Structure and expression of a rice hsp70 gene

A genomic hsp70 gene was isolated from a rice IR36 genomic library and 4 794 bp of the gene have been sequenoed. The 5' flanking region of the gene contained a putative TATA box and a typical heat shock element sequence 5'-CTcgGAAccTTCgAG-3'. The amino acid sequence of the rice HSP70 deduced from the coding region shared 84%-92% homologies with those of HSP70s from other plant species. An intron 1939bp long was identified in the coding region at the codon specifying amino acid 72 (Asp), the similar position introns occurring in other intron-containing hsp70 genes. In addition, another intron of 57 bp was found in the 3'-untranslated region in the rice hsp70 gene. Southern blot hybridization showed that rice hsp70 gene family contained at least three members. Analysis of the RNA leveis with the gene-specific and non-specific probes revealed that the rice hsp70 gene expressed at normal temperature and the expression was enhanced by heat shock treatment.     

Sox8基因HMG盒区内含子剪接位点分析

Sox基因参与广泛的发育调控过程.为了确定Sox8基因HMG盒区内含子的大小及剪接位点,通过计算机分析本室克隆得到的泥鳅Sox8基因包括HMG盒区在内的一段基因组序列,推测在HMG盒区可能存在一个内含子,进一步通过RT-PCR方法,克隆泥鳅Sox8基因HMG盒区cDNA片段,与基因组序列比较分析,确认在泥鳅Sox8基因的HMG盒区存在一个内含子,并确定了该内含子的序列及剪切位点.同时,比较分析了人和泥鳅Sox8在HMG盒区的内含子的剪切位点.结果显示,Sox8基因HMG盒区内含子剪切位点在进化上是保守的。 Abstract:Sox genes have diverse roles in developing processes,it was inferred there may be one intron in the HMG box by analyzing the genomic DNA sequence of the paramisgurnus dabryanus Sox8 gene.RT-PCR was used to verify the intron and its splicing site.First strand of the cDNA reverse-transcribed from liver RNA was amplified using the primers flanking the HMG box.RT-PCR products were cloned into the pUC18 plasmid and sequenced.The eomparison between the cDNA and genomic DNA sequence revealed the splicing site of the intron existing in the HMG-box of the paramisgurnus dabryanus Sox8 gene.We also compared the splicing site of the intron in the HMG-box of Sox8 gene between paramisgurnus dabryanus and human.These results suggest that the splicing site in the HMG-box of Sox8 gene was conserved.     

猪LHβ亚基基因的单核苷酸多态性研究

本研究对猪LHβ亚基基因除上游调控区以外的序列进行了SSCP分析,结果发现在该基因的3个外显子和3′调控区内没有任何SNPs位点,仅在内含子1的1367位点和内含子2的1823位点发现2个多态性位点,并对这两个位点在二花脸、约克夏和长白猪3个群体中的基因频率进行了初步分析。 Study on the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Porcine LHβ Gene WANG Ai-hua1,LI Ning2,WU Chang-xin1 1.College of Animal Science and Technology,China Agricultural University,Beijing 100094; 2.National Laboratory of AgroBiotechnology,China Agricultural University,Beijing 100094 Abstract:SSCP analysis was commanded on the whole sequence of porcine LHβ gene except the upstream control region.No polymorphic site was found in the 3 exons and 3′control region.But there were 2 polymorphic sites in the 1367 site of intron 1 and 1823 site of intron 2.The gene frequencies of the 2 sites in the Erhualian,Yorkshire and Landrace populations were analyzed. Key words：LHβ gene;SNPs;intron;SSCP     

Computational identification and evolutional analysis of Piwi subfamily in 11 Drosophila species

The complete genome sequences of 11 Drosophila species provide an opportunity to investigate the gene family evolution in closely related species. Drosophila Piwi subfamily, including three members, piwi, Aub and Ago3, has attracted increasing attention as it participates in the biogenesis of piRNA. Here, we identified 33 Piwi homologs from the genome of 11 Drosophila species. The full-length cDNA sequences ofpiwi and Aub genes were obtained by using New GENSCAN Web Server. The Ago3 homologs were difficult regarding full-length information because they had long introns. The genomic structure of Piwi subfamily genes are highly conserved among diverse Drosophila species. Insect piwi and Aub genes have long first introns. The average length of the first intron is 1 284 bp for piwi and 840 bp for Aub, which is much larger than those of other introns （93 bp for Piwi and 54 bp for Aub）. However, this phenomenon is not observed in mammalian piwi genes. We also found that there were abundant repeat sequences in both exons and introns of insect Ago3 genes. Due to recent insertions of long terminal repeat elements in four Drosophila species, part of the third introns exhibit higher conservation than adjacent exons and other introns. An evolutional tree created by Minimum Evolution method indicates that mammalian piwi genes are more closely related to the insect Ago3 Piwi subfamily.     

Evolution of double MutT/Nudix domain-containing proteins: similar domain architectures from independent gene duplication-fusion events

The MutT/Nudix superfamily proteins repair DNA damage and play a role in human health and disease. In this study, we examined two different cases of double MutT/Nudix domain-containing proteins from eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Firstly, these double domain proteins were discovered in Drosophila, but only single Nudix domain proteins were found in other animals. The phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the protein sequence of Nudix_N and Nudix_C from Drosophila, and Nudix from other animals. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that the double Nudix domain proteins might have undergone a gene duplication-speciation-fusion process. Secondly, two genes of the MutT family, DR0004 and DR0329, were fused by two mutT gene segments and formed double MutT domain protein genes in Deinococcus radiodurans. The evolutionary tree of bacterial MutT proteins suggested that the double MutT domain proteins in D. radiodurans probably resulted from a gene duplication-fusion event after speciation. Gene duplication-fusion is a basic and important gene innovation mechanism for the evolution of double MutT/Nudix domain proteins. Independent gene duplication-fusion events resuited in similar domain architectures of different double MutT/Nudix domain proteins.     

Phylogenetic placement of Cynomorium in Rosales inferred from sequences of the inverted repeat region of the chloroplast genome

Cynomorium is a herbaceous holoparasite that has been placed in Santalales, Saxifragales, Myrtales, or Sapindales. The inverted repeat （IR） region of the chloroplast genome region is slow evolving and, unlike mitochondrial genes, the chloroplast genome experiences few horizontal gene transfers between the host and parasite. Thus, in the present study, we used sequences of the IR region to test the phylogenetic placements of Cynomorium. Phylogenetic analyses of the chloroplast IR sequences generated largely congruent ordinal relationships with those from previous studies of angiosperm phylogeny based on single or multiple genes. Santalales was closely related to Caryophyllales and asterids. Saxifragales formed a clade where Peridiscus was sister to the remainder of the order, whereas Paeonia was sister to the woody clade of Saxifragales. Cynomorium is not closely related to Santalales, Saxifragales, Myrtales, or Sapindales; instead, it is included in Rosales and sister to Rosaceae. The various placements of the holoparasite on the basis of different regions of the mitochondrial genome may indicate the heterogeneous nature of the genome in the parasite. However, it is unlikely that the placement of Cynomorium in Rosales is the result of chloroplast gene transfer because Cynomorium does not parasitize on rosaceous plants and there is no chloroplast gene transfer between Cynomorium and Nitraria, a confirmed host of Cynomorium and a member of Sapindales.     

Phylogenetics of early branching eudicots:Comparing phylogenetic signal across plastid introns,spacers,and genes

<正>Recent phylogenetic analyses revealed a grade with Ranunculales,Sabiales,Proteales,Trochodendrales, and Buxales as first branching eudicots,with the respective positions of Proteales and Sabiales still lacking statistical confidence.As previous analyses of conserved plastid genes remain inconclusive,we aimed to use and evaluate a representative set of plastid introns(group I:trnL;group II:petD,rpll6,trnK) and intergenic spacers(trnL-F,petB-petD, atpB-rbcL,rps3-rpl16) in comparison to the rapidly evolving matK and slowly evolving atpB and rbcL genes. Overall patterns of micro structural mutations converged across genomic regions,underscoring the existence of a general mutational pattern throughout the plastid genome.Phylogenetic signal differed strongly between functionally and structurally different genomic regions and was highest in matK,followed by spacers,then group II and group I introns.The more conserved atpB and rbcL coding regions showed distinctly lower phylogenetic information content.Parsimony,maximum likelihood,and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses based on the combined dataset of non-coding and rapidly evolving regions(14 000 aligned characters) converged to a backbone topology of eudicots with Ranunculales branching first,a Proteales-Sabiales clade second,followed by Trochodendrales and Buxales. Gunnerales generally appeared as sister to all remaining core eudicots with maximum support.Our results show that a small number of intron and spacer sequences allow similar insights into phylogenetic relationships of eudicots compared to datasets of many combined genes.The non-coding proportion of the plastid genome thus can be considered an important information source for plastid phylogenomics.     

Molecular systematics analysis of Lymantria dispar based on 18S rRNA and cox1 mtDNA sequence data

The complete sequence of the 18 S ribosomal RNA gene(18S rRNA) from Lymantria dispar was cloned and analysed here. 18 S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidasel(cox1) gene sequences of Lymantria dispar were compared with homologous sequences of other nine insects from different orders. Analytic results showed that 18 S rRNA of these insects had two conserved domains and the second domain was an even more conserved region. The phylogenetic trees based on the full-length sequence and the second domain fragment of 18 S rRNA as well as sequence of cox1 from different orders indicated that Lepidoptera and Trichoptera, which belongs to Amphiesmenoptera, had a closer phylogenetic relationship and fewer differences were observed comparing with traditional taxonomic results.     

Predicting potential cancer genes by integrating network properties,sequence features and functional annotations

The discovery of novel cancer genes is one of the main goals in cancer research.Bioinformatics methods can be used to accelerate cancer gene discovery,which may help in the understanding of cancer and the development of drug targets.In this paper,we describe a classifier to predict potential cancer genes that we have developed by integrating multiple biological evidence,including protein-protein interaction network properties,and sequence and functional features.We detected 55 features that were significantly different between cancer genes and non-cancer genes.Fourteen cancer-associated features were chosen to train the classifier.Four machine learning methods,logistic regression,support vector machines(SVMs),BayesNet and decision tree,were explored in the classifier models to distinguish cancer genes from non-cancer genes.The prediction power of the different models was evaluated by 5-fold cross-validation.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for logistic regression,SVM,Baysnet and J48 tree models was 0.834,0.740,0.800 and 0.782,respectively.Finally,the logistic regression classifier with multiple biological features was applied to the genes in the Entrez database,and 1976 cancer gene candidates were identified.We found that the integrated prediction model performed much better than the models based on the individual biological evidence,and the network and functional features had stronger powers than the sequence features in predicting cancer genes.     

Molecular Characterization of the Calvin Cycle Enzyme Phosphoribulokinase in the Stramenopile Alga Vaucheria litorea and the Plastid Hosting Mollusc Elysia chlorotica

Phosphoribulokinase （PRK）, a nuclear-encoded plastid-localized enzyme unique to the photosynthetic carbon reduction （Calvin） cycle, was cloned and characterized from the stramenopile alga Vaucheria litorea. This alga is the source of plastids for the mollusc （sea slug） Elysia chlorotica which enable the animal to survive for months solely by photoautotrophic CO2 fixation. The 1633-bp V. litorea prk gene was cloned and the coding region, found to be interrupted by four introns, encodes a 405-amino acid protein. This protein contains the typical bipartite target sequence expected of nuclearencoded proteins that are directed to complex （i.e. four membrane-bound） algal plastids. De novo synthesis of PRK and enzyme activity were detected in E. chlorotica in spite of having been starved of V. litorea for several months. Unlike the algal enzyme, PRK in the sea slug did not exhibit redox regulation. Two copies of partial PRK-encoding genes were isolated from both sea slug and aposymbiotic sea slug egg DNA using PCR. Each copy contains the nucleotide region spanning exon 1 and part of exon 2 of V litorea prk, including the bipartite targeting peptide. However, the larger prk fragment also includes intron 1. The exon and intron sequences of prk in E. chlorotica and V/itorea are nearly identical. These data suggest that PRK is differentially regulated in V. litorea and E. chlorotica and at least a portion of the V. litorea nuclear PRK gene is present in sea slugs that have been starved for several months.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of the chicken alpha A-crystallin gene and its 5' flanking region

The chicken alpha A-crystallin gene and 2.6 kb of its 5' flanking sequence have been isolated and characterized by electron microscopy and sequencing. The structural gene is 4.5 kb long and contains two introns, each approx. 1 kb in length. The first intron divides codons 63 and 64, and the second intron divides codons 104 and 105, as in rodents. There is little indication that the insert exon of rodents (an alternatively spliced sequence) is present in complete form in the chicken alpha A-crystallin gene; small stretches of similarity to this sequence were found throughout the gene. The 5' flanking sequence of the chicken alpha A-crystallin gene shows considerable sequence similarity with other mammalian alpha B-crystallin genes. In addition, one consensus sequence (GCAGCATGCCCTCCTAG) present in the 5' flanking region of the chicken alpha A-crystallin gene was found in the 5' flanking region of most reported crystallin genes.     

壳斗科植物叶绿体基因组结构及变异分析

利用生物信息学方法比较壳斗科6个属14个物种的叶绿体基因组间差异,以近缘物种榛为外类群构建系统进化树,揭示壳斗科叶绿体基因组的结构特征及变异规律。结果显示,14种壳斗科植物的叶绿体基因组均为双链环状分子结构,大小在160 kB左右,差异较小,最大仅差1 366 bp;基因顺序基本一致,而基因数量有所差异,infA、petG、rpl22、ycf1、ycf15等多个基因在部分物种中发生丢失;主要有32个蛋白编码基因长度发生变异,其原因是内含子的丢失、内含子或者编码区的长度改变,华南锥基因长度变异较大;4个IR边界相对保守,但锥栗、Castanea pumila、华南锥3个物种由于边界扩张导致rps19基因部分序列进入到IR区;以榛为外类群构建的系统发育树,各进化支支持率较高,分辨率较好。研究结果表明,叶绿体基因组可以用于分析关系较近与进化较快物种的系统发生问题,为系统发育和进化研究提供依据。     

Selective constraints on intron evolution in Drosophila

Intron sizes show an asymmetrical distribution in a number of organisms, with a large number of "short" introns clustered around a minimal intron length and a much broader distribution of longer introns. In Drosophila melanogaster, the short intron class is centered around 61 bp. The narrow length distribution suggests that natural selection may play a role in maintaining intron size. A comparison of 15 orthologous introns among species of the D. melanogaster subgroup indicates that, in general, short introns are not under greater DNA sequence or length constraints than long introns. There is a bias toward deletions in all introns (deletion/insertion ratio is 1.66), and the vast majority of indels are of short length (<10 bp). Indels occurring on the internal branches of the phylogenetic tree are significantly longer than those occurring on the terminal branches. These results are consistent with a compensatory model of intron length evolution in which slightly deleterious short deletions are frequently fixed within species by genetic drift, and relatively rare larger insertions that restore intron length are fixed by positive selection. A comparison of paralogous introns shared among duplicated genes suggests that length constraints differ between introns within the same gene. The janusA, janusB, and ocnus genes share two short introns derived from a common ancestor. The first of these introns shows significantly fewer indels than the second intron, although the two introns show a comparable number of substitutions. This indicates that intron-specific selective constraints have been maintained following gene duplication, which preceded the divergence of the D. melanogaster species subgroup.     

Phylogenetic mapping of intron positions: a case study of translation initiation factor eIF2gamma

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2) is a G protein that delivers the methionyl initiator tRNA to the small ribosomal subunit and releases it upon GTP hydrolysis after the recognition of the initiation codon. eIF2 is composed of three subunits, alpha, beta, and gamma. Subunit gamma shows the strongest conservation, and it confers both tRNA and GTP/GDP binding. Using intron positioning and protein sequence alignment, here we show that eIF2gamma is a suitable phylogenetic marker for eukaryotes. We determined or completed the sequences of 13 arthropod eIF2gamma genes. Analyzing the phylogenetic distribution of 52 different intron positions in 55 distantly related eIF2gamma genes, we identified ancient ones and shared derived introns in our data set. Obviously, intron positioning in eIF2gamma is evolutionarily conserved. However, there were episodes of complete and partial intron losses followed by intron gains. We identified 17 clusters of intron positions based on their distribution. The evolution of these clusters appears to be connected with preferred exon length and can be used to estimate the relative timing of intron gain because nearby precursor introns had to be erased from the gene before the new introns could be inserted. Moreover, we identified a putative case of intron sliding that constitutes a synapomorphic character state supporting monophyly of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera excluding Hymenoptera. We also performed tree reconstructions using the eIF2gamma protein sequences and intron positioning as phylogenetic information. Our results support the monophyly of Viridoplantae, Ascomycota, Homobasidiomyceta, and Apicomplexa.     

Molecular evolution of calmodulin-like domain protein kinases (CDPKs) in plants and protists

Many genes for calmodulin-like domain protein kinases (CDPKs) have been identified in plants and Alveolate protists. To study the molecular evolution of the CDPK gene family, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of CDPK genomic sequences. Analysis of introns supports the phylogenetic analysis; CDPK genes with similar intron/exon structure are grouped together on the phylogenetic tree. Conserved introns support a monophyletic origin for plant CDPKs, CDPK-related kinases, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinases. Plant CDPKs divide into two major branches. Plant CDPK genes on one branch share common intron positions with protist CDPK genes. The introns shared between protist and plant CDPKs presumably originated before the divergence of plants from Alveolates. Additionally, the calmodulin-like domains of protist CDPKs have intron positions in common with animal and fungal calmodulin genes. These results, together with the presence of a highly conserved phase zero intron located precisely at the beginning of the calmodulin-like domain, suggest that the ancestral CDPK gene could have originated from the fusion of protein kinase and calmodulin genes facilitated by recombination of ancient introns. Received: 11 July 2000 / Accepted: 18 April 2001     

Origin and evolution of group I introns in cyanobacterial tRNA genes.

Many tRNA(Leu)UAA genes from plastids contain a group I intron. An intron is also inserted in the same gene at the same position in cyanobacteria, the bacterial progenitors of plastids, suggesting an ancient bacterial origin for this intron. A group I intron has also been found in the tRNA(fMet) gene of some cyanobacteria but not in plastids, suggesting a more recent origin for this intron. In this study, we investigate the phylogenetic distributions of the two introns among cyanobacteria, from the earliest branching to the more derived species. The phylogenetic distribution of the tRNA(Leu)UAA intron follows the clustering of rRNA sequences, being either absent or present in clades of closely related species, with only one exception in the Pseudanabaena group. Our data support the notion that the tRNA(Leu)UAA intron was inherited by cyanobacteria and plastids through a common ancestor. Conversely, the tRNA(fMet) intron has a sporadic distribution, implying that many gains and losses occurred during cyanobacterial evolution. Interestingly, a phylogenetic tree inferred from intronic sequences clearly separates the different tRNA introns, suggesting that each family has its own evolutionary history.     

The chicken carbonic anhydrase II gene: evidence for a recent shift in intron position.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the coding region of the chicken carbonic anhydrase II (CA II) gene has been determined from clones isolated from a chicken genomic library. The sequence of a nearly full length chicken CA II cDNA clone has also been obtained. The gene is approximately 17 kilobase pairs (kb) in size and codes for a protein that is comprised of 259 amino acid residues. The 5' flanking region contains consensus sequences commonly associated with eucaryotic genes transcribed by RNA polymerase II. Six introns ranging in size from 0.3 to 10.2 kb interrupt the gene. The number of introns as well as five of the six intron locations are conserved between the chicken and mouse CA II genes. The site of the fourth intron is shifted by 14 base pairs further 3' in the chicken and thus falls between codons 147 and 148 rather than within codon 143 as in the mouse gene. Measurements of CA II RNA levels in various cell types suggest that CA II RNA increases in parallel with globin RNA during erythropoiesis and exists only at low levels, if at all, in non-erythroid cells.