转录后水平沉默与基因表达

基因沉默是1个非常复杂和普遍的现象。转录后水平的基因沉默是指转基因在细胞核里能稳定转录,细胞质里却无相应的稳定态mRNA存在的现象。它往往被称为共抑制、静息作用或RNA干预等。本文介绍了转录后水平的基因沉默现象的发现、分子机理和应用等方面的进展。提出了克服转录后水平基因沉默的一些对策。     

The genetics of gene expression and gene mapping

A recent publication has shown that a significant portion of gene expression levels are under genetic control in different organisms, that there are hotspot regions in the genome that control the expression of many other genes, and how gene expression data can be used to localize genes that affect clinical traits.     

金黄色葡萄球菌耐消毒剂基因及抗生素耐药相关基因检测

目的 了解温州地区临床分离的金黄色葡萄球菌(SA)的耐药特点,探讨SA中耐β-内酰胺类、氨基糖苷类、四环素类药物耐药基因及耐消毒剂基因(qacA)的存在情况.方法 采用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)法对SA进行β-内酰胺酶基因、氨基糖苷类修饰酶基因、四环素类基因和耐消毒剂基因检测.结果 PCR结果显示94株SA中耐药相关基因检出率mecA 53.2％、aac(6’)/aph(2")68.1％、aph(3’)-Ⅲ 37.2％、tetM 53.2％和qacA 7.4％,其中59株MRSA的耐药相关基因检出率分别为mecA 83.1％、aac(6’)/aph(2")86.4％、aph(3 ′)-Ⅲ 42.4％、tetM 76.4％和qacA 8.5％.结论 多数SA菌株存在耐β-内酰胺类、氨基糖苷类、四环素类等多种抗生素耐药基因,具有多重耐药特征,但尚未出现明显耐消毒剂状况.     

Heterochromatin,gene position effect and gene silencing

Genomes of higher eukaryotes consist of two types of chromatin: euchromatin and heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is densely packed material typically localized in telomeric and pericentric chromosome regions. Euchromatin transferred by chromosome rearrangements in the vicinity of heterochromatin is inactivated and acquires morphological properties of heterochromatin in the case of position effect variegation. One of the X chromosomes in mammal females and all paternal chromosome set in coccides become heterochromatic. The heterochromatic elements of the genome exhibit similar structural properties: genetic inactivation, compaction, late DNA replication at the S stage, and underrepresentation in somatic cells. The genetic inactivation and heterochromatin assembly are underlain by a specific genetic mechanism, silencing, which includes DNA methylation and posttranslational histone modification provided by the complex of nonhistone proteins. The state of silencing is inherited in cell generations. The same molecular mechanisms of silencing shared by all types of heterochromatic regions, be it unique or highly repetitive sequences, suggest the similar organization of these regions. No type of heterochromatin is a permanent structure as they all are formed at the strictly definite stages of early embryogenesis. Based on the bulk of evidence accumulated today, heterochromatin can be regarded as a morphological manifestation of genetic silencing.     

Multifunctional nanocomplexes for gene transfer and gene therapy

DNA formulated into aggregates with polycationic reagents are referred to by a variety of terms including non-viral vectors, synthetic vectors, lipoplexes, polyplexes and more recently nanoparticles. The capacity for delivery of multiple genes, genomic-sized constructs and siRNA delivery, with a diversity of possible formulations, as well as the possibilities of improved efficiency of in vivo gene deliveries, means that nanoparticles, or nanocomplexes to reflect self-assembling systems, will be investigated with increasing vigour in the coming years. This review briefly outlines the applications and challenges for nanoparticle technologies in the field of gene therapy then focuses on the development of a specific kind of formulation, receptor-targeted nanocomplex (RTN), that we have found to be particularly useful in our gene therapy research. An overriding guiding concept that has emerged in the development of synthetic nanodelivery systems is the idea to develop formulations and structures that mimic viruses, whilst retaining the safety elements of synthetic, non-viral systems. RTNs have been optimised and developed for airway epithelial transfection, leading towards gene therapy for cystic fibrosis and for vascular transfection in vein grafts used in bypass surgery. The modular design of the RTN platform further allows for the testing of specific hypotheses relating to the structure and functional role of components in the formation of stable particles and in the transfection pathway, leading to their ultimate disassembly in the nucleus.     

Zinc finger gene clusters and tandem gene duplication.

Zinc finger genes in mammalian genomes are frequently found to occur in clusters with cluster members appearing in a tandem array on the chromosome. It has been suggested that in situ gene duplication events are primarily responsible for the evolution of such clusters. The problem of inferring the series of duplication events responsible for producing clustered families is different from the standard phylogeny problem. In this paper, we study this inference problem using a graph called duplication model that captures the series of duplication events while taking into account the observed order of the genes on the chromosome. We provide algorithms to reconstruct a duplication model for a given data set. We use our method to hypothesize the series of duplication events that may have produced the ZNF45 family that appears on human chromosome 19.     

Relationship between gene function and gene location inEscherichia coli

Summary Genes ofEscherichia coli were grouped according to the biochemical relatedness of the enzymes they specifiy, using two schemes to determine relatedness: similarity of reaction or similarity of reactants. The tendency of biochemically related genes as so defined to lie approximately 90° or 180° from one another on the circular genetic map was analyzed statistically. Of the classes analyzed, only the genes for the enzymes of glucose catabolism showed a significant departure from random distribution in this respect. The glucose catabolism genes showed a pronounced tendency to lie either 90° or 180° from one another (P = ca. 10^–9), and, furthermore, most of these genes were found to lie in only four gene clusters on theE. coli genome. The significance of this observation is discussed in relation to evolutionary mechanisms and to mechanisms of gene expression.     

Differential gene transfers and gene duplications in primary and secondary endosymbioses

Background  

Most genes introduced into phototrophic eukaryotes during the process of endosymbiosis are either lost or relocated into the host nuclear genome. In contrast, gro EL homologues are found in different genome compartments among phototrophic eukaryotes. Comparative sequence analyses of recently available genome data, have allowed us to reconstruct the evolutionary history of these genes and propose a hypothesis that explains the unusual genome distribution of gro EL homologues.     

Adeno-associated viral vectors for gene transfer and gene therapy.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a defective, non-pathogenic human parvovirus that depends for growth on coinfection with a helper adenovirus or herpes virus. Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) have attracted considerable interest as vectors for gene therapy. In contrast to other gene delivery systems, rAAVs lack all viral genes and show long-term gene expression in vivo without immune response or toxicity. Over the past few years, many applications of rAAVs as therapeutic agents have demonstrated the utility of this vector system for long-lasting genetic modification and gene therapy in preclinical models of human disease. New production methods have increased rAAV vector titers and eliminated contamination by adenovirus. In addition, vectors for regulatable gene expression and vectors retargeted to different cells have been engineered. These advancements are expected to accelerate and facilitate further animal model studies, providing validation for use of rAAVs in human clinical trials.     

Pathology and biology associated with the fragile FHIT gene and gene product

More than 12 years and >800 scientific publications after the discovery of the first gene at a chromosome fragile site, the FHIT gene at FRA3B, there are still questions to pursue concerning the selective advantage conferred to cells by loss of expression of FHIT, the most frequent target of allele deletion in precancerous lesions and cancers. These questions are considered in light of recent investigations of genetic and epigenetic alterations to the locus and in a retrospective consideration of biological roles of the Fhit protein discovered through functional studies. J. Cell. Biochem. 109: 858–865, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.