Communication between dolphins in separate tanks by way of an electronic acoustic link

Two isolated dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were provided with an electronic acoustic link during alternate periods of approximately 2 minutes. The dolphins repeatedly communicated in a tight sequence when the acoustic link was connected. Their responses varied as the experiment progressed. Some information regarding possible meaning of the whistles was obtained.     

萝卜抗菌肽基因AFP的克隆及其在大肠杆菌中的诱导表达

试验采用RT-PCR方法,从萝卜叶子中克隆得到抗菌肽基因AFP(antifungal protein)。该基因全长240个碱基,79个氨基酸。经测序证明克隆所得基因与GeneBank中发表的原序列一致。将此抗菌肽基因克隆到E. coli表达载体pET28a,在IPTG的诱导下表达出含有AFP的11.99 ODD,证明该AFP基因在原核表达系统中可以正常表达。     

金观音与其亲本差异基因表达的遗传分析

从金观音—铁观音和金观音—黄旦差减文库中获得差异基因并进行功能分类;采用荧光定量PCR技术检测金观音与其亲本间差异基因表达量的变化,分析差异基因的表达模式,同时检测具有超高亲表达和低于双亲表达模式的基因在其他两个F_1黄观音和金玫瑰上表达量的差异.结果表明:差异基因包含参与生长发育、逆境胁迫和次生代谢等9类功能;与生长发育、逆境胁迫和次生代谢有关的基因在金观音及其亲本中均有表达,依据表达量的差异可分为5种表达模式;根据3个F_1品种与其共同父母本荧光定量表达量的差异,可将F_1品种的表达分为均超过双亲(杂种优势)、低于双亲(杂种劣势)、部分超过双亲和部分低于双亲(兼具杂种优、劣势)3种类型.     

A quantitative link between recycling and osmium isotopes

Recycled subducted ocean crust has been traced by elevated 187Os/188Os in some studies and by high nickel and low manganese contents in others. Here, we show that these tracers are linked for Quaternary lavas of Iceland, strengthening the recycling model. An estimate of the osmium isotopic composition of both the recycled crust and the mantle peridotite implies that Icelandic Quaternary lavas are derived in part from an ancient crustal component with model ages between 1.1 _ 109 and 1.8 _ 109 years and from a peridotitic end-member close to present-day oceanic mantle.     

Myosin: a link between streptococci and heart

Murine monoclonal antibodies to Streptococcus pyogenes reacted with skeletal muscle myosin. High molecular weight proteins in extracts of human heart tissue that reacted with an antibody to S. pyogenes also reacted with a monoclonal antibody to ventricular myosin. Adsorption of the antibody to streptococci with S. pyogenes simultaneously removed reactivity of the antibody for either S. pyogenes or myosin. These results indicate that myosin shares immunodeterminants with a component of S. pyogenes.     

Finite social space, evolutionary pathways, and reconstructing hominid behavior

Changes in social behavior were a key aspect of human evolution, and yet it is notoriously difficult for paleobiologists to determine patterns of social evolution. By defining the limited number of distributional strategies available to members of each sex of any species and investigating the conditions under which they may occur and change, the social behavior of different hominid taxa may be reconstructed.     

大豆SBP基因家族的序列特征、表达及进化分析

SBP基因家族是植物所特有的一类重要转录因子,由多个成员组成,主要参与植物生长、发育以及多种生理生化过程.试验在大豆基因组中鉴定49个SBP基因,被命名为GmSBP1~49.基于生物信息学手段,对大豆该基因家族49个成员的基因结构、染色体定位、蛋白保守序列、亚细胞定位、表达情况及进化关系进行分析.序列分析表明,SBP基因家族成员分散于不同染色体上,不同基因具有不同个数的外显子,其数目变异范围为1~14;该家族蛋白含有5个保守基序,尽管与SBP结构域有所重叠,但它们能形成6种不同的组织模式,这说明该基因家族序列变异较为复杂.表达分析结果显示,除GmSBP2和GmSBP11等6个基因没有相应的EST外,其余基因都有转录活性;在具有转录活性的基因中,只有GmSBP46显示出组成型表达模式,剩余基因表现出不同程度的组织特异性表达模式.拟南芥、水稻和大豆SBP蛋白的进化树揭示该家族具有8个类群,其中E类群只包括大豆SBP基因,其他类群中大豆SBP基因数目也是最多,这充分说明大豆SBP基因家族起源与进化的复杂性.研究为大豆SBP基因功能研究提供线索     

木质素生物合成酶4CL基因的遗传进化分析

【目的】4CL是木质素生物合成途径中的关键合成酶,通过对4CL基因的遗传进化分析,为其研究和利用提供理论依据。【方法】利用生物信息学手段,对4CL基因完整cDNA和编码氨基酸序列进行数据挖掘,利用Mega软件、ExPASy的Prosite数据库、NCBI的Conserved Domains数据库,进行4CL基因核酸和蛋白质水平上的遗传进化分析。【结果】构建了4CL基因的系统发生树,揭示出植物中的4CL基因聚类与植物分类大体一致,主要以基因家族的形式存在,但基因家族中部分基因存在着结构和功能的分化,4CL基因中存在着GC含量偏高和偏低两大类基因。4CL基因编码的氨基酸序列保守区高度相似,但是在单、双子叶两大类植物之间,其氨基酸平均含量存在着较大差异。【结论】在植物的进化过程中,虽然4CL基因较保守,但部分4CL基因发生了分化,体现在基因的结构和功能方面,在4CL基因的研究中必须充分考虑到这种分化。     

The possible link between net surface heating and el nino

Three diagnostic analyses are described which strongly suggest the importance of local net surface heating in the life history of the large-scale, air-sea phenomenon centered in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, commonly called El Ni?o. These analyses rely upon monthly marine weather summaries for the period 1957 to 1976. In the first, correlations and coherence spectra were calculated which show a strong link between the net surface heat flux and sea-surface temperature variations over the eastern equatorial Pacific. The second analysis, also based upon the use of coherence spectra, indicates a sea temperature precursor in the eastern ocean near 25 degrees S which precedes sea temperature changes near the El Ni?o focus near 5 degrees S. Since the link between the two regions would require ocean advective velocities that appear to be unreasonably large, this analysis also suggests the importance of atmospheric forcing through the surface heat flux. In the third analysis a proxy variable is described that seems to be a reasonable indicator of the overall effect of ocean dynamics on the temperature of the El Ni?o core region. A composite analysis of the four El Ni?o events of 1957, 1965, 1972, and 1976 suggests that local surface heating is important during the early part of an event, whereas dynamical factors dominate later.     

A link between mRNA turnover and RNA interference in Arabidopsis

In RNA interference (RNAi), double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers degradation of homologous messenger RNA. In many organisms, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is required to initiate or amplify RNAi, but the substrate for dsRNA synthesis in vivo is not known. Here, we show that RdRp-dependent transgene silencing in Arabidopsis was caused by mutation of XRN4, which is a ribonuclease (RNase) implicated in mRNA turnover by means of decapping and 5'-3' exonucleolysis. When both XRN4 and the RdRp were mutated, the plants accumulated decapped transgene mRNA. We propose that mRNAs lacking a cap structure become exposed to RdRp to initiate or maintain RNAi.     

Skin color and nutrient photolysis: an evolutionary hypothesis

Human populations native to areas of intense sunlight tend to be heavily melanized. Previous explanations for this relationship have invoked only weak selective pressures. To test the hypothesis that dark pigmentation may protect against photolysis of crucial light-sensitive vitamins and metabolites by ultraviolet light, folate was used as a model. It was found that exposure of human plasma in vitro to simulated strong sunlight causes 30 to 50 percent loss of folate within 60 minutes. Furthermore, light-skinned patients exposed to ultraviolet light for dermatologic disorders have abnormally low serum folate concentrations, suggesting that photolysis may also occur in vivo. Deficiency of folate, which occurs in many marginally nourished populations, causes severe anemia, fetal wastage, frank infertility, and maternal mortality. Prevention of ultraviolet photolysis of folate and other light sensitive nutrients by dark skin may be sufficient explanation for the maintenance of this characteristic in human groups indigenous to regions of intense solar radiation.     

全基因组范围禾本科植物GPX基因家族的进化分析和表达模式研究

【目的】研究禾本科植物谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GPX)基因家族的序列及其在正常生长和胁迫条件下的表达差异,为揭示GPX基因在植物抵抗逆境胁迫中的作用奠定基础。【方法】利用生物信息学方法,分析水稻、短柄草、高粱中18个GPX基因的序列特点、基因结构和系统进化关系;采用反转录PCR(RT-PCR)方法,分析18个GPX基因在正常生长以及1-氯-2,4-二硝基苯(CDNB)、双氧水(H2O2)、莠去津(Atrazine)和水杨酸(SA)处理后,水稻、短柄草和高粱的根、茎、成熟叶、幼叶、叶鞘,以及正常生长条件下发芽2d后幼苗根和芽中的表达情况。【结果】从水稻、短柄草和高粱基因组中分别鉴定出6,5,7个GPX基因,这些基因编码长度为168~251个氨基酸的蛋白,分子质量介于18.44~27.42ku。系统发生分析发现,3个物种至少有7个最近的共同祖先GPX基因,物种分化之后水稻和短柄草分别丢失1个和2个GPX基因。序列相似性分析发现,3个物种GPX蛋白具有较高的序列相似性,介于38.0%~95.2%,且不同基因簇中GPX序列的分化速率不同。3个物种GPX基因具有保守的基因结构,但SbGPX7发生了内含子插入事件,预示着其与其他GPX基因之间功能的分化。表达模式分析发现,3个物种的18个GPX基因中有15个在所有检测样品中均为组成型表达,3个GPX基因(水稻2个、高粱1个)为选择性表达,表达模式的分化预示着功能的分化。【结论】作为植物保护细胞免受氧化损伤的重要酶类,禾本科3个物种的GPX基因在进化过程中发生了功能分化。     

Regulation of maternal behavior and offspring growth by paternally expressed Peg3

Imprinted genes display parent-of-origin-dependent monoallelic expression that apparently regulates complex mammalian traits, including growth and behavior. The Peg3 gene is expressed in embryos and the adult brain from the paternal allele only. A mutation in the Peg3 gene resulted in growth retardation, as well as a striking impairment of maternal behavior that frequently resulted in death of the offspring. This result may be partly due to defective neuronal connectivity, as well as reduced oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus, because mutant mothers were deficient in milk ejection. This study provides further insights on the evolution of epigenetic regulation of imprinted gene dosage in modulating mammalian growth and behavior.