Aberrant Splicing and Transcription Termination Caused by P Element Insertion into the Intron of a Drosophila Gene

Insertional mutagenesis screens using the P[lacZ, rosy(+)] (PZ) transposable element have provided thousands of mutant lines for analyzing genes of varied function in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. As has been observed with other P elements, many of the PZ-induced mutations result from insertion of the P element into the promoter or 5'' untranslated regions of the affected gene. We document here a novel mechanism for mutagenesis by this element. We show that sequences present within the element direct aberrant splicing and termination events that produce a mRNA composed of 5'' sequences from the mutated gene (in this case, pipsqueak) and 3'' sequences from within the P[lacZ, rosy(+)] element. These truncated RNAs could yield proteins with dominant mutant effects.     

Somatic Effects of P Element Activity in Drosophila melanogaster: Pupal Lethality

Nonautonomous P elements normally excise and transpose only when a source of transposase is supplied, and only in the germline. The germline specificity depends on one of the introns of the transposase gene which is not spliced in somatic cells. To study the effects of somatic P activity, a modified P element (delta 2-3) lacking this intron was used as a source of transposase. Nonautonomous P elements from a strain called Birmingham, when mobilized in somatic cells by delta 2-3, were found to cause lethality, although neither component was lethal by itself. The three major Birmingham chromosomes acted approximately independently in producing the lethal effect. This lethality showed a strong dependence on temperature. Although temperature sensitivity was limited to larval stages, the actual deaths occurred at the pupal stage. Survivors, which could be recovered by decreasing the temperature or by reducing the proportion of the Birmingham genome present, often showed multiple developmental anomalies and reduced longevity reminiscent of the effects of cell death from radiation damage. Although the genetic damage occurred in dividing imaginal disc cells, the phenotypic manifestations--death and abnormalities--are not observed until later. The survivors also showed gonadal dysgenic (GD) sterility, a well-known characteristic of P-M hybrid dysgenesis. To explain these findings, we suggest that pupal lethality and GD sterility are both caused by massive chromosome breakage in larval cells, resulting from excision and transposition of genomic P elements acting as substrate for the transposase.     

An Organizational Hub of Developmentally Regulated Chromatin Loops in the Drosophila Antennapedia Complex

Chromatin boundary elements (CBEs) are widely distributed in the genome and mediate formation of chromatin loops, but their roles in gene regulation remain poorly understood. The complex expression pattern of the Drosophila homeotic gene Sex combs reduced (Scr) is directed by an unusually long regulatory sequence harboring diverse cis elements and an intervening neighbor gene fushi tarazu (ftz). Here we report the presence of a multitude of CBEs in the Scr regulatory region. Selective and dynamic pairing among these CBEs mediates developmentally regulated chromatin loops. In particular, the SF1 boundary plays a central role in organizing two subsets of chromatin loops: one subset encloses ftz, limiting its access by the surrounding Scr enhancers and compartmentalizing distinct histone modifications, and the other subset subdivides the Scr regulatory sequences into independent enhancer access domains. We show that these CBEs exhibit diverse enhancer-blocking activities that vary in strength and tissue distribution. Tandem pairing of SF1 and SF2, two strong CBEs that flank the ftz domain, allows the distal enhancers to bypass their block in transgenic Drosophila, providing a mechanism for the endogenous Scr enhancer to circumvent the ftz domain. Our study demonstrates how an endogenous CBE network, centrally orchestrated by SF1, could remodel the genomic environment to facilitate gene regulation during development.     

The Peculiarities of Large Intron Splicing in Animals

In mammals a considerable 92% of genes contain introns, with hundreds and hundreds of these introns reaching the incredible size of over 50,000 nucleotides. These “large introns” must be spliced out of the pre-mRNA in a timely fashion, which involves bringing together distant 5′ and 3′ acceptor and donor splice sites. In invertebrates, especially Drosophila, it has been shown that larger introns can be spliced efficiently through a process known as recursive splicing—a consecutive splicing from the 5′-end at a series of combined donor-acceptor splice sites called RP-sites. Using a computational analysis of the genomic sequences, we show that vertebrates lack the proper enrichment of RP-sites in their large introns, and, therefore, require some other method to aid splicing. We analyzed over 15,000 non-redundant, large introns from six mammals, 1,600 from chicken and zebrafish, and 560 non-redundant large introns from five invertebrates. Our bioinformatic investigation demonstrates that, unlike the studied invertebrates, the studied vertebrate genomes contain consistently abundant amounts of direct and complementary strand interspersed repetitive elements (mainly SINEs and LINEs) that may form stems with each other in large introns. This examination showed that predicted stems are indeed abundant and stable in the large introns of mammals. We hypothesize that such stems with long loops within large introns allow intron splice sites to find each other more quickly by folding the intronic RNA upon itself at smaller intervals and, thus, reducing the distance between donor and acceptor sites.     

Functional Dissection of YA, an Essential, Developmentally Regulated Nuclear Lamina Protein in Drosophila melanogaster

The Drosophila YA protein is a nuclear lamina component whose function is essential to initiate embryonic development. To identify regions of YA required for its action in its normal cellular context, we made targeted mutations in the YA protein and tested their consequences in flies and embryos in vivo. We found that critical amino acids are distributed along the length of the YA molecule, with functionally important regions including the N- and the C-terminal ends, the cysteine residues in YA’s two potential zinc fingers, a serine/threonine-rich region, and a potential maturation-promoting factor or mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation target site, ITPIR. In addition, several Ya mutations showed intragenic complementation, with N-terminal mutations complementing C-terminal mutations, suggesting that YA proteins interact with one another. In support of this interaction, we demonstrated by immunoprecipitation that YA molecules are present in complexes with each other. Finally, we showed that the C-terminal 179 amino acids of YA are necessary to target, or retain, YA in the nuclear envelope.     

Palmdelphin在出生后发育的大鼠小脑中的表达模式研究

Palmdelphin是参与质膜的动态变化与细胞形态的调控的paralemmin家族新成员,与神经发育的相关性尚不明确.前期工作提示,它与调控小脑发育的一种肌动蛋白结合蛋白Mtss1(metastasis suppressor1)具有一定相关性.为了探索该基因与小脑出生后发育的相关性,利用原位杂交技术研究Palmdelphin在小脑中的时空表达,结果表明,Palmdelphin在出生后第7d大鼠小脑中有明显的表达,且分布主要集中在浦肯野神经元.半定量RT-PCR的结果进一步表明Palmdelphin的转录水平在小脑发育过程中受到调控,在出生后7d有表达高峰.这些结果显示Palmdelphin与小脑出生后神经元发育存在一定相关性.     

Notch mRNA Expression in Drosophila Embryos Is Negatively Regulated at the Level of mRNA 3′ Processing

Notch receptor regulates differentiation of almost all tissues and organs during animal development. Many mechanisms function at the protein level to finely regulate Notch activity. Here we provide evidence for Notch regulation at an earlier step - mRNA 3′ processing. Processing at the Notch consensus polyadenylation site appears by default to be suppressed in Drosophila embryos. Interference with this suppression, by a mutation, results in increased levels of polyadenylated Notch mRNA, excess Notch signaling, and severe developmental defects. We propose that Notch mRNA 3′ processing is negatively regulated to limit the production of Notch protein and render it a controlling factor in the generation of Notch signaling.     

糯性水稻中蜡质基因第1内含子的剪接活性

以前的研究结果表明 ,非糯性的稻米中直链淀粉的含量与各品种中蜡质基因 (Wx)第 1内含子被剪接的效率有关 ,即剪接效率高的品种直链淀粉含量也高。为弄清糯米中不含直链淀粉是否也与此内含子剪接效率有关系 ,构建了蜡质基因启动子 (来自籼稻品种2 32 )、蜡质基因第 1内含子 [来自籼稻品种 2 32 (高直链淀粉含量的品种 )或粳稻品种寒丰 6 36 6 (中、低直链淀粉含量的品种 ) ]与GUS报告基因组成的两种嵌合基因 ,将含有这两种嵌合基因的质粒分别转化进粳性糯稻品种奉糯 5 93中 ,同时还分别转化进非糯性的籼稻品种特青和粳稻品种中花 11中作为对照 ,测定它们的抗性愈伤组织与转基因植株未成熟种子胚乳中的GUS酶活性。结果表明与在非糯性的籼稻和粳稻中一样 ,这两种嵌合质粒在不合成直链淀粉的糯稻中也有相当水平的表达。从此结果可以推测 ,糯稻品种有从嵌合基因的转录本中剪接蜡质基因第 1内含子的正常能力 ,而在糯稻中缺乏直链淀粉可能是糯稻蜡质基因第1内含子中的其它突变所造成的     

Developmentally programmed remodeling of the Drosophila olfactory circuit

Neural circuits are often remodeled after initial connections are established. The mechanisms by which remodeling occurs, in particular whether and how synaptically connected neurons coordinate their reorganization, are poorly understood. In Drosophila, olfactory projection neurons (PNs) receive input by synapsing with olfactory receptor neurons in the antennal lobe and relay information to the mushroom body (MB) calyx and lateral horn. Here we show that embryonic-born PNs participate in both the larval and adult olfactory circuits. In the larva, these neurons generally innervate a single glomerulus in the antennal lobe and one or two glomerulus-like substructures in the MB calyx. They persist in the adult olfactory circuit and are prespecified by birth order to innervate a subset of glomeruli distinct from larval-born PNs. Developmental studies indicate that these neurons undergo stereotyped pruning of their dendrites and axon terminal branches locally during early metamorphosis. Electron microscopy analysis reveals that these PNs synapse with MB gamma neurons in the larval calyx and that these synaptic profiles are engulfed by glia during early metamorphosis. As with MB gamma neurons, PN pruning requires cell-autonomous reception of the nuclear hormone ecdysone. Thus, these synaptic partners are independently programmed to prune their dendrites and axons.     

华山松胚性愈伤组织诱导与幼胚离体培养

探索华山松（Pinus armandii）体细胞胚胎发生技术对其实施规模化无性繁殖和开展遗传转化具有重要意义。本文以1／2LM为基本培养基,通过激素调节等措施对华山松的胚性愈伤组织诱导和幼胚的离体培养技术进行了初步研究。研究结果：胚性愈伤组织诱导率最高可达52．71％,但愈伤组织继代培养后没有体细胞胚胎的分化;首次从其子叶期的幼胚中直接诱导出具有根和茎的完整植株,诱导率达92％以上。文章确认了采集的幼胚发育状态对胚性愈伤组织的诱导有重要影响,并对诱导的培养条件等进行了探讨。     

Mutational Analyses of Fs(1)ya, an Essential, Developmentally Regulated, Nuclear Envelope Protein in Drosophila

The fs(1)Ya protein (YA) is an essential, maternally encoded, nuclear lamina protein that is under both developmental and cell cycle control. A strong Ya mutation results in early arrest of embryos. To define the function of YA in the nuclear envelope during early embryonic development, we characterized the phenotypes of four Ya mutant alleles and determined their molecular lesions. Ya mutant embryos arrest with abnormal nuclear envelopes prior to the first mitotic division; a proportion of embryos from two leaky Ya mutants proceed beyond this but arrest after several abnormal divisions. Ya unfertilized eggs contain nuclei of different sizes and condensation states, apparently due to abnormal fusion of the meiotic products immediately after meiosis. Lamin is localized at the periphery of the uncondensed nuclei in these eggs. These results suggest that YA function is required during and after egg maturation to facilitate proper chromatin condensation, rather than to allow a lamin-containing nuclear envelope to form. Two leaky Ya alleles that partially complement have lesions at opposite ends of the YA protein, suggesting that the N- and C-termini are important for YA function and that YA might interact with itself either directly or indirectly.     

华山松胚性愈伤组织诱导与幼胚离体培养

探索华山松(Pinus armandii)体细胞胚胎发生技术对其实施规模化无性繁殖和开展遗传转化具有重要意义。本文以1/2LM为基本培养基, 通过激素调节等措施对华山松的胚性愈伤组织诱导和幼胚的离体培养技术进行了初步研究。研究结果: 胚性愈伤组织诱导率最高可达52.71%, 但愈伤组织继代培养后没有体细胞胚胎的分化; 首次从其子叶期的幼胚中直接诱导出具有根和茎的完整植株, 诱导率达92%以上。文章确认了采集的幼胚发育状态对胚性愈伤组织的诱导有重要影响, 并对诱导的培养条件等进行了探讨。     

Identification of a Developmentally Regulated Calcium-Binding Protein in Trypanosoma brucei1

Calcium ions mediate cellular activity by binding to specific cellular proteins. The following study systematically examines the cellular complement of calcium-binding proteins in different cell fractions and life cycle stages of Trypanosoma brucei. Using a ⁴⁵Ca-gel overlay procedure, eight calcium-binding proteins were consistently observed. The majority of proteins were cytosolic (84, 70, 64, 22, and 15 kd) while the remainder (55, 46, and 29 kd) were particulate. Although calmodulin was detected amongst the calcium-binding proteins, it did not represent the majority of calcium-binding activity. Of special interest was the 46 kd calcium-binding protein which was associated with 3-fold more calcium in cultured procyclic forms than in slender bloodstream forms. By contrast, promastigote forms of Leishmania mexicana did not contain the 46 kd calcium-binding protein. These data suggest that responsiveness to calcium signals may vary during the trypanosome life cycle as a result of changes in the cellular complement of calcium-binding proteins.