deCODE genetics
Icelandic scientists have completed the first comprehensive map of human genome recombinations. A major advance that sheds light on the mechanisms of genetic transmission and could revolutionize the diagnosis of complications during pregnancy.
After twenty-five years of work, researchers from the company deCODE genetics/Amgen, based in Iceland, have developed a complete map of genetic recombination of the human genome. By “map”, one should not expect a genetic version of Google Maps; Looking more like graphs, it shows how parents’ genes are shuffled and rearranged during reproduction. This map is the most precise ever produced, because it integrates so-called “small-scale” mixtures of DNA, i.e. without major reciprocal exchange between the two chromosomes of the parents. Furthermore, it takes into account the DNA of the grandparents, allowing genetic tracing over three generations.
This small-scale mixing phenomenon is difficult to detect, due to the high similarity of DNA sequences. “ We sequenced the genomes of 2132 Icelandic families to create this map », Indicates Kari Stefansson, author of the study published in…
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