Variable Outcome of Mutations.

© Y. HAMMOND/SCIENCE

Genetics - Variable Outcome of Mutations.

Why do some mutations produce a particular trait or disease, whereas others only increase the likelihood of such an outcome? One explanation is that other variations in the DNA sequence strengthen or weaken the effect of a given mutation, although environmental factors may also have an impact. Profs. Bart Deplancke ( Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics LSBG) and Kevin J. Verstrepen (K.U. Leuven) comment on a recent publication of Casanueva et al. (Science 6, p 82), who shows that in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, stochastic differences in the amount of a protective chaperone protein, after exposure of the worms to mild stress, influence the effect of mutations.

Perspective: Bart Deplancke and Kevin J. Verstrepen, Science 6 January 2012: Vol. 335 no. 6064 pp. 44-45.