Gene behavior key to understanding disease: New Zealand-led study

Scientists believe they are closer to understanding the spread of diseases after a New Zealand-led study found the crowding of genes inside the nucleus of a cell affects the way they replicate and how they are turned on and off.

The researchers in New Zealand, the United States and Japan, led by the University of Auckland, used 3D digital models of how the DNA was folded inside the nucleus of a yeast cell, and then mapped how genes encoded in the DNA were clustered inside the nucleus.

They found that the regions of DNA that control replication were crowded together, and by mutating certain genes they could change the pattern of crowding and the timing of replication, molecular biologist Dr Justin O'Sullivan said Tuesday.

They also found that those genes that were turned on -- or expressed -- were physically separated from those that were turned off.

"The more we understand about what's happening to the genes encoded in the DNA inside the cell nucleus, the easier it is to understand how that DNA structure responds to the environment outside the cell," O'Sullivan said in a statement.

"So these findings add to our understanding of epigenetics -- the chemical process in which the environment modifies the DNA, switching the genes responsible for certain developmental processes on or off," he said.

"Our next step is to investigate whether the development of common diseases is influenced by the way genes with mutations are crowded together and communicate with one another." Endit