Apr 15, 2008

From Shiu Lab

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Bioinformatics

• Quantitative analysis of robustness and fragility in biological networks based on feedback dynamics

Computational analysis showed that networks with a larger number of positive feedback loops and a smaller number of negative feedback loops are likely to be more robust against perturbations. Also found that the nodes of a robust network subject to perturbations are mostly involved with a smaller number of feedback loops compared with the other nodes not usually subject to perturbations.

MBE

• Evolutionary Origins of a Novel Host Plant Detoxification Gene in Butterflies Nitrile-specifier protein (NSP) has evolved by a process involving gene duplications and domain fusions. Compared NSP protein and DNA sequences across many insects, primarily lepidopterans. Looked at patterns of exons and proteins and did some likelihood analysis.

• Adaptive Evolution of Newly Emerged Micro-RNA Genes in Drosophila 5/78 known miRNA genes are new. They sequenced these 5 miRNA genes and their neighboring regions from a worldwide collection of Drosophila melanogaster lines. The levels of divergence and polymorphism in these miRNA genes, vis-à-vis those of the neighboring DNA sequences, suggest that these 5 genes are evolving adaptively. Did a MK Test to prove that. Furthermore, the polymorphism pattern of miR-310s in D. melanogaster is indicative of hitchhiking under positive selection.

Nature Genetics

• Evolutionary plasticity of genetic interaction networks Tested interactions known to be synthetic-lethal in yeast, in C.elegans. Only 6/837 (0.7%) of the tested gene pairs that were synthetic lethal in S. cerevisiae were also synthetic lethal in C. elegans.

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