ORPHANS BY DESIGN: THE FUTURE OF GENETIC PARENTHOOD

Establishing the nature of genetic parenthood is an important task. This is, firstly, because many people desire that relationship and it is in their interest to know what that is, and secondly, because there is a view that it may incur certain moral obligations between the genetic parent and their child. Many theorists have made attempts to define exactly what genetic parenthood is. I show that these definitions are deficient if they wish to fully capture all reproductive scenarios in ways that are intuitive and/or meaningful. Through a series of cases involving technologies such as cloning and genome editing, we see that in lieu of the traditional two parents, there are possible beings who have no genetic parents, one genetic parent, or many genetic parents. Establishing these cases complicates our understanding of genetic parenthood. From this, we must reconsider current definitions, as well as the usefulness of defining genetic parenthood in these complex cases. Here I do not aim to establish a new definition, but rather to suggest that this complexity makes it necessary to re‐assess the importance of the connection between genetic parenthood and parental obligations and authorities.     

GENETIC RELATEDNESS OF TWO POPULATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL, MIROUNGA LEONINA

Blood samples from southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) from Heard and Macquarie Islands were surveyed electrophoretically for protein variation. Thirty proteins encoded by a minimum of 35 loci were screened, four of which were found to be polymorphic. Statistically significant differences in allele frequencies were found between the two populations at three loci. Heterozygosity estimates for the Heard and Macquarie island populations were 0.034 ± 0.020 (mean ± standard error) and O.029 ± 0.017 respectively, with a Nei distance of 0.007. The findings suggest that the two populations may have diverged genetically and very limited gene flow exists between the islands, a finding consistent with limited information from mark-recapture studies.     

Orphaned at conception: the uncanny offspring of embryos

A number of advances in assisted reproduction have been greeted by the accusation that they would produce children 'without parents'. In this paper I will argue that while to date these accusations have been false, there is a limited but important sense in which they would be true of children born of a reproductive technology that is now on the horizon. If our genetic parents are those individuals from whom we have inherited 50% of our genes, then, unlike in any other reproductive scenario, children who were conceived from gametes derived from stem cell lines derived from discarded IVF embryos would have no genetic parents! This paper defends this claim and investigates its ethical implications. I argue that there are reasons to think that the creation of such embryos might be morally superior to the existing alternatives in an important set of circumstances.     

PATHWAYS TO SOCIAL EVOLUTION: RECIPROCITY,RELATEDNESS, AND SYNERGY

Many organisms live in populations structured by space and by class, exhibit plastic responses to their social partners, and are subject to nonadditive ecological and fitness effects. Social evolution theory has long recognized that all of these factors can lead to different selection pressures but has only recently attempted to synthesize how these factors interact. Using models for both discrete and continuous phenotypes, we show that analyzing these factors in a consistent framework reveals that they interact with one another in ways previously overlooked. Specifically, behavioral responses (reciprocity), genetic relatedness, and synergy interact in nontrivial ways that cannot be easily captured by simple summary indices of assortment. We demonstrate the importance of these interactions by showing how they have been neglected in previous synthetic models of social behavior both within and between species. These interactions also affect the level of behavioral responses that can evolve in the long run; proximate biological mechanisms are evolutionarily stable when they generate enough responsiveness relative to the level of responsiveness that exactly balances the ecological costs and benefits. Given the richness of social behavior across taxa, these interactions should be a boon for empirical research as they are likely crucial for describing the complex relationship linking ecology, demography, and social behavior.     

植物基因克隆的策略和方法

本文介绍了功能克隆,定位克隆,表型克隆等９种克隆植物基因的方法,着重分析了每项克隆方法的工作原理,应用范围和进展     

Biogenetic ties and parent‐child relationships: The misplaced critique

According to an almost axiomatic standard in bioethics, moral commitment should ground parents’ relationship with their children, rather than biogenetic relatedness. This standard has been used lately to express skepticism about extending existing assisted reproductive treatments (ARTs) to same‐sex couples and to research into novel fertility interventions for those couples, but this skepticism is misplaced on several grounds. As a matter of access and equity, same‐sex couples seem presumptively entitled to genetic relatedness to their children as far as possible both in regard to existing ARTs and to novel ARTs under investigation. For those worried about the effects of trying to secure biogenetic relatedness for same‐sex couples, it may be noted that same‐sex couples will only ever be a fraction of the parents implicated in propping up “biologism,” as the expectation of biogenetic relatedness it is sometimes called. The cultural force of biologism would survive almost intact even if no same‐sex couples were ever to have genetically related children. It is therefore hard to see why same‐sex couples should forfeit aspirations to biogenetic relationships with their children or enjoy less subsidy for ARTs than the subsidy given to different‐sex couples. As matter of moral consistency, the full implications of the biologism critique have yet to be evaluated relative to different‐sex couples.     

In vitro gametogenesis and reproductive cloning: Can we allow one while banning the other?

In vitro gametogenesis (IVG) is believed to be the next big breakthrough in reproductive medicine. The prima facie acceptance of this possible future technology is notable when compared to the general prohibition on human reproductive cloning. After all, if safety is the main reason for not allowing reproductive cloning, one might expect a similar conclusion for the reproductive application of IVG, since both technologies hold considerable and comparable risks. However, safety concerns may be overcome, and are presumably not the sole reason why cloning is being condemned. We therefore assess the non‐safety arguments against reproductive cloning, yet most of these can also be held against IVG. The few arguments that cannot be used against IVG are defective. We conclude from this that it will be hard to defend a ban on reproductive cloning while accepting the reproductive use of IVG.     

FINE-SCALE GENETIC STRUCTURE OF WHITEBARK PINE (PINUS ALBICAULIS): ASSOCIATIONS WITH WATERSHED AND GROWTH FORM

The fine-scale genetic structure of a subalpine conifer, whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.), was studied at nested geographic levels from watershed to adjacent stems in the eastern Sierra Nevada Range of California. A combination of several characteristics contributed to unpredicted genetic structure in this species. This includes being one of only 20 pine species worldwide with wingless, bird-dispersed seeds; having the reputed capacity to reproduce vegetatively; and forming distinct growth morphologies at different elevations in this part of its natural range. Genetic differentiation, as measured with 21 allozyme loci, among the three studied watersheds is virtually negligible (F_ST = 0.004). This is a surprising result because the upper-elevation sites vary somewhat in slope aspect; thus, aspect was confounded with watershed effect. Differentiation between the upper-elevation prostrate krummholz thickets and lower-elevation upright tree clump growth forms is modest (F_ST = 0.051). Much stronger differentiation was measured among the individual thickets and clumps within their sample sites (F_ST = 0.334). Within krummholz thickets, multiple individuals are present and genetic relationships often resemble half- to full-sibling family structure (mean r = 0.320). Canonical trend surface analysis in two intensively sampled thickets indicates greatest genotypic variation in the direction of the prevailing wind. At lower elevations, most (72%) of the tree clumps contained more than one genotype; the remaining clumps are probably multistemmed trees. Within tree clumps, family relationships are closer than those for krummholz thickets—commonly full-sibling to selfed structure (mean r = 0.597). Genetic structure is apparently profoundly influenced by the seed-caching behavior of Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana Wilson). Western pine species typically show little among-population differentiation and high levels of within-population genetic variation. In whitebark pine in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, genetic variation is highly structured, especially within the natural groupings—krummholz thickets and upright tree clumps.     

中国人红细胞生成素cDNA克隆与高效表达

以中国人正常胎肝为原料提取总RNA,逆转录合成cDNA与pCR3载体相连接,构建成pE／C表达质粒。序列鉴定结果表明,cDNA序列与国内外已报导的相比,除第2个密码子的第3个碱基系引物设计所致差异外,其余部分完全相同。利用脂质转染法将质粒转入中国白鼠卵巢细胞,获得能高效稳定表达重组人红细胞生成素的工程细胞。     

CULTURE AND GENETIC SCREENING IN AFRICA

Africa is a continent in transition amidst a revival of cultural practices. Over previous years the continent was robbed of the benefits of medical advances by unfounded cultural practices surrounding its cultural heritage. In a fast moving field like genetic screening, discussions of social and policy aspects frequently need to take place at an early stage to avoid the dilemma encountered by Western medicine. This paper, examines the potential challenges to genetic screening in Africa. It discusses how cultural practices may affect genetic screening. It views genomics science as a culture which is trying to diffuse into another one. It argues that understanding the existing culture will help the diffusion process. The paper emphasizes the importance of genetic screening for Africa, by assessing the current level of burden of diseases in the continent and shows its role in reducing disease prevalence. The paper identifies and discusses the cultural challenges that are likely to confront genetic screening on the continent, such as the worldview, rituals and taboos, polygyny, culture of son preference and so on. It also discusses cultural practices that may promote the science such as inheritance practices, spouse selection practices and naming patterns. Factors driving the cultural challenges are identified and discussed, such as socialization process, patriarchy, gender, belief system and so on. Finally, the paper discusses the way forward and highlights the ethical considerations of doing genetic screening on the continent. However, the paper also recognizes that African culture is not monolithic and therefore makes a case for exceptions.     

CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF SPODOPTERA LITURA UBIQUITIN GENE

Abstract Ubiquitin (UBI) plays a very important role in regulated non-lysosomal ATP dependent protein degradation. In the present work, the coding sequence of Spodoptera litura UBI gene was isolated (GenBank Accession No. AF436066). The length of this ORF is 228bp, encoding a protein with Mr of 8.56 kD and isoelectric point of 6.56. Multiple sequence alignment indicated that S. litura UBI is very similar to the homologous proteins of other eukaryotic species and it has 84% identity with S. litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpltMNPV) UBI at amino acid level. RT-PCR analysis showed that S. litura UBI gene is ubiquitously expressed in larva tissues which are susceptible to SpltMNPV infection. By constructing E. coli expression vector, S. litura UBI was highly expressed and the recombinant protein was purified using Ni-NTA resin column, and currently further study on the function of S. litura UBI in SpltMNPV infection is underway.     

斜纹夜蛾泛素基因的克隆及表达

泛素介导的蛋白质降解途径对脑内蛋白的选择性降解起着重要作用。设计一对简并引物,从斜纹夜娥(Spodoptera litura)细胞中克隆了泛素基因的编码区,CenBank登录号AF436066。序列分析表明,该编码区的长度为228bp,编码由76个氨基酸组成的、分子质量为8．56kD的蛋白,其等电点为6．56。同源性比较发现,斜纹夜峨泛素基因不仅与其它真核生物的泛素基因在氨基酸水平上具有96％以上的相似性,而且与斜纹夜蛾核多角体病毒(SpltMNPV)泛素基因的同源性为84％。RT—PCR分析发现,泛素基因在所检测的斜纹夜蛾幼虫多种组织,尤其是脂肪体中均有表达。采用构建的原核表达载体pQEUB,在大肠杆菌M15中诱导并高效表达出了带有His—tag的重组融合蛋白,薄层扫描分析得知靶蛋白约占总蛋白的37％。利用Ni—NTA亲和层析胶纯化得到重组融合蛋白,经SDS—PAGE鉴定为单一区带,为进一步研究S．litura泛素在SpltMNPV感染中的作用打下了基础。     

鲫Kaiso基因cDNA的克隆和表达分析

在爪蟾和斑马鱼中, Kaiso是一种在整个基因组范围内与甲基化CpG序列特异性结合的转录抑制因子, 在调控被甲基化基因表达的时间模式中起重要的作用。为深入研究DNA甲基化对我国重要养殖鱼类生殖和发育的影响, 我们克隆了鲫Kaiso基因的cDNA序列, 并对其时空表达模式进行了分析。该cDNA全长3145 bp, 5′-非翻译区132 bp, 3′-非翻译区1117 bp, 开放阅读框1896 bp, 编码631个氨基酸。鲫Kaiso蛋白与其他物种Kaiso蛋白的同源性分析表明, 与其他物种一样, 其 N端和C端分别有高保守性的BTB/POZ结构域和锌指结构域。整胚原位杂交结果显示, Kaiso mRNA在早期胚胎发育的各个时期均广泛表达, 信号均一, 但从尾芽期开始出现组织特异性表达差异。对不同发育阶段胚胎的实时定量PCR检测结果表明: 卵子中有高丰度的母源Kaiso mRNA存在; 在卵裂期至囊胚中期胚胎中Kaiso mRNA的丰度逐渐降低; 从囊胚中期至原肠早期都维持在最低水平状态; 原肠后期其表达水平又逐渐升高, 至尾芽期达到与未受精卵中相当的高水平后在器官发生期的整体水平又稍有下降。Kaiso mRNA丰度在胚胎发育早期的这种变化过程提示在卵裂期检测到的mRNA可能都是母源mRNA, 合子核Kaiso基因可能是在囊胚晚期后才开始转录。对成体不同组织的实时定量PCR检测结果表明Kaiso的表达存在明显的组织特异性差异, 在鲫肌肉、视网膜、心脏和脑中表达水平较高, 而在肾、胰、肝等器官中表达水平很低。Kaiso表达的时间和组织特异性提示其作为甲基化基因的转录抑制因子参与了胚胎和成体基因表达时空模式的调控。这些结果为进一步研究Kaiso和DNA甲基化修饰在鲫发育调控和遗传育种中的作用提供了基础资料。     

斜带石斑鱼阿片黑素促皮质素原全长cDNA克隆及序列分析

通过构建斜带石斑鱼垂体cDNA库和随机测序,克隆了其阿片黑素促皮质素原(Proopiomelanocortin,POMC)全长cDNA。斜带石斑鱼POMC全长cDNA为863bp(含Poly(A)),编码的POMC多肽前体为219aa。氨基酸序列比较分析表明：斜带石斑鱼POMC前体包含有促肾上腺皮质激素(Adrenocorticotropin,ACTH),α—促黑素(α—melanocyte stim—datinghormone,α—MSH),β—促黑素(β—MSH),γ—促脂素(γ-lipotrophic hormone,γ-LPH),β—内啡肽(β-endorphin)等,但缺失了γ—促黑素(γ-MSH)和大部分连接区。斜带石斑鱼POMC与哺乳动物POMC的同源性为39％—42％左右,与鸟类的同源性为42％左右,与两栖类的同源性为36％—41％,与其他鱼类POMC的同源性为38％—77％。斜带石斑鱼和罗非鱼的POMC的ACTH功能区都为40个氨基酸残基,而其他脊椎动物为39个氨基酸残基。     

龙牙木天然种群遗传多样性及遗传分化

采用水平切片淀粉凝胶电泳测定东北地区分布的4 个龙牙木种群的遗传结构。统计分析了10 个酶系统的11 个位点, 结果表明:龙牙木种群内存在着丰富的遗传变异, 多态位点百分率72.73%, 等位基因平均数为1.72, 期望杂合度为0.5617, 遗传一致度和遗传距离为0.9865和0.0133。这个结果与前文对其形态特征和薄层色谱特征分析所得结果基本一致, 充分说明区域龙牙木属于同一种物种的两个变种。     

圈卷产色链霉菌lon基因的克隆及酶切分析

圈卷产色链霉菌是从我国东北土壤中筛选的一株Nkkomycin产生菌。在固体基本培养基上具有典型的链霉菌发育分化特征。经诱变得到不产孢子的白色突变株和不能形成气生菌丝的光秃型突变株。部分白色突变株和全部光秃型突变株在形态分化受阻的同时,也失去了产生Nikkomycin的能力。表明在圈卷产色链霉菌中,参与形态分化的基因与抗生素生物合成基因可能密切相关。     

赤眼鳟MyD88基因cDNA克隆与表达特性研究

实验使用RACE-PCR技术获得了赤眼鳟(Squaliobarbus curriculus)髓样分化因子88 (Myeloid differentiationfactor 88, MyD88)的cDNA全长, 命名为ScMyD88。ScMyD88的cDNA全长为1779 bp, 其中开放阅读框855 bp, 共编码284个氨基酸残基, 推导的蛋白质分子量为33.053 kD, 理论等电点为5.66。赤眼鳟MyD88具有典型的MyD88结构特征, 包括死亡结构域和TIR结构域(Toll-IL-1 receptor domain, TIR), 其氨基酸序列和鲤科鱼类具有高度保守性, 相似性达到了90%以上, 特别是和武昌鱼相比, 相似性达到了98%。在检测的9个赤眼鳟组织和器官中均有MyD88表达, 其中肝脏、头肾和体肾中表达水平最高, 在脑中表达量最低。在草鱼呼肠弧病毒(Grass carp reovirus, GCRV)感染初期(12h内), MyD88在赤眼鳟免疫组织中表达水平急剧上升, 特别是在脾脏和体肾中尤为明显, 随后恢复正常水平。研究表明, MyD88在赤眼鳟抵抗GCRV入侵的免疫应答反应初期发挥了重要作用。     

坚强芽孢杆菌三个淀粉酶基因的克隆和表达

以pUC18为载体,用鸟枪法从产淀粉水解酶的坚强芽孢杆菌725菌株中得到三个产淀粉水解酶的重组质粒,在大肠杆菌中表达。用高压液相色谱分析了三个表达的酶的淀粉水解产物,其中pBA135和pBA150表达的酶的淀粉水解产物主要是麦芽糖,具β-淀粉酶的性质。pBA140表达的酶的淀粉水解主要产物除麦芽糖外还有一糖,三糖和四糖。pBA135编码的酶有较好的热稳定性,60℃保温30min,活性保留70％以上,最适反应温度55-60℃。而在同样条件下pBA150编码的酶仅保留37％的酶活,最适反应温度50℃。     

QUANTITATIVE GENETIC MODELS FOR DEVELOPMENT,EPIGENETIC SELECTION,AND PHENOTYPIC EVOLUTION

Herein we describe a general multivariate quantitative genetic model that incorporates two potentially important developmental phenomena, maternal effects and epigenetic effects. Maternal and epigenetic effects are defined as partial regression coefficients and phenotypic variances are derived in terms of age-specific genetic and environmental variances. As a starting point, the traditional quantitative genetic model of additive gene effects and random environmental effects is cast in a developmental time framework. From this framework, we first extend a maternal effects model to include multiple developmental ages for the occurrence of maternal effects. An example of maternal effects occurring at multiple developmental ages is prenatal and postnatal maternal effects in mammals. Subsequently, a model of intrinsic and epigenetic effects in the absence of maternal effects is described. It is shown that genetic correlations can arise through epigenetic effects, and in the absence of other developmental effects, epigenetic effects are in general confounded with age-specific intrinsic genetic effects. Finally, the two effects are incorporated into the basic quantitative genetic model. For this more biologically realistic model combining maternal and epigenetic effects, it is shown that the phenotypic regressions of offspring on mother and offspring on father can be used in some cases to estimate simultaneously maternal effects and epigenetic effects.     

基因工程的发展现状与前景展望

1972年,PaulBerg构建了世界上第一个重组DNA分子,自此,基因工程便诞生了,并很快掀起了基因工程研究的热潮。27年来,基因工程技术已获得了突飞猛进的发展,取得了许多世人瞩目的成就,对农业生产、医疗卫生、轻工食品和环境卫生等诸多方面产生了巨大的影响,正在成为生物学研究的最前沿学科。科学家们预言,以基因工程技术为主体的生物技术将成为21世纪新技术的主导技术之一。