Role of paternal and maternal genomes in mouse development

There has been much speculation on whether mammalian eggs with two male pronuclei can develop normally. Eggs with two female pronuclei can sometimes develop as far as the 25-somite stage but with only very meagre extraembryonic tissues. We suggested that the genome undergoes specific imprinting during gametogenesis and that some paternal genes may be necessary for normal development of the extraembryonic tissues, in which only the maternal X chromosome remains active. However, the need for the maternal genome for development to term is not yet unequivocally established. The detailed study described here demonstrates that while between 40 and 50% of heterozygous reconstituted eggs with a male and a female pronucleus develop to term, none of the eggs with two male pronuclei does so. Furthermore, embryos in the latter case are very retarded, even though the trophoblast develops relatively well compared with embryos having two female pronuclei. Our combined results indicate that while the paternal genome is essential for the normal development of extraembryonic tissues, the maternal genome may be essential for some stages of embryogenesis.     

HD2基因调控拟南芥下胚轴发育的功能研究

为探究组蛋白去乙酰化酶HD2基因在拟南芥下胚轴发育中的调控作用,本研究采用野生型（Col-0）、HD2突变体以及过表达植株为材料,研究其在1/2MS以及1/2MS+100 mmol/L甘露醇培养中下胚轴的表型特征,并结合转录组测序数据进一步分析. 实验结果显示,四种过表达株系下胚轴长度较Col-0长,伸长百分比为7.1%～19.5%,差异显著;甘露醇处理后,过表达植株下胚轴较Col-0更长,伸长百分比为14.6%～32.8%,差异更加显著,缩短幅度也更小. hd2a/hd2b和hd2a/hd2c双基因突变体植株在有无甘露醇时,下胚轴长度均显著短于Col-0,但干旱胁迫后变短幅度无明显增加. 转录组数据揭示,HD2基因调控光合系统响应基因影响植株暗形态建成反应,从而影响下胚轴发育. 甘露醇处理后,HD2基因诱导产生非生物刺激响应因子,帮助下胚轴抵抗不良环境. 综上所述,HD2基因在拟南芥下胚轴发育中承担重要调控作用.     

遗传定位一个花粉发育相关的拟南芥新基因SPG1

通过EMS诱变获得一个拟南芥突变体shrunken pollen grain1,spg1.根据横切片的观察结果,与野生型相比较,突变体观察到异常的花粉粒.遗传学的实验表明:spg1突变现象由一个隐性的单基因控制.通过图位克隆的方法,spg1突变位点定位在3号染色体的分子标记3-AL138638-6632和3-AL353865-6814之间大约427kb的区间内.生物信息学的分析表明,在这个区间内没有任何已知的与育性相关的基因.以上结果说明SPG1是一个控制拟南芥雄性不育的新基因.     

过量表达URO基因抑制拟南芥次生细胞壁开关基因表达

植物次生细胞壁的发育受到一系列转录调控因子的调节.但关于这一过程如何与植物整体发育相整合,一直少有报道.拟南芥URO(UP-RIGHT ROSETTE)基因过量表达导致在相应突变体uro中自由态生长素浓度明显升高,并导致该突变体中次生细胞壁发育减弱.本研究利用突变体uro及其杂合子uro/+,通过定量PCR的方法,检测了一系列调控植物次生细胞壁分化相关基因的表达情况.结果表明,在uro/uro和uro/+中,植物次生细胞壁发育开关基因的表达受到明显抑制,而对于木质部导管细胞分化的开关基因没有明显影响.因此,URO基因是介导植物细胞壁次生加厚与植物生长发育状态关联的基因,URO基因通过抑制次生细胞壁发育达到维持细胞的生长状态的效果.     

拟南芥基因倍增及基因流失分析

基因倍增指基因组中含有基因的DNA片段复制出一个或更多拷贝的过程，是进化出新物种的主要原因。采用新的数据和方法研究拟南芥基因组的基因倍增过程，通过分析串联基因倍增和大规模基因倍增的存在比例和同义置换率分布，并估计大规模倍增后基因流失的比例，揭示了拟南芥基因组一次非常明显的全基因组倍增，采用科学的方法估计这次倍增发生在约8000万年前。比较该结果与之前的研究，提出了一种解释拟南芥基因倍增过程更合理的模型。     

拟南芥基因倍增及基因流失分析

基因倍增指基因组中含有基因的DNA片段复制出一个或更多拷贝的过程,是进化出新物种的主要原因。采用新的数据和方法研究拟南芥基因组的基因倍增过程,通过分析串联基因倍增和大规模基因倍增的存在比例和同义置换率分布,并估计大规模倍增后基因流失的比例,揭示了拟南芥基因组一次非常明显的全基因组倍增,采用科学的方法估计这次倍增发生在约8000万年前。比较该结果与之前的研究,提出了一种解释拟南芥基因倍增过程更合理的模型。     

Uniparental paternal disomy in a genetic cancer-predisposing syndrome.

The 11p15.5 region of human chromosome 11 seems to contain a locus or loci involved in congenital overgrowth anomalies as well as in the genesis of many tumours associated with the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS). Given the unusual differential parental allele involvement in the different aetiological forms of BWS and the loss of maternal alleles in associated tumours, we have now used 11p15.5 markers to determine the parental origin of chromosome 11 in eight sporadic cases of BWS. Probands in three informative families had uniparental paternal disomy for region 11p15.5. Further, an overall greatly increased frequency of homozygosity for several 11p15.5 markers in 21 sporadic BWS patients suggests that isodisomy probably accounts for an even higher proportion of BWS sporadic cases. This demonstrates that uniparental paternal disomy can be associated with a genetic cancer-predisposing syndrome.     

The ERECTA gene regulates plant transpiration efficiency in Arabidopsis

Assimilation of carbon by plants incurs water costs. In the many parts of the world where water is in short supply, plant transpiration efficiency, the ratio of carbon fixation to water loss, is critical to plant survival, crop yield and vegetation dynamics. When challenged by variations in their environment, plants often seem to coordinate photosynthesis and transpiration, but significant genetic variation in transpiration efficiency has been identified both between and within species. This has allowed plant breeders to develop effective selection programmes for the improved transpiration efficiency of crops, after it was demonstrated that carbon isotopic discrimination, Delta, of plant matter was a reliable and sensitive marker negatively related to variation in transpiration efficiency. However, little is known of the genetic controls of transpiration efficiency. Here we report the isolation of a gene that regulates transpiration efficiency, ERECTA. We show that ERECTA, a putative leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) known for its effects on inflorescence development, is a major contributor to a locus for Delta on Arabidopsis chromosome 2. Mechanisms include, but are not limited to, effects on stomatal density, epidermal cell expansion, mesophyll cell proliferation and cell-cell contact.     

Requirement for a functional Rb-1 gene in murine development.

Human retinoblastomas can occur both as hereditary and as sporadic cases. Knudson's proposal that they result from two mutational events, of which one is present in the germ line in hereditary cases, has been confirmed by more recent molecular analysis, which has shown both events to involve loss or mutational inactivation of the same gene, RB-1 (ref. 2). RB-1 heterozygosity also predisposes to osteosarcoma, and RB-1 allele losses are seen in sporadic lung, breast, prostate and bladder carcinomas. RB-1 is expressed in most, if not all, tissues and codes for a nuclear phosphoprotein which becomes hypophosphorylated in the G0 growth arrest state and in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. To gain a further insight into the role of RB-1 we and other groups have generated mice carrying an inactivated allele of the homologous gene, Rb-1 (ref. 10), by gene targeting. We report here that young heterozygous mice do not appear abnormal and do not develop retinoblastoma at a detectable frequency. However, homozygous mutant embryos fail to reach term and show a number of abnormalities in neural and haematopoietic development. Broadly similar results are reported by the other groups.     

花生种子萌发前期生理与提高种质的途径

花生种子吸胀后迅速修复膜系统的完整性，调动各种代谢过程，导致蛋白质、ＲＮＡ及ＤＮＡ的生物合成，包括ＤＮＡ的修复，这些生理生化过程反映了种子品质水平，发生劣变的种子，膜修复延迟，代谢活性减弱，蛋白质和核酸生物合成能力下降。应用Ｃａ￣（２＋）和多胺预处理或ＰＥＧ渗调可改善种子萌发前期的生理状态，提高播种品质。     

Function of Rieger syndrome gene in left-right asymmetry and craniofacial development.

Rieger syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder, includes ocular, craniofacial and umbilical abnormalities. The pitx2 homeobox gene, which is mutated in Rieger syndrome, has been proposed to be the effector molecule interpreting left-right axial information from the early embryonic trunk to each organ. Here we have used gene targeting in mice to generate a loss-of-function allele that would be predicted to result in organ randomization or isomerization. Although pitx2-/- embryos had abnormal cardiac morphogenesis, mutant hearts looped in the normal direction. Pitx2-/- embryos had correctly oriented, but arrested, embryonic rotation and right pulmonary isomerism. They also had defective development of the mandibular and maxillary facial prominences, regression of the stomodeum and arrested tooth development. Fgf8 expression was absent, and Bmp4 expression was expanded in the branchial-arch ectoderm. These data reveal a critical role for pitx2 in left-right asymmetry but indicate that pitx2 may function at an intermediate step in cardiac morphogenesis and embryonic rotation.