Editorial for the "Genetic Studies of Fish" Special Issue

Overview

Overview

When cells are placed in a hypotonic (low-salt) fluid, they can swell and burst. Meanwhile, cells in a hypertonic solution—with a higher salt concentration—can shrivel and die. How do fish cells avoid these gruesome fates in hypotonic freshwater or hypertonic seawater environments?

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.

Gregor Mendel's work (1822 - 1884) was primarily focused on pea plants. Through his initial experiments, he determined that every gene in a diploid cell has two variants called alleles inherited from each parent. He suggested that amongst these two alleles, one allele is dominant in character and the other recessive. The combination of alleles determines the phenotype of a gene in an organism.

Genetic screens are tools used to identify genes and mutations responsible for phenotypes of interest. Genetic screens help identify individuals or a group of people at risk of developing  genetic diseases and help them with early intervention, targeted therapy, and reproductive options.
Forward genetic screens
Forward or “classical” genetic screens involve creating random mutations in an organism’s DNA using radiation, mutagens, or insertion of additional bases, which result in visible changes...