Functional divergence of former alleles in an ancient asexual invertebrate

Theory suggests it should be difficult for asexual organisms to adapt to a changing environment because genetic diversity can only arise from mutations accumulating within direct antecedents and not through sexual exchange. In an asexual microinvertebrate, the bdelloid rotifer, we have observed a mechanism by which such organisms could acquire the diversity needed for adaptation. Gene copies most likely representing former alleles have diverged in function so that the proteins they encode play complementary roles in survival of dry conditions. One protein prevents desiccation-sensitive enzymes from aggregating during drying, whereas its counterpart does not have this activity, but is able to associate with phospholipid bilayers and is potentially involved in maintenance of membrane integrity. The functional divergence of former alleles observed here suggests that adoption of asexual reproduction could itself be an evolutionary mechanism for the generation of diversity.     

Massive horizontal gene transfer in bdelloid rotifers

Horizontal gene transfer in metazoans has been documented in only a few species and is usually associated with endosymbiosis or parasitism. By contrast, in bdelloid rotifers we found many genes that appear to have originated in bacteria, fungi, and plants, concentrated in telomeric regions along with diverse mobile genetic elements. Bdelloid proximal gene-rich regions, however, appeared to lack foreign genes, thereby resembling those of model metazoan organisms. Some of the foreign genes were defective, whereas others were intact and transcribed; some of the latter contained functional spliceosomal introns. One such gene, apparently of bacterial origin, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and yielded an active enzyme. The capture and functional assimilation of exogenous genes may represent an important force in bdelloid evolution.     

A virophage at the origin of large DNA transposons

DNA transposons are mobile genetic elements that have shaped the genomes of eukaryotes for millions of years, yet their origins remain obscure. We discovered a virophage that, on the basis of genetic homology, likely represents an evolutionary link between double-stranded DNA viruses and Maverick/Polinton eukaryotic DNA transposons. The Mavirus virophage parasitizes the giant Cafeteria roenbergensis virus and encodes 20 predicted proteins, including a retroviral integrase and a protein-primed DNA polymerase B. On the basis of our data, we conclude that Maverick/Polinton transposons may have originated from ancient relatives of Mavirus, and thereby influenced the evolution of eukaryotic genomes, although we cannot rule out alternative evolutionary scenarios.     

Repeat-induced G-C to A-T mutations in Neurospora

In the Neurospora genome duplicate sequences are detected and altered in the sexual phase. Both copies of duplicate genes are inactivated at high frequency, whether or not they are linked. Restriction sites change, and affected sequences typically become heavily methylated. To characterize the alterations of the DNA, duplicated sequences were isolated before and after one or more sexual cycles. DNA sequencing and heteroduplex analyses demonstrated that the process (termed RIP) produces exclusively G-C to A-T mutations. Changes occur principally at sites where adenine is 3' of the changed cytosine. A sequence duplicated at a distant site in the genome lost approximately 10 percent of its G-C pairs in one passage through a cross. A closely linked duplication of the same sequence that was passed twice through a cross lost about half of its G-C pairs. The results suggest a mechanism for the RIP process.     

Lignin-like compounds and sporopollenin coleochaete, an algal model for land plant ancestry

Unusual cell wall structure and resistance to microbial degradation led to an investigation of resistant biopolymers in Coleochaete (Chlorophyta, class Charophyceae), a green alga on the evolutionary lineage that led to land plants. In Coleochaete that are undergoing sexual reproduction, vegetative cell walls contain material similar to lignin, a substance generally thought absent from green algae, and the zygote wall includes sporopollenin. Knowledge of chemically resistant compounds in Coleochaete may facilitate interpretation of the fossil record. Placental transfer cells in Coleochaete orbicularis and in the hornwort Anthoceros survive acetolysis and contain lignin-like compounds, implying a close relation between these taxa.     

甘肃、青海地区小麦条锈菌监测及群体遗传多样性分析

【目的】了解甘肃和青海小麦条锈菌(Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici)春季流行传播路线、群体遗传多样性和生殖模式,明确春季流行期两省小麦条锈菌的传播关系及菌源交流规律,进而为两省小麦条锈病的预测预报、确定越夏初始菌源来源和有效治理提供理论依据。【方法】选择条锈病常发生的地区作为调查和研究区域。甘肃省4个试验点:陇南市文县、陇东平凉市崆峒区、中部麦区定西市临洮县、临夏州临夏县;青海省2个试验点:西宁市城北区、海东市互助县。2017年秋季,在甘肃和青海省6个试验点内根据当地小麦播种适期依次种植82份变异观察圃材料。2018年4—8月,对试验点82份变异观察圃材料进行田间病害调查,并采集到551份小麦条锈菌标样,使用15对引物进行SSR分子标记分析。利用GenAlEx和POPPR v2.5.0软件对数据进行相关分析,不显著的rbarD值表示连锁平衡,用于推断群体是否发生有性重组。【结果】82份变异观察圃材料在甘肃地区发病比青海地区严重。15对引物组合共扩增出81个位点,每对引物组合产生的多态性位点为2—12个。551份样本克隆矫正后,共鉴定出505个多位点...     

25个油棕SSR标记的开发及应用这些标记评估油棕资源的遗传多样性

应用NCBI网站上公布的EST序列,挖掘SSR位点,并根据SSR位点的侧翼序列设计引物,对18份油棕资源的DNA进行了PCR扩增,扩增结果显示,在72对引物的PCR扩增中,25对引物具有多态性特征,并且其杂合度在0.1049和0.6605之间,平均杂合度为0.4702,这暗示了这些标记具有中度的多样性。同时,应用这些有多态性的标记评估了这些油棕资源的遗传多样性和群体结构,分析结构显示:椰子研究所油棕资源圃的遗传多样性最为丰富,此外,聚类分析表明不同位置来源的油棕资源展现了显著的遗传差异。本研究开发的SSR标记将能被应用到油棕的遗传育种研究中。     

SRAP标记技术及其在蔬菜作物遗传多样性分析中的应用

SRAP标记技术是基于内含子、启动子3’端含AATT核心和开放阅读框的编码区富含GC的序列规律进行随机扩增而获得DNA多态性的。由于不同的生物个体其基因组的内含子、启动子与外显子的间隔长度不同,因而扩增出的DNA指纹图谱也就产生了多态性。SRAP标记是近年来发展起来的一种DNA多态性分子标记, 以其操作简便快速、成本低、可信度高、易于测序等特点倍受关注。在短短的几年时间内,此标记已在马铃薯、水稻、苹果、柑橘类果树、樱桃、梅子、油菜、大蒜、芹菜和棉花等植物中实验应用,显示出良好的应用效果。本文综述了SRAP标记技术原理特点和在蔬菜遗传多样性研究领域初步应用情况。     

Population genomics of early events in the ecological differentiation of bacteria

Genetic exchange is common among bacteria, but its effect on population diversity during ecological differentiation remains controversial. A fundamental question is whether advantageous mutations lead to selection of clonal genomes or, as in sexual eukaryotes, sweep through populations on their own. Here, we show that in two recently diverged populations of ocean bacteria, ecological differentiation has occurred akin to a sexual mechanism: A few genome regions have swept through subpopulations in a habitat-specific manner, accompanied by gradual separation of gene pools as evidenced by increased habitat specificity of the most recent recombinations. These findings reconcile previous, seemingly contradictory empirical observations of the genetic structure of bacterial populations and point to a more unified process of differentiation in bacteria and sexual eukaryotes than previously thought.     

高等植物线粒体基因组测序和序列分析

线粒体是真核细胞内的重要细胞器,是一种遗传上半自主性的细胞器,编码与自身功能相关的部分基因,参与生命活动一些过程。植物的线粒体基因组较动物的更为复杂,且与植物细胞质雄性不育和物种进化密切相关。本文概述了植物线粒体基因组测序工作,并在此基础上,综述了植物线粒体基因组的大小、组成形式、基因组序列的结构特征、基因组成,分析表达特点、RNA编辑、序列重组,以及线粒体基因组进化、线粒体相关的雄性不育机理研究的研究进展。     

Reproductive polyphenism and its advantages in aphids: Switching between sexual and asexual reproduction

Reproductive polyphenism, which allows one genotype to produce sexual and asexual morphs, is an extreme case of phenotypic plasticity and is commonly observed in aphids. Aphids are typical species that switch these reproductive modes, and the pathway orientation is triggered by the environmental conditions(mainly photoperiod and temperature). The typical annual life of aphids includes a succession of parthenogenetic generations during the spring and summer and a single sexual generation in autumn. In this review, we describe how the environmental cues orientate the reproductive mode of aphids from photoperiodic perception to endocrine regulation, and how juvenile hormones may act on the target cells(oocytes) to initiate the gametogenesis and embryogenesis in sexual and asexual reproduction. We also discuss the paradox of sex, especially the advantages of sexual reproduction in aphids. With the recent development of genomic resources in aphids, many potential genes involved in the reproductive polyphenism will enter the public's awareness. In particular, we describe a novel RNAi method in aphids, which may provide a molecular technique for determining the developmental fate and multiple reproductive strategies.     

The genome sequence of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of Chagas disease

Whole-genome sequencing of the protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi revealed that the diploid genome contains a predicted 22,570 proteins encoded by genes, of which 12,570 represent allelic pairs. Over 50% of the genome consists of repeated sequences, such as retrotransposons and genes for large families of surface molecules, which include trans-sialidases, mucins, gp63s, and a large novel family (>1300 copies) of mucin-associated surface protein (MASP) genes. Analyses of the T. cruzi, T. brucei, and Leishmania major (Tritryp) genomes imply differences from other eukaryotes in DNA repair and initiation of replication and reflect their unusual mitochondrial DNA. Although the Tritryp lack several classes of signaling molecules, their kinomes contain a large and diverse set of protein kinases and phosphatases; their size and diversity imply previously unknown interactions and regulatory processes, which may be targets for intervention.     

Diverse plant and animal genetic records from Holocene and Pleistocene sediments

Genetic analyses of permafrost and temperate sediments reveal that plant and animal DNA may be preserved for long periods, even in the absence of obvious macrofossils. In Siberia, five permafrost cores ranging from 400,000 to 10,000 years old contained at least 19 different plant taxa, including the oldest authenticated ancient DNA sequences known, and megafaunal sequences including mammoth, bison, and horse. The genetic data record a number of dramatic changes in the taxonomic diversity and composition of Beringian vegetation and fauna. Temperate cave sediments in New Zealand also yielded DNA sequences of extinct biota, including two species of ratite moa, and 29 plant taxa characteristic of the prehuman environment. Therefore, many sedimentary deposits may contain unique, and widespread, genetic records of paleoenvironments.     

Isolation of single-copy human genes from a library of yeast artificial chromosome clones

A recently developed cloning system based on the propagation of large DNA molecules as linear, artificial chromosomes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides a potential method of cloning the entire human genome in segments of several hundred kilobase pairs. Most application of this system will require the ability to recover specific sequences from libraries of yeast artificial chromosome clones and to propagate these sequences in yeast without alterations. Two single-copy genes have now been cloned from a library of yeast artificial chromosome clones that was prepared from total human DNA. Multiple, independent isolates were obtained of the genes encoding factor IX and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2. The clones, which ranged in size from 60 to 650 kilobases, were stable on prolonged propagation in yeast and appear to contain faithful replicas of human DNA.     

Evidence for positive epistasis in HIV-1

Reproductive strategies such as sexual reproduction and recombination that involve the shuffling of parental genomes for the production of offspring are ubiquitous in nature. However, their evolutionary benefit remains unclear. Many theories have identified potential benefits, but progress is hampered by the scarcity of relevant data. One class of theories is based on the assumption that mutations affecting fitness exhibit negative epistasis. Retroviruses recombine frequently and thus provide a unique opportunity to test these theories. Using amino acid sequence data and fitness values from 9466 human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) isolates, we find in contrast to these theories strong statistical evidence for a predominance of positive epistasis in HIV-1.     

Temporal fragmentation of speciation in bacteria

Because bacterial recombination involves the occasional transfer of small DNA fragments between strains, different sets of niche-specific genes may be maintained in populations that freely recombine at other loci. Therefore, genetic isolation may be established at different times for different chromosomal regions during speciation as recombination at niche-specific genes is curtailed. To test this model, we separated sequence divergence into rate and time components, revealing that different regions of the Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica chromosomes diverged over a approximately 70-million-year period. Genetic isolation first occurred at regions carrying species-specific genes, indicating that physiological distinctiveness between the nascent Escherichia and Salmonella lineages was maintained for tens of millions of years before the complete genetic isolation of their chromosomes.     

新开发的禾本科通用性分子标记的检测与评估

为开发更多的适用于禾本科Poaceae植物通用性分子标记, 丰富竹类植物的遗传信息, 依据禾本科单拷贝同源基因(COSⅡ)已知序列的保守区域设计了14对引物, 以此引物对刚竹属Phyllostachys植物进行聚合酶链式反应(PCR)扩增, 并对部分扩增产物进行测序。结果所有引物可以在至少1个材料中得到特异性扩增, 其中7对引物在5个供试材料中均能扩增到产物, 13对引物在5个样本中表现出多态性, 占引物总数的92.9%。对部分扩增产物进行测序, 所测序列均为特异性扩增序列。同一引物在不同样本中的扩增片段间存在单核苷酸多态性(SNP)位点, 部分SNP位点会导致氨基酸序列提前终止或酶切位点变化。对有合适内切酶存在的变异位点进行PCR-RFLP验证, 验证结果与测序结果一致。利用NTsys 2.10e软件, 对5个供试竹种材料进行了亲缘关系分析, 毛竹Phyllostachys edulis与绿粉竹Phyllostachys virdiglaucescens亲缘关系最近, 紫竹Phyllostachys nigra与其他4个竹种亲缘关系最远。所开发的14个COSⅡ引物在刚竹属植物中具一定通用性, 同时挖掘出更多竹类植物中的遗传信息。