Effects of MEK inhibitor U0126 on meiotic progression in mouse oocytes： microtuble organization, asymmetric division and metaphase Ⅱ arrest

In this study we used U0126, a potent and specific inhibitor of MEK, to study the roles of MEK/ERK/p90~(rsk) signaling pathway in the meiotic cell cycle of mouse oocytes. The phosphorylation of MAP kinase and p90~(rsk) in the oocytes treated with 1.5 μM U0126 was the same as that in oocytes cultured in drug-free medium. With 1.5 μM U0126 treatment, the spindles appeared normal as they formed in oocytes, but failed to maintain its structure. Instead, the spindle lost one pole or elongated extraordinarily. After further culture, some oocytes extruded gigantic polar bodies (>30 μm) that later divided into two small ones. Some oocytes underwent symmetric division and produced two equal-size daughter cells in which normal spindles formed. In oocytes with different division patterns, MAP kinase was normally phosphorylated. When the concentration of U0126 was increased to 15 mM, the phosphorylation of both MAPK and p90~(rsk) were inhibited, while symmetric division was decreased. When incubating in medium c     

Selection,structure and the heritability of behaviour

Characters which are closely linked to fitness often have low heritabilities (V_A/V_P). Low heritabilities could be because of low additive genetic variation (V_A), that had been depleted by directional selection. Alternatively, low heritabilities may be caused by large residual variation (V_R=V_P – V_A) compounded at a disproportionately higher rate than V_A across integrated characters. Both hypotheses assume that each component of quantitative variation has an independent effect on heritability. However, V_A and V_R may also covary, in which case differences in heritability cannot be fully explained by the independent effects of elimination‐selection or compounded residual variation. We compared the central tendency of published behavioural heritabilities (mean=0.31, median=0.23) with morphological and life history data collected by 26 ). Average behavioural heritability was not significantly different from average life history heritability, but both were smaller than average morphological heritability. We cross‐classified behavioural traits to test whether variation in heritability was related to selection (dominance, domestic/wild) or variance compounding (integration level). There was a significant three‐way interaction between indices of selection and variance compounding, related to the absence of either effect at the highest integration level. At lower integration levels, high dominance variance indicated effects of selection. It was also indicated by the low CV_A of domestic species. At the same time CV_R increased disproportionately faster than CV_A across integration levels, demonstrating variance compounding. However, neither CV_R nor CV_A had a predominant effect on heritability. The partial regression coefficients of CV_R and CV_A on heritability were similar and a path analysis indicated that their (positive) correlation was also necessary to explain variation in heritability. These results suggest that relationships between additive genetic and residual components of quantitative genetic variation can constrain their independent direct effects on behavioural heritability.     

Quantitative genetics of oviposition behaviour and interactions among oviposition traits in the sand cricket

We performed a quantitative genetic study of oviposition behaviours and oviposition traits in the sand cricket Gryllus firmus. Egg survival in crickets depends on the depth at which they are inserted into the soil with the ovipositor. We examined whether egg depth depends on ovipositor length alone, or on both morphological and behavioural traits associated with oviposition. Heritability estimates were high (h² >0.5) for ovipositor length and small (h²=0.2) for oviposition behaviours. Negative genetic correlations between ovipositor length and some behavioural traits (digging depth and the behavioural component of egg depth) indicated compensation between oviposition traits on egg depth. Because of behavioural compensation, females with different ovipositor lengths subject to stabilizing selection on egg depth could have equal fitnesses. Females laid their eggs deeper, and their eggs were marginally more evenly distributed in dry than in wet sand. This suggests adaptive phenotypic plasticity in laying behaviour, but may also result from physical constraints of the substrate on the insertion of the ovipositor. The absence of significant between-family variation in oviposition traits in response to sand moisture indicates low evolutionary potential for phenotypic plasticity in oviposition traits according to soil moisture. In highly unpredictable environments, females could spread the risk of desiccation by laying eggs at different depths independently of environmental conditions (bet hedging). Our results show significant additive genetic influences on the ability of a female to spread risks as measured by genetic variation in egg distribution, suggesting that a bet-hedging strategy of egg laying has the potential to evolve in this population. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.     

安徽大别山木本植物幼树小枝薄壁组织组成特征初探

木本植物次生木质部轴向薄壁组织和射线薄壁组织在物质存储和转运等功能中起着重要的作用, 剖析次生木质部薄壁组织组成有助于深入探究其功能, 而小枝木质部薄壁组织组成特征还缺乏研究。该研究以天马国家级自然保护区内的18种木本植物幼树为研究对象, 测算了各物种小枝木质部薄壁组织的组成含量并检测了其谱系信号, 结合有关树干薄壁组织含量数据集, 初步探讨木本植物小枝木质部薄壁组织含量特征。研究结果表明: (1) 18种木本植物幼树小枝的薄壁组织总含量为9.96%-18.56%, 平均为14.80%; 其中射线薄壁组织含量为7.74%-15.45%, 高于轴向薄壁组织的含量(1.13%-7.49%); (2)小枝中薄壁组织总含量呈低于树干的趋势, 其中小枝射线薄壁组织含量低于树干, 而轴向薄壁组织含量高于树干, 这可能是由器官差异和生活史阶段差异造成的; (3)轴向薄壁组织的含量具有显著的谱系信号, 即物种亲缘关系越近其含量越相近。该研究初步验证了木本植物次生木质部薄壁组织的谱系信号, 同时暗示了器官和生活史阶段差异对薄壁组织含量具有重要影响。     

Evolutionary potential of thermal preference and heat tolerance in Drosophila subobscura

Evolutionary change of thermal traits (i.e., heat tolerance and behavioural thermoregulation) is one of the most important mechanisms exhibited by organisms to respond to global warming. However, the evolutionary potential of heat tolerance, estimated as narrow‐sense heritability, depends on the methodology employed. An alternative adaptive mechanism to buffer extreme temperatures is behavioural thermoregulation, although the association between heat tolerance and thermal preference is not clearly understood. We suspect that methodological effects associated with the duration of heat stress during thermal tolerance assays are responsible for missing this genetic association. To test this hypothesis, we estimated the heritabilities and genetic correlations for thermal traits in Drosophila subobscura, using high‐temperature static and slow ramping assays. We found that heritability for heat tolerance was higher in static assays (h² = 0.134) than in slow ramping assays (h² = 0.084), suggesting that fast assays may provide a more precise estimation of the genetic variation of heat tolerance. In addition, thermal preference exhibited a low heritability (h² = 0.066), suggesting a reduced evolutionary response for this trait. We also found that the different estimates of heat tolerance and thermal preference were not genetically correlated, regardless of how heat tolerance was estimated. In conclusion, our data suggest that these thermal traits can evolve independently in this species. In agreement with previous evidence, these results indicate that methodology may have an important impact on genetic estimates of heat tolerance and that fast assays are more likely to detect the genetic component of heat tolerance.     

THE EVOLUTION OF WING DIMORPHISM IN INSECTS

Wing-dimorphic insects are excellent subjects for a study of the evolution of dispersal since the nondispersing brachypterous morph is easily recognized. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework within which the evolution of wing dimorphism can be understood. A review of the literature indicates that the presence or absence of wings may be controlled by a single locus, two-allele genetic system or a polygenic system. Both types of inheritance can be subsumed within a general threshold model. An increase in the frequency of a brachypterous morph in a population may result from an increased relative fitness of this morph or the emigration of the macropterous type. The abundance of wing-polymorphic species argues for an increased fitness of the brachypterous form. An analysis of the life-history characteristics of 22 species of insects indicates that the brachypterous morph is both more fecund and reproduces earlier that the macropterous morph. Unfortunately, data on males are generally lacking. It is suggested that suppression of wing production results when some hormone, perhaps juvenile hormone, exceeds a threshold value during a critical stage of development. Further, it is known that in the monomorphically winged species Oncopeltus fasciatus both flight and oviposition are regulated by the titer of juvenile hormone. These observations are used to construct a possible pathway for the evolution of wing dimorphism. This suggests that evolution to a dimorphic species requires both an increase in the rate of production of the wing suppressing hormone and a change in the threshold level at which wing and wing-muscle production are suppressed. The stage in this evolutionary sequence that an organism will reach depends on the stability of the habitat.     

Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in the spruce budworm species complex (Choristoneura: Lepidoptera)

A combination of polymerase-chain-reaction amplification and automated DNA sequencing was used to survey variation in a species complex of pest insects, the spruce budworms (Choristoneura fumiferana species group), and an outgroup species, C. rosaceana. We sequenced an mtDNA region of 1,573 bp that extends from the middle of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) through tRNA leucine (UUR) to the end of cytochrome oxidase subunit II. In addition, we examined levels of intraspecific variation within a 470-bp region of the COI gene. Choristoneura fumiferana clearly represented the oldest lineage within its species group, with 2.7%-2.9% sequence divergence from the other species. In contrast, the four remaining species (C. pinus, C. biennis, C. occidentalis, and C. orae) had closely related or identical mtDNA, with < 1% divergence among most of their haplotypes. Despite its older lineage and widespread geographic distribution, C. fumiferana showed significantly lower intraspecific genetic diversity than did C. occidentalis. Choristoneura orae shared haplotypes with C. occidentalis and C. biennis, and species-level separation of these three species was not supported. Two divergent, uncommon haplotypes were also found in C. occidentalis and C. biennis. The divergent haplotype in C. biennis had an unusually high number of inferred amino acid replacements, suggesting selective differences between mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Transition:transversion ratios in Choristoneura paralleled those found in Drosophila; transition:transversion ratios were highest in closely related sequences but decreased with increasing sequence divergence. Nucleotide composition showed an A+T bias that was near the high end of the range known for insects. This work illustrates the potential utility of direct DNA sequencing in assessing population structures, species limits, and phylogenetic relationships among organisms that have not previously been subjected to DNA analysis.      

酿酒酵母芳樟醇耐受性的工程改造

【背景】芳樟醇具有特殊的香气和多种生物学活性,是食品、医药和化妆品行业的重要原料。随着合成生物学的高速发展,代谢改造微生物进行芳樟醇生物合成是当前研究的一大热点。然而在微生物的生物合成中,芳樟醇对底盘细胞的毒性是一大瓶颈问题,也是其他单萜物质生物合成的共性问题。【目的】建立合理的耐受性改造方法,以提高微生物宿主细胞对芳樟醇的耐受性。【方法】以酿酒酵母BY4741为研究对象,通过对ABC转运蛋白、活性氧调控相关酶及转录调控因子的过表达,考察它们对酿酒酵母芳樟醇耐受性的影响,并通过对酿酒酵母细胞进行定向驯化,筛选耐受性提高的酿酒酵母突变株。【结果】单独过表达ABC转运蛋白(Yor1、Snq2、Pdr5、Pdr15和Pdr18)、ROS调控相关酶(Gre2、Ctt1、Yhb1、Gpx2、Trr1、Trx2和Gsh2)及转录调控因子(Ino2、Yap1、Yap5和Stb5)并不能有效提高酿酒酵母的耐受性,但在传代适应性驯化过程中获得了两株耐受性提高的酿酒酵母突变株,将芳樟醇的致死浓度从430mg/L提高到了645mg/L以上。进一步通过基因组重测序分析揭示了驯化菌株突变位点。其中YBR074W...