Karyotyp und DNS-Gehalt von Bufo bufo,B. viridis,B. bufo × B. viridis und B. calamita (Amphibia,Anura)

The karyotypes in spermatogonial and leukocyte metaphases of the toads Bufo bufo, B. viridis and B. calamita (all 2n=22) were analysed and the DNA content of colchicine treated and Feulgen stained spermatogonial metaphase chromosomes measured microspectrophotometrically. The toad species possess similar karyotypes, but the chromosomes of B. bufo are somewhat longer than the chromosomes of B. viridis and B. calamita. All chromosomes of B. bufo contain significantly more than, but in no case twice as much DNA as their homologues in the other two species. Eight chromosomes of B. bufo contain 30–40%, three about 50% more DNA than their homologues in B. viridis. Exactly the same DNA-differences between both sets of chromosomes were found in B. bufo × B. viridis hybrids. Significant differences in the DNA amount of B. viridis and B. calamita exist only between the large chromosomes of these species. The ratio of the total DNA amount of the genomes in the three species is 1.49∶1.07∶1. These DNA-differences between the three toad species are confirmed by microspectrophotometric DNA measurements of their erythrocyte nuclei. It is supposed that these interspecific differences in DNA content of the toads are not a consequence of differential polyteny but are caused during the evolution process by local increase in DNA in all chromosomes of B. bufo and in the large chromosomes of B. viridis.     

Science,philosophy, and politics in the work of J. B. S. Haldane, 1922–1937

This paper analyzes the interaction between science, philosophy and politics (including ideology) in the early work of J. B. S. Haldane (from 1922 to 1937). This period is particularly important, not only because it is the period of Haldane's most significant biological work (both in biochemistry and genetics), but also because it is during this period that his philosophical and political views underwent their most significant transformation. His philosophical stance first changed from a radical organicism to a position far more compatible with mechanical materialism. The primary intellectual influence that was responsible for this shift was that of F. G. Hopkins. Later, Haldane came to accept Marxism and its official metaphysics, dialectical materialism, a move that let him accept the materialist conception of the world while still maintaining a resolute distance from mechanism. Throughout all these changes, what is most obvious is the influence of science on Haldane's philosophical views. An influence in the opposite direction is far less apparent.Parts of this paper are extracted from a longer work which concerns the interactions between philosophy and science throughout Haldane's scientific career (Sarkar forthcoming). The general conclusions reached here, from a consideration of Haldane's work only from 1922 to 1937 (see Section 6), remain the same for the rest of his life, as is detailed in the longer work. Thanks are due to R. S. Cohen, J. F. Crow, A. R. Fersht, J. Maynard Smith, R. C. Olby, D. Paul, M. Ruse, J. Stachel and S. Sturdy for helpful discussions and comments and criticism of the positions outlined in this paper. This is Contribution No. BTBG-92-4 from the Theoretical Biology Group, Boston University.     

B.B.Brodie(1907～1989)

B.B.Brodie博土,一个先驱药理学家和美国国家科学院院士,1989年2月28日逝世。生前是美国国立卫生研究院心脏研究所化学药理实验室的创始人和第一任主任。     

芸薹属(Brassica napus,B.rapa,B.oleracea) CAMTA3基因家族的鉴定及生物信息学分析

芸薹属(Brassica)植物(甘蓝型油菜,白菜,甘蓝)是重要的经济作物,它们之间的关系可用禹氏三角表示.CAMTA是在进化过程中高度保守的一类转录因子家族,该家族成员在芸薹属植物抗逆境胁迫过程中具有重要作用.为了探讨芸薹属CAMTA3基因家族的功能,本研究利用生物信息学手段,鉴定了芸薹属(白菜,甘蓝和甘蓝型油菜)CAMTA3基因家族的8个基因,并从蛋白质的理化性质、家族进化与基因结构和上游启动子等方面进行了分析研究.分析表明,芸薹属CAMTA3基因家族8个成员在进化过程中具有较高的保守性,其亲缘关系与禹氏三角理论相符,且各成员在植物响应抗胁迫过程中占重要地位.研究结果为芸薹属CAMTA3基因家族的功能研究提供了一定的信息基础.