Nucleotide sequence of the Galleria mellonella nuclear polyhedrosis virus origin of DNA replication

AbstractThe initiation sites of the Galleria mellonella L. nuclear polyhedrosis virus (G.m. NPV) DNA replication were revealed. For this purpose SCLd 135 cells permitting the G.m. NPV productive reproduction were transformed by the recombinant plasmids containing the viral genome individual fragments in pRSF 2124 and pBR 322 vectors. It was revealed that 2 of the 32 recombinant plasmids can autonomously replicate in the eucaryotic cells. According to the Maxam-Gilbert method the DNA G.m. NPV fragment (1300 bp) primary structure of pHBR plasmid was determined. The structure analysis revealed the typical regulator signals as in the replicons. The possible regulation mechanisms of the DNA G.m. NPV synthesis initiation was supposed

Evolutionary problems in centrosome and centriole biology

Centrosomes have been an enigma to evolutionary biologists. Either they have been the subject of ill‐founded speculation or they have been ignored. Here, we highlight evolutionary paradoxes and problems of centrosome and centriole evolution and seek to understand them in the light of recent advances in centrosome biology. Most evolutionary accounts of centrosome evolution have been based on the hypothesis that centrosomes are replicators, independent of the nucleus and cytoplasm. It is now clear, however, that this hypothesis is not tenable. Instead, centrosomes are formed de novo each cell division, with the presence of an old centrosome regulating, but not essential for, the assembly of a new one. Centrosomes are the microtubule‐organizing centres of cells. They can potentially affect sensory and motor characters (as the basal body of cilia), as well as the movements of chromosomes during cell division. This latter role does not seem essential, however, except in male meiosis, and the reasons for this remain unclear. Although the centrosome is absent in some taxa, when it is present, its structure is extraordinarily conserved: in most taxa across eukaryotes, it does not appear to evolve at all. And yet a few insect groups display spectacular hypertrophy of the centrioles. We discuss how this might relate to the unusual reproductive system found in these insects. Finally, we discuss why the fate of centrosomes in sperm and early embryos might differ between different groups of animals