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UGA researcher leads effort to sequence and catalog conifer genes for future biofuels research

Jeffrey Dean, professor of forest biotechnology in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, is spearheading a project at the US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute that will greatly expand the gene catalog for pines and initiate the first gene discovery efforts in five other conifer families.

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Keywords: uga, researcher, leads, effort, sequence, catalog, conifer, genes, future, biofuels, research, lead, gene, biofuel

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1. Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
   02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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2. 'Chlamy' genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health
   10-11-2007 · EurekAlert!
   University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.
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3. The race for biofuels driving alternative sources of biomass
   10-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Research presented on Nov. 6-7 at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings will examine the future of biomass for biofuel production and will look at how several regional species could be grown for biofuels.
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4. University of Washington researchers play leading role in major study of human genome function
   06-13-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Scientists at the University of Washington and other members of an international consortium have completed a multi-year research effort that dramatically boosts understanding of how the human genome functions. While previous studies of the human genome have focused mainly on genes, this study provides insight into non-gene sequences and "regulatory elements" that control genes and may play a role in many common diseases.
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5. Gene profiling can single out the worst cases of multiple myeloma and guide therapy
   09-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Multiple myeloma patients vary widely in how they respond to treatment, but now researchers at the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have identified a small subset of genes whose activity could predict high-risk cases and potentially guide therapy in the future.
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6. Research could lead to treatment for Alzheimer's disease
   04-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A molecule designed by a Purdue University researcher could lead to the first drug treatment for Alzheimer's disease. There are many people suffering, and no effective treatment is available to them. The new molecule prevents the first step in a chain of events that leads to amyloid plaque formation in the brain.
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7. UD leads $5.3-million research project on rice epigenetics
   09-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Using a novel "deep sequencing" technology that can in one fell swoop decode 50 million sequences representing well over a billion bases of DNA, a research team led by University of Delaware scientists is working to unmask where, why and how certain genes are switched on or off in rice -- a crop vital to the world's food supply. The $5.3-million NSF project may lead to development of hardier strains of rice and other cereal grains.
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8. Genes and stressed-out parents lead to shy kids
   03-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
   New research in Current Directions in Psychological Science shows that shyness in kids could relate to the manner in which a stress-related gene in children interacts with being raised by stressed-out parents.
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9. Nature Conservancy study raises major questions on biofuels
   02-07-2008 · EurekAlert!
   A new Nature Conservancy study finds that converting land for biofuel crops results in major carbon emissions, actually worsening the problem of global warming instead of mitigating it. "This research examines the conversion of land for biofuels and asks the question 'Is it worth it?' Does the carbon you lose by converting forests, grasslands, and peatlands outweigh the carbon you 'save' by using biofuels instead of fossil fuels? And surprisingly, the answer is no,? said lead author Joe Fargione, a scientist for The Nature Conservancy.
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10. Scientists identify gene that may indicate predisposition to schizophrenia
    01-24-2007 · EurekAlert!
    In a study from the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, a research team lead by Xinzhi Zhao and Ruqi Tang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) present evidence that genetic variation may indicate predisposition to schizophrenia. Specifically, their findings identify the chitinase 3-like 1 gene as a potential schizophrenia-susceptibility gene and suggest that the genes involved in biological response to adverse conditions are likely linked to schizophrenia.
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