Cassava genetic transformation and its application in breeding

As a major source of food, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important root crop in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Latin America, and serves as raw material for the production of starches and bioethanol in tropical Asia. Cassava improvement through genetic engineering not only overcomes the high heterozygosity and serious trait separation that occurs in its traditional breeding, but also quickly achieves improved target traits. Since the first report on genetic transformation in cassava in 1996, the technology has gradually matured over almost 15 years of development and has overcome cassava genotype constraints, changing from mode cultivars to farmer-preferred ones. Significant progress has been made in terms of an increased resistance to pests and diseases, biofortification, and improved starch quality, building on the fundamental knowledge and technologies related to planting, nutrition, and the processing of this important food crop that has often been neglected. Therefore, cassava has great potential in food security and bioenergy development worldwide.     

燕山山脉野生欧李群体叶表皮微形态特征研究

利用扫描电子显微镜对同一生境条件下自然生长的燕山山脉野生欧李实生群体（含嫁接类型）叶片表面微形态特征进行观测。结果表明：欧李叶表皮细胞形态存在两种类型,一类是上下表皮细胞向下凹陷相互连接形成蜂窝状,另一类是上下表皮细胞向上隆起近圆形,且上表皮细胞均具条纹状的角质层;叶片上表皮仅有表皮毛而无气孔分布,叶片下表皮仅有气孔分布;气孔突出于表皮细胞,属无规则型,气孔平均长度8.22±1.30 μm,宽度2.55±0.65 μm,大小21.64±8.60μm²,密度836.23±197.16 个/mm²;欧李群体中不同株系间、叶表皮细胞形态不同类别间气孔特征变异程度较大,可作为欧李优异种质选育和抗干旱胁迫研究的指标之一。     

GWAS 2011: Opportunities and challenges

The wide adoption of genome-wide association study (GWAS) has dramatically changed the landscape of the genetic studies of human diseases.Banking on the study design that employs large and multiple-independent samples,linkage disequilibrium (LD) -based systematic genome-wide interrogation,and vigorous statistical standard for declaring genetic association,GWAS has greatly advanced the genetic studies of human disease by successfully identifying over 4 thousands of genetic susceptibility SNPs or loci for 210 diseases/traits in human.Besides its unrivaled scientific achievements,GWAS has also transformed the communities of human genetics by stimulating unprecedented broad and large-scale collaboration and data sharing across different groups and countries,which has enabled some mega genetic studies where dozens or hundreds of thousands of samples were investigated through mete-analysis,providing enormous statistical power for discovering genetic variants,even the ones with very moderate effect on disease phenotype or physiological trait.While the success of GWAS has been widely recognized,there are many concerns on GWAS that are being passionately debated.In particular,there ate heated discussions on why only a limited proportion,quiet often a small proportion,of genetic heritability can be explained by the GWAS findings,and whether and how the GWAS findings have really advanced the biological investigation and understanding of disease mechanisms.Concerning these shortcomings of GWAS,many have genuinely questioned the perspective of translating the GWAS findings into clinical practice.To provide a platform to discuss the progresses and shortcomings of GWAS,a nature conference,titled “GWAS 2011:Opportunities and Challenges”,was organized through the collaboration between the Nature Genetics and Anhui Medical University,which was held in Hefei,China on May 19-21,2011.     

1,25（OH）2D3缺失对膜内和软骨内成骨影响的比较研究

目的:比较1,25(OH)2D3缺失对膜内成骨和软骨内成骨影响的不同。方法:用免疫组织化学染色、HE染色和Western-blot等方法检测6周龄的野生型(wild type,WT)和1琢(OH)ase-/-小鼠的颅骨和股骨干骺端骨组织中I型胶原和甲状旁腺素受体(parathyroid hormone receptor,PTHR)的表达水平。结果:和WT小鼠相比较,1 ase-/-小鼠颅骨的I型胶原阳性面积明显减少,但是干骺端I型胶原阳性面积明显增加,差异有显著性(P<0.01);1琢(OH)ase-/-小鼠颅骨成骨细胞计数明显减少,差异存在统计学意义(P<0.05);但是干骺端成骨细胞计数明显增加,差异有显著性(P<0.01);1琢(OH)ase-/-小鼠颅骨的PHTR表达水平明显减少,但是在干骺端PHTR表达水平明显增加,差异均有显著性(P<0.01)。结论:1,25(OH)2D3缺乏导致小鼠膜内成骨方式骨形成减少,而软骨内成骨骨形成增加。     

RAPD-based genetic diversities and correlation with morphological traits in Camellia (Theaceae) cultivars in China

Camellia is an economically important ornamental plant that has many uses, such as in beverages, foods and medicines. We examined 15 Camellia cultivars in Wenzhou, China, using RAPD markers and measurements of three traits (petal color, flower diameter, blooming period). PCR amplification with 15 random primers produced 1935 bands, observed at 88 amplification loci; 77% of the amplified loci were polymorphic, with a mean of 4.5 polymorphic loci per primer. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.5419 to 0.7933 among the 15 samples; the lowest value was between Manao (C. reticulata) and Feibai FR (C. japonica), and the largest value was between Chidan (C. japonica) and Yuanyang FG (C. japonica). Cluster analysis divided the 15 cultivars into two groups at the similarity coefficient of 0.65. A correlation was found between RAPD markers and petal color in the first group. No correlation was found between RAPD markers and the other traits (flower diameter, blooming period). This study provides information useful for the identification, classification, phylogenesis, and breeding of Camellia cultivars.     

Polymorphisms associated with egg number at 300 days of age in chickens

We looked for variations that could be associated with chicken egg number at 300 days of age (EN300) in seven genes of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, including gonadotrophin-releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I), GnRH receptor (GnRHR), neuropeptide Y (NPY), dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), VIP receptor-1 (VIPR-1), prolactin (PRL), and the QTL region between 87 and 105 cM of the Z chromosome. Ten mutations in the seven genes were chosen to do marker-trait association analyses in a population comprising 1310 chickens, which were obtained from a company located in Guangdong Province of China. The C1704887T of VIPR-1 was found to have a highly significant association with EN300. The T5841629C of DRD2 and the C1715301T of VIPR-1 were significantly associated with EN300. A highly significant association was also found between the C1704887T-C1715301T haplotypes of VIPR-1 and EN300. H1H3 had the highest EN300. Four PCR-RFLP variations in the candidate QTL region were selected to investigate their genetic effects on EN300. The haplotypes of T32742468C-G32742603A in this region showed a highly significant association with EN300. Bioinformatics analyses showed that both T32742468C and G32742603A were located in intron 1 of the SH3-domain GRB2-like 2 (SH3GL2) gene. We conclude that five SNPs, including C1704887T and C1715301T of VIPR-1, T5841629C of DRD2, and T32742468C and G32742603A of SH3GL2, would be useful as markers for breeding to increase chicken EN300.     

A novel single-nucleotide polymorphism in the 5' upstream region of the prolactin receptor gene is associated with fiber traits in Liaoning cashmere goats

The most important traits of Chinese Liaoning cashmere goat fiber are fiber diameter, weight, and length. We looked for polymorphisms and their possible association with cashmere fiber traits in the 5' upstream region (5' UTR) of the prolactin receptor gene (PRLR), which encodes an anterior pituitary peptide hormone involved in different physiological activities; it is the principal endocrine regulator in pelage replacement in mammals. A novel single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was found in the 5' UTR of PRLR by PCR-RFLP in an analysis of 590 goats. Two genotypes (CC and CT) were observed. The frequencies of allele C and T were 0.93 and 0.07, respectively. Association analysis revealed that the PRLR 5' UTR polymorphism (SNP5) was significantly associated with cashmere fiber weight and diameter. This novel SNP in hircine PRLR has potential as a molecular marker for cashmere fiber weight and diameter in Liaoning cashmere goats.     

Toward a high resolution 2-DE profile of the normal human liver proteome using ultra-zoom gels

The human liver is the largest organ in the body and has many important physiological functions. A global analysis of human liver proteins is essential for a better understanding of the molecular basis of the normal functions of the liver and of its diseases. As part of the Human Liver Proteome Project (HLPP), the goal of the present study was to visualize and detect as many proteins as possible in normal human livers using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). We have constructed a reference map of the proteins of human normal liver that can be used for the comprehensive analysis of the human liver proteome and other related research. To improve the resolution and enhance the detection of low abundance proteins, we developed and optimized narrow pH range ultra-zoom 2-DE gels. High resolution patterns of human liver in pH gradients 4.5–5.5, 5–6, 5.5–6.7, 6–9 and 6–11 are presented. To improve the poor resolution in the alkaline pH range of 2-DE gels, we optimized the isoelectric focusing protocol by including sample application using cup loading at the anode and incorporating 1.2% hydroxyethyl disulfide, 15% 2-propanol and 5% glycerol in the rehydration buffer. Using the optimized protocol, we obtained reproducibly better resolution in both analytical and preparative 2-DE gels. Compared with the 2386 and 1878 protein spots resolved in the wide range 3–10 and 4–7 pH gradients respectively, we obtained 5481 protein spots from the multiple (overlapping) narrow pH range ultra-zoom gels in the range of pH 4.5–9. The visualized reference map of normal human liver proteins presented in this paper will be valuable for comparative proteomic research of the liver proteome.     

Is Mitochondrial tRNAphe Variant m.593T>C a Synergistically Pathogenic Mutation in Chinese LHON Families with m.11778G>A?

Mitochondrial transfer RNA (mt-tRNA) mutations have been reported to be associated with a variety of diseases. In a previous paper that studied the mtDNA background effect on clinical expression of Leber''s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in 182 Chinese families with m.11778G>A, we found a strikingly high frequency (7/182) of m.593T>C in the mitochondrially encoded tRNA phenylalanine (MT-TF) gene in unrelated LHON patients. To determine the potential role of m.593T>C in LHON, we compared the frequency of this variant in 479 LHON patients with m.11778G>A, 843 patients with clinical features of LHON but without the three known primary mutations, and 2374 Han Chinese from the general populations. The frequency of m.593T>C was higher in LHON patients (14/479) than in suspected LHON subjects (12/843) or in general controls (49/2374), but the difference was not statistically significant. The overall penetrance of LHON in families with both m.11778G>A and m.593T>C (44.6%) was also substantially higher than that of families with only m.11778G>A (32.9%) (P = 0.083). Secondary structure prediction of the MT-TF gene with the wild type or m.593T>C showed that this nucleotide change decreases the free energy. Electrophoretic mobility of the MT-TF genes with the wild type or m.593T>C transcribed in vitro further confirmed the change of secondary structure in the presence of this variant. Although our results could suggest a modest synergistic effect of variant m.593T>C on the LHON causing mutation m.11778G>A, the lack of statistical significance probably due to the relatively small sample size analyzed, makes necessary more studies to confirm this effect.     

MiR-223 suppresses cell proliferation by targeting IGF-1R

To study the roles of microRNA-223 (miR-223) in regulation of cell growth, we established a miR-223 over-expression model in HeLa cells infected with miR-223 by Lentivirus pLL3.7 system. We observed in this model that miR-223 significantly suppressed the proliferation, growth rate, colony formation of HeLa cells in vitro, and in vivo tumorigenicity or tumor formation in nude mice. To investigate the mechanisms involved, we scanned and examined the potential and putative target molecules of miR-223 by informatics, quantitative PCR and Western blot, and found that insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) was the functional target of miR-223 inhibition of cell proliferation. Targeting IGF-1R by miR-223 was not only seen in HeLa cells, but also in leukemia and hepatoma cells. The downstream pathway, Akt/mTOR/p70S6K, to which the signal was mediated by IGF-1R, was inhibited as well. The relative luciferase activity of the reporter containing wild-type 3'UTR(3'untranslated region) of IGF-1R was significantly suppressed, but the mutant not. Silence of IGF-1R expression by vector-based short hairpin RNA resulted in the similar inhibition with miR-223. Contrarily, rescued IGF-1R expression in the cells that over-expressed miR-223, reversed the inhibition caused by miR-223 via introducing IGF-1R cDNA that didn't contain the 3'UTR. Meanwhile, we also noted that miR-223 targeted Rasa1, but the downstream molecules mediated by Rasa1 was neither targeted nor regulated. Therefore we believed that IGF-1R was the functional target for miR-223 suppression of cell proliferation and its downstream PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway suppressed by miR-223 was by targeting IGF-1R.