Identification of novel susceptibility loci for non‐syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate

Although several genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of non‐syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) have been reported, more novel association signals are remained to be exploited. Here, we performed an in‐depth analysis of our previously published Chinese GWAS cohort study with replication in an extra dbGaP case‐parent trios and another in‐house Nanjing cohort, and finally identified five novel significant association signals (rs11119445: 3’ of SERTAD4, P = 6.44 × 10⁻¹⁴; rs227227 and rs12561877: intron of SYT14, P = 5.02 × 10⁻¹³ and 2.80 × 10⁻¹¹, respectively; rs643118: intron of TRAF3IP3, P = 4.45 × 10⁻⁶; rs2095293: intron of NR6A1, P = 2.98 × 10⁻⁵). The mean (standard deviation) of the weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) from these SNPs was 1.83 (0.65) for NSCL/P cases and 1.58 (0.68) for controls, respectively (P = 2.67 × 10⁻¹⁶). Rs643118 was identified as a shared susceptible factor of NSCL/P among Asians and Europeans, while rs227227 may contribute to the risk of NSCL/P as well as NSCPO. In addition, sertad4 knockdown zebrafish models resulted in down‐regulation of sox2 and caused oedema around the heart and mandibular deficiency, compared with control embryos. Taken together, this study has improved our understanding of the genetic susceptibility to NSCL/P and provided further clues to its aetiology in the Chinese population.     

32份辣椒种质遗传多样性的同工酶分析

基于叶片的过氧化物酶(POD)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)及花蕾的酯酶(EST)同工酶酶谱的聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(PAGE)分析,对32份辣椒种质的遗传多样性进行了研究。结果表明:(1)共产生29种谱带,其中POD谱带13种234条,多态性位点比例(PPL)和相对迁移率(Rf)变化范围分别为50.0%~80.0%和0.05~0.69;SOD谱带8种140条,PPL、Rf分别为100.0%、0.38~0.88;EST谱带8种163条,PPL、Rf分别为50.0%~87.5%、0.16~0.89。(2)共发现多态位点26个,PPL、总基因频率(Pt)、等位基因平均数(A)、Nei基因多样性指数(He)、Shannon信息指数(SII)、平均遗传一致度(GI)和遗传距离(GD)分别为89.66%、0.578 7、1.896 6、0.272 2、0.415 2、0.736 6和0.314 3;32份辣椒材料的Jaccard遗传相似系数为0.348~0.905,并聚类为4个栽培种群。(3)4个栽培种群内基因多样度(HS)为0.143 6;种群间基因多样度(DST)、基因分化系数(GST)、GI和GD分别为0.149 4、0.51、0.784 4和0.246 6。(4)9份紫色辣椒种质共发现多态位点16个,PPL、Pt、A、He、SII、GI和GD分别为55.17%、0.611 1、1.551 7、0.194 1、0.291 9、0.781 6和0.249 4。研究认为,32份辣椒材料的总体、栽培种间和种内以及紫色材料间遗传分化程度大,为紫色辣椒杂交育种的亲本选配与绿色品种的遗传改良提供了参考依据。     

Biochemical and immunological studies of three genetic variants of 3-phosphoglycerate kinase 2 from the mouse

Three electrophoretic variants of 3-phosphoglycerate kinase 2 (PGK-2A, PGK-2B, and PGK-2C) were purified from DBA/2J, C3H/HeJ, and C57L/J mice, respectively. PGK-2C exhibits only 2% of the specific activity of PGK-2A and PGK-2B in the reaction leading to the formation of 1,3-diphosphoglycerate. Compared to PGK-2A and PGK-2B, PGK-2C exhibits broader coenzyme specificity and lower K_ms for substrate and coenzymes. Incubation at 45C revealed that PGK-2B is more heat stable than either PGK-2A or PGK-2C. Enzyme immunoinactivation and double immunodiffusion studies showed that mice carrying any one of these three PGK-2 alleles have similar amounts of proteins for PGK-1 and PGK-2 in testes. The results of these studies suggest that low PGK-2C activity in C57L/J mice is a result of a structural rather than a regulatory gene mutation.     

The endocrine-genetic basis of life-history variation: the relationship between the ecdysteroid titer and morph-specific reproduction in the wing-polymorphic cricket Gryllus firmus

The hormonal basis of variation in life-history traits is a poorly studied topic in life-history evolution. An important step in identifying the endocrine-genetic causes of life-history variation is documenting statistical and functional associations between hormone titers and genotypes/phenotypes that vary in life-history traits. To this end, we compared the blood ecdysteroid titer and the mass of the ovaries during the first week of adulthood among a flight-capable morph and two flightless morphs of the wing-polymorphic cricket Gryllus firmus. Ecdysteroids are a group of structurally related hormones that regulate many important aspects of reproduction in insects. Both the ecdysteroid titer and ovarian mass were significantly higher in each of two flightless morphs compared with the flight-capable morph throughout the first week of adulthood. Genetically based differences in the ecdysteroid titer and ovarian mass between morphs from different selected lines were similar to phenotypically based differences among morphs from the same control (unselected) lines. By day 7 of adulthood, ovaries were typically 200-400% larger and the ecdysteroid titer was 60-300% higher in flightless versus the flight-capable morph. In addition, highly significant, positive, phenotypic correlations were observed between the ecdysteroid titer and ovarian mass in pooled samples of the two flightless and flight-capable crickets from control lines or from selected lines. The ecdysteroid titer was sufficiently elevated in the flightless morphs to account for their elevated ovarian growth. This is the first direct documentation that naturally occurring phenotypes/genotypes that differ in early fecundity, a key life-history trait, also differ phenotypically and genetically in the titer of a key reproductive hormone that potentially regulates that trait.     

沙田柚系列遗传关系的RAPD标记研究

采用 RAPD标记技术分析了沙田柚系列 1 2个样品的遗传关系。利用经筛选具多态性的 1 4个 1 0碱基随机引物对 1 2个样品进行 DNA随机扩增 ,获得清晰可重复的位点 99个 ,其中多态性位点 5 8个 ,占 5 8.89% ;在部分样品中检出了特异性 RAPD标记 1 9个 ,占 1 9.1 9% ;通过样品间遗传相似性系数比较与 UPGMA聚类分析 ,并根据历史事实可知 ,广西沙田柚、梅州金柚为沙田柚的无性繁殖系 ,软枝系沙田柚、沙田柚早熟单株为沙田柚的芽变后代 ,梅花早柚、菊花心沙田柚、冬瓜圈沙田柚、段氏柚、垫江沙田柚、古老钱沙田柚为沙田柚的实生变异品系。     

油松、白皮松和青杄花粉营养成分的研究

通过对我国有巨大生产量和应用潜力的油松、白皮松和青木千花粉的 1 8种氨基酸、蛋白质、维生素A、维生素E、维生素C、磷脂、葡萄糖氧化酶等重要营养成分含量的测定 ,发现这三种花粉的以上成分含量都很高。其中青木千花粉的维生素A含量达 70 641 .6IU/ 1 0 0g ,氨基酸总量达 2 4 .443mg/ 1 0 0mg。从营养的角度来看 ,青木千花粉是较优秀的花粉。     

Genomic resources for flatfish research and their applications

Flatfishes are a group of teleosts of high commercial and environmental interest, whose biology is still poorly understood. The recent rapid development of different 'omic' technologies is, however, enhancing the knowledge of the complex genetic control underlying different physiological processes of flatfishes. This review describes the different functional genomic approaches and resources currently available for flatfish research and summarizes different areas where microarray-based gene expression analysis has been applied. The increase in genome sequencing data has also allowed the construction of genetic linkage maps in different flatfish species; these maps are invaluable for investigating genome organization and identifying genetic traits of commercial interest. Despite the significant progress in this field, the genomic resources currently available for flatfish are still scarce. Further intensive research should be carried out to develop larger genomic sequence databases, high-density microarrays and, more detailed, complete linkage maps, using second-generation sequencing platforms. These tools will be crucial for further expanding the knowledge of flatfish physiology, and it is predicted that they will have important implications for wild fish population management, improved fish welfare and increased productivity in aquaculture.     

Remarkably low mtDNA control-region diversity and shallow population structure in Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus

To investigate the genetic diversity and describe the population structure in Gadus macrocephalus, a 452 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region was analysed in 259 individuals. The results showed remarkably low nucleotide diversity and a lack of genealogical structure. Small but significant genetic differentiations, however, were detected among north-western Pacific populations, but no large-scale regional differences were detected. These results indicate that populations of G. macrocephalus in the north-western Pacific are genetically subdivided and represent evolutionary lineages that should be managed individually.     

根据cpDNA trnL-F非编码区序列变异分析黑桫椤海南和广东种群的遗传结构与系统地理

以黑桫椤分布在海南和广东 9个种群为材料 ,通过 PCR产物直接测序和克隆后再测序的方法测定了叶绿体 DNA(cp DNA) trn L- F非编码区序列。序列长度介于 10 17bp至 10 2 1bp;碱基组成 A T含量较高 ,百分比值为 6 0 .4 3%～ 6 2 .2 6 %。根据序列的核苷酸变异共鉴定出 15个单倍型。黑桫椤具高水平单倍型多样性 (h=0 .880 )和较高水平核苷酸多样性 (Dij=0 .0 0 342 ) ,其悠长的进化历史可能增加了遗传变异在谱系内的积累。单倍型最小生成网图和邻接树、种群间分化度 (FST=0 .12 6 4 5 )和基因流 (N m=3.4 9)、AMOVA分析 (地区间遗传变异占 11.91% ,p>0 .0 5 )以及 DNA歧义度结果一致显示 ,黑桫椤分布在海南和广东的种群彼此间不存在遗传分化。黑桫椤单倍型的系统发育地理式样具“星状”特征 ,提示种群在历史上曾经发生过扩张 ,扩张后的种群还未能获得足够时间去建立更加复杂的结构     

新扬州鸡DNA指纹J带与生产性能的相关性研究

以EAV(禽内原性反转录病毒片段)为探针,EcoRI为限制性内切酶,对新扬州鸡DNA指纹图谱进行了的研究。结果表明：DNA指纹J带在新扬州鸡上存在,并对新扬州鸡早期增重具有减效效应,可作为新扬州鸡早期增重的遗传标记进行标记辅助选择。