荷花玉兰叶绿体全基因组高通量测序及结构解析

荷花玉兰是重要的药用、观赏及园林绿化植物.应用454高通量测序技术对荷花玉兰叶绿体全基因组进行测序,解析了其基因组结构,并与近缘物种基因组进行了比较分析.荷花玉兰叶绿体基因组全长为159623bp,两个反向互补重复区(IRs)长26563bp,被分隔的大单拷贝区(LSC)和小单拷贝区(SSC)长度分别为87757和18740bp.成功注释129个叶绿体基因,其中18个基因含有内含子.基因的种类、数目以及GC含量等与其他木兰科物种相类似.生物信息学分析获得218个SSR位点,大多位点富含A-T,具有碱基偏好性.木兰科物种的重复基序类型和丰度相对保守,有利于开发叶绿体基因组载体.木兰亚纲植物叶绿体基因组的大小及IR区边界的变化与ycf1的长度密切相关.采用30个物种叶绿体基因组的66个共有蛋白编码基因构建系统发育树,对木兰属在被子植物中的进化位置进行了探讨.荷花玉兰叶绿体全基因组序列的获得和结构解析对优良品种培育、叶绿体基因组工程、木兰科物种分子标记开发及系统发育关系的研究具有重要价值.     

苹果叶绿体基因组特征分析

苹果（Malus×domestica）是最重要的温带水果之一。为了能更好的了解本种的分子生物学基础．对已发布的苹果叶绿体全基因组序列进行了结构特征分析。结果显示苹果的叶绿体基因组全长为160068bp,具有典型的被子植物叶绿体基因组的环状四分体结构,包含大单拷贝区（LSC）,小单拷贝区（SSC）和两个反向互补重复区（IRs）,长度分别为88184bp,19180bp和26352bp。基因组共有135个基因（20个基因分布在反向互补重复区,因此整个基因组包含115个不同的基因）。按照功能进行分类,这115个基因包括81个蛋白质编码基因,4个rRNA编码基因和30个tRNA基因。其中,ycf15．ycf68和infA三个基因包含多个终止密码子,推测可能为假基因。苹果的基因组结构．基因顺序．GC含量和密码子使用偏好均与典型的被子植物叶绿体基因组类似。在苹果的叶绿体基因组中,共检测到30个大于30bp的重复序列,其中包括21串联重复,6个正向重复和3个反向重复序列;并检测到237个简单重复序列（SSR）位点,大部分的SSR位点都偏向于A或者T组成。此外,每10000bp非编码区平均分布有24个SSR位点,而编码区平均有5个SSR位点,表明SSRs在叶绿体基因组上的分布是不均匀的。本文对苹果叶绿体基因组序列特征的报道,将有助于促进该种的居群遗传学、系统发育和叶绿体基因工程的研究。     

五味子叶绿体基因组结构解析与比较分析

五味子是一种重要的药用植物.本研究通过Illumina HiSeq测序平台对五味子全基因组进行测序,完成了五味子叶绿体基因组的组装与结构解析,并与其他基部被子植物叶绿体基因组进行比较分析.五味子叶绿体基因组全长146730bp,GC含量为39.7%,由典型的4个区域组成,包括一个长单拷贝区、一个短单拷贝区和一对反向重复区(IR),其长度分别为95538、18270和16461 bp.共注释出113个基因,包括79个蛋白质编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因.有4个蛋白质编码基因、5个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因位于IR区.在五味子叶绿体基因组中共检测出47个简单重复序列和40个长重复序列.与一般被子植物叶绿体基因组相比,五味子叶绿体基因组IR区长度大约收缩10kb.IR区发生收缩的部分GC含量为37.4%,远小于IR区平均GC含量(45.7%).利用20个物种的53个共有蛋白质编码序列对五味子在被子植物中的系统发育位置进行了分析,结果表明五味子属与八角属为姊妹分支.对五味子叶绿体基因组序列进行分析,为五味子科物种鉴定、遗传多样性以及系统发育研究提供了数据基础.     

基于全基因组从头测序技术盐肤木叶绿体基因组的测序分析

盐肤木是一种重要的经济树种,可为医药和工业染料提供原料。盐肤木具有较强的抗旱、耐寒、耐盐,可在温带、暖温带和亚热带地区生长。本研究首次对盐肤木叶绿体基因组进行从头测序(de novo sequencing)组装研究。结果表明,盐肤木叶绿体基因组长度为159082 bp,具有典型的四部分结构,两个单拷贝区被一对反向重复区分隔。LSC和SSC的长度分别为85394 bp和18663 bp。叶绿体基因组总共编码126个基因,其中包括88个蛋白编码基因,8个rRNA基因,30个tRNA基因。在叶绿体基因组中,61.97%的序列为基因编码区。在盐肤木叶绿体基因组中,只有8个基因含有内含子,除ycf3基因(2个内含子)外,其余均含有1个内含子。盐肤木叶绿体基因组总共存在755个SSR位点。SSR主要由二核苷酸和单核苷酸组成,分别占60%(453)和28.74%(217)。聚类分析结果表明,漆树科与盐肤木最为接近,其次为槭树科和无患子科。本研究为盐肤木的分类提供了分子基础。本研究是关于盐肤木叶绿体基因组的首次报道,对了解其光合作用、进化和叶绿体转基因工程具有重要意义。     

金莲花叶绿体基因组测序及特征分析

金莲花(Trollius chinensis)是毛茛科的一种药用及观赏植物,采用Illumina HiSeq2500高通量技术对其全基因组DNA测序,建立126 bp DNA小片段文库,以大兔葵(Megaleranthis saniculifolia)叶绿体基因组为参考,通过BLASTN比对提取后用CLC Genomics Workbench软件组装得到金莲花叶绿体全基因组序列,并对其特征进行分析。结果表明,金莲花叶绿体基因组全长160 191 bp,具有典型的被子植物叶绿体基因组环状四分体结构,两个反向互补重复序列(inverted repeat, IRA和IRB)的长度均为26 632 bp,大单拷贝区(large single copy, LSC)和小单拷贝区(small single copy, SSC)的长度分别为88 522 bp和18 405 bp;注释得到131个基因,包括85个蛋白质编码基因,36个tRNA基因,8个rRNA基因和2个假基因,其中18个基因包括一个或两个内含子;共检测到231个简单重复序列(short simple repeat, SSR)。此叶绿体基因组已在GenBank注册,序列号为KX752098。本研究为金莲花叶绿体分子标记研究提供了理论依据,有助于促进该物种分子育种、进化分析和系统发育的研究。     

木犀科植物叶绿体基因组结构特征和系统发育关系

木犀科11属19个种叶绿体基因组的一般特征和变异特征的比较分析显示, 结果表明, 该科叶绿体基因组大小为154-165 kb, 其差异主要是大单拷贝(LSC)长度的差异所致。Jasminum属3个物种的叶绿体基因组长度与其余物种有较大差异, 该属clpP基因内含子和accD基因丢失。共线性分析表明, Jasminum属3个物种多个基因出现基因重排现象, 倒位可能是重排的主要原因。Jasminum属在IRb/SSC和SSC/IRa边界的基因均与其它物种不同; 重复序列与SSR数量检测结果表明, Jasminum属与其余物种在数量及重复长度上差异较大。基于CDS数据构建的系统发育树表明, Abeliophyllum distichum和Forsythia suspensa为木犀科中较早分化的类群。     

木犀科植物叶绿体基因组结构特征和系统发育关系

木犀科11属19个种叶绿体基因组的一般特征和变异特征的比较分析显示, 结果表明, 该科叶绿体基因组大小为154-165 kb, 其差异主要是大单拷贝(LSC)长度的差异所致。Jasminum属3个物种的叶绿体基因组长度与其余物种有较大差异, 该属clpP基因内含子和accD基因丢失。共线性分析表明, Jasminum属3个物种多个基因出现基因重排现象, 倒位可能是重排的主要原因。Jasminum属在IRb/SSC和SSC/IRa边界的基因均与其它物种不同; 重复序列与SSR数量检测结果表明, Jasminum属与其余物种在数量及重复长度上差异较大。基于CDS数据构建的系统发育树表明, Abeliophyllum distichum和Forsythia suspensa为木犀科中较早分化的类群。     

药用植物华重楼(黑药花科)叶绿体全基因组研究

为探究华重楼(Paris polyphylla var. chinensis)的叶绿体基因组特征,利用叶绿体系统发育基因组学方法,对华重楼与其它百合目植物的叶绿体全基因组进行了比较。结果表明,华重楼的叶绿体全基因组长158307 bp,由4个区组成,包括2个反向重复区(IRA和IRB,27473 bp)、1个小单拷贝区(SSC,18175 bp)和1个大单拷贝区(LSC,85187 bp)。其叶绿体基因组有115个基因,包括81个编码蛋白质基因、30个转运RNA基因和4 个核糖体RNA基因。11种百合目植物的叶绿体全基因组的基因组成和基因顺序相似。华重楼的cemA基因是假基因,其起始密码子后有多聚核苷酸poly(A)及CA双核苷酸重复序列,编码序列中出现多个终止密码子, 且与北重楼(Paris verticillata)的cemA编码序列中的终止密码子位置不同。因此,华重楼叶绿体基因组比较保守;cemA结构及假基因化现象可能具有重要的进化与系统发育信息,其编码序列中的终止密码子可以区分华重楼和北重楼。     

欧亚大陆分布的大花菟丝子叶绿体基因组插入缺失分析

运用鸟枪法在Illumina测序仪上对亚洲分布的大花菟丝子(Cuscuta reflexa叶绿体基因组核苷酸全序列进行测定,并与已经发表的分布于欧洲的大花菟丝子进行了比较分析.研究结果表明亚洲分布的大花菟丝子叶绿体基因组总长度为120 972 bp,由79 499 bp的长单拷贝区,8 369 bp的短单拷贝区,以及两个16 552 bp的反向重复区组成,其长度比欧洲分布的大花菟丝子小了549 bp;基因组总GC含量为38.3％,稍高于欧洲分布的大花菟丝子.两地区的大花菟丝子叶绿体全基因组编码的功能基因完全相同,且基因排列顺序也完全一致.另外,经过进一步序列比对后发现亚洲分布的大花菟丝子与欧洲分布的存在251个插入和210个缺失现象,总插入缺失及碱基替换长度分别为7 649 bp和3 720 bp,最大的插入和缺失长度分别为426 bp和435 bp.很多插入缺失都是单碱基,但仍然存在四个长度超过200 bp的大突变,两个大的缺失发生在ycf2基因中,两个大的插入分别发生在trn F-psbE和matK-trnQ间隔区,详细的对比后发现大量的插入缺失都发生在大单拷贝区的基因间隔区,且插入缺失在反向重复区的发生频率较低.本研究首次报道不同大洲分布的同种异养植物的叶绿体全基因组比较分析,为研究这两个区域的居群多样性提供了基础资料.     

红边龙血树叶绿体基因组特征及其系统发育分析

红边龙血树(Dracaena marginata)是一种在全球广泛种植的龙血树属园艺植物,具有较高的观赏价值和药用价值。本研究首次利用高通量测序技术对红边龙血树叶片进行全基因组测序,组装得到完整的叶绿体基因组序列,并进行注释、序列特征比较和系统发育分析。结果表明,红边龙血树叶绿体基因组包含一个典型的四分体结构,长度为154926 bp,是目前已报道的龙血树属中叶绿体基因组最小的物种;共拥有132个基因,包含86个编码蛋白基因、38个转运RNA基因和8个核糖体RNA基因;密码子偏好性分析发现存在偏好使用A/U碱基结尾的现象,整体上密码子偏好性较低;共鉴定出46个简单重复序列位点和54个长重复序列,分别在大单拷贝区与反向重复区有最大检出率;种间边界分析发现边界区域基因存在相对位置差异,扩张收缩情况总体较为相似;与近缘种进行系统发育分析,红边龙血树与细枝龙血树聚为一类,关系最近,符合形态学分类特征。对红边龙血树叶绿体基因组的解析为龙血树属植物的物种鉴定、遗传多样性和叶绿体转基因工程等提供了重要数据基础。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.