基因进化的同义与非同义替代计算及统计检验的比较分析

基因氨基酸编码区的核苷酸具有不同替代速率.同义替代不引起氨基酸改变,它们基本是中性替代速率;非同义替代引起氨基酸变化,替代速率常常比同义替代速率低. 非同义(或同义)替代速率定义为单位时间(如1年)内或者一个世代内1个非同义(或同义)位点上发生替代的数目,用符号dN(或dS)来表示. 生物体内发生的非同义突变大多数属于有害突变,只有少数是中性突变或有利突变. 对有害的非同义突变来说,dN-dS＜1;而对于有利的非同义突变来说,dN-dS＞1. 仅仅通过比较dN和dS还不能确定是否就一定受到选择作用,还必须用统计学的方法来检验它们的真实性和可靠性. 计算dN和dS的方法有多种,常见的是4种:N-G模型、改进的N-G模型、Li-Wu-Luo模型和P-B-Li模型.4种方法从不同的角度计算编码区核苷酸的dN,dS值,它们各有特点,适合不同基因的计算.对dN,dS值进行统计检验的方法也有多种,常见的方法有5种:Z检验、Tajima‘s D 检验、Fu and Li检验、HKA检验和MK检验.这5种检验方法也各有特点,适合不同基因dN,dS值的检验.     

人类和黑猩猩染色体同义和非同义替代的非平行累积(英文)

为了揭示灵长类染色体的进化动态,以小鼠和狗作为外群,使用比较基因组学和生物信息学的方法,详细分析了人-小鼠、人-狗、黑猩猩-小鼠、黑猩猩-狗中的16427,15161,15802和14559同源基因.结果表明,人类和黑猩猩染色体16,19,21和22上的基因具有显著高的同义替代速率(dS).分析人类-小鼠-狗和黑猩猩-小鼠-狗的同源基因,发现不同系谱基因碱基的同义和非同义替代速率(dN)是相似的,揭示了这些物种基因的碱基替代速率经历着相似的进化选择压力.此外,结果也表明局部染色质环境(GC含量和基因密度)和染色体重组速率对人类染色体碱基替代的累积也有显著影响.     

山羊FGF5基因cDNA分子克隆及序列分析

采用逆转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)技术,首次从山羊脑组织总RNA中扩增出成纤维细胞生长因子5(FGF 5)基因的cDNA编码序列.通过对序列的分析表明,克隆的山羊FGF 5cDNA编码序列与其他动物的序列具有高度的同源性.与G enbank中人和小鼠序列比较,山羊与人和小鼠的FGF 5核苷酸序列的同源性分别为91%和87%.编码的氨基酸序列比较,山羊和人的相似性为87%,山羊与小鼠的相似性为83%.如FGF s家族的其他成员一样,山羊的FGF 5蛋白也有一信号肽序列.山羊FGF 5基因外显子在编码氨基酸时,对同义密码子的使用表现有强烈的偏好性.不同物种对同义密码子使用的偏倚程度与偏好类型各不相同,也具有种属特异性.山羊FGF 5基因所编码的蛋白质中,20种氨基酸的含量差异很大,极性氨基酸含量高于非极性氨基酸含量.     

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.     

Episodic evolution of prolactin gene in primates

In the present study, we obtained exon 2--5 of prolactin (PRL) gene from four primate species by PCR and sequencing. Adding other genes available in GenBank, we calculate amino acid substitution rates for prolactin gene in primate. Comparison of nonsynonymous substitution rate to synonymous substitution rate ratios shows no evidence of positive selection for any lineage of primate prolactin gene.According to this and the facts that (i) no sites under positive selection are inferred by using maximum-likelihood method;(ii) among 32 amino acid replacement that occurred along the rapid evolutionary phase, only two are included in the 40 functionally important residues, indicating that amino acid replacement tends to occur in those functionally unimportant residues; (iii) partial of prolactin function is replaced by placental lactogen in primate at the rapid evolutionary phase of prolactin gene, we thus deem that it is relaxation of purifying selection to some extent rather than positive selection that enforces the rapid evolution of primate prolactin gene.     

Comparison between phylogeny of introns and exons in primates

Introns and exons of 7 genes ( epsilon globin, gamma-1 globin, gamma-2 globin, delta globin, beta globin, Immunoglobulin and prepro-insulin) in primates have been separated out and used to infer phylogeny respectively. For each gene, results based on these two parts have been compared and showed that: ( i ) the topology of introns is almost consistent with that of exons in each gene, while the branch length of them varies, because of the different mutation rate; ( ii ) there is evidence that the substitution rate of exons would decrease in hominoids, but that of introns would not; (iii) divergence time of orangutan deduced from different genes based on exons is various, while that based on introns is much similar, and consistent with fossil records; (iv) there is a relationship between the G + C content and the substitution rate. When the substitution rate of introns is higher than exons in a gene, the G + C content of introns is less. The above results suggest that introns could provide useful evolutionary information among closely related species.     

Comparison between phylogeny of introns and exons in primate

Introns and exons of 7 genes (epsilon globin, gamma-1 globin, gamma-2 globin, delta globin, beta globin, Immunoglobulin andprepro-insulin) in primates have been separated out and used to infer phylogeny respectively. For each gene, results based on these two parts have been compared and showed that: (i) the topology of introns is almost consistent with that of exons in each gene, while the branch length of them varies, because of the dierent mutation rate; (ii) there is evidence that the substitution rate of exons would decrease inhominoids, but that of introns would not; (iii) divergence time of orangutan deduced from different genes based on exons is various, while that based on introns is much similar, and consistent with fossil records; (iv) there is a relationship between the G + C content and the substitution rate. When the substitution rate of introns is higher than exons in a gene, the G + C content of introns is less. The above results suggest that introns could provide useful evolutionary information among closety related species.     

敏捷气热菌密码子及AUG侧翼序列保守性分析

比较敏捷气热菌和大肠杆菌等9种编码GC含量．以及各异生物的密码子使用情况．结果表明,与敏捷气热菌编码区GC含量比较接近的果蝇．在密码子使用上与之相差最小．它们在分类学上分别属于不同的域,与敏捷气热菌同属古菌．但GC含量相差较大的强烈炽热球菌．则相差较大．说明编码区GC含量对密码子使用偏好．比生物分类学(系统发育)地位更重要．碱基A．C在高、低表达基因中出现的概率差别较大．尤其在-1,-3,-4和7位点;碱基A,C在调控翻译起始效率中的作用．可能大于碱基G,U。因为碱基G,U在高表达和低表达基因中．其出现的概率差别不大．高表达和低表达基因起始密码子侧翼序列中．某些位点保守性存在差异．其中高表达基因-1位和-3全可能与其高表达特性有关．     

Pattern of nucleotide substitution at major histocompatibility complex class I loci reveals overdominant selection

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci are known to be highly polymorphic in humans, mice and certain other mammals, with heterozygosity as high as 80-90% (ref. 1). Four different hypotheses have been proposed to explain this high degree of polymorphism: (1) a high mutation rate, (2) gene conversion or interlocus genetic exchange, (3) over dominant selection and (4) frequency-dependent selection. In an attempt to establish which of these hypotheses is correct, we examined the pattern of nucleotide substitution between polymorphic alleles in the region of the antigen recognition site (ARS) and other regions of human and mouse class I MHC genes. The results indicate that in ARS the rate of nonsynonymous (amino acid altering) substitution is significantly higher than that of synonymous substitution in both humans and mice, whereas in other regions the reverse is true. This observation, together with a theoretical study and other considerations, supports the hypothesis of overdominant selection (heterozygote advantage).     

哺乳动物MHC密码子使用概率的聚类分析

利用系统聚类分析方法对随机选取的3种哺乳动物的60个主要组织相容性复合体（MHCⅠ类和Ⅱ类）基因的mRNA序列进行了同义密码子使用概率偏性研究。结果发现，不同物种的MHC基因群中类型相同的基因具有相近的同义密码子使用偏性，而对于同一类型的基因由物种引起的同义密码子使用偏性的差异较小。即功能和类型决定密码子使用模式的大的分类，而物种决定该大类中进一步的差异。基因密码子偏向性的研究对于大幅度增加目标蛋白的产量具有重要的意义。该结果也为基因分类和基因功能的预测提供了新的生物信息学方法。     

苦荞蛋白磷酸酶2C家族的鉴定及表达分析

为了研究苦荞蛋白磷酸酶2C(PP2C)家族的成员和分类,及后续探究其在苦荞生长发育中的功能,本文利用生物信息学方法对苦荞PP2C家族进行鉴定、分类,并对其基因结构、保守基序、分子进化等进行分析.结果表明,苦荞PP2C家族有81个成员,划分为A-K的11个亚族,并且在同亚族中序列特征相似,而不同亚族间序列特征有一定差异;苦荞PP2C家族有14次基因重复事件.此外,qRT-PCR分析结果表明其A亚族基因在苦荞根、茎、叶、花、果中均有表达,除FtPP2C44外的8个基因在苦荞花、果中表达量较高;在苦荞幼苗中,除FtPP2C08外的8个基因均受ABA诱导表达量上调.上述结果揭示了苦荞PP2C家族的成员组成、序列特征、扩增和其A亚族基因的组织表达模式及受ABA诱导表达情况.     

Tobacco floral homeotic gene homologues: partial sequence and expression pattern

Using PCR approach, three cDNA sequences, NTSQUA4, NTSQUA12 and NTSQUA15, were amplified from first_strand cDNAs of wild tobacco flower buds and identified as homologues for floral homeotic genes. All the three clones contained domains that a floral homeotic gene generally had, i.e. I domain, K domain and C_terminal domain except MADS_ box since the PCR primers were designed beyond this region. In addition, the amino acid sequences of them showed 50%-60% identity (70%-80% similarity) with the known floral organ identity class A gene AP1 and SQUA, possibly indicating that they are class A_like genes. NTSQUA4 and NTSQUA412 shared 95% identity in their amino acid sequence, while NTSQUA415 exhibited only 47% identity as compared with NTSQUA4 and NTSQUA12. Within tobacco flower, NTSQUA4 was expressed in sepals, petals and carpels, but not in stamens, while NTSQUA15 was expressed in every whorl of the flower. The possible functions of these genes are discussed.     

簸箕柳SPL基因家族分析

【目的】确定SPL基因家族在不同物种之间的选择性保留和丢失情况,为后续研究被子植物花发育提供参考。【方法】通过在拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)、毛果杨(Populus trichocarpa)、簸箕柳(Salix suchowensis)、葡萄(Vitis vinifera)、番木瓜(Carica papaya)、水稻(Oryza sativa)6种被子植物基因组中查找SPL结构域,寻找6个物种的SPL同源序列。对所找到的SPL序列进行BLASTN比对鉴定同源基因类型。使用自编Perl脚本结合KaKs_Calculator计算SPL同源基因的非同义突变(K_a)以及同义突变(K_s)值,采用共线性分析确定该基因家族的复制和扩张方式。【结果】在6种被子植物基因组中,共发现120个SPL基因。根据种内和种间旁系同源、直系同源基因以及这些同源基因选择压的计算显示:杨柳科SPL同源基因最多,共有旁系同源基因24对,直系同源基因50对; 番木瓜没有旁系同源基因。6个物种中,木本植物比草本植物直系同源基因更多,双子叶植物比单子叶植物直系同源基因更多; 所有旁系同源和直系同源基因的K_a/K_s值均小于1。系统发育树的分析结果与基因同源性分析基本吻合,证明了这两种分析方法具有较高的可靠性。此次研究选取了簸箕柳同一植株上开花和不开花的枝条进行了转录组测序分析,差异表达分析发现了1个SPL基因(willow_GLEAN_10025160)在两种枝条的转录组中表达差异显著(P≤0.01),其在开花枝条中的表达量显著高于未开花枝条,该基因被选为SPL基因家族中参与簸箕柳开花调控的候选基因。【结论】通过对6个物种SPL基因家族的分析,发现6个物种中所有直系同源和旁系同源基因都经历了纯化选择(K_a/K_s<1),基因功能保守。这6个物种除了经历过全基因组复制事件,还发生过大规模的基因丢失或者通过其他方式产生的基因扩张,阐明了它们在进化历史上的复制事件及SPL基因在不同物种中的选择性保留与丢失情况,为进一步研究其在调控簸箕柳开花中的作用提供了有力证据。     

Molecular evolution of connective tissue growth factor in Cyprinidae （Teleostei： Cypriniformes）

Connective tissue growth factor （CTGF） plays an important role in regulation of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis and individual development in animals. The study of sequences variation and molecular evolution of CTGF gene across various species of the cyprinid could be helpful for understanding of speciation and gene divergence in this kind of fish. In this study, 19 novel sequences of CTGF gene were obtained from the representative species of the family Cyprinidae using PCR amplification, cloning and sequencing. Phylogenetic relationships of Cyprinidae were reconstructed by neighbor-joining （NJ）, maximum parsimony （MP）, maximum likelihood （ML） and Bayesian method. Oryzias latipes from the family Cyprinodontidae was assigned to be the outgroup taxon. Leuciscini and Barbini were clustered into the monophyletic lineages, respectively, with the high nodal supports. The estimation of the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution （dN/dS） for the various branches indicated that there stood the different evolution rates between the Leuciscini and the Barbini. With the ratio of dN/dS of the Leuciscini being lower than that of the Barbini, species within the Barbini were demonstrated to be subjected to the relatively less selection pressure and under the relaxable evolution background. A 6 bp indel （insertion/deletion） was found at the 5＇ end of CTGF gene of Cyprinidae, and this 6 bp deletion only appeared in the Leuciscini, which is a typical characteristic of the Leuciscini and provides evidence for the monophylogeny of the Leuciscini. For the amino acid sequences of CTGF protein, the most variations and indels were distributed in the signal region and IGFBP region of this protein, implying that these variations were correlated with the regulation of the CTGF gene expression and protein activity.     

基于叶绿体基因组全序列分析真叶植物叶绿体基因的适应性进化

 真叶植物包括蕨类、裸子植物和被子植物。迄今已积累有较为丰富的真叶植物叶绿体基因组全序列数据。选取了29种真叶植物的叶绿体基因组全序列,采用PAML 软件基于位点间可变ω模型,分别分析了蕨类、裸子植物和被子植物叶绿体基因的适应性进化。结果显示：① 蕨类、裸子植物和被子植物各有6.5%、7.5%和19.2%的叶绿体基因受正选择作用;被子植物经历正选择的叶绿体基因明显比蕨类和裸子植物为多;② 被正选择作用的叶绿体基因主要是遗传系统和光合系统基因,它们的编码产物涉及叶绿体蛋白质合成、基因转录、能量转化与调节及光合作用等过程。推测叶绿体功能基因可能在真叶植物对陆生生态环境的适应过程中起着重要作用。     

DELLA基因家族在被子植物中的系统演化关系

基于被子植物各主要分支代表类群的DELLA氨基酸序列，开展它们在被子植物中演化关系的系统发育分析.DELLA基因家族在双子叶植物早期演化阶段经历了一次复制事件，形成2大分支，每支都包含相应的蔷薇类和菊类；单子叶植物没有经历早期的复制事件，所有的DELLA基因聚在一起形成单一的支系.另外，证实了在被子植物的双子叶植物中存在第3个DELLA基因支系.     

Evolution of genetic mechanisms controlling petal development.

Molecular genetic studies in Arabidopsis thaliana and other higher-eudicot flowering plants have led to the development of the 'ABC' model of the determination of organ identity in flowers, in which three classes of gene, A, B and C, are thought to work together to determine organ identity. According to this model, the B-class genes APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI) act to specify petal and stamen identity. Here we test whether the roles of these genes are conserved throughout the angiosperms by analysing the expression of AP3 and PI orthologues in the lower eudicot subclass Ranunculidae. We show that, although expression of these orthologues in the stamens is conserved, the expression patterns in the petals differ from those found in the higher eudicots. The differences between these expression patterns suggest that the function of AP3 and PI homologues as B-class organ-identity genes is not rigidly conserved among all angiosperms. These observations have important implications for understanding the evolution of both angiosperm petals and the genetic mechanisms that control the identities of floral organs.     

Molecular evolution of the exon 2 of CHS genes and the possibility of its application to plant phylogenetic analysis

The exon 2 of chalcone synthase (CHS) gene is relatively conserved during evolution. In this study, three exon 2 fragments from two species in gymnosperm (Cycas panzhihuaensis, Ginkgo biloba) and seven from four species in angiosperm (Magnolia denudata, Salix babylonica, Nymphaea tetragona, Camellia japonica) have been amplified by PCR from genomic DNA and sequenced. Together with other 73 sequences ofCHS collected from EMBL database and literature, these sequences, which embrace 19 families of gymnosperm and angiosperm, have been analyzed for their phylogenetic relations by parsimony method. The result indicated that sequences from the same systematic family usually grouped together except those from Theaceae, Magnoliaceae and Nymphaeaceae. The relative rate test revealed the rate heterogeneity of CHS genes among the families. For the nucleotide substitution the sequences from Asteraceae and Solanaceae evolve faster than those from the other families analyzed while the sequences from Poaceae, Asteraceae and Solanaceae evolve faster for the nonsynonymous substitution. These results suggest that the duplication and extinction events of CHS genes are different among systematic families, therefore it seems impractical to look for orthologous sequences from CHS genes to study plant phylogeny at the family level andlor above. However, it is possible to do so below the family level.     

Evolutionary genomics: detecting selection needs comparative data

Positive selection at the molecular level is usually indicated by an increase in the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) in comparative data. However, Plotkin et al. describe a new method for detecting positive selection based on a single nucleotide sequence. We show here that this method is particularly sensitive to assumptions regarding the underlying mutational processes and does not provide a reliable way to identify positive selection.     

Characterization of codon usage bias in the dUTPase gene of duck enteritis virus

A comparative analysis of the codon usage bias in the newly discovered dUTPase gene （Assigned Accession No.： DQ486149） of the duck enteritis virus （DEV） and the dUTPase gene of 32 reference herpesviruses was performed. The results indicated that the DEV dUTPase gene encodes a protein of 477 amino acids, which includes five conserved motifs with a 3-1-2-4-5 arrangement. The codon adaptation index （CAI）, effective number of codons （ENC）, and GC3s values indicated synonymous codon usage bias in the dUTPase gene of herpesviruses, and this synonymous bias was correlated with host evolution. The codon usage patterns of the DEV dUTPase gene were phylogenetically conserved and similar to that of the dUTPase genes of the avian alphaherpesvirus. Although codon usage in each microorganism was different, there were no strain-specific differences among them. Sixty-one codons in the predicted polypeptide, with a strong bias towards A and T at the third codon position, were used. Comparison of the codon usage in the dUTPase gene of different organisms revealed that there were 19 codons showing distinct codon usage differences between the DEV and Escherichia coli dUTPase genes; 16 between the DEV and yeast dUTPase genes; and 15 between the DEV and human dUTPase genes. Analysis of variance （ANOVA） showed significant differences between the DEV and yeast dUTPase genes （r = 0.536, P 〈 0.01）. The extent of codon usage bias in the DEV dUTPase gene was highly correlated with the gene expression level, therefore the results may provide useful information for gene classification and functional studies.