Identification and Analysis of SSRs Derived from Protein-coding Genes in Grape

SSR(Simple Sequence Repeats), also known as microsatellites or STRs(short tandem repeats), are a type of PCRbased markers. So far, the version of grape genome has been updated constantly, but SSRs derived from protein-coding genes in grape have not yet been identified. In this study, 4 337 SSR-containing genes were found among 29 971 protein-coding genes in grape(Vitis vinifera L.), and 5 384 SSRs were found. There were 96 types of repeat motifs in SSRs derived from protein-coding genes in grape, and the most frequently occurring repeat motif was A/T. Among various repeat motifs in dinucleotide SSRs, the most frequently occurring repeat motif was AG/CT. Moreover, many genes exhibited codon usage bias, which was affected by the mutation pressure. GO annotation, KEGG annotation and domain analysis of these genes were performed.Several genes were found to be closely related to the synthesis and metabolism of secondary metabolites, synthesis of flavones or anthocyanins, development and morphology of plant organs, and tolerance to biotic or abiotic stresses, including transcription factors in MYB, Hsf, NBS and TPC families. This study laid a solid foundation for the development of SSR markers and research of QTLs controlling complex agronomic traits in grape.

High-throughput sequencing-based genome-wide identification of micro RNAs expressed in developing cotton seeds

Micro RNAs(mi RNAs) have been shown to play critical regulatory roles in gene expression in cotton. Although a large number of mi RNAs have been identified in cotton fibers, the functions of mi RNAs in seed development remain unexplored. In this study, a small RNA library was constructed from cotton seeds sampled at 15 days post-anthesis(DPA) and was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. A total of 95 known mi RNAs were detected to be expressed in cotton seeds. The expression pattern of these identified mi RNAs was profiled and 48 known mi RNAs were differentially expressed between cotton seeds and fibers at 15 DPA. In addition, 23 novel mi RNA candidates were identified in 15-DPA seeds. Putative targets for 21 novel and 87 known mi RNAs were successfully predicted and 900 expressed sequence tag(EST) sequences were proposed to be candidate target genes, which are involved in various metabolic and biological processes, suggesting a complex regulatory network in developing cotton seeds. Furthermore, mi RNA-mediated cleavage of three important transcripts in vivo was validated by RLM-5′ RACE. This study is the first to show the regulatory network of mi RNAs that are involved in developing cotton seeds and provides a foundation for future studies on the specific functions of these mi RNAs in seed development.