Sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) are a group of genetic disorders characterized by presence of a supernumerary sex chromosome, resulting in karyotypes other than XX or XY. These include XXX (Trisomy X), XXY (Klinefelter syndrome), and XYY (Jacobs syndrome). Sex chromosome trisomies have been linked to increased risk for psychopathology; however, this relationship warrants additional research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumour evolution depends on heritable differences between cells in traits affecting cell survival or replication. It is well established that cancer cells are genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous; however, the extent to which this phenotypic variation is heritable is far less well explored. Here, we estimate the broad-sense heritability ( ) of two cell traits related to cancer hallmarks--cell motility and generation time--within populations of four cancer cell lines and find that motility is strongly heritable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Tumour progression involves a series of phenotypic changes to cancer cells, each of which presents therapeutic targets. Here, using techniques adapted from microbial experimental evolution, we investigate the evolution of tumour spreading - a precursor for metastasis and tissue invasion - in environments with varied resource supply. Evolutionary theory predicts that competition for resources within a population will select for individuals to move away from a natal site (i.
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