Evolutionary relationships among hares from North Africa (Lepus sp. or Lepus spp.), cape hares (L. capensis) from South Africa, and brown hares (L. europaeus), as inferred from mtDNA PCR-RFLP and allozyme data

Systematics and taxonomy of hares of the genus Lepus (Lagomorpha) are under contentious debate, and phylogenetic relationships among many taxa are not well understood. Here we study genetic differentiation and evolutionary relationships among North African hares, currently considered subspecies of Lepus capensis , cape hares ( L. capensis ) from the Cape province in South Africa, and brown hares ( L. europeaus ) from Europe and Anatolia, using maternally (mtDNA) and biparentally (allozymes) inherited markers. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of a c. 1.8 kb long segment of the mitochondrial control region using eight hexanucleotide-recognizing restriction endonucleases yielded 28 haplotypes, and horizontal starch gel electrophoresis of proteins encoded by 25 structural gene loci revealed 52 alleles at 18 polymorphic loci. Diverse phylogenetic analyses (neighbor joining dendrogram, median joining network, multidimensional scaling of pairwise distances, AMOVA, F -statistics, hierarchical F -statistics) of genetic variants revealed marked substructuring of mtDNA into three phylogeographic groups, namely an African, a central European, and an Anatolian, but a somewhat less pronounced overall differentiation of the nuclear genome, despite a relatively high number of population-specific (private) alleles. However, all our results are not incongruent with Petter's (1959: Mammalia 23 , 41; 1961: Z. f. Säugetierkunde 26 , 30; 1972 : Société Des Sciences Naturelles et Physiques du Maroc 52 , 122) hypothesis that North African hares generally belong to L. capensis and that brown hares should be included in this species as well.     

Molecular phylogeny of Dipterocarpaceae in Southeast Asia using RFLP of PCR-amplified chloroplast genes

Dipterocarpaceae is the dominant family of Southeast Asia's climax tropical rain forest region, and it contains the region's most important commercial timber species. A molecular phylogeny of the Dipterocarpaceae subfamily Dipterocapoideae was constructed using restriction fragment length polymorphisms of polymerase chain reaction-amplified specific genes in chloroplast DNA. A total of 141 site changes were detected among ten genera and 30 species in 11 different genes: rbcL, psbA, psbD, rpoB, rpoC, petB, atpH, 16S, psaA, petA and trnK. Phylogenetic trees constructed by Wanger parsimony and neighbor-joining methods, using Upuna as the outgroup, displayed five monophytelic groups that included Upuna: HopeaShorea-Parashorea-Neobalanocarpus; Dryobalanops; Dipterocarpus; Anisoptera-Vatica-Cotylelobium; and Upuna. The phylogenetic trees clearly separate species with two different base chromosome numbers: the first group is x=7, and the other is x=11. The x=7 group is thought to be in a synapomorphic character state. Parashorea lucida is a sister to most Shorea species. Neobalanocarpus heimii and Hopea from a clade of a sister to two Shorea species, and Cotylelobium and Vatica are closely related species. Our conclusions agree with a phylogeny derived from wood anatomy data analysis, and with Symington's and Ashton's taxonomic classifications.The raw data of the PCR-RFLP analysis can be obtained from the authors     

抗感枯萎病西瓜根际细菌群落多样性比较

本文通过传统微生物培养方法,结合现代分子生物学技术对抗感枯萎病西瓜根际可培养细菌群落进行了比较研究.结果表明,抗病西瓜根际可培养细菌的多样性要高于感病西瓜,且细菌分布的均匀度也高于感病西瓜.表现为抗病西瓜根际可培养细菌的多样性指数H'(1.29)和1/D(30.28)分别高于感病西瓜的H'(1.12)和1/D(2.482).抗病西瓜根际可培养细菌的均匀度指数E(0.72)也高于感病西瓜的E(0.69).抗感西瓜根际分别具有不同的可培养优势群落,抗病西瓜根际可培养优势基因型为基因型1,占51.1%,感病西瓜根际可培养优势基因型为基因型7,占58.7%.     

三种鳖线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因序列的比较分析

对中华鳖、砂鳖和山瑞鳖线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因进行了引物设计、PCR扩增、序列测定和PCR-PFLP(Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism)分析。研究结果表明中华鳖、砂鳖与山瑞鳖线粒体DNACytb基因的序列全长相同,均为1140bp,其A、C、G、T含量相似,分别为378个(33.2%)、322个(28.2%)1、22个(10.7%)、318个(27.9%)、373个(32.7%)、324个(28.4%)、124个(10.9%)、319个(28.0%)、380个(33.3%)3、30个(28.9%)、127个(11.1%)、303个(26.7%)。同源性及序列差异率分析表明:中华鳖与砂鳖b基因序列的同源性为92.3%,中华鳖、山瑞鳖的为85.0%,砂鳖、山瑞鳖的为84.1%;中华鳖与砂鳖b基因核苷酸序列间的差异率为7.7%,中华鳖、山瑞鳖间的序列差异率为15.0%,砂鳖、山瑞鳖间的序列差异率为15.9%,而中华鳖、砂鳖、山瑞鳖各自个体间的序列差异率分别为2.37%、0.88%和0.18%,种间差异显著。用内切酶酶切分析其扩增产物,结果表明:用内切酶NdeⅠ可准确鉴别砂鳖,而用内切酶BamHⅠ则可准确鉴别山瑞鳖。内切酶NdeⅠ和BamHⅠ的联用分析,可使这三种鳖在分子水平都得到明确的鉴定。从三种鳖线粒体DNACytb基因核苷酸序列的显著差异和酶切位点的变化,可以进一步证明砂鳖是不同于中华鳖的鳖属一新种。     

中国沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. Sinensis)根瘤内Frankia菌的遗传多样性

为了研究中国沙棘亚种共生菌Frankia的遗传多样性,利用PCR-RFLP分子标记方法,对从青海西宁到内蒙古库伦17个地点采集的106个中国沙棘根瘤样品进行遗传多样性分析.供试样品nifD-nifK基因间隔区(IGS)扩增产物分别用3种内切酶(HinfⅠ、HaeⅢ和MboⅠ)酶切,共产生21条酶切谱带,其中17条为多态性条带,多态位点百分比(PPL)为80.99%,所有样品可被划分为9个基因型.结果表明中国沙棘根瘤内的Frankia菌有丰富的遗传多样性,土壤质量较好地点的丰富度高于土壤质量较差地点,海拔较高地区的丰富度高于海拔较低地区,多数地点至少有2种不同基因型的Frankia 菌.聚类分析显示Frankia 菌不同基因型间的遗传距离在4.88%～55.96%之间,它们在不同地点的分布是不均匀的,没有发现不同基因型菌间的亲缘关系与地点有相关性.中国沙棘根瘤中Frankia菌可分为两个基因型组,组内基因型分布比较一致,而组间有明显差异.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism of CD40 in the 5′-untranslated region is associated with ischemic stroke

Objectives

Ischemic stroke is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. The CD40/CD40L system is related to proinflammatory and prothrombogenic responses, which are involved in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate association between the CD40 -1C/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and ischemic stroke in a Chinese population.

Methods

We conducted a case–control study including 286 ischemic stroke patients and 336 controls. CD40 -1C/T SNP was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing methods, and evaluated its relevance to ischemic stroke susceptibility.

Results

Significantly increased ischemic stroke risk was found to be associated with the T allele of CD40 -1C/T (OR = 1.273, 95% CI = 1.016–1.594). The frequencies of CT and TT/CT genotypes of CD40 -1C/T in ischemic stroke patients were significantly higher than those of controls, respectively (for CT: OR = 2.350, 95% CI = 1.601–3.449; for TT/CT: OR = 2.148, 95% CI = 1.479–3.119). And, similar results were obtained after adjusting non-matched variables. We found that the frequency of carried T genotypes (TT and TT/CT) was significantly increased in patients with history of stroke compared with patients without (for TT: OR = 6.538, 95%CI = 1.655–25.833; for TT/CT: OR = 3.469, 95%CI = 1.031–11.670), respectively.

Conclusions

The findings suggested that the CD40 -1C/T polymorphism might contribute to the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in the Chinese population, and might be associated with history of previous stroke.     

Relationship between leptin receptor and polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, which is involved in the multi-system disease, and its etiology is still not clearly understood. It is currently considered that not only the genetic factors but also the environment factors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Obesity plays an important role through the insulin, leptin and endocannabinoid system in the pathological process of PCOS, leading to more severe clinical manifestations. The aim of our present study is to investigate whether there is association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Gln223Arg and Pro1019Pro in the leptin receptor gene (LEPR) and PCOS in a Korean population. Interestingly, a significant association was found between the Pro1019Pro in LEPR gene and PCOS, and a highly significant association was found between the Gln223Arg in LEPR gene and PCOS (P = 0.033, OR = 1.523, 95% confidence interval and P < 0.0001, OR = 0.446, 95% confidence interval). Moreover, genotype combination and haplotype analyses indicate that Gln223Arg and Pro1019Pro polymorphisms of LEPR are significantly associated with the risk of PCOS.     

Tagging SNPs in the ERCC4 gene are associated with gastric cancer risk

ERCC4 plays an essential role in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway, which is involved in the removal of a wide variety of DNA lesions. To determine whether the ERCC4 tagging SNPs (tSNPs) are associated with risk of gastric cancer, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study of 350 cases and 468 cancer-free controls. In the logistic regression (LR) analysis, we found a significantly decreased risk of gastric cancer associated with the rs744154 GC/CC genotypes [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.42–0.75, false discovery rate (FDR) P = 0.003] compared with the wild-type GG genotype. Haplotype-based association study revealed that the CGC haplotype that containing the rs744154 C allele can decrease the risk of gastric cancer compared with the most common haplotype GGT (adjusted OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.46–0.81). Using the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis, we identified that the SNP rs744154 and smoking status were the best two predictive factors for gastric cancer with a testing accuracy of 55.76% and a perfect cross-validation consistency (CVC) of 10 (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the smokers with the rs744154 GC/CC genotypes showed a decreased risk of gastric cancer (adjusted OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.35–0.85) compared with the smokers with the GG genotype using multivariate LR analysis. The above findings consistently suggested that genetic variants in the ERCC4 gene may play a protective role in the etiology of gastric cancer, even in the smokers.     

Multi-drug resistance-1 gene polymorphisms in nephrotic syndrome: Impact on susceptibility and response to steroids

Background

Role of multidrug resistance-1 (MDR-1) gene polymorphisms has not been clarified in nephrotic syndrome (NS). Additionally, researchers studied several genetic polymorphisms to explain their influence on different patients' responses to steroid; however the data were inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of MDR-1 gene polymorphisms [C1236T, G2677T/A, C3435T] and haplotypes with susceptibility to childhood nephrotic syndrome, and whether they influence steroid response.

Methods

We detected MDR-1 gene polymorphisms using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 138 NS patients and 140 age and sex matched healthy children.

Results

The frequencies of MDR1 G2677T/A GT, GA, TT + AA genotypes or T allele, MDR1 C3435T TT genotype, and T allele genotype frequencies were significantly increased in NS group. While no significant differences were observed in distributions of C1236T genotypes or allele between NS patients and healthy children. Moreover, steroid non-responder NS patients had significantly higher frequencies of MDR1 G2677T/A GT, GA, and TT + AA genotypes than steroid responsive NS patients. We observed also that NS patients with age less than 6 years old had increased frequencies of MDR1 G2677T/A GT, GA, TT + AA genotypes or T allele MDR1 C3435T CT, TT genotypes and T allele. Interestingly the frequency of the TGC haplotype of MDR1 was lower in the initial steroid responders than in non-responders NS patients. On the contrary, there were no any association between the MDR1 haplotypes with NS susceptibility and they did not influence renal pathological findings.

Conclusion

Our data suggested that MDR1 C3435T or G2677T/A gene polymorphisms are risk factors of increased susceptibility, earlier onset of NS, and steroid resistance.     

Evaluation of glutathione S-transferase genetic variants affecting type 2 diabetes susceptibility: A meta-analysis

Genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk have been widely studied, however, the results were somewhat conflicting. To evaluate the association of GSTs (GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1) gene polymorphisms with T2DM, a meta-analysis was performed before October, 2012. ORs were pooled according to random-effects model. There were a total of 1354/1666 (n = 9) cases/controls (studies) for GSTM1, 1271/1470 (n = 8) for GSTT1, and 1205/1250 (n = 7) for GSTM1. There were significant associations between GSTM1 polymorphism, GSTT1 polymorphism and T2DM in the contrast of present genotype vs. null genotype, with pooled OR = 1.99 (95%CI = 1.46–2.71) and OR = 1.61 (95%CI = 1.19–2.17), respectively. Yet no significant association of GSTP1 polymorphism and T2DM was showed. When stratified by ethnicity, the significant associations were also existed in Asians for GSTM1 and GSTT1, but not GSTP1. No publication bias but some extent of heterogeneity was observed. Finally, the accumulated evidence proved the obvious associations of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms with an increased risk of T2DM.