The potential costs of accounting for genotypic errors in molecular parentage analyses

Genotypic errors, whether due to mutation or laboratory error, can cause the genotypes of parents and their offspring to appear inconsistent with Mendelian inheritance. As a result, molecular parentage analyses are expected to benefit when allowances are made for the presence of genotypic errors. However, a cost of allowing for genotypic errors might also be expected under some analytical conditions, primarily because parentage analyses that assume nonzero genotypic error rates can neither assign nor exclude parentage with certainty. The goal of this work was therefore to determine whether or not such costs might be important under conditions relevant to parentage analyses, particularly in natural populations. Simulation results indicate that the costs may often outweigh the benefits of accounting for nonzero error rates, except in situations where data are available for many marker loci. Consequently, the most powerful approach to handling genotypic errors in parentage analyses might be to apply likelihood equations with error rates set to values substantially lower than the rates at which genotypic errors occur. When applying molecular parentage analyses to natural populations, we advocate an increased consideration of optimal strategies for handling genotypic errors. Currently available software packages contain procedures that can be used for this purpose.     

NABIC marker database: A molecular markers information network of agricultural crops

In 2013, National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) reconstructs a molecular marker database for useful genetic resources. The web-based marker database consists of three major functional categories: map viewer, RSN marker and gene annotation. It provides 7250 marker locations, 3301 RSN marker property, 3280 molecular marker annotation information in agricultural plants. The individual molecular marker provides information such as marker name, expressed sequence tag number, gene definition and general marker information. This updated marker-based database provides useful information through a user-friendly web interface that assisted in tracing any new structures of the chromosomes and gene positional functions using specific molecular markers.

Availability

The database is available for free at http://nabic.rda.go.kr/gere/rice/molecularMarkers/     

DNA分子标记技术在濒危物种保护中的应用

近20年来,随着分子生物学技术的迅猛发展,涌现出一批高效、可靠的DNA分子标记技术.本文论述了限制性片段长度多态性、微卫星DNA、随机扩增多态性DNA、扩增片段长度多态性等DNA分子标记技术的基本原理及技术特点;同时,介绍了DNA分子标记在濒危物种种群遗传学研究、致危因素分析及保护策略的制定等保护生物学方面的应用.     

Statistical analysis of binary data generated from multilocus dominant DNA markers

The use of methodologies such as RAPD and AFLP for studying genetic variation in natural populations is widespread in the ecology community. Because data generated using these methods exhibit dominance, their statistical treatment is less straightforward. Several estimators have been proposed for estimating population genetic parameters, assuming simple random sampling and the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) law. The merits of these estimators remain unclear because no comparative studies of their theoretical properties have been carried out. Furthermore, ascertainment bias has not been explicitly modelled. Here, we present a comparison of a set of candidate estimators of null allele frequency (q), locus-specific heterozygosity (h) and average heterozygosity () in terms of their bias, standard error, and root mean square error (RMSE). For estimating q and h, we show that none of the estimators considered has the least RMSE over the parameter space. Our proposed zero-correction procedure, however, generally leads to estimators with improved RMSE. Assuming a beta model for the distribution of null homozygote proportions, we show how correction for ascertainment bias can be carried out using a linear transform of the sample average of h and the truncated beta-binomial likelihood. Simulation results indicate that the maximum likelihood and empirical Bayes estimator of have negligible bias and similar RMSE. Ascertainment bias in estimators of is most pronounced when the beta distribution is J-shaped and negligible when the latter is inverse J-shaped. The validity of the current findings depends importantly on the HW assumption-a point that we illustrate using data from two published studies.     

草鱼基因组DNA一些RAPD位点的遗传分析及分子标记筛选

RAPD技术的实验结果很容易因实验条件和反应参数的不同而造成差异。为了建立能通用的草鱼基因组多态性分析RAPD分子标记体系,需要利用RAPD位点按照孟德尔共显性规律遗传的特点,用不同遗传背景的材料对多态性的RAPD位点进行统计遗传学比较分析以判断其真实性。为此,本实验选择具有遗传多态性的湘江流域草鱼群体和经连续两代人工诱导雌核发育获得的雌核发育草鱼品系,对一些可能作为草鱼基因组DNA分子标记的RAPD位点进行了遗传学比较分析。所用的10条多态性随机引物共检测到30个多态性RAPD位点。两个不同遗传背景群体的遗传统计对比分析结果表明:这30个多态位性位点在湘江流域草鱼群体和雌核发育草鱼群体中的分布符合孟德尔遗传规律,可以作为草鱼基因组DNA分析的可靠分子标记。本实验的观察结果还表明:在人工诱导雌核发育过程中,存在RAPD位点的快速丢失现象,两次人工诱导雌核发育过程中共丢失了17个多态性位点。因此,加强对自然水体中草鱼种质资源多样性的保护和利用各种现代生物学技术纯化、筛选和组合优良性状基因,是草鱼遗传育种中同样重要和不可或缺的两个方面。       

Strategies for dealing with incomplete information in the modeling of molecular interaction networks

Modelers of molecular interaction networks encounter the paradoxical situation that while large amounts of data are available, these are often insufficient for the formulation and analysis of mathematical models describing the network dynamics. In particular, information on the reaction mechanisms and numerical values of kinetic parameters are usually not available for all but a few well-studied model systems. In this article we review two strategies that have been proposed for dealing with incomplete information in the study of molecular interaction networks: parameter sensitivity analysis and model simplification. These strategies are based on the biologically justified intuition that essential properties of the system dynamics are robust against moderate changes in the value of kinetic parameters or even in the rate laws describing the interactions. Although advanced measurement techniques can be expected to relieve the problem of incomplete information to some extent, the strategies discussed in this article will retain their interest as tools providing an initial characterization of essential properties of the network dynamics.     

三种鳖线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因序列的比较分析

对中华鳖、砂鳖和山瑞鳖线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因进行了引物设计、PCR扩增、序列测定和PCR-PFLP(Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism)分析。研究结果表明中华鳖、砂鳖与山瑞鳖线粒体DNACytb基因的序列全长相同,均为1140bp,其A、C、G、T含量相似,分别为378个(33.2%)、322个(28.2%)1、22个(10.7%)、318个(27.9%)、373个(32.7%)、324个(28.4%)、124个(10.9%)、319个(28.0%)、380个(33.3%)3、30个(28.9%)、127个(11.1%)、303个(26.7%)。同源性及序列差异率分析表明:中华鳖与砂鳖b基因序列的同源性为92.3%,中华鳖、山瑞鳖的为85.0%,砂鳖、山瑞鳖的为84.1%;中华鳖与砂鳖b基因核苷酸序列间的差异率为7.7%,中华鳖、山瑞鳖间的序列差异率为15.0%,砂鳖、山瑞鳖间的序列差异率为15.9%,而中华鳖、砂鳖、山瑞鳖各自个体间的序列差异率分别为2.37%、0.88%和0.18%,种间差异显著。用内切酶酶切分析其扩增产物,结果表明:用内切酶NdeⅠ可准确鉴别砂鳖,而用内切酶BamHⅠ则可准确鉴别山瑞鳖。内切酶NdeⅠ和BamHⅠ的联用分析,可使这三种鳖在分子水平都得到明确的鉴定。从三种鳖线粒体DNACytb基因核苷酸序列的显著差异和酶切位点的变化,可以进一步证明砂鳖是不同于中华鳖的鳖属一新种。