.
Background: Some psychotic experiences in the general population show associations with higher schizophrenia and other mental health-related polygenic risk scores (PRSs), but studies have not usually included interviewer-rated positive, negative and disorganised dimensions, which show distinct associations in clinical samples.
Aims: To investigate associations of these psychotic experience dimensions primarily with schizophrenia PRS and, secondarily, with other relevant PRSs.
Method: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort participants were assessed for positive, negative and disorganised psychotic experience dimensions from interviews, and for self-rated negative symptoms, at 24 years of age.
Mol Ecol
September 2025
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
Many North American game animals experienced severe population declines during the 19th century due to market hunting. However, estimates of the timing and magnitude of these declines often rely on anecdotal evidence, which makes it difficult to understand the lasting impacts of hunting pressures versus climate or landscape changes on the genetic diversity of contemporary populations. Historical reports suggest the California quail (Callipepla californica) suffered more significant hunting pressure in the late 19th century relative to either Gambel's (Callipepla gambelii) or mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus).
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