Identification of candidate genes in rice for resistance to sheath blight disease by whole genome sequencing

Recent advances in whole genome sequencing (WGS) have allowed identification of genes for disease susceptibility in humans. The objective of our research was to exploit whole genome sequences of 13 rice (Oryza sativa L.) inbred lines to identify non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) and candidate genes for resistance to sheath blight, a disease of worldwide significance. WGS by the Illumina GA IIx platform produced an average 5× coverage with ~700 K variants detected per line when compared to the Nipponbare reference genome. Two filtering strategies were developed to identify nsSNPs between two groups of known resistant and susceptible lines. A total of 333 nsSNPs detected in the resistant lines were absent in the susceptible group. Selected variants associated with resistance were found in 11 of 12 chromosomes. More than 200 genes with selected nsSNPs were assigned to 42 categories based on gene family/gene ontology. Several candidate genes belonged to families reported in previous studies, and three new regions with novel candidates were also identified. A subset of 24 nsSNPs detected in 23 genes was selected for further study. Individual alleles of the 24 nsSNPs were evaluated by PCR whose presence or absence corresponded to known resistant or susceptible phenotypes of nine additional lines. Sanger sequencing confirmed presence of 12 selected nsSNPs in two lines. “Resistant” nsSNP alleles were detected in two accessions of O. nivara that suggests sources for resistance occur in additional Oryza sp. Results from this study provide a foundation for future basic research and marker-assisted breeding of rice for sheath blight resistance.     

miRTRAP, a computational method for the systematic identification of miRNAs from high throughput sequencing data

MicroRNAs (miRs) have been broadly implicated in animal development and disease. We developed a novel computational strategy for the systematic, whole-genome identification of miRs from high throughput sequencing information. This method, miRTRAP, incorporates the mechanisms of miR biogenesis and includes additional criteria regarding the prevalence and quality of small RNAs arising from the antisense strand and neighboring loci. This program was applied to the simple chordate Ciona intestinalis and identified nearly 400 putative miR loci.     

Identification of a novel candidate gene for rolled leaf in rice

A semi-narrow and adaxially rolled leaf mutant, rl15(t), was induced from Korean japonica rice cultivar Ilpum by chemical mutagenesis using ethyl methanesulfonate. We characterized the mutant and identified the novel gene causing the mutant phenotype. Cytological analysis of mutant leaves indicated that the adaxial leaf-rolling phenotype is due to the reduced size and number of bulliform cells in the mutant. Genetic analysis showed that the rolled leaf trait is controlled by a single recessive gene, designated rl15(t). Using an F₂ mapping population generated from a cross between Milyang23 and the mutant, we mapped the candidate region to a 174 kb interval on the long arm of chromosome 1 near the centromeric region. Through whole genome sequencing in bulk and MutMap analysis, we identified the causal SNP within the candidate region. The results of RT-PCR analysis indicated that a splicing error occurred due to a base change from G to A at the beginning of the fifth intron of LOC_Os01g37837, which encodes a putative seryl-tRNA synthetase, resulting in the mutant phenotype. Further study of the rl15(t) gene will facilitate analysis of leaf architecture and morphogenesis in rice plants.     

Identification of novel candidate genes by exome sequencing in Tunisian familial male breast cancer patients

Molecular Biology Reports - Male Breast Cancer (MBC) is a rare and aggressive disease that is associated with genetic factors. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for...     

基于MiSeq高通量测序技术对3个孝感凤窝酒曲细菌多样性的评价

目的 对凤窝酒曲细菌多样性进行研究。方法 选取孝感地区3个凤窝酒曲作为研究对象,采用MiSeq高通量测序技术以16S rRNA为靶点,对其细菌菌群构成进行研究。结果 3个凤窝酒曲中发现9个优势核心属,其相对含量累计为78.15%,发现10个相对含量大于1.0%的分类操作单元,累计相对含量为60.62%。结论 3个凤窝酒曲共有大量的核心细菌菌群。     

基于高通量测序的油茶地区人群肠道菌群多样性

目的 探索广西油茶地区人群肠道菌群的特征。 方法 采用1∶1病例对照研究方法,在广西油茶地区和非油茶地区按性别、年龄匹配收集20对健康男性人群粪便和血样,同时收集个体一般信息和食物摄入信息;测定血生化指标,采用16S rDNA的 V4-V5区序列进行高通量测序分析肠道菌群的差异。 结果 油茶组人群肠道菌群丰度(Ace指数、Chao1指数)较非油茶组显著增加(t=2.202、3.210,P=0.034、0.003);厚壁菌门、柔壁菌门在油茶组中丰度显著高于非油茶组,拟杆菌门、梭杆菌门在非油茶组中显著高于油茶组;油茶组Dialister、Faecalibacterium、毛螺旋菌属、普雷沃菌属、棒状杆菌、微球菌、双歧杆菌的丰度显著高于非油茶组;油茶组人群体质量、BMI、血清总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白、超敏C 反应蛋白水平显著降低(t或z=2.682、3.843、2.238、2.702、1.581,P=0.007、结论 广西油茶地区人群肠道菌群多样性具有显著特征,为通过肠道菌群研究油茶的健康效应提供了新的理论依据。     

Identification of novel candidate genes in heterotaxy syndrome patients with congenital heart diseases by whole exome sequencing

Heterotaxy syndrome (HS) involves dysfunction of multiple systems resulting from abnormal left-right (LR) body patterning. Most HS patients present with complex congenital heart diseases (CHD), the disability and mortality of HS patients are extremely high. HS has great heterogeneity in phenotypes and genotypes, which have rendered gene discovery challenging. The aim of this study was to identify novel genes that underlie pathogenesis of HS patients with CHD. Whole exome sequencing was performed in 25 unrelated HS cases and 100 healthy controls; 19 nonsynonymous variants in 6 novel candidate genes (FLNA, ITGA1, PCNT, KIF7, GLI1, KMT2D) were identified. The functions of candidate genes were further analyzed in zebrafish model by CRISPR/Cas9 technique. Genome-editing was successfully introduced into the gene loci of flna, kmt2d and kif7, but the phenotypes were heterogenous. Disruption of each gene disturbed normal cardiac looping while kif7 knockout had a more prominent effect on liver budding and pitx2 expression. Our results revealed three potential HS pathogenic genes with probably different molecular mechanisms.     

Analysis of queuosine and 2-thio tRNA modifications by high throughput sequencing

Queuosine (Q) is a conserved tRNA modification at the wobble anticodon position of tRNAs that read the codons of amino acids Tyr, His, Asn, and Asp. Q-modification in tRNA plays important roles in the regulation of translation efficiency and fidelity. Queuosine tRNA modification is synthesized de novo in bacteria, whereas in mammals the substrate for Q-modification in tRNA is queuine, the catabolic product of the Q-base of gut bacteria. This gut microbiome dependent tRNA modification may play pivotal roles in translational regulation in different cellular contexts, but extensive studies of Q-modification biology are hindered by the lack of high throughput sequencing methods for its detection and quantitation. Here, we describe a periodate-treatment method that enables single base resolution profiling of Q-modification in tRNAs by Nextgen sequencing from biological RNA samples. Periodate oxidizes the Q-base, which results in specific deletion signatures in the RNA-seq data. Unexpectedly, we found that periodate-treatment also enables the detection of several 2-thio-modifications including τm⁵s²U, mcm⁵s²U, cmnm⁵s²U, and s²C by sequencing in human and E. coli tRNA. We term this method periodate-dependent analysis of queuosine and sulfur modification sequencing (PAQS-seq). We assess Q- and 2-thio-modifications at the tRNA isodecoder level, and 2-thio modification changes in stress response. PAQS-seq should be widely applicable in the biological studies of Q- and 2-thio-modifications in mammalian and microbial tRNAs.     

Evaluation of microbial population dynamics in the co-composting of cow manure and rice straw using high throughput sequencing analysis

Microbial population dynamics in co-composting of cow manure and rice straw were evaluated using 16S high throughput sequencing technology. Physicochemical factors, including temperature, pH, nitrogen contents, the ratio of carbon and nitrogen, and germination index, were also determined in this study. 16S high throughput sequencing results showed that bacterial community structure and composition significantly varied in each phase of composting. The major phyla included Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Planctomycetes, respectively. Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla in all phases, and Actinobacteria was just dominant in the mesophilic phase, while Firmicutes and Planctomycetes were ubiquitous. At the genus level, Simiduia, Flavobacterium, unclassified Chitinophagaceae and Flexibacter notably changed in each phase of composting. Bacterial community diversity in the mesophilic phase was higher than that in others based on the Shannon–Wiener index and Simpson diversity index. The ratio of carbon and nitrogen and germination index indicated that the co-composting of cow manure and rice straw reached maturation. The result of nitrogen contents showed that nitrogen loss mainly occurred in the thermophilic phase. In addition, the differences in the distributions of key OTUs between in the late thermophilic phase and the cooling and maturation phase were unobvious compared with other phase’s base on the principal component analysis. Redundancy analysis revealed that the changes of nitrogen played a predominant role in the distributions of OTUs during the composting process.     

Large scale library generation for high throughput sequencing

Background

Large efforts have recently been made to automate the sample preparation protocols for massively parallel sequencing in order to match the increasing instrument throughput. Still, the size selection through agarose gel electrophoresis separation is a labor-intensive bottleneck of these protocols.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this study a method for automatic library preparation and size selection on a liquid handling robot is presented. The method utilizes selective precipitation of certain sizes of DNA molecules on to paramagnetic beads for cleanup and selection after standard enzymatic reactions.

Conclusions/Significance

The method is used to generate libraries for de novo and re-sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq 2000 instrument with a throughput of 12 samples per instrument in approximately 4 hours. The resulting output data show quality scores and pass filter rates comparable to manually prepared samples. The sample size distribution can be adjusted for each application, and are suitable for all high throughput DNA processing protocols seeking to control size intervals.     

基于高通量测序技术解析浓香型白酒中窖泥臭味物质4-甲基苯酚的来源

【目的】研究浓香型白酒中主要窖泥臭味物质4-甲基苯酚的原料来源;解析窖泥菌群结构,从中分离得到产4-甲基苯酚的菌株,以明确4-甲基苯酚的微生物来源。【方法】运用气相色谱-质谱连用(GC-MS)技术对窖泥、糖化料和大曲中的4-甲基苯酚定性定量;运用高通量测序技术解析窖泥的菌群结构,并通过可培养技术从中筛选产4-甲基苯酚的微生物。【结果】糖化料和曲粉中4-甲基苯酚含量均低于检测限。窖泥中检测到4-甲基苯酚,其中窖底窖泥4-甲基苯酚含量达到24.24μg/g。测定的窖泥菌群主要包括8个纲,其中Bacteroidia、Clostridia和Methanobacteria在上中底部窖泥中含量均高于8%,为主要优势纲。窖泥中含量在1%的属有11个,主要包括Clostridium、Aminobacterium、Methanobacterium、Methanobrevibacter等。经过分离筛选,窖泥中的Clostridium aminovalericum、Clostridium ultunense和Clostridium purinilyticum可产4-甲基苯酚,与窖泥高通量测序结果比对显示,含量都在0.20%以上。【结论】4-甲基苯酚主要来源于窖泥,窖泥微生物可代谢产生4-甲基苯酚。窖泥菌群结构复杂,窖池不同深度的菌群结构并不一致,其中Clostridia及Clostridium与4-甲基苯酚的变化规律相似,含量随深度增加而升高。从窖泥中筛选得到3株产4-甲基苯酚的菌株,3株菌都属于Clostridium。Clostridium在窖泥中的含量达到4.89%,其中筛选得到的3株菌在窖泥中的总含量接近1%,综上得出Clostridium是4-甲基苯酚的主要微生物来源。     

高通量测序分析多种典型生境中厌氧氨氧化细菌的多样性分布特征

【背景】厌氧氨氧化过程是氮素循环过程的重要途径之一,在氮素循环中发挥重要作用。先前的研究已经证实了厌氧氨氧化细菌存在于多种生境中,但对其多样性分布还没有系统的研究。【目的】对厌氧氨氧化细菌在不同类型生境中的多样性分布规律进行深入分析,充分展示其在不同生境中的群落结构特点,并揭示多样性分布与环境因素之间的关系。【方法】在建立厌氧氨氧化细菌16S rRNA基因序列数据库的基础上,运用高通量测序技术分析其在不同生境中的多样性分布特征。【结果】厌氧氨氧化细菌在红树林、海湾和河口生境中的多样性水平较高,而污泥和红壤的多样性水平明显较低。系统发育分析表明,这些生境中的厌氧氨氧化细菌主要由Candidatus Brocadia、Ca.Scalindua和未明确分类地位的菌属组成;从河流到红树林生态系统,随着盐度的增加,厌氧氨氧化细菌的优势种属由Ca. Brocadia转变到Ca. Scalindua,相关性分析也表明了盐度是导致不同生境中厌氧氨氧化细菌群落结构差异的主要因素。【结论】不同生境中存在不同的厌氧氨氧化细菌种群结构,环境条件的差异影响了厌氧氨氧化细菌的种群分布和系统演化。     

高通量测序技术对胚胎停育患者阴道真菌的研究

目的 通过高通量测序技术探究妊娠早期胚胎停育患者阴道真菌分布,比较其与正常早期妊娠者阴道真菌之间的差异,揭示胚胎停育与阴道真菌变化的相关性。 方法 选取2018年5月至2018年11月在兰州大学第二医院产科就诊的20例患者为研究对象,其中胚胎停育10例(实验组),正常早期妊娠10例(对照组)。分别取两组对象阴道分泌物样本行ITS rDNA高通量测序,测序数据进行OTU聚类分析,Alpha多样性和Beta多样性分析,组间群落差异性分析。 结果 实验组女性阴道真菌群落中未发现特征菌的存在,但菌群丰度显著高于对照组(P结论 阴道真菌丰度的显著变化可能与胚胎停育相关,尤其是Rhizopus丰度显著升高应当引起注意。     

Identification of miRNAs and their targets from Brassica napus by high-throughput sequencing and degradome analysis

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous regulators of a broad range of physiological processes and act by either degrading mRNA or blocking its translation. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is one of the most important crops in China, Europe and other Asian countries with publicly available expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and genomic survey sequence (GSS) databases, but little is known about its miRNAs and their targets. To date, only 46 miRNAs have been identified in B. napus. RESULTS: Forty-one conserved and 62 brassica-specific candidate B. napus miRNAs, including 20 miRNA* sequences, were identified using Solexa sequencing technology. Furthermore, 33 non-redundant mRNA targets of conserved brassica miRNAs and 19 new non-redundant mRNA targets of novel brassica-specific miRNAs were identified by genome-scale sequencing of mRNA degradome. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes large scale cloning and characterization of B. napus miRNAs and their potential targets, providing the foundation for further characterization of miRNA function in the regulation of diverse physiological processes in B. napus.