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Naming Genes

By Eric Wei
How Are Genes Named?
Descriptive Names
Cultural Names
Historic and Literary Names
Personally Influenced Names
Scientific Names
Name Your Own Gene

How Are Genes Named?

In the otherwise serious field of science, the gene-naming aspect of science allows scientists to have some fun and be creative. Genes are named in various ways, which include descriptive, cultural, historic/literary, personal, and scientific names. Gene names function as a reminder of what the mutant phenotype looks like or the function of the gene. They can also serve as a reference to history or a joke. Usually, creative gene names arise from the gene reminding the discovering scientist of something in society. Of course, there are also those genes with the typical "boring" scientific names and genes named after the scientists who discovered them.

Originally, genes were given the same names as the proteins they coded for, which led to confusion as genes and their products increasingly had the same names. Geneticists in the Drosophila (fly) field were the first to come up with creative names for discovered genes. Since then many nomenclature committees, guidelines, and systems have been formed for the different fields of genetic study. Examples are the Human Gene Nomenclature and Mouse Gene Nomenclature committees, which have published guidelines in naming genes in their respective fields of study. Databases such as the Genome Data Base (GDB) and Mouse Genome Database (MGD) hold "approved" gene names for human and mouse genes. These committees, guidelines, databases, and conventions are found in almost every field of genetic study from yeast to poultry. However, a new problem arises when comparing genes across different fields of genetic study. The first International Nomenclature Workshop addressed this problem and concluded it would be impossible to create a universal gene nomenclature (or classification) across all species. However, a central registry of gene symbols from as many species as possible has been created by the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) to reduce confusion. Visit the ATCC website at http://www.atcc.org/ to view the registry of gene symbols.

Descriptive Names

One of the simplest ways to name a gene is to describe the mutated phenotype that is caused by the gene. This method of naming genes has given rise to many gene names originating from objects that look like the phenotype of the mutated gene, including genes such as canoe, torpedo, patch, notail, floating head, and fushi tarazu.

Canoe refers to the gene that is responsible for the incomplete cuticle formation in flies. A mutation in the "canoe" gene leaves a hole along the dorsal part of the fly, which makes it look like a boat. The torpedo name describes the mutated eggs of mother flies in which the dorsal and ventral sides of the eggs are indistinguishable. Hence, the eggs look like long torpedoes. One of the genes responsible for the discoloring of mice fur has received the name patch, referring to the spots of discoloration. Notail and floating head are names of genes in zebra fish that, respectively, cause the embryo to look like it has no tail, or is missing part of its backbone so that it looks like it has a floating head. Fushi tarazu is a Japanese phrase and means, "segment deficient" (Figure 1). A mutation in the fushi tarazu gene causes the embryo of zebrafish to have segments missing from its torso.

Figure 1. Expression pattern of the fushi tarazu mutation at the
cellular blastoderm stage.

Cultural Names

Another method in which genes receive their names is through the influence of culture and society at the time of discovery. Mutation of a certain gene in flies causes cells to commit suicide, so scientists named this gene "reaper" after the Grim Reaper. The hedgehog gene name was coined when the mutated phenotype caused by the gene in fly larvae reminded scientists of a hedgehog. When mutations in the same type of protein were found in humans, they were also given hedgehog names. An example is the "Sonic the Hedgehog" ¢‚ (Figure 2) gene name, which was influenced by the popular video game character. Two genes named "mad" and "max" were influenced by the movie character Mad Max, played by Mel Gibson, because the two genes act together in a signaling pathway. The gene, "stranded at second" (sas), was coined after the baseball term, because a fly with this mutated gene does not live past its second molt (shedding of exoskeleton).

Figure 2. Sonic the Hedgehog¢‚,
the video game character, after which a
human gene is named.

Historic and Literary Names

Names for a smaller group of genes have historic or literary significance. Certain gene characteristics have inspired scientists to make parallels between genes and historical or literary characters. The gene Cerberus is a frog gene that causes frog embryos to have two heads just like the mythologic two-headed dog Cerberus that guarded the gates of hell in Greek mythology. The exuperantia gene causes fly embryos to be born without its head, and the historical reference comes from the story of the slave "Exu" who was beheaded along with his owners in ancient Europe as a result of their faith in Christianity. His owners were made saints because of their martyrdom, but Exu was not considered because he was a slave. However, he now has a gene named after him. Another group of genes actually affect the germ line in eggs of mutant mothers and render her offspring infertile. These genes are named after royal families in Europe whose bloodlines ultimately disappeared because they failed to produce heirs. These gene names include the royal names tudor, vasa, valois, and staufen.

Personally Influenced Names

Personally influenced names include genes that are named by the discovering scientists for personal reasons. An example of such a gene is the heartless pinhead gene in the zebra fish, in which a mutation in this gene causes embryos to be missing a heart and to have a pointed anterior portion of the head. A long-term boyfriend had recently dumped the scientist who discovered this mutation. The boyfriend became known in the scientific community as the heartless pinhead, and the zebra fish mutation, though named appropriately for its results, will forever allude to this ex-boyfriend.

Scientific Names

There are many different nomenclature systems for naming genes. These nomenclature systems include the ones discussed above in the How Are Genes Named? Section. Some use only numbers while others use both letters and numbers following strict guidelines. Certain genes that are similar receive family names such as pax 1, pax 2, etc. instead of descriptive names.

Name Your Own Gene Contest

Read the description of the gene below and create your own name for the gene. Submit your gene name to info@knowledgene.com to enter our contest. Winners will be notified and the contestants' various gene suggestions will be posted on the website. The deadline and posting of suggested names will be announced at a later time. This gene really does exist and its real name is "wing blister" (wb) because its mutated phenotype on the wings reminded scientists of blisters. Can you think of a better name?

Description: A mutation in this Drosophilia gene (in a fly) not only causes lethality through disorders with the heart tube but also causes a bent-down-wing phenotype. Mutant flies have a rough circular area around the cross veins of the wing, forming a blister which usually collapses after eclosion (emersion of adult insect from pupal case), causing the wing to become distorted.

Sources:
Genetic Science Learning Center:
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/thematic/deafness/science/genenaming/index.html,

SGD Gene Naming Guidelines:
http://genome-www.stanford.edu/Saccharomyces/gene_guidelines.html,

Nature Genetics:
http://www.nature.com/ng/web_specials/nomen/nomen_article.html,

Rules and guidelines for gene nomenclature:
http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen/gene.shtml

Nomenclature for naming loci, alleles, linkage groups, and chromosomes to be used in poultry genome:
http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk/chickmap/nomenclature.html,

Guidelines for Human Gene Nomenclature (1997):
http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/nomenclature/guidelines.html

	Naming Genes

	By Eric Wei How Are Genes Named? Descriptive Names Cultural Names Historic and Literary Names Personally Influenced Names Scientific Names Name Your Own Gene How Are Genes Named? In the otherwise serious field of science, the gene-naming aspect of science allows scientists to have some fun and be creative. Genes are named in various ways, which include descriptive, cultural, historic/literary, personal, and scientific names. Gene names function as a reminder of what the mutant phenotype looks like or the function of the gene. They can also serve as a reference to history or a joke. Usually, creative gene names arise from the gene reminding the discovering scientist of something in society. Of course, there are also those genes with the typical "boring" scientific names and genes named after the scientists who discovered them. Originally, genes were given the same names as the proteins they coded for, which led to confusion as genes and their products increasingly had the same names. Geneticists in the Drosophila (fly) field were the first to come up with creative names for discovered genes. Since then many nomenclature committees, guidelines, and systems have been formed for the different fields of genetic study. Examples are the Human Gene Nomenclature and Mouse Gene Nomenclature committees, which have published guidelines in naming genes in their respective fields of study. Databases such as the Genome Data Base (GDB) and Mouse Genome Database (MGD) hold "approved" gene names for human and mouse genes. These committees, guidelines, databases, and conventions are found in almost every field of genetic study from yeast to poultry. However, a new problem arises when comparing genes across different fields of genetic study. The first International Nomenclature Workshop addressed this problem and concluded it would be impossible to create a universal gene nomenclature (or classification) across all species. However, a central registry of gene symbols from as many species as possible has been created by the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) to reduce confusion. Visit the ATCC website at http://www.atcc.org/ to view the registry of gene symbols. Descriptive Names One of the simplest ways to name a gene is to describe the mutated phenotype that is caused by the gene. This method of naming genes has given rise to many gene names originating from objects that look like the phenotype of the mutated gene, including genes such as canoe, torpedo, patch, notail, floating head, and fushi tarazu. Canoe refers to the gene that is responsible for the incomplete cuticle formation in flies. A mutation in the "canoe" gene leaves a hole along the dorsal part of the fly, which makes it look like a boat. The torpedo name describes the mutated eggs of mother flies in which the dorsal and ventral sides of the eggs are indistinguishable. Hence, the eggs look like long torpedoes. One of the genes responsible for the discoloring of mice fur has received the name patch, referring to the spots of discoloration. Notail and floating head are names of genes in zebra fish that, respectively, cause the embryo to look like it has no tail, or is missing part of its backbone so that it looks like it has a floating head. Fushi tarazu is a Japanese phrase and means, "segment deficient" (Figure 1). A mutation in the fushi tarazu gene causes the embryo of zebrafish to have segments missing from its torso. Figure 1. Expression pattern of the fushi tarazu mutation at the cellular blastoderm stage. Cultural Names Another method in which genes receive their names is through the influence of culture and society at the time of discovery. Mutation of a certain gene in flies causes cells to commit suicide, so scientists named this gene "reaper" after the Grim Reaper. The hedgehog gene name was coined when the mutated phenotype caused by the gene in fly larvae reminded scientists of a hedgehog. When mutations in the same type of protein were found in humans, they were also given hedgehog names. An example is the "Sonic the Hedgehog" ¢‚ (Figure 2) gene name, which was influenced by the popular video game character. Two genes named "mad" and "max" were influenced by the movie character Mad Max, played by Mel Gibson, because the two genes act together in a signaling pathway. The gene, "stranded at second" (sas), was coined after the baseball term, because a fly with this mutated gene does not live past its second molt (shedding of exoskeleton). Figure 2. Sonic the Hedgehog¢‚, the video game character, after which a human gene is named. Historic and Literary Names Names for a smaller group of genes have historic or literary significance. Certain gene characteristics have inspired scientists to make parallels between genes and historical or literary characters. The gene Cerberus is a frog gene that causes frog embryos to have two heads just like the mythologic two-headed dog Cerberus that guarded the gates of hell in Greek mythology. The exuperantia gene causes fly embryos to be born without its head, and the historical reference comes from the story of the slave "Exu" who was beheaded along with his owners in ancient Europe as a result of their faith in Christianity. His owners were made saints because of their martyrdom, but Exu was not considered because he was a slave. However, he now has a gene named after him. Another group of genes actually affect the germ line in eggs of mutant mothers and render her offspring infertile. These genes are named after royal families in Europe whose bloodlines ultimately disappeared because they failed to produce heirs. These gene names include the royal names tudor, vasa, valois, and staufen. Personally Influenced Names Personally influenced names include genes that are named by the discovering scientists for personal reasons. An example of such a gene is the heartless pinhead gene in the zebra fish, in which a mutation in this gene causes embryos to be missing a heart and to have a pointed anterior portion of the head. A long-term boyfriend had recently dumped the scientist who discovered this mutation. The boyfriend became known in the scientific community as the heartless pinhead, and the zebra fish mutation, though named appropriately for its results, will forever allude to this ex-boyfriend. Scientific Names There are many different nomenclature systems for naming genes. These nomenclature systems include the ones discussed above in the How Are Genes Named? Section. Some use only numbers while others use both letters and numbers following strict guidelines. Certain genes that are similar receive family names such as pax 1, pax 2, etc. instead of descriptive names. Name Your Own Gene Contest Read the description of the gene below and create your own name for the gene. Submit your gene name to info@knowledgene.com to enter our contest. Winners will be notified and the contestants' various gene suggestions will be posted on the website. The deadline and posting of suggested names will be announced at a later time. This gene really does exist and its real name is "wing blister" (wb) because its mutated phenotype on the wings reminded scientists of blisters. Can you think of a better name? Description: A mutation in this Drosophilia gene (in a fly) not only causes lethality through disorders with the heart tube but also causes a bent-down-wing phenotype. Mutant flies have a rough circular area around the cross veins of the wing, forming a blister which usually collapses after eclosion (emersion of adult insect from pupal case), causing the wing to become distorted. Sources: Genetic Science Learning Center: http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/thematic/deafness/science/genenaming/index.html, SGD Gene Naming Guidelines: http://genome-www.stanford.edu/Saccharomyces/gene_guidelines.html, Nature Genetics: http://www.nature.com/ng/web_specials/nomen/nomen_article.html, Rules and guidelines for gene nomenclature: http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen/gene.shtml Nomenclature for naming loci, alleles, linkage groups, and chromosomes to be used in poultry genome: http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk/chickmap/nomenclature.html, Guidelines for Human Gene Nomenclature (1997): http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/nomenclature/guidelines.html