文昌鱼肌动蛋白基因家族的扩增(英文)

肌动蛋白是一种分布广泛而且在进化上十分保守的蛋白,是构成细胞骨架的关键组分.肌动蛋白通常被分成肌肉型和胞质型两种类型,各自行使着不同的功能.在此,作者对弗罗里达文昌鱼基因组中的肌动蛋白基因家族进行了系统分析,发现文昌鱼中该基因家族成员多达30多个,其中很多都是连锁分布的.基因结构趋于多样,分别包含2～7个外显子.进化分析的结果显示,文昌鱼的肌动蛋白基因家族可能通过串联重复而发生了扩增.作者还克隆了厦门文昌鱼两个不同的肌肉犁肌动蛋白基因,并比较了它们在文昌鱼早期胚胎中的表达图式.结果显示,这两个基因在表达上有着细微的差别,提示文昌鱼肌动蛋白基因家族成员在功能上的分化.上述结果将有助于阐明肌动蛋白基因家族及其功能在脊索动物中的演化.     

文昌鱼左右体轴建立机制的研究进展

两侧对称动物左右体轴建立机制研究是发育生物学领域重要的基础科学问题之一。文昌鱼(amphioxus)由于其特殊的进化地位以及与脊椎动物相似的胚胎发育模式和身体构筑方式,是研究动物左右体轴建立机制的理想模式物种。近年来随着文昌鱼室内全人工繁育技术、高效显微注射技术和基因敲除技术的建立,国内外学者在左右体轴建立机制研究上取得了丰硕的成果。本文从文昌鱼胚胎左右不对称发育特点出发,总结了近期文昌鱼左右体轴建立方面取得的研究进展,并提出了文昌鱼左右体轴调控网络图:纤毛运动导致Hh蛋白在文昌鱼中不对称分布(L相似文献   

trp14基因在文昌鱼早期发育阶段的时空表达及免疫活性初步研究

探讨文昌鱼trp14 (thioredoxin-related protein of 14 kD)基因在文昌鱼早期发育阶段的时空表达模式及其免疫活性.利用整体原位杂交技术研究trp14基因在文昌鱼早期发育阶段的时空表达模式;通过半定量RT-PCR方法分析trp14基因在低温胁迫和免疫药物刺激下的mRNA表达变化.trp14基因在文昌鱼2 d幼虫的原始消化道表达,呈现时空特异的表达模式;低温可以增强trp14基因的表达,而免疫刺激药物LPS和LTA则降低trp14基因的表达量.文昌鱼trp14基因在胁迫条件下表达量发生变化,暗示其可能参与氧化压力变化引起的免疫反应.     

文昌鱼AmphiRab23b基因的克隆、进化分析及表达模式

Hedgehog信号通路在胚胎发育过程中发挥着重要作用, 同时与多种肿瘤的发生密切相关。Rab23蛋白在Hedgehog信号通路中扮演着十分重要的角色。目前关于文昌鱼Rab23同源基因的研究仅局限于佛罗里达文昌鱼(Branchiostoma floridae)基因组中的注释。文章首次克隆了中国文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri) Rab23b基因 (AmphiRab23b)cDNA全序列 , 对其演译的蛋白序列进行了序列比对、进化树分析以及基因时空表达分析。研究结果显示, 文昌鱼AmphiRab23b基因的 cDNA总长为2 062 bp (包括UTR区), 其中开放阅读框 (Open reading frame, ORF) 714 bp, 编码237个氨基酸; 虽然在进化树中不属于脊椎动物Rab23进化支, 但是AmphiRab23具有保守的Rab23_lke结构域, 暗示该基因在进化过程中可能在功能上是保守的。时空表达的研究结果进一步显示, AmphiRab23b基因在胚胎发育中的神经板和消化道中表达, 与其脊椎动物同源基因的表达模式相似, 这说明该基因可能对文昌鱼神经系统和消化道的发育有重要作用。     

文昌鱼GFP基因的鉴定及表达分析

近年在隶属头索动物亚门的文昌鱼体内发现有内源性绿色荧光蛋白存在,并发现文昌鱼荧光蛋白的发光现象在不同发育时期以及个体间有较大的差异。为了进一步揭示GFP基因在文昌鱼中的进化模式,探索其可能执行的功能,该文首先对白氏文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri)GFP基因作了全面鉴定,并对其不同发育阶段胚胎及成体不同区域中的荧光信号进行了实时观察记录,进而对GFP基因在绿色荧光表达强烈的两个特定时期做了绝对定量检测。研究结果表明,文昌鱼基因组中至少有12个内源性GFP基因,在个体发育的不同时期,内源性荧光出现的位置有所变化,而且在变态后的个体之间出现荧光的情况差异较大,荧光蛋白基因的表达由多个GFP同源基因共同参与,这些基因在不同的发育时期表达量有较大的差异,提示不同的GFP基因在特定发育阶段可能行使各自的功能。     

文昌鱼肌动蛋白基因家族扩增的研究(英文）

肌动蛋白是一种分布广泛而且在进化上十分保守的蛋白,它是构成细胞骨架的关键组分。肌动蛋白通常被分成肌肉型和胞质型两种类型,它们各自行使着不同的功能。在此,我们对H弗罗里达H文昌鱼基因组中的肌动蛋白基因家族进行了系统分析,发现文昌鱼中该基因家族成员多达30多个,其中很多都是连锁分布的。基因结构趋于多样, 分别包含2~7个外显子。进化分析的结果显示,文昌鱼的肌动蛋白基因家族可能通过串联重复而发生了扩增。我们还克隆了厦门文昌鱼两个不同的肌肉型肌动蛋白基因,并比较了它们在文昌鱼早期胚胎中的表达图式。结果显示,这两个基因在表达上有着细微的差别,提示文昌鱼肌动蛋白基因家族成员在功能上的分化。上述结果将有助于阐明肌动蛋白基因家族及其功能在脊索动物中的演化。     

文昌鱼AmphiSmad 1／5／8和AmphiSmad4的克隆和表达

Smad蛋白是转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）超家族成员细胞内信号传导蛋白。本研究在青岛文昌鱼中克隆到了两个Smad基因,分别命名为AmphiSmad1／5／8和AmphiSmad4。它们编码的氨基酸序列具有典型的Smad家族蛋白的结构特征,都包含保守的MH1和MH2结构域。进化分析表明,AmphiSmad1／5／8属于R-Smad亚家族的Smad1,Smad5和Smad8亚群。而AmphiSmad4属于Co-Smad亚家族。在文昌鱼的早期胚胎发育中,这两个基因都在脊索、肌节和消化道壁表达,呈腹部化表达模式,推测可能参与文昌鱼背腹轴的形成和分化。另外,在正常文昌鱼成体中这两个基因也在所检测的组织中广泛表达,尤其在脊索和性腺中高表达,提示它们可能在器官的形成中发挥重要作用。     

文昌鱼分类学研究及展望

文昌鱼是最接近脊椎动物直接祖先的现生动物,在脊椎动物起源与演化研究中占有极其重要的位置。近年来,对文昌鱼的研究已引起越来越多的科学家的兴趣,然而作为生命科学研究的重要基础,这类动物的分类学研究相对滞后。依据已有的中国文昌鱼资源调查资料,中国沿海文昌鱼的分布应当十分广泛,即只要有适合文昌鱼栖息的沙滩,均有文昌鱼分布的可能。根据目前的分类学研究成果和动物命名法中的优先权原则,建议将产于青岛等地的文昌鱼种名Brnachiostoma belcheri tsingtauense订正为B.japonicus,南方的文昌鱼保留其原种名B.belcheri。由此,目前分布在中国沿海的鳃口文昌鱼属(Branchiostoma)至少有2种,侧殖文昌鱼属(Epigonichthys)有1～3种,漂浮文昌鱼(Amphioxides pelagicus)1种。DNA分子标记技术在文昌鱼分类学研究中将会发挥更大的作用。     

文昌鱼免疫防御相关组织、细胞及基因研究

文昌鱼不仅对于进化学的研究至关重要,在比较免疫学研究中也是一种重要的模式生物.研究文昌鱼免疫相关组织、细胞和基因对了解脊椎动物免疫防御系统的进化十分重要.本文利用电子显微镜对文昌鱼免疫相关组织和细胞的超微结构进行了研究.同时,本文还采用原位杂交方法对文昌鱼中与脊椎动物免疫相关基因同源的基因TLR1,C1Q,ECSIT,SoxC,DDAHa和NOS的表达模式进行了研究.结果显示,在文昌鱼免疫防御过程中,其表皮、腮和肠道上皮可能起重要作用;在体腔和淋巴隙中存在的巨噬细胞可能是文昌鱼体内起重要免疫功能的细胞;TLR1,C1Q,ECSIT,SoxC,DDAHa和NOS的表达模式说明这些基因可能在免疫防御过程中起作用.     

文昌鱼profilin同源基因的胚胎发育表达图式

本研究利用胚胎整体原位杂交技术结合系列组织学切片技术,以及Northern blot 分析,对进化上处于特殊地位的模式动物文昌鱼profilin 基因不同发育时期的表达图式进行了系统研究,揭示了该基因的动态表达图式与肌肉分化的过程一致,文昌鱼profilin 基因可能与胚胎早期肌肉的发育相关。同时,通过Southern blot 检测对青岛文昌鱼profilin 基因可能存在的同源体进行了探讨,试图为弄清文昌鱼肌肉发育分化的分子机制提供资料。     

The amphioxus rab GDP-dissociation inhibitor (GDI) gene is neural-specific: implications for the evolution of chordate rab GDI genes.

The rab GDP-dissociation inhibitor (rab GDI) proteins are involved in the regulation of vesicle-mediated cellular transport. We isolated the amphioxus rab GDI gene, analyzed its expression during amphioxus development, and performed a phylogenetic analysis of the rab GDI family. In contrast to the two major rab GDI forms in mammals, the alpha and beta forms, there is only one rab GDI isoform in amphioxus. Our analysis indicates that the occurrence of the alpha and beta forms of rab GDI preceded the divergence of lineages leading to birds and mammals, and that the amphioxus rab GDI may have evolved directly from the common ancestor of both forms. While the mammalian rab GDI beta-genes are ubiquitously expressed, the rab GDI alpha genes are predominantly expressed in neural tissues. The expression analysis of the amphioxus rab GDI gene shows predominantly neural expression similar to that of the mammalian rab GDI alpha form, suggesting that the ancestral expression pattern of chordate rab GDI was neural. In addition, the chicken rab GDI beta-like gene also shows neural-specific expression, which indicates that the neural expression was retained in both early postduplication alpha and beta isoforms and that a novel function associated with ubiquitous expression may have evolved uniquely in mammals. These results reveal a likely scenario of functional divergence of the rab GDI genes after duplication of the ancestral gene. A similar pattern of evolution, in which one of the duplicated genes retained a role similar to that of the ancestral one while other genes were recruited into novel roles, was also observed in the analysis of chordate Otx and hedgehog genes. In the rab GDI, hedgehog, and Otx gene families, the gene retaining the ancestral role shows a lower rate of sequence evolution than its counterpart, which was recruited for a novel function.     

The evolution of the hedgehog gene family in chordates: insights from amphioxus hedgehog

 The hedgehog family of intercellular signalling molecules have essential functions in patterning both Drosophila and vertebrate embryos. Drosophila has a single hedgehog gene, while vertebrates have evolved at least three types of hedgehog genes (the Sonic, Desert and Indian types) by duplication and divergence of a single ancestral gene. Vertebrate Sonic-type genes typically show conserved expression in the notochord and floor plate, while Desert- and Indian-type genes have different patterns of expression in vertebrates from different classes. To determine the ancestral role of hedgehog in vertebrates, I have characterised the hedgehog gene family in amphioxus. Amphioxus is the closest living relative of the vertebrates and develops a similar body plan, including a dorsal neural tube and notochord. A single amphioxus hedgehog gene, AmphiHh, was identified and is probably the only hedgehog family member in amphioxus, showing the duplication of hedgehog genes to be specific to the vertebrate lineage. AmphiHh expression was detected in the notochord and ventral neural tube, tissues that express Sonic-type genes in vertebrates. This shows that amphioxus probably patterns its ventral neural tube using a molecular pathway conserved with vertebrates. AmphiHh was also expressed on the left side of the pharyngeal endoderm, reminiscent of the left-sided expression of Sonic hedgehog in chick embryos which forms part of a pathway controlling left/right asymmetric development. These data show that notochord, floor plate and possibly left/right asymmetric expression are ancestral sites of hedgehog expression in vertebrates and amphioxus. In vertebrates, all these features have been retained by Sonic-type genes. This may have freed Desert-type and Indian-type hedgehog genes from selective constraint, allowing them to diverge and take on new roles in different vertebrate taxa. Received: 20 July 1998 / Accepted: 23 September 1998     

Identification and characterisation of a homolog of an activation gene for the recombination activating gene 1 (RAG 1) in amphioxus

Expression of recombination activating genes (RAG) involved in the V (D) J recombination is regulated by the RAG1 gene activator (RGA) in mammals. The sequence of a cDNA clone from an amphioxus cDNA library was found to be homologous to that of RGA from mouse stromal cells with 45% identity. The full-length cDNA sequence comprises 1119 bp and encodes a putative protein of 210 amino acid residues. Characterisation of the amino acid sequence revealed that two MtN3 domains and seven transmembrane spans are present in this protein, indicating a potential role as a plasma membrane protein. This gene is expressed in many tissues and at differential developmental stages. A high expression level of RGA is detected in gonad tissues, and gastrula embryo and adult stages. The presence of the RGA gene in amphioxus suggests that the signal pathway required for the expression of RAG could exist in this primitive protochordate. It also implies that in the related molecules, primitive adaptive immunity may have existed in cephalochordate although the complete machinery of VDJ rearrangement may not be formed.     

The single amphioxus Mox gene: insights into the functional evolution of Mox genes,somites, and the asymmetry of amphioxus somitogenesis

Mox genes are members of the "extended" Hox-cluster group of Antennapedia-like homeobox genes. Homologues have been cloned from both invertebrate and vertebrate species, and are expressed in mesodermal tissues. In vertebrates, Mox1 and Mox2 are distinctly expressed during the formation of somites and differentiation of their derivatives. Somites are a distinguishing feature uniquely shared by cephalochordates and vertebrates. Here, we report the cloning and expression of the single amphioxus Mox gene. AmphiMox is expressed in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) during early amphioxus somitogenesis and in nascent somites from the tail bud during the late phase. Once a somite is completely formed, AmphiMox is rapidly downregulated. We discuss the presence and extent of the PSM in both phases of amphioxus somitogenesis. We also propose a scenario for the functional evolution of Mox genes within chordates, in which Mox was co-opted for somite formation before the cephalochordate-vertebrate split. Novel expression sites found in vertebrates after somite formation postdated Mox duplication in the vertebrate stem lineage, and may be linked to the increase in complexity of vertebrate somites and their derivatives, e.g., the vertebrae. Furthermore, AmphiMox expression adds new data into a long-standing debate on the extent of the asymmetry of amphioxus somitogenesis.     

Molecular and biochemical characterization of galectin from amphioxus: primitive galectin of chordates participated in the infection processes

A novel F4-carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD)-linker-F3-CRD-type bi-CRD Branchiostoma belcheri tsingtauense galectin (BbtGal)-L together with its alternatively spliced mono-CRD isoform BbtGal-S from amphioxus intestine was encoded by a 9488-bp unique gene with eight exons and seven introns. The recombinant proteins of BbtGal were found to have beta-galactoside-binding activity, indicating that BbtGal was a member of the galectin family. Phylogenetic analysis of this gene along with its splicing form and genome structure suggested that the BbtGal gene was the primitive form of the chordate galectin family. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses (PCR) indicated that BbtGal mRNA was expressed during all stages of embryonic development. In terms of tissue distribution, BbtGal-L mRNA was mainly expressed in the immunity-related organs, such as hepatic diverticulum, intestine, and gill, but BbtGal-S was ubiquitously expressed in all tissues. The expression of BbtGal-L mRNA was elevated after acute challenge with various microorganisms, but BbtGal-L only bound to specific bacteria. The immune function of BbtGal was consistent with its localization both outside and inside the cell. Our study on amphioxus galectin may help further understanding of the evolution of chordate galectin in terms of host-pathogen interaction in the immune system.     

EF1α is a useful internal reference for studies of gene expression regulation in amphioxus Branchiostoma japonicum

Amphioxus is a well-known model organism widely used for interspecies comparative genome study, developmental homology analysis and comparative immunological investigation. However, no study has been performed so far to evaluate the internal reference for quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) studies of gene expression in this important species. In this study, two software applications (geNorm and NormFinder) were used to evaluate the expression stability of 4 housekeeping genes (ACTB, GAPDH, 18S rRNA and EF1α) in 8 different normal tissues (whole body, gut, gut-free body, hepatic caecum, gill, hind-gut, notochord and muscle) and 2 tissues (gut and gut-free body) challenged with LPS and LTA in amphioxus Branchiostoma japonicum. Our results showed that in the normal tissues, the expression of 18S rRNA was most abundant, whereas the expression levels of the other three genes were close to each other, with the expression of ACTB being most unstable. Following challenge with LPS and LTA, all the four genes exhibited varied degrees of expression changes in the different tissues and the expression stabilities of the genes were also affected by the different experimental conditions. Yet, the overall ranking results produced by the two algorithms consistently indicated that the expression of EF1α showed the most least variation in the different tissues, suggesting that EF1α is a suitable internal control for qRT-PCR studies in amphioxus B. japonicum.