Beyond the DNA: Chemical signatures reveal genetic switches in the genome

February 6, 2007 | Source: KurzweilAI

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have made a breakthrough in identifying functional elements in the human genome.

Their novel method can identify and predict the “promoter” and “enhancer: regions that switch on transcription, the first step in gene expression. This study is an important step towards large-scale functional annotation of “enhancers,” which establish the rate at which gene expression occurs and determine the tissues in which genes are expressed.

This method might also be used to identify the disruptions in gene networks that occur during cancer progression, which might lead to novel strategies for cancer diagnosis.