Different expression patterns of duplicated PHANTASTICA-like genes in Lotus japonicus suggest their divergent functions during compound leaf development

Recent studies on leaf development demonstrate that the mechanism on the adaxial-abaxial polarity pattern formation could be well conserved among the far-related species, in which PHANTASTICA （PAHN）-Iike genes play important roles. In this study, we explored the conservation and diversity on functions of PHAN-Iike genes during the compound leaf development in Lotusjaponicus, a papilionoid legume. Two PHAN-Iike genes in L. japonicus, LjPHANa and LjPHANb, were found to originate from a gene duplication event and displayed different expression patterns during compound leaf development. Two mutants, reduced leafletsl （rell） and reduced leaflets3 （rel3）, which exhibited decreased adaxial identity of leaflets and reduced leaflet initiation, were identified and investigated. The expression patterns of both LjPHANs in rel mutants were altered and correlated with abnormalities of compound leaves. Our data suggest that LjPHANa and LjPHANb play important but divergent roles in regulating adaxial-abaxial polarity of compound leaves in L. japonicus.     

两种蛙Sox基因的PCR-SSCP分析

采用PCR技术,以参考人SRI,基因HMG-box的保守区序列而设计一对特异引物,扩增了黑斑蛙和金线蛙的Sox基因。结果两种蛙的雌雄个体均扩增出217bp的基因片段,与人对照相同。对扩增产物进行SSCP分析显示,两种蛙雌雄个体间的单链迁移率相同,两种蛙之间差异较小,而与人有较大差异。测序表明,两种蛙的Sox序列之间以及与各类物种的Sox基因都有非常高的相似性,充分显示出Sox基因在系统进化上的高度保守性。     

Association between VDR ApaI Polymorphism and Hip Bone Mineral Density Can Be Modified by Body Mass Index： A Study on Postmenopausal Chinese Women

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem for old people. Genetic factors are considered to be major contributors to the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is a prominent candidate gene for the regulation of postmenopausal bone mass; however, despite extensive studies, controversy remains regarding its association with postmenopausal body mineral density (BMD) variation. In this study, a total of 260 healthy postmenopausal Chinese women were genotyped at the VDR ApaI locus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Raw hip BMD was significantly associated with VDR ApaI polymorphism with and without adjusting for age (P=0.015 and 0.040, respectively). This genetic effect can explain 3.32% of hip BMD variation. However, the significant association vanished after correcting for both age and body mass index (BMI) (P=0.169). In addition, we observed a significant association between VDR ApaI polymorphism with unadjusted BMI(P=0.042) or BMI adjusted for age (P=0.049). The raw hip BMD was also found to be significantly correlated with BMI (r=0.517, P=0.0001), with BMI explaining 26.35% of the variation of hip BMD. All of these facts prompt us to conclude that the significant association between the VDR ApaI genotype and hip BMD may be modified by BMI in postmenopausal Chinese women. Our findings may partially explain the earlier inconsistent association results concerning the VDR gene and BMD, and highlight the importance of incorporating covariates such as BMI into osteoporosis association studies.     

系统发生分析发现牛病毒性腹泻病病毒新基因亚型

本研究对我国首次分离获得的牛源牛病毒性腹泻病毒(BVDV)毒株Changchun 184(CC-184)和猪源牛病毒性腹泻病毒ZM-95进行了遗传衍化关系研究.选择主要抗原E2基因为研究对象,首先应用RT-PCR及套式PCR克隆得到CC-184和ZM-95的E2片段,通过序列测定发现CC-184和ZM-95 E2基因长度分别为1,122bp和1,125bp,各自编码374和375个氨基酸残基.核酸序列同源性比较和系统发生分析表明2株病毒均属于BVDV-1,CC-184与Osloss亲缘关系最近,都属于已有的b基因亚型,其E2基因同源性达91.8%.而ZM-95的E2基因有一个特征性的变异区,包含一个密码子序列插入,这一变异区编码了一段有别于其他瘟病毒的五肽氨基酸序列HYKKK.结果还表明ZM-95与BVDV-1现有的5个基因亚型的亲缘关系均较远,E2基因同源性最高(与Oregonc24v)只有72.4%.而BVDV 1亚型内毒株间的同源性大于85%,亚型间的同源性在69%～75%之间,充分说明ZM-95是BVDV-1中一个新发现的基因亚型.通常认为猪源BVDV来源于牛,应该与牛源BVDV有十分近的遗传关系,但是本研究发现ZM-95与其他已知牛源BVDV较低的基因同源性说明猪源BVDV还具有独立的遗传衍化与传播来源的可能性.