RIBOSOMAL RNA HETEROGENEITY AND IDENTIFICATION OF TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE CULTURES BY HETERODUPLEX MOBILITY ASSAY

The heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) reveals sequence dissimilarity between DNA by measuring the retarded migration of the hybrid or heteroduplex using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Heterogeneity in some cultures of toxic dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium (Halim) Balech was observed during comparison of the amplified D1–D2 region of the large subunit rRNA gene (rDNA) using this method. HMA also allowed grouping of clones obtained from toxic bloom events in the Chilean, southernmost Pacific within the Asian Southern Pacific lineage of A. catenella (Whedon et Kofoid) Balech. The applied methodology provides a rapid and simple tool for use in assessing heterogeneity as well as for molecular grouping of strains among the genus Alexandrium.     

可降解TCE的甲烷氧化菌16S rDNA与pmoCAB基因簇序列分析

甲烷氧化菌可高效催化甲烷和多种氯代烃降解,开展甲烷单加氧酶的基因簇序列分析研究有助于深入了解催化机理,并提升其在污染物生物降解领域中的应用价值。以甲烷为唯一碳源富集分离甲烷氧化菌,取5种氯代烃作为共代谢基质考察其降解情况,利用MEGE5.05软件构建基于16S r DNA的系统发育树对所选菌株进行初步鉴定,用半巢式PCR法分段扩增菌株的颗粒性甲烷单加氧酶(p MMO)基因簇并进行T-A克隆测序,通过Ex PASy计算p MMO三个亚基的理论分子量。筛选到了一株甲基孢囊菌Methylocystis sp.JTC3,在三氯乙烯(TCE)初始浓度为15.64μmol/L条件下,反应5 d后降解率可达93.79%。经扩增、测序、拼接得到了3 227 bp的pmo CAB基因簇序列,包括771 bp的pmo C基因、759 bp的pmo A基因、1 260 bp的pmo B基因和2个非编码中间序列,所对应γ、β、α亚基理论分子量分别为29.1 k Da、28.6 k Da和45.6 k Da。通过Blast比对发现Methylocystis sp.JTC3的pmo CAB基因簇序列与Methylocystis sp.strain M的pmo CAB一致性较高,其中pmo A的序列相对保守。JTC3菌株可高效降解TCE,对pmo CAB基因簇序列的详细分析可为p MMO活性中心特征、氯代烃类底物选择性等方面的深入研究提供信息数据基础。     

Phylogenetic analysis of the non-pathogenic genusSpiromastix (Onygenaceae) and related onygenalean taxa based on large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences

The phylogenetic positioning of the non-pathogenic genusSpiromastix in the Onygenales was studied based on large subunit rDNA (LSU rDNA) partial sequences (ca. 570 bp.). FourSpiromastix species and 28 representative taxa of the Onygenales were newly sequenced. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by the neighbor-joining (NJ) method and evaluated by the maximum parsimony (MP) method with the data of 13 taxa retrieved from DNA databases.Spiromastix and dimorphic systemic pathogens,Ajellomyces andParacoccidioides, appear to be a monophyletic group with 74% bootstrap probability (BP) in the NJ tree constructed with the representative taxa of the Onygenales. The tree topology was concordant with the NJ tree based on SSU rDNA sequences of our previous work and corresponded to the classification system of the Onygenales by Currah (1985) and its minor modification by Udagawa (1997) with the exception of the classification of the Onygenaceae. The Onygeneceae sensu Udagawa may still be polyphyletic, since three independent lineages were recognized. The taxa forming helicoid peridial appendages were localized to two clades on the tree. The topology of the NJ tree constructed withSpiromastix and its close relatives suggested that the helicoid peridial appendages were apomorphic and acquired independently in the two clades of the Onygenales.     

植物种子传播途径与基因组值和千粒重的相关性

种子传播对植物的繁殖、分布和进化至关重要,研究植物基因组、种子千粒重与种子传播途径间相关性,对于揭示植物种子入侵和基因组进化的遗传机制等具有十分重要的意义.本文在前期测定部分植物C值、检索植物C值数据库和种子数据信息库的基础上,对包含完整基因组信息(染色体条数、倍数、C值)、种子千粒重和种子传播途径的235种植物进行了统计和相关性分析.ANOVA结果表明,借助水、鸟、风传播的植物C值(1C水=1.3 pg,1C鸟=1.6 pg,1C风=2.0 pg)和基因组值(1Cx水=1.1 pg,1Cx鸟=1.3 pg,1Cx风=1.6Pg)均显著低于借助动物取食传播植物的(1C动=4.9 pg,1Cx动 =4.7 pg)(P＜0.05),但无助力扩散和动物携带与其他4种传播方式间均无显著差异(P＞0.05).235种植物物种间千粒重相差悬殊,就不同传播方式整体而言,以风力和动物携带为传播途径的植物种子千粒重(分别为7.2和13.5 g)明显低于以动物取食和水为传播途径的植物种子千粒重(分别为92.5和85.8 g),而无助力传播途径与其他5种传播途径的千粒重均没有显著差异(P＞0.05).进一步相关性分析表明,动物取食和水传播方式的植物基因组值和种子千粒重间均呈正相关(相关系数γ=0.33),其中动物取食的植物基因组值与千粒重呈显著正相关性(y=0.67 x+3.23,R2=0.11,P=0.04),但在其他传播途径中均无显著相关性.研究结果为揭示植物种子传播、分布和基因组进化等提供参考.     

桂西北喀斯特常见豆科植物根瘤菌的遗传多样性

调查了桂西北喀斯特24种常见豆科植物的结瘤情况及特征,并从15种宿主植物上获得39份根瘤样品,提取根瘤基因组DNA,扩增16S rDNA和nifH基因,构建系统发育树,对根瘤菌遗传多样性进行了研究.结果表明: 有15种豆科植物是结瘤的,其中14种为蝶形花亚科,1种为含羞草亚科,而云实亚科未发现结瘤.一些本应结瘤的植物未发现根瘤,可能与喀斯特土壤的保水性差有关.BLAST和系统发育分析结果均显示,来源于多种豆科植物的根瘤菌均归属于慢生根瘤菌属,仅有2个亮叶崖豆藤样品的根瘤菌归属于中慢生根瘤菌属.在系统发育树上,来源于同一地点或同一宿主植物的根瘤序列均表现出一定的聚集性,说明共生根瘤菌的种类可能受宿主植物及所处生态环境的共同影响.     

基于18S rDNA的蝗总科分子系统发育关系研究及分类系统探讨

将自测的我国直翅目蝗总科7科7种和从GenBank中下载的17种直翅目昆虫的18S rDNA序列片段进行了同源性比较,用似然比检验的方法对序列比对结果进行了碱基替代模型的选择,以蚱总科的Paratettix cucullatus和蜢总科的Stiphra robusta作外群,用NJ、MP、ML和贝叶斯法构建了分子系统树。在获得的1 849 bp的序列中,有205个变异位点,74个简约信息位点; A、T、C和G的碱基平均含量分别为23.9%、24.3%、23.8%和28.0%,碱基组成基本上无偏异。分子系统树表明：所研究的内群聚为4支,锥头蝗科、瘤锥蝗科、斑腿蝗科、网翅蝗科、槌角蝗科和剑角蝗科都不是单系。建议将蝗总科分为4科,即锥头蝗科、大腹蝗科、癞蝗科和蝗科。     

PoInTree： A Polar and Interactive Phylogenetic Tree

PoInTree （Polar and Interactive Tree） is an application that allows to build, visualize, and customize phylogenetic trees in a polar, interactive, and highly flexible view. It takes as input a FASTA file or multiple alignment formats. Phylogenetic tree calculation is based on a sequence distance method and utilizes the Neighbor Joining （N J） algorithm. It also allows displaying precalculated trees of the major protein families based on Pfam classification. In PoInTree, nodes can be dynamically opened and closed and distances between genes are graphically represented. Tree root can be centered on a selected leaf. Text search mechanism, color-coding and labeling display are integrated. The visualizer can be connected to an Oracle database containing information on sequences and other biological data, helping to guide their interpretation within a given protein family across multiple species. The application is written in Borland Delphi and based on VCL Teechart Pro 6 graphical component （Steema software）.     

Molecular phylogeny of onygenalean fungi based on small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences

Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide data from small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences (ca. 1685 bp.) was performed on 19 taxa of the Onygenales and three related mitosporic fungi. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by the neighbor-joining method with the sequence data of related taxa obtained from DNA databases. The species in the Onygenales form two clusters and seven subclusters, and the tree topology reflects the traditional classification by Currah (1985) with some exceptions. The Myxotrichaceae is placed in the different lineage, separate from other plectomycetous taxa and among the Leotiales and the Erysiphales. Furthermore, two separate lineages in the Myxotrichaceae were found. Tree topology suggested the Onygenaceae is polyphyletic and composed of three subgroups; 1) most members of Onygenaceae, 2)Spiromastix warcupii, and 3) pathogenic dimorphic fungi classified inAjellomyces.     

Tree Reconciliation: Reconstruction of Species Phylogeny by Phylogenetic Gene Trees

It is well known that phylogenetic trees derived from different protein families are often incongruent. This is explained by mapping errors and by the essential processes of gene duplication, loss, and horizontal transfer. Therefore, the problem is to derive a consensus tree best fitting the given set of gene trees. This work presents a new method of deriving this tree. The method is different from the existing ones, since it considers not only the topology of the initial gene trees, but also the reliability of their branches. Thereby one can explicitly take into account the possible errors in the gene trees caused by the absence of reliable models of sequence evolution, by uneven evolution of different gene families and taxonomic groups, etc.     

Total bacterial and species-specific 16S rDNA micro-array quantification of complex samples

AIMS: We describe a novel DNA-micro-array-based method that targets 16S rDNA to quantify changes in both the total bacterial DNA and the species-specific DNA composition. METHODS AND RESULTS: Quantifications were achieved by combining competitive PCR for quantifying total bacterial DNA with quantification of species-specific DNA composition based on signature 16S rDNA sequences. We constructed 11 different probes, which were evaluated on 21 different strains, in addition to complex samples. The signals obtained with sequence-specific labelling of the probes corresponded well with what should be expected based on 16S rDNA phylogenetic reconstruction. The quantification of species-specific DNA composition showed that the micro-array approach could be used to accurately determine differential growth of bacteria in mixed samples. We analysed samples containing mixtures of Lactococcus lactis and different species of propionibacteria during a 2-week incubation period. Lactococcus lactis grew fast, reaching a maximum after 12 h, Propionibacterium acidipropionici and Propionibacterium freudenreichii reached a maximum after 48 h, whereas Propionibacterium jensenii showed a slow increase during the whole growth period. The 16S rDNA total bacterial DNA quantification was compared with real-time PCR, absorbance measurements (ABS600) and colony forming units (CFU). CONCLUSION: The accuracy of the array approach was in the same range or better than the alternative techniques. The potential of the 16S rDNA micro-array method was further demonstrated using a liquid cheese model. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is to our knowledge the first time quantification of the total bacterial DNA and the species-specific DNA compositions of mixed populations have been achieved in the same assay.