化学药物对与人遗传病相关的DNA重复序列不稳定性的影响

DNA重复序列异常扩增或删除会引起多种人类遗传疾病,目前其不稳定性机制还不清楚。为了探索化学药物对重复序列的作用,采用甲基磺酸乙酯和丝裂霉素C连续多次处理含重复序列质粒的菌体,通过检测重复序列长度的变化,发现两种化学药物在不同程度上可以促使含(GAA)42和(ATTCT)43质粒发生删除,而含(GCCT)18质粒的长度没有发生变化。     

人类基因组中的三倍重复段

三倍重复段在人类基因组中是常见的 ,但当重复段的长度发生变化 ,并且这种变化历经几代能够保持下来时 ,基因就会被破坏。三倍重复段扩展要对十多种疾病负责 ,包括肌强直性营养不良和Friedreich共济失调 ,因为三倍重复段会抑制附近的基因 ,或使其沉寂。Savellev等人通过老鼠模型发现 ,这种沉寂作用可发生在染色体上的很多点 ,而不是像以前所想的那样只是在靠近异染色质 (heterochromatin)的地方。摘自《科学时报》2 0 0 3年 4月 2 5日人类基因组中的三倍重复段     

重复引物PCR技术在超大片段动态突变疾病基因检测中的应用进展

动态突变疾病是指基因编码区或非编码区发生核苷酸重复序列异常扩增所导致的一类遗传性疾病。发生于非翻译区的动态突变常常伴有超大片段重复序列,应用普通PCR法无法对该片段进行扩增,而传统的Southern blot等技术费时费力,无法应用于临床基因诊断。在此背景下,重复引物PCR技术应运而生。本文将分别阐述重复引物PCR技术在强直性肌营养不良症、Friedreich共济失调、脊髓小脑性共济失调10型及C9orf72基因突变引起的额颞叶痴呆或肌萎缩侧索硬化等疾病基因检测中的应用进展。     

TPR重复和ELTR排型:重复的长度变化是一种功能进化的机制

TPR重复最初定义为一个34个氨基酸的蛋白结构重复。本文用PATTINPROT软件对基因库中TPR重复长度多样性进行了分析,发现40和42个氨基酸TPR重复大量存在。含40和42个氨基酸TPR重复序列蛋白的功能分析说明,这些长的TPR重复可以赋予蛋白新的功能。根据以上分析,提出重复序列的长度变化可能是功能进化的一种发生机制。     

八肋游仆虫一种富含三核苷酸重复序列的新基因GARP的克隆与序列分析

人类基因中三核苷酸重复序列拷贝数的异常扩增, 可导致多种神经系统疾病。一种富含GAA三核苷酸的GARP (glutamic acid-rich protein)基因从八肋游仆虫(Euplotes octocarinatus)大核文库中筛选获得。大核中该基因的染色体全长460 bp, 基因两端具有下毛类纤毛虫大核特有的端粒序列(C₄A₄C₄A₄C₄A₄C₄), 开放读框内含有一个TGA_(88-99)密码子, 在游仆虫中编码为半胱氨酸。经DNA Star 软件分析, 该基因编码的蛋白质由112个氨基酸组成, 预测其分子量为13 kDa, 等电点为3.82, 含有四个 [[alpha]] 螺旋和一个 [[beta]] 折叠。小核中对应的该基因含有两个内部删除序列, IES1 和IES2。IES1和IES2分别长41 bp, IES1以GA二核苷酸直接重复为删除信号, IES2以TA二核苷酸直接重复为删除信号。RT- PCR 证明该基因具有转录活性。     

鲫鱼Hind Ⅲ高重复DNA序列的分子克隆

基因组DNA高重复序列的研究有助于解释许多重要的生命现象 ,如基因调节、基因转座、基因进化等 ,还可以用于进行种群的遗传分析。鱼类的DNA高重复序列研究资料较少 ,曾在鲤科鱼类发现HindⅢ高重复序列家族。本研究用HindⅢ内切酶消化 ,从鲫鱼 (Carassiusauratusauratus)基因组DNA也克隆出一种独特的高重复序列。序列测定揭示该重复序列长度为 175bp ,在单倍体基因组的拷贝数为 1× 10 5。鲫鱼HindⅢ高重复序列与鲫鱼属 (Carassius)其它同类已知的高重复序列存在某种程度的变异 ,而与鲤科其它属的已知的HindⅢ高重复序列完全不同     

极小种群濒危植物广西火桐、丹霞梧桐的叶绿体基因组特征

广西火桐(Firmiana kwangsiensis)和丹霞梧桐(F. danxiaensis)是我国南方特有物种, 其分布范围狭窄, 种群数量少。为了解其叶绿体基因组结构及系统发生关系, 本文通过高通量测序方法获得广西火桐和丹霞梧桐的浅层基因组数据, 通过生物信息学方法对叶绿体全基因组进行组装, 并对其结构特征进行分析。结果表明: 广西火桐和丹霞梧桐的叶绿体基因组大小分别为160,836 bp和161,253 bp, 具有典型被子植物叶绿体基因组环状四分体结构, 包含长度分别为89,700 bp、90,142 bp的大单拷贝区(large single copy, LSC), 长度分别为19,970 bp、20,067 bp的小单拷贝区(small single copy, SSC)及长度分别为25,583 bp、25,522 bp的2个反向重复序列区(inverted repeat sequence, IR)。两个物种的叶绿体基因组共注释得到131个基因, 包括86个蛋白编码基因、37个tRNA基因和8个rRNA基因。广西火桐的叶绿体基因组中共检测出26个正向重复序列、2个反向重复序列、21个回文重复序列、21个串联重复序列和98个简单重复序列; 丹霞梧桐叶绿体基因组中共检测出23个正向重复序列、5个反向重复序列、21个回文重复序列、30个串联重复序列和107个简单重复序列。系统发生分析结果表明5种梧桐属(Firmiana)植物构成两个强烈支持的分支(支持率100%), 一个分支为广西火桐、美丽火桐(F. pulcherrima)和火桐(F. colorata), 其中广西火桐与美丽火桐构成姐妹群; 另一分支是互为姐妹群的丹霞梧桐和云南梧桐(F. major)。综上所述, 广西火桐和丹霞梧桐的叶绿体基因组结构、基因排列及重复序列具有较高的相似性, 系统进化树将5种梧桐属物种分为两个分支, 其中广西火桐和美丽火桐最近; 而丹霞梧桐与云南梧桐关系最近。本研究鉴定的SSR位点可为梧桐属物种系统发生、进化关系的研究提供遗传信息。     

基于Solexa高通量测序的唐古特红景天(Rhodiola algida)微卫星信息分析

利用所获得的Solexa高通量唐古特红景天转录组拼接EST序列进行微卫星位点的挖掘分析,期望为红景天属SSR标记的开发提供生物信息学依据。在得到的6552条EST序列中,三碱基最多,占总EST序列的41.50%;单核苷酸和二核苷酸重复类型的SSR含量相似,分别为27.76%和24.76%;二至六碱基微卫星分布密度与其对应的SSR含量成正比。在单核苷酸重复类型中,T和A重复类型最多,分别为总SSR的14.91%、12.70%,而G和C重复类型则很少;在二核苷酸重复类型中,AG重复类型最多,占总SSR的5.60%,GA和TC重复类型次之,分别为4.75%、4.72%;在三核苷酸重复类型中,GAA重复类型最多,为总SSR的1.85%,GAT次之,为1.79%,TTC、TCT、TCA、GGA、GCT、GAG重复类型间的SSR数相差不大;四、五、六核苷酸重复类型则很少。除五、六核苷酸重复类型外,其长度变化与其对应的重复类型碱基长度成反比;同种重复类型中,微卫星的长度与其对应的SSR数成反比。     

人参EST资源的SSR信息分析

从7055条人参EST序列中搜索出791个SSR,其出现频率为11．21％,平均长度为21．37bp,平均分布频率为1／5．7kb。二核苷酸重复是主要的重复类型,占全部EST-SSR的56．89％,其次是三核苷酸重复的占全部SSR的21．11％。AT、GAA是二核苷酸和三核苷酸中出现次数最多的重复基元类型,分别占28．89％和10．18％。     

桉树EST序列中微卫星含量及相关特征

通过对桉树属(Eucalyptus)的10 000条EST序列进行分析, 在其中的1 499条序列上共发现1 775个微卫星重复序列。含有微卫星的EST序列约占序列总数的15%。此外, 还发现桉树EST序列所含微卫星长度的变异速率与重复单元长度呈负相关; 微卫星的丰度与重复单元长度也呈负相关(三碱基重复微卫星除外)。在桉树EST序列中, 重复单元长度为三碱基的微卫星最为丰富。三碱基重复单元微卫星的过度富集可能是由于遗传密码选择所致。在微卫星的丰度及长度变异方面, 桉树EST序列与杨树(Populus trichocarpa)基因组注释的转录序列随重复单元长度的变化呈现出相同的规律, 但桉树EST序列中微卫星频率及三碱基重复微卫星的含量显著偏低, 推测含微卫星的基因表达丰度极有可能低于不含微卫星的基因。通过对发现的所有微卫星位点进行引物设计, 并对设计的引物进行PCR检测, 结果表明所设计的引物具有极高的扩增成功率。     

Phylogenetic Analysis of the Friedreich Ataxia GAA Trinucleotide Repeat

Friedreich ataxia is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder associated with a GAA repeat expansion in the first intron of the gene (FRDA) encoding a novel, highly conserved, 210 amino acid protein known as frataxin. Normal variation in repeat size was determined by analysis of more than 600 DNA samples from seven human populations. This analysis showed that the most frequent allele had nine GAA repeats, and no alleles with fewer than five GAA repeats were found. The European and Syrian populations had the highest percentage of alleles with 10 or more GAA repeats, while the Papua New Guinea population did not have any alleles carrying more than 10 GAA repeats. The distributions of repeat sizes in the European, Syrian, and African American populations were significantly different from those in the Asian and Papua New Guinea populations (p < 0.001). The GAA repeat size was also determined in five nonhuman primates. Samples from 10 chimpanzees, 3 orangutans, 1 gorilla, 1 rhesus macaque, 1 mangabey, and 1 tamarin were analyzed. Among those primates belonging to the Pongidae family, the chimpanzees were found to carry three or four GAA repeats, the orangutans had four or five GAA repeats, and the gorilla carried three GAA repeats. In primates belonging to the Cercopithecidae family, three GAA repeats were found in the mangabey and two in the rhesus macaque. However, an AluY subfamily member inserted in the poly(A) tract preceding the GAA repeat region in the rhesus macaque, making the amplified sequence approximately 300 bp longer. The GAA repeat was also found in the tamarin, suggesting that it arose at least 40 million years ago and remained relatively small throughout the majority of primate evolution, with a punctuated expansion in the human genome. Received: 18 August 2000 / Accepted: 10 November 2000     

Multiple non-B-DNA conformations of polypurine.polypyrimidine sequences in plasmids

A polypurine.polypyrimidine (Pur.Pyr) sequence with a central interruption in a plasmid can adopt multiple non-B-DNA conformations depending on the conditions as revealed by specific chemical probes (OsO4, diethyl pyrocarbonate, and dimethyl sulfate) and two-dimensional electrophoresis. The relatively long mirror repeat Pur.Pyr sequences (GAA)9TTC(GAA)8 and (GGA)9TCC(GGA)8 form single canonical intramolecular triplexes at pH 7.0-6.0 in negatively supercoiled plasmids as isolated from Escherichia coli. With a lowering of the pH and/or an increase in the degree of negative supercoiling, these sequences undergo a novel conformational change as revealed by diethyl pyrocarbonate hypermodification of adenines in the middle of the polypurine strand and OsO4 reaction with thymines in the center and the quarter points of the polypyrimidine strand. To evaluate this structure, a family of related Pur.Pyr sequences were cloned and studied. The non mirror repeat sequence (GGA)9TCC(GAA)8 forms a non-B conformation only under acidic pH conditions, but the structural properties are different from those of the mirror repeat sequences. Furthermore, when the central interruptions of a mirror repeat sequence were increased from 3 to 9 bp, two canonical triplexes formed independently at pH 5.0 [at the (GAA)9 and (GAA)8 regions in the sequence (GAA)9TTAATTCGC(GAA)8]. Thus, if an interruption is sufficiently long, the two halves of the Pur.Pyr sequence do not interact with each other. Novel types of folded DNA geometries which explain these results are described.     

High-density fluorescence in situ hybridization signal detection on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) chromosomes with improved probe screening and reprobing procedures

The barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genome was screened to identify sequences that could be used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). From 2000 transformed bacterium colonies carrying barley clones, 56 colonies were selected on the basis of the patterns that their PCR products produced when subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. Among them, 42 (75%) exhibited fluorescent signals on barley chromosomes after in situ hybridization using the directly labeled PCR products. Sequencing revealed seven clones, pHv-365, pHv-177, pHv-1112, pHv-689, pHv-1476, pHv-1889, and pHv-1972, to be newly identified FISH-positive sequences. The remainder possess previously described sequences such as 5S, GAA microsatellite, centromere repeats, HVT01, and pHvMWG2315 (324 bp repeat). It is shown here that a combination of five probes, which produce strong signals on barley chromosomes, pHv-38 (5S), pHv-365, pHv-961 (HVT01), GAA, and TAG microsatellites, offer unequivocal recognition of each chromosome. The combination of three probes, i.e., pHv-1123 (barley 324 bp repeat), GAA, and TAG, decorated entire chromosomes with fine dotted signals and was useful for detecting the break points of aberrant chromosomes. The signals' distributions of pHv-177, pHv-1112, and TAG were highly polymorphic. An improved reprobing procedure and its usefulness are also discussed.     

Triplet repeat expansion generated by DNA slippage is suppressed by human flap endonuclease 1

Human flap endonuclease 1 (h-FEN1) mutations have dramatic effects on repeat instability. Current models for repeat expansion predict that h-FEN1 protein prevents mutations by removing 5'-flaps generated at ends of Okazaki fragments by strand displacement synthesis. The models propose that hairpin formations within flaps containing repeats enable them to escape h-FEN1 cleavage. Friedreich's ataxia is caused by expansion mutations in a d(GAA)n repeat tract. Single-stranded d(GAA)n repeat tracts, however, do not form stable hairpins until the repeat tracts are quite long. Therefore, to understand how d(GAA)n repeat expansions survive h-FEN1 activity, we determined the effects of h-FEN1 on d(GAA)n repeat expansion during replication of a d(TTC)n repeat template. Replication initiated within the repeat tract generated significant expansion that was suppressed by the addition of h-FEN1 at the start of replication. The ability of h-FEN1 to suppress expansion implies that DNA slippage generates a 5'-flap in the nascent strand independent of strand displacement synthesis by an upstream polymerase. Delaying the addition of h-FEN1 to the replication reaction abolished the ability of h-FEN1 ability to suppress d(GAA)n repeat expansion products of all sizes, including sizes unable to hairpin. Use of model substrates demonstrated that h-FEN1 cleaves d(GAA)n 5'-flaps joined to double-stranded nonrepeat sequences but not those joined to double-stranded repeat tracts. The results provide evidence that, given the opportunity, short d(GAA)n repeat expansion products rearrange from 5'-flaps to stable internal loops inside the repeat tract. Long expansion products are predicted to form hairpinned flaps and internal loops. Once formed, these DNA conformations resist h-FEN1. The biological implications of the results are discussed.     

Detection of interruptions in the GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the FXN gene of Friedreich ataxia

Friedreich ataxia is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a GAA trinucleotide repeat sequence within the first intron of the FXN gene. Interruptions in the GAA repeat may serve to alleviate the inhibitory effects of the GAA expansion on FXN gene expression and to decrease pathogenicity. We have developed a simple and rapid PCR- and restriction enzyme-based assay to assess the purity of GAA repeat sequences.     

Sticky DNA formation in vivo alters the plasmid dimer/monomer ratio

Our discovery that plasmids containing the Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) expanded GAA.TTC sequence, which forms sticky DNA, are prone to form dimers compared with monomers in vivo is the basis of an intracellular assay in Escherichia coli for this unusual DNA conformation. Sticky DNA is a single long GAA.GAA.TTC triplex formed in plasmids harboring a pair of long GAA.TTC repeat tracts in the direct repeat orientation. This requirement is fulfilled by either plasmid dimers of DNAs with a single trinucleotide repeat sequence tract or by monomeric DNAs containing a pair of direct repeat GAA.TTC sequences. DNAs harboring a single GAA.TTC repeat are unable to form this type of triplex conformation. An excellent correlation was observed between the ability of a plasmid to adopt the sticky triplex conformation as assayed in vitro and its propensity to form plasmid dimers relative to monomers in vivo. The variables measured that strongly influenced these measurements are as follows: length of the GAA.TTC insert; the extent of periodic interruptions within the repeat sequence; the orientation of the repeat inserts; and the in vivo negative supercoil density. Nitrogen mustard cross-linking studies on a family of GAA.TTC-containing plasmids showed the presence of sticky DNA in vivo and, thus, serves as an important bridge between the in vitro and in vivo determinations. Biochemical genetic studies on FRDA containing DNAs grown in recA or nucleotide excision repair or ruv-deficient cells showed that the in vivo properties of sticky DNA play an important role in the monomer-dimer-sticky DNA intracellular intercon-versions. Thus, the sticky DNA triplex exists and functions in living cells, strengthening the likelihood of its role in the etiology of FRDA.