Ontogeny of odorant receptor gene expression in zebrafish,Danio rerio

We cloned three putative odorant receptor (OR) genes from the zebrafish to use as in situ hybridization probes to follow the temporal patterns of neurons expressing OR genes through a developmental progression from embryo (12 h postfertilization) to adult. The identification of these genes is supported by sequence homology to previously reported ORs and by the morphology and location of labeled cells in in situ hybridization experiments. Cells expressing OR mRNA were first observed in the olfactory placodes between 31 and 38 h after fertilization (fish reared at 26°C). Initially, only single cells were observed to hybridize the probe; the number of labeled cells increased throughout the remainder of embryogenesis and through postembryonic growth and morphogenesis of the olfactory organ. At all ages, the positively hybridizing cells were scattered throughout the olfactory epithelium but not in the nonsensory epithelium of the olfactory organ. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Regulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene expression in hypothalamic neuronal cells

Summary 1. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is the hypothalamic releasing factor that controls pituitary gonadotropin subunit gene expression and indirectly gametogenesis and steroidogenesis from the gonad, which results in reproductive competence.2. GnRH is synthesized in only about 1000 neurons in the hypothalamus and released in an episodic fashion down the median eminence to regulate gonadotropin biosynthesis.3. Although much is known about the secretory dynamics of GnRH release, little is known about the pretranslational control of GnRH biosynthesis due to lack of appropriate model systems. The recent availability of immortalized neuronal cell lines that produce GnRH allows investigators for the first time to begin to dissect the factors that directly regulate GnRH gene expression.4. This article reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the mechanisms that direct tissue-specific and peptide hormone control of GnRH biosynthesis.     

Oligoryzomys flavescens (Rodentia, Muridae): gene flow among populations from central-eastern Argentina

In species acting as hosts of infectious agents, the extent of gene flow between populations is of particular interest because the expansion of different infectious diseases is usually related to the dispersal of the host. We have estimated levels of gene flow among populations of the sigmodontine rodent Oligoryzomys flavescens, in which high titers of antibodies have been detected for a Hantavirus in Argentina that produces a severe pulmonary syndrome. Enzyme polymorphism was studied by means of starch gel electrophoresis in 10 populations from the area where human cases of Hantavirus have occurred. Genetic differentiation between populations was calculated from F_ST values with the equation Nm = [(1/F_ST−1]/4. To assess the relative importance of current gene flow and historical associations between populations, the relationship of population pairwise log Nm and log geographic distance was examined. Low F_ST (mean = 0.038) and high Nm (15.27) values suggest high levels of gene flow among populations. The lack of an isolation by distance pattern would indicate that this species has recently colonized the area. The northernmost population, located on the margin of a great river, shows very high levels of gene flow with the downstream populations despite the large geographic distances. Passive transport of animals down the river by floating plants would promote unidirectional gene flow. This fact and the highest mean heterozygosity of that northernmost population suggest it is a center of dispersal within the species' range. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tissue-specific gene expression in soybean (Glycine max) detected by cDNA microarray analysis

We have constructed cDNA microarrays for soybean (Glycine maxL. Merrill), containing approximately 4,100 Unigene ESTs derived from axenic roots, to evaluate their application and utility for functional genomics of organ differentiation in legumes. We assessed microarray technology by conducting studies to evaluate the accuracy of microarray data and have found them to be both reliable and reproducible in repeat hybridisations. Several ESTs showed high levels (50 fold) of differential expression in either root or shoot tissue of soybean. A small number of physiologically interesting, and differentially expressed sequences found by microarray analysis were verified by both quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis. There was a linear correlation (r² = 0.99, over 5 orders of magnitude) between microarray and quantitative real-time RT-PCR data. Microarray analysis of soybean has enormous potential not only for the discovery of new genes involved in tissue differentiation and function, but also to study the expression of previously characterised genes, gene networks and gene interactions in wild-type, mutant or transgenic plants.     

High level of gene silencing in the tetraploid goldfish

The goldfish, Carassius auratus, is a karyotypically tetraploid form that expresses only 19% of its enzyme-encoding loci in duplicate. This level of gene duplication is among the lowest reported among tetraploid cypriniform fishes and may be related to the intense selective and drift processes associated with its domestication.     

Evaluation of deleted in malignant brain tumors 1 (DMBT1) gene expression in bladder carcinoma cases: preliminary study

This study was undertaken to evaluate the expression of DMBT1 in bladder cancer and its correlation with clinico-pathological parameters analyzed in bladder carcinoma patients. We investigated DMBT1 in 56 paraffin embedded specimens of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. We assessed DMBT1 gene expression at mRNA level by RT-PCR. Our results show 100% expression of DMBT1 in bladder carcinoma samples. Due to this preliminary results; gene expression was compared to tumor grade, and a significant difference was detected between grade 1 and 3 (p?=?0.028). The down-regulation of DMBT1 gene expression in carcinomas suggests the possible role in bladder cancer.     

真核基因的快速克隆及表达

以细胞间隙连接蛋白基因Cx26作为目的基因,通过T-A载体介导,构建真核表达重组载体pcDNA3.1( ) /Cx26,重组表达载体转染人鼻咽癌细胞株HNE1,表达Cx26间隙连接蛋白。     

Population structure and food habits of white crappie Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque in a turbid Oklahoma reservoir

We assessed population structure and food habits of white crappie Pomoxis annuluris Rafinesque in Lake Carl Blackwell, a turbid reservoir in north-central Oklahoma, U.S.A. White crappie [ n = 8549; total length ( t.l. ) mean = 147 mm, s.d. = 28 mm, range = 73–445 mm] were collected with gillnets, frame nets, and hoop nets. Proportional stock density was 2, as 97% of the fish were under 200 mm t.l . Relative stock density was 96, 2, 1, and 1 for 'stock-quality', 'quality-preferred', 'preferred-memorable', and 'memorable-trophy' lengths. Total annual mortality rate was 54% for fish older than 2 years. Growth was poor and lower than the Oklahoma-Arkansas regional averages ( P <0.01). Relative weights were 79, 86, 106, 109, and 123 for fish in the stock-quality, quality-preferred, preferred-memorable, memorable-trophy, and trophy size categories. Ephemeroptera nymphs were an important dietary component for fish 150 mm t.l. or smaller. Gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum (Lesueur) was a major forage item, especially for fish greater than 150 mm t.l. ( P <0.01). Empirical information on prey availability indicates that the white crappie population is forage limited and that gizzard shad are not available in appropriate sizes or sufficient numbers to sustain the predator population. Poor fish condition, slow growth, and high mortality are probably the result of inadequate forage.     

Tumor-specific gene expression patterns with gene expression profiles

Gene expression profiles of 14 common tumors and their counterpart normal tissues were analyzed with machine learning methods to address the problem of selection of tumor-specific genes and analysis of their differential expressions in tumor tissues. First, a variation of the Relief algorithm, “RFE_Relief algorithm” was proposed to learn the relations between genes and tissue types. Then, a support vector machine was employed to find the gene subset with the best classification performance for distinguishing cancerous tissues and their counterparts. After tissue-specific genes were removed, cross validation experiments were employed to demonstrate the common deregulated expressions of the selected gene in tumor tissues. The results indicate the existence of a specific expression fingerprint of these genes that is shared in different tumor tissues, and the hallmarks of the expression patterns of these genes in cancerous tissues are summarized at the end of this paper.     

Effects of NV gene knock-out recombinant viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) on Mx gene expression in Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells and olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

To determine whether the NV gene of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is related to the type I interferon response of hosts, expression of Mx gene in Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells and in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) in response to infection with either wild-type VHSV or recombinant VHSVs (rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP and rVHSV-wild) was investigated. A reporter vector was constructed for measuring Mx gene expression using olive flounder Mx promoter, in which the reporter Metridia luciferase was designed to be excreted to culture medium to facilitate measurement. The highest increase of luciferase activity was detected from supernatant of cells infected with rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP. In contrast cells infected with wild-type VHSV showed a slight increase of the luciferase activity. Interestingly, cells infected with rVHSV-wild that has artificially changed nucleotides just before and after the NV gene ORF, also showed highly increased luciferase activity, but the increased amplitude was lower than that by rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP. These results strongly suggest that the NV protein of VHSV plays an important role in suppressing interferon response in host cells, which provides a condition for the viruses to efficiently proliferate in host cells. In an in vivo experiment, the Mx gene expression in olive flounder challenged with the rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP was clearly higher than fish challenged with rVHSV-wild or wild-type VHSV, suggesting that lacking of the NV gene in the genome of rVHSV-ΔNV-EGFP brought to strong interferon response that subsequently inhibit viral replication in fish.     

Nodulin gene expression during soybean (Glycine max) nodule development

In vitro translation products of total RNA isolated from soybean nodules at successive stages of nodule development were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In that way the occurrence of over 20 mRNAs specifically transcribed from nodulin genes was detected. The nodulin genes could be divided into two classes according to the time of expression during nodule development. Class A comprises at least 4 nodulin mRNAs which are found when a globular meristem is present in the root cortex. These class A nodulin genes have a transient expression. Class B nodulin genes are expressed when the formation of a nodule structure has been completed. Bradyrhizobium japonicum nod⁺ fix^-mutants, with large deletions spanning the nif H,DK region, still induced nodules showing normal expression of all nodulin genes, indicating that the nif H,DK region is not involved in the induction of nodulin genes. In nodules induced by Bradyrhizobium japonicum nod⁺ fix^-mutant HS124 the bacteria are rarely released from the infection thread and the few infected cells appear to be collapsed. All class A and class B nodulin genes are expressed in HS124 nodules with the exception of 5 class B genes.