Resolution of four large chromosomes in penicillin-producing filamentous fungi: the penicillin gene cluster is located on chromosome II (9.6 Mb) in Penicillium notatum and chromosome 1 (10.4 Mb) in Penicillium chrysogenum

Four chromosomes were resolved by pulsed field gel electrophoresis in Penicillium notatum (10.8, 9.6, 6.3 and 5.4 Mb in size) and in five different strains of Penicillium chrysogenum (10.4, 9.6, 7.3 and 6.8 Mb in the wild type). Small differences in size were found between the four chromosomes of the five P. chrysogenum strains. The penicillin gene cluster was localized by hybridization with a pcbAB probe to chromosome II of P. notatum and to chromosome I of all P. chrysogenum strains except the deletion mutant P. chrysogenum npe10, which lacks this DNA region. The pyrG gene was localized to chromosome I in P. notatum and to chromosome II in all P. chrysogenum strains except in the mutant AS-P-78 where the probe hybridized to chromosome 111. A major chromosomal rearrangement seems to have occurred in this high penicillin producing strain. A fast moving DNA band observed in all gels corresponds to mitochondrial DNA. The total genome size has been calculated as 32.1 Mb in P. notatum and 34.1 Mb for the P. chrysogenum strains.     

德巴利汉逊酵母的两个变种及其相关种的脉冲电泳核型比较分析

摘要:用CHEF(钳位均匀电场)脉冲电泳系统分析了德巴利汉逊酵母的两个变种及两个相关种的脉冲电泳核型。对每个分类群的染色体条数,染色体DNA的分子量大小范围及整个基因组大小作出了估算,结果如下:Debaryomyces hansenii(Zopf) Lodder et Kreger-van Rij var. hansenii具有6-7条染色体,分子量范围为1.2-2.6(个别3.5)Mb,整个基因组大小为I 0.6-14.9Mb;D. hansenii var. fabryi (Ota) Nakase et Suzuki具有7条染色体,分子量范围为0.7-2.4M b,整个基因组大小为12.0-12.7Mb;D. nepalensis Goto et Sugiyama具有6-8条染色体,分子量范围为(个别0.2)1.1-2.7Mb,整个基因组大小为10.6-11.0Mb;Candida saitoana Nakase et Suzuki具有10-11条染色体,分子量范围为0.6-3.6Mb,整个基因组大小为18.1-18.9Mb.本研究表明C. saitoana与上述德巴利酵母属的三个分类群在脉冲电泳核型上具有明显差异,而后三者之间在染色体DNA带型上却没有发现有价值的区别之处.     

Electrophoretic karyotypes of the elm tree pathogen Ophiostoma ulmi (sensu lato)

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis using OFAGE, TAFE, and CHEF systems has been used to more fully characterize karyotypic variation within the two closely related fungal species of Ophiostoma ulmi sensu lato. Twelve wild-type and laboratory strains, representing the less agressive species O. ulmi and both of the biotypes of the more aggressive species O. novo-ulmi were studied and their karyotypes determined. Depending on the strain, a minimum of four to a minimum of eight chromosomal DNA bands were present that fall into three distinct size classes, with one exception. Strain CESSI6K (O. novo-ulmi, North American aggressive subgroup) contains a unique chromosomal DNA band which comigrated near a Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome of 0.95 Mb. This unique band was the smallest O. ulmi s. l. chromosomal DNA observed. Seven of the twelve strains shared a common chromosomal DNA banding pattern, whereas each of the other five had a unique karyotype. There was no correlation between chromosome profile and species, as some O. novo-ulmi and O. ulmi strains shared common electrophoretic karyotypes.     

DNA addition or deletion is associated with a major karyotype polymorphism in the fungal phytopathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Summary A 1.2 Mb minichromosome resolved by pulsed-field electrophoresis was present in two independent race 3 isolates of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides causing Type B anthracnose specifically on Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Graham in Australia. This chromosome was absent in duplicate isolates representing races 1, 2 and 4 which infect other S. guianensis cultivars. A gene library was prepared specifically from the 1.2 Mb mini-chromosome and ten independent DNA clones unique to this chromosome were identified by differential hybridisation to whole chromosome probes. All of the ten selected probes hybridised only to the 1.2 Mb minichromosome unique to the race 3 isolates but not to any chromosome in isolates of the other races. These ten probes also hybridised only to restriction-digested DNA of race 3 and were thus both chromosome- and strain-specific for Type B C. gloeosporioides. Hybridisation analysis of NotI fragments of the 1.2 Mb minichromosome with these sequences indicated that they were not tightly clustered on the chromosome. These data demonstrate that the variation in the occurrence of the 1.2 Mb minichromosome did not arise by rearrangement of the genome of a progenitor strain but involved either large scale deletion or addition of DNA. The 1.2 Mb minichromosome did not contain a cloned high-copy-number repeat sequence present on all other mini- and maxichromosomes, suggesting addition from a genetically distinct strain. All ten chromosome-specific DNA probes hybridised to a 2.0 Mb chromosome in all races of C. gloeosporioides causing Type A anthracnose on Stylosanthes spp. including S. guianensis. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis demonstrated that only 15% of the hybridising restriction fragments of the Type A 2.0 Mb chromosome and the 1.2 Mb Type B race 3 minichromosome were identical. This indicated that it is unlikely that the 1.2 Mb minichromosome of the race 3 Type B pathogen was recently introgressed from-the Type A pathogen.     

Nitrogen limitation induces expression of the avirulence gene avr9 in the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum

The avirulence gene avr9 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum encodes a race-specific peptide elicitor that induces the hypersensitive response in tomato plants carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf9. The avr9 gene is not expressed under optimal growth conditions in vitro, but is highly expressed when the fungus grows inside the tomato leaf. In this paper we present evidence for the induction of avr9 gene expression in C. fulvum grown in vitro under conditions of nitrogen limitation. Only growth medium with very low amounts of nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium, glutamate or glutamine) induced the expression of avr9. Limitation of other macronutrients or the addition of plant factors did not induce the expression of avr9. The induced expression of avr9 is possibly mediated by a positive-acting nitrogen regulatory protein, homologous to the Neurospora crassa NIT2 protein, which induces the expression of many genes under conditions of nitrogen limitation. The avr9 promoter contains several putative NIT2 binding sites. The expression of avr9 during the infection process was explored cytologically using transformants of C. fulvum carrying an avr9 promoter--glucuronidase reporter gene fusion. The possibility that expression of avr9 in C. fulvum growing in planta is caused by nitrogen limitation in the apoplast of the tomato leaf is discussed.     

Genomic fingerprinting of Bradyrhizobium japonicum isolates by RAPD and rep-PCR

Genetic diversity of indigenous Bradyrhizobium japonicum population in Croatia was studied by using different PCR-based fingerprinting methods. Characteristic DNA profiles for 20 B. japonicum field isolates and two reference strains were obtained using random primers (RAPD) and two sets of repetitive primers (REP- and ERIC-PCR). In comparison with the REP, the ERIC primer set generates fingerprints of lower complexity, but still several strain-specific bands were detected. Different B. japonicum isolates could be more efficiently distinguished by using combined results from REP- and ERIC-PCR. The most polymorphic bands were observed after amplification with four different RAPD primers. Both methods, RAPD and rep-PCR, resulted in identical grouping of the strains. Cluster analysis, irrespective of the fingerprinting method used, revealed that all the isolates could be divided into three major groups. Within the major groups, the degree of relative similarity between B. japonicum isolates was dependent upon the method used. Our results indicate that both RAPD and rep-PCR fingerprinting can effectively distinguish different B. japonicum strains. RAPD fingerprinting proved to be slightly more discriminatory than rep-PCR.     

送春与多花兰种间杂交后代的ISSR分析

该文使用简单重复序列间( ISSR)分子标记,对送春与多花兰种间杂交后代进行了研究。结果表明：从80个ISSR引物中筛选出14个扩增效果稳定的ISSR引物,对两亲本和59个F1代个体进行了ISSR扩增,得到107个扩增位点,扩增的片段大小位于90~2100 bp之间,平均每个引物扩增7.64条条带,得到11种类型的带。 ISSR标记在送春×多花兰的F1代中表现出一定的多态性,分离频率为44.86％,分离位点有83.33％符合孟德尔1︰1或3︰1的分离规律,产生偏孟德尔分离的位点占12.50％,余下的4.17％属于特殊分离带型。可能导致后代变异的位点为偏孟德尔分离的6条带、缺失的8条带或新生成的2条带。聚类图中父本和母本与F1代个体间的遗传距离较远,59个杂交后代先聚集成一组,再同母本相聚为一组,最后才同父本聚在一起,59个杂种均偏母本型。送春与多花兰的杂交后代在植株形态、染色体、遗传物质方面都具备双亲特点,61个个体间的ISSR分子量标记结果和植株形态学特征都说明,59个F1代杂种包含送春和多花兰的遗传特性是真杂种;F1代杂种既有双亲的互补特征带,又有双亲的重组片断即产生新的特异带,这说明送春与多花兰的杂交后代具有遗传变异的特点。该研究结果可以有效地对杂交后代进行定向选择,为兰花的杂交育种提供了分子依据。     

An electrophoretic karyotype of Aspergillus niger

Summary An electrophoretic karyotype of Aspergillus niger was obtained using contour-clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF) gel electrophoresis. Chromosomesized DNA was separated into four bands. Seven of the eight linkage groups could be correlated with specific chromosomal bands. For this purpose DNA preparations from seven transformant strains of A. niger each carrying the heterologous amdS gene of Aspergillus nidulans on a different chromosome were analysed. Some of the assignments were confirmed with linkage groupspecific A. niger probes. The estimated sizes of the A. niger chromosome range from 3.5 to 6.6 Mb, based on gel migration relative to the chromosomes of Schizosaccharomyces pombe strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and A. nidulans. The total genome size of A. niger significantly exceeds that of A. nidulans and is estimated to be about 35.5–38.5 Mb. Electrophoretic karyotyping was used to allocate non-mutant rRNA genes and to estimate the number of plasmids integrated in a high copy number transformant.     

牛鞭草品种EST-SSR指纹图谱构建及遗传多样性分析

为探讨牛鞭草(Hemarthria spp.)品种间的遗传多样性,从86对EST-SSR引物中筛选出8对引物对牛鞭草属6个品种进行指纹图谱的构建及遗传多样性分析。结果表明,8对EST-SSR引物对牛鞭草属6个品种共扩增出193条清晰条带,多态性条带161条,多态性比例为83.4%。每条引物的多态信息含量(PIC)为0.480~0.695,平均为0.602。UPGMA聚类分析表明,牛鞭草属6个品种在相似系数为0.652处可分为两大类群。8对EST-SSR引物均能将6个品种完全区分开,以3对EST-SSR引物扩增的电泳图谱为基础,建立了牛鞭草属6个品种的指纹图谱标准模式图,每个品种都有唯一的指纹图谱。牛鞭草属6个品种的平均Nei’s基因多样性指数为0.333,平均Shannon信息指数为0.496,品种间的相似系数介于0.399~0.782之间。可见,牛鞭草属植物品种的遗传多样性较丰富,种间差异明显。     

Karyotyping of Brassica oleracea L. based on rDNA and Cot -1 DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization

To explore an effective and reliable karyotyping method in Brassica crop plants, Cot-1 DNA was isolated from Brassica oleracea genome, labeled as probe with Biotin-Nick Translation Mix kit, in situ hybridized to mitotic spreads, and where specific fluorescent bands showed on each chromosome pair. 25S and 5S rDNA were labeled as probes with DIG-Nick Translation Mix kit and Biotin-Nick Translation Mix kit, respectively, in situ hybridized to mitotic preparations, where 25S rDNA could be detected on two chromosome pairs and 5S rDNA on only one. Cot-1 DNA contains rDNA and chromosome sites identity between Cot-1 DNA and 25S rDNA was determined by dual-colour fluorescence in situ hybridization. All these showed that the karyotyping technique based on a combination of rDNA and Cot-1 DNA chromosome landmarks is superior to all but one. A more exact karyotype of B. oleracea has been analyzed based on a combination of rDNA sites, Cot-1 DNA fluorescent bands, chromosome lengths and arm ratios. __________ Translated from Journal of Wuhan University (Nat. Sci. Ed.), 2006, 52(2): 230–234 [译自: 武汉大学学报 (理学版)]     

Electrophoretic karyotype of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Flammulina velutipes</Emphasis> and its variation among monokaryotic progenies

 The karyotype of Flammulina velutipes (Curt. : Fr.) Sing. was investigated using contour-clamped homogeneous electric fields (CHEF) gel electrophoresis. A parental dikaryotic stock, JA, was resolved into at least eight chromosomal DNA bands ranging from 1.4- to 4.9-megabase (Mb) pairs. Overall, little size variation was found among monokaryotic strains with a few major exceptions. Among 13 monokaryotic progenies examined, 11 strains were resolved into at least eight chromosomal DNA bands in a manner similar to the parent dikaryon, whereas the other 2 were resolved into at least seven chromosomes lacking the 2.1-Mb chromosome possessed in the former. A slightly larger size variation was found in a chromosome carrying ribosomal DNA. An estimated haploid genome size of this stock was 24.0 Mb or more. Received: October 11, 2001 / Accepted: November 11, 2002 Acknowledgments We thank Professor T. Morinaga, Hiroshima Prefectural University, and Dr. T. Arima for their technical advice regarding CHEF gel electrophoresis. Correspondence to:E. Tanesaka     

γ -Ray-Induced DNA Damage and Repair in Methanosarcina barkeri

The capacity of the mesophilic archaeon, Methanosarcina barkeri (DSM 804) for DNA double strand break repair following⁶⁰Co- γ irradiation was investigated. The genome (1.9 Mb) of Methanosarcina barkeri was largely fragmented and was found to be repaired on incubation in medium under anaerobic conditions at 37°C for 4 h. To get an insight into its repair process a set of inhibitors were used. The methanogenesis inhibitor, bromoethanesulfonate showed partial inhibition of repair in Methanosarcina barkeri but not in Escherichia coli or human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The Methanosarcina barkeri cells could also partially repair the DNA damage in a non-nutrient medium. Arabinosine-CTP, a nucleoside analogue and a polymerase inhibitor, completely inhibited repair in this archaeon. Arabinosine-CTP did not affect DSB (double-strand break) repair in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells but completely inhibited repair in Escherichia coli (a bacterium). The involvement of polymerase indicates recombination to be the underlying mechanism in DSB repair of Methanosarcina barkeri. 3-Aminobenzamide, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, completely inhibited repair in this archaeon as well as in eukarya but not in Escherichia coli showing the involvement of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in the DSB repair of Methanosarcina barkeri.     

Electroporation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Summary Electroporation offers a fast, efficient and reproducible way to introduce DNA into bacteria. We have successfully used this technique to transform two commercially important strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, the nitrogen-fixing soybean symbiont. Initially, electroporation conditions were optimized using plasmid DNA which had been prepared from the same B. japonicum strain into which the{imDNA was to b}e transformed. Efficiencies of 10⁵-10⁶ transformants/g DNA were obtained for strains USDA 110 and 61A152 with ready-to-use frozen cells. Successful electroporation of B. japonicum with plasmid DNA prepared from Escherichia coli varied with the E. coli strain from which the plasmid was purified. The highest transformation efficiencies (10⁴ transformants/g DNA) were obtained using DNA prepared from a dcm ^– dam ^– strain of E. coli. This suggests that routine isolation of DNA from an E. coli strain incapable of DNA modification should help in increasing transformation efficiencies for other strains of bacteria where DNA restriction appears to be a significant obstacle to successful transformation. We have also monitored the rate of spontaneous mutation in electroporated cells and saw no significant difference in the frequency of streptomycin resistance for electroporated cells compared to control cells.     

Variation in the ratio of physical to genetic distance in intervals adjacent to theMla locus on barley chromosome 1H

Variants of the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis technique were used in conjunction with two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis (2-DDGE) to determine the ratio of physical to genetic distance in two genetically defined intervals on barley chromosome 1H.2-DDGE analysis demonstrated that two loci that define a 0.3 cM interval, as determined by hybridization with BCD249, reside on a single 450-kbMluI fragment. This result indicates a maximum ratio of physical to genetic distance in this interval of 1500 kb/cM as compared to 3.7–4.2 Mb/cM for the barley genome as a whole. High molecular weight (HMW) DNA restricted withNotI and probed sequentially with MWG068 and BCD249 yield diffuse bands at approximately 2.8 Mb and 3.0 Mb in the C.I. 16151 and C.I. 16155 parental lines, respectively. These results suggest the maximum ratio of physical to genetic distance in the interval defined by these probes is 7.8 Mb/cM. unique HMW DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) were attributed to the presence of recombination breakpoints. Data from the recombination breakpoint analysis were used to estimate a ratio of physical to genetic distance of 2.5 Mb/cM in theXbcd249.2-Xmwg068 interval and 0.465 Mb/cM in theXbcd249.1-Xbcd249.2 interval. Both physical linkage and recombination breakpoint analysis indicate theXbcd249.1-Xbcd249.2 interval is approximately five-fold smaller, physically, than theXbcd249.2-Xmwg068 interval.Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable     

The new class 11 transposon Tn163 is plasmid-borne in two unrelated Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae strains

Tn163 is a transposable element identified in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae by its high insertion rate into positive selection vectors. The 4.6 kb element was found in only one further R. leguminosarum bv. viciae strain out of 70 strains investigated. Both unrelated R. leguminosarum bv. viciae strains contained one copy of the transposable element, which was localized in plasmids native to these strains. DNA sequence analysis revealed three large open reading frames (ORFs) and 38 bp terminal inverted repeats. ORF1 encodes a putative protein of 990 amino acids displaying strong homologies to transposases of class 11 transposons. ORF2, transcribed in the opposite direction, codes for a protein of 213 amino acids which is highly homologous to DNA invertases and resolvases of class II transposons. Homology of ORF1 and ORF2 and the genetic structure of the element indicate that Tn163 can be classified as a class II transposon. It is the first example of a native transposon in the genus Rhizobium. ORF3, which was found not to be involved in the transposition process, encodes a putative protein (256 amino acids) of unknown function. During transposition Tn163 produced direct repeats of 5 bp, which is typical for transposons of the Tn3 family. However, one out of the ten insertion sites sequenced showed a 6 by duplication of the target DNA; all duplicated sequences were A/T rich. Insertion of Tn163 into the sacB gene revealed two hot spots. Chromosomes of different R. leguminosarum bv. viciae strains were found to be highly refractory to the insertion of Tn163.     

泸型酒窖泥中梭菌的分离及代谢产物分析

[目的] 分离窖泥中的梭菌微生物并对其代谢产物进行评估。[方法] 对窖泥中梭菌群落的16S rRNA基因进行高通量测序;利用高丰度的梭菌OTU序列在KOMODO数据库进行培养基的预测,定向分离窖泥中梭菌菌株;采用顶空固相微萃取结合气相色谱质谱联用仪对窖泥和代表性梭菌菌株的挥发性代谢产物进行检测。[结果] 利用KOMODO数据库预测的梭菌培养基共计筛选到31株梭菌微生物,分属于梭菌属的14个种;根据风味代谢特性,这些菌株主要分为两大类,一是C.carboxidivorans、C.sporogenes和C.tyrobutyricum等产酸为主的梭菌,二是C.beijerinckii、C.butyricum和C.sphenoides等产醇为主的梭菌。[结论] 利用测序序列预测培养基有助于从窖泥中分离获得丰富的梭菌菌株,其物种和代谢能力的多样性对解析白酒复杂风味形成机理奠定了一定的基础。     

Use of recombination techniques to examine the structure of the csg locus of Myxococcus xanthus

Summary The technique of chromosome walking was used to isolate approximately 60 kb of DNA from the region containing the complementation group uncoordinated of Drosophila melanogaster, located in that part of the X chromosome which spans the euchromatin-heterochromatin junction. The cloned DNA can be divided into two distinct regions. The first contains sequences that are low copy number or unique and are largely conserved between strains. The second region is characterized by units repeated in tandem arrays and is polymorphic within, and between, strains. Each repetitive unit is separated by a member of an abundant sequence family, part of which is homologous to the ribosomal type 1 insertion sequence of D. melanogaster. The molecular organization of the cloned DNA was compared with that of sequences isolated from regions of intercalary heterochromatin and also with genes which have been characterized from more conventional euchromatic regions.     

基于ISSR技术研究诺丽种质资源的亲缘关系

为探讨我国诺丽(Morinda citrifolia)种质资源的亲缘关系,采用ISSR技术对诺丽种质资源的遗传关系进行分析。结果表明,10条ISSR引物对13份诺丽种质资源共扩增出183条带,其中多态性条带有159条,占86.9%。13份诺丽种质的遗传相似系数为0.464~0.784。聚类分析将13份诺丽种质资源聚为两类,其中诺丽小黑种单独聚为一类,与其他12份诺丽种质资源的亲缘关系较远。虽然按照外部形态特征不能将所有诺丽种质完全区分,但具有相同特征的多数种质还是聚在同一类或亚类中。     

Recent amplification of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements in the vector mosquito Culex pipiens: characterization of the Mimo family

We describe a new family of repetitive elements, named Mimo, from the mosquito Culex pipiens. Structural characteristics of these elements fit well with those of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs), which are ubiquitous and highly abundant in plant genomes. The occurrence of Mimo in C. pipiens provides new evidence that MITEs are not restricted to plant genomes, but may be widespread in arthropods as well. The copy number of Mimo elements in C. pipiens (1000 copies in a 540 Mb genome) supports the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between genome size and the magnitude of MITE proliferation. In contrast to most MITE families described so far, members of the Mimo family share a high sequence conservation, which may reflect a recent amplification history in this species. In addition, we found that Mimo elements are a frequent nest for other MITE-like elements, suggesting that multiple and successive MITE transposition events have occurred very recently in the C. pipiens genome. Despite evidence for recent mobility of these MITEs, no element has been found to encode a protein; therefore, we do not know how they have transposed and have spread in the genome. However, some sequence similarities in terminal inverted-repeats suggest a possible filiation of some of these mosquito MITEs with pogo-like DNA transposons.     

异角毛藻和平滑角毛藻的分类学修订

为了澄清异角毛藻和平滑角毛藻的分类学疑问,在广东南澳岛海域建立了单克隆培养株系,利用光学显微镜和电子显微镜技术,开展了基于生活史的连续形态学观察,发现粗大角毛的延伸方向易变,是不稳定特征,不宜继续赋予分类学价值。对核糖体大亚基编码基因的D1～D3区序列进行扩增和分析,结果异角毛藻和平滑角毛藻的目标基因序列基本一致,仅有1个平滑角毛藻株系存在2个差异碱基。因此,两者具有一致的系统学位置,属于同一物种,平滑角毛藻应该是异角毛藻的同种异名。