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Biochemical Genetics (v.37, #11-12)
Comparison of Biochemical Polymorphisms and Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA Markers for Paternity Testing in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) by J. J. Ely; M. J. Aivaliotis; B. Kalmin; G. S. Manis; J. L. VandeBerg; W. H. Stone (pp. 323-334).
Genetic markers are indispensable for molecularand statistical genetic research involving nonhumanprimates. Genetic markers must be used to ascertainparentage and to confirm the accuracy of pedigreesbased solely on housing or demographic records;otherwise, the results of pedigree, linkage, orquantitative genetic analyses may be unreliable. Untilrecently, most genetic markers used in nonhuman primateswere plasma proteins or isozyme polymorphisms,which were required in large numbers, because levels ofgenetic variation revealed by these markers were ratherlow. We compared the newer, PCR-amplified shorttandem repeat markers (STRs) with a panel ofclassical biochemical polymorphic markers, for paternitydetermination among captive-bred rhesus monkeys. The STRmarkers exhibited an average genetic diversityof 64% and an expected paternity exclusionprobability of 0.443. Both of these were greater thanthe average 54.5% genetic diversity and 0.298 exclusionprobability exhibited by the biochemical markers.The STRs were much more efficient than thebiochemical markers for parentage determination, sincethey required only half the amount of genetic typingdata to resolve an average paternity case. Thus, theresults of applying these two classes ofgenetic markers in paternity tests were somewhatdifferent than expected on the basis of theoreticalexclusion probabilities. These differences were probablydue to inbreeding and other genetic differencesamong breeding colonies. Because they are moreinformative and provide rapid and efficient geneticdata, STRs are now the method of choice for parentagedetermination and pedigree corroboration among nonhumanprimates.
Keywords: BIOCHEMICAL POLYMORPHISMS; NONHUMAN PRIMATES; PATERNITY TESTING; SHORT TANDEM; REPEATS
Mitochondrial Genetic Variation in Chinese Pigs and Wild Boars by Yong-Fu Huang; Xian-Wei Shi; Ya-Ping Zhang (pp. 335-343).
The mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) from 30 pigbreeds (29 Chinese native breeds and 1 European breed)and wild boars were investigated for restrictionfragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) to determine thephylogenetic relationships and geneticdiversity among pig breeds and wild boars. Of the 24enzymes used, 8 (AvaI, BclI, BglII, EcoRI, EcoRV, ScaI,StuI, and XbaI) detected polymorphisms. By combining thecleavage patterns for each enzyme, 108individuals were sorted into eight mtDNA mitotypes.There are two haplotype lineages in domestic pigs, i.e.,Chinese and European lineages. The pairwise nucleotidesequence divergence was calculated to be 0.56%between Chinese pigs and European pigs, suggesting thatthey might have diverged from a common ancestorapproximately 280,000 years ago. The wild boars showedmore extensive genetic variation, fourmitotypes were detected in six wild boars. In addition,one of the Zhejiang wild boars was found to share thesame mitotype with Chinese native pigs. A UPGMA treebased on genetic distance among mitotypesindicated that mtDNAs of Chinese pigs and European pigsare clearly divided into two clusters, and Chinese wildboars are more closely related to the Chinese pigs.Our results provide molecular evidence tosupport the previous hypothesis that pigs may be derivedfrom two maternal origins, Asian and European wildboars. Chinese native pig breeds may have a singleorigin.
Keywords: WILD BOAR; EVOLUTION
Is the Difference in α-Amylase Activity in the Strains of Drosophila melanogaster with Different Allozymes Due to Transcriptional or Posttranscriptional Control? by Nobuko Yamate; Tsuneyuki Yamazaki (pp. 345-356).
The alpha-amylase in Drosophilamelanogaster is a highly polymorphic enzyme, atboth the allozyme level and the specific activity level.This enzyme changes its specific activity drasticallydepending on both food conditions and developmental stages,and it has been suggested that the ability to change itsactivity depending on the source of food has positivecorrelation with fitness. But the cause of thedifference of specific activity among strainsand food compositions is not known. In order toinvestigate the cause of these differences, we measuredboth the specific activity of amylase and the relativeamount of Amy mRNA in eight strains of D.melanogaster with different electromorphs, in twofood environments and two developmental stages. We foundthe following. First, the food-dependent activity changeis regulated at the transcription level.Second, there was a significant correlation betweenspecific activity and mRNA level among strains. So 80 to90% of the specific activity difference can be explainedby differences in the level of mRNAs, but theremaining part cannot. Finally, there were significantdifferences in specific activity per mRNA both amongstrains and between developmental stages. This suggeststhat there are differences in the catalyticefficiency of each allozyme, strain- or stage-specifictranslation rate, enzyme stability, or differential useof two Amy loci.
Keywords: ALPHA-AMYLASE; DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER ; TRANSCRIPTION CONTROL
Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism and Plasma Lipid Levels in Native Mongolian Sheep by Kenji Tsunoda; Ken Nozawa; Yoshizane Maeda; Khorloojau Tumennasan; Tsesrenjavyn Zhanchiv; Yuichi Tanabe; Tatsuya Shimizu; Keizo Sato (pp. 357-368).
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) phenotypes weredetermined in 199 unrelated native sheep (Khalkhas line)of Central Mongolia, using a polyacrylamide gelisoelectric focusing-immunoblotting technique, and theplasma lipid levels in different phenotypes wereassayed enzymatically. Twenty-eight phenotypes wereidentified in this sheep. In addition to all thepreviously detected seven apoE variants composing thephenotypes, four new variants were discovered, which werecalled E8, E9, E10, and E11. From the population data,these were found to be genetically controlled by fourcodominant alleles, designated APOE8,APOE9, APOE10,and APOE11, based on the same modeof inheritance as in the seven variants. These alleleswere detected at a low frequency, in the range of 0.005to 0.0126. The Khalkhas sheep differed mostsignificantly from the Baruwal and Lampuchhre sheep of Nepaland the Vietnamese sheep with respect to the allelefrequencies found in some Asian local sheep previouslyexamined. Type 1/1 and/or 2/7 sheep had significantly higher plasma levels of total cholesterol andlow-density lipoprotein cholesterol than type 7/7 sheep(P < 0.05 and/or P <0.02).
Keywords: APOLIPOPROTEIN E; GENETIC POLYMORPHISM; PLASMA LIPIDS; ISOELECTRIC FOCUSING; MONGOLIAN NATIVE SHEEP
Inheritance of Isozyme Variants in Seed Tissues of Pinus merkusii Jungh. & De Vriese
by E. Suwarni; B. P. Dancik; D. Khasa (pp. 369-375).