真核细胞的基因的组织

一、真核细胞基因的基本结构 1.转录单位: 从已知的数十种基因的顺序,可得出一个具有功能的基因的共同规律,在基因5’端-25至-75区,有CCAAT和TATAAA区(后者又称ATA box或Hogness box),相当于促进子区(Promotor),为体外转录所必需。     

没有神经的腿的再生

对于嵘螈肢体的再生,神经系统特别是切割后的残肢裹的神经纤维,一向是被认为有决定性意义的。晚近利用成体或接近变态的幼体的研究证明了:在再生芽基形成之后,切断神经,已经形成的芽基仍然可以继续发育成正常的肢体;但在再生芽基形成之     

审美的眼 怜悯的心

面向公众宣传教育需要考虑受众的兴趣。大熊猫的保护,和它呈现的很可爱的形象关系很大．人们不由得产生一种怜惜的情感．想要去保护它。反观扬子鳄．如果对它难以拍出那样可爱的图片．写不出那样煽情的文章．那就没什么影响。毕竟,人们怜惜可爱的动物．而对丑陋动物的境遇不太关心,这可能是我们人类演化产生和积淀下来的一种情感反应。     

知识的载体 智慧的力量

2009年5月,繁花烂漫的季节,高等教育出版社迎来了55周年华诞,《生命世界》杂志也走过了5年不平凡的历程。我们出版的高质量的教材和学术著作为我国的生命科学人才培养和学科建设发挥了积极的重要作用,受到了广大师生和科研人员的欢迎。《生命世界》在传播生命科学知识、提高大众科学素养方面起到了很好的作用,全国人大常委会副委员长、中国科学院院长路甬祥院士和全国人大常委会副委员长、中国科协主席、     

知识的载体 智慧的力量

2009年5月,繁花烂漫的季节,高等教育出版社迎来了55周年华诞,《生命世界》杂志也走过了5年不平凡的历程。我们出版的高质量的教材和学术著作为我国的生命科学人才培养和学科建设发挥了积极的重要作用,受到了广大师生和科研人员的欢迎。《生命世界》在传播生命科学知识、提高大众科学素养方面起到了很好的作用,全国人大常委会副委员长、中国科学院院长路甬祥院士和全国人大常委会副委员长、中国科协主席、     

真正的科学家真正的爱国者

卢永根院士是著名的作物遗传学家。他致力于水稻遗传育种研究,取得了显著的成绩。在青年时代,他以极大的热情投身到革命洪流中,既做地下党的工作,又刻苦地在岭大深造;在岭大毕业后至今50余年中,他在高校既教书,又从事科学研究,为人才培养和水稻遗传育种工作做出贡献。他总结的五点体会和崇高的思想境界:“我的青春年华已经献给党的科学事业,我准备把晚年继续献给这个事业。”令人深受启发,值得学习。经作者同意,现将刊登在中国科学院院士工作局《学部通讯》2003年第4期上的“院士自述:我的成长经历”这篇报道,转载于后。     

干酪生产的凝乳酶的开发

用于干酪制造的重组凝乳酶的开发处于激烈竞争中。美国Genencor公司和Chr.汉逊实验公司协作,在重组凝乳酶的商品化工作中取得显著进展。美国Collaborative研究公司(CR)用重组生物制造凝乳酶方法已取得美国专利局许可的专利权。     

方兴未艾的古代DNA的研究

保留在古代生物遗骸中的遗传物质DNA是一种重要的遗传资源。古代DNA的研究对于了解包括人类在内的各种生物的起源、进化和迁徙有重要意义。古代DNA的研究有其自身的特点,并且已经取得一系列重要成就。本文综述古代DNA研究的历史、方法和进展。 Abstract：DNA present in ancient samples can be recovered,amplified and analysed.It opens a new window for genetic analysis in many different disciplines,such as anthropology,archaeology,human population genetics,animal and plant evolutionary taxonomy and forensic science.In general,ancient DNA is rare in quantity,damaged in quality.To ensure the reproducibility and reliability of the results,great cares should be taken,such as various measurements against contamination and phylogenetic analysis of ancient DNA sequences.In this paper we review recovery,amplification and analysis of ancient DNA,also discuss the guidelines to ensure the authenticity of ancient DNA and the recent advances in ancient DNA study.     

人类胚胎的免疫系统与成人的有着截然不同的起源

UCSF的研究人员首次向我们证实,人类胚胎的免疫系统与成人的免疫系统有着截然不同的起源.相对于成人的免疫系统而言,胚胎免疫系统对待其环境中的外源物质更倾向于适应,而不是去消灭它.这一发现不但使我们能够更加了解新生儿是如何对感染以及疫苗反应的,而且可以用来解释许多难题,比如为何HIV     

有前途的基因工程的飞跃发展

试图在分子水平上解释生命现象的分子生物学从其工程学角度派生出了生物工程学,1972年,DNA重组技术取得了引人注目的成功。自那以后,这二方面就开始了惊人的发展,在这里,让我们来回顾一下过去的业迹。     

Phylogenetic definitions and taxonomic philosophy

An examination of the post-Darwinian history of biological taxonomy reveals an implicit assumption that the definitions of taxon names consist of lists of organismal traits. That assumption represents a failure to grant the concept of evolution a central role in taxonomy, and it causes conflicts between traditional methods of defining taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. Phylogenetic definitions of taxon names (de Queiroz and Gauthier 1990) grant the concept of common ancestry a central role in the definitions of taxon names and thus constitute an important step in the development of phylogenetic taxonomy. By treating phylogenetic relationships rather than organismal traits as necessary and sufficient properties, phylogenetic definitions remove conflicts between the definitions of taxon names and evolutionary concepts of taxa. The general method of definition represented by phylogenetic definitions of clade names can be applied to the names of other kinds of composite wholes, including populations and biological species. That the names of individuals (composite wholes) can be defined in terms of necessary and sufficient properties provides the foundation for a synthesis of seemingly incompatible positions held by contemporary individualists and essentialists concerning the nature of taxa and the definitions of taxon names.     

Comparison of in vitro decomposition of bryophytic and tracheophytic plant material

The fossil record of bryophytes is generally poor and infertile plants attributable to liverworts and mosses could also be thalloid vascular plant gametophytes or herbaceous lycophytes respectively. The paucity of the bryophytic record could be the result of relatively rapid degradation of bryophytic material in comparison to that of vascular plants, the absence of lignified cells in bryophytes sustaining this belief. However, certain organs of bryophytes are as robust as those of vascular plants (e.g. spores) and the hydroxybenzofuran polymers produced by some mosses could be of similar preservational resistance to lignins. A simplistic experiment to test the relative resistance to decay of bryophytic material has been undertaken. Its findings suggest that bryophytic plant material has a similar preservational potential to that of a selected vascular plant, particularly in organic rich sediments. This result may be construed to imply that bryophytes were indeed less abundant in the preservational environments of the Coal Measures than might be expected on the basis of current palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.     

Échinodermes de l'Ordovicien supérieur (Ashgill) de Sardaigne et d'Algérie

Research on the influence of sea level variations on the benthic faunas have been carried out in the Upper Ordovician of Sardinia. Study of the depositional facies and sequence analysis of the upper part (Lower Ashgill) of the Portixeddu Formation led to the identification of the sedimentary environments. Cystoids and crinoids are associated to bryozoans and brachiopods in most levels. The numerical analysis of associations and megaguilds shows that crinoids and cystoids have a higher frequency in the proximal and median facies of the upper offshore. The columnal association characterized by Conspectocrinus celticus and the coronoid Mespilocystites tregarvanicus has been discovered in the upper part of the formation. This material and complementary samples from Upper Ordovician of Sardinia and Kabylia (Algeria) bring additional data on the systematic and show the wide distribution of this fauna outside of the Ibero-armorican domain. The distribution of this echinoderm association supports a palaeogeographical position of the Ibero-armorican domain and Sardinia within the north gondwanan margin during the Lower Palaeozoic.     

Des Miliolacea aux Alveolinacea (grands foraminifères): la faune du Crétacé supérieur et du Tertiaire inférieur du Chiapas (S.E. Mexique)

Found in Chiapas (South-East of Mexico), Praealveolina michaudi nov. sp. and Chubbina jamaicensis (of Campanian-Maestrichtian age) are described, both evolved from Nummoloculina sp. while Raadshoovenia guatemalensis (upper Paleocene-lower Eocene) arises from Quinqueloculina. We precisely analyze and modelize the nepionic coiling during the evolutionary change from Miliolacea to Alveolinacea. During ontogenesis as well as during phylogenesis, quinqueloculine coiling progresses to streptospiral and then to planispiral chamber arrangement with the increase of volume of embryo and of chambers. Appearance of these large foraminifers are understood as a consequence of the rise of K-strategies in their mode of life, following the development of photosynthetic symbioses.     

人工合成多样性突变文库研究进展*

突变文库的构建是定向进化研究过程中一个关键步骤,主要利用天然存在的系统或者人工合成的分子技术来产生多样性核酸分子文库,为制备和筛选具有一定特性的蛋白酶、多肽、人工抗体等提供庞大的遗传基因库,也可用于合成生物学中相关基因元件的研究与筛选,为目标生物制品的高效工业化生产提供动力。随着对突变文库构建技术研究的日益深入,各种文库构建策略相继被开发出来,并在生物能源、生物化工、生物医药、生物试剂和食品工业等方面得到了广泛的应用。然而,定向进化中的文库构建策略多有不同,各种突变文库构建技术的核心方法也在不断创新。主要介绍近年来实验室中人工合成多样性文库的前沿技术,并对文库构建技术在自动化和智能化方向的发展进行了展望。     

A phylogenetic analysis of basal Anseriformes, the fossil Presbyornis, and the interordinal relationships of waterfowl

A phylogenetic analysis of 123 morphological characters of basal waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) and other selected avian orders confirmed that the screamers (Anhimae: Anhitn-idae) are the sister-group of other waterfowl (Anseres), and that the magpie goose (Anseranatidae: Anseranas semipalmata) is the sister group of other modern waterfowl exclusive of screamers (Anatidae sensu stricto). The analysis also supports the traditional hypothesis of the gallinaceous birds (Galliformes) as the sister group of the Anseriformes. Presbyornis, a fossil from the early Eocene of Wyoming and averred by Olson & Feduccia as showing that the Anseriformes were derived from shorebirds (Charadriiformes), was found to represent the sister group of the Anatidae. Associated hypotheses by Olson & Feduccia concerning the implications of Presbyornis for the phylogenetic relationships of flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes), the position of the Anhimidae within the waterfowl, relationships among modern Anatidae, and a plausible evolutionary scenario for waterfowl also are rejected. Analyses revealed that cranial characters were critical to the establishment of the Galliformes as the sister group of the Anseriformes; exclusion of the Anhimidae, especially in combination with Anseranas, also undermined the support for this inference. Placement of Presbyornis as the sister group of the Anatidae casts doubt on the role suggested by Feduccia of ‘transitional shorebirds' in the origin of modern avian orders, and calls into question the concept of ‘fossil mosaics’. The phylogenetic hypothesis is used to reconstruct an evolutionary scenario for selected ecomorphological characters in the galliform-anseriform transition, to predict the most parsimonious states of these characters for Presbyornis, and to propose a phylogenetic classification of the higher-order taxa of waterfowl. This re-examination of Presbyornis also is used to exemplify the fundamental methodological shortcomings of the intuitive approach to the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships.     

L’habitat en grotte au Néolithique : vers une estimation de l’intensité des occupations

The archaeological excavation of the cave of the Gardon has brought to light a dilated and nearly continuous stratigraphy for the Neolithic era. The analysis of lithic industry has showed the existence of variations between those neolithic layers, which are independents of the technological processes of tools productions. Four criteria allow us to characterize the occupation’s type of each layer. Compared to the excavations data and to sedimentological analysis, these results allow us to display the evolution of the intensity of occupations of the cave throughout the whole Neolithic.     

The Natural Host Range of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis spp. and Their Impact on Insect Populations

The natural host range of entomopathogenic nematodes of the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis can be defined as the range of insects which indigenous nematode populations use for propagation. Information on the natural host range is rare. However, based on records of insects found to be naturally infected with nematodes, some conclusions regarding the natural host range of some Steinernema spp. and Heterorhabditis spp. are presented. Reports of indigenous nematode populations impacting on insect populations can be divided between relatively balanced, long-lasting nematode-host associations and unbalanced, short-lasting epizootics. Examples of the augmentation and inoculative introduction of nematodes in agriculture and forestry ecosystems are presented. Based on current knowledge, nematode reproduction strategies are discussed and indications of the risk involved in the release of non-indigenous nematodes are given.     

Concentration of 17 trace elements in serum and whole blood of plains viscachas (Lagostomus maximus) by ICP-MS, their reference ranges, and their relation to cataract

The reference ranges of the trace elements Al, As, Be, B, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Li, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in sera of a group of free-ranging plains viscachas of the pampa grasslands of Argentina. The values were compared with those of a small group of captive plains viscachas of the Zurich Zoo with diabetes and bilateral cataracts. In addition, a method for digestion of whole-blood samples is described for the trace element determination. Significant differences in the concentration of trace elements in the two groups of animals are discussed. No correlation was found between the levels of selenium and of other trace elements compared to the formation of cataracts.     

A Species-specific Monoclonal Antibody System for Detecting the Remains of Field Slugs, Deroceras reticulatum (Muller) (Mollusca: Pulmonata), in Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

The field slug, Deroceras reticulatum (Muller), is probably the most damaging and widespread species of slug, causing severe economic losses in a broad range of crops in temperate zones throughout the world. Investigations into the role of predation in the population dynamics of this species required a biochemical system which was capable of identifying the remains of this slug in the crop contents of predators, and distinguishing them from those of other molluscs. A monoclonal antibody was developed (IgM isotype). This was capable of separating, in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, D. reticulatum from the related D. caruanae (Pollonera) and all molluscs and other invertebrates tested, with the unexpected exceptions of New Zealand flatworms, Artioposthia triangulata (Deny) and the millipede Polymicrodon polydesmoides (Leach). Characterization of the antibody and assay demonstrated that the system could clearly detect as little as 11.6 ng of D. reticulatum protein in 200 mu l of buffer. Slug remains could be identified as such in the crops of the carabid predator Pterostichus melanarius Illiger for 38.1 h, while the antibody-antigen reaction declined to half of that measured immediately following consumption, after 12.9 h. A practical and highly sensitive system was therefore developed, using the first species-specific monoclonal antibody available for the investigation of predation on slugs.