Chinese doctors have discovered and registered a new mutant gene for alpha-thalassemia, first of its kind worldwide, an advance that enriches the gene database to assist researches into cures for genetic disease.
中国医生已经发现并注册了一种新的α-地中海贫血突变基因，这是全球第一次发现该类型的基因，这种进步丰富了基因数据库，有助于关于遗传性疾病治疗方法的研究。

Li Youqiong and colleagues from the People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, discovered this gene, a 21.9, after a series of experiments on a carrier of the hereditary disease in 2011.
广西壮族自治区人民医院的李友琼医生和他的同事们在2011年对遗传性疾病载体进行了一系列的实验之后发现了这种基因，α21.9。

Thalassemia is a disease where the carrier is missing or has malfunctioning genes responsible for making hemoglobin, the blood protein that helps to carry oxygen around the body.
地中海贫血这种疾病存在以下两种问题——载体丢失或者存在有故障的负责制造血红蛋白的基因（血红蛋白有助于把氧气运输到全身）。

The hemoglobin molecule has subunits commonly referred to as alpha and beta.
血红蛋白分子一般由α亚基和β亚基组成。

The mutant gene was identified by the end of 2012 before it was added to the GenBank database in the U.S.-based National Center for Biotechnology Information(NCBI) and then disclosed to public on Oct.1 2013, according to Li.
据李友琼医生介绍，这种突变基因在2012年年底完成鉴定，之后注册美国国立生物技术信息中心（NCBI）的GenBank基因库并于2013年10月1日起对外开放。

There is no effective cure for alpha-thalassemia, and the discovery of the new mutation will help prevention and research into the disease while preparing theoretical basis for future gene therapy.
目前对于α-地中海贫血尚无有效的治疗方法，这种新型突变基因的发现将有助于对α-地中海贫血的预防和研究，也为未来的基因治疗准备了理论基础。

There are three main genetic sequence databases worldwide, which comprises the DNA Data bank of Japan(DDBJ),the European Molecular Biology Laboratory(EMBL) and GenBank at NCBI. These three organizations exchange data on a daily basis.
全球有三个主要的基因序列数据库，包括日本核酸数据库（DDBJ），欧洲分子生物学实验室（EMBL）和美国国立生物技术信息中心（NCBI）的GenBank基因库。这三个组织每天都相互交换数据。