Papaya yellow leaf curl virus: A newly identified begomovirus infecting Carica papaya L. from the Indian Subcontinent

India is one of the world’s largest producers of papaya. Viruses, mainly begomoviruses and potyviruses, cause a significant loss in papaya production. The study described here has identified a new species of begomovirus and a new species of betasatellite infecting Carica papaya in India. The sequences of the begomovirus and betasatellite show 90.03% nucleotide sequence identity to an isolate of Radish leaf curl virus and 92.25% identity to an isolate of Tomato leaf curl betasatellite, respectively. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of begomovirus sequence of isolate DP2 (KX353622) showed distant relationships with previously characterised begomoviruses. Recombination analysis proposed six recombination breakpoints in begomovirus genome with other geographical begomovirus isolates.     

SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE FAMILY GENES IN WATERMELON AND THEIR RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT ABIOTIC STRESSES

• A total of 8 SOD genes from watermelon were identified and bioinformatically analyzed. • The SOD proteins from watermelon and other different plant species can be classified into five groups consistent with their metal cofactors. • ClSOD genes exhibited distinctive tissue-specific and abiotic stress responsive expression patterns. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an important enzyme in the antioxidant system of plants and plays a vital role in stress responses by maintaining the dynamic balance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations. Genome-wide analysis of the SOD gene family in various plant species has been conducted but little is known about this gene family in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). Here, eight SOD genes were identified in the watermelon genome and are designated ClCSD1-5, ClFSD1-2 and ClMSD according to their metal cofactors. Phylogenetic analysis shows that SOD proteins from various plant species can be classified into five groups and members in the same group possess the same metal cofactor and similar subcellular localizations. Expression analysis of the ClSOD genes indicates that they had tissue-specific expression patterns with high expression in different tissues including the leaves, flowers and fruit. In addition, the expression of ClSOD genes differed appreciably under salinity, drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments, indicating that they may be involved in ROS scavenging under different abiotic stresses via an ABA-dependent signaling pathway. These results lay the foundation for elucidating the function of ClSOD genes in stress tolerance and fruit development in watermelon.     

Phylogenetic position and nucleotide diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vanillae worldwide based on translation elongation factor 1α sequences

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vanillae is considered the most important fungus affecting vanilla crops around the world, causing rot on vanilla roots and stems. Previous studies showed that the ability to infect vanilla plants is a polyphyletic trait among strains of the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC). The same studies proposed a single origin for F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae isolates sampled from Mexico, the centre of origin and distribution of vanilla. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis of the monophyletic origin of a wider sample of isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae infecting Mexican vanilla and estimate nucleotide diversity of pathogen isolates from the main vanilla‐producing countries. Sequence data for the TEF1α gene from 106 isolates was assembled. The phylogenetic analyses suggest that some Mexican isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae belong in two well‐supported clades, mixed with isolates from Madagascar, Indonesia, Réunion and Comoros. The phylogenetic position of other Indonesian and Mexican isolates is unresolved. Estimations of nucleotide diversity showed that the population from Mexico is genetically more diverse than the other three populations from Madagascar, Indonesia and Réunion. The results support a polyphyletic origin of vanilla‐infecting isolates of F. oxysporum worldwide, and also reject the proposition that Mexican isolates have a single origin. The phylogenetic optimizations over the strict consensus tree of the ability to infect vanilla plants suggest that pathogenic strains around the world are the product of multiple shifts of pathogenesis and dispersion events.     

中国达氏鳇野生群体和两个养殖群体的线粒体遗传多样性分析

达氏鳇(Huso dauricus)是黑龙江流域土著鲟,近几十年来野生资源急剧下降,被确定为濒危物种之一。本研究采用线粒体DNA的Cyt b基因和D-loop区域的多态性信息评估了黑龙江抚远段野生群体、北京房山国家级鲟鱼原种场的保种群体及浙江衢州国家级鲟鱼良种场的繁殖群体等3个达氏鳇群体的遗传多样性水平。所有测试个体在Cyt b基因位点的核苷酸水平上没有检测到多样性,均具有相同的Cyt b单倍型,而在D-loop区域中发现了9种单倍型,对于D-loop区,单倍型多样性(H_d)达到0.593,但核苷酸多样性(π)仅为0.00213。在8尾野生个体中检测到6种D-loop单倍型,2个养殖群体共计58尾个体共计检出5种D-loop单倍型个体。分析结果显示:野生达氏鳇群体遗传多样性极低,历史上可能经历过严重的遗传瓶颈,同时达氏鳇人工繁殖过程中每批次可能只有极少个体参与了繁殖。此外,基于Cyt b基因部分序列的分析结果提示,达氏鳇与其他太平洋鲟类的亲缘关系较近,而与欧鳇(Huso huso)关系较远,传统上鳇属(Huso)的分类地位得不到有效的分子生物学数据支持。     

5科11种鱼类ITS1特征分析及其在系统分类研究中的适用性

为了探讨ITS1作为分子标记用于鱼类系统演化的适用性,实验选取鲈形目5科11种鱼类为研究对象,包括尖吻鲈科、射水鱼科、军曹鱼科、剑鱼科和鲹科。通过克隆和测序等技术共获得了348条ITS1序列,长度范围为442~661 bp;通过对所有序列的长度、变异位点数量、GC含量、核苷酸多样性及单倍型多样性指数等遗传特征比较分析发现,11种鱼类ITS1序列无论是在种内还是在种间,长度和序列都表现出较为明显的多态性。特别是在军曹鱼中,70条克隆的长度范围为648~661 bp,但有一条序列存在55 bp缺失,结合该序列的GC含量,二级结构和最小自由能,推断该序列为假基因。以鮣为外类群,基于核糖体ITS1序列构建的邻接树显示在物种种类水平上,不同个体的克隆都按种类聚支,ITS1可以用于该类群物种的区分;在属级水平上,ITS1将11属鱼类完全区分开,能够用于属级水平的区分;在科级水平上,虽然鲹科分为2支的分子结果和形态分类存在差异,但ITS1构建的系统关系与线粒体分子标记构建的系统进化树相似。研究表明,核糖体ITS1可以作为一种有效的分子标记用于研究鱼类的系统分类研究,并且不同的分类阶元其解析能力不同,这将为鱼类核糖体的研究提供科学依据。     

青海省不同生态区蚕豆根瘤菌16S rDNA分析

为了阐明青海省蚕豆根瘤菌的遗传多样性和亲缘关系,同时为发现和获得新的根瘤菌物种提供资源,采集和分离了青海省不同生态区蚕豆主栽品种青蚕14中的根瘤菌,并对其中分离到的6个菌株(CD1~6)进行16S rDNA鉴定分析。将6株蚕豆根瘤菌的全序列结果与NCBI中已报道的序列进行相似性比对,发现其相似度较高,其中供试菌株CD4与KF008225.1相似度最高,达到98%,其余均在95%到96%之间。6株供试菌分属4个菌属,CD1和CD2共属节细菌属,CD3属于分枝杆菌属,CD4和CD5属于快生根瘤菌属,CD6属于中慢生根瘤菌属,表明来自不同地区的蚕豆根瘤菌存在较大差异。聚类分析结果显示,蚕豆根瘤菌的6个菌株分属5个不同系统发育分支,证明青海省不同生态区蚕豆根瘤菌种类多样性较为丰富。     

Two Complete Mitochondrial Genomes From Leuctridae (Plecoptera: Nemouroidea): Implications for the Phylogenetic Relationships Among Stoneflies

The family-level relationships within Plecoptera have been a focused area of research for a long time. Its higher classification remains unstable, and the phylogenetic relationships within Plecoptera should be re-examined. Here, we sequenced and analyzed two complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Paraleuctra cercia and Perlomyia isobeae of the family Leuctridae. We reconstructed the phylogeny of Plecoptera based on 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) from published stoneflies. Our results showed that the Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood tree had similar topological structures except for the positions of two families, Peltoperlidae and Scopuridae. The Plecoptera is divided into two clades, the suborder Antarctoperlaria and the suborder Arctoperlaria. The two suborders subsequently formed two groups, Eusthenioidea and Gripopterygoidea, and Euholognatha and Systellognatha, which is consistent with the results of morphological studies. In addition, the Leuctridae is the earliest branch within the superfamily Nemouroidea. But the monophyly of Perloidea and Pteronarcyoidea are still not well supported.     

Hepatitis E virus in Cuba: A cross-sectional serological and virological study in pigs and people occupationally exposed to pigs

Surveillance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in risk groups is an important strategy to monitor its circulation pattern and to timely detect changes thereof. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of HEV infections in pigs and humans from different regions of the country, to identify risk factors for increasing anti-HEV IgG prevalence and to characterize HEV strains. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was assessed by commercial ELISA in serum samples from the general population, farm and slaughterhouse employees, as well as pigs sampled in the three regions of Cuba from February to September 2016. Overall, individuals with occupational exposure to swine or swine products (70/248, 28.2%) were 4 times more likely to be seropositive compared to the general population (25/285, 8.7%; OR: 4.18; p < .001). Within the risk group, risk factors included age, number of years working in a professional activity with direct exposure to swine, geographic region and distance between residence and closest professional swine setting, while wearing gloves had a protective effect. Prevalence of total anti-HEV antibodies in swine was 88.2% (165/187) and HEV RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 9.2% (16/173) swine stools. All HEV strains sequenced clustered within genotype 3. Some strains clearly belonged to subtype 3a, while another group of strains was related with subtypes 3b and 3 k but partial HEV sequences did not allow unequivocal subtype assignment. These findings suggest that the high HEV exposure in Cuban individuals with swine-related occupations could be due to enzootic HEV in certain regions, direct contact with infectious animals or their products as well as environmental contamination.     

多花黄精炭疽病病原菌鉴定

炭疽病是多花黄精最严重的病害之一。本研究从重庆市万州区采集疑似为炭疽病的多花黄精病叶,分离培养获得了培养性状不同的2株炭疽菌,致病性测定表明这2株菌株都可引起多花黄精炭疽病;利用核糖体内转录间隔区(rDNA-ITS)、肌动蛋白(ACT)、几丁质合成酶(CHS-1)和β-微管蛋白(TUB)基因进行多基因系统发育分析,发现这2株菌株分别与松针炭疽菌Colletotrichum fioriniae和博宁炭疽菌C.boninense聚在一起,形成明显分支。结合形态学特点,确定引起多花黄精炭疽病的病原菌为松针炭疽菌C.fioriniae和博宁炭疽菌C.boninense。其中松针炭疽菌C.fioriniae引起黄精炭疽病是首次报道。     

中国西北地区披碱草属植物所带内生真菌的培养特征

内生真菌与植物所形成的共生体普遍存在于冷季禾草中,共生体有利于提高宿主植物的生物和非生物抗性。虽然目前研究者们已对禾草内生真菌做了大量的研究,但是尚未发现对分布于中国西北地区披碱草属植物无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌培养特征的研究。本研究从中国西北地区分离出15株来自不同地理种群披碱草属植物无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌。通过分离培养,测定了这15株无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌的菌落生长速度,结果显示,这15株无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌菌落的平均生长速度为(0.41~0.85)mm/d,且生长速度与海拔具有相关性。分布在海拔低于3000m的无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌的菌落生长速度比生长于海拔高于3000m菌落的生长速度快。观察菌落发现,分布在海拔高于3000m的菌落正面特征较为一致,而分布在海拔低于3000m的菌落正面特征出现不同。另外,通过多基因联合建树发现,分布在海拔高于3000m的无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌聚在一个分支,而分布在海拔低于3000m的无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌呈现星状分布。由于目前尚未对中国西北地区披碱草属植物无性世代Neotyphodium内生真菌命名。因此,希望本研究结果能为该菌的命名提供理论依据。