Gene regulation: ancient microRNA target sequences in plants

MicroRNAs are an abundant class of small RNAs that are thought to regulate the expression of protein-coding genes in plants and animals. Here we show that the target sequence of two microRNAs, known to regulate genes in the class-III homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) gene family of the flowering plant Arabidopsis, is conserved in homologous sequences from all lineages of land plants, including bryophytes, lycopods, ferns and seed plants. We also find that the messenger RNAs from these genes are cleaved within the same microRNA-binding site in representatives of each land-plant group, as they are in Arabidopsis. Our results indicate not only that microRNAs mediate gene regulation in non-flowering as well as flowering plants, but also that the regulation of this class of plant genes dates back more than 400 million years.     

New ancient DNA sequences suggest high genetic diversity for the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

Partial DNA sequences of cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) were successfully retrieved from Late Pleistocene fossil bone of Mammuthus primigenius collected from the Xiguitu County ( Yakeshi), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and from Zhaodong, Harbin of Heilongjiang Province in northern China. Two ancient DNA fragments (109 bp and 124 bp) were authenticated by reproducible experiments in two different laboratories and by phylogenetic analysis with other Elephantidae taxa. Phylogenetic analysis using these sequences and published data in either separate or combined datasets indicate unstable relationship among the woolly mammoth and the two living elephants, Elephas and Loxodonta . In addition to the short sequences used to attempt the long independent evolution of Elephantidae terminal taxa, we suggest that a high intra-specific diversity existed in Mammuthus primigenius crossing both spatial and temporal ranges, resulting in a complex and divergent genetic background for DNA sequences so far recovered. The high genetic diversity in the extinct woolly mammoth can explain the apparent instability of Elephantidae taxa on the molecular phylogenetic trees and can reconcile the apparent paradox regarding the unresolved Elephantidae trichotomy.     

Conservation and change in the DNA sequences coding for alcohol dehydrogenase in sibling species of Drosophila

The DNA sequences of the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) genes of four very closely related species of Drosophila show that the rates of nucleotide change vary greatly in different functional domains of this gene. A phylogeny of these species based on the Adh sequence data is consistent with that based on polytene chromosome banding patterns.     

利用定积分定义求数列极限

讨论了应用定积分定义求数列极限的方法 ,并给出了确定被积函数及积分上、下限的具体步骤     

不同物种间胰岛素及其编码mRNA,DNA序列比较与分析

通过PSI-BLAST搜索与人类胰岛素原(含有86个氨基酸)相似的蛋白质序列，并进行比对，计算比对矩阵的相似得分和期望值，同时运用ClustalW算法对不同物种编码前胰岛素原mRNA及其翻译的蛋白质和DNA序列进行多重比对．结果发现，脊椎动物的胰岛素蛋白质一级结构(A链和B链)和mRNA非常相似，但部分动物C肽的部分序列有差异；系统进化分析表明，人和猴、小鼠和大鼠编码胰岛素的mRNA在进化上关系相近．各物种间编码相同氨基酸的核苷酸序列（CDS)相同，但编码胰岛素的DNA序列不同．各物种胰岛素原蛋白质序列中，A链和B链序列保守，C肽有一定的差异；DNA序列差异较大．     

New ancient DNA sequences suggest high genetic diversity for the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)

Partial DNA sequences of cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) were successfully retrieved from Late Pleistocene fossil bone of Mammuthus primigenius collected from the Xiguitu County (Yakeshi), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and from Zhaodong, Harbin of Heilongjiang Province in northern China. Two ancient DNA fragments (109 bp and 124 bp) were authenticated by reproducible experiments in two different laboratories and by phylogenetic analysis with other Elephantidae taxa. Phylogenetic analysis using these sequences and published data in either separate or combined datasets indicate unstable relationship among the woolly mammoth and the two living elephants, Elephas and Loxodonta. In addition to the short sequences used to attempt the long independent evolution of Elephantidae terminal taxa, we suggest that a high intra-specific diversity existed in Mammuthus primigenius crossing both spatial and temporal ranges, resulting in a complex and divergent genetic background for DNA sequences so far recovered. The high genetic diversity in the extinct woolly mammoth can explain the apparent instability of Elephantidae taxa on the molecular phylogenetic trees and can reconcile the apparent paradox regarding the unresolved Elephantidae trichotomy.     

Cortical growth marks reveal extended juvenile development in New Zealand moa

Cyclical growth marks in cortical bone, deposited before attainment of adult body size, reflect osteogenetic changes caused by annual rhythms and are a general phenomenon in non-avian ectothermic and endothermic tetrapods. However, the growth periods of ornithurines (the theropod group including all modern birds) are usually apomorphically shortened to less than a year, so annual growth marks are almost unknown in this group. Here we show that cortical growth marks are frequent in long bones of New Zealand's moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes), a recently extinct ratite order. Moa showed the exaggerated K-selected life-history strategy formerly common in the New Zealand avifauna, and in some instances took almost a decade to attain skeletal maturity. This indicates that reproductive maturity in moa was extremely delayed relative to all extant birds. The two presently recognized moa families (Dinornithidae and Emeidae) also showed different postnatal growth rates, which were associated with their relative differences in body size. Both species of giant Dinornis moa attained their massive stature (up to 240 kg live mass) by accelerating their juvenile growth rate compared to the smaller emeid moa species, rather than by extending the skeletal growth period.     

Extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism in the extinct New Zealand moa Dinornis

The ratite moa (Aves; Dinornithiformes) were massive graviportal browsers weighing up to 250 kg (ref. 1) that dominated the New Zealand biota until their extinction approximately 500 yr ago. Despite an extensive Quaternary fossil record, moa taxonomy remains problematic and currently 11 species are recognized. Three Dinornis species were found throughout New Zealand and differed markedly in size (1-2 m height at back) and mass (from approximately 34 to 242 kg). Surprisingly, ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences show that the three species were genetically indistinguishable within each island, but formed separate North and South Island clades. Here we show, using the first sex-linked nuclear sequences from an extinct species, that on each island the three morphological forms actually represent just one species, whose size varied markedly according to sex and habitat. The largest females in this example of extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism were about 280% the weight and 150% the height of the largest males, which is unprecedented among birds and terrestrial mammals. The combination of molecular and palaeontological data highlights the difficulties of analysing extinct groups, even those with detailed fossil records.     

Palindromic sequences in heteroduplex DNA inhibit mismatch repair in yeast

Although single heterozygous markers in yeast usually segregate during meiosis in a 2:2 ratio, abberant 3:1 segregations occur quite frequently as a result of gene-conversion events. A second type of aberrant segregation, post-meiotic segregation, results from the segregation of two genotypes from a single haploid spore; in yeast such events are detected as sectored spore colonies and usually occur rarely. Post-meiotic segregation is thought to result from the replication of heteroduplex DNA formed during meiotic recombination. We report here that if the heteroduplex includes a palindromic insertion sequence, a high frequency of post-meiotic segregation results. This suggests that palindromic insertions are poorly repaired, which may be the result of hairpin-loop formation that affects the efficiency of repair of heteroduplex DNA.     

Strong male-driven evolution of DNA sequences in humans and apes

Studies of human genetic diseases have suggested a higher mutation rate in males than in females and the male-to-female ratio (alpha) of mutation rate has been estimated from DNA sequence and microsatellite data to be about 4-6 in higher primates. Two recent studies, however, claim that alpha is only about 2 in humans. This is even smaller than the estimates (alpha > 4) for carnivores and birds; humans should have a higher alpha than carnivores and birds because of a longer generation time and a larger sex difference in the number of germ cell cycles. To resolve this issue, we sequenced a noncoding fragment on Y of about 10.4 kilobases (kb) and a homologous region on chromosome 3 in humans, greater apes, and lesser apes. Here we show that our estimate of alpha from the internal branches of the phylogeny is 5.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.44 to infinity), similar to the previous estimates, but significantly higher than the two recent ones. In contrast, for the external (short, species-specific) branches, alpha is only 2.23 (95% CI: 1.47-3.84). We suggest that closely related species are not suitable for estimating alpha, because of ancient polymorphism and other factors. Moreover, we provide an explanation for the small estimate of alpha in a previous study. Our study reinstates a high alpha in hominoids and supports the view that DNA replication errors are the primary source of germline mutation.     

Improved taboo search algorithm for designing DNA sequences

The design of DNA sequences is one of the most practical and important research topics in DNA computing. We adopt taboo search algorithm and improve the method for the systematic design of equal-length DNA sequences, which can satisfy certain combinatorial and thermodynamic constraints. Using taboo search algorithm, our method can avoid trapping into local optimization and can find a set of good DNA sequences satisfying required constraints.     

Presence of integrated hepatitis B virus DNA sequences in cellular DNA of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) may be one of the agents involved in the aetiology of human primary liver cancer. This hypothesis is supported by (1) the similarity between the geographical distribution of chronic carriers of the viral surface antigen (HBsAg) and that of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); (2) the increase in the prevalence of HBV markers in serum of patients with primary liver cancer when compared with the general population; (3) the observation that HBV infection precedes the development of the tumour. Moreover, these epidemiological indications of an association between HBV infecton and hepatocellular carcinoma are supported by the detection of HBV markers such as HBsAg or viral DNA sequences, although in a non-integrated form in tumour tissue. To study the relationship between HBV and primary liver cancer further, we looked for the presence of free or integrated viral DNA in tumour tissue of human hepatocellular carcinomas and in a HBsAg-producing human hepatoma cell line. Using the blot-transfer hybridization technique and cloned HBV DNA as a probe, we have now demonstrated that the viral DNA is integrated in the cellular genome both in tumour tissue and in a hepatoma cell line.     

miRNAs在不同物种进化中序列保守性的研究

miRNAs在不同物种的进化中存在保守性,不仅单独在动物或是植物中存在保守性,而且在动植物之间也同样存在．本研究在人和动物的不同组织中克隆到了同源性很高的序列,将所得结果与已发表的成熟的miRNAs比对,发现克隆到的序列与植物中miRNA319家族的相似性较高,并且保守区靠近其5’端,推测新miRNAs可能与miRNA319扮演相似的角色,而这些序列的保守性跨越不同进化阶段的物种,也为miRNAs广泛的保守性增加新的证据,显示miRNAs在物种进化过程中发挥着重要的功能．     

内蒙古砧子山墓地古人的线粒体DNA多态性分析

为了研究内蒙古元上都遗址砧子山墓地古代人群的遗传结构及其可能来源,对该墓地古人的DNA进行了抽提、扩增和测序,获得了10个个体的线粒体DNA高可变一区序列.结合现代东亚、北亚、中亚和欧洲人的线粒体DNA数据进行了系统发育分析和多维尺度分析.研究结果表明:埋藏在砧子山墓地的元代居民为汉族人,主要是来自中国北方地区的汉族.本研究为揭示元代的复杂社会结构和人群历史动态提供了新的方法.     

Retroviral gag and DNA endonuclease coding sequences in IgE-binding factor gene

Immunoglobulin-binding factors are known to regulate the synthesis of B-cell-derived immunoglobulin heavy-chain isotypes. Cloning and nucleotide sequence determination of complementary DNA encoding rodent IgE-binding factors (IgE-BF) revealed that messenger RNA encodes a glycoprotein of 557 amino acids which is expressed as a precursor of relative molecular mass (Mr) 60,000 (60K) in COS7 monkey cells. We report here that the 3' two-thirds of the IgE-BF coding sequence shows a surprising homology (72%) at the DNA level with coding sequences of the gag and pol (DNA endonuclease) genes of the Syrian hamster intracisternal A particle (IAP H18), an endogenous retrovirus. This marked homology demonstrates that the rodent gene encoding IgE-BF is a hybrid gene which evolved very recently by integrating genes of viral origin, and that the encoded polypeptide comprises three separate domains: an IgE-BF domain and retrovirus-derived gag and DNA endonuclease-like domains. This may represent the first report of a cellular gene containing a virus-derived coding sequence.