The bonobo genome compared with the chimpanzee and human genomes

Two African apes are the closest living relatives of humans: the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus). Although they are similar in many respects, bonobos and chimpanzees differ strikingly in key social and sexual behaviours, and for some of these traits they show more similarity with humans than with each other. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the bonobo genome to study its evolutionary relationship with the chimpanzee and human genomes. We find that more than three per cent of the human genome is more closely related to either the bonobo or the chimpanzee genome than these are to each other. These regions allow various aspects of the ancestry of the two ape species to be reconstructed. In addition, many of the regions that overlap genes may eventually help us understand the genetic basis of phenotypes that humans share with one of the two apes to the exclusion of the other.     

The exchange of bone calcium with Ca

Résumé L'emploi combiné de l'isotope radioactif du calcium et de la dissolution progressive des sels osseux par HCl a permis de démontrer que le calcium échangeable de la substance minérale osseuse correspond au calcium adsorbé et à celui qu'elle renferme en excès par rapport au phosphate tricalcique fondamental.

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This work was sponsored by theAir Research and Development Command, United States Air Force, through its European Office: contract n^o AF 61(514)-647 C, and the Centre Interuniversitaire des Sciences Nucléaires of Belgium.     

Genome evolution in yeasts

Identifying the mechanisms of eukaryotic genome evolution by comparative genomics is often complicated by the multiplicity of events that have taken place throughout the history of individual lineages, leaving only distorted and superimposed traces in the genome of each living organism. The hemiascomycete yeasts, with their compact genomes, similar lifestyle and distinct sexual and physiological properties, provide a unique opportunity to explore such mechanisms. We present here the complete, assembled genome sequences of four yeast species, selected to represent a broad evolutionary range within a single eukaryotic phylum, that after analysis proved to be molecularly as diverse as the entire phylum of chordates. A total of approximately 24,200 novel genes were identified, the translation products of which were classified together with Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins into about 4,700 families, forming the basis for interspecific comparisons. Analysis of chromosome maps and genome redundancies reveal that the different yeast lineages have evolved through a marked interplay between several distinct molecular mechanisms, including tandem gene repeat formation, segmental duplication, a massive genome duplication and extensive gene loss.     

Mutations in PCSK9 cause autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia

Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH; OMIM144400), a risk factor for coronary heart disease, is characterized by an increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels that is associated with mutations in the genes LDLR (encoding low-density lipoprotein receptor) or APOB (encoding apolipoprotein B). We mapped a third locus associated with ADH, HCHOLA3 at 1p32, and now report two mutations in the gene PCSK9 (encoding proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) that cause ADH. PCSK9 encodes NARC-1 (neural apoptosis regulated convertase), a newly identified human subtilase that is highly expressed in the liver and contributes to cholesterol homeostasis.