Analysis of the SAG5 locus reveals a distinct genomic organisation in virulent and avirulent strains of Toxoplasma gondii

We have recently characterised, in the virulent strain RH of Toxoplasma gondii, three glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored surface antigens related to SAG1 (p30) and encoded by highly homologous, tandemly arrayed genes named SAG5A, SAG5B and SAG5C. In the present study, we compared the genomic organisation of the SAG5 locus in strains belonging to the three major genotypes of T. gondii. Southern blot analysis using a SAG5-specific probe produced two related but distinct hybridisation patterns, one exclusive of genotype I virulent strains, the other shared by avirulent strains of either genotype II or genotype III. To understand the molecular bases of this intergenotypic heterogeneity, we cloned and sequenced the SAG5 locus in the genotype II strain Me49. We found that in this isolate the SAG5B gene is missing, with SAG5A and SAG5C laying contiguously. This genomic arrangement explains the hybridisation profiles observed for all the avirulent strains examined and indicates that the presence of SAG5B is a distinctive trait of genotype I. Furthermore, we identified two novel SAG1-related genes, SAG5D and SAG5E, mapping respectively 1.8 and 4.0 kb upstream of SAG5A. SAG5D is transcribed in tachyzoites and encodes a polypeptide of 362 amino acids sharing 50% identity with SAG5A-C, whereas SAG5E is a transcribed pseudogene. We also evaluated polymorphisms at the SAG5 locus by comparing the coding regions of SAG5A-E from strains representative of the three archetypal genotypes. In agreement with the strict allelic dimorphism of T. gondii, we identified two alleles for SAG5D, whereas SAG5A, SAG5C and SAG5E were found to be three distinct nucleotide variants. The higher intergenotypic polymorphism of SAG5A, SAG5C and SAG5E suggests that these genes underwent a more rapid genetic drift than the other members of the SAG1 family. Finally, we developed a new PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism method based on the SAG5C gene that is able to discriminate between strains of genotype I, II and III by a single endonuclease digestion.     

Cloning and characterization of a novel human TEKTIN1 gene

Tektins comprise a family of filament-forming proteins that are known to be coassembled with tubulins to form ciliary and flagellar microtubules. A new member of the tektin gene family was cloned from the human fetal brain cDNA library. We hence named it the human TEKTIN1 gene. TEKTIN1 cDNA consists of 1375 bp and has a putative open reading frame encoding 418 amino acids. The predicted protein is 48.3 kDa in size, and its amino acid sequence is 82% identical to that of the mouse, rat, and dog. One conserved peptide RPNVELCRD was observed at position number 323–331 of the amino acid sequence, which is a prominent feature of tektins and is likely to represent a functionally important protein domain. TEKTIN1 gene was mapped to the human chromosome 17 by BLAST search, and at least eight exons were found. Northern blot analysis indicated that TEKTIN1 was predominantly expressed in testis. By in-situ hybridization analysis, TEKTIN1 mRNA was localized to spermatocytes and round spermatids in the seminiferous tubules of the mouse testis, indicating that it may play a role in spermatogenesis.     

Molecular characterisation and expression of two venom allergen-like protein genes in Heterodera glycines.

Secretory proteins encoded by genes expressed in the oesophageal gland cells of plant-parasitic nematodes have key roles in nematode parasitism of plants. Two venom allergen-like protein cDNAs (designated hg-vap-1 and hg-vap-2)were isolated from Heterodera glycines gland cell cDNA libraries. Both cDNAs hybridised to genomic DNA of H. glycines in Southern blots. The hg-vap-1 cDNA contained an open reading frame encoding 215 amino acids with the first 25 amino acids being a putative secretion signal. The hg-vap-2 cDNA contained an open reading frame encoding 212 amino acids with the first 19 amino acids being a putative secretion signal. Genes of hg-vap-1 and hg-vap-2 contained four introns, which ranged in size from 44 to 574 bp, and five exons ranging in size from 43 to 279 bp. In situ hybridisation analyses showed that mRNAs of both vap genes accumulated specifically in the subventral gland cells of H. glycines during parasitism. The gland cell-specific expression and presence of predicted secretion signal peptides in both VAPs suggest that these proteins are secreted from the nematode and may play a role in the infection of host plants by this parasite.     

Mouse fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4): characterization of the gene and functional assessment as a very long chain acyl-CoA synthetase

FATP4 (SLC27A4) is a member of the fatty acid transport protein (FATP) family, a group of evolutionarily conserved proteins that are involved in cellular uptake and metabolism of long and very long chain fatty acids. We cloned and characterized the murine FATP4 gene and its cDNA. From database analysis we identified the human FATP4 genomic sequence. The FATP4 gene was assigned to mouse chromosome 2 band B, syntenic to the region 9q34 encompassing the human gene. The open reading frame was determined to be 1929 bp in length, encoding a polypeptide of 643 amino acids. Within the coding region, the exon-intron structures of the murine FATP4 gene and its human counterpart are identical, revealing a high similarity to the FATP1 gene. The overall amino acid identity between the deduced murine and human FATP4 polypeptides is 92.2%, and between the murine FATP1 and FATP4 polypeptides is 60.3%. Northern analysis showed that FATP4 mRNA was expressed most abundantly in small intestine, brain, kidney, liver, skin and heart. Transfection of FATP4 cDNA into COS1 cells resulted in a 2-fold increase in palmitoyl-CoA synthetase (C16:0) and a 5-fold increase in lignoceroyl-CoA synthetase (C24:0) activity from membrane extracts, indicating that the FATP4 gene encodes an acyl-CoA synthetase with substrate specificity biased towards very long chain fatty acids.     

肋果沙棘和西藏沙棘转录因子bHLH94基因对海拔适应性分化的研究

bHLH转录因子是植物体内的第二大类转录因子,在植物的生长发育、生理代谢及逆境应答过程中起着重要的作用。以肋果沙棘（Hippophae neurocarpa）和西藏沙棘（H. tibetana）为研究材料,通过转录组测序,筛选出受正选择作用的转录因子bHLH94基因,基于HnbHLH94、HtbHLH94基因序列和基因表达量分析,研究肋果沙棘和西藏沙棘bHLH94基因对海拔的响应机制。HnbHLH94和HtbHLH94基因分别编码338和335个氨基酸,Sanger法测序验证序列的正确性及二者DNA结合结构域之外的10个非同义突变位点,推测与该基因的适应性进化有关;qRT-PCR验证HnbHLH94基因表达量随海拔的升高而减小,HtbHLH94基因表达量随海拔的升高而增大,提示二者可能在干旱、冷冻及辐射等方面提供了对海拔适应的分子基础。综上,HnbHLH94和HtbHLH94基因在序列结构和表达量两个方面来响应海拔升高的生境条件。     

葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族全基因组鉴定及其对硫化物的响应特性

由葡萄座腔菌Botryosphaeria dothidea引起的轮纹病是严重威胁我国苹果产业健康持续发展的重要病害之一。前期研究表明,韭菜及其主要成分硫化物能显著致死病原菌并能高效防控该病的发生。为了明确微小染色体维持蛋白（Mcm）基因家族在葡萄座腔菌中的基本功能,在全基因组水平对葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族进行了鉴定,并分析了葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族对硫化物的响应特性。结果显示：葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族共有6个成员（BdMcm2-BdMcm7）,分别位于5条重叠群（contig）上,含有3-14个CDS区。葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族编码产物主要定位于细胞核,每个成员均具有Mcm-box结构域及其Walker A、Walker B及R-finger结构特征,长度为718-1 618aa,等电点为5.04-8.33,分子量为79.78-180.30kDa。RNA-seq数据和qRT-PCR分析表明硫化物三硫醚能高效抑制葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因家族的表达,与对照相比,6个葡萄座腔菌Mcm基因表达量分别下调20.56%-78.10%和10.74%-73.83%,两者呈现高度一致性（R²=0.8958）。细胞流式仪检测表明硫化物也显著阻滞了葡萄座腔菌细胞周期。该研究为进一步揭示韭菜及其主要成分防控苹果轮纹病机理提供了理论依据。     

Genetic analysis implicates a molecular chaperone complex in regulating epigenetic silencing of methylated genomic regions

DNA cytosine methylation confers stable epigenetic silencing in plants and many animals. However, the mechanisms underlying DNA methylation-mediated genomic silencing are not fully understood. We conducted a forward genetic screen for cellular factors required for the silencing of a heavily methylated p35S:NPTII transgene in the Arabidopsis thaliana rdm1-1 mutant background, which led to the identification of a Hsp20 family protein, RDS1 (rdm1-1 suppressor 1). Loss-of-function mutations in RDS1 released the silencing of the p35S::NPTII transgene in rdm1-1 mutant plants, without changing the DNA methylation state of the transgene. Protein interaction analyses suggest that RDS1 exists in a protein complex consisting of the methyl-DNA binding domain proteins MBD5 and MBD6, two other Hsp20 family proteins, RDS2 and IDM3, a Hsp40/DNAJ family protein, and a Hsp70 family protein. Like rds1 mutations, mutations in RDS2, MBD5, or MBD6 release the silencing of the transgene in the rdm1 mutant background. Our results suggest that Hsp20, Hsp40, and Hsp70 proteins may form a complex that is recruited to some genomic regions with DNA methylation by methyl-DNA binding proteins to regulate the state of silencing of these regions.     

白菜型冬油菜β-1,3-葡聚糖酶基因在低温胁迫下的表达

为探明β-1,3-葡聚糖酶基因(β-1,3-glucanase)对油菜(Brassica campestris)抵御低温胁迫能力的作用,通过蛋白质谱分析得到β-1,3-葡聚糖酶蛋白,采用RT-PCR技术克隆白菜型冬油菜(B.rapa)陇油6号和天油4号β-1,3-葡聚糖酶的c DNA序列;并对该序列进行生物信息学分析;进而采用实时荧光定量PCR及半定量PCR检测β-1,3-葡聚糖酶基因在低温胁迫下的表达模式。结果获得长度为1 032 bp的陇油6号β-1,3-葡聚糖酶基因开放阅读框,编码343个氨基酸,相对分子量为38.102k Da,理论等电点为6.63,其与菜心(B.rapa subsp.chinensis)和甘蓝型油菜(B.napus)的蛋白质氨基酸序列同源性高达93.94%。该基因编码的酶是一个主要由α-螺旋组成的亲水性稳定蛋白,含有1个信号肽,存在2个跨膜结构域。该基因在进化上高度保守,其保守序列属于植物的糖基水解酶家族17特有的保守结构域。β-1,3-葡聚糖酶基因表达模式分析显示,4°C时该基因上调表达,继续低温(–4°C)胁迫处理,该基因上调表达至峰值,至–8°C时其表达下调。研究表明从白菜型冬油菜中克隆的β-1,3-glucanase在冬油菜品种陇油6号抗寒过程中发挥作用。