Biomedical subjects

Michael R Mehan

Publications and source records attributed to Michael R Mehan.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Analysis of segmental duplications reveals a distinct pattern of continuation-of-synteny between human and mouse genomes.

About 5% of the human genome consists of large-scale duplicated segments of almost identical sequences. Segmental duplications (SDs) have been proposed to be involved in non-allelic homologous recombination leading to recurrent genomic variation and disease. It has also been suggested that these SDs are associated with syntenic rearrangements that have shaped the human genome. We have analyzed 14 members of a single family of closely related SDs in the human genome, some of which are associated with common inversion polymorphisms at chromosomes 8p23 and 4p16. Comparative analysis with the mouse genome revealed syntenic inversions for these two human polymorphic loci. In addition, 12 of the 14 SDs, while absent in the mouse genome, occur at the breaks of synteny; suggesting a non-random involvement of these sequences in genome evolution. Furthermore, we observed a syntenic familial relationship between 8 and 12 breakpoint-loci, where broken synteny that ends at one family member resumes at another, even across different chromosomes. Subsequent genome-wide assessment revealed that this relationship, which we named continuation-of-synteny, is not limited to the 8p23 family and occurs 46 times in the human genome with high frequency at specific chromosomes. Our analysis supports a non-random breakage model of genomic evolution with an active involvement of segmental duplications for specific regions of the human genome.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Gene Aging Nexus: a web database and data mining platform for microarray data on aging.

The recent development of microarray technology provided unprecedented opportunities to understand the genetic basis of aging. So far, many microarray studies have addressed aging-related expression patterns in multiple organisms and under different conditions. The number of relevant studies continues to increase rapidly. However, efficient exploitation of these vast data is frustrated by the lack of an integrated data mining platform or other unifying bioinformatic resource to enable convenient cross-laboratory searches of array signals. To facilitate the integrative analysis of microarray data on aging, we developed a web database and analysis platform 'Gene Aging Nexus' (GAN) that is freely accessible to the research community to query/analyze/visualize cross-platform and cross-species microarray data on aging. By providing the possibility of integrative microarray analysis, GAN should be useful in building the systems-biology understanding of aging. GAN is accessible at http://gan.usc.edu.

Aging↗

PubMed2004

A genome-wide survey of segmental duplications that mediate common human genetic variation of chromosomal architecture.

Recent studies have identified a small number of genomic rearrangements that occur frequently in the general population. Bioinformatics tools are now available for systematic genome-wide surveys of higher-order structures predisposing to such common variations in genomic architecture. Segmental duplications (SDs) constitute up to 5 per cent of the genome and play an important role in generating additional rearrangements and in disease aetiology. We conducted a genome-wide database search for a form of SD, palindromic segmental duplications (PSDs), which consist of paired, inverted duplications, and which predispose to inversions, duplications and deletions. The survey was complemented by a search for SDs in tandem orientation (TSDs) that can mediate duplications and deletions but not inversions. We found more than 230 distinct loci with higher-order genomic structure that can mediate genomic variation, of these about 180 contained a PSD. A number of these sites were previously identified as harbouring common inversions or as being associated with specific genomic diseases characterised by duplication, deletions or inversions. Most of the regions, however, were previously unidentified; their characterisation should identify further common rearrangements and may indicate localisations for additional genomic disorders. The widespread distribution of complex chromosomal architecture suggests a potentially high degree of plasticity of the human genome and could uncover another level of genetic variation within human populations.

Chromosomes, Human↗