Tandem duplication-random loss is not a real feature of oyster mitochondrial genomes

Duplications and rearrangements of coding genes are major themes in the evolution of mitochondrial genomes, bearing important consequences in the function of mitochondria and the fitness of organisms. Yu et al. (BMC Genomics 2008, 9: 477) reported the complete mt genome sequence of the oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis (16,475 bp) and found that a DNA segment containing four tRNA genes (trnK(1), trnC, trnQ(1) and trnN), a duplicated (rrnS) and a split rRNA gene (rrnL5') was absent compared with that of two other Crassostrea species. It was suggested that the absence was a novel case of "tandem duplication-random loss" with evolutionary significance. We independently sequenced the complete mt genome of three C. hongkongensis individuals, all of which were 18,622 bp and contained the segment that was missing in Yu et al.'s sequence. Further, we designed primers, verified sequences and demonstrated that the sequence loss in Yu et al.'s study was an artifact caused by placing primers in a duplicated region. The duplication and split of ribosomal RNA genes are unique for Crassostrea oysters and not lost in C. hongkongensis. Our study highlights the need for caution when amplifying and sequencing through duplicated regions of the genome.

小麦族多年生植物的染色体组，系统学与进化

禾本科Poaceae小麦族Triticeae Dumort.的多年生物种是该族的重要组成部分，约占该族植物总数的三分之二以上，广泛地分布于全世界各地，主要集中于北半球温带地区。由于小麦族多年生植物的种类繁多，生态环境多样、种间和种内的形态变异极大，而大多数多年生物种又具有多倍体起源，加之属间及种间的天然杂交也十分频繁，以致于造成了其系统学研究的巨大困难。通过近三十年来对小麦族植物的大量属间和种间杂交以及对其杂种的减数分裂染色体配对行为分析，对该族各个属的染色体组构成及其在进化上的关系和意义已经有了较为深入的认识。小麦族中的多倍体属是由来源不同的二倍体祖先属经过天然杂交和染色体自然加倍而形成，因而研究和分析各个二倍体属之间及与多倍体属间的染色体组亲缘关系，为揭示小麦族各属、种之间的系统与进化关系提供了非常有价值的资料。本研究通过对一些小麦族多年生植物的形态学、地理分布、属间和种间杂交以及染色体组之间的亲缘关系的一系列研究，对不同属以及同一属内不同组的物种之间的进化关系进行了深入的分析，并对其系统学进行了讨论。同时对于一些异常的细胞遗传学现象，如染色体在属间杂种的缺失、重复以及染色体配对的遗传控制也作了初步的分析。通过上述研究，本研究对于小麦族多年生的一些属、特别是披碱草属Elymus厶、拟鹅观草属Pseudorocgneria Love和大麦披碱草属Hordelymus (Jessen) Harz,的染色体组构成以及与各物种的形态学关系，物种之间的进化关系均有了更为深刻的认识。

高山松的二倍体杂种起源-来自三个基因组的证据

利用松科植物特殊的遗传体系（叶绿体基因组一父系遗传、线粒体基因组—母系遗传、核基因组一双亲遗传），我们对高山松及其两个亲本种进行了广泛的群体取样，通过线粒体基因nadl、叶绿体基因rbcL和trnL-F基因间区以及低拷贝核基因4CL的序列分析或PCR-RFLP分析，为高山松同倍体杂种起源假说提供了翔实的遗传学证据，同时在个体水平上探讨了高山松不同群体的遗传组成、群体遗传结构、基因交流方向、群体建立过程以及杂种基因组的进化。具体结果如下： 1．细胞质基因组分析 1)线粒体基因nudl分析 本研究对油松、高山松和云南松的19个群体、295个个体的线粒体基因nadl的一个内含子进行了序列分析或PCR-RFLP分析，共检测到3种线粒体DNA单倍型-A、B和C。油松所有的取样群体仅含单倍型A;除BX群体外，所有的云南松群体仅含单倍型B; 10个高山松群体中，5个群体固定单倍型A，4个群体固定单倍型B，1个群体(ZD)分布有A和B两种单倍型。2)叶绿体rbcL基因分析 对同一组群体的rbcL基因进行序列分析或PCR-RFLP分析，共检测到两个变异位点和三种叶绿体单倍型（TT、TC和GC）。TT和GC分别是油松和云南松种特异性叶绿体单倍型，而在高山松群体里则三种单倍型均有分布，而且TC单倍型广泛地分布在7个杂种群体中，该单倍型很可能来源于点突变或第三个已灭绝的亲本。rbcL基因检测到的高山松群体分化系数很高(Gst=0.533)。 3)叶绿体trn L-F区序列分析 叶绿体trnL-F分子标记检测到的不同单倍型的差异主要是由引物“e”下游120碱基处一个多聚T结构的长度变异所致（叶绿体SSR位点）。10个高山松群体中共检测到5种叶绿体单倍型，其中两种主要的单倍型(9T和11T)分别为油松和云南松的种特异性单倍型，其他单倍型均为非典型单倍型。群体遗传结构分析表明：杂种群体表现最高的遗传多样性，而且trnL-F分析得到的高山松群体的分化系数也很高( Gst=0.443)。 总之，对高山松、油松和云南松的同一组群体取样进行的细胞质基因组分析表明：高山松群体分布有油松和云南松种特异性的线粒体和叶绿体单倍型，该细胞质DNA单倍型的地理分布为假说“高山松为油松和云南松的的二倍体杂种”提供了翔实的遗传学证据。油松和云南松在不同的杂种群体中分别做父本和母本，即两亲本在杂交过程中发生了双向基因交流。群体遗传结构分析发现高山松群体表现最高的遗传多样性，而且群体间的分化系数很高。不同的杂种群体在遗传组成上的差异表明他们经历过不同的建立和进化历史。从线粒体和叶绿体单倍型的地理分布可以看出杂种群体的建立曾经历强烈的奠基者效应和回交。青藏高原的隆升对高山松的起源、杂种群体的适应辐射以及保持产生了重要的影响。川西南和滇西北作为青藏高原的东边边界，很可能是当初云南松和油松分布的重叠区及杂交地带，即高山松的起源地。 2．核基因4CL分析 对高山松、油松和云南松的19个群体、32个个体的低拷贝核基因4CL进行了克隆及序列分析，获得的78条序列可分为两种类型（类型A和类型B）。这两种类型明显的差别是类型A相对于类型B在内含子区有- 20bp的缺失。以华山松的3条序列为外类群，对得到的78条序列进行基因谱系分析，发现所有的序列分成明显的两支，分别对应于类型A和类型B，而且每一支均包含三个种的部分序列，表明4CL基因在这三个种分化之前就已发生重复。另一个明显的特点是某个种的一条序列与另一个种的序列比其与同种的其他序列关系更近，可能因基因交流（杂交和渐渗）、非共祖、致同进化和重组等进化事件所致。三种松树中共检测到4CL基因序列的两种类型和六个亚类型，高山松群体中没有发现杂种独特的类型或亚类型。高山松和云南松共享三种序列亚类型以及最多的序列多态性，表明这两个种之间曾存在广泛的基因交流。

重金属胁迫相关基因PvSR2在大肠杆菌中表达和转化烟草

近年来植物重金属的耐性机制研究及抗重金属基因工程取得了很大进展。本文将来自于菜豆(Phaseolus vulgaris)的特异性重金属胁迫相关基因PvSR2 (Phaseolus vulgaris stress-related protein, PvSR)的cDNA序列克隆到大肠杆菌高效表达载体pBV221的PR PL启动子的下游，构建了原核表达载体pBV221-PvSR2。通过温度诱导，在大肠杆菌中成功地高效表达了PvSR2基因。经重金属(CdCl2)抗性检测，实验组比对照组有明显的抗性。 同时，将该基因克隆到植物转达化中间载体pCAMBEIA2301的花椰菜花椰病毒的35S启动子下游，利用根癌农杆菌(Agrobacterium tumefaciens)Ti质粒介导的遗传转化系统，成功地将该基因导入了烟草的基因组，获得了转基因植株。

高亲和力PO4(3-)转运子编码基因的cDNA克隆及特性分析

以简并引物，利用RT -PCR，克隆了普通小麦和黑麦根系的PO 43-转运子( Trans-porter)基因长约1.2kb的部分cDNA序列。对其与GenBank中的已知序列进行同源性比较，结果表明：(1)小麦与拟南芥、番茄等高等植物的氨基酸水平的同源性为60%～78%; (2)与酵母较低为40%左右，而与丝状真菌和细菌的同源性则<27%; (3)小麦与黑麦的同源性为75%。对其表达特性的研究表明：(1)该基因在根系和茎叶组织中均有表达，但在根系组织中转录产物的累积量显著高于茎叶;(2)磷饥饿条件下，茎叶和根系组织中该基因的表达均增强，但根系组织中增强幅度较大，由此认为该基因产物的功能不只是根系从生长环境中吸收PO 43-，而与PO 43-在植物体内的转运密切相关;(3)磷饥饿5天 后的植株重新供给充足的PO 43-，则该基因的表达在24小时内即显著减弱;(4)分根试验中同株的部分根系生长于磷饥饿(OuM)环境中，而另一部分根系生长于PO 43-充足(250uM)的环境中，这两部分根系中该基因转录产物的积累水平并无显著差异。因此认为植物感受磷饥饿胁迫的信号可能来自植物体内部POi-库的耗竭。此外，用磷讥饿条件下的普通小麦根系mRNA构建了cDNA文库，以克隆的部分序列为探针，从cDNA文库中分离了全长序列。

Dog chromosome-specific paints reveal evolutionary inter- and intrachromosomal rearrangements in the American mink and human

Forty chromosome-specific paint probes of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris, 2n = 78) were used to delineate conserved segments on metaphase chromosomes of the American mink (Mustela vison, 2n = 30) by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Half of the 38 canine autosomal probes each painted one pair of homologous segments in a diploid mink metaphase, whereas the other 19 dog probes each painted from two to five pairs of discrete segments. In total, 38 canine autosomal paints highlighted 71 pairs of conserved segments in the mink. These painting results allow us to establish a complete comparative chromosome map between the American mink and domestic dog. This map demonstrates that extensive chromosome rearrangements differentiate the karyotypes of the dog and American mink. The 38 dog autosomes could be reconstructed from the 14 autosomes of the American mink through at least 47 fissions, 25 chromosome fusions, and six inversions. Furthermore, comparison of the current dog/mink map with the published human/dog map discloses 23 cryptic intrachromosomal rearrangements in 10 regions of conserved synteny in the human and American mink genomes and thus further refined the human/mink comparative genome map. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Refined genome-wide comparative map of the domestic horse, donkey and human based on cross-species chromosome painting: insight into the occasional fertility of mules

We have made a complete set of painting probes for the domestic horse by degenerate oligonucleotide-primed PCR amplification of flow-sorted horse chromosomes. The horse probes, together with a full set of those available for human, were hybridized onto metaphase chromosomes of human, horse and mule. Based on the hybridization results, we have generated genome-wide comparative chromosome maps involving the domestic horse, donkey and human. These maps define the overall distribution and boundaries of evolutionarily conserved chromosomal segments in the three genomes. Our results shed further light on the karyotypic relationships among these species and, in particular, the chromosomal rearrangements that underlie hybrid sterility and the occasional fertility of mules.

The mitochondrial genome organization of the rice frog, Fejervarya limnocharis (Amphibia : Anura): a new gene order in the vertebrate mtDNA

The mitochondrial DNA of the rice frog, Fejervarya limnocharis (Amphibia, Anura), was obtained using long-and-accurate polymerase chain reaction (LA-PCR) combining with subcloning method. The complete nucleotide sequence (17,717 bp) of mitochondrial genome was determined subsequently. This mitochondrial genome is characterized by four distinctive features: the translocation of ND5 gene, a cluster of rearranged tRNA genes (tRNA(Thr), tRNA(Pro), tRNA(Leu) ((CUN))) a tandem duplication of tRNA(Mer) gene, and eight large 89-bp tandem repeats in the control region, as well as three short noncoding regions containing two repeated motifs existing in the gene cluster of ND5/tRNA(Thr)/tRNA(Pro)/tRNA(Leu)/tRNA(Phe). The tandem duplication of gene regions followed by deletions of supernumerary genes can be invoked to explain the shuffling of tRNAM(Met) and a cluster of tRNA and ND5 genes, as observed in this study. Both ND5 gene translocation and tandem duplication of tRNA(Met) were first observed in the vertebrate mitochondrial genomes. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diversity and evolution of MicroRNA gene clusters

microRNA (miRNA) gene clusters are a group of miRNA genes clustered within a proximal distance on a chromosome. Although a large number of miRNA clusters have been uncovered in animal and plant genomes, the functional consequences of this arrangement are

Characterization and Comparison of the Tissue-Related Modules in Human and Mouse

Background: Due to the advances of high throughput technology and data-collection approaches, we are now in an unprecedented position to understand the evolution of organisms. Great efforts have characterized many individual genes responsible for the interspecies divergence, yet little is known about the genome-wide divergence at a higher level. Modules, serving as the building blocks and operational units of biological systems, provide more information than individual genes. Hence, the comparative analysis between species at the module level would shed more light on the mechanisms underlying the evolution of organisms than the traditional comparative genomics approaches. Results: We systematically identified the tissue-related modules using the iterative signature algorithm (ISA), and we detected 52 and 65 modules in the human and mouse genomes, respectively. The gene expression patterns indicate that all of these predicted modules have a high possibility of serving as real biological modules. In addition, we defined a novel quantity, "total constraint intensity,'' a proxy of multiple constraints (of co-regulated genes and tissues where the co-regulation occurs) on the evolution of genes in module context. We demonstrate that the evolutionary rate of a gene is negatively correlated with its total constraint intensity. Furthermore, there are modules coding the same essential biological processes, while their gene contents have diverged extensively between human and mouse. Conclusions: Our results suggest that unlike the composition of module, which exhibits a great difference between human and mouse, the functional organization of the corresponding modules may evolve in a more conservative manner. Most importantly, our findings imply that similar biological processes can be carried out by different sets of genes from human and mouse, therefore, the functional data of individual genes from mouse may not apply to human in certain occasions.

Comparison of Pax1/9 locus reveals 500-Myr-old syntenic block and evolutionary conserved noncoding regions

Identification of conserved genomic regions within and between different genomes is crucial when studying genome evolution. Here, we described regions of strong synteny conservation between vertebrate deuterostomes (tetrapods and teleosts) and invertebrat

Evolutionary implications of multiple SINE insertions in an intronic region from diverse mammals

An analysis of the nuclear beta-fibrinogen intron 7 locus from 30 taxa representing 12 placental orders of mammals reveals the enriched occurrences of short interspersed clement (SINE) insertion events. Mammalian-wide interspersed repeats (MIRs) are present at orthologous sites of all examined species except those in the order Rodentia. The higher substitution rate in mouse and a rare MIR deletion from rat account for the absence of MIR in the rodents. A minimum of five lineage-specific SINE sequences are also found to have independently inserted into this intron in Carnivora, Artiodactyla and Lagomorpha. In the case of Carnivora, the unique amplification pattern of order-specific CAN SINE provides important evidence for the "pan-carnivore" hypothesis of this repeat element and reveals that the CAN SINE family may still be active today. Particularly interesting is the finding that all identified lineage-specific SINE elements show a strong tendency to insert within or in very close proximity to the preexisting MIRs for their efficient integrations, suggesting that the MIR clement is a hot spot for successive insertions of other SINEs. The unexpected MIR excision as a result of a random deletion in the rat intron locus and the non-random site targeting detected by this study indicate that SINEs actually have a greater insertional flexibility and regional specificity than had previously been recognized. Implications for SINE sequence evolution upon and following integration, as well as the fascinating interactions between retroposons and the host genomes are discussed.

Somatic mutations of mitochondrial genome in early stage breast cancer

The complete mitochondrial genomes of the primary cancerous, matched paracancerous normal and distant normal tissues from 10 early-stage breast cancer patients were analyzed in this study, with special attempt (i) to investigate whether the reported high

A mitogenomic perspective on the ancient, rapid radiation in the Galliformes with an emphasis on the Phasianidae

Background: The Galliformes is a well-known and widely distributed Order in Aves. The phylogenetic relationships of galliform birds, especially the turkeys, grouse, chickens, quails, and pheasants, have been studied intensively, likely because of their close association with humans. Despite extensive studies, convergent morphological evolution and rapid radiation have resulted in conflicting hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships. Many internal nodes have remained ambiguous. Results: We analyzed the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes from 34 galliform species, including 14 new mt genomes and 20 published mt genomes, and obtained a single, robust tree. Most of the internal branches were relatively short and the terminal branches long suggesting an ancient, rapid radiation. The Megapodiidae formed the sister group to all other galliforms, followed in sequence by the Cracidae, Odontophoridae and Numididae. The remaining clade included the Phasianidae, Tetraonidae and Meleagrididae. The genus Arborophila was the sister group of the remaining taxa followed by Polyplectron. This was followed by two major clades: ((((Gallus, Bambusicola) Francolinus) (Coturnix, Alectoris)) Pavo) and (((((((Chrysolophus, Phasianus) Lophura) Syrmaticus) Perdix) Pucrasia) (Meleagris, Bonasa)) ((Lophophorus, Tetraophasis) Tragopan))). Conclusions: The traditional hypothesis of monophyletic lineages of pheasants, partridges, peafowls and tragopans was not supported in this study. Mitogenomic analyses recovered robust phylogenetic relationships and suggested that the Galliformes formed a model group for the study of morphological and behavioral evolution.

Adaptive evolution of energy metabolism genes and the origin of flight in bats

Bat flight poses intriguing questions about how flight independently developed in mammals. Flight is among the most energy-consuming activities. Thus, we deduced that changes in energy metabolism must be a primary factor in the origin of flight in bats. The respiratory chain of the mitochondrial produces 95% of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) needed for locomotion. Because the respiratory chain has a dual genetic foundation, with genes encoded by both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, we examined both genomes to gain insights into the evolution of flight within mammals. Evidence for positive selection was detected in 23.08% of the mitochondrial-encoded and 4.90% of nuclear-encoded oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes, but in only 2.25% of the nuclear-encoded nonrespiratory genes that function in mitochondria or 1.005% of other nuclear genes in bats. To address the caveat that the two available bat genomes are of only draft quality, we resequenced 77 OXPHOS genes from four species of bats. The analysis of the resequenced gene data are in agreement with our conclusion that a significantly higher proportion of genes involved in energy metabolism, compared with background genes, show evidence of adaptive evolution specific on the common ancestral bat lineage. Both mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded OXPHOS genes display evidence of adaptive evolution along the common ancestral branch of bats, supporting our hypothesis that genes involved in energy metabolism were targets of natural selection and allowed adaptation to the huge change in energy demand that were required during the origin of flight.