The Leptosphaeria maculans – Leptosphaeria biglobosa species complex in the American continent

Stem canker of oilseed rape (canola, Brassica napus ) is associated with a species complex of two closely related fungal species, Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa . Of these, L. maculans is the most damaging and develops gene-for-gene relationships with the host . Here, a wide scale analysis of the L. maculans - L. biglobosa species complex was performed throughout the American continent (23 locations from Chile to Canada) plus several locations in Western Australia for comparison purposes, based on a collection of 1132 isolates from infected tissues of a susceptible cultivar. Fungal species were discriminated on the basis of morphological, phytopathological and molecular criteria and showed that L. biglobosa was closely associated with L. maculans in most of the locations. Multiple gene phylogeny using sequences of ITS, actin and β-tubulin confirmed the prevalence of the L. biglobosa 'canadensis' sub-clade in Canada, whereas up to three different sub-clades of L. biglobosa were found in Georgia (USA). Race structure of L. maculans was investigated using a combination of pathogenicity tests and PCR amplification of avirulence alleles AvrLm1 , AvrLm4 and AvrLm6 . Three contrasting situations were observed: (i) race structure in Ontario, Chile and Georgia was related to that of European and Western Australian populations, with a low race diversity; (ii) only one race was found in Mexico, and not found outside of this country; (iii) a large diversity of races was observed in central Canada (Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan) with very specific features including maintenance of avirulence alleles absent from Europe, absence of the AvrLm7 allele common in Europe (or eastern Canada) and wide location-to-location variability.     

Expression and homology modelling of sterol 14α‐demethylase of Magnaporthe grisea and its interaction with azoles

BACKGROUND: Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) ME Barr infection is one of the most serious diseases for cultivated rice in the world. Sterol 14α‐demethylase (CYP51) is an important drug target for microbial pathogenic infections. To exploit specific and effective fungicides for M. grisea better, the authors have analysed the characteristics of interaction between sterol 14α‐demethylase from M. grisea (MGCYP51) and azoles. MGCYP51 with truncation of N‐terminal residues was cloned and expressed in E. coli, difference binding spectra of MGCYP51 induced by addition of four commercial azoles were determined and molecular modelling of MGCYP51 based on the crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lehmann & Newman and docking with the azoles were performed. RESULTS: The affinity of the azoles for MGCYP51 was positively correlated with their hydrophobicity. Amino acid residues Tyr112, Phe120, Phe220, His308 and Phe497 of MGCYP51, forming a large hydrophobic cavity, are the key residues interacting with azole fungicides. Furthermore, Phe220 and Phe497 are fungus and species specific respectively. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the more potent azole fungicides for MGCYP51 should possess more hydrophobic groups interacting with residues Phe220 and Phe497. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of high molecular weight （HMW） genomic DNA from tea plant （Camellia sinensis） for BAC library construction

A bacterial artificial chromosome （BAC） library is an invaluable resource tool to initiate tea plant genomics research, and the preparation of high molecular weight （HMW） genomic DNA is a crucial first step for constructing a BAC Library. In order to construct a BAC library for enhancing tea plant genomics research, a new method for the preparation of tea pant high molecular weight （HMW） genomic DNA must be developed due to young tea plant leaves and shoots are notably rich in both tea polyphenols and tea polysaccharides. In this paper, a modified method for preparing high quality tea plant HMW genomi~ DNA was optimized, and the quality of tea plant genomic DNA was evaluated. The results were as follows： Critical indicators of HMW DNA preparation were the appearance of the smooth nuclei in solution （as opposed to sticky-gummy） before agarose plug solidification, non-dark colored nuclei plugs after lysis with an SDS/proteinase K solution, and the quality and quantity of HMW DNA fragments after restriction enzyme digestion. Importantly, 1% dissolved PVP-40 and 1% un-dissolved PVP-40 during the nuclei extraction steps, in conjunction with the removal of PVP-40 from the plug washing and nuclei lysis steps, were critical for achieving HWM tea plant DNA suitable for BAC library construction. Additionally, a third PFGE fraction selection step to eliminate contaminating small DNA fragments. The modifications provided parameters that may have prevented deleterious interactions from tea polyphenols and tea polysaccharides. The HMW genomic DNA produced by this new modified method has been used to successfully construct a large-insert tea plant BAC library, and thus may be suitable for BAC library construction from other plant species that contain similarly interfering compounds.     

Study on Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Gadus morrhua Skin Collagen and Molecular Weight Distribution of Hydrolysates

Process parameters on enzymatic hydrolysis and molecular weight （MW） distribution of collagen hydrolysates from Gadus morrhua skin were investigated. The optimal process parameters were obtained by the single-factor and orthogonal experiments. The molecular weight distribution of hydrolysates was determined using both Sephadex G25 partition and high speed liquid chromatography electricity spray mass spectrum （HPLC-ESI-MS）. Collagen hydrolysates were first gained by an alkaline protease ＂alcalase＂ for 3 h at temperature （50~C）, pH （10.0）, substrate concentration （75 g L-~）, and E/S （3%）. The molecular weight distribution of collagen hydrolysates ranged from 300 to 1 500 Da, and most of peptides were under 1 200 Da. Sephadex G25 partition and HPLC-ESI-MS should be successfully employed to determine the molecular weight distribution of collagen hydrolysates.     

噬菌体及其宿主终端酶序列的系统进化研究

在原核生物的进化过程中,基因的横向转移(HGT)是一个重要的进化机制.为了研究HGT在噬菌体及其宿主体内的发生情况,分析多个物种的终端酶蛋白质序列.结果显示,大部分噬菌体与其宿主间的蛋白质序列中,终端酶的大、小亚基的同源性都非常之高,小亚基的序列几乎与其宿主完全一致.相比之下,噬菌体间的蛋白质序列同源性非常低.系统发生分析显示,序列相似性高的噬菌体较容易与其宿主聚集,产生寄生关系.结果表明,在噬菌体及其选择的宿主之间存在HGT,而且这种作用可能对终端酶的进化产生重要的影响.     

Inheritance and QTL Mapping of Salt Tolerance in Rice

An F2 population derived from the cross between Jiucaiqing (japonica) and IR36 (indica) was used to analyze the inheritance of salt tolerance in rice by genetic model of major-genes plus polygenes, and to map the corresponding QTLs by SSR molecular markers. Rice plants of P1, P2, F1 and F2 at 5- to 6- leaf stage were treated under 140 mmol/L NaCI for 10 days. Three indices representing the ability of salt tolerance of rice seedlings were measured, including salt tolerance rating (STR), Na^ /K^ ratio in roots and dry matter weight of shoots (DWS). STR, Na^ /K^ and DWS were all controlled by two major genes with modification by polygenes. Heritability of these traits from major genes was 17.8, 53.3 and 52.3%, respectively. The linkage map constructed by 62 SSR molecular markers covered a total length of about 1 142 cM. There were three QTLs detected for STR located on chromosome 1, 5 and 9, two QTLs for DWS on chromosomes 8 and 9, and two QTLs for Na^ /K^ on chromosomes 2 and 6, one on each chromosome respectively. Single QTL accounted for 6.7 to 19.3% of phenotypic variation. Identification method of salt tolerance in rice and breeding of rice varieties with salt tolerance based on molecular markers assisted selection had been discussed.     

鱼虾类抗逆境的分子生物学研究进展

鱼和虾类经常接触异常的水温、低溶氧量的水体、或高或低的盐度等不利生存的环境,在这些逆境胁迫下,生物有机体会特异开放一些基因的表达或提高某些特定蛋白的表达丰度,以度过难关。这些基因和蛋白质包括14—3—3基因、抗冻蛋白、热激蛋白和Na／K—ATPase酶等。同时,这些基因和产物对于人类研究生命的起源和进化、改良经济水生生物的品质及环境监测等都具有重要意义。     

我国几种植物植原体的快速分子鉴别与鉴定的研究

 选用桑萎缩病(Mulberry dwarf,MD)、枣疯病(Jujube witches'-broom,JWB)、酸枣丛枝病(Wild jujube witches'-broom,WJWB)、泡桐丛枝病(Paulownia witches'-broom,PaWB)和苦楝丛枝病(Chinaberry tree witches'-broom,CWB)5种不同植物植原体和来源于3个不同地区PaWB和JWB材料进行16S rDNA和23S rDNA PCR扩增、异源双链迁移率分析(HMA)、PCR产物的RFLP分析和16S rDNA的克隆和测序等比较研究,建立了一种快速确定未知植原体种类和分类地位的分子鉴别与鉴定优化程序;并可对田间采集的各种植物植原体样品进行快速鉴定和鉴别。16S rDNA PCR产物HMA分析结果显示,JWB与CWB、MD和PaWB皆可形成明显的异源杂交双链;而CWB、MD和PaWB植原体之间未能形成异源双链。JWB和PaWB不同地区样品之间、JWB和WJWB之间也未发现异源杂交双链的形成。而23S rDNA PCR产物HMA分析则可以将MD与PaWB区分开。进一步对未知分类地位的CWB序列测定及与其它植原体16S rDNA的RFLP和同源性比较结果显示,CWB与PaWB同源性为99.5%,其中与MD的同源性高达99.7%,因而应将CWB归为翠菊黄花组16Sr I-B,16Sr I-B (rp-B)。     

番茄抗白粉病基因的AFLP标记

对由显性核基因(RL-4)控制的番茄野生种L．peruvianum抗白粉病抗性进行了分子标记研究,通过采用F1代群分法,在F2代抗、感池间随机筛选了256对引物,找到了与番茄抗白粉病基因RL-4连锁的6个AFLP标记,遗传距离分别为4.3,5．5,5．5,5．6,6．6和11．9cM。     

Secondary Metabolites with α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity from Mangrove Endophytic Fungus Talaromyces sp. CY-3

Eight new compounds, including two sambutoxin derivatives (1–2), two highly oxygenated cyclopentenones (7–8), four highly oxygenated cyclohexenones (9–12), together with four known sambutoxin derivatives (3–6), were isolated from semimangrove endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. CY-3, under the guidance of molecular networking. The structures of new isolates were elucidated by analysis of detailed spectroscopic data, ECD spectra, chemical hydrolysis, ¹³C NMR calculation, and DP4+ analysis. In bioassays, compounds 1–5 displayed better α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than the positive control 1-deoxynojirimycin (IC₅₀ = 80.8 ± 0.3 μM), and the IC₅₀ value was in the range of 12.6 ± 0.9 to 57.3 ± 1.3 μM.