Diversity Suppression-Subtractive Hybridization Array for Profiling Genomic DNA Polymorphisms

Genomlc DNA polymorphlsms are very useful for tracing genetic traits end studying biological diversity among species. Here, we present a method we call the ＂diversity suppresslon-subtractlve hybridization array＂ for effectively profiling genomlc DNA polymorphisms. The method first obtains the subtracted gDNA fragments between any two species by suppression subtraction hybridization （SSH） to establish e subtracted gDNA library, from which diversity SSH arrays are created with the selected subtracted clones. The diversity SSH array hybridizes with the DIG-labeled genomlc DNA of the organism to be assayed. Six closely related Dendrobium species were studied as model samples. Four Dendrobium species as testers were used to perform SSH. A total of 617 subtracted positive clones were obtained from four Dendrobium species, and the average ratio of positive clones was 80.3%. We demonstrated that the average percentage of polymorphlc fragments of palrwlse comparisons of four Dendrobium species was up to 42.4%. A dendrogram of the relatedness of six Dendrobium species was produced according to their polymorphic profiles. The results revealed that the diversity SSH array Is a highly effective platform for profiling genomlc DNA polymorphlsms and dendrograms.     

Evolutionary dynamics of leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases and related genes in plants：A phylogenomic approach

Leucine-rich repeat （LRR） receptor-like kinases （RLKs）, evolutionarily related LRR receptor-like proteins （RLPs） and receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases （RLCKs） have important roles in plant signaling, and their gene subfamilies are large with a complicated history of gene duplication and loss. In three pairs of closely related lineages, including Arabidopsis thaliana and A. lyrata （Arabidopsis）, Lotus japonicus, and Medicago truncatula （Legumes）, Oryza sativa ssp. japonica, and O. sativa ssp. indica （Rice）, we find that LRR RLKs comprise the largest group of these LRR-related subfamilies, while the related RLCKs represent the smal est group. In addition, comparison of orthologs indicates a high frequency of reciprocal gene loss of the LRR RLK/LRR RLP/RLCK subfamilies. Furthermore, pairwise comparisons show that reciprocal gene loss is often associated with lineage-specific duplication（s） in the alternative lineage. Last, analysis of genes in A. thaliana involved in development revealed that most are highly conserved orthologs without species-specific duplication in the two Arabidopsis species and originated from older Arabidopsis-specific or rosid-specific duplications. We discuss＆amp;nbsp;potential pitfal s related to functional prediction for genes that have undergone frequent turnover （duplications, losses, and domain architecture changes）, and conclude that prediction based on phylogenetic relationships wil likely outperform that based on sequence similarity alone.     

Molecular evolution and functional divergence of HAK potassium transporter gene family in rice （Oryza sativa L.）

The high-affinity K＋ （HAK） transporter gene family is the largest family in plant that functions as potassium transporter and is important for various aspects of plant life. In the present study, we identified 27 members of this family in rice genome. The phylogenetic tree divided the land plant HAK transporter proteins into 6 distinct groups. Although the main characteristic of this family was established before the origin of seed plants, they also showed some differences between the members of non-seed and seed plants. The HAK genes in rice were found to have expanded in lineage-specific manner after the split of monocots and dicots, and both segmental duplication events and tandem duplication events contributed to the expansion of this family. Functional divergence analysis for this family provided statistical evidence for shifted evolutionary rate after gene duplication. Further analysis indicated that both point mutant with positive selection and gene conversion events contributed to the evolution of this family in rice.     

Evolutionary dynamics of leucine‐rich repeat receptor‐like kinases and related genes in plants:A phylogenomic approach

Leucine‐rich repeat(LRR) receptor‐like kinases(RLKs), evolutionarily related LRR receptor‐like proteins(RLPs) and receptor‐like cytoplasmic kinases(RLCKs) have important roles in plant signaling, and their gene subfamilies are large with a complicated history of gene duplication and loss. In three pairs of closely related lineages, including Arabidopsis thaliana and A. lyrata(Arabidopsis), Lotus japonicus,and Medicago truncatula(Legumes), Oryza sativa ssp. japonica,and O. sativa ssp. indica(Rice), we find that LRR RLKs comprise the largest group of these LRR‐related subfamilies, while the related RLCKs represent the smallest group. In addition,comparison of orthologs indicates a high frequency of reciprocal gene loss of the LRR RLK/LRR RLP/RLCK subfamilies.Furthermore, pairwise comparisons show that reciprocal gene loss is often associated with lineage‐specific duplication(s) in the alternative lineage. Last, analysis of genes in A. thaliana involved in development revealed that most are highly conserved orthologs without species‐specific duplication in the two Arabidopsis species and originated from older Arabidopsis‐specific or rosid‐specific duplications. We discuss potential pitfalls related to functional prediction for genes that have undergone frequent turnover(duplications, losses, and domain architecture changes), and conclude that prediction based on phylogenetic relationships will likely outperform that based on sequence similarity alone.     

Molecular differentiation of the microgastrine species commonly found in paddy fields from Southeast Asia,with additional data on their phylogeny （Hymenoptera：Braconidae）

Partial DNA sequences of three genes, that is, mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit (16S), nuclear large ribosomal subunit (28S D2) and mitochondrial NADH1 dehydrogenase (NADH1) gene, were sequenced from different microgas trine species(Braconidae: Microgastrinae) collected fresh from paddy fields. The DNA sequences were used to determine the extent of sequence variation among species in order to evaluate the specific status of each species. Cladistic analysis was also used to infer a phylogenetic relationship among these species. The results showed that sequence divergence among species of the same genus Cotesia was much lower than those among different genera, such as Cotesia, Exoryza and Apanteles; the sequence similarity of 16S rDNA and NADH 1 genes between Cotesia sp. and C. chilonis was higher than that between C. sp. and C. ruficrus.Phylogenetic analyses suggested that four species of Cotesia were always grouped in the same clade regardless of using different analysis methods; Cotesia sp. and C. chilonis are more closely related to each other than to C. ruficrus, different from previous morphological results. Additionally, sequence analyses indicated that NADH1 gene has more parsimony informative characters than 28S rDNA D2 and 16S rDNA at the species-level analysis,indicating that NADH1 gene might be a useful marker for species-level analysis.     

Fifteen Million Years of Evolution in the Oryza Genus Shows Extensive Gene Family Expansion

In analyzing gene families in the whole-genome sequences available for O. sativa （AA）, O. glaberrima （AA）, and O. brachyantha （FF）, we observed large size expansions in the AA genomes compared to FF genomes for the superfamilies F-box and NB-ARC, and five additional families： the Aspartic proteases, BTB/POZ proteins （BTB）, Glutaredoxins, Trypsin a-amylase inhibitor proteins, and Zf-Dof proteins. Their evolutionary dynamic was investigated to understand how and why such important size variations are observed between these closely related species. We show that expansions resulted from both amplification, largely by tandem duplications, and contraction by gene losses. For the F-box and NB-ARC gene families, the genes conserved in all species were under strong purifying selection while expanded orthologous genes were under more relaxed purifying selection. In F-box, NB-ARC, and BTB, the expanded groups were enriched in genes with little evidence of expression, in comparison with conserved groups. We also detected 87 loci under positive selection in the expanded groups. These results show that most of the duplicated copies in the expanded groups evolve neutrally after duplication because of functional redundancy but a fraction of these genes were preserved following neofunctionalization. Hence, the lineage-specific expansions observed between Oryza species were partly driven by directional selection.     

Relationship of Old World Pseudoxenodon and New World Dipsadinae, with Comments on Underestimation of Species Diversity of Chinese Pseudoxenodon

Assessment of the relationship between Pseudoxenodon and Dipsadinae has been hampered by lack of adequate samples. In this paper, we conducted phylogenetic analyses using two mitochondrial genes （12S and 16S rRNA） and one nuclear gene （c-mos） from thirteen specimens representing two species of Pseudoxenodon, together with 84 sequences of caenophidians and an outgroup sequence of Boa constrictor. Our study suggests that the Southeast Asian genus, Pseudoxenodon forms a robust genetic subclade within South American xenodontines, indicating that at least one lineage within this genus entered or returned to the Old World （OW） from the New World （NW） across the Beringian Land Bridge during the early Tertiary and the warm mid-Miocene. It also reveals the high intraspecific genomic variation within the populations of Pseudoxenodon macrops, indicating that species diversity of Pseudoxenodon in China is likely underestimated.     

Molecular phylogenetic relationships of China Seas groupers based on cytochrome b gene fragment sequences

The classification and evolutionary relationships are important issues in the study of the groupers. Cytochrome b gene fragment of twenty-eight grouper species within six genera of subfamily Epinephelinae was amplified using PCR techniques and the sequences were analyzed to derive the phylogenetic relationships of the groupers from the China Seas. Genetic information indexes, including Kimura-2 parameter genetic distance and Ts/Tv ratios, were generated by using a variety of biology softwares. With Niphon spinosus, Pagrus major and Pagrus auriga as the designated outgroups, phylogenetic trees, which invoke additional homologous sequences of other Epinephelus fishes from GenBank, were constructed based on the neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum-parsimony (MP), maximum-likelihood (ML) and minimum-evolution (ME) methods. Several conclusions were drawn from the DNA sequences analysis: (1) genus Plectropomus, which was early diverged, is the most primitive group in the subfamily Epinephelinae; (2) genus Variola is more closely related to genus Cephalopolis than the other four genera; (3) genus Cephalopolis is a monophyletic group and more primitive than genus Epinephelus; (4) Promicrops lanceolatus and Cromileptes altivelis should be included in genus Epinephelus; (5) there exist two sister groups in genus Epinephelus.     

Phylogeny and evolution of Perezia （Asteraceae： Mutisieae： Nassauviinae）

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of most of the species of Perezia reveals that, as traditionally defined, the genus is not monophyletic with two species more closely related to Nassauvia than to Perezia. In addition, our results show that Burkartia （Perezia） lanigera is related to Acourtia and is the only member of that clade in South America. The remaining species are monophyletic and show a pattern of an early split between a western temperate and an eastern subtropical clade of species. Within the western clade, the phylogeny indicates a pattern of diversification that proceeded from southern, comparatively low-elevation habitats to southern high-elevation habitats, and ultimately into more northern high-elevation habitats. The most derived clades are found in the high central Andes, where significant radiation has occurred.     

Analysis of collinear regions of Oryza AA and CC genomes

Comparative analyses of genome structure and sequence of closely related species have yielded insights into the evolution and function of plant genomes. A total of 103,844 BAC end sequences delegated -73.8 Mb of O. officinalis that belongs to the CC genome type of the rice genus Oryza were obtained and compared with the genome sequences office cultivar, O. sativa ssp.japonica cv. Nipponbare. We found that more than 45% of O. officinalis genome consists of repeat sequences, which is higher than that of Nipponbare cultivar. To further investigate the evolutionary divergence of AA and CC genomes, two BAC-contigs of O. officinalis were compared with the collinear genomic regions of Nipponbare. Of 57 genes predicted in the AA genome orthologous regions, 39 had orthologs in the regions of the CC genome. Alignment of the orthologous regions indicated that the CC genome has undergone expansion in both genic and intergenic regions through primarily retroelement insertion. Particularly, the density of RNA transposable elements was 17.95% and 1.78% in O. officinalis and O. sativa, respectively. This explains why the orthologous region is about 100 kb longer in the CC genome in comparison to the AA genome.     

Three metaltolerance Halobacillus sp. isolated from salt lakes in Shaanxi, China

Three Gram positive, spore forming, halophilic bacterial strains were isolated from a salt lake in shanxi China and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Strains A375, A381 and A389 grew in the presence of 0~24% (w/v) NaCl in complex medium. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains A375, A381 and A389 were located in the genus Halobacillus. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the isolated strains and the type trains of Halobacillus species were in range 91.6%~98.9%. On the basis of phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties and phylogenetic analysis, strains A375, A381 and A389 should be placed in the Halobacillus species. Metaltolerance test verify that all strains can tolerate different levels of metal salts.     

Phytogeny of 12 species of genus Glycine Willd. reconstructed with internal transcribed region in nuclear ribosomal DNA

The ITS-Is of 24 accessions belong to 10 species of subgenus Glycine, and 2 species of subgenus Soja of genus Glycine were amplified, cloned and sequenced. According to the homology of the sequences, the phy-logeny of the 24 accessions were reconstructed. The reconstructed dendrogram showed that there were some divergent genomic types found in the previously classified species, such as G . tomentella, G. canescens and G. tabacina, and they might be some cryptic species by morphologic analysis.     

Small auxin upregulated RNA （SAUR） gene family in maize： Identification,evolution, and its phylogenetic comparison with Arabidopsis,rice, and sorghum

Small auxin-up RNAs （.SAURs） are the early auxin- responsive genes represented by a large multigene family in plants. Here, we identified 79 SAUR gene family members from maize （Zea mays subsp, mays） by a reiterative database search and manual annotation. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the SAUR proteins from Arabidopsis, rice, sorghum, and maize had divided into 16 groups. These genes were non-randomly distributed across the maize chromosomes, and segmental duplication and tandem duplication contributed to the expansion of the maize .SAUR gene family. Synteny analysis established ortholos~J relationships and functional linkages between SAUR genes in maize and sorghum genomes. We also found that the auxin-responsive elements were conserved in the upstream sequences of maize SAUR members. Selection analyses identified some significant site-specific constraints acted on most SAUR paralogs. Expression profiles based on microarray data have provided insights into the possible functional divergence among members of the .SAUR gene family. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that some of the 10 randomly selected ZmSAUR genes could be induced at least in maize shoot or root tissue tested. The results reveal a comprehensive overview of the maize .SAUR gene family and may pave the way for deciphering their function during pJant development.     

Molecular Evolution of VEF-Domain-Containing PcG Genes in Plants

Arabidopsis VERNALIZATION2 （VRN2）, EMBRYONIC FLOWER2 （EMF2）, and FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT SEED2 （FIS2） are involved in vernalization-mediated flowering, vegetative development, and seed development, respectively. Together with Arabidopsis VEF-L36, they share a VEF domain that is conserved in plants and animals. To investigate the evolution of VEF-domain-containing genes （VEF genes）, we analyzed sequences related to VEF genes across land plants. To date, 24 full-length sequences from 11 angiosperm families and 54 partial sequences from another nine families were identified. The majority of the full-length sequences identified share greatest sequence similarity with and possess the same major domain structure as Arabidopsis EMF2. EMF2-1ike sequences are not only widespread among angiosperms, but are also found in genomic sequences of gymnosperms, lycophyte, and moss. No FIS2- or VEF-L36-1ike sequences were recovered from plants other than Arabidopsis, including from rice and poplar for which whole genomes have been sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the full-length sequences showed a high degree of amino acid sequence conservation in EMF2 homologs of closely related taxa. VRN2 homologs are recovered as a clade nested within the larger EMF2 clade. FIS2 and VEF-L36 are recovered in the VRN2 clade. VRN2 clade may have evolved from an EMF2 duplication event that occurred in the rosids prior to the divergence of the eurosid I and eurosid II lineages. We propose that dynamic changes in genome evolution contribute to the generation of the family of VEF-domain-containing genes, Phylogenetic analysis of the VEF domain alone showed that VEF sequences continue to evolve following EM F2NRN2 divergence in accordance with species relationship. Existence of EMF2-1ike sequences in animals and across land plants suggests that a prototype form of EMF2 was present prior to the divergence of the plant and animal lineages. A proposed sequence of events, based on domain organization and occurrence of intermediate seque     

Bioinformatic identification of genes encoding Clq-domaincontaining proteins in zebrafish

C1q is the first subcomponent of classical pathway in the complement system and a major link between innate and acquired immunities. The globular （gC1q） domain similar with C1q was also found in many non-complement C1q-domain-containing （C1qDC） proteins which have similar crystal structure to that of the multifunctional tumor necrosis factor （TNF） ligand family, and also have diverse functions. In this study, we identified a total of 52 independent gene sequences encoding C1q-domain-containing proteins through comprehensive searches of zebrafish genome, cDNA and EST databases. In comparison to 31 orthologous genes in human and different numbers in other species, a significant selective pressure was suggested during vertebrate evolution. Domain organization of C1q-domain-containing （C1qDC） proteins mainly includes a leading signal peptide, a collagen-like region of variable length, and a C-terminal C1q domain. There are 11 highly conserved residues within the C1q domain, among which 2 are invariant within the zebrafish gene set. A more extensive database searches also revealed homologous C1qDC proteins in other vertebrates, invertebrates and even bacterium, but no homologous sequences for encoding C1qDC proteins were found in many species that have a more recent evolutionary history with zebrafish. Therefore, further studies on C1q-domain-containing genes among different species will help us understand evolutionary mechanism of innate and acquired immunities.     

Molecular Evidence for the Hybrid Origin of Bauhinia blakeana （Caesalpinioideae）

Bauhinia blakeana Dunn is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region emblem and a popular horticultural species in many Asian countries. It was first described as a new species from Hong Kong almost a century ago. This plant is sterile and has long been considered a hybrid, possibly from two related species, B. purpurea and B. variegata. However, not much evidence based on molecular methods was available to support this hypothesis. In this study, sequences of internal transcribed spacer I （ITS1）, rbcL and atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer for five Bauhinia species and two varieties of one of the species were determined and compared. There were two types of ITS1 sequences in B. blakeana, one indistinguishable from that of B. purpurea and the other one identical to that of B. variegata. This confirmed that B. blakeana was a hybrid of these two species. Chloroplast atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer sequence of B. blakeana was identical to that of B. purpurea, indicating that B. purpurea was the female parent. The hybridization event seemed to occur only recently and was a rare incident. Its occurrence was likely facilitated by interspecific pollen competition. It appeared that human efforts played a crucial role in the preservation and ubiquity of B. blakeana.     

Karyotype and cytogeography of the genus Heracleum （Apiaceae） in the Hengduan Mountains

In the present study, the karyotypes of 34 populations belonging to 11 species and one variety of Heracleum from the Hengduan Mountains in China were examined. Chromosome numbers and the karyotypes of three species （H. souliei, H. la＇ngdoni, and H. wenchuanense） are reported for the first time, as are the karyotypes of H. moellendorffii and H. henryi （tetraploid）. Populations of H. candicans, H. franchetii, and H. kingdoni in the Hengduan Mountains were found to consist of a mixture of diploid and tetraploid plants. Except for four species of Heracleum, namely H. candicans, H. franchetii, H. henryi, and H.kingdoni, which have both diploid and tetraploid karyotypes, all other species of Heracleum are were found to be diploid. All karyotypes were found to belong to the 2A type of Stebbins, with the exception ofH. candicans var. obtusifolium, which belongs to 2B, and H. hemsleyanum and H. franchetii （Mt. Dujuan, Daocheng, Sichuan, China）, which belong to 1A. There was only a slight difference in the karyotype asymmetry index, which suggests a close kinship for species of Heracleum and that the entire phylogenetic development of Heracleum is relatively primitive. Species that exhibited advanced morphological features were also more advanced in karyotype structure, with the order ofkaryotype evolution being 1A→2A→2B. This phenomenon indicates that the species distributed in the Hengduan Mountains have not diverged completely and that the Hengduan Mountains are a relatively young and active area for the evolution of Heracleum. Polyploidization in Heracleum may be an important evolutionary mechanisms for some species, generating diversity. The biological attributes, distribution range, and the geological history of the genus have all played a part in accelerating the evolution through polyploidization or aneuploidization. It is known that as the distribution latitude of Heracleum decreases from north to south, the chromosome number, ploidy level, and asymmetry structure appear to increase. In the Hengd     

Improvement of plant abiotic stress tolerance through modulation of the polyamine pathway FA简

Polyamines （mainly putrescine （Put）, spermidine （Spd）, and spermine （Spin）） have been widely found in a range of physiological processes and in almost all diverse environ- mental stresses. In various plant species, abiotic stresses modulated the accumulation of polyamines and related gene expression. Studies using loss-of-function mutants and transgenic overexpression plants modulating polyamine metabolic pathways confirmed protective roles of polyamines during plant abiotic stress responses, and indicated the possibility to improve plant tolerance through genetic manipulation of the polyamine pathway. Additionally, puta- tive mechanisms of polyamines involved in plant abiotic stress tolerance were thoroughly discussed and crosstalks among polyamine, abscisic acid, and nitric oxide in plant responses to abiotic stress were emphasized. Special attention was paid to the interaction between polyamine and reactive oxygen species, ion channels, amino acid and carbon metabolism, and other adaptive responses. Further studies are needed to elucidate the polyamine signaling pathway, especially polyamine-regulated downstream tar- gets and the connections between polyamines and other stress responsive molecules.