Quantifying the major mechanisms of recent gene duplications in the human and mouse genomes: a novel strategy to estimate gene duplication rates

By studying two mechanisms of gene duplication, unequal crossover and retrotranspostion, and looking at both small gene families and the entire genome, a new estimate for the rate of gene duplication is made which is more accurate for both small and large gene families

Tandemly Arrayed Genes in Vertebrate Genomes

Tandemly arrayed genes (TAGs) are duplicated genes that are linked as neighbors on a chromosome, many of which have important physiological and biochemical functions. Here we performed a survey of these genes in 11 available vertebrate genomes. TAGs account for an average of about 14% of all genes in these vertebrate genomes, and about 25% of all duplications. The majority of TAGs (72–94%) have parallel transcription orientation (i.e., they are encoded on the same strand) in contrast to the genome, which has about 50% of its genes in parallel transcription orientation. The majority of tandem arrays have only two members. In all species, the proportion of genes that belong to TAGs tends to be higher in large gene families than in small ones; together with our recent finding that tandem duplication played a more important role than retroposition in large families, this fact suggests that among all types of duplication mechanisms, tandem duplication is the predominant mechanism of duplication, especially in large families. Finally, several species have a higher proportion of large tandem arrays that are species-specific than random expectation

An atlas of the speed of copy number changes in animal gene families and its implications

The notion that gene duplications generating new genes and functions is commonly accepted in evolutionary biology. However, this assumption is more speculative from theory rather than well proven in genome-wide studies. Here, we generated an atlas of the rate of copy number changes (CNCs) in all the gene families of ten animal genomes. We grouped the gene families with similar CNC dynamics into rate pattern groups (RPGs) and annotated their function using a novel bottom-up approach. By comparing CNC rate patterns, we showed that most of the species-specific CNC rates groups are formed by gene duplication rather than gene loss, and most of the changes in rates of CNCs may be the result of adaptive evolution. We also found that the functions of many RPGs match their biological significance well. Our work confirmed the role of gene duplication in generating novel phenotypes, and the results can serve as a guide for researchers to connect the phenotypic features to certain gene duplications

Effect of antiferromagnetic coupling at interfaces on magnetic properties of Gd/CoFeTaB multilayers

In this work, a multilayer structure composed of Gd and CoFeTaB was prepared by magnetron sputtering, and the effect of annealing temperatures on magnetic properties of the multilayer structure are investigated. The existence of interfacial antiferromagnetic coupling in this system was proved by analysis of microstructure, magnetic characteristics, and magnetic resonance characteristics. The preparation of artificial multilayer antiferromagnetic structure with weak stray fields was demonstrated, which provides a shortcut for spintronics application

Microwave resonances of magnetic skyrmions in thin film multilayers

Non-collinear magnets exhibit a rich array of dynamic properties at microwave frequencies. They can host nanometre-scale topological textures known as skyrmions, whose spin resonances are expected to be highly sensitive to their local magnetic environment. Here, we report a magnetic resonance study of an [Ir/Fe/Co/Pt] multilayer hosting Néel skyrmions at room temperature. Experiments reveal two distinct resonances of the skyrmion phase during in-plane ac excitation, with frequencies between 6–12 GHz. Complementary micromagnetic simulations indicate that the net magnetic dipole moment rotates counterclockwise (CCW) during both resonances. The magnon probability distribution for the lower-frequency resonance is localised within isolated skyrmions, unlike the higher-frequency mode which principally originates from areas between skyrmions. However, the properties of both modes depend sensitively on the out-of-plane dipolar coupling, which is controlled via the ferromagnetic layer spacing in our heterostructures. The gyrations of stable isolated skyrmions reported in this room temperature study encourage the development of new material platforms and applications based on skyrmion resonances. Moreover, our material architecture enables the resonance spectra to be tuned, thus extending the functionality of such applications over a broadband frequency range

Facile sand enhanced electro-flocculation for cost-efficient harvesting of Dunaliella salina

通讯作者地址: Jia, LSEnergy consumption and water resource in the cultivation and harvesting steps still need to be minimized for the popularization of the microalgae-based products. An efficient electro-flocculation method for harvesting Dunaliella Salina integrated with local sand has been successfully applied. Sand was effective for speeding up the processes of flocculation and sedimentation of algal flocs and the electrolytic hydroxides was essential to bridge the sand and small flocs into large dense flocs. The maximal recovery effective improved from 95.13% in 6 min to 98.09% in 4.5 min and the optimal electrical energy consumption decreased 51.03% compared to conventional electro-flocculation in a laboratory ambient condition. Furthermore, reusing the flocculated medium in cultivation of the D. Salina with nitrogen supplemented performed no worse than using fresh medium. This sand enhanced electro-flocculation (SEF) technology provides a great potential for saving time and energy associated with improving microalgae harvesting.Xiamen Southern Oceanographic Center of Fujian Province of China 14CZP046HJ20 talents introduction project of Shenzhen City Science and Technology R&D funds recruit research of China ZYD201111080010

Multi-Platform Next-Generation Sequencing of the Domestic Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo): Genome Assembly and Analysis

The combined application of next-generation sequencing platforms has provided an economical approach to unlocking the potential of the turkey genome