A human-specific subfamily of Alu sequences.

Of a total of 500,000 Alu family members, approximately 500 are present as a human-specific (HS) subfamily. Each of the HS subfamily members shares a high degree of nucleotide identity and is not present at orthologous positions in other primate genomes, suggesting that HS subfamily members have recently inserted within the human genome. This confirms the hypothesis that the majority of Alu family members are amplified copies of a "master" gene(s). This master gene appears to be amplifying at a rate much slower than that seen earlier in primate evolution. Some of the HS Alu subfamily members have amplified so recently that they are dimorphic in the human population, making them a potentially powerful tool for studies of human populations.     

Pseudomonas aeruginosa diaminopimelate decarboxylase: evolutionary relationship with other amino acid decarboxylases

The lysA gene encodes meso-diaminopimelate (DAP) decarboxylase (E.C.4.1.1.20), the last enzyme of the lysine biosynthetic pathway in bacteria. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the lysA gene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the lysA gene product revealed extensive similarity with the sequences of the functionally equivalent enzymes from Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum. Even though both P. aeruginosa and E. coli are Gram-negative bacteria, sequence comparisons indicate a greater similarity between enzymes of P. aeruginosa and the Gram- positive bacterium C. glutamicum than between those of P. aeruginosa and E. coli enzymes. Comparison of DAP decarboxylase with protein sequences present in data bases revealed that bacterial DAP decarboxylases are homologous to mouse (Mus musculus) ornithine decarboxylase (E.C.4.1.1.17), the key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis in mammals. On the other hand, no similarity was detected between DAP decarboxylases and other bacterial amino acid decarboxylases.      

Recognizing the forest for the trees: testing temporal patterns of cladogenesis using a null model of stochastic diversification

Computer simulations are developed and employed to examine the expected temporal distributions of nodes under a null model of stochastic lineage bifurcation and extinction. These Markovian models of phylogenetic process were constructed so as to permit direct comparisons against empirical phylogenetic trees generated from molecular or other information available solely from extant species. For replicate simulated phylads with n extant species, cumulative distribution functions (cdf's) of branching times were calculated, and compared (using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test statistic D) to those from three published empirical trees. Molecular phylogenies for columbine plants and avian cranes showed statistically significant departures from the null expectations, in directions indicating recent and ancient species' radiations, respectively, whereas a molecular phylogeny for the Drosophila virilis species group showed no apparent historical clustering of branching events. Effects of outgroup choice and phylogenetic frame of reference were investigated for the columbines and found to have a predictable influence on the types of conclusions to be drawn from such analyses. To enable other investigators to statistically test for nonrandomness in temporal cladogenetic pattern in empirical trees generated from data on extant species, we present tables of mean cdf's and associated probabilities under the null model for expected branching times in phylads of varying size. The approaches developed in this report complement and extend those of other recent methods for employing null models to assess the statistical significance of pattern in evolutionary trees.      

Allele frequencies of the human platelet antigen-1 in the Egyptian population

Background

We report the expression pattern of 5S rDNA in the eggs of water frogs Rana lessonae, Rana ridibunda and Rana esculenta using the quantitative real-time PCR. This kind of research had never been performed before.

Results

5S rDNA relative expression of the Rana ridibunda oocytes is approximately six times higher in comparison to the Rana lessonae oocytes. The oocytes of the investigated Rana esculenta frogs, in respect of 5S rDNA relative expression ratio, were very similar to the Rana ridibunda oocytes.

Conclusion

We suggest the possibility of using 5S rDNA as the internal control gene, in the studies of relative mRNA quantitative assays in water frog oocytes, because of its characteristic specific expression pattern in the Rana lessonae, Rana ridibunda and Rana esculenta oocytes.     

Spatial and temporal variation in invertebrate consumer diets in forested and herbaceous wetlands

Lake Kronotskoye (the Kronotsky Biosphere State Reserve, south-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula) contains three closely related resident morphotypes charrs, which are considered to be either independent species (white charr Salvelinus albus, longhead charr Salvelinus kronocius, Schmidt’s charr Salvelinus schmidti) or a united lacustrine-riverine charrs, represented by several phenotypes. Salvelinus malma malma is isolated from the lake charr populations by an upstream migration barrier in the Kronotskaya River, which flows out of the lake. We examined the level of genetic variability and divergence of mtDNA both between charrs from Kronotsky Lake and between resident lacustrine charrs and the hypothetical ancestor species S. m. malma. The RFLP-PCR analysis was used to examine six regions (ND1/ND2, ND3/ND4L/ND4, ND5/ND6, COI/COII/A8, A8/A6/COIII/ND3, and Cytb/D-loop), comprising ~80% of the mtDNA. Significantly different levels of diversity were found among the populations of lacustrine charrs. S. albus and S. schmidti had the highest indices of mtDNA diversity among the investigated populations from the different habitats. Heterogeneity tests revealed highly significant differentiation among lake populations and among riverine (Kronotskaya River) and lake (Lake Kronotskoye) populations of charrs, indicating their reproductive isolation. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance revealed the following regularities of diversity distribution: the high proportion of interpopulation variation (93.25%) and low but statistically significant subdivision between charr populations (6.75%, P < 0.001). Results of the present study suggest that the populations of S. albus, S. kronocius, S. schmidti belong to the S. m. malma phylogenetic group. The divergence value of mtDNA of resident charrs (0.0357–0.0010%) does not exceed the intraspecific variability of S. m. malma. The analysis of the mtDNA haplotypes genealogy of charrs showed that the low values of nucleotide divergence reflect a short period from the beginning of divergence from the ancestral lineages and are due to ancestral polymorphism, as well as to haplotype exchange between the diverged phylogenetic groups as a result of introgressive hybridization.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zygophiala</Emphasis> associated with the flyspeck complex on apple from China

Zygophiala qianensis is described as a new fungal species associated with the cuticle of apple fruit sampled from an orchard in Shaanxi Province, China. Conidiophores were separate, arising from superficial hyphae, erect, scattered, subcylindrical, irregularly flexuous, consisting of four parts: a hyaline supporting cell that gives rise to a smooth, dark brown stipe, terminating in a finely verruculose, medium brown apical cell that gives rise to (1–)2(–3) medium brown, finely verruculose, doliiform to ellipsoidal, polyblastic conidiogenous cells, with 1–2 prominent scars, apical and lateral, darkened, thickened. Conidia were solitary, fusiform to obclavate, hyaline, smooth and thick-walled, transversely (0–)1(–7)-septate, mostly 1–2-septate, prominently constricted at the septum; apex obtuse, base subtruncate, with a darkened, thickened hilum. Zygophiala qianensis is compared morphologically to other species of Zygophiala, and a phylogenetic analysis of their DNA sequence data is presented.