八眉猪DRA基因编码区多态性及生物信息学分析

为了探讨八眉猪DRA基因的遗传特性及其在抗病育种和猪-人异种器官移植中的应用前景,采用克隆测序的方法对该基因编码区进行多态性分析,并利用生物信息学方法预测该基因编码氨基酸的理化特性和结构功能,同时对该基因进行同源性分析。结果显示,八眉猪DRA基因编码252个氨基酸,编码区有5个核苷酸和2个氨基酸变异位点。DRA基因编码产物是一种不稳定的不可溶蛋白,二级结构为混合型,无规则卷曲所占比例最高。蛋白质功能预测结果显示,DRA基因免疫应答几率最高(4.405)。同源性分析发现,八眉猪DRA氨基酸与其他猪种的相似度在98%以上,与人的相似度达到83%,在CD4分子结合部位与人类相应的DRA仅存在1个氨基酸差异,具有在异种移植排斥反应中利用的潜力。研究结果为八眉猪的抗病分子育种和猪-人异种器官移植提供理论依据。     

烟台黑猪SLA-DQA基因编码区多态性及生物信息学分析

采用PCR-SSCP、克隆测序和生物信息学等方法对烟台黑猪SLA-DQA基因多态性进行研究,预测其蛋白质结构并分析其功能特征。结果显示:SLA-DQA基因exon 2、exon 3、exon 4分别检测出4种等位基因,5种基因型、6种等位基因,8种基因型、4种等位基因,7种基因型,包括3种新等位基因。SLA-DQA基因共编码255个氨基酸,编码区共发现32个核苷酸突变和13个氨基酸变异,exon 2多态性最为丰富。蛋白质结构预测结果显示二级结构中无规则卷曲和延伸链比例最高,α螺旋数量多且集中,β折叠最少。功能预测结果显示,SLA-DQA基因蛋白质在能量代谢、结构蛋白和生长因子等方面几率较高。本研究结果可为SLA-DQA基因在猪抗病分子育种中的应用提供理论依据。     

烟台黑猪SLA-DRA基因编码区多态性及生物信息学分析

为了探究烟台黑猪SLA-DRA基因多态性,预测其蛋白质的结构并分析功能特征,采用PCR-SSCP、克隆测序和生物信息学等方法对SLA-DRA基因4个外显子的多态性、蛋白质的理化性质、结构域、蛋白质的空间结构和功能进行了预测和分析。结果显示:SLA-DRA基因exon 1、exon 2和exon 4共检测到11个SNPs,导致7个氨基酸发生变异,exon 3没有突变产生,exon 4的多态性最丰富。SLA-DRA基因编码区759 bp核苷酸共编码252个氨基酸和1个终止子。SLA-DRA基因蛋白质是一种偏酸性、不稳定、亲水性蛋白质,其二级结构是混合型,其中无规则卷曲最多。该蛋白质含有2个免疫球蛋白结合域、2个N-糖基化位点和10个磷酸化位点。功能分析显示:SLA-DRA基因蛋白质在信号转导、受体、胁迫应答、免疫应答、生长因子等方面的几率均较高。研究结果可为猪的抗病分子育种候选基因筛选提供理论依据。     

甘肃黑猪H-FABP基因多态性筛查及蛋白功能预测

为了明确甘肃黑猪H-FABP基因的遗传特征,采用DNA池结合直接测序技术快速筛查甘肃黑猪H-FABP基因遗传多态性,并利用生物信息学方法预测其编码氨基酸的理化性质及蛋白功能。结果显示,甘肃黑猪H-FABP基因在扩增区域共发现4个突变位点,分别为C~(734)T-Intron1、T~(152)C-Exon2、G~(30)A-Intron2、T~(121)G-Intron2,各等位基因频率在突变前后存在明显差异;该基因编码区全长402 bp,共编码133个氨基酸残基,其中,编码区序列有1个T~(152)C-Exon2的错义突变,氨基酸由原来非极性的异亮氨酸(Ile)转变为极性的苏氨酸(Thr); H-FABP编码蛋白是一种稳定的亲水性蛋白,二、三级结构均为混合型,β-折叠所占比例最高。蛋白质功能预测结果显示,甘肃黑猪H-FABP编码蛋白存在19个潜在磷酸化位点和1个N-糖基化位点,可能会影响H-FABP基因调控肌内脂肪含量的增加。同源性比较和系统发育树分析表明,甘肃黑猪与偶蹄目动物亲缘关系最近。研究结果可为甘肃黑猪肌内脂肪含量沉积的分子遗传标记提供理论基础,该基因的多态性筛选已成为家畜肉质性状改良的分子研究热点。     

猪的GAD2基因的克隆及其系统发育的分析

通过RT-PCR克隆和测定了猪的谷氨酸脱羧酶-2(Glutamic acid decarboxylase 2, GAD2)基因的核苷酸序列并构建了该基因编码蛋白的三维结构分子模型。结果显示猪的谷氨酸脱羧酶-2基因的核苷酸长度由1758bp个碱基组成,编码产物为由585个氨基酸残基组成的多肽,编码产物中含有5-磷酸吡哆醛互作的结构域。构建包括共19物种的系统进化树,所得数据有利于我们了解谷氨酸脱羧酶趋同和趋异的进化途径。     

牦牛 Agouti 基因的克隆及编码区多态性研究

以Agouti基因作为牦牛毛色调控的候选基因，探索Agouti基因编码区序列多态性，以期为阐明Agouti与毛色形成的相关性及毛色形成机理奠定基础。根据GenBank已发表序列（ NM_206843）设计1对引物，以天祝白牦牛和黑色被毛甘南牦牛皮肤总RNA为模板，采用RT-PCR技术扩增，成功获得了牦牛Agouti基因编码区序列。采用生物信息学方法预测分析Agouti基因及其编码蛋白的基本理化性质、信号肽、疏水性、二级结构等；采用DNA混合池测序法和直接测序法，检测牦牛Agouti基因编码区的序列变异。结果表明，扩增得到的Agouti基因的编码区是一条长为593 bp的DNA序列。黑色甘南牦牛和天祝白牦牛皮肤的Agouti基因序列相同，并与黄牛基本一致。将牦牛的Agouti基因序列命名为YAK ASIP，并且在NCBI数据库中注册该基因的登录号为KJ630463。该基因含有一个长度为402 bp的开放性阅读框，编码133个氨基酸。 Agouti基因编码蛋白属于亲水性蛋白，有一个明显的信号肽，含有多个磷酸化位点。其二级结构主要以α螺旋和无规则卷曲为主。 Agouti基因编码产物氨基酸邻接系统树表明，牦牛Agouti与黄牛、绵羊等物种的Agouti氨基酸具有高度相似性，并且牦牛Agouti基因编码区中无多态性位点。     

副猪嗜血杆菌中毒素蛋白基因hipA的生物信息学分析

为预测毒素蛋白HipA的二级结构和B细胞抗原表位,首先从GenBank中查找副猪嗜血杆菌毒素蛋白基因hipA的序列,应用生物信息学方法,对副猪嗜血杆菌毒素蛋白HipA的理化性质、二级结构和B细胞抗原表位进行预测。结果显示,HipA蛋白的理论等电点为7.23,前50个氨基酸为信号肽,二级结构的预测结果显示该酶主要以α螺旋、无规则卷曲和延伸链为主,只有少数的β转角;推测该蛋白有17个B细胞优势抗原表位区域。该研究为进一步研究分析副猪嗜血杆菌毒素蛋白HipA的功能奠定理论基础。     

天祝白牦牛KAP1.1基因亚型B2A克隆及鉴定

通过对天祝白牦牛高硫角蛋白基因启动子B2A克隆得到其序列,将序列提交到NCBI,登录号:KJ910005,并对其进行生物信息学分析,通过亚细胞定位,磷酸化分析,二级、三级结构和保守结构域预测结果比较,MEGA 5.10软件进行NJ法进化树构建和Meg Align进行蛋白质相似分析来分析B2A基因与KAP1.1(Keratin associated protein1.1)基因的差异性。B2A基因的CDS区全长为471 bp,共编码156个氨基酸,二级结构含有延伸链、β转角和无规卷曲3种。B2A蛋白和KAP1.1蛋白的亚细胞定位,磷酸化分析,保守结构域,二级结构、三级结构和同源性差异较大。但是从功能预测结果显示2个蛋白功能完全一致,并且使用Clustal X进行氨基酸序列比对分析显示B2A蛋白从第33位开始相对于KA1.1蛋白有10个氨基酸的缺失以外,其余序列之间的保守性相当高。因此,可以证明B2A基因是KAP1.1基因的基因亚型。     

金花茶CnBCH基因cDNA全长克隆及生物信息学分析

利用CODEHOP和RACE方法,从珍稀观赏植物金花茶(Camellia nitidissima)花瓣中克隆得到了β-胡萝卜素环羟化酶(β-carotene hydroxylase,BCH)基因的cDNA全长,命名为CnBCH。碱基序列分析结果表明,该CnBCH基因全长1 089 bp,包含58 bp的5'非翻译区(untranslated regions,UTR)、105 bp的3'UTR和927 bp编码308个氨基酸的开放阅读框。生物信息学分析表明,该基因编码的蛋白质为不稳定亲水性蛋白,分子量为34.42 k D,无信号肽,含有4个跨膜结构域,一个脂肪酸羟化酶超家族(FA_hydroxylase super family)功能结构域以及BCH功能结构域(PLN02601);CnBCH二级结构以α-螺旋为主,其次为无规则卷曲,β-折叠所占比例最少。氨基酸序列比对分析结果显示,CnBCH与茄科、蔷薇科等植物BCH蛋白同源性都在70%以上,与柿树(Diospyros kaki T.)BCH同源性最高。本研究为进一步了解CnBCH基因的功能及其在金花茶花瓣类胡萝卜素合成中的作用提供了帮助。     

粉葛查尔酮合成酶基因PtCHS的克隆与植物表达载体构建

查尔酮是植物体形成的一类次级代谢产物,在植物花色形成、育性及抵抗胁迫中发挥重要作用。前期研究发现粉葛与野葛中总黄酮的含量和葛根素的含量差异较大,而查尔酮合成酶是黄酮类化合物合成中的首个关键酶。为了研究野葛与粉葛中的查尔酮合成酶(CHS)基因是否存在差异性,利用同源克隆的方法,根据已报道的野葛CHS基因序列设计引物,从粉葛中克隆CHS基因,对其进行蛋白相对分子质量、二级结构及亚细胞定位预测等生物信息学分析并构建植物表达载体。结果显示,成功克隆到粉葛CHS基因,将其命名为PtCHS,该基因cDNA序列长1187 bp,包含一个长1179 bp完整的ORF框,推导编码389个氨基酸,预测蛋白相对分子质量为42.8 kD,理论等电点为5.96,无跨膜结构域,为稳定的亲水性蛋白,二级结构主要由α-螺旋、延伸链、β-转角和无规则卷曲组成,同时亚细胞定位预测结果显示蛋白位于细胞质;氨基酸序列多重比对发现,粉葛的查尔酮合成酶基因(PtCHS)所编码的氨基酸与已报道的野葛CHS基因编码的氨基酸同源性为100%,与大豆、赤豆、菜豆及木豆的氨基酸同源性均在95%以上;蛋白互作预测分析得出,CHS与CHI、C4H及REDUCTASE发生互作的可能性较大;用PtCHS与植物表达载体pBI121构建重组子pBI121-PtCHS,为葛根查尔酮合成酶基因的功能验证提供重要的参考依据。     

A note on the origin of Kalanchoë x vadensis Boom & Zeilinga (Crassulaceae)

Summary K x vadensis is a hybrid of K. blossfeldiana and K. marmorata obtained after doubling the number of chromosomes.     

Avoidance of leaf rust fungi in wild relatives of cultivated cereals

Summary Avoidance of rust fungi that was based on poor appressorium induction was previously found in Hordeum chilense. In the present study 95 accessions of Triticeae were screened for avoidance of Puccinia hordei. The percentage of appressorium formation per germinated spore ranged from 6 to 90%. On none of the 41 accessions of Aegilops, Agropyron, Elymus, Secale, Thinopyrum or Triticum studied was the rate of appressorium formation lower than 25%. Lower rates of appressorium formation were, however, found on accessions of wild barley species Hordeum brachyantherum, H. marinum, H. parodii and H. secalinum. Its implications in cereal breeding are discussed.     

Relation between wheat-rye crossability and seed set of common wheat after pollination with other species in the Hordeae

Summary Cultivars of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell.) of high wheat-rye (Secale cereale L.) crossability set more seed with pollen of other related species than did wheats of low wheat-rye crossability. This was found to be true for pollen parents from the genera Triticum, Aegilops, Secale, Agropyron and Elymus.     

Mechanisms and diversity of resistance to sorghum shoot fly,Atherigona soccata

Sorghum shoot fly, Atherigona soccata, is one of the important pests of postrainy season sorghums. Of the 90 sorghum genotypes evaluated for resistance to this pest, RHRB 12, ICSV 713, 25026, 93046 and 25027, IS 33844‐5, Giddi Maldandi and RVRT 3 exhibited resistance in postrainy season, while ICSB 463, Phule Anuradha, RHRB 19, Parbhani Moti, ICSV 705, PS 35805, IS 5480, 5622, 17726, 18368 and 34722, RVRT 1, ICSR 93031 and Dagidi Solapur showed resistance in rainy season, suggesting season‐specific expression of resistance to A. soccata. ICSB 461, ICSB 463, Phule Yasodha, M 35‐1, ICSV 700, 711, 25010, 25019 and 93089, IS 18662, Phule Vasudha, IS 18551 and 33844‐5 and Barsizoot had fewer deadhearts than plants with eggs across seasons, suggesting antibiosis as one of the resistance mechanism. Five genotypes exhibited resistance with high grain yield across seasons. Correlation, path and stepwise regression analyses indicated that leaf glossiness, seedling vigour, trichome density, oviposition and leaf sheath pigmentation were associated with the expression of resistance/susceptibility to shoot fly, and these can be used as marker traits to select and develop shoot fly‐resistant sorghums.     

Reaction of tritordeum to Fusarium culmorum and Septoria nodorum

Summary Hordeum chilense is a wild barley extensively used in wide crosses in the Triticeae. It could be a valuable source of resistance to Fusarium culmorum and Septoria nodorum. Some H. chilense x Triticum spp. amphiploids, named tritordeums, were more resistant than the parental wheat line to these diseases, others were not. Average contents of ergosterol and deoxynivalenol (DON) suggested that resistance to colonization by Fusarium was the highest for Hordeum chilense, followed by tritordeum and wheat in decreasing order. In particular, the H. chilense genotypes H7 and H17 enhanced the wheat resistance to F. culmorum in its tritordeum offsprings. Resistance to S. nodorum in tritordeum was not associated with tall plant height. There is sufficient genetic variation for resistance to F. culmorum and S. nodorum among tritordeum to allow the breeding of lines combining short straw and resistance to both diseases.     

Breeding apomictic bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) with improved turf traits

The development of a turf‐type bahiagrass could have a remarkable impact on the billion‐dollar turf industry in the south‐eastern United States. The goals of this study were to (i) select bahiagrass genotypes with improved turf attributes and (ii) determine the reproductive mode and seed fertility of selected genotypes. The population included mutants, wild types, hybrids and standard cultivars evaluated at two locations for two years. Morphological variation was observed and clonal repeatability (H²) ranged from 0.27 to 0.90. Flowering was extremely reduced in some mutants, which also exhibited dark green colour, finer texture and reduced canopy height. Cytoembryological observations revealed that diploids reproduced sexually and tetraploids by obligate or facultative apomixis. Genotypes with superior seed fertility were identified, while others were comparable to the standard cultivars. While mutant plants exhibited great morphological variation, the random mutations did not affect their reproductive mode, validating the use of mutagenesis in apomictic species. The high H² indicated that selection for improved turf attributes could be successfully performed with the advantage of clonal seed propagation.     

Disease resistance in protected crops and mushrooms

Summary Cultivars of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers have been bred for resistance to one or more pathogens. Some tomato and cucumber cultivars have resistance to a wide range of diseases. Resistance has been transient in many cases and a succession of cultivars with new genes or new combinations of resistance genes has been necessary to maintain control. There has been a number of notable exceptions and these have included durable resistance to such pathogens asFulvia fulva and tomato mosaic virus. With lettuce the resistance situation is complicated by the occurrence of fungicide resistant pathotypes. There are no strains ofAgaricus bisporus purposely bred for disease resistance.In protected flower crops only resistance to Fusarium wilt in carnations has been purposely bred but differences in disease resistance are apparent in cultivars of many ornamental crops. This is particularly so in chrysanthemums where there are cultivars with resistance to many of the major pathogens. Similar situations occur with other flower crops and pot plants. Cultivars of some species have not been systematically investigated for resistance.The need for genetic resistance will increase with the further reduction, in the limits on pesticide use and an increasing public awareness and importance of pesticide pollution.ADAS is an executive agency of the Ministry of Agiculture, Fisheries and Food and the Welsh Office.     

Genetic constitution and diversity in four narrow endemic redwoods from the family Cupressaceae

The genetic constitution and diversity of four relictual redwoods are discussed in this review. These include monotypic genera of the family Cupressaceae: coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), and alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides). All four species are narrow endemics, share a number of common phenotypic traits, including red wood, and are threatened species. Fossil history suggests that the ancestors of redwoods probably originated during the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods and flourished thereafter for millions of years. Towards the end of the Tertiary period began their decline and struggle for existence that continued during the subsequent geologic upheavals and climate changes, until the survival of the present-day redwoods in the current restricted locations in the world (USA, China, and South America). Although two species, Sequoiadendron and Metasequoia, are diploids (2n = 22), and the other two are polyploids: Fitzroya a tetraploid (2n = 4x = 44), and Sequoia a hexaploid (2n = 6x = 66); they all share the same basic chromosome number x = 11. The genome size in the hexaploid Sequoia is one of the largest (31,500 MB) in the conifers, while the genome sizes of diploid Metasequoia and Sequoiadendron are about one-third (~10,000 MB) of Sequoia. Genetic diversity in the redwoods is lower than most other gymnosperms, except in Sequoia, which seems to rank near the upper quarter of the coniferous forest trees. Genomic research is sparse in the redwoods, and should be pursued for a better understanding of their genome structure, function, and adaptive genetic diversity.     

Inheritance of fruit colour in a wild Russian red raspberry seedling

Summary A new gene, i, from a self-incompatible wild Russian Rubus idaeus seedling is described. The gene i interacts with the fruit colour gene T, Tii plants having apricot instead of red fruits, and spines, leaves and stems pigmented to varying degrees. A deficit of apricot-fruited seedlings in progenies segregating for i could be explained by linkage between i and the self-incompatibility S locus with a crossover value of approximately 26.7%.Segregations for spine colour in crosses and backcrosses of the Russian seedling with two green-spined (ttII) raspberries selected for their yellow fruit colour, showed that both the latter carried the spine colour intensifier gene P. This suggests that earlier authors were incorrect in attributing the apricot fruit colour developed by some tt plants to a pleiotropic effect of P.     

The induction in vitro of adventitious shoots in Rosa

Summary Adventitious shoots were formed on excised leaves, roots and callus of Rosa persica x xanthina and on excised leaves of R. laevigata and R. wichuraiana on culture media that included BAP and NAA as growth regulators. Shoots formed freely on freshly cultured callus of R. persica x xanthina but their production declined in successive cultures and ceased after twelve weeks. Transplantation to soil was improved by rooting plantlets in cellulose plugs in vitro and transferring plantlets to soil while still in the plugs.