ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND CHROMOSOME MAPPING OF AN ACTIN GENE FROM THE PRIMITIVE GREEN ALGA, NANNOCHLORIS BACILLARIS (CHLOROPHYCEAE)

Historically, the genus Nannochloris has been classified using the morphology of cell division, although the mechanics of division remain relatively poorly understood. Nannochloris bacillaris reproduces by binary fission. Microscopic observation with fluorescein isothiocyanate-phalloidin showed that actin filaments localized near the nucleus and appeared as a ring- or beltlike structure in the septum-forming area in the middle of the cell during cell division. In primitive unicellular Chlorophyta such as N. bacillaris, actin is also thought to play important roles in nuclear migration and cell division. The N. bacillaris actin gene has three exons and two introns defined by two exon–intron junctions with splice site consensus sequences. The two introns are located at codons specifying amino acids 3/4 and 47/48. One of these, intron position 3/4, is conserved in the actin gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The actin gene product was predicted to be 378 amino acids long with an estimated molecular weight of 42 kDa. There is only one copy of the actin gene in the N. bacillaris genome. Nannochloris bacillaris has 14 chromosomes that range in size from 230 kb to 3000 kb, and the total size of the genome was estimated to be 20.3 Mb. The actin gene is on either chromosome XI or XII. In a phylogenetic tree based on the actin gene sequence, N. bacillaris diverged before the divergence of Volvox, Chlamydomonas, and higher plants, and very shortly after the radiation of the Rhodophyta.     

DIVISION APPARATUS OF THE CHLOROPLAST IN NANNOCHLORIS BACILLARIS (CHLOROPHYTA)1

Chloroplast division in Nannochloris bacillaris Naumann (Chlorophyta) was examined by electron microscopy after preparation of samples by freeze-substitution. A pair of belts appeared on the surface of the outer and inner envelope membranes at the middle of the chloroplast. These belts seemed to be constructed of thin fibrils that run parallel to the longitudinal direction of the belts. The outer fibrillar belt increased in width as the constriction of the chloroplast advanced. It appears that the fibrillar belt is the division apparatus of the chloroplast. It encircles the chloroplast and finally divides the chloroplast in two as the diameter of the belt decreases.     

INTER‐ AND INTRASPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NUCLEAR DNA CONTENT AND CELL SIZE IN SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE CENTRIC DIATOM GENUS THALASSIOSIRA (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE)1

The enormous species diversity of diatoms correlates with the remarkable range of cell sizes in this group. Nuclear DNA content relates fundamentally to cell volume in other eukaryotic cells. The relationship of cell volume to G1 DNA content was determined among selected members of the genus Thalassiosira, one of the most species‐rich and well‐studied centric diatom genera. Both minimum and maximum species‐specific cell volume correlated positively with G1 DNA content. Phylogeny based on 5.8 S and ITS rDNA sequences indicated that multiple changes in G1 DNA content and cell volume occurred in Thalassiosira evolution, leading to a 1,000‐fold range in both parameters in the group. Within the Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) G. A. Fryxell et Grunow species complex, G1 DNA content varied 3‐fold: differences related to geographic origin and time since isolation; doubling and tripling of G1 DNA content occurred since isolation in certain T. weissflogii isolates; and subcultures of T. weissflogii CCMP 1336 diverged in DNA content by 50% within 7 years of separation. Actin, β‐tubulin, and Spo11/TopVIA genes were selected for quantitative PCR estimation of haploid genome size in subclones of selected T. weissflogii isolates because they occur only once in the T. pseudonana Hasle et Heimdal genome. Comparison of haploid genome size estimates with G1 DNA content suggested that the most recent T. weissflogii isolate was diploid, whereas other T. weissflogii isolates appeared to be polyploid and/or aneuploid. Aberrant meiotic and mitotic cell divisions were observed, which might relate to polyploidization. The structural flexibility of diatom genomes has important implications for their evolutionary diversification and stability during laboratory maintenance.     

PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF CHAETOSPHAERIDIUM (CHLOROPHYTA), A BASAL LINEAGE IN THE CHAROPHYCEAE INFERRED FROM 18S rDNA SEQUENCES

We sequenced the nuclear-encoded small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18S rDNA) of Chaetosphaeridium globosum (Nordst.) Klebahn, a microscopic freshwater epiphytic chlorophyte, to assess its phylogenetic affinities in the Chlorophyta. A phylogenetic analysis of a broad sampling of green algal taxa and Chaetosphaeridium confirmed that this alga is a member of the Charophyceae (Streptophyta) as earlier microscopical studies had suggested. However, more detailed phylogenetic analyses of the streptophyte lineage showed that contrary to expectations based on the ultrastructure of the zoospores, the presence of a unique type of setae, the oogamous mode of reproduction, and the occurrence of oscillatory rotations of the cytoplasm, Chaetosphaeridium and Coleochaete are not closely related and do not form a monophyletic clade. Instead, Chaetosphaeridium represents an early branch in the streptophyte lineage that had a near-simultaneous origin as the Charalean clade and a clade formed by all remaining streptophytes examined ( Klebsormidium, Coleochaete, Chlorokybus, Zygnematales, and bryophytes). All phylogenetic inference methods used (neighbor-joining analysis of Kimura distances, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony) resulted in essentially the same tree topology. No Group I introns were found in the 18S rDNA coding region of Chaetosphaeridium. Our molecular phylogenetic analysis of Chaetosphaeridium supports a recent cladistic classification of the Streptobionta by Kenrick and Crane in which Chaetosphaeridium is placed in a monotypic division and class, Chaetosphaeridiophyta and Chaetosphaeridiophyceae, respectively.     

Evolution of genome size in Brassicaceae

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Brassicaceae, with nearly 340 genera and more than 3350 species, anchors the low range of angiosperm genome sizes. The relatively narrow range of DNA content (0.16 pg < 1C < 1.95 pg) was maintained in spite of extensive chromosomal change. The aim of this study was to erect a cytological and molecular phylogenetic framework for a selected subset of the Brassicacae, and use this as a template to examine genome size evolution in Brassicaceae. METHODS: DNA contents were determined by flow cytometry and chromosomes were counted for 34 species of the family Brassicaceae and for ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes. The amplified and sequenced ITS region for 23 taxa (plus six other taxa with known ITS sequences) were aligned and used to infer evolutionary relationship by parsimony analysis. KEY RESULTS: DNA content in the species studied ranged over 8-fold (1C = 0.16-1.31 pg), and 4.4-fold (1C = 0.16-0.71 pg) excluding allotetraploid Brassica species. The 1C DNA contents of ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes showed little variation, ranging from 0.16 pg to 0.17 pg. CONCLUSIONS: The tree roots at an ancestral genome size of approximately 1x = 0.2 pg. Arabidopsis thaliana (1C = 0.16 pg; approximately 157 Mbp) has the smallest genome size in Brassicaceae studied here and apparently represents an evolutionary decrease in genome size. Two other branches that represent probable evolutionary decreases in genome size terminate in Lepidium virginicum and Brassica rapa. Branches in the phylogenetic tree that represent probable evolutionary increases in genome size terminate in Arabidopsis halleri, A. lyrata, Arabis hirsuta, Capsella rubella, Caulanthus heterophyllus, Crucihimalaya, Lepidium sativum, Sisymbrium and Thlaspi arvense. Branches within one clade containing Brassica were identified that represent two ancient ploidy events (2x to 4x and 4x to 6x) that were predicted from published comparative mapping studies.     

The considerable genome size variation of Hordeum species (poaceae) is linked to phylogeny, life form, ecology, and speciation rates

Genome size variation in plants is thought to be correlatedwith cytological, physiological, or ecological characters. However,conclusions drawn in several studies were often contradictory.To analyze nuclear genome size evolution in a phylogenetic framework,DNA contents of 134 accessions, representing all but one speciesof the barley genus Hordeum L., were measured by flow cytometry.The 2C DNA contents were in a range from 6.85 to 10.67 pg indiploids (2n = 14) and reached up to 29.85 pg in hexaploid species(2n = 42). The smallest genomes were found in taxa from theNew World, which became secondarily annual, whereas the largestdiploid genomes occur in Eurasian annuals. Genome sizes of polyploidtaxa equaled mostly the added sizes of their proposed progenitorsor were slightly (1% to 5%) smaller. The analysis of ancestralgenome sizes on the base of the phylogeny of the genus revealedlineages with decreasing and with increasing genome sizes. Correlationsof intraspecific genome size variation with the length of vegetationperiod were found in H. marinum populations from Western Europebut were not significant within two species from South America.On a higher taxonomical level (i.e., for species groups or theentire genus), environmental correlations were absent. Thiscould mostly be attributed to the superimposition of life-formchanges and phylogenetic constraints, which conceal ecogeographicalcorrelations.     

Mitochondrial DNA sequences of five squamates: phylogenetic affiliation of snakes.

Complete or nearly complete mitochondrial DNA sequences were determined from four lizards (Western fence lizard, Warren's spinytail lizard, Terrestrial arboreal alligator lizard, and Chinese crocodile lizard) and a snake (Texas blind snake). These genomes had a typical gene organization found in those of most mammals and fishes, except for a translocation of the glutamine tRNA gene in the blind snake and a tandem duplication of the threonine and proline tRNA genes in the spinytail lizard. Although previous work showed the existence of duplicate control regions in mitochondrial DNAs of several snakes, the blind snake did not have this characteristic. Phylogenetic analyses based on different tree-building methods consistently supported that the blind snake and a colubrid snake (akamata) make a sister clade relative to all the lizard taxa from six different families. An alternative hypothesis that snakes evolved from a lineage of varanoids was not favored and nearly statistically rejected by the Kishino-Hasegawa test. It is therefore likely that the apparent similarity of the tongue structure between snakes and varanoids independently evolved and that the duplication of the control region occurred on a snake lineage after divergence of the blind snake.     

Hemocytes/coelomocytes DNA content in five marine invertebrates: cell cycles and genome sizes

The hemocytes/coelomocytes DNA content in five selected marine invertebrates (sea mouse Aphrodita aculeata, spiny crab Maja crispata, sea star Echinaster sepositus, sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, and tunicate Phallusia mammillata) was investigated by flow cytometry. The cell cycle analyses identified sea mouse coelomocytes as proliferating cells and revealed that spiny crab hemocytes and sea urchin coelomocytes complete their division in the hemolymph and coelom, respectively. The genome sizes of sea mouse and spiny crab are reported for the first time. The diploid DNA content (2C) in sea mouse A. aculeate was 1.24 pg, spiny crab M. crispata 7.76 pg, red starfish E. sepositus 1.52 pg and sea urchin P. lividus 1.08 pg. The mean diploid DNA content in tunicate P. mammillata was 0.11 pg with a high interindividual variability (45%). The presented results provide a useful database for future studies in the field of invertebrate physiology, ecotoxicology, biodiversity, species conservation and phylogeny.     

Does the 43?bp sequence from an 800?000 year old Cretan dwarf elephantid really rewrite the textbook on mammoths?

Pigmy elephants inhabited the islands from the Mediterranean region during the Pleistocene period but became extinct in the course of the Holocene. Despite striking distinctive anatomical characteristics related to insularity, some similarities with the lineage of extant Asian elephants have suggested that pigmy elephants could be most probably seen as members of the genus Elephas. Poulakakis et al. (2006) have recently challenged this view by recovering a short mtDNA sequence from an 800 000 year old fossil of the Cretan pigmy elephant (Elephas creticus). According to the authors of this study, a deep taxonomic revision of Cretan dwarf elephants would be needed, as the sequence exhibits clear affinities with woolly mammoth haplotypes. However, we point here many aspects that seriously weaken the strength of the ancient DNA evidence reported.     

不同温度下酿酒酵母细胞分裂周期蛋白Cdc5在有丝分裂中的分子动力学研究

[目的] 探究不同温度下酿酒酵母细胞分裂周期蛋白Cdc5蛋白在有丝分裂中的分子动力学变化。[方法] 本研究以酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）为材料,采用活细胞成像的方法,探究Cdc5蛋白在不同温度下在酿酒酵母有丝分裂过程中的精细分子动力学变化;通过测量OD₅₉₅绘制生长曲线图,看其宏观的分裂情况是否与微观下Cdc5蛋白的分子动力学变化一致;利用流式细胞术检测细胞的细胞周期变化的情况。[结果] 在胞质分裂时,Cdc5蛋白从母细胞进入子细胞,并在芽颈处发生聚集。25℃条件下细胞中Cdc5蛋白在芽颈处的聚集时间长,37℃条件下Cdc5蛋白在芽颈处聚集时间短,两者间存在显著差异;但两个温度下,细胞中Cdc5蛋白的表达量没有显著性差异。同时,温度也会影响Cdc5蛋白在降解过程中的动力学行为,包括Cdc5蛋白在母细胞与子细胞中荧光强度峰值出现的次数和时间。生长曲线结果显示,酿酒酵母单一细胞分裂周期的变化影响了其宏观的细胞生长,且酵母分裂速度越快,子细胞长宽比越小;细胞周期结果表明,37℃下Cdc5蛋白的动力学变化与酿酒酵母细胞周期变化一致,酿酒酵母细胞周期从G₀/G₁期进入S期,亦加速了酿酒酵母的分裂。[结论] 本研究首次探究了不同温度下酿酒酵母有丝分裂中Cdc5蛋白的精细分子动力学及对应的酵母的宏观生长情况,结果表明温度会对Cdc5蛋白的动力学产生影响,且其精细分子动力学与酿酒酵母的分裂速度成正相关,该结果为进一步研究其在细胞有丝分裂中的功能提供了前期研究基础。     

PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS AND GENOME SIZE OF OSTREOCOCCUS TAURI (CHLOROPHYTA, PRASINOPHYCEAE)

Ostreococcus tauri Courties et Chrétiennot-Dinet is the smallest described autotrophic eukaryote dominating the phytoplanktonic assemblage of the marine Mediterranean Thau lagoon (France). Its taxonomic position was partly elucidated from ultrastructure and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HLPC) pigment analysis. The sequence analysis of the 18S rDNA gene of O. tauri measured here is available in EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (accession number: Y15814) and allowed to clarify its phylogenetic position. O. tauri belongs to the Prasinophyceae and appears very close to Mantoniella, a typical scaly Prasinophyceae, morphologically very different from the naked and coccoid Ostreococcus. An electrophoretic analysis of O. tauri shows that the nucleus contains 10.20 mbp. This small genome, fragmented into 14 chromosomes ranging in size from 300 to 1500 kbp, confirms the minimalist characteristics of Ostreococcus tauri.     

18S rDNA AND EVOLUTION IN THE DASYCLADALES (CHLOROPHYTA): MODERN LIVING FOSSILS1

Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from parsimony and distance analyses of nuclear small-subunit ribosomal DNA sequences taken from 14 species representing 8 of the 11 extant genera in the Dasycladales. Of 1733 aligned positions, 412 (23.8%) were variable and 251 (61%) of those were phylogenetically informative within the Dasycladales. Secondary structure was analyzed and taken into account during all phases of data analysis. Robustness of the trees was assessed using bootstrap analysis and g₁ statistics of tree-length decay. Strongly supported branches were robust to all methods of analysis regardless of weighting schemes used. The secondary structure of the 18S within the Dasycladales agrees with that of other green algae with the exception of a shared deletion in stemloop E10-1 (ca. 13 nucleotides long), which provides additional support for the uniqueness of this monophyletic group. A molecular clock was calibrated from the dasyclad fossil record and suggests a radiation of the Acetabulariaceae at 120 ± 30 million years (Ma) ago and the Dasycladaceae 215 ± 40 Ma ago. The split of the two lineages from a shared ancestor is estimated at 265 ± 50 Ma ago. Within the Dasycladaceae, Neomeris and Cymopolia are sister taxa, as are Batophora and Chlorocladus. Bornetella groups with the Neomeris and Cymopolia clade in 78% of the bootstrap replicates. Relationships among the Acetabulariaceae show that Acetabularia and Polyphysa do not form monophyletic groups as presently circumscribed. No evidence indicates that Acicularia is the oldest genus. Halicoryne, Chalmasia, and Dasycladus were not included in the analysis. Molecular data provide afresh background perspective from which to discuss the evolution of one of the most ancient lineages of green plants.