枣基因组大小研究

采用流式细胞技术,以4个酸枣类型、9个枣品种的新鲜幼嫩叶片为材料,以Otto为解离液,日本晴（Oryza sativa ssp.japonica cv.Nipponbare）为外标,测定其基因组大小（2C值）,比较枣和酸枣的2C值差异。结果表明,枣的基因组大小为(360.70±4.73)Mb,小于酸枣的基因组（388.20±8.32 Mb）;枣品种间基因组大小无显著差异,酸枣类型间差异显著,说明酸枣具有更高的基因组变异,且酸枣到枣的进化中可能伴随着基因组的缩减。     

Genome sequence of Aedes aegypti, a major arbovirus vector

We present a draft sequence of the genome of Aedes aegypti, the primary vector for yellow fever and dengue fever, which at approximately 1376 million base pairs is about 5 times the size of the genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Nearly 50% of the Ae. aegypti genome consists of transposable elements. These contribute to a factor of approximately 4 to 6 increase in average gene length and in sizes of intergenic regions relative to An. gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster. Nonetheless, chromosomal synteny is generally maintained among all three insects, although conservation of orthologous gene order is higher (by a factor of approximately 2) between the mosquito species than between either of them and the fruit fly. An increase in genes encoding odorant binding, cytochrome P450, and cuticle domains relative to An. gambiae suggests that members of these protein families underpin some of the biological differences between the two mosquito species.     

Parental care and clutch sizes in North and South American birds

The evolutionary causes of small clutch sizes in tropical and Southern Hemisphere regions are poorly understood. Alexander Skutch proposed 50 years ago that higher nest predation in the south constrains the rate at which parent birds can deliver food to young and thereby constrains clutch size by limiting the number of young that parents can feed. This hypothesis for explaining differences in clutch size and parental behaviors between latitudes has remained untested. Here, a detailed study of bird species in Arizona and Argentina shows that Skutch's hypothesis explains clutch size variation within North and South America. However, neither Skutch's hypothesis nor two major alternatives explain differences between latitudes.     

从水稻基因组序列中挖掘生物信息

重点介绍了在水稻基因组序列分析方面取得的几项最新研究结果.内容主要包括:水稻基因组被证实曾发生过全基因组倍增;水稻基因组大小变化的趋势;水稻籼粳亚种的分化时间比以前估计的100万年前要迟得多;对水稻基因产生GC含量负梯度现象的解释.     

Comment on "Stability via asynchrony in Drosophila metapopulations with low migration rates"

Dey and Joshi (Reports, 21 April 2006, p. 434) studied replicate laboratory populations of Drosophila and reported that low migration led to asynchrony among subpopulations. We argue that this unexpected outcome may be due to variation in the initial size of the subpopulations and uncontrolled stochasticity in the experiments.     

基于流式细胞术的15个油茶品种基因组测定研究

以15个油茶品种的嫩叶为材料,用基因组大小水稻日本晴为内标,筛选出适合油茶的流式细胞术估测基因组大小的方法。结果表明：经解离液的反复筛选,改良的Otto法对油茶细胞核的解离效果最佳,内标水稻与待测样品油茶的变异系数(CV)均控制在6%以内;细胞悬液在加入PI染色剂10 min后便可上机检测,15个油茶品种的基因组大小范围为6 411.99~9 398.58 Mbp,品种间存在显著差异。     

Genome size in conodonts (chordata): inferred variations during 270 million years

DNA is too unstable to be preserved during fossilization, but it still seems possible to infer the genome content of fossils because in every group of organisms investigated cell size is proportional to quantity of DNA. Accordingly, information on macroevolutionary trends in genome size through millions of years is potentially available. This survey of inferred variation in genome content in fossils is based on measurements of epithelial cells in extinct conodonts over a period of 270 million years. Why genome size varies so widely amongst living organisms is a subject of continuing debate. Paleontology offers a distinct temporal perspective, but lack of data on conodont paleoecology make the proposed adaptive explanations for genome variation difficult to test.     

The genome sequence of Drosophila melanogaster

The fly Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most intensively studied organisms in biology and serves as a model system for the investigation of many developmental and cellular processes common to higher eukaryotes, including humans. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of nearly all of the approximately 120-megabase euchromatic portion of the Drosophila genome using a whole-genome shotgun sequencing strategy supported by extensive clone-based sequence and a high-quality bacterial artificial chromosome physical map. Efforts are under way to close the remaining gaps; however, the sequence is of sufficient accuracy and contiguity to be declared substantially complete and to support an initial analysis of genome structure and preliminary gene annotation and interpretation. The genome encodes approximately 13,600 genes, somewhat fewer than the smaller Caenorhabditis elegans genome, but with comparable functional diversity.     

Association Between the 313 bp Indel in Porcine POU1F1 Gene and Reproduction Traits

The study aims to analyze the distribution of the 313 bp indel （insertion/deletion termed as indel） in first intron of POU1F1 and it＇s association with reproduction traits in Sutai pigs by using the PCR-DSCP technique. The results showed that in this commercial pig population, the frequency of allele A was 0.6371, B was 0.3629; the genotype frequency of AA was 0.4516, AB was 0.3710, BB was 0.1774, and the Z2 test showed that the allele frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The SPSS GLM procedure was used to identify the association of the 313 bp indel with reproductive traits. In Sutai pigs, the pigs with AA genotype represented higher value in all reproduction traits, except for higher survival rate of piglets at weaning. Higher weaning weight was significantly associated with AA genotype pigs and higher survival rate of piglets at weaning was significantly associated with BB genotype （P〈0.05）, but no significant differences in other reproduction traits among genotypes were found （P〉0.05）; the P value of different traits affected by fixed factors were not significant as well （P〉0.05）. The result indicated that although this 313 bp indel was significantly associated with the weaning weight and survival rate at weaning, no any association with major reproduction traits was observed in Sutai pigs.     

A draft sequence for the genome of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori)

We report a draft sequence for the genome of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori), covering 90.9% of all known silkworm genes. Our estimated gene count is 18,510, which exceeds the 13,379 genes reported for Drosophila melanogaster. Comparative analyses to fruitfly, mosquito, spider, and butterfly reveal both similarities and differences in gene content.     

Molecular Characterization and SNP Markers of the β-purothionin Gene in Einkorn Wheats

Forty-three gene sequences encoding purothionin were characterized from the three species or subspecies of einkorn wheats. These sequences contained 887 bp, among which 92 SNPs including 29 indel loci were detected, giving an average SNP frequency of one SNP per 9.64 bases. According to these sequences, 5 SNP markers were successfully designed, which were used to mine the variations ofpurothionin genes of 102 einkorn wheat accessions. Based on the 5 detected SNP loci, 102 einkorn wheat accessions could be divided into 21 haplotypes, among which 11 haplotypes contained a single sample. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the purothionin genes from einkorn wheats were more closely related to those from D genome than B genome. Seven out of the 43 gene sequences were assumed to be pseudogenes by the definition of containing in-frame stop codons and small insertions/deletions leading to frameshift. In the remaining 36 amino acid sequences, the 8 Cys and Tyr-13 loci in the mature thionin domain which played important roles in the biological activities were all conserved, whereas there were some varieties occurred in some other important amino acid residues such as Lys and Arg.     

Comparative genomics of the eukaryotes

A comparative analysis of the genomes of Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae-and the proteins they are predicted to encode-was undertaken in the context of cellular, developmental, and evolutionary processes. The nonredundant protein sets of flies and worms are similar in size and are only twice that of yeast, but different gene families are expanded in each genome, and the multidomain proteins and signaling pathways of the fly and worm are far more complex than those of yeast. The fly has orthologs to 177 of the 289 human disease genes examined and provides the foundation for rapid analysis of some of the basic processes involved in human disease.     

Evolution of clutch size in birds: adaptive variation in relation to territory quality

Reproductive output from enlarged or reduced magpie broods showed that each female generally lays a clutch of optimal size. This size varies considerably between females. Approximately 85 percent of the within-years variation in clutch size was associated with differences between territories. Colonial bird species, lacking individual foraging territories, have a smaller clutch size variation than territorial species.     

A whole-genome assembly of Drosophila

We report on the quality of a whole-genome assembly of Drosophila melanogaster and the nature of the computer algorithms that accomplished it. Three independent external data sources essentially agree with and support the assembly's sequence and ordering of contigs across the euchromatic portion of the genome. In addition, there are isolated contigs that we believe represent nonrepetitive pockets within the heterochromatin of the centromeres. Comparison with a previously sequenced 2.9- megabase region indicates that sequencing accuracy within nonrepetitive segments is greater than 99. 99% without manual curation. As such, this initial reconstruction of the Drosophila sequence should be of substantial value to the scientific community.     

富贵竹中杆状DNA病毒湖北分离物的分子鉴定

 【目的】证明湖北发病富贵竹上是否存在杆状DNA病毒属（Badnavirus）病毒,分析来自富贵竹及其它作物Badnavirus病毒不同分离物间的分子差异。【方法】通过分段克隆测序的方法获得湖北富贵竹中 Badnavirus病毒基因组全序列,利用BLAST工具及其它生物学软件进行序列分析。【结果】富贵竹Badnavirus病毒湖北分离物基因组为环状结构,全长7 522 bp;基因组正链包含7个ORFs,推测其编码蛋白的分子量分别为17.58、14.93、214.77、11.86、11.31、16.12和11.00 kD。获得的基因组与福建富贵竹斑驳病毒（Dracaena mottle virus , DrMV）大小仅相差9个核苷酸,两者基因组核苷酸序列一致率为99.7％,ORFs 1～3编码氨基酸序列的一致率分别为99.3%、100%、99.2%,而与其它已报道的14种Badnavirus病毒分离物间的核苷酸全序列一致率为32.0%～44.0%。【结论】叶片表现褪绿斑驳等症状的湖北富贵竹中存在Badnavirus病毒,该病毒与DrMV为同种病毒,已报道的富贵竹中Badnavirus病毒分离物间分子差异非常小,这与已报道的其它作物中Badnavirus病毒不同分离物间存在非常大的分子差异不同。     

The Drosophila genome sequence: implications for biology and medicine

The 120-megabase euchromatic portion of the Drosophila melanogaster genome has been sequenced. Because the genome is compact and many genetic tools are available, and because fly cell biology and development have much in common with mammals, this sequence may be the Rosetta stone for deciphering the human genome.     

K+ current diversity is produced by an extended gene family conserved in Drosophila and mouse

The Drosophila Shaker gene on the X chromosome has three sister genes, Shal, Shab, and Shaw, which map to the second and third chromosomes. This extended gene family encodes voltage-gated potassium channels with widely varying kinetics (rate of macroscopic current activation and inactivation) and voltage sensitivity of steady-state inactivation. The differences in the currents of the various gene products are greater than the differences produced by alternative splicing of the Shaker gene. In Drosophila, the transient (A current) subtype of the potassium channel (Shaker and Shal) and the delayed-rectifier subtype (Shab and Shaw) are encoded by homologous genes, and there is more than one gene for each subtype of channel. Homologs of Shaker, Shal, Shab, and Shaw are present in mammals; each Drosophila potassium-channel gene may be represented as a multigene subfamily in mammals.     

Gene targeting by homologous recombination in Drosophila

Drosophila offers many advantages as an experimental organism. However, in comparison with yeast and mouse, two other widely used eukaryotic model systems, Drosophila suffers from an inability to perform homologous recombination between introduced DNA and the corresponding chromosomal loci. The ability to specifically modify the genomes of yeast and mouse provides a quick and easy way to generate or rescue mutations in genes for which a DNA clone or sequence is available. A method is described that enables analogous manipulations of the Drosophila genome. This technique may also be applicable to other organisms for which gene-targeting procedures do not yet exist.