A polygenic model with common variants may predict lung adenocarcinoma risk in humans

Genome-wide screening for genetic loci associated with risk of lung adenocarcinoma (ADCA) was carried out in pooled DNA using the Illumina 300K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)array, in a joint analysis of 2 Italian case\u2013control series matched by age, gender and smoking habit. The rare allele carrier status of 8 SNPs was associated with a decreased lung ADCA risk [odds ratios (OR): 0.6\u20130.8]. In a polygenic model characterized by additive and interchangeable effects, individuals carrying 2 to 6 rare alleles at these 8 SNPs showed a significant trend toward a decreased risk of lung ADCA (up to OR of 0.3). These results suggest the relevance of a polygenic model in the modulation of individual risk of lung ADCA in the general population

A molecular phylogeny of the checkered beetles and a description of E

We provide the first molecular phylogeny of the clerid lineage (Coleoptera: Cleridae, Thanerocleridae) within the superfamily Cleroidea to examine the two most recently proposed hypotheses of higher level classification. Phylogenetic relationships of checkered beetles were inferred from approximately ∼5000nt of both nuclear and mitochondrial rDNA (28S, 16S and 12S) and the mitochondrial protein-coding gene COI. A worldwide sample of ∼70 genera representing almost a quarter of generic diversity of the clerid lineage was included and phylogenies were reconstructed using Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood approaches. Results support the monophyly of many proposed subfamilies but were not entirely congruent with either current classification system. The subfamilial relationships within the Cleridae are resolved with support for three main lineages. Tillinae are supported as the sister group to all other subfamilies within the Cleridae, whereas Thaneroclerinae, Korynetinae and a new subfamily formally described here, Epiclininae subf.n., form a sister group to Clerinae+Hydnocerinae. © 2013 The Royal Entomological Society