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  • Evolution  (385)
  • Springer  (385)
  • American Meteorological Society
  • 1995-1999  (207)
  • 1990-1994  (178)
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  • 1
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Hydra ; Insulin ; Development ; Receptor ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  A gene encoding a receptor protein-tyrosine kinase closely related to the vertebrate insulin receptor has been identified in the Cnidarian Hydra vulgaris. The gene is expressed in both epithelial layers of the adult polyp. A particularly high level of expression is seen in the ectoderm of the proximal portions of the tentacles and in a ring of ectodermal cells at the border between the foot basal disk and body column. The expression pattern of the gene in asexual buds is dynamic; expression is high throughout the newly emerging bud but the area of high expression becomes restricted to the apex as the bud lengthens. When the bud begins hypostome and tentacle formation, a high level of expression appears at the bases of the emerging tentacles. Finally, a ring of high expression appears just above the foot of the bud, completing the pattern seen in the adult polyp. The presence of this receptor and its pattern of expression suggested that an endogenous molecule related to insulin plays a role in regulating cell division in the body column and in differentiation of the tentacle and foot cells in Hydra, with the switch between the two being determined by the level of the receptor. Treatment of Hydra polyps with mammalian insulin caused an increase in the number of ectodermal and endodermal cells undergoing DNA synthesis.
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Notch pathway ; Antagonist ; Hairless ; Orthologue ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Hairless is a member of the Notch signalling pathway, where it acts as antagonist by binding to Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H)], thereby inhibiting Notch target gene activation. The pathway and its members are highly conserved in metazoans from worms to humans. However, a Hairless orthologue from another species has not yet been identified. The identification of Hairless in largely diverged species by cross-hybridization has failed so far probably due to a low degree of conservation. Therefore, we turned to D. hydei where a Hairless mutation has been described before. The D. hydei Hairless orthologue is reasonably well conserved with regard to gene structure and expression. The prospective Hairless protein orthologues share several highly conserved regions which are separated by quite diverged stretches. As to be expected, the largest region of high conservation corresponds to the Su(H) binding domain. This region is also functionally conserved, since this D. hydei protein domain binds very strongly to the D. melanogaster Su(H) protein. The other conserved regions support our earlier structure-function analysis since they nicely correspond to previously defined, functionally important protein domains. Most notably, the very C-terminal domain which is very sensitive to structural alterations, is nearly identical between the two species. In summary, this evolutionary study improves the knowledge on functionally significant domains of the Hairless protein, and may be helpful for the future identification of homologues in other animals, especially in vertebrates.
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  • 3
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Tooth morphogenesis ; Evolution ; Mouse ; Microtus rossiaemeridionalis ; Enamel knot
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  While the evolutionary history of mammalian tooth shapes is well documented in the fossil record, the developmental basis of their tooth shape evolution is unknown. We investigated the expression patterns of eight developmental regulatory genes in two species of rodents with different molar morphologies (mouse, Mus musculus and sibling vole, Microtus rossiaemeridionalis). The genes Bmp-2, Bmp-4, Fgf-4 and Shh encode signal molecules, Lef-1, Msx-1 and Msx-2, are transcription factors and p21 CIP1/WAF1 participates in the regulation of cell cycle. These genes are all known to be associated with developmental regulation in mouse molars. In this paper we show that the antisense mRNA probes made from mouse cDNA cross-hybridized with vole tissue. The comparisons of gene expression patterns and morphologies suggest that similar molecular cascades are used in the early budding of tooth germs, in the initiation of tooth crown base formation, and in the initiation of each cusp’s development. Furthermore, the co-localization of several genes indicate that epithelial signalling centres function at the three stages of morphogenesis. The earliest signalling centre in the early budding epithelium has not been reported before, but the latter signalling centres, the primary and the secondary enamel knots, have been studied in mouse. The appearance of species-specific tooth shapes was manifested by the regulatory molecules expressed in the secondary enamel knots at the areas of future cusp tips, whilst the mesenchymal gene expression patterns had a buccal bias without similar species-specific associations.
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  • 4
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Amphioxus ; Snail ; Neural crest ; Evolution ; Chordate
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Homologs of the Drosophila snail gene have been characterized in several vertebrates. In addition to being expressed in mesoderm during gastrulation, vertebrate snail genes are also expressed in presumptive neural crest and/or its derivatives. Given that neural crest is unique to vertebrates and is considered to be of fundamental importance in their evolution, we have cloned and characterized the expression of a snail gene from amphioxus, a cephalochordate widely accepted as the sister group of the vertebrates. We show that, at the amino acid sequence level, the amphioxus snail gene is a clear phylogenetic outgroup to all the characterized vertebrate snail genes. During embryogenesis snail expression initially becomes restricted to the paraxial or presomitic mesoderm of amphioxus. Later, snail is expressed at high levels in the lateral neural plate, where it persists during neurulation. Our results indicate that an ancestral function of snail genes in the lineage leading to vertebrates is to define the paraxial mesoderm. Furthermore, our results indicate that a cell population homologous to the vertebrate neural crest may be present in amphioxus, thus providing an important link in the evolution of this key vertebrate tissue.
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  • 5
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    Development genes and evolution 205 (1995), S. 160-170 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Evolution ; fz ; Homeodomain ; Plasticity
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The Drosophila melanogaster segmentation gene fushi tarazu (ftz) encodes a homeodomain-type transcription factor involved in the control of larval pattern formation. Loss of function mutations cause an embryonic lethal, pair-rule phenotype. The segmentation defects, but not the lethality, can be partially rescued by the ftz orthologue from Drosophila hydei. In this work, the primary structure, expression and regulation of the D. hydei ftz gene was characterized. Sequence comparisons classify ftz as a rather fast evolving gene. However, since the homeodomain of the D. hydei FTZ protein is highly similar to that of D. melanogaster, proper regulation of D. melanogaster ftz downstream genes would be expected. In D. melanogaster embryos, a D. hydei ftz transgene is expressed normally, independent of endogenous ftz gene activity, suggesting that D. hydei ftz regulatory sequences are correctly recognized by D. melanogaster transcription factors. Accordingly, lacZ fusion constructs driven by the D. hydei ftz upstream element are expressed normally in D. melanogaster embryos. Altogether, the similarities between the two ftz orthologues by far outweigh the differences. The limited success of the trans-species rescue might be, therefore, a consequence of the accumulation of too many subtle changes in gene function, exceeding the limits of developmental plasticity during fly embryogenesis.
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  • 6
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    Development genes and evolution 208 (1998), S. 94-99 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words T-box ; Evolution ; Zebrafish ; Paraxial mesoderm ; Tail bud
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  We report on a new zebrafish T-box-containing gene, tbx16. It encodes a message that is first detected throughout the blastoderm soon after the initiation of zygotic gene expression. Following gastrulation, expression becomes restricted to paraxial mesoderm and later primarily to the developing tail bud. To gain an evolutionary prospective on the potential function of this gene, we have analyzed its phylogenetic relationships to known T-box genes from other species. Zebrafish tbx16 is likely orthologous to the chicken Tbx6L and Xenopus Xombi/Antipodean/Brat/VegT genes. Our analysis also shows that zebrafish tbx6 and mouse Tbx6 genes are paralogous to zebrafish tbx16. We present evidence which argues, that despite the same name and similar expression, zebrafish tbx6 and mouse Tbx6 genes are not orthologous to each other but instead represent relatively distant paralogs. The expression patterns of all genes are discussed in the light of their evolutionary relationships.
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  • 7
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    Development genes and evolution 208 (1998), S. 113-116 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words TALE homeobox gene ; MEINOX domain ; Hox cluster ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  A recent survey of TALE superclass homeobox genes revealed a new domain upstream of the homeodomain that is conserved between the plant KNOX genes and the animal MEIS genes. At the same time, another paper identified the Drosophila gene homothorax (hth) as a homologue of the vertebrate MEIS genes, which prompted a reexamination of the sequences of the MEIS, KNOX (collectively named MEINOX) and PBC domains. Similarity of the complete MEINOX domain was found within the PBC domain. This suggests that the PBC class genes were also derived from the ancient MEINOX genes. Recently, it has been shown that the MEIS genes can interact with the Abd-B genes, whilst previous results have shown that the PBC genes interact with anterior Hox genes. This leads to the hypothesis that the duplication of an ancestral MEINOX gene into the PBC and MEIS genes happened at a point in time when the first two Hox cluster genes, an anterior one and a posterior one, emerged, and that subsequently these gene classes coevolved.
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  • 8
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Echinoid ; Oogenesis ; Development ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Evolutionary change in developmental mode in sea urchins is closely tied to an increase in maternal provisioning. We examined the oogenic modifications involved in production of a large egg by comparison of oogenesis in congeneric sea urchins with markedly different sized oocytes and divergent modes of development. Heliocidaris tuberculata has small eggs (95 µm diameter) and the ancestral mode of development through feeding larvae, whereas H. erythrogramma has large eggs (430 µm diameter) and highly modified non-feeding lecithotrophic larvae. Production of a large egg in H. erythrogramma involved both conserved and divergent mechanisms. The pattern and level of vitellogenin gene expression is similar in the two species. Vitellogenin processing is also similar with the gonads of both species incorporating yolk protein from coelomic and hemal stores into nutritive cells with subsequent transfer of this protein into yolk granules in the developing vitellogenic oocyte. Immunocytology of the eggs of both Heliocidaris species indicates they incorporate similar levels of yolk protein. However, H. erythrogramma has evolved a highly divergent second phase of oogenesis characterised by massive deposition of non-vitellogenic material including additional maternal protein and lipid. Maternal provisioning in H. erythrogramma exhibits recapitulation of the ancestral vitellogenic program followed by a novel oogenic phase with hypertrophy of the lipogenic program being a major contributor to the increase in egg size.
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  • 9
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    Development genes and evolution 206 (1996), S. 136-146 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Compound eye development ; Equator ; Evolution ; Homology ; Tribolium (Insecta ; Coleoptera)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Using electron microscopy, the first stages of ommatidial development in the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum were analysed in relation to the cellular architecture of the adult compound eye and were compared to the corresponding patterning process in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The ommatidia of the slightly horse-shoe shaped beetle compound eye contain six peripheral and two central retinula cells. The rhabdomere of the posteriorly located central photoreceptor cell is restricted to the distal half of the rhabdom whilst that of the anterior one is restricted to its proximal half. The development of the compound eye takes place in an external eye imaginal disc. Most stages of ommatidial development, as known from Drosophila, i.e. arc-like cell groups, five-cell clusters, immature eight-cell clusters and symmetrical eight-cell clusters, are very precisely conserved between the two species. Two major differences exist: 1. In Tribolium, the cone cell precursor cells synchronously join to the immature eight-cell cluster. As a consequence, the symmetrical eight-cell cluster immediately transforms into a four-cone-cell cluster. 2. The maturing ommatidia do not undergo rotation in Tribolium. Overall, no morphological indiation for an equator in the adult Tribolium compound eye could be found. Considering the strong evolutionary conservation of early ommatidial development, homology of photoreceptor cells of distantly related insects is proposed to be inferred from their ontogenetic origin.
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  • 10
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    Development genes and evolution 203 (1994), S. 199-204 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Cell differentiation ; Cytoplasm ; Micromanipulation ; Mouse embryo ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A new micromanipulation technique permitted the scrambling of the zygote cytoplasm. Such interference had no effect on preimplantation development, and when zygotes with scrambled cytoplasm were transfered to the pseudopregnant females, normal and fertile mice were born. This demonstrates that no morphogenetic factors are prelocalized in the egg cytoplasm. Cleavage characteristics of mouse embryos provide the evidence that zygote cytoplasm does not define any determinate type of cleavage. We conclude that the mechanism of ooplasmic segregation is not used in the mouse (and presumably mammalian) development. It is suggested that the turning point in the evolution of mammalian embryogenesis was the transition to the intrauterine development, that started the process leading among other changes, to the loss of the ooplasmic morphogenetic determinants.
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  • 11
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    Development genes and evolution 208 (1998), S. 591-594 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Arthropod ; Hox ; Evolution ; Development ; Chelicerate
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  We have cloned, from an oribatid mite, a gene homologous to the zerknült (zen) genes of insects and the Hox 3 genes of vertebrates. Hox genes specify cell fates in specific regions of the body in all metazoans studied and are expressed in antero-posteriorly restricted regions of the embryo. This is true of the vertebrate Hox 3 but not of the zen genes, the insect homologs, and it has been proposed that the zen genes have lost their Hox-like function in the ancestor of the insects. We studied expression of a mite Hox 3/zen homolog and found that it is expressed in a discrete antero-posterior region of the body with an anterior boundary coinciding with that of the chelicerate homolog of the Drosophila Hox gene, proboscipedia, and propose that its loss of Hox function in insects is due to functional redundancy due to this overlap with another Hox gene.
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  • 12
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    Development genes and evolution 209 (1999), S. 186-197 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Cnidaria ; Paired class ; Paired-like ; Homeobox gene ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  The genes belonging to the Paired class exert primary developmental functions. They are characterized by six invariant amino acid residues in the homeodomain, while the residue at position 50 can be a serine, glutamine or lysine as in the Pax-type, Q50 Paired-like or the K50 Paired-like homeodomains respectively. Genes in this class emerged early in animal evolution: three distinct Pax genes and two Q50 Paired-like genes have recently been characterised from cnidarians. Phylogenetic molecular reconstructions taking into account homeodomain and paired-domain sequences provide some new perspectives on the evolution of the Paired-class genes. Analysis of 146 Paired-class homeodomains from a wide range of metazoan taxa allowed us to identify 18 families among the three sub-classes from which the aristaless family displays the least diverged position. Both Pax-type and K50 families branch within the Q50 Paired-like sequences implying that these are the most ancestral. Consequently, most Pax genes arose from a Paired-like ancestor, via fusion of a Paired-like homebox gene with a gene encoding only a paired domain; the Cnidaria appear to contain genes representing the ’before’ and ’after’ fusion events.
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  • 13
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    Economic theory 13 (1999), S. 329-343 
    ISSN: 1432-0479
    Keywords: Keywords and Phrases: Risk ; Evolution ; Entrepreneur. ; JEL Classification Numbers: C72 ; D81.
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Economics
    Notes: Summary. I examine a Knightian (1921) model of risk using a general equilibrium model of investment and trade. A population of agents with various preference types can choose between a safe production technology and a risky production technology. In addition, the distribution of types of agents changes through a standard evolutionary dynamic. For a given population distribution, the equilibrium is in general inefficient, however, by allowing the population distribution to change in response to market generated rewards, the population will converge to one where the equilibrium is efficient and where the population as a whole behaves as if all agents were risk neutral.
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  • 14
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    Development genes and evolution 207 (1997), S. 264-281 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words yolk protein genes ; Calliphora ; Musca ; Evolution ; doublesex
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  We have investigated the conservation of regulatory elements for sex- and tissue-specific gene expression in three dipteran species, Drosophila melanogaster, Musca domestica and Calliphora erythrocephala, using the yolk protein (yp) genes. Yolk proteins of the fruitfly, medfly, housefly and blowfly are very well conserved both in their sequence and their expression in ovarian follicle cells and in fat bodies of adult females. Furthermore, yp regulation by both hormonal and nutritional factors shows similar features in all four species. To study conservation of yp regulation in dipteran insects, we tested 5′ flanking regions from one Musca yp gene and one Calliphora yp gene for enhancer functions in D. melanogaster. Two fragments of 823 and 1046 bp isolated from Musca and Calliphora yp genes, respectively, are able to direct correct expression of a reporter gene in the ovarian follicle cells of transformed Drosophila at specific stages during oogenesis. Surprisingly, these enhancers do not confer sex-specific reporter gene expression in the fat body, as expression was found in both sexes of the transformed flies. None-the-less by in vitro DNA/protein interaction assays, a 284-bp DNA region from the Musca yp enhancer was able to bind the Drosophila DOUBLESEX (DSX) protein, which in D.melanogaster confers sex-specific expression of yp. We speculate that the sex-determining pathway is not directly involved in yp regulation in Musca or Calliphora adult females, but depends instead on hormonal controls to achieve sex-specific expression of yp genes in the adult.
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  • 15
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    Development genes and evolution 207 (1997), S. 287-295 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Sense organ embryology ; Ambystoma embryology ; Homeobox genes ; Vertebrate genetics ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Gene expression has been studied in considerable detail in the developing vertebrate brain, neural crest, and some placode-derived organs. As a further investigation of vertebrate head morphogenesis, expression patterns of several homeobox-containing genes were examined using whole-mount in situ hybridization in a sensory system primitive for the vertebrate subphylum: the axolotl lateral lines and the placodes from which they develop. Axolotl Msx-2 and Dlx-3 are expressed in all of the lateral line placodes. Both genes are expressed throughout development of the lateral line system and their expression continues in the fully developed neuromasts. Expression within support cells is highly polarized. In contrast to most other observations of Msx genes in vertebrate organogenesis, expression of Msx-2 in developing lateral line organs is exclusively epithelial and is not associated with epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. A Hox-complex gene, Hoxb-3, is shown to be expressed in the embryonic hindbrain and in a lateral line placode at the same rostrocaudal level, but not in other placodes nor in mature lateral line organs. A Hox gene of a separate paralog group, Hoxa-4, is expressed in a more posterior hindbrain domain in the embryo, but is not expressed in the lateral line placode at that rostrocaudal level. These data provide the first test of the hypothesis that the neurogenic placodes develop in two rostrocaudal series aligned with the rhombomeric segments and patterned by combinations of Hox genes in parallel with the central nervous system.
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  • 16
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Key words Astacin ; Metalloproteinase ; Toxin ; Cnidaria ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  Metalloproteinases of the astacin family such as tolloid play major roles in animal morphogenesis. Cnidarians are thought to be evolutionary simple organisms and, therefore, a metalloproteinase from the marine hydrozoan Podocoryne carnea was analysed to evaluate the role of this conserved gene familiy at the base of animal evolution. Surprisingly, the proteinase domain of Podocornyne PMP1 is more similar to human meprin than to HMP1 from another hydrozoan, the freshwater polyp Hydra vulgaris. However, PMP1 and HMP1 both contain a small C-terminal domain with six cysteines that distinguishes them from other astacin-like molecules. Similar domains have been described only recently from sea anemone toxins specific for potassium channels. This toxin homology (Tox1) domain is clearly distinct from epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains or other cysteine-rich modules and terminates with the characteristic pattern CXXXCXXC with three out of six cysteines in the last eight residues of the protein. PMP1 is transiently expressed at various sites of morphogenetic activity during medusa bud development. In the adult medusa, however, expression is concentrated to the manubrium, the feeding organ, where the PMP1 gene is highly induced upon feeding. These disparate expression patterns suggest a dual role of PMP1 comparable to tolloid in development and, like astacin in the crayfish, also for food digestion. The Tox1 domain of PMP1 could serve as a toxin to keep the pray paralysed after ingestion, but as a sequence module such Tox1 domains with six cysteines are neither restricted to cnidarians nor to toxins.
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  • 17
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    Environmental geology 38 (1999), S. 34-46 
    ISSN: 1432-0495
    Keywords: Key words Alkaline/acid/neutral water ; Acid rain ; Geochemical modeling ; Brine ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Geosciences
    Notes: Abstract  Analysis and hydrogeochemical modeling of hydrocarbonate groundwater, including its buffering geochemical properties, have demonstrated that this water has undergone a geochemical transformation almost throughout the whole of one industrial region. It is known that hydrocarbonate groundwater possesses a high protective natural geochemical potential, supporting neutralization of acid atmospheric precipitation. Natural hydrocarbonate water undergoes three stages of anthropogenic transformation caused by acid atmospheric precipitation over more than 50 years. The first stage is transformation of neutral hydrocarbonate water into alkaline water, accompanied by calcite precipitation and sodium carbonate dissolution from the unsaturated zone. The second stage is transformation of alkaline water into neutral hydrocarbonate water; the hydrocarbonate content, being less than the lower limit for background concentrations, showed reduced water buffering properties or protective potential relative to acid precipitation. The third stage is transformation of neutral hydrocarbonate water into acidic water, with a complete loss of protective geochemical potential. This unfavorable ecological situation with natural geochemically hydrocarbonate groundwater shows that natural groundwater less protected from the impact of acid atmospheric precipitation is in a worse ecological condition, which is confirmed by observations in northern and Western Europe and other regions of the world.
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  • 18
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    Mycorrhiza 4 (1993), S. 1-4 
    ISSN: 1432-1890
    Keywords: Tropics ; Mycotrophy ; Spore dispersal ; Community composition ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract This article introduces reports concerning the occurrence of mycorrhizae on epiphytes in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Malaysia, and Mexico. Association of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with the roots of epiphytes is not well known. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAM) do occur in the canopy, but are uncommon except in certain sites and host taxa. Occurrence of VAM on epiphytes may be constrained by mineral nutrient availability and spatial heterogeneity in the canopy. Nevertheless, epiphytes present unique opportunities to study influences of mycorrhizae on vascular plant community composition and on the evolution of mycorrhizal associations.
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  • 19
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    Journal of molecular evolution 31 (1990), S. 325-329 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: PLP-dependent decarboxylase ; Evolution ; Profile analysis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary A database search has revealed significant and extensive sequence similarities among prokaryotic and eukaryotic pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent decarboxylases, includingDrosophila glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and bacterial histidine decarboxylase (HDC). Based on these findings, the sequences of seven PLP-dependent decarboxylases from five different organisms have been aligned to derive a consensus sequence for this family of enzymes. In addition, quantitative methods have been employed to calculate the relative evolutionary distances between pairs of the decarboxylases comprising this family. The multiple sequence analysis together with the quantitative results strongly suggest an ancient and common origin for all PLP-dependent decarboxylases. This analysis also indicates that prokaryotic and eukaryotic HDC activities evolved independently. Finally, a sensitive search algorithm (PROFILE) was unable to detect additional members of this decarboxylase family in protein sequence databases.
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  • 20
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    Journal of molecular evolution 30 (1990), S. 333-346 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Protamine ; Evolution ; Nuclear protein ; DNA condensation ; Sperm proteins
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The availability of the amino acid sequence for nine different mammalian P1 family protamines and the revised amino acid sequence of the chicken protamine galline (Oliva and Dixon 1989) reveals a much close relationship between mammalian and avian protamines than was previously thought (Nakano et al. 1976). Dot matrix analysis of all protamine genes for which genomic DNA or cDNA sequence is available reveals both marked sequence similarities in the mammalian protamine gene family and internal repeated sequences in the chicken protamine gene. The detailed alignments of the cis-acting regulatory DNA sequences shows several consensus sequence patterns, particularly the conservation of a cAMP response element (CRE) in all the protamine genes and of the regions flanking the TATA box, CAP site, N-terminal coding region, and polyadenylation signal. In addition we have found a high frequency of the CA dinucleotide immediately adjacent to the CRE element of both the protamine genes and the testis transition proteins, a feature not present in other genes, which suggests the existence of an extended CRE motif involved in the coordinate expression of protamine and transition protein genes during spermatogenesis. Overall these findings suggest the existence of an avian-mammalian P1 protamine gene line and are discussed in the context of different hypotheses for protamine gene evolution and regulation.
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  • 21
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    Journal of molecular evolution 30 (1990), S. 409-424 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Phylogeny ; Tetrapods ; Morphology ; Cladistics ; Divergence ; Evolution ; Amphibians ; Reptiles ; Birds ; Mammals
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The phylogeny of the major groups of tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) has until recently been poorly understood. Cladistic analyses of morphological data are producing new hypotheses concerning the relationships of the major groups, with a focus on the identification of monophyletic groups. Molecular phylogenies support some of these views and dispute others. Geological dates of the major evolutionary branching points are recalculated on the basis of the cladograms and new fossil finds.
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  • 22
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    Journal of molecular evolution 30 (1990), S. 489-492 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Actinomyces ; Phosphotransferase ; Aminoglycoside ; Phylogenetic tree ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The protein sequences of seven 3′-aminoglycoside phosphotransferases falling into the six identified types and three 6′-aminoglycoside phosphotransferases were analyzed to give a rooted phylogenetic tree. This tree supports the origin of these groups of enzymes in an ancestor closely related to the actinomycetes, and that horizontal transfer of the resistance genes occurred, possibly via transposons. The implications for genetic engineering of a novel antibiotic are discussed.
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  • 23
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    Journal of molecular evolution 36 (1993), S. 509-516 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Thrombospondin ; Evolution ; Adhesive glycoproteins
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Thrombospondin-1 is an adhesive glycoprotein that is involved in cellular attachment, spreading, migration, and proliferation. To date, four genes have been identified that encode for the members of the thrombospondin gene family. These four genes are homologous to each other in the EGF-like (type 2) repeats, the calcium-binding (type 3) motifs, and the COOH-terminal. The latter has been reported to be a cell-binding domain in thrombospondin-1. Phylogenetic trees have been constructed from the multisequence alignment of thrombospondin sequences from human, mouse, chicken, and frog. Two different algorithms generate comparable results in terms of the topology and the branch lengths. The analysis indicates that an early form of the thrombospondin gene duplicated about 925 million years ago. The gene duplication that produced the thrombospondin-1 and -2 branches of the family is predicted to have occurred 583 million years ago, whereas the gene duplication that produced the thrombospondin-3 and -4 branches of the family is predicted to have occurred 644 million years ago. These results indicate that the members of the thrombospondin gene family have existed throughout the evolution of the animal kingdom and thus probably participate in functions that are common to most of its members.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 37 (1993), S. 93-108 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: DNA ; Base composition ; Vertebrates ; Eutheria ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract The compositional distributions of high molecular weight DNA fragments from 20 species belonging to 9 out of the 17 eutherian orders were investigated by analytical CsCl density gradient centrifugation and by preparative fractionation in Cs2SO4/BAMD density gradients followed by analysis of the fractions in CsCl. These compositional distributions reflect those of the isochores making up the corresponding genomes. A “general distribution” was found in species belonging to eight mammalian orders. A “myomorph distribution” was found in Myomorpha, but not in the other rodent infraorders Sciuromorpha and Histricomorpha, which share the general distribution. Two other distributions were found in a megachiropteran (but not in microchiropteran, which, again, shares the general distribution) and in pangolin (a species from the only genus of the order Pholidota), respectively. The main difference between the general distribution and all other distributions is that the former contains sizable amounts (6–10%) of GC-rich isochores (detected as DNA fragments equal to, or higher than, 1.710 g/cm3 in modal buoyant density), which are scarce, or absent, in the other distributions. This difference is remarkable because gene concentrations in mammalian genomes are paralleled by GC levels, the highest gene concentrations being present in the GC-richest isochores. The compositional distributions of mammalian genomes reported here shed light on mammalian phylogeny. Indeed, all orders investigated, with the exception of Pholidota, seem to share a common ancestor. The compositional patterns of the megachiropteran and of Myomorpha may be derived from the general pattern or have independent origins.
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  • 25
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    Journal of molecular evolution 33 (1991), S. 42-48 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Satellite DNA ; Mouse ; Human chromosomes 13 and 21 ; Evolution ; Saltatory amplification ; Homogenization
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The hypothesis that highly reiterated satellite DNAs in present-day populations evolve by molecular mechanisms that create, by saltatory amplification steps, new long arrays of satellite DNA, and that such long arrays are used for homogenization purposes, has been tested both in mouse and in humans. In mouse, the data obtained are consistent with this hypothesis. This was tested in more detail on chromosomes 13 and 21 of the human genome. A Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain family, which in some individuals exhibits strong supplementary DNA bands following TaqI restriction endonuclease digestion and conventional gel electrophoresis, was analyzed by pulse field gel electrophoresis following restriction by BamHI. The supplementary bands on chromosome 13 (18 times the basic alpha satellite DNA repeat) and on chromosome 21 (a 9.5-mer) segregated with centromeric alpha satellite DNA blocks of 5 and 5.3 megabases, respectively. These are by far the largest alpha satellite block lengths seen in all chromosome 13 and chromosome 21 centrometric sequences so far analyzed in this manner. The possibility that these supplementary alpha satellite sequences were created in single individuals by saltatory amplification steps is discussed in light of our own data and that published by others. It is proposed that deletion events and unequal cross-overs, which both occur in large satellite DNA arrays, contribute to the homogenization of size and sequence of the alpha satellite DNA on most chromosomes of humans.
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  • 26
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    Journal of molecular evolution 33 (1991), S. 68-75 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: DNA ; Genome size ; Repetitive DNA ; Amphibians ; Reptiles ; Evolution
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Many characters differentiate amphibian from reptilian genomes. The former have, on the average, larger and more variable genome sizes, a greater repetitive DNA percentage, and a higher interspersion level among DNAs with different degrees of repetitivity. Reptiles have more reduced and uniform genome sizes, a repetitive DNA percentage generally lower than 50%, and a lower interspersion level. Other differences can be observed in the chromosome banding and in the correlations between genome size and other morphometric and functional parameters of the cell. The differences found in amphibians and reptiles seem to indicate that in these two vertebrate classes there is a different tendency toward or tolerance of the accumulation and preservation of genetically dispensable DNA fractions. This might depend either on a different propensity toward genic amplification or on the appearance, in reptiles, of stricter and more efficient constraints regulating genome size.
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  • 27
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    Journal of molecular evolution 38 (1994), S. 250-262 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Opsin ; Visual pigments ; Gene family ; Evolution ; Phylogeny ; Spectral sensitivity
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Phylogenetic and physiological methods were used to study the evolution of the opsin gene family in Drosophila. A phylogeny based on DNA sequences from 13 opsin genes including representatives from the two major subgenera of Drosophila shows six major, well-supported clades: The “blue opsin” clade includes all of the Rhl and Rh2 genes and is separated into two distinct subclades of Rhl sequences and Rh2 sequences; the ultraviolet opsin clade includes all Rh3 and Rh4 genes and bifurcates into separate Rh3 and Rh4 clades. The duplications that generated this gene family most likely took place before the evolution of the subgenera Drosophila and Sophophora and their component species groups. Numerous changes have occurred in these genes since the duplications, including the loss and/or gain of introns in the different genes and even within the Rhl and Rh4 clades. Despite these changes, the spectral sensitivity of each of the opsins has remained remarkably fixed in a sample of four species representing two species groups in each of the two subgenera. All of the strains that were investigated had R1-6 (Rhl) spectral sensitivity curves that peaked at or near 480 nm, R7 (Rh3 and Rh4) peaks in the ultraviolet range, and ocellar (Rh2) peaks near 420 nm. Each of the four gene clades on the phylogeny exhibits very conservative patterns of amino acid replacement in domains of the protein thought to influence spectral sen sitivity, reflecting strong constraints on the spectrum of light visible to Drosophila.
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  • 28
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 476-481 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Aminoacylation ; Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases ; tRNA ; GluRS ; GlnRS ; Glutamate ; Glutamine ; Evolution ; Mischarging
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    Notes: Abstract Aminoacyl-tRNA for protein synthesis is produced through the action of a family of enzymes called aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. A general rule is that there is one aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase for each of the standard 20 amino acids found in all cells. This is not universal, however, as a majority of prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organelles lack the enzyme glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase, which is responsible for forming Gln-tRNAGln in eukaryotes and in Gram-negative eubacteria. Instead, in organisms lacking glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase, Gln-tRNAGln is provided by misacylation of tRNAGln with glutamate by glutamyl-tRNA synthetase, followed by the conversion of tRNA-bound glutamate to glutamine by the enzyme Glu-tRNAGln amidotransferase. The fact that two different pathways exist for charging glutamine tRNA indicates that ancestral prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms evolved different cellular mechanisms for incorporating glutamine into proteins. Here, we explore the basis for diverging pathways for aminoacylation of glutamine tRNA. We propose that stable retention of glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase in prokaryotic organisms following a horizontal gene transfer event from eukaryotic organisms (Lamour et al. 1994) was dependent on the evolving pool of glutamate and glutamine tRNAs in the organisms that acquired glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase by this mechanism. This model also addresses several unusual aspects of aminoacylation by glutamyl- and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetases that have been observed.
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  • 29
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    Journal of molecular evolution 34 (1992), S. 345-350 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; β-Lactamase ; Phylogenetic tree ; Horizontal transfer
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    Notes: Summary The protein sequences of 18 class A β-lactamases and 2 class C β-lactamases were analyzed to produce a rooted phylogenetic tree using the DD peptidase of Streptomyces R61 as an outgroup. This tree supports the penicillin-binding proteins as the most likely candidate for the ancestoral origin of the class A and class C β-lactamases, these proteins diverging from a common evolutionary origin close to the DD peptidase. The actinomycetes are clearly shown as the origin of the class A β-lactamases found in other non-actinomycete species. The tree also divides the β-lactamases from the Streptomyces into two subgroups. One subgroup is closer to the DD peptidase root. The other Streptomyces subgroup shares a common branch point with the rest of the class A β-lactamases, showing this subgroup as the origin of the non-actinomycete class A β-lactamases. The non-actinomycete class A β-lactamase phylogenetic tree suggests a spread of these β-lactamases by horizontal transfer from the Streptomyces into the non-actinomycete gram-positive bacteria and thence into the gram-negative bacteria. The phylogenetic tree of the Streptomyces class A β-lactamases supports the possibility that horizontal transfer of class A β-lactamases occurred within the Streptomyces.
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  • 30
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    Journal of molecular evolution 34 (1992), S. 351-357 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Primase-helicase systems ; Evolution ; Bacteria ; Bacteriophage
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    Notes: Summary Amino acid sequences of primases and associated helicases involved in the DNA replication of eubacteria and bacteriophages T7, T3, T4, P4, and P22 were compared by computer-assisted methods. There are two types of such systems, the first one represented by distinct helicase and primase proteins (e.g., DnaB and DnaG proteins of Escherichia coli), and the second one by single polypeptides comprising both activities (gp4 of bacteriophages T7 and T3, and alpha protein of bacteriophage P4). Pronounced sequence similarity was revealed between approximately 250 amino acid residue N-terminal domains of stand-alone primases and the primase-helicase proteins of T7(T3) and P4. All these domains contain, close to their N-termini, a conserved Zn-finger pattern that may be implicated in template DNA recognition by the primases. In addition, they encompass five other conserved motifs some of which may be involved in substrate (NTP) binding. Significant similarity was also observed between the primase-associated helicases (DnaB, gp12 of P22 and gp41 of T4) and the C-terminal domain of T7(T3) gp4. On the other hand the C-terminal domain of P-alpha of P4 is related to another group of DNA and RNA helicases. Tentative phylogenetic trees generated for the primases and the associated helicases showed no grouping of the phage proteins, with the exception of the primase domains of bacteriophages T4 and P4. This may indicate a common origin for one-component primase-helicase systems. Two scenarios for the evolution of primase-helicase systems are discussed. The first one involves fusion of the primase and helicase components (T7 and T3) or fusion of the primase component with a different type of helicase domain (P4). The second possibility is the duplication of an ancestral gene encoding a gp4-like bifunctional protein followed by divergence of the copies, one of which retains the primase and the other the helicase domain.
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  • 31
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 482-486 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase ; Computer analysis ; Evolution ; Genetic code ; tRNA
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    Notes: Abstract tRNA sequences were analyzed for sequence features correlated with known classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzymes. The tRNAs were searched for distinguishing nucleotides anywhere in their sequences. The analyses did not find nucleotides predictive of synthetase class membership. We conclude that such nucleotides never existed in tRNA sequences or that they existed and were lost from many of the tRNA sequences during evolution.
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  • 32
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 813-832 
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    Keywords: Phylogeny ; Evolution ; Carbamoylphosphate synthetase ; Dihydroorotase ; Aspartate transcarbamoylase ; Intron ; Exon ; Arginine biosynthesis ; Pyrimidine biosynthesis
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    Notes: Abstract Carbamoylphosphate is a common intermediate in the metabolic pathways leading to the biosynthesis of arginine and pyrimidines. The amino acid sequences of all available proteins that catalyze the formation of carbamoylphosphate were retrieved from Genbank and aligned to estimate their mutual phylogenetic relations. In gram-negative bacteria carbamoylphosphate is synthesized by a two-subunit enzyme with glutamiriase and carbamoylphosphate synthetase (CPS) activity, respectively. In gram-positive bacteria and lower eukaryotes this two-subunit CPS has become dedicated to arginine biosynthesis, while in higher eukaryotes the two subunits fused and subsequently lost the glutaminase activity. The CPS dedicated to pyrimidine synthesis is part of a multifunctional enzyme (CPS II), encoding in addition dihydroorotase and aspartate transcarbamoylase. Evidence is presented to strengthen the hypothesis that the two “kinas” subdomains of all CPS isozymes arose from a duplication of an ancestral gene in the progenote. A further duplication of the entire CPS gene occurred after the divergence of the plants and before the divergence of the fungi from the eukaryotec root, generating the two isoenzymes involved in either the synthesis of arginine or that of pyrimidines. The mutation rate was found to be five- to tenfold higher after the duplication than before, probably reflecting optimization of the enzymes for their newly acquired specialized function. We hypothesize that this duplication arose from a need for metabolic channeling for pyrimidine biosynthesis as it was accompanied by the tagging of the CPS gene with the genes for dihydroorotase and aspartate transcarbamoylase, and as the duplication occurred independently also in gram-positive bacteria. Analysis of the exon-intron organization of the two “kinase” subdomains in CPS I and II suggests that ancient exons may have comprised approx. 19 amino acids, in accordance with the prediction of the “intron-early” theory.
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  • 33
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    Journal of molecular evolution 35 (1992), S. 253-260 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Protein-coding sequences ; DNA sequences ; Evolution ; Evolutionary rates ; Rate heterogeneity ; Maximum likelihood ; Statistical testing
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary A codon-based approach to estimating the number of variable sites in a protein is presented. When first and second positions of codons are assumed to be replacement positions, a capture-recapture model can be used to estimate the number of variable codons from every pair of homologous and aligned sequences. The capture-recapture estimate is compared to a maximum likelihood estimate of the number of variable codons and to previous approaches that estimate the number of variable sites (not codons) in a sequence. Computer simulations are presented that show under which circumstances the capture-recapture estimate can be used to correct biases in distance matrices. Analysis of published sequences of two genes, calmodulin and serum albumin, shows that distance corrections that employ a capture-recapture estimate of the number of variable sites may be considerably different from corrections that assume that the number of variable sites is equal to the total number of positions in the sequence.
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  • 34
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Expression patterns ; α-Amylase ; Glucose repression ; Starch induction ; Intra- and interspecific variation ; Drosophila ; Gene expression ; Regulatory genes
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    Notes: Abstract Intraspecific variation of α-amylase activity in D. melanogaster and D. immigrans, which is distantly related to D. melanogaster, and interspecific variation of α-amylase activity in 18 Drosophila species were examined. The amount of intraspecific variation of α-amylase activities measured in terms of coefficient of variation in D. melanogaster and D. immigrans was one-half and one-tenth or less, respectively, of the interspecific variation in 18 Drosophila species. We also surveyed the response patterns of α-amylase activity to dietary carbohydrates at the larval and adult stages. The levels of α-amylase activity depended on both repression by dietary glucose (glucose repression) and induction by dietary starch (starch induction). In general, our data suggest that glucose repression was conserved among species at both stages while starch induction was mainly observed in larvae, although the degree of the response depended on species. In D. lebanonensis lebanonensis and D. serrata, larvae expressed electrophoretically different α-amylase variants (isozymes) from those of adult flies. These results may suggest that the regulatory systems responsible both for the response to environment and developmental expression are different among species in Drosophila.
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  • 35
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Metalloproteinase ; Disintegrin ; Evolution ; Venom ; Phylogeny ; Gene duplication
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    Notes: Abstract The evolution of the Metalloproteinase Disintegrin Cysteine-rich (MDC) gene family and that of the mammalian Matrix-degrading Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are compared. The alignment of snake venom and mammalian MDC and MMP precursor sequences generated a phylogenetic tree that grouped these proteins mainly according to their function. Based on this observation, a common ancestry is suggested for mammalian and snake venom MDCs; it is also possible that gene duplication of the already-assembled domain structure, followed by divergence of the copies, may have significantly contributed to the evolution of the functionally diverse MDC proteins. The data also suggest that the structural resemblance of the zinc-binding motif of venom MDCs and MMPs may best be explained by common ancestry and conservation of the proteolytic motifs during the divergence of the proteins rather than through convergent evolution.
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  • 36
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Krebs cycle ; Evolution ; Metabolism ; Citric acid cycle ; Chemical design
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    Notes: Abstract The evolutionary origin of the Krebs citric acid cycle has been for a long time a model case in the understanding of the origin and evolution of metabolic pathways: How can the emergence of such a complex pathway be explained? A number of speculative studies have been carried out that have reached the conclusion that the Krebs cycle evolved from pathways for amino acid biosynthesis, but many important questions remain open: Why and how did the full pathway emerge from there? Are other alternative routes for the same purpose possible? Are they better or worse? Have they had any opportunity to be developed in cellular metabolism evolution? We have analyzed the Krebs cycle as a problem of chemical design to oxidize acetate yielding reduction equivalents to the respiratory chain to make ATP. Our analysis demonstrates that although there are several different chemical solutions to this problem, the design of this metabolic pathway as it occurs in living cells is the best chemical solution: It has the least possible number of steps and it also has the greatest ATP yielding. Study of the evolutionary possibilities of each one-taking the available material to build new pathways-demonstrates that the emergence of the Krebs cycle has been a typical case of opportunism in molecular evolution. Our analysis proves, therefore, that the role of opportunism in evolution has converted a problem of several possible chemical solutions into asingle-solution problem, with the actual Krebs cycle demonstrated to be the best possible chemical design. Our results also allow us to derive the rules under which metabolic pathways emerged during the origin of life.
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  • 37
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Ribonuclease ; Gene duplication ; Evolution ; Ruminants
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    Notes: Abstract Phylogenetic analysis, based on the primary structures of mammalian pancreatic-type ribonucleases, indicated that gene duplication events, which occurred during the evolution of ancestral ruminants, gave rise to the three paralogous enzymes present in the bovine species. Herein we report data that demonstrate the existence of the orthologues of the bovine pancreatic, seminal, and cerebral ribonucleases coding sequences in the genomes of giraffe and sheep. The “seminal” sequence is a pseudogene in both species. We also report an analysis of the transcriptional expression of ribonuclease genes in sheep tissues. The data presented support a model for positive selection acting on the molecular evolution of ruminant ribonuclease genes.
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  • 38
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    Journal of molecular evolution 36 (1993), S. 448-457 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Retrovirus ; HIV ; CD4 ; Minus strand ; Alternate reading frame ; Frameshift ; Divergence ; Evolution
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary A local sequence similarity of HIV envelope proteins (gp120 and gp41) to immunoglobulins suggests that a mimicry phenomenon may form the basis of the HIV-cell membrane interaction and of HIV-induced autoimmune reaction. We explored the hypothesis of any deeper relationship between HIV env proteins and immunoglobulin family members. An overall DNA sequence similarity between gp41 coding region of env gene and the HIV-receptor CD4 gene was observed and a 14-base-long oligonucleotide, almost unique in the GenBank, was found in gp41 and CD4 genes. The alignment of env gene to CD4 gene and to 84 different sequences showed a significantly higher homology score and a nonrandom similarity in the CD4-env alignment. A significant similarity was also found between the env protein and the sequence encoded by an alternate reading frame of CD4 gene. Our observations suggest that gp41 coding region might have a different origin than the gp120 coding region of the env gene, and that a divergent evolution might link gp41 to CD4 or immunoglobulin family members. In this study the analysis of alternate-reading-frame products is also proposed as a novel approach to investigate evolutionary links and structure-function relationships.
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  • 39
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    Journal of molecular evolution 31 (1990), S. 3-9 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans ; Caenorhabditis briggsae ; hsp70 ; grp78 ; Gene comparison ; Evolution ; Regulatory elements
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    Notes: Summary Caenorhabditis elegans andCaenorhabditis briggsae are two closely related nematode species that are nearly identical morphologically. Interspecific cross-hybridizing DNA appears to be restricted primarily to coding regions. We compared portions of thehsp-3 homologs two grp 78-like genes, fromC. elegans andC. briggsae and detected regions of DNA identity in the coding region, the 5′ flanking DNAs, and the introns. Thehsp-3 homologs share approximately 98% and 93% identity at the amino acid and nucleotide levels, respectively. Using the nucleotide substitution rate at the silent third position of the codons, we have estimated a lower limit for the date of divergence betweenC. elegans andC. briggsae to be approximately 23–32 million years ago. The 5′ flanking DNAs and one of the introns contain elements that are highly conserved betweenC. elegans andC. briggsae. Some of the regions of nucleotide identity in the 5′ flanking DNAs correspond to previously detected identities including viral enhancer sequences, a heat shock element, and an element present in the regulatory regions of mammalian grp78 and grp94 genes. We propose that a comparison ofC. elegans andC. briggsae sequences will be useful in the detection of potential regulatory and structural elements.
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  • 40
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    Journal of molecular evolution 31 (1990), S. 205-210 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Isozyme ; Intron ; Phylogenetic tree ; Evolution
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    Notes: Summary Both the mouse cytosolic malate dehydrogenase gene and its mitochondrial counterpart contain eight introns, of which two are present at identical positions between the isozyme genes. The probability that the two intron positions coincide by chance between the two genes has been shown to be significantly small (=1.3×10−3), suggesting that the conservation of the intron positions has a biological significance. On the basis of a rooted phylogenetic tree inferred from a comparison of these isozymes and lactate dehydrogenases, we have shown that the origins of the conserved introns are very old, possibly going back to a date before the divergence of eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes. In the aspartate aminotransferase isozyme genes, five of the introns are at identical places. The origins of the five conserved introns, however, are not obvious at present. It remains possible that some or all of the conserved introns have evolved after the divergence of eubacteria and eukaryotes.
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  • 41
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Retroposon ; Salmonid ; +RNA ; Evolution ; Average sequence divergence
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary An in vitro runoff transcription assay of total genomic DNA was developed. As an example of use of this assay, analysis of a highly repetitive sequence in the cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) is described. Total genomic DNA of the cherry salmon was completely digested with Hpa 1, whose site is known to be in the tRNA-unrelated region of the cherry salmon Hpa 1 family. On transcription of the digested DNA in a HeLa cell extract, a discrete-sized RNA of about 100 nucleotides, constituting 70% of the transcripts, was produced, whereas on transcription of the undigested total DNA, only smeared RNA was obtained. In a fingerprint, the oligonucleotides of the discrete transcript from the digested total DNA were very distinct and exactly corresponded to those of a transcript from an Hpa 1 digest of a cloned DNA, but with few extra oligonucleotides. These results showed that the cherry salmon Hpa 1 family constitutes a major repetitive family in the genome of the cherry salmon. For determination of the distribution of the salmonid Hpa 1 family in other salmonid species, the same analysis was applied to DNAs from the chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), brown trout (Salmo trutta), Japanese common charr (Salvelinus leucomaenis pluvius), and Japanese huchen (Hucho perryi). The results showed that the salmonid Hpa 1 family is widespread in the genomes of salmonid species. A method and equations are also presented for estimating the relationship between the ratio of a given repetitive family to all the Pol III genes and its average sequence divergence by calculating the molar ratio of the runoff transcript to all the in vitro Pol III transcripts.
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  • 42
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    Journal of molecular evolution 36 (1993), S. 545-554 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Echinoderms ; Evolution ; Phylogeny ; mtDNA ; Mitochondrial gene arrangements
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Previous analyses have demonstrated that, among the echinoderms, the sea star (class: Asteroidea) mitochondrial genome contains a large inversion in comparison to the mitochondrial DNA of sea urchins (class: Echinoidea). Polymerase chain reaction amplification, DNA cloning, and sequencing have been used to examine the relationships of the brittle stars (class: Ophiuroidea) and sea cucumbers (class: Holothuroidea) to the sea stars and sea urchins. The DNA sequence of the regions spanning potential inversion junctions in both brittle stars and sea cucumbers has been determined. This study has also revealed a highly modified tRNA cluster in the ophiuroid mitochondrial genome. Our data indicate mitochondrial gene arrangement patterns that group the sea cucumbers with sea urchins and sea stars with brittle stars. This use of molecular characters clarifies the relationships among these classes.
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  • 43
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Teleostei ; Clupea harengus ; Esox lucius ; Fish ; Polymerase chain reaction ; Calcium binding
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    Notes: Summary Ependymins represent the predominant protein constituents in the cerebrospinal fluid of many teleost fish and they are synthesized in meningeal fibroblasts. Here, we present the ependymin sequences from the herring (Clupea harengus) and the pike (Esox lucius). A comparison of ependymin homologous sequences from three different orders of teleost fish (Salmoniformes, Cypriniformes, and Clupeiformes) revealed the highest similarity between Clupeiformes and Cypriniformes. This result is unexpected because it does not reflect current systematics, in which Clupeiformes belong to a separate infradivision (Clupeomorpha) than Salmoniformes and Cypriniformes (Euteleostei). Furthermore, in Salmoniformes the evolutionary rate of ependymins seems to be accelerated mainly on the protein level. However, considering these inconstant rates, neither neighbor joining trees nor DNA parsimony methods gave any indication that a separate euteleost infradivision exists.
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  • 44
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    Journal of molecular evolution 30 (1990), S. 60-71 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Cysteine endopeptidase ; Cysteine proteinase ; Inhibitor ; Cystatin ; Kininogen ; Evolution ; Amino acid sequence
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    Notes: Summary We have examined the amino acid sequences of a number of proteins that have been suggested to be related to chicken cystatin, a protein from chicken egg white that inhibits cysteine proteinases. On the basis of statistical analysis, the following proteins were found to be members of the cystatin superfamily: human cystatin A, rat cystatin A(α), human cystatin B, rat cystatin B(β), rice cystatin, human cystatin C, ox colostrum cystatin, human cystatin S, human cystatin SA, human cystatin SN, chicken cystatin, puff adder cystatin, human kininogen, ox kininogen, rat kininogen, rat T-kininogens 1 and 2, human α2HS-glycoprotein, and human histidine-rich glycoprotein. Fibronectin is shown not to be a member of this superfamily, and the c-Ha-ras oncogene protein p21(Val-12) probably is not a member also. It was convenient to divide members of the superfamily into four types on the basis of the presence of one, two, or three copies of cystatin-like segments and the presence or absence of disulfide bonds. Evolutionary dendrograms were calculated by three methods, and from these we have constructed a scheme depicting the sequence of events in the evolution of these proteins. We suggest that about 1000 million years ago a precursor containing disulfide loops appeared, and that all disulfide-containing cystatins are derived from this. We follow the evolution of the proteins of the superfamily along four main lineages, with special attention to the part that duplication of segments has played in the development of the more complex molecules.
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  • 45
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    Journal of molecular evolution 39 (1994), S. 13-21 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Y chromosome ; Great ape ; Human ; Evolution ; DNA
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Nine newly described single-copy and lowcopy-number genomic DNA sequences isolated from a flow-sorted human Y chromosome library were mapped to regions of the human Y chromosome and were hybridized to Southern blots of male and female great ape genomic DNAs (Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus). Eight of the nine sequences mapped to the euchromatic Y long arm (Yq) in humans, and the ninth mapped to the short arm or pericentromeric region. All nine of the newly identified sequences and two additional human Yq sequences hybridized to restriction fragments in male but not female genomic DNA from the great apes, indicating Y chromosome localization. Seven of these 11 human Yq sequences hybridized to similarly-sized restriction endonuclease fragments in all the great ape species analyzed. The five human sequences that mapped to the most distal subregion of Yq (deletion of which region is associated with spermatogenic failure in humans) were hybridized to Southern blots generated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. These sequences define a region of approximately 1 Mb on human Yq in which HpaII tiny fragment (HTF) islands appear to be absent. The conservation of these human Yq sequences on great ape Y chromosomes indicates a greater stability in this region of the Y than has been previously described for most anonymous human Y chromosomal sequences. The stability of these sequences on great ape Y chromosomes seems remarkable given that this region of the Y does not undergo meiotic recombination and the sequences do not appear to encode genes for which positive selection might occur.
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  • 46
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Rh blood group ; Evolution ; Rh antibodies ; Restriction fragments ; Primates ; Chimpanzee ; Gorilla ; New World monkey ; Old World monkey
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract To investigate the evolution of the Rh blood-group system in anthropoid apes, New and Old World monkeys, and nonprimate animals, serologic typing of erythrocytes from these species with antibodies specific for the human Rh blood-group antigens was performed. In addition, genomic DNA from these animals was analyzed on Southern blots with a human Rh-specific cDNA. Consistent with earlier reports, serologic results showed that gorilla and chimpanzee erythrocytes had epitopes recognized by human Rh D and c antisera, and gibbon erythrocytes were recognized by the c antisera. Surprisingly, some Old and New World monkeys also expressed a Rh c epitope on their erythrocytes. No erythrocytes from the nonprimate animals reacted specifically with any of the human Rh antisera. Southern blot analysis with a human Rh-specific cDNA probe detected Rh-related sequences in anthropoid apes, all New and Old World monkeys, and in most nonprimate animals tested. Although some Rh-related restriction fragments were conserved across species lines in primates, the Rh locus was more polymorphic in chimpanzees and gorillas than in humans. In addition, restriction fragments segregating with the presence of the D antigen in humans were present in the primate species that expressed the D antigen.
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  • 47
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    Journal of molecular evolution 33 (1991), S. 464-469 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; tRNA ; Ribosome ; Peptide bond ; Catalytic RNA
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Continuation of early evolutionary bonding between tRNAs would provide a solution to residence time problems between peptidyl-tRNA and mRNA. It could also improve the speed of peptide bond formation by holding the amino acid close to the growing peptide. The tRNA clover leaf structure would allow each tRNA to from a TΨC(GA)-loop bond to one side and a D-loop bond to the other, hence fixing itself within a group of tRNAs, all attached to the mRNA. This can be developed into a system for peptide elongation in which bonds are made and broken in an ordered sequence, with each step triggering the next. This leads to a model system that fits with some recent propsals for a three-site ribosome.
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  • 48
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    Journal of molecular evolution 34 (1992), S. 78-84 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Urate oxidase ; Evolution ; Mechanism of inactivation ; Mutations ; Hominoids
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Urate oxidase was lost in hominoids during primate evolution. The mechanism and biological reason for this loss remain unknown. In an attempt to address these questions, we analyzed the sequence of urate oxidase genes from four species of hominoids: human (Homo sapiens), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), and gibbon (Hylobates). Two nonsense mutations at codon positions 33 and 187 and an aberrant splice site were found in the human gene. These three deleterious mutations were also identified in the chimpanzee. The nonsense mutation at codon 33 was observed in the orangutan urate oxidase gene. None of the three mutations was present in the gibbon; in contrast, a 13-bp deletion was identified that disrupted the gibbon urate oxidase reading frame. These results suggest that the loss of urate oxidase during the evolution of hominoids could be caused by two independent events after the divergence of the gibbon lineage; the nonsense mutation at codon position 33 resulted in the loss of urate oxidase activity in the human, chimpanzee, and orangutan, whereas the 13-bp deletion was responsible for the urate oxidase deficiency in the gibbon. Because the disruption of a functional gene by independent events in two different evolutionary lineages is unlikely to occur on a chance basis, our data favor the hypothesis that the loss of urate oxidase may have evolutionary advantages.
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  • 49
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 601-607 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Prolamine ; Sperm proteins ; Evolution ; Mammals
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Prolamine P1 genes have been sequenced following PCR amplification from 11 mammals representing five major mammalian orders: Rodentia (rat and guinea pig), Carnivora (cat and bear), Proboscidea (elephant), Perissodactyla (horse), and Artiodactyla (camel, deer, elk, moose, and gazelle). The predicted amino acid sequence for these genes together with previously reported sequences results in a data set of 25 different P1 genes and 30 different P1 amino acid sequences. The alignment of all these sequences reveals that prolamines are amongst the most rapidly diverging proteins studied. In spite of the large number of differences there are conserved motifs that are also common to birds such as the N-terminal ARYR followed by the triple alternating SRSRSR phosphorylation site. The central region contains 3 arginine clusters consisting of 5–6 arginines each. The C-terminus appears to be the most variable region of the protamines. Overall the molecular evolution of P1 genes is in agreement with the expected species evolution supporting that these genes have evolved vertically.
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  • 50
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 405-412 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Primate ; Evolution ; Heterochromatin ; Repetitive sequences ; β Satellite sequences ; L1 transposon ; Polymerase chain reaction
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    Notes: Abstract The genomes of four primate species, belonging to the families Pongidae (chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan) and Hylobatidae (gibbons), have been analyzed for the presence and organization of two human GC-rich heterochromatic repetitive sequences: βSatellite (βSat) and LongSau (LSau) repeats. By Southern blot hybridization and PCR, both families of repeats were detected in all the analyzed species, thus indicating their origin in an ape ancestor. In the chimpanzee and gorilla, as in man, βSat sequences showed a 68-bp Sau3A periodicity and were preferentially organized in large clusters, whereas in the orangutan, they were organized in DNA fragments of 550 bp, which did not seem to be characterized by a tandem organization. On the contrary, in each of the analyzed species, the bulk of LSau sequences showed a longer Sau3A periodicity than that observed in man (450–550 bp). Furthermore, only in the chimpanzee genome some of LSau repeats seemed to be interspersed within blocks of βSat sequences. This sequence organization, which also characterizes the human genome, is probably absent in the gorilla. In fact, the analysis of a gorilla genomic library suggested that LSau repeats are not preferentially in linkage with βSat sequences. Moreover, LSau sequences were found in a genomic sector characterized by the simultaneous presence of L1 and (CA) repeats, as well as of anonymous sequences and known genes. In spite of the different sequence organization, the nucleotide differences between complete human and gorilla LSau repeats were very few, whereas one gorilla LSau repeat, interrupted by a probably-truncated L1 transposon, showed a higher degree of divergence. Besides the gorilla, this unusual sequence organization was detected in man, and, to a lesser extent, in the chimpanzee.
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  • 51
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases ; tRNA ; Genetic code ; RNA world ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract Two aspects of the evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are discussed. Firstly, using recent crystal structure information on seryl-tRNA synthetase and its substrate complexes, the coevolution of the mode of recognition between seryl-tRNA synthetase and tRNAser in different organisms is reviewed. Secondly, using sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees, the early evolution of class 2 Amnoacyl-tRNA synthetases is traced. Arguments are presented to suggest that synthetases are not the oldest of protein enzymes, but survived as RNA enzymes during the early period of the evolution of protein catalysts. In this view, the relatedness of the current synthetases, as evidenced by the division into two classes with their associated subclasses, reflects the replacement of RNA synthetases by protein synthetases. This process would have been triggered by the acquisition of tRNA 3′ end charging activity by early proteins capable of activating small molecules (e.g., amino acids) with ATP. If these arguments are correct, the genetic code was essentially frozen before the protein synthetases that we know today came into existence. Correspondence to: S. Cusack
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  • 52
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 570-577 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Alternate reading frames ; Evolution ; Overlapping frames ; Homology search ; Primary sequence analysis ; Polycistronic genes
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Hypothetical Products from Noncoding Frames (i.e., HyPNoFs) are hypothetical, not-coded proteins, translated from alternate reading frames (i.e., coding+1 and coding+2) of cDNAs. HyPNoFs of CD4, PKC, oncostatin, bcl-2 proto-oncogene, tumor suppressor p53, cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR), and tumor necrosis factors a and β were searched as query sequences vs the SWISS-PROT data bank. Homology searches carried out revealed that hypothetical products (i.e., HyPNoFs) may share high similarity with real protein products actually coded. Sequence similarity of hypothetical products to real proteins is sometimes very high, suggesting common conformational features, according to the Sander and Schneider cutoff value. This finding supports the hypothesis that eukaryotic DNA, currently considered to be monocistronic, might occasionally have polycistronic regions, carrying different protein messages on overlapping frames. As yet, polycistronic genes have been observed in viral genomes only. The presence of polycistronic regions in eukaryotic genes is likely reminiscent of an ancient strategy, rather than a present feature of the genome in eukaryotes. These data suggest that thorough investigation of HyPNoFs is likely to improve our ability to trace genes' evolution and to investigate structure-function relationships of protein and DNA sequences.
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  • 53
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Giardia ; Trichomonas ; CDK ; CDC ; Unicellular ; Metazoa ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and cell division control (CDC2) sequences are strongly conserved among eukaryotes and may complement the use of other sequence families in eukaryotic phylogenetic inference. We synthesized degenerate PCR primers to amplify the catalytic region of CDK homologs in representatives of the earliest available lineages of eukaryotes. CDK family sequence-based, maximum-likelihood distance measurements with neighbor joining, and Fitch-Margoliash least-squares analyses produced unrooted dendrograms that included protists, yeasts, and higher eukaryotes. Bootstrap confidence estimates supported CDK-based phylogenetic groupings among the protists, fungi, and vertebrates although resolution within these groups was often insignificant. However, Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia lamblia exhibited two of the most divergent CDK-like sequences consistent with rRNA-phylogenetic inference of early divergence of these eukaryotic lineages. In the evolution from unicellular to multicellular organisms, a constellation of amino acid residues aligning with the human, CDK N-terminal β sheet may have undergone abrupt replacement.
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  • 54
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 457-466 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Seed storage proteins ; Legumin ; Gene structure ; Evolution ; Gymnosperms ; Ginkgo biloba
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    Notes: Abstract Legumin-like seed storage proteins have been intensively studied in crop plants. However, little is known about the molecular evolution of these proteins and their genes and it was assumed that they originated from an ancestral gene that already existed at the beginning of angiosperm evolution. We have evidence for the ubiquitous occurrence of homologous proteins in gymnosperms as well. We have characterized the major seed storage globulin from Ginkgo biloba by amino acid sequencing, which reveals clear homology to legumin-like proteins from angiosperms. The Ginkgo legumin is encoded by a gene family; we describe two of its members. The promoter regions contain sequence motifs which are known to function as regulatory elements involved in seed-specific expression of angiosperm legumins, although the tissues concerned are different in gymnosperms and angiosperms. The Ginkgo legumin gene structure is divergent from that of angiosperms and suggests that the evolution of legumin genes implicated loss of introns. From our data and from functional approaches recently described it becomes obvious that the posttranslational processing site of legumin precursors is less conserved than hitherto assumed. Finally, we present a phylogenetic analysis of legumin encoding sequences and discuss their utility as molecular markers for the reconstruction of seed plant evolution.
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  • 55
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Snake venom ; Bothrops ; Phospholipase ; Myotoxin ; Evolution ; cDNA ; Gene duplication ; Phylogeny
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    Notes: Abstract The sequence coding for a snake venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2), BJUPLA2, has been cloned from a Bothrops jararacussu venom gland cDNA library. The cDNA sequence predicts a precursor containing a 16-residue signal peptide followed by a molecule of 122 amino acid residues with a strong sequence similarity to group II snake venom PLA2's. A striking feature of the cDNA is the high sequence conservation of the 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions in cDNAs coding for PLA2's from a number of viper species. The greatest sequence variation was observed between the regions coding for the mature proteins, with most substitutions occurring in nonsynonymous sites. The phylogenetic tree constructed by alignment of the amino acid sequence of BJUPLA2 with group II PLA2's in general groups them according to current taxonomical divisions and/or functional activity. It also suggests that gene duplications may have occurred at a number of different points during the evolution of snake venom group II PLA2's.
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  • 56
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    Journal of molecular evolution 35 (1992), S. 156-180 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: DNA damage ; DNA repair ; Chromatin ; Evolution ; Nucleosomes ; Nuclear matrix ; Active genes ; Z-DNA ; Sperm ; Mutation ; Molecular clock
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Some evolutionary consequences of different rates and trends in DNA damage and repair are explained. Different types of DNA damaging agents cause nonrandom lesions along the DNA. The type of DNA sequence motifs to be preferentially attacked depends upon the chemical or physical nature of the assaulting agent and the DNA base composition. Higher-order chromatin structure, the nonrandom nucleosome positioning along the DNA, the absence of nucleosomes from the promoter regions of active genes, curved DNA, the presence of sequence-specific binding proteins, and the torsional strain on the DNA induced by an increased transcriptional activity all are expected to affect rates of damage of individual genes. Furthermore, potential Z-DNA, H-DNA, slippage, and cruciform structures in the regulatory region of some genes or in other genomic loci induced by torsional strain on the DNA are more prone to modification by genotoxic agents. A specific actively transcribed gene may be preferentially damaged over nontranscribed genes only in specific cell types that maintain this gene in active chromatin fractions because of (1) its decondensed chromatin structure, (2) torsional strain in its DNA, (3) absence of nucleosomes from its regulatory region, and (4) altered nucleosome structure in its coding sequence due to the presence of modified histones and HMG proteins. The situation in this regard of germ cell lineages is, of course, the only one to intervene in evolution. Most lesions in DNA such as those caused by UV or DNA alkylating agents tend to diminish the GC content of genomes. Thus, DNA sequences not bound by selective constraints, such as pseudogenes, will show an increase in their AT content during evolution as evidenced by experimental observations. On the other hand, transcriptionally active parts may be repaired at rates higher than inactive parts of the genome, and proliferating cells may display higher repair activities than quiescent cells. This might arise from a tight coupling of the repair process with both transcription and replication, all these processes taking place on the nuclear matrix. Repair activities differ greatly among species, and there is a good correlation between life span and repair among mammals. It is predicted that genes that are transcriptionally active in germ-cell lineages have a lower mutation rate than bulk DNA, a circumstance that is expected to be reflected in evolution. Exception to this rule might be genes containing potential Z-DNA, H-DNA, or cruciform structures in their coding or regulatory regions that appear to be refractory to repair. This study supports the molecular clock hypothesis when applied to one gene within a group of related species and contends that evolutionary rates might vary between genes and gene segments not only as a result of differences in selective constraints but also as a result of differences in the rate of damage minus rate of repair among different segments of chromatin DNA.
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  • 57
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Alleles ; Evolution ; Gene conversion ; Introns ; Nematode
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    Notes: Abstract Globin genes from theCaenorhabditis speciesbriggsae andremanei were identified and compared with a previously describedC. elegans globin gene. The encoded globins share between 86% and 93% amino acid identity, with most of the changes in or just before the putative B helix.C. remanei was found to have two globin alleles,Crg1-1 andCrgl-2. The coding sequence for each is interrupted by a single intron in the same position. The exons of the two genes are only 1 % divergent at the nucleotide level and encode identical polypeptides. In contrast, intron sequence divergence is 16% and numerous insertions and deletions have significantly altered the size and content of both introns. Genetic crosses show thatCrg1-1 andCrgl-2 segregate as alleles. Homozygous lines for each allele were constructed and northern analysis confirmed the expression of both alleles. These data reveal an unusual situation wherein two alleles encoding identical proteins have diverged much more rapidly in their introns than the silent sites of their coding sequences, suggesting multiple gene conversion events.
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  • 58
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Histone H1° ; 3′ untranslated region ; Slippage ; Sequence simplicity ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract The H1° gene has a long 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of 1,125 nucleotides in the rat and 1,310 in humans. Analysis of the sequences shows that they have features of simple DNA that suggest involvement of replication slippage in their evolution. These features include the length imbalance between the rat and human sequences; the abundance of single-base repeats, two-base runs and other simple motifs clustered along the sequence; and the presence of single-base repeat length polymorphisms in the rat and mouse sequences. Pairwise comparisons show numerous short insertions/deletions, often flanked by direct repeats. In addition, a proportion of short insertions/deletions results from length differences in conserved single-base repeats. Quantification of the sequence simplicity shows that simple sequences have been more actively incorporated in the human lineage than in the rodent lineage. The combination of insertions/deletions and nucleotide substitutions along the sequence gives rise to three main regions of homology: a highly variable central region flanked by more conserved regions nearest the coding region and the polyA addition site.
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  • 59
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; κ-Casein ; Cytochrome b ; Artiodactyla ; Ruminantia ; Caprinae ; Capricornis
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    Notes: Abstract Nucleotide sequences for the κ-casein precursor proteins have been determined from the genomic DNAs or hair roots of the Ruminantia. The coding regions, exons 2, 3, and 4, were amplified separately via the three kinds of PCRs and then directly sequenced. The primers were designed from the sequence of bovine κ-casein gene; they were applicable for the amplification of the κ-casein genes from the 13 species in the Ruminantia except exon 2 of the lesser mouse deer. These results permitted an easy phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of an autosomal gene. A phylogenetic tree was constructed from the mature K-casein sequences and compared with the tree of the cytochrome b genes which were sequenced from the same individuals. The Cervidae (sika deer, Cervus nippon) were separated from the branch of the Bovidae on the tree of κ-casein genes with a relatively high confidence level of the bootstrap analysis, but included in the branch of the Bovidae on the tree of cytochrome b genes. The κ-casein tree indicated a monophyly of the subfamily Caprinae, although the internal branches were uncertain in the Caprinae. The tree based on the nucleotide sequences of cytochrome b genes clearly showed the relationships of the closely related species in the genus Capricornis consisting of serow (C. smatorensis), Japanese serow (C. crispus), and Formosan serow (C. swinhoei). These results would be explained by the difference of resolving power between the κ-casein and the cytochrome b sequences.
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  • 60
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 996-1005 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Repetitive DNA ; Tandem repeats ; Sequence analysis ; Phylogenetic tree ; Silent repeats ; Evolution
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Two different satellite DNAs exist in the genus Cucurbita which are different with respect to repeat length (350 by and 170 bp), array size, and sequence homogenization. Whereas the 350-bp satellite DNA is prominent and very homogeneous in all species investigated except for C. maxima and C. lundelliana, the 170-bp satellite is rather evenly distributed in all species. In C. maxima and C. lundelliana the 350-bp satellite is present only in small amounts, but detectable by the sensitive PCR method. These repeats are also very homogeneous, reflecting a silent stage of satellite DNA. In contrast, the 170-bp satellite DNA is intra- and interspecifically heterogeneous. It is striking that the species with no detectable amount of 350-bp satellite contain 170-bp satellite DNA clusters with the highest degree of homogeneity. The evolution of satellite DNA repeats within cultivated and wild species in the genus Cucurbita is elucidated using the sequence data of both satellite DNAs from all species investigated. The value of satellite DNA for phylogenetic analysis between closely related species is discussed.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 40 (1995), S. 120-126 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Simple repetitive DNA ; Microsatellites ; Unstable triplets ; Database ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract Simple repeats composed of tandemly repeated units 1–6 nucleotides (nt) long have been extracted from a selected set of primate genomic DNA sequences. Of the 501 theoretically possible, different types of repeats only 67 were present in the analyzed database in at least two different size ranges over 12 nt. They include all simple repeats known to be polymorphic in the primate genome. A list of moderately expanding and nonexpanding oligonucleotide patterns has also been included. Furthermore, we have compiled statistical data with emphasis on the overall variability of the most abundant 67 types of repeats. We have demonstrated that the expandability of at least some simple repeats may be affected by the overall base composition and by flanking sequences. In particular, the occurrence of tandemly repeated CAG and GCC triplets in exons positively correlates with their G+C content. We also noted that in the vicinity of Alu sequences tetrameric repeats are more abundant than in the total genomic DNA. This paper can be used as a comprehensive guide in identification of the most abundant and potentially polymorphic simple repeats. It is also of broader significance as a step toward understanding the contribution of flanking sequences and the overall sequence composition to variability of simple repeats.
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  • 62
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA ; Evolution ; Echinoderms ; Sea stars ; DNA sequence ; Mitochondrial proteins ; Mitochondrial tRNA genes
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary We have cloned and sequenced over 9 kb of the mitochondrial genome from the sea starPisaster ochraceus. Within a continuous 8.0-kb fragment are located the genes for NADH dehydrogenase subunits 1, 2, 3, and 4L (ND1, ND2, ND3, and ND4L), cytochrome oxidase subunits I, II, and III (COI, COII, and COIII), and adenosine triphosphatase subunits 6 and 8 (ATPase 6 and ATPase 8). This large fragment also contains a cluster of 13 tRNA genes between ND1 and COI as well as the genes for isoleucine tRNA between ND1 and ND2, arginine tRNA between COI and ND4L, lysine tRNA between COII and ATPase 8, and the serine (UCN) tRNA between COIII and ND3. The genes for the other five tRNAs lie outside this fragment. The gene for phenylalanine tRNA is located between cytochrome b and the 12S ribosomal genes. The genes for tRNAglu and tRNAthr are 3′ to the 12S ribosomal gene. The tRNAs for histidine and serine (AGN) are adjacent to each other and lie between ND4 and ND5. These data confirm the novel gene order in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of sea stars and delineate additional distinctions between the sea star and other mtDNA molecules.
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  • 63
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster ; Evolution ; Hybrid dysgenesis ; I elements ; Transposons
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary There are two categories of strains inDrosophila melanogaster with respect to the I-R system of hybrid dysgenesis. The inducer strains contain particular transposable elements named I factors. They are not present in the strains of the other category called reactive (R) strains. Defective I elements are present in the pericentromeric regions of both categories of strains. This last subfamily of I sequences has not yet been described in detail and little is known about its origin. In this paper, we report that the defective I elements display an average of 94% of sequence identity with each other and with the transposable I factor. The results suggest that they cannot be the progenitors of the present day I factors, but that each of these two subfamilies started to evolve independently several million years ago. Furthermore, the sequence comparison of these I elements with an active I factor fromDrosophila teissieri provides useful information about when the deleted I elements became immobilized.
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  • 64
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    Journal of molecular evolution 31 (1990), S. 485-492 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: BK virus ; Strains ; Regulatory region ; Late region ; Nucleotide sequence ; Evolution
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Within the genome of human polyomavirus BK (BKV), there exists a noncoding regulatory region toward the late region side of the origin of DNA replication. In most BKV strains isolated by viral culture, this regulatory region contains tandem repeats varying in size. Recently. however, several laboratories isolated new BKV strains (designated as archetypal strains) lacking such repeat sequences. To examine the genetic relationship between archetypal strains, a phylogenetic tree was constructed for seven BKV strains, including three archetypal strains, from DNA sequence data on the late genes, those for leader protein (agnoprotein), and those for structural proteins (VP1, VP2, and VP3). For three strains data previously reported were used, whereas for the others sequences were determined in this study. From total numbers of nucleotide substitutions in each pair of strains, a phylogenetic tree was constructed by the unweighted pair-group method. The phylogenetic tree obtained reveals that BKV strains containing the archetypal regulatory region do not constitute a cluster of closely related strains and that these strains, together with those carrying the major part of the archetypal regulatory region, are widespread in the BKV population. This finding suggests that the basic structure of the archetypal regulatory region has been conserved in the course of BKV evolution.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 32 (1991), S. 24-30 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Short sequence distribution ; Sequence constraints ; Averaged sequence ; Sequence structure ; Asymmetric nucleotide sequences ; GC content ; Evolution ; Evolutionary constraints
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The data from a genomic library can be sorted into the frequencies of every possible tetranucleotide in the sequence. This tabulation, a short sequence distribution, contains the frequency of occurrence of the 256 tetranucleotides and thus seems to serve as a vehicle for averaging sequence information. Two such distributions can be readily compared by correlation. Reported here are correlations (Spearmanr s) of the distributions from all of the genomic libraries in GenBank 44.0 with sizes equal to or larger than that ofSalmonella typhimurium, except for the data for mouse and humans. All of the organisms examined showed highly significant correlations between the two DNA strands (not the complementarity expected from base pairing). Of 155 comparisons between libraries, 132 showed significant correlations at the 99% confidence level. Application of the correlation coefficients as a similarity matrix clustered most organisms in a phenogram in a pattern consistent with other hypotheses. This suggests a highly conserved pattern underlying all other genetic information in cellular DNA and affecting both DNA strands, perhaps caused by interaction with conserved factors necessary for DNA packaging.
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  • 66
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    Journal of molecular evolution 37 (1993), S. 71-76 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Catalase ; Phylogenetic tree
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    Notes: Abstract Heme-containing catalase sequences from 20 different organisms representing prokaryotes, fungi, animals, and plants have been compiled for phylogenetic reconstruction. Phylogenies based on distance and parsimony analysis show that fungal and animal catalases can be derived from one ancestor, whereas bacterial catalases fail to form a monophyletic group. Plant catalases appear to form a second class of catalases that arose independently from a possible prokaryotic ancestor.
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  • 67
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    Journal of molecular evolution 32 (1991), S. 415-420 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster ; Drosophila virilis ; mastermind ; Gene comparison ; Repetitive sequences ; Homopolymers ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Themastermind gene ofDrosophila melanogaster encodes a novel, highly repetitive nuclear protein required for neural development. To identify functionally important regions we have initiated an interspecific comparison of the gene inDrosophila virilis. Mastermind transcription and genomic organization are similar in both species and sequence analysis reveals significant conservation in a major cluster of charged amino acids. In contrast, extensive variation is noted in homopolymer domains that immediately flank the acidic cluster. Distinct patterns of evolutionary change can be identified: the major difference between unique regions are occasional amino acid substitutions whereas the repetitive areas are characterized by numerous large in-frame insertions/deletions and a nearly threefold higher rate of amino acid replacement. Conservation of the acidic domain suggests that it has an important functional role whereas the hypervariable homopolymer regions appear to be under less selective constraints than adjacent unique areas.
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  • 68
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    Journal of molecular evolution 37 (1993), S. 426-434 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Primate ; Evolution ; Protamine ; Polymerase chain reaction ; Sperm proteins
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Protamine P1 genes have been sequenced by PCR amplification and direct DNA sequencing from 9 primates representing 5 major families, Cebidae (new world monkeys), Cercopithecidae (old world monkeys), Hylobatidae (gibbons), Pongidae (gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzee), and Hominidae (human). In this recently diverged group of primates these genes are clearly orthologous but very variable, both at the DNA level and in their expressed amino acid sequences. The rate of variation amongst the protamine Pls indicates that they are amongst the most rapidly diverging polypeptides studied. However, some regions are conserved both in primates and generally in other placental mammals. These are the 13 N-terminal residues (including a region of alternating serine and arginine residues (the motif SRSR, res. 10–13) susceptible to Ser phosphorylation), a tract of six Arg residues (res. 24–29) in the center of the molecule, and a six-residue region (RCCRRR, res. 39–44), consisting of a pair of cysteines flanked by arginines. Detailed consideration of nearest neighbor matrices and trees based on maximum parsimony indicates that PI genes from humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees are very similar. The amino acid and nucleotide differences between humans and gorillas. are fewer than those between humans and chimpanzees. This finding is at variance with data from DNA-DNA hybridization and extensive globin and mitochondrial DNA sequences which place human and chimpanzee as closest relatives in the super family, Hominoidea. This may be related to the fact that protamine Pls are expressed in germ line rather than somatic cells. In contrast to the variability of the exon regions of the protamine P1 genes, the sequence of the single intron is highly conserved.
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  • 69
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    Journal of molecular evolution 37 (1993), S. 544-551 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Isochores ; DNA ; Coding sequences ; Birds ; Mammals ; Evolution
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The compositional distributions of large (main-band) DNA fragments from eight birds belonging to eight different orders (including both paleognathous and neognathous species) are very broad and extremely close to each other. These findings, which are paralleled by the compositional similarity of homologous coding sequences and their codon positions, support the idea that birds are a monophyletic group. The compositional distribution of third-codon positions of genes from chicken, the only avian species for which a relatively large number of coding sequences is known, is very broad and bimodal, the minor GC-richer peak reaching 100% GC. The very high compositional heterogeneity of avian genomes is accompanied (as in the case of mammalian genomes) by a very high speciation rate compared to cold-blooded vertebrates which are characterized by genomes that are much less heterogeneous. The higher GC levels attained by avian compared to mammalian genomes might be correlated with the higher body temperature (41–43°C) of birds compared to mammals (37°C). A comparison of GC levels of coding sequences and codon positions from man and chicken revealed very close average GC levels and standard deviations. Homologous coding sequences and codon positions from man and chicken showed a surprisingly high degree of compositional similarity which was, however, higher for GC-poor than for GC-rich sequences. This indicates that GC-poor isochores of warm-blooded vertebrates reflect the composition of the isochores of the genome of the common reptilian ancestor of mammals and birds, which underwent only a small compositional change at the transition from cold- to warm-blooded vertebrates. In contrast, the GC-rich isochores of birds and mammals are the result of large compositional changes at the same evolutionary transition, where were in part different in the two classes of warm-blooded vertebrates.
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  • 70
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Gene regulation ; Drosophila ; Adaptation ; Enzymes
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    Notes: Abstract In an effort to understand the forces shaping evolution of regulatory genes and patterns, we have compared data on interspecific differences in enzyme expression patterns among the rapidly evolving Hawaiian picture-winged Drosophila to similar data on the more conservative virilis species group. Divergence of regulatory patterns is significantly more common in the former group, but cause and effect are difficult to discern. Random fixation of regulatory variants in small populations and/or during speciation may be somewhat more likely than divergence driven by selection. Within the picture-winged group, we also have compared enzymes that fulfill different metabolic roles. There are highly significant differences between individual enzymes, but no obvious correlations to functional categories.
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  • 71
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    Journal of molecular evolution 38 (1994), S. 1-17 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: HSP70 ; Heat shock ; Evolution ; Phylogeny ; Yeast ; Multigene family ; Subcellular compartmentalization
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Eukaryotic genomes encode multiple 70-kDa heat-shock proteins (HSP70s). The Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSP70 family is comprised of eight members. Here we present the nucleotide sequence of the SSA3 and SSB2 genes, completing the nucleotide sequence data for the yeast HSP70 family. We have analyzed these yeast sequences as well as 29 HSP70s from 24 additional eukaryotic and prokaryotic species. Comparison of the sequences demonstrates the extreme conservation of HSP70s; proteins from the most distantly related species share at least 45% identity and more than one-sixth of the amino acids are identical in the aligned region (567 amino acids) among all proteins analyzed. Phylogenetic trees constructed by two independent methods indicate that ancient molecular and cellular events have given rise to at least four monophyletic groups of eukaryotic HSP70 proteins. Each group of evolutionarily similar HSP70s shares a common intracellular localization and is presumed to be comprised of functional homologues; these include heat-shock proteins of the cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. HSP70s localized in mitochondria and plastids are most similar to the DnaK HSP70 homologues in purple bacteria and cyanobacteria, respectively, which is consistent with the proposed prokaryotic origin of these organelles. The analyses indicate that the major eukaryotic HSP70 groups arose prior to the divergence of the earliest eukaryotes, roughly 2 billion years ago. In some cases, as exemplified by the SSA genes encoding the cytoplasmic HSP70s of S. cerevisiae, more recent duplication events have given rise to subfamilies within the major groups. The S. cerevisiae SSB proteins comprise a unique subfamily not identified in other species to date. This subfamily appears to have resulted from an ancient gene duplication that occurred at approximately the same time as the origin of the major eukaryotic HSP70 groups.
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  • 72
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Lagomorphs ; Rabbit ; Mitochondrial DNA ; Heteroplasmy ; Restriction site polymorphism ; Evolution
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    Notes: Summary A characterization was conducted on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecules extracted separately from 107 European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) both wild and domestic, 13 European hares (Lepus capensis), and 1 eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Experimentally this study took into account restriction site polymorphism, overall length variation of the noncoding region, and numbers of repeated sequences. Nucleotide divergences indicate that the mtDNAs from the three species derived from a common ancestor some 6–8 million years (Myr) ago. Every animal appeared heteroplasmic for a set of molecules with various lengths of the noncoding region and variable numbers of repeated sequences that contribute to them. This systematic heteroplasmy, most probably generated by a rate of localized mtDNA rearrangements high enough to counterbalance the cellular segregation of rearranged molecules, is a shared derived character of leporids. The geographic distribution of mtDNA polymorphism among wild rabbit populations over the western European basin shows that two molecular lineages are represented, one in southern Spain, the second over northern Spain, France, and Tunisia. These two lineages derived from a common ancestor some 2 Myr ago. Their present geographical distribution may be correlated to the separation of rabbits into two stocks at the time of Mindel glaciation. Finally the distribution of mtDNA diversity exhibits a mosaic pattern both at inter- and intrapopulation levels.
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  • 73
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    Journal of molecular evolution 33 (1991), S. 133-141 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Y-chromosome ; DNA ; Human ; Primate ; Evolution ; PUPPY sequence ; Alu element
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    Notes: Summary A Y-chromosomal DNA fragment has been isolated from a human Y-Charon 21A recombinant library. Evolutionary analysis of 1F5 indicates that the size and sequence of this fragment have been conserved in higher primates. Deletion mapping and in situ hybridization analysis have localized 1F5 to the middle euchromatic portion of the long arm of the human Y chromosome at Yq11.2. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of an atypical Alu element and two regions rich in polypyrimidine-polypurine residues.
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  • 74
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Bacteria ; Sugars ; Phosphotransferase system ; Transport proteins ; Evolution ; Sequence comparisons ; NADH dehydrogenase ; Mitochondria
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    Notes: Summary The amino acid sequences of 15 sugar permeases of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvatedependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) were divided into four homologous segments, and these segments were analyzed to give phylogenetic trees. The permease segments fell into four clusters: the lactose-cellobiose cluster, the fructose-mannitol cluster, the glucose-N-acetylglucosamine cluster, and the sucrose-β-glucoside cluster. Sequences of the glucitol and mannose permeases (clusters 5 and 6, respectively) were too dissimilar to establish homology with the other permeases, but short regions of statistically significant sequence similarities were noted. The functional and structural relationships of these permease segments are discussed. Some of the homologous PTS permeases were found to exhibit sufficient sequence similarity to subunits 4 and 5 of the eukaryotic mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase complex to suggest homology. Moreover, subunits 4 and 5 of this complex appeared to be homologous to each other, suggesting that these PTS and mitochondrial proteins comprise a superfamily. The integral membrane subunits of the evolutionarily divergent mannose PTS permease, the P and M subunits, exhibited limited sequence similarity to subunit 6 of the mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase and subunit 5b of cytochrome oxidase, respectively. These results suggest that PTS sugar permeases and mitochondrial proton-translocating proteins may be related, although the possibility of convergent evolution cannot be ruled out.
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  • 75
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Lens ; Crystallin ; Squid ; Chicken ; Gene ; Regulation ; AP-1 ; Evolution
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    Notes: Abstract Previous experiments have shown that the minimal promoters required for function of the squid SL20-1 and SL11 crystallin genes in transfected rabbit lens epithelial cells contain an overlapping AP-1/antioxidant responsive element (ARE) upstream of the TATA box. This region resembles the PL-1 and PL-2 elements of the chicken βB 1-cry stallin promoter which are essential for promoter function in transfected primary chicken lens epithelial cells. Here we demonstrate by site-directed mutagenesis that the AP-1/ARE sequence is essential for activity of the squid SL20-1 and SL11 promoters in transfected embryonic chicken lens cells and fibroblasts. Promoter activity was higher in transfected lens cells than in fibroblasts. Electrophoretic mobility shift and DNase protection experiments demonstrated the formation of numerous complexes between nuclear proteins of the embryonic chicken lens and the AP-1/ARE sequences of the squid SL20-1 and SL11 crystallin promoters. One of these complexes comigrated and cross-competed with that formed with the PL-1 element of the chicken βB1-crystallin promoter. This complex formed with nuclear extracts from the lens, heart, brain, and skeletal muscle of embryonic chickens and was eliminated by competition with a consensus AP-1 sequence. The nonfunctional mutant AP-1/ ARE sequences did not compete for complex formation. These data raise the intriguing possibility that entirely different, nonhomologous crystallin genes of the chicken and squid have convergently evolved a similar cis-acting regulatory element (AP-1/ARE) for high expression in the lens.
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  • 76
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Monotreme ; Platypus ; mtDNA ; tRNA
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    Notes: Abstract The vertebrate mitochondrial genome is highly conserved in size and gene content. Among the chordates there appears to be one basic gene arrangement, but rearrangements in the mitochondrial gene order of the avian lineages have indicated that the mitochondrial genome may be more variable than once thought. Different gene orders in marsupials and eutherian mammals leave the ancestral mammalian order in some doubt. We have investigated the mitochondrial gene order in the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a representative of the third major group of mammals, to determine which mitochondrial gene arrangement is ancestral in mammals. We have found that the platypus mtDNA conforms to the basic chordate gene arrangement, common to fish, amphibians, and eutherian mammals, indicating that this arrangement was the original mammalian arrangement, and that the unusual rearrangements observed in the avians and marsupials are probably lineage-specific.
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  • 77
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    Journal of molecular evolution 42 (1996), S. 79-84 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: LacY ; Lactose permease ; Evolution ; Reduced synonymous polymorphism ; Positive selection ; E. coli
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    Notes: Abstract We have determined the nucleotide sequences of sevenlacY alleles isolated from natural isolates ofEscherichia coli. Nucleotide heterozygosity estimates for this locus were compared to those obtained from previous studies of intraspecific variation at chromosomal loci, revealing thatlacY has unusually low synonymous site variation. The average pairwise heterozygosity of synonymous sites (Ks=0.0112+/-0.0100) is the second lowest reported and the lowest for loci that have an equivalent level of nonsynonymous variation. We consider several hypotheses to explain how different forces in evolution could act to create the observed pattern of polymorphism, including selection for translational efficiency and positive selection. Our analysis most strongly supports the hypothesis that positive selection has acted on thelacY locus inE. coli.
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  • 78
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Soybean ; Ferritin ; Plant-animal ; Monocotyledons ; Dicotyledons ; Plastid ; Gene organization ; Evolution ; Intron
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    Notes: Abstract Ferritin, a protein widespread in nature, concentrates iron −1011−1012-fold above the solubility within a spherical shell of 24 subunits; it derives in plants and animals from a common ancestor (based on sequence) but displays a cytoplasmic location in animals compared to the plastid in contemporary plants. Ferritin gene regulation in plants and animals is altered by development, hormones, and excess iron; iron signals target DNA in plants but mRNA in animals. Evolution has thus conserved the two end points of ferritin gene expression, the physiological signals and the protein structure, while allowing some divergence of the genetic mechanisms. Comparison of ferritin gene organization in plants and animals, made possible by the cloning of a dicot (soy-bean) ferritin gene presented here and the recent cloning of two monocot (maize) ferritin genes, shows evolutionary divergence in ferritin gene organization between plants and animals but conservation among plants or among animals; divergence in the genetic mechanism for iron regulation is reflected by the absence in all three plant genes of the IRE, a highly conserved, noncoding sequence in vertebrate animal ferritin mRNA. In plant ferritin genes, the number of introns (n = 7) is higher than in animals (n = 3). Second, no intron positions are conserved when ferritin genes of plants and animals are compared, although all ferritin gene introns are in the coding region; within kingdoms, the intron positions in ferritin genes are conserved. Finally, secondary protein structure has no apparent relationship to intron/exon boundaries in plant ferritin genes, whereas in animal ferritin genes the correspondence is high. The structural differences in introns/exons among phylogenetically related ferritin coding sequences and the high conservation of the gene structure within plant or animal kingdoms suggest that kingdom-specific functional constraints may exist to maintain a particular intron/exon pattern within ferritin genes. In the case of plants, where ferritin gene intron placement is unrelated to triplet codons or protein structure, and where ferritin is targeted to the plastid, the selection pressure on gene organization may relate to RNA function and plastid/nuclear signaling.
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  • 79
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Transposable elements ; Evolution ; Horizontal transfers and alternative hypotheses
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    Notes: Abstract The integrase domain of RNA-mediated elements (class I) and the transposase domain of DNA-mediated transposable elements (class II) were compared. A number of elements contain the DDE signature, which plays an important role in their integration. The possible relationships betweenmariner-Tc1 andIS elements, retrotransposons, and retroviruses were analyzed from an alignment of this region. Themariner-Tc1 superfamily, and LTR retrotransposons and retroviruses were found to be monophyletic groups. However, theIS elements of bacteria were found in several groups. These results were used to propose an evolutionary history that suggests a common ancestor for some integrases and transposases.
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  • 80
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Multigene family ; Recombination ; Trypanosome ; Variant surface glycoprotein
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    Notes: Abstract The surface of the parasitic protozoanTrypanosoma brucei spp. is covered with a dense coat consisting of a single type of glycoprotein molecule, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). There may be as many as 1,000 genes for VSG within the genome ofT. brucei, and the switch of expression from one to another is the phenomenon of antigenic variation. As an approach to understanding the evolution of VSG genes we have determined the genomic DNA sequences of the eight genes encoding the variant surface glycoprotein 117 (VSG) family. From these data we have observed a number of features concerning the relationships between these genes: (1) there is a region of high variability confined to the N-terminus of the coding sequence, and comparison of the sequences with the available X-ray diffraction crystal structures suggests that two of the most variable stretches within the N-terminal domain are present on surface-exposed loops, indicating a role for epitope selection in evolution of these genes; (2) the 29 nucleotides surrounding the splice acceptor site are absolutely conserved in all eight 117 VSG genes; (3) numerous insertion/deletion mutations are located within or immediately downstream of the C-terminal protein-coding sequences: (4) within 500 by downstream of the insertion/deletion mutations are one or two copies of a repeat motif highly homologous to the recombinogenic 76-bp repeat sequences present upstream of many VSG basic copy genes and the expression-linked copy.
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  • 81
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Cyanelles ; Cyanophora paradoxa ; Endosymbiosis ; Evolution ; Glaucocystophyta ; Glaucophyta ; Phylogeny ; Plastid ; 16S ribosomal RNA
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Glaucocystophyte algae (sensu Kies, Berl. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 92, 1979) contain plastids (cyanelles) that retain the peptidoglycan wall of the putative cyanobacterial endosymbiont; this and other ultrastructural characters (e.g., unstacked thylakoids, phycobilisomes) have suggested that cyanelles are “primitive” plastids that may represent undeveloped associations between heterotrophic “host” cells (i.e., glaucocystophytes) and cyanobacteria. To test the monophyly of glaucocystophyte cyanelles and to determine their evolutionary relationship to other plastids, complete 16S ribosomal RNA sequences were determined for Cyanophora paradoxa, Glaucocystis nostochinearum, Glaucosphaera vacuolata, and Gloeochaete wittrockiana. Plastid rRNAs were analyzed with the maximum-likelihood, maximumparsimony, and neighbor joining methods. The phylogenetic analyses show that the cyanelles of C. paradoxa, G. nostochinearum, and G. wittrockiana form a distinct evolutionary lineage; these cyanelles presumably share a monophyletic origin. The rDNA sequence of G. vacuolata was positioned within the nongreen plastid lineage. This result is consistent with analyses of nuclear-encoded rRNAs that identify G. vacuolata as a rhodophyte and support its removal from the Glaucocystophyta. Results of a global search with the maximumlikelihood method suggest that cyanelles are the first divergence among all plastids; this result is consistent with a single loss of the peptidoglycan wall in plastids after the divergence of the cyanelles. User-defined tree analyses with the maximum-likelihood method indicate, however, that the position of the cyanelles is not stable within the rRNA phylogenies. Both maximumparsimony and neighbor-joining analyses showed a close evolutionary relationship between cyanelles and nongreen plastids; these phylogenetic methods were sensitive to inclusion/exclusion of the G. wittrockiana cyanelle sequence. Base compositional bias within the G. wittrockiana 16S rRNA may explain this result. Taken together the phylogenetic analyses are interpreted as supporting a near-simultaneous radiation of cyanelles and green and nongreen plastids; these organelles are all rooted within the cyanobacteria.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 293-298 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: β-tubulin ; Evolution ; Gene cluster ; Gene dispersion ; Drosophila montium subgroup
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    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The β1-, β2-, and β3-tubulin genes have been mapped by in situ hybridization on the polytene chromosomes of 11 selected species (15 strains) belonging to the Drosophila montium subgroup. Although the hybridization pattern among the strains of the same species does not differ, this pattern is significantly different among the species. The β-tubulin genes in the montium subgroup seem to be organized in a cluster, or in a semi-cluster, or are completely dispersed. The clustered arrangement is found in the North-Oriental sibling species D. auraria, D. triauraria, and D. quadraria. The semi-clustered arrangement, wherein the β1 and β2 genes are located at the same locus while β3 is at a different one, appears in the South-Oriental species D. bicomuta, D. serrata, and D. birchii, as well as in the Afrotropical species D. diplacantha and D. seguyi. The complete separation of the genes is observed in the Indian species D. kikkawai and D. jambulina and in the Afrotropical species D. vulcana. Based on the above results, a possible mode of evolution of the β-tubulin genes in the montium subgroup is attempted. In addition, phylogenetic relationships among the montium species are discussed.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 43 (1996), S. 399-404 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Asarum ; Dioscorea ; Angiosperms ; Evolution ; Legumins ; Seed proteins
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Analysis of legumin-encoding cDNAs fromDioscorea caucasica Lipsky (Dioscoreaceae) and fromAsarum europaeum L. (Aristolochiaceae) shows that there is an especially methionine-rich legumin subfamily present in the lower angiosperm clades including the Monocotyledoneae. It is characterized by a methionine content of 3–4 mol% which is roughly triple the methionine proportion of most other legumins. These “MetR” legumins, if present, still have to be detected in the higher angiosperms including the important seed crops. Evolutionary analysis suggests that the MetR legumins are the result of a gene duplication allowing the differentiation of legumin genes according to their sulfur content. The duplication event must have taken place before the split into mono- and dicotyledonous plants but probably after the separation of angiosperms and gymnosperms.
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  • 84
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Ribosomal RNA ; Cyanobacteria ; Leptolyngbya ; Oscillatoria
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract In order to determine the nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequences of cyanobacteria originating from nonaxenic cultures, a cyanobacterium-specific oligonucleotide probe was developed to distinguish polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of the cyanobacterial rRNA operons from those resulting from amplification of contaminating bacteria. Using this screening method the 16S rRNA genes of four nonaxenic filamentous cyanobacterial strains belonging to the generaLeptolyngbya andOscillatoria were cloned and sequenced. For the genusLeptolyngbya, the 16S rRNA sequence of the axenic strain PCC 73110 was also determined. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on complete and partial sequences. The results show that the strainsLeptolyngbya foveolarum Komárek 1964/112,Leptolyngbya sp. VRUC 135 Albertano 1985/1, andLeptolyngbya boryanum PCC 73110 belong to the same cluster. StrainOscillatoria cf.corallinae SAG 8.92, which contains the rare photosynthetic pigment CU-phycoerythrin, is not closely related to other CU-phycoerythrin-containing cyanobacteria.Oscillatoria agardhii CYA 18, which is a representative of planktonicOscillatoria species that form toxic blooms in Norwegian inland waters, has no close relatives in the tree.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 43 (1996), S. 685-689 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Retroposons ; Integration targets ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Genomic DNA fragments generated by the reverse transcription of cellular RNA are called retroposons. Because they are flanked by short repeats, mammalian retroposons are believed to integrate at staggered chromosomal breaks. Recently, a significant sequence pattern associated with the integration of Alu and ID repeats was identified (Jurka 1996). It is represented by the 5′ TTAAAA consensus sequence around the 5′ ends of flanking repeats of Alu, ID, as well as, of B1 and B2 retroposed elements as shown in this paper. This consensus is a potential target for enzymatic nicking which probably occurs in the complementary strand between 3′ AA and the following 3′ TTTT bases. The first four bases of the flanking repeats corresponding to the 3′ TTTT consensus sequence show some sequence variations that may be affected by complementary base pairing between the A-rich RNA tails and the DNA target sequences prior to nicking and reverse transcription. We discuss potential evidence for such base pairing based on correlated variations in nucleotide composition of different tail and target regions.
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  • 86
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    Journal of molecular evolution 42 (1996), S. 570-579 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Catalase ; Phylogenetic tree,Zea mays L. ; Isozyme ; Antioxidant genes ; Gene Structure ; Oxidative stress
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We have compared the nucleotide and protein sequences of the three maize catalase genes with other plant catalases to reconstruct the evolutionary relationship among these catalases. These sequences were also compared with other eukaryotic and prokaryotic catalases. Phylogenies based on distances and parsimony analysis show that all plant catalases derive from a common ancestral catalase gene and can be divided into three distinct groups. The first, and major, group includes maizeCatl, barleyCat1, riceCatB and most of the dicot catalases. The second group is an apparent dicot-specific catalase group encompassing the tobaccoCat2 and tomatoCat. The third is a monocot-specific catalase class including the maize Cat3, barley Cat2, and riceCatA. The maize Cat2 gene is loosely related to the first group. The distinctive features of monocot-specific catalases are their extreme high codon bias at the third position and low degree of sequence similarity to other plant catalases. Similarities in the intron positions for several plant catalase genes support the conclusion of derivation from a common ancestral gene. The similar intron position between bean catalases and human catalase implies that the animal and plant catalases might have derived from a common progenitor gene sequence.
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  • 87
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Archaebacteria ; rRNA operons ; Secondary structure ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Several sequences flanking the large rRNA genes of several transcripts from extreme thermophiles, extreme halophiles, and methanogens were aligned and analyzed for the presence of common primary and secondary structural features, which would bear on the concept of monphyletic archaebacteria. Few sequences were common to all the archaebacterial transcripts, and these were confined to short regions generally flanking putative double helices. At a secondary structural level, however, in addition to the previously characterized processing stems of the 16S and 23S RNAs, four helices were detected that were common to the archaebacterial transcripts: two in the 16S RNA leader sequence and two in the 16S-23S RNA spacer. Although all of these helices vary in size and form from organism to organism, three of them contain double helical segments that are strongly supported by compensating base changes among the three archaebacterial groups. Three extreme halophiles exhibited two additional helices in their relatively large spacers and a further helix preceding the 5S RNA, which are also supported by compensating base changes. Ribosomal RNA transcripts from eubateria/chloroplasts and eukaryotes were also examined for secondary structural features with locations and forms corresponding to those of the archaebacteria, but none were detected. The analysis provides support for the monophyletic nature of the archaebacteria and reinforces their differences from eubacteria/chloroplasts and eukaryotes.
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  • 88
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Phylogenetic tree ; Likelihood method ; RNA polymerase ; Archaebacteria ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The amino acid sequences of the largest subunits of the RNA polymerases I, II, and III from eukaryotes were compared with those of archaebacterial and eubacterial homologs, and their evolutionary relationships were analyzed in detail by a recently developed tree-making method, the likelihood method of protein phylogeny, as well as by the neighbor-joining method and the parsimony method, together with bootstrap analyses. It was shown that the best tree topologies predicted by the first two methods are identical, whereas the last one predicts a distinct tree. The maximum likelihood tree revealed that, after the separation from archaebacteria, the three eukaryotic RNA polymerases diverged from an ancestral precursor in the eukaryotic lineage. This result is contrasted with the published result showing multiple origins for the three eukaryotic polymerases. It was shown that eukaryotic RNA polymerase I evolved much more rapidly than RNA polymerases II and III: The N-terminal half of RNA polymerase I shows an extraordinarily high evolutionary rate, possibly due to relaxed functional constraints. In contrast the evolutionary rate of archaebacterial RNA polymerase is remarkably limited. In addition, including the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase, a detailed analysis for the branching pattern of the three major groups of archaebacteria was carried out by the maximum likelihood method. It was shown that the three major groups of archaebacteria are likely to form a single cluster; that is, archaebacteria are likely to be monophyletic as originally proposed by Woese and his colleagues.
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  • 89
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Ribonuclease ; Evolution ; Gene duplication ; Ruminants
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Mammalian pancreatic ribonucleases form a family of homologous proteins that has been extensively investigated. The primary structures of these enzymes were used to derive phylogenetic trees. These analyses indicate that the presence of three strictly homologous enzymes in the bovine species (the pancreatic, seminal, and cerebral ribonucleases) is due to gene duplication events which occurred during the evolution of ancestral ruminants. In this paper we present evidence that confirms this finding and that suggests an overall structural conservation of the putative ribonuclease genes in ruminant species. We could also demonstrate that the sequences related to ox ribonuclease coding regions present in genomic DNA of the giraffe species are the orthologues of the bovine genes encoding the three ribonucleases mentioned above.
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  • 90
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    Journal of molecular evolution 32 (1991), S. 296-303 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Prebiotic chemistry ; Primordial soup ; Oparin hypothesis ; Evolution ; Impact catastrophism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary In the traditional concept for the origin of life as proposed by Oparin and Haldane in the 1920s, prebiotic reactants became slowly concentrated in the primordial oceans and life evolved slowly from a series of highly protracted chemical reactions during the first billion years of Earth's history. However, chemical evolution may not have occurred continuously because planetesimals and asterioids impacted the Earth many times during the first billion years, may have sterilized the Earth, and required the process to start over. A rapid process of chemical evolution may have been required in order that life appeared at or before 3.5 billion years ago. Thus, a setting favoring rapid chemical evolution may be required. A chemical evolution hypothesis set forth by Woese in 1979 accomplished prebiotic reactions rapidly in droplets in giant atmospheric reflux columns. However, in 1985 Scherer raised a number of objections to Woese's hypothesis and concluded that it was not valid. We propose a mechanism for prebiotic chemistry in clouds that satisfies Scherer's concerns regarding the Woese hypothesis and includes advantageous droplet chemistry. Prebiotic reactants were supplied to the atmosphere by comets, meteorites, and interplanetary dust or synthesized in the atmosphere from simple compounds using energy sources such as ultraviolet light, corona discharge, or lightning. These prebiotic monomers would have first encountered moisture in cloud drops and precipitation. We propose that rapid prebiotic chemical evolution was facilitated on the primordial Earth by cycles of condensation and evaporation of cloud drops containing clay condensation nuclei and nonvolatile monomers. For example, amino acids supplied by, or synthesized during entry of, meteorites, comets, and interplanetary dust would have been scavenged by cloud drops containing clay condensation nuclei. Polymerization would have occurred within cloud systems during cycles of condensation, freezing, melting, and evaporation of cloud drops. We suggest that polymerization reactions occurred in the atmosphere as in the Woese hypothesis, but life originated in the ocean as in the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis. The rapidity with which chemical evolution could have occurred within clouds accommodates the time constraints suggested by recent astrophysical theories.
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  • 91
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    Journal of molecular evolution 38 (1994), S. 336-351 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Yolk protein genes ; Vitellogenesis ; Calliphora ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The yolk protein genes (yps) are expressed in a temporal, tissue- and sex-specific fashion in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we report the sequence of two related genes in Calliphora erythrocephala. The predicted Calliphora yolk protein (YP) sequences are well conserved, especially at the C-terminal end when compared to those of D. melanogaster and Ceratitis capitata. Database searches with the Calliphora yolk protein B (CeYPB) sequence identify the vertebrate lipase similarity reported for the YPs of Drosophila and Ceratitis. Moreover, sequences with identity to divalent ion-binding sites were observed, which colocalized with putative tyrosine sulfation sites. Calliphora oogenesis differs from Drosophila in that it is cyclic in response to a meat feed. The Calliphora yp genes are expressed in the follicle cells of the egg chamber during vitellogenesis, as shown by in situ hybridization, and the yp message levels correlate with YP synthesis. The synthesis of the yp transcripts in ovaries of Calliphora occurs in the same pattern as that for ovarian transcripts in Drosophila. In the carcass, yp transcript levels are correlated with the production of a batch of eggs.
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  • 92
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    Journal of molecular evolution 38 (1994), S. 405-419 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Molecular phylogeny ; Universal tree ; Ribosomal proteins ; Evolution ; Archaebacteria
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary Available sequences that correspond to the E. coli ribosomal proteins L11, L1, L10, and L12 from eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes have been aligned. The alignments were analyzed qualitatively for shared structural features and for conservation of deletions or insertions. The alignments were further subjected to quantitative phylogenetic analysis, and the amino acid identity between selected pairs of sequences was calculated. In general, eubacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes each form coherent and well-resolved nonoverlapping phylogenetic domains. The degree of diversity of the four proteins between the three groups is not uniform. For L11, the eubacterial and archaebacterial proteins are very similar whereas the eukaryotic L11 is clearly less similar. In contrast, in the case of the L12 proteins and to a lesser extent the L10 proteins, the archaebacterial and eukaryotic proteins are similar whereas the eubacterial proteins are different. The eukaryotic L1 equivalent protein has yet to be identified. If the root of the universal tree is near or within the eubacterial domain, our ribosomal protein-based phylogenies indicate that archaebacteria are monophyletic. The eukaryotic lineage appears to originate either near or within the archaebacterial domain.
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  • 93
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Aspergillus ; 5S rRNA genes ; 5S rRNA pseudogenes ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary We have cloned and determined the nucleotide sequence of 18 DNA fragments hybridizing to 5S rRNA from twoAspergillus species-A. wentii andA. awamori. Four of the analyzed sequences were pseudogenes. The gene sequences of these two species were very similar and differed fromAspergillus nidulans at both constant and microheterogeneous sites.
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  • 94
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    Journal of molecular evolution 33 (1991), S. 207-208 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Vesicle ; Biogenesis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary The earliest fossil stromatolites present evidence of a complex ecosystem of photosynthetic organisms. Because the origin of present life can be dated within a few hundred million years prior to these fossils, their complexity poses a problem. A heuristic model outlines the first radiation leading to the universal ancestor.
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  • 95
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: CpG dinucleotides ; Evolution ; Repetitive sequences ; Reverse transcriptase ; S1Bn retroposons
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The identification of a family of SINE retroposons dispersed in the genome of oilseed rape Brassica napus has provided the basis for an evolutionary analysis of retroposition in plants. The repetitive elements (called S1Bn) are 170 by long and occupy roughly 500 loci by haploid genome. They present characteristic features of SINE retroposons such as a 3′ terminal A-rich region, two conserved polymerase III motifs (box A and B), flanking direct repeats of variable sizes, and a primary and secondary sequence homology to several tRNA species. A consensus sequence was made from the alignment of 34 members of the family. The retroposon population was divided into five subfamilies based on several correlated sets of mutations from the consensus. These precise separations in subfamilies based on “diagnostic” mutations and the random distribution of mutations observed inside each subfamily are consistent with the master sequence model proposed for the dispersion of mammalian retroposons. An independent analysis of each subfamily provides strong evidence for the coexpression of at least three subfamily master sequences (SMS). In contrast to mammalian retroposition, diagnostic positions are not shared between SMS. We therefore propose that SMS were all derived from a general master sequence (GMS) and independently activated for retroposition after a variable period of random drift. Possible models for plant retroposition are discussed.
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  • 96
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Repetitive DNA ; Tandem repeats ; Sequence analysis ; Recombination ; Isolated populations ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The satellite DNA family pDoP102 is species specific for the cave cricket Dolichopoda schiavazzii, an endemic species of mainland and insular Tuscany. It consists of numerous tandemly arranged repeats, 102 bp in length, and evolved most probably after cladogenesis of D. schiavazzii from the D. baccettii-aegilion group within the last 2.3 ± 0.8 million years. A sequence comparison of 31 clones (53 repetition units) from three isolated populations reveals a very high degree of sequence homogeneity within the species with no evidence for any specific population features. This appears to be in contrast to the results of allozyme analyses which account for a relatively old evolutionary divergence of the Elba island population from the mainland ones. Since the assumption of actual gene flow and recent colonization is rejected, the observed sequence homogeneity is hypothesized to be maintained by recombination processes preventing fixation of newly introduced mutations on pDoP102 sequence clusters.
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  • 97
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Muscle-myosin heavy-chain gene ; Alternative exons ; Synonymous substitutions ; Amino acid substitutions ; Evolution ; Testis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The muscle-myosin heavy-chain (mMHC) gene of Drosophila hydei has been sequenced completely (size 23.3 kb). The sequence comparison with the D. melanogaster mMHC gene revealed that the exonintron pattern is identical. The protein coding regions show a high degree of conservation (97%). The alternatively spliced exons (3a-b, 7a-d, 9a-c, 11a-e, and 15a-b) display more variations in the number of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitutions than the common exons (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 19). The base composition at synonymous sites of fourfold degenerate codons (third position) is not biased in the alternative exons. In the common exons there exists a bias for C and against A. These findings imply that the alternative exons of the Drosophila mMHC gene evolve at a different, in several cases higher, rate than the common ones. The 5′ splice junctions and 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions show a high level of similarity, indicating a functional constraint on these sequences. The intron regions vary considerably in length within one species, but the corresponding introns are very similar in length between the two species and all contain stretches of sequence similarity. A particular example is the first intron, which contains multiple regions of similarity. In the conserved regions of intron 12 (head-tail border) sequences were found which have the potential to direct another smaller mMHC transcript.
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  • 98
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    Journal of molecular evolution 39 (1994), S. 489-495 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Repetitive sequences ; Sequence variability ; Evolution ; Heterochromatin ; DNA curvature
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Two highly abundant satellite DNAs comprise 36% of the Tenebrio obscurus (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera) genome. They are designated as satellite I and satellite II with the monomer length of 344 and 142 base pairs (bp), respectively. Both satellites differ in their nucleotide (nt) sequences, but the frequency of point mutations, well-conserved length of monomer variants, stretches of shared mutations characteristic for the process of gene conversion, and distribution of both satellites in regions of centromeric heterochromatin of all chromosomes indicate that the same evolutionary processes act on both of them with the same, or similar, rate. While satellite I shares no sequence similarity with any other known nt sequence, satellite II is 79.7% homologous with the highly abundant satellite from closely related Tenebrio molitor. Difference in the frequency of point mutations and absence of shared mutations indicating gene conversion strongly suggest that in these two closely related species mutational processes affecting satellite DNAs seem to be changed. Retarded electrophoretic mobility, due to sequence-induced curvature of DNA helix axis, was observed for T. obscurus satellite II, but not for satellite I. Although evolutionary processes act with different rates in T. obscurus and T. molitor satellites the monomer length and sequence-induced curvature are well preserved in both 142-bp satellites, as well as in, at the nt sequence level completely divergent, Palorus ratzeburgii (Tenebrionidae) satellite, indicating potential importance of these parameters in their evolution.
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  • 99
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Alcohol dehydrogenase ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; Evolution ; Gene families
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We have characterized two cDNA clones from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that display similarity to the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene family. The nucleotide sequences of these cDNAs predict that they encode Zn-containing long-chain ADH enzymes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that one is most similar to dimeric class III ADHs found in diverse taxa; the other is most similar to the tetrameric forms of ADH previously described only in fungi.
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  • 100
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 293-298 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: β-tubulin ; Evolution ; Gene cluster ; Gene dispersion ; Drosophila montium subgroup
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The β1-, β2-, and β3-tubulin genes have been mapped by in situ hybridization on the polytene chromosomes of 11 selected species (15 strains) belonging to theDrosophila montium subgroup. Although the hybridization pattern among the strains of the same species does not differ, this pattern is significantly different among the species. The β-tubulin genes in themontium subgroup seem to be organized in a cluster, or in a semi-cluster, or are completely dispersed. The clustered arrangement is found in the North-Oriental sibling speciesD. auraria, D. triauraria, andD. quadraria. The semi-clustered arrangement, wherein the β1 and β2 genes are located at the same locus while β3 is at a different one, appears in the South-Oriental speciesD. bicomuta, D. serrata, andD. birchii, as well as in the Afrotropical speciesD. diplacantha andD. seguyi. The complete separation of the genes is observed in the Indian speciesD. kikkawai andD. jambulina and in the Afrotropical speciesD. vulcana. Based on the above results, a possible mode of evolution of the β-tubulin genes in the montium subgroup is attempted. In addition, phylogenetic relationships among themontium species are discussed.
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