Nutritional Genomics

Ariel et al. 2012 found that iron Fe2+ absorption was not reduced by green tea, compared to a group with a diet without tea. The authors, however, noted that  the expression of salivary proteins decreased.  [1]

Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) spread into 11 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region reducing yields of  bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) crops. Nucleotide sequences of DNA-S and DNA-R of BBTV isolates from these countries are genetically identical to the 'South Pacific' phylogroup which include Australia, Egypt, South Asia and South Pacific.  [1]

Teschendorff  et al 2012 demonstrated that epigenetic changes in normal cells can predict the risk of cancer. The DNA methylation (DNAm) profile,  in combination with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, are a key factor in determining cervical cancer risk. [1]

Rice stripe virus (RSV) is a member of the Tenuivirus genus. It causes chlorotic stripes, chlorosis, moderate stunting and loss of vigour.  Severe infections cause the leaves of the plant to develop brown to grey necrotic streaks. If infection is massive the plant dies. The virus occurs in rice, maize, wheat, oat, foxtail millet and wild grasses of the family Gramineae. It does not infect members of other families.

Berni Canniri et al 2011 explain  links among early nutrition, epigenetic processes and diseases  in later life, suggesting that maternal and neonatal diet may have long-lasting effects in the development of diseases such as  insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, development and function of gut microbiota. [1]

The German Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut discovered the Schmallenberg virus which caused an undetermined disease in animals  in late 2011. Sheep, cattle and goats presented fever, decreased milk production, and diarrhea, malformed newborn animals and stillborn calves, goats an lambs. A study leaded by Martin Beer used metagenomic analysis to identify the  novel orthobunyavirus. The epidemic spread from Germany to the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain. [1]

Coeliac disease widespread in the western world, Eastern Europe and Asia at rates of 1% and 1.44% of north Indians. Armstrong, Hegade and Robins 2012 write that genes related to coeliac disease also overlap with other autoimmune diseases. Human leukocyte antigen genotyping increases sensitivity in detecting coeliac disease in atypical cases. The authors also describe proinflammatory pitfalls of vitamin A supplementation in active coeliac disease. [1]

According to the UK Royal Society “Synthetic biology is an emerging area of research that can broadly be described as the design and construction of novel artificial biological pathways, organisms or devices, or the redesign of existing natural biological systems.”
Synthetic biology aims to design and construct new biological functions and systems not found in nature. [1]

Dunn et al. 2012 describe a multi-species microarray platform and the array-Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) of the genomes of several Saccharomyces cerevisiae and  S. paradoxus, S. mikatae, S. kudriavzevii, S. uvarum, S. kluyveri and S. castellii. [1]

The technique is able to identify variations in copy number among different yeasts and determines the evolutionary relationships without sequencing the whole genome.

Cassava  (Manihot esculenta) is a staple food for large African regions, but it has the lowest protein:energy ratio and cassava diet furnishes less than 30% of proteins and  less than 10-20% of the required amounts of iron, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin E. [1]