Interferon alpha/beta genes from a marsupial, Macropus eugenii

This paper describes the cloning of full length marsupial type I interferon (IFN) genes and their flanking regions using a genome walking approach and PCR primers based on previously isolated partial DNA sequences. We confirm that the two major classes of Tammar Wallaby type I IFN genes are homologous with the eutherian IFN-alpha and IFN-beta gene families. The wallaby IFN genes share a number of conserved features with their eutherian counterparts, including codons for cysteines at equivalent positions, implying similar secondary structures for the encoded proteins, and promoter regions with conserved putative regulatory motifs. Moreover, the wallaby genes have AT-rich elements in their flanking sequence corresponding to the mRNA 3'-untranslated regions, also implying that, as in eutherian mammals, rapid mRNA degradation plays a role in regulating expression of these genes. The complex nature of the type I IFN gene families in viviparous mammals (eutherians and marsupials) may reflect their recruitment into nonimmunological processes and this concept is discussed.     

Evolutionary Conservation of Regulatory Elements in Vertebrate Hox Gene Clusters

Comparisons of DNA sequences among evolutionarily distantly related genomes permit identification of conserved functional regions in noncoding DNA. Hox genes are highly conserved in vertebrates, occur in clusters, and are uninterrupted by other genes. We aligned (PipMaker) the nucleotide sequences of the HoxA clusters of tilapia, pufferfish, striped bass, zebrafish, horn shark, human, and mouse, which are separated by approximately 500 million years of evolution. In support of our approach, several identified putative regulatory elements known to regulate the expression of Hox genes were recovered. The majority of the newly identified putative regulatory elements contain short fragments that are almost completely conserved and are identical to known binding sites for regulatory proteins (Transfac database). The regulatory intergenic regions located between the genes that are expressed most anteriorly in the embryo are longer and apparently more evolutionarily conserved than those at the other end of Hox clusters. Different presumed regulatory sequences are retained in either the Aα or Aβ duplicated Hox clusters in the fish lineages. This suggests that the conserved elements are involved in different gene regulatory networks and supports the duplication-deletion-complementation model of functional divergence of duplicated genes.     

组织特异性表达基因PLUNC调控元件的生物信息学分析

目的分析组织特异性表达基因PLUNC的调控元件。方法采用进化足迹法,结合生物信息学工具,预测PLUNC基因的顺式作用元件和反式作用因子。结果预测的PLUNC基因的转录起始位点位于-1～＋10bp区域间、-29bp存在TATA盒子,启动子集中在-490bp～＋89bp内,在人和小鼠PLUNC基因的启动子保守区内存在29个共同的转录因子结合部位及5个增强子。结论PLUNC基因调控元件的分析可为探讨上呼吸道特异性表达基因的调控机制提供模型。生物信息学技术结合进化足迹法,在基因表达调控机制的研究中具有重要的应用价值。