The life and death of gene families

One of the unique insights provided by the growing number of fully sequenced genomes is the pervasiveness of gene duplication and gene loss. Indeed, several metrics now suggest that rates of gene birth and death per gene are only 10–40% lower than nucleotide substitutions per site, and that per nucleotide, the consequent lineage‐specific expansion and contraction of gene families may play at least as large a role in adaptation as changes in orthologous sequences. While gene family evolution is pervasive, it may be especially important in our own evolution since it appears that the “revolving door” of gene duplication and loss has undergone multiple accelerations in the lineage leading to humans. In this paper, we review current understanding of gene family evolution including: methods for inferring copy number change, evidence for adaptive expansion and adaptive contraction of gene families, the origins of new families and deaths of previously established ones, and finally we conclude with a perspective on challenges and promising directions for future research.     

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。     

利用套叠PCR技术进行基因突变和拼接

利用套叠PCR技术（又称重叠区扩增基因拼接法）对hGM-CSF基因内第28位氨基酸处的糖基化位点进行突变和进行人促性腺激素基因,腺苷酸激酶短肽与胰岛素样生长因子－基因三者之间的拼接,结果表明采用该技术能在体外实行有效的基因重组和定点突变,其成功率为100％,这一技术不需要内切酶消化和连接酶处理,技术操作员简单易行,在基因拼接,基因内部突变方面具有良好的应用价值。     

成簇基因的时空表达调控

成簇基因具有不同单个基因的特性,同一簇内基因大多有类似的结构,功能以及表达模式,基因之间时空表达模式及表达量高度协调,提示同一簇基因是作为统一整体进行调节的,具有共同的调节机制。基因成簇排列是实现基因时空协调表表达的基础,是遗传信息的一种高级组织形式,具有强大的进化优势,要揭示成簇基因表达调控的基本规律,应从顺式作用元件,反式作用因子,染色质等层次,进行整体的以及多基因相互作用的研究,这些机制的阐     

基因功能研究方法浅介

随着人类基因组计划的进展,数据库中积累了越来越多未知功能的基因序列,分析这些基因的功能将成为基因组计划的主要任务。本介绍了几种研究特定基因功能的方法及程序。     

GFP-pl6融合基因表达载体的构建

本文报道了以ＧＦＰ（绿色荧光蛋白）基因为报告基因,ｐｌ６基因为目的基因,将ｐｌ６基因分别插入ＧＦＰ基因的上游和下游,构建成ＧＦＰ－ｐｌ６融合基因表达载体ｐＣｐｌ６Ｇ和ｐＣＧｐ１６,并通过酶切、电泳技术对重组体进行了鉴定。该表达载体的构建成功为开展ｐｌ６转基因动物模型的建立及其特性研究奠定了基础     

BPOZ基因剔除小鼠模型的建立

BPOZ是在卵巢癌等肿瘤组织中表达下调的细胞生长抑制基因,建立BPOZ基因剔除小鼠模型,可以为在体研究BPOZ基因的生物学功能及其与肿瘤发生的关系创造条件.运用生物信息学手段确定小鼠BPOZ基因组序列,设计基因剔除策略,构建完成了基因剔除载体XpPNT-BPOZ.以电穿孔方法将基因剔除载体导入ES细胞,用G418和Ganciclovoir进行正负筛选,获得抵抗克隆,PCR和DNA印迹鉴定出正确同源重组的ES细胞克隆.将同源重组的ES细胞注入小鼠囊胚,获得嵌合体小鼠.嵌合体小鼠与C57BL/6J小鼠交配后获得Aguoti毛色的小鼠30只,其中15只为BPOZ基因剔除杂合子小鼠,阳性率为50%.在雌雄杂合子交配的后代中获得纯合子小鼠.初步的表型观察发现BPOZ基因剔除小鼠发育正常,有繁殖能力,进一步的表型分析工作正在进行之中.     

海参免疫相关基因的研究进展

海参是我国重要的海水养殖动物,其疾病预防在养殖生产中具有重要的地位.从海参的凝集素基因、溶菌酶基因和铁蛋白基因等免疫相关基因方面进行概述.     

性别决定基因SRY的研究进展

SRY基因是哺乳动物性别决定过程中的主宰基因,其表达产物SRY蛋白是一种DNA结合蛋白,该蛋白含有一个HMG盒,能够以序列特异性结合到DNA双螺旋链的一侧,起到转录因子的作用。调节或协同下游基因如SOX9、AMH等基因的表达,使胚胎发育向雄性方向发展。     

非病毒基因治疗的研究进展

非病毒基因治疗是相对于病毒性基因治疗而言,指采用非病毒的载体进行的基因治疗。非病毒的基因载体比病毒性基因载体具有高安全性、低免疫原性及易于生产的特点。本文就非病毒基因治疗所采用的主要方法、面蜂的主要问题及发展方向作一概括的介绍。随着人类对疾病发病分子机制的深入研究及人类基因组计划的实施,非病毒基因治疗将在人类疾病的治疗中发挥重要作用。     

NAG11和NAG12基因转染对鼻咽癌细胞生长的影响

为了考察鼻咽癌表达下调／缺失基因NAG11和NAG12对鼻咽癌细胞系HNE1生长的影响,构建了NAG11和NAG12基因真核表达载体pcDNA3.1（＋）／NAG11和pcDNA3.1（＋）／NAG12,采用脂质体转染技术将真核重组质粒和空载体质粒分别导入HNE1细胞,观察转染后HNE1细胞生物学特性的变化,结果显示,NAG11重表达对HNE1细胞生长和细胞周期没有明显的影响,而NAG12重表达对HNE1细胞有生长抑制作用,与空载体转染组相比,倍增时间由24.1h延长至31.1h,停滞于G0－G1期细胞数由51.42%增加至68.14%。以上实验进一步说明鼻咽癌是多基因改变的疾病,NAG12的重表达有助于处国咽癌恶性表型的逆转。     

杆状病毒凋亡抑制基因的研究进展

杆状病毒(bacu lovirus)感染昆虫细胞能引起细胞凋亡,但在长期进化过程中,杆状病毒可通过自身编码凋亡抑制基因的表达,抑制细胞凋亡以利于自己的增殖。目前在杆状病毒基因组中已发现两种不同类型的细胞凋亡抑制基因p35/p49和iap,这两类凋亡抑制基因分别作用于细胞凋亡途径的不同位点,以抑制细胞的凋亡。近年来人们对这两种基因的蛋白结构及作用机制等方面进行了大量的研究,这些为今后研究昆虫细胞凋亡,扩大杆状病毒宿主范围等方面奠定了基础。     

水稻抗白叶枯病基因的鉴定、定位和克隆进展

由水稻黄单胞菌水稻变种Xoo引起的水稻白叶枯病是全球性的重要病害之一。已有31个水稻白叶枯抗性基因被鉴定并报道,其中18个被定位到染色体上,5个被克隆。简要综述了水稻白叶枯抗性基因的鉴定、定位和克隆的进展,并讨论了合理利用抗性基因防治白叶枯病的前景。     

硫霉素环化酶基因在变铅青链霉菌TK24中的表达及基因定位

将含有硫霉素环化酶基因的重组质粒p6BCl2转化变铅青链霉菌(Streptomyceslividans)TK24,含有p6BCl2的转化子细胞抽提液分别与琉霉素生物合成阻断变株Y,发酵液以及纯化的Y。中间产物经过体外共培养可产生活性物质．化学分析表明与Y,发酵液混合后产生的是硫霉素,与纯化的Y。中间产物混合产生的是一种不稳定的活性物质。说明硫霉素环化酶基因在S.lividans TK24中得到了表达,其产物以Y。中间产物为底物并弥补了Y,中的缺陷。对p6Bcl2中4．5kb外源片段进行了限制酶酶切分析,建立了酶切图谱．利用含硫霉素环化酶基因的S．Lividans TK24转化子体外转化Y,的应用体系,将硫霉素环化酶基因定位在0．9kb Hinc I—Pst I片段上,并证明了硫霉紊环化酶的活性与IPNS同源片段无关。以上实验为进一步研究琉霉素环化酶基因的结构打下了基础。     

Origin of the murine implantation serine proteinase subfamily

The S1 serine protease family is one of the largest gene families known. Within this family there are several subfamilies that have been grouped together as a result of sequence comparisons and substrate identification. The grouping of related genes allows for the speculation of function for newly found members by comparison and for novel subfamilies by contrast. Analysis of the evolutionary patterns of genes indicates whether or not orthologs are likely to be identified in other species as well as potentially indicating that hypothesized orthologs are in fact not. Looking at subtle differences between subfamily members can reveal intricacies about function and expression. Previously, we have described genes encoding two novel serine proteinases, ISP1 and ISP2, which are most closely related to tryptases. The ISP1 gene encodes the embryo-derived enzyme strypsin, which is necessary for blastocyst hatching and invasion in vitro. Additionally both ISP1 and ISP2 are co-expressed in the endometrial gland during the time of hatching, suggesting that they may also both participate in zona lysis from within the uterine lumen. Here, we demonstrate that the ISPs are tandemly linked within the tryptase cluster on 17A3.3. We suggest that remarkable similarities within the 5'-untranslated and first intron regions of ISP1 and ISP2 may explain their intimate co-regulation in uterus. We also suggest that ISP genes have evolved through gene duplication and that the ISP1 gene has also begun to adopt an additional new function in the murine preimplantation embryo.     

Evaluation of different target genes for the detection of Salmonella sp. by loop-mediated isothermal amplification

The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique was used to investigate six salmonella-specific sequences for their suitability to serve as targets for the pathogen identification. Sequences selected for designing LAMP primers were genes invA, bcfD, phoP, siiA, gene62181533 and a region within the ttrRSBCA locus. Primers including single nucleotide polymorphisms were configured as degenerate primers. Specificity of the designed primer sets was determined by means of 46 salmonella and 32 other food- and waterborne bacterial reference species and strains. Primers targeting the ttrRSBCA locus showed 100 % inclusivity of target and exclusivity of other test species and strains. Other primer sets revealed deficiencies, especially regarding Salmonella enterica subsp. II–IV and Salmonella bongori. Additionally, primers targeting the siiA gene failed to detect S. enterica subsp. enterica serotypes Newport and Stanley, whereas bcfD primers did not amplify DNA of S. enterica subsp. enterica serotype Schleissheim. TtrRSBCA primers, providing short detection times and constant melting temperatures of amplification products, achieved best overall performance.     

Differential allelic expression of IL13 and CSF2 genes associated with asthma

An important area of genetic research is the identification of functional mechanisms in polymorphisms associated with diseases. A highly relevant functional mechanism is the influence of polymorphisms on gene expression levels (differential allelic expression, DAE). The coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) CSF2^rs25882 and IL13^rs20541 have been associated with asthma. In this work, we investigated whether the mRNA expression levels of CSF2 or IL13 were correlated with these SNPs. Samples were analyzed by mass spectrometry-based quantification of gene expression. Both SNPs influenced gene expression levels (CSF2^rs25882: p_overall = 0.008 and p_{DAE samples} = 0.00006; IL13^rs20541: p_overall = 0.059 and p_{DAE samples} = 0.036). For CSF2, the expression level was increased by 27.4% (95% CI: 18.5%–35.4%) in samples with significant DAE in the presence of one copy of risk variant CSF2^rs25882-T. The average expression level of IL13 was increased by 29.8% (95% CI: 3.1%–63.4%) in samples with significant DAE in the presence of one copy of risk variant IL13^rs20541-A. Enhanced expression of CSF2 could stimulate macrophages and neutrophils during inflammation and may be related to the etiology of asthma. For IL-13, higher expression could enhance the functional activity of the asthma-associated isoform. Overall, the analysis of DAE provides an efficient approach for identifying possible functional mechanisms that link disease-associated variants with altered gene expression levels.     

植酸酶基因工程菌构建及其生产应用中问题分析

简要分析了植酸酶的生物学特性以及构建植酸酶基因工程菌和酶生产应用中存在的问题,提出了对植酸酶基因的重组改造、载体表达宿主筛选的方法和途径,以求构建高效表达、高活性和高稳定性的酶基因工程菌,促进酶的生产和应用。     

Milbemycin C5-O-甲基转移酶基因的克隆

目的是克隆milbemycin C5-O-甲基转移酶基因。以阿维菌素（avermectin)产生菌S.avermitilis中C5－O－甲基转移酶基因aveD为探针,利用核酸杂交分析法将aveD的主要同源区定位在（22）g-8-E-10阳性克隆所整合的.3kb SatⅠ-BgⅢ片段上。最后对aveD同源区及附近的核苷酸序列进行了测序分析和相应区域的基因缺失分析。结果表明,该区域存在一个月与aveD同源性较强的基因milD。与aveD功能相似,milD参与milbemycin的生物合成,在milbemycin生物合成中可能催化C5位OH的甲基化反应。