QTLs detected in a multigenerational resource chicken population.

The genetic structure of resource populations affects the power of tests to detect associations between DNA markers and complex traits. Following a chicken interline cross (White Plymouth Rock background), we produced a multigenerational resource population based on 4 pedigreed generations. In this large sibship, 265 parents have been genotyped, and their 3317 progenies have been phenotyped for BW21, BW42, breast meat weight, fat pad weight, and egg production. We developed an approach to increase test power by imposing several ways of validation including the minimization of false-positive associations. Some of our detected associations were in agreement with QTLs previously reported in the literature. A large fraction of the 81 screened markers was found to be associated with quantitative traits. We examined 729 associations, of which 150 (21%) were significant, and of these, 54 are supported by the literature. These 54 associations were identified by 42 markers (some of which are linked to each other). This finding not only supports the results obtained in our resource population but may also give some indication about their general properties.

Genetic diversity and population structure inferred from the partially duplicated genome of domesticated carp, Cyprinus carpio L.

Genetic relationships among eight populations of domesticated carp (Cyprinus carpio L.), a species with a partially duplicated genome, were studied using 12 microsatellites and 505 AFLP bands. The populations included three aquacultured carp strains and five ornamental carp (koi) variants. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) was used as an outgroup. AFLP-based gene diversity varied from 5% (grass carp) to 32% (koi) and reflected the reasonably well understood histories and breeding practices of the populations. A large fraction of the molecular variance was due to differences between aquacultured and ornamental carps. Further analyses based on microsatellite data, including cluster analysis and neighbor-joining trees, supported the genetic distinctiveness of aquacultured and ornamental carps, despite the recent divergence of the two groups. In contrast to what was observed for AFLP-based diversity, the frequency of heterozygotes based on microsatellites was comparable among all populations. This discrepancy can potentially be explained by duplication of some loci in Cyprinus carpio L., and a model that shows how duplication can increase heterozygosity estimates for microsatellites but not for AFLP loci is discussed. Our analyses in carp can help in understanding the consequences of genotyping duplicated loci and in interpreting discrepancies between dominant and co-dominant markers in species with recent genome duplication.

Four linked genes participate in controlling sporulation efficiency in budding yeast.

Quantitative traits are conditioned by several genetic determinants. Since such genes influence many important complex traits in various organisms, the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is of major interest, but still encounters serious difficulties. We detected four linked genes within one QTL, which participate in controlling sporulation efficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Following the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms by comparing the sequences of 145 genes between the parental strains SK1 and S288c, we analyzed the segregating progeny of the cross between them. Through reciprocal hemizygosity analysis, four genes, RAS2, PMS1, SWS2, and FKH2, located in a region of 60 kilobases on Chromosome 14, were found to be associated with sporulation efficiency. Three of the four "high" sporulation alleles are derived from the "low" sporulating strain. Two of these sporulation-related genes were verified through allele replacements. For RAS2, the causative variation was suggested to be a single nucleotide difference in the upstream region of the gene. This quantitative trait nucleotide accounts for sporulation variability among a set of ten closely related winery yeast strains. Our results provide a detailed view of genetic complexity in one "QTL region" that controls a quantitative trait and reports a single nucleotide polymorphism-trait association in wild strains. Moreover, these findings have implications on QTL identification in higher eukaryotes.

Citrus fruit flavor and aroma biosynthesis: isolation, functional characterization, and developmental regulation of Cstps1, a key gene in the production of the sesquiterpene aroma compound valencene.

Citrus fruits possess unique aromas rarely found in other fruit species. While fruit flavor is composed of complex combinations of soluble and volatile compounds, several low-abundance sesquiterpenes, such as valencene, nootkatone, alpha-sinensal, and beta-sinensal, stand out in citrus as important flavor and aroma compounds. The profile of terpenoid volatiles in various citrus species and their importance as aroma compounds have been studied in detail, but much is still lacking in our understanding of the physiological, biochemical, and genetic regulation of their production. Here, we report on the isolation, functional expression, and developmental regulation of Cstps1, a sesquiterpene synthase-encoding gene, involved in citrus aroma formation. The recombinant enzyme encoded by Cstps1 was shown to convert farnesyl diphosphate to a single sesquiterpene product identified as valencene by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Phylogenetic analysis of plant terpene synthase genes localized Cstps1 to the group of angiosperm sesquiterpene synthases. Within this group, Cstps1 belongs to a subgroup of citrus sesquiterpene synthases. Cstps1 was found to be developmentally regulated: transcript was found to accumulate only towards fruit maturation, corresponding well with the timing of valencene accumulation in fruit. Although citrus fruits are non-climacteric, valencene accumulation and Cstps1 expression were found to be responsive to ethylene, providing further evidence for the role of ethylene in the final stages of citrus fruit ripening. Isolation of the gene encoding valencene synthase provides a tool for an in-depth study of the regulation of aroma compound biosynthesis in citrus and for metabolic engineering for fruit flavor characteristics.

Recent duplication of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) genome as revealed by analyses of microsatellite loci.

Genome duplications may have played a role in the early stages of vertebrate evolution, near the time of divergence of the lamprey lineage. Additional genome duplication, specifically in ray-finned fish, may have occurred before the divergence of the teleosts. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) has been considered tetraploid because of its chromosome number (2n = 100) and its high DNA content. We studied variation using 59 microsatellite primer pairs to better understand the ploidy level of the common carp. Based on the number of PCR amplicons per individual, about 60% of these primer pairs are estimated to amplify duplicates. Segregation patterns in families suggested a partially duplicated genome structure and disomic inheritance. This could suggest that the common carp is tetraploid and that polyploidy occurred by hybridization (allotetraploidy). From sequences of microsatellite flanking regions, we estimated the difference per base between pairs of alleles and between pairs of paralogs. The distribution of differences between paralogs had two distinct modes suggesting one whole-genome duplication and a more recent wave of segmental duplications. The genome duplication was estimated to have occurred about 12 MYA, with the segmental duplications occurring between 2.3 and 6.8 MYA. At 12 MYA, this would be one of the most recent genome duplications among vertebrates. Phylogenetic analysis of several cyprinid species suggests an evolutionary model for this tetraploidization, with a role for polyploidization in speciation and diversification.

Generation and mapping of AFLP, SSRs and SNPs in Lycopersicon esculentum.

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), were applied to the tomato genome for assessment of polymorphism and for mapping. The polymorphism of AFLP was studied in twenty-one commercial tomato (L. esculentum) varieties. Four AFLP primer combinations produced 298 clear bands; an average of 75 bands per combination. SSR markers were generated from two sources: (1) size-selected genomic libraries screened with (AT)n, (CT)n, (GT)n, (ATT)n and (CTT)n probes. (2) GeneBank database. Primers were designed for 114 loci and used for genotyping 13 tomato varieties and three Lycopersicon species. Eighteen markers were used to evaluate the polymorphism among the commercial cultivars and were found to be a useful tool for cultivar identification. In-silico comparison of DNA sequences (ESTs and genes) of L. pennellii and L. esculentum, yielded 312 SNPs. Ten L. pennelli genomic fragments were sequenced and the comparison with L. esculentum yielded 22 SNPs. Another 19 SNPs were discovered by sequencing and comparing L. pennellii genomic DNA to L. esculentum DNA fragments containing SSRs. The average SNP frequency was found to be one in a few tens of base pairs. A total of 52 microsatellites, 159 polymorphic AFLP markers and six SNPs were mapped using the Introgression Lines generated by [1]. Map location and markers' distribution are presented.

Evaluation of the genetic diversity among maize lines (Zea mays L.) by DNA fingerprinting analysis / Avaliação de diversidade genética entre linhagens de milho (Zea mays L.) por analisis de "DNA fingerprinting

Informativo DNA fingerprint profiles of eight homozygotic maize lines were obtained by the electrophoretic separation of DNA restriction fragments and the ir hybridization with the minisatellite probe R18.1. The analysis of the bandsharing frequencies allowed to identify all the lines and to estimate the genetic distances between them. The relationship obtained by DNA fingerprinting analysis of the eight inbreed lines was highly consistem with the ir genetical origin.

Perfis altamente informativos de oito linhagens homozigotas de milho foram obtidos através de análise de DNA fingerprinting, hibridizando-se os fragmentos de restrição com a sonda minisatélite R18,1. A análise de bandas coincidentes permitiu identificar todas as linhagens e estimar as distâncias genéticas entre elas. A relação entre as linhagens obtidas por esta análise é consistente com a origem genética das mesmas.

Minisatellite probes in yeast DNA fingerprinting

As sequências 33.6, 33.15, M13 e R18.1 foram utilizadas como sondas para a análise do parentesco de linhagens de leveduras. A sonda R18.1 originária de um banco genômico bovino mostrou intensa hidridizaçäo, produzindo perfis com alto grau de polimorfismo do DNA em Saccharomyces cerevisae e Kluyveromyces marxianus. Nas comparaçöes intra e interespecíficas, os perfis polimórficos permitiram identificaçäo de todas as linhagens, mesmo aquelas altamente relacionadas