Gene co-inheritance and gene transfer

Functional transfer of mitochondrial genes to the nucleus is very common in some taxa but entirely lacking in others. Current evolutionary theories to account for this variation predict that outcrossing, which allows escape from Muller's ratchet and faster spread of beneficial mutations, should favor gene transfer. We find that functional gene transfer is more common in selfing or clonal plants than in outcrossing plants, a pattern opposite to prediction. We suggest that reproductive modes, such as selfing and vegetative reproduction, conserve adaptive mitonuclear gene combinations, allowing functional transfer, whereas outcrossing prevents transfer by breaking up these combinations.     

Adaptive mutations in bacteria: high rate and small effects

Evolution by natural selection is driven by the continuous generation of adaptive mutations. We measured the genomic mutation rate that generates beneficial mutations and their effects on fitness in Escherichia coli under conditions in which the effect of competition between lineages carrying different beneficial mutations is minimized. We found a rate on the order of 10(-5) per genome per generation, which is 1000 times as high as previous estimates, and a mean selective advantage of 1%. Such a high rate of adaptive evolution has implications for the evolution of antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity.     

An evolutionary advantage of haploidy in large yeast populations

Although seed plants and multicellular animals are predominantly diploid, the prominence of diploidy varies greatly among eukaryote life cycles, and no general evolutionary advantage of diploidy has been demonstrated. By doubling the copy number of each gene, diploidy may increase the rate at which adaptive mutations are produced. However, models suggest that this does not necessarily accelerate adaptation by diploid populations. We tested model predictions regarding rates of adaptation using asexual yeast populations. Adaptive mutations were on average partially recessive. As predicted, diploidy slowed adaptation by large populations but not by small populations.     

Efficient initiation of HCV RNA replication in cell culture

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem affecting an estimated 170 million individuals worldwide. We report the identification of multiple independent adaptive mutations that cluster in the HCV nonstructural protein NS5A and confer increased replicative ability in vitro. Among these adaptive mutations were a single amino acid substitution that allowed HCV RNA replication in 10% of transfected hepatoma cells and a deletion of 47 amino acids encompassing the interferon (IFN) sensitivity determining region (ISDR). Independent of the ISDR, IFN-alpha rapidly inhibited HCV RNA replication in vitro. This work establishes a robust, cell-based system for genetic and functional analyses of HCV replication.     

Stress-induced mutagenesis in bacteria

The evolutionary significance of stress-induced mutagenesis was evaluated by studying mutagenesis in aging colonies (MAC) of Escherichia coli natural isolates. A large fraction of isolates exhibited a strong MAC, and the high MAC variability reflected the diversity of selective pressures in ecological niches. MAC depends on starvation, oxygen, and RpoS and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate regulons; thus it may be a by-product of genetic strategies for improving survival under stress. MAC could also be selected through beneficial mutations that it generates, as shown by computer modeling and the patterns of stress-inducible and constitutive mutagenesis. We suggest that irrespective of the causes of their emergence, stress-induced mutations participate in adaptive evolution.     

Pesticide resistance via transposition-mediated adaptive gene truncation in Drosophila

To study adaptation, it is essential to identify multiple adaptive mutations and to characterize their molecular, phenotypic, selective, and ecological consequences. Here we describe a genomic screen for adaptive insertions of transposable elements in Drosophila. Using a pilot application of this screen, we have identified an adaptive transposable element insertion, which truncates a gene and apparently generates a functional protein in the process. The insertion of this transposable element confers increased resistance to an organophosphate pesticide and has spread in D. melanogaster recently.     

Negative epistasis between beneficial mutations in an evolving bacterial population

Epistatic interactions between mutations play a prominent role in evolutionary theories. Many studies have found that epistasis is widespread, but they have rarely considered beneficial mutations. We analyzed the effects of epistasis on fitness for the first five mutations to fix in an experimental population of Escherichia coli. Epistasis depended on the effects of the combined mutations--the larger the expected benefit, the more negative the epistatic effect. Epistasis thus tended to produce diminishing returns with genotype fitness, although interactions involving one particular mutation had the opposite effect. These data support models in which negative epistasis contributes to declining rates of adaptation over time. Sign epistasis was rare in this genome-wide study, in contrast to its prevalence in an earlier study of mutations in a single gene.     

中国不同草本功能群叶片钾含量的空间格局及控制因素

[目的]钾是维持植物生长和水分高效利用的重要生命元素,特别在当前干旱化趋势增强的背景下尤为重要.但是,前人关于植物钾元素的研究主要集中在局部尺度上,仍然不清楚大尺度上不同草本功能群叶片钾含量的空间格局及控制因素有何差异.[方法]本研究基于中国164个地点739种草本植物,旨在揭示不同功能群叶片钾含量的空间格局及其与气候...     

Social bonds of female baboons enhance infant survival

Among nonhuman primates, females often form strong bonds with kin and other group members. These relationships are thought to have adaptive value for females, but direct effects of sociality on fitness have never been demonstrated. We present 16 years of behavioral data from a well-studied population of wild baboons, which demonstrate that sociality of adult females is positively associated with infant survival, an important component of variation in female lifetime fitness. The effects of sociality on infant survival are independent of the effects of dominance rank, group membership, and environmental conditions. Our results are consistent with the evidence that social support has beneficial effects on human health and well-being across the life span. For humans and other primates, sociality has adaptive value.     

Mismatch repair, but not heteroduplex rejection, is temporally coupled to DNA replication

In eukaryotes, it is unknown whether mismatch repair (MMR) is temporally coupled to DNA replication and how strand-specific MMR is directed. We fused Saccharomyces cerevisiae MSH6 with cyclins to restrict the availability of the Msh2-Msh6 mismatch recognition complex to either S phase or G2/M phase of the cell cycle. The Msh6-S cyclin fusion was proficient for suppressing mutations at three loci that replicate at mid-S phase, whereas the Msh6-G2/M cyclin fusion was defective. However, the Msh6-G2/M cyclin fusion was functional for MMR at a very late-replicating region of the genome. In contrast, the heteroduplex rejection function of MMR during recombination was partially functional during both S phase and G2/M phase. These results indicate a temporal coupling of MMR, but not heteroduplex rejection, to DNA replication.     

Costs and benefits of high mutation rates: adaptive evolution of bacteria in the mouse gut

We have shown that bacterial mutation rates change during the experimental colonization of the mouse gut. A high mutation rate was initially beneficial because it allowed faster adaptation, but this benefit disappeared once adaptation was achieved. Mutator bacteria accumulated mutations that, although neutral in the mouse gut, are often deleterious in secondary environments. Consistently, the competitiveness of mutator bacteria is reduced during transmission to and re-colonization of similar hosts. The short-term advantages and long-term disadvantages of mutator bacteria could account for their frequency in nature.     

Experience-driven plasticity of visual cortex limited by myelin and Nogo receptor

Monocular deprivation normally alters ocular dominance in the visual cortex only during a postnatal critical period (20 to 32 days postnatal in mice). We find that mutations in the Nogo-66 receptor (NgR) affect cessation of ocular dominance plasticity. In NgR-/- mice, plasticity during the critical period is normal, but it continues abnormally such that ocular dominance at 45 or 120 days postnatal is subject to the same plasticity as at juvenile ages. Thus, physiological NgR signaling from myelin-derived Nogo, MAG, and OMgp consolidates the neural circuitry established during experience-dependent plasticity. After pathological trauma, similar NgR signaling limits functional recovery and axonal regeneration.     

Asymmetric T lymphocyte division in the initiation of adaptive immune responses

A hallmark of mammalian immunity is the heterogeneity of cell fate that exists among pathogen-experienced lymphocytes. We show that a dividing T lymphocyte initially responding to a microbe exhibits unequal partitioning of proteins that mediate signaling, cell fate specification, and asymmetric cell division. Asymmetric segregation of determinants appears to be coordinated by prolonged interaction between the T cell and its antigen-presenting cell before division. Additionally, the first two daughter T cells displayed phenotypic and functional indicators of being differentially fated toward effector and memory lineages. These results suggest a mechanism by which a single lymphocyte can apportion diverse cell fates necessary for adaptive immunity.     

High deleterious genomic mutation rate in stationary phase of Escherichia coli

In natural habitats, bacteria spend most of their time in some form of growth arrest. Little is known about deleterious mutations in such stages, and consequently there is limited understanding of what evolutionary events occur. In a deleterious mutation accumulation experiment in prolonged stationary phase of Escherichia coli, about 0.03 slightly deleterious mutations were observed per genome per day. This is over an order of magnitude higher than extrapolations from fast-growing cells, but in line with inferences from observations in adaptive stationary phase mutation experiments. These findings may affect understanding of bacterial evolution and the emergence of bacterial pathogenicity.     

毛竹向阔叶林扩展过程中的叶功能性状研究

为探明毛竹在异质生境下的适应特性和生存对策,开展毛竹向阔叶林扩展过程(1号样方为毛竹纯林,2号样方为毛竹占优势的竹阔混交林,3号样方为阔叶林占优势的混交林,4号样方为阔叶纯林)叶功能性状特性研究,并探讨不同年龄(Ⅰ~Ⅳ度)毛竹的叶功能性状在扩展方向的变化特征。结果表明:1)不同扩展样方间的叶干物质含量(LDMC)、叶C含量(C)、叶N:P比(N:P)差异显著,其中2号样方内LDMC显著高于4号样方,1号样方内C含量显著低于3号和4号样方,1号和2号样方内N∶P显著高于3号和4号样方。比叶面积(SLA)、叶N含量(N)、叶磷含量(P)及叶C∶N比(C∶N)在不同样方间差异不显著。说明毛竹对不同生境做出一定的适应性判断。2)不同年龄毛竹的SLA和LDMC在1号样方内出现显著差异,I度竹显著不同于III度和IV度竹;C含量和N含量在2号样方内不同年龄竹间产生显著性差异。C∶N仅在2号样方内不同年龄竹间差异达显著水平;N∶P在1~3号样方中差异显著,均表现为II度竹中最低,I度竹次之。说明不同年龄毛竹叶功能性状在1号样方内差异性较突出,2~4号样方内叶功能性状的特性可能是由于环境因素的作用消弱了毛竹自身发育间的差异。3)不同扩展样方内SLA与LDMC呈显著负相关关系、N与P呈显著正相关关系,SLA与C、N和P均呈正相关关系,而LDMC与C、N和P呈负相关关系。随SLA和LDMC变化,C变化最大,N次之,P变化最小,说明毛竹叶功能性状间的权衡关系沿扩展方向发生了适应性调整。      

Chromosomal effects of rapid gene evolution in Drosophila melanogaster

Rapid adaptive fixation of a new favorable mutation is expected to affect neighboring genes along the chromosome. Evolutionary theory predicts that the chromosomal region would show a reduced level of genetic variation and an excess of rare alleles. We have confirmed these predictions in a region of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster that contains a newly evolved gene for a component of the sperm axoneme. In D. simulans, where the novel gene does not exist, the pattern of genetic variation is consistent with selection against recurrent deleterious mutations. These findings imply that the pattern of genetic variation along a chromosome may be useful for inferring its evolutionary history and for revealing regions in which recent adaptive fixations have taken place.     

Rescue of dystrophic muscle through U7 snRNA-mediated exon skipping

Most mutations in the dystrophin gene create a frameshift or a stop in the mRNA and are associated with severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Exon skipping that naturally occurs at low frequency sometimes eliminates the mutation and leads to the production of a rescued protein. We have achieved persistent exon skipping that removes the mutated exon on the dystrophin messenger mRNA of the mdx mouse, by a single administration of an AAV vector expressing antisense sequences linked to a modified U7 small nuclear RNA. We report the sustained production of functional dystrophin at physiological levels in entire groups of muscles and the correction of the muscular dystrophy.     

瘦素及受体基因多态性与北极狐生产性能相关性分析

利用PCR-SSCP技术检测北极狐群体大兴安岭图强林业局狐貉养殖基地的瘦素和瘦素受体基因编码区域序列的单核苷酸多态性,分析了瘦素及其受体基因的突变与北极狐体重和皮张性状的关系,结果表明,瘦素基因突变位点导致的基因型对体重、腹围、皮张长都有极显著的影响(P<0.01),瘦素受体基因突变位点导致的基因型对胴体重和针毛长有极显著的影响(P<0.01)。利用这两个突变位点所产生的合并基因型对北极狐生产性状的影响用SPSS13.0分析,多重比较结果表明:两位点合并后的基因型对体重和腹围影响显著(P<0.05),对针毛长的影响极显著影响(P<0.01),AB(OB3)AA(OBR4)对体重是有利的基因型,BB(OB3)BB(OBR4)对针毛是有利的基因型,AA(OB3)AA(OBR4)对腹围是有利的基因型。