Animal models provide myriad benefits to both experimental and clinical research. Unfortunately, in many situations, they fall short of expected results or provide contradictory results. In part, this can be the resul...Animal models provide myriad benefits to both experimental and clinical research. Unfortunately, in many situations, they fall short of expected results or provide contradictory results. In part, this can be the result of traditional molecular biological approaches that are relatively inefficient in elucidating underlying molecular mechanism. To improve the efficacy of animal models, a technological breakthrough is required. The growing availability and application of the high-throughput methods make systematic comparisons between human and animal models easier to perform. In the present study, we introduce the concept of the comparative systems biology, which we define as "comparisons of biological systems in different states or species used to achieve an integrated understanding of life forms with all their characteristic complexity of interactions at multiple levels". Furthermore, we discuss the applications of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq technologies to comparative systems biology between human and animal models and assess the potential applications for this approach in the future studies.展开更多
Thirteen rotifer species belonging to the families Lepadellidae and Trichocercidae were studied taxonomically from nine water bodies in Turkey. Lepadella biloba is a new entry to the Turkish rotifer fauna. All species...Thirteen rotifer species belonging to the families Lepadellidae and Trichocercidae were studied taxonomically from nine water bodies in Turkey. Lepadella biloba is a new entry to the Turkish rotifer fauna. All species were drawn under a light microscope using a camera lucida.展开更多
Unbiased readings of fossils are well known to contradict some of the popular molecular groupings among primates,particularly with regard to great apes and tarsiers.The molecular methodologies today are however flawed...Unbiased readings of fossils are well known to contradict some of the popular molecular groupings among primates,particularly with regard to great apes and tarsiers.The molecular methodologies today are however flawed as they are based on a mistaken theoretical interpretation of the genetic equidistance phenomenon that originally started the field.An improved molecular method the 'slow clock' was here developed based on the Maximum Genetic Diversity hypothesis,a more complete account of the unified changes in genotypes and phenotypes.The method makes use of only slow evolving sequences and requires no uncertain assumptions or mathematical corrections and hence is able to give definitive results.The findings indicate that humans are genetically more distant to orangutans than African apes are and separated from the pongid clade ～17.6 million years ago.Also,tarsiers are genetically closer to lorises than simian primates are.Finally,the fossil times for the radiation of mammals at the K/T boundary and for the Eutheria-Metatheria split in the Early Cretaceous were independently confirmed from molecular dating calibrated using the fossil split times of gorilla-orangutan,mouse-rat,and opossum-kangaroo.Therefore,the re-established primate phylogeny indicates a remarkable unity between molecules and fossils.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31123005)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y002731071)the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB941300)
文摘Animal models provide myriad benefits to both experimental and clinical research. Unfortunately, in many situations, they fall short of expected results or provide contradictory results. In part, this can be the result of traditional molecular biological approaches that are relatively inefficient in elucidating underlying molecular mechanism. To improve the efficacy of animal models, a technological breakthrough is required. The growing availability and application of the high-throughput methods make systematic comparisons between human and animal models easier to perform. In the present study, we introduce the concept of the comparative systems biology, which we define as "comparisons of biological systems in different states or species used to achieve an integrated understanding of life forms with all their characteristic complexity of interactions at multiple levels". Furthermore, we discuss the applications of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq technologies to comparative systems biology between human and animal models and assess the potential applications for this approach in the future studies.
基金This work has been done under the Socrates-Erasmus Student Mobility Programme （in Gent University and Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences）. ACKN0WLEDGEMENTS Thank Dr. Hendrik Segers for helping identifying some rotifer species and giving opportunity to study at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium. Also thank Prof. Dr. Henri J. Dumont （Gent University, Belgium） for collecting some of the samples.
文摘Thirteen rotifer species belonging to the families Lepadellidae and Trichocercidae were studied taxonomically from nine water bodies in Turkey. Lepadella biloba is a new entry to the Turkish rotifer fauna. All species were drawn under a light microscope using a camera lucida.
基金supported by the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics,a FuRong Scholarshipthe National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 81171880)the National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No. 2011CB51001)
文摘Unbiased readings of fossils are well known to contradict some of the popular molecular groupings among primates,particularly with regard to great apes and tarsiers.The molecular methodologies today are however flawed as they are based on a mistaken theoretical interpretation of the genetic equidistance phenomenon that originally started the field.An improved molecular method the 'slow clock' was here developed based on the Maximum Genetic Diversity hypothesis,a more complete account of the unified changes in genotypes and phenotypes.The method makes use of only slow evolving sequences and requires no uncertain assumptions or mathematical corrections and hence is able to give definitive results.The findings indicate that humans are genetically more distant to orangutans than African apes are and separated from the pongid clade ～17.6 million years ago.Also,tarsiers are genetically closer to lorises than simian primates are.Finally,the fossil times for the radiation of mammals at the K/T boundary and for the Eutheria-Metatheria split in the Early Cretaceous were independently confirmed from molecular dating calibrated using the fossil split times of gorilla-orangutan,mouse-rat,and opossum-kangaroo.Therefore,the re-established primate phylogeny indicates a remarkable unity between molecules and fossils.
