Although breast cancer research using genetic markers has showed ADH to be a definite genetic precursor to DCIS and IDC, it has also proved to be difficult in distinguishing one pathological phase of breast lesion from another.
Another difficulty with conservation genetic research using traditional markers is that now more and more journals require large amounts of sequence/SNP data from whole genomes for publication, even if the question can be adequately addressed with data from, say 12 loci microsatellite analyses, thus forcing all labs to embrace the new genomic technologies.
Up to now, the most extensive research using autosomal chromosome markers has been that performed by Wang et al. (2007), comprising 78 populations typed for 678 microsatellite loci, including 29 Native American groups.
While previous studies identified little population structure in germplasm from West Africa through to Sudan [ 15, 29], future research using genome-wide markers may reveal additional structure in this region.
Further research using higher density markers and functional analyses will be required to confirm the role of PDGFRA or other genes, and structural or regulatory variants, and their interaction with MC1R for the modification of black coat color in these cattle influenced by Bos indicus.
Further research using tDCS and neuroendocrine markers should explore the mechanisms of stress regulation in healthy and clinical samples.
It will take fundamental changes in all aspects of marker research and clinical use to break this cycle.
Dr. Marmar said a long-term goal is to use marker research to develop inexpensive tests for PTSD and T.B.I. — ideally, he said, like home pregnancy tests.
These issues have established a 'vicious cycle' in which marker research is under-funded and lacks the rigor of basic laboratory or therapeutic clinical research, and therefore marker use is based on low level data.
Currently, the thorn in the side of the MSC biologist is the lack of a definitive positive marker for MSCs; there is a myriad of reported positive markers, with each research group using a different subset of markers.
