The EST Analysis of A Suppressive Subtraction cDNA Library of Chinese Wild Vitis pseudoreticulata Inoculated with Uncinula necator

Uncinula necator is a worldwide serious fungus disease causing annual heavy lost on grapevine production. In order to get more informations on defense related EST sequences and help breeding program, we constructed and characterized a suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library with artificially inoculated leaves and control Chinese wild Vitis pseudoreticulata clone Baihe-35-1, which is highly resistant to powdery mildew. In the library, the length of 58 EST fragments known as putative functions varied from 130 to 800 bp, and 60% of the ESTs exhibited high similarity to known sequences in database of GenBank with BLASTX analysis. These genes were involved in stress/defense response, detoxification, signal transduction, disease defense, and etc., and 14 ESTs remained unknown or hypothetical proteins, which may be new genes. The experiment provided an important basis for studying the disease-resistance mechanism and obtaining the genes for the aim of improving grapevine powdery mildew resistance.

Primarily screening and analyzing ESTs differentially expressed in rats' primary liver cancer

Objective： To screen and analyze key express sequence tags （ESTs） which were differentially displayed in every period of SD rats＇ primary hepatic carcinoma and reveal the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis. Methods： Using diethylnitrosamine （DENA） as a cancerigenic agent, animal models with different phases of primary hepatic cancer were constructed in SD rats. Rats were respectively sacrificed at d 14, d 28, d 56, d 77, d 105 and d 112 after the rats received DENA by gavage, then the livers were harvested. One part of the livers was classified according to their pathological changes, while the other was reserved for molecular mechanism studies on hepatocarcinogenesis. The differentially expressed genes were isolated from both normal and morbid tissues by mRNA differential display technique （DDRT-PCR）. After the fragments were sequenced, bioinformatics were .used to analyze the results. Results： Twelve differentially expressed cDNA fragments were obtained. Nine fragments had the homology with known cDNA clones, especially EST-7 was similar to BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene and the identity was 100% which suggested EST-7 may be the part of BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene. In contrast, other three fragments （EST-1, EST-3 and EST-5） had extremely low identity to any genes registered in GENBANK databases. Conclusions： BN/SsNHsdMCW mitochondrion gene was expressed in different periods of hepatocarcinogenesis. Moreover, EST-I, EST-3 and EST-5 were suggested to contribute to the development of rat hepatocarcinogenesis, and thus may be candidates of new targets of oncogenes or cancer suppressor genes.

EST-derived SNP discovery and selective pressure analysis in Pacific white shrimp(Litopenaeus vannamei)

Pacific white shrimp has become a major aquaculture and fishery species worldwide.Although a large scale EST resource has been publicly available since 2008,the data have not yet been widely used for SNP discovery or transcriptome-wide assessment of selective pressure.In this study,a set of 155 411 expressed sequence tags(ESTs) from the NCBI database were computationally analyzed and 17 225 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were predicted,including 9 546 transitions,5 124 transversions and 2 481 indels.Among the 7 298 SNP substitutions located in functionally annotated contigs,58.4%(4 262) are non-synonymous SNPs capable of introducing amino acid mutations.Two hundred and fifty nonsynonymous SNPs in genes associated with economic traits have been identified as candidates for markers in selective breeding.Diversity estimates among the synonymous nucleotides were on average 3.49 times greater than those in non-synonymous,suggesting negative selection.Distribution of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions(Ka/Ks) ratio ranges from 0 to 4.01,(average 0.42,median 0.26),suggesting that the majority of the affected genes are under purifying selection.Enrichment analysis identified multiple gene ontology categories under positive or negative selection.Categories involved in innate immune response and male gamete generation are rich in positively selected genes,which is similar to reports in Drosophila and primates.This work is the first transcriptome-wide assessment of selective pressure in a Penaeid shrimp species.The functionally annotated SNPs provide a valuable resource of potential molecular markers for selective breeding.

Novel in silico EST-SSR markers and bioinformatic approaches to detect genetic variation among peach(Prunus persica L.)germplasm

Because there are thousands of peach cultivars,cultivar classification is a critical step before starting a breeding project.Various molecular markers such as simple sequence repeats(SSRs)can be used.In this study,67 polymorphic primers produced 302 bands.Higher values for SI index(1.903)suggested higher genetic variability in the genotype under investigation.Mean values for observed alleles(Na),expected heterozygosity(He),effective alleles(Ne),Nei’s information index(h),and polymorphic information content(PIC)were 4.5,0.83,5.45,0.83,and 0.81,respectively.The dendrogram constructed based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficients outlined four distinct clusters in the entire germplasm.In addition,an analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA)showed that70.68%of the total variation was due to within-population variation,while 29.32%was due to variation among populations.According to this research,all primers were successfully used for the peach accessions.The EST-SSR markers should be useful in peach breeding programs and other research.

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) analysis of the ripening Vitis amurensis cv. Shuang Hong berry skins

Vitis amurensis is a valuable resource for wine production. Ripening of the grape berry is the key phase which determines the com- position of wine. To better understand the gene expression that manifest in V. amurensis berry skins during the ripening, cDNA library of V. amurensis berry skins was constructed. A total of 935 high quality ex- pressed sequence tags （ESTs） were obtained from the library. These ESTs represent 636 unigenes, including 108 contigs and 528 singletons. The EST analysis was performed and genes were assigned to functional categories according to their primary BLAST match. Of these 25.35% were involved with metabolism, 6.27% with cell rescue and defense, 6.84% energy, 11.68% protein synthesis, 18.8% protein activity regula- tion, 11.11% cell structure, 7.98% transport, 6.27% transcription and the remaining 5.7% were signal transduction. The generated ESTs were characterized by the gene ontology analysis and were categorized ac- cording to its cellular component, molecular function and biological process. In the cDNA library, some genes are relevant to the biosynthesis of anthocyanins, while some genes are related to grape berry maturation.

Development and utility of EST-SSR markers in Ulva prolifera of the South Yellow Sea

Ulva species can grow rapidly in nutrient-rich habitats causing green tides and marine fouling. A more complete understanding of the reasons behind these outbreaks is urgently required. Accordingly, this study attempts to use microsatellite markers based expressed sequence tag（EST） to analyze the genetic variation of several Ulva prolifera populations in the South Yellow Sea of China. Two hundred and thirty-eight SSRs were identified from 8 179 unique ESTs（6 203 newly sequenced and 1 976 downloaded from NCBI database） and 37 primer pairs were successfully designed according to the ESTs; 11 pairs were selected to detect the genetic diversity and relationship of 69 attached U. prolifera samples and 13 free-floating samples collected from coastal and off-coast areas of the South Yellow Sea. The results of cross-species transferability showed that six of the 11 EST-SSR primers could give good amplification in other five Ulva species and the average allele number was 4.67. Genetic variation analysis indicated that all 82 U. prolifera samples were clearly divided and most samples collected from the same site clustered together as a group in the dendrogram tree produced by unweighted pair-group mean analysis（UPGMA） method and the cluster results showed some consistency with the geographical origins. In addition, 13 free-floating samples（except HT-001-2） were grouped as a single clade separated from the attached samples.

Generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags from the salt-tolerant eelgrass species, Zostera marina

Zostera marina, a monocotyledonous angiosperm, is one of the most important seagrass species. To inves- tigate the salt-tolerance mechanism and discover salt-tolerant genes in Z. marina, a cDNA library was con- structed. Single-pass sequencing of the 5＇ ends of 4 081 clones yielded 4 002 high quality expressed sequence tags （ESTs）, which were assembled into 241 contigs and 1 673 singletons, representing 1 914 unigenes. The average length of the ESTs was 582 bp, with sizes ranging from 100-1 500 bp. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool （BLASTX） analysis revealed that 1 664 unigenes had significant homology to known genes in the Na- tional Center for Biotechnology Information （NCBI） non-redundant （nr） database （E-value≤5-10）. Among them, the two most abundant genes encoded metallothionein （157 ESTs） and chlorophyll a/b-binding pro- tein （38 ESTs）, accounting for 7.1% and 1.7% of the total ESTs, respectively. Using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG）, 1 462 unigenes were assigned to 1 161 pathways （E-value≤5-10）. A total of 938 unigenes were assigned Gene Ontology （GO） terms based on the GO hierarchy analysis, and InterProScan searches recognized 1 003 InterPro families. Three genes for metallothionein in Z. marina that belonged to Class II was identified. Results of this study will improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms of saline tolerance in Z. marina.

Analysis of expressed sequence tags from the Ulva prolifera (Chlorophyta)

In 2008, a green tide broke out before the sailing competition of the 29th Olympic Games in Qingdao. The causative species was determined to be Enteromorpha prolifera （Ulva prolifera O. F. Miiller）, a familiar green macroalga along the coastline of China. Rapid accumulation of a large biomass of floating U. prolifera prompted research on different aspects of this species. In this study, we constructed a nonnormalized cDNA library from the thalli of U. prolifera and acquired 10072 high-quality expressed sequence tags （ESTs）. These ESTs were assembled into 3 519 nonredundant gene groups, including 1 446 clusters and 2 073 singletons. After annotation with the nr database, a large number of genes were found to be related with chloroplast and ribosomal protein, GO functional classification showed 1 418 ESTs participated in photosynthesis and 1 359 ESTs were responsible for the generation of precursor metabolites and energy. In addition, rather comprehensive carbon fixation pathways were found in U. prolifera using KEGG. Some stress-related and signal transduction-related genes were also found in this study. All the evidences displayed that U. prolifera had substance and energy foundation for the intense photosynthesis and the rapid proliferation. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I revealed that this green-tide causative species is most closely affiliated to Pseudendoclonium akinetum （Ulvophyceae）.

Comparative mapping of QTLs for Al tolerance in rice and identification of positional Al-induced genes

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the major factor limiting crop productivity in acid soils. In this study, a recombinant inbreed line (RIL) population derived from a cross between an Al sensitive lowland indica rice variety IR1552 and an Al tolerant upland japonica rice variety Azucena, was used for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for Al tolerance. Three QTLs for relative root length (RRL) were detected on chromosome 1, 9, 12, respectively, and 1 QTL for root length under Al stress is identical on chromosome 1 after one week and two weeks stress. Comparison of QTLs on chromosome 1 from different studies indicated an identical interval between C86 and RZ801 with gene(s) for Al tolerance. This interval provides an important start point for isolating genes responsible for Al tolerance and understanding the genetic nature of Al tolerance in rice. Four Al induced ESTs located in this interval were screened by reverse Northern analysis and confirmed by Northern analysis. They would be candidate genes for the QTL.

Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Liver Tissue in Swine

In order to study the expression of function gene and its effect on metabolic control and other physiological function in liver, 438 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were determined, which were from a cD-NA library of porcine liver tissue. The results showed that the nucleotide sequences of 186 ESTs have already presented in GenBank database, and 37 ESTs could be found the homology with human and other species, while the others were not identified. 45 full length insertion of the clones randomly isolated from cDNA library were also completely sequenced with different size, and the results showed that 19 of them were function-known genes, 11 had no open reading frame ( ORF )at all and 15 had ORF but the function were not elucidated yet.

Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes in the Salivary Gand of Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides by the Suppression Subtractive Hybridization Approach

For the purpose of screening and analyzing the differentially expressed genes from the salivary gland of Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, two salivary gland-subtracted cDNA libraries of partially fed female ticks and fed male ticks were constructed using suppression subtractive hybridization （SSH）. A total of 247 female expression sequence tags （ESTs） and 168 male ESTs were obtained from the two SSH cDNA libraries. It is predicted that 25 female ESTs and 44 female ESTs contain the 5＂ and 3＂ ends, respectively, and that 53 male ESTs and 74 male ESTs contain the 5＂ and 3＂ ends, respectively. To identify the subtraction rate of the two SSH cDNA libraries, the RT-PCR method was used to test 24 female ESTs and 21 male ESTs selected randomly but not repeatedly. The results showed that there were 13 upregulated or differentially expressed genes in the partially fed salivary gland of the female R. haemaphysaloides and that the differentially expressed rate was 54%. In addition, they indicated that there were 9 upregulated or differently expressed genes in the fed salivary gland of the male R. haemaphysaloides and that the differentially expressed rate was 43%. Putative translations of 141 （57%） female ESTs and 125 （74%） male ESTs had similarity to GenBank sequences, and 32 （23%） female ESTs and 29 （23%） male ESTs exhibited similarity to tick proteins, which showed that most of the proteins in the libraries were mainly related to the feeding blood physiology of the ticks.

Construction and Analysis of Suppression Subtractive cDNA Library from Fertile Disk Floret Buds of Zinnia elegans

In order to isolate genes related to anther development and understand molecular basis of male sterility,cDNA library of Zinnia elegans was constructed using suppression subtractive hybridization（SSH） approach.672 different expressed clones were selected from the fertile disk floret buds.PCR results showed that cDNA inserts were ranged from 100 to 750 bp.303 positive clones screened by dot-blot hybridization were sequenced.273 out of 303 sequenced clones produced readable sequences;these sequences represent 87 non-repetitive sequences.The homology alignment showed that 76 expressed sequence tags（ESTs） had functional annotations in GenBank,the other 11 ESTs without any homology to the known gene.In addition,87 ESTs were divided into 17 groups according to MIPS of Arabidopsis thaliana database.Sequence data from the cDNA library have been deposited with the GenBank under the accession numbers GT067016-GT067085.As an important result in this study,7 genes related to anther development were isolated.Results from semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed 6 genes were expressed only in disk florets of fertile plants compared with that of male sterile plants.These ESTs obtained provide important clues for further isolation and identification of fertility-related genes in Z.elegans.

Microarray-Based Differential Expression Monitoring of 79 Novel Genes in Human Fetal Tissues

ESTs fragments which represents corresponding novel genes were obtained by sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of human fet al kidney cDNA library. Microarray was prepared by using these novel EST fragmen ts by automatic spotting. Expression patters of 79 ESTs of novel genes from huma n fetal kidney were analyzed in fetal brain and fetal heart tissues of 20\|week\ | and 26\|week\|age fetus by performing of cDNA chip hybridization. This provide s clues for studying exact functions of the novel genes. 8 genes were obtained w hich were expressed differentially in the fetal brain and heart of 20\|week\| an d 26\|week\|age respectively. Then differentially expressed genes were identifie d by Northern analysis. The more exact function of the novel genes is under stud y.

Genome Sequence and Genetic Diversity Studies of Melon

Cucumis melo is one of the most important fruit vegetables cultivated in tropical and temperate regions, as it is highly valued for the quality of its fruits. Traditionally, C. melo is considered to be divided into two subspecies according to ovary hairiness, i.e., subspecies melo （long hairs, distributed from India to Europe and in America） and subspecies agrestis （short hairs, in Eastern Asia from India to Japan and in Africa）. Today, the species comprises wild, feral and cultivated varieties, including sweet melons used for dessert and non-sweet ones consumed raw, pickled or cooked. The goal of this paper was to summarize melon genome sequencing and the genetic diversity studies from different references.

Determination of the genetic diversity of vegetable soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merr.] using EST-SSR markers

The development of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeats(EST-SSRs) provided a useful tool for investigating plant genetic diversity.In the present study,22 polymorphic EST-SSRs from grain soybean were identified and used to assess the genetic diversity in 48 vegetable soybean accessions.Among the 22 EST-SSR loci,tri-nucleotides were the most abundant repeats,accounting for 50.00% of the total motifs.GAA was the most common motif among tri-nucleotide repeats,with a frequency of 18.18%.Polymorphic analysis identified a total of 71 alleles,with an average of 3.23 per locus.The polymorphism information content(PIC) values ranged from 0.144 to 0.630,with a mean of 0.386.Observed heterozygosity(H o) values varied from 0.0196 to 1.0000,with an average of 0.6092,while the expected heterozygosity(H e) values ranged from 0.1502 to 0.6840,with a mean value of 0.4616.Principal coordinate analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that the accessions could be assigned to different groups based to a large extent on their geographic distribution,and most accessions from China were clustered into the same groups.These results suggest that Chinese vegetable soybean accessions have a narrow genetic base.The results of this study indicate that EST-SSRs from grain soybean have high transferability to vegetable soybean,and that these new markers would be helpful in taxonomy,molecular breeding,and comparative mapping studies of vegetable soybean in the future.

Developing new SSR markers from ESTs of pea(Pisum sativum L.)

The development of expressed sequence tags(ESTs) from pea has provided a useful source for mining novel simple sequence repeat(SSR) markers.In the present research,in order to find EST-derived SSR markers,18 552 pea ESTs from the National Center for Biotechnology Information(NCBI) database were downloaded and assembled into 10 086 unigenes.A total of 586 microsatellites in 530 unigenes were identified,indicating that merely 5.25% of sequences contained SSRs.The most abundant SSRs within pea were tri-nucleotide repeat motifs,and among all the tri-nucleotide repeats,the motif GAA was the most abundant type.In total,49 SSRs were used for primer design.EST-SSR loci were subsequently screened on 10 widely adapted varieties in China.Of these,nine loci showed polymorphic profiles that revealed two to three alleles per locus.The polymorphism information content value ranged from 0.18 to 0.58 with an average of 0.41.Furthermore,transferable analysis revealed that some of these loci showed transferability to faba bean.Because of their polymorphism and transferability,these nine novel EST-SSRs will be valuable tools for marker-assisted breeding and comparative mapping of pea in the future.

Generation and analysis of 113 adult stage Schistosoma japonicum (Chinese strain) expressed sequence tags

To rapidly and economically obtain knowledge about adult stage Schistosoma japonicum (Chinese strain) expressed genes using expressed sequence tag (EST) Methods A directional cDNA library constructed from Schistosoma japonicum (Chinese strain ) adult stage RNA was used to generate expressed sequence tags(ESTs) These were compared against an EMBL parasites database and GENBANK database by BLASTn and BLASTx Results A total of 314 phage clones were randomly selected for generating expressed sequence tags(ESTs) From these clones, 132 EST quality sequence were obtained Among these EST quality sequences,113 ESTs were successfully submitted to the dbEST at GenBanK A total of 7 6% of these EST quality sequences were previously identified sequence of Schistosoma japonicum, while 4 5% were putatively identified sequences of Schistosoma japonicum A total of 23 5% of these EST quality sequences were putatively identified sequence of Schistosoma mansoni or other organisms 57 6% had no matches in the database and were classified as unknown sequences Most ESTs with the putative protein identified belonged to housekeeping proteins Information about several interesting genes was found Conclusion Partial cDNA sequencing to generate expressed sequence tags (ESTs) has the potential to rapidly and economically increase our knowledge about adult stage Schistosoma japonicum(Chinese strain) expressed genes