How accumulating useful genes helps older yeast fare better in tougher times
Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - 14:11
in Biology & Nature
Genome amplification, whereby organisms bump up the number of copies of beneficial genes in response to environmental stresses, is implicated in diseases such as cancer and also in ageing. Researchers in the Babraham Institute's Epigenetics research programme have used yeast to learn more about how satellite (extrachromosomal) DNA circles are formed to carry amplified genes, how the gene duplication is specific to the environmental pressure and the effects of age. Their research is published today in the journal PLOS Biology.