Mobile genes are DNA sequences able to move and insert into the genome. They constitute more than 50% of the human genome and 28% of that of Drosophila (Fruit fly). They are an important source of mutations because they promote chromosomal arrangements and insert into genes and regulatory regions. This work is based in one of these transposable...
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Ricard Guerrero
Guerrero has taken part in various scientific projects and is known in Spain as the first person to introduce the theory of microbial ecology. "Without microbes, life on our planet would be impossible", says Guerrero. "From the moment we are born we need bacteria to live".
In our chromosomes there are small disorders that generally do not affect us but that can be decisive for reproduction. This is the case for the so-called chromosomal inversions (a change in direction of a chromosomal fragment within the original chromosome). UAB researchers have studied these alterations and concluded that the larger a...
Fragmentation of the forest masses reduces its genetic diversity
A study carried out by the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, undertaken by Alistair Jump, a postdoctoral researcher, and Josep Peñuelas, research professor at the CREAF...
Why are hybrids not symmetrical?
Most animal species have two symmetrical halves. There are small differences that break this bilateral symmetry. Scientists at the UAB have studied how these differences come about and how organisms try to achieve perfect symmetry by crossing two species of insects, Drosophila madeirensis and...
The doctoral thesis of Aïda Pujol has studied a variant of preimplantational genetic diagnosis during in vitro fertilization and embryonic development. She analysed the numerical irregularity of the chromosomes in the oocytes using the fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) technique. This allowed her to identify the different mechanisms...
More accurate diagnosis thanks to molecular cytogenetic techniques
Cristina Hernando shows in her doctoral thesis the utility of the new technologies in Molecular Cytogenetics, which is helpful to the characterization of imbalance and genome reorganization in different tissues. This work shows new correlations...
In his research, Jordi Camps Polo obtains interesting results on the chromosomal instability of tumor cells. His research, that focuses in the human colon cancer, has used molecular cytogenetics techniques for his analysis. This novel approach has revealed chromosomal alterations during the cellular division that were invisible up to now.