Duplication and functional diversification of pancreatic ribonuclease (RNASE1) gene

Adaptation is one of the most fundamental issues in the studies of organismal evolution. Pancreatic ribonuclease is a very important digestive enzyme and secreted by the pancreas. Numerous studies have suggested that RNASE1 gene duplication is closely related to the functional adaptation of the digestive system in the intestinal fermentation herbivores. RNASE1 gene thus becomes one of the most important candidate genetic markers to study the molecular mechanism of adaptation of organisms to the feeding habit. Interestingly, RNASE1 gene duplication has also been found in some non-intestinal fermentation mammals, suggesting that RNASE1 gene may have produced novel tissue specificity or functions in these species. In this review, RNASE1 gene and its implications in adaptive evolution, especially in association with the feeding habit of organisms, are summarized.

Prevalent positive epistasis in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolic networks

Epistasis refers to the interaction between genes. Although high-throughput epistasis data from model organisms are being generated and used to construct genetic networks(1-3), the extent to which genetic epistasis reflects biologically meaningful interactions remains unclear(4-6). We have addressed this question through in silico mapping of positive and negative epistatic interactions amongst biochemical reactions within the metabolic networks of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using flux balance analysis. We found that negative epistasis occurs mainly between nonessential reactions with overlapping functions, whereas positive epistasis usually involves essential reactions, is highly abundant and, unexpectedly, often occurs between reactions without overlapping functions. We offer mechanistic explanations of these findings and experimentally validate them for 61 S. cerevisiae gene pairs.

中国银额果蝇自然群体B染色体的分布

中国(台湾省外)银额果蝇自然群体中普遍存在Bs。结合前人报道提出,Bs频率的地理分布出现了由东向西和由南向北的规律性的依次升高趋势。这种跨越不同地理环境的区域性梯度变异与其宿主向大陆内地扩散的推论相符。Bs频率最高(87.7%)的是海南岛的孤立隔离群体。大部分群体含Bs的数目多,最多达14条,为标准染色体数目(2n=6)的2.3倍。同时依据该果蝇Bs频率的地理分布特点,将我国现生的银额果蝇划归为5个生态型群体,即沿海丘陵群体、高原型群体、岛屿型群体、山地型群体和峡谷群体等。

Recombination Yet Inefficient Selection along the Drosophila melanogaster Subgroup's Fourth Chromosome

A central goal of evolutionary genetics is an understanding of the forces responsible for the observed variation, both within and between species. Theoretical and empirical work have demonstrated that genetic recombination contributes to this variation by breaking down linkage between nucleotide sites, thus allowing them to behave independently and for selective forces to act efficiently on them. The Drosophila fourth chromosome, which is believed to experience no-or very low-rates of recombination has been an important model for investigating these effects. Despite previous efforts, central questions regarding the extent of recombination and the predominant modes of selection acting on it remain open. In order to more comprehensively test hypotheses regarding recombination and its potential influence on selection along the fourth chromosome, we have resequenced regions from most of its genes from Drosophila melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. yakuba. These data, along with available outgroup sequence, demonstrate that recombination is low but significantly greater than zero for the three species. Despite there being recombination, there is strong evidence that its frequency is low enough to have rendered selection relatively inefficient. The signatures of relaxed constraint can be detected at both the level of polymorphism and divergence.

Dibenzocyclooctadiene Lignans from Schisandra wilsoniana and Their Anti-HIV-1 Activities

Twelve new dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, marlignans A-L (1-12), together with 16 known compounds, were isolated from the leaves and stems of Schisandra wilsoniana. The structures of 1-12 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. Compounds 1-12 were evaluated for their anti-HIV activities, of which compounds 3, 6, 8, and 12 showed modest activities with therapeutic index values of 13.2, 15.6, 17.6, and 16.4, respectively.

Effects of Prenatal Exposure to a 50-Hz Magnetic Field on One-Trial Passive Avoidance Learning in 1-Day-Old Chicks

We investigated memory impairment in newly hatched chicks following in ovo exposure to a 50-Hz magnetic field (MF) of 2 mT (60 min/day) on embryonic days 12-18. Isolated and paired chicks were used to test the effect of stress during training, and memory retention was tested at 10, 30, and 120 min, following exposure to a bitter-tasting bead (100% methylanthranilate). Results showed that memory was intact at 10 min in both isolated and paired chicks with or without MF exposure. However, while isolated chicks had good memory retention levels at 30 and 120 min, those exposed to MF did not. The results suggest a potential disruption of memory formation following in ovo exposure to MF, with this effect only evident in the more stressed, isolated chicks. Bioelectromagnetics 31:150-155, 2010. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss. Inc.

云南鱼类多样性和面临的危机

迄今共记载云南土著鱼类432种,占全国淡水鱼类总种数1023种的42.2%,显示云南是我国淡水鱼类多样性最为丰富的省区之一。全省大约有1/3的种类日趋减少或濒临绝灭,湖泊鱼类尤为突出,濒危种几乎达到2/3。

不具有3-碱基周期性的编码序列初探

对 12 0个较短编码序列 (<12 0 0bp)的Fourier频谱进行分析表明 ,3 碱基周期性在短编码序列中并不是绝对存在的 .统计分析提示 ,编码序列有无 3 碱基周期性与序列的碱基组成和分布、所编码蛋白质氨基酸的选用和顺序以及同义密码子的使用都有一定的关系 .一般地 ,非周期 3序列中A +U含量高于G +C含量 ,周期 3序列的情况则相反 ;非周期 3序列中碱基在密码子三个位点上的分布比周期 3序列中的分布均匀 ;非周期 3序列密码子和氨基酸的使用偏向没有周期 3序列的大 .在利用Fourier分析方法预测DNA序列中的基因和外显子时 ,应充分考虑到这些现象

滇金丝猴下颌的生物力学研究

滇金丝猴雄性比雌性具有相对更长的下颌, 这就导致了整个下颌结构在两性 间的差异。在分析的8个变量中, 4个被选为性别鉴别的重要特征, 判别式为: D=-27.65-0.729 CONM1+0.596MANDL+1.024 MANDSYM-1.778 MANCORPW。与猕猴和 长鼻猴相比, 滇金丝猴具有相对短的下颌骨, 较宽的下颌髁和较高的下颌体。 图4表4参17

树鼩细胞周期蛋白T1 cDNA的克隆和序列分析

树鼩细胞不能感染 HIV-1, 但支持 HIV-1进入靶细胞后的转录, 可能是因为树鼩细胞周期蛋白T1(tsCycT1)能结合HIV-1的 Tat 蛋白. 通过设计引物, 用 RT-PCR 技术, 获得全长为2175bpts CycT1 基因的cD NA. 其核苷酸序列与人的 CycT1(hCycT1) 基因的 cDNA 有92.6%的相似性; 由此推导出的氨基酸序列有94.1%相似性. 其中, hCycT1 和 tsCycT1 氨基端的1～272个氨基酸的相似性高达98.8%, 氨基酸第261位点为半胱氨酸. 这些结果提示, tsCycT1 会和 HIV-1 的 Tat 结合, 形成高亲和的、锌依赖的复合物, 支持 HIV-1转录。

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN THE SNUB-NOSED LANGURS (COLOBINAE, RHINOPITHECUS)

Sexual dimorphism in the dentition and skeleton of the four extant species of snub-nosed langurs, Rhinopithecus (R.) bieti, R. (R.) brelichi, R. (R.) roxellana and R. (Presbytiscus) avunculus, was studied. The species shared a similar general pattern of sexual dimorphism, but were found to differ in respects that appear to reflect the influence of disparate socioecological and environmental factors. All the species showed marked canine dimorphism, but the very high degree of canine dimorphism in R. bieti appeared to be due to the intensity of intermale competition for mates during a temporally restricted breeding season, and possibly also to the intensity of competition between males for other resources during other times of the year. Sexual dimorphism in the postcranial skeleton of Rhinopithecus species was also most pronounced in R. bieti and may be related to the relatively higher frequency of terrestrial locomotion in males of the species. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Tentative study of the coding sequences without 3-base periodicity

Fourier spectra of 120 short coding sequences (<1 200 bp) show that not all coding sequences are characterized by 3-base periodicity. Statistical analysis suggests that whether a coding sequence has 3-base periodicity may be related to the composition and distribution of bases, the usage and the order of the amino acids of the encoded protein as well as the synonymous codon usage. Generally, the content of A+U is higher than that of G+C in non-period-3 sequences, inversely in period-3 sequences. In the three codon positions, the base distribution in the non-periodic-3 sequences is more uniform than in the periodic-3 sequences. The usage biases of the amino acids and the codons in non-period-3 sequences are weaker than that in period-3 sequences. All of these phenomena should be considered sufficiently in predicting the genes and exons of DNA sequences by Fourier analysis method.