Computational analysis of genetic loci required for synapse structure and function and their corresponding microRNAs in C. elegans

Objective To elucidate the important functions of microRNAs （miRNAs） in regulating synaptic assembly and function, we performed a computational analysis for the genetic loci required for the synaptic structure and function and their corresponding miRNAs in C. elegans. Methods Total 198 genetic loci required for the synaptic structure and function were selected. Sequence alignment was combined with E value evaluation to investigate and identify the possible corresponding miRNAs. Results Total 163 genes among the 198 genetic loci selected have their possibly corresponding regulatory miRNA （s）, which covered most of the important genetic loci required for the synaptic structure and function. Moreover, only 22 genes among the analyzed 38 genetic loci encoding synaptic proteins have more possibility to under the control of non-coding RNA genes. In addition, the distribution of miRNAs along the 3＇ untranslated region （UTR） of these 22 genes exhibits different patterns. Condusion Here we provide the computational screen and analysis results for the genetic loci required for synaptic structure and function and their possible corresponding miRNAs. These data will be useful for the further attempt to systematically determine the roles of miRNAs in synaptic assembly and function regulation in worms.

Genome-wide association and linkage mapping strategies reveal genetic loci and candidate genes of phosphorus utilization in soybean

Insufficient available phosphorus in soil has become an important limiting factor for the improvement of yield and quality in soybean. The mining of QTLs and candidate genes controlling soybean phosphorus utilization related traits is a necessary strategy to solve this problem. In this study, 11 phosphorus utilization related traits of a natural population of 281 typical soybean germplasms and a recombinant inbred line(RIL) population of 270 lines were evaluated under different phosphorus conditions at two critical stages: the four-leaf stage as the seedling critical stage was designated as the Tstage, and the six-leaf stage as the flowering critical stage was designated as the Tstage. In total, 200 single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) loci associated with phosphorus utilization related traits were identified in the natural population, including 91 detected at the Tstage, and 109 detected at the Tstage. Among these SNP loci, one SNP cluster(s715611375, ss715611377, ss715611379 and ss715611380) on Gm12 was shown to be significantly associated with plant height under the low phosphorus condition at the Tstage, and the elite haplotype showed significantly greater plant height than the others. Meanwhile, one pleiotropic SNP cluster(ss715606501, ss715606506 and ss715606543) on Gm10 was found to be significantly associated with the ratio of root/shoot, root and total dry weights under the low phosphorus condition at the Tstage, and the elite haplotype also presented significantly higher values for related characteristics under the phosphorus starvation condition. Furthermore, four co-associated SNP loci(ss715597964, ss715607012, ss715622173 and ss715602331) were identified under the low phosphorus condition at both the Tand Tstages, and 12 QTLs were found to be consistent with these genetic loci in the RIL population. More importantly, 14 candidate genes, including MYB transcription factor, purple acid phosphatase, sugar transporter and HSP20-like chaperones superfamily genes, etc., showed differential expression levels after low phosphorus treatment, and three of them were further verified by q RT-PCR. Thus, these genetic loci and candidate genes could be applied in markerassisted selection or map-based gene cloning for the genetic improvement of soybean phosphorus utilization.

SHEsis,a powerful software platform for analyses of linkage disequi-librium,haplotype construction,and genetic association at polymor-phism loci

The authors want to changed the web link of the software platform in this Briefing.Page 97,section 'INTRODUCTION',the web link of SHEsis is changed from http://www.nhgg.org/analysis tohttp://analysis.bio-x.

Dissection of Genetic Effects of Quantitative Trait Loci(QTL) in Transgenic Cotton

When alien DNA inserts into cotton genome in multi-copy manner,several QTL in cotton genome are disrupted,which are called dQTL in this study.Transgenic mutant line is near-isogenic to its recipient which is divergent for the dQTL from remaining QTL.So,a set of data from a

Differences in clinical and genetic characteristics between early-and late-onset narcolepsy in a Han Chinese cohort

Early-and late-onset narcolepsy constitutes two distinct diagnostic subgroups.However,it is not clear whether symptomology and genetic risk factors differ between early-and late-onset narcoleptics.This study compared clinical data and single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)between early-and late-onset patients in a large cohort of 899 Han Chinese narcolepsy patients.Blood,cerebrospinal fluid,and clinical data were prospectively collected from patients,and patients were genotyped for 40 previously reported narcolepsy risk-conferring SNPs.Genetic risk scores(GRSs),associations of five different sets of SNPs(GRS1–GRS5)with early-and late-onset narcolepsy,were evaluated using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves.Mean sleep latency was significantly shorter in early-onset cases than in late-onset cases.Symptom severity was greater among late-onset patients,with higher rates of sleep paralysis,hypnagogic hallucinations,health-related quality of life impairment,and concurrent presentation with four or more symptoms.Hypocretin levels did not differ significantly between early-and late-onset cases.Only rs3181077(CCR1/CCR3)and rs9274477(HLA-DQB1)were more prevalent among early-onset cases.Only GRS1(26 SNPs;OR=1.513,95%CI:0.893–2.585;P<0.05)and GRS5(6 SNPs;OR=1.893,95%CI:1.204–2.993;P<0.05)were associated with early-onset narcolepsy,with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.731 and 0.732,respectively.Neither GRS1 nor GRS5 included SNPs in HLA regions.Our results indicate that symptomology and genetic risk factors differ between early-and late-onset narcolepsy.This protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board(IRB)Panels on Medical Human Subjects at Peking University People’s Hospital,China(approval No.Yuanlunshenlinyi 86)in October 2011.

Genetic counseling in post-genomic era: Don't pretend to know the meaning of a gene mutation if you don't know

In this post-genomic era, more and more susceptibility loci of many possible genetic diseases are published. As our knowledge about these susceptibility loci is limited and partial, we should be very careful and responsible when patients seek genetic counseling about these possible genetic diseases. We should apply Confucius' s principle about knowledge and information to genetic conseling, and tell the truth to our patients about what we know and what we do not know. Like many other cancers, breast cancer is a very complicated, multifactorial disease; genetic factors, lifestyles and eating habits, environmental factors, and viral infections might be involved in breast cancer; hence, it is difficult to figure out the real etiology of breast cancer. It is not crystal clear that a person who carries mutations of the breast cancer 1, early onset and/or breast cancer 2, early onset genes would eventually get breast cancer in her/his lifetime. No person should undergo a preventive double mastectomy, unless we know the etiology of breast cancer someday.