Study shows your genes determine how fast your DNA mutates with age

 


The study found that common genetic variants can speed up or slow down this process by up to fourfold, and that certain expanded sequences are linked to serious diseases including kidney failure and liver disease.

Why it matters

More than 60 inherited disorders are caused by expanded DNA repeats: repetitive genetic sequences that grow longer over time. These include devastating conditions like Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy, and certain forms of ALS. Most people carry DNA repeats that gradually expand throughout their lives, but this instability and what genetic factors control it hadn’t been fully analyzed within large biobanks. This study demonstrates that DNA repeat expansion is far more widespread than previously recognized and identifies dozens of genes that regulate this process, opening new avenues for developing treatments that could slow disease progression.

What the study did

Researchers from UCLA, the Broad Institute, and Harvard Medical School analyzed whole-genome sequencing data from 490,416 UK Biobank participants and 414,830 All of Us Research Program participants. They developed new computational methods to detect and measure DNA repeat lengths and instability from standard sequencing data. The team examined 356,131 polymorphic repeat locations across the genome, tracking how repeat lengths changed with age in blood cells and identifying genetic variants that influenced expansion rates. They also searched for links between repeat expansions and thousands of disease outcomes to discover previously unknown disease associations.

Event Name : International Molecular Biologist Awards

Website Link: molecularbiologist.org/

Contact Mail ID : support@molecularbiologist.org

Nomination Link  : https://molecularbiologist.org/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee


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#Genetics #DNA #MutationRate #Aging #Genomics #GenomeStability #InheritedTraits #MolecularBiology #DNARepair #SomaticMutations #Longevity #AgeingResearch #GeneticVariation #GenomeIntegrity

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