More is not always better: the genetic constraints of polyploidy.
Polyploid cells are a characteristic feature of certain human tissues, and notably many cancers. In a systematic genomic screen in yeast, Storchová and co-workers identified the genetic requirements of tetraploidy. Surprisingly, they showed that only three connected pathways are essential for the viability of tetraploid yeast cells. These data provide exciting new targets that might be essential specifically in polyploid cancer cells.
Thorpe
Peter H
PH
Department of Genetics & Development, Columbia University Medical Center, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032-2704, USA.
González-Barrera
Sergio
S
Rothstein
Rodney
R
D000818:Animals; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000502:physiology; D042822:Genomic Instability / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D011123:Polyploidy; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*