21st Century Genetics Research Articles

A Contemporary Message from Mendel's Logical Empiricism.

The gene is one of the most fundamental concepts in life sciences, having been developed in the mold of the Mendelian paradigm of heredity, which shaped genetics across 150 years. How could Mendel possibly be so prophetic in the middle of 19th century, using only the small garden of the monastery as his experimental breeding field? I believe that we are indebted to Mendel's mastery of the scientific method, which was far ahead of his time. Although his experimental technology was literally garden-variety, Mendel's excellence in the method of science, algebra, and logical analysis helped him in designing the right experiment and in interpreting the results insightfully. This may be valuable to recall in today's technology-focused culture, where the center of interest tends to be on the generation and description of high-throughput datasets from specialized genomics screens. As Mendel's story suggests, progress in 21st century genetics may also depend on the development of robust concepts and generalizations.

Increasing the Clinical Psychiatric Knowledge Base About Pathogenic Copy Number Variation.

Specific copy number variants (CNVs) have been robustly associated with intellectual disability, autism, and schizophrenia. Most of the literature focus has been on documenting the existence of these phenomena. There are few data to guide therapeutic choices for these “orphan” diseases. We call for systematic and longitudinal case reports which, if carefully conducted, may provide crucial initial knowledge to guide therapeutics. We provide a step-by-step overview, a tailored set of consensus criteria for high-quality case reports, and a specific set of learning resources.

21st-Century Genetics in Psychiatric Residency Training

21st-Century Genetics in Psychiatric Residency Training

How Do You Incorporate 21st Century Genetics into Your Undergraduate Course?

How Do You Incorporate 21st Century Genetics into Your Undergraduate Course?

Genetic testing and psychology: New roles, new responsibilities.

Advances in genetics and genetic testing promise to catalyze a fundamental change in the practice of medicine. Psychologists have much to offer as psychotherapists, researchers, educators, and policymakers to a society heavily influenced by the genetic revolution. To make the most of new opportunities available to mental health professionals in genetics, psychologists must know basic genetic principles and learn what is new about 21st-century genetics. The core competencies for all health professionals developed by the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics are related in this article to the significant roles psychologists can play in helping individuals with genetic concerns to cope with vulnerability, optimize family interaction, and improve health behaviors.

Chromosomes and the Slutsky Equation: Lessons from 21st Century Genetics for 20th Century Economics

Reductionist scientific methodology has been at the forefront of economics research for much of the past 50 years. This short essay argues that recent discoveries in genetic engineering show that the study of complex phenomena might not be best served by such an approach, but rather by one that takes into consideration more evolutionary approaches. This provides a tremendous opportunity for the field of bioeconomics to establish itself as a major school of though, going into the future.

Genetics of Health Traits in Holstein Cattle

Incidences of 22 health related traits were analyzed for 11,008 lactation records provided by 21st Century Genetics. Traits were analyzed both individually and grouped into one of five health categories. Significant sources of variation included herd-year, lactation, cow, and sire effects. Genetic parameters were estimated with multiple-trait REML. Repeatability and heritability estimates were low to moderate. Estimates ranged from .09 to .57 for repeatability and from .02 to .21 for heritability when individual traits were pooled by health category. Reproductive and respiratory traits were the least heritable (<10); mammary and locomotive traits were slightly higher (<20); and digestive category was most heritable (.21). Genetic correlations of mature equivalent milk with number of inseminations and other reproductive problems were positive (antagonistic), but those with incidences of other health problems were negative. phenotypic correlations among mature equivalent milk and fat with individual health traits and categories of health traits were small and mostly near zero. Genetic correlations among health traits were positive except for reproduction with mammary and respiratory traits. Phenotypic correlations among health traits were near zero. Results suggest that selection for reduction of health problems is possible. If selection is practiced for improved health, these health traits should be properly weighted relative to production and other traits by the appropriate economic value. Evaluation of animals for health problems should be done on a multiple-trait basis.

Association of Type Traits Scored Linearly with Production and Herdlife of Holsteins

Linear type evaluations for 18 traits on 43,428 first lactation cows were used to determine relationships of type traits with herdmate deviation milk and herdmate deviation fat. Lifetime information on 17,288 of these cows was used to evaluate type traits with herdlife. Cows were scored (1 to 50 points) for 16 traits between September 1, 1979 and January 1, 1984 by evaluators of 21st Century Genetics Cooperative Mating Appraisal program. Disposition and milkout were scored by herd owners. Cows with extreme dairy character, excellent dispositions, and moderate rump width were associated with greatest production and herdlife. Tall first lactation cows with deep udders had highest herdmate deviations for milk and milk fat, but cows with average height and udder depth had longer herdlife. Variation among herds was more important in determining herd-life than production when linear and quadratic effects for all traits were considered in models. Dairyness and udder depth had largest differences associated with herdmate deviation milk (1276 and 1167kg), herdmate deviation fat (39kg each), and herdlife (90 and 59 d) at±2 SD from the mean score. For several traits, predicted response at extreme scores was different when cubic effects were added to models.

Linear Type Trait Analysis with Genetic Parameter Estimation

Data on 18 traits scored 1 to 50 from 21st Century Genetics mating appraisal program were analyzed. Cows (43,428) were scored for 16 traits by 21st Century Genetics evaluators; disposition and milkout were scored by the herd owner. Data were collected from September 1, 1979 to January 1, 1984. Significant sources of variation were herd-year of evaluation, age of animal, stage of lactation, and sire. Parameters were estimated by using a multiple-trait model that included herd-mate deviations for milk and fat as additional traits. Means ranged from 25.1 to 31.8, and standard deviations ranged from 5.54 to 9.07. Genetic correlations ranged from −.50 to .91 and generally are larger than their corresponding phenotypic correlations. Genetic correlations >¦.50¦ were found between traits close in physical proximity or similarly defined. Heritabilities ranged from .08 to .42 and generally tended to be smaller than those previously estimated. All traits had significant least squares solutions for stage of lactation, but solutions were small (<5 points) to negligible. Corrections for age at first parity were small (<3 points) in all instances. Correcting scores for age at first parity and stage within first lactation for many traits seems relatively unimportant.

Evaluation of Merit of a Corrective Mating Program for Holstein Cattle

Mating appraisal for profit data were provided by 21st Century Genetics. There were 132,791 records on Holstein cows scored from July 1, 1975, through September 30, 1979. The purpose of the program is to aid dairy producers in electing bulls for corrective matings and to provide type information on bulls. Sires are evaluated from a progeny test, and matings are recommended when the cows are scored. In selecting the appropriate bulls for a cow, basic form is considered first. After basic form, the worst fault of the cow is considered. Three bulls are chosen that are known to sire progeny strong in the major area of weakness of the cow. Legs were the most commonly occurring worst fault (17%), followed by fore udder, rump, feet, rear udder, fat test, and scale, ranging from 8.5 to 9.6%. Correlations between basic form scores of mates were −.59 in progeny of specified mating and −.13 in progeny of unspecified matings. Progeny from specified matings had a higher rate of improvement in feet and mammary scores than progeny of unspecified matings. Sire selection for milk was important, and there was no reduction in selection for milk in the specified matings.