format gene names in italics?

[Cheryl Chase <cheryl@isna.org>]

I would like to format a handful of gene names in italics. Is there  
an easy way to do this (better than relying on default formatting of  
<emphasis> as bold?

Also, how to get italic formatting in an index entry? With XEP, the  
following produces an index entry for SRY that is plain roman text  
(not italic or bold).

Thanks,

Cheryl

<indexterm>
           <primary><emphasis>SRY</emphasis></primary>
         </indexterm>