生物信息学在昆虫学研究中的应用

随着深度测序和基因芯片技术的不断发展,基因组、转录组、表达谱数据大量积累。目前,至少有10多个昆虫的基因组已被测序,30多个昆虫的转录组数据被报道。显然,传统的生物统计学方法无法处理如此海量的生物数据。量变引发质变,生物数据的大量积累催生了一门新兴学科,生物信息学。生物信息学融合了统计学、信息科学和生物学等各学科的理论和研究内容,在医学、基础生物学、农业科学以及昆虫学等方面获得了广泛的应用。生物信息学的目标是存储数据、管理数据和数据挖掘。因此,建立维护生物学数据库、设计开发基于模式识别、机器学习、数据挖掘等方法的生物软件,以及运用上述工具进行深度的数据挖掘,是生物信息学的重要研究内容。本文首先简要介绍了生物信息学的历史、研究现状及其在昆虫学科中的应用,然后综述了昆虫基因组学和转录组学的研究进展,最后对生物信息学在昆虫学研究中的应用前景进行了展望。     

昆虫基因组及数据库研究进展

基因组序列为昆虫分子生物学研究提供丰富的数据资源,推动系统生物学在古老的昆虫学中蓬勃发展。昆虫基因组学研究已经成为当前的研究热点,目前在NCBI登录注册的昆虫基因组测序计划有494项,其中已提交原始测序数据的昆虫有225种,完成基因组拼接的有215种,具有基因注释的有65种,公开发表的昆虫基因组有43篇。本文综述了测序技术发展的历史及其对昆虫基因组研究的推动作用、昆虫基因组的组装和注释及其存在的问题、昆虫基因组测序进展、昆虫基因组数据库的发展及基因数据挖掘利用的基本思路和对策,以及昆虫基因大数据在害虫防治和资源昆虫利用中的应用前景。     

进化基因组学在昆虫天然免疫研究中的应用前景

整合基因组学和进化论而发展起来的进化基因组学正在逐渐改变传统昆虫学的研究模式。对昆虫天然免疫的研究已不再仅仅依靠实验学方法。3种全基因组序列被破译的模式昆虫(黑腹果蝇、冈比亚按蚊和意大利蜜蜂)将为这些研究引入新的方向。该文将以模式昆虫为代表,简要介绍如何利用进化上的趋同和趋异概念建立一特定昆虫物种的抗微生物肽基因蓝图;以及如何利用基因组数据和进化分析方法鉴定控制昆虫Toll信号通路关键组分Spatzle配体的进化优势位点。     

单分子实时测序技术在环境微生物研究中的应用

1975年,第一个cDNA的基因组——噬菌体фX174基因组的测序完成,标志着测序时代的开始。1996年以来人类基因组计划的发起极大地推动了测序技术的应用和发展,第二代测序技术也被称为高通量测序技术。而单分子DNA测序技术是最近10年内发展起来的新一代的测序技术,称为第三代测序技术,其中包括单分子实时测序(Single molecule real time sequencing,SMRT)、真正单分子测序和单分子纳米孔测序等技术。SMRT测序技术有超长读长、测序周期短、不需要模板扩增和直接检测表观修饰位点等特点,为研究人员提供了新的选择。本文综述了SMRT测序技术的基本原理、性能以及它在微生物16S rRNA基因、微生物全基因组以及微生物宏基因组测序等方面的应用,并分析了SMRT测序技术在环境微生物应用中的优势以及存在的问题。     

昆虫比较线粒体基因组学研究进展

动物线粒体基因组因其基因组成稳定、基因排列相对保守、普遍为母系遗传、极少发生重组等而被广泛应用于进化与系统发育等研究。目前,昆虫中已有356个线粒体基因组序列被测定,代表了33个目中的28个目。大量比较基因组学研究使得我们对昆虫线粒体基因组的特征与进化方式有了较为清晰的认识。本文对昆虫线粒体基因组的测序进展、基因组的结构特征、碱基组成、控制区的特征、基因重排及其机理、进化速率及其在昆虫系统发育研究中的应用等方面的研究进展进行介绍。     

基因组学与昆虫抗药性研究

主要综述近年来基因组学技术在昆虫抗药性研究中的应用以及取得的新成果、新进展。基因组学是对生物体整个基因组结构、功能及其进化的研究。遗传连锁作图、定位克隆、数量特性位点作图、微阵列分析及转录沉默等 ,是近年来常用的基因组学研究技术。研究表明 ,应用基因组技术不仅能揭示新的昆虫抗药性机制 ,发现并定位、克隆新的抗药性基因 ,还有助于发现新型的杀虫剂作用靶标 ,改进昆虫抗药性的检 (监 )测技术以及加深人们对昆虫抗药性进化的认识等。     

家蚕miRNA研究获新进展

MicroRNAs（miRNAs）作为转录后基因表达的一个重要的调控因子，参与了包括发育、代谢、疾病的发生等各种重要的生理过程。家蚕基因组的测序完成为在全基因组水平鉴定家蚕miRNAs以及与其他昆虫进行比较基因组学研究提供了契机。     

抑制性消减杂交技术在昆虫滞育中的利用和展望

滞育是多数天敌昆虫固有的遗传属性,掌握天敌昆虫滞育诱导、维持和解除技术,能及时将扩繁的天敌昆虫以滞育状态进行储存,在释放前再打破滞育使其进入活跃状态以防控害虫。开展天敌昆虫滞育研究,还有助于掌握其发育特点与发生动态,提高害虫防治效率,加深对天敌昆虫发育机制的认识,探寻昆虫对环境适应机制及进化途径。因此,滞育调控及机理研究成为近年来昆虫学研究的一个重要领域。抑制性消减杂交技术（Suppression Subtractive Hybridization, SSH）是近年来发明的用于挖掘差异性调控或特异表达cDNA探针和构建文库的一种方法。本文在总结抑制性消减杂交技术的测试原理及其优越性的基础上,归纳了该技术在昆虫滞育研究中的应用,概述了通过构建抑制性消减文库,在鞘翅目、直翅目、鳞翅目、双翅目等昆虫中探明的滞育差异表达基因,进一步探讨了差异表达基因与滞育的关系。随着昆虫全基因组测序和转录组测序的信息增加,抑制性消减杂交技术将更广泛的应用于昆虫学各个领域的差异基因的筛选与挖掘,促进昆虫分子生物学科学体系的发展。     

基于高通量测序的群体基因组学——植物病原真菌研究新方向

群体基因组学能够从全基因组水平揭示种群结构与进化、物种形成、适应性机制等。随着高通量技术的不断发展,基因组测序成本不断降低,大规模测序已成为可能。近几年被全基因组测序的真菌数量迅速增加,极大地促进了真菌群体基因组学的发展,加深了人们对植物病原真菌起源、遗传多样性、选择作用、致病性、毒力因子、杀菌剂抗药性、寄主专化型等生物学特性的认识。本文简要介绍了植物病原真菌的全基因测序以及比较基因组学的研究进展,重点综述了基于高通量测序的病原真菌群体基因组学的最新研究动态。群体基因组学将成为植物病原真菌一个新的研究方向。     

弯曲菌基因组学的研究进展

弯曲菌是世界范围内引起细菌性胃肠炎疾病的重要人兽共患病原菌,对公众健康造成严重威胁,其流行、传播、扩散的复杂性与基因组的高变异有关。全基因组测序(WGS)是一种基于基因水平的快速简便工具,可快速准确地进行物种鉴定、分析不同个体基因组间的差异、预测细菌耐药和毒力基因以及预测种群演化模型等。本文旨在对近年来全基因组测序在弯曲菌基因组学中的应用展开综述,以期为弯曲菌的流行和防控提供依据。     

Genomic resources for flatfish research and their applications

Flatfishes are a group of teleosts of high commercial and environmental interest, whose biology is still poorly understood. The recent rapid development of different 'omic' technologies is, however, enhancing the knowledge of the complex genetic control underlying different physiological processes of flatfishes. This review describes the different functional genomic approaches and resources currently available for flatfish research and summarizes different areas where microarray-based gene expression analysis has been applied. The increase in genome sequencing data has also allowed the construction of genetic linkage maps in different flatfish species; these maps are invaluable for investigating genome organization and identifying genetic traits of commercial interest. Despite the significant progress in this field, the genomic resources currently available for flatfish are still scarce. Further intensive research should be carried out to develop larger genomic sequence databases, high-density microarrays and, more detailed, complete linkage maps, using second-generation sequencing platforms. These tools will be crucial for further expanding the knowledge of flatfish physiology, and it is predicted that they will have important implications for wild fish population management, improved fish welfare and increased productivity in aquaculture.     

Preparing a re-sequencing DNA library of 2 cancer candidate genes using the ligation-by-amplification protocol by two PCR reactions

To meet the needs of large-scale genomic/genetic studies, the next-generation massively parallelized sequencing technologies provide high throughput, low cost and low labor-intensive sequencing service, with subsequent bioinformatic software and laboratory methods developed to expand their applications in various types of research. PCR-based genomic/genetic studies, which have significant usage in association studies like cancer research, haven’t benefited much from those next-generation sequencing technolo...     

Genomics of the filamentous fungi - moving from the shadow of the bakers yeast

Fungi have now well and truly entered the genomic age. We currently know the complete DNA sequence for 18 fungal species and many more fungal genome sequencing projects are in progress. Whilst yeasts dominated the early genomic years, recently there has been a dramatic increase in filamentous fungal genome projects. The implications of this wealth of genetic information for mycologists worldwide is immense. In this review we summarise the background to fungal genome projects with an emphasis on the filamentous fungi. We discuss efforts to determine gene function and to compare genomes from different species. Since this is such a fast-moving field, useful web sites are listed that will enable the reader to keep up to date with developments.     

BAC libraries and comparative genomics of aquatic chordate species

The bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system is useful for creating a representation of the genomes of target species. The system is advantageous in that it can accommodate exogenous inserts that are very large (>100 kilobases, kb), thereby allowing entire eukaryotic genes (including flanking regulatory regions) to be encompassed in a single clone. The interest in BACs has recently been spawned by vast improvements in high throughput genomic sequencing such that comparisons of orthologous regions from different genomes (comparative genomics) are being routinely investigated, and comprise a significant component, of all major sequencing centers. In this review, we discuss the general principles of BAC cloning, the resources that are currently available, and some of the applications of the technology. It is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise; rather our goal is to provide a primer of the BAC technology in order to make readers aware of these resources and how they may utilize them in their own research programs.     

Approaches to lipid metabolism gene identification and characterization in the postgenomic era

The availability of genomic resources has already had a tremendous impact on biomedical research. In this review, we describe how whole genome sequence and high-throughput functional genomics projects have facilitated the identification and characterization of important genes in lipid metabolism and disease. We review key approaches and lipid genes identified in the first years of this century and discuss how genomic resources are likely to streamline gene identification and functional characterization in the future.     

Selective Whole Genome Amplification for Resequencing Target Microbial Species from Complex Natural Samples

Population genomic analyses have demonstrated power to address major questions in evolutionary and molecular microbiology. Collecting populations of genomes is hindered in many microbial species by the absence of a cost effective and practical method to collect ample quantities of sufficiently pure genomic DNA for next-generation sequencing. Here we present a simple method to amplify genomes of a target microbial species present in a complex, natural sample. The selective whole genome amplification (SWGA) technique amplifies target genomes using nucleotide sequence motifs that are common in the target microbe genome, but rare in the background genomes, to prime the highly processive phi29 polymerase. SWGA thus selectively amplifies the target genome from samples in which it originally represented a minor fraction of the total DNA. The post-SWGA samples are enriched in target genomic DNA, which are ideal for population resequencing. We demonstrate the efficacy of SWGA using both laboratory-prepared mixtures of cultured microbes as well as a natural host–microbe association. Targeted amplification of Borrelia burgdorferi mixed with Escherichia coli at genome ratios of 1:2000 resulted in >10⁵-fold amplification of the target genomes with <6.7-fold amplification of the background. SWGA-treated genomic extracts from Wolbachia pipientis-infected Drosophila melanogaster resulted in up to 70% of high-throughput resequencing reads mapping to the W. pipientis genome. By contrast, 2–9% of sequencing reads were derived from W. pipientis without prior amplification. The SWGA technique results in high sequencing coverage at a fraction of the sequencing effort, thus allowing population genomic studies at affordable costs.