Xylella fastidiosa comparative genomic database is an information resource to explore the annotation, genomic features, and biology of different strains

The Xylella fastidiosa comparative genomic database is a scientific resource with the aim to provide a user-friendly interface for accessing high-quality manually curated genomic annotation and comparative sequence analysis, as well as for identifying and mapping prophage-like elements, a marked feature of Xylella genomes. Here we describe a database and tools for exploring the biology of this important plant pathogen. The hallmarks of this database are the high quality genomic annotation, the functional and comparative genomic analysis and the identification and mapping of prophage-like elements. It is available from web site http://www.xylella.lncc.br.     

人类新基因C17orf32的电子克隆和编码区序列RT-PCR验证

利用生物信息学与实验验证的技术路线,成功地克隆了人类新基因C17orf32的cDNA(GenBank登记号：AY074907和TPA: BK000260),发现C17orf32的完整开放阅读框架(ORF,31～657 bp）cDNA（627 bp）与人类假定基因LOC124919 ORF(25～807 bp)的25～651位只有一个碱基不同.经RT-PCR验证并cDNA测序、人类表达序列标签(EST)数据库的BLAST检索和基因组成规律分析三方面的结果,均支持C17orf32的序列,而不支持LOC124919的编码序列.C17orf32基因组序列全长4.610 kb,含有6个外显子和5个内含子,cDNA序列全长1 679 bp, ORF横跨全部6个外显子.该基因ORF翻译起始处符合Kozak规则,ORF起始码上游同一相位有终止码,ORF后有2个加尾信号和PolyA尾.C17orf32基因的成功克隆表明,NCBI GENOME Annotation Project在2001年12月预测的人类假定蛋白XP-058865编码基因LOC124919的模式参考序列XM-058865中存在偏差,即在C17orf32基因cDNA的406与407位碱基之间错误插入一个碱基G, 从而导致在插入位点后,ORF编码125位氨基酸以后蛋白质序列的改变,出现260个氨基酸的多肽.因此,应慎重看待计算机注释的人类基因组编码序列.建立的技术路线有助于发现更多新的人类功能基因.     

Microarray data quality analysis: lessons from the AFGC project

Genome-wide expression profiling with DNA microarrays has and will provide a great deal of data to the plant scientific community. However, reliability concerns have required the development data quality tests for common systematic biases. Fortunately, most large-scale systematic biases are detectable and some are correctable by normalization. Technical replication experiments and statistical surveys indicate that these biases vary widely in severity and appearance. As a result, no single normalization or correction method currently available is able to address all the issues. However, careful sequence selection, array design, experimental design and experimental annotation can substantially improve the quality and biological of microarray data. In this review, we discuss these issues with reference to examples from the Arabidopsis Functional Genomics Consortium (AFGC) microarray project.     

Motif-based fold assignment.

Conventional fold recognition techniques rely mainly on the analysis of the entire sequence of a protein. We present an MBA method to improve performance of any conventional sequence-based fold assignment. The method uses sequence motifs, such as those defined in the Prosite database, and the SwissProt annotation of the fold library. When combined with a simple SDP method, the coverage of MBA is comparable to the results obtained with PSI-BLAST. However, the set of the MBA predictions is significantly different from that of PSI-BLAST, leading to a 40% increase of the coverage for the combined MBA/PSI-BLAST method. The MBA approach can be easily adopted to include the results of sequence-independent function prediction methods and alternative motif and annotation databases. The method is available through the web server localized at http://www.doe-mbi.ucla.edu/mba.     

De novo inference of protein function from coarse‐grained dynamics

Inference of molecular function of proteins is the fundamental task in the quest for understanding cellular processes. The task is getting increasingly difficult with thousands of new proteins discovered each day. The difficulty arises primarily due to lack of high‐throughput experimental technique for assessing protein molecular function, a lacunae that computational approaches are trying hard to fill. The latter too faces a major bottleneck in absence of clear evidence based on evolutionary information. Here we propose a de novo approach to annotate protein molecular function through structural dynamics match for a pair of segments from two dissimilar proteins, which may share even <10% sequence identity. To screen these matches, corresponding 1 µs coarse‐grained (CG) molecular dynamics trajectories were used to compute normalized root‐mean‐square‐fluctuation graphs and select mobile segments, which were, thereafter, matched for all pairs using unweighted three‐dimensional autocorrelation vectors. Our in‐house custom‐built forcefield (FF), extensively validated against dynamics information obtained from experimental nuclear magnetic resonance data, was specifically used to generate the CG dynamics trajectories. The test for correspondence of dynamics‐signature of protein segments and function revealed 87% true positive rate and 93.5% true negative rate, on a dataset of 60 experimentally validated proteins, including moonlighting proteins and those with novel functional motifs. A random test against 315 unique fold/function proteins for a negative test gave >99% true recall. A blind prediction on a novel protein appears consistent with additional evidences retrieved therein. This is the first proof‐of‐principle of generalized use of structural dynamics for inferring protein molecular function leveraging our custom‐made CG FF, useful to all. Proteins 2014; 82:2443–2454. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

MAGI: Methylation analysis using genome information

By incorporating annotation information into the analysis of next-generation sequencing DNA methylation data, we provide an improvement in performance over current testing procedures. Methylation analysis using genome information (MAGI) is applicable for both unreplicated and replicated data, and provides an effective analysis for studies with low sequencing depth. When compared with current tests, the annotation-informed tests provide an increase in statistical power and offer a significance-based interpretation of differential methylation.     

外源H2S影响黄瓜幼苗响应高盐胁迫的蛋白质组学分析

为了阐明外源H₂S对高盐胁迫下黄瓜蛋白质表达的影响,以盐敏感型黄瓜栽培种‘春夏秋王’为材料,通过双向电泳（2 DE）技术分离叶片总蛋白质,采用基质辅助激光解析飞行时间串联质谱（MALDI TOF/TOF MS）技术对差异表达蛋白质进行质谱鉴定,并利用NCBI及SwissProt数据库检索进行差异表达蛋白质功能注释和代谢通路分析。结果表明：(1) 共检测到约2 490个蛋白质,其中蛋白质表达差异在1.5倍以上且差异显著(P<0.05)的有45个,其中有24个蛋白质表达上调,21个蛋白质表达下调。(2) 成功鉴定蛋白质26个,这些蛋白质参与了光合作用（26.92%）、蛋白质代谢（23.08%）、能量与碳水化合物代谢（11.54%）、氨基酸生物合成（11.54%）、细胞结构相关蛋白（7.69%）、抗氧化作用（3.85%）、信号转导（3.85%）及未知功能蛋白（11.54%）。(3) GO注释表明差异表达的蛋白质分子功能主要以蛋白质结合与水解酶活性为主,生物学过程涉及应激反应、有机物代谢过程、胁迫响应和细胞分化等,细胞组成集中分布在细胞部分和一些胞内细胞器。KEGG代谢通路分析表明,差异表达蛋白质主要参与了肌动蛋白细胞骨架调控、细胞凋亡、碳代谢和光和调控等代谢途径。研究表明,外源H₂S诱导了高盐胁迫下黄瓜叶片蛋白质的差异表达,为后续探索外源H₂S对黄瓜的抗盐分子机制研究提供了理论依据。     

Genome sequence of M6, a diploid inbred clone of the high‐glycoalkaloid‐producing tuber‐bearing potato species Solanum chacoense,reveals residual heterozygosity

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a highly heterozygous autotetraploid that presents challenges in genome analyses and breeding. Wild potato species serve as a resource for the introgression of important agronomic traits into cultivated potato. One key species is Solanum chacoense and the diploid, inbred clone M6, which is self‐compatible and has desirable tuber market quality and disease resistance traits. Sequencing and assembly of the genome of the M6 clone of S. chacoense generated an assembly of 825 767 562 bp in 8260 scaffolds with an N50 scaffold size of 713 602 bp. Pseudomolecule construction anchored 508 Mb of the genome assembly into 12 chromosomes. Genome annotation yielded 49 124 high‐confidence gene models representing 37 740 genes. Comparative analyses of the M6 genome with six other Solanaceae species revealed a core set of 158 367 Solanaceae genes and 1897 genes unique to three potato species. Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms across the M6 genome revealed enhanced residual heterozygosity on chromosomes 4, 8 and 9 relative to the other chromosomes. Access to the M6 genome provides a resource for identification of key genes for important agronomic traits and aids in genome‐enabled development of inbred diploid potatoes with the potential to accelerate potato breeding.