蕨类植物叶绿体rps12基因的分子进化研究

以68种蕨类植物和2种石松类植物的rps12基因为对象,在系统发育背景下,结合最大似然法,使用HyPhy和PAML软件对该基因进行进化速率和适应性进化研究。结果显示:位于IR区的外显子2~3,其替换率明显降低,rps12基因编码序列的替换率也随之降低,且rps12基因密码子第3位的GC含量明显升高;在蕨类植物的进化过程中,3′-rps12更倾向定位于IR区,以保持较低的替换率;rps12基因编码的123个氨基酸位点中,共检测到4个正选择位点和116个负选择位点。研究结果表明基因序列进入到IR区后,显示出降低的替换率;强烈的负选择压力表明RPS12蛋白的高度保守性以及rps12基因的功能和结构已经趋于稳定。     

蕨类植物叶绿体rps12基因的分子进化研究

以68种蕨类植物和2种石松类植物的rps12基因为对象,在系统发育背景下,结合最大似然法,使用Hy Phy和PAML软件对该基因进行进化速率和适应性进化研究。结果显示:位于IR区的外显子2～3,其替换率明显降低,rps12基因编码序列的替换率也随之降低,且rps12基因密码子第3位的GC含量明显升高;在蕨类植物的进化过程中,3'-rps12更倾向定位于IR区,以保持较低的替换率; rps12基因编码的123个氨基酸位点中,共检测到4个正选择位点和116个负选择位点。研究结果表明基因序列进入到IR区后,显示出降低的替换率;强烈的负选择压力表明RPS12蛋白的高度保守性以及rps12基因的功能和结构已经趋于稳定。     

梅花草属叶绿体基因组进化分析

叶绿体基因组序列变异和基因组成等特征可有效反映植物类群间的系统发育和进化关系。本研究利用Illumina高通量测序平台对梅花草属（Parnassia）及其近缘属5种植物的叶绿体基因组进行测序和组装,同时基于已发表的近缘种叶绿体基因组信息,对梅花草属叶绿体基因组结构特征、序列遗传变异和蛋白编码基因密码子偏好性比对分析。结果显示：梅花草属叶绿体基因组整体结构较为保守,均为四分体结构;梅花草多个基因出现假基因化,而本属其他物种叶绿体基因组成一致,均编码115个基因;与近缘属物种相比,本属所有物种均丢失rpl16基因的内含子;蛋白质编码基因的非同义/同义替代率比值较低,叶绿体基因可能经历纯化选择作用;密码子偏好性聚类结果与蛋白编码序列重建的系统发育关系结果一致。本研究表明选择压力可能在梅花草属叶绿体基因组蛋白编码基因进化过程中发挥作用,有助于进一步理解梅花草属植物的进化和适应机制。     

皱边喉毛花及其近缘物种的叶绿体基因组结构与进化分析

为重建喉毛花属下系统发育关系,明晰属下皱边喉毛花及其近缘种之间的物种关系。本研究利用Illumina高通量测序平台对12 个叶绿体基因组进行双末端测序,获得大量高质量的Clean reads用于后续生物信息学分析。结果表明：（1）喉毛花属下物种的基因组差异较小,均在150 kb左右,基因总数为131 个,其中编码基因81 个。IR区核苷酸多态性比SC低,编码区比非编码区更保守。（2）进化分析结果显示,几乎所有的编码基因受到纯化选择的作用。（3）密码子偏好性分析表明有35 个密码子的RSCU值均大于1,说明使用这些密码子的频率较高,各项密码子偏好性衡量指标说明喉毛花属物种的密码子偏好性较弱。（4）系统发育分析表明CDS、密码子位置与基因间隔区数据集构建的系统发育树具有高度一致的拓扑结构,大部分分支的支持率高。这些结果表明皱边喉毛花及其近缘种的叶绿体基因组无明显差异,在系统发育树上无法按物种聚类,也为后续展开喉毛花属下群体遗传学研究提供科学依据。     

蕨类植物psbD基因的适应性进化和共进化分析

D2蛋白是植物光系统Ⅱ复合体（PSⅡ）核心蛋白之一,由叶绿体psbD基因编码。为了深入理解核心薄囊蕨类植物在阴生环境下的“辐射”式演化,我们对12种蕨类植物的psbD基因进行了克隆和测序,然后联合已公布的其他8种蕨类植物的psbD序列,基于ω值（非同义替换率ds和同义替换率ds的比值）探讨了该基因经受的选择压力。发现D2蛋白在大多数分支和位点受到强烈的负选择,但是树蕨类分支的psbD进化速率低且ω值较高。借助多种模型进行的共进化分析显示,树蕨类D2蛋白的168R、245H和272M两两组成具有共进化关系的氨基酸位点对。     

山羊BMPR-IB基因密码子偏好性及聚类分析

[目的]利用生物信息学分析山羊BMPR-IB基因密码子使用特征,对不同物种BMPR-IB基因通过不同的聚类方法进行分析。[方法]利用Usage Codon在线程序和Codon W软件分析山羊和其他物种BMPR-IB基因对密码子偏好性的使用情况,通过欧式平方距离和最小进化法分别进行聚类分析。[结果]山羊BMPR-IB基因无G/C碱基的使用倾向,GCC、CTG、CAG、CCC、AGA、AGT、GTG和TGA为山羊BMPR-IB基因的偏好密码子,其余53种密码子的使用较为均衡。通过最小进化法建立起来的不同物种间的系统发育分析结果与动物学分类一致,且不同物种BMPR-IB基因编码蛋白表达水平存在种属差异。[结论]BMPR-IB基因偏爱使用以A或T结尾的密码子,基于欧式距离系数建立起来的聚类和最大似然法构建的聚类不一致,造成这种差异的原因可能是在进化过程中单基因突变所引起的。     

红松查尔酮合成酶基因CHS密码子偏好性分析

查尔酮合成酶(Chalcone synthase,CHS)广泛存在于植物体内,是花色素形成过程中一种重要的酶,可以进一步催化生成黄酮类化合物。本研究采用Codon W和EMBOSS在线软件对红松查尔酮合成酶基因CHS的密码子使用偏好性进行分析,并与北美乔松等其他24种植物的CHS基因以及模式植物基因组进行比较,对认识红松CHS基因的密码子使用偏好性,为选择适宜的表达系统奠定了一定的基础。研究结果表明:红松CHS基因编码区的有效密码子数(ENC)和GC含量分别为48.92和0.548,C+G含量高于A+T含量,密码子偏好以A/T结尾;多数植物CHS基因的G+C含量高于A+T含量,且密码子更偏好C/G结尾;聚类分析表明,红松与马尾松和赤松的密码子使用偏好性的相似性较高;密码子使用频率研究发现,红松CHS遗传转化与异源表达较优的受体可能是大肠杆菌和拟南芥。     

昆虫质型多角体病毒同义密码子使用模式分析

昆虫质型多角体病毒(cypovirus,CPV)是害虫种群重要调节因子,可用作生物防治剂。本研究采用多元统计分析方法对7种CPV进行密码子使用模式分析,结果表明:CPV密码子使用偏好性较弱,多数基因密码子使用模式受碱基组成影响,少数基因密码子使用模式除碱基组成外还有其它影响因素;中性绘图分析表明碱基组成主要受选择压力影响,受突变影响较小。同一电泳型CPV之间比同一宿主CPV之间共有的偏好性密码子多。CPV基因组内10个基因组片段之间密码子偏好性存在差异。CPV密码子偏好性与宿主昆虫密码子偏好性存在差异,所有CPV与其宿主昆虫共有的偏好性密码子均较少。对应分析进一步证明碱基组成是影响密码子使用的主要因素,不同电泳型CPV具有不同的密码子使用模式。聚类分析表明同一电泳型CPV密码子使用模式相似,同一宿主CPV密码子使用模式差异较大。     

子囊菌延长因子1 alpha基因密码子偏好性分析(英文)

文中对子囊菌代表类群的延伸因子1 alpha基因密码子的使用模式进行了研究。结果表明:该基因的密码子使用偏好性不仅与核酸碱基组成密切相关,也受到其他选择性压力的影响。统计分析揭示了子囊菌各类群该基因的密码子组成和编码特点,在同义密码子的选择模式上,酵母纲(Saccharomycetes)的成员具有较独特的偏好性。基于密码子用法分歧度的聚类分析方法较合理地反映了大部分类群的分类学地位,但在各个纲的内部,密码子偏好性的变化程度存在差异。     

籽粒苋丙酮酸磷酸二激酶(PPDK)基因的密码子偏好性

运用CHIPS、CUSP和CodonW等程序分析了双子叶C₄植物籽粒苋(Amaranthus hypochondriacus)丙酮酸磷酸二激酶(PPDK)基因的密码子偏好性, 并与马铃薯(Solanum tuberosum)和苜蓿(Medicago truncatula)等双子叶植物及水稻(Oryza sativa)和玉米(Zea mays)等单子叶植物进行了比较, 建立了聚类树状图, 以期在作物高光效基因工程中为籽粒苋PPDK基因选择合适的受体植物提供依据。研究结果表明, 籽粒苋PPDK基因偏好于以A或T结尾的密码子, 与其它几种被比较的双子叶作物的PPDK基因密码子偏好性趋势一致, 而玉米和水稻等单子叶植物更偏好使用以G或C结尾的密码子。PPDK基因密码子使用偏好性的系统聚类分析表明, 籽粒苋与马铃薯和苜蓿等双子叶植物聚为一类, 而稗草(Echinochloa crusgalli)、玉米和高粱(Sorghum bicolor)等单子叶植物聚为一类, 与系统进化地位一致。但单子叶植物水稻的密码子偏好性与籽粒苋较为接近, 与玉米和高粱相差较远。为了选择合适的蛋白质表达系统, 比较并分析了籽粒苋PPDK基因的密码子偏好性与大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)及酵母菌的异同, 发现其与酵母菌的差异小于大肠杆菌, 表明选择酵母菌表达系统更为合适。     

槲蕨属叶绿体基因组密码子偏好性分析

叶绿体基因组密码子偏好性使用模式往往影响基因表达效率,为促进药用植物叶绿体基因工程的发展,提高槲蕨药用品质,该研究以川滇槲蕨、栎叶槲蕨和槲蕨三个近缘药用植物为材料,使用CodonW、CUSP和SPSS等软件分析其叶绿体基因组编码基因密码子使用偏好性,筛选出三个物种的最优密码子。结果表明:川滇槲蕨、栎叶槲蕨和槲蕨叶绿体基因组的有效密码子数(ENC)范围分别为40.10~61、40.33~61和40.15~61,其密码子偏好性较弱;ndhE、rpl22、rpl14、rpl20、ccsA、rps4和rpl16编码基因的ENC值差异较大,表明近缘物种中,部分基因的密码子偏好性存在一定差异;三个物种编码基因的ENC频数集中于-0.1~0.1之间,说明槲蕨属基因密码子偏好性主要受到突变的影响。川滇槲蕨12个最优密码子有6个和栎叶槲蕨相同,分别是UCU、ACU、GCU、CAA、AAA和GAU;栎叶槲蕨10个最优密码子有2个和槲蕨相同,分别是UUA和AUU,而川滇槲蕨与槲蕨无相同的最优密码子。该研究结果可为槲蕨属药用植物基因工程中外源基因的改良及其表达奠定基础。     

Evolutionary Patterns of Codon Usage in the Chloroplast Gene rbcL

In this study we reconstruct the evolution of codon usage bias in the chloroplast gene rbcL using a phylogeny of 92 green-plant taxa. We employ a measure of codon usage bias that accounts for chloroplast genomic nucleotide content, as an attempt to limit plausible explanations for patterns of codon bias evolution to selection- or drift-based processes. This measure uses maximum likelihood-ratio tests to compare the performance of two models, one in which a single codon is overrepresented and one in which two codons are overrepresented. The measure allowed us to analyze both the extent of bias in each lineage and the evolution of codon choice across the phylogeny. Despite predictions based primarily on the low G+C content of the chloroplast and the high functional importance of rbcL, we found large differences in the extent of bias, suggesting differential molecular selection that is clade specific. The seed plants and simple leafy liverworts each independently derived a low level of bias in rbcL, perhaps indicating relaxed selectional constraint on molecular changes in the gene. Overrepresentation of a single codon was typically plesiomorphic, and transitions to overrepresentation of two codons occurred commonly across the phylogeny, possibly indicating biochemical selection. The total codon bias in each taxon, when regressed against the total bias of each amino acid, suggested that twofold amino acids play a strong role in inflating the level of codon usage bias in rbcL, despite the fact that twofolds compose a minority of residues in this gene. Those amino acids that contributed most to the total codon usage bias of each taxon are known through amino acid knockout and replacement to be of high functional importance. This suggests that codon usage bias may be constrained by particular amino acids and, thus, may serve as a good predictor of what residues are most important for protein fitness. Present address (Joshua T. Herbeck): JBP Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA     

Mammalian mitochondrial DNA evolution: A comparison of the cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase II genes

The evolution of two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, was examined in several eutherian mammal orders, with special emphasis on the orders Artiodactyla and Rodentia. When analyzed using both maximum parsimony, with either equal or unequal character weighting, and neighbor joining, neither gene performed with a high degree of consistency in terms of the phylogenetic hypotheses supported. The phylogenetic inconsistencies observed for both these genes may be the result of several factors including differences in the rate of nucleotide substitution among particular lineages (especially between orders), base composition bias, transition/transversion bias, differences in codon usage, and different constraints and levels of homoplasy associated with first, second, and third codon positions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the molecular systematics of mammals, especially as they relate to recent hypotheses concerning the polyphyly of the order Rodentia, relationships among the Artiodactyla, and various interordinal relationships.Correspondence to: R.L. Honeycutt     

沙枣叶绿体全基因组序列及其使用密码子偏性分析

该研究以2株野生沙枣(Elaeagnus angustifolia Linn.)嫩枝经温室水培后的嫩叶为材料,采用CTAB法分别提取总DNA,并利用第二代测序技术进行总DNA从头测序,组装后得到2株沙枣叶绿体基因组全序列,并详细分析了其蛋白质编码基因密码子使用的偏好性及其原因,为沙枣叶绿体基因工程和分子系统进化等研究奠定基础。结果显示:(1)组装得到沙枣叶绿体基因组序列全长150 546 bp,由长度为81 113 bp的长单拷贝(LSC)区域和25 494 bp的短单拷贝(SSC)区域,以及1对分隔开它们的长18 445 bp的反向重复序列(IRS)组成;注释共得到132个基因,包括86个蛋白编码基因、38个tRNA基因和8个rRNA基因。(2)沙枣叶绿体基因组蛋白编码基因密码子的第三位碱基GC含量(GC_3)为28.47%,明显低于整个叶绿体基因组GC含量(37%),也低于第一位(GC_1)和第二位(GC_2)碱基的GC含量,说明密码子对AT碱基结尾有偏好性;其中, UCU、CCU、UGU、GCU、CUU、GAU、UCA和UAA为最优密码子。(3)同义密码子相对使用频率(RSCU)分析发现,影响密码子使用模式的因素并不单一,密码子的偏好性受到突变、选择及其他因素的共同影响,并且自然选择表达引起的序列差异比突变对密码子偏好性的影响要显著;中性绘图分析、有效密码子数(ENC-plot)分析和奇偶偏好性(PR2-plot)分析表明,沙枣叶绿体基因组使用密码子的偏性受选择的影响更大。(4)通过最大似然法、最大简约法和贝叶斯方法对胡颓子科6个物种和1个枣的叶绿体基因序列构建系统发育树,与它们使用密码子偏性聚类的结果一致,表明叶绿体基因组使用密码子偏性与物种的亲缘关系相关。     

Reduced Selection for Codon Usage Bias in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila miranda</Emphasis>

Biased codon usage in many species results from a balance among mutation, weak selection, and genetic drift. Here I show that selection to maintain biased codon usage is reduced in Drosophila miranda relative to its ancestor. Analyses of mutation patterns in noncoding DNA suggest that the extent of this reduction cannot be explained by changes in mutation bias or by biased gene conversion. Low levels of variability in D. miranda relative to its sibling species, D. pseudoobscura, suggest that it has a much smaller effective population size. Reduced codon usage bias in D. miranda may thus result from the reduced efficacy of selection against newly arising mutations to unpreferred codons. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Richard Kliman]     

Nonneutral GC3 and Retroelement Codon Mimicry in Phytophthora

Phytophthora is a genus entirely comprised of destructive plant pathogens. It belongs to the Stramenopila, a unique branch of eukaryotes, phylogenetically distinct from plants, animals, or fungi. Phytophthora genes show a strong preference for usage of codons ending with G or C (high GC3). The presence of high GC3 in genes can be utilized to differentiate coding regions from noncoding regions in the genome. We found that both selective pressure and mutation bias drive codon bias in Phytophthora. Indicative for selection pressure is the higher GC3 value of highly expressed genes in different Phytophthora species. Lineage specific GC increase of noncoding regions is reminiscent of whole-genome mutation bias, whereas the elevated Phytophthora GC3 is primarily a result of translation efficiency-driven selection. Heterogeneous retrotransposons exist in Phytophthora genomes and many of them vary in their GC content. Interestingly, the most widespread groups of retroelements in Phytophthora show high GC3 and a codon bias that is similar to host genes. Apparently, selection pressure has been exerted on the retroelement’s codon usage, and such mimicry of host codon bias might be beneficial for the propagation of retrotransposons. Reviewing Editor: Dr. Yves van de Peer     

Correlated Evolution of Synonymous and Nonsynonymous Sites in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis>

Recent work has shown that Drosophila melanogaster genes with fast-evolving nonsynonymous sites have lower codon usage bias. This pattern has been attributed to interference between positive selection at nonsynonymous sites and weak selection on codon usage. Here we have looked for this correlation in a much larger and less biased dataset, comprising 630 gene pairs from D. melanogaster and D. yakuba. We confirmed that there is a negative correlation between the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (d_N) and codon bias in D. melanogaster. We then tested the interference hypothesis and other alternative explanations, including one involving gene expression. We found that d_N indeed correlates with the level of gene expression. Given that gene expression is a strong determinant of codon bias, the relationship between d_N and codon bias might be a by-product of gene expression. However, our tests show that none of the hypotheses we consider seem to explain the data fully.This article contains online supplementary material.Reviewing Editor: Dr. John Huelsenbeck     

Selection Conflicts,Gene Expression,and Codon Usage Trends in Yeast

Synonymous codon usage in yeast appears to be influenced by natural selection on gene expression, as well as regional variation in compositional bias. Because of the large number of potential targets of selection (i.e., most of the codons in the genome) and presumed small selection coefficients, codon usage is an excellent model for studying factors that limit the effectiveness of selection. We use factor analysis to identify major trends in codon usage for 5836 genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The primary factor is strongly correlated with gene expression, consistent with the model that a subset of codons allows for more efficient translation. The secondary factor is very strongly correlated with third codon position GC content and probably reflects regional variation in compositional bias. We find that preferred codon usage decreases in the face of three potential limitations on the effectiveness of selection: reduced recombination rate, increased gene length, and reduced intergenic spacing. All three patterns are consistent with the Hill–Robertson effect (reduced effectiveness of selection among linked targets). A reduction in gene expression in closely spaced genes may also reflect selection conflicts due to antagonistic pleiotropy.