通用引物双重PCR在节肢动物物种鉴定中的应用

【目的】本研究旨在使用基于线粒体基因通用引物的双重PCR技术同时扩增单一样本中两条标记基因,从而达到简化节肢动物物种鉴定流程的目的。【方法】在一次PCR实验中同时加入可扩增线粒体COI基因和16S rDNA两个不同分子标记的引物,对3纲8目14科的14种节肢动物物种标本的基因组DNA进行扩增;扩增产物经电泳和胶回收后测序,并BLAST在线搜索相似序列,验证基于通用引物的双重PCR在不同的动物类群中用于物种鉴定的有效性。【结果】应用基于COI和16S rDNA的引物从分属于3纲8目14科的14种节肢动物基因组DNA中均可成功扩增目的基因;扩增产物测序结果进一步证实了扩增的准确性。【结论】通过本方法进行物种的分子鉴定,不仅可以保证物种鉴定的高准确率,还可以明显减少时间与DNA样本量的消耗,这对需要快速准确鉴定物种或珍稀的材料样本十分重要。     

Molecular approaches for the detection and identification of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the human gastrointestinal tract

In this review an overview of various molecular techniques and their application for the detection and identification of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is presented. The techniques include molecular typing techniques such as amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), ribotyping and community profiling techniques such as PCR coupled to temperature and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-TGGE and PCR-DGGE, respectively). Special attention is given to oligonucleotide probes and primers that target the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences and their use in PCR and different hybridisation techniques such as DNA microarrays and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). In addition, recent findings based on the molecular studies of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in the GI-tract are reviewed.     

Novel primers for complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequencing in mammals

Sequence-based species identification relies on the extent and integrity of sequence data available in online databases such as GenBank. When identifying species from a sample of unknown origin, partial DNA sequences obtained from the sample are aligned against existing sequences in databases. When the sequence from the matching species is not present in the database, high-scoring alignments with closely related sequences might produce unreliable results on species identity. For species identification in mammals, the cytochrome b (cyt b) gene has been identified to be highly informative; thus, large amounts of reference sequence data from the cyt b gene are much needed. To enhance availability of cyt b gene sequence data on a large number of mammalian species in GenBank and other such publicly accessible online databases, we identified a primer pair for complete cyt b gene sequencing in mammals. Using this primer pair, we successfully PCR amplified and sequenced the complete cyt b gene from 40 of 44 mammalian species representing 10 orders of mammals. We submitted 40 complete, correctly annotated, cyt b protein coding sequences to GenBank. To our knowledge, this is the first single primer pair to amplify the complete cyt b gene in a broad range of mammalian species. This primer pair can be used for the addition of new cyt b gene sequences and to enhance data available on species represented in GenBank. The availability of novel and complete gene sequences as high-quality reference data can improve the reliability of sequence-based species identification.     

DNA技术在海洋食品物种鉴定中的应用

随着分子生物学技术的发展, 海洋食品物种鉴定方法由原来的蛋白质水平深入到了DNA水平。目前应用于海洋食品物种鉴定的DNA技术主要是FINS(Forensically informative nucleotide sequencing)、PCR-RFLP和物种特异性PCR标记技术等, 能够实现对新鲜、冰冻、腌制或灌装食品物种进行鉴定, 而对混合样本的鉴定及量化分析是尚待解决的一个问题。基因数据库对物种鉴定的影响也越来越大, 是海洋加工食品物种鉴定可利用的另一种重要信息资源。文章综述了DNA技术在海洋食品物种鉴定中的应用研究进展, 并展望DNA技术在海洋食品检测中的发展趋势。     

中国北方常见芫菁分子物种界定(鞘翅目: 芫菁科)

【目的】应用线粒体COI和核CAD基因片段探讨自动条形码间隔探索(automatic barcode gapdiscovery, ABGD)、广义混合Yule溯祖模型(generalized mixed Yule coalescent, GMYC)、贝叶斯泊松树进程(Bayesian Poisson tree processes, bPTP)和贝叶斯系统发育和系统地理分析(Bayesianphylogenetics and phylogeography, BPP) 4种分析方法在芫菁科(Meloidae)昆虫分子物种界定中的适用性。【方法】分别基于COI, CAD和COI+CAD串联序列数据集,应用ABGD, GMYC, bPTP和BPP 4种方法对中国北方芫菁科常见的6属(沟芫菁属Hycleus、斑芫菁属Mylabris、豆芫菁属Epicauta、绿芫菁属Lytta、星芫菁属Megatrachelus和短翅芫菁属Meloe)18个形态种进行分子物种界定,并与形态学鉴定结果进行比较。【结果】利用COI+CAD串联序列数据集所得物种界定结果与形态鉴定结果一致;COI数据集使用ABGD和GMYC方法的界定结果与形态鉴定结果一致,而bPTP划分的物种数较形态鉴定结果多;基于CAD序列在3种单基因物种界定方法的结果中,除GMYC与形态划分一致外,其余均显示部分结果与形态划分不同。【结论】在芫菁科分子物种界定中,多基因联合序列、多种界定方法分析所得结果优于单一基因片段和界定方法的分析结果。本研究的结果为芫菁科昆虫的分子物种界定和整合分类提供了数据支持和参考。     

Comparing and combining distance-based and character-based approaches for barcoding turtles

Molecular barcoding can serve as a powerful tool in wildlife forensics and may prove to be a vital aid in conserving organisms that are threatened by illegal wildlife trade, such as turtles (Order Testudines). We produced cytochrome oxidase subunit one (COI) sequences (650 bp) for 174 turtle species and combined these with publicly available sequences for 50 species to produce a data set representative of the breadth of the order. Variability within the barcode region was assessed, and the utility of both distance-based and character-based methods for species identification was evaluated. For species in which genetic material from more than one individual was available (n = 69), intraspecific divergences were 1.3% on average, although divergences greater than the customary 2% barcode threshold occurred within 15 species. High intraspecific divergences could indicate species with a high degree of internal genetic structure or possibly even cryptic species, although introgression is also probable in some of these taxa. Divergences between species of the same genus were 6.4% on average; however, 49 species were <2% divergent from congeners. Low levels of interspecific divergence could be caused by recent evolutionary radiations coupled with the low rates of mtDNA evolution previously observed in turtles. Complementing distance-based barcoding with character-based methods for identifying diagnostic sets of nucleotides provided better resolution in several cases where distance-based methods failed to distinguish species. An online identification engine was created to provide character-based identifications. This study constitutes the first comprehensive barcoding effort for this seriously threatened order.     

SPInDel: a multifunctional workbench for species identification using insertion/deletion variants

The majority of the available methods for the molecular identification of species use pairwise sequence divergences between the query and reference sequences (DNA barcoding). The presence of multiple insertions and deletions (indels) in the target genomic regions is generally regarded as a problem, as it introduces ambiguities in sequence alignments. However, we have recently shown that a high level of species discrimination is attainable in all taxa of life simply by considering the length of hypervariable regions defined by indel variants. Each species is tagged with a numeric profile of fragment lengths—a true numeric barcode. In this study, we describe a multifunctional computational workbench (named SPInDel for SPecies Identification by Insertions/Deletions) to assist researchers using variable‐length DNA sequences, and we demonstrate its applicability in molecular ecology. The SPInDel workbench provides a step‐by‐step environment for the alignment of target sequences, selection of informative hypervariable regions, design of PCR primers and the statistical validation of the species‐identification process. In our test data sets, we were able to discriminate all species from two genera of frogs (Ansonia and Leptobrachium) inhabiting lowland rainforests and mountain regions of South‐East Asia and species from the most common genus of coral reef fishes (Apogon). Our method can complement conventional DNA barcoding systems when indels are common (e.g. in rRNA genes) without the required step of DNA sequencing. The executable files, source code, documentation and test data sets are freely available at http://www.portugene.com/SPInDel/SPInDel_webworkbench.html .     

细菌基因组重复序列PCR技术及其应用

细菌中散在分布的DNA重复序列近年来不断被报道,基因外重复回文序列和肠细菌基因间共有重复序列是两个典型的原核细胞基因组散在重复序列。重复序列在染色体上的分布和拷贝数具种间特异性,用它们的互补序列作为引物,以细菌基因组DNA为模板进行PCR扩增反应,反应产物的琼脂糖电泳可以提供非常清晰的DNA指纹图谱,使用此图谱既可对各种微生物进行快速分型及鉴定,又可对它们进行DNA水平上的遗传多样性分析。细菌基因组重复序列PCR技术具有简捷、快速、结果稳定等特点,可对细菌进行分子标记,用于菌株分型、分类鉴定和亲缘关系等方面的研究。     

Direct identification in food samples of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes by molecular methods

A new molecular approach for the detection and identification of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in food is presented here. The method is based on the PCR amplification of a fragment of the iap gene from the five species belonging to the genus and on the analysis of the PCR products obtained by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The protocol was first optimized by using strains from international collections. Based on the differences present in the sequences amplified, it was possible to obtain species-specific DGGE migration that allowed fast and easy identification of L. monocytogenes, L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. seeligeri, and L. ivanovii. Moreover, for L. monocytogenes serotypes, partial differentiation was possible. The optimized protocol was used for identification of Listeria strains traditionally isolated from food and for direct detection and identification of Listeria members in food after an overnight enrichment. Identification of 48 food isolates and direct detection of Listeria spp. in 73 food samples show the potential of the method that can be used as a fast screening test to investigate the presence of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes in food.     

New primers for sex identification in the Chinese egret and other ardeid species

Using the universal P2/P8 primers, we were able to obtain the gene segments of chromo-helicase-DNA binding protein (CHD)-Z and CHD-W from ten species of ardeid birds including Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes), little egret (E. garzetta), eastern reef egret (E. sacra), great egret (Ardea alba), grey heron (A. cinerea), Chinese pond-heron (Ardeola bacchus), cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis), black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), cinnamon bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) and yellow bittern (I. sinensis). Based on conserved regions inside the P2/P8-derived sequences, we designed new PCR primers for sex identification in these ardeid species. Using agarose gel electrophoresis, the PCR products showed two bands for females (140 bp derived from CHD-W and the other 250 bp from CHD-ZW), whereas the males showed only the 250 bp band. The results indicated that our new primers could be used for accurate and convenient sex identification in ardeid species.     

Analysing proteomic data

The rapid growth of proteomics has been made possible by the development of reproducible 2D gels and biological mass spectrometry. However, despite technical improvements 2D gels are still less than perfectly reproducible and gels have to be aligned so spots for identical proteins appear in the same place. Gels can be warped by a variety of techniques to make them concordant. When gels are manipulated to improve registration, information is lost, so direct methods for gel registration which make use of all available data for spot matching are preferable to indirect ones. In order to identify proteins from gel spots a property or combination of properties that are unique to that protein are required. These can then be used to search databases for possible matches. Molecular mass, pI, amino acid composition and short sequence tags can all be used in database searches. Currently the method of choice for protein identification is mass spectrometry. Proteins are eluted from the gels and cleaved with specific endoproteases to produce a series of peptides of different molecular mass. In peptide mass fingerprinting, the peptide profile of the unknown protein is compared with theoretical peptide libraries generated from sequences in the different databases. Tandem mass spectroscopy (MS/MS) generates short amino acid sequence tags for the individual peptides. These partial sequences combined with the original peptide masses are then used for database searching, greatly improving specificity. Increasingly protein identification from MS/MS data is being fully or partially automated. When working with organisms, which do not have sequenced genomes (the case with most helminths), protein identification by database searching becomes problematical. A number of approaches to cross species protein identification have been suggested, but if the organism being studied is only distantly related to any organism with a sequenced genome then the likelihood of protein identification remains small. The dynamic nature of the proteome means that there really is no such thing as a single representative proteome and a complete set of metadata (data about the data) is going to be required if the full potential of database mining is to be realised in the future.     

我国32种鸟类DNA条形码分析

DNA条形码是一种分子分类方法,近年来在物种鉴定方面得到迅速的发展和应用.本研究分析了我国27属32种鸟类(61只)的线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶亚基Ⅰ(COⅠ)基因的条形码片段,分别用阈值法、聚类法和诊断核苷酸进行了分析,探究DNA条形码鉴定我国鸟类的准确性.结果显示,种内CO Ⅰ序列变异很小,种间存在较多的变异位点,种间的遗传距离显著大于种内的遗传距离,DNA条形码序列能够鉴定所有鸟类.     

Detection of multiallele polymorphisms within gene sequences by GC-clamped denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

The ability to efficiently detect DNA polymorphisms is essential for the completion of a high-resolution polymorphic linkage map of the human genome. Currently the most informative polymorphisms are the multiallelic dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms. However, many gene sequences lack an associated dinucleotide repeat sequence. We used GC-clamped denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to screen for DNA polymorphisms in the following six gene sequences: MCC, p53, prealbumin (transthyretin), rhodopsin, S-antigen, and TGF-alpha. A single-base sequence polymorphism was identified in each of these gene sequences. Some of these polymorphisms were multiallelic and highly informative. Our results demonstrate the value of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for both identifying and analyzing human DNA polymorphisms. The ability to detect highly informative polymorphisms within gene sequences will greatly contribute to a gene-based polymorphic linkage map.     

Proteome, transcriptome and genome: top down or bottom up analysis?

Biological systems are comprised of protein components found at a wide variety of abundances from millions of molecules of a single species per cell to less than one copy per cell. Because of this wide range of concentrations, measurement or a full accounting of each system is presently unavailable. Conventional separation and analytical methods (two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry) allow identification and quantitation of many of the most abundant gene products (top down methods); and the majority of gene products, which are found at low abundance, can be neither identified nor measured in complex mixtures at present. The gene products that are found at low levels can be characterized and their properties analyzed by preparing ordered gene libraries of limited complexity from mRNA. When such preparations are expressed in cell free systems and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, the features of the gene products are available for analysis. This 'bottom up' approach allows identification of gene product properties so that analytical procedures can be devised and applied to complex mixtures.     

藻类快速鉴定研究进展

综述了传统形态学方法和生物化学法、分子生物学法在藻类鉴定中的应用及其原理,系统阐述了以上方法的研究进展。在藻类鉴定中,生物化学法和分子生物学法是新兴技术,其中的分子鉴定技术,是根据物种的基因差异来定性分类物种,可以快速稳定地鉴定藻类。分子生物学法在水华藻类快速鉴定方面具有很大的发展潜力,有望得到广泛应用。     

Evaluation of six commercial identification kits for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis

AIMS: Comparison of six commercially available in human medicine well-established slide agglutination systems for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS AND RESULTS: Slide agglutination tests were compared with the conventional tube coagulase test, biochemical identification and with the molecular identification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of species-specific parts of the gene encoding the 23S RNA. Systems evaluated included Masta-Staph (Mast Diagnostics), Staphylase-Test (Oxoid), Staphytect-Plus (Oxoid), Staphyloslide Latex (Becton Dickinson), Slidex Staph Plus (bioMerieux) and Dry Spot Staphytect Plus (Oxoid). A total of 141 staphylococcal strains isolated from cases of bovine mastitis including 90 S. aureus, 14 Staphylococcus epidermidis, 10 Staphylococcus warneri, 13 Staphylococcus xylosus, 11 Staphylococcus haemolyticus and three other coagulase-negative staphylococci were tested with each method. Staphylococcus aureus strains were selected by macrorestriction analysis with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Only genetically unrelated strains were included in the study. The sensitivities and specificities of the test were as follows: Masta-Staph 86.7 and 90.1%, Staphylase-Test 78.4 and 85.1%, Staphytect-Plus 81.1 and 86.5%, Staphyloslide Latex 77.8 and 84.4%, Slidex Staph Plus 77.8 and 84.4%, Dry Spot Staphytect Plus 75.6 and 83.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this evaluation suggest that the six slide agglutination methods tested can provide rapid identification of S. aureus also from bovine mastitis. The sensitivity and specificity seems to be less than those reported from human S. aureus isolates. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is one of the first comparative reported investigations about the applicability of different commercially available slide agglutination tests for the detection of S. aureus from bovine mastitis using PFGE selected clinical isolates.     

Identification of forensically important blow fly species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in China by mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene differentiation

Abstract Unambiguous and rapid sarcosaphagous insect species identification is an essential requirement for forensic investigations. Although some insect species are difficult to classify morphologically, they can be effectively identified using molecular methods based on similarity with abundant authenticated reference DNA sequences in local databases. However, local databases are still relatively incomplete in China because of the large land area with distinct regional conditions. In this study, 75 forensically important blow flies were collected from 23 locations in 16 Chinese provinces, and a 278‐bp segment of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene of all specimens was successfully sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequenced segments showed that all Calliphorid specimens were properly assigned into nine species with relatively strong supporting values, thus indicating that the 278‐bp cytochrome oxidase subunit one region is suitable for identification of Calliphorid species. The clear difference between intraspecific threshold and interspecific divergence confirmed the potential of this region for Calliphorid species identification, especially for distinguishing between morphologically similar species. Intraspecific geographic variations were observed in Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) and Lucilia caesar (Linnaeus, 1758).     

基于COI基因5′端与3′端序列田间常见粉虱的分子鉴定

【目的】粉虱种类繁多,个体微小,其种类识别与鉴定常需借助分子生物学技术。本研究旨在明确线粒体COI基因(mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) 5′端和3′端序列对常见种类粉虱识别鉴定的可行性。【方法】以我国田间常见的16种粉虱为对象,以COI基因5′端(641 bp)和3′端(738 bp)序列为靶标进行比对分析,以MEGA 5.10软件的K2-P模型计算种内与种间遗传距离,以邻接法(NJ法)构建进化树并进行系统发育分析。【结果】当以5′端为靶标时,16种粉虱的种内平均遗传距离为0.0015,种间平均遗传距离为0.2897,种间遗传距离为种内遗传距离的193.1倍;而且种内、种间遗传距离没有重叠区域。当以3′端为靶标时种内平均遗传距离为0.0007,种间平均遗传距离为0.2817,种间遗传距离为种内遗传距离的402.4倍;但桑粉虱Pealius mori与烟粉虱Bemisia tabaci Asia II 1的种内和种间遗传距离重叠。系统发育分析结果显示,以5′端为靶标时,16种粉虱可以形成独立的进化分支;以3′端为靶标时,除桑粉虱与传统分类学不一致外,其余种类均可形成独立的分支。【结论】结果表明,5′端序列更适用于基于DNA条形码技术的物种识别鉴定研究。     

Use of 16S rRNA and rpoB genes as molecular markers for microbial ecology studies

Several characteristics of the 16S rRNA gene, such as its essential function, ubiquity, and evolutionary properties, have allowed it to become the most commonly used molecular marker in microbial ecology. However, one fact that has been overlooked is that multiple copies of this gene are often present in a given bacterium. These intragenomic copies can differ in sequence, leading to identification of multiple ribotypes for a single organism. To evaluate the impact of such intragenomic heterogeneity on the performance of the 16S rRNA gene as a molecular marker, we compared its phylogenetic and evolutionary characteristics to those of the single-copy gene rpoB. Full-length gene sequences and gene fragments commonly used for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were compared at various taxonomic levels. Heterogeneity found between intragenomic 16S rRNA gene copies was concentrated in specific regions of rRNA secondary structure. Such "heterogeneity hot spots" occurred within all gene fragments commonly used in molecular microbial ecology. This intragenomic heterogeneity influenced 16S rRNA gene tree topology, phylogenetic resolution, and operational taxonomic unit estimates at the species level or below. rpoB provided comparable phylogenetic resolution to that of the 16S rRNA gene at all taxonomic levels, except between closely related organisms (species and subspecies levels), for which it provided better resolution. This is particularly relevant in the context of a growing number of studies focusing on subspecies diversity, in which single-copy protein-encoding genes such as rpoB could complement the information provided by the 16S rRNA gene.     

A method for comparing multiple bacterial community structures from 16S rDNA clone library sequences

Culture-independent approaches, based on 16S rDNA sequences, are extensively used in modern microbial ecology. Sequencing of the clone library generated from environmental DNA has advantages over fingerprint-based methods, such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, as it provides precise identification and quantification of the phylotypes present in samples. However, to date, no method exists for comparing multiple bacterial community structures using clone library sequences. In this study, an automated method to achieve this has been developed, by applying pair wise alignment, hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis. The method has been demonstrated to be successful in comparing samples from various environments. The program, named CommCluster, was written in JAVA, and is now freely available, at http://chunlab.snu.ac.kr/commcluster/.