A preliminary analysis of phylogenetic relationships of Arundinaria and related genera based on nucleotide sequences of nrDNA （ITS region） and cpDNA （trnL-F intergenic spacer）

Phylogenetic relationships of Arundinaria and related genera (Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa, Oligostachyum, Bashania, Clavinodum, etc.) were assessed by analyzing the sequences of the nrDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the cpDNA trnL-F intergenic spacer (IGS). Comparison with trnL-F IGS sequence, the ITS region provided the higher number of parsimony informative characters, and the interspecific variation of the ITS sequence was higher than that of the trnL-F IGS sequence.The tree obtained by combining both sets of data showed that the species sampled in Arundinaria and the related genera were monophyletic and divided into two clades. The relationships and positioning of all the taxa surveryed (including A. oleosa, A. hsienchuensis, A. chino, A. amara, A. yixingensis, A. amabilis, A. fortunei, A. pygmaea, A. gramineus, A. fargesii, A. faberi, A. hupehense, Pseudosasa japonica cv. Tsutsumiana, P. japonica and Brachystachyum densiflorum) were also discussed. The results from the sequences were broadly consistent with morphological characters, appearing all these taxa sampled belong to the genus of Arundinaria. The topologies of the trees generated from individual data and the combined data were similar.

Intergenic spacer 1(IGS1) polymorphism map: A marker for the initial classification of cultivated Lentinula edodes strains in China

China is currently the world＇s leading producer of Lentinula edodes and owns many cultivated strains of this species. This study was performed in order to investigate intergenic spacer I （IGS1） polymorphism and classification among 49 popular cultivated strains. The great majority of the 49 strains possessed two different IGS1 sequences, with distinct lengths and homologies. Based on the length and homology of the IGS1 sequences of the 49 strains, the strains were classified into two groups： A and B. Group A was subdivided into six subgroups. Forty-seven strains were homozygous or heterozygous among these six subgroups in group A, Cr01 was heterozygous between A and B, and Guangxiang 9 was homozygous in group B. An IGS1 polymorphism map of each cultivated L. edodes strain is reported for the first time and could be used as a marker for the initial classification and management of cultivated L. edodes strains in China.

Changes of microbial community structures and functional genes during biodegradation of phenolic compounds under high salt condition

The changes of microbial community structures and functional genes during the biodegradation of single phenol and phenol plus p-cresol under high salt condition were explored.It was found that the phenol-fed system（PFS） exhibited stronger degrading abilities and more stable biomass than that of the phenol plus p-cresol-fed system（PCFS）.The microbial community structures were revealed by a modern DNA fingerprint technique,ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis（RISA）.The results indicated that the microbial community of PFS changed obviously when gradually increased phenol concentration,while PCFS showed a little change.16S rRNA sequence analysis of the major bands showed that Alcanivorax sp.genus was predominant species during phenolic compounds degradation.Furthermore,amplified functional DNA restriction analysis（AFDRA） on phenol hydroxylase genes showed that the fingerprints were substantially different in the two systems,and the fingerprints were not the same during the different operational periods.

The Amplification and Application of Ribosomal RNA (rDNA) Gene Sequences of <i>Blidingia minima</i>(Chlorophyta, Blidingia)

The sequence of the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) plays an important role in species identification and phylogenetic analysis. However, the only published full-length sequence of a ribosomal gene of green algae is that of Ulva mutabilis. In this study, we amplified the full-length sequence of each ribosomal gene unit of the ribosomal gene of Blidingia minima. The full-length sequence of the ribosomal gene in Blidingia minima is 8676 bp, including the 1759 bp 18S rDNA, 576 bp internal transcribed spacer (ITS) + 5.8S rDNA, 3282 bp 28S rDNA, and 3059 bp intergenic spacer (IGS) region. We then carried out a series of genetic analyses based on the ITS and IGS sequences, to verify whether IGS sequences are useful for studying the genetic diversity of green algae from different locations. We amplified the IGS sequences of Blidingia minima from 10 different locations in the Yellow Sea. Multiple alignments of the IGS sequences of samples from these 10 different sites revealed varying degrees of base differences, and comparative analysis of the ITS sequences revealed that our amplified species was classified as Blidingia minima and distinct from other green algae. In conclusion, our full-length amplified ribosomal gene provides useful information to enrich the data on green algae ribosomal genes and provides an effective molecular marker for the analysis of the interspecies and intraspecies relationships of Blidingia minima.

The Potential of DNA Barcode-Based Delineation Using Seven Putative Candidate Loci of the Plastid Region in Inferring Molecular Diversity of Cowpea at Sub-Species Level

The novelty and suitability of the mitochondrial gene CO1 in DNA barcoding as a reliable identification tool in animal species are undisputed. This is attributed to its standardized sequencing segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase-1 gene (CO1) which has the necessary universality and variability making it a generally acceptable barcode region. CO1 is a haploid single locus that is uniparentally-inherited. Protein-coding regions are present in high-copy numbers making it an ideal barcode. The mitochondrial oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is a robust barcode with a suitable threshold for delineating animals and is not subject to drastic length variation, frequent mononucleotide repeats or microinversions. However, a low nucleotide substitution rate of plant mitochondrial genome [mtDNA] precludes the use of CO1 as a universal plant DNA barcode and makes the search for alternative barcode regions necessary. Currently, there exists no universal barcode for plants. The plastid region reveals leading candidate loci as appropriate DNA barcodes yet to be explored in biodiversity studies in Kenya. Four of these plastid regions are portions of coding genes (matK, rbcL, rpoB, and rpoC1), and three noncoding spacers (atpF-atpH, trnH-psbA, and psbK-psbL) which emerge as ideal candidate DNA loci. While different research groups propose various combinations of these loci, there exists no consensus;the lack thereof impedes progress in getting a suitable universal DNA barcode. Little research has attempted to investigate and document the applicability and extend of effectiveness of different DNA regions as barcodes to delineate cowpea at subspecies level. In this study we sought to test feasibility of the seven putative candidate DNA loci singly and in combination in order to establish a suitable single and multi-locus barcode regions that can have universal application in delineating diverse phylogeographic groups of closely related Kenyan cowpea variants. In this study, our focus was based on genetic parameters including analyses of intra- and infra-specific genetic divergence based on intra- and infra-specific K2P distances;calculation of Wilcoxon signed rank tests of intra-specific divergence among loci and coalescence analyses to delineate independent genetic clusters. Knowledge of DNA candidate loci that are informative will reveal the suitability of DNA barcoding as a tool in biodiversity studies. Results of this study indicate that: matK, trnH-psbA, psbK-psbL, and rbcL are good barcodes for delineating intra and infraspecific distances at single loci level. However, among the combinations, matK + trnH-psbA, rpoB + atpF-atpH + matK are the best barcodes in delineating cowpea subvariants. rbcL gene can be a suitable barcode marker at single locus level, but overall, multi locus approach appears more informative than single locus approach. The present study hopes to immensely contribute to the scanty body of knowledge on the novelty of DNA barcoding in cataloguing closely related cowpea variants at molecular level and hopes to open up future research on genomics and the possibility of use of conserved regions within DNA in inferring phylogenetic relationships among Kenyan cowpea variants.

Molecular Evidence for the Hybrid Origin of Bauhinia blakeana(Caesalpinioideae)

Bauhinia blakeana Dunn is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region emblem and a popular horticultural species in many Asian countries. It was first described as a new species from Hong Kong almost a century ago. This plant is sterile and has long been considered a hybrid, possibly from two related species, B. purpurea and B. variegata. However, not much evidence based on molecular methods was available to support this hypothesis. In this study, sequences of internal transcribed spacer I （ITS1）, rbcL and atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer for five Bauhinia species and two varieties of one of the species were determined and compared. There were two types of ITS1 sequences in B. blakeana, one indistinguishable from that of B. purpurea and the other one identical to that of B. variegata. This confirmed that B. blakeana was a hybrid of these two species. Chloroplast atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer sequence of B. blakeana was identical to that of B. purpurea, indicating that B. purpurea was the female parent. The hybridization event seemed to occur only recently and was a rare incident. Its occurrence was likely facilitated by interspecific pollen competition. It appeared that human efforts played a crucial role in the preservation and ubiquity of B. blakeana.

Evaluation of bias on the assessment of diet breadth of herbivorous insects using molecular methods

The interactions between herbivores and their host plants play a key role in ecological processes. Understanding the width and nature of these interactions is funda- mental to ecology and conservation. Recent research on DNA-based inference of trophic associations suggests that the host range of phytophagous insects in the tropics may be wider than previously thought based on traditional observation. However, the reliability of molecular inference of ecological associations, still strongly dependent on PCR and thus exposed to the risk of contamination with environmental DNA, is under debate. Here, we explored alternative procedures to reduce the chance of amplification of external, nondiet DNA, including surface decontamination and analysis of mid/hind guts, comparing the results with those obtained using the standard protocol. We studied 261 specimens in eight species of Neotropical Chrysomelidae that yielded 316 psbA-trnH intergenic spacer sequences （cpDNA marker of putative diets） from unique and multiple-band PCR results. The taxonomic identity of these sequences was inferred using the automated pipeline BAGpipe, yielding results consistent with 31 plant families. Regardless of the proto- col used, a wide taxonomic spectrum of food was inferred for all chrysomelid species. Canonical Correspondence Analysis using these data revealed significant differences at- tributed mainly to species （expectedly, since they represent different ecologies）, but also to treatment （untreated vs. cleaned/gut samples） and PCR results （single vs. multiple bands）. Molecular identification of diets is not straightforward and, regardless of the species＇ niche breadth, combining approaches that reduce external contamination and studying multiple individuals per species may help increasing confidence in results.