物种形成基因及其功能

什么是物种?新物种是如何形成的？这些问题是生命科学研究的重大问题.物种的形成是在生殖隔离的基础上某些新的生物学性状的形成和保留，是生物进化的最基本过程，其实质是基因结构突变的积累与功能的分化. 地理隔离使群体中的基因不能交流,基因突变也会影响个体间交配趣向，从而造成交配隔离或者交配后杂合体的基因组不亲和、杂交不育甚至杂交不活，使不同的群体逐渐分化为新物种. 随着分子生物学与基因组学的飞速发展，进化生物学家已经发现一些与物种形成有关的基因-物种形成基因（speciation genes），鉴定并了解这些基因的功能,不仅能使我们在分子水平上理解新物种形成的实质和规律、而且对于我们突破种间屏障进行远缘杂交育种也有重要的理论指导意义.本文综述了目前对几个物种形成基因及其功能的研究进展,为该领域的进一步研究提供资料.

The Speciation Genes and Their Functions

What are species? How do new species arise? These are fundamental questions in life science researches. Speciation is the elementary process in evolution, the formation and reservation of some new biological characters based on reproductive isolation. The essence of speciation is the accumulation of genetic variations and differentiation of gene function. Geographic barrier blocks gene flow among the isolated groups. Genetic variations also affect individuals mating discrimination and hence cause prezygotic mating isolation or the postzygotic genome incompatibilities and hybrid sterility even hybrid inviability, concomitantly, differentiation of strains and new species. The rapid development of the molecular biology and genomics enables the evolutionary biologists to identify those genes related speciation-speciation genes. Identification and unveiling the functions of the speciation genes not only make us understand the molecular mechanism underlying the speciation, but also is of great importance for crossbreeding by breaking the barriers of distant hybridization. This article classified and summarized several speciation genes and their functions for the further research in this field.