果蝇多线染色体β异染色质区的螺旋结构

从1973年发现核小体至今,研究者们对染色质纤维结构和这种纤维组织成染色体的方式进行了广泛而深入的研究.由DNA到核小体到30nm染色质纤维几乎公认是按螺旋方式集缩的,但是有关30nm 左右染色质纤维如何压缩形成染色体的高层次结构还没有统一的意见.     

果蝇多线染色体β异染色质区的螺旋结构（简报）

By using conventional electron microscopy, beta heterochromatin of polytene chromosome of Drosophila virilis was composed of 80-100nm chromonemas. Helical structures consisting of the 30nm chromatin fibres were identified in the chromonema. Based on these observations, the radial loop model and the multiple coiling model were discussed.     

玉米花粉单倍体植株染色体上异染色质的变异

我们用Giemsa BSG C-带技术检查了玉米花药培养获得的花粉单倍体植株根尖细胞染色体上异染色质的变异,观察结果表明,有的植株所显示的C-带数目是与供体植株的相一致,有的植株所显示的C-带数目则发生了显著变化,其中有的增加,有的减少。并讨论了异染色质发生变异的可能原因。还相应地观察到间期核中染色中心的变化是与中期染色体上C-带数目的变化相一致。     

人的Y染色体异染色质与形态生理学变异

对55名Y染色体具有形态上相同的、异染色质几乎全部缺失的男性和55名Y染色体正常的男性进行了80项形态生理学性状的研究。发现在这两个组之间大部分性状的平均值并无显著性差异,但有些血液学指标有显著差异。用模式认辨法确定出20个性状的组合可以区分这两个组,其认辨误差为4.6%。认辨系统包括的有价值的性状为心电图指标(占性状的25%)、某些人类学指标、血液学指标和个体年龄。结果表明,Y染色体异染色质可能在人的个体发育过程中对形态生理学性状间的表型关系起一种修饰作用。     

多线染色体

介绍了多线染色体形态结构,生理功能及多线染色体在生物的细胞遗传,昆虫的系统分类,遗传防治、基因图的筑建,特别是在遗传工程研究应用中的进展。     

人类Y染色体长臂异染色质区与鱼类基因组的比较分析

脊椎动物有一些共同特征,这些共有性状都是在漫长的进化历程中保留下来的,因而极具保守性.这种进化上性状的保守性反映了它们的基因组结构存在一定的保守性.人类和硬骨鱼类在进化地位上相差甚远,正因如此,它们基因组之间的保守结构才真实代表了脊椎动物进化的最本质特征.因此,以斑马鱼( Dario rerio )和河豚等鱼类模式物种与人类之间直接开展比较基因组研究是近年来的国际学术探讨热点之一(Amores et al .,1998; Meyer et al .,1998).     

小鼠生精细胞染色质与染色体构筑的扫描电镜研究(简报)

正常情况下,染色质和染色体在细胞内呈高度致密状态,在光镜和透射电镜下常呈浓染的斑块状。由于方法学上的困难,至今对染色质乃至染色体的微细结构,仍缺乏清楚的了解。特别是关于染色质如何凝缩形成染色体方面,现仍存在有争论。扫描电镜的冷冻割断技术,曾被用于对游离细胞间期核染色质的观察,并取得了较好的     

果蝇唾腺多线染色体研究进展及其在遗传学教学中的应用

果蝇唾腺多线染色体是细胞遗传学的3大经典染色体之一,从1934年至今因其具有显著的特点已经作为一个优异的模型用在不同的遗传学研究中。果蝇唾腺多线染色体最大的贡献就是为研究间期染色体结构和基因的表达调控提供了一个非凡的视角;另外,果蝇唾腺多线染色体还可以用于解释一些特殊的遗传现象,例如剂量补偿效应和花斑位置效应。文章一方面就以上进展作一简要总结,另一方面尝试将这一典型案例系统地用于遗传学教学中,引导和激发学生学习遗传学的兴趣。     

蚕豆染色体集缩和解集缩过程中的螺旋结构

运用常规电镜技术观察到,在有丝分裂前期的集缩过程中,蚕豆(Vicia faba)染色体横切面为直径约0.5μm的染色质纤维形成的环状结构;染色体纵切面上存在着平行排列的0.5μm染色质纤维,它们与染色体长轴所成的角度近似直角。通过立体电镜观察可清晰辨认出这些纤维盘绕成的螺旋结构。在有丝分裂末期至间期的解集缩过程中,染色体横切面由环形变为“C”形。这种“C”形构造显示了染色体螺旋结构的解螺旋过程。在染色体集缩和解集缩过程中均可观察到0.5μm染色质纤维和直径约0.2μm的染色质纤维。本文讨论了放射环模型和多级螺旋模型。     

THE GENETIC BASIS OF EVOLUTION OF THE MALE COURTSHIP SOUNDS IN THE DROSOPHILA VIRILIS GROUP

When courting, males of the Drosophila virilis group vibrate their wings and emit species-specific courtship sounds consisting of trains of polycyclic sound pulses. To analyze the genetic basis of evolutionary changes in the sounds we made an F₁ diallel set of reciprocal crosses between the members of the virilis phylad of the group (two stocks of D. virilis and one of D. americana americana, D. a. texana, D. novamexicana, and D. lummei). We also crossed the D. virilis stocks with the members of the montana phylad of the same group (D. kanekoi, D. littoralis, D. borealis, D. flavomontana, D. lacicola, and D. montana) and made a backcross (D. virilis x D. littoralis) x D. virilis using a D. virilis marker stock (b; sv t tb gp; cd; pe). The sounds of the hybrids were analyzed using the following parameters: the length of a pulse train (PTL), the number of pulses in a train (PN), the interpulse interval (IPI), the length of a pulse (PL), the number of cycles in a pulse (CN), and the length of a cycle (CL). In the virilis phylad, the differences between species appeared to be determined mainly by autosomal genes in each sound trait. The heritabilities (narrow-/broad-sense) obtained from the diallel tables were the following: PTL 0.662/0.817, PN 0.651/0.841, IPI 0.193/0.546, PL 0.408/0.552, CN 0.425/0.719, and CL 0.361/0.764. The direction of dominance is for longer PTL, higher PN and CN, and shorter IPI and CL. PL shows ambidirectional dominance. In the sounds of the virilis phylad species, PTL and PL seem to be phenotypically the most important parameters, since their components (PN and IPI for PTL, CN and CL for PL) are negatively correlated. In crosses between D. virilis and D. littoralis or D. flavomontana reciprocal hybrids differed from each other in PTL, IPI, PL, and CN indicating X-chromosomal or cytoplasmic inheritance. In the backcrosses between D. virilis and D. littoralis the role of the X chromosome was ascertained to be decisive. We conclude that an X-chromosomal major change allowing variation in IPI has occurred during the separation of the two D. virilis group phylads, the long IPI allowing variation also in PL (and CN). The evolution of the sounds in the virilis phylad has probably gone towards longer and denser pulse trains, while in the montana phylad the sounds have evolved in different directions.     

CHROMOSOMAL DIFFERENTIATIONS OF THE LAMPBRUSH TYPE FORMED BY THE Y CHROMOSOME IN DROSOPHILA HYDEI AND DROSOPHILA NEOHYDEI

The nuclei of growing spermatocytes in Drosophila hydei and D. neohydei are characterized by the appearance of phase-specific, paired, loop-shaped structures thought to be similar to the loops in lampbrush chromosomes of amphibian oocytes. In X/O-males of D. hydei spermatogenesis is completely blocked before the first maturation division. No spermatozoa are formed in such testes. In the nuclei of X/O-spermatocytes, paired loop formations are absent. This shows the dependence of these chromosomal functional structures upon the Y chromosome. The basis of this dependence could be shown through an investigation of males with two Y chromosomes. All loop pairs are present in duplicate in XYY males. This proves that the intranuclear formations are structural modifications of the Y chromosome itself. These functional structures are species-specific and characteristically different in Drosophila hydei and D. neohydei. Reciprocal species crosses and a backcross showed that the spermatocyte nuclei of all hybrid males possess the functional structures corresponding to the species which donated the Y chromosome. This shows that the morphological character of the functional structures is also determined by the Y chromosome.     

THE RELATION OF THE AGE OF THE FEMALE TO CROSSING OVER IN THE THIRD CHROMOSOME OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The four methods of examining the relation of amount of multiple crossing over to age of mothers agree in showing that the "internode length" or average distance required for double crossing over has changed in a characteristic fashion, giving an M-shaped curve. These changes have not been independent of changes in total recombination but concomitant with them. However, the changes in recombination percentages were far greater than could be accounted for by change in internode length, and the larger factor must be assumed to be changes in the coefficients of crossing over. The amounts of these changes are greatest for the mid-sections of the chromosome and least for the distal sections. The changes in the two limbs are of like amount for equal distances from the center of symmetry in the distribution of simple and multiple crossing over.     

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF POLYTENE NUCLEI ISOLATED FROM SALIVARY GLANDS OF DROSOPHILA HYDEI

Salivary gland nuclei of Drosophila hydei, isolated by a modification of the procedure described by Boyd et al. (9), retain their normal morphology during the isolation and subsequent incubation procedure. RNA synthesis was studied in isolated nuclei by biochemical and cytological techniques. In radioautographs 70% of the nuclei displayed a distribution of labeled RNA over the nuclear constituents similar to the distribution obtained after in vivo incorporation of radioactive precursor. Chromosome puffs and the nucleoli were specifically labeled. The remaining 30% of the nuclei showed a weak to very weak incorporation of radioactive precursor. In these nuclei most of the radioautographic grains were concentrated over the nucleolus, and a few grains were randomly distributed over the chromosomes. Actinomycin D and the absence of ATP, GTP, and CTP in the medium inhibited incorporation of radioactive precursor. The radioactive product was sensitive to combined pronase and RNase digestion. Addition of E. coli RNA polymerase to the incubation medium enhanced the specific labeling over the puffed regions. The sedimentation behavior of the RNA synthesized in isolated nuclei was different from that of RNA synthesized during a 20 min pulse of radioactive precursor administered to whole glands in vivo and in vitro. Neither the steroid ecdysterone nor a temperature treatment was effective in inducing new puffs in isolated nuclei.