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Identification of a 6 base pair insertion in West Highland White Terriers with erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To define the disease-causing mutation in West Highland White Terriers (WHWT) with erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (R-PK) deficiency and to design a genetic test capable of recognizing affected (homozygous) and carrier (heterozygous) dogs. ANIMALS: 3 anemic WHWT littermates and 1 unaffected littermate; 16 dogs from the same kennel, including 4 unrelated, phenotypically normal dogs (control dogs), and 12 for which PK activity was not known; 2 PK-deficient Basenjis; 2 PK-deficient Beagles; 4 unaffected English Springer Spaniels; and 1 mixed-breed dog. PROCEDURES: cDNA was cloned and sequenced, and cDNA sequences were compared with the published sequence for canine R-PK cDNA to identify the putative disease-causing mutation. Genomic DNA spanning the affected region was cloned and sequenced to verify the mutation. Subsequently, polymerase chain reaction primers were designed to amplify the section of the gene containing the mutation from DNA in blood or buccal swab samples. Gel electrophoresis allowed assignment of genotypes on the basis of allele separation. RESULTS: 4 single base polymorphisms attributable to sequencing errors in the published sequence were identified, along with a 6 base pair (bp) insertion in exon 10 that was recognized as a putative disease-causing mutation. An identical insertion was found in genomic DNA. Amplification of genomic DNA yielded a 117 bp product for genotypically normal dogs and a 123 bp product for WHWT homozygous for PK deficiency. Carriers had 1 copy of each allele and variable heteroduplex structures. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A 6 bp insertion in the C domain of R-PK was identified in WHWT with PK deficiency. Affected and carrier dogs could be distinguished with a genetic test.

Animals↗

Genome-wide deleterious mutation favors dispersal and species integrity.

Here I develop the idea that ubiquitous harmful genome-wide mutation with local differentiation favors dispersal, even though migration reduces average fitness. Historical contingency of the mutational process means that demes (sub-populations) differentiate from one another. Deleterious or lethal partially recessive mutations carried by migrants then do not encounter similar mutations in the recipient deme. Migrant offspring have higher fitness than offspring of residents, because migrant offspring are heterozygous rather than homozygous for harmful mutations. The advantage is inversely related to local inbreeding depression. Genome-wide deleterious mutation favors the evolution of dispersal, which in turn enhances the genetic integrity of the species.

Animals↗

A method for introduction of unmarked mutations in the genome of Paracoccus denitrificans: construction of strains with multiple mutations in the genes encoding periplasmic cytochromes c550, c551i, and c553i.

A new suicide vector, pRVS1, was constructed to facilitate the site-directed introduction of unmarked mutations in the chromosome of Paracoccus denitrificans. The vector was derived from suicide vector pGRPd1, which was equipped with the lacZ gene encoding beta-galactosidase. The reporter gene was found to be a successful screening marker for the discrimination between plasmid integrant strains and mutant strains which had lost the plasmid after homologous recombination. Suicide vectors pGRPd1 and pRVS1 were used in gene replacement techniques for the construction of mutant strains with multiple mutations in the cycA, moxG, and cycB genes encoding the periplasmic cytochromes c550, c551i, and c553i, respectively. Southern analyses of the DNA and protein analyses of the resultant single, double, and triple mutant strains confirmed the correctness of the mutations. The wild type and mutant strains were all able to grow on succinate and choline chloride. In addition, all strains grew on methylamine and displayed wild-type levels of methylamine dehydrogenase activities. cycA mutant strains, however, showed a decreased maximum specific growth rate on the methylamine substrate. The wild-type strain, cycA and cycB mutant strains, and the cycA cycB double mutant strain were able to grow on methanol and showed wild-type levels of methanol dehydrogenase activities. moxG mutant strains failed to grow on methanol and had low levels of methanol dehydrogenase activities. The maximum specific growth rate of the cycA mutant strain on methanol was comparable with that of the wild-type strain. The data indicate the involvement of the soluble cytochromes c in clearly defined electron transport routes.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

BRAF mutations are not an alternative explanation for the molecular etiology of ras-mutation negative cold thyroid nodules.

Activation of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK/MAP kinase pathway is a known mediator of signaling that results in cellular proliferation. Moreover, this activation can lead to a growth advantage of tumor cells. Therefore, mitogenic mutations in the RAS family of oncogenes are detectable in a significant percentage in most tumors. Moreover, mutations in the BRAF gene have recently been suggested as an alternate predominant cause of colorectal and papillary thyroid cancers without ras mutations. Similar to neoplasms of other organs mutations of all three ras genes can be found in thyroid tumors. In our set of 40 cold thyroid adenoma and adenomatous nodules ras mutations were detected in only a single case. We therefore tested these hypofunctional tumors for BRAF mutations. Genomic DNA was extracted from nodular and surrounding tissue. Mutational hot spots in exons 11 and 15 of the BRAF gene were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to screen for mutations. No point mutation could be found in the two exons of the BRAF gene. Our study suggests that BRAF mutations are rather rare in solitary cold adenomas and adenomatous nodules and do not explain the molecular etiology of ras mutation-negative cold thyroid nodules.

Exons↗

[Search for expansion of CAG-repeats in DNA sequences expressed in the brain of humans with psychiatric and neurological diseases].

Dynamic mutations due to trinucleotide repeat expansion are a new class of human genome mutations. CAG repeat expansion in the coding region of associated genes is the molecular genetic basis of the several diseases of nervous system. Eight DNA sequences with CAG repeats expressed in human brain were chosen from the GenBank database. The search of CAG expansion was carried out for patients with schizophrenia (brain and blood) and essential tremor. CAG repeat expansion has not been found for the loci. The distribution of allelic sizes is similar in the patients and control samples. Locus HS0073 has shown the polymorphism of the length for CAG repeat alleles. Statistically reliable excess of the homozygotes has been found for schizophrenic patients.

Alleles↗

[Study of functional L1 retrotransposon in human type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the susceptibility gene of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through a novel strategy. METHODS: Firstly, the common feature of the putative susceptibility genes in the reported susceptibility loci was searched by using NCBI BLAST, and a functional L1 retrotransposon in the loci was found. Secondly, the mRNA expression level of the functional L1 retrotransposon in 25 Han T2DM patients and 22 normal controls was investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and statistical analysis was implemented in statistical package SPSS10.0. Thirdly, L1 retrotransponson genome mutation screening was performed via sequencing. RESULTS: Screening the human genome for the retrotransposon genome via alignment with the L1 genome using NCBI BLAST showed the functional L1 retrotransposons distribute on most chromosomes except for chromosomes 19, 21 and Y on which rare type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci were reported to reside, and their distribution sites are consistent with the locations of the reported candidate type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci. The mRNA expression level of the functional L1 retrotransposon in the T2DM patients was significantly lower than that in normal subjects (P<0.001). Nonsense mutations including deletion and/or point mutations were observed in all of the 6 T2DM patients tested, but no mutation was observed in all of the 4 normal controls tested. CONCLUSION: The functional L1 retrotransposon may be a candidate susceptibility gene of type 2 diabetes or a key regulator of the susceptibility genes, and it may be an ideal candidate biomarker for screening type 2 diabetes.

Adult↗

Nature of deleterious mutation load in Drosophila.

Much population genetics and evolution theory depends on knowledge of genomic mutation rates and distributions of mutation effects for fitness, but most information comes from a few mutation accumulation experiments in Drosophila in which replicated chromosomes are sheltered from natural selection by a balancer chromosome. I show here that data from these experiments imply the existence of a large class of minor viability mutations with approximately equivalent effects. However, analysis of the distribution of viabilities of chromosomes exposed to EMS mutagenesis reveals a qualitatively different distribution of effects lacking such a minor effects class. A possible explanation for this difference is that transposable element insertions, a common class of spontaneous mutation event in Drosophila frequently generate minor viability effects. This explanation would imply that current estimates of deleterious mutation rates are not generally applicable in evolutionary models, as transposition rates vary widely. Alternatively, much of the apparent decline in viability under spontaneous mutation accumulation could have been nonmutational, perhaps due to selective improvement of balancer chromosomes. This explanation accords well with the data and implies a spontaneous mutation rate for viability two orders of magnitude lower than previously assumed, with most mutation load attributable to major effects.

Animals↗

Nuclear gene defects in respiratory chain disorders.

Deficiencies in the activity of the components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain can result from mutations in genes encoded in the mitochondrial (mtDNA) or nuclear genomes. Mutations in mtDNA have been identified over the past decade in a wide spectrum of clinical disorders, and attention has now turned to identifying nuclear gene defects. Positional cloning, candidate gene analysis, and functional complementation in patient cell lines have all been used with success. Mutations in gene coding for structural subunits of the respiratory chain complexes appear to be less numerous than defects in genes associated with some aspect of the biogenesis of the respiratory chain. Despite the fact that many of the nuclear disease genes so far identified are ubiquitously expressed, tissue specificity of the biochemical and clinical phenotype is the rule rather than the exception. This selective vulnerability of different cell populations remains unexplained. The majority of patients with a biochemical deficiency in one or the other of the respiratory chain complexes do not yet have a molecular diagnosis.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗

Joint evolution of dispersal and inbreeding load.

Inbreeding avoidance is often invoked to explain observed patterns of dispersal, and theoretical models indeed point to a possibly important role. However, while inbreeding load is usually assumed constant in these models, it is actually bound to vary dynamically under the combined influences of mutation, drift, and selection and thus to evolve jointly with dispersal. Here we report the results of individual-based stochastic simulations allowing such a joint evolution. We show that strongly deleterious mutations should play no significant role, owing to the low genomic mutation rate for such mutations. Mildly deleterious mutations, by contrast, may create enough heterosis to affect the evolution of dispersal as an inbreeding-avoidance mechanism, but only provided that they are also strongly recessive. If slightly recessive, they will spread among demes and accumulate at the metapopulation level, thus contributing to mutational load, but not to heterosis. The resulting loss of viability may then combine with demographic stochasticity to promote population fluctuations, which foster indirect incentives for dispersal. Our simulations suggest that, under biologically realistic parameter values, deleterious mutations have a limited impact on the evolution of dispersal, which on average exceeds by only one-third the values expected from kin-competition avoidance.

Animals↗

[A case of late-onset carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency, presenting periodic psychotic episodes coinciding with menstrual periods].

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency (CPSID) is a rare metabolic disorder affecting the first enzymatic step of urea cycle. We report clinical manifestations of a female case of late-onset CPSID in Japan. An 18-year-old girl was admitted to emergency room due to acute comatose state. Her parents had no apparent consanguineous history. She had suffered from intermittent psychotic episodes (excitation, aggressive behavior and insomnia) with nausea and vomiting from the age of 13, mostly coinciding with menstrual period. She had minor learning disability without major neurological deficits and convulsions. Her mental status was estimated as normal in her intermenstrual period. She had been diagnosed as having hysteria and premenstrual syndrome. Her neurological findings on admission showed deep coma and hypotonic tetraparesis. Plasma ammonia level was markedly elevated (684 micrograms/dl) without significant liver dysfunction. Blood urea nitrogen decreased to 6 mg/dl. Continuous venovenous filtration with subsequential administration of sodium benzoate and l-arginine was started to eliminate blood ammonia. Although the plasma ammonia level decreased to 300 mu/dl in next 10 hours, severe cerebral edema was observed in head computed tomography subsequently, followed by marked cerebral atrophy. Finally, her consciousness status became almost alert a month after the onset, but her mental status was severely retarded. CPSI activity of her biopsied liver markedly decreased and she was diagnosed as having CPS ID. CPSI cDNA analysis of her biopsied liver demonstrated a V1149G mutation. Genomic DNA analysis showed that she was heterozygous in V1149G mutation. The mutation allele was derived from her father. The causative factor for absence or very low level of maternal CPSI mRNA will require further analysis.

Adolescent↗

[Relationship between environmental pollution and genetic monitoring of human populations].

The basis of genetic monitoring is the knowledge of laws of the spontaneous mutation process. These laws are determined for human chromosome and genome mutations by cytogenetic examination of newborns, infants with congenital defects, and the material of spontaneous abortions. Confidence intervals and all the necessary sample sizes were calculated when registering the mutagenic effects of different intensity in the general population as well as to the groups of closer contact with mutagens. Such calculations were made for controlling the spontaneous mutation process in lymphocytes of human peripheral blood on the basis of registering chromosome aberrations.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Novel approach to mapping of resistance mutations in whole genomes by using restriction enzyme modulation of transformation efficiency.

Restriction enzyme modulation of transformation efficiencies (REMOTE) is a method that makes use of genome restriction maps and experimentally observed differences in transformation efficiencies of genomic DNA restriction digests to discover the location of mutations in genomes. The frequency with which digested genomic DNA from a resistant strain transforms a susceptible strain to resistance is primarily determined by the size of the fragment containing the resistance mutation and the distance of the mutation to the end of the fragment. The positions of restriction enzyme cleavage sites immediately flanking the resistance mutation define these parameters. The mapping procedure involves a process of elimination in which digests that transform with high frequency indicate that the restriction enzyme cleavage sites are relatively far away from the mutation, while digests that transform with low frequency indicate that the sites are close to the mutation. The transformation data are compared computationally to the genome restriction map to identify the regions that best fit the data. Transformations with PCR amplicons encompassing candidate regions identify the resistance locus and enable identification of the mutation. REMOTE was developed using Haemophilus influenzae strains with mutations in gyrA, gyrB, and rpsE that confer resistance to ciprofloxacin, novobiocin, and spectinomycin, respectively. We applied REMOTE to identify mutations that confer resistance to two novel antibacterial compounds. The resistance mutations were found in genes that can decrease the intracellular concentration of compounds: acrB, which encodes a subunit of the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump; and fadL, which encodes a long-chain fatty acid transporter.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Effect of X protein on transactivation of hepatitis B virus promoters and on viral replication.

The X gene product of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transactivates a wide variety of promoters, including four promoters on the HBV genome (Rossner, 1992, J. Med. Virol. 36, 101-117). We compared their transactivation efficiencies and investigated whether the spatial organization of the promoters with respect to other cis-acting elements might influence their activities. Eight reporter plasmid constructs containing the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene were designed such that four had the isolated HBV promoters linked to the CAT gene. In the other four, the CAT gene was inserted downstream to each of the four promoters retained in context in the HBV genome. Cells of the human hepatoblastoma line HepG2 were transfected with each one of these reporters together with an effector plasmid, pRSVX, which allowed expression of X protein. All of these promoters could be stimulated by X protein by approximately 2- to 3.5-fold irrespective of their spatial context in the HBV genome. Mutational analysis of in-frame ATG codons in the X gene provides evidence that transactivator product(s) are produced by internal initiation of translation. Transfection of HepG2 cells with HBV genomes bearing a stop mutation in the X gene at codon 118 resulted in poor production of all viral components. Their syntheses were restored upon transfection of the wild-type X gene.

Base Sequence↗

Characterization of the desmosomal cadherin gene family: genomic organization of two desmoglein genes on human chromosome 18q12.

The human desmoglein genes, desmogleins 1--3, are members of the desmosomal cadherin superfamily, and encode critical components of the desmosome. These genes are tightly clustered within 150--200 kb of chromosome 18q12.1 and represent excellent candidate genes for genetic disorders of the epidermis linked to this region of the genome. Mutations in desmoglein 1 have already been implicated in the genetic disorder striate palmoplantar keratoderma. Similarly, a mutation in desmoglein 3 underlies the balding mouse phenotype, although no human mutations in desmoglein 3 have been identified to date. In this study, we have characterized the genomic organization of two of the three desmoglein genes mapped to chromosome 18q12. Comparison of their exon-intron structure reveals the high level of evolutionary conservation expected from these related genes. The identification of the genomic structure of the desmoglein genes will facilitate mutation detection in genodermatoses with desmosomal abnormalities resulting from underlying defects in these genes.

Animals↗

The vertebrate genome: isochores and evolution.

Vertebrate genomes are mosaics of isochores--namely, of long (> 300 kb), compositionally homogeneous DNA segments that can be subdivided into a small number of families characterized by different GC levels. In the human genome (which is representative of a number of mammalian genomes, and, more broadly, of the genomes of warm-blooded vertebrates), the compositional range of isochores is 30%-60% GC, and five families of isochores have been identified: two GC-poor families, L1 and L2, together representing 62% of the genome, and three GC-rich families, H1, H2, and H3, representing 22%, 9%, and 3%, respectively (the remaining 4% of the genome is formed by satellite and ribosomal DNA). Gene concentration is strikingly nonuniform, being highest in the H3 isochore family, lowest in the L1 + L2 families, and intermediate in the H1 + H2 families. The H3 family corresponds to T(elomeric) bands of metaphase chromosomes, and the L1 + L2 families correspond to G(iemsa) bands, whereas R(everse) bands comprise both GC-poor and GC-rich isochores. The compositional distributions of large genome fragments, of exons (and their codon positions), and of introns are correlated with each other. They represent compositional patterns and are very different between the genomes of cold- and warm-blooded vertebrates, mainly in that the former are much less heterogeneous in base composition and never reach the highest GC levels attained by the latter. Only relatively small compositional differences are found among the genomes of either cold- or warm-blooded vertebrates. Compositional patterns allow one to define two modes in genome evolution: a conservative mode, with no compositional change, and a transitional (or shifting) mode, with compositional changes. The conservative mode can be observed among either cold- or warm-blooded vertebrates. The transitional mode comprises both major and minor compositional changes. In vertebrate genomes, the major changes are associated with the appearance of GC-rich and very GC-rich isochores in mammalian and avian genomes. Mutational biases play a role in both modes of compositional evolution. According to one viewpoint, the fixation of compositionally biased mutations is responsible for the transitional mode of evolution of bacterial genomes; in the conservative mode of evolution of vertebrates, they accomplish their role in conjunction with differences either in chromatin structures that modulate replication errors or in chromatin transcriptional activities that may lead to various extents of repair-DNA synthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

A two-step method for the introduction of single or multiple defined point mutations into the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The introduction of defined mutations into open reading frames (ORF) or non-translated regions of the genome is important to study of the structure-function relationship of amino acid residues in proteins or that of sequence motifs at the genome level. We describe a simple two-step method for the introduction of defined single or multiple point mutations into the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This method circumvents the need for plasmid-based mutagenesis and thus ensures homogenous expression of the gene of interest within the cell population. It is based on the introduction of a selectable marker downstream of the gene of interest. This marker is then amplified with a gene-specific primer that harbours the desired point mutation, creating a selectable marker-tagged mutant version of the gene of interest. The mutant fragment is then integrated into the genome of a wild-type strain through homologous recombination. Successive rounds of amplification of the mutant loci with primers that introduce additional point mutations upstream of existing mutations will generate multiple defined mutations within a single gene. As a proof of principle, we have employed this method to generate a temperature-sensitive mutant version of the plasma membrane ATPase, pma1-7, which bears two point mutations (Pro434Ala and Gly789Ser). Phenotypic analysis of a pma1-7 haploid strain indicates that this allele has the same characteristics as the original pma1-7 allele. It confers a temperature-sensitive growth phenotype and the newly synthesized Pma1-7 protein is unstable and rapidly degraded.

Alleles↗

Alternative splicing and genomic stability.

Alternative splicing allows an organism to make different proteins in different cells at different times, all from the same gene. In a cell that uses alternative splicing, the total length of all the exons is much shorter than in a cell that encodes the same set of proteins without alternative splicing. This economical use of exons makes genes more stable during reproduction and development because a genome with a shorter exon length is more resistant to harmful mutations. Genomic stability may be the reason why higher vertebrates splice alternatively. For a broad class of alternatively spliced genes, a formula is given for the increase in their stability.

Alternative Splicing↗

Enrichment of segmental duplications in regions of breaks of synteny between the human and mouse genomes suggest their involvement in evolutionary rearrangements.

The sequence of the mouse genome allows one to compare the conservation of synteny between the human and mouse genome and exploration of regions that might have been involved in major rearrangements during the evolution of these two species (evolutionary genome rearrangements). Recent segmental duplications (or duplicons) are paralogous DNA sequences with high sequence identity that account for about 3.5-5% of the human genome and have emerged during the past approximately 35 million years of evolution. These regions are susceptible to illegitimate recombination leading to rearrangements that result in genomic disorders or genomic mutations. A catalogue of several hundred segmental duplications potentially leading to genomic rearrangements has been reported. The authors and others have observed that some chromosome regions involved in genomic disorders are shuffled in orientation and order in the mouse genome and that regions flanked by segmental duplications are often polymorphic. We have compared the human and mouse genome sequences and demonstrate here that recent segmental duplications correlate with breaks of synteny between these two species. We also observed that nine primary regions involved in human genomic disorders show changes in the order or the orientation of mouse/human synteny segments, were often flanked by segmental duplications in the human sequence. We found that 53% of all evolutionary rearrangement breakpoints associate with segmental duplications, as compared with 18% expected in a random location of breaks along the chromosome (P<0.0001). Our data suggest that segmental duplications have participated in the recent evolution of the human genome, as driving forces for evolutionary rearrangements, chromosome structure polymorphisms and genomic disorders.

Animals↗