CONSERVATION OF MOLECULAR PREPATTERNS DURING THE EVOLUTION OF CUTICLE MORPHOLOGY IN DROSOPHILA LARVAE

We are using patterns of cuticle specialization in Drosophila larvae as models to investigate the molecular, genetic, and developmental bases of morphological evolution. Members of the virilis species group differ markedly from one another in the distribution of hairs on the dorsal surface of first instar larvae. In particular, characteristic bands of hairs cover about 20% of each trunk segment in some species but about 70% in others. These major types do not correlate with recently proposed phylogenetic relationships, suggesting that similar phenotypes have arisen independently in different lineages. The patterns of expression of several genes that control or reflect intrasegmental patterning are indistinguishable in species with very different cuticle morphologies. We conclude that, in this case, morphology probably has evolved via altered response to a conserved molecular prepattern.     

利用酵母菌生产有机酸的研究进展

有机酸是含有一种或多种低分子量酸性基团(如羧基、磺酸基)的可生物合成的有机化合物,广泛应用于食品、农业、医药、生物基材料工业等领域。酵母菌具有生物安全、抗逆性强、底物谱广泛、方便遗传改造,以及大规模培养技术成熟等独特优点,因此利用酵母菌生产有机酸的研究日益受到国内外学者的关注。目前利用酵母生产有机酸还存在浓度低、副产物多,以及发酵效率低等缺陷。随着酵母菌代谢工程和合成生物学技术的发展,利用酵母菌生产有机酸取得了快速进展。本文总结了利用酵母合成11种有机酸的研究,包括内源和异源合成的大宗羧酸和高价值有机酸,并对该领域的未来研究方向进行了展望。     

The α2(XI) collagen gene lies within 8 kb of Pb in the proximal portion of the murine major histocompatibility complex

A number of serious hereditary disorders are now known to be associated with defective expression of collagen genes, and these findings have underscored the important and varied roles that the collagen family of genes must play during normal mammalian development. Although the activities of genes encoding the quantitatively major types of collagen are fairly well characterized, functions of the many minor types of collagen remain a matter of speculation. As a first step toward a functional analysis of type XI collagen, a member of this class of poorly understand minor collagen proteins which is expressed primarily in hyaline cartilage, we have used human probes for the gene encoding the protein's 2-subunit (COL11A2) to isolate and map homologous murine DNA sequences. Our results demonstrate that Col11a-2 is embedded within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), within 8.4 kb of the class II pseudogene locus, Pb, and confirm that human and murine 2(XI) collagen genes are located in very similar genomic environments. The conserved location of these genes raises the possibility that type XI collagen genes may contribute to one or more of the diverse hereditary disorders known to be linked to the MHC in mouse and human.     

Terpenoids and Their Possible Role in Defense Against a Fungal Pathogen Alternaria tenuissima in Chrysanthemum morifolium Cultivars

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Terpenoids are a class of structurally diverse natural products involved in various plant biological processes. Their primary function is believed to provide...     

Poplar (Populus nigra L.) plants transformed with aBacillus thuringiensis toxin gene: insecticidal activity and genomic analysis

Insect-resistant poplar (Populus nigra L.) plants have been produced by infecting leaves withAgrobacterium tumefaciens strains carrying a binary vector containing different truncated forms of aBacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) toxin gene under a duplicated CaMV 35S promoter. Putative transgenic plants were propagated by cuttings at two experimental farms (in Beijing and Xinjiang, China). At 2–3 years after transformation, 17 of them were selected on the bases of insect-tolerance and good silvicultural traits, and evaluated for insect resistance, for the presence of theB.t. toxin DNA fragment (Southern blots and PCR) and for the expression of the transgene (western and northern blots). Somaclonal variation, as suggested by the appearance of permanent changes in the shape of the leaves, was also investigated with molecular tools (RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism), RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) and microsatellite DNA).Bioassays withApochemia cineraius andLymantria dispar on the leaves of the selected clones showed different and, in some cases, high levels of insecticidal activity. The molecular analysis demonstrated integration and expression of the foreign gene. Somatic changes were correlated to extensive genomic changes and were quantified in dendrograms, in terms of genomic similarity. The analysis of control plants suggested that genomic changes were correlated to thein vitro culture step necessary forA. tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer, rather than to the integration of the foreign genes.Three transgenic clones (12, 153 and 192), selected for insect resistance, reduced morphological changes and promising silvicultural traits, are now under large-scale field evaluation in six different provinces in China.