Science & Publishing

Despite its reputation as an innocent essential mineral, excessive iron intake can be poisonous, and maintaining the proper amount within our cells requires a molecular balancing act among several biochemical pathways. Even at levels that are not overtly toxic, iron overload in humans has been associated with an increased risk of obesity and related conditions,…

Check out the June issue of G3! Investigations Sdt97: A Point Mutation in the 5′ Untranslated Region Confers Semidwarfism in Rice Jiping Tong, Zhengshu Han, Aonan Han, Xuejun Liu, Shiyong Zhang, Binying Fu, Jun Hu, Jingping Su, Shaoqing Li, Shengjun Wang, and Yingguo Zhu G3 June 2016 6:1491-1502; Early Online April 29, 2016 doi:10.1534/g3.116.028720 Abstract…

We biologists can be a credit-hungry lot. Getting a paper into press that shows we were first to make a discovery best satisfies our appetite for affirmation. But has the trend to slice each piece of credit ever finer gone too far? (While perhaps easy for a senior member of the field like me to…

Massive amplification of genes is a desperate strategy taken by stressed populations adapting to an environment that has become inhospitable. Such amplifications can give an underperforming gene a much-needed boost in productivity simply by increasing its copy number. But counterintuitively, research reported in the May issue of G3 implies these amplifications may arise even in…

Sometimes, great advances in science come from combining the old with the new. Genomic selection is one such case; in 2001, Meuwissen, Hayes, and Goddard surveyed the changing landscape of genetics, had the foresight to work on a then-theoretical problem, and laid the foundation for a boom in biotechnology-assisted breeding that continues to this day.…

While the textbook enhancer is often depicted just upstream of a gene, many enhancers  influence transcription from afar—some can activate genes a million base pairs away. Enhancers can even activate genes on a completely separate chromosome (i.e., in trans), a process called transvection. It’s not known how common transvection is, but an article in the…

Check out the the May issue of GENETICS by looking at the highlights or the full table of contents! This Month’s Centennial Articles Eric Lander and David Botstein on mapping quantitative traits pp. 1–3 Gary A. Churchill Senior Editor Gary A. Churchill introduces Lander and Botstein’s 1989 Classic on mapping quantitative traits. This landmark work brought together the power…

The sex of many reptile species is set by temperature. New research reported in the journal GENETICS identifies the first gene associated with temperature-dependent sex determination in any reptile. Variation at this gene in snapping turtles contributes to geographic differences in the way sex ratio is influenced by temperature. Understanding the genetics of sex determination…

Check out the May issue of G3! Investigations The Genetic Basis of Baculum Size and Shape Variation in Mice Nicholas G. Schultz, Jesse Ingels, Andrew Hillhouse, Keegan Wardwell, Peter L. Chang, James M. Cheverud, Cathleen Lutz, Lu Lu, Robert W. Williams, and Matthew D. Dean G3 May 2016 6:1141-1151; Early Online March 2, 2016 doi:10.1534/g3.116.027888…

Fruit flies that devote an excessive amount of time to grooming themselves could serve as a powerful tool for understanding the inherited disorder neurofibromatosis, type 1 (NF-1), report researchers in the latest issue of G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics.     NF-1 leads to the development of benign tumors in the peripheral nervous system. Common complications of  NF-1…

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Editorial Board of the journal GENETICS are pleased to announce the winners of the first Centennial Award for outstanding articles published in GENETICS in 2015. The awards were inaugurated just this year in celebration of the 100th anniversary of GENETICS. Three exceptional articles are recognized from three…