Prediction of central nervous system embryonal tumour outcome based on gene expression.

Embryonal tumours of the central nervous system (CNS) represent a heterogeneous group of tumours about which little is known biologically, and whose diagnosis, on the basis of morphologic appearance alone, is controversial. Medulloblastomas, for example, are the most common malignant brain tumour of childhood, but their pathogenesis is unknown, their relationship to other embryonal CNS tumours is debated, and patients' response to therapy is difficult to predict. We approached these problems by developing a classification system based on DNA microarray gene expression data derived from 99 patient samples. Here we demonstrate that medulloblastomas are molecularly distinct from other brain tumours including primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs), atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours (AT/RTs) and malignant gliomas. Previously unrecognized evidence supporting the derivation of medulloblastomas from cerebellar granule cells through activation of the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) pathway was also revealed. We show further that the clinical outcome of children with medulloblastomas is highly predictable on the basis of the gene expression profiles of their tumours at diagnosis.     

Frequent mutation of histone-modifying genes in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are the two most common non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). Here we sequenced tumour and matched normal DNA from 13 DLBCL cases and one FL case to identify genes with mutations in B-cell NHL. We analysed RNA-seq data from these and another 113 NHLs to identify genes with candidate mutations, and then re-sequenced tumour and matched normal DNA from these cases to confirm 109 genes with multiple somatic mutations. Genes with roles in histone modification were frequent targets of somatic mutation. For example, 32% of DLBCL and 89% of FL cases had somatic mutations in MLL2, which encodes a histone methyltransferase, and 11.4% and 13.4% of DLBCL and FL cases, respectively, had mutations in MEF2B, a calcium-regulated gene that cooperates with CREBBP and EP300 in acetylating histones. Our analysis suggests a previously unappreciated disruption of chromatin biology in lymphomagenesis.     

Mapping copy number variation by population-scale genome sequencing

Genomic structural variants (SVs) are abundant in humans, differing from other forms of variation in extent, origin and functional impact. Despite progress in SV characterization, the nucleotide resolution architecture of most SVs remains unknown. We constructed a map of unbalanced SVs (that is, copy number variants) based on whole genome DNA sequencing data from 185 human genomes, integrating evidence from complementary SV discovery approaches with extensive experimental validations. Our map encompassed 22,025 deletions and 6,000 additional SVs, including insertions and tandem duplications. Most SVs (53%) were mapped to nucleotide resolution, which facilitated analysing their origin and functional impact. We examined numerous whole and partial gene deletions with a genotyping approach and observed a depletion of gene disruptions amongst high frequency deletions. Furthermore, we observed differences in the size spectra of SVs originating from distinct formation mechanisms, and constructed a map of SV hotspots formed by common mechanisms. Our analytical framework and SV map serves as a resource for sequencing-based association studies.     

陆地棉红株基因(R1)的精细定位

利用陆地棉遗传背景的海岛棉染色体16置换系材料Sub16和陆地棉多基因标记系T586创建了含1259个单株的F₂作图群体, 结合本实验室最新的栽培四倍体棉种种间分子遗传图谱上染色体16的标记信息, 利用分子标记技术, 对红株基因R₁进行精细定位. 在F₂分离群体中, 红株性状分离比符合孟德尔1:2:1的分离, 进一步证明该性状是由一不完全显性单基因控制. 利用JoinMap 3.0连锁分析软件, 使用含237个单株的F₂小群体完成红株基因R₁的初级定位, 进一步利用含1259个单株的F₂大群体将该基因精细定位在NAU4956和NAU6752之间, 与最近标记的遗传距离为0.49 cM. 研究结果为进一步克隆该基因及培育红色彩棉转基因品种提供了研究基础.     

金属有机化学气相沉积薄膜制备中传热传质的数值模拟

建立水平式GaAs的金属有机化学气相沉积(metal-organic chemical vapor deposition,MOCVD)数学模型, 采用求解压力耦合方程的半隐式(SIMPLE)算法对反应气体流动进行二维数值模拟, 并基于边界层动量、热量与扩散传质的相关理论分析了薄膜制备过程中化学组分的输运, 以及反应前驱物与气相之间的传热过程. 计算所得的GaAs生长速率与实验结果吻合较好. 同时, 数值讨论了反应器进气流量、操作压力以及基底温度对GaAs生长速率的影响. 薄膜生长的速率峰值随入口气体速度的升高而有所增大, 但薄膜生长逐渐趋于不均匀性. 因此, 选取气流速度为0.104 m/s. 薄膜生长速率随着操作压力的增大而增大, 当压力为6 kPa时, GaAs生长速率较压力为2 kPa时提高了223%, 薄膜具有较好的生长速率和均匀性.基底温度对薄膜生长速率影响显著, 在1 050 K时薄膜有良好的生长速率和均匀性, GaAs生长速率比温度为950 K时提高了123%. 研究结果为优化MOCVD反应条件及其反应器的结构设计提供了理论依据.     

Patterns and rates of exonic de novo mutations in autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are believed to have genetic and environmental origins, yet in only a modest fraction of individuals can specific causes be identified. To identify further genetic risk factors, here we assess the role of de novo mutations in ASD by sequencing the exomes of ASD cases and their parents (n = 175 trios). Fewer than half of the cases (46.3%) carry a missense or nonsense de novo variant, and the overall rate of mutation is only modestly higher than the expected rate. In contrast, the proteins encoded by genes that harboured de novo missense or nonsense mutations showed a higher degree of connectivity among themselves and to previous ASD genes as indexed by protein-protein interaction screens. The small increase in the rate of de novo events, when taken together with the protein interaction results, are consistent with an important but limited role for de novo point mutations in ASD, similar to that documented for de novo copy number variants. Genetic models incorporating these data indicate that most of the observed de novo events are unconnected to ASD; those that do confer risk are distributed across many genes and are incompletely penetrant (that is, not necessarily sufficient for disease). Our results support polygenic models in which spontaneous coding mutations in any of a large number of genes increases risk by 5- to 20-fold. Despite the challenge posed by such models, results from de novo events and a large parallel case-control study provide strong evidence in favour of CHD8 and KATNAL2 as genuine autism risk factors.