Section Review: Biologicals & Immunologicals: Applications of antisense technology to both basic and clinical research

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are synthetic molecules typically designed to hybridise to the sense strand of the target gene messenger RNA (mRNA). The activity of these molecules reduces gene expression by disrupting the flow of information from gene to protein. The specificity of this interaction arises from the antisense ODN having a unique affinity for the primary sequence of the target gene due to nucleotide base complementarity. Specific inhibition of target gene products allows a rapidly increasing number of researchers to investigate gene function. Additionally, the reversible and specific nature of this interaction has initiated interest in antisense ODNs as a potentially novel class of therapeutics. Antisense molecules are already undergoing clinical trials as candidate therapeutics for several indications. Recent advances in our understanding of the activity of antisense ODNs, together with the advances in ODN chemistry, has made the notion of therapeutically active antisense molecules realistic. However, there remain many challenges in this field which must be overcome. Notably, the most commonly used chemical class of antisense ODNs, the phosphorothioates, has been associated with significant non-specific activities. This brief review aims to present in vivo applications of antisense in the domains of both basic and clinical research

Maintenance of genetic variation and panmixia in the commercially exploited western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus)

Marine species with high fecundities and mortalities in the early life stages can have low effective population sizes, making them vulnerable to declines in genetic diversity when they are commercially harvested. Here, we compare levels of microsatellite and mitochondrial sequence variation in the western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) over a 14-year period to test whether genetic variation is being maintained. Panulirus cygnus is a strong candidate for loss of genetic variation because it is a highly fecund species that is likely to experience high variance in reproductive success due to an extended larval planktonic stage. It also supports one of the largest and most economically important fisheries in Australia, with landings of between 8,000 and 14,500 tons (~70 % of the total legal-sized biomass) being harvested in some years. We found remarkably high levels of genetic variation in all samples and no evidence of a decline in genetic diversity over the time interval we studied. Furthermore, there was no evidence of a recent genetic bottleneck, and effective population size estimates based on single sample and temporal methods were infinitely large. Analysis of molecular variance indicated no significant population structure along 960 km of coastline or genetic differentiation among temporal samples. Our results support the view that P. cygnus is a single, panmictic population, and suggest genetic drift is not strong enough to reduce neutral genetic diversity in this species if current management practices and breeding stock sizes are maintained