RNA evolution and the origins of life

The evolution of RNA is likely to have played an important role in the very early history of life on Earth but it is doubtful that life began with RNA. Consideration of what came before RNA must take into account relevant information from geochemistry, prebiotic chemistry and nucleic acid biochemistry.     

Phylogenetic origins and adaptive evolution of avian and mammalian haemoglobin genes

Recent years have seen rapid growth in amino acid sequence data on globins and nucleotide sequence data on haemoglobin genes and pseudogenes, and cladistic analysis of these data continues to reveal new facets of globin evolution. Our present findings demonstrate: (1) avian and mammalian embryonic alpha genes (pi and xi, respectively) had a monophyletic origin involving an alpha locus duplication about 400 Myr ago soon after the duplication which separated alpha and beta genes; (2) much later in phylogeny, independent beta-gene duplications produced the embryonic rho locus of birds and embryonic epsilon and fetal gamma loci of mammals. This parallels the earlier finding that myoglobins evolved more than once from generalized globin ancestors. Here we support the view that such globin evolution resulted from natural selection acting on mutations in duplicated genes. Thus, our evidence contradicts the neutralist view in which almost all amino acid substitutions in descent to extant globins evaded positive selection.     

六盘山盆地早白垩世沉积演化特征分析

六盘山盆地基底具槽台过渡性质,形成于燕山运动早期,为祁连山前盆地的剪切挤压盆地;白垩系下统六盘山群自下而上可分为三桥组、和尚铺组、李洼峡组、马东山组和乃家河组5个油层组,发育有碎屑岩夹泥质灰岩,在顶部地层含少量的石膏层,垂向上从下向上发育砾岩-粗砂岩-细砂岩-泥岩-泥灰岩和石膏岩的沉积序列,沉积物颜色为从棕红色到灰黑色再从棕红色到灰黑色的沉积旋回,反映了2个水进水退的沉积旋回.根据六盘山盆地六盘山群的颜色、岩石类型、沉积构造等,可以将六盘山群划分为冲积扇、扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲和湖泊等4种沉积相类型.     

Primitive Early Eocene bat from Wyoming and the evolution of flight and echolocation

Bats (Chiroptera) represent one of the largest and most diverse radiations of mammals, accounting for one-fifth of extant species. Although recent studies unambiguously support bat monophyly and consensus is rapidly emerging about evolutionary relationships among extant lineages, the fossil record of bats extends over 50 million years, and early evolution of the group remains poorly understood. Here we describe a new bat from the Early Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming, USA, with features that are more primitive than seen in any previously known bat. The evolutionary pathways that led to flapping flight and echolocation in bats have been in dispute, and until now fossils have been of limited use in documenting transitions involved in this marked change in lifestyle. Phylogenetically informed comparisons of the new taxon with other bats and non-flying mammals reveal that critical morphological and functional changes evolved incrementally. Forelimb anatomy indicates that the new bat was capable of powered flight like other Eocene bats, but ear morphology suggests that it lacked their echolocation abilities, supporting a 'flight first' hypothesis for chiropteran evolution. The shape of the wings suggests that an undulating gliding-fluttering flight style may be primitive for bats, and the presence of a long calcar indicates that a broad tail membrane evolved early in Chiroptera, probably functioning as an additional airfoil rather than as a prey-capture device. Limb proportions and retention of claws on all digits indicate that the new bat may have been an agile climber that employed quadrupedal locomotion and under-branch hanging behaviour.     

应用生物信息学寻找大鼠中新的microRNA分子及其实验验证

大鼠已公布的microRNA(miRNA) 数量明显少于小鼠及人miRNA的数量.本文采用同源搜索的计算方法预测大鼠新的miRNA.从miRBase数据库中下载已知动物的pre- miRNAs, 在UCSC数据库中对大鼠的全基因组序列进行了Blat分析,并根据miRNAs的筛选标准,获得45条新的大鼠miRNAs;随后随机选取其中的9条新miRNAs进行RT- PCR实验验证,发现大部分miRNAs在脑、心、肺、肾、肌肉、脾、睾丸和肝8种组织中均有表达.在此基础上,对预测的新miRNAs进行了miRNA成簇分析和miRNA基因家族分析.     

Silencing of microRNAs in vivo with 'antagomirs'

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of non-coding RNAs that are believed to be important in many biological processes through regulation of gene expression. The precise molecular function of miRNAs in mammals is largely unknown and a better understanding will require loss-of-function studies in vivo. Here we show that a novel class of chemically engineered oligonucleotides, termed 'antagomirs', are efficient and specific silencers of endogenous miRNAs in mice. Intravenous administration of antagomirs against miR-16, miR-122, miR-192 and miR-194 resulted in a marked reduction of corresponding miRNA levels in liver, lung, kidney, heart, intestine, fat, skin, bone marrow, muscle, ovaries and adrenals. The silencing of endogenous miRNAs by this novel method is specific, efficient and long-lasting. The biological significance of silencing miRNAs with the use of antagomirs was studied for miR-122, an abundant liver-specific miRNA. Gene expression and bioinformatic analysis of messenger RNA from antagomir-treated animals revealed that the 3' untranslated regions of upregulated genes are strongly enriched in miR-122 recognition motifs, whereas downregulated genes are depleted in these motifs. Analysis of the functional annotation of downregulated genes specifically predicted that cholesterol biosynthesis genes would be affected by miR-122, and plasma cholesterol measurements showed reduced levels in antagomir-122-treated mice. Our findings show that antagomirs are powerful tools to silence specific miRNAs in vivo and may represent a therapeutic strategy for silencing miRNAs in disease.     

Pervasive roles of microRNAs in cardiovascular biology

First recognized as regulators of development in worms and fruitflies, microRNAs are emerging as pivotal modulators of mammalian cardiovascular development and disease. Individual microRNAs modulate the expression of collections of messenger RNA targets that often have related functions, thereby governing complex biological processes. The wideranging functions of microRNAs in the cardiovascular system have provided new perspectives on disease mechanisms and have revealed intriguing therapeutic targets, as well as diagnostics, for a variety of cardiovascular disorders.     

Combinatorial regulation of gene expression by uORFs and microRNAs in Drosophila

Gene expression is tightly controlled at multiple levels by dif-ferent categories of cis-regulatory elements(CREs)and trans-acting factors(TAFs).Two different r...     

The origins and the future of microfluidics

The manipulation of fluids in channels with dimensions of tens of micrometres--microfluidics--has emerged as a distinct new field. Microfluidics has the potential to influence subject areas from chemical synthesis and biological analysis to optics and information technology. But the field is still at an early stage of development. Even as the basic science and technological demonstrations develop, other problems must be addressed: choosing and focusing on initial applications, and developing strategies to complete the cycle of development, including commercialization. The solutions to these problems will require imagination and ingenuity.     

MiRfilter:一个预测病毒microRNA的计算工具

采用生物信息学方法开发了一个预测病毒miRNA的计算机程序MiRfilter,通过提取已知的病毒miRNA的生物学特征,规定参数及参数范围,并以此为筛选标准,预测潜在的病毒miRNA.用EBV和RLCV两种病毒的正负样本对MiRfilter的预测精度进行检测.MiRfilter从39个EBV已知的miRNA中正确识别了30个,从116个负数据中检测到9个假阳性数据;从20个RLCV的miRNA中正确识别了15个,从108个负数据中检测到2个假阳性数据.用取自果蝇和线虫预测区域的186个负数据检测MiRfilter的特异性,在186个负数据中没有预测出假阳性序列.     

Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals

The precise hierarchy of ancient divergence events that led to the present assemblage of modern placental mammals has been an area of controversy among morphologists, palaeontologists and molecular evolutionists. Here we address the potential weaknesses of limited character and taxon sampling in a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of 64 species sampled across all extant orders of placental mammals. We examined sequence variation in 18 homologous gene segments (including nearly 10,000 base pairs) that were selected for maximal phylogenetic informativeness in resolving the hierarchy of early mammalian divergence. Phylogenetic analyses identify four primary superordinal clades: (I) Afrotheria (elephants, manatees, hyraxes, tenrecs, aardvark and elephant shrews); (II) Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters and armadillos); (III) Glires (rodents and lagomorphs), as a sister taxon to primates, flying lemurs and tree shrews; and (IV) the remaining orders of placental mammals (cetaceans, artiodactyls, perissodactyls, carnivores, pangolins, bats and core insectivores). Our results provide new insight into the pattern of the early placental mammal radiation.     

Neural crest origins of the neck and shoulder

The neck and shoulder region of vertebrates has undergone a complex evolutionary history. To identify its underlying mechanisms we map the destinations of embryonic neural crest and mesodermal stem cells using Cre-recombinase-mediated transgenesis. The single-cell resolution of this genetic labelling reveals cryptic cell boundaries traversing the seemingly homogeneous skeleton of the neck and shoulders. Within this assembly of bones and muscles we discern a precise code of connectivity that mesenchymal stem cells of both neural crest and mesodermal origin obey as they form muscle scaffolds. The neural crest anchors the head onto the anterior lining of the shoulder girdle, while a Hox-gene-controlled mesoderm links trunk muscles to the posterior neck and shoulder skeleton. The skeleton that we identify as neural crest-derived is specifically affected in human Klippel-Feil syndrome, Sprengel's deformity and Arnold-Chiari I/II malformation, providing insights into their likely aetiology. We identify genes involved in the cellular modularity of the neck and shoulder skeleton and propose a new method for determining skeletal homologies that is based on muscle attachments. This has allowed us to trace the whereabouts of the cleithrum, the major shoulder bone of extinct land vertebrate ancestors, which seems to survive as the scapular spine in living mammals.     

新疆油画特色及其形成原因

新疆油画的发展是从建国后开始的,20世纪70年代末期开始进入快速发展时期。由于地理位置的原因,新疆油画同苏派油画有着密切的联系。加之伊斯兰文化、新疆歌舞、新疆石窟壁画、中亚细密画等诸多原因的影响,使得新疆油画形成了一种独特的风格,为中国油画百花园增添了一支奇葩。     

太平洋火山特征与深部成因机制

太平洋板块边界和内部均发育大量火山,是研究地球火山的天然实验场。综述了太平洋火山特征与深部成因机制,表明研究人员对地球不同环境下的火山（包括大洋中脊、俯冲带岛弧、板内地幔柱等）进行了系统性研究,分别构建了减压熔融、俯冲板片脱水与富水地幔楔熔融、地幔柱高温熔融的经典模式。但目前学界对于板内非地幔柱型火山的深部岩浆起源以及浅部喷发通道等重要科学问题仍缺乏清晰的认识。未来需要采用创新观测手段,开展多学科交叉研究以取得突破。