Home About us Contact | |||
Genes Common (gene + common)
Selected AbstractsAnalysis of a Leptospira interrogans locus containing DNA replication genes and a new IS, IS1502FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2002R.L. Zuerner Abstract A region of the Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona genome encoding DNA replication genes was characterized. This region, designated the ppa-ntrC locus, includes 19 open reading frames and a new insertion sequence, IS1502. Although this locus resembles replication origins from many eubacteria, it lacks several genes common to homologous loci. Some replication-related genes were previously located near rrf, and may have been moved to that location by homologous recombination between short sequence elements common to both loci. Further analysis showed that the ppa-ntrC region has undergone substantial change during spirochete evolution. Transcription analysis using RT-PCR revealed uniquely organized polycistronic mRNAs in the ppa-ntrC locus. The dnaN and recF intergenic region of serovar pomona was different from the homologous sites of 41 L. interrogans serovars by the presence of IS1502. The distribution of IS1502 throughout pathogenic Leptospira species varies. This result suggests that IS1502 may have been recently introduced into Leptospira. [source] The mitochondrial genome of the bristletail Petrobius brevistylis (Archaeognatha: Machilidae)INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006L. Podsiadlowski Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of the bristletail Petrobius brevistylis has been determined. The genome is 15 698 bp long and bears the standard set of genes common to all arthropods as well as a major non-coding A + T-rich region, the putative mitochondrial control region. A unique gene order was revealed as it differs from other hexapod and crustacean mitochondrial genomes in the position of tRNA-Tyr. Genome features like nucleotide composition and codon usage are compared with that of other insect taxa. A + T content is similar in species of Archaeognatha and Zygentoma, but obviously lower than in Collembola and Pterygota. This A + T bias significantly affects also amino acid frequencies and may be a problem for phylogenetic analyses. [source] Mutational changes in S-cone opsin genes common to both nocturnal and cathemeral Aotus monkeysAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2007David H. Levenson Abstract Aotus is a platyrrhine primate that has been classically considered to be nocturnal. Earlier research revealed that this animal lacks a color vision capacity because, unlike all other platyrrhine monkeys, Aotus has a defect in the opsin gene that is required to produce short-wavelength sensitive (S) cone photopigment. Consequently, Aotus retains only a single type of cone photopigment. Other mammals have since been found to show similar losses and it has often been speculated that such change is in some fashion tied to nocturnality. Although most species of Aotus are indeed nocturnal, recent observations show that Aotus azarai, an owl monkey species native to portions of Argentina and Paraguay, displays a cathemeral activity pattern being active during daylight hours as frequently as during nighttime hours. We have sequenced portions of the S-cone opsin gene in A. azarai and Aotus nancymaae, the latter a typically nocturnal species. The S-cone opsin genes in both species contain the same fatal defects earlier detected for Aotus trivirgatus. On the basis of the phylogenetic relationships of these three species these results imply that Aotus must have lost a capacity for color vision early in its history and they also suggest that the absence of color vision is not compulsively linked to a nocturnal lifestyle. Am. J. Primatol. 69:757,765, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Gene expression profiling differentiates autism case,controls and phenotypic variants of autism spectrum disorders: evidence for circadian rhythm dysfunction in severe autismAUTISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009Valerie W. Hu Abstract Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by delayed/abnormal language development, deficits in social interaction, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. The heterogeneity in clinical presentation of ASD, likely due to different etiologies, complicates genetic/biological analyses of these disorders. DNA microarray analyses were conducted on 116 lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) from individuals with idiopathic autism who are divided into three phenotypic subgroups according to severity scores from the commonly used Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised questionnaire and age-matched, nonautistic controls. Statistical analyses of gene expression data from control LCL against that of LCL from ASD probands identify genes for which expression levels are either quantitatively or qualitatively associated with phenotypic severity. Comparison of the significant differentially expressed genes from each subgroup relative to the control group reveals differentially expressed genes unique to each subgroup as well as genes in common across subgroups. Among the findings unique to the most severely affected ASD group are 15 genes that regulate circadian rhythm, which has been shown to have multiple effects on neurological as well as metabolic functions commonly dysregulated in autism. Among the genes common to all three subgroups of ASD are 20 novel genes mostly in putative noncoding regions, which appear to associate with androgen sensitivity and which may underlie the strong 4:1 bias toward affected males. [source] |