Optical mapping of a rice BAC clone using restriction endonuclease and imaging with fluorescent microscopy at single molecule level

A method of constructing restriction map by optical mapping and single molecule fluorescent microscopy is described. DNA molecules were aligned and adsorbed on a glass coverslip surface by a modified “molecular combing” technique, and then the surface-immobilized DNAs were cleaved in situ with a restriction endonuclease. Individual DNA molecules digested by the endonuclease EcoRⅠ were observable with fluorescent microscopy. Using optical mapping, a physical map of a rice bacterial artificial chromosome clone was constructed. This method will facilitate genomic mapping and tracing the dynamic process in real time at a single molecule level with fluorescence microscopy.     

Determination of copy number for 5S rDNA and centromeric sequence RCS2 in rice by Fiber-FISH

The copy number of 5S rDNA and centromeric sequence RCS2 was determined by extended DNA fiber based fluorescence in situ hybridization (Fiber-FISH) in rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indica cv. Guangluai No. 4) genome. In order to determine the copy number, it is necessary to know the basepair number that a given length DNA fiber contains under a microscope. Therefore, the length of two DNA fragments, in which the basepair number had been already known, was measured. The insert sequence of the tested BAC 38D17 was 136 kb and its extended DNA was 56.4 μm long, 2.41 kb/μm on average, while that of the tested BAC 44B4 was 144.5 kb in total and 55.7 μm long, 2.60 kb/μm on average under the microscope. They were very close to the theoretical value of B-DNA in the Watson-Crick DNA model, which is 2.97 kb/μm. According to the average value of basepair number per μm of the two samples mentioned above, that is, 2.51 kb/μm, it could be estimated that the copy number was about 686 for 5S rDNA and 286-1121 for the centromere sequence RCS2.     

Isolation of tomato proteinase inhibitor II gene and the function of its intron

The genomic DNA sequence of tomato proteinase inhibitor II gene (named tin2i, whose accession number in GenBank is AF007240) was isolated by PCR techniques. The intron sequence (TPI), with a length of 109 bp, owns typical structures of GT/AG dinucleotides at both ends and high content of AT base pairs which accounts for 80.7% of the total nucleotides. As shown by recombination experiment, the TPI sequence could efficiently promote the expression of the reporter gene gusA and this effect was independent of the position and orientation of the intron, thus showing its role as an enhancer. Such experiments as gel retardation assays, GUS histochemical staining and GUS fluorometric assays further demonstrated that TPI sequence maybe has promoter-like activity.     

Expression detection and partial cloning of porcine leptin receptor (OBR) gene

The product of the obesity gene, called leptin, is an important regulator of adiposity, which mainly functions via its regulation of feed intake and energy metabolism. Both obesity gene (ob gene) and leptin receptor gene ( OBR gene) are thought to play a major role in controlling of body fat mass as well as body weight. The result of RT-PCR shows that levels of pig OBRmRNA are higher in hypothalamus, lung and liver, and lower expression can be detected in other tissues. Total RNA purified from 11 different organs and tissues have been hybridized with pig OBR cDNA probes. The hybridization signals are shown in 7 organs and tissues. 4.1 and 3.8 kb bands were observed from hypothalamus, whereas 3.8 and 3.5 kb bands were observed in other tissues instead. The nearly complete sequence of the extracellular domain of pig OBR gene was obtained. The homology of sequence is 89.2% between pig and human, 80.3% between pig and mouse. Alignment of the predicted amino acid sequence of OBR in pig, human and mouse shows that the overall identity is 86.5% between pig and human, 76.6% between pig and mouse. Two WSXWS motifs were found at aa₃₁₃ and aa₆₁₆.     

Comparison between phylogeny of introns and exons in primate

Introns and exons of 7 genes (epsilon globin, gamma-1 globin, gamma-2 globin, delta globin, beta globin, Immunoglobulin andprepro-insulin) in primates have been separated out and used to infer phylogeny respectively. For each gene, results based on these two parts have been compared and showed that: (i) the topology of introns is almost consistent with that of exons in each gene, while the branch length of them varies, because of the dierent mutation rate; (ii) there is evidence that the substitution rate of exons would decrease inhominoids, but that of introns would not; (iii) divergence time of orangutan deduced from different genes based on exons is various, while that based on introns is much similar, and consistent with fossil records; (iv) there is a relationship between the G + C content and the substitution rate. When the substitution rate of introns is higher than exons in a gene, the G + C content of introns is less. The above results suggest that introns could provide useful evolutionary information among closety related species.     

Dynamic study on water stability of soil structure and soil characteristics of several types of soils in southwest China

Three suborder soils in southwest China were adopted, namely Ustic Vertisol, Stagnic Anthrosol and Ustic Ferrosol, so as to carry out the basic physical and chemical analysis respectively, to design a dynamic measuring method for water stability of soil structure and conduct the comparative study on the quality of the soil structure. The results indicated that （1） The water stability dynamic characteristic of the soil structure could well reflect the maintaining capability of the soil structure as time goes on. （2） The quality of several soil structures in southwest China was sequenced as follows： Stagnic Anthrosols 〉 Ustic Vertisols 〉 Ustic Ferrosols. （3） The water stability of soil structure is very positively correlated with the capillary porosity and the clay particle （D 〈 0.002 mm） content （Co）, but is very negatively correlated with the silt （D is 0.05-0.002 ram） content （Csc）, and （4） The dynamic functional equation of the water stability of soil structure in southwest China was established, so that the water stability characteristics of various soil structures could be quantitatively expressed and the quality of different soil structures can be quantitatively compared from each other.     

南方红豆杉紫杉烷7β-羟基化酶基因全长序列的克隆和进化分析

 从南方红豆杉Taxus wallichiana var.mairei的新鲜嫩叶中提取基因组DNA作为模板,利用三组特异引物进行PCR扩增,然后克隆测序得到紫杉烷7β-羟基化酶的基因全长。该基因编码区起始密码子为ATG,终止密码子为TGA,全长1 692 bp;碱基组成为490 A (29.0%),351 C (20.7%),362 G (21.4%)和489 T (28.9%)。将紫杉烷7β-羟基化酶基因全长序列与细胞色素P450基因家族的其它三个成员进行比对,发现它与紫杉烷2α-羟基化酶基因、紫杉烷10β-羟基化酶基因及紫杉烷13α-羟基化酶基因的一致性分别为74%、68%及76%。它们的外显子和内含子的连接区均具保守的GT-AG结构,内含子区的变异性明显高于外显子区。进一步以红豆杉属的13个紫杉烷羟基化酶基因家族成员为对象,利用位点间可变ω(非同义替换率dN和同义替换率dS的比值) 模型对该基因家族的适应性进化进行分析。分支模型、位点模型以及分支－位点模型的分析表明：紫杉烷羟基化酶基因家族的少数分支处于正选择压力下(ω>1),但未检测到正选择位点;而绝大部分位点受强烈的负选择作用(ω<1)。     

Construction and characterization of a bacterial artificial chromosome library of rice 5460F

Thermo-sensitive genie male sterile (TGMS) rice has a number of desirable characteristics for hybrid rice production. Many studies have demonstrated that the sterility of TGMS rice is controlled by a single recessive gene. It has been mapped for the first time on chromosome 8 and namedtms 1. Several AFLP markers which tightly linked to thetms 1 gene have been identified recently. In order to develop a detailed physical map of thetms1 gene-encompassing region and finally clone thetms1 gene, a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of rice 5460F (the fertile mutant line of TGMS rice 5460S) using a modified vector pECBAC1 has been constructed. The constructed 5460F BAC library consists of 16 896 clones with an average insert size of 119 kb, which represents about 4.7 times rice haploid genome equivalents. Neither chloroplast nor mitochondrial DNA was detected from the library. The library was screened with three single copy sequence amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers which tightly linked totms1 gene as probes and eight positive clones were identified.     

Molecular cloning of a fulllength cDNA for ECBP21 from Angelica dahurica

ECBP21 is an extracellular calmodulin-binding protein which was first detected and purified from extracellular extracts of suspension-cultured cells of Angelica dahurica. The purified protein was electroblotted onto PVDF membrane and the amino acid sequences from 1 to 20 were determined. Using degenerate oligonucleotides of the sequence, a full-length cDNA coding for ECBP21 was isolated by a combination of RT-PCR and 5′-RACE cloning. The cDNA contains 947 nucleotides and codes for a precursor protein of 216 amino acids. The N-terminal 1–25 amino acid sequence is a predicted signal peptide and the other 26–216 amino acid sequence is a mature peptide. The 26–45 amino acid sequence shows identity with the N-terminal amino acid sequence of purified ECBP21 from Angelica dahurica. The fragment of encoding the mature protein was cloned into pET-28b(+) and transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3). A protein with relative molecular mass 21 ku was expressed in E. coli. Using a biotinylated-CaM gel overlay technique, the expression protein was tested for its ability to bind CaM. The results indicated that the expression protein is a Ca²⁺-dependent CaM-binding protein. Thus, these results further defined the cDNA clone for ECBP21. This work laid a foundation for elucidating biological functions of ECBP21 by using molecular biological means.     

菊花‘千手观音’LEAFY基因转录区基因组克隆和结构分析

LEAFY(LFY)基因在植物花发育过程中具有重要作用,不仅控制着花序分生组织向花分生组织的转变,而且控制着开花时间.通过基因组PCR扩增,获得了菊花‘千手观音’LFY同源基因序列.序列分析表明该基因包括2个内含子和3个外显子.其内含子1的2个序列长短不同,差异明显.2个内含子与甘菊的LFY同源基因DFL相比都表现出了丰富的变异性.其外显子推测的氨基酸序列与甘菊DFL的氨基酸序列相似性达99%.系统进化分析表明‘千手观音’的LFY同源基因与所有的菊属植物的LFY基因在树的同一枝上,且距双子叶植物的距离近于单子叶或裸子植物.Southern杂交表明,‘千手观音’基因组中LFY同源基因以两个拷贝形式存在.     

Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus: A new proposed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fijivirus</Emphasis> species in the family <Emphasis Type="Italic">Reoviridae</Emphasis>

For the past several years, a novel dwarf disease has been observed on rice （Oryza sativa） in some regions of Guangdong Province and Hainan Province, southern China. Infected plants showed stunting, dark leaf and small enations on stem and leaf back. Typical Fijivirus viroplasma containing crystalline arrayed spherical virons approximately 70--75 nm in diameter and tubular structures were detected in ultrathin sections by an electron microscope in parenchyma phloem cells of the infected plants. The virus was transmitted to rice seedlings by white-backed planthoppers, Sogatella furcifera （Hemiptera： Delphacidae）, collected in the diseased fields. Analysis of dsRNA extracts from infected plants revealed ten linear segments, which were similar to the electrophoretic profile of Rice black-streaked dwarf virus （RBSDV）. RT-PCR with a single primer which matched to a linker sequence ligated to both 3＇ ends of the viral genomic dsRNAs resulted in amplification of genome segments 9 （S9） and 10 （S10） cDNA products. The complete nucleotide sequences of S9 and S10 were obtained from clones of the RT-PCR amplicon exhibited characteristic properties of Fijivirus including low GC content （34.5% and 35.6%）, genus conserved 5＇ and 3＇ termini sequences and similar genome organization. Blast searches indicated that the sequences of S9 and S10 shared 68.8%--74.9% and 67.1% --77.4% nucleotide identities with those of viruses in the Fijivirus group 2, respectively. These values were similar to those among other viruses in the Fijivirus group 2 and considerably lower than those among RBSDV isolates. Phylogenetic trees based on S9 and S10 nucleotide sequences and their putative amino acid sequences showed that this virus represented a separate branch among other Fijiviruses. The virus was also detected by a nested RT-PCR assay in corn （Zea mays）, barnyard grass （Echinochloa crusgalll）, Juncellus serotinus and flaccidgrass （Pennisetum flaccidum） in and/or adjacent to the infected rice fields. I     

Identification of a novel DNA molecule associated with Tobacco leaf curl virus

A circular DNA molecule, designated as DNAβ, was identified in tobacco plants infected with Tobacco leaf curl virus (TLCV) isolates Y5 and Y8 by PCR using primers based on the conserved region of the two reported DNAβ sequences of whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (WTGs). The complete nucleotide sequences of DNAβ of Y5 and Y8 (TLCV DNAβ) were determined. Y5 DNAβ comprises 1333 nucleotides encoding 8 predicted ORFs with 4 ORFs in virion-sense DNA and 4 ORFs in complementary-sense DNA; Y8 DNAβ consists of 1338 nucleotides encoding 7 predicted ORFs with 4 ORFs in virion-sense DNA and 3 ORFs in complementary-sense DNA. TLCV DNAβ has little sequence homology to DNA-A of TLCV., except that it shares conserved TAATATTAC loop sequence with TLCV DNA-A. Sequence comparison showed that Y5 DNAβ shared 85% sequence homology with Y8 DNAβ, and both Y5 DNAβ and Y8 DNAβ had relatively low sequence identity (51%–65%) with the reported DNAβ molecules associated with Ageratum yellow vein virus and Cotton leaf curl virus. The immunotrapping PCR and whitefly transmission tests showed that DNAβ molecule could be encapsidated in virus particle and transmitted by Bemisia tabaci. This is the first report of DNAβ associated with WTGs in China.     

A draft sequence of the rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indicd) genome

The sequence of the rice genome holds fundamental information for its biology, including physiology, genetics, development, and evolution, as well as information on many beneficial phenotypes of economic significance. Using a “whole genome shotgun” approach, we have produced a draft rice genome sequence ofOryza sativa ssp.indica, the major crop rice subspecies in China and many other regions of Asia. The draft genome sequence is constructed from over 4.3 million successful sequencing traces with an accumulative total length of 2214.9 Mb. The initial assembly of the non-redundant sequences reached 409.76 Mb in length, based on 3.30 million successful sequencing traces with a total length of 1797.4 Mb from anindica variant cultivar93-11, giving an estimated coverage of 95.29% of the rice genome with an average base accuracy of higher than 99%. The coverage of the draft sequence, the randomness of the sequence distribution, and the consistency of BIG-ASSEMBLER, a custom-designed software package used for the initial assembly, were verified rigorously by comparisons against finished BAC clone sequences from bothindica andjapanica strains, available from the public databases. Over all, 96.3% of full-length cDNAs, 96.4% of STS, STR, RFLP markers, 94.0% of ESTs and 94.9% unigene clusters were identified from the draft sequence. Our preliminary analysis on the data set shows that our rice draft sequence is consistent with the comman standard accepted by the genome sequencing community. The unconditional release of the draft to the public also undoubtedly provides a fundamental resource to the international scientific communities to facilitate genomic and genetic studies on rice biology. These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Cloning, sequencing and expression of a swine IgG H chain gene inE. coli

A DNA fragment about 1.5 kb has been isolated from spleen of adult Chinese swine by RT-PCR. The DNA fragment encodes immunoglobulin IgG H chain gene. Sequencing analysis showed that the DNA fragment is 1 425 bp long, complete CDS. The C region of the gene has been classified as Subclass Ig γ3, and is the same as reported by Sun et al., but V region of the present gene is 42 bp less by comparison. The gene has been ligated into expression vector pET-3b (NSEB)( - ). A protein about 52 ku has been expressed in E. coli with an expression level of about 21 % .     

Sequence analysis of the gene correlated with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in rape-seed (Brassica napus) Polima and Shaan 2A

orf224 is a CMS-related mitochondrial gene discovered in Polima cytoplasm. Shaan 2A CMS line is the parent of the first rapeseed hybrid cultivar Qinyou No. 2 that has been grown in many regions of China. In this work, genomic DNA of Polima CMS line and Shaan 2A CMS line were used as templates, two primers of specific oligonucleotides at 5′ and 3′ ends were used, PCR was performed, the amplification fragments were cloned into pGEM-T Easy vectors and DNA sequences were determined. The CMS-associated gene, orf224-1 present in Shaan 2A CMS line, has a sequence highly homologous to the orf224 of the Polima CMS line, except for one nucleotide at position +398. There were only one base (AAC→AGC) and one amino acid (Asn →Ser) differences between the two. The homologies of the two sequences in nucleotide and amino acid were 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively. It is concluded that orf224 in Polima CMS line and orf224-1 of Shaan 2A CMS line are the allele at the same locus in mitochondria.     

Cloning and characterization of a gene encoding cysteine proteases from senescent leaves of Gossypium hirsutum

A gene encoding a cysteine proteinase was isolated from senescent leave of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cv liaomian No. 9 by utilizing rapid amplification of cDNA end spolymerase chain reaction (RACE-PCR), and a set of consensus oligonucleotide primers was designed to anneal the conserved sequences of plant cysteine protease genes. The cDNA, which designated Ghcysp gene, contained 1368 bp terminating in a poly(A)^ trail, and included a putative 5‘(98 bp) and a 3‘(235 bp) non-coding region. The opening reading frame (ORF) encodes polypeptide 344 amino acids with the predicted molecular mass of 37.88 kD and theoretical pl of 4.80. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the sequence in the GenBank database has shown considerable sequence similarity to a novel family of plant cysteine proteases. This putative cotton Ghcysp protein shows from 67% to 82% identity to the other plants. All of them share catalytic triad of residues, which are highly conserved in three regions. Hydropaths analysis of the amino acid sequence shows that the Ghcysp is a potential membrane protein and localizes to the vacuole, which has a transmembrane helix between resides 7-25. A characteristic feature of Ghcysp is the presence of a putative vacuole-targeting signal peptide of 19-amino acid residues at the N-terminal region. The expression of Ghcysp gene was determined using northern blot analysis. The Ghcysp mRNA levels are high in development senescent leaf but below the limit of detection in senescent root, hypocotyl, faded flower, 6 d post anthesis ovule, and young leaf.     

An interspecies conserved antigen ofPlasmodium falciparum containing clusters of asparagine residues

An interspecies conservedPlasmodium asparagine rich antigen, designated as ARK26, was isolated by immunoscreeningP. falciparum genomic DNA expression library with mouse convalescent anti-P. yeolii serum. Partial DNA sequence analysis reveals that ARK26 contains clusters of asparagines and no randomly repeated amino acid sequence motifs are observed. A 65×10³ GST fusion protein is expressed by recombinant plasmid PGEX-5X-1 (ARK26) inE. coli C strain ABLE-K. Computer programs predict that two asparagine rich regions are among the possible antigenic epitopes of p37 encoded by ARK26. Interestingly, the sequence of ARK26 displays significant similarity to yeast and several other species’ mitochondrial genes, and its possible function is discussed. Supported by a fellowship offered by International Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology(ICGEB) Ma Donghui: born in 1969, Graduate student     

Construction of an electronic physical map of Magnaporthe oryzae using genomic position-ready SSR markers

Magnaporthe oryzae is a model for plant pathogenic filamentous fungi. We have assembled a simple sequence repeat (SSR)-based physical map of the species, using in silico sequence data. A set of 120 SSR markers was developed from the genomic sequence of the reference isolate 70-15. These markers were readily amplified from the genomic DNA of other isolates, and high levels of allelic variation characterised the parental isolates of the two crosses tested. All the markers were locatable to one of the seven M. oryzae chromosomes. An SSR-based physical in silico map was constructed, and pre-existing SSR and RFLP loci were integrated into the map, along with 23 Avr (avirulence) genes and two other genes of importance to the plant/pathogen interaction. This map provides a platform for population genetics and functional genomics studies in the model pathogen, and even in other evolu- tionally related pathogens.