Maximum likelihood estimation of locus-specific mutation rates in Y-chromosome short tandem repeats.

Motivation: Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are widely used for population studies, forensic purposes and, potentially, the study of disease, therefore knowledge of their mutation rate is valuable. Here we show a novel method for estimation of site-specific Y-STR mutation rates from partial phylogenetic information, via the maximum likelihood framework.

Results: Given Y-STR data classified into haplogroups, we de-scribe the likelihood of observed data, and develop optimization strategies for deriving maximum likelihood estimates of mutation rates.

Advanced molecular profiling in vivo detects novel function of dickkopf-3 in the regulation of bone formation.

Unlabelled: A bioinformatics-based analysis of endochondral bone formation model detected several genes upregulated in this process. Among these genes the dickkopf homolog 3 (Dkk3) was upregulated and further studies showed that its expression affects in vitro and in vivo osteogenesis. This study indicates a possible role of Dkk3 in regulating bone formation.