When is incomplete epigenetic resetting in germ cells favoured by natural selection?

Resetting of epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, in germ cells or early embryos is not always complete. Epigenetic states may therefore persist, decay or accumulate across generations. In spite of mounting empirical evidence for incomplete resetting, it is currently poorly understood whether it simply reflects stochastic noise or plays an adaptive role in phenotype determination. Here, we use a simple model to show that incomplete resetting can be adaptive in heterogeneous environments. Transmission of acquired epigenetic states prevents mismatched phenotypes when the environment changes infrequently relative to generation time and when maternal and environmental cues are unreliable. We discuss how these results may help to interpret the emerging data on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in plants and animals.     

PcG蛋白在干细胞调控中的作用

PcG (polycomb group)蛋白作为一种表观遗传修饰系统,在动物和植物中具有 保守性.从功能上讲,PcG蛋白可以分为PRC1（polycomb repressive complex 1）和 PRC2（polycomb repressive complex 2）两个核心蛋白复合体. PRC2含有组蛋白甲 基化酶的活性,而PRC1在泛素连接酶E3介导的组蛋白泛素化中发挥作用,二者通过对 组蛋白的修饰控制靶基因转录. 近来研究表明,PcG蛋白对干细胞数量维持和命运转变 有重要的调控作用,其成员表达失调或缺失导致许多恶性肿瘤的发生或导致植物细胞 丧失分化能力、形成愈伤组织. 本文简要综述了PcG蛋白的组成及其在干细胞调控中 的作用.     

Environmental effects on the detection of adaptation

Detecting adaptation involves comparing the performance of populations evolving in different environments. This detection may be confounded by effects due to the environment experienced by organisms prior to the test. We tested whether such confounding effects occur, using spider-mite selection lines on two novel hosts and one ancestral host, after 15 generations of selection. Mites were either sampled directly from the selection lines or subjected to a common juvenile or to a common maternal environment, mimicking the most frequent environmental manipulations. These environments strongly affected all life-history traits. Moreover, the detection of adaptation and correlated responses on the ancestral host was inconsistent among environments in almost 20% of the cases. Indeed, we did not detect responses unambiguously for any life-history trait. This inconsistency was due to differential environmental effects on lines from different selection regimes. Therefore, the detection of adaptation requires a careful control of these environmental effects.     

Evolution of adaptive phenotypic traits without positive Darwinian selection

Recent evidence suggests the frequent occurrence of a simple non-Darwinian (but non-Lamarckian) model for the evolution of adaptive phenotypic traits, here entitled the plasticity-relaxation-mutation (PRM) mechanism. This mechanism involves ancestral phenotypic plasticity followed by specialization in one alternative environment and thus the permanent expression of one alternative phenotype. Once this specialization occurs, purifying selection on the molecular basis of other phenotypes is relaxed. Finally, mutations that permanently eliminate the pathways leading to alternative phenotypes can be fixed by genetic drift. Although the generality of the PRM mechanism is at present unknown, I discuss evidence for its widespread occurrence, including the prevalence of exaptations in evolution, evidence that phenotypic plasticity has preceded adaptation in a number of taxa and evidence that adaptive traits have resulted from loss of alternative developmental pathways. The PRM mechanism can easily explain cases of explosive adaptive radiation, as well as recently reported cases of apparent adaptive evolution over ecological time.     

海岸不同坡向滨麦光合特性与风速异质环境的关系

在自然条件下,测定分析了夏季和秋季静风天及秋季大风天,海岸沙丘不同坡向环境因子及滨麦株高、叶片叶绿素含量、土壤含水量和光合日变化特性,以期明晰滨麦响应不同风速环境的生理调控机理。结果表明,不同坡向环境异质性明显,滨麦形态可塑性强。海岸迎风坡风大、温度低、湿度大,滨麦植株低矮、叶绿素含量较高;背风坡温度高、土壤干旱、空气流动差,滨麦植株高大,叶绿素含量低。在夏秋季静风天,迎风坡和背风坡滨麦叶片Pn出现光合\"午休\"现象,但迎风坡滨麦日均Gs、Tr、Pn均显著高于背风坡;而在秋季大风天,迎风坡和背风坡滨麦叶片Pn\"午休\"现象消失,并且背风坡滨麦日均Pn、Tr、Gs均显著高于迎风坡滨麦。同坡向相比,秋季大风天迎风坡滨麦日均Pn、Tr、Gs明显较秋季静风天低,而背风坡滨麦日均叶片Pn、Tr、Gs却较静风天分别增高126%、66.3%、134%。强海风吹袭引发迎风坡温度降低、滨麦叶片摇摆、气孔导度降低导致Pn下降,而强海风使背风坡空气流动加快、温度降低、气孔导度增大、\"午休\"消失使Pn增高。不同坡向滨麦对不同海风风速的适应表现出明显的光合生理可塑性,它在滨麦适应不同风力、提高其光合速率和增加物质积累上具有重要作用。而滨麦的形态和光合生理可塑性可能是其在不同海风强度下生存、生长、实现种群扩张的重要生理调控机理,这一特性在未来作物、牧草和树木抗风、抗盐育种中具有重要应用价值。     

The Biology of Invasions: The Genetic Adaptation Paradox

One of the most relevant topics in the biology of invasion concerns the genetic changes that occur subsequent to a species invasion, an issue of particular focus among conservation biologists. Colonizing a novel environment presents a genetic challenge to invading species because such species surely have not experienced the selective pressures presented by the environment. Here we ask, by what mechanisms and processes do alien species genetically naïve to their new environment, become successful invaders? We attempt to resolve this paradox by considering the interplay between an invader’s ability to modify its new environment, and genetic modifications imposed by the new environment. We postulate that epigenetic adaptations, and adaptive mutations are likely play a role in enhancing invasion success.     

Generality and characteristics of genetic and epigenetic changes in newly synthesized allotetraploid wheat lines

Previous studies have shown rapid and extensive genomic instability associated with early stages of allopolyploidization in wheat.However, these studies are based on either a few pre-selected genomic loci or genome-wide analysis of a single plant individual for a given cross combination, thus making the extent and generality of the changes uncertain.To further study the generality and characteristics of allopolyploidization-induced genomic instability in wheat, we investigated genetic and epigenetic changes from a genome-wide perspective (by using the AFLP and MSAP markers) in four sets of newly synthesized allotetraploid wheat lines with various genome constitutions, each containing three randomly chosen individual plants at the same generation.We document that although general chromosomal stability was characteristic of all four sets of allotetraploid wheat lines, genetic and epigenetic changes at the molecular level occurred in all these plants, with both kinds of changes classifiable into two distinct categories, i.e., stochastic and directed.The abundant type of genetic change is loss of parental bands while the prevalent cytosine methylation pattern alteration is hypermethylation at the CHG sites.Our results have extended previous studies regarding allopolyploidization-induced genomic dynamics in wheat by demonstrating the generality of both genetic and epigenetic changes associated with multiple nascent allotetraploid wheat lines, and providing novel insights into the characteristics of the two kinds of induced genomic instabilities.     

Epigenetic variation contributes to environmental adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana

Epigenetic variation is frequently observed in plants and direct relationships between differences in DNA methylation and phenotypic responses to changing environments have often been described. The identification of contributing genetic loci, however, was until recently hampered by the lack of suitable genome wide mapping resources that specifically segregate for epigenetic marks. The development of epi-RIL populations in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana has alleviated this obstacle, enabling the accurate genetic analysis of epigenetic variation. Comprehensive morphological phenotyping of a ddm1 derived epi-RIL population in different environments and subsequent epi-QTL mapping revealed a high number of epi-QTLs and pleiotropic effects of several DMRs on numerous traits. For a number of these epi-QTLs epistatic interactions could be observed, further adding to the complexity of epigenetic regulation. Moreover, linkage to epigenetic marks indicated a specific role for DNA-methylation variation, rather than TE transposition, in plastic responses to changing environments. These findings provide supportive evidence for a role of epigenetic regulation in evolutionary and adaptive processes.     

PcG蛋白复合体对Hox基因调节的研究

PcG蛋白广泛参与到生长、发育、增殖、分化以及肿瘤发生等重要过程.而目前为止对PcG蛋白的靶基因研究最透彻的就是Hox家族. Hox基因存在于一个高度保守的基因簇内,在调控维持正常发育及肿瘤发生中有重要作用.一般认为,PcG蛋白复合物对Hox基因进行以组蛋白表观修饰为主的沉默作用,指导Hox基因适时适地发挥功能. 同时,这个过程还需要DNA连接蛋白、ncRNA等分子的辅助.本文对Hox基因和PcG蛋白的组成和功能进行介绍,并重点归纳总结了对二者关系的经典和最新认识.     

Integration of Plasticity Mechanisms within a Single Sensory Neuron of C. elegans Actuates a Memory

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