Free Association

The genome assembly of the koala is reported in a paper published online in Nature Genetics. This high quality genome represents the most complete genome sequence for a marsupial to date. The data give insight into the highly specialized koala diet, consisting of eucalyptus leaves, and provide information that may be useful to combatting infectious disease. Koalas are a vulnerable species and par…

The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is an important model in evolutionary biology. It was discovered in 2009 (https://www.pnas.org/content/106/27/11212.long) that the genome of the sea lamprey undergoes extensive programmed genome rearrangement during development, where ~0.5 Gb (around 20%) of DNA is eliminated from the genome. The somatic tissues contain smaller genomes and only the germ cells …

During the past 25 years, Nature Genetics has been lucky to publish many exciting papers, more than a few of which can be described as “landmark” papers—publications that have had a dramatic and long-lasting impact on a field. In 2004, the Journal published such a study by Stephen Scherer, Charles Lee and colleagues (Iafrate et al.) in which they reported 255 loci across the human genome containi…

In 1995, Nature Genetics published a report by Eric Lander and Leonid Kruglyak, recommending clear statistical guidelines for reporting linkage results for complex traits. The paper had an immediate impact, setting the bar for what could or could not be called “significant” in the literature. Although originally focused on human genetic linkage studies, the guidelines set forth by Lander & Krugly…

Continuing with our month-long celebration of Nature Genetics 25th anniversary, I have chosen to highlight a study by Sarah Fortune and colleagues estimating mutation rate differences between different lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis published in June 2013. Multidrug resistance in M. tuberculosis is a global problem, and understanding the origins and dynamics of the emergence of resistance…

As part of the ongoing celebration of the last 25 years of Nature Genetics, the editors are each choosing a few papers from our archives that we want to highlight. My first pick a paper from Kevin Campbell, Alan Cooper and colleagues on their structure-function analysis of woolly mammoth hemoglobin, published in May 2010. I’ve picked this one to highlight because, well, who doesn’t love woolly ma…

This April marks the 25th anniversary of the first issue of Nature Genetics, and I think it’s safe to say that the field of genetics has come quite a long way. In 1992, we were still nearly a decade away from the draft human genome sequence, “omics” was not yet a word in common usage, and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing wasn’t even a pipe dream. Most of the content in our current issue would have possib…

A new study published online this week in Nature Genetics reports the discovery of novel host targets of HIV infection identified from a high-throughput CRISPR/Cas9-based screen. This screen was performed in CD4 + T-cells and was designed to find candidate genes required for successful HIV infection, but whose inactivation did not affect cell viability. In this way, potential drug targets for ant…

Protein degradation is a highly coordinated process with multiple levels of regulation, including both targeted and autodegradation. This sophisticated cascade of protein turnover must be precisely balanced to maintain proper physiological function. A recent article published in Nature Genetics reports the discovery of gene with protein-truncating mutations that lead to the skin condition epiderm…

For all of October, we at Nature Genetics have been admiring the lovely cabbages on our cover. The image, created by photographer Keyong Chang, was contributed by the authors of the study on page 1218 of the issue. But what is the story behind these pretty green cabbages? Xiaowu Wang, corresponding author of the study, gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the process that led to the picture on our…

Finding the genetic cause of a disease—a mutation or genetic variant—is a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. Except in the case of exome sequencing, it’s not always clear what a needle even looks like. Read more Continue reading →

Normally we do not re-examine supplementary information in this detail, but there is a common minor problem that systematically affects a small number of gene IDs within long lists of gene names copied into spreadsheets in the supplementary tables of many articles. We suggest checking for this problem before submitting tables to journals. It is easy to see the altered gene names by sorting the co…

This month’s cover image is inspired by the paper on page 947 reporting the reference genome sequence of the black snub-nosed monkey, the second snub-nosed monkey genome paper published in Nature Genetics. The golden snub-nosed monkey genome was published in 2014. Read more Continue reading →

We report this week in Nature and Nature Genetics the first publications from the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), a project that has generated the largest catalogue to date of variation in the protein-coding regions of the genome (known collectively as the exome), aggregating sequence data from over 60,000 individuals from across 21 research studies. Most importantly, they have provided a pu…

Rice is one of the most important crops on the planet, responsible for feeding billions of people. Given this global significance, studying rice in different geographies can be useful and aid in harnessing genetic diversity underlying particular traits and adaptations favorable to different environments. African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) is mainly grown in sub-Saharan Africa and known for it…

This month’s cover features the inspiring block-like karst mountains of the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi province. The image was inspired by a study in this month’s issue reporting deep sequencing of the MHC region in individuals of Han Chinese ancestry. The study represents an important resource for the study of immune-related disorders in Asian populations. It also identifies…

As June comes to a close, it’s time to look back at our June issue and ask “what’s going on here?” with the cover image. As you may have guessed, the image is related to the publication of the carrot genome sequence in this month’s issue. Read more Continue reading →

The trajectory of tumor cells during metastasis can be influenced by many factors, including the physical environment and the genetic makeup of metastatic clones. In high-grade serous ovarian cancer, there are limited barriers in the intraperitoneal space, allowing for extensive spreading and mixing of tumor cells. A recent article published in Nature Genetics explores these different patterns of…

This month’s cover image is inspired by the Article on p. 528 of this issue, by Jeff Wall, Nicola Illing, Nadav Ahituv and colleagues. The paper reports the genome of the bat Miniopterus natalensis and transcriptional dynamics in the developing bat wing. This species, one of a group known as vesper bats, is also known as the Natal long-fingered bat and is found in parts of Africa. Read more Conti…

A high-quality assembly of the carrot (Daucus carota) genome is reported this week in Nature Genetics. Carrot is an important crop due to its high content of Vitamin A precursors, alpha- and beta-carotenes, as well as its popularity in global cuisines.  The bright orange color of the modern carrot and its high carotenoid content are features that emerged through selection and breeding- the comple…