Gene amplification of c-myc and N-myc in small cell carcinoma of the lung

The relationship of the copy numbers of the c-myc and N-myc oncogenes to tumor formation and progression was studied in small cell carcinoma of the lung. When 96 neoplastic lesions from 45 patients were examined, these lesions could be grouped into three categories: high copy (tumors with greater than 3 copies of the N-myc or c-myc gene per haploid genome), middle copy (1.5 to 3 copies per genome), and normal copy. Fourteen of the patients had middle copy tumors, but this was almost always a result of chromosome duplication rather than the amplification of a small genetic locus. In contrast, five patients had high copy tumors, with the increased copy number in each case due to gene amplification. The amplification did not occur in a heterogeneous fashion within individual patients, since all metastatic lesions from patients with high copy lung tumors were also high copy, while none of 41 metastatic lesions from the other patients were high copy. These data suggest that gene amplification is an important step in neoplastic growth in a subset of patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung and that this genetic event occurs relatively early (before metastasis) in this subset.     

Programmed gene rearrangements altering gene expression

Programmed gene rearrangements are used in nature to to alter gene copy number (gene amplification and deletion), to create diversity by reassorting gene segments (as in the formation of mammalian immunoglobulin genes), or to control the expression of a set of genes that code for the same function (such as surface antigens). Two major mechanisms for expression control are DNA inversion and DNA transposition. In DNA inversion a DNA segment flips around and is rejoined by site-specific recombination, disconnecting or connecting a gene to sequences required for its expression. In DNA transposition a gene moves into an expression site where it displaces its predecessor by gene conversion. Gene rearrangements altering gene expression have mainly been found in some unicellular organisms. They allow a fraction of the organisms to preadapt to sudden changes in environment, that is, to alter properties such as surface antigens in the absence of an inducing stimulus. The antigenic variation that helps the causative agents of African trypanosomiasis, gonorrhea, and relapsing fever to elude host defense is controlled in this way.     

利用PTVA法提高超氧化物歧化酶基因在毕赤酵母中的表达

为得到高表达超氧化物歧化酶毕赤酵母工程菌株,促进SOD的产业化生产,将来源于蜡样芽孢杆菌M22菌株的Mn-SOD-2基因转入毕赤酵母GS115中,构建了表达工程菌株YS 1～100。采用PTVA法(Posttransformational vector amplification)进行拷贝数扩增处理。建立了SOD重组菌株MMH(Minimal Methanol+Histidine)平板简易检测法,使用该法对转化子进行初筛,并用荧光定量PCR(Fluorescence quantitative PCR)法检测部分重组酵母工程菌中外源SOD基因的拷贝数。结果表明:试验中得到80株高抗Zeocin的菌株YSP 1～80,经MMH平板法筛选得到菌株YSP14、YSP30、YSP48和YSP54的SOD酶活性明显高于处理前;菌株YSP54的SOD基因的拷贝数达到8个拷贝,而处理前仅为1个拷贝;Native-Page分析与NBT酶活性测定显示菌株YSP54发酵上清液中的SOD酶活性达到150U/mL,为处理前的2倍。提高毕赤酵母中外源SOD基因的拷贝数可以相应提高SOD的酶活。     

核rDNA ITS分子标记在兰科植物研究中的应用

在植物基因组中核rDNA是高度重复的串联序列,其中18S rDNA与5.8S、26S rDNA共同构成一个转录单位。ITS(基因内转录间隔区)分布在18S-5.8S-26S区域,该区域包括3个部分:ITS1和ITS2以及位于它们之间高度保守的5.8S rDNA外显子区。兰科(Or-chidaceae)是单子叶植物中的第一大科,进化程度较高。文中介绍了ITS序列的结构特点,重点对ITS序列在兰科植物近缘种亲缘关系鉴定、系统进化及分子系统地理学研究中的应用及前景进行了综述。     

Activated expression of the N-myc gene in human neuroblastomas and related tumors

In neuroblastoma lines in which the N-myc gene is present as a single copy, the expression of N-myc as messenger RNA is increased relative to that in nonneuroblastoma cell lines and tumors. The increase of expression in neuroblastomas with amplified N-myc genes is the result of (i) an increase in the absolute amount of expression of each N-myc gene and (ii) an increase in the copy number of the N-myc gene. A second gene--which is amplified in many of the same lines as N-myc--is expressed to about the same degree in most human cell lines and primary tumors regardless of origin (when normalized to gene copy number). Thus, a change in the regulation of N-myc expression in neuroblastomas and certain other tumors results in greatly increased expression of each N-myc gene copy.     

Autogenous regulation of gene expression

A new term, autogenous regulation, is used to describe a phenomenon that is not a new discovery but rather is newly appreciated as a mechanism common to a number of systems in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In this mechanism the product of a structural gene regulates expression of the operon in which that structural gene resides. In many (perhaps all) cases, the regulatory gene product has several functions, since it may act not only as a regulatory protein but also as an enzyme, structural protein, or antibody, for example. In a few cases, this protein is the multimeric allosteric enzyme that catalyzes the first step of a metabolic pathway, gearing together the two most important mechanisms for controlling the biosynthesis of metabolites in bacterial cells-feedback inhibition and repression. Autogenous regulation may provide a mechanism for amplification of gene expression (84); for severe and prolonged inactivation of gene expression (85); for buffering the response of structural genes to changes in the environment (45, 52); and for maintaining a constant intracellular concentration of a protein, independent of cell size or growth rate (86). Thus, autogenous regulation provides the cell with means for accomplishing a number of different regulatory tasks, each suited to better satisfying the needs of the organism for its survival.     

转rolC基因八棱海棠组培苗生物学特性的研究

【目的】通过研究转rolC基因八棱海棠不同株系的转基因拷贝数，在转录水平上的表达丰度，以及转基因组培苗的生物学特性，为进一步深入阐明rolC基因在八棱海棠中的表达机制和培育优良的苹果砧木奠定理论基础。【方法】以通过gus染色和PCR检测的3个转rolC基因八棱海棠株系组培苗为试材。Southern杂交鉴定rolC基因整合拷贝数。Northern杂交鉴定rolC基因在转录水平上的表达丰度。调查转基因植株组培苗在含有不同种类和浓度的植物生长调节剂的培养基上茎段增殖、叶片再生、生根能力等生物学特性；将生根后的组培苗进行炼苗，移入温室4个月后，研究株高、节间数、节间长度、叶面积等生物学特性。【结果】Southern杂交结果表明，rolC基因分别整合进入3个八棱海棠株系基因组，其中株系20a和33a分别获得了1个rolC基因拷贝，株系20b获得了2个rolC基因拷贝。Northern杂交结果表明，3个转基因株系中的rolC基因均在转录水平上得到了表达，且该基因在单拷贝株系的表达丰度高于双拷贝株系。转基因组培苗生物学特性研究结果表明：（1）3个转rolC基因八棱海棠株系茎段增殖系数、叶片再生率、生根所需外源激素浓度均显著低于对照植株，单拷贝株系的以上指标亦显著低于双拷贝株系。（2）3个转基因八棱海棠株系组培苗平均生根数显著高于转基因株系，双拷贝株系显著低于单拷贝株系；根长情况正好相反；对照植株根粗和转基因株系根粗之间均无显著差异。（3）3个转基因八棱海棠株系的株高、节间长度、节间数、叶面积均显著小于对照植株。其中单拷贝株系显著小于双拷贝株系。【结论】rolC基因整合进入3个八棱海棠转基因株系基因组，并分别在转录水平上得到表达。外源rolC基因的表达导致转基因植株体内内源激素含量和植株形态学的改变，且rolC基因的整合拷贝数对它的表达有一定的影响。     

TaqMan探针与SYBR Green实时定量PCR法检测 转基因植物外源基因拷贝数的差异分析

探讨TaqMan探针与SYBR Green实时定量PCR 2种方法检测转基因植物外源基因的拷贝数方法的差异。以12株T0转基因水稻为材料,分别用TaqMan与SYBR Green实时定量PCR法检测其拷贝数,然后用SAS 9.1软件对2种方法的结果进行t检验分析。通过SAS对2组数据的t检验分析,在内参基因扩增效率与目的基因扩增效率接近时,SYBR Green与TaqMan探针法的结果接近,差异不显著;当内参基因与目的基因扩增效率差异明显时,SYBR Green与TaqMan探针法差异显著。在内参基因扩增效率与目的基因扩增效率接近时,SYBR Green法测定转基因植物外源基因的拷贝数时结果接近TaqMan探针法。     

转座子沉默与DNA甲基化

转座子(transposable elements,TEs)在生物体基因组可以通过转座或逆转座移动,它拷贝数的大规模增加是基因组不稳定的重要因素,因此,维持TEs沉默是宿主进化的方向。DNA甲基化被认为是沉默TEs的可遗传表观遗传修饰方式,同时也在维持基因组稳定、基因印迹、调节基因表达中发挥作用。本研究综述了TEs对生物基因组进化和基因表达的影响,重点总结了以DNA甲基化为主的转座子沉默机制的最新研究进展,归纳了环境因素通过DNA去甲基化调控转座子跳跃的机理。图4参82     

Hairpin RNAs and retrotransposon LTRs effect RNAi and chromatin-based gene silencing

The expression of short hairpin RNAs in several organisms silences gene expression by targeted mRNA degradation. This RNA interference (RNAi) pathway can also affect the genome, as DNA methylation arises at loci homologous to the target RNA in plants. We demonstrate in fission yeast that expression of a synthetic hairpin RNA is sufficient to silence the homologous locus in trans and causes the assembly of a patch of silent Swi6 chromatin with cohesin. This requires components of the RNAi machinery and Clr4 histone methyltransferase for small interfering RNA generation. A similar process represses several meiotic genes through nearby retrotransposon long terminal repeats (LTRs). These analyses directly implicate interspersed LTRs in regulating gene expression during cellular differentiation.     

基于定量PCR方法初步分析西藏开菲尔粒中细菌与酵母菌数量变化

运用实时荧光定量PCR方法分析西藏开菲尔粒中细菌与酵母菌的数量变化规律,需要有效提取其微生物总基因组DNA。本文通过同时添加溶菌酶与溶壁酶优化实验方案,成功获得西藏开菲尔粒中微生物的总基因组DNA。荧光定量PCR分析提取自培养1、4、8和12周的西藏开菲尔粒的微生物总基因组DNA,结果显示:4个时间点细菌16S rRNA与酵母菌26S rRNA基因拷贝数均分别约为每微升107拷贝与105拷贝,表明细菌与酵母菌的数量相对稳定。该结果为进一步研究西藏开菲尔粒中细菌与酵母菌间的共生关系奠定了一定的基础。     

Human lineage-specific amplification, selection, and neuronal expression of DUF1220 domains

Extreme gene duplication is a major source of evolutionary novelty. A genome-wide survey of gene copy number variation among human and great ape lineages revealed that the most striking human lineage-specific amplification was due to an unknown gene, MGC8902, which is predicted to encode multiple copies of a protein domain of unknown function (DUF1220). Sequences encoding these domains are virtually all primate-specific, show signs of positive selection, and are increasingly amplified generally as a function of a species' evolutionary proximity to humans, where the greatest number of copies (212) is found. DUF1220 domains are highly expressed in brain regions associated with higher cognitive function, and in brain show neuron-specific expression preferentially in cell bodies and dendrites.     

AID-driven deletion causes immunoglobulin heavy chain locus suicide recombination in B cells

Remodeling of immunoglobulin genes by activation-induced deaminase (AID) is required for affinity maturation and class-switch recombination in mature B lymphocytes. In the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus, these processes are predominantly controlled by the 3' cis-regulatory region. We now show that this region is transcribed and undergoes AID-mediated mutation and recombination around phylogenetically conserved switchlike DNA repeats. Such recombination, which we term locus suicide recombination, deletes the whole constant region gene cluster and thus stops expression of the immunoglobulin of the B cell surface, which is critical for B cell survival. The frequency of this event is approaching that of class switching and makes it a potential regulator of B cell homeostasis.     

A general method for the chromosomal amplification of genes in yeast

The yeast retrotransposon Ty can be used to insert multiple copies of a gene at new sites in the genome. The gene of interest is inserted into a GALI-Ty fusion construct; the entire "amplification cassette" is then introduced into yeast on a high copy number plasmid vector. Transposition of the Ty element carrying the gene occurs at multiple sites in the genome. Two genes, a bacterial neomycin phosphotransferase gene and the yeast TRPl gene, were amplified in this way. Although the amplified genes were about 1 kilobase in length, they were amplified to about the same extent as a 40-base pair segment. The benefit of this "shotgun" approach is that amplification can be achieved in one set of manipulations.     

RNA干扰机制及其主要蛋白因子研究进展

RNA干扰(RNA interference, RNAi)是由双链RNA(double stranded RNA, dsRNA)分子介导的、在mRNA水平上关闭相应序列基因表达、使其沉默的过程。RNAi作为一种古老而保守的基因沉默机制,广泛存在于真核生物体内,在细胞的发育调控、抗病毒防御、修复遗传损伤、调节正常的基因等生命过程中起着重要的作用。RNAi机制可以分为3个阶段：启动阶段、效应阶段及扩增阶段。RNAi干扰相关的主要蛋白因子有Dicer酶、Argonaute(AGO) 蛋白家族和RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶(RNA\|dependent RNA polymerase, RdRP)。文章对RNAi机制及其相关主要蛋白因子进行简要综述。