Translational effects of differential codon usage among intragenic domains of new genes in Drosophila.

Evolved codon usages often pose a technical challenge over the expressing of eukaryotic genes in microbial systems because of changed translational machinery. In the present study, we investigated the translational effects of intragenic differential codon usage on the expression of the new Drosophila gene, jingwei (jgw), a chimera derived from two unrelated parental genes: Ymp and Adh. We found that jgw possesses a strong intragenic differential usage of synonymous codons, i.

Evolving protein functional diversity in new genes of Drosophila.

The mechanism by which protein functional diversity expands is an important evolutionary issue. Studies of recently evolved chimeric genes permit direct investigation of the origin of new protein functions before they become obscured by subsequent evolution. Found in several African Drosophila species, jingwei (jgw), a recently evolved gene with a domain derived from the still extant short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) through retroposition, provides an opportunity to examine this previously undescribed process directly.

Polyaniline nanowires on Si surfaces fabricated with DNA templates.

It is essential to put individual, free-standing nanowires onto insulating substrates and integrate them to useful devices. Here we report a strategy for fabrication of conducting polymer nanowires on thermally oxidized Si surfaces by use of DNA as templates. The direct use of stretched and immobilized DNA strands as templates avoids the agglomeration of DNA caused by shielding of charges on DNA when polyaniline/DNA complexes formed in solution.

Correlation of ATP7B genotype with phenotype in Chinese patients with Wilson disease.

Aim: To determine the mutational characterization of P-type ATP7B gene and to explore the correlation of ATP7B genotype to phenotype in Chinese patients with Wilson disease (WD).

Methods: Seventy-five patients with WD from 72 no-kinship families, 44 males and 31 females, were enrolled in this study. The age of onset ranged from 4 to 39 years, <=18 years in 72 patients.

Constitutional mutation of keratin 13 gene in familial white sponge nevus.

Objective: We sought to investigate a novel mutation in the keratin genes assumed to be responsible for a familial case of oral white sponge nevus.

Patients And Methods: The affected family consisted of a 36-year-old woman, her 17-year-old daughter, and her 14-year-old son. Keratin 4 and 13 genes extracted from venous blood lymphocytes were amplified by using the polymerase chain reaction and directly sequenced.

Origin of new genes: evidence from experimental and computational analyses.

Exon shuffling is an essential molecular mechanism for the formation of new genes. Many cases of exon shuffling have been reported in vertebrate genes. These discoveries revealed the importance of exon shuffling in the origin of new genes.

Cadmium and zinc interactions and their transfer in soil-crop system under actual field conditions.

The transfer of Cd and Zn from calcareous soils nearby a non-ferrous mining and smelting bases to the spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) tissues and the interactions between the two metals concerned were investigated under actual field conditions.