内含子编码蛋白与内含子的转移

具有自我剪接能力的Ⅰ型和Ⅱ型内含有编码蛋白质的功能,Ⅰ型内含子编码成熟酶和核酸内切酶,后者参与Ⅰ型与含子的归巢。Ⅱ型内含子编码的蛋白质呈现成熟酶核酸内切酶和逆转录酶活性,三种活性都在Ⅱ型内含子归巢中和用。     

Ⅱ组内含子(Group Ⅱ Intron)的分布及多样性

Ⅱ组内含子(group Ⅱ intron)存在于原生生物、真菌、藻类、植物细胞器以及细菌和古细菌基因组中.在体内,Ⅱ组内含子可通过两步连续的转酯反应从前体RNA中自剪接,并连接两 侧外显子.许多Ⅱ组内含子的剪接反应是由蛋白质辅助完成的,这种蛋白质有的是由内含子编码,有的是由宿主基因编码.Ⅱ组内含子能够有效地归巢进入无内含子的等位基因,也能 够以低频率逆转座进入非等位基因.转座过程依赖内含子RNA和内含子编码的蛋白质（内切核酸酶活性和逆转录酶活性）.本论文在总结Ⅱ组内含子最新研究成果的基础上,分析Ⅱ组内含子可能的起源和进化途径     

内含子与基因表达

以前认为含而不显的内含子,现已证明其内藏的可读框架(ORF)不仅可以表达为成熟酶、逆转录酶和核酸内切酶,而且这些酶又对基因的表达具有重要的或潜在的影响。内含子可以极大地增强基因的表达,在转录和转译水平上影响基因的表达过程;内含子序列中还含有调控基因表达的元件;还有报道指出内含子还与衰老过程、rDNA群体和个体变异、对环境的适应性以及癌症等相应的生理过程有关。     

药用寄生植物锁阳线粒体基因内含子序列分析

被子植物线粒体cox1基因的Group玉内含子常含有水平基因转移(horizontal gene transfer,HGT)现象。本研究对药用寄生植物锁阳(Cynomorium songaricum)线粒体基因cox1、cox2、nad1序列进行扩增分析,利用最大似然法对cox1和cox2基因内含子和外显子分别进行聚类分析,结果显示cox1内含子聚类结果与其他3个聚类结果不相符,说明该内含子可能存在水平基因转移现象。对比了锁阳6个不同居群间线粒体基因cox1、cox2、nad1外显子与内含子序列平均距离,发现6个不同居群间cox1基因内含子同源性高达100%,说明该基因内含子可能具有功能。结合生物信息学分析表明该内含子很有可能编码核酸内切酶,而DNA核酸内切酶被认为能促进内含子的转移。3'Co-conversion tracts(3'CCT)是被子植物内含子发生转移的痕迹,对锁阳cox1基因序列进行检测发现其含有3'CCT序列且长度为35 bp,RT-PCR实验验证得到cox1基因内含子可以独立转录m RNA。因此,锁阳cox1基因内含子很可能编码一个核酸内切酶,且促进了其内含子的转移。     

Ⅱ组内含子(Group Ⅱ Introns)的分布及多样性

Ⅱ组内含子(groupⅡintron)存在于原生生物、真菌、藻类、植物细胞器以及细菌和古细菌基因组中.在体内,Ⅱ组内含子可通过两步连续的转酯反应从前体RNA中自剪接,并连接两侧外显子.许多Ⅱ组内含子的剪接反应是由蛋白质辅助完成的,这种蛋白质有的是由内含子编码,有的是由宿主基因编码.Ⅱ组内含子能够有效地归巢进入无内含子的等位基因,也能够以低频率逆转座进入非等位基因.转座过程依赖内含子RNA和内含子编码的蛋白质(内切核酸酶活性和逆转录酶活性).本论文在总结Ⅱ组内含子最新研究成果的基础上,分析Ⅱ组内含子可能的起源和进化途径.     

细菌Ⅱ组内含子（GroupⅡintron）的转移机制

摘要: 约14年前在真核生物中发现的Ⅱ组内含子不仅具有催化功能,而且是可移动的逆转录元件。近年来研究发现细菌中也有可移动的Ⅱ组内含子,它们能够逆转录归巢进入同源无内含子的等位基因位点或者逆转录转座进入非等位基因位点。本文试图从细菌Ⅱ组内含子编码蛋白的活性功能域的组成与Ⅱ组内含子转移发生途径之间的联系,综述已知细菌Ⅱ组内含子主要的移动机制。同时,依据作者多年来研究海洋蓝细菌Ⅱ组内含子编码蛋白对Ⅱ组内含子剪接机理的结果,探讨了海洋蓝细菌Ⅱ组内含子是否会发生转移以及可能的转移方式,探讨了Ⅱ组内含子在生物基因组中发生转移的生物学意义。     

真菌线粒体cob中Ⅱ型LAGLIDADG归巢内切酶进化分析

以已公布的114种真菌线粒体基因组数据为依据,对cob内含子及其编码的Ⅱ型LAGLIDADG归巢内切酶进行全面分析,以揭示其进化规律。在cob内含子中共发现27个Ⅱ型LAGLIDADG归巢内切酶基因,其中18个位于S433内含子插入位点,其余9个散布在另外8个插入位点。结合Pfam数据,将Ⅱ型LAGLIDADG归巢内切酶分成10个主要类群,其中4个类群存在不同生物界物种间的水平迁移。S433位点的18个归巢内切酶均属于类群1,它们与宿主内含子可能从共同祖先垂直遗传而来,并在传递过程中伴有水平迁移;其他归巢内切酶及宿主内含子则应是水平迁移的结果。类群1中的归巢内切酶可分为两个亚类,两亚类识别的靶序列存在明显差异;保守模体氨基酸序列分析显示它们大多数具有潜在内切酶活性。全面呈现了真菌线粒体cob内含子及其编码的Ⅱ型LAGLIDADG归巢内切酶的存在状态和进化模式,为归巢内切酶的改造和设计提供了新素材。     

蛋白质内含子演化分析

蛋白质内含子是能够自我剪切的一段多肽链 .它在生物三大系统中都存在 ,但它的分布在各物种间以及蛋白质种类之间极不均衡 .蛋白质内含子的演化和扩散也因此引起了人们的极大兴趣 .经过系统搜索 ,从已知的核酸序列中找到 6 9个经典的蛋白质内含子 .同源比较和系统树分析表明 ,蛋白质内含子的演化应综合先天遗传和后天转移两方面的因素 .     

L1.LtrB内含子编码蛋白反转录结构域关键催化位点分析及功能验证

【目的】筛选影响Ll.LtrB内含子编码蛋白(Intron encoded protein,IEP)反转录功能的关键催化位点,并获得无反转录活性的IEP突变体。【方法】首先,利用NCBI数据库,通过序列比对及同源建模方法筛选影响IEP反转录功能的关键氨基酸催化位点;然后,对筛选获得的关键催化位点进行定点突变,同时以Targetron载体为模板,构建无反转录功能的突变型Targetron打靶系统;最后,以大肠杆菌lacZ基因为例,体内验证IEP突变体的功能及其对Ⅱ型内含子"归巢"效率的影响。【结果】筛选到C164和G214两个位点是影响内含子编码蛋白反转录功能的关键氨基酸残基,并获得C164K和G214W两个突变体。体内功能分析表明,此两个位点突变完全失活了Ⅱ型内含子的"归巢"功能。【结论】筛选并获得了失活反转录功能的Ll.LtrB内含子编码蛋白突变体,为深入研究Ⅱ型内含子的结构和"归巢"机理奠定了基础。     

蛋白质剪接与一类新的可移动遗传因子

最近在几种生物体中连续发现了蛋白质剪接现象,由于它与通常所说的RNA剪接的区别,人们称这些在蛋白质水平被剪切掉的部分为“蛋白质内含子”.有些蛋白质内含子具有核酸内切酶功能,编码蛋白质内含子的DNA片段是一类新的可移动遗传因子.文中介绍了目前发现的几例蛋白质剪接现象,讨论了蛋白质剪接的可能机理,分析了蛋白质内含子的进化及其生物学意义.     

Intron length evolution in Drosophila

I present data on the evolution of intron lengths among 3 closely related Drosophila species, D. melanogaster, Drosophila simulans, and Drosophila yakuba. Using D. yakuba as an outgroup, I mapped insertion and deletion mutations in 148 introns (spanning approximately 30 kb) to the D. melanogaster and D. simulans lineages. Intron length evolution in the 2 sister species has been different: in D. melanogaster, X-linked introns have increased slightly in size, whereas autosomal ones have decreased slightly in size; in D. simulans, both X-linked and autosomal introns have decreased in size. To understand the possible evolutionary causes of these lineage- and chromosome-specific patterns of intron evolution, I studied insertion-deletion (indel) polymorphism and divergence in D. melanogaster. Small insertion mutations segregate at elevated frequencies and enjoy elevated probabilities of fixation, particularly on the X chromosome. In contrast, there is no detectable X chromosome effect on fixations in D. simulans. These findings suggest X chromosome-specific selection or biased gene conversion-gap repair favoring insertions in D. melanogaster but not in D. simulans. These chromosome- and lineage-specific patterns of indel substitution are not easily explained by existing general population genetic models of intron length evolution. Genomic data from D. melanogaster further suggest that the forces described here affect introns and intergenic regions similarly.     

Intron recognition comes of AGe

The molecular basis for the consensus sequence at the 3' ends of introns in higher eukaryotes has now been elucidated. However, this discovery does not explain all aspects of 3' splice site selection.     

鱼类基因内含子研究进展

内含子是指断裂基因中的非编码区序列,在编码蛋白质前被去除。在高等生物中,内含子的长度远大于外显子,大部分随机突变会发生在内含子中。因此,内含子的存在使高等生物对突变的耐受能力大大增强了。研究表明,内含子可以提高基因表达效率;影响RNA的转录、剪接加工、出核孔以及翻译等过程;启动某些基因的表达;并通过选择性剪接调控基因的表达。内含子功能的研究成果给当前鱼类免疫基因研究开拓了全新的视野。对内含子的分类、剪接、功能以及鱼类内含子研究的新进展进行了综述,并展望了内含子在鱼类免疫基因研究中的应用。     

Intron presence-absence polymorphisms in Daphnia

Here, we report 2 novel intron gains segregating in populations of Daphnia pulex endemic to Oregon. These novel introns do not have an obvious source and are not present in any D. pulex populations outside Oregon, other species of Daphnia that we examined, or any other organism for which sequence data are available. Furthermore, the novel introns are both found in the same gene, a Rab GTPase (rab4), and they appear to differ in their insertion site by one base pair, providing some support to the proto-splice site hypothesis. The rarity of intron-gain polymorphisms is questioned as we discovered 2 events in an initial survey of only 6 nuclear loci in 36 Daphnia individuals. Neutrality tests failed to ascertain a clear selective effect for either intron insertion, and a significant difference in recombination rate was not observed in alleles that contain the novel intron insertion versus alleles lacking it. We conclude that one novel intron insertion segregating at high frequencies in Daphnia populations in Oregon is unlikely to be adaptive and may result from the reduced efficacy of selection in isolated populations of small effective size.     

Intron Length and Codon Usage

The correlation was shown between the length of introns and the codon usage of the coding sequences of the corresponding genes, which in some cases can be related to the level of gene expression. The link is positive in the unicellular organisms, i.e., genes with the longer introns show the higher bias of codon usage. It is most pronounced in baker's yeast, where it is definitely related to the level of gene expression—genes with the higher level of expression have the longer introns. The correlation is inverted in multicellular organisms as compared to unicellular ones. Some organisms, however, do not show the link. The presence or absence of the link does not seem to be related to the GC percent of the coding sequences. Received: 7 December 1999 / Accepted: 10 May 2000     

Mutations in Intron 1 and Intron 22 Inversion Negative Haemophilia A Patients from Western India

Despite increased awareness and diagnostic facilities, 70–80% of the haemophilia A (HA) patients still remain undiagnosed in India. Very little data is available on prevalent mutations in HA from this country. We report fifty mutations in seventy one Indian HA patients, of which twenty were novel. Ten novel missense mutations [p.Leu11Pro (p.Leu-8Pro), p.Tyr155Ser (p.Tyr136Ser), p.Ile405Thr (p.Ile386Thr), p.Gly582Val (p.Gly563Val) p.Thr696Ile (p.Thr677Ile), p.Tyr737Cys (p.Tyr718Cys), p.Pro1999Arg (p.Pro1980Arg), p.Ser2082Thr (p.Ser2063Thr), p.Leu2197Trp (p.Leu2178Trp), p.Asp2317Glu (p.Asp2298Glu)] two nonsense [p.Lys396* (p.Lys377*), p.Ser2205* (p.Ser2186*)], one insertion [p.Glu1268_Asp1269ins (p.Glu1249_Asp1250)] and seven deletions [p.Leu882del (p.Leu863del), p.Met701del (p.Met682del), p.Leu1223del (p.Leu1204del), p.Trp1961_Tyr1962del (p.Trp1942_Tyr1943del) p.Glu1988del (p.Glu1969del), p.His1841del (p.His1822del), p.Ser2205del (p.Ser2186del)] were identified. Double mutations (p.Asp2317Glu; p.Thr696Ile) were observed in a moderate HA case. Mutations [p. Arg612Cys (p.Arg593Cys), p.Arg2326Gln (p.Arg2307Gln)] known to be predisposing to inhibitors to factor VIII (FVIII) were identified in two patients. 4.6% of the cases were found to be cross reacting material positive (CRM+ve). A wide heterogeneity in the nature of mutations was seen in the present study which has been successfully used for carrier detection and antenatal diagnosis in 10 families affected with severe to moderate HA.     

ExInt: an Exon Intron Database

The Exon/Intron Database (ExInt) stores information of all GenBank eukaryotic entries containing an annotated intron sequence. Data are available through a retrieval system, as flat-files and as a MySQL dump file. In this report we discuss several implementations added to ExInt, which is accessible at http://intron.bic.nus.edu.sg/exint/newexint/exint.html.