Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cel...Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cell interactions and influences cell decisions. Chemical and physical properties diff）r between cells and within cells. Moreover, these properties are subject to dynamic changes in response to environmental signals, which often demand adjustments in the chemical or physical states of intracellular molecules. Indeed, cellular responses such as gene expression rely on the faithful relay of information from the outside to the inside of the cell, a process terrned signal transduction. The signal often traverses a complex path across subcellular spaces with variable physical chemistry, sometimes even influencing it. Understanding the molecular states of such signaling molecules and their intracellular environments is vital to our understanding of the cell. Exploring such intricate spaces is possible today largely because of experimental and theoretical tools. Here, we focus on one tool that is commonly used in chemical physics studies light. We summarize recent work which uses light to both visualize the cellular environment and also control intracel- lular processes along the axis of signal transduction. We highlight recent accomplishments in optical microscopy and optogenetics, an emerging experimental strategy which utilizes light to control the molecular processes in live cells. We believe that optogenetics lends un- precedented spatiotemporal precision to the manipulation of physicochemical properties in biological contexts. We hope to use this work to demonstrate new opportunities for chemical physicists who are interested in pursuing biological and biomedical questions.展开更多
Quantitative trait locus(QTL) mapping is frequently used to understand the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.Herein,we performed a genome scanfor QTL affecting the morphometric characters in eight full-sib f...Quantitative trait locus(QTL) mapping is frequently used to understand the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.Herein,we performed a genome scanfor QTL affecting the morphometric characters in eight full-sib families containing 522 individuals using different statistical methods(Sib-pair and half-sib model).A total of 194 QTLs were detected in 25 different regions on 10 linkage groups(LGs).Among them,37 QTLs on five LGs(eight,13,24,40 and 45) were significant(5%genome-wide level),while the remaining 40(1%chromosome-wide level) and 117(5%chromosome-wide level) indicated suggestive effect on those traits.Heritabilities for most morphometric traits were moderate to high,ranging from 0.21 to 0.66,with generally strong phenotypic and genetic correlations between the traits.A large number of QTLs for morphometric traits were co-located,consistent with their high correlations,and may reflect pleiotropic effect on the same genes.Biological pathways were mapped for possible candidate genes on QTL regions.One significantly enriched pathway was identified onLG45,which had a P-value of 0.04 and corresponded to the "regulation of actin cytoskeleton pathway".The results are expected to be useful in marker-assisted selection(MAS) and provide valuable information for the study of gene pathway for morphometric and growth traits of the common carp.展开更多
Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expr...Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expressed.ACTG1（OMIM#604717）,which is linked to the DFNA20/26 locus,wasidentified in autosomal dominant, non-syndromic hearing loss （NSHL） cases （Baek et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2008; Park et al., 2013; Yuan et al., 2016）. In addition, some ACTG1 （OMIM #614583） mutations are associated with Baraitser-Winter syndrome, which is characterized by developmental delay, facial dysmorphologies, brain malformations, colobomas, and variable hearing loss （Riviere et al., 2012）.展开更多
基金supported by the School of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
文摘Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cell interactions and influences cell decisions. Chemical and physical properties diff）r between cells and within cells. Moreover, these properties are subject to dynamic changes in response to environmental signals, which often demand adjustments in the chemical or physical states of intracellular molecules. Indeed, cellular responses such as gene expression rely on the faithful relay of information from the outside to the inside of the cell, a process terrned signal transduction. The signal often traverses a complex path across subcellular spaces with variable physical chemistry, sometimes even influencing it. Understanding the molecular states of such signaling molecules and their intracellular environments is vital to our understanding of the cell. Exploring such intricate spaces is possible today largely because of experimental and theoretical tools. Here, we focus on one tool that is commonly used in chemical physics studies light. We summarize recent work which uses light to both visualize the cellular environment and also control intracel- lular processes along the axis of signal transduction. We highlight recent accomplishments in optical microscopy and optogenetics, an emerging experimental strategy which utilizes light to control the molecular processes in live cells. We believe that optogenetics lends un- precedented spatiotemporal precision to the manipulation of physicochemical properties in biological contexts. We hope to use this work to demonstrate new opportunities for chemical physicists who are interested in pursuing biological and biomedical questions.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31302174)the Central-Level Non-profit Scientific Research Institutes Special Funds(HSY201303)the China Ministry of Agriculture Recommend International Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology Plan(2016-X15)
文摘Quantitative trait locus(QTL) mapping is frequently used to understand the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.Herein,we performed a genome scanfor QTL affecting the morphometric characters in eight full-sib families containing 522 individuals using different statistical methods(Sib-pair and half-sib model).A total of 194 QTLs were detected in 25 different regions on 10 linkage groups(LGs).Among them,37 QTLs on five LGs(eight,13,24,40 and 45) were significant(5%genome-wide level),while the remaining 40(1%chromosome-wide level) and 117(5%chromosome-wide level) indicated suggestive effect on those traits.Heritabilities for most morphometric traits were moderate to high,ranging from 0.21 to 0.66,with generally strong phenotypic and genetic correlations between the traits.A large number of QTLs for morphometric traits were co-located,consistent with their high correlations,and may reflect pleiotropic effect on the same genes.Biological pathways were mapped for possible candidate genes on QTL regions.One significantly enriched pathway was identified onLG45,which had a P-value of 0.04 and corresponded to the "regulation of actin cytoskeleton pathway".The results are expected to be useful in marker-assisted selection(MAS) and provide valuable information for the study of gene pathway for morphometric and growth traits of the common carp.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81530032)the National Key Basic Research Program of China(2014CB943001)
文摘Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expressed.ACTG1（OMIM#604717）,which is linked to the DFNA20/26 locus,wasidentified in autosomal dominant, non-syndromic hearing loss （NSHL） cases （Baek et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2008; Park et al., 2013; Yuan et al., 2016）. In addition, some ACTG1 （OMIM #614583） mutations are associated with Baraitser-Winter syndrome, which is characterized by developmental delay, facial dysmorphologies, brain malformations, colobomas, and variable hearing loss （Riviere et al., 2012）.
