Defect in non-coding DNA might trigger brain disorders such as severe language impairment
"The remaining 98% of the genome offers a lot of untapped potential to find changes that can cause disorders" Paolo Devanna, co-author of the study explains. "These parts of the genome are known as 'non-coding', but that doesn't mean that they are not important. They have very vital jobs to do, for example to control when, where and how much protein is made. So if this process gets messed up, it could have severe consequences, like neurodevelopmental disorders." For this reason, Devanna and his colleagues decided to look at the so called 3'UTRome. This is a part of the non-coding genome that regulates how much protein is made. Searching for causes of language impairmen t To test this approach, the researchers looked at the DNA of children with severe language problems and identified genetic variants in the 3'UTRome. "Language disorders are a very complex neurodevelopmental disorder and finding their genetic causes has been particularly...