Study: more genes expressed from the father

[Pleonasm]

https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3222

And article-2577496 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/03/03/genetically-more-like-dad/#.W1JRC8mew0M

For up to 60 percent of the mouse’s genes, the copy from dad was more active than the copy from mom. This imbalance resulted in mice babies whose brains were significantly more like dad’s, genetically speaking.

The researchers believe the same is likely true in all mammals. “We now know that mammals express more genetic variance from the father,” says Pardo-Manuel de Villena. “So imagine that a certain kind of mutation is bad. If inherited from the mother, the gene wouldn’t be expressed as much as it would be if it were inherited from the father. So, the same bad mutation would have different consequences in disease if it were inherited from the mother or from the father.”

Have you guys ever heard of this study and did the results surprise you?

 

[jim mcnamara]

Analyses of allele-specific gene expression in highly
divergent mouse crosses identifies pervasive
allelic imbalance
Crowley, James J, et al. Nature Genetics

Abstract:

Complex human traits are influenced by variation in regulatory DNA through mechanisms that are not fully understood. Because
regulatory elements are conserved between humans and mice, a thorough annotation of cis regulatory variants in mice could
aid in further characterizing these mechanisms. Here we provide a detailed portrait of mouse gene expression across multiple
tissues in a three-way diallel. Greater than 80% of mouse genes have cis regulatory variation. Effects from these variants influence
complex traits and usually extend to the human ortholog. Further, we estimate that at least one in every thousand SNPs creates a
cis regulatory effect. We also observe two types of parent-of-origin effects, including classical imprinting and a new global allelic
imbalance in expression favoring the paternal allele. We conclude that, as with humans, pervasive regulatory variation influences
complex genetic traits in mice and provide a new resource toward understanding the genetic control of transcription in mammals.

Not that surprising. Penetrance is the percent of the population carrying an allele that expresses the phenotype of the allele.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetrance

This paper is an example of penetrance. You can have identical twins with a genetic disease, but the severity of the symptoms are very different from one twin to the other. Thompson and Thompson 'Medical Genetics' is kind of the de facto standard textbook for human genetic diseases. My ancient copy (from 1972) devotes whole chapter to this problem. Back then they called it partial penetrance, if memory serves correctly.

Current version of the textbook:
https://www.amazon.com/Thompson-Genetics-Medicine-8e/dp/1437706967/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532128653&sr=8-2&keywords=thompson+&+thompson+medical+genetics&dpID=51pXoRajxrL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch' Thompson & Thompson Genetics in Medicine, 8e (Thompson and Thompson Genetics in Medicine)[/URL]
Jun 4, 2015

The 60% is interesting and may be the result of the alleles chosen for the study. Other researchers will further test the hypothesis presented in the paper.

Penetrance and epigenetics are looking at what DNA gets transcribed or not ("turned on/off"). Control of transcription.