Ramesh V. Kantety

Data mining for simple sequence repeats in expressed sequence tags from barley, maize, rice, sorghum and wheat.

Plant genomics projects involving model species and many agriculturally important crops are resulting in a rapidly increasing database of genomic and expressed DNA sequences. The publicly available collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from several grass species can be used in the analysis of both structural and functional relationships in these genomes. We analyzed over 260 000 EST sequences from five different cereals for their potential use in developing simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The frequency of SSR-containing ESTs (SSR-ESTs) in this collection varied from 1.5% for maize to 4.7% for rice. In addition, we identified several ESTs that are related to the SSR-ESTs by BLAST analysis. The SSR-ESTs and the related sequences were clustered within each species in order to reduce the redundancy and to produce a longer consensus sequence. The consensus and singleton sequences from each species were pooled and clustered to identify cross-species matches. Overall a reduction in the redundancy by 85% was observed when the resulting consensus and singleton sequences (3569) were compared to the total number of SSR-EST and related sequences analyzed (24 606). This information can be useful for the development of SSR markers that can amplify across the grass genera for comparative mapping and genetics. Functional analysis may reveal their role in plant metabolism and gene evolution.

Nonrandom distribution and frequencies of genomic and EST-derived microsatellite markers in rice, wheat, and barley

BackgroundEarlier comparative maps between the genomes of rice (Oryza sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were linkage maps based on cDNA-RFLP markers. The low number of polymorphic RFLP markers has limited the development of dense genetic maps in wheat and the number of available anchor points in comparative maps. Higher density comparative maps using PCR-based anchor markers are necessary to better estimate the conservation of colinearity among cereal genomes. The purposes of this study were to characterize the proportion of transcribed DNA sequences containing simple sequence repeats (SSR or microsatellites) by length and motif for wheat, barley and rice and to determine in-silico rice genome locations for primer sets developed for wheat and barley Expressed Sequence Tags.ResultsThe proportions of SSR types (di-, tri-, tetra-, and penta-nucleotide repeats) and motifs varied with the length of the SSRs within and among the three species, with trinucleotide SSRs being the most frequent. Distributions of genomic microsatellites (gSSRs), EST-derived microsatellites (EST-SSRs), and transcribed regions in the contiguous sequence of rice chromosome 1 were highly correlated. More than 13,000 primer pairs were developed for use by the cereal research community as potential markers in wheat, barley and rice.ConclusionTrinucleotide SSRs were the most common type in each of the species; however, the relative proportions of SSR types and motifs differed among rice, wheat, and barley. Genomic microsatellites were found to be primarily located in gene-rich regions of the rice genome. Microsatellite markers derived from the use of non-redundant EST-SSRs are an economic and efficient alternative to RFLP for comparative mapping in cereals.

EST derived SSR markers for comparative mapping in wheat and rice

Structural and functional relationships between the genomes of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (2n=6x=42) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) (2n=2x=24) were evaluated using linkage maps supplemented with simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci obtained from publicly available expressed sequence tags (ESTs). EST-SSR markers were developed using two main strategies to design primers for each gene: (1) primer design for multiple species based on supercluster analysis, and (2) species-specific primer design. Amplification was more consistent using the species-specific primer design for each gene. Forty-four percent of the primers designed specifically for wheat sequences were successful in amplifying DNA from both species. Existing genetic linkage maps were enhanced for the wheat and rice genomes using orthologous loci amplified with 58 EST-SSR markers obtained from both wheat and rice ESTs. The PCR-based anchor loci identified by these EST-SSR markers support previous patterns of conservation between wheat and rice genomes; however, there was a high frequency of interrupted colinearity. In addition, multiple loci amplified by these primers made the comparative analysis more difficult. Enhanced comparative maps of wheat and rice provide a useful tool for interpreting and transferring molecular, genetic, and breeding information between these two important species. These EST-SSR markers are particularly useful for constructing comparative framework maps for different species, because they amplify closely related genes to provide anchor points across species.

Simple sequence repeats as useful resources to study transcribed genes of cotton

Microsatellites or Simple Sequence Repeats(SSRs) are informative molecular genetic markers in many crop species. SSRs are PCR-based, highly polymorphic, abundant, widely distributed throughout the genome and inherited in a co-dominant manner in most cases. Here we describe the presence of SSRs in cDNAs of cotton. Thirty one SSR primer pairs of 220 (∼14%) tested led to PCR amplification of discrete fragments using cotton leaf cDNA as template. Sequence analysis showed 25% of 24randomly selected cDNA clones amplified with different SSR primer pairs contained repeat motifs. We further showed that sequences from the SSR-containing cDNAs were conserved across G. barbadense and G. hirsutum, revealing the importance of the SSR markers for comparative mapping of transcribed genes. Data mining for plant SSR-ESTs from the publicly available databases identified SSRs motifs in many plant species,including cotton, in a range of 1.1 to4.8% of the submitted ESTs for a given species.

Characterization of the two intra-individual sequence variants in the 18S rRNA gene in the plant parasitic nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis.

The 18S rRNA gene is fundamental to cellular and organismal protein synthesis and because of its stable persistence through generations it is also used in phylogenetic analysis among taxa. Sequence variation in this gene within a single species is rare, but it has been observed in few metazoan organisms. More frequently it has mostly been reported in the non-transcribed spacer region. Here, we have identified two sequence variants within the near full coding region of 18S rRNA gene from a single reniform nematode (RN) Rotylenchulus reniformis labeled as reniform nematode variant 1 (RN_VAR1) and variant 2 (RN_VAR2). All sequences from three of the four isolates had both RN variants in their sequences; however, isolate 13B had only RN variant 2 sequence. Specific variable base sites (96 or 5.5%) were found within the 18S rRNA gene that can clearly distinguish the two 18S rDNA variants of RN, in 11 (25.0%) and 33 (75.0%) of the 44 RN clones, for RN_VAR1 and RN_VAR2, respectively. Neighbor-joining trees show that the RN_VAR1 is very similar to the previously existing R. reniformis sequence in GenBank, while the RN_VAR2 sequence is more divergent. This is the first report of the identification of two major variants of the 18S rRNA gene in the same single RN, and documents the specific base variation between the two variants, and hypothesizes on simultaneous co-existence of these two variants for this gene.

Development of New Candidate Gene and EST-Based Molecular Markers for Gossypium Species

New source of molecular markers accelerate the efforts in improving cotton fiber traits and aid in developing high-density integrated genetic maps. We developed new markers based on candidate genes and G. arboreum EST sequences that were used for polymorphism detection followed by genetic and physical mapping. Nineteen gene-based markers were surveyed for polymorphism detection in 26 Gossypium species. Cluster analysis generated a phylogenetic tree with four major sub-clusters for 23 species while three species branched out individually. CAP method enhanced the rate of polymorphism of candidate gene-based markers between G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Two hundred A-genome based SSR markers were designed after datamining of G. arboreum EST sequences (Mississippi Gossypium arboreum   EST-SSR: MGAES). Over 70% of MGAES markers successfully produced amplicons while 65 of them demonstrated polymorphism between the parents of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense RIL population and formed 14 linkage groups. Chromosomal localization of both candidate gene-based and MGAES markers was assisted by euploid and hypoaneuploid CS-B analysis. Gene-based and MGAES markers were highly informative as they were designed from candidate genes and fiber transcriptome with a potential to be integrated into the existing cotton genetic and physical maps.

Characterization of the reniform nematode genome by shotgun sequencing.

The reniform nematode (RN), a major agricultural pest particularly on cotton in the United States, is among the major plant-parasitic nematodes for which limited genomic information exists. In this study, over 380 Mb of sequence data were generated from pooled DNA of four adult female RNs and assembled into 67,317 contigs, including 25,904 (38.5%) predicted coding contigs and 41,413 (61.5%) noncoding contigs. Most of the characterized repeats were of low complexity (88.9%), and 0.9% of the contigs matched with 53.2% of GenBank ESTs. The most frequent Gene Ontology (GO) terms for molecular function and biological process were protein binding (32%) and embryonic development (20%). Further analysis showed that 741 (1.1%), 94 (0.1%), and 169 (0.25%) RN genomic contigs matched with 1328 (13.9%), 1480 (5.4%), and 1330 (7.4%) supercontigs of Meloidogyne incognita, Brugia malayi, and Pristionchus pacificus, respectively. Chromosome 5 of Caenorhabditis elegans had the highest number of hits to the RN contigs. Seven putative detoxification genes and three carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) involved in cell wall degradation were studied in more detail. Additionally, kinases, G protein-coupled receptors, and neuropeptides functioning in physiological, developmental, and regulatory processes were identified in the RN genome.

Principal Component Analysis and Molecular Characterization of Reniform Nematode Populations in Alabama

U.S. cotton production is suffering from the yield loss caused by the reniform nematode (RN), Rotylenchulus reniformis. Management of this devastating pest is of utmost importance because, no upland cotton cultivar exhibits adequate resistance to RN. Nine populations of RN from distinct regions in Alabama and one population from Mississippi were studied and thirteen morphometric features were measured on 20 male and 20 female nematodes from each population. Highly correlated variables (positive) in female and male RN morphometric parameters were observed for body length (L) and distance of vulva from the lip region (V) (r = 0.7) and tail length (TL) and c′ (r = 0.8), respectively. The first and second principal components for the female and male populations showed distinct clustering into three groups. These results show pattern of sub-groups within the RN populations in Alabama. A one-way ANOVA on female and male RN populations showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the variables. Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) of 18S rRNA sequences (421) showed lengths of 653 bp. Sites within the aligned sequences were conserved (53%), parsimony-informative (17%), singletons (28%), and indels (2%), respectively. Neighbor-Joining analysis showed intra and inter-nematodal variations within the populations as clone sequences from different nematodes irrespective of the sex of nematode isolate clustered together. Morphologically, the three groups (I, II and III) could not be distinctly associated with the molecular data from the 18S rRNA sequences. The three groups may be identified as being non-geographically contiguous.

DNA-based identification of Lentinula edodes strains with species-specific primers

Lentinula edodes is among the five globally cultivated edible mushrooms, which are wood decaying spore bearing Basidiomycetes possessing separate hyphae. Specific identification of this fungus from others in the division Basidiomycota using specific primers enables a fast and accurate detection through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). As a prelude to additional nutritional and sequence characterization research, we have developed a species-specific PCR assay for this fungus after screening four primer-pairs and two universal primer pairs. The primer-pair LE1F/R was specific in amplifications of ATCC-defined L. edodes strains and did not amplify DNA from six medicinally and nutritionally important fungal reference strains, Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), Enoki (Flammulina velutipes), Baby bella (Agaricus bisporus), Porcini (Boletus edulis), and Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius). However, amplifications using the universal primers were positive for all six strains. This assay will therefore serve to validate morphology-based-identifications of L. edodes strains. Key words: Lentinula edodes, LE1F/R, species-specific primers.