New "deafness genes"
Scientists have discovered 52 previously unknown genes associated with hearing disorders
Natalia Pelezneva, Naked Science
An international team of scientists studied 3006 types of knockout mice and identified 67 genes associated with various hearing disorders. The specific effects of 52 of these genes were not previously known. In the future, the results of this work will help to identify the causes of many hearing disorders in humans.
Knockout mice are animals in which a certain gene is "turned off" using genetic engineering methods.
Such mice are used in studies of genes, the sequence of which has already been read, but the functions remain a mystery. The development of such mice is compared with the growth of ordinary rodents, noting possible differences.
The animals' hearing was assessed using sound signals at five different frequencies (6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 kHz), gradually increasing the volume. The mouse's hearing was considered impaired if it did not respond to quiet signals on at least two frequencies. Scientists tested at least four animals with each of the types of "knockout". In total, the researchers identified 67 genes associated with hearing disorders and ranked them according to the intensity of possible disorders.
In this study, scientists analyzed only 15% of mouse genes. According to the authors of the work, at least 450 genes related to hearing can be found in the mouse genome in total.
One of the authors of the article, Steve Brown, comments: "The next step is to establish what role each of the proteins encoded by these genes plays in the auditory sensory system. Further studies of model animals will expand our knowledge of how the auditory system develops and recovers, and what pathological processes are associated with its deterioration. In particular, it is necessary to establish whether these genes affect processes that are already familiar to us or "trigger" unknown ones."
The new study was conducted within the framework of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) project. The purpose of IMPC is to describe the phenotype of 20,000 types of knockout mice. The project started in September 2011, it is planned to finish it no earlier than 2021.
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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