Hydrophobic interaction and structural changes in the solvent

The effect of structural changes in the solvent (usually water) on the thermodynamics of the hydrophobic interaction process is examined within the framework of classical statistical mechanics. The concept of the “structure of water” is first defined in a precise way, yet reflecting the conventional definition that has been, implicitly and qualitatively, employed by many authors. Using this concept, we proceed to show that structural changes in the solvent, induced by the hydrophobic interaction process, cannot affect the strength of the hydrophobic interaction. On the other hand, the entropy and enthalpy changes, associated with the same process, may well be affected. Some qualitative arguments are presented showing that large structural changes are expected from a complex solvent such as water.     

Regulatory circuits of theamdS gene ofAspergillus nidulans

TheamdS gene codes for an acetamidase enzyme that hydrolyses acetamide to acetate and ammonium thus providingA. nidulans with a source of carbon and nitrogen. The exceptionally favourable genetics of this system combined with molecular analysis have enabled many regulatory circuits affectingamdS to be identified genetically. Characterization of the regulatory genes and the definition of the cis-acting sites involved have been done using bothin vivo andin vitro mutagenesis. Recent results on the analysis of the system are presented.     

Phase separated reconstruction patterns on strained FCC (111) metal surfaces

In this paper, we use the newly developed shear-induced reconstruction computer simulation method to explore various phase separated reconstruction patterns on strained Au(111), Pt(111), Ni(111) and alloy Ag/Pt(111) systems via molecular dynamic computer simulations. We find that specific surface reconstruction patterns are not confined to specific metallic systems; instead the results show that almost any reconstruction pattern could arise in almost any of the model systems dependent on the substrate to reconstruction layer lattice constant mismatch, and the substrate to reconstruction layer interaction strength.     

Phloem unloading and ‘sink strength’: The parallel between the site of attachment of Cuscuta and developing legume seeds

Sink regions play a central role in determining assimilate distribution patterns. Two factors are discussed which have a strong effect on the sink strength of a sink, viz. phloem unloading and turgor-sensitive transport. Sink strength may be defined as the capacity of phloem in the sink region to import assimilates from other parts of the plants and to release the imported substances into the sink apoplast.A stem parasitized by Cuscuta represents a very strong sink. A review is presented of data on enhanced phloem unloading, at the site of attachment of Custuta. Recent data on metabolically controlled sucrose and amino acid unloading into the seed coat apoplast of developing legume seeds show a remarkable parallel with phloem unloading in a parasitized Vicia faba stem. Data on turgor-sensitive sucrose and amino acid transport into developing seeds are presented, which throw new light on the pressure flow theory of phloem transport.     

The Main Effect of Chromosomal Rearrangement Is Changing the Action of Regulatory Genes

Effect of chromosomal rearrangements on the expression of mutations was studied in Drosophila melanogaster regulatory genes. These were facultative dominant lethals and recessive lethals on the X chromosome obtained by the classical Muller-5 method. Chromosomal rearrangements drastically changed the expression of regulatory gene mutations. Rearrangements either caused the lethal effect of mutations or suppressed the already present lethality. The action of rearrangements exhibited the maternal or paternal effect. Irrespective of the presence in the genome of mutations of regulatory genes, a rearrangement acted as a factor decreasing fertility of the organism. The rearrangement effect is identical to the expression of regulatory genes per se. It is concluded that the chromosomal rearrangement affects the examined regulatory genes indirectly through a change in the operation of regulatory genes located within the rearrangement. Thus, rearrangements gain great importance for the definition of the pattern of genome functional activity. Widespread distribution of rearrangements in individual genotypes and their effectivity in the process of speciation are thus explained.     

Precise cis-regulatory control of spatial and temporal expression of the alx-1 gene in the skeletogenic lineage of s. purpuratus

Deployment of the gene-regulatory network (GRN) responsible for skeletogenesis in the embryo of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is restricted to the large micromere lineage by a double negative regulatory gate. The gate consists of a GRN subcircuit composed of the pmar1 and hesC genes, which encode repressors and are wired in tandem, plus a set of target regulatory genes under hesC control. The skeletogenic cell state is specified initially by micromere-specific expression of these regulatory genes, viz. alx1, ets1, tbrain and tel, plus the gene encoding the Notch ligand Delta. Here we use a recently developed high throughput methodology for experimental cis-regulatory analysis to elucidate the genomic regulatory system controlling alx1 expression in time and embryonic space. The results entirely confirm the double negative gate control system at the cis-regulatory level, including definition of the functional HesC target sites, and add the crucial new information that the drivers of alx1 expression are initially Ets1, and then Alx1 itself plus Ets1. Cis-regulatory analysis demonstrates that these inputs quantitatively account for the magnitude of alx1 expression. Furthermore, the Alx1 gene product not only performs an auto-regulatory role, promoting a fast rise in alx1 expression, but also, when at high levels, it behaves as an auto-repressor. A synthetic experiment indicates that this behavior is probably due to dimerization. In summary, the results we report provide the sequence level basis for control of alx1 spatial expression by the double negative gate GRN architecture, and explain the rising, then falling temporal expression profile of the alx1 gene in terms of its auto-regulatory genetic wiring.     

A net reproductive number for periodic matrix models

We give a definition of a net reproductive number R ₀ for periodic matrix models of the type used to describe the dynamics of a structured population with periodic parameters. The definition is based on the familiar method of studying a periodic map by means of its (period-length) composite. This composite has an additive decomposition that permits a generalization of the Cushing–Zhou definition of R ₀ in the autonomous case. The value of R ₀ determines whether the population goes extinct (R ₀<1) or persists (R ₀>1). We discuss the biological interpretation of this definition and derive formulas for R ₀ for two cases: scalar periodic maps of arbitrary period and periodic Leslie models of period 2. We illustrate the use of the definition by means of several examples and by applications to case studies found in the literature. We also make some comparisons of this definition of R ₀ with another definition given recently by Bacaër.     

The regulatory gene nit-2 of Neurospora crassa complements a nnu mutant of Gibberella zeae (Fusarium graminearum).

Summary The nnu mutant of Gibberella zeae (= Fusarium graminearum) is unable to catabolize many of the nitrogen sources utilized by its wild-type parent, and may have suffered a mutation in the major nitrogen regulatory locus. Transformation of this mutant with the major nitrogen regulatory gene from Neurospora crassa, nit-2, restored the wild-type phenotype, thus confirming that the nnu mutation is in the major nitrogen regulatory locus of G. zeae. Our results are consistent with the premise of conservation of the structure of regulatory factors and suggest the possibility that functional DNA homologues of this regulatory element occur across a broad range of ascomycetous fungi.     

Isolation and characterization of regulatory mutations affecting the expression of the guaBA operon of Escherichia coli K-12

Summary We isolated strains of Escherichia coli K 12 in which the lac structural genes were fused to the structural genes of the guaBA operon. These strains were used to isolate regulatory mutations that increased the expression of the guaBA operon under normal repressing conditions as compared to the wild type parental fusion strain. Three classes of guaBA specific regulatory mutations were identified. Class I regulatory mutations were trans-acting and unlinked to the guaBA operon as shown by bacteriophage P1 transduction. Class II regulatory mutations were tightly linked to the guaBA operon, cis-dominant to the wild type allele in a cis-trans analysis and were regarded as control region mutations. Class III regulatory mutations were tightly linked to the guaBA operon and trans-recessive to the wild type allele in a cis-trans analysis. We have designated the locus responsible for the class III regulatory mutations as guaR. The guaR locus is tightly linked and was mapped to the counterclockwise side of the guaBA operon. The guaR locus is proposed to specify a trans acting regulatory element involved in the regulation of the guaBA operon.     

THE LOCI OF EVOLUTION: HOW PREDICTABLE IS GENETIC EVOLUTION?

Is genetic evolution predictable? Evolutionary developmental biologists have argued that, at least for morphological traits, the answer is a resounding yes. Most mutations causing morphological variation are expected to reside in the cis‐regulatory, rather than the coding, regions of developmental genes. This “cis‐regulatory hypothesis” has recently come under attack. In this review, we first describe and critique the arguments that have been proposed in support of the cis‐regulatory hypothesis. We then test the empirical support for the cis‐regulatory hypothesis with a comprehensive survey of mutations responsible for phenotypic evolution in multicellular organisms. Cis‐regulatory mutations currently represent approximately 22% of 331 identified genetic changes although the number of cis‐regulatory changes published annually is rapidly increasing. Above the species level, cis‐regulatory mutations altering morphology are more common than coding changes. Also, above the species level cis‐regulatory mutations predominate for genes not involved in terminal differentiation. These patterns imply that the simple question “Do coding or cis‐regulatory mutations cause more phenotypic evolution?” hides more interesting phenomena. Evolution in different kinds of populations and over different durations may result in selection of different kinds of mutations. Predicting the genetic basis of evolution requires a comprehensive synthesis of molecular developmental biology and population genetics.     

Influence of gene position on the expression divergence of oxidative response genes in intraspecific yeast

Phenotypic variation can arise from differences in the protein coding sequence and in the regulatory elements. However, little is known about the contribution of regulatory difference to the expression divergence, especially the cis and trans regulatory variation to the expression divergence in intraspecific populations. In this study, we used two different yeast strains, BY4743 and RM11‐1a/α, to study the regulatory variation to the expression divergence between BY and RM under oxidative stress condition. Our results indicated that the expression divergence of BY and RM is mainly due to trans regulatory variations under both normal and oxidative stress conditions. However, cis regulatory variation seems to play a very important role in oxidative stress response in yeast because 36% of genes showed an increase in cis regulatory variation effect compared with 13% of genes that showed an increase in trans regulatory variation effect after oxidative stress. Our data also indicated that genes located on the longer arm of the chromosomes are more susceptible to cis variation effect under oxidative stress than genes on the shorter arm of the chromosomes.     

阿卡波糖生物合成调控蛋白的钓取与功能解析

[目的] 发现游动放线菌Actinoplanes sp.SE50/110中阿卡波糖生物合成的调控因子,并提高其产量。[方法] 首先,利用DNA亲和层析技术,钓取与阿卡波糖生物合成基因簇2个双向启动子区域结合的调控蛋白。然后,在阿卡波糖产生菌QQ-2中强化表达或敲除这些调控蛋白编码基因,进行体内功能验证。同时,利用大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）异源表达获得可溶性蛋白,通过凝胶阻滞实验验证蛋白与启动子区域的结合能力。[结果] 经DNA亲和层析及蛋白质质谱分析,钓取出9个与双向启动子P_WV和P_AB结合的调控蛋白。在QQ-2中分别强化表达和缺失这9个调控基因后发现,基因ACPL_1889的强化表达使阿卡波糖产量提高25%,而该基因的缺失使产量降低22%;基因ACPL_5445、ACPL_3989的强化表达使阿卡波糖产量分别降低12%和39%,而这两个基因的缺失使产量分别提高15%和8%。对阿卡波糖生物合成基因转录水平的检测发现,强化表达基因ACPL_1889使acbA、acbB、acbW、acbV的转录水平升高,而缺失该基因使这4个基因的转录水平降低;敲除基因ACPL_5445使这4个基因转录水平均有提高;强化表达基因ACPL_3989使这4个基因的转录水平均下降,而其敲除使acbW和acbA的转录水平分别提高了约100倍和40倍。在凝胶阻滞实验中,ACPL_1889与ACPL_3989均能与acb基因簇的启动子区域结合。最后将正调控基因的强化表达和负调控基因的敲除进行组合,使阿卡波糖产量提升32%。[结论] 本研究发现了9个与阿卡波糖生物合成基因簇的启动子区域结合的调控蛋白,通过体内、体外实验证明ACPL_1889为阿卡波糖生物合成的正调控因子、ACPL_5445和ACPL_3989为负调控因子,不但为揭示阿卡波糖生物合成的转录调控机制奠定了基础,而且这些调控基因的改造显著提升了阿卡波糖的产量。     

Modeling the evolution of a classic genetic switch

Background  

The regulatory network underlying the yeast galactose-use pathway has emerged as a model system for the study of regulatory network evolution. Evidence has recently been provided for adaptive evolution in this network following a whole genome duplication event. An ancestral gene encoding a bi-functional galactokinase and co-inducer protein molecule has become subfunctionalized as paralogous genes (GAL1 and GAL3) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with most fitness gains being attributable to changes in cis-regulatory elements. However, the quantitative functional implications of the evolutionary changes in this regulatory network remain unexplored.