Global trends of whole-genome duplications revealed by the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia

The duplication of entire genomes has long been recognized as having great potential for evolutionary novelties, but the mechanisms underlying their resolution through gene loss are poorly understood. Here we show that in the unicellular eukaryote Paramecium tetraurelia, a ciliate, most of the nearly 40,000 genes arose through at least three successive whole-genome duplications. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the most recent duplication coincides with an explosion of speciation events that gave rise to the P. aurelia complex of 15 sibling species. We observed that gene loss occurs over a long timescale, not as an initial massive event. Genes from the same metabolic pathway or protein complex have common patterns of gene loss, and highly expressed genes are over-retained after all duplications. The conclusion of this analysis is that many genes are maintained after whole-genome duplication not because of functional innovation but because of gene dosage constraints.     

Identification of the gene responsible for methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria, cblC type

Methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria, cblC type (OMIM 277400), is the most common inborn error of vitamin B(12) (cobalamin) metabolism, with about 250 known cases. Affected individuals have developmental, hematological, neurological, metabolic, ophthalmologic and dermatologic clinical findings. Although considered a disease of infancy or childhood, some individuals develop symptoms in adulthood. The cblC locus was mapped to chromosome region 1p by linkage analysis. We refined the chromosomal interval using homozygosity mapping and haplotype analyses and identified the MMACHC gene. In 204 individuals, 42 different mutations were identified, many consistent with a loss of function of the protein product. One mutation, 271dupA, accounted for 40% of all disease alleles. Transduction of wild-type MMACHC into immortalized cblC fibroblast cell lines corrected the cellular phenotype. Molecular modeling predicts that the C-terminal region of the gene product folds similarly to TonB, a bacterial protein involved in energy transduction for cobalamin uptake.     

应用EQCM研究含有二苯基联苯胺和二亚酰胺官能团的电活性聚合物的氧化还原过程

运用电化学石英晶体微天平技术(EQCM)联合循环伏安法(CV)和计时安培分析法对3种含有二苯基联苯胺和二亚酰胺的电活性聚合物薄膜进行了研究.这些聚合物薄膜具有多个氧化和还原状态.中性聚合物薄膜可以在二苯基联苯胺连接处被电化学氧化或在二亚酰胺处被电化学还原.在氧化还原转化过程期间,聚合物薄膜的电子转移、离子补偿和溶剂运输的动力学取决于聚合物的类型、其所处的氧化还原状态、电位扫描速率和氧化还原转换的方向.确定了包含二苯基联苯胺聚合物在不同电化学条件的氧化还原转化的机理.动力学控制步骤也许与聚合物薄膜在每个氧化还原状态的特定几何结构有关,并受到不同电解质和溶剂的影响.研究了含有二苯基联苯胺和二亚酰胺的电活性聚合物薄膜电子转移反应的级数、反离子补偿和溶剂传输,并定量地测定了氧化还原过程中离子和溶剂进出电活性膜的流量.