Genome sequence of the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum is a devastating, soil-borne plant pathogen with a global distribution and an unusually wide host range. It is a model system for the dissection of molecular determinants governing pathogenicity. We present here the complete genome sequence and its analysis of strain GMI1000. The 5.8-megabase (Mb) genome is organized into two replicons: a 3.7-Mb chromosome and a 2.1-Mb megaplasmid. Both replicons have a mosaic structure providing evidence for the acquisition of genes through horizontal gene transfer. Regions containing genetically mobile elements associated with the percentage of G+C bias may have an important function in genome evolution. The genome encodes many proteins potentially associated with a role in pathogenicity. In particular, many putative attachment factors were identified. The complete repertoire of type III secreted effector proteins can be studied. Over 40 candidates were identified. Comparison with other genomes suggests that bacterial plant pathogens and animal pathogens harbour distinct arrays of specialized type III-dependent effectors.     

Analysis of the genome sequence of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana

The flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana is an important model system for identifying genes and determining their functions. Here we report the analysis of the genomic sequence of Arabidopsis. The sequenced regions cover 115.4 megabases of the 125-megabase genome and extend into centromeric regions. The evolution of Arabidopsis involved a whole-genome duplication, followed by subsequent gene loss and extensive local gene duplications, giving rise to a dynamic genome enriched by lateral gene transfer from a cyanobacterial-like ancestor of the plastid. The genome contains 25,498 genes encoding proteins from 11,000 families, similar to the functional diversity of Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans--the other sequenced multicellular eukaryotes. Arabidopsis has many families of new proteins but also lacks several common protein families, indicating that the sets of common proteins have undergone differential expansion and contraction in the three multicellular eukaryotes. This is the first complete genome sequence of a plant and provides the foundations for more comprehensive comparison of conserved processes in all eukaryotes, identifying a wide range of plant-specific gene functions and establishing rapid systematic ways to identify genes for crop improvement.     

A superfamily of variant genes encoded in the subtelomeric region of Plasmodium vivax

The malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax causes disease in humans, including chronic infections and recurrent relapses, but the course of infection is rarely fatal, unlike that caused by Plasmodium falciparum. To investigate differences in pathogenicity between P. vivax and P. falciparum, we have compared the subtelomeric domains in the DNA of these parasites. In P. falciparum, subtelomeric domains are conserved and contain ordered arrays of members of multigene families, such as var, rif and stevor, encoding virulence determinants of cytoadhesion and antigenic variation. Here we identify, through the analysis of a continuous 155,711-base-pair sequence of a P. vivax chromosome end, a multigene family called vir, which is specific to P. vivax. The vir genes are present at about 600-1,000 copies per haploid genome and encode proteins that are immunovariant in natural infections, indicating that they may have a functional role in establishing chronic infection through antigenic variation.     

云南疣粒野生稻部分cDNA片段的分离和注释

从疣粒野生稻cDNA扩增文库中随机挑取500个噬菌斑,通过载体环化,选择120个菌样进行测序,获得的95条序列,分别采用Blast、ORFfinder、UniGene和EntrezGene系统等软件进行序列分析,结果为:与栽培稻日本晴序列比较匹配碱基数>400 bp的占27.37%;确定可阅读框(>100 bp,具有起始和终止密码子)的占90%;与拟南芥的功能基因比较,相似性大于60%的有46个;确定功能、代谢过程和编码蛋白部位的cDNA片段分别有34个、31个和31个.     

Insights from the genome of the biotrophic fungal plant pathogen Ustilago maydis

Ustilago maydis is a ubiquitous pathogen of maize and a well-established model organism for the study of plant-microbe interactions. This basidiomycete fungus does not use aggressive virulence strategies to kill its host. U. maydis belongs to the group of biotrophic parasites (the smuts) that depend on living tissue for proliferation and development. Here we report the genome sequence for a member of this economically important group of biotrophic fungi. The 20.5-million-base U. maydis genome assembly contains 6,902 predicted protein-encoding genes and lacks pathogenicity signatures found in the genomes of aggressive pathogenic fungi, for example a battery of cell-wall-degrading enzymes. However, we detected unexpected genomic features responsible for the pathogenicity of this organism. Specifically, we found 12 clusters of genes encoding small secreted proteins with unknown function. A significant fraction of these genes exists in small gene families. Expression analysis showed that most of the genes contained in these clusters are regulated together and induced in infected tissue. Deletion of individual clusters altered the virulence of U. maydis in five cases, ranging from a complete lack of symptoms to hypervirulence. Despite years of research into the mechanism of pathogenicity in U. maydis, no 'true' virulence factors had been previously identified. Thus, the discovery of the secreted protein gene clusters and the functional demonstration of their decisive role in the infection process illuminate previously unknown mechanisms of pathogenicity operating in biotrophic fungi. Genomic analysis is, similarly, likely to open up new avenues for the discovery of virulence determinants in other pathogens.     

The DNA sequence of the human X chromosome

The human X chromosome has a unique biology that was shaped by its evolution as the sex chromosome shared by males and females. We have determined 99.3% of the euchromatic sequence of the X chromosome. Our analysis illustrates the autosomal origin of the mammalian sex chromosomes, the stepwise process that led to the progressive loss of recombination between X and Y, and the extent of subsequent degradation of the Y chromosome. LINE1 repeat elements cover one-third of the X chromosome, with a distribution that is consistent with their proposed role as way stations in the process of X-chromosome inactivation. We found 1,098 genes in the sequence, of which 99 encode proteins expressed in testis and in various tumour types. A disproportionately high number of mendelian diseases are documented for the X chromosome. Of this number, 168 have been explained by mutations in 113 X-linked genes, which in many cases were characterized with the aid of the DNA sequence.     

Modulation of virulence within a pathogenicity island in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis

Enterococci are members of the healthy human intestinal flora, but are also leading causes of highly antibiotic-resistant, hospital-acquired infection. We examined the genomes of a strain of Enterococcus faecalis that caused an infectious outbreak in a hospital ward in the mid-1980s (ref. 2), and a strain that was identified as the first vancomycin-resistant isolate in the United States, and found that virulence determinants were clustered on a large pathogenicity island, a genetic element previously unknown in this genus. The pathogenicity island, which varies only subtly between strains, is approximately 150 kilobases in size, has a lower G + C content than the rest of the genome, and is flanked by terminal repeats. Here we show that subtle variations within the structure of the pathogenicity island enable strains harbouring the element to modulate virulence, and that these variations occur at high frequency. Moreover, the enterococcal pathogenicity island, in addition to coding for most known auxiliary traits that enhance virulence of the organism, includes a number of additional, previously unstudied genes that are rare in non-infection-derived isolates, identifying a class of new targets associated with disease which are not essential for the commensal behaviour of the organism.     

Genomic organization of EDSV strain AA-2

The genomic organization of egg drop syndrome virus strain AA-2 isolated in China is reported here. The genome was found to be 32 838 bp in length, approximately 2 kb shorter than those of the human subgenus C adenoviruses. Analysis of open reading frames indicated that the genes for major viral structural proteins (55 K, Penton base, pⅦ, pⅩ, pⅥ, Hexon, 100 K, pⅧ and Fiber), as well as EP, DNA polymerase and ⅣaⅡ are present in the expected locations in the genome. EDSV possesses no identifiable E3 and E4 regions and most proteins encoded by E3 and E4 regions of other adenoviruses genome were not presented in EDSV.     

The map-based sequence of the rice genome

Rice, one of the world's most important food plants, has important syntenic relationships with the other cereal species and is a model plant for the grasses. Here we present a map-based, finished quality sequence that covers 95% of the 389 Mb genome, including virtually all of the euchromatin and two complete centromeres. A total of 37,544 non-transposable-element-related protein-coding genes were identified, of which 71% had a putative homologue in Arabidopsis. In a reciprocal analysis, 90% of the Arabidopsis proteins had a putative homologue in the predicted rice proteome. Twenty-nine per cent of the 37,544 predicted genes appear in clustered gene families. The number and classes of transposable elements found in the rice genome are consistent with the expansion of syntenic regions in the maize and sorghum genomes. We find evidence for widespread and recurrent gene transfer from the organelles to the nuclear chromosomes. The map-based sequence has proven useful for the identification of genes underlying agronomic traits. The additional single-nucleotide polymorphisms and simple sequence repeats identified in our study should accelerate improvements in rice production.     

Nitration of a peptide phytotoxin by bacterial nitric oxide synthase

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent intercellular signal in mammals that mediates key aspects of blood pressure, hormone release, nerve transmission and the immune response of higher organisms. Proteins homologous to full-length mammalian nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) are found in lower multicellular organisms. Recently, genome sequencing has shown that some bacteria contain genes coding for truncated NOS proteins; this is consistent with reports of NOS-like activities in bacterial extracts. Biological functions for bacterial NOSs are unknown, but have been presumed to be analogous to their role in mammals. Here we describe a gene in the plant pathogen Streptomyces turgidiscabies that encodes a NOS homologue, and we reveal its role in nitrating a dipeptide phytotoxin required for plant pathogenicity. High similarity between bacterial NOSs indicates a general function in biosynthetic nitration; thus, bacterial NOSs constitute a new class of enzymes. Here we show that the primary function of Streptomyces NOS is radically different from that of mammalian NOS. Surprisingly, mammalian NO signalling and bacterial biosynthetic nitration share an evolutionary origin.     

嗜麦芽糖寡氧单胞菌H002的基因组分析及对铀胁迫的转录组响应

为探究嗜麦芽糖寡氧单胞菌H002响应金属铀冲击的分子机制及生物修复铀污染的潜力，本研究从基因组和转录组两个层面进行了分析.基因组测序结果表明，H002基因组大小为5 099 056 bp,预测编码4780个蛋白；与其他6个近缘菌株相比，H002拥有344个独特的编码基因，涉及膜转运、细胞运动和分泌等功能.转录组分析显示，在铀胁迫的早期(1 h),差异基因主要富集于细胞运动、分泌、蛋白质和肽聚糖合成等KEGG途径.部分分泌通道相关基因的表达下调，可降低细胞对铀离子的摄取，进而减轻铀离子对细胞的毒性.在铀胁迫的后期(2 h和4 h),参与铀生物矿化的磷酸酶相关基因和能够提供还原电子的细胞色素c基因的表达上调，能以主动方式降低铀的细胞毒性.     

Identification and characterization of CACTA transposable elements capturing gene fragments in maize

Transposable elements (TEs)-mediated gene sequence movement is thought to play an important role in genome expansion and origin of genes with novel functions. In this study, a gene, HGGT, involved in vitamin E synthesis was used in a case study to discover and characterize transposons carrying gene fragments in maize. A total of 69 transposons that are distributed across the 10 chromosomes and have an average length of 3689 bp were identified from the maize sequence database by using the BLAST search algori...     

The highly reduced genome of an enslaved algal nucleus

Chromophyte algae differ fundamentally from plants in possessing chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll c and that have a more complex bounding-membrane topology. Although chromophytes are known to be evolutionary chimaeras of a red alga and a non-photosynthetic host, which gave rise to their exceptional membrane complexity, their cell biology is poorly understood. Cryptomonads are the only chromophytes that still retain the enslaved red algal nucleus as a minute nucleomorph. Here we report complete sequences for all three nucleomorph chromosomes from the cryptomonad Guillardia theta. This tiny 551-kilobase eukaryotic genome is the most gene-dense known, with only 17 diminutive spliceosomal introns and 44 overlapping genes. Marked evolutionary compaction hundreds of millions of years ago eliminated nearly all the nucleomorph genes for metabolic functions, but left 30 for chloroplast-located proteins. To allow expression of these proteins, nucleomorphs retain hundreds of genetic-housekeeping genes. Nucleomorph DNA replication and periplastid protein synthesis require the import of many nuclear gene products across endoplasmic reticulum and periplastid membranes. The chromosomes have centromeres, but possibly only one loop domain, offering a means for studying eukaryotic chromosome replication, segregation and evolution.     

紫心甘薯转录因子bHLH的基因克隆及功能研究

通过对紫心甘薯中bHLH类转录因子的基因进行分子克隆，对其结构、表达模式及功能进行研究，明确了其结构特征和生物学功能.通过采用RACE克隆方法，获得了编码bHLH基因且长度分别为2 516 bp和2 304 bp的cDNA全序列.基于DNA序列的分子进化树分析结果表明:两者分别属于植物bHLH1和bHLH2基因家族的成员，分别将其命名为IbbHLH1(GenBank登录号:KC708871)和IbbHLH2 (GenBank登录号:JF508437);IbbHLH1和IbbHLH2蛋白均定位于细胞核; 在3个甘薯品种(系)的块根中，IbbHLH2基因与花色素苷合成途径中的酶基因(CHS、CHI、F3H、DFR、ANS和3GT)的表达量变化趋势相一致，初步推测转录因子IbbHLH2可能参与了紫心甘薯花色素苷合成途径一系列酶基因的表达与调控.     

Sequence and analysis of chromosome 3 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Arabidopsis thaliana is an important model system for plant biologists. In 1996 an international collaboration (the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative) was formed to sequence the whole genome of Arabidopsis and in 1999 the sequence of the first two chromosomes was reported. The sequence of the last three chromosomes and an analysis of the whole genome are reported in this issue. Here we present the sequence of chromosome 3, organized into four sequence segments (contigs). The two largest (13.5 and 9.2 Mb) correspond to the top (long) and the bottom (short) arms of chromosome 3, and the two small contigs are located in the genetically defined centromere. This chromosome encodes 5,220 of the roughly 25,500 predicted protein-coding genes in the genome. About 20% of the predicted proteins have significant homology to proteins in eukaryotic genomes for which the complete sequence is available, pointing to important conserved cellular functions among eukaryotes.     

用离散量预测拟南芥全基因组中内含子、外显子和基因间序列

将拟南芥基因组全序列，按内含子、外显子及基因间序列区分为三类．在统计分析的基础上，选取21种三联体的概率，作为信号参数，并以这些参数分别构建内含子、外显子和基因间序列的离散源，计算了离散量．某区间上任意一段序列的类型是由其离散量D(X)与同一区间上的三个标准离散量D(Xe)、D(Xi)和D(Xs)之间的离散增量的最小值决定的．由此实现了用离散量对三种核苷酸序列类型的预测，预测结果表明：标准集准确率达到84．26％，检验集达到84．64％．     

The complete sequence of the mucosal pathogen Ureaplasma urealyticum

The comparison of the genomes of two very closely related human mucosal pathogens, Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, has helped define the essential functions of a self-replicating minimal cell, as well as what constitutes a mycoplasma. Here we report the complete sequence of a more distant phylogenetic relative of those bacteria, Ureaplasma urealyticum (parvum biovar), which is also a mucosal pathogen of humans. It is the third mycoplasma to be sequenced, and has the smallest sequenced prokaryotic genome except for M. genitalium. Although the U. urealyticum genome is similar to the two sequenced mycoplasma genomes, features make this organism unique among mycoplasmas and all bacteria. Almost all ATP synthesis is the result of urea hydrolysis, which generates an energy-producing electrochemical gradient. Some highly conserved eubacterial enzymes appear not to be encoded by U. urealyticum, including the cell-division protein FtsZ, chaperonins GroES and GroEL, and ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase. U. urealyticum has six closely related iron transporters, which apparently arose through gene duplication, suggesting that it has a kind of respiration system not present in other small genome bacteria The genome is only 25.5% G+C in nucleotide content, and the G+C content of individual genes may predict how essential those genes are to ureaplasma survival.