The origins of genome complexity

Complete genomic sequences from diverse phylogenetic lineages reveal notable increases in genome complexity from prokaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes. The changes include gradual increases in gene number, resulting from the retention of duplicate genes, and more abrupt increases in the abundance of spliceosomal introns and mobile genetic elements. We argue that many of these modifications emerged passively in response to the long-term population-size reductions that accompanied increases in organism size. According to this model, much of the restructuring of eukaryotic genomes was initiated by nonadaptive processes, and this in turn provided novel substrates for the secondary evolution of phenotypic complexity by natural selection. The enormous long-term effective population sizes of prokaryotes may impose a substantial barrier to the evolution of complex genomes and morphologies.     

高粱·玉米核及细胞器基因核苷酸替代率与选择压力关系分析（摘要）

[目的]探讨选择压力与核苷酸替代率的关系。[方法]采用统计学方法分析高粱、玉米中部分核基因、细胞器基因的同义替代率、非同义替代率以及2者之间的比值,并对一些相关功能基因进行对比分析。[结果]相关功能基因在核与叶绿体中所受的纯化选择压力相近,在线粒体中则较低。高粱、玉米核同源基因间及核中不同功能基因间核苷酸替代的差异主要由非同义替代的差异造成。[结论]选择压力影响不同功能基因、不同物种的分子进化速率,而核与细胞器基因间进化速率的差异与选择压力间并无直接联系。     

高粱·玉米核及细胞器基因核苷酸替代率与选择压力关系分析

[目的]探讨选择压力与核苷酸替代率的关系。[方法]采用统计学方法分析高粱、玉米中部分核基因、细胞器基因的同义替代率、非同义替代率以及二者之间的比值,并对一些相关功能基因进行对比分析。[结果]相关功能基因在核与叶绿体中所受的纯化选择压力相近,在线粒体中则较低。高粱、玉米核同源基因间及核中不同功能基因间核苷酸替代的差异主要由非同义替代的差异造成。[结论]选择压力影响不同功能基因、不同物种的分子进化速率,而核与细胞器基因间进化速率的差异与选择压力间并无直接联系。     

High relatedness is necessary and sufficient to maintain multicellularity in Dictyostelium

Most complex multicellular organisms develop clonally from a single cell. This should limit conflicts between cell lineages that could threaten the extensive cooperation of cells within multicellular bodies. Cellular composition can be manipulated in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, which allows us to test and confirm the two key predictions of this theory. Experimental evolution at low relatedness favored cheating mutants that could destroy multicellular development. However, under high relatedness, the forces of mutation and within-individual selection are too small for these destructive cheaters to spread, as shown by a mutation accumulation experiment. Thus, we conclude that the single-cell bottleneck is a powerful stabilizer of cellular cooperation in multicellular organisms.     

Ancient invasions: from endosymbionts to organelles

The acquisitions of mitochondria and plastids were important events in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, supplying it with compartmentalized bioenergetic and biosynthetic factories. Ancient invasions by eubacteria through symbiosis more than a billion years ago initiated these processes. Advances in geochemistry, molecular phylogeny, and cell biology have offered insight into complex molecular events that drove the evolution of endosymbionts into contemporary organelles. In losing their autonomy, endosymbionts lost the bulk of their genomes, necessitating the evolution of elaborate mechanisms for organelle biogenesis and metabolite exchange. In the process, symbionts acquired many host-derived properties, lost much of their eubacterial identity, and were transformed into extraordinarily diverse organelles that reveal complex histories that we are only beginning to decipher.     

A basal dromaeosaurid and size evolution preceding avian flight

Fossil evidence for changes in dinosaurs near the lineage leading to birds and the origin of flight has been sparse. A dinosaur from Mongolia represents the basal divergence within Dromaeosauridae. The taxon's small body size and phylogenetic position imply that extreme miniaturization was ancestral for Paraves (the clade including Avialae, Troodontidae, and Dromaeosauridae), phylogenetically earlier than where flight evolution is strongly inferred. In contrast to the sustained small body sizes among avialans throughout the Cretaceous Period, the two dinosaurian lineages most closely related to birds, dromaeosaurids and troodontids, underwent four independent events of gigantism, and in some lineages size increased by nearly three orders of magnitude. Thus, change in theropod body size leading to flight's origin was not unidirectional.     

Transitions to asexuality result in excess amino acid substitutions

Theory predicts that linkage between genetic loci reduces the efficiency of purifying selection. Because of the permanent linkage of all heritable genetic material, asexual lineages may be exceptionally prone to deleterious-mutation accumulation in both nuclear and organelle genes. Here, we show that the ratio of the rate of amino acid to silent substitution (Ka/Ks) in mitochondrial protein-coding genes is higher in obligately asexual lineages than in sexual lineages of the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex. Using a phylogeny-based approach to quantify the frequency of mutational-effect classes, we estimate that mitochondrial protein-coding genes in asexual lineages accumulate deleterious amino acid substitutions at four times the rate in sexual lineages. These results support the hypothesis that sexual reproduction plays a prominent role in reducing the mutational burden in populations.     

Rates of DNA sequence evolution differ between taxonomic groups

The mutation rates of DNA sequences during evolution can be estimated from interspecies DNA sequence differences by assaying changes that have little or no effect on the phenotype (neutral mutations). Examination of available measurements shows that rates of DNA change of different phylogenetic groups differ by a factor of 5. The slowest rates are observed for higher primates and some bird lineages, while faster rates are seen in rodents, sea urchins, and drosophila. The rate of DNA sequence change has decreased markedly during primate evolution. The contrast in rates of DNA sequence change is probably due to evolutionary variation and selection of biochemical mechanisms such as DNA replication or repair.     

Second-order selection for evolvability in a large Escherichia coli population

In theory, competition between asexual lineages can lead to second-order selection for greater evolutionary potential. To test this hypothesis, we revived a frozen population of Escherichia coli from a long-term evolution experiment and compared the fitness and ultimate fates of four genetically distinct clones. Surprisingly, two clones with beneficial mutations that would eventually take over the population had significantly lower competitive fitness than two clones with mutations that later went extinct. By replaying evolution many times from these clones, we showed that the eventual winners likely prevailed because they had greater potential for further adaptation. Genetic interactions that reduce the benefit of certain regulatory mutations in the eventual losers appear to explain, at least in part, why they were outcompeted.     

H9N2禽流感病毒全基因组密码子使用偏好性及影响因素分析

【目的】探究H9N2禽流感病毒(AIV)全基因组的密码子使用偏好性及影响因素。【方法】选取2010—2018年国内H9N2 AIV流行毒株的全基因组为研究对象,分析其碱基组成特性、最优密码子、密码子使用偏好性的影响因素以及病毒对宿主密码子使用模式的适应性。【结果】H9N2 AIV的全基因组中AU含量高于GC。大部分最优密码子以A或U结尾,有效密码子数(ENC)平均值为52.86,提示存在密码子使用偏好性但偏好性较低。密码子使用偏好性主要受到突变压力和自然选择的共同作用,其中自然选择(所占比例为61.79%～76.15%)作用大于突变压力(所占比例为23.85%～38.21%)。H9N2 AIV对人Homo sapiens的密码子适应指数平均值为0.739～0.741,提示H9N2AIV禽流感病毒可能已适应人类的密码子使用模式。【结论】本研究为H9N2 AIV的基因进化分析、已有疫苗的密码子优化和新型疫苗(密码子去优化疫苗)研制提供了理论依据。     

木兰科叶绿体基因组的密码子使用特征分析

木兰科植物是具有重要经济、药用和观赏等价值的原始被子植物,密码子是基因编码区蛋白翻译的核心元件,分析基因组编码区密码子的使用特征,对基因功能和系统进化研究具有重要意义。目前木兰科植物已有29个物种的叶绿体基因组被成功解析和注释。收集已有的木兰科植物叶绿体基因组,系统解析叶绿体基因组编码区的密码子使用特征,并阐释了木兰科植物间的亲缘进化关系。结果表明,29种木兰科植物的叶绿体基因组编码区的同义密码子和最优密码子使用偏好相同,均以A/U结尾,自然选择是叶绿体编码区密码子偏好形成的主要原因。此外,基于29种木兰科植物叶绿体基因组、CDS序列以及密码子偏好特征RSCU值分别构建了系统进化树,分析发现,基于密码子偏好特征的物种间进化关系明显不同于前两者,而叶绿体基因组和CDS序列构建的进化关系更接近物种的真实分类,该结果也进一步支持了位点突变特征和非编码区序列在生物体的进化过程中往往具有重要的作用。     

猪圆环病毒同义密码子的使用模式及其影响因素

[目的]揭示猪圆环病毒(PCV)基因组的进化特点和遗传多样性。[方法]通过计算PCV基因组的相对同义密码子使用频率(RSCU)、有效密码子数目(ENC)和核苷酸含量等指标,对PCV基因组的密码子使用模式进行了综合分析。[结果]PCV基因组具有较低的GC含量和低的密码子偏好性,不同基因型的PCV在密码子使用上具有显著差异,并且PCV与圆环病毒科中的其他病毒的密码子使用模式也存在差异。PCV与其宿主的密码子使用模式存在一定程度的相似性。此外,地理因素、蛋白质总的平均疏水性和芳香性等可能与PCV的密码子使用模式的形成有关。[结论]PCV基因组的密码子使用模式的形成是突变压力与自然选择相互作用的结果。该研究对阐明PCV的密码子使用规律以及分子进化过程提供了最新的信息。     

木兰科叶绿体基因组的密码子使用特征分析

木兰科植物是具有重要经济、药用和观赏等价值的原始被子植物,密码子是基因编码区蛋白翻译的核心元件,分析基因组编码区密码子的使用特征,对基因功能和系统进化研究具有重要意义。目前木兰科植物已有29个物种的叶绿体基因组被成功解析和注释。收集已有的木兰科植物叶绿体基因组,系统解析叶绿体基因组编码区的密码子使用特征,并阐释了木兰科植物间的亲缘进化关系。结果表明,29种木兰科植物的叶绿体基因组编码区的同义密码子和最优密码子使用偏好相同,均以A/U结尾,自然选择是叶绿体编码区密码子偏好形成的主要原因。此外,基于29种木兰科植物叶绿体基因组、CDS序列以及密码子偏好特征RSCU值分别构建了系统进化树,分析发现,基于密码子偏好特征的物种间进化关系明显不同于前两者,而叶绿体基因组和CDS序列构建的进化关系更接近物种的真实分类,该结果也进一步支持了位点突变特征和非编码区序列在生物体的进化过程中往往具有重要的作用。     

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.     

High frequency of hypermutable Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis lung infection

The lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are chronically infected for years by one or a few lineages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These bacterial populations adapt to the highly compartmentalized and anatomically deteriorating lung environment of CF patients, as well as to the challenges of the immune defenses and antibiotic therapy. These selective conditions are precisely those that recent theoretical studies predict for the evolution of mechanisms that augment the rate of variation. Determination of spontaneous mutation rates in 128 P. aeruginosa isolates from 30 CF patients revealed that 36% of the patients were colonized by a hypermutable (mutator) strain that persisted for years in most patients. Mutator strains were not found in 75 non-CF patients acutely infected with P. aeruginosa. This investigation also reveals a link between high mutation rates in vivo and the evolution of antibiotic resistance.     

Evidence for the neutral hypothesis of protein polymorphism

Data for some 400 polymorphic proteins were examined with special reference to molecular evolution, by using a statistic that depends on neither mutation rate, population structure, nor other ecological factors. The result indicates that most of these polymorphisms are maintained in a population by mutation and random genetic drift.     

Mobile DNA in Old World monkeys: a glimpse through the rhesus macaque genome

The completion of the draft sequence of the rhesus macaque genome allowed us to study the genomic composition and evolution of transposable elements in this representative of the Old World monkey lineage, a group of diverse primates closely related to humans. The L1 family of long interspersed elements appears to have evolved as a single lineage, and Alu elements have evolved into four currently active lineages. We also found evidence of elevated horizontal transmissions of retroviruses and the absence of DNA transposon activity in the Old World monkey lineage. In addition, approximately 100 precursors of composite SVA (short interspersed element, variable number of tandem repeat, and Alu) elements were identified, with the majority being shared by the common ancestor of humans and rhesus macaques. Mobile elements compose roughly 50% of primate genomes, and our findings illustrate their diversity and strong influence on genome evolution between closely related species.     

突变基因的积累与生殖隔离形成的一个途径（英文）

通过用RR、Rr和rr3种基因型的适合度之比量化R与r基因在后代中的频率,计算r的频率逐代演变的分岔点,研究随机交配群体中的杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因r在群体中的逐代积累过程。揭示了R与r在遗传中的不相容性;遗传漂变能使r在新群体中有较高的频率,超过分岔点,最终形成生殖隔离;同时生物进化的动力仅有突变、遗传漂变、自然选择这3个条件还不够,还需要有杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因,即原有群体的遗传背景对新突变的排斥作用。