Genotoxicity detected in wild mice living in a highly polluted wetland area in south western Spain

A field study was carried out in the south of the Iberian Peninsula in an industrial area in the neighbourhood of Huelva city, SW Spain, and in a natural area (Do?ana National Park) for comparison, to estimate the genetic risk induced by environmental pollution in wild mice. Genotoxic effects in a sentinel organism, the Algerian mice (Mus spretus) free living in the industrial area were compared with animals of the same species living in the natural protected area. The single cell gel electrophoresis, or Comet assay, was performed as a genotoxicity test in peripheral blood of mice. Our results clearly show that mice free living in the contaminated area bear a high burden of genetic damage as compared with control individuals. The results suggest that the assessing of genotoxicity levels by the Comet assay in wild mice can be used as a valuable test in pollution monitoring and environmental conservation.     

Prenatal diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy in Russia

Ninety-two families with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) applied for genetic counselling and further prenatal diagnosis. To minimize expenses, only one tightly linked informative marker was determined in the course of preliminary examination, and non-radioactive allele detection was preferably used. Four prenatal diagnoses of SMA type I, four of SMA type II, and one of SMA type III were made. This trial programme shows the considerable requirements, importance, and potential effectiveness of prenatal prediction of SMA in Russia.     

威海荣成鹿角菜野生种群遗传多样性及资源保护策略

利用随机扩增多态性DNA（RAPD）方法对威海荣成地区鹿角菜（Silvetiasiliquosa）野生种群共30个个体的遗传多样性水平及遗传结构进行研究。结果表明,利用21条随机引物共检测到112个多态性位点,多态性位点百分率为93．75％,Nei基因多样性指数为0．3515±0．1352,Shannon多样性指数为0．5046±0．1126。通过聚类分析而划为一类的3个亚种群间的遗传分化指数为0．1349～0．2189,基因流为1．7793。研究结果表明威海荣成地区的鹿角菜种群遗传多样性较高,种群内存在较为明显的遗传分化,种群遗传资源不受遗传漂变的影响。针对当地鹿角菜遗传资源的现状,应加强现存种群的就地保护,恢复种群规模;进行取样养殖保护时则需避免因近交而造成种群资源退化。     

Extra-pair paternity in willow ptarmigan broods: measuring costs of polygyny to males

Willow ptarmigan are one of only three monogamous grouse species in North America. However, in some populations between 5 and 20% of individuals pair polygynously. It has been suggested that monogamy may be maintained by the high cost of polygyny to males. We have used DNA fingerprinting to assess the actual reproductive success of both monogamous and polygynous adults. We determined whether or not the putative parents were the biological parents of the chicks from 38 broods. Of these clutches 30 were from monogamous matings, and 8 were from bigamous matings. Of the 207 chicks from monogamous matings 96% were within-pair offspring, compared to 67% of the 49 chicks from bigamous matings. All extra-pair offspring chicks resulted from extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs), and there were no instances of intraspecific nest parasitism. Mate guarding by monogamous males seems to be a highly effective method for maintaining genetic monogamy, as the only cases in which EPFs occurred were when the resident female left the territory for a few days or when a second female visited the territory. Our results support the notion that certainty of parentage may be one factor constraining willow ptarmigan males to be monogamous.     

光谱法研究甲萘威与DNA的相互作用

通过紫外与荧光光谱法研究了甲萘威与DNA的相互作用.结果显示,在甲萘威的作用下,DNA的吸收光谱出现增色与红移现象;DNA能够引起甲萘威单一的静态猝灭;甲萘威与DNA的作用能减弱K4[Fe(CN)6)]对甲萘威的荧光猝灭;实验结果支持甲萘威能以嵌插方式与DNA形成加合物.氯化钠及乙醇对加合物的荧光光谱存在不同影响.加合物的形成与药物的生物活性之间存在一定的相互联系.     

Oligogyny by unrelated queens in the carpenter ant, Camponotus ligniperdus

Multilocus DNA fingerprinting and microsatellite analysis were used to determine the number of queens and their mating frequencies in colonies of the carpenter ant, Camponotus ligniperdus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Only 1 of 61 analyzed queens was found to be double-mated and the population-wide effective mating frequency was therefore 1.02. In the studied population, 8 of 21 mature field colonies (38%) contained worker, male, or virgin queen genotypes which were not compatible with presumed monogyny and therefore suggested oligogyny, i.e., the cooccurrence of several mutually intolerant queens within one colony. Estimated queen numbers in oligogynous colonies ranged between two and five. According to the results of the genetic analysis, most of the queens coexisting in oligogynous colonies were not closely related. Pleometrosis is very rare and queenless colonies adopt mated queens both in the laboratory and field. Therefore, the most plausible explanation for the origin of oligogynous colonies in C. ligniperdus is the adoption of unrelated queens by orphaned mature colonies. The coexistence of unrelated, but mutually intolerant queens in C. ligniperdus colonies demonstrates that oligogyny should be considered as a phenomenon distinct from polygyny. Received: 18 December 1997 / Accepted after revision: 20 June 1998     

家猪基因指纹图的初步研究

寡核苷酸探针（CAC）5／（GTG）5检测了五指山猪、枫泾猪、枫泾猪与长白山猪杂交子一代的基因指纹图．各个体的可分辨谱带,分布于0．7～21．2kb之间．在约1．3kb处的一条共有谱带,可能是家猪的特征带．     

Extra-pair paternity and the opportunity for sexual selection in a socially monogamous bird (Dendroica petechia)

We used multi-locus DNA fingerprinting to characterise the genetic mating system of the socially monogamous yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia). Over 2 years there were no instances of brood parasitism, but 59% of families (n = 90) contained extrapair sired young and 37% of offspring (n = 355) were of extra-pair paternity. Most hypotheses for extra-pair mating in monogamous species assume a paternity benefit to extra-pair sires, and focus on the benefit(s) to females. However, the assumption of male benefit has been little tested. Among yellow warblers, known extra-pair sires were just as likely to be cuckolded as any male in the population, and there was at least one reciprocal exchange of extra-pair paternity. Nevertheless, among known extra-pair sires, the paternity gains from extra-pair paternity were, on average, greater than the losses in their own families. These results show there is a paternity benefit to certain males. However, the benefit is not absolute but relative and therefore more difficult to measure. The results also suggest that patterns of extra-pair fertilisation are not determined by female choice alone. Most confirmed extra-pair mates were territorial neighbours, but some resided as far as three territories apart, and greater spatial separation was implied in other cases. Thus, the opportunity for extra-pair mating is great. We estimate that as a result of extra-pair fertilisations, variance in male mating success is increased somewhere between 3-fold and 15-fold over that which would result from within-pair reproduction alone. These findings affirm the potential importance of extra-pair reproduction for sexual selection in monogamous species and they support earlier suggestions that extra-territorial forays by male yellow warblers are for the purpose of extra-pair mating.     

氨氮对中华绒螯蟹仔蟹肝组织RNA/DNA及肝细胞结构的影响

以中华绒螯蟹（Eriocheir sinesis）仔蟹为研究对象。采用静水试验法,温度在20℃左右,用氨氮与过滤海水分设5个质量浓度组（2.04、6.35、9.04、11.75和19.13 mg.L-1）,同时以过滤海水为对照组（氨氮质量浓度为0.30 mg.L-1）,每一个质量浓度组设3个平行样本,对中华绒螯蟹仔蟹进行6 d胁迫试验。每2 d观察仔蟹的蜕壳情况,并分别于实验后的2、4和6 d取仔蟹肝组织样,应用激光共聚焦技术分析测定RNA/DNA荧光相素比,同时用透射电镜观察6 d后,最高浓度组和对照组仔蟹肝细胞结构的变化情况。试验结果表明;对于氨氮的胁迫,仔蟹的变态率随染毒浓度的增高而降低,同时变态蜕壳的时间也会产生延迟现象。氨氮的胁迫会引起仔蟹的肝组织细胞内的DNA和RNA的质量分数逐渐降低,导致RNA/DNA比率的不断下降。在高质量浓度氨氮的胁迫下,使得仔蟹肝细胞线粒体部分解体、胞质空泡化和染色质浓缩、转运泡数量增多,体积增大,细胞出现许多空泡和微绒毛消失等一系列的损伤变化。破坏了仔蟹自身机能正常的代谢和生长水平。