水稻Hsp70基因第一个内含子中snoRNA基因簇的保守性及分布特点

对水稻、野生稻和茭白Ｈｓｐ７０基因第一个内含子进行ＰＣＲ分析及部分序列测定，分析结果表明植物Ｈｓｐ７０基因内含子编码多个ｓｎｏＲＮＡ的基因组织具有一定的保守性和分布范围，揭示了植物内含子编码的ｓｎｏＲＮＡ在进化过程中具有比脊椎动物和酵母更加丰富的多样性和移动性．     

Intron-dependent evolution of chicken glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase gene

The function of introns in the evolution of genes can be explained in at least two ways: either introns appeared late in evolution and therefore could not have participated in the construction of primordial genes, or RNA splicing and introns existed in the earliest organisms but were lost during the evolution of the modern prokaryotes. The latter alternative allows the possibility of intron participation in the formation of primordial genes before the divergence of modern prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Blake suggested that evidence for intron-facilitated evolution of a gene might be found by comparing the borders of functional protein domains with the placement of introns. We therefore examined glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a glycolytic enzyme, because it is the first protein for which the following data are available: X-ray crystallographic studies demonstrating structurally independent protein 'domains' which were highly conserved during the divergence of prokaryotes and eukaryotes; and a study of genomic organization which mapped introns in the gene. Sequencing of the chicken GAPDH gene revealed 11 introns. We report here that sites of three of the introns (IV, VI and XI) correspond closely with the borders of the NAD-binding, catalytic and helical tail domains of the enzyme, supporting the hypothesis that introns did have a role in the evolution of primitive genes. In addition, other biochemical and structural data were used to construct a model of the intron-mediated assembly of the GAPDH gene that explains the existence of 10 introns.     

Repeated, recent and diverse transfers of a mitochondrial gene to the nucleus in flowering plants

A central component of the endosymbiotic theory for the bacterial origin of the mitochondrion is that many of its genes were transferred to the nucleus. Most of this transfer occurred early in mitochondrial evolution; functional transfer of mitochondrial genes has ceased in animals. Although mitochondrial gene transfer continues to occur in plants, no comprehensive study of the frequency and timing of transfers during plant evolution has been conducted. Here we report frequent loss (26 times) and transfer to the nucleus of the mitochondrial gene rps10 among 277 diverse angiosperms. Characterization of nuclear rps10 genes from 16 out of 26 loss lineages implies that many independent, RNA-mediated rps10 transfers occurred during recent angiosperm evolution; each of the genes may represent a separate functional gene transfer. Thus, rps10 has been transferred to the nucleus at a surprisingly high rate during angiosperm evolution. The structures of several nuclear rps10 genes reveal diverse mechanisms by which transferred genes become activated, including parasitism of pre-existing nuclear genes for mitochondrial or cytoplasmic proteins, and activation without gain of a mitochondrial targeting sequence.     

Introns in higher plant genes

The intron is an important component of eukaryotic gene. Extensive studies have been conducted to get a better understanding of its structure and function. This paper presents a brief review of the structure and function of introns in higher plant genes. It is shown that higher plant introns possess structural properties shared by all eukaryotic introns, however, they also exhibit a striking degree of diversity. The process of intron splicing in higher plant genes involves interaction between multiple cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors, such as 5′ splicing site, 3′ splicing site and many protein factors. The process of intron splicing is an important level at which gene expression is regulated. Especially alternative splicing of intron can regulate time and space of gene expression. In addition, some introns in higher plant genes also regulate gene expression by affecting the pattern of gene expression, enhancing the level of gene expression and driving the gene expression.     

Ubi1 intron-mediated enhancement of the expression of Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize （Zea mays L.）

The cry1Ah gene was one of novel insecticidal genes cloned from Bacillus thuringiensis isolate BT8. Two plant expression vectors containing cry1Ah gene were constructed. The first intron of maize ubiqutinl gene was inserted between the maize Ubiquitin promoter and cry1Ah gene in one of the plant expressing vectors （pUUOAH）. The two vectors were introduced into maize immature embryonic calli by microprojectile bombardment, and the reproductively plants were acquired. PCR and Southern blot analysis showed that foreign genes had been integrated into maize genome and inherited to the next generation stably. The ELISA assay to T1 and T2 generation plants showed that the expression of CrylAh protein in the construct containing the ubil intron （pUUOAH） was 20% higher than that of the intronless construct （pUOAH）. Bioassay results showed that the transgenic maize harboring cry1Ah gene had high resistance to the Asian corn borers and the insecticidal activity of the transgenic maize containing the ubil intron was higher than that of the intronless construct. These results indicated that the maize ubil intron can enhance the expression of the Bt cry1Ah gene in transgenic maize efficiently     

MHC polymorphism and disease-resistance to Edwardsiella tarda in six turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) families

This study examined genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex(MHC) Class II B gene in turbot(Scophthalmus maximus) by virulent bacterial pathogen challenge.One hundred fry from each of six families were infected with Edwardsiella tarda by intraperitoneal injection.Family mortality ranged from 28.0% to 83.3%.Complete exon 2 and intron 1 sequences of MHC Class II B genes were amplified from five survivor and five non-survivor individuals per family using the clone-sequence method.Thirty-seven sequences from 60 individuals revealed 37 different alleles,25 of which were unique to this study.The 25 unique alleles belonged to 16 major allele types.Nine alleles were used to examine the association between alleles and resistance/susceptibility to disease.Five alleles were present in an individual,suggesting a minimum of three loci or copies of the turbot MHC Class II B gene.The rate of non-synonymous substitution(d N) was 2.30 and 1.58 times higher than synonymous substitution(d S) in the peptide-binding regions(PBR) and non-PBR in whole families,respectively,which suggested balancing selection on exon 2 of the MHC Class II B gene in turbot.One allele,Scma-DBB1*02,was significantly more prevalent in survivor stock than in non-survivor stock(P=0.001).Therefore,this allele might be associated with resistance to bacteria.A second allele,Scma-DBB1*10,was significantly more prevalent in non-survivor stock(P=0.021),and is likely associated with susceptibility to bacteria.     

Randomization of protein encoding gene during species evolution

Employing chi-square teat, the authors observed the bias of 4 kinds of bases’ locating in 3 codon positions in gene sequence, and proved that there is a positive correlation between higher chi-square value and protein coding structure. By this, the observatlon that genes undergo progressive reduction in chi-values along evolution direction will reflect the progressive randomization of gene structures and the loss of the characteristics of protein coding sequences. The result proposed that during the evolution of life, genes are unexpectedly degenerating.     

Fine mapping of cisc(t), a gene for cold-induced seedling chlorosis, and identification of its candidate in rice

The seedlings of indica rice cultivar Dular are susceptible to chlorosis under low temperature conditions. Our previous studies indicated that low temperature-induced seedling chlorosis is controlled by a recessive gene, located between SSR markers RM257 and RM242, on the long arm of chromosome 9. We temporarily named the gene cisc(t). Using a large F₂ population derived from a cross between Dular and the japonica cultivar Lemont, which displays a normal green color at low temperatures, cisc(t) was fine mapped to within a 12-kb interval. There is only one annotated gene in this interval, which encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein. Sequence analysis indicated that 8 bases were deleted at the 60th base in the Dular allele, resulting in a frame-shift mutation and loss of function of the gene. This is consistent with the chlorosis mutant phenotype of Dular. In addition, previous studies have shown that many chlorosis mutants of seedlings are related to PPR proteins. Hence, we presume that the PPR gene is the candidate for cisc(t).     

Magnaporthe oryzae MTP1 gene encodes a type III transmembrane protein involved in conidiation and conidial germination

In this study the MTP1 gene, encoding a type III integral transmembrane protein, was isolated from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The Mtp 1 protein is 520 amino acids long and is comparable to the Ytp 1 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with 46% sequence similarity. Prediction programs and MTP1-GFP （green fluorescent protein） fusion expression results indicate that Mtp 1 is a protein located at several membranes in the cytoplasm. The functions of the MTP1 gene in the growth and development of the fungus were studied using an MTP1 gene knockout mutant. The MTP1 gene was primarily expressed at the hyphal and conidial stages and is necessary for conidiation and conidial germination, but is not required for pathogenicity. The Amtpl mutant grew more efficiently than the wild type strain on non-fermentable carbon sources, implying that the MTP1 gene has a unique role in respiratory growth and carbon source use.     

Independent evolution of structural and coding regions in a Neurospora mitochondrial intron

The discovery of intervening sequences (introns) in eukaryotic genes has raised questions about the origin and evolution of these sequences. Hypotheses concerning these topics usually consider the intron as a unit that could be lost or gained over time, or as a region within which recombination can occur to facilitate the production of new proteins by exon shuffling. Additional complexities are observed in introns of mitochondrial and chloroplast genes which contain secondary structures required for messenger RNA splicing and open-reading frames encoding proteins. Here we describe differences in the organization of protein-coding sequences in the intron of the mitochondrial ND1 gene in two closely related species of Neurospora. These differences show that intron sequences involved in secondary structure formation and in protein coding can evolve as physically distinct elements. Indeed, the secondary structure elements of the ND1 intron can contain two different coding sequences located at two different positions within the intron.     

Population dynamics of Pygoscelis penguins(1980–2012) and penguin dropping records(1916–2001) on Ardley Island of West Antarctica,in response to ENSO

El Nio-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)has affected penguins and their habitats in the western Antarctic Peninsula.We used both historical penguin population dynamics data(1980–2012)and sedimentary lipids in penguin droppings(1916–2001)on Ardley Island to examine the responses of the Antarctic ecosystem to ENSO(El Nin o/La Nin a)events.The results showed that during the last 30 years,climate,marine food chain changes,and human activity have significantly affected penguin population sizes on Ardley Island.The Chinstrap(Pygoscelis antarctica)and Ade′lie(P.adeliae)penguin populations showed a good correlation with ENSO events.The Chinstrap penguin population decreased significantly because it was more sensitive to increasing human disturbance(e.g.,scientific activity and tourism)than Ade′lie and Gentoo(P.papua),particularly during the breeding season.Compositional features of n-alkanes in penguin dropping sediments revealed that organic matter came from lower terrestrial plants,bacteria and algae.C23was the main nalkane heavy hydrocarbon indicating mosses and lichens in the penguin’s diet.Variation in the ratio of nC23/nC17was closely correlated with ENSO events.The bacteria intrusion index(ratio of(iC15:0?aC15:0)/nC15:0for fatty acids)reflected significant increases in microorganism activity during several periods in this area.Meanwhile,the CPIA value for fatty acids decreased because micro-organisms contributed light hydrocarbon fatty acids to penguin droppings.Our results showed that the fine structure and molecular indices of fatty acids and n-alkanes in penguin dropping sediments can be used to explain climate-driven microbial processes,and to reveal the important role that microbes and bacteria play in the relatively simple Antarctic ecosystem.     

Cloning,sequencing of the HSC70 gene in Ctenopharyngodon idella

A cDNA encoding heat shock cognate protein 70(HSC70)was cloned from liver of grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella)(GenBank JF436930).This cDNA was found out to contain2 346 bp in length,including 1 950 bp of complete coding sequence encoding 649 amino acids(aa),plus 89 bp of 5′-UTR and 307 bp of3′-UTR.Analysis of its genomic structure revealed that its corresponding gene contained seven exons and six introns.Homology analysis indicated that it shared 99%of identity with HSC70 of breams and 86%of identity with HSP70 of Drosophila.Fluorescent RT-PCR analysis revealed that at 28℃,this gene was expressed in abdominal fat,muscle,intestines,brain,middle kidney,head kidney,gonads,swim bladder,liver,heart,spleen,gills,and fins with expression level in liver being the highest(p0.05),followed by that in the gonads;at 36℃,its mRNA expression level was increased at first but then decreased thereafter under heat shock stress,indicating that its expression can be regulated by heat shock.In conclusion,cloning and expression analysis identified a cDNA encoding a constitutive HSP70 gene that is expressed in many tissues of Ctenopharyngodon idella and its expression was down-regulated by heat shock.     

A simple and effective method for total RNA isolation of appressoria in Magnaporthe oryzae

Appressorium formation is an important event in establishing a successful interaction between the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, and its host plant, rice. An understanding of molecular events occurring in appressorium differentiation will give new strategies to control rice blast. A quick and reliable method to extract total RNA from appressorium is essential for studying gene expression during appressorium formation and its mechanism. We found that duplicate film is an efficient substratum for appressorium formation, even when inoculated with high density conidia. When inoculated with conidia at 1 × 106 ml^-1, the percentages of conidium germination and appressorium formation were （97.98±0.67）% and （97.88±0.45）%, respectively. We applied Trizol before appressorium collection for total RNA isolation, and as much as 113.6 lag total RNA was isolated from the mature appressoria at 24 h after inoculation. Functional analysis of two genes, MNH6 and MgATG1, isolated from the cDNA subtractive library, revealed that the quantity of RNA was good enough to construct a cDNA （complementary DNA） library or a cDNA subtractive library. This method may be also applicable for the appressorium RNA isolation of other pathogenic fungi in which conidia differentiate into appressoria in the early stages of host infection.     

Construction and expression of inverted configuration of retroviral vector containing intron 1 of hFIX

Intron was found to play an important role in improving gene expression. To improve the human factor IX(hFIX) expression level in hemophilia B gene therapy study, the retroviral vector containing intron 1 of hFIX gene was constructed in forwarded configuration, but the intron 1 was found spliced in virus particles by RT_PCR detection. So the inverted configuration vector G1NaPAi′IX was suggested and constructed on the basis of SNMBAIXm and transfected into PA317. Then C2C12 cells were transfected using the above virus supernatant and the G418_resistant clones were selected. PCR and RT_PCR detection found that intron 1 structure existed in C2C12 clones and retroviral particles. And the expression level of inverted vector was 3 times higher than that of forwarded vector. These results showed that the inverted configuration vector was in deed able to avoid splicing of intron 1 during the process of retroviral packaging and improved the expression level of hFIX protein.     

Vertical adaptive radiation in ocean Prochlorococcus: Evolutionary implications of the Chl b/a ratio from molecular evidence

Prochlorococcus is a marine cyanobacterium of global significance. Two ecotypes are adapted to either high-light (HL) or low-light (LL) conditions. The ratio between chlorophyll (Chl) a and b is a distinguishing characteristic of these two ecotypes. However, how this ratio evolved in Prochlorococcus during this ecotype differentiation remains unclear. Our analyses reveal that the ancestor of Prochlorococcus was typically low-light adapted. The LL ecotype showed a stagnant evolution, and the HL ecotype was recently diverged. There was an adaptive radiation after directional evolution in the Chl b/a ratio regulation. Recombination in chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO) and positive selection on Clp protease contributed to the directional evolution of Prochlorococcus. The recombinant fragments of CAO were correlated with a large group of shared coevolving sites. Evidence of positive selection was found in both subunits of Clp. Chl b/a ratio evolution, as annotated by molecular evidence, appears to be among the crucial reasons that explain how Prochlorococcus has become the dominant photosynthetic organism in the ocean.     

Transfer of a eubacteria-type cell division site-determining factor CrldfnD 8ene to the nucleus from the chloroplast genome in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

MinD is a ubiquitous ATPase that plays a crucial role in selection of the division site in eubacteria, chloroplasts, and probably Archaea. In four green algae, MesosUgma viride, Nephroselmis olivacea, Chlorella vulgaris and Prototheca wickerhamii, MinD homologues are encoded in the plastid genome. However, in Arabidopsis, MinD is a nucleus-encoded, chloroplast-targeted protein involved in chloroplast division, which suggests that MinD has been transferred to the nucleus in higher land plants. Yet the lateral gene transfer （LGT） of MinD from plastid to nucleus during plastid evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we identified a nucleus-encoded MinD homologue from unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a basal species in the green plant lineage. Overexpression of CrMinD in wild type E. coil inhibited cell division and resulted in the filamentous cell formation, clearly demonstrated the conservation of the MinD protein during the evolution of photosynthetic eukaryotes. The transient expression of CrMinD-egfp confirmed the role of CrMinD protein in the regulation of plastid division. Searching all the published plastid genomic sequences of land plants, no MinD homologues were found, which suggests that the transfer of MinD from plastid to nucleus might have occurred before the evolution of land plants.