A TECHNIQUE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF EPISTATIC GENE ACTION II. THE APPLICATION OF THE METHOD

With a method based on probability of phenotypic ratios being produced by crosses involving two pairs of interacting genes, data from genetic studies of Impatiens Sultana Hook. f. (Balsaminaceae) were analysed. Nine genes postulated to control floral color are: P, purple; I and W, white; R, red; O, orange; F, fuchsia; D, red; E, red; S, salmon. Epistatic action was evaluated, but progeny counts were too small for linkage to be determined.     

植物种群交配系统、亲本分析以及基因流动研究

 在过去的二十年中,有关植物种群交配与散布过程的研究与日俱增,重点集中在利用母本子代系列(Maternal progeny arrays)来估计种群间自交与异交的相对比例,种群的花粉散布与雄性育性变异的模式。早期的研究主要依靠排除法来确定亲本,但几乎同时也意识到基因流动事件几乎是检测不到的。在大多数估计中,难以做到为大多数非迁移子代确定唯一的亲本。因此,基因流动与雄性育性的最大似然性方法得以引入该领域的研究。本文介绍了用单位点和多位点模型来估计家系与种群自交与异交的相对频率,着重阐述了目前可用于亲本分析与基因流的估计方法。最后介绍了我们对木根麦冬交配系统与亲本分析的研究以及亲本分析将来的研究方向。     

昆虫发育起点温度估值的一种新方法

本文提出一个运用优选法估计昆虫发育起点温度的简单方法。其目标函数是其中:k_i=N_i(T_i-T_0); n=温度处理数; T_0=起点温度; N_i=第i个处理的平均历期; T_i=第i个处理的环境温度。 目标函数的最小值所对应的点T_0即为起点温度的期望值。于是,相应的累积热单位K由下列方程所确定:     

A TECHNIQUE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF EPISTATIC GENE ACTION I. THE METHOD OF ANALYSIS

The thirty-two possible genic crosses involving two pairs of nonlinked genes were simulated. The anticipated progeny of each cross was analyzed according to each of the seven basic types of epistatic action. A key was devised to facilitate the recognition of genic action since most phenotypic progeny ratios are produced exclusively either by phenotypically similar parents or phenotypically dissimilar parents. Only ratios of 3:1, 2:1, and 1:1 can be produced by both types of parents.     

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A MASS-ESTIMATION METHOD FOR WEDDELL SEALS

Traditional methods of acquiring mass data limit the ability to collect large samples from across populations of some pinnipeds, or to sample without great disturbance to the animals. In order to collect substantial samples of mass data from the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) population in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, we developed the equipment and methods for estimating the mass of Weddell seals using digital photographs. Resulting regression models predict the mass of adult female seals to within ±13.8% of estimated mass, and ±25.9% of estimated mass for pups. We show the protocols developed are repeatable and efficient enough to be applied to a large number of animals in a relatively short period of time and may be useful for studies of other marine mammals. We caution that prediction intervals exist around mass estimates and must be accounted for when estimates are applied to biological questions. In a limited application of the method, differences in mass transfer between experienced and inexperienced maternal females and their pups were detected when prediction error variance around mass estimates was explicitly included. Similar mass‐estimation methods may therefore be useful in consideration of biological questions requiring large samples of mass previously unattainable.     

A COMPARISON OF THREE INDIRECT METHODS FOR ESTIMATING AVERAGE LEVELS OF GENE FLOW

Three methods for estimating the average level of gene flow in natural population are discussed and compared. The three methods are F_ST, rare alleles, and maximum likelihood. All three methods yield estimates of the combination of parameters (the number of migrants [Nm] in a demic model or the neighborhood size [4πDσ²] in a continuum model) that determines the relative importance of gene flow and genetic drift. We review the theory underlying these methods and derive new analytic results for the expectation of F_ST in stepping-stone and continuum models when small sets of samples are taken. We also compare the effectiveness of the different methods using a variety of simulated data. We found that the F_ST and rare-alleles methods yield comparable estimates under a wide variety of conditions when the population being sampled is demographically stable. They are roughly equally sensitive to selection and to variation in population structure, and they approach their equilibrium values at approximately the same rate. We found that two different maximum-likelihood methods tend to yield biased estimates when relatively small numbers of locations are sampled but more accurate estimates when larger numbers are sampled. Our conclusion is that, although F_ST and rare-alleles methods are expected to be equally effective in analyzing ideal data, practical problems in estimating the frequencies of rare alleles in electrophoretic studies suggest that F_ST is likely to be more useful under realistic conditions.     

油松种子园自由授粉与控制授粉种子父本分析

利用“微卫星”标记对油松(Pinus tabulaeformis)种子园控制授粉和自由授粉的子代进行了父本分析, 探讨自由授粉状态下种子园子代遗传组成与花粉传播的关系, 以及人工控制授粉状态下花粉形态等指标与子代遗传组成的相关性。其中,利用SSR对281粒油松种子进行父本分析, 在80%的置信水平下确定了其中126粒种子的花粉来源; 对2株母树自由授粉种子的父本分析表明, 种子园内花粉传播距离最大为85 m, 有效距离在30 m以内; 对11#和24＃母树分别用21个无性系的等体积混合花粉进行控制授粉发现, 子代由少数无性系的花粉受精产生, 其中 50＃、7＃、25＃、33#无性系对2株母树子代的花粉贡献率分别达到50.62%和61.54%; 花粉粒大小、花粉等体积重和花粉活力与选择性受精相关不显著, 而花粉活力偏低的无性系也有授粉成功的可能性。     

用YADE法克隆球孢白僵菌类枯草杆菌蛋白酶基因CDEP-1的启动子及启动子序列分析

扩增与已知序列相连的未知序列是一项常用的分子生物学技术。与其它方法相比,目前在棉花上应用的YADE法具有效率高,成本低和假阳性低等特点。因此,作者尝试将该法引入到昆虫病原真菌的分子生物学研究,并取得了成功,建立了适合于球孢白僵菌和金龟子绿僵菌的YADE的技术体系。类枯草杆菌蛋白酶在昆虫病原真菌穿透寄主体壁时起重要作用,作者在已克隆的球孢白僵菌类蛋白酶基因CDEP-1的基础上,利用YADE法,克隆类球孢白僵菌类枯草杆菌蛋白酶基因CDEP-1的启动子CDEPP。序列分析发现:CDEPP中没有明显的TATA和CAAT框,含有8个可能的碳调控因子的结合位点5'>(g/c)YggRg<3'和2个氮调控因子的结合位点——相隔很近的GATA。这与CDEP-1的表达受碳/氮抑制的结果一致。本文的结果将会为研究CDEP-1的表达规律奠定基础。     

南京直立人的鼻骨形态及其与欧洲化石人类基因交流的可能性

根据南京直立人1号头骨有高耸的鼻梁,有人认为南京直立人有西方血统。但学术界对欧洲人类的基因流进入中国境内的时间似有不同的理解。本文对非洲、欧洲和亚洲的远古人类的鼻骨作了观察。结果表明,在距今约20万年至180万年前期间,非洲尚未有高耸鼻梁的远古人类的化石证据;距今20万年前的欧洲也无高耸鼻梁的远古人类的化石证据。南京直立人生存的年代无论是距今58—62万年或是距今33—50万年,当时的欧洲、非洲和西亚都未出现高耸鼻梁的远古人类;南京直立人的高耸鼻梁未必意味着“西方血统”。高耸的鼻梁,从其形成历史来看,有可能类似于同功特征。具有这一形态特征的东方人群与西方人群可以是血缘上并不一定相近但在各自谱系上都有过对某种气候的适应历史。     

ESTIMATION OF GENE FLOW FROM F-STATISTICS

We present theory clarifying the general behavior of F_ST-based and G_ST-based estimators of gene flow, and confirm these predictions with simulations. In particular, we use the correlation of genes within groups within populations to define an estimator. The theoretical value of the correlation doe not depend on the number of groups in a population, and properties of the estimated correlation do not depend on the number of groups sampled or the number of individuals sampled per group. This invariance is in contrast to properties of G_ST. For a complete census of a population, bias and variance considerations would suggest the use of the G_ST-based estimator of gene flow, but lack of knowledge of population size or group number in practice suggests preference be given to the correlation-based estimator. We acknowledge that these estimators require that several conditions of a population-genetic model be met, since they do not make use of direct observations on the flow of genes. Our results differ from some of those based on simulation in a series of recent papers by M. Slatkin.     

A METHOD FOR ESTIMATING MASS OF LARGE PINNIPEDS

Fifty-two male elephant seals were weighed and photographed at Año Nuevo State Reserve, California, to establish a predictive relationship between photographically measured morphological variables (length, side area, and girth area) and body mass. Regression of mass on these variables revealed that side area, roughly equivalent to a longitudinal cross-section, was the most useful single variable for predicting mass, and that adding the other two variables to side area slightly improved the accuracy of the photogrammetric technique. Curvilinear regressions based on a power model provided the best predictive relationships. This technique may prove useful for estimating body mass of other pinnipeds.     

大菱鲆组成型热休克蛋白70的全长cDNA克隆及表达分析

根据感染哈维氏弧菌(Vibrio harveyi)的大菱鲆(Scophthalmus maximus)的差减cDNA文库中hsp70EST序列设计引物,用RACE方法首次克隆到长2188bp的大菱鲆HSC70(Heat-shock cognate protein 70)全长cDNA序列,包括1956bp的开放阅读框及5′和3′非翻译区。在预测的651个氨基酸序列中发现了Dnak特征性基序,胞质HSP70特征基序以及四肽简并重复序列。与其他真核生物HSP70家族成员进行同源性比较,发现大菱鲆HSC70与牙鲆(Paralichthys olivaceus)HSC71、虹鳟(Oncorhynchus mykiss)HSC71、人(Homo sapiens)HSC70、家鼠(Mus musculus)HSC70、烟草天蛾(Manduca sexta)HSC70的氨基酸相似性分别是97%,95%,94%,93%,86%,表现出较高的保守性。表达分析显示,hsc70mRNA在大菱鲆正常肝脏、鳃、肠、脾脏、头肾、肾等组织中以不同的水平存在,呈组成型表达;被哈维氏弧菌感染后,大菱鲆肝脏和脾脏组织hsc70mRNA表达水平分别在24h和12h出现上调(2.5-fold和1.6-fold);注射生理盐水组与未注射组之间差异不显著。       

基因重组与基因合成实验设计软件系统的建立

本文报导了用于基因重组与基因合成实验设计的软件系统的建立.此系统由30个功能模块组成,为研究者提供了包括在DNA分子上寻找限制性内切酶位点、核酸分子片段之间同源性比较,基因化学合成的实验设计、特定顺序分析引物及核酸杂交探针的设计、阅读框的查找等功能.此外,本系统可以对外来数据库的资料进行援引和进一步分析,为分子生物学的研究提供有价值的信息.     

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CUTICULAR LAYERS IN ANGIOSPERM LEAVES

Schieferstein , R. H., and W. E. Loomis . (Iowa State U., Ames.) Development of the cuticular layer in angiosperm leaves. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(9): 625–635. Illus. 1959.—The cuticularized layers of leaves and other plant surfaces consist of a primary cuticle, formed by the oxidation of oils on exposed cell walls, plus various surface and subsurface wax deposits. The primary cuticle appears to form rapidly on the walls of any living cell which is exposed to air. Surface wax is present on the mature leaves of about half of the 50 or 60 species studied. In general, wax is extruded at random through the newly formed cuticle of young leaves and accumulated in various reticulate to semicrystalline patterns. No wax pores through the cuticle or primary wall can be observed in electron-micrographs of dewaxed mature leaves. Wax accumulations on older leaves are generally subcuticular and may involve the entire epidermal wall. These deposits appear to be of considerably greater ecological significance than those on the surface. Isolated cuticular membranes from Hedera helix increased slightly in permeability to water with age of the leaf, but permeability to 2,4-D decreased 50 times. Evidence based on the patterns of cellulose in primary walls, of surface wax on growing leaves, of the appearance of the cuticle at the margins of growing epidermal cells, of the forms of the cuticle plates digested from growing and older leaves, and of the marginal location of new wax deposits on growing maize leaves is presented to support the thesis that the enlargement of the outer surface of the epidermal cells of leaves occurs at the margins of the surface. Earlier formed cuticle and wax are thus undisturbed during growth. These observations, coupled with evidence for apical growth in fibers, root hairs, etc. suggest that the primary walls of angiosperm cells are formed in specific, localized growth regions, rather than by plastic extension and apposition.     

A METHOD FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE JELLY AND VITELLINE MEMBRANE FROM THE EMBRYOS OF XENOPUS LAEVIS

A simple procedure is described for removing the jelly and vitelline membrane of Xenopus laevis embryos. The method is based on the observation that incubation of the embryos in the mixed solution of trypsin and sodium thioglycolate at pH 8.0 causes effective dissolution of these structures. This solution is equally effective in this respect on the embryos at different developmental stages. Normal development is obtained from all of the denuded neurulae and from many of the denuded earlier embryos. Some chemical properties of the jelly and the vitelline membrane of Xenopus laevis are discussed based upon these observations.     

A MULTISPECIES APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF GENE FLOW IN MARINE SHORE FISHES

Ten species of marine shore fishes with a wide range of life-history strategies were collected from four areas in southern California, U.S.A., and Baja California, Mexico, and examined for patterns of genetic differentiation. Multilocus D and F_ST values (based on 32–42 presumptive gene loci in each species) were both negatively correlated with estimated dispersal capability. These results were robust to variations in the number and type of loci used in the analysis and are compatible with the hypothesis that levels of genetic differentiation in these shore fishes are determined primarily by gene flow and genetic drift. There is no a priori reason to expect the observed correlation to result from natural selection or historical factors. The findings thus suggest that populations of these shore fishes are in at least a quasi-equilibrium with respect to migration, mutation, and genetic drift. Present data were also used to compare estimates of mN_e obtained by three different methods. Estimates based on F_ST values calculated by the methods of Nei and Chesser (F_ST(N)) and Weir and Cockerham (F_ST(W)) were highly correlated, but F_ST(N) ≤ F_ST(W) for every species, leading to generally higher mN_e estimates for Nei and Chesser's method. Estimates of mN_e based on the frequency of private alleles (Slatkin, 1985a) were not as strongly correlated with dispersal capability as were F_ST and D values. A low incidence of private alleles in many species may be responsible for this relatively weak correlation and may limit the general usefulness of Slatkin's method. In spite of their sensitivity to natural selection, F_ST and D may be better indicators of relative gene flow levels for high gene flow species.