Rapid characterization of mutations in amplified human hprt cDNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Compiling hprt mutation spectra involves the isolation and analysis of numerous 6-thioguanine-resistant clones for identifying characteristic point mutations. Since cDNA amplificates are compulsary intermediates in most mutant classification protocols, we suggest their preliminary characterization by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for the rapid distinction of clonal and independent mutants and for streamlining mutant analysis procedures. Based on the human hprt cDNA sequence a strategy was developed for mapping missing exons by analytical digests with a small panel of restriction enzymes. In mutant classification schemes, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of AluI-digested cDNA amplificates increased the sensitivity for detecting RT-PCR products of reduced size, e.g., in the case of missing exon 5. Restriction analysis of cDNA amplificates from 109 independent mutant clones showed a significant increase of exon loss after NNK induction as compared to spontaneous or BaP-induced mutants. The determination of exon loss from cDNA amplificates, as carried out for 39 independent mutant PCR products, might direct towards the genomic target sequences carrying the point mutations, that caused the aberrant splicing, thus eliminating the need of laborious multiplex PCR comprising all exons. For single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of five known point mutations, sub-amplificates comprising exons 7 and 8 of hprt cDNA were obtained. After a combined heat and alkali denaturation of the double-stranded PCR products, the samples were separated in pre-cast polyacrylamide gels under non-denaturing conditions. Five known nucleotide substitutions within the amplified region, including the C508T hot spot mutation, resulted in mobility shifts of single-strand bands relative to the wild type pattern.     

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in randomly selected genes among japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties identified by PCR-RF-SSCP.

DNA polymorphism of randomly selected genes in rice cultivars was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-RF-SSCP) technique. Single DNA fragments were amplified from genomic DNA of the Nipponbare cultivar by 671 primer pairs among the 1000 primer pairs tested. PCR-RF-SSCP analysis using the 671 primer pairs detected polymorphism in 108 DNA fragments between 17 japonica paddy-rice cultivars. An average of 36.9 DNA fragments showed polymorphism between any pair of japonica paddy-rice cultivars. The nucleotide sequences of the polymorphic DNA fragments were determined for 50 alleles of 45 genes together with Nipponbare alleles. In these genes, 142 SNPs and 32 insertions/deletions were identified. Among these 174 sequence variations, 71 were in exons, 78 in introns, and 25 in unassigned regions. There were 28 alleles which had sequence variations in the exons. One allele had a 1-bp deletion in the exon causing a frame-shift mutation, 15 alleles had missense mutations, and the other 12 alleles had synonymous changes and/or sequence variations in 3' untranslated regions. The number of genes having sequence variations between the rice cultivars and the functional implications of the identified SNPs are herein discussed.     

小麦淀粉粒束缚淀粉合成酶基因多态性的分子鉴定

运用6％的SDS-PAGE对14个小麦品种成熟籽粒Wx蛋白的多态性进行了鉴定,结果表明,14个小麦品种根据其Wx蛋白的缺失情况可分为6种组合类型。另外,根据Wx-A1、Wx-D1和Wx-D1这3个位点基因序列和变异情况分别设计了PCR引物,扩增结果表明：Wx-A1位点突变材料扩增产物为327bp,正常材料中扩增不到该特异带;在Wx-B1位点扩增出187bp目标带,突变材料没有该扩增产物;在Wx-D1位点扩增出约700bp目标带,突变材料没有该特异带。与前人的研究结果相比,Wx-B1引物在3个位点的扩增产物长度更短,差异更大,在2％琼脂糖胶上即可清楚分开,缩短了鉴定时间,提高了效率,为大规模筛选优质面条小麦品种提供了可能。     

Efficient detection of DNA polymorphism in cabbage and rice cultivars by PCR-RF-SSCP (PRS)

PCR (polymerase chain reaction)-RF(restriction fragment)-SSCP (single-strand conformation polymorphism) - designated here as PRS - is a combined method of SSCP and PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) - designated as CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence) - and was efficient in detecting intraspecific variation of the SLR1 gene in Brassica oleracea. One to six nucleotide changes in restriction fragments of the SLR1 gene were detected as different bands in PRS. In an analysis of randomly chosen DNA fragments in cabbage, PRS detected DNA polymorphism between different cultivars with more than 60% of the primer pairs used except for a combination of two cultivars having highly similar characteristics. In rice, no DNA polymorphism was found between two Japonica cultivars, while more than 80% of the primer pairs showed DNA polymorphism between Japonica cultivars and Indica cultivars. PRS had a 1.5- to twofold greater ability to detect DNA polymorphism in these cabbage and rice cultivars than CAPS. The present study indicated that PRS is potentially useful for the identification of crop cultivars and genetic mapping of DNA fragments including genes of interest.     

MC1R是控制鸡黑色素形成的候选主效基因

黑素皮质素受体1 (melanocortin 1-receptor, MC1R)基因是控制动物黑色素合成的重要基因.采用多聚酶链反应-单链构象多态性分析(PCR-SSCP)以及DNA测序的方法,在由丝羽乌骨鸡与明星肉鸡为亲本建立的中国农业大学资源家系群体鸡MC1R基因的编码区检测到3个单核苷酸多态位点,并对该单核苷酸多态性进行了分析.结果显示,鸡MC1R基因编码区引物3扩增片段多态性是由G→A（867位）点突变引起的,引物5扩增片段的多态性是由C→T（1 292位）与C→G（1 377位）两个点突变引起的,最后对单核苷酸多态性与肤色、肉色、胫色与内脏膜色等黑色素性状进行了卡方独立性分析,结果显示,MC1R基因编码区867处突变与鸡的肤色性状显著相关（P＜0.05）,1 292处突变与鸡的活体胫色性状显著相关（P＜0.05）,1 377处突变与鸡的肉色性状显著相关（P＜0.05）.研究表明,MC1R基因可能是鸡黑色素性状的主效基因或者与鸡控制黑色素性状的主效基因连锁.     

Polymorphism attribution of cSNPs in cancer-related genes located in loss regions with a high frequency of HCC between HBV and health groups

Cancer-related genes harbored in the loss regions containing a high frequency of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were selected.Related information was gathered and the coding single nucleotide polymorphism (cSNP) sequences were obtained from the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) database.The appropriate primers and oligonucleotide probes were then designed in accordance with the SNP sites,and subsequently,the gene chips for detecting SNPs were constructed.Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of healthy controls and from patients with HBV infection.The sequences,including the SNPs,were amplified via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and labeled using digoxigenin deoxyuridine tri-phosphate (Dig-dUTP).The labeled products were then hybridized with the SNP chips.Results confirmed that the differences in allele frequencies of three SNPs EGFL3 (rs947345),Caspase9 (rs2308950),and E2F2 (rs3218171) were distinct between HBV-infected patients and controls,suggesting that these SNPs ocuring in high frequency in HBV-infected individuals may be associated with susceptibility to HCC.     

dCAPS, a simple technique for the genetic analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms: experimental applications in Arabidopsis thaliana genetics

PCR-based detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms is a powerful tool for the plant geneticist. Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence analysis is the most widely used approach for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms. However, this technique is limited to mutations which create or disrupt a restriction enzyme recognition site. This paper presents a modification of this technique where mismatches in a PCR primer are used to create a polymorphism based on the target mutation. This technique is useful for following known mutations in segregating populations and genetic mapping of isolated DNAs used for positional based cloning of new genes. In addition, a computer program has been developed that facilitates the design of these PCR primers.     

A new single nucleotide polymorphism in the ryanodine gene of chicken skeletal muscle

Some genes affect meat quality in chickens. We looked for polymorphisms in the Gallus gallus α-RyR gene (homologous to RyR 1) that could be associated with PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat. Because RyR genes are over 100,000 bp long and code for proteins with about 5000 amino acids, primers were designed to amplify a fragment of hotspot region 2, a region with a high density of mutations in other species. Total blood DNA was extracted from 50 birds, 25 that had PSE meat and 25 normal chickens. The DNA samples were amplified by PCR, cloned, sequenced, and used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The amplified fragment of α-RyR was 604 nucleotides in length; 181 nucleotides were similar to two exons from a hypothetical turkey cDNA sequence for α-RyR. A non-synonymous nucleotide substitution (G/A) was identified in at least one of the three sequenced clones obtained from nine animals, six PSE (HAL+) birds and three normal (HAL-) birds; they were heterozygous for this mutation. This SNP causes a change from Val to Met in the α-RYR protein. Since the frequencies of this SNP were not significantly different in the PSE versus normal chickens, it appears that this mutation (in heterozygosity) does not alter the structure or function of the muscle protein, making it an inappropriate candidate as a genetic marker for PSE meat.     

重组人淋巴毒素随机点突变组合文库的构建

构建重组人淋巴毒素（rhLT）随机点突变组合文库以进行体外分子进化及结构和功能的研究。应用含随机核苷酸序列的引物,通过Overlap PCR的方法分别对rhLT 的46、106和130位氨基酸进行定点随机突变,获得各单点随机突变体库。通过基因操作将这三个单点随机突变体库拼接并克隆于Pmd_18T载体建立三点组合突变体文库,DNA测序鉴定突变位点的随机性和多样性,原核表达该变异体库,体外测定生物学活性。成功获得rhLT三点随机点突变组合文库,其转化克隆数达到1.5×10⁵,是多样性理论值的4.5倍。50个样品的序列分析显示各个位点的核苷酸和氨基酸序列的突变都呈随机性分布。对原核表达的30个样品进行生物学活性测定,结果70%(21个)的样品无活性、23.3%(7个)的样品活性低于rhLT、6.7%(2个)的样品活性高于rhLT。成功构建了rhLT随机点突变组合文库,该库不仅在一级结构上具有良好的随机性和多样性,而且具有生物学活性的多样性,为应用噬菌体展示等高通量筛选策略对淋巴毒素进行体外分子进化和结构与功能的深入研究打下了基础。     

小型猪葡萄糖转运子4外显子4a的基因多态性分析

目的分析我国特有的3个小型猪品系巴马小型猪、中国农大小型猪、五指山小型猪葡萄糖转运子4基因外显子4a的单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）分布特点,为我国小型猪在糖尿病和代谢性疾病研究中提供基础资料。方法以3个品系小型猪基因组DNA为模板,应用特异性引物进行PCR扩增,扩增产物纯化测序,进行BLAST比对分析。结果在小型猪GLUT-4基因外显子4a上有2个SNP位点：SNP1：GCT→GCC（Ala133 Ala）,3个品系均发生了变化,均为纯合突变,其突变率为（22/22,100%）。SNP2：GGC→GGT（Gly146 Gly）,巴马小型猪突变率为（6/6,100%）,均为纯合突变;五指山小型猪突变率为（6/6,100%）,均为纯合突变;中国农大小型猪突变率为（10/10,100%）,其中包括6例纯合突变（6/10,60%）和4例杂合突变（4/10,40%）。结论SNPs1,在所有测定的小型猪品系中检出,这可能是所测小型猪的共有特征。SNPs2可能是小型猪品系之间的差异。     

A disequilibrium model for detecting genetic mutations for cancer

It has been recognized that genetic mutations in specific nucleotides may give rise to cancer via the alteration of signaling pathways. Thus, the detection of those cancer-causing mutations has received considerable interest in cancer genetic research. Here, we propose a statistical model for characterizing genes that lead to cancer through point mutations using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. The basic idea of the model is that mutated genes may be in high association with their nearby SNPs because of evolutionary forces. By genotyping SNPs in both normal and cancer cells, we formulate a polynomial likelihood to estimate the population genetic parameters related to cancer, such as allele frequencies of cancer-causing alleles, mutation rates of alleles derived from maternal or paternal parents, and zygotic linkage disequilibria between different loci after the mutation occurs. We implement the EM algorithm to estimate some of these parameters because of the missing information in the likelihood construction. The model allows the elegant tests of the significant associations between mutated cancer genes and genome-wide SNPs, thus providing a way for predicting the occurrence and formation of cancer with genetic information. The model, validated through computer simulation, may help cancer geneticists design efficient experiments and formulate hypotheses for cancer gene identification.     

Detection of single nucleotide mutations in wheat using single strand conformation polymorphism gels

We show that single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, using the mutation detection enhancement (MDE^TM) matrix, is efficient at detecting sequence polymorphisms in PCR amplicons. Four independent wheat genomic fragments were amplified from two contrasting templates and sequenced. The allelic fragments were differentiated at 1–6 single nucleotide positions, but MDE-SSCP was able to unequivocally distinguish each allelic pair. The approach is therefore considered a powerful way of identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) without extensive amplicon sequencing.     

Tomato SNP Discovery by EST Mining and Resequencing

Many economically important crop species are relatively depauparate in genetic diversity (e.g., soybean, peanut, tomato). DNA polymorphism within cultivated tomato has been estimated to be low based on molecular markers. Through mining of more than 148,000 public tomato expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and full-length cDNAs, we identified 764 EST clusters with potential single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among more than 15 tomato lines. By sequencing regions from 53 of these clusters in two to three lines, we discovered a wealth of nucleotide polymorphism (62 SNPs and 12 indels in 21 Unigenes), resulting in a verification rate of 27.2% (28 of 103 SNPs predicted in EST clusters were verified). We hypothesize that five regions with 1.6–13-fold more diversity relative to other tested regions are associated with introgressions from wild relatives. Identifying polymorphic, expressed genes in the tomato genome will be useful for both tomato improvement and germplasm conservation.     

SNPs detection by a single-strand specific nuclease on a PNA zip-code microarray

In this report, a reliable peptide nucleic acid (PNA) microarray-based method for accurately detecting single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in human genes is described. The technique relies on the mismatched cleavage activity of a single-strand specific (SSS) nuclease. PCR amplification was performed to prepare gene fragments containing the mutation sites. The amplified fragments were then employed as templates for the SSS nuclease reaction using chimeric probes, modified with biotin at the 5' end and extended with a unique anchoring zip-code complement sequence at the 3' end. The SSS nuclease promotes cleavage of heteroduplex DNAs at base mismatched positions to produce crumbled chimeric probes in the presence of imperfectly matching template strands. In contrast, the probes remain intact when they interact with perfectly matched template strands. Only the non-fragmented probes generate fluorescence signals after treatment with streptavidin-Cy3 on the PNA zip-code array. This methodology was used to successfully genotype selected Korean-specific BRCA mutation sites with wild type and mutant samples. The investigation has led to the development of a reliable SSS nuclease-based system for the diagnosis of human genetic mutations or SNPs.     

Detection of point mutations in DNA using capillary electrophoresis in a polymer network

The use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) in a polymer network for single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) is investigated. SSCP is a method to detect DNA point mutations, essential in the diagnosis of several diseases. The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplified p53 gene, a tumour suppressor gene known to be frequently mutated in malignant cells, was subjected to CE analysis. Two single-strand DNA fragments of 372 bp in length differing in only one nucleotide could be separated. We conclude that SSCP using CE in a polymer network is a powerful method for the detection of point mutations in DNA sequences.     

小型猪胰淀素基因的多态性分析

目的探讨我国3个特有的小型猪品系,巴马小型猪,五指山小型猪,中国农大小型猪胰淀素（IAPP）基因多态性分布,为我国小型猪在2型糖尿病及代谢性疾病研究中的应用提供基础资料。方法提取3个品系小型猪血液基因组DNA,针对IAPP基因外显子3~内含子3的部分序列进行PCR扩增,产物鉴定、测序,统计分析基因多态。结果在所扩增的片段中共检测出2个SNPs位点,SNPs1：43G→A,位于外显子上,未引起的氨基酸的改变,突变发生在五指山猪（G/A杂合突变为16.7%,A纯合突变为83.3%）和中国农大猪（G/A杂合突变60%,A纯合突变为20%两个品系中。SNPs2：214C→T,位于内含子上,发生在五指山猪（T/C杂合突变为16.7%,T纯合突变为83.3%）和中国农大猪（T/C杂合突变为20%,T纯合突变为60%）两个品系中。结论在IAPP基因外显子3-内含子3的部分扩增序列中发现了2个SNPs位点,在3个品系小型猪中的分布不同。     

DNA mutations associated with the human butyrylcholinesterase J-variant.

The J-variant of human serum butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) causes both an approximately two-thirds reduction of circulating enzyme molecules and a corresponding decrease in the level of BChE activity present in serum. Since the level of serum BChE activity and the duration of succinylcholine apnea are inversely correlated, this marked decrease in activity makes individuals with the J-variant more susceptible than usual subjects to prolonged apnea from succinylcholine. We reinvestigated the same family in which Garry et al. identified the J-variant phenotype. The atypical, fluoride, and K-variant mutations were also identified in members of the 47-person pedigree. DNA amplification by PCR, followed by direct sequencing of the amplified DNA, led to the finding that the J-variant phenotype of human serum BChE was associated with two DNA point mutations in the coding region. One of these was the mutation previously identified with the K-variant phenotype (GCA----ACA; Ala539----Thr). The other was an adenine-to-thymine transversion at nucleotide 1490, which changed amino acid 497 from glutamic acid to valine (GAA----GTA; Glu497----Val). This latter point mutation was named the J-variant mutation (formal name BCHE*497V). The J-variant mutation has not been identified without the K-variant mutation. The J-variant mutation created an RsaI-enzyme RFLP. Two additional point mutations, located in the noncoding regions of the gene, were also found to be linked with the J-variant and K-variant point mutations on the same allele. These noncoding polymorphic mutations had previously been found linked to the atypical and K-variant point mutations. A summary table shows dibucaine, fluoride, and Hoffmann-La Roche compound Ro 2-0683 inhibition numbers for 119 samples whose DNA has been sequenced. Eighteen BChE genotypes are represented.