Molecular cloning and characterization of SoxB2 gene from Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri

The Sox proteins play critical roles during the development of animals, including sex determination and central nervous system development. In this study, the SoxB2 gene was cloned from a mollusk, the Zhikong scallop （Chlamysfarreri）, and characterized with respect to phylogeny and tissue distribution. The full-length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of C. farreri SoxB2 （CflSoxB2） were obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends and genome walking, respectively, using a partial cDNA fragment from the highly conserved DNA-binding domain, i.e., the High Mobility Group （HMG） box. The full-length cDNA sequence of CJSoxB2 was 2 048 bp and encoded 268 amino acids protein. The genomic sequence was 5 551 bp in length with only one exon. Several conserved elements, such as the TATA-box, GC-box, CAAT-box, GATA-box, and Sox/sry-sex/testis-determining and related HMG box factors, were found in the promoter region. Furthermore, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR assays were carried out to assess the mRNA expression of CJSoxB2 in different tissues. SoxB2 was highly expressed in the mantle, moderately in the digestive gland and gill, and weakly expressed in the gonad, kidney and adductor muscle. In male and female gonads at different developmental stages of reproduction, the expression levels of CfS;oxB2 were similar. Considering the specific expression and roles of SoxB2 in other animals, in particular vertebrates, and the fact that there are many pallial nerves in the mantle, cerebral ganglia in the digestive gland and gill nerves in gill, we propose a possible essential role in nervous tissue function for SoxB2 in C.farreri.

Changes in Global DNA Methylation Intensity and DNMT1 Transcription During the Aging Process of Scallop Chlamys farreri

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic regulatory mechanism that influences genomic stability, gene activation, X-chromosome inactivation and other factors. A change in DNA methylation is usually associated with aging and cellular senescence. DNA methyltransferase 1(DNMT1) is the most abundant DNA methyltransferase, and it plays an important role in maintaining the established methylation pattern during DNA replication in vertebrates. Although the effect of aging on DNA methylation has been well studied in vertebrates, little research has been conducted in invertebrates, especially in marine bivalves. In this study, we examined global DNA methylation levels in four groups of adult Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri at different ages. The results showed that both the age and tissue type had a strong effect on the DNA methylation. In addition, a significant decrease in DNA methylation with aging(1–4 years) can be detected in mantle, kidney and hepatopancreas. We further measured the change in DNMT1 transcript abundance using quantitative reverse transcription PCR(q RT-PCR), which revealed that DNMT1 transcription significantly decreased with aging in mantle and hepatopancreas and strongly correlated with DNA methylation(R = 0.72). Our data provided greater insight into the aging-related decline of DNA methylation, which could aid in gaining a better understanding of the relationship between DNA methylation and the aging process in bivalve mollusks.

Association of myostatin Variants with Growth Traits of Zhikong Scallop(Chlamys farreri)

Scallop is a popular sea food and an important aquaculture shellfish.Identification of genes and genetic variants relating to scallop growth could benefit high-yielding scallop breeding.Myostatin(MSTN) is a conservative regulator of muscle growth,and has become one of the most important target genes for genetic improvement of the production of farmed animals.In this study,four single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were identified in the 5' flanking region of MSTN gene(Cf MSTN) in Zhikong scallop(Chlamys farreri).The association of these SNPs with scallop growth traits,including shell length,shell height,body weight and striated muscle weight was analyzed.The SNP g-1162G>T was found to associate with shell length,shell height,and striated muscle weight.The TT type scallops showed significantly higher trait values than those of GT type,and the GG type individuals exhibited median values.On the contrary,significantly more Cf MSTN transcripts were detected in the striated muscle of GT type scallops than in those of TT and GG type ones.Our results suggested that Cf MSTN might regulate the scallop muscle growth negatively,and SNP g-1162G>T can be used as a candidate marker for the selective breeding of high-yielding scallop.

Development of 101 Novel EST-Derived Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers for Zhikong Scallop (Chlamys farreri)

Zhikong scallop(Chlamys farreri) is an important maricultured species in China.Many researches on this species,such as population genetics and QTL fine-mapping,need a large number of molecular markers.In this study,based on the expressed sequence tags(EST),a total of 300 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were selected and validated using high resolution melting(HRM) technology with unlabeled probe.Of them,101(33.7%) were found to be polymorphic in 48 individuals from 4 populations.Further evaluation with 48 individuals from Qingdao population showed that all the polymorphic loci had two alleles with the minor allele frequency ranged from 0.046 to 0.500.The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.925 and from 0.089 to 0.505,respectively.Fifteen loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and significant linkage disequilibrate was detected in one pair of markers.BLASTx gave significant hits for 72 of the 101 polymorphic SNP-containing ESTs.Thirty four polymorphic SNP loci were predicted to be non-synonymous substitutions as they caused either the change of codons(33 SNPs) or pretermination of translation(1 SNP).The markers developed can be used for the population studies and genetic improvement on Zhikong scallop.

A Population Genetic Analysis of Continuously Selected Chlamys farreri Populations

This study applied an optimized one-step 2b-RAD library construction strategy and performed simplified genome sequencing of 539 individuals from three continuously selected Chlamys farreri populations. SNP screening was performed using RAD typing software and population genetic parameters for the continuously selected populations from three generations(G1, G2, G3) were determined. The results showed that the optimized one-step 2b-RAD library construction strategy greatly simplified the experimental process, making it suitable for efficiently constructing a large number of libraries. A total of 18450 SNP markers were identified, which evenly distributed throughout the genome. Population genetic analysis of these three generations showed that the mean value of observed heterozygosity was 0.275 ± 0.177, 0.272 ± 0.181 and 0.275 ± 0.166, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean value of expected heterozygosity was 0.275 ± 0.141, 0.274 ± 0.145 and 0.280 ± 0.133, respectively. The Wright's fixation index(F) was 0.04291, 0.04976 and 0.06685, respectively. Markers deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium accounted for 10.34%, 12.64%, and 23.11%, and the Shannon diversity index was 0.0999 ± 0.0404, 0.0921 ± 0.0388 and 0.0733 ± 0.0308. FIS(also known as the inbreeding coefficient) of the three populations was 0.0256, 0.0323 and 0.0468, respectively. We suggested that the 2b-RAD method is well suited to population genetic studies of aquacultured organisms. Moreover, our results indicated that the continuous selection affected the population genetic structure of the cultured Penglai-Red scallop, but the change was not significant; therefore, population selection should continue.

Effect of sucrose on cryopreservation of pig spermatogonial stem cells

Sucrose is known to play an important role in the cryopreservation of sperm and female gonads; however, its effect on the cryopreservation ofpig spermatogonial stem cells （pSSCs） has not been tested. The aim of this work was to study the effect of sucrose during pSSC cryopreservation and to find the most effective concentration in freezing medium, pSSCs were cryopreserved with freezing media containing different concentrations of sucrose （70, 140, 210, and 280 mmol L^-1） and a control group without sucrose. The survival rates, plasma membrane integrity, and mitochondrial membrane potential of thawed cells were detected by trypan blue （TB） staining, SYBR-14/propidium iodide （PI） dual staining, and JC-1 staining, respectively. All the staining results showed an obvious increase in cell survival in the sucrose-treated groups as compared to that in the control group, with the exception of 280 mmol L^-1 sucrose. Moreover, the 210 mmol L^-1 sucrose group yielded the highest survival rate among all the groups （P〈0.05）. The results of SYBR-14/PI dual staining and JC-1 staining were consistent with those of TB staining as above described. Quantitative real-time PCR （qRT-PCR） indicated that the mRNA levels of three apoptosis-promoting genes （BAX, APAF1 and CASPASE9） were significantly higher in thawed cells than in cells before freezing （P〈0.05）. Moreover, the mRNA level of one anti-apoptotic gene （XIAP） was significantly lower in thawed cells than in cells before freezing （P〈0.05）. When comparing the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes in thawed cells, the mRNA level of the anti-apoptotic genes in the control group was significantly lower than that in the sucrose-treated groups （P〈0.05）. Western blot analyses showed that the expression levels of cleaved CASPASE9, CASPASE3 and PARP-1 in the sucrose-treated groups were lower than those in the control group and were the lowest in the 210 mmol L-1 sucrose group. Both qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses suggested that sucrose inhibited cell apoptosis during freezing and thawing. Briefly, sucrose promoted pSSCs survival after freezing and thawing, especially at a concentration of 210 mmol L^-1, which possibly assisted pSSC dehydration and inhibited cell apoptosis. These findings hold great promise for further studies of the regulatory mechanism of proliferation and differentiation of pSSCs.

Development of an in situ loop-mediated isothermal amplification technique for chromosomal localization of DNA sequences

In situ loop-mediated isothermal amplification （in situ LAMP） combines in situ hybridization and loop-mediated isothermal amplification （LAMP） techniques for chromosomal localization of DNA sequences. In situ LAMP is a method that is generally more specific and sensitive than conventional techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH）, primed in situ labeling （PRINS）, and cycling primed in situ labeling （C-PRINS）. Here, we describe the development and application of in situ LAMP to identify the chromosomal localization of DNA sequences. To benchmark this technique, we successfully applied this technique to localize the major ribosomal RNA gene on the chromosomes of the Zhikong scallop （ Chlarnys farreri）.

Identification of Cytochrome P450 (CYP) Genes in Zhikong Scallop (Chlamys farreri)

Cytochrome P450 （CYP） superfamily is one of the membership largest and function most diverse protein superfamily recogniozed among living beings. Members of this superfamily were further assigned to different families and subfamilies based on their amino acid similarities. According to their phylogenetic relationships, the CYP genes which likely diverged from common ancestor gene and may share common functions were grouped into one clan. Widely distributing scallops are a group of the most conspicuous bivalve; however the studies on their CYP is acarce. In this study, we searched the genome and expressed sequence tags of Zhikong scallop （Chlamysfarreri） for CYP genes. In total, 88 non-redundant CIfP were identified, which were homed in 13 CYPs gene families. Phylogenetic analysis divided these genes into 4 CYP clans. As in deuterostomes, Clan 2 was the largest, which contained 33 genes belonging to CYP1, CYP2, CYP17 and CYP356 families. Clan 3 contgained 19 genes belonging to CYP3, CYP5 and CYP30 families. Clan 4 contained 23 genes, all belonging to CYP4 family. The mitochondrial CYP clan contained 9 genes belonging to CYPIO and CYP24 families. In comparison, protostomes （C. farreri, D. pluex, D. melanogaster） contained more CYP genes than deuterostomes （S. purpuratus and vertebrates） in Clan 2 but less genes in Clan 3 and Clan 4. Our findings will aid to deciphering CYP function and evolution in scallops and bivalves.

Genetic variation in two sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) stocks revealed by ISSR markers

Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus samples were collected in Changdao, Penglai (PL), 27 individuals, and Lingshandao, Qingdao (QD), 30 individuals, in the Shandong Peninsula, China. Ten SSR primers were used to assess the genetic variation and relationship between and within the two stocks. Respectively, for each stock, the percentage of polymorphic bands was 85.2% and 86.9%; the gene diver- sity was 0.360 5 and 0.342 8; and the Shannon’s information index was 0.515 0 and 0.499 0. At species level, the percentage of polymorphic bands was 92.2%, the total gene diversity was 0.378 9 and the Shannon’s information index was 0.550 4. The coefficient of overall genetic differentiation and the ge- netic distances between the stocks were also calculated to be 0.073 0 and 0.079 6 using the POPGENE program. Results show that the genetic diversity of the two stocks is still large but the genetic distance between the two stocks is close. A dendrogram was constructed for the 57 individuals from the two stocks, showing that the genetic structure was unitary for PL stock but complex for QD stock.

An Efficient Procedure for Isolating Microsatellite DNAs from Sea Cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus)

The construction of enrichment library proves to be one of the efficient approaches for isolating microsatellites in this study. The genomic DNA of sea cucumber was digested with HaeIII and size-selected DNA fragments (250-700 bp) were ligated to an adaptor. Microsatellite-containing sequences were captured by using a combination of GA and CA probes, which were attached to a nylon membrane. The microsatellite enrichment library constructed in this study consisted of approximately 700 clones. Two hun-dred and thirty-two clones reacted positively after the library screening procedure. Of the 50 clones sequenced, all contained at least one microsatellite and one duplicate clone was found. Approximately 86% of the sequenced fragments permitted to design primers for sequence tagged microsatellite site (STMS).