Dr. Marie Kmita and her team at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) / Montreal Clinical Research Institute have achieved a double success: first, their research was recently published in Nature, and second, it made the front page of the prestigious journal today.
The cover of Nature shows an image taken at the IRCM of the paw of a mouse embryo, where Hoxa11 and Hoxa13 genes have been activated in overlapping domains of the developing limb, recapitulating the situation observed in fish fins. As the image shows, the intervention has resulted in the development of seven digits per paw. The discovery made by Dr. Kmita’s team reveals a genetic mechanism that could explain how most vertebrates today, including humans, have five digits per limb, whereas the first species with digits were polydactyl (six to eight digits per paw).
“It is an honour that the editors of Nature have decided to highlight our research on their front page,” said Dr. Kmita, Director of the IRCM Genetics and Development research unit, Associate Research Professor in the Department of Medicine at Université de Montréal and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill University. “I’m proud of this accomplishment, which is, first and foremost, the result of great teamwork.”
News of the discovery has spread around the world since it was first announced and has been covered by over 20 media. In addition to being on the front page of La Presse+, it will soon appear in French popular science magazines Science & Vie, with over 299,000 copies distributed each month, and La Recherche.
“I’m delighted that our work has had such a major impact,” said Yacine Kherdjemil, PhD student in Dr. Kmita’s laboratory and first author of the article published in Nature. “I was already proud of the work we’d accomplished, but it is particularly rewarding to see our research attracting so much interest.”
About the IRCM
Founded in 1967, the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) / Montreal Clinical Research Institute is a non-profit organization that conducts fundamental and clinical biomedical research in addition to training high-level young scientists. With its cutting-edge technology facilities, the institute brings together 33 research teams, which work in cancer, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, systems biology and medicinal chemistry. The IRCM also operates a research clinic specialized in hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes and cystic fibrosis, as well as a research centre on rare and genetic diseases in adults. The IRCM is affiliated with the Université de Montréal and associated with McGill University. Its clinic is affiliated with the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM). The IRCM is supported by the Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation (Quebec ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation).
Source:
Anne-Marie Beauregard, Communications Officer, IRCM
514 987-5555 | anne-marie.beauregard@ircm.qc.ca
