AFLP技术在微生物分类鉴定、基因标定及遗传多样性方面的应用

简述了AFLP技术的原理 ,比较了AFLP方法与其他分子标记的不同及其优缺点。着重论述了该技术在微生物分类、鉴定、基因标定及遗传多样性方面的应用。

提取线粒体DNA方法的比较及较纯线粒体基因获取方法的确立

目的:对2种常用的线粒体DNA提取方法进行比较,分析提取物中核DNA的存在情况,同时建立新检测方法降低线粒体假基因干扰。方法:以仅在核DNA中存在的基因β-actin作为核DNA存在的标定基因,通过PCR方法扩增线粒体DNA上的一段基因MTND5-2,并以β-actin做参比,比较常用的2种提取线粒体DNA方法的优劣,即碱法Ⅰ(先提取完整线粒体后从中获得线粒体DNA)和碱法Ⅱ(根据线粒体DNA与核DNA的结构差异,从中获得双链环状的线粒体DNA)。结果:2种线粒体DNA提取方法并不能获得仅含线粒体DNA的纯提取物,碱法Ⅰ获得的线粒体DNA纯度相对较高;以碱法Ⅰ提取物为模板进行PCR,可获得更多较纯的线粒体目的基因。结论:碱法Ⅰ较碱法Ⅱ可获得更纯的线粒体来源的目的基因;新建方法可获得较纯的线粒体基因,且是一种简单、方便、经济的方法。

Physiological Character and Gene Mapping in a New Green-revertible Albino Mutant in Rice

A green-revertible albino mutant-Qiufeng M was found from the japonica rice （Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica） Qiufeng in the field. The first three leaves of the mutant were albino with some green. The leaf color became pale green since the fourth leaf and the glume had the same phenomenon as the first three leaves. The measuring data of the pigment content confirmed the visually observed results. It truly had a remarkable changing process in the leaf color in Qiufeng M. Comparison of the main agronomic characters between Qiufeng and Qiufeng M indicated that the neck length and grain weight showed significant difference at the 1% level, and other characters were not different. Genetic analysis showed that the green-revertible albino trait was controlled by a single recessive nucleic gene. Using 209 recessive mutant individuals in the F2 population derived from the cross Pei＇ai 64S × Qiufeng M, a gene, tentatively named gra（t）, was located between the SSR markers of RM475 and RM2-22 on the long arm of chromosome 2. The genetic distance were 17.3 cM and 2.9 cM respectively.

Molecular Tagging and Effect Analysis of a New Small Grain Dwarf Gene in Rice

Plant height is one of the important agronomic traits of rice. Over higher plant would easily result in plant lodging and output reducing. On the other hand, the dwarf varieties with proper plant height had higher lodging resistance and a greater harvest index, allowing for the increased use of nitrogen fertilizer. Dwarf breeding had made a great breakthrough in the rice breeding. The breeding and extension of excellent dwarf varieties remarkably improved the yield potential of rice. Therefore, the plant height is still one of the focuses in rice genetic research.

Improvement of Resistance to Rice Blast in Zhenshan 97 by Molecular Marker-aided Selection

Fungi blast is one of the most serious diseases of rice worldwide. Breeding resistant varieties have been proved to be the most effective and economical means to control the disease. This paper describes the molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) procedure for a broad-spectrum blast resistant gene Pi1 integrated into an elite hybrid maintainer line, Zhenshan 97. A simple sequence repeat (SSR) based on molecular marker-aided selection system for Pi1 segment was established. Using a backcross population and a blast isolate F1829, Pi1 gene was mapped on the top of chromosome 11 between markers RZ536 and RM144, with a distance of 9.7 cM and 6.8 cM, respectively. Seventeen families derived from the recurrent parent Zhenshan 97 were obtained with homozygous Pi1 gene. The background of the 17 families was identified with inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) amplification, the highest recovery of the Zhenshan 97 genetic background was 97.01% after the assay of 167 polymorphic bands.

Mapping of S-b Locus for F_1 Pollen Sterility in Cultivated Rice Using PCR Based Markers

In cultivated rice ( Oryza sativa L.), F-1 pollen sterility is controlled by at least 6 loci of the F, pollen sterility genes. To map S-b, one of loci, rice variety Taichung 65 (T65) carrying S-b(j)/S-b(j) and its near-isogenic line TIST2 carrying S-b(i)/S-b(i) were used to develop the mapping population. One hundred and fifty-eight microsatellite markers were selected to survey T65 and TISL2. RM13 on chromosome 5 was found to be polymorphic between them. Cosegregation indicated that RM13 was closely linked with locus S-b. Eleven RFLP markers were selected on the corresponding region from the genetic map of Rice Genome Research Program (RGP) of Japan to convert into sequence-tagged site (STS) markers. Amplicon length polymorphism (ALP) was carried out, but none of them was found to be polymorphic between T65 and TISL2. Then PCR-based RFLP (PBR) was done using six 4-nucleotide recognizing restriction endonucleases. Polymorphism was detected when PCR products of R830STS and R2213SSTS were digested with Taq I. Genetic analysis indicated that the distance between locus S-b and markers, R830STS, RM13 and R2213SSTS were 3.3 cM (centi-Morgan), 5.2 cM and 5.5 cM, respectively. These PCR-based markers could be directly used in marker-assisted selection. The technical system combining genetic mapping and PCR-based marker-assisted selection will facilitate the development of molecular breeding.

Mapping of a Major Stripe Rust Resistance Gene in Chinese Native Wheat Variety Chike Using Microsatellite Markers

Chike （accession number Su1900）, a Chinese native wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） variety, is resistant to the currently prevailing physiological races of Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici in China. Genetic analysis indicated that resistance to the physiological race CY32 of the pathogen in the variety was controlled by one dominant gene. In this study, BSA （bulked segregant analysis） methods and SSRs （simple sequence repeats） marker polymorphic analysis are used to map the gene. The resistant and susceptible DNA bulks were prepared from the segregating F2 population of the cross between Taichung 29, a susceptible variety as maternal parent, and Chike as paternal parent. Over 400 SSR primers were screened, and five SSR markers Xwmc44, Xgwm259, Xwmc367, Xcfa2292, and Xbarc80 on the chromosome arm 1BL were found to be polymorphic between the resistant and the susceptible DNA bulks as well as their parents. Genetic linkage was tested on segregating F2 population with 200 plants, including 140 resistant and 60 susceptible plants. All the five SSR markers were linked to the stripe rust resistance gene in Chike. The genetic distances for the markers Xwmc44, Xgwm259, Xwmc367, Xcfa2292, and Xbarc80 to the target gene were 8.3 cM, 9.1 cM, 17.2 cM, 20.6 cM, and 31.6 cM, respectively. Analysis using 21 nulli-tetrasomic Chinese Spring lines further confirmed that all the five markers were located on chromosome lB. On the basis of the above results, it is reasonable to assume that the major stripe rust resistance gene YrChk in Chike was located on the chromosome arm 1BL, and its comparison with the other stripe rust resistance genes located on 1B suggested that YrChk may be a novel gene that provides the resistance against stripe rust in Chike. Exploration and utilization of resources of disease resistance genes in native wheat varieties will be helpful both to diversify the resistance genes and to amend the situation of resistance gene simplification in the commercial wheat cultivars in China.

Identification and characterization of new plant microRNAs using EST analysis

Seventy-five previously known plant microRNAs (miRNAs) were classified into 14 families according to their gene sequence identity. A total of 18,694 plant expressed sequence tags (EST) were found in the GenBank EST databases by comparing all previously known Arabidopsis miRNAs to GenBank’s plant EST databases with BLAST algorithms. After removing the EST sequences with high numbers (more than 2) of mismatched nucleotides, a total of 812 EST contigs were identified. After predicting and scoring the RNA secondary structure of the 812 EST sequences using mFold software, 338 new potential miRNAs were identified in 60 plant species. miRNAs are widespread. Some microRNAs may highly conserve in the plant kingdom, and they may have the same ancestor in very early evolution. There is no nucleotide substitution in most miRNAs among many plant species. Some of the new identified potential miRNAs may be induced and regulated by environmental biotic and abiotic stresses. Some may be preferentially expressed in specific tissues, and are regulated by developmental switching. These findings suggest that EST analysis is a good alternative strategy for identifying new miRNA candidates, their targets, and other genes. A large number of miRNAs exist in different plant species and play important roles in plant developmental switching and plant responses to environmental abiotic and biotic stresses as well as signal transduction. Environmental stresses and developmental switching may be the signals for synthesis and regulation of miRNAs in plants. A model for miRNA induction and expression, and gene regulation by miRNA is hypothesized.

Identification of Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b-Binding Protein Genes of Zostera marina L.and Their Expression Under Different Environmental Conditions

Photosynthesis includes the collection of light and a/b-binding （LHC） proteins. In high plants, the LHC gene family constituting the light-harvesting complex ofphotosystems I and II. the transfer of solar energy using light-harvesting chlorophyll includes LHCA and LHCB sub-families, which encode proteins Zostera marina L. is a monocotyledonous angiosperm and inhab- its submerged marine environments rather than land environments. We characterized the Lhca and Lhcb gene families of Z. marina from the expressed sequence tags （EST） database. In total, 13 unigenes were annotated as ZmLhc, 6 in Lhca family and 7 in ZmLhcb family. ZmLHCA and ZmLHCB contained the conservative LHC motifs and amino acid residues binding chlorophyll. The average similarity among mature ZmLHCA and ZmLHCB was 48.91% and 48.66%, respectively, which indicated a high degree of diver- gence within ZmLHChc gene family. The reconstructed phylogenetic tree showed that the tree topology and phylogenetic relation- ship were similar to those reported in other high plants, suggesting that the Lhc genes were highly conservative and the classification of ZmLhc genes was consistent with the evolutionary position of Z. marina. Real-time reverse transcription （RT） PCR analysis showed that different members of ZmLhca and ZmLhcb responded to a stress in different expression patterns. Salinity, temperature, light intensity and light quality may affect the expression of most ZmLhca and ZmLhcb genes. Inorganic carbon concentration and acidity had no obvious effect on ZmLhca and ZmLhcb gene expression, except for ZmLhca6.

Repeated anastomotic recurrence of colorectal tumors: Genetic analysis of two cases

AIM: To investigate genetics of two cases of colorectal tumor local recurrence and throw some light on the etiopathogenesis of anastomotic recurrence. METHODS: Two cases are presented: a 65-year-old female receiving two colonic resections for primary anastomotic recurrences within 21 mo, and a 57-year-old female undergoing two local excisions of recurrent anastomotic adenomas within 26 mo. A loss of heterozygosity (LOH) study of 25 microsatellite markers and a mutational analysis of genes BRAF , K-RAS and APC were performed in samples of neoplastic and normal colonic mucosa collected over the years. RESULTS: A diffuse genetic instability was present in all samples, including neoplastic and normal colonic mucosa. Two different patterns of genetic alterations (LOH at 5q21 and 18p11.23 in the first case, and LOH at 1p34 and 3p14 in the second) were found to be associated with carcinogenesis over the years. A role for the genes MYC-L (mapping at 1p34) and FIHT (mapping at 3p14.2) is suggested, whereas a role for APC (mapping at 5q21) is not shown. CONCLUSION: The study challenges the most credited intraluminal implantation and metachronous carcinogenesis theories, and suggests a persistent, patient-specific alteration as the trigger of colorectal cancer anastomotic recurrence.

Identification of Reference Genes for Normalizing Quantitative Real-Time PCR in Urechis unicinctus

The reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR(RT-qPCR) has become one of the most important techniques of studying gene expression. A set of valid reference genes are essential for the accurate normalization of data. In this study, five candidate genes were analyzed with ge Norm, Norm Finder, Best Keeper and ?Ct methods to identify the genes stably expressed in echiuran Urechis unicinctus, an important commercial marine benthic worm, under abiotic(sulfide stress) and normal(adult tissues, embryos and larvae at different development stages) conditions. The comprehensive results indicated that the expression of TBP was the most stable at sulfide stress and in developmental process, while the expression of EF-1-α was the most stable at sulfide stress and in various tissues. TBP and EF-1-α were recommended as a suitable reference gene combination to accurately normalize the expression of target genes at sulfide stress; and EF-1-α, TBP and TUB were considered as a potential reference gene combination for normalizing the expression of target genes in different tissues. No suitable gene combination was obtained among these five candidate genes for normalizing the expression of target genes for developmental process of U. unicinctus. Our results provided a valuable support for quantifying gene expression using RT-qPCR in U. unicinctus.

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.

Identification of the novel recessive gene pi55(t) conferring resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae

The elite rice cultivar Yuejingsimiao 2 （YJ2） is characterized by a high level of grain quality and yield, and resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae. YJ2 showed 100% resistance to four fungal populations collected from Guangdong, Sichuan, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang Provinces, which is a higher frequency than that shown by the well-known resistance （R） gene donor culti- vats such as Sanhuangzhan 2 and 28zhan. Segregation analysis for resistance with F2 and F4 populations indicated the re- sistance of YJ2 was controlled by multiple genes that are dominant or recessive. The putative R genes of YJ2 were roughly tagged by SSR markers, located on chromosomes 2, 6, 8, and 12, in a hulked-segregant analysis using genome-wide selected SSR markers with F4 lines that segregated into 3 resistant （R）： 1 susceptible （S） or 1R：3S. The recessive R gene on chromosome 8 was further mapped to an interval ~1.9 cM/152 kb in length by linkage analysis with genomic position-ready markers in the mapping population derived from an F4 line that segregated into 1R：3S. Given that no major R gene was mapped to this inter- val, the novel R gene was designated as pi55（t）. Out of 26 candidate genes predicted in the region based on the reference genomic sequence of the cultivar Nipponbare, two genes that encode a leucine-rich repeat-containing protein and heavy-metalassociated domain-containing protein, respectively, were suggested as the most likely candidates for pi55（t）.

Correcting for biases in affected sib-pair linkage analysis caused by uncertainty in sibling relationship

When there is uncertainty in sibling relationship,the classical affected sib-pair(ASP) linkage tests may be severely biased.This can happen,for example,if some of the half sib-pairs are mixed with full sib-pairs.The genomic control method has been used in association analysis to adjust for population structures.We show that the same idea can be applied to ASP linkage analysis with uncertainty in sibling relationship.Assuming that,in addition to the candidate marker,null markers that are unlinked to the disease locus are also genotyped,we may use the information on these loci to estimate the proportion of half sib-pairs and to correct for the bias and variance distortion caused by the heterogeneity of sibling relationship.Unlike in association studies,the null loci are not required to be matched with the candidate marker in allele frequency for ASP linkage analysis.This makes our approach flexible in selecting null markers.In our simulations,using a number of 30 or more null loci can effectively remove the bias and variance distortion.It is also shown that,even the null loci are weakly linked to the disease locus,the proposed method can also provide satisfactory correction.

Clones identification of Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. in Chile by using PCR-RAPDs technique

A protocol of polymerase chain reaction-random amplified polymorphic DNAs (PCR-RAPDs) was established to analyse the gene diversity and genotype identification for clones of Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. in Chile. Ten (out of 34) clones from introduction trial located in Voipir-Villarrica, Chile, were studied. The PCR-RAPDs technique and a modified hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) protocol were used for genomic DNA extraction. The PCR tests were carried out employing 10-mer random primers. The amplification products were detected by electrophoresis in agarose gels. Forty nine polymorphic bands were obtained with the selected primers (BG04, BF07, BF12, BF13, and BF14) and were ordered according to their molecular size. The genetic similarity between samples was calculated by the Jaccard index and a dendrogram was con- structed using a cluster analysis of unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA). Of the primers tested, 5 (out of 60) RAPD primers were selected for their reproducibility and high polymorphism. A total of 49 polymorphic RAPD bands were detected out of 252 bands. The genetic similarity analysis demonstrates an extensive genetic variability between the tested clones and the dendrogram depicts the genetic relationships among the clones, suggesting a geographic relationship. The results indicate that the RAPD markers permitted the identification of the assayed clones, although they are derived from the same geo- graphic origin.