The role of 300 genes has been revealed by DZD scientists in cooperation with colleagues of the European Mouse Disease Clinic (EUMODIC) to understand the part they play in disease and biology. In order to study gene function, they analyzed mouse lines which each had a single gene removed. 160 disease-related genes were discovered. Some of them play a role in diabetes and are promising candidates for further diabetes research.

EUMODIC was the first step towards the creation of a database of all mouse gene functions, a vision now being realized by the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC). The published data set is available on the IMPC website for other scientists to use it in their own research. This will allow to understand more about genes we currently know very little about, and open up new ways for research into the genetics of human disease.

Original publication:
Hrabě de Angelis, M. et al. Analysis of mammalian gene function through broad-based phenotypic screens across a consortium of mouse clinics. Nature Genetics. doi: 10.1038/ng.3360. September 1, 2015

Link to the publication:
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v47/n9/full/ng.3360.html