对未知关系个体进行系谱推断的自动分析系统

基于短串联重复序列(short tandem repeat, STR)和单核苷酸多态性(single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP)的亲缘关系推断在群体遗传学、法医学等领域应用广泛,但目前没有成熟的系统可以实现针对STR数据和SNP数据的自动批量化处理。为弥补这一空白,项目组开发了一款基于STR数据和SNP数据的DNA系谱推断系统(DNA Genealogy Analyzer Version 1.0, DGA v1.0),该系统可运用STR和SNP亲缘关系预测算法计算未知亲缘关系群体中的所有亲缘关系。系统核心算法部分基于Python语言实现,前端部分采用HTML和CSS语言编写,整体采用Python的Flask框架开发。该系统与已有分析方法相比,结果一致性为100%,运算效率提高了800%以上,在群体遗传学等领域有重要应用价值。     

基于微流控芯片的InDel快速族群推断体系研究

目的 QuickTargSeq全集成法医DNA现场快速检测系统是国内首台自主研制的现场快检仪,可应用于InDel族群推断检测,2 h左右完成“样本进-结果出”的快速自动化InDel分型。本文对InDel族群推断微流控芯片检测体系的性能进行评估,以期为实践应用提供参考。方法 使用InDel族群推断微流控芯片检测体系,对体系的灵敏度、干扰物耐受性、成功率、分型准确率、精确性、准确性、峰平衡性及检材适应性进行验证评估,同时对测试样本的族群来源进行推断。结果 138份样本的全集成检测成功率为95.65%,分型准确率为98.85%;DNA模板量≥5 ng时,可获得完整InDel分型,口腔拭子样本最佳采集次数为口腔内壁左右两侧各刮擦8次,血卡样本最佳检测方式为6片（Φ=2 mm）;所有基因座的平均杂合子峰高比值为0.86;10次运行的等位基因分型标准物（allelic ladder）片段大小标准差均在0.3 bp以内,测试样本等位基因和相应的等位基因分型标准物之间的片段准确性均在0.5 bp以内。结论 该体系可实现对口腔拭子、血卡、唾液卡及烟蒂样本的准确分型,能够准确推断样本的族群来源。     

广东省三株蚊媒黄病毒的鉴定和系统进化分析

为了解广东省蚊媒病毒的种类和分子特征,本研究对从蚊子中分离的三株黄病毒提取病毒核酸并进行二代测序,经序列拼接和比对,基因组序列中缺失的gap通过RT-PCR进行扩增填补。用MEGA软件登录GenBank下载黄病毒代表株序列并绘制进化树,同时用ClustalW2软件与新毒株进行氨基酸同源性比对和编码框序列的分析。结果显示利用二代测序技术获得了三株病毒基因组序列的96.35%～98.26%,并用RT-PCR成功补齐所有gap,序列比对显示其中一株与黄斑库蚊病毒核苷酸和氨基酸同源性98.51%,两株病毒与广平病毒的核苷酸同源性分别为97.30%和89.78%。三株病毒都属于黄病毒家族中的未分类黄病毒或昆虫特异性黄病毒,编码区序列中C蛋白的同源性最低,NS5的同源性最高。本研究发现的三株蚊媒黄病毒中,库蚊黄斑病毒在国内为首次鉴定;两株广平病毒核苷酸同源性存在较大差异,可能存在不同基因亚型。     

大肠杆菌CusS的生物信息学分析及对银离子胁迫的响应

【目的】解析大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli) K-12菌株同型二聚体内膜传感器组氨酸激酶(sensor histidine kinase, CusS)蛋白在细菌应答金属银离子胁迫中的调控机制,为该菌的防治提供重要科学依据。【方法】利用ProtParam、ProtScale、Protein-Sol、TMHMM、SignalP、LocTree3、NetNGlyc-1.0、NetPhosBac-3.0、SOPMA、I-TASSERF、STRING和MEGA分别预测CusS的理化性质、亲水性、可溶性、跨膜域、信号肽、亚细胞定位、糖基化位点、磷酸化位点、二级结构、三级结构、蛋白互作的关系网络和蛋白在革兰阴性杆菌中的同源性。采用Red同源重组技术构建大肠杆菌ΔcusS,在不同培养基中连续监测ΔcusS的生长情况,观察该基因缺失后的细菌生长活性;通过最小抑菌浓度(minimal inhibitory concentration, MIC)试验评价该缺失株对金属铜、银离子和临床常见抗生素的敏感性变化;运用RT-qPCR检测cusS缺失后其下游基因cusCFBA和cusR转录水平。【结果】CusS蛋白由480个氨基酸组成,相对分子质量为53 738.05,原子总数为7 624,等电点为6.02,具有稳定性,是一种亲水性、不溶性蛋白;含有跨膜域;不存在信号肽,定位于细胞内膜中;存在2个糖基化位点、24个丝氨酸磷酸化位点、14个苏氨酸磷酸化位点和3个酪氨酸磷酸化位点;二级结构中α-螺旋占比55.42%,β-折叠占比11.67%,β-转角占比3.75%,无规则卷曲占比29.17%;cusS在埃希菌属和志贺菌属中的保守性高;菌落PCR和一代测序验证ΔcusS构建成功;连续检测生长曲线表明cusS缺失并不影响细菌的生长代谢,但CusS蛋白为大肠杆菌抵御金属银胁迫的关键基因。【结论】cusS作为一个关键基因,它的缺失并不影响大肠杆菌的生长活性,但会显著降低细菌抵御银离子胁迫的应答能力。缺失cusS将使下游基因cusCFBA和cusR的mRNA表达水平显著下降。对CusS蛋白进行生物信息学分析及表型初探,为深入了解CusS在大肠杆菌应答银离子胁迫的调控机制奠定了基础。     

嗜热链球菌CRISPR-Cas系统的检测

【目的】CRISPR-Cas系统为嗜热链球菌抵抗噬菌体等外源基因元件提供获得性免疫,分析NCBI中已公开发表全基因组序列的9株嗜热链球菌所含CRISPR-Cas系统的数目和类型,对实验室相应菌株的CRISPR-Cas系统进行检测。【方法】利用生物信息学方法对NCBI中9株已测序嗜热链球菌所含CRISPR-Cas系统进行分析,根据其Cas基因序列设计引物,对实验室嗜热链球菌菌株的Cas基因进行扩增、测序,分析实验室6株嗜热链球菌的CRISPR-Cas系统情况。【结果】9株标准菌株均含不同数目的CRISPR-Cas系统,其类型主要为Ⅱ-A型、Ⅲ-A型和Ⅰ-E型,各类型的标志Cas基因高度保守。6株供试菌中,S4仅含Cas9基因,其它5株均含有Cas9基因、Cas10基因和Cas9*基因,79和KLDS3.0207还含有Cas3基因。【结论】可根据标准菌株高度保守的Cas基因设计引物,预测未知嗜热链球菌所含CRISPRCas系统的数目和类型。S4仅含1个Ⅱ-A型CRISPR-Cas系统,其它5株均含有2个Ⅱ-A型CRISPR-Cas系统和1个Ⅲ-A型CRISPR-Cas系统,此外,79和KLDS3.0207均含有1个Ⅰ-E型CRISPR-Cas系统。     

区域生态经济系统的物质输入与输出分析——以常州市武进区为例

运用物质流分析（MFA）方法,对江苏省常州市武进区生态经济系统中物质输入与输出进行了系统的分析,结果表明：（1）随着社会经济发展和人口增长,武进区物质输入总量及人均物质输入量也在增加,但递增速率均远小于GDP增长速率,而物质输出总量及人均物质输出量则呈现递减趋势;（2）在不考虑水的因素情况下,武进区物质输入量保持较快的上升速度,其中固体物质的增长速率远远大于气体物质的增长速率;物质输出量则呈总体下降趋势,其中以气体物质输出量的贡献最大,对环境造成污染的物质以气体特别是以化石燃料燃烧排放的废气和工业废气为主;（3）排除占大部分比例农业用水的上升,工业用水、城镇生活用水和地下水总量及人均利用强度都在减少;同时,总的废水排放量及人均排放量在减少,其中又以生活废水排放量的减少最快,其次是工业废水;（4）单位GDP物质输入量的变化处于波动状态,同期的单位GDP物质输出量则呈递减趋势,单位GDP用水量和单位GDP废水排放量则有相同的递减趋势,表征了武进区资源利用效率的稳步提高,区域经济增长和环境压力也在逐步脱钩。上述结果体现了武进区近年来循环经济发展模式的优势,但还存在较多问题,说明武进区在调整物质利用强度和提高资源利用效率方面还需下更大的功夫,并采取相关措施,以期提高实施循环经济战略与建设节约型社会的地位和意义。文章最后结合研究区实际情况就区域环境一经济的协调发展进行了展望,指出了物质流分析方法在应用中的一些缺陷,为今后该领域的进一步研究提供了借鉴。     

基于遗传片段分析系统的转录起始位点分析技术:从预测到结果评估

【目的】以遗传片段分析仪内标法替代传统放射性标记引物延伸技术进行样本转录起始位点(TSS)分析,并弥补引物延伸技术应用于未知样本缺乏前期预测和后期评估环节,形成一套基于遗传片段分析仪内标法分析未知样品TSS的完整技术方案。【方法】以粘球菌Myxococcus DK1622来源的双拷贝Gro ELs基因为素材;首先从预测出发,利用数据库进行启动子和转录起始位点预测;其次,根据预测结果设计合成荧光标记引物进行靶标m RNA的反转录;再次,应用遗传片段分析技术内标法鉴定分析粘球菌来源的双拷贝Gro ELs基因转录起始位点(TSS)及其丰度;最后,应用正态分布理论进行鉴定结果评估。【结果】明确了转录起始位点的数量、转录丰度及最可能的TSS位点:粘球菌DK1622基因组中Gro EL1拷贝存在1个启动子,TSS位点为TSS_(286);Gro EL2拷贝存在2个启动子,TSS位点分别为TSS_(548)和TSS_(502),其中TSS_(548)转录丰度是TSS_(502)的13.8倍,Gro EL1的TSS_(286)丰度是gro EL2的TSS_(548)丰度的14.3倍。【结论】预测结果指明了实验设计的范围,遗传片段分析仪内标检测法替代传统放射性标记法使实验更加简便、安全、自动、准确,正态分布理论进一步评估了实验结果的可信度,三者接合形成了完善的转录起始位点鉴定技术方案。     

AncestryPainter: A Graphic Program for Displaying Ancestry Composition of Populations and Individuals

Ancestry composition of populations and individuals has been extensively investigated in recent years due to advances in the genotyping and sequencing technologies. As the number of populations and individuals used for ancestry inference increases remarkably, say more than 100 populations or 1000 individuals, it is usually challenging to present the ancestry composition in a traditional way using a rectangular graph. To address this issue, we developed a program, AncestryPainter, which can illustrate the ancestry composition of populations and individuals with a rounded and nice-looking graph to save space. Individuals are depicted as length-fixed bars partitioned into colored segments representing different ancestries, and the population of interest can be highlighted as a pie chart in the center of the circle plot. In addition, AncestryPainter can also be applied to display personal ancestry in a way similar to that for displaying population ancestry. AncestryPainter is publicly available at http://www.picb.ac.cn/PGG/resource.php.     

Inference of Transposable Element Ancestry

Most common methods for inferring transposable element (TE) evolutionary relationships are based on dividing TEs into subfamilies using shared diagnostic nucleotides. Although originally justified based on the “master gene” model of TE evolution, computational and experimental work indicates that many of the subfamilies generated by these methods contain multiple source elements. This implies that subfamily-based methods give an incomplete picture of TE relationships. Studies on selection, functional exaptation, and predictions of horizontal transfer may all be affected. Here, we develop a Bayesian method for inferring TE ancestry that gives the probability that each sequence was replicative, its frequency of replication, and the probability that each extant TE sequence came from each possible ancestral sequence. Applying our method to 986 members of the newly-discovered LAVA family of TEs, we show that there were far more source elements in the history of LAVA expansion than subfamilies identified using the CoSeg subfamily-classification program. We also identify multiple replicative elements in the AluSc subfamily in humans. Our results strongly indicate that a reassessment of subfamily structures is necessary to obtain accurate estimates of mutation processes, phylogenetic relationships and historical times of activity.     

Enhanced Methods for Local Ancestry Assignment in Sequenced Admixed Individuals

Inferring the ancestry at each locus in the genome of recently admixed individuals (e.g., Latino Americans) plays a major role in medical and population genetic inferences, ranging from finding disease-risk loci, to inferring recombination rates, to mapping missing contigs in the human genome. Although many methods for local ancestry inference have been proposed, most are designed for use with genotyping arrays and fail to make use of the full spectrum of data available from sequencing. In addition, current haplotype-based approaches are very computationally demanding, requiring large computational time for moderately large sample sizes. Here we present new methods for local ancestry inference that leverage continent-specific variants (CSVs) to attain increased performance over existing approaches in sequenced admixed genomes. A key feature of our approach is that it incorporates the admixed genomes themselves jointly with public datasets, such as 1000 Genomes, to improve the accuracy of CSV calling. We use simulations to show that our approach attains accuracy similar to widely used computationally intensive haplotype-based approaches with large decreases in runtime. Most importantly, we show that our method recovers comparable local ancestries, as the 1000 Genomes consensus local ancestry calls in the real admixed individuals from the 1000 Genomes Project. We extend our approach to account for low-coverage sequencing and show that accurate local ancestry inference can be attained at low sequencing coverage. Finally, we generalize CSVs to sub-continental population-specific variants (sCSVs) and show that in some cases it is possible to determine the sub-continental ancestry for short chromosomal segments on the basis of sCSVs.     

GAGA: A New Algorithm for Genomic Inference of Geographic Ancestry Reveals Fine Level Population Substructure in Europeans

Attempts to detect genetic population substructure in humans are troubled by the fact that the vast majority of the total amount of observed genetic variation is present within populations rather than between populations. Here we introduce a new algorithm for transforming a genetic distance matrix that reduces the within-population variation considerably. Extensive computer simulations revealed that the transformed matrix captured the genetic population differentiation better than the original one which was based on the T1 statistic. In an empirical genomic data set comprising 2,457 individuals from 23 different European subpopulations, the proportion of individuals that were determined as a genetic neighbour to another individual from the same sampling location increased from 25% with the original matrix to 52% with the transformed matrix. Similarly, the percentage of genetic variation explained between populations by means of Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) increased from 1.62% to 7.98%. Furthermore, the first two dimensions of a classical multidimensional scaling (MDS) using the transformed matrix explained 15% of the variance, compared to 0.7% obtained with the original matrix. Application of MDS with Mclust, SPA with Mclust, and GemTools algorithms to the same dataset also showed that the transformed matrix gave a better association of the genetic clusters with the sampling locations, and particularly so when it was used in the AMOVA framework with a genetic algorithm. Overall, the new matrix transformation introduced here substantially reduces the within population genetic differentiation, and can be broadly applied to methods such as AMOVA to enhance their sensitivity to reveal population substructure. We herewith provide a publically available (http://www.erasmusmc.nl/fmb/resources/GAGA) model-free method for improved genetic population substructure detection that can be applied to human as well as any other species data in future studies relevant to evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, medicine, and forensics.     

Gene-centric Meta-analysis in 87,736 Individuals of European Ancestry Identifies Multiple Blood-Pressure-Related Loci

Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To investigate genetic associations with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP), we genotyped ∼50,000 SNPs in up to 87,736 individuals of European ancestry and combined these in a meta-analysis. We replicated findings in an independent set of 68,368 individuals of European ancestry. Our analyses identified 11 previously undescribed associations in independent loci containing 31 genes including PDE1A, HLA-DQB1, CDK6, PRKAG2, VCL, H19, NUCB2, RELA, HOXC@ complex, FBN1, and NFAT5 at the Bonferroni-corrected array-wide significance threshold (p < 6 × 10⁻⁷) and confirmed 27 previously reported associations. Bioinformatic analysis of the 11 loci provided support for a putative role in hypertension of several genes, such as CDK6 and NUCB2. Analysis of potential pharmacological targets in databases of small molecules showed that ten of the genes are predicted to be a target for small molecules. In summary, we identified previously unknown loci associated with BP. Our findings extend our understanding of genes involved in BP regulation, which may provide new targets for therapeutic intervention or drug response stratification.     

基于毛干蛋白质组的族群推断技术的建立与验证

毛干是一种案件现场常见的生物物证,由于核DNA含量极少且高度降解,难以采用现有的短串联重复序列(short tandem repeat,STR)检验方法进行个人识别鉴定,目前仅使用线粒体DNA检验进行母系亲缘关系的判定,利用率非常低.毛干中蛋白质非常稳定,而且具有遗传多态性,表现为基因组中的非同义单核苷酸多态性(non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms,ns SNPs),转录翻译后形成蛋白质序列中的单氨基酸多态性(single amino acid polymorphisms,SAPs).充分利用毛干蛋白质中蕴含的遗传信息,为案件提供线索和证据,是实际公安业务的迫切需求,具有重要的应用价值.本文选取了104份中国汉族的毛干样本进行蛋白质组的检测,共获得了703个SAP位点,位于460个蛋白质上,共推导出552个nsSNP位点.进一步筛选在所有样本中检出率超过15%的位点,获得了88个nsSNP位点,使用毛干样本对应的口腔拭子DNA对88个ns SNP位点进行一代测序验证.为评估发现的nsSNP位点对于人群的区分能力,以千人数据库(1 000 Genome Project)为参考数据库,采用聚类分析和群体匹配概率等方法对检测的19份毛干样本进行人群来源推断.结果显示,通过检测毛干蛋白质组中的ns SNP可以实现东亚、欧洲、非洲三大洲际人群的区分.     

Estimates of Continental Ancestry Vary Widely among Individuals with the Same mtDNA Haplogroup

The association between a geographical region and an mtDNA haplogroup(s) has provided the basis for using mtDNA haplogroups to infer an individual’s place of origin and genetic ancestry. Although it is well known that ancestry inferences using mtDNA haplogroups and those using genome-wide markers are frequently discrepant, little empirical information exists on the magnitude and scope of such discrepancies between multiple mtDNA haplogroups and worldwide populations. We compared genetic-ancestry inferences made by mtDNA-haplogroup membership to those made by autosomal SNPs in ∼940 samples of the Human Genome Diversity Panel and recently admixed populations from the 1000 Genomes Project. Continental-ancestry proportions often varied widely among individuals sharing the same mtDNA haplogroup. For only half of mtDNA haplogroups did the highest average continental-ancestry proportion match the highest continental-ancestry proportion of a majority of individuals with that haplogroup. Prediction of an individual’s mtDNA haplogroup from his or her continental-ancestry proportions was often incorrect. Collectively, these results indicate that for most individuals in the worldwide populations sampled, mtDNA-haplogroup membership provides limited information about either continental ancestry or continental region of origin.     

DNA未知片段APCR克隆的优化

用锚定PCR(APCR)技术对未知的小麦淀粉合成关键酶基因gbss Ⅰ和sbeⅡa启动子序列进行扩增.通过对APCR反应进行优化,获得了gbssⅠ启动子序列(4.1kb)和sbeⅡa启动子序列(3.1kb).结果表明:减少模板加入量(由1μL降低至1/100μL)和增大反应体积(由50μL增到100μL)均可在一定程度上减少非特异的结果出现;升高变性温度(由94℃提高到98℃)和延伸温度(由55℃提高到72℃)并延长延伸时间则能有效地消除APCR中的非特异性条带.