by Mohamed Zaiou

Received: 16 March 2020;  Published: 17 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2001105

by Yuri Shavrukov

Received: 03 March 2020;  Published: 04 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2001104

by Kwang Poo Chang  , Dennis K.P. Ng  , Chia-Kwung Fan  , Ramesh B. Batchu  and Bala K. Kolli

Received: 29 December 2019;  Published: 24 February 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2001103

The parasitic protozoa in the genus of Leishmania have exceptionally favorable attributes for exploitation as a vehicle for safe and effective delivery of transgenically incorporated vaccines against infectious and malignant diseases. A dual suicidal mechanism was installed in Leishmania via genetic and chemical engineering in vitro for accumulation of photosensitizers, rendering them sensitive to dim light for inactivation. Leishmania so inactivated are non-viable, but immunologically competent to deliver vaccines [...]

by Joep Geraedts

Received: 13 January 2020;  Published: 14 January 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2001102

At the beginning of a new year it is always good to look both backwards and forwards and to highlight a few items that are relevant with respect to the long-term development of our journal. As everybody knows, the principle of open access publishing is that the authors pay fees (the article‐processing charges or APCs) to publish in the journal rather than that the readers pay subscription costs for the journal. Three years ago, OBM Genetics started as an open access journal publishing its first papers totally free [...]

by Florence Dupré  , Ciro Comparetto  and Franco Borruto

Received: 15 July 2019;  Published: 12 December 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904101

Background: Clinical or medical genetics deals with the study and diagnosis of genetic diseases. It is oriented to the formulation of the clinical diagnosis of genetic diseases and genetic counseling, in order to evaluate the possible reproductive risk for the patient and his family. The geneticist is also called to play a diagnostic and preventive role for some of the most frequent diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Methods: State-of-the-art by literature review. Results: Genetic counseling is a [...]

by Kjeld C. Engvild

Received: 17 July 2019;  Published: 03 December 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904100

The Hansemann-Boveri aneuploidy theory, the Warburg aerobic glycolysis theory, and the Knudson two-hit mutation theory can be seen as different aspects of a theory where the very common chromosome missegregation damage is mitigated by several quite different mechanisms. Cancer only occurs when all of these mechanisms have been inactivated in a single cell line, typically by mutation, for example by carcinogens. There are at least 5 different repair mechanisms which implies a multiple hit factor of at least 5. The r [...]

by Kenneth Lundstrom

Received: 01 October 2019;  Published: 28 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904099

A strong association has been established between nutrition and disease risk confirmed by epidemiological data and meta-analysis. In the context of cancer, unhealthy diets have been demonstrated to increase the risk of disease. On the other hand, major dietary interventions and lifestyle changes have provided therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients. Genetic mechanisms have been associated with cancer development triggered by environmental and nutritional factors. Genetics plays an important role in the design of pe [...]

by Jacques Pédron  and Frédérique Van Gijsegem

Received: 25 July 2019;  Published: 26 November 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904098

Background: The Dickeya genus comprises aggressive soft rot plant pathogens with wide geographic distribution and host ranges. Ten Dickeya species have been characterised. Seven of them (D. chrysanthemi, D. dadantii, D. dianthicola, D. fangzhongdai, D. solani, D. paradisiaca, D. zeae) group causative agents of maceration-associated diseases that impact a wide variety of crops and ornamentals. As well as isolates from water sources. The three remaining species (D. aquatica, D. lacustris, D. undicola) have recently [...]

by

Received: 09 June 2019;  Published: 17 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904097

Phage as an anti-bacterial agent must be efficient in killing bacteria, and consequently needs to replicate efficiently. Protein production is a limiting step in replication in almost all forms of life, including phages. Efficient protein production depends on the efficiency of translation initiation, elongation and termination, with translation initiation often being rate limiting. Initiation signals such as Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequences and start codon are decoded by anti-SD sequences and initiation tRNA, respect [...]

by Bas T Röttgering  and Karoly Szuhai

Received: 14 May 2019;  Published: 14 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1904096

IGF2 is a strongly mitogenic peptide and imprinted gene primarily involved in foetal development. In the foetus, IGF2 is highly expressed and is involved with foetal growth and tissue differentiation. However, postnatally IGF2 expression decreases although its expression level is still higher in blood than of IGF1. In adults, the physiological function of IGF2 is poorly understood, but may have a metabolic function. Although expression of IGF2 normally decreases in adults, IGF2 is overexpressed in a variety of canc [...]