Gene use mapped

THE clearest map yet of how genes are used by cells to make our bodies work has been drawn. It is challenging ideas about what our genes do and may accelerate the development of gene therapies. “The map has already been used to find gene patterns that predict the spread of colon cancer” Every cell in the body contains the same genetic code. But which genes are active or “expressed”  in the cell depends on its function. This is controlled by tiny bits of the genome called promoters  and enhancers. An international consortium of researchers, led by the RIKEN institute in Japan, have uncovered which promoters and enhancers are used by which cells. By looking at more than 800 human tissue samples, covering nearly all cell types, they found 44,000 enhancers and 180,000 promoters that control gene expression. The work has been published across 18 papers in Nature, Blood and BMC Genomics. Combining their map with other data showed that mutations linked to diseases occurred more often in the enhancers and promoters than they did in the genes themselves. Researchers can now try to design therapies that target these mutations. Yoshihide Hayashizaki of RIKEN, who is head of the consortium, says the team has already used the data to find gene expression patterns that predict the spread of colon cancer. He thinks the finding could help treat people within three years.