R Thompson

Abstract Magnetosomes are organelle-like structures within magnetotactic bacteria that store iron biominerals in membrane-bound vesicles. In the bacteria, formation of these structures is highly regulated by approximately 30 genes which are conserved throughout different species. To compartmentalize iron in mammalian cells for magnetic resonance imaging using gene-based contrast, we are introducing key magnetosome proteins.

BACKGROUND The Fontan procedure is the final surgical stage for congenital heart disease (CHD) patients with single ventricles. Systemic venous return is routed directly to the lungs while the ventricle pumps arterial blood to the body. One long-term complication is known as Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD). Liver damage is due to a combination of chronic congestion from increased venous pressures and ischemic damage during the multiple surgeries a single ventricle patient undergoes.

R Lande and R Thompson Genetics March 1, 1990 vol. 124 no. 3 743-756 Abstract Molecular genetics can be integrated with traditional methods of artificial selection on phenotypes by applying marker-assisted selection (MAS). We derive selection indices that maximize the rate of improvement in quantitative characters under different schemes of MAS combining information on molecular genetic polymorphisms (marker loci) with data on phenotypic variation among individuals (and their relatives).