极小种群植物川柿叶绿体基因组特征与系统发育分析（附录）

川柿(Diospyros sutchuensis)为极小种群和国家重点保护野生植物,分布范围狭窄,种群数量极少。目前,川柿基因组信息缺乏,在柿属(Diospyros)中的系统亲缘关系不明确。该研究通过Illumina平台对川柿叶绿体基因组进行测序,应用Getorganellev1.7.3.4和PGA软件对基因组进行组装和注释,使用DnaSP6.12.03软件进行多序列对比分析,并使用REPuter、Tandem Reapeats Finder和MISA软件进行重复序列分析,使用CodonW1.4和EasyCodemL软件分别进行密码子偏好性和选择压力分析。同时,基于4个不同的叶绿体基因组序列数据集,使用IQtree软件分析川柿与11个柿属物种的系统发育关系。结果表明:(1)川柿叶绿体基因组全长157 917 bp,包含1对26 111 bp的反向重复区、大单拷贝区(87 303 bp)和小单拷贝区(18 392 bp),GC碱基含量为37.4%。(2)川柿叶绿体基因组共注释到113个基因,包括79个蛋白编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因; 共检测到49个长重复序列、27个串联重复序列和34个简单重复序列; 蛋白编码基因中高频密码子31个,多数密码子末位碱基为A或U,编码亮氨酸的密码子使用最多; 基因组编码区比非编码区更为保守,10个高变热点区域可作为潜在的分子标记; 蛋白编码基因中有8个基因(ndhB、ndhG、ndhI、rbcL、rpoB、petB、petD、rps12)受到正选择压力。(3)系统发育分析显示,川柿与老鸦柿(D. rhombifolia)和乌柿(D. cathayensis)亲缘关系最为密切,它们与海南柿(D. hainanensis)共同形成一个单系分支。该研究结果既为川柿及柿属种质资源鉴定、遗传多样性保护以及种群恢复等提供了叶绿体基因组资源,也为阐明川柿的系统进化提供了重要的分子信息。     

药用植物华重楼(黑药花科)叶绿体全基因组研究

为探究华重楼(Paris polyphylla var. chinensis)的叶绿体基因组特征,利用叶绿体系统发育基因组学方法,对华重楼与其它百合目植物的叶绿体全基因组进行了比较。结果表明,华重楼的叶绿体全基因组长158307 bp,由4个区组成,包括2个反向重复区(IRA和IRB,27473 bp)、1个小单拷贝区(SSC,18175 bp)和1个大单拷贝区(LSC,85187 bp)。其叶绿体基因组有115个基因,包括81个编码蛋白质基因、30个转运RNA基因和4 个核糖体RNA基因。11种百合目植物的叶绿体全基因组的基因组成和基因顺序相似。华重楼的cemA基因是假基因,其起始密码子后有多聚核苷酸poly(A)及CA双核苷酸重复序列,编码序列中出现多个终止密码子, 且与北重楼(Paris verticillata)的cemA编码序列中的终止密码子位置不同。因此,华重楼叶绿体基因组比较保守;cemA结构及假基因化现象可能具有重要的进化与系统发育信息,其编码序列中的终止密码子可以区分华重楼和北重楼。     

桃叶珊瑚属植物的叶绿体基因组结构特征及系统发育分析

为确定桃叶珊瑚属(Aucuba)植物叶绿体基因组的结构及其序列变异,揭示其属下种间亲缘关系,该研究对桃叶珊瑚(A. chinensis)、花叶青木(A. japonica var. variegata)等6种桃叶珊瑚属植物和丝缨花属植物黄杨叶丝缨花(Garrya buxifolia)进行二代测序,利用生物信息学软件对其叶绿体基因组序列进行组装和注释,并进行基本特征分析、序列比较以及系统发育分析。结果表明:(1)桃叶珊瑚属植物叶绿体基因组具典型的环状四分体结构,6条序列全长157 891～158 325 bp,均编码114个基因,包括80个蛋白质编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因。(2)6种植物叶绿体基因组高频密码子数均为29个,偏好以A/U结尾,确定了这6条序列的最优密码子共100个,包含12个共有的最优密码子。(3)6条叶绿体基因组序列共检测到270条散在重复序列,133条串联重复序列以及412个SSR位点。(4)比较基因组学分析结果表明,该属植物叶绿体基因组序列高度保守。(5)从叶绿体基因组中筛选出10个高变片段。(6)系统发育分析结果显示支持桃叶珊瑚属为一个支持率较高的单系,与丝缨花属关系较近。该研究中的5种桃叶珊瑚属植物以及1种丝缨花属植物的叶绿体基因组均为首次测序组装,揭示了桃叶珊瑚属及其属下种间的系统发育关系,为桃叶珊瑚属植物的分类鉴定和系统发育提供了参考资料。     

濒危植物羊踯躅全基因组SSR标记开发与鉴定研究

该研究利用基于全基因组限制性酶切位点简化基因组测序技术（RAD seq技术）,开发濒危植物羊踯躅（Rhododendron molle G. Don）全基因组SSR标记,并对3个群体共63份羊踯躅材料进行验证鉴定,为进一步研究羊踯躅的遗传多样性和群体遗传结构以及保护利用提供技术支持。结果显示：（1）羊踯躅基因组测序获得原始数据7.653G bp,过滤后为7.513G bp;经组装发现,羊踯躅171.534 M bp的基因组分布在498 252 contigs中。（2）通过SSR检测,在11 961 SSR位点中获得了11 687对SSR分子标记,并且二核苷酸为基序的重复类型最丰富,达51.76%。（3）随机选取128对SSR标记在6个羊踯躅株系中进行PCR扩增,获得20对高多态性的SSR标记。（4）用所选的20对多态性SSR标记对3个群体共63份羊踯躅材料进行验证分析发现,这些多态性SSR标记位点的等位基因数为4~16个,期望杂合度（H_e）为0.489~0.908。 研究表明,羊踯躅的SSR丰度适中,且二核苷酸为羊踯躅中最丰富的重复序列,该实验进一步证明RAD seq技术是一种经济有效的基因测序方法,实验中开发的SSR引物将有助于进一步研究羊踯躅和其他近缘种的群体结构和多样性。     

牦牛和水牛全基因组微卫星分布规律及其比较分析

微卫星(simple sequence repeats,SSRs)广泛分布于原核生物和真核生物基因组中,包括编码区和非编码区,是最常用的分子标记。本文利用生物信息学方法搜索和统计了牦牛和水牛全基因组中完整型SSRs序列,并对其生物信息学特征进行比较分析。牦牛和水牛全基因组中SSRs总数量分别为968 134个和1 052 443个,占其全基因组长度的比例分别为5.80‰和5.69‰。牦牛和水牛全基因组SSRs总丰度(366.01 vs 371.07个/Mb)和总密度(5 686.00 vs 5 799.34 bp/Mb)基本接近。牦牛和水牛全基因组SSRs丰富度分布模式如下:单核苷酸SSRs二核苷酸SSRs三核苷酸SSRs五核苷酸SSRs四核苷酸SSRs六核苷酸SSRs,这6种重复类型SSRs特征相互比较有显著差异,而相同重复类型SSRs特征基本一致。水牛第1条染色体上SSRs数量最多(72 934个),其次依次是第2、3、4条染色体,而较少的是第23、24条染色体,其所有染色体上SSRs丰度不存在显著差异(p0.05)。牦牛和水牛SSRs序列随着重复单元中核苷酸数量的增加,而其重复拷贝数逐渐下降。牦牛全基因组和水牛各染色体上各重复类型优势SSRs序列基本一致,并与普通牛、绵羊全基因组中不同重复类型SSRs优势序列相一致。     

菱叶绣线菊彩叶园艺品种‘粉霜’和‘黄金喷泉’的叶绿体基因组研究

基于菱叶绣线菊(Spiraea×vanhouttei)培育出了很多的彩叶园艺品种,其中‘粉霜’彩叶绣线菊(‘Pink Ice’)和‘黄金喷泉’菱叶绣线菊(‘Gold Fountain’)是两个性状优良的品种,这两个彩叶品种的形成机制尚缺乏深入研究。该研究基于二代测序的浅层测序技术,对‘粉霜’和‘黄金喷泉’的叶绿体基因组进行组装、注释、绘制其叶绿体基因组图谱;结合网上已有的绣线菊属植物的叶绿体全基因组开展比较基因组学研究。结果表明,两个品种的叶绿体基因组均为典型的四分体结构,即含有1个LSC、1个SSC及2个IR;‘粉霜’和‘黄金喷泉’的叶绿体基因组大小分别为155 953和155 941 bp,各含有130个基因,包括85个蛋白编码基因,37个转运RNA基因和8个核糖体RNA基因;分别含有67、69个简单重复序列,其中,单核苷酸重复序列最多。筛选出这两个叶绿体基因组内7个高变异区域,分别为trnH_GUG-psbA、trnK_UUU、trnR_UCU-atpA、trnT_ GCU-psbD、ndhC、rpl32、ycf1。菱叶绣线菊、‘粉霜’和‘黄金喷泉’虽有非常近缘的关系,但并未聚成单系。该研究首次获得了两种绣线菊属彩叶品种的叶绿体基因组,为进一步理解绣线菊属及其彩叶园艺品种的亲缘关系提供了大量有用信息,并为今后该属更多园艺资源的发掘奠定了基础。     

西南地区野生刺梨的遗传多样性和遗传结构研究

为了探究西南地区野生刺梨(Rosa roxburghii)的遗传多样性和起源演化,该研究基于2段单拷贝核基因(GAPDH和ncpGS)和3段叶绿体基因(atpF-trnH、trnL-trnF和trnG-trnS)的拼接序列,对刺梨27个野生居群共320个个体进行PCR扩增和测序,并用相关软件对测序结果进行分析。结果表明:(1)在单拷贝核基因和叶绿体基因水平上刺梨均表现出较低的遗传多样性(scnDNA: Hd=0.469 2, π=0.000 49; cpDNA: Hd=0.653 4, π=0.000 65),并且不同居群间存在较大差异。(2)分子方差分析(AMOVA)结果均显示,遗传变异主要发生在居群内,表明居群内的变异是野生刺梨遗传变异的主要来源,居群间存在明显的遗传分化( cpDNA:F_ST=0.336 47,G_ST=0.273,N_ST= 0.308; scnDNA:F_ST=0.094 87,N_ST=0.076,G_ST=0.056),刺梨的分布不具有明显的谱系地理结构(P>0.05)。(3)中性检验 Tajima''s D值均为不显著负值,符合中性进化模型。Fu''s Fs值均为显著负值,结合失配分析曲线,推测刺梨种群在小范围内经历过扩张,但总体上维持稳定状态。(4)根据单倍型多样性得出,毕节地区的居群遗传多样性水平较高并且拥有丰富的单倍型,推测可能为冰期避难所,因此应对其实施就地保护。对于拥有特殊性状和特有单倍型的居群也应采取优先保护措施。该文为野生刺梨资源保护和遗传育种提供了一定的参考价值。     

猴樟叶绿体基因组特征分析

猴樟(Cinnamomum bodinieri)枝叶含有丰富的精油,是重要的园林绿化树种和经济树种,但目前有关猴樟基因组学的研究报道不多。为揭示猴樟叶绿体基因组特征及系统发育关系,该文基于高通量测序平台进行测序,从头组装了完整的猴樟叶绿体基因组,并对其基因组结构、基因构成及序列重复、密码子使用偏好性以及系统发育进行分析,结合樟亚科主要属物种叶绿体基因组数据构建系统发育树。结果表明:(1)猴樟叶绿体基因组全长152 727 bp,包括一对20 132 bp的反向重复(IRs)区、93 605 bp的大单拷贝(LSC)区和18 858 bp的小单拷贝(SSC)区,总GC含量为39.13%。(2)该基因组共编码127个基因,包括83个蛋白质编码基因(PCGs)、36个转运RNA基因(tRNAs)和8个核糖体RNA基因(rRNAs); 共鉴定出92个SSR位点,其中大部分是A/T组成的单核苷酸重复序列; 密码子适应指数(CAI)为0.166,有效密码子数(ENc)为54.68; 猴樟与近缘种的叶绿体基因组主要在IR区和2个SC区边界上存在一定的差异。(3)24种樟亚科植物的系统发育树显示,猴樟与樟树亲缘关系最近,同时支持了樟属-甜樟属分支(Cinnamomum-Ocotea Clade)、月桂属-新木姜子属分支(Laurus-Neolitsea Clade)、润楠属-鳄梨属分支(Machilus-Persea Clade)的建立。该研究丰富了猴樟遗传资源信息,进一步确定了樟亚科主要属的系统发育地位。     

两种珍稀白蝶兰属(兰科)叶绿体基因组比较分析

为理解珍稀濒危兰科植物龙头兰(Pecteilis susannae)和景洪白蝶兰(P.hawkesiana)的叶绿体基因组的基本特征,开发用于物种鉴定、保护遗传学和系统发育分析的分子标记,该研究利用二代测序技术对龙头兰和景洪白蝶兰进行浅层基因组测序,采用生物信息学分析方法进行叶绿体基因组的拼接、组装和注释,并与其他近缘物种进行比较基因组分析和系统发育分析。结果表明：(1)龙头兰和景洪白蝶兰的叶绿体基因组大小分别为154 407 bp和153 891 bp,由一对26 550 bp和26 523 bp的反向重复序列(IR)、84 204 bp和83 756 bp的大单拷贝区(LSC)、17 103 bp和17 089 bp的小单拷贝区(SSC)组成;均注释了111个唯一基因,包括77个蛋白质编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因。(2)在叶绿体基因组中分别鉴定出94个和92个简单重复序列(SSRs)。(3)二者之间存在706个单核苷酸多态性(SNPs)位点和152个插入缺失(InDels)位点,其中cpInDel 067等可以区分2个物种。(4)观察到1个差异较大的基因(accD...     

藏波罗花叶绿体基因组分析

藏波罗花（Incarvillea younghusbandii Sprague）是一种传统的补益类中药。其根作草药使用,用于滋补强壮,治产后少乳、久病虚弱、头晕、贫血等症。但目前关于藏波罗花分子遗传信息的研究很少。本研究基于高通量测序技术对藏波罗花叶绿体基因组进行测序、组装和注释,并对其序列特征、密码子偏好性、重复序列、系统发育和分化时间进行分析。结果表明,藏波罗花叶绿体基因组全长为159 323 bp,包含1个大单拷贝区（80 197 bp）、1个小单拷贝区（9 030 bp）和2个反向重复区（35 048 bp）;共注释出120个基因,包括77个蛋白编码基因、8个rRNA基因和35个tRNA基因;密码子偏好性分析显示,AAA是藏波罗花叶绿体基因组中使用最频繁的密码子;从藏波罗花叶绿体基因组中共检测到42个简单重复序列（simple sequence repeats,SSR）;系统发育分析表明,藏波罗花与密生波罗花（Incarvillea compacta）的亲缘关系最近,且在大概466万年前产生分化。本研究对藏波罗花相关资源的科学保护和开发具有重要的现实意义,也可以为后续角蒿属（Incarvillea）的物种鉴定、紫葳科（Bignoniaceae）的种群遗传多样性研究提供基本的遗传资源。     

基于叶绿体基因组SNP的天台鹅耳枥谱系结构与分化分析

天台鹅耳枥为中国特有的濒危植物,仅间断分布于浙江省境内,种群数量稀少,已处于极危状态。该文通过对6个自然居群(包含所有居群的母株)叶绿体基因组(cpDNA)单核苷酸多态性(SNP)研究,探讨天台鹅耳枥谱系结构与系统分化,以评估濒危状况,并提出相应的保护策略。使用TIANGEN试剂盒法提取基因组DNA,用Illumina NovaSeq 6000进行高通量测序,对获得叶绿体全基因组序列,使用在线程序OGDRAW制作cpDNA图谱,用DnaSP分析核苷酸多样性,用PopART软件进行单倍型网络构建,使用RAxML软件构建极大似然树(ML tree),用MrBayes构建Bayes tree。结果表明：(1)通过天台鹅耳枥叶绿体全基因组序列分析,发现大多数蛋白质编码基因和氨基酸序列显示出明显的密码子偏好,检测到cpLTR正向重复32个、回文重复25个、反转重复22个;SSR重复序列不同类型87个,其中大多数富含A/T,单核苷酸的数量最多。(2)在cpDNA中鉴定了314条SNPs,单核苷酸取代显示天台鹅耳枥群体属单系,分为天台县居群(THS)和景宁县居群(JST),居群单倍型之间演化关系呈现...     

白花刺续断野生居群的叶绿体全基因组特征解析

白花刺续断在中国西藏是一种常用的药用植物,但其叶绿体全基因组的相关研究较少。为揭示该物种叶绿体全基因组的基本特征并探讨其谱系遗传结构,该研究利用Illumina测序平台对来自5个野生居群的10个白花刺续断个体进行二代测序,经组装、注释,得到10条完整的叶绿体全基因组序列,并对它们的基因组特征和居群间的谱系进化关系进行了初步研究。结果表明：(1)白花刺续断的叶绿体全基因组大小为155 335～156 266 bp,共注释113个基因,包括72个蛋白编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因,其叶绿体基因组的大小、结构、GC含量及基因组成等方面在种内高度保守。(2)基因组比较分析表明,白花刺续断变异较大的片段均位于单拷贝区,且IR边界未出现明显的扩张和收缩。(3)群体遗传分析发现,白花刺续断的野生居群具有明显的地理遗传结构,不同居群间在遗传距离与地理距离上具有一定的相关性。研究认为,白花刺续断叶绿体基因组在种内居群水平上比较保守,且叶绿体基因组可在居群水平上揭示物种的地理遗传结构。这为后续开展刺续断属物种群体遗传学和系统发育基因组学研究奠定了基础。     

Chloroplast Genome of Native Silene latifolia subsp. alba from Fennoscandia Shows High Level of Differences from Invasive White Campion

Silene latifolia is an herbaceous plant with great invasive potential. Spread along trade routes from Europe to almost all continents, white campion became particularly widespread in North America. We sequenced the chloroplast genome of S. latifolia subsp. alba from a native range in southeast Fennoscandia. The chloroplast genome of native S. latifolia subsp. alba forms a 151,747-bp circle, has two inverted repeat regions (25,993 bp each), large single copy (82,708 bp), and small single copy (17,106 bp) regions. It contains 77 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. SSRs and long DNA repeats were identified. Comparison of a newly sequenced plastome of S. latifolia subsp. alba with plastomes of invasive specimens of species from North America and Japan revealed a high level of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among them. A total of 214 SNPs were found, among which 110 were identified in intergenic spacers, 74 in exons, and 30 in introns. Intraspecific shifts in inverted repeat boundaries were identified. Our research suggests that high polymorphic regions may be potential molecular markers for population studies and that high intraspecific genetic polymorphism may contribute to a species’ invasive success.

     

Genetic linkage maps of Populus nigra L. including AFLPs, SSRs, SNPs, and sex trait

Black poplar (Populus nigra L.) is a tree of ecological and economic interest. A better knowledge of P. nigra genome is needed for an effective protection and use of its genetic resources. The main objective of this study is the construction of a highly informative genetic map of P. nigra species including genes of adaptive and economic interest. Two genotypes originated from contrasted natural Italian populations were crossed to generate a F₁ mapping pedigree of 165 individuals. Amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), simple sequence repeat (SSR), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used to genotype 92 F₁ individuals, and the pseudo-test-cross strategy was applied for linkage analysis. The female parent map included 368 markers (274 AFLPs, 91 SSRs, and 3 SNPs) and spanned 2,104 cM with 20 linkage groups, and the male parent map, including 317 markers (205 AFLPs, 106 SSRs, 5 SNPs, and sex trait), spanned 2,453 cM with 23 main linkage groups. The sex, as morphological trait, was mapped on the linkage group XIX of the male parent map. The generated maps are among the most informative in SSRs when compared to the Populus maps published so far and allow a complete alignment with the 19 haploid chromosomes of Populus sequence genome. These genetic maps provide informative tools for a better understanding of P. nigra genome structure and genetic improvement of this ecologically and economically important European tree species. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Correlations among oligonucleotide repeats,nucleotide substitutions,and insertion–deletion mutations in chloroplast genomes of plant family Malvaceae

The co‐occurrence of mutational events including substitutions and insertions–deletions (InDels) with oligonucleotide repeats has previously been reported for a limited number of prokaryotic, eukaryotic, and organelle genomes. In this study, the correlations among these mutational events in chloroplast genomes of species in the eudicot family Malvaceae were investigated. This study also reported chloroplast genome sequences of Hibiscus mutabilis, Malva parviflora, and Malvastrum coromandelianum. These three genomes and 16 other publicly available chloroplast genomes from 12 genera of Malvaceae were used to calculate the correlation coefficients among the mutational events at family, subfamily, and genus levels. In these comparisons, chloroplast genomes were pairwise aligned to record the substitutions and the InDels in mutually exclusive, 250nucleotide long bins. Taking one among the two genomes as a reference, the coordinate positions of oligonucleotide repeats in the reference genome were recorded. The extent of correlations among repeats, substitutions, and InDels was calculated and categorized as follows: very weak (0.1–0.19), weak (0.20–0.29), moderate (0.30–0.39), and strong (0.4–0.69). The extent of correlations ranged 0.201–0.6 between “InDels and single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)”, 0.182–0.513 between “InDels and repeat” and 0.055–0.403 between “SNPs and repeats”. At family‐ and subfamily‐level comparisons, 88%–96% of the repeats showed co‐occurrence with SNPs, whereas at the genus level, 23%–86% of the repeats co‐occurred with SNPs in same bins. Our findings support the previous hypothesis suggesting the use of oligonucleotide repeats as a proxy for finding the mutational hotspots.     

Genome-Wide Identification of SSR and SNP Markers Based on Whole-Genome Re-Sequencing of a Thailand Wild Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

Genomic resources such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), insertions and deletions (InDels) and SSRs (simple sequence repeats) are essential for crop improvement and better utilization in genetic breeding. However, the resources for the sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) are still limited. In the present study, to dissect large-scale genomic molecular marker resources for sacred lotus, we re-sequenced a Thailand sacred lotus cultivar ‘Chiang Mai wild lotus’ and compared with the reported lotus genome ‘Middle lake wild lotus’. A total of 3,180,059 SNPs, 328, 251 InDels and 14,191 SVs were found between the two genomes. The functional impact analyses of these SNPs indicated that they may be involved in metabolic processes, binding, catalytic activity, etc. Mining the genome sequences for SSRs showed that 191,657 SSRs were identified with a frequency of one SSR per 4.23 kb and 103,656 SSR primer pairs were designed. Furthermore, 14, 502 EST-SSRs were also indentified using the available RNA-seq data in the NCBI. A subset of 150 SSRs (genomic and EST-SSRs) was randomly selected for validation and genetic diversity analysis. The genotypes could be easily distinguished using these SSR markers and the ‘Chiang Mai wild lotus’ was obviously differentiated from the other Chinese accessions. This study provides considerable amounts of genomic resources and markers for the quantitative trait locus (QTL) identification and molecular selection of the species, which could have a potential role in various applications in sacred lotus breeding.     

The Organelle Genomes of Hassawi Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Its Hybrid in Saudi Arabia: Genome Variation, Rearrangement, and Origins

Hassawi rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a landrace adapted to the climate of Saudi Arabia, characterized by its strong resistance to soil salinity and drought. Using high quality sequencing reads extracted from raw data of a whole genome sequencing project, we assembled both chloroplast (cp) and mitochondrial (mt) genomes of the wild-type Hassawi rice (Hassawi-1) and its dwarf hybrid (Hassawi-2). We discovered 16 InDels (insertions and deletions) but no SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) is present between the two Hassawi cp genomes. We identified 48 InDels and 26 SNPs in the two Hassawi mt genomes and a new type of sequence variation, termed reverse complementary variation (RCV) in the rice cp genomes. There are two and four RCVs identified in Hassawi-1 when compared to 93-11 (indica) and Nipponbare (japonica), respectively. Microsatellite sequence analysis showed there are more SSRs in the genic regions of both cp and mt genomes in the Hassawi rice than in the other rice varieties. There are also large repeats in the Hassawi mt genomes, with the longest length of 96,168 bp and 96,165 bp in Hassawi-1 and Hassawi-2, respectively. We believe that frequent DNA rearrangement in the Hassawi mt and cp genomes indicate ongoing dynamic processes to reach genetic stability under strong environmental pressures. Based on sequence variation analysis and the breeding history, we suggest that both Hassawi-1 and Hassawi-2 originated from the Indonesian variety Peta since genetic diversity between the two Hassawi cultivars is very low albeit an unknown historic origin of the wild-type Hassawi rice.     

Analysis of simple sequence repeats (SSRs)dynamics in fungus Fusarium graminearum

The abundance and inherent potential for variations in simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites resulted in valuable source for genetic markers in eukaryotes. We describe the organization and abundance of SSRs in fungus Fusarium graminearum (causative agent for Fusarium head blight or head scab of wheat). We identified 1705 SSRs of various nucleotide repeat motifs in the sequence database of F. graminearum. It is observed that mononucleotide repeats (62%) were most abundant followed by di- (20%) and trinucleotide repeats (14%). It is noted that tetra-, penta- and hexanucleotide repeats accounted for only 4% of SSRs. The estimated frequency of Class I SSRs (perfect repeats ≥20 nucleotides) was one SSR per 124.5 kb, whereas the frequency of Class II (perfect repeats >10 nucleotides and ≫20 nucleotides) was one SSR per 25.6 kb. The dynamics of SSRs will be a powerful tool for taxonomic, phylogenetic, genome mapping and population genetic studies as SSR based markers show high levels of allelic variation, codominant inheritance and ease of analysis.