A discovery in yeast that has important implications for finding a cure for a devastating disease of nerve cell failures -- called familial dysautonomia (FD) -- has been made by Cornell University researchers. They have found a gene that is a major player in determining the structural and functional asymmetry of cells -- known in modern biological parlance as cell polarity. The gene, called Elp1, is critical in regulating cell polarity, such as directing growth to the tip of a cell so that a “daughter” cell can “bud” off to divide, says Ruth Collins, assistant professor of molecular medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. “This discovery is exciting because it not only gives researchers new insight into basic mechanisms of cell growth and differentiation, but also provides critical insight into the pathogenesis of FD, which may arise in large part from a lack of fully developed neurons [nerve cells],” Collins says. Her discovery is described in a paper in the March 18 issue of Molecular Cell (Vol. 17, No. 6). The paper is available online at http://www.molecule.org/ .
