Search bioRxiv⌕ Search

Biology subjects

Li, D. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Li, D. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Diversifications of both the three domains of life and SARS-CoV-2 possibly driven by biases between amino acid biosynthetic families

All cellular life forms fall under the three-domain classification of life, raising a fundamental evolutionary question: why does this classification feature three rather than two or four? To answer this question, a more general method, rather than the traditional one based on comparing small-subunit ribosomal RNAs, is required. The three-base periodicity in genomes is a common feature of both cellular life forms and viruses, which is species-specifically biased between amino acid biosynthetic families. Based on comparing such a common feature of all life forms, a global triangular diversification picture has been obtained, whose three angular regions correspond to the three domains, respectively. This mechanism of diversification of life attributes the evolutionary driving forces in diversification of the three domains of life to the biases between amino acid biosynthetic families. Notably, the same mechanism also applies to the contemporary diversification of SARS-CoV-2, whose reasonable results in turn corroborate the above explanation of primordial diversification of life and in addition shed light on the mechanism of speciation.

evolutionary biology↗

Astrocytes control cocaine-induced synaptic plasticity and reward through the matricellular protein hevin

Drug addiction involves profound modifications of neuronal plasticity in the nucleus accumbens, which may engage various cell types. Here, we report prominent effects of cocaine on calcium signals in astrocytes characterized by in vivo fiber photometry. Astrocyte calcium signals in the nucleus accumbens are sufficient and necessary for the acquisition of cocaine seeking behavior. We identify the astrocyte-secreted matricellular protein hevin as an effector of the action of cocaine and calcium signals on reward and neuronal plasticity.

neuroscience↗

The triplet codons across the watershed between the non-living and living matters

Three nucleotides per codon had been determined before deciphering the genetic code. However, it is still a mystery why there are three nucleotides per codon. This is a deceptively simple problem, which need first to clarify the prebiotic picture that has been in debate for decades. The triplet nature of life has been observed not only in the triplet codons but also in the universal 3-base periodicity in genome sequences. Here, a statistical picture on the prebiotic sequence evolution has been proposed by ascertaining the profound relationship between the evolution of the genetic code and the diversification of life. There are indications that the triplet nature of the genetic code is due to a mixture of the periods in the superhelical structures of bent DNAs.

evolutionary biology↗