Evolution of human influenza A viruses over 50 years: rapid, uniform rate of change in NS gene

Variation in influenza A viruses was examined by comparison of nucleotide sequences of the NS gene (890 bases) of 15 human viruses isolated over 53 years (1933 to 1985). Changes in the genes accumulate with time, and an evolutionary tree based on the maximum parsimony method can be constructed. The evolutionary rate is approximately 2 X 10(-3) substitution per site per year in the NS genes, which is about 10(6) times the evolutionary rate of germline genes in mammals. This uniform and rapid rate of evolution in the NS gene is a good molecular clock and is compatible with the hypothesis that positive selection is operating on the hemagglutinin (or perhaps some other viral genes) to preserve random mutations in the NS gene.     

Evidence for biased gene conversion in concerted evolution of ribosomal DNA

Concerted evolution is the production and maintenance of homogeneity within repeated families of DNA. Two mechanisms--unequal crossing over and biased gene conversion--have been the principal explanations of concerted evolution. Concerted evolution of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) arrays is thought to be largely the result of unequal crossing over. However, concerted evolution of rDNA in parthenogenetic lizards of hybrid origin is strongly biased toward one of two parental sequences, which is consistent with biased gene conversion as the operative mechanism. The apparent gene conversions are independent of initial genome dosage and result in homogenization of rDNA arrays across all nucleolar organizer regions.     

The evolutionary fate and consequences of duplicate genes

Gene duplication has generally been viewed as a necessary source of material for the origin of evolutionary novelties, but it is unclear how often gene duplicates arise and how frequently they evolve new functions. Observations from the genomic databases for several eukaryotic species suggest that duplicate genes arise at a very high rate, on average 0.01 per gene per million years. Most duplicated genes experience a brief period of relaxed selection early in their history, with a moderate fraction of them evolving in an effectively neutral manner during this period. However, the vast majority of gene duplicates are silenced within a few million years, with the few survivors subsequently experiencing strong purifying selection. Although duplicate genes may only rarely evolve new functions, the stochastic silencing of such genes may play a significant role in the passive origin of new species.     

广西巴马小型猪内源性反转录病毒进化年代分析

【目的】确定广西巴马小型猪内源性反转录病毒（PERV-BM）的进化年代。【方法】对先前扩增、测序获得的 9个PERV-BM的LTRs,一个PERV-BM全长基因组序列,登录号为HM159246及GenBank上发表的所有背景清楚的猪内源性反转录病毒（PERV）的LTRs及env序列进行分析。首先利用DAMBE软件对上述序列比对分析,合并同源性较高的,筛选有差异代表性的核酸序列的数据集。然后利用MEGA5.2软件Neighbor-Joining方法计算PERV-BM遗传进化关系。利用DAMBE软件对上述筛选的序列集进行替换饱和度计算,分析核酸进化速率的稳定性;利用MEGA5.2软件,通过最大相似法对筛选数据制作的遗传进化树进行分子钟行为分析。最后对广西封闭群内的广西巴马小型猪3′-LTR序列进行替代饱和度及分子钟分析,对符合分子钟行为的LTRs序列,以假设的恒定进化速率计算PERV-BM的进化年代。【结果】经过DAMBE软件分析后,选出80多个GenBank上发表的有代表性的env、LTRs序列数据集。对PERV-BM (HM159246) 序列全长遗传进化分析显示,PERV-BM与中国的PERV核酸序列EF133960和GU980187,荷兰的AF356697亲缘关系较近,与韩国的HQ540595和美国的AF038600和NC_003059亲缘关系则较远。利用DAMBE软件对筛选数据集替换饱和度检测结果显示,S和V值随PERV序列之间进化分歧的增加呈线性的增加。LTRs序列数据集替换饱和曲线呈线性关系,没有替换饱和现象发生,LTRs的进化随时间持续且稳定。数据集env序列替换饱和曲线不完全呈线性关系,表明env序列集进化速率不稳定。利用MEGA5.2的最大相似法对LTRs和env数据集的进化树进行分子钟行为检测结果显示,LTRs序列集接受分子钟假说,env进化不符合分子钟行为,这和不饱和度检测的结果一致。因此可用LTRs进化的近分子钟行为进行PERV进化年代的计算。利用DAMBE软件对广西封闭群内的广西巴马小型猪3′-LTR序列进行替代饱和度及分子钟分析结果显示,3′-LTR的进化符合分子钟行为可用于进化年代计算。假设以灵长类ERV的积累突变率,每个核苷酸每年的替换率2.3×10^-9-5.0×10^-9,计算PERV-BM约进化于3.3×10⁶-7.1×10⁶年前。【结论】PERV-BM进化年代与欧洲小型猪PERV进化时间7.6×10⁶年前相近。     

Timing the ancestor of the HIV-1 pandemic strains

HIV-1 sequences were analyzed to estimate the timing of the ancestral sequence of the main group of HIV-1, the strains responsible for the AIDS pandemic. Using parallel supercomputers and assuming a constant rate of evolution, we applied maximum-likelihood phylogenetic methods to unprecedented amounts of data for this calculation. We validated our approach by correctly estimating the timing of two historically documented points. Using a comprehensive full-length envelope sequence alignment, we estimated the date of the last common ancestor of the main group of HIV-1 to be 1931 (1915-41). Analysis of a gag gene alignment, subregions of envelope including additional sequences, and a method that relaxed the assumption of a strict molecular clock also supported these results.     

Molecular and genomic data identify the closest living relative of primates

A full understanding of primate morphological and genomic evolution requires the identification of their closest living relative. In order to resolve the ancestral relationships among primates and their closest relatives, we searched multispecies genome alignments for phylogenetically informative rare genomic changes within the superordinal group Euarchonta, which includes the orders Primates, Dermoptera (colugos), and Scandentia (treeshrews). We also constructed phylogenetic trees from 14 kilobases of nuclear genes for representatives from most major primate lineages, both extant colugos, and multiple treeshrews, including the pentail treeshrew, Ptilocercus lowii, the only living member of the family Ptilocercidae. A relaxed molecular clock analysis including Ptilocercus suggests that treeshrews arose approximately 63 million years ago. Our data show that colugos are the closest living relatives of primates and indicate that their divergence occurred in the Cretaceous.     

Diversity of human copy number variation and multicopy genes

Copy number variants affect both disease and normal phenotypic variation, but those lying within heavily duplicated, highly identical sequence have been difficult to assay. By analyzing short-read mapping depth for 159 human genomes, we demonstrated accurate estimation of absolute copy number for duplications as small as 1.9 kilobase pairs, ranging from 0 to 48 copies. We identified 4.1 million "singly unique nucleotide" positions informative in distinguishing specific copies and used them to genotype the copy and content of specific paralogs within highly duplicated gene families. These data identify human-specific expansions in genes associated with brain development, reveal extensive population genetic diversity, and detect signatures consistent with gene conversion in the human species. Our approach makes ~1000 genes accessible to genetic studies of disease association.     

Chromosomal location and evolutionary rate variation in enterobacterial genes

The basal rate of DNA sequence evolution in enterobacteria, as seen in the extent of divergence between Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, varies greatly among genes, even when only "silent" sites are considered. The degree of divergence is clearly related to the level of gene expression, reflecting constraints on synonymous codon choice. However, where this constraint is weak, among genes not expressed at high levels, divergence is also related to the chromosomal location of the gene; it appears that genes furthest away from oriC, the origin of replication, have a mutation rate approximately two times that of genes near oriC.     

锈色粒肩天牛幼虫的COⅠ、COⅡ、Cytb和28S基因片段序列分析

  目的  基于分子生物学手段，探讨可快速准确鉴别锈色粒肩天牛Apriona swainsoni幼虫与其他天牛幼虫的目标基因，为该保健昆虫的食药用安全提供保障。  方法  利用线粒体COⅠ、COⅡ、Cytb基因和28S细胞核基因的通用引物分别克隆获得4种基因片段，并进行同源序列检索、多重比对、序列信息分析及进化树构建。  结果  基因克隆最终获得锈色粒肩天牛4种基因序列的片段大小分别为817、545、434和1 088 bp。特殊位点分布结果显示:28S的保守位点占比最高，其后依次为Cytb、COⅠ和COⅡ，变异率则正好相反。COⅠ、COⅡ和Cytb基因片段的碱基组成和替换信息特点均表现为A+T含量>G+C含量，颠换高于转换，28S基因片段则表现为A+T含量  结论  COⅠ、COⅡ、Cytb和28S基因均可作为鉴定该虫的分子生物学参考依据。     

Evolutionary and preservational constraints on origins of biologic groups: divergence times of eutherian mammals

Some molecular clock estimates of divergence times of taxonomic groups undergoing evolutionary radiation are much older than the groups' first observed fossil record. Mathematical models of branching evolution are used to estimate the maximal rate of fossil preservation consistent with a postulated missing history, given the sum of species durations implied by early origins under a range of species origination and extinction rates. The plausibility of postulated divergence times depends on origination, extinction, and preservation rates estimated from the fossil record. For eutherian mammals, this approach suggests that it is unlikely that many modern orders arose much earlier than their oldest fossil records.     

The ecoresponsive genome of Daphnia pulex

We describe the draft genome of the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex, which is only 200 megabases and contains at least 30,907 genes. The high gene count is a consequence of an elevated rate of gene duplication resulting in tandem gene clusters. More than a third of Daphnia's genes have no detectable homologs in any other available proteome, and the most amplified gene families are specific to the Daphnia lineage. The coexpansion of gene families interacting within metabolic pathways suggests that the maintenance of duplicated genes is not random, and the analysis of gene expression under different environmental conditions reveals that numerous paralogs acquire divergent expression patterns soon after duplication. Daphnia-specific genes, including many additional loci within sequenced regions that are otherwise devoid of annotations, are the most responsive genes to ecological challenges.     

Molecular architecture and evolution of a modular spider silk protein gene

Spider flagelliform silk is one of the most elastic natural materials known. Extensive sequencing of spider silk genes has shown that the exons and introns of the flagelliform gene underwent intragenic concerted evolution. The intron sequences are more homogenized within a species than are the exons. This pattern can be explained by extreme mutation and recombination pressures on the internally repetitive exons. The iterated sequences within exons encode protein structures that are critical to the function of silks. Therefore, attributes that make silks exceptional biomaterials may also hinder the fixation of optimally adapted protein sequences.     

Draft genome of the filarial nematode parasite Brugia malayi

Parasitic nematodes that cause elephantiasis and river blindness threaten hundreds of millions of people in the developing world. We have sequenced the approximately 90 megabase (Mb) genome of the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi and predict approximately 11,500 protein coding genes in 71 Mb of robustly assembled sequence. Comparative analysis with the free-living, model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans revealed that, despite these genes having maintained little conservation of local synteny during approximately 350 million years of evolution, they largely remain in linkage on chromosomal units. More than 100 conserved operons were identified. Analysis of the predicted proteome provides evidence for adaptations of B. malayi to niches in its human and vector hosts and insights into the molecular basis of a mutualistic relationship with its Wolbachia endosymbiont. These findings offer a foundation for rational drug design.     

基于Diurnal在线软件分析拟南芥生物节律基因对GABA的响应

Diurnal是一个基于网络的在线分析工具,利用该工具可以得到几种模式植物基因组范围内的昼夜和生物钟节律基因表达的变化规律。这一在线分析软件是一个可供搜索的数据库,它提供了几个基于网络的界面友好的数据挖掘工具,其结果以一种易于理解的方式呈现。在该研究中首先介绍了这个在线软件的使用方法,然后分析了几个拟南芥生物钟节律基因和开花基因在长日照条件下的表达模型,这些结果可以以图形和数字的方式下载用于后续的特定研究。结合在线数据,该研究表明,γ-氨基丁酸（GABA在1.0mmol/L）可以改变3个生物钟核心节律基因（TOC1,CCA1和LHY）的表达模式,这种模式的改变主要是增加了这些基因表达的幅度。     

选择与适应:兰科植物查尔酮合酶基因家族成员的分子进化和功能趋异

回顾了近十五年来国内外对各科植物查尔酮合酶基因CHS分子进化的研究成果,并结合作者近年来对兰科植物CHS基因分子进化的研究结果,对兰科植物CHS基因分子进化和功能趋异的机制展开综述,揭示了植物中普遍存在的CHS基因分子进化以及伴随的功能趋异的现象和机制,初步探讨了CHS基因分子进化与生物进化和自然选择的关系。     

Conservation and novelty in the evolution of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix genes

New proteins and modules have been invented throughout evolution. Gene "birth dates" in Caenorhabditis elegans range from the origins of cellular life through adaptation to a soil habitat. Possibly half are "metazoan" genes, having arisen sometime between the yeast-metazoan and nematode-chordate separations. These include basement membrane and cell adhesion molecules implicated in tissue organization. By contrast, epithelial surfaces facing the environment have specialized components invented within the nematode lineage. Moreover, interstitial matrices were likely elaborated within the vertebrate lineage. A strategy for concerted evolution of new gene families, as well as conservation of adaptive genes, may underlie the differences between heterochromatin and euchromatin.     

Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA comparisons reveal extreme rate variation in the molecular clock

The discovery that the rate of evolution of vertebrate mitochondrial DNA is rapid, compared to the rate for vertebrate nuclear DNA, has resulted in its widespread use in evolutionary studies. Comparison of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA divergences among echinoid and vertebrate taxa of similar ages indicates that the rapid rate of vertebrate mitochondrial DNA evolution is, in part, an artifact of a widely divergent rate of nuclear DNA evolution. This disparity in relative rates of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA divergence suggests that the controls and constraints under which the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes operate are evolving independently, and provides evidence that is independent of fossil dating for a robust rejection of a generalized molecular clock hypothesis of DNA evolution.