Microsatellite markers for the Sydney rock oyster,Saccostrea glomerata,a commercially important bivalve in southeastern Australia

The Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) is a commercially important bivalve in southeastern Australian. We describe the isolation and characterization of nine microsatellite markers for S. glomerata. The loci are highly polymorphic, with between five and 20 alleles identified among 30 individuals. Expected heterozygosity levels ranged from 0.608 to 0.936. The markers will be used to study natural dispersal, translocations and population structure. We will also use the microsatellites to test the genetic effects of QX disease on oyster populations. This infectious parasitic disease has decimated S. glomerata productivity in a number of areas over the past few decades.     

兴安落叶松叶光合与氮代谢对环境变化响应的转录组分析

为了揭示兴安落叶松针叶光合作用对环境变化响应的分子机制,采用高通量测序技术,对生长环境差异明显的4个样地[塔河(52°52′ N)、松岭(50°72′ N)、黑河(49°22′ N)和带岭(47°08′ N)]兴安落叶松针叶进行转录组测序,并比对不同样地树木针叶的差异表达基因(DEGs)。结果表明: 共获得高质量短读序282428811条,其中在塔河-松岭、塔河-黑河、塔河-带岭、松岭-黑河、松岭-带岭、黑河-带岭6个对比组中,分别筛选出16915、18812、28536、20635、29957和23617条差异表达基因。在KEGG代谢通路分析中,光合作用通路中编码光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)的Psb基因家族的9个基因(即PsbB、PsbK、PsbO、PsbP、PsbQ、PsbS、PsbW、Psb27和Psb28)及编码F型ATP酶的3个基因(即ATPF1A, atpA、ATPF1G, atpG和ATPF1D, atpH)均随样地间的环境差异增大而呈现明显上调;氮代谢通路中编码谷氨酰胺合成酶的基因(glnA, GLUL)、硝酸还原酶的基因(NR)、碳酸酐酶的基因(cynT,can)也呈现同样的上调。DEGs和上调基因的数量均随样地环境变化增大而增多,进而导致了兴安落叶松针叶光合能力在样地间的差异。     

The effect of ocean acidification and temperature on the fertilization and embryonic development of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata (Gould 1850)

This study investigated the synergistic effects of ocean acidification (caused by elevations in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide pCO₂) and temperature on the fertilization and embryonic development of the economically and ecologically important Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata (Gould 1850). As pCO₂ increased, fertilization significantly decreased. The temperature of 26 °C was the optimum temperature for fertilization, as temperature increased and decreased from this optimum, fertilization decreased. There was also an effect of pCO₂ and temperature on embryonic development. Generally as pCO₂ increased, the percentage and size of D‐veligers decreased and the percentage of D‐veligers that were abnormal increased. The optimum temperature was 26 °C and embryonic development decreased at temperatures that were above and below this temperature. Abnormality of D‐veligers was greatest at 1000 ppm and 18 and 30 °C (≥90%) and least at 375 ppm and 26 °C (≤4%). Finally prolonged exposure of elevated pCO₂ and temperature across early developmental stages led to fewer D‐veligers, more abnormality and smaller sizes in elevated CO₂ environments and may lead to lethal effects at suboptimal temperatures. Embryos that were exposed to the pCO₂ and temperature treatments for fertilization and embryonic development had fewer D‐veligers, greater percentage of abnormality and reduced size than embryos that were exposed to the treatments for embryonic development only. Further at the elevated temperature of 30 °C and 750–1000 ppm, there was no embryonic development. The results of this study suggest that predicted changes in ocean acidification and temperature over the next century may have severe implications for the distribution and abundance of S. glomerata as well as possible implications for the reproduction and development of other marine invertebrates.     

What Do You Mean, “Epigenetic”?

Interest in the field of epigenetics has increased rapidly over the last decade, with the term becoming more identifiable in biomedical research, scientific fields outside of the molecular sciences, such as ecology and physiology, and even mainstream culture. It has become increasingly clear, however, that different investigators ascribe different definitions to the term. Some employ epigenetics to explain changes in gene expression, others use it to refer to transgenerational effects and/or inherited expression states. This disagreement on a clear definition has made communication difficult, synthesis of epigenetic research across fields nearly impossible, and has in many ways biased methodologies and interpretations. This article discusses the history behind the multitude of definitions that have been employed since the conception of epigenetics, analyzes the components of these definitions, and offers solutions for clarifying the field and mitigating the problems that have arisen due to these definitional ambiguities.     

Production of the AVR9 elicitor from the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in transgenic tobacco and tomato plants

Three constructs were used to study the expression of the avirulence gene Avr9 from the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in plants. They include pAVIR1, pAVIR2 and pAVIR21, encoding the wild-type AVR9 protein and two hybrid AVR9 proteins containing the signal sequences of the pathogenesis-related proteins PR-S and PR-1a, respectively. Transgenic tobacco plants obtained with the three constructs showed a normal phenotype and produced AVR9 elicitor with the same specific necrosis-inducing activity as the wild-type AVR9 elicitor produced in planta by isolates of C. fulvum containing the Avr9 gene. Level of expression was not correlated with number of T-DNA integrations, but plants homozygous for the Avr9 gene produced more elicitor protein than heterozygous plants. The amino acid sequence of the processed AVR9 peptide present in apoplastic fluid (AF) of pAVIR1 transformed plants producing the wild-type AVR9 elicitor was identical to that of the wild-type AVR9 peptide isolated from C. fulvum-infected tomato leaves. Transgenic Cf0 genotypes of tomato, obtained by transformation with construct pAVIR21, showed a normal phenotype. However, transgenic F1 plants expressing the Avr9 gene, obtained from crossing transgenic Cf0 genotypes with wild-type Cf9 genotypes, showed delayed growth, necrosis and complete plant death indicating that the AVR9 peptide produced in plants carrying the Cf9 gene is deleterious. The necrotic defence response observed in Cf9 genotypes expressing the Avr9 gene support the potential to apply avirulence genes in molecular resistance breeding.     

Evolution of quantitative traits in the wild: mind the ecology

Recent advances in the quantitative genetics of traits in wild animal populations have created new interest in whether natural selection, and genetic response to it, can be detected within long-term ecological studies. However, such studies have re-emphasized the fact that ecological heterogeneity can confound our ability to infer selection on genetic variation and detect a population''s response to selection by conventional quantitative genetics approaches. Here, I highlight three manifestations of this issue: counter gradient variation, environmentally induced covariance between traits and the correlated effects of a fluctuating environment. These effects are symptomatic of the oversimplifications and strong assumptions of the breeder''s equation when it is applied to natural populations. In addition, methods to assay genetic change in quantitative traits have overestimated the precision with which change can be measured. In the future, a more conservative approach to inferring quantitative genetic response to selection, or genomic approaches allowing the estimation of selection intensity and responses to selection at known quantitative trait loci, will provide a more precise view of evolution in ecological time.     

分子生态学技术及其在环境微生物研究中的应用

分子生态学作为一门新兴的学科已经成为国内外科学家关注和研究的热点。目前的分子生态学技术主要有核酸杂交分析技术、特异性PCR扩增技术、DNA序列分析、基因芯片技术等。这些技术在环境微生物研究中的应用主要包括对微生物多样性的研究、种群结构和动力学的研究、代谢活性的研究以及在全球气候变化中对微生物影响的研究。最后,对环境微生物的分子生态学研究进行了展望。     

农用抗生素产生菌菌种选育的研究进展

农用抗生素产生菌的原始菌株 ,往往产量很低或质量较差 ,不能满足工业生产的需要 ,必须对它的某些性状进行改良。改良菌种的主要手段是通过育种 ,筛选出高产菌株。传统的诱变育种是最广泛的选育方法 ,以基因工程为核心的现代生物技术也应用于农用抗生素产生菌的菌种选育中 ,并逐渐成为农用抗生素菌种选育的主导技术。     

基因人工进化的分子育种技术

分子育种技术(molecular breeding technology)利用人工手段模拟生物杂交优势的分子进化模式,在体外构建含有感兴趣基因的大量突变文库,并根据基因表达产物的特性,以合适的筛选方法选择具有最佳功能的改良基因。经过近几年的快速发展,分子育种技术在创造高效随机基因突变库的方法上日臻完善,已在医学、工业和环境保护酶类研究等方面收到了很好的成效。预计未来该技术将广泛地应用于重要传染性疾病(如疟疾、艾滋病病毒等)的预防和治疗,尤其可通过DNA疫苗手段的应用而获得强大的生命力。作者全面地综述了分子育种技术的产生、发展和应用现状。