Heritable transgenesis of Parastrongyloides trichosuri: a nematode parasite of mammals.

Germline transformation of a parasitic nematode of mammals has proven to be an elusive goal. We report here the heritable germline transformation of Parastrongyloides trichosuri, a nematode parasite whose natural hosts are Australian possums of the genus Trichosurus. This parasite can undergo multiple free-living life cycles and these replicative cycles can be maintained indefinitely in the laboratory.

The genetics of alcoholism in Polynesians: alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes in young men.

Background: The last 10 years have seen growing recognition of the significance of the genes encoding enzymes responsible for hepatic alcohol metabolism as protective factors in the development of alcoholism.

Methods: We have developed DNA sequencing assays for measuring genetic variation at the alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), ADH3, and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) loci. These have been used to survey volunteer control subjects from three New Zealand ethnic groups (white, Asian, and Polynesian) and young male alcoholics recruited from white and New Zealand Maori patients in a local treatment program.