Concerted nonsyntenic allelic loss in human colorectal carcinoma

Familial polyposis coli (FPC) is caused by an autosomal dominant gene on chromosome 5, and it has been proposed that colorectal cancer in the general population arises from loss or inactivation of the FPC gene, analogous to recessive tumor genes in retinoblastoma and Wilms' tumor. Since allelic loss can be erroneously scored in nonhomogeneous samples, tumor cell populations were first microdissected from 24 colorectal carcinomas, an additional nine cancers were engrafted in nude mice, and nuclei were flow-sorted from an additional two. Of 31 cancers informative for chromosome 5 markers, only 6 (19%) showed loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 5 alleles, compared to 19 of 34 (56%) on chromosome 17, and 17 of 33 (52%) on chromosome 18. Therefore, it appears that (i) FPC is a true dominant for adenomatosis but not a common recessive gene for colon cancer; and (ii) simple Mendelian models involving loss of alleles at a single locus may be inappropriate for understanding common human solid tumors.     

Mouse models of tumor development in neurofibromatosis type 1

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a prevalent familial cancer syndrome resulting from germ line mutations in the NF1 tumor suppressor gene. Hallmark features of the disease are the development of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors (neurofibromas), which can progress to malignancy. Unlike humans, mice that are heterozygous for a mutation in Nf1 do not develop neurofibromas. However, as described here, chimeric mice composed in part of Nf1-/- cells do, which demonstrates that loss of the wild-type Nf1 allele is rate-limiting in tumor formation. In addition, mice that carry linked germ line mutations in Nf1 and p53 develop malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs), which supports a cooperative and causal role for p53 mutations in MPNST development. These two mouse models provide the means to address fundamental aspects of disease development and to test therapeutic strategies.     

Reduction to homozygosity of genes on chromosome 11 in human breast neoplasia

The somatic loss of heterozygosity for normal alleles occurring in human tumors has suggested the presence of recessive oncogenes. The results presented here demonstrate a loss of heterozygosity of several genes on chromosome 11 in primary breast tumors. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of these DNAs further suggests that the most frequent loss of sequences in breast tumors occurs between the beta-globin and parathyroid hormone loci on the short arm of chromosome 11. The loss of heterozygosity for chromosome 11 loci has a significant association with tumors that lack estrogen and progesterone receptors, grade III tumors, and distal metastasis.     

Tumor suppressor genes: the puzzle and the promise

Tumor suppressor genes are wild-type alleles of genes that play regulatory roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, and other cellular and systemic processes. It is their loss or inactivation that is oncogenic. The first evidence of tumor suppressor genes appeared in the early 1970s, but only within the past few years has a wealth of new information illuminated the central importance of these genes. Two or more different suppressor genes may be inactivated in the same tumors, and the same suppressors may be inactive in different tumor types (for example, lung, breast, and colon). The suppressor genes already identified are involved in cell cycle control, signal transduction, angiogenesis, and development, indicating that they contribute to a broad array of normal and tumor-related functions. It is proposed that tumor suppressor genes provide a vast untapped resource for anticancer therapy.     

Neurofibromas in NF1: Schwann cell origin and role of tumor environment

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most prevalent dominantly inherited genetic diseases of the nervous system. NF1 encodes a tumor suppressor whose functional loss results in the development of benign neurofibromas that can progress to malignancy. Neurofibromas are complex tumors composed of axonal processes, Schwann cells, fibroblasts, perineurial cells, and mast cells. Through use of a conditional (cre/lox) allele, we show that loss of NF1 in the Schwann cell lineage is sufficient to generate tumors. In addition, complete NF1-mediated tumorigenicity requires both a loss of NF1 in cells destined to become neoplastic as well as heterozygosity in non-neoplastic cells. The requirement for a permissive haploinsufficient environment to allow tumorigenesis may have therapeutic implications for NF1 and other familial cancers.     

Allelotype of colorectal carcinomas

To examine the extent and variation of allelic loss in a common adult tumor, polymorphic DNA markers were studied from every nonacrocentric autosomal arm in 56 paired colorectal carcinoma and adjacent normal colonic mucosa specimens. This analysis was termed an allelotype, in analogy with a karyotype. Three major conclusions were drawn from this analysis: (i) Allelic deletions were remarkably common; one of the alleles of each polymorphic marker tested was lost in at least some tumors, and some tumors lost more than half of their parental alleles. (ii) In addition to allelic deletions, new DNA fragments not present in normal tissue were identified in five carcinomas; these new fragments contained repeated sequences of the variable number of tandem repeat type. (iii) Patients with more than the median percentage of allelic deletions had a considerably worse prognosis than did the other patients, although the size and stage of the primary tumors were very similar in the two groups. In addition to its implications concerning the genetic events underlying tumorigenesis, tumor allelotype may provide a molecular tool for improved estimation of prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.     

Mutational inactivation of STAG2 causes aneuploidy in human cancer

Most cancer cells are characterized by aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes. We have identified a clue to the mechanistic origins of aneuploidy through integrative genomic analyses of human tumors. A diverse range of tumor types were found to harbor deletions or inactivating mutations of STAG2, a gene encoding a subunit of the cohesin complex, which regulates the separation of sister chromatids during cell division. Because STAG2 is on the X chromosome, its inactivation requires only a single mutational event. Studying a near-diploid human cell line with a stable karyotype, we found that targeted inactivation of STAG2 led to chromatid cohesion defects and aneuploidy, whereas in two aneuploid human glioblastoma cell lines, targeted correction of the endogenous mutant alleles of STAG2 led to enhanced chromosomal stability. Thus, genetic disruption of cohesin is a cause of aneuploidy in human cancer.     

Induction of mating in Candida albicans by construction of MTLa and MTLalpha strains

Although the diploid fungus Candida albicans, a human pathogen, has been thought to have no sexual cycle, it normally possesses mating-type-like orthologs (MTL) of both of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating-type genes (MAT) a and alpha. When strains containing only MTLa or MTLalpha were constructed by the loss of one homolog of chromosome 5, the site of the MTL loci, MTLa and MTLalpha strains mated, but like mating types did not. Evidence for mating included formation of stable prototrophs from strains with complementing auxotrophic markers; these contained both MTL alleles and molecular markers from both parents and were tetraploid in DNA content and mononucleate.     

Clonal analysis of human colorectal tumors

The clonal composition of human colorectal tumors was studied by means of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). First, X-linked RFLPs were used to examine the pattern of X chromosome inactivation in colorectal tumors of females. All 50 tumors examined showed monoclonal patterns of X chromosome inactivation; these tumors included 20 carcinomas as well as 30 adenomas of either familial or spontaneous type. Second, RFLPs of autosomes were used as clonal markers to detect the somatic loss or gain of specific chromosomal sequences in colorectal tumors. Among other changes, it was found that somatic loss of chromosome 17p sequences occurred in over 75 percent of the carcinomas examined, but such loss was rare in adenomas. These data support a monoclonal origin for colorectal neoplasms, and suggest that a gene on the short arm of chromosome 17 may be associated with progression from the benign to the malignant state.     

Chromosome 17 deletions and p53 gene mutations in colorectal carcinomas

Previous studies have demonstrated that allelic deletions of the short arm of chromosome 17 occur in over 75% of colorectal carcinomas. Twenty chromosome 17p markers were used to localize the common region of deletion in these tumors to a region contained within bands 17p12 to 17p13.3. This region contains the gene for the transformation-associated protein p53. Southern and Northern blot hybridization experiments provided no evidence for gross alterations of the p53 gene or surrounding sequences. As a more rigorous test of the possibility that p53 was a target of the deletions, the p53 coding regions from two tumors were analyzed; these two tumors, like most colorectal carcinomas, had allelic deletions of chromosome 17p and expressed considerable amounts of p53 messenger RNA from the remaining allele. The remaining p53 allele was mutated in both tumors, with an alanine substituted for valine at codon 143 of one tumor and a histidine substituted for arginine at codon 175 of the second tumor. Both mutations occurred in a highly conserved region of the p53 gene that was previously found to be mutated in murine p53 oncogenes. The data suggest that p53 gene mutations may be involved in colorectal neoplasia, perhaps through inactivation of a tumor suppressor function of the wild-type p53 gene.     

An X chromosome gene, WTX, is commonly inactivated in Wilms tumor

Wilms tumor is a pediatric kidney cancer associated with inactivation of the WT1 tumor-suppressor gene in 5 to 10% of cases. Using a high-resolution screen for DNA copy-number alterations in Wilms tumor, we identified somatic deletions targeting a previously uncharacterized gene on the X chromosome. This gene, which we call WTX, is inactivated in approximately one-third of Wilms tumors (15 of 51 tumors). Tumors with mutations in WTX lack WT1 mutations, and both genes share a restricted temporal and spatial expression pattern in normal renal precursors. In contrast to biallelic inactivation of autosomal tumor-suppressor genes, WTX is inactivated by a monoallelic "single-hit" event targeting the single X chromosome in tumors from males and the active X chromosome in tumors from females.     

Development of a Highly Informative Microsatellite （SSR） Marker Framework for Rice （Oryza sativa L.） Genotyping

To select highly informative microsatellite markers （SSRs） and establish a useful genetic SSR framework for rice genotyping, 15 rice （Oryza sativa L.） cultivars including six indica varieties and nine japonica varieties were used to analyze the polymorphism information content （PIC） value of 489 SSR markers. A total of 1 296 alleles were detected by 405 polymorphic markers with an average of 3.2 per locus. The PIC value of each chromosome was ranged from 0.4039 （chromosome 2） to 0.5840 （chromosome 11）. Among the two rice subspecies, indica （0.3685-0.4952） gave a higher PIC value than japonica （0.1326-0.3164） and displayed a higher genetic diversity. Genetic diversity of indica was high on chromosome 12 （0.4952） and low on chromosome 8 （0.3685）, while that for japonica was high on chromosome 11 （0.3164） and low on chromosome 2 （0.1326）. A SSR framework including 141 highly informative markers for genotyping was selected from 199 SSR markers （PIC〉0.50）. Ninety-three SSR markers distributed on 12 chromosomes were found to be related to indica-japonica differentiation. Of these 93 pairs of SSR primers, 17 pairs were considered as core primers （all the japonica varieties have the same specific alleles, while the indica varieties have another specific alleles）, 48 pairs as the second classic primers （all the japonica or indica varieties have the same specific alleles, while the indica or japanica varieties have two or more other specific alleles ） and 28 pairs as the third classic primers （all the japonica and indica varieties have two or more alleles, but the specific alleles are different between japonica and indica）. Thirty-two SSR markers were selected to be highly informative and useful for genetic diversity analysis of japonica varieties. This work provides a lot of useful information of SSR markers for rice breeding programs, especially for genotyping, diversity analysis and genetic mapping.     

蕨和毛叶蕨对大鼠致瘤作用的实验研究

本文研究结果发现,蕨和毛叶蕨除引起肝、肾和心等实质细胞肿胀外,并具有明显的致瘤能力,其肿瘤发生例数分别为11/20和15/22。蕨在W大鼠引起的肿瘤为:肠道肿瘤(3/10);膀胱肿瘤(6/10)。在S—D大鼠只引起膀胱肿瘤(4/10)而无其它肿瘤。毛叶蕨在W大鼠引起的肿瘤;肠道肿瘤(5/12);膀胱肿瘤(5/12);甲状腺肿瘤(2/12);卵巢肿瘤(1/12);皮下肿瘤(1/12)。在S—D大鼠引起的肿瘤为:肠道肿瘤(3/10);膀胱肿瘤(3/10),肿瘤发生率在蕨和毛叶蕨组间以及大鼠品系之间均无明显统计学差异(P>0.1)。肠道肿瘤主要发生于回肠,往往会导致肠套叠或类套叠变化,但未见有肿瘤转移现象,在20只对照大鼠未见任何肿瘤发生。     

Characterization of the supernumerary chromosome in cat eye syndrome

Most individuals with cat eye syndrome (CES) have a supernumerary bisatellited chromosome which, on the basis of cytogenetic evidence, has been reported to originate from either chromosome 13 or 22. To resolve this question, a single-copy DNA probe, D22S9, was isolated and localized to 22q11 by in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes. The number of copies of this sequence was determined in CES patients by means of Southern blots and densitometry analysis of autoradiographs. In patients with the supernumerary chromosome, four copies were found, whereas in one patient with a duplication of part of chromosome 22, there were three copies. Therefore, the syndrome results from the presence of either three or four copies of DNA sequences from 22q11; there is no evidence that sequences from other chromosomes are involved. This work demonstrates how DNA sequence dosage analysis can be used to study genetic disorders that are not readily amenable to standard cytogenetic analysis.     

Y染色体多态性与中国黄牛起源和分类研究

通过常规法、G带和C带对7个黄牛品种染色体进行系统研究所获得的资料,同时汇集了近20年来中国境内22个黄牛品种和1个大额牛种共计30个黄牛品种（其中4个外来牛品种）染色体的研究资料,分析和探讨了中国黄牛的起源、进化与分类。结果表明,中国黄牛Y染色体具有多态性,有中、亚中和近端着丝点Y染色体。中国北方黄牛多为中部和亚中部着丝点Y染色体,南方黄牛多近端丝点Y染色体,中原黄牛在品种内个体间多具有中、亚中和近端着丝点Y染色体3种类型。说明中国黄牛起源的多元性,即源于普通牛和瘤牛。在进化过程中,中国北方黄牛受普通牛的影响大,南方黄牛受瘤牛的影响大,中原黄牛同时受普通牛和瘤牛的影响,是由普通牛和瘤牛长期交汇融合形成的。根据26个黄牛品种Y染色体形态类型,绘制了中国黄牛Y染色体在中国的分布地域图。     

A mouse model of the aniridia-Wilms tumor deletion syndrome

Deletion of chromosome 11p13 in humans produces the WAGR syndrome, consisting of aniridia (an absence or malformation of the iris), Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma), genitourinary malformations, and mental retardation. An interspecies backcross between Mus musculus/domesticus and Mus spretus was made in order to map the homologous chromosomal region in the mouse genome and to define an animal model of this syndrome. Nine evolutionarily conserved DNA clones from proximal human 11p were localized on mouse chromosome 2 near Small-eyes (Sey), a semidominant mutation that is phenotypically similar to aniridia. Analysis of Dickie's Small-eye (SeyDey), a poorly viable allele that has pleiotropic effects, revealed the deletion of three clones, f3, f8, and k13, which encompass the aniridia (AN2) and Wilms tumor susceptibility genes in man. Unlike their human counterparts, SeyDey/+ mice do not develop nephroblastomas. These findings suggest that the Small-eye defect is genetically equivalent to human aniridia, but that loss of the murine homolog of the Wilms tumor gene is not sufficient for tumor initiation. A comparison among Sey alleles suggests that the AN2 gene product is required for induction of the lens and nasal placodes.     

Mouse tumor model for neurofibromatosis type 1

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by increased incidence of benign and malignant tumors of neural crest origin. Mutations that activate the protooncogene ras, such as loss of Nf1, cooperate with inactivating mutations at the p53 tumor suppressor gene during malignant transformation. One hundred percent of mice harboring null Nf1 and p53 alleles in cis synergize to develop soft tissue sarcomas between 3 and 7 months of age. These sarcomas exhibit loss of heterozygosity at both gene loci and express phenotypic traits characteristic of neural crest derivatives and human NF1 malignancies.     

轮枝镰孢SSR标记开发及在玉米分离群体遗传多样性分析中的应用

【目的】开发轮枝镰孢（Fusarium verticillioides）的SSR标记,为轮枝镰孢遗传多样性研究提供技术支持。【方法】利用Fastpcr在轮枝镰孢基因组中查找符合条件的SSR位点,采用Primer5.0软件设计引物,利用NTSYS及Popgene分析来自玉米的轮枝镰孢单孢分离物群体的PCR扩增结果。【结果】共设计有效扩增SSR引物158对,经筛选,109对（69.0%）可扩增出2条及以上的条带,其中55对引物（34.8%）多态性较好,可扩增出3条及以上的条带。从11条已组装的轮枝镰孢染色体上各选出2对多态性引物,计22对引物,对66株轮枝镰孢玉米分离物进行扩增,共获得125个等位变异,变异范围为2-11个,平均为5.68个。轮枝镰孢玉米分离物之间Nei’s基因多样性指数为0.1139-0.8687,平均为0.6199,表现出较高的遗传多样性。【结论】基于轮枝镰孢基因组序列开发的SSR标记具有很好的多态性,可用于轮枝镰孢的遗传多样性分析。用22对SSR引物扩增,以遗传相似系数0.3进行划分,可将66株轮枝镰孢玉米分离物分为3群;中国轮枝镰孢玉米分离物的遗传多样性与地理分布无相关性。     

Detection of Allelic Variation in Chinese Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Germplasm with Drought Tolerance Using SSR Markers

Allelic variation in two domestic wheat landraces, Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai, two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars with drought tolerance was detected by SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers. The clustering of 25 accessions showed that the similarity between Pingyaobaimai and Yanda1817, the latter was developed from the former, was 0.71, the highest one of all accessions, but the similarities were very low between these two accessions and other accessions including their derived cultivars. A similar situation was revealed between Mazhamai and its derived cultivars. Pingyaobaimai and its three derived cultivars shared three alleles at loci Xgwm526, Xgwm538 and Xgwm126 on chromosome arms 2BL, 4BL and 5AL, respectively. There were six shared alleles in Mazhamai and its derived cultivars, in order of Xgwm157,Xgwm126, Xgwm212, Xgwm626, Xgwm471 and Xgwm44 on chromosome arms 2DL, 5AL, 5DL, 6BL, 7AS and 7DC, respectively. Only one shared allele was detected between the pedigrees of Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai. The difference of shared alleles in two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars revealed the diversity in Chinese wheat germplasm with drought tolerance and the complication in genetic basis of drought tolerance in wheat.