The DNA methylation program of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is carried out by the single DNA methyltransferase gene dDnmt2, the function of which is unknown before. We present evidence that intactness of the ...The DNA methylation program of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is carried out by the single DNA methyltransferase gene dDnmt2, the function of which is unknown before. We present evidence that intactness of the gene is required for maintenance of the normal life span of the fruit flies. In contrast, overexpression of dDnmt2 could extend Drosophila life span. The study links the Drosophila DNA methylation program with the small heatshock proteins and longevity/aging and has interesting implication on the eukaryotic DNA methyl-ation programs in general.展开更多
Deacetylation of the N-terminal tails of core histones plays a crucial role in gene silencing. Rpd3 and Hdal represent two major types of genes encoding trichostatin A-sensitive histone deacetylases. Although they hav...Deacetylation of the N-terminal tails of core histones plays a crucial role in gene silencing. Rpd3 and Hdal represent two major types of genes encoding trichostatin A-sensitive histone deacetylases. Although they have been widely found, their cellular and developmental roles remain to be elucidated in metazoa. We show that Drosophila Hdacl, an Rpd3-type gene, interacts cooperatively with Polycomb group repressors in silencing the homeotic genes that are essential for axial patterning of body segments. The biochem-ical copurification and cytological colocalization of HDAC1 and Polycomb group repressors strongly suggest that HDAC1 is a component of the silencing complex for chromatin modification on specific regulatory regions of homeotic genes.展开更多
Mitochondrial cytochrome b genes of about 450 bp fragments from 3 proturan species, 5 collembolan species and 2 dipluran species have been sequenced. The number of nucleotide substitutions and Kimura 2-parameter dis... Mitochondrial cytochrome b genes of about 450 bp fragments from 3 proturan species, 5 collembolan species and 2 dipluran species have been sequenced. The number of nucleotide substitutions and Kimura 2-parameter distances have also been calculated, and a series of molecular phylogenetic trees reconstructed by using parsimony and distance methods.展开更多
基金Supported by the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (C20617).
Acknowledgements: We thank Judith R. Deney, Sonia Campbell, Renee Harada and Hce-Joo Kim in Li's laboratory for their technical assistance. We also thank Dr. Richard A. Criley in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences for his critical review and valuable comments on the manuscript.
文摘The DNA methylation program of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is carried out by the single DNA methyltransferase gene dDnmt2, the function of which is unknown before. We present evidence that intactness of the gene is required for maintenance of the normal life span of the fruit flies. In contrast, overexpression of dDnmt2 could extend Drosophila life span. The study links the Drosophila DNA methylation program with the small heatshock proteins and longevity/aging and has interesting implication on the eukaryotic DNA methyl-ation programs in general.
文摘Deacetylation of the N-terminal tails of core histones plays a crucial role in gene silencing. Rpd3 and Hdal represent two major types of genes encoding trichostatin A-sensitive histone deacetylases. Although they have been widely found, their cellular and developmental roles remain to be elucidated in metazoa. We show that Drosophila Hdacl, an Rpd3-type gene, interacts cooperatively with Polycomb group repressors in silencing the homeotic genes that are essential for axial patterning of body segments. The biochem-ical copurification and cytological colocalization of HDAC1 and Polycomb group repressors strongly suggest that HDAC1 is a component of the silencing complex for chromatin modification on specific regulatory regions of homeotic genes.
文摘 Mitochondrial cytochrome b genes of about 450 bp fragments from 3 proturan species, 5 collembolan species and 2 dipluran species have been sequenced. The number of nucleotide substitutions and Kimura 2-parameter distances have also been calculated, and a series of molecular phylogenetic trees reconstructed by using parsimony and distance methods.