Evolutionary dynamics of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes: higher intensities of purifying selection than other genes

Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes (hereafter referred to as "cancer genes") result in cancer when they experience substitutions that prevent or distort their normal function. We examined evolutionary pressures acting on cancer genes and other classes of disease-related genes and compared our results to analyses of genes without known association to disease. We compared synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates in 3,035 human genes-approximately 10% of the genome-measuring the intensity of purifying selection on 311 human disease genes, including 122 cancer-related genes. Although the genes examined are similar to nondisease genes in product, expression, function, and pathway affiliation, we found intriguing differences in the selective pressures experienced by cancer genes relative to other (noncancer) disease-related and non-disease-related genes. We found a statistically significant increase in the intensity of purifying selection exerted on cancer genes (the average ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions, omega, was 0.079) relative to all other disease-related genes groups (omega = 0.101) and non-disease-related genes (omega = 0.100). This difference indicates a striking increase in selection against nonsynonymous substitutions in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. This finding provides insight into the etiology of cancer and the differences between genes involved in cancer and those implicated in other human diseases. Specifically, we found a significant overlap between human oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes and "essential genes," human homologs of mouse lethal genes identified by knockout experiments. This insight may improve our ability to identify cancer-related genes and enhances our understanding of the nature of these genes.     

Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: independent origin of nonclassical class I genes in different groups of mammals

The class I major histocompatibility complex genes are composed of classical and nonclassical genes, the latter being largely nonfunctional. To understand the evolutionary relationships of the two groups of class I genes, a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences was conducted using 45 genes from six mammalian and one avian species. The results indicate that nonclassical genes in one species are more closely related to classical genes from the same species than to nonclassical genes from a species belonging to a different order or family. This indicates that the differentiation of classical and nonclassical genes occurs rather rapidly in the genome. Classical genes are apparently duplicated with a high frequency in the evolutionary process, and many of the duplicated genes seem to degenerate into nonclassical genes as a result of deleterious mutation. The nonclassical Qa genes in the mouse have sequences homologous to regulatory sequences involved in the universal expression of classical class I genes, but they have accumulated numerous nucleotide substitutions in these sequences. The pattern of nucleotide substitution in nonclassical genes is different from that in classical genes. In nonclassical genes, the rate of nonsynonymous substitution is higher in the antigen recognition site than in other gene regions, as is true of classical genes. However, unlike the case of classical genes, the nonsynonymous rate does not always exceed the synonymous rate in the antigen recognition site. Nonclassical proteins further differ from classical proteins in having amino acid replacements in conserved antigen recognition site positions. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that nonclassical genes have originated from classical genes but have lost classical class I function because of deleterious mutation.     

家蚕胚胎期重力相关基因的抑制消减杂交分析

目的：筛选家蚕胚胎期重力相关基因。方法：对模拟失重与正常重力条件下的家蚕胚胎cDNA进行抑制消减杂交（Suppression subtractive hybridization,SSH）,并对模拟失重过程中家蚕胚胎期表达发生变化的基因进行克隆、测序及同源性分析。结果：获得了34个与重力有关的序列标签。在模拟失重条件下有16个基因表达上调,其中15个为未知基因,1个为已知基因,其作用是维持mRNA的稳定性。在模拟失重条件下有18个基因表达下调,其中4个为未知基因,6个为蛋白合成相关基因,3个为基因组contig基因,5个为家蚕est库中功能未知基因。结论：模拟失重环境影响了家蚕胚胎发育期与mRNA稳定性和蛋白质合成相关基因的表达。     

利用相似致病菌中保守的致病菌特有基因预测新的毒力相关基因

目的:在致病机制相似的致病菌中寻找保守的致病菌特有基因,预测新的毒力相关基因。方法:首先选取致病机制相似的致病菌EHEC与EPEC,利用本实验室构建的包含115 152条致病菌特有基因片段的数据库进行本地Blast,得到致病菌特有基因,对致病菌特有基因在相似致病菌中的保守性进行分析,得到新的可能的毒力相关基因。结果:在6株EHEC菌中找到95条保守的致病菌特有基因,其中大部分为已知的毒力相关基因,还有许多可能的毒力相关基因;在9株相似致病菌(EHEC、EPEC)中找到10条保守的致病菌特有的蛋白基因,其中9条为已知的致病相关基因,1条为可能的致病相关基因。结论:应用本方法可以发现新的毒力基因,为后续对致病菌致病机制的实验研究奠定了基础。     

Transcription profiling during the cell cycle shows that a subset of Polycomb-targeted genes is upregulated during DNA replication

Genome-wide gene expression analyses of the human somatic cell cycle have indicated that the set of cycling genes differ between primary and cancer cells. By identifying genes that have cell cycle dependent expression in HaCaT human keratinocytes and comparing these with previously identified cell cycle genes, we have identified three distinct groups of cell cycle genes. First, housekeeping genes enriched for known cell cycle functions; second, cell type-specific genes enriched for HaCaT-specific functions; and third, Polycomb-regulated genes. These Polycomb-regulated genes are specifically upregulated during DNA replication, and consistent with being epigenetically silenced in other cell cycle phases, these genes have lower expression than other cell cycle genes. We also find similar patterns in foreskin fibroblasts, indicating that replication-dependent expression of Polycomb-silenced genes is a prevalent but unrecognized regulatory mechanism.     

Global expression of simulated microgravity-responsive genes in Xenopus liver cells

The random positioning machine (RPM) is a method used to generate a simulated-microgravity environment at approximately 0 g. Using an RPM, we analyzed the global gene expression of A8 cells derived from the liver of adult Xenopus laevis. A range of genes on a Xenopus 44K-scale microarray were up- or downregulated two-fold or more: 43 genes (up, 36 genes; down, 7 genes) on culture day 5 in RPM, 74 genes (up, 48 genes; down, 26 genes) on day 8, 105 genes (up, 71 genes; down, 34 genes) on day 10, and 132 genes (up, 98 genes; down, 34 genes) on day 15. Five genes were upregulated two-fold or more throughout culturing in RPM, while only one gene was downregulated over the entire time. We then compared the expression patterns of the RPM-dependent genes in the A8 cells with those in A6 cells established from the kidney of adult Xenopus laevis. Six upregulated genes and three downregulated genes showed the same expression patterns throughout the culturing of A6 and A8 cells in RPM. Such globally responsive genes may play a common role in the cell response to simulated microgravity. We were particularly interested in the downregulation of SPARC in both cell types in RPM, which supported previous observations from simulated-microgravity experiments on earth or microgravity in space. We conclude that SPARC is plays a key role in the response of a cell to microgravity.     

用基因芯片筛选高转移卵巢癌细胞系转移相关基因

用标准化的Affymetrix公司生产U133A基因芯片技术研究高(H)转移卵巢癌细胞株(HO-8910PM)和正常卵巢上皮(C)基因表达谱差异,筛选与卵巢癌转移相关的基因及其在染色体的定位和功能。结果发现高转移卵巢癌细胞株和正常卵巢上皮比较表达差异8倍以上共有1,237个基因,其中表达上调(信号比的对数值SLR≥3)有597个,表达下调(SLR≤-3)有640个。从表达差异的基因在染色体定位分析,发现除1个基因未知其定位外,其余所有差异表达基因散在分布在各条染色体上,但以1号染色体最多,有115个(9.3%)。其次是2号染色体有94个(7.6%),第三是12号染色体有88个(7.1%)。第四是11号染色体有76个(6.1%)。第五是X染色体有71个(5.7%)。第6是17号染色体有69个(5.6%)。而差异表达的基因发生在染色体短臂(q)上有805个(占65.1%),在13,14,15,21和22号仅发现在q上有差异表达基因。从表达差异的基因分子功能分类看,属于酶和酶调控子基因最多(306个,占24.7%),其次是核酸结合基因(144个,占11.6%)。第三类是信号传导基因(137个,占11.1%)。第四类是蛋白结合基因(116个,占9.4%)。以上4大类共占基因总数56.8%。还有功能未知的基因有207个,占16.7%。结论:高转移卵巢癌细胞株差异表达基因散在分布在各条染色体上,但以1、2、12、11、17和X染色体差异表达基因居多,肿瘤的转移是多基因共同作用的结果。4大类(酶和酶调控子活性、核酸结合活性、信号传导活性、蛋白结合活性)差异表达基因是我们今后研究卵巢癌转移相关的重要基因。     

The role of regulatory genes during maize domestication: evidence from nucleotide polymorphism and gene expression

We investigated DNA sequence variation in 72 candidate genes in maize landraces and the wild ancestor of maize, teosinte. The candidate genes were chosen because they exhibit very low sequence diversity among maize inbreds and have sequence homology to known regulatory genes. We observed signatures of selection in 17 candidate genes, indicating that they were potential targets of artificial selection during domestication. In addition, 21 candidate genes were identified as potential targets of natural selection in teosinte. A comparison of the proportion of selected genes between our regulatory genes and genes unfiltered for their potential function (but also with very low sequence diversity among maize inbreds) provided some weak evidence that regulatory genes are overrepresented among selected genes. We detected no significant association between the positions of genes identified as potential targets of selection during domestication and quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for maize domestication traits. However, a subset of these genes, those identified by sequence homology as kinase/phosphatase genes, significantly cluster with the domestication QTL. We also analyzed expression profiles of genes in distinct maize tissues and observed that domestication genes are expressed on average at a significantly higher level than neutral genes in reproductive organs, including kernels.     

核基因序列在昆虫分子系统学上的应用

核基因中含有更加丰富的生物学信息,运用核基因序列或将核基因序列与线粒体基因序列相结合研究昆虫的系统发育正成为分子系统学领域的一种发展趋势.核糖体基因中18S rDNA、28S rDNA、ITS已在昆虫分子系统学中得到了广泛的应用.与核糖体基因相比,虽然编码蛋白的核基因应用于昆虫分子系统学的种类不少,但大部分都是应用于双翅目和鳞翅目昆虫的分子系统学研究中,能够成功地普遍用于多个目昆虫的系统学研究的核基因并不多.本文简要介绍了应用于昆虫分子系统学的核中核糖体基因和编码蛋白的核基因,并分析了核基因序列在分子系统学应用上的局限性和应用前景.     

Different evolutionary patterns among intronless genes in maize genome

Intronless genes, as a characteristic feature of prokaryotes, are an important resource for the study of the evolution of gene architecture in eukaryotes. In the study, 14,623 (36.87%) intronless genes in maize were identified and the percentage is greater than that of other monocots and algae. The number of maize intronless genes on each chromosome has a significant linear correlation with the number of total genes on the chromosome and the length of the chromosomes. Intronless genes in maize play important roles in translation and energy metabolism. Evolutionary analysis revealed that 2601 intronless genes conserved among the three domains of life and 2323 intronless genes that had no homology with genes of other species. These two sets of intronless genes were distinct in genetic features, physical locations and function. These results provided a useful source to understand the evolutionary patterns of related genes and genomes and some intronless genes are good candidates for subsequent functional analyses specifically.     

基因芯片技术筛选转SlNAC1基因拟南芥差异表达基因

研究已表明植物特有的一些NAC(NAM,ATAF1/2,CUC2)转录因子可提高植物抗逆性,利用基因芯片技术筛选转SlNAC1基因拟南芥与野生型拟南芥间差异表达基因,能够为研究转基因拟南芥非生物胁迫抗性相关基因提供依据。结果显示,在转SlNAC1基因拟南芥43 604个基因中有3 046个差异表达2倍以上的基因。对差异表达5倍以上基因经过GO富集度统计学分析表明,细胞组分相关基因占33.05%;分子功能相关基因占33.95%;生物学过程相关基因占33.00%。对差异表达2倍以上基因进行KEGG信号通路分析,结果表明有2 431个基因涉及到88个不同的信号通路。通过筛选获得转基因拟南芥非生物胁迫抗性相关候选基因,为后续研究NAC转录因子的下游基因及其调控网络的构建提供方向和理论支撑。     

Isolation and characterization of the VnfEN genes of the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis.

The filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis fixes nitrogen in the presence of vanadium (V) and in the absence of molybdenum (Mo), using a V-dependent nitrogenase (V-nitrogenase) encoded by the vnfDGK genes. Downstream from these genes are two genes that are similar to the vnfEN genes of Azotobacter vinelandii. Like the vnfDGK genes, the vnfEN genes were transcribed in the absence of Mo, whether or not V was present. A mutant with an insertion in the vnfN gene lacked V-nitrogenase activity; thus, the vnfEN genes were essential for the V-nitrogenase system in A. variabilis. Growth and acetylene reduction assays with wild-type and mutant strains suggested that the V-nitrogenase reduced dinitrogen better than acetylene. The similarity of the vnfEN genes of A. variabilis and A. vinelandii was not strong. The vnfEN genes of A. variabilis showed greater similarity to the vnfDK genes just upstream than to the A. vinelandii vnfEN genes. Sequence comparisons provide support for the idea that if the vnf genes were transferred laterally among bacterial strains, the vnf cluster was not transferred intact. It appears likely that the structural genes were transferred before a duplication event led to the evolution of the vnfEN genes independently in the two strains. The divergence of the vnfEN genes from the vnfDK genes suggests that this duplication, and hence the transfer of vnf genes, was an ancient event.     

细菌素编码基因的定位分析

细菌素生物合成相关的基因经常成簇出现:结构基因、对自身产生免疫的基因及产生辅助蛋白质的基因组成操纵子结构,其中结构基因是细菌素编码基因,它可能在质粒上也可能在染色体上,为了初步定位细菌素编码基因是在质粒上还是染色体上,综述细菌素编码基因的初步定位方法,为深入研究细菌素提供依据。     

Systematic Analysis and Comparison of Nucleotide-Binding Site Disease Resistance Genes in a Diploid Cotton Gossypium raimondii

Plant disease resistance genes are a key component of defending plants from a range of pathogens. The majority of these resistance genes belong to the super-family that harbors a Nucleotide-binding site (NBS). A number of studies have focused on NBS-encoding genes in disease resistant breeding programs for diverse plants. However, little information has been reported with an emphasis on systematic analysis and comparison of NBS-encoding genes in cotton. To fill this gap of knowledge, in this study, we identified and investigated the NBS-encoding resistance genes in cotton using the whole genome sequence information of Gossypium raimondii. Totally, 355 NBS-encoding resistance genes were identified. Analyses of the conserved motifs and structural diversity showed that the most two distinct features for these genes are the high proportion of non-regular NBS genes and the high diversity of N-termini domains. Analyses of the physical locations and duplications of NBS-encoding genes showed that gene duplication of disease resistance genes could play an important role in cotton by leading to an increase in the functional diversity of the cotton NBS-encoding genes. Analyses of phylogenetic comparisons indicated that, in cotton, the NBS-encoding genes with TIR domain not only have their own evolution pattern different from those of genes without TIR domain, but also have their own species-specific pattern that differs from those of TIR genes in other plants. Analyses of the correlation between disease resistance QTL and NBS-encoding resistance genes showed that there could be more than half of the disease resistance QTL associated to the NBS-encoding genes in cotton, which agrees with previous studies establishing that more than half of plant resistance genes are NBS-encoding genes.