Histone acetylation during early stages of sea urchin (arbacia punctulata) development

A correlation has been found between histone acetylation and gene activation at the time of gastrulation in the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata. Between the blastula and gastrula stages, there is a 2.5-fold increase in the rate of acetylation of a histone fraction consisting of slightly lysine-rich and argininerich components, with a marked decrease in the fully differentiated pluteus stage. This pre-gastrular increase in histone acetylation is not correlated with (1) a decrease in the rate of histone deacetylation; (2) a decrease in acetyl coenzyme A pool size; (3) an increase in acetate uptake; (4) histone synthesis. The results thus suggest that increased histone acetylation may be at least one preparative factor for the activation of new genes at gastrulation.     

Changes in histone acetylation during mouse oocyte meiosis

We examined global changes in the acetylation of histones in mouse oocytes during meiosis. Immunocytochemistry with specific antibodies against various acetylated lysine residues on histones H3 and H4 showed that acetylation of all the lysines decreased to undetectable or negligible levels in the oocytes during meiosis, whereas most of these lysines were acetylated during mitosis in preimplantation embryos and somatic cells. When the somatic cell nuclei were transferred into enucleated oocytes, the acetylation of lysines decreased markedly. This type of deacetylation was inhibited by trichostatin A, a specific inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC), thereby indicating that HDAC is able to deacetylate histones during meiosis but not during mitosis. Meiosis-specific deacetylation may be a consequence of the accessibility of HDAC1 to the chromosome, because HDAC1 colocalized with the chromosome during meiosis but not during mitosis. As histone acetylation is thought to play a role in propagating the gene expression pattern to the descendent generation during mitosis, and the gene expression pattern of differentiated oocytes is reprogrammed during meiosis to allow the initiation of a new program by totipotent zygotes of the next generation, our results suggest that the oocyte cytoplasm initializes a program of gene expression by deacetylating histones.     

Histone acetylation during aging of human cells in culture

An age-associated decrease in the rate of histone acetylation has been demonstrated in human diploid cells in culture. There was no change in the histone/DNA ratio with age. It is suggested that the reduction in histone acetylation occurring in old cell populations reflects an accumulation of cells in a stage of the cell cycle not compatible with histone acetylation.     

百合LbCAT和LbGPX基因的克隆与表达分析

以切花百合(Lilium brownii var. viridulum)‘卡瓦纳’cDNA为模板,克隆了过氧化氢酶(LbCAT)和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(LbGPX)基因。序列分析表明,这2个基因分别包含1 479 bp和519 bp的开放阅读框(ORF),编码492个和172个氨基酸。进化分析结果表明,LbCAT蛋白与岷江百合CAT蛋白的氨基酸序列相似性最高(99.19%),且亲缘关系最近;LbGPX蛋白与油棕GPX蛋白的氨基酸序列相似性最高(78.61%),亲缘关系最近。qRT PCR结果显示,LbCAT和LbGPX在百合根、鳞茎、叶和花中都有表达。LbCAT在叶中表达量最高,LbGPX在花中表达量最高。这2个基因在百合花蕾的生长发育过程中均有表达,且表达量逐渐增加;在PEG处理后2个基因的转录水平升高,但独角金内酯(SLs)处理却显著降低了这2个基因的转录水平;该结果为百合抗逆性机理研究以及抗逆育种奠定了基础。     

百合黄烷酮3-羟化酶基因LhSorF3H的克隆与表达

为了探究百合花色的调控机制,以东方百合品种‘索邦’(Sorbonne)的花蕾为试验材料,根据前期转录组测序结果,成功克隆出黄烷酮3-羟化酶(flavanone 3-hydroxylase,F3H)基因的编码序列和基因组序列,其中,编码序列全长1 110bp,可编码369个氨基酸;基因组序列全长1 438bp,包含3个外显子和2个内含子,命名该基因为LhSorF3 H(GenBank登录号为MF614135)。生物信息学分析结果显示,黄烷酮3-羟化酶在进化上具有较高的保守性。LhSorF3 H编码的蛋白与郁金香(Tulipafosteriana)最为相似。半定量RT-PCR结果显示,LhSorF3H在花被、柱头以及花柱中表达明显,在花丝、子房、嫩茎、茎生根及上部叶片中表达较弱,而在花药和中下部叶片中基本不表达。LhSorF3 H在不同发育阶段的花被片中均有表达(S2和S6阶段除外);黑暗处理使LhSorF3 H表达降低,黑暗处理2h的LhSorF3 H表达量降到最低,之后表达量开始上升;转入光照条件后,LhSorF3H的表达水平持续增加。研究表明,LhSorF3 H基因对昼夜节律和光照具有双重响应的特性。     

Histone acetylation in drug addiction

Regulation of chromatin structure through post-translational modifications of histones (e.g., acetylation) has emerged as an important mechanism to translate a variety of environmental stimuli, including drugs of abuse, into specific changes in gene expression. Since alterations in gene expression are thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of the addicted state, recent efforts are aimed at identifying how drugs of abuse alter chromatin structure and the enzymes which regulate it. This review discusses how drugs of abuse alter histone acetylation in brain reward regions, through which enzymes this occurs, and ultimately what role histone acetylation plays in addiction-related behaviors.     

Histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation pattern suggests that X and B chromosomes are silenced during entire male meiosis in a grasshopper

The facultative heterochromatic X chromosome in leptotene spermatocytes of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans showed marked hypoacetylation for lysine 9 in the H3 histone (H3-K9) with no sign of histone H2AX phosphorylation. Since H3-K9 hypoacetylation precedes the meiotic appearance of phosphorylated H2AX (gamma-H2AX), which marks the beginning of recombinational DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), it seems that meiotic sex-chromosome inactivation (MSCI) in this grasshopper occurs prior to the beginning of recombination and hence synapsis (which in this species begins later than recombination). In addition, all constitutively heterochromatic chromosome regions harbouring a 180-bp tandem-repeat DNA and rDNA (B chromosomes and pericentromeric regions of A chromosomes) were H3-K9 hypoacetylated at early leptotene even though they will synapse at subsequent stages. This also suggests that meiotic silencing in this grasshopper might be independent of synapsis. The H3-K9 hypoacetylated state of facultative and constitutive heterochromatin persisted during subsequent meiotic stages and was even apparent in round spermatids. Finally, the fact that B chromosomes are differentially hypoacetylated in testis and embryo interphase cells suggests that they might be silenced early in development and remain this way for most (or all) life-cycle stages.     

Changes in intracellular cAMP level and activities of adenylcyclase and phosphodiesterase during meiosis of lily microsporocytes.

In the yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schyzosaccharomyces pombe, reduction of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is known to trigger the sporulation processes by activating various meiosis specific genes. In order to ascertain whether a similar mechanism is operative in higher plants, we carried out preliminary studies on lily microsporocytes. Measurement of cAMP levels as well as the activities of adenyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase in somatic cells and different stages of meiosis, and arrest of its in protoplasts cultured under conditions of high cAMP provided direct evidence that similar phenomena occur in plant meiocytes as earlier documented in yeasts.     

Histone acetylation in rat liver nuclei

Rat liver nuclei were incubated for various lengths of time in the presence of increasing concentrations of acetyl CoA. The rate of acetylation varied strongly according to the acetyl CoA concentration. A very small part of the histone was acetylated. After incubation in the presence of increasing acetyl CoA concentrations, four apparent Km could be determined. Electrophoretic analysis showed that only histone H3 was acetylated which suggests that each Km corresponds to a sequential acetylation of its lysine residues. This could be correlated with the possible role of histone acetylation in the control of gene activity.     

Histone acetylation in gene regulation.

Genetic information is packaged in the highly dynamic nucleoprotein structure called chromatin. Many biological processes are regulated via post-translational modifications of key proteins. Acetylation of lysine residues at the N-terminal histone tails is one of the most studied covalent modifications influencing gene regulation in eukaryotic cells. This review focuses on the role of enzymes involved in controlling both histone and non-histone proteins acetylation levels in the cell, with particular emphasis on their effects on cancer.     

Timing of mitochondrial DNA synthesis during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) synthesis was examined during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using an aneuploid strain disomic (n + 1) for chromosome III. The aneuploid has the advantage over true diploid strains in that it completes early meiotic events, including premeiotic chromosome replication, but does not form mature ascospores. Thus, differential extraction problems, resulting from the simultaneous presence of both unsporulated cells and spores in the population, are eliminated. The kinetic of mtDNA synthesis was monitored by determining the actual mtDNA content of cells following analytical CsCl centrifugation of cell extracts. MtDNA synthesis started soon after the cells were placed in sporulation medium and continued at an approximately constant rate until 24 h, resulting in slightly more than a doubling of the mitochondrial DNA content per cell. [¹⁴C]uracil was incorporated into mtDNA during the entire developmental period. Extensive preferential labeling of mtDNA occurred between 24 and 50 h, when no net DNA synthesis was observed.     

东方百合LoABI1基因的克隆及表达分析

该研究以东方百合‘索邦’为材料,采用RT-PCR扩增方法克隆ABI1基因,对其进行了生物信息学分析,并采用实时荧光定量PCR检测其组织表达特性和低温处理过程及定植后的表达特征,以明确ABI1基因的功能特性,为解析百合ABA信号转导途径及其调控低温解除休眠过程的机理奠定基础。结果表明：(1)成功克隆得到东方百合LoABI1基因,其编码序列长度为1 341 bp,共编码446个氨基酸;LoABI1氨基酸序列中含有1个蛋白磷酸酶2C(PP2C)保守结构域。(2)系统进化分析显示,LoABI1蛋白与水稻PP2C家族成员OsPP2C06的同源进化关系最近,且与拟南芥AtABI1聚为一支,同属于PP2C基因家族中的A亚群。(3)亚细胞定位发现,LoABI1蛋白定位于烟草表皮细胞的细胞核和细胞质。(4)qRT-PCR荧光定量分析显示,LoABI1基因在百合茎生根、嫩茎、叶片及各花部组织中均有表达,且在幼嫩组织中表达量较高;LoAB1I基因在冷藏期间的表达量呈先升高后降低的趋势,并于冷藏期第5周达到峰值,但在定植期间持续下降且保持较低水平。(5)经4℃低温处理60 d的百合鳞茎在定植后14～28 d能...     

Histone acetylation and X inactivation

In mammals, the levels of X-linked gene products in males and females are equalised by the silencing, early in development, of most of the genes on one of the two female X chromosomes. Once established, the silent state is stable from one cell generation to the next. In eutherian mammals, the inactive X chromosome (Xi) differs from its active homologue (Xa) in a number of ways, including increased methylation of selected CpGs, replication late in S-phase, expression of the Xistgene with binding of Xist RNA and underacetylation of core histones. The latter is a common property of genetically inactive chromatin but, in the case of Xi, it is not clear whether it is an integral part of the silencing process or simply a consequence of some other property of Xi, such as late replication. The present review describes two approaches that address this problem. The first shows that Xi in marsupial mammals also contains underacetylated H4, even though its properties differ widely from those of the eutherian Xi. The continued presence of histone underacetylation on Xi in these evolutionarily distant mammals argues for its fundamental importance. The second approach uses mouse embryonic stem cells and places H4 deacetylation in a sequence of events leading to complete X inactivation. The results argue that histone underacetylation plays a role in the stabilisation of the inactive state, rather than in its initiation. Dev. Genet. 22:65–73, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

DNA synthesis during meiosis of eight-spored strains ofChlamydomonas reinhardi

Summary In strain 137F ofChlamydomonas reinhardi, the zygospores undergo one round of nuclear DNA replication followed by three divisions to produce octospores. The third division without replication has been interpreted by Sueoka et al. (1967, 1969) to mean that the gametes and vegetative cells have at least binemic chromosomes. We have repeated their experiments using the same strain. However, the meiotic products were inviable — unable to undergo postmeiotic vegetative growth, DNA replication or division. On the other hand, using a variant of strain 137C which also has three divisions during germination we have shown that meiosis is normal. Zygospores from this strain undergo two rounds of nuclear DNA replication prior to the formation of octospores. These meiotic products are viable and capable of postmeiotic vegetative growth, replication and division. Since the third division without DNA replication subsequent to the two meiotic divisions leads to inviable products, and the strain which has viable products after three divisions does not lack the additional replication, meiosis inChlamydomonas reinhardi provides no evidence of a bineme chromosome structure.     

Histone acetylation and cancer.

In the past year, several papers have been published which implicate a link between alterations in chromatin structure and the development of cancer. Both histone hyperacetylation and hypoacetylation appear to be important in the neoplastic process, depending on the target gene involved. In the case of colon cancer, induction of the p21 gene by histone hyperacetylation may be a mechanism by which dietary fiber prevents carcinogenesis.