Molecular basis of Mycoplasma agalactiae pathogenicity

Compared to other bacterial pathogens, the current knowledge of the molecular basis of pathogenicity of mycoplasmas is limited, and their strategies of infection at the molecular and cellular level remain to be elucidated. Several studies in the past years have shown that pathogenic mycoplasmas are equipped with sophisticated genetic systems, which allow these agents to spontaneously change their surface antigenic make-up. It is implicated that these variable surface components provide the wall-less mycoplasmas with a means to avoid the host immune response and promote host colonization. In Mycoplasma (M.) agalactiae, the agent of "contagious agalactia" in sheep and goats, a pathogenicity island-like locus has recently been identified that contains six distinct but related genes which encode the major immunodominant membrane proteins, the so-called Vpmas. It was shown that these surface-associated proteins vary in expression at an unusual high frequency due to site-specific DNA rearrangements. The previous lack of tools to genetically manipulate M. agalactiae has hampered more refined studies to assess the exact function of Vpmas in M. agalactiae infection and disease. The recent successful introduction of foreign DNA into the M. agalactiae genome therefore represents an important breakthrough which sets up the basis for a variety of follow-up studies assessing the role of Vpmas in molecular pathogenesis.     

Genital lesions in an outbreak of caprine contagious agalactia caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma putrefaciens

This paper reports on the genital lesions observed in adult male and female goats from a commercial flock in the Extremadura region of southwestern Spain, following an outbreak of contagious agalactia syndrome caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae and M. putrefaciens. Although both species were isolated from several organs, M. putrefaciens was the only agent isolated from the genital lesions reported here, characterized by desquamative salpingitis and cystic catarrhal metritis in females and by testicular degeneration in males. Mycoplasma putrefaciens was isolated from the testes of only one of the males examined.     

唐古拉山牦牛群体的母系遗传多样性及遗传结构分析

[目的]从分子水平上探究青海省唐古拉山牦牛群体的母系遗传多样性、群体遗传结构及其遗传背景。[方法] 对52头唐古拉山牦牛个体mtDNA D-loop区序列进行测定后,使用生物信息学软件分析确定其核苷酸变异位点和单倍型数目,计算单倍型多样度和核苷酸多样度大小,并进行系统发育分析。[结果] 在619 bp唐古拉山牦牛D-loop区序列分析中,排除2处插入（缺失）后共检测到31处多态位点,包括单一多态位点5处和简约信息位点26处。根据序列间核苷酸变异共确定了13种单倍型,单倍型多样度和核苷酸多样度分别为0.821±0.043和0.007±0.004。与我国其他18个家牦牛品种和野牦牛相比,唐古拉山牦牛群体单倍型多样度和核苷酸多样度值均较低,表明该群体遗传变异较为贫乏,母系遗传多样性水平较低。以美洲野牛为外群,邻接法（即NJ法）构建的系统发育树结果显示：唐古拉山牦牛群体13种单倍型分布在A、B、C、D和E五种单倍型组中,且聚为2个大的母系分支（即I和II）,支系Ⅰ占比为77%,提示唐古拉山牦牛由2个母系支系组成,拥有2个母系起源且以支系Ⅰ为主。 [结论] 唐古拉山牦牛母系遗传多样性水平较低,由2个母系支系组成,以支系Ⅰ为主,推测其有2个母系起源。     

Molecular genetic diversity and genetic structure of Vietnamese indigenous pig populations

The study characterized genetic diversity and genetic structure of five indigenous pig populations (Ha Lang, Muong Te, Mong Cai, Lung and Lung Pu), two wild pig populations (Vietnamese and Thai wild pigs) and an exotic pig breed (Yorkshire) using FAO/ISAG recommended 16 microsatellite markers in 236 samples. All estimated loci were very polymorphic indicated by high values of polymorphism information content (from 0.76 in S0225 to 0.92 in Sw2410). Indigenous populations had very high level of genetic diversity (mean He = 0.75); of all indigenous breeds, Lung Pu showed highest mean number of alleles (MNA = 10.1), gene diversity (He = 0.82), allele richness (5.33) and number of private alleles (10). Thirteen percentage of the total genetic variation observed was due to differences among populations. The neighbour‐joining dendrogram obtained from Nei's standard genetic distance differentiated eight populations into four groups including Yorkshire, two wild populations, Mong Cai population and a group of four other indigenous populations. The Bayesian clustering with the admixture model implemented in Structure 2.1 indicated seven possible homogenous clusters among eight populations. From 79% (Ha Lang) to 98% (Mong Cai). individuals in indigenous pigs were assigned to their own populations. The results confirmed high level of genetic diversity and shed a new light on genetic structure of Vietnam indigenous pig populations.     

Noninvasive genetics provides insights into the population size and genetic diversity of an Amur tiger population in China

Understanding population size and genetic diversity is critical for effective conservation of endangered species. The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is the largest felid and a flagship species for wildlife conservation. Due to habitat loss and human activities, available habitat and population size are continuously shrinking. However, little is known about the true population size and genetic diversity of wild tiger populations in China. In this study, we collected 55 fecal samples and 1 hair sample to investigate the population size and genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers in Hunchun National Nature Reserve, Jilin Province, China. From the samples, we determined that 23 fecal samples and 1 hair sample were from 7 Amur tigers: 2 males, 4 females and 1 individual of unknown sex. Interestingly, 2 fecal samples that were presumed to be from tigers were from Amur leopards, highlighting the significant advantages of noninvasive genetics over traditional methods in studying rare and elusive animals. Analyses from this sample suggested that the genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers is much lower than that of Bengal tigers, consistent with previous findings. Furthermore, the genetic diversity of this Hunchun population in China was lower than that of the adjoining subpopulation in southwest Primorye Russia, likely due to sampling bias. Considering the small population size and relatively low genetic diversity, it is urgent to protect this endangered local subpopulation in China.     

Molecular typing of Brucella melitensis endemic strains and differentiation from the vaccine strain Rev-1

In the present study forty-four Greek endemic strains of Br. melitensis and three reference strains were genotyped by Multi locus Variable Number Tandem Repeat (ML-VNTR) analysis based on an eight-base pair tandem repeat sequence that was revealed in eight loci of Br. melitensis genome. The forty-four strains were discriminated from the vaccine strain Rev-1 by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Denaturant Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE). The ML-VNTR analysis revealed that endemic, reference and vaccine strains are genetically closely related, while most of the loci tested (1, 2, 4, 5 and 7) are highly polymorphic with Hunter-Gaston Genetic Diversity Index (HGDI) values in the range of 0.939 to 0.775. Analysis of ML-VNTRs loci stability through in vitro passages proved that loci 1 and 5 are non stable. Therefore, vaccine strain can be discriminated from endemic strains by allele’s clusters of loci 2, 4, 6 and 7. RFLP and DGGE were also employed to analyse omp2 gene and reveled different patterns among Rev-1 and endemic strains. In RFLP, Rev-1 revealed three fragments (282, 238 and 44 bp), while endemic strains two fragments (238 and 44 bp). As for DGGE, the electrophoretic mobility of Rev-1 is different from the endemic strains due to heterologous binding of DNA chains of omp2a and omp2b gene. Overall, our data show clearly that it is feasible to genotype endemic strains of Br. melitensis and differentiate them from vaccine strain Rev-1 with ML-VNTR, RFLP and DGGE techniques. These tools can be used for conventional investigations in brucellosis outbreaks.     

Seroepidemiological survey of sheep flocks from Northern Japan for Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and Mycoplasma agalactiae

Sheep flocks from Hokkaido, Iwate and Aomori, three northern prefectures of Japan, were screened for antibodies to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and Mycoplasma agalactiae by ELISA. Sixty four animals out of 246 (26%) were seropositive to M. ovipneumoniae, with positive results obtained from all three prefectures. None of the sera tested were serologically positive to M. agalactiae.     

Evaluation of PCR systems for the identification and differentiation of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis: a collaborative trial

Diagnostic differentiation between the ruminant pathogens Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis is known to be problematic when only conventional serological and biochemical tests are used. The main reason for this is that both agents share a considerable number of related proteins and common epitopes. DNA-based detection methods offer advantages in terms of specificity and sensitivity. However, there is an urgent need to compare currently used PCR assays because they target different genomic regions and, therefore, may perform differently. In the present work, five laboratories, which use PCR routinely, evaluated the specificity of four different PCR systems for M. agalactiae and three systems for M. bovis on a total of 41 strains of the two Mycoplasma species including six previously unidentified strains. As the vast majority of PCR examinations (97.1% of all tests) correctly identified the strains the specificity of all seven detection systems appears to be high. In four cases, incorrect identification by conventional diagnostic methods was rectified by PCR. Isolates from non-typical hosts, i.e. three M. bovis strains from small ruminants and two M. agalactiae strains from cattle, were characterised by sequencing the 16S and part of the 23S ribosomal RNA genes.     

Comparison of Restriction Pattern Polymorphism of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis

Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis are closely related species in phylogenetic terms. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI, EclXI, Bsi WI, MluI, BssHII, SalI, XhoI, NruI and ApaI digested DNAs were used to analyse and to compare restriction fragment length polymorphism between M. agalactiae and M. bovis and to estimate their genome sizes. SmaI, EclXI and Bsi WI enzymes cleaved DNAs of both microrganisms. MluI, BssHII, SalI, XhoI and NruI digested only M. agalactiae DNA whereas ApaI cut only M. bovis DNA. The total DNA length was established to be 945 ± 8.4 Kb for M. agalactiae and 961 ± 18.9 Kb for M. bovis.     

种群遗传变异及基因多样度分析

阐述了种群遗传学和生态遗传学研究的基本单位－种群的定义和意念含义,其一是种系变异含义,其二是生态适应含义,并概述了遗传变异的研究历史。从３个方面及质量性状变异,数量性状变异与基金变异,介绍了种群遗传变异的研究方法,重点介绍了基因变异的测量和亚种群基因多样度的测量,并且依据研究所得的遗传参数对中国苜蓿不同种群遗传结构和多样度进行了例证分析。     

青海省同德牦牛群体的父系遗传多样性及遗传背景探析

[目的]为从分子水平上揭示青海省同德牦牛的父系遗传多样性、群体遗传结构和遗传背景.[方法]本研究对32头同德公牦牛使用5个Y-SNPs标记(SRY4、USP9]Y、UTY19、AMELY3和OFD1 Y10)和1个Y-STR标记(INRA189)进行PCR扩增、测序和分型,使用Bi-oEdit、Arlequin和Net...     

Intraspecific variation in the 16S rRNA gene sequences of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis strains

Intraspecific variation in the 16S rRNA genes of 17 Mycoplasma agalactiae and eight Mycoplasma bovis isolates was investigated to determine the degree of sequence variation in these two species and to determine whether the polymorphisms in the 16S rRNA genes could be used for the construction of an evolutionary tree and as epidemiological markers. A high degree of variation was found within isolates (between operons) and between isolates of both species. In contrast to M. capripneumoniae no distinct evolutionary pattern could be seen, probably because there are functional systems for gene conversion in M. agalactiae and M. bovis. However, the non-European isolates of M. agalactiae shared three characteristic nucleotides and European isolates from the same or neighbouring countries were very similar. Differences within isolates included both polymorphic positions and sequence length differences between operons. The amount of variation within isolates of the respective species ranged from zero to seven polymorphisms for M. agalactiae and from zero to four polymorphisms for M. bovis. The high degree of variation suggests the potential for misdiagnosis of species in diagnostic PCR assays based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences. All isolates of both species had a thymidine in position 912 (E. coli numbering) that causes streptomycin resistance in several bacterial species and which is characteristic for the members of the hominis group. As expected, when five M. agalactiae and three M. bovis isolates were tested for streptomycin susceptibility, they all demonstrated streptomycin resistance. M. agalactiae and M. bovis were found to have high intraspecific variation in their 16S rRNA gene and the polymorphisms patterns indicate that gene conversion takes place.     

Comparison of restriction pattern polymorphism of Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis by pulsed field gel electrophoresis.

Mycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis are closely related species in phylogenetic terms. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI, EclXI, Bsi WI, MluI, BssHII, SalI, XhoI, NruI and ApaI digested DNAs were used to analyse and to compare restriction fragment length polymorphism between M. agalactiae and M. bovis and to estimate their genome sizes. SmaI, EclXI and Bsi WI enzymes cleaved DNAs of both microrganisms. MluI, BssHII, SalI, XhoI and NruI digested only M. agalactiae DNA whereas ApaI cut only M. bovis DNA. The total DNA length was established to be 945 +/- 8.4 Kb for M. agalactiae and 961 +/- 18.9 Kb for M. bovis.     

基于SSR标记的河南省狗牙根遗传多样性及群体遗传结构分析北大核心CSCD

应用SSR分子标记,对河南省15个居群共288份狗牙根材料进行遗传多样性及群体遗传结构分析,结果表明,10对引物共扩增出173条条带,其中163条为多态性条带,多态性条带百分率为94.29%,表明河南省狗牙根具有丰富的多态性。15个居群间的遗传分化系数为0.3857,即发生在居群间的遗传变异达到38.57%,大部分的遗传变异发生在居群内部,居群间基因流为0.7964,居群之间存在一定程度的基因交流。不同居群间遗传一致度的变化范围是0.746~0.964,平均为0.767。15个居群间的UPGMA聚类分析结果表明居群间没有完全按照地理来源进行聚类,遗传距离和地理距离矩阵之间的Mantel检验结果表明狗牙根居群间的遗传距离与地理距离之间无相关性。288份狗牙根材料之间的遗传距离为0.0173~0.5205,平均为0.3113,UPGMA聚类结果将所有材料分为3组。基于Structure软件的群体遗传结构分析结果表明,可将288份狗牙根材料分为2个亚群和一个混合型群体,与288份材料的UPGMA聚类结果基本一致,由此可判断两个亚群的遗传背景单一,混合型群体存在一定的种质基因渗透,遗传背景较为复杂。     

Prevalence and distribution of the insertion element ISMag1 in Mycoplasma agalactiae

In characterising Mycoplasma agalactiae strains from various European countries and from Africa, a new insertion sequence (IS), ISMag1, which is related to IS of the family of IS30 insertion elements, has been identified by DNA sequence analysis and Southern blot hybridisation. ISMag1 has a size of 1515bp, and contains inverted repeats of 3bp and a gene encoding the putative transposase on a single open reading frame. ISMag1 is present only in the rarely isolated serotypes E, F, G and H of M. agalactiae, where it is found in 1 to approximately 30 copies. The different patterns obtained by hybridisation of a labelled probe of ISMag1 to genomic DNA cut with various restriction enzymes correlate to some extent to the different serotypes and to variations of the nucleotide sequences of the uvrC genes of the different strains. Based on uvrC sequences, the strains of M. agalactiae carrying ISMag1 form a cluster, separate from the other strains. IS patterns obtained with ISMag1 allow a fine subtyping of the serotypes E, F, G and H of M. agalactiae for epidemiological studies. The potential role of ISMag1 and of its copy numbers on virulence and persistence of the respective strains requests further studies.     

环境因子对中国柽柳遗传变异的影响

分别以核糖体DNA(nuclear ribosomal DNA, nrDNA)的内转录间隔区(internal transcribed spacer regions, ITS)和两条叶绿体DNA(chloroplast DNA, cpDNA)片段—trnL-trnF, rps16为分子标记,研究了20个自然分布的中国柽柳群体遗传变异与环境因子和地理距离间的相关性。结果表明:ITS序列(616 bp)中共发现了10个多态位点,定义了11种单倍型;总核苷酸多样性和总单倍型多样性分别为2.170和0.814。两个cpDNA分子标记片段的拼接序列(1542 bp)中共发现了14个多态位点,定义了16种单倍型,总核苷酸多样性和总单倍型多样性分别为0.500和0.586。ITS遗传多样性与地理、气候和土壤因子间相关性分析显示:海拔、温度和经度是影响中国柽柳群体遗传变异的主要因素。在低海拔、温暖和靠海近的湿润东部群体,ITS遗传多样性较高。而cpDNA的遗传变异与各种环境因子间没有显著的相关性。Mantel检测发现中国柽柳ITS的遗传变异与地理距离显著正相关,而cpDNA的遗传变异没有显著的地理渐变趋势,该结果进一步揭示了中国柽柳强大的种子流在降低群体间遗传分化上发挥了重要作用。     

Monitoring of genetic diversity in the endangered Martina Franca donkey population

The Martina Franca (MF) donkey, an ancient native breed of Apulia, was mostly famous for mule production. The breed was at serious risk of extinction in the 1980s following the decrease in demand for draft animals because they were increasingly replaced by agricultural machinery. Much has been done in the last few decades to safeguard the existing donkey breeds, but the situation remains critical. Successful implementation of conservation measures includes an evaluation of the present degree of breed endangerment, so the aim of this work was to analyze the demographic and genetic parameters of this breed to suggest effective conservation strategies. With a current breed register counting less than 500 recorded animals, the pedigree data set included 1,658 MF donkeys born between 1929 and 2006. Analyses were carried out on the whole data set as well as on a smaller one consisting of 422 living animals. Demographic and genetic variability parameters were evaluated using the ENDOG (v4.6) software. The pedigree completeness level was evaluated as well as the generation length, which was calculated for each of the 4 gametic pathways. This information was obtained from animal birth date records together with those of their fathers and mothers. The effective number of founders (f(e)), the effective number of ancestors (f(a)), the founder genome (f(g)), individual inbreeding (F), average relatedness (AR), and the rate of inbreeding per generation were analyzed to describe the genetic variability of the population. Because pedigree depth and completeness were appropriate, especially regarding the current population, the parameters defining genetic variability, namely, f(e), f(a), f(g), F, and AR, could be reliably estimated. Analysis of these parameters highlighted the endangerment status of the MF donkey. Our special concern was with the increased percentage of males and females exhibiting increased AR values. Moreover, the effective size of the current population, 48.08, is slightly less than the range of the minimum effective size, and the rates of inbreeding per generation found in the current MF population exceed the maximum recommended level of 1%. Such a scenario heightens concerns over the endangered status of the MF breed and calls for proper conservation measures and breeding strategies, such as selecting individuals for mating when relationships are below 12.5%.