Altered DNA ligase I activity in Bloom's syndrome cells

Cells from patients with Bloom's syndrome, a rare disease associated with increased cancer frequency, exhibit cytological abnormalities. These include increased numbers of homologous chromatid interchange figures and sister-chromatid exchanges, together with abnormally slow replicon-fork progression and retarded rate of DNA-chain maturation, and suggest that the primary defect in this recessive disorder affects S-phase DNA replication. DNA ligases and DNA polymerases have long been prime candidates for abnormality in Bloom's syndrome, but various studies of DNA polymerases in Bloom's syndrome cells have disclosed no abnormalities. Evidence is presented here, as in the accompanying paper from a different laboratory, for the existence in Bloom's syndrome of an abnormality of the DNA ligase involved in semi-conservative DNA replication.     

DNA ligase I deficiency in Bloom's syndrome

Certain rare human diseases with autosomal recessive mode of inheritance are associated with a greatly increased cancer frequency which may reflect specific defects in DNA repair or replication. These disorders include xeroderma pigmentosum, ataxia-telangiectasia, Fanconi's anaemia and Bloom's syndrome. Cells from individuals with Bloom's syndrome usually grow slowly in culture and exhibit increased chromosomal breakage and rearrangement, an elevated frequency of sister chromatid exchanges, retarded rates of progression of DNA replication forks, delayed conversion of replication intermediates to high-molecular-weight DNA, and slightly increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. Several of these features are also characteristic of Escherichia coli and yeast mutants with a defective DNA ligase. In this investigation we show that one of the two DNA ligases of human cells, ligase I, is defective in a representative lymphoid cell line of Bloom's syndrome origin.     

Large-scale analysis of the yeast genome by transposon tagging and gene disruption

Economical methods by which gene function may be analysed on a genomic scale are relatively scarce. To fill this need, we have developed a transposon-tagging strategy for the genome-wide analysis of disruption phenotypes, gene expression and protein localization, and have applied this method to the large-scale analysis of gene function in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we present the largest collection of defined yeast mutants ever generated within a single genetic background--a collection of over 11,000 strains, each carrying a transposon inserted within a region of the genome expressed during vegetative growth and/or sporulation. These insertions affect nearly 2,000 annotated genes, representing about one-third of the 6,200 predicted genes in the yeast genome. We have used this collection to determine disruption phenotypes for nearly 8,000 strains using 20 different growth conditions; the resulting data sets were clustered to identify groups of functionally related genes. We have also identified over 300 previously non-annotated open reading frames and analysed by indirect immunofluorescence over 1,300 transposon-tagged proteins. In total, our study encompasses over 260,000 data points, constituting the largest functional analysis of the yeast genome ever undertaken.     

竹叶花椒TPS基因家族全基因组分析

为了探究香料植物TPS基因家族的潜在功能,本研究以香料植物竹叶花椒(Zanthoxylum armatum DC.)为材料,利用生物信息学方法对其萜类合成酶基因家族的理化性质、基因重复类型、亚细胞定位、进化关系、染色体定位与共线性、基因结构和基因表达进行了系统地分析.我们在竹叶花椒全基因组中共鉴定到53个TPS基因家族成员,它们编码蛋白氨基酸长度为173～859 aa,分子量为20.21～98.44 kDa,等电点范围在4.87～9.10,主要定位于细胞质和叶绿体当中.进化分析显示,ZaTPSs可以划分为6个亚家族,TPS-a和TPS-b亚家族的成员最多.其中48个成员都包含TPS家族的保守基序motif1.染色体定位与共线性分析显示,53个成员在11条染色体上不均匀分布,存在4处串联重复,共线性分析证明竹叶花椒与其同科物种甜橙[Citrus sinensis(L.) Osbeck]的TPS基因有更近的基因进化关系.基因表达差异分析显示,ZaTPSs有一定的组织表达特异性,在幼花中表达量最高,其次是果皮.这些研究结果表明TPS基因家族在竹叶花椒果皮挥发油的合成和防御等方面发挥了重要作用...     

盐胁迫下拟南芥去乙酰化酶调控下游基因表达的转录组分析

胁迫是指植物持续地暴露在环境的刺激下,有能力建立保护和适应的机制。组蛋白的去乙酰化作为一种表观遗传现象,在植物适应环境中发挥了重要的作用。为了探究高盐胁迫下,组蛋白的去乙酰化酶在植物抵御和适应高盐胁迫中的作用,本研究以拟南芥野生型WT和四突（h2tq,HD2四个基因的突变体）为材料,采用RNA-seq技术和生物信息学方法,对生长10d的幼苗在高盐（150 mM NaCl）处理前和后进行比较转录组分析,并结合实时荧光定量PCR验证转录组数据的可靠性。结果显示：在高盐处理前WT和hd2q共有25个差异基因,其中上调基因2个,下调基因23个。在高盐处理后,WT和hd2q共有1407个差异基因,其中上调基因772个,下调基因635个。GO和KEGG分析显示,对照的差异基因主要富集在胞外区域和响应脱落酸上,盐处理的差异基因主要富集在胞外区域和细胞壁上。植物响应盐胁迫是一个涉及不同交叉途径的复杂过程,这些结果可为研究表观遗传在盐胁迫逆境下的刺激响应提供一定参考意义。     

T-cell specificity for H-2 and Ir gene phenotype correlates with the phenotype of thymic antigen-presenting cells

Experiments with chimaeric animals have demonstrated that the H-2 restriction specificity and immune response (Ir) gene phenotype of the T cell is acquired during development in the thymus. The mechanism by which this process occurs is unclear. One level of obligate expression of H-2 and Ir gene products is on the surface of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) which come from bone marrow precursors. We have now examined the turnover of APCs in the thymuses of F1 leads to parent (P) radiation-induced bone marrow chimaeras and found that APCs of donor phenotype appear at about 2 months after reconstitution. If the peripheral T-cell population is depleted after this time, new T cells emerging from the parental thymus (containing F1 APCs) behaving like F1 T cells, suggesting that cells from the bone marrow can influence thymic-directed T-cell differentiation. The thymic APC is an attractive condidate to play such a part in the development of the T-cell repertoire.     

Genome-wide genetic analysis of polyploidy in yeast

Polyploidy, increased sets of chromosomes, occurs during development, cellular stress, disease and evolution. Despite its prevalence, little is known about the physiological alterations that accompany polyploidy. We previously described 'ploidy-specific lethality', where a gene deletion that is not lethal in haploid or diploid budding yeast causes lethality in triploids or tetraploids. Here we report a genome-wide screen to identify ploidy-specific lethal functions. Only 39 out of 3,740 mutations screened exhibited ploidy-specific lethality. Almost all of these mutations affect genomic stability by impairing homologous recombination, sister chromatid cohesion, or mitotic spindle function. We uncovered defects in wild-type tetraploids predicted by the screen, and identified mechanisms by which tetraploidization affects genomic stability. We show that tetraploids have a high incidence of syntelic/monopolar kinetochore attachments to the spindle pole. We suggest that this defect can be explained by mismatches in the ability to scale the size of the spindle pole body, spindle and kinetochores. Thus, geometric constraints may have profound effects on genome stability; the phenomenon described here may be relevant in a variety of biological contexts, including disease states such as cancer.     

Impairment of angiogenesis and cell migration by targeted aquaporin-1 gene disruption

Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) is a water channel protein expressed widely in vascular endothelia, where it increases cell membrane water permeability. The role of AQP1 in endothelial cell function is unknown. Here we show remarkably impaired tumour growth in AQP1-null mice after subcutaneous or intracranial tumour cell implantation, with reduced tumour vascularity and extensive necrosis. A new mechanism for the impaired angiogenesis was established from cell culture studies. Although adhesion and proliferation were similar in primary cultures of aortic endothelia from wild-type and from AQP1-null mice, cell migration was greatly impaired in AQP1-deficient cells, with abnormal vessel formation in vitro. Stable transfection of non-endothelial cells with AQP1 or with a structurally different water-selective transporter (AQP4) accelerated cell migration and wound healing in vitro. Motile AQP1-expressing cells had prominent membrane ruffles at the leading edge with polarization of AQP1 protein to lamellipodia, where rapid water fluxes occur. Our findings support a fundamental role of water channels in cell migration, which is central to diverse biological phenomena including angiogenesis, wound healing, tumour spread and organ regeneration.     

Genome-wide atlas of gene expression in the adult mouse brain

Molecular approaches to understanding the functional circuitry of the nervous system promise new insights into the relationship between genes, brain and behaviour. The cellular diversity of the brain necessitates a cellular resolution approach towards understanding the functional genomics of the nervous system. We describe here an anatomically comprehensive digital atlas containing the expression patterns of approximately 20,000 genes in the adult mouse brain. Data were generated using automated high-throughput procedures for in situ hybridization and data acquisition, and are publicly accessible online. Newly developed image-based informatics tools allow global genome-scale structural analysis and cross-correlation, as well as identification of regionally enriched genes. Unbiased fine-resolution analysis has identified highly specific cellular markers as well as extensive evidence of cellular heterogeneity not evident in classical neuroanatomical atlases. This highly standardized atlas provides an open, primary data resource for a wide variety of further studies concerning brain organization and function.     

桃钙调磷酸酶B类似蛋白互作蛋白激酶基因家族鉴定与分析

钙调磷酸酶B类似蛋白互作蛋白激酶(CIPKs)在植物生长发育和抗逆过程中发挥着重要作用。为了对桃中CIPK家族基因进行系统分析,利用桃基因组数据库,通过生物信息学手段,鉴定桃CIPK家族基因的基因结构、染色体定位和编码蛋白,通过序列比对进行进化和分类分析。结果表明,桃基因组中含有18个CIPK基因,分布于桃的6条染色体上。MEME和Pfam保守结构域分析显示,桃CIPK蛋白均含有2个保守的PKinase和NAF结构域。进化树分析表明CIPKs可分为2个亚家族。Net Phos 2.0 Server结果显示Pp CIPKs存在着大量的丝氨酸(Ser)、苏氨酸(Thr)及酪氨酸(Tyr)潜在磷酸化位点。以上结果将为今后揭示桃CIPK蛋白的功能提供重要的理论基础。     

Bone marrow cells adopt the phenotype of other cells by spontaneous cell fusion

Recent studies have demonstrated that transplanted bone marrow cells can turn into unexpected lineages including myocytes, hepatocytes, neurons and many others. A potential problem, however, is that reports discussing such 'transdifferentiation' in vivo tend to conclude donor origin of transdifferentiated cells on the basis of the existence of donor-specific genes such as Y-chromosome markers. Here we demonstrate that mouse bone marrow cells can fuse spontaneously with embryonic stem cells in culture in vitro that contains interleukin-3. Moreover, spontaneously fused bone marrow cells can subsequently adopt the phenotype of the recipient cells, which, without detailed genetic analysis, might be interpreted as 'dedifferentiation' or transdifferentiation.     

Chromosome cohesion is regulated by a clock gene paralogue TIM-1

Faithful transmission of the genome requires that a protein complex called cohesin establishes and maintains the regulated linkage between replicated chromosomes before their segregation. Here we report the unforeseen participation of Caenorhabditis elegans TIM-1, a paralogue of the Drosophila clock protein TIMELESS, in the regulation of chromosome cohesion. Our biochemical experiments defined the C. elegans cohesin complex and revealed its physical association with TIM-1. Functional relevance of the interaction was demonstrated by aberrant mitotic chromosome behaviour, embryonic lethality and defective meiotic chromosome cohesion caused by the disruption of either TIM-1 or cohesin. TIM-1 depletion prevented the assembly of non-SMC (structural maintenance of chromosome) cohesin subunits onto meiotic chromosomes; however, unexpectedly, a partial cohesin complex composed of SMC components still loaded. Further disruption of cohesin activity in meiosis by the simultaneous depletion of TIM-1 and an SMC subunit decreased homologous chromosome pairing before synapsis, revealing a new role for cohesin in metazoans. On the basis of comparisons between TIMELESS homologues in worms, flies and mice, we propose that chromosome cohesion, rather than circadian clock regulation, is the ancient and conserved function for TIMELESS-like proteins.     

Genome-wide analysis of genetic alterations in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Chromosomal aberrations are a hallmark of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) but alone fail to induce leukaemia. To identify cooperating oncogenic lesions, we performed a genome-wide analysis of leukaemic cells from 242 paediatric ALL patients using high-resolution, single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays and genomic DNA sequencing. Our analyses revealed deletion, amplification, point mutation and structural rearrangement in genes encoding principal regulators of B lymphocyte development and differentiation in 40% of B-progenitor ALL cases. The PAX5 gene was the most frequent target of somatic mutation, being altered in 31.7% of cases. The identified PAX5 mutations resulted in reduced levels of PAX5 protein or the generation of hypomorphic alleles. Deletions were also detected in TCF3 (also known as E2A), EBF1, LEF1, IKZF1 (IKAROS) and IKZF3 (AIOLOS). These findings suggest that direct disruption of pathways controlling B-cell development and differentiation contributes to B-progenitor ALL pathogenesis. Moreover, these data demonstrate the power of high-resolution, genome-wide approaches to identify new molecular lesions in cancer.