Recombination and linkage disequilibrium in Arabidopsis thaliana

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) is a major aspect of the organization of genetic variation in natural populations. Here we describe the genome-wide pattern of LD in a sample of 19 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions using 341,602 non-singleton SNPs. LD decays within 10 kb on average, considerably faster than previously estimated. Tag SNP selection algorithms and 'hide-the-SNP' simulations suggest that genome-wide association mapping will require only 40%-50% of the observed SNPs, a reduction similar to estimates in a sample of African Americans. An Affymetrix genotyping array containing 250,000 SNPs has been designed based on these results; we demonstrate that it should have more than adequate coverage for genome-wide association mapping. The extent of LD is highly variable, and we find clear evidence of recombination hotspots, which seem to occur preferentially in intergenic regions. LD also reflects the action of selection, and it is more extensive between nonsynonymous polymorphisms than between synonymous polymorphisms.     

Activation of the AXL kinase causes resistance to EGFR-targeted therapy in lung cancer

Human non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) with activating mutations in EGFR frequently respond to treatment with EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as erlotinib, but responses are not durable, as tumors acquire resistance. Secondary mutations in EGFR (such as T790M) or upregulation of the MET kinase are found in over 50% of resistant tumors. Here, we report increased activation of AXL and evidence for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in multiple in vitro and in vivo EGFR-mutant lung cancer models with acquired resistance to erlotinib in the absence of the EGFR p.Thr790Met alteration or MET activation. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of AXL restored sensitivity to erlotinib in these tumor models. Increased expression of AXL and, in some cases, of its ligand GAS6 was found in EGFR-mutant lung cancers obtained from individuals with acquired resistance to TKIs. These data identify AXL as a promising therapeutic target whose inhibition could prevent or overcome acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs in individuals with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.     

硬质合金可转位刀片周边仿形磨削方法的精度分析

本文根据仿磨原理,分别讨论了砂轮磨损和用一个标准仿形凸轮仿磨不同大小的同形非标准刀片时所产生的磨削误差及形状畸变,并导出了计算磨削误差及畸变的参数方程.     

面向对象环境参数设置与模拟研究

模拟一般是为了应用于特定领域的问题而设计的，而模拟语言可以设计通用领域的问题，相对难度较大。开发模拟软件，有必要提供使用者容易掌握的参数和模拟技术环境，从而降低开发难度。介绍一种灵活的利用总体构造信息和各种规模参数自动建立模型的设计方法。构建以程序文档作为模拟技术中各种模型的基础，储存于模型数据库，选定相应模型的模板，输入相应参数，就可自动生成所需的特定模型。利用这一系统，建模者可以用最小的工作量形成复杂的大模型。选用两个案例实验验证其实用性和有效性。     

Birth of parthenogenetic mice that can develop to adulthood

Only mammals have relinquished parthenogenesis, a means of producing descendants solely from maternal germ cells. Mouse parthenogenetic embryos die by day 10 of gestation. Bi-parental reproduction is necessary because of parent-specific epigenetic modification of the genome during gametogenesis. This leads to unequal expression of imprinted genes from the maternal and paternal alleles. However, there is no direct evidence that genomic imprinting is the only barrier to parthenogenetic development. Here we show the development of a viable parthenogenetic mouse individual from a reconstructed oocyte containing two haploid sets of maternal genome, derived from non-growing and fully grown oocytes. This development was made possible by the appropriate expression of the Igf2 and H19 genes with other imprinted genes, using mutant mice with a 13-kilobase deletion in the H19 gene as non-growing oocytes donors. This full-term development is associated with a marked reduction in aberrantly expressed genes. The parthenote developed to adulthood with the ability to reproduce offspring. These results suggest that paternal imprinting prevents parthenogenesis, ensuring that the paternal contribution is obligatory for the descendant.     

Absence of S6K1 protects against age- and diet-induced obesity while enhancing insulin sensitivity

Elucidating the signalling mechanisms by which obesity leads to impaired insulin action is critical in the development of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diabetes. Recently, mice deficient for S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1), an effector of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) that acts to integrate nutrient and insulin signals, were shown to be hypoinsulinaemic, glucose intolerant and have reduced beta-cell mass. However, S6K1-deficient mice maintain normal glucose levels during fasting, suggesting hypersensitivity to insulin, raising the question of their metabolic fate as a function of age and diet. Here, we report that S6K1-deficient mice are protected against obesity owing to enhanced beta-oxidation. However on a high fat diet, levels of glucose and free fatty acids still rise in S6K1-deficient mice, resulting in insulin receptor desensitization. Nevertheless, S6K1-deficient mice remain sensitive to insulin owing to the apparent loss of a negative feedback loop from S6K1 to insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), which blunts S307 and S636/S639 phosphorylation; sites involved in insulin resistance. Moreover, wild-type mice on a high fat diet as well as K/K A(y) and ob/ob (also known as Lep/Lep) mice-two genetic models of obesity-have markedly elevated S6K1 activity and, unlike S6K1-deficient mice, increased phosphorylation of IRS1 S307 and S636/S639. Thus under conditions of nutrient satiation S6K1 negatively regulates insulin signalling.     

Vernalization in Arabidopsis thaliana is mediated by the PHD finger protein VIN3

In biennials and winter annuals, flowering is typically blocked in the first growing season. Exposure to the prolonged cold of winter, through a process called vernalization, is required to alleviate this block and permit flowering in the second growing season. In winter-annual types of Arabidopsis thaliana, a flowering repressor, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), is expressed at levels that inhibit flowering in the first growing season. Vernalization promotes flowering by causing a repression of FLC that is mitotically stable after return to warm growing conditions. Here we identify a gene with a function in the measurement of the duration of cold exposure and in the establishment of the vernalized state. We show that this silencing involves changes in the modification of histones in FLC chromatin.