表达序列标签及基因芯片技术在植物抗性基因研究中的应用

表达序列标签和基因芯片技术是基因组学研究的重要手段。表达序列标签是cDNA的3’或5’端的一段序列,通过表达序列标签可以寻找在某种胁迫条件下特异表达的基因并推测其可能的功能。基因芯片技术是指将大量基因探针分子固定于载体上并与标记的样品分子进行杂交,通过检测每个探针分子的杂交信号强度获取样品分子数量和序列信息,通过基因芯片技术,可以研究基因在不同的条件下的表达量,进而研究植物抗性机理。     

The amino acid sequence of the cytochrome c2 from the phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas globiformis.

The amino acid sequence of the principal soluble cytochrome c from the phototrophic acidophilic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas (or Rhodopila) globiformis was determined. By the criteria of percentage sequence identity and fewness of internal insertions and deletions it is more similar in sequence to some mitochondrial cytochromes c than to any known bacterial cytochrome. The organism does not have any properties that commend it as being particularly similar to postulated prokaryotic precursors of the mitochondrion. We consider that the relatively high degree of sequence similarity is an instance of convergence, and is an example of the limitations that are imposed on attempts to deduce distant evolutionary relationships from sequence information. Detailed evidence for the amino acid sequence of the protein has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50136 (12 pages) at the British Library Lending Division, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies are available on prepayment [see Biochem. J. (1987) 241, 5].     

cDNA sequence and predicted primary structure of the gamma subunit from the ATP synthase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The 1701-base nucleotide sequence (not including the poly(A) tail) of a cDNA for the gamma subunit of the ATP synthase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was determined. A start translation sequence, 23 bases in from the 5' end, initiates an 1074-base-long open reading frame. The sequence of the first 21 amino acids at the amino-terminal end of the mature gamma subunit from C. reinhardtii was determined and compared to the deduced amino acid sequence of the open reading frame. From this it was determined that the mature protein contains 323 amino acids, with the first 35 amino acids probably being part of the transit peptide. The length of the mature protein is the same as that for the mature gamma subunit from spinach, for which only a few of the amino acids of the transit peptide are known. The similarity of the two mature proteins at the nucleotide level is 56% while at the amino acid level it is 77%. In addition, the 3 cysteines, which in spinach are involved in the energy-linked catalytic functions of the ATP synthase, are conserved in the predicted amino acid sequence for the gamma subunit from C. reinhardtii. In contrast, the mature C. reinhardtii gamma subunit contains 3 additional cysteine residues not found in the spinach gamma subunit.     

Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough)

The nucleotide sequence of the 4.7-kb SalI/EcoRI insert of plasmid pHV 15 containing the hydrogenase gene from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) has been determined with the dideoxy chain-termination method. The structural gene for hydrogenase encodes a protein product of molecular mass 45820 Da. The NH2-terminal sequence of the enzyme deduced from the nucleic acid sequence corresponds exactly to the amino acid sequence determined by Edman degradation. The nucleic acid sequence indicates that a N-formylmethionine residue precedes the NH2-terminal amino acid Ser-1. There is no evidence for a leader sequence. The NH2-terminal part of the hydrogenase shows homology to the bacterial [8Fe-8S] ferredoxins. The sequence Cys-Ile-Xaa-Cys-Xaa-Xaa-Cys-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Cys-Pro-Xaa-Xaa-Ala-(Ile) occurs twice both in the hydrogenase and in [8Fe-8S] ferredoxins, where the Cys residues have been shown to coordinate two [4Fe-4S] clusters [Adman, E. T., Sieker, L. C. and Jensen, L. H. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 3987-3996]. These results, therefore, suggest that two electron-transferring ferredoxin-like [4Fe-4S] clusters are located in the NH2-terminal segment of the hydrogenase molecule. There are ten more Cys residues but it is not clear which four of these could participate in the formation of the third cluster, which is thought to be the hydrogen binding centre. Another gene, encoding a protein of molecular mass 13493 Da, was found immediately downstream from the gene for the 46-kDa hydrogenase. The nucleic acid sequence suggests that the hydrogenase and the 13.5-kDa protein belong to a single operon and are coordinately expressed. Since dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis of purified hydrogenase indicates the presence of a 13.5-kDa polypeptide in addition to the 46-kDa component, it is proposed that the hydrogenase from D. vulgaris (Hildenborough) is a two-subunit enzyme.     

Purification of the novel endonuclease, Hpy188I, and cloning of its restriction-modification genes reveal evidence of its horizontal transfer to the Helicobacter pylori genome

We have isolated a novel restriction endonuclease, Hpy188I, from Helicobacter pylori strain J188. Hpy188I recognizes the unique sequence, TCNGA, and cleaves the DNA between nucleotides N and G in its recognition sequence to generate a one-base 3' overhang. Cloning and sequence analysis of the Hpy188I modification gene in strain J188 reveal that hpy188IM has a 1299-base pair (bp) open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 432-amino acid product. The predicted protein sequence of M.Hpy188I contains conserved motifs typical of aminomethyltransferases, and Western blotting indicates that it is an N-6 adenine methyltransferase. Downstream of hpy188IM is a 513-bp ORF encoding a 170-amino acid product, that has a 41-bp overlap with hpy188IM. The predicted protein sequence from this ORF matches the amino acid sequence obtained from purified Hpy188I, indicating that it encodes the endonuclease. The Hpy188I R-M genes are not present in either strain of H. pylori that has been completely sequenced but are found in two of 11 H. pylori strains tested. The significantly lower G + C content of the Hpy188I R-M genes implies that they have been introduced relatively recently during the evolution of the H. pylori genome.     

Phylogenetic position of the spirochetal genus Cristispira.

Comparative sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes was used to determine the phylogenetic relationship of the genus Cristispira to other spirochetes. Since Cristispira organisms cannot presently be grown in vitro, 16S rRNA genes were amplified directly from bacterial DNA isolated from Cristispira cell-laden crystalline styles of the oyster Crassostrea virginica. The amplified products were then cloned into Escherichia coli plasmids. Sequence comparisons of the gene coding for 16S rRNA (rDNA) insert of one clone, designated CP1, indicated that it was spirochetal. The sequence of the 16S rDNA insert of another clone was mycoplasmal. The CP1 sequence possessed most of the individual base signatures that are unique to 16S rRNA (or rDNA) sequences of known spirochetes. CP1 branched deeply among other spirochetal genera within the family Spirochaetaceae, and accordingly, it represents a separate genus within this family. A fluorescently labeled DNA probe designed from the CP1 sequence was used for in situ hybridization experiments to verify that the sequence obtained was derived from the observed Cristispira cells.     

Cloning, sequencing and expression studies of the genes encoding amicyanin and the beta-subunit of methylamine dehydrogenase from Thiobacillus versutus.

The genes encoding amicyanin and the beta-subunit of methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH) from Thiobacillus versutus have been cloned and sequenced. The organization of these genes makes it likely that they are coordinately expressed and it supports earlier findings that the blue copper protein amicyanin is involved in electron transport from methylamine to oxygen. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the amicyanin-encoding gene is in agreement with the published protein sequence. The gene codes for a pre-protein with a 25-amino-acid-long signal peptide. The amicyanin gene could be expressed efficiently in Escherichia coli. The protein was extracted with the periplasmic fraction, indicating that pre-amicyanin is translocated across the inner membrane of E. coli. Sequence studies on the purified beta-subunit of MADH confirm the amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene. The latter codes for a pre-protein with an unusually long (56 amino acids) leader peptide. The sequencing results strongly suggest that pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) or pro-PQQ is not the co-factor of MADH.     

A single, recent origin of the accessory B chromosome of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

B chromosomes are dispensable chromosomes found in >2000 eukaryotic species, usually behaving as genomic parasites. Most B chromosomes seem to be made up of the same kind of DNA sequences present in the A chromosomes. This sequence similarity makes it difficult to obtain specific molecular probes that may permit B-presence diagnosis without cytogenetic analysis. We have developed a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker for B chromosomes in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, which specifically amplifies a 1510-bp DNA fragment exclusively in B-carrying individuals. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and fiber FISH analyses showed that this marker is a tandemly repeated DNA sequence closely intermingled with 45S rDNA. PCR reactions showed the presence of SCAR-like sequences in the A chromosomes, but in two separate fragments, supporting the intraspecific origin of B chromosomes in this species. SCAR marker DNA sequence showed to be identical in B chromosome variants from several localities from Spain and Morocco, and it was very similar to those found in B chromosome variants from Greece and Armenia. This strongly suggests that this sequence was already present in the ancestral B chromosome of this species. In addition, the scarce sequence variation observed among several B variants from very distant populations suggests either a functional constraint or, more likely, a recent and unique origin for B chromosomes in this species.     

Identification of a protein that binds to the Ho endonuclease recognition sequence at the yeast mating type locus.

Mating type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae initiates when Ho endonuclease makes a site-specific double-stranded break at MAT, the yeast mating type locus. To identify other proteins involved in this process, we examined whether extracts prepared from ho- mutants contain additional factors that bind near the recognition sequence for Ho. Using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we isolated a chromatographic fraction that contains an activity, named YZbp, which binds to two sequences flanking the recognition sequence at MATalpha and to one sequence overlapping it at MATa. MAT plasmids carrying mutations in the YZbp recognition sequence are cleaved by purified Ho at wild-type efficiencies in an in vitro assay. These same plasmids, however, are not cleaved by Ho inside cells, demonstrating that YZbp acts as a positive activator of in vivo cleavage. YZbp is present in all cell types, even those not undergoing mating type switching, suggesting that it has additional cellular functions.     

An ensemble of support vector machines for predicting the membrane protein type directly from the amino acid sequence

Given a particular membrane protein, it is very important to know which membrane type it belongs to because this kind of information can provide clues for better understanding its function. In this work, we propose a system for predicting the membrane protein type directly from the amino acid sequence. The feature extraction step is based on an encoding technique that combines the physicochemical amino acid properties with the residue couple model. The residue couple model is a method inspired by Chou’s quasi-sequence-order model that extracts the features by utilizing the sequence order effect indirectly. A set of support vector machines, each trained using a different physicochemical amino acid property combined with the residue couple model, are combined by vote rule. The success rate obtained by our system on a difficult dataset, where the sequences in a given membrane type have a low sequence identity to any other proteins of the same membrane type, are quite high, indicating that the proposed method, where the features are extracted directly from the amino acid sequence, is a feasible system for predicting the membrane protein type.     

Construction and characterization of cDNA encoding the alpha 2 chain of chicken type IX collagen

We have isolated and characterized a cDNA encoding the carboxy-terminal half of one of the polypeptide subunits of a novel disulfide-bonded collagen found in hyaline cartilage. This collagen has been given the type assignment type IX, and it has several unusual characteristics. First, the polypeptide subunits are shorter than alpha-chains of the fibrillar collagens types I, II, and III. Second, type IX molecules are heterotrimers of three genetically distinct polypeptide subunits. Third, type IX molecules contain three triple-helical collagenous domains interspersed with noncollagenous domains. When chicken cartilage collagens are extracted with pepsin, type IX collagen is cleaved and gives rise to the triple-helical fragments HMW and LMW. The identification of the cDNA reported here is based on a comparison of the amino acid composition of tryptic peptides derived from LMW with the composition of tryptic peptides predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA. We also show that the amino-terminal sequence of one of the subunits of LMW is identical with the sequence predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA. Finally, we demonstrate that the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of a tryptic peptide isolated from one of the subunits of HMW is identical with a sequence predicted from the cDNA. We have given the polypeptide chain encoded by the cDNA reported here the name alpha 2(IX), and we show that it is homologous to the alpha 1(IX) chain previously characterized by us.     

Minimizing the number of tool switches on a flexible machine

This article analyzes a tool switching problem arising in certain flexible manufacturing environments. A batch of jobs have to be successively processed on a single flexible machine. Each job requires a subset of tools, which have to be placed in the tool magazine of the machine before the job can be processed. The tool magazine has a limited capacity, and, in general, the number of tools needed to produce all the jobs exceeds this capacity. Hence, it is sometimes necessary to change tools between two jobs in a sequence. The problem is then to determine a job sequence and an associated sequence of loadings for the tool magazine, such that the total number of tool switches is minimized. This problem has been previously considered by several authors; it is here revisited, both from a theoretical and from a computational viewpoint. Basic results concerning the computational complexity of the problem are established. Several heuristics are proposed for its solution, and their performance is computationally assessed.     

On periodicities governing the construction of genes and proteins

Inasmuch as all events in this universe are governed by multitudes of periodicities, it is a mistake to regard any coding sequence as unique implying the descent from random assemblages of four bases. Instead, each coding sequence is comprised of primordial and derived repeating units. In the case of families of proteins with transmembrane alpha-helices, the primordial repeating units of their coding sequences were base heptamers, thus, giving the heptapeptidic periodicity very conductive to alpha-helix formation to the original polypeptide chains. Even in modern coding sequences for these families of proteins, intact and base-substituted copies of these primordial heptamers are found in more or less even distribution along the entire coding sequence. In addition, there are now locally prominent tandemly recurring units that are only remotely related to primordial heptamers. In the case of Ca++ channel, local prominence of one such nonameric unit gave a unique tripeptidic periodicity to the fourth helix of each unit giving to it a girdle of positively charged residues. All these complex interplays between primordial and derived recurring units that characterize each coding sequence can best be appreciated by their musical transformation. The transformed musical score of a pertinent part of rabbit skeletal muscle Ca++ channel coding sequence is given.     

An exploration of the sequence of a 2.9-Mb region of the genome of Drosophila melanogaster: the Adh region.

A contiguous sequence of nearly 3 Mb from the genome of Drosophila melanogaster has been sequenced from a series of overlapping P1 and BAC clones. This region covers 69 chromosome polytene bands on chromosome arm 2L, including the genetically well-characterized "Adh region." A computational analysis of the sequence predicts 218 protein-coding genes, 11 tRNAs, and 17 transposable element sequences. At least 38 of the protein-coding genes are arranged in clusters of from 2 to 6 closely related genes, suggesting extensive tandem duplication. The gene density is one protein-coding gene every 13 kb; the transposable element density is one element every 171 kb. Of 73 genes in this region identified by genetic analysis, 49 have been located on the sequence; P-element insertions have been mapped to 43 genes. Ninety-five (44%) of the known and predicted genes match a Drosophila EST, and 144 (66%) have clear similarities to proteins in other organisms. Genes known to have mutant phenotypes are more likely to be represented in cDNA libraries, and far more likely to have products similar to proteins of other organisms, than are genes with no known mutant phenotype. Over 650 chromosome aberration breakpoints map to this chromosome region, and their nonrandom distribution on the genetic map reflects variation in gene spacing on the DNA. This is the first large-scale analysis of the genome of D. melanogaster at the sequence level. In addition to the direct results obtained, this analysis has allowed us to develop and test methods that will be needed to interpret the complete sequence of the genome of this species.Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it. Milne 1926     

Complete amino acid sequence of the type III isozyme of rat hexokinase, deduced from the cloned cDNA

Clones containing cDNA coding for the Type III isozyme of rat hexokinase (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1) were isolated from a library prepared in lambda gt10 with rat liver mRNA. Three clones were characterized. Their composite sequence includes the entire coding region for Type III hexokinase, 3' untranslated sequence extending into the polyadenylated region, and 80 bp of 5' untranslated sequence. Extensive similarity in sequence of N- and C-terminal halves of the enzyme, previously seen with the Type I isozyme, is consistent with the view that these 100-kDa mammalian hexokinases are the evolutionary result of duplication and fusion of a gene coding for an ancestral hexokinase having a molecular weight of approximately 50 kDa. Extensive similarities are seen between sequences of the Type I and III isozymes, and those reported for mammalian glucokinase (also called Type IV hexokinase) and for the hexokinase and glucokinase of yeast. Residues thought to be involved in catalytic function are highly conserved in all of these enzymes. Based on a quantitative comparison of sequence similarities, it is concluded that the 50-kDa mammalian glucokinase is more closely related to the 100-kDa mammalian enzymes than it is to the 50-kDa enzymes from yeast. One interpretation of this might be that the mammalian glucokinase arose by resplitting of the gene coding for the 100-kDa mammalian hexokinases.     

Characterization of the DNA binding protein encoded by the N-specific filamentous Escherichia coli phage IKe. Binding properties of the protein and nucleotide sequence of the gene

A DNA binding protein encoded by the filamentous single-stranded DNA phage IKe has been isolated from IKe-infected Escherichia coli cells. Fluorescence and in vitro binding studies have shown that the protein binds co-operatively and with a high specificity to single-stranded but not to double-stranded DNA. From titration of the protein to poly(dA) it has been calculated that approximately four bases of the DNA are covered by one monomer of protein. These binding characteristics closely resemble those of gene V protein encoded by the F-specific filamentous phages M13 and fd. The nucleotide sequence of the gene specifying the IKe DNA binding protein has been established. When compared to the nucleotide sequence of gene V of phage M13 it shows an homology of 58%, indicating that these two phages are evolutionarily related. The IKe DNA binding protein is 88 amino acids long which is one amino acid residue larger than the gene V protein sequence. When the IKe DNA binding protein sequence is compared with that of gene V protein it was found that 39 amino acid residues have identical positions in both proteins. The positions of all five tyrosine residues, a number of which are known to be involved in DNA binding, are conserved. Secondary structure predictions indicate that the two proteins contain similar structural domains. It is proposed that the tyrosine residues which are involved in DNA binding are the ones in or next to a beta-turn, at positions 26, 41 and 56 in gene V protein and at positions 27, 42 and 57 in the IKe DNA binding protein.     

Polymorphism of the precursor for the major surface antigens of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites: studies at the genetic level.

The gene for the precursor of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigens has been cloned. The entire sequence of the gene from a Thai isolate of the parasite is reported. It provides evidence for a signal peptide, a region containing short repeating peptides and an anchor sequence. In addition, the 5' end of a Papua New Guinea isolate has been sequenced. Comparison of these and other sequences defines, at the genetic level, a polymorphic region in the protein, and suggests that other parts of the protein are less susceptible to variation. Furthermore it appears that several signal peptides of P. falciparum exhibit extensive sequence homologies.