Minren Huang

Reference gene selection for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in Populus

Accurate quantification of gene expression with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) relies on the choice of an appropriate reference gene. In this study, nine candidate reference genes were selected to study the expression stability for qRT-PCR normalization in adventitious rooting of Populus hardwood cuttings. geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper analysis revealed that actin isoform B (ACT) was the most unstable gene across developmental stages, whereas elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1a) and 18S recombinant RNA (18S) emerged as the most appropriate reference genes for qRT-PCR analysis in this complex developmental process.

A logistic mixture model for characterizing genetic determinants causing differentiation in growth trajectories

The logistic or S-shaped curve of growth is one of the few universal laws in biology. It is certain that there exist specific genes affecting growth curves, but, due to a lack of statistical models, it is unclear how these genes cause phenotypic differentiation in growth and developmental trajectories. In this paper we present a statistical model for detecting major genes responsible for growth trajectories. This model is incorporated with pervasive logistic growth curves under the maximum likelihood framework and, thus, is expected to improve over previous models in both parameter estimation and inference. The power of this model is demonstrated by an example using forest tree data, in which evidence of major genes affecting stem growth processes is successfully detected. The implications for this model and its extensions are discussed.

Detection of quantitative trait loci influencing growth trajectories of adventitious roots in Populus using functional mapping

The capacity to root from cuttings is a key factor for the mass deployment of superior genotypes in clonal forestry. We studied the genetic basis of rooting capacity by mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control growth rate and form of root traits in a full-sib family of 93 hybrids derived from an interspecific cross between two Populus species, P. deltoides and P. euramericana. The hybrid family was typed for different marker systems (including SSRs, AFLPs, RAPDs, ISSRs, and SNPs), leading to the construction of two linkage maps based on the female P. deltoides (D map) and male P. euramericana (E map) with a pseudotestcross mapping strategy. The two maps were scanned by functional mapping to detect QTLs that control early growth trajectories of two rooting traits, maximal single-root length and the total number of roots per cutting, measured at five time points in water culture. Of the six QTLs detected for these two growth traits, only one is segregating in P. deltoides with poor rooting capacity, while the other five are segregating in P. euramericana showing good rooting capacity. Tests with functional mapping suggest different developmental patterns of the genetic effects of these root QTLs in time course. Five QTLs were detected to change their effects on root growth trajectories with time, whereas one detected to affect root growth consistently in time course. Knowledge about the genetic and developmental control mechanisms of root QTLs will have important implications for the genetic improvement of vegetative propagation traits in Populus.

Natural variation in petal color in Lycoris longituba revealed by anthocyanin components.

Lycoris longituba is one of the species belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. Despite its limited distribution, endemic to central eastern China, this species displays an exceptionally wide diversity of flower colors from purple, red, orange, to yellow, in nature. We study the natural variation of floral color in L. longituba by testing the components of water-soluble vacuolar pigments – anthocyanins – in its petals using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Four anthocyanins were identified, cyanidin-3-sophoroside (Cy3So), cyanidin-3-xylosylglucoside (Cy3XyGlc), cyanidin-3-sambubioside (Cy3Sa), and pelargonidin-3-xylosylglucoside (Pg3XyGlc), which occur at various amounts in L. longituba petals of different colors. A multivariate analysis was used to explore the relationship between pigments and flower color. Anthocyanins have been thought to play a major role in acting as a UV screen that protects the plants DNA from sunlight damage and attracting insects for the purpose of pollination. Thus, knowledge about the content and type of anthocyanins determining the petal coloration of Lycoris longituba will help to study the adaptive evolution of flowers and provide useful information for the ornamental breeding of this species.

Microsatellite primer resource for Populus developed from the mapped sequence scaffolds of the Nisqually‐1 genome

In this study, 148 428 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs were designed from the unambiguously mapped sequence scaffolds of the Nisqually-1 genome. The physical position of the priming sites were identified along each of the 19 Populus chromosomes, and it was specified whether the priming sequences belong to intronic, intergenic, exonic or UTR regions. A subset of 150 SSR loci were amplified and a high amplification success rate (72%) was obtained in P. tremuloides, which belongs to a divergent subgenus of Populus relative to Nisqually-1. PCR reactions showed that the amplification success rate of exonic primer pairs was much higher than that of the intronic/intergenic primer pairs. Applying ANOVA and regression analyses to the flanking sequences of microsatellites, the repeat lengths, the GC contents of the repeats, the repeat motif numbers, the repeat motif length and the base composition of the repeat motif, it was determined that only the base composition of the repeat motif and the repeat motif length significantly affect the microsatellite variability in P. tremuloides samples. The SSR primer resource developed in this study provides a database for selecting highly transferable SSR markers with known physical position in the Populus genome and provides a comprehensive genetic tool to extend the genome sequence of Nisqually-1 to genetic studies in different Populus species.

Quantitative trait loci for growth trajectories in Populus.

Growth trajectories are a biological process important to plant and animal breeding, and to evolutionary genetic studies. In this article, we report the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for growth trajectories in poplars that are used as a model system for the study of forest biology. These QTLs were localized on a genetic linkage map of polymorphic markers using a statistical mapping method incorporating growth-curve models. The effects of the QTLs on growth are described as a function of age, so that age-specific changes in QTL effects can be readily projected throughout the entire growth process. The QTLs identified display increased effects on growth when trees age, yet the timing of QTL activation is earlier for stem height than diameter, which is consistent with the ecological viewpoint of canopy competition. The implications of the results for breeding and silviculture are discussed.

Sequencing the genome of Marssonina brunnea reveals fungus-poplar co-evolution

BackgroundThe fungus Marssonina brunnea is a causal pathogen of Marssonina leaf spot that devastates poplar plantations by defoliating susceptible trees before normal fall leaf drop.ResultsWe sequence the genome of M. brunnea with a size of 52 Mb assembled into 89 scaffolds, representing the first sequenced Dermateaceae genome. By inoculating this fungus onto a poplar hybrid clone, we investigate how M. brunnea interacts and co-evolves with its host to colonize poplar leaves. While a handful of virulence genes in M. brunnea, mostly from the LysM family, are detected to up-regulate during infection, the poplar down-regulates its resistance genes, such as nucleotide binding site domains and leucine rich repeats, in response to infection. From 10,027 predicted proteins of M. brunnea in a comparison with those from poplar, we identify four poplar transferases that stimulate the host to resist M. brunnea. These transferas-encoding genes may have driven the co-evolution of M. brunnea and Populus during the process of infection and anti-infection.ConclusionsOur results from the draft sequence of the M. brunnea genome provide evidence for genome-genome interactions that play an important role in poplar-pathogen co-evolution. This knowledge could help to design effective strategies for controlling Marssonina leaf spot in poplar.

Host effect on genetic variation of Marssonina brunnea pathogenic to poplars.

Abstract A broad collection was made for 42 isolates of Marssonina brunnea affecting poplar trees from three different sections (Leuce, Aigeiros and Tacamahaca) within the same Populus genus in China. Genetic diversity among these isolates was analyzed for morphological traits, cultural features, pathogenicity, hyphal anastomosis and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPDs). No significant difference was found in conidial morphological features, such as size, shape and septum location. Yet, considerable differences occur in other characteristics, which leads to the classification of the 42 isolates into two distinct groups, M. brunnea f.sp. monogermtubi and M. brunnea f.sp. multigermtubi. Isolates of M. brunnea f.sp. monogermtubi, derived from section Leuce, germinate only one germ tube, grow fast, produce dark-reddish conidiosorus clusters on the PDA medium, and are highly pathogenic to Populus tomentosa of section Leuce. By contrast, isolates of M. brunnea f.sp. multigermtubi, derived from sections Aigeiros and Tacamahaca, germinate 1–5 germ tubes, grow slowly, produce yellow-greenish conidiosorus clusters on PDA medium, and are pathogenic to Populus ×euramericana cv I-45 and Populus canadensis of section Aigeiros. DNA amplification using 11 RAPD primers generate 78 polymorphic bands among isolates. Cluster analyses based on RAPD markers broadly support such a classification by phenotypes, but provide a new insight into the possible origins of M. brunnea. It is proposed that the pathogen co-evolves with the poplars of section Leuce and has been subsequently distributed to the poplars of sections Aigeiros and Tacamahaca. An isolate from Populus adenopoda of section Leuce is placed in the third group, which is most likely a transmission type from M. brunnea f.sp. monogermtubi to M. brunnea f.sp. multigermtubi.

Isolation and characterization of two genes encoding polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein from Populus deltoides.

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) are extracellular proteins that belong to the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein superfamily. PGIPs inhibit fungal polygalacturonases (PGs) and promote accumulation of oligogalacturonides, which activate plant defense responses. PGIPs play important roles in resistance to infection of pathogens. In this study, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RNA ligase-mediated rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RLM-RACE) were used to isolate the full-length PGIP cDNA from Populus deltoides (GenBank accession no. of PdPGIP2 and PdPGIP4: EF684913 and EF684912). Domain analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequences of PdPGIP2 and PdPGIP4 had a typical PGIP topology. Phylogenetic analysis of known PGIPs indicated that the two PdPGIPs were clustered to the defense-related PGIP clade. Using real-time RT-PCR, the expression patterns of the two PdPGIPs following treatment with a fungal pathogen and defense-related signaling molecules were studied. The expression levels of PdPGIP2 and PdPGIP4 were both up-regulated when inoculated with the phytopathogenic fungus Marssonina brunnea. Therefore, it was proposed that the two PGIPs might be involved in the resistance to Marssonina brunnea in P. deltoides.

Discovery of a novel small secreted protein family with conserved N-terminal IGY motif in Dikarya fungi

BackgroundSmall secreted proteins (SSPs) are employed by plant pathogenic fungi as essential strategic tools for their successful colonization. SSPs are often species-specific and so far only a few widely phylogenetically distributed SSPs have been identified.ResultsA novel fungal SSP family consisting of 107 members was identified in the poplar tree fungal pathogen Marssonina brunnea, which accounts for over 17% of its secretome. We named these proteins IGY proteins (IGYPs) based on the conserved three amino acids at the N-terminus. In spite of overall low sequence similarity among IGYPs; they showed conserved N- and C-terminal motifs and a unified gene structure. By RT-PCR-seq, we analyzed the IGYP gene models and validated their expressions as active genes during infection. IGYP homologues were also found in 25 other Dikarya fungal species, all of which shared conserved motifs and the same gene structure. Furthermore, 18 IGYPs from 11 fungi also shared similar genomic contexts. Real-time RT-PCR showed that 8 MbIGYPs were highly expressed in the biotrophic stage. Interestingly, transient assay of 12 MbIGYPs showed that the MbIGYP13 protein induced cell death in resistant poplar clones.ConclusionsIn total, 154 IGYPs in 26 fungi of the Dikarya subkingdom were discovered. Gene structure and genomic context analyses indicated that IGYPs originated from a common ancestor. In M. brunnea, the expansion of highly divergent MbIGYPs possibly is associated with plant-pathogen arms race.