Large multigene sequence alignments have over recent years been increasingly employed for phylogenomic reconstruction of the
eukaryote tree of life. Such supermatrices of sequence data are preferred over single gene alignments as they contain vastly
more information about ancient sequence characteristics, and are thus more suitable for resolving deeply diverging relationships.
However, as alignments are expanded, increasingly numbers of sites with misleading phylogenetic information are also added.
Therefore, a major goal in phylogenomic analyses is to maximize the ratio of information to noise; this can be achieved by
the reduction of fast evolving sites. 相似文献
Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides are a popular North American angling species that was introduced into South Africa in 1928. To enhance the largemouth bass fisheries, Florida bass Micropterus floridanus were introduced into KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, in 1980. Knowledge on the status of M. floridanus in South Africa is required, because it lives longer and reaches larger sizes than M. salmoides, which may result in heightened impacts on native biota. Because M. floridanus are morphologically similar, but genetically distinct from M. salmoides, the distribution of this species was assessed by genetically screening 185 Micropterus sp. individuals sampled from 20 localities across South Africa using the mitochondrial ND2 gene. Individuals with mitochondrial DNA matching M. salmoides were recovered from 16 localities, whereas M. floridanus mitochondrial DNA was recovered from 13 localities. At nine localities (45%), the mitochondrial DNA of both species was detected. These results demonstrate M. floridanus dispersal to multiple sites across South Africa. 相似文献
A characteristic feature of the sperm P1 protamines of eutherian mammals is
the constant presence of six to nine cysteine residues per molecule. During
spermiogenesis these residues become oxidized to form a three-dimensional
network of disulfide bridges between, and within, protamine molecules in
the sperm chromatin. This covalent cross linking strongly stabilizes
eutherian sperm nuclei. In contrast, protamines sequenced from teleost
fish, birds, monotremes, and marsupials all lack cysteine residues and
their sperm nuclei, without the stabilizing cross links, are easily
decondensed in vitro. We have now found that one genus of tiny, shrewlike
dasyurid marsupials, the Planigales, possess P1 protamines containing five
to six cysteine residues. These residues appear to have evolved since the
divergence of Planigales from other members of the family Dasyuridae, such
as the marsupial mouse, Sminthopsis crassicaudata. We believe this
constitutes a case of convergent evolution in a subfamily of dasyurid
marsupials toward the cysteine-rich eutherian form of sperm protamine P1.
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Zeta-crystallin/quinone reductase (CRYZ) is an NADPH oxidoreductase
expressed at very high levels in the lenses of two groups of mammals:
camelids and some hystricomorph rodents. It is also expressed at very low
levels in all other species tested. Comparative analysis of the mechanisms
mediating the high expression of this enzyme/crystallin in the lens of the
Ilama (Lama guanacoe) and the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) provided
evidence for independent recruitment of this enzyme as a lens crystallin in
both species and allowed us to elucidate for the first time the mechanism
of lens recruitment of an enzyme- crystallin. The data presented here show
that in both species such recruitment most likely occurred through the
generation of new lens promoters from nonfunctional intron sequences by the
accumulation of point mutations and/or small deletions and insertions.
These results further support the idea that recruitment of CRYZ resulted
from an adaptive process in which the high expression of CRYZ in the lens
provides some selective advantage rather than from a purely neutral
evolutionary process.
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Bicarbonate markedly enhances ethylene production from 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in model chemical systems where the conversion is free radical-mediated, in thylakoid membrane suspensions of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv Kinghorn where the reaction is light-dependent, and in microsomal membrane suspensions and intact tissues where the reaction is enzymically mediated. In two model systems generating free radicals—the Fenton reaction and a reaction mixture containing xanthine/xanthine oxidase, NaHCO3 (200 millimolar) increased the formation of ethylene from ACC by 84-fold and 54-fold, respectively. Isolated thylakoid membranes also proved capable of ACC-dependent ethylene production, but only upon illumination, and this too was enhanced by added NaHCO3. As well, light-induced inhibition of ACC-dependent ethylene production by leaf discs was relieved by adding 200 millimolar NaHCO3. Finally, NaHCO3 (200 millimolar) augmented ACC-dependent ethylene production from young carnation flowers by about 4-fold, and the conversions of ACC to ethylene by microsomes isolated from carnation flowers and etiolated pea epicotyls were higher by 1900 and 62%, respectively, in the presence of 200 millimolar NaHCO3.
This increased production of ethylene appears not to be due to bicarbonate or CO2-induced release of the gas from putative receptor sites, since the addition of NaHCO3 to sealed reaction mixtures after the ACC to ethylene conversion had been terminated had no effect. Spin-trapping studies have confirmed that bicarbonate does not facilitate the formation of free radicals thought to be involved in the conversion of ACC to ethylene. Nor did bicarbonate alter the physical properties of the membrane bilayer, which might indirectly modulate the activity of the membrane-associated enzyme capable of converting ACC to ethylene. Rather, bicarbonate appears to directly facilitate the conversion of ACC to ethylene, and the data are consistent with the view that CO2 derived from bicarbonate is the active molecular species.
Polar solvents induce terminal differentiation in the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60. The present studies describe the functional changes that accompany the morphologic progression from promyelocytes to bands and poly-morphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) over 9 d of culture in 1.3 percent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). As the HL-60 cells mature, the rate of O(2-) production increase 18-fold, with a progressive shortening of the lag time required for activation. Hexosemonophosphate shunt activity rises concomitantly. Ingestin of paraffin oil droplets opsonized with complement or Ig increases 10-fold over 9 d in DMSO. Latex ingestion per cell by each morphologic type does not change significantly, but total latex ingestion by groups of cells increases with the rise in the proportion of mature cells with greater ingestion capacities. Degranulation, as measured by release of β-glucuronidase, lysozyme, and peroxidase, reaches maximum after 3-6 d in DMSO, then declines. HL-60 cells contain no detectable lactoferrin, suggesting that their secondary granules are absent or defective. However, they kill staphylococci by day 6 in DMSO. Morphologically immature cells (days 1-3 in DMSO) are capable of O(2-) generation, hexosemonophosphate shunt activity, ingestion, degranulation, and bacterial killing. Maximal performance of each function by cells incubated in DMSO for longer periods of time is 50-100 percent that of normal PMN. DMSO- induced differentiation of HL-60 cells is a promising model for myeloid development. 相似文献
Limulus ventral photoreceptors were voltage clamped to the resting (dark) potential and stimulated by a 20-ms test flash and a 1-s conditioning flash. At a constant level of adaptation, we measured the response to the test flash given in the dark (control) and the incremental response produced when the test flash occurred within the duration of the conditioning flash. The incremental response is defined as the response to the conditioning and test flashes minus the response to the conditioning flash given alone. When the test flash was presented within 100 ms after the onset of the conditioning flash we observed that: (a) for dim conditioning flashes the incremental response equaled the control response; (b) for intermediate intensity conditioning flashes the incremental response was greater than the control response (we refer to this as enhancement); (c) for high intensity conditioning flashes the incremental response nearly equaled the control response. Using 10-μm diam spots of illumnination, we stimulated two spatially separate regions of one photoreceptor. When the test flash and the conditioning flash were presented to the same region, enhancement was present; but when the flashes were applied to separate regions, enhancement was nearly absent. This result indicates that enhancement is localized to the region of illumination. We discuss mechanisms that may account for enhancement. 相似文献
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the sedentary dog is able to autoregulate glucose production (R(a)) in response to non-insulin-induced changes (<20 mg/dl) in arterial glucose. Dogs had catheters implanted >16 days before study. Protocols consisted of basal (-30 to 0 min) and bilateral renal arterial phloridzin infusion (0-180 min) periods. Somatostatin was infused, and glucagon and insulin were replaced to basal levels. In one protocol (Phl +/- Glc), glucose was allowed to fall from t = 0-90 min. This was followed by a period when glucose was infused to restore euglycemia (90-150 min) and a period when glucose was allowed to fall again (150-180 min). In a second protocol (EC), glucose was infused to compensate for the renal glucose loss due to phloridzin and maintain euglycemia from t = 0-180 min. Arterial insulin, glucagon, cortisol, and catecholamines remained at basal in both protocols. In Phl +/- Glc, glucose fell by approximately 20 mg/dl by t = 90 min with phloridzin infusion. R(a) did not change from basal in Phl +/- Glc despite the fall in glucose for the first 90 min. R(a) was significantly suppressed with restoration of euglycemia from t = 90-150 min (P < 0.05) and returned to basal when glucose was allowed to fall from t = 150-180 min. R(a) did not change from basal in EC. In conclusion, the liver autoregulates R(a) in response to small changes in glucose independently of changes in pancreatic hormones at rest. However, the liver of the resting dog is more sensitive to a small increment, rather than decrement, in arterial glucose. 相似文献
The cDNAs encoding lactate dehydrogenase isozymes LDH-A (muscle) and LDH-B
(heart) from alligator and turtle and LDH-A, LDH-B, and LDH-C (testis) from
pigeon were cloned and sequenced. The evolutionary relationships among
vertebrate LDH isozymes were analyzed. Contrary to the traditional belief
that the turtle lineage branched off before the divergence between the
lizard/alligator and bird lineages, the turtle lineage was found to be
clustered with either the alligator lineage or the alligator-bird clade,
while the lizard lineage was found to have branched off before the
divergence between the alligator/turtle and bird lineages. The pigeon
testicular LDH-C isozyme was evidently duplicated from LDH-B (heart), so it
is not orthologous to the mammalian testicular LDH-C isozymes.
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