Biogeographical study of plateau pikas Ochotona curzoniae (Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae).

We reconstructed the demographic history of the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau by using genetic variation data obtained from spatially distributed populations across much of the plateau. We obtained sequence data, including cob (1,140 bp) and D-loop sequences (732 bp), from 144 individuals at sites ranging from the high-altitude interior to the relatively low-altitude northeastern plateau, and identified 37 and 42 unique haplotypes, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis and haplotype networks based on the individual and the combined datasets of cob and D-loop sequences clustered all populations into four well-supported major groups, and the interaction between vicariance, dispersal, and habitat fragmentation resulted in the current geographical distribution and genetic diversity of O.

Messenger RNA decay in mammalian cells: the exonuclease perspective.

The majority of messenger RNA (mRNA) decay in mammalian cells appears to be the work of a series of RNA exoribonucleases. A set of multiple poly(A)-specific deadenylases has been identified, some, if not most, of which are likely to play a role in the key first step of mRNA turnover--the regulated shortening of the poly(A) tail. After deadenylation, the transcript likely gets degraded by either a 5'-to-3' or a 3'-to-5' exonucleolytic pathway.

Analysis of RNA exonucleolytic activities in cellular extracts.

Three types of exonucleases contribute to the turnover of messenger RNAs in eukaryotic cells: (1) general 3'-to-5' exonucleases, (2) poly(A)-specific 3'-to-5' exonucleases, and (3) 5'-to-3' exonucleases. All three of these activities can be detected in cytoplasmic extracts from a variety of eukaryotic cells. In this chapter, we describe the preparation and use of HeLa cytoplasmic S100 extracts to study these three distinct exonuclease activities.