Kung C, Saimi Y, Haynes W J, Ling K Y, Kissmehl R
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA.
J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2000 Jan-Feb;47(1):11-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2000.tb00003.x.
Paramecium continues to be used to study motility, behavior, exocytosis, and the relationship between the germ and the somatic nuclei. Recent progress in molecular genetics is described. Toward cloning genes that correspond to mutant phenotypes, a method combining complementation with microinjected DNA and library sorting has been used successfully in cloning several novel genes crucial in membrane excitation and in trichocyst discharge. Paramecium transformation en masse has now been shown by using electroporation or bioballistics. Gene silencing has also been discovered in Paramecium, recently. Some 200 Paramecium genes, full length or partial, have already been cloned largely by homology. Generalizing the use of gene silencing and related reverse-genetic techniques would allow us to correlate these genes with their function in vivo.
草履虫继续被用于研究运动性、行为、胞吐作用以及生殖细胞核与体细胞核之间的关系。文中描述了分子遗传学的最新进展。为了克隆与突变表型相对应的基因，一种将互补作用与显微注射DNA和文库筛选相结合的方法已成功用于克隆几个对膜兴奋和刺丝泡释放至关重要的新基因。现在已经通过电穿孔或生物弹道技术证明了草履虫的大规模转化。最近在草履虫中也发现了基因沉默现象。大约200个草履虫基因，全长或部分片段，已经通过同源性方法大量克隆出来。推广基因沉默及相关反向遗传学技术的应用将使我们能够将这些基因与其在体内的功能联系起来。
