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Summary: news & views
136 nature genetics · volume 27 · february 2001
Modifying with mitochondria
Karen B. Avraham
Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. e-mail: karena@post.tau.ac.il
An elegant set of mouse crosses has been used to identify a mitochondrial variant that interacts with a nuclear locus on chromo-
some 10, Ahl, to modify age-related hearing loss. This discovery sets the stage for the identification of factors that modify expres-
sion levels and variability of human hearing impairments.
Genetic and environmental factors influ-
ence the severity of disease phenotypes.
Indeed, our most difficult challenge in the
post-sequencing era will be to understand
and identify the basis of this variability--so
as to better treat disease. Hearing loss, the
most common form of sensory impair-
ment, is no exception. The intricate struc-
ture and multiple cell types of the inner ear
require a range of proteins with different
functions, including maintenance of struc-
tural integrity, neuronal innervation and
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