Advances in Genetics Research. Volume 20 (eBook)

Genetic disorders constitute an important portion of childhood mortality, stillbirths, and ongoing disability. Single gene disorders arising from gene mutations, affecting any aspect of function or structure of the gene, are extraordinarily diverse. Most of these gene disorders are usually rare, but collectively they constitute an important public health burden. As such, the authors address the requirement for essential genetic and management services. Age-related macular degeneration is discussed, with risk factors including age, gender, ethnicity, smoking, body weight, hypertension and diet. Confluence of genetic and environmental risk factors lends credence to a complex, multifactorial etiologic model of development of age-related macular degeneration. Continuing, this compilation explores the molecular mechanisms of telomere attachment, specifically during the interphase. Their study is important not only for general telomere biology, but also for the understanding of cell aging and etiology of telomere-associated aging diseases. The important transcriptomic analyses performed in Streptomyces are discussed, particularly addressing how they contribute to uncovering the biochemical mechanisms that regulate morphology and secondary metabolism activation. A focus on bovine mastitis is provided, the most economically devastating disease affecting the dairy industry. Resistance to mastitis is a complex function involving various biological pathways, molecules and cells. Genetic factors are one of several factors affecting the occurrence of mastitis. The closing study centers on the way in which extracellular DNA is enriched with pericentromeric tandem repeats, the most variable portion of the genome up to species specificity.