MAINE: INBRE professor and team of student research assistants discover new gene that may have impact on understanding common diseases
Dr. Timothy Brenton, University of Maine Framington professor of biology, and team of student research assistants have discovered a new gene in fish that may have an impact on understanding several diseases found in humans, including diabetes, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder.
The three-year research project recently published in the international journal Scientific Reports is funded by several grants totaling over $75K from the NIH through Maine INBRE and the MDI Biological Laboratory.
The gene discovered by Breton and his team of student research assistants is a new member of a family of hormone receptors. Hormone receptors are found on the surface of every cell. They bind to hormones in the body, which causes a cell to do a new task.
“My team is very excited about this discovery,” said Breton. “Though our current research isn’t looking for a cure for these diseases, it gives scientists a better understanding of how these types of genes work across all vertebrates and hopefully can lead to promising biomedical applications in the future.”