Speciation- induced heritable cytosine methylation changes in polyploid wheat

To study possible epigenetic changes accompanying polyploid speciation, genomic DNA from natural polyploid wheats and their putative diploid progenitors were digested with a pair of isoschizomers Hpa II / Msp I and hybridized to 21 different types of low-copy DNA sequences. It was found that cytosine methylation changes were abundant in natural polyploid wheats after their speciation. The hybridization of the same set of sequences to a synthetic hexaploid wheat along with its parental lines indicated that the extensive DNA methylation changes already existed in the early generations (S5, S6 and Sy) of this plant. Moreover, the high similarity of the changed restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns among three randomly chosen individual plants suggested that the methylation changes occurred even earlier, and/or were of a nonrandom nature. The changed patterns were stably inherited in the three successive selfed generations. Though methylation changes are probably a genome-wide occurrence, they appeared to be confined to the specific types of DNA sequences. The possible implications of the rapid and extensive cytosine methylation changes for several attributes of allopolyploid genome evolution, such as genetic diploidization and gene diversification, are discussed .     

Evolutionary analysis of allotetraploid hybrids of red crucian carp × common carp, based on ISSR, AFLP molecular markers and cloning of cyclins genes

The allotetraploid hybrids of red crucian carp x common carp are the first reported artificially cultured polyploid fish with bisexual fertility and stable inheritance in vertebrate. Using ISSR and AFLP markers and the cyclins genes, the genomes and cyclin gene sequence changes were analyzed between the allotetraploid hybrids and their parents. The results indicated that the allotetraploids inherited many genetic characteristics from their parents and the genetic characteristics were stable after 15 generations. However, the allotetraploids had a closer genetic relationship with their original female parents and represented a bias toward the maternal progenitor. DNA fingerprinting analysis showed that the allotetraploids had undergone sequences deletion from their original parents and that the deleted sequences were mostly from the male parent＇s genome. Some non-parental bands were found in the allotetraploid hybrids. Sequences analysis of the cyclin A1 and B1 genes showed nonsynonymous substitutions of single nucleotides in codons that were different from their original parents, leading to non-parental amino acid loci. We speculate that the non-additivity in the allotetraploids, compared with their progenitors, could be an adjustment to the genomic shock from heterozygosity and polyploidy, allowing maintenance of genetic stability.     

Maternal inheritance in polyploid fish inferred from mitochondrial ATPase genes analysis

The sequences of the ATPase8/6 genes for the triploid, tetraploid and pentaploid hybrids as well as for their male parent blunt snout bream were determined. In order to examine mitochondrial maternal inheritance, the sequences were subjected to a comparative sequence analysis with the homologous sequences of red crucian carp, their female parent, and zebrafish as the outgroup. Base composition and variation as well as the divergences based on nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences were calculated. Phylogenetic trees were also constructed with maximum parsimony (MP), minimum evolution (ME), neighbor joining (NJ) and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) algorithms in MEGA 3.1. The results showed that most nucleotide substitutions occurred at the third codon position of the two genes and thus represented synonymous mutations. The nucleotide sequence divergences of the ATPase8/6 genes ranged from 0.0% to 21.6% among ingroup samples (three types of polyploids and their parents), and 27.0–28.2% between their ingroup and the outgroup samples. All the polyploids were considerably closer in sequence relationship to the female parent red crucian carp (0.0–3.3%) compared to their male parent blunt snout bream (21.0–21.6%). The phylogenetic trees also showed a similar result. In conclusion, the mitochondrial ATPase8/6 genes of artificial polyploid fish stringently indicated maternal inheritance. Our results also suggested that the ATPase8/6 genes are valuable genetic markers to track genealogies and variations in the progenies of the hybrids.     

Rapid genome evolution in Pms 1 region of rice revealed by comparative sequence analysis

Pms1, a locus for photoperiod sensitive genic male sterility in rice, was identified and mapped to chromosome 7 in previous studies. Here we report an effort to identify the candidate genes for Pms1 by comparative sequencing of BAC clones from two cultivars Minghui 63 and Nongken 58, the parents for the initial mapping population. Annotation and comparison of the sequences of the two clones resulted in a total of five potential candidates which should be functionally tested. We also conducted com-parative analysis of sequences of these two cultivars with two other cultivars, Nipponbare and 93-11, for which sequence data were available in public databases. The analysis revealed large differences in sequence composition among the four genotypes in the Pms1 region primarily due to retroelement activity leading to rapid recent growth and divergence of the genomes. High levels of polymorphism in the forms of indels and SNPs were found both in intra- and inter-subspecific comparisons. Dating analysis using LTRs of the retroelements in this region showed that the substitution rate of LTRs was much higher than reported in the literature. The results provided strong evidence for rapid genomic evolution of this region as a consequence of natural and artificial selection.     

The VER2 promoter contains repeated sequences and requires vernalization for its activity in winter wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）

Previously, we isolated a vernalization-related gene, VER2, from winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its expression was restricted in the immature leaves of vernalized wheat seedlings. To further investigate the regulation of VER2 expression and the function of its promoter, we isolated a 41.7 kb genomic clone containing VER2 gene from atransformation-competent artificial chromosome (TAC) library of wheat (Triticum aestivum-Haynaldia villosa). The sequence analysis showed that there were eleven predicted genes in the TAC. The exons of gene 3 corresponded to the cDNA sequence of VER2 gene. Analysis of VER2 promoter structure showed that there were three small repeat sequences divided by two large repeat sequences. The putative response elements, such as abscisic acid response elements (ABRE), MeJA-response elements (Me-JARE), low-temperature response elements (LTR), endosperm expression elements, MYB binding sites and similar elements to GA response elements (GARE), were involved in the VER2 promoter region. Construct containing the VER2 promoter (-5895 to 73) driving GFP reporter gene was bombarded into vernalized or non-verualized immature leaves in wheat. The vernalized immature leaves showed bright green fluorescence after incubation for 24 h, however, the green fluorescence was not observed in the non-vernalization leaves under the same condition. These results suggested that vernalization was essential for the function of VER2 promoter in the immature leaves of winter wheat.     

Comparison of the community structure of planktonic bacteria in ballast water from entry ships and local sea water in Xiamen Port

In this study, the bacterial community structures in samples of ballast water collected from a ship from Singapore and of local sea water collected from Xiamen Port were compared using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Except for dominant α-Proteobacteria that are common to both systems, the bacterial community structures of the two systems were quite different. Most of the clones derived from the different systems were grouped into different phylogenetic clusters, and the sys-tems share only one common RFLP pattern. The ballast water, which is likely from clean offshore waters, contains sequences specific to α- and γ-Proteobacteria. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ballast water contained sequences belonging to attached bacteria and bacteria commonly found in the open sea, as well as many novel sequences. In addition, no known pathogenic bacteria were detected in the ballast water samples. Conversely, water samples from Xiamen Port were apparently affected by the near shore environments.Specifically, in addition to α- and γ-Proteobacteria, water from Xiamen Port contained β- and δ-Proteobacteria, Synechococcus, Bacter-oidetes and Actinobacteria, which are common in coastal environments. Additionally, four pathogenic bacterial sequences and one plas-mid sequence of a potential red tide forming alga were detected in the water from Xiamen Port, which suggests that the local sea water is polluted. The results of this study can be used as background information to assess the risk associated with the introduction of non-indig-enous species to local systems and to establish ballast water management systems.     

Characterization of a PDR type ABC transporter gene from wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）

DON, as a virulence factor, plays an important role in the infection of Fusarium graminearum in wheat. The infection ability of F. graminearum depends on its capacity of producing DON. The production of DON by F. graminearum is significantly decreased in the wheat varieties with scab resistance. In this study, GeneChip analysis indicated that an EST encoding an ATP-binding cassette （ABC） transporter was up-regulated by 45 times in a wheat landrace Wangshuibai, which is resistant to DON accumulation. A pair of EST-derived primers were designed based on the EST sequence, and a clone was then isolated from a wheat genomic DNA TAC library. The TAC clone was sequenced using chromosome walking and gene prediction was conducted using Softberry. A cDNA clone of this gene was subsequently isolated from Wangshuibai induced by DON using gene-specific primers designed according to the untranslated sequence of the gene. The genome size of the gene is 7377 bp, consisting of 19 exons with coding sequences of 4308 bp. It encodes a protein with 1435 amino acid residues and the calculated molecular weight is about 161 kD. BLAST analysis indicated that the gene may belong to pleiotropic drug resistance （PDR） sub-family, and hence designated as TaPDR1 （Triticum aestivum pleiotropic drug resistance）. TaPDR1 was located on chromosome 5A of wheat using nullisomic-tetrasomic lines of Chinese Spring. TaPDR1 was up-regulated by induction of both DON and F. graminearum. Expression patterns of TaPDR1 were different in wild-type Wangshuibai and the fast-neutron induced Wangshuibai mutant lacking FHB1, a major QTL of FHB resistance and DON resistance in chromosome arm 3BS. These results suggested that TaPDR1 might be a candidate gene responsible for DON accumulation resistance. The expression profile showed that TaPDR1 expression was neither induced by hormones typically involved in biotic stress, such as JA and SA, nor by abiotic stresses, such as heat, cold, wounding and NaCI. However, TaPDR1 expression was regulated by Al^3＋ and [Ca^2＋], indicating that [Ca^2＋]1 might mediate the signal of TaPDR1 expression.     

Overview of HBV whole genome data in public repositories and the Chinese HBV reference sequences

The number of Hepatitis B virus （HBV） whole genomic sequences in public nucleotide databases （GenBank, EMBL, and DDBJ） had reached 866 by January 1, 2007. Coming from 46 countries and regions, these sequences were categorized as eight genotypes （A-H）. With the statistical and phylogenetic analysis on all available complete genomic data of HBV, we here present an overview of HBV sequences in public databases. From all registered 229 HBV genomes in Chinese regions as well as 59 sequencing data from our research group, we report the establishment of reference sequences of HBV strains prevailing in China. These analyses provide clues for the effects of HBV genotypes in host clinical progressions, geographic distribution of the infection, and the viral evolutionary history. Moreover, the viral sequence reference would be helpful in the identification of various HBV mutations. Based on the analysis of various public databases, we suggest that the Chinese HBV database with the clinical information should be constructed.     

Transgenic tobacco plants harboring tomato proteinase inhibitor II gene and their insect resistance

The plant expression vectors pBCT2 and pBT2 were constructed with the cDNA sequence (tin2) and genomic DNA sequence (tin2i) of tomato proteinase inhibitor II gene respectively. Then the two expression vectors were transferred into tobacco via the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404, and transgenic tobacco plants were generated. Molecular analysis and trypsin activity assay showed that both cDNA and genomic DNA were expressed properly in the transgenic plants. Insecticidal activities in these transgenic plants indicated that transgenic tobacco plants carrying tin2i sequence were more resistant to 2-instar larvae of Heliothis armigera Hubner than those carrying tin2 sequence. Therefore the intron of tin2i sequence might be a contributor to insecticidal activity of the transgenic tobacco.     

Genetic diversity revealed by genomic SSR and EST-SSR markers among common wheat, spelt and compectum

In this study, two SSR molecular markers, named genomic-SSR and EST-SSR, are used to measure the genetic diversity among three hexaploid wheat populations, which include 28 common wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. ), 13 spelt ( Triticum spelta L. ),and 11 compactum ( Triticum compactum Host. ). The results show that common wheat has the highest genetic polymorphism, followed by spelt and then compactum. The mean genetic distance between the populations is higher than that within a population, and similar tendency is detected for individual genomes A, B and D. Therefore, spelt and compactum can be used as potential germplasms for wheat breeding, especially for enriching the genetic variation in genome D. As compared with spelt, the genetic diversity between common wheat and compactum is much smaller, indicating a closer consanguine relationship between these two species. Although the polymorphism revealed by EST-SSR is lower than that by genomic-SSR, it can effectively differentiate diverse genotypes as well. Together with our present results, it is concluded that EST-SSR marker is an ideal marker for assessing the genetic diversity in wheat. Meanwhile, the origin and evolution of hexaploid wheat is also analyzed and discussed.     

Genomic and genie sequence variation in synthetic hexaploid wheat(AABBDD)as compared to their parental species

In order to understand the genomic changes during the evolution of hexaploid wheat,two sets of synthetic hexaploid wheat from hybridization between maternal tetraploid wheat (AABB) and paternal diploid goat grass(DD)were used for DNA-AFLP and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis to determine the genomic and genie variation in the synthetic hexaploid wheat.Results indicated that more DNA sequences from paternal diploid species wen eliminated in the synthetic hexaploid wheat than from maternal tetraploid wheat,suggesting that genome from parental species of lower ploidity tends to be eliminated preferentially.However,sequence variation detected by SSCP procedure was much lower than those detected by DNA-AFLP.which indicated that much less variation in the genie regions occurred in the synthetic hexaploid wheat.and sequence variations detected by DNA-AFLP could be derived mostly from non-coding regions and repetitive sequences.Our results also indicated that sequence variation in 4 genes can be detected in hybrid F1.which suggested that this type of sequence variation could be resulted from distant hybridization.It was interesting to note that 3 out of the 4 genes were mapped and clustered on the long alTll of chromosome 2D,which indicated that variation in genic sequences in synthetic hexaploid wheat might not be a randomized process.     

Genomic and genic sequence variation in synthetic hexaploid wheat (AABBDD) as compared to their parental species

In order to understand the genomic changes during evolution of hexaploid wheat, two sets of synthetic hexaploid wheat from hybridization between maternal tetraploid wheat (AABB) and paternal diploid goat grass (DD) were used for DNA-AFLP and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis to determine the genomic and genic variation in the synthetic hexaploid wheat. Results indicated that more DNA sequences from paternal diploid species were eliminated in the synthetic hexaploid wheat than from maternal tetraploid wheat, suggesting that genome from parental species of lower ploidity tends to be eliminated preferentially. However, sequence variation detected by SSCP procedure was much lower than those detected by DNA-AFLP, which indicated that much less variation in the genic regions occurred in the synthetic hexaploid wheat, and sequence variations detected by DNA-AFLP could be derived mostly from non-coding regions and repetitive sequences. Our results also indicated that sequence variation in 4 genes can be detected in hybrid F1, which suggested that this type of sequence variation could be resulted from distant hybridization. It was interesting to note that 3 out of the 4 genes were mapped and clustered on the long arm of chromosome 2D, which indicated that variation in genic sequences in synthetic hexaploid wheat might not be a randomized process.     

Molecular characterization of Ph1 as a major chromosome pairing locus in polyploid wheat

The foundation of western civilization owes much to the high fertility of bread wheat, which results from the stability of its polyploid genome. Despite possessing multiple sets of related chromosomes, hexaploid (bread) and tetraploid (pasta) wheat both behave as diploids at meiosis. Correct pairing of homologous chromosomes is controlled by the Ph1 locus. In wheat hybrids, Ph1 prevents pairing between related chromosomes. Lack of Ph1 activity in diploid relatives of wheat suggests that Ph1 arose on polyploidization. Absence of phenotypic variation, apart from dosage effects, and the failure of ethylmethane sulphonate treatment to yield mutants, indicates that Ph1 has a complex structure. Here we have localized Ph1 to a 2.5-megabase interstitial region of wheat chromosome 5B containing a structure consisting of a segment of subtelomeric heterochromatin that inserted into a cluster of cdc2-related genes after polyploidization. The correlation of the presence of this structure with Ph1 activity in related species, and the involvement of heterochromatin with Ph1 (ref. 6) and cdc2 genes with meiosis, makes the structure a good candidate for the Ph1 locus.     

Analysis of enzymatically amplified beta-globin and HLA-DQ alpha DNA with allele-specific oligonucleotide probes

Allelic sequence variation has been analysed by synthetic oligonucleotide hybridization probes which can detect single base substitutions in human genomic DNA. An allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) will only anneal to sequences that match it perfectly, a single mismatch being sufficient to prevent hybridization under appropriate conditions. To improve the sensitivity, specificity and simplicity of this approach, we used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure to enzymatically amplify a specific segment of the beta-globin or HLA-DQ alpha gene in human genomic DNA before hybridization with ASOs. This in vitro amplification method, which produces a greater than 10(5)-fold increase in the amount of target sequence, permits the analysis of allelic variation with as little as 1 ng of genomic DNA and the use of a simple 'dot blot' for probe hybridization. As a further simplification, PCR amplification has been performed directly on crude cell lysates, eliminating the need for DNA purification.     

Analysis of DNA methylation variation in wheat genetic background after alien chromatin introduction based on methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism

During the process of alien germplasm introduced into wheat genome by chromosome engineering, extensive genetic variations of genome structure and gene expression in recipient could be induced. In this study, we performed GISH （genome in situ hybridization） and AFLP （amplified fragment length polymorphism） on wheat-rye chromosome translocation lines and their parents to detect the identity in genomic structure of different translocation lines. The results showed that the genome primary structure variations were not obviously detected in different translocation lines except the same 1RS chromosome translocation. Methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism （MSAP） analyses on genomic DNA showed that the ratios of fully-methylated sites were significantly increased in translocation lines （CN12, 20.15%; CN17, 20.91%; CN18, 22.42%）, but the ratios of hemimethylated sites were significantly lowered （CN12, 21.41%; CN17, 23.43%; CN18, 22.42%）, whereas 16.37% were fully-methylated and 25.44% were hemimethylated in case of their wheat parent. Twenty-nine classes of methylation patterns were identified in a comparative assay of cytosine methylation patterns between wheat-rye translocation lines and their wheat parent, including 13 hypermethylation patterns （33.74%）, 9 demethylation patterns （22.76%） and 7 uncertain patterns （4.07%）. In further sequence analysis, the alterations of methylation pattern affected both repetitive DNA sequences, such as retrotransposons and tandem repetitive sequences, and low-copy DNA.     

Cloning and characterization of a C genome-specific repetitive sequence inAegilops caudata L.

pAeca212 is 204 bp in length, and the G + C content is 51%. It disperses on all seven chromosome pairs ofAegilops caudata except centromeres and secondary constrictions. Compared with the 316893 DNA sequences registered in Genbank/EMBL/DDJB/PDB, pAeca212 is a new C-genome specific repetitive sequence. The results of genomic specificity analysis of pAece212 show that there are no hybridization signals detected in all donor Poaceae plants except in rye. pAeca212 is a very useful molecular marker in the study of the origin of Triticeace and the detection of C chromatin in wheat background.     

Molecular verification of the integration of Tripsacum dactyloides DNA into wheat genome through wide hybridization

RAPD and RFLP analyses of double haploid lines which derived from hybridization between hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.2n=42) and eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides L.2n=4x=72) are reported.Two of the 340 Operon primers have been screened,which stably amplified Tripsacum dactyloides (male parent) specific bands in the double haploid lines.These results confirm the fact that Tripsacum dactyloides DNA has been integrated into wheat genome by sexual hybridization at molecular level.This idea has been further testified by RFLP analysis.Application and potentials of transferring Tripsacum dactyloides DNA into wheat genome by sexual hybridization in wheat breeding are discussed.     

小麦染色体配对基因Ph1结构剖析及调控机制研究进展

近年来,关于小麦抑制部分同源染色体配对基因Ph1的研究有了突破性进展.本文对该基因的结构和调控机理的最新研究进行综述.通过创造和分子标记鉴定Ph1缺失突变体,利用分子生物学及比较基因组学技术,该基因位点被界定于5BL上一个2.5 Mb的区域内,含有一个类cdk基因簇,且在该类cdk基因簇中插入一个亚端粒异染色质片段.细胞学研究显示,Ph1基因通过控制亚端粒的互作启始染色体识别和配对伙伴选择.与此同时,生物信息学揭示,这些类cdk基因与人类和老鼠的cdk2基因高度同源,它们与细胞周期中DNA复制、染色质凝集、碱基错配修复等事件相关.减数分裂时,该基因位点通过"感知"染色体的同源性程度而触发染色质的构象变化,从而控制染色体的配对和重组.此外,小麦中可能存在一种与Ph1相关的类似于酵母中的粗线期检查点机制.预测未来的研究将可能集中在Ph1对染色体同源性的"感知"机制、Ph1的开启与关闭、植物减数分裂重组的忠实性及减数分裂过程的检查点机制等方面.