Subjects: Biology >> Biophysics >> Cell Biology submitted time 2016-05-12
Abstract： The mechanisms that specify and maintain the characteristics of germ cells during animal development are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that loss of function of the zinc-finger gene lsy-2 results in various somatic cells adopting germ cells characteristics, including expression of germline-specific P granules, enhanced RNAi activity and transgene silencing. The soma to germ transformation in lsy-2 mutants requires the activities of multiple chromatin remodeling complexes, including the MES-4 complex and the ISW-1 complex. The distinct germline-specific features in somatic cells and the gene expression profile indicate that LSY-2 acts in the Mec complex in this process. Our study demonstrated that lsy-2 functions in the maintenance of the soma-germ distinction.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Biology >> Biophysics >> Genetics & Heredity submitted time 2016-05-11
Yang, Zhi
Wang, Chunyan
Wang, Tao
Bai, Jianhui
Liu, Xuhan
Guo, Ying
Zhao, Yaofeng
Ren, Liming
Zhao, Yu
Ma, Qingwei
Ma, Qingwei
Wu, Xiaobing
Abstract： CD1, as the third family of antigen-presenting molecules, is previously only found in mammals and chickens, which suggests that the chicken and mammalian CD1 shared a common ancestral gene emerging at least 310 million years ago. Here, we describe CD1 genes in the green anole lizard and Crocodylia, demonstrating that CD1 is ubiquitous in mammals, birds, and reptiles. Although the reptilian CD1 protein structures are predicted to be similar to human CD1d and chicken CD1.1, CD1 isotypes are not found to be orthologous between mammals, birds, and reptiles according to phylogenetic analyses, suggesting an independent diversification of CD1 isotypes during the speciation of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In the green anole lizard, although the single CD1 locus and MHC I gene are located on the same chromosome, there is an approximately 10-Mb-long sequence in between, and interestingly, several genes flanking the CD1 locus belong to the MHC paralogous region on human chromosome 19. The CD1 genes in Crocodylia are located in two loci, respectively linked to the MHC region and MHC paralogous region (corresponding to the MHC paralogous region on chromosome 19). These results provide new insights for studying the origin and evolution of CD1.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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