A single-strand conformation polymorphism method by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence for detection of the T1151A mutation in hMLH1 gene

Mutation of hMLH1 gene plays an important role in human tumorigenesis. A highly sensitive single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method for detection of the T1151A mutation in exon 12 of the hMLH1 gene was for the first time developed employing laser-induced fluorescence capillary electrophoresis (LIF-CE). Effects of the concentration of linear polyacrylamide solution, running temperature, running voltage and the addition of glycerol on SSCP analysis were investigated, and the optimum separation conditions were defined. Thirty colorectal cancer patients and eight lung cancer patients were screened and the T1151A mutation was found in four of them. Based on CE-sequencing the mutation was further confirmed. To our knowledge, this is for the first time that the T1151A mutation is found in lung cancer. Our method is simple, rapid, and highly sensitive and is well suited to the analysis of large numbers of clinical samples.

Applications of homemade kit in mutation detection of genes

Several methods of mutation detection, such as single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), tandem SSCP/heteroduplex analysis and SNaPshot analysis were developed using homemade kit on ABI 310 genetic analyzer, and were successfully applied to mutation detection of 31 colorectal tumor samples. The sieving capability of homemade kit and commercial kit were compared, results demonstrate that homemade kit has higher resolution and shorter analysis time. In clinical tumor samples, 26% K-ras (exon 1) and 24% p53 (exons 7-8) were found to have mutations, and all mutations were single point variations. A majority of mutations occurred in one gene, only 1 tumor contained alterations in the two genes, which indicates that development of colorectal cancer lies on alternate pathways, and may correlate with different gene mutations.

Rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria by capillary electrophoretic analysis of rRNA genes

Molecular diagnosis is playing an increasingly important role in the rapid detection and identification of pathogenic organisms in clinical samples. The genetic variation of ribosomal genes in bacteria offers an alternative to culturing for the detection and identification of these organisms. Here 16S rRNA and 16S-23S rRNA spacer region genes were chosen as the amplified targets for single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) capillary electrophoresis analysis and bacterial identification. The multiple fluorescence based SSCP method for the 16S rRNA gene and the RFLP method for the 16S-23S rRNA spacer region gene were developed and applied to the identification of pathogenic bacteria in clinical samples, in which home-made short-chained linear polyacrylamide (LPA) was used as a sieving matrix; a higher sieving capability and shorter analysis time were achieved than with a commercial sieving matrix because of the simplified template preparation procedure. A set of 270 pathogenic bacteria representing 34 species in 14 genera were analyzed, and a total of 34 unique SSCP patterns representing 34 different pathogenic bacterial species were determined. Based on the use of machine code to represent peak patterns developed in this paper, the identification of bacterial species becomes much easier.

Exploring the Origin of Power Law Distribution in Single-Molecule Conformation Dynamics: Energy Landscape Perspectives

We explored the origin of power law distribution observed in single-molecule conformational dynamics experiments. By establishing a kinetic master equation approach to study statistically the microscopic state dynamics, we show that the underlying landscape with exponentially distributed density of states leads to power law distribution of kinetics. The exponential density of states emerges when the system becomes glassy and landscape becomes rough with significant trapping.

Studies on the Interaction between Single-strand Oligonucleotide and Ginsenosides by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Oligonucleotide from SARS virus was selected as a target molecule in the paper. The noncovalent complexes of ginsenosides with the target molecule were investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The effects of experimental conditions were examined firstly on the formation of noncovalent complexes. Based on the optimized experimental conditions, the interaction of different ginsenosides with the target molecule was researched, finding that the interaction orders are relative with the structure of aglycons, the length and terminal sugar types of saccharide chains in the ginsenosides. There are certain rules for the interaction between the ginsenosides and DNA target molecule. For different type ginsenosides, the interaction intensity takes the orders 20-S-protopanaxatriol > 20-S-protopanaxadiol, and panaxatriol ginsenosides > panaxadiol ginsenosides. For the ginsenosides with the same type aglycone, tri-saccharide chain > di-saccharide chain > tetra-saccharide chain and single-saccharide chain > panaxatriol. For the ginsenosides with the same tetra-saccharide chain, the ginsenosides with smaller molecule masses > the ginsenosides with larger molecule masses.

Development of polymorphic EST markers in Penaeus monodon: applications in penaeid genetics

The objective of this study was to develop type I markers for genome mapping and other genetic studies of Penaeus monodon. Primers were designed based on expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a P monodon cephalothorax cDNA library to amplify 100-300 bp products. 34 of the primer pairs successfully amplified PCR products from genomic DNA. Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis showed that similar to 30% of the ESTs tested exhibit polymorphism in a test panel of P monodon individuals. Mendelian inheritance of the EST-derived markers has been established in two international reference mapping families of P monodon, and mapping of these markers is in progress. Some ESTs were successfully amplified from other Penaeus species (P. chinensis, P japonicus and P vannamei), indicating that the markers are applicable in cross-species comparison. Two populations of P. japonicus could be differentiated using one of the ESTS. In conclusion, the polymorphic EST markers developed in this study are applicable in genome mapping and population genetic studies of penaeid shrimp. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

固氮树木丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)遗传多样性的研究

丛枝菌根是自然生态系统中分布最广的内生菌根，在促进植物生存与生长、植被恢复以及生物多样性保护等方面有着非常重要的作用。 随着现代分子生物学技术的不断发展，丛枝菌根真菌研究得到空前发展。大量DNA分析新技术在丛枝菌根真菌的分子遗传、分类鉴定、种间及种内亲缘关系、菌株持久性等方面得到应用，与传统菌根研究方法相比，表现出巨大的优越性。 本项研究利用分子生物学技术和研究方法对中国吉林长白山地区非豆科固氮植物以及东北地区固氮树木的丛枝菌根真菌DNA分子多态性及其与宿主植物之间的相互关系等进行初步研究，旨在利用分子生态学理论和研究方法揭示丛枝菌根真菌多样性及其与宿主植物之间相互适应和协同进化的一般规律，为更好地保护和利用这一重要的微生物资源提供理论依据。 通过比较与筛选，建立起丛枝菌根真菌痕量DNA快速、简便、高效的提取纯化方法——改良CTAB法。经PCR检测，所得DNA满足进一步研究的要求。 根据丛枝菌根真菌18s rRNA 小亚基核基因片段的特点，利用“科”特异性引物进行半巢式标记PCR (Labelled Primers-PCR，LP-PCR) 及单链构象多态性（Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism，SSCP）分析技术研究了长白山赤杨在属水平上表现出的多样性。另外，利用巢式PCR-RFLP技术，分别对来源于长白山不同海拔的四种赤杨菌根样品的AMF侵染情况及其系统进化进行了研究。利用AMF特异性PCR技术对我国东北地区四种非豆科树木和5种豆科树木菌根侵染情况和系统发育规律进行了研究 研究结果显示：赤杨根内AMF存在丰富的基因多样性。AMF的侵染有从宿主混乱性向宿主专一性发展的趋势。 长白山地区赤杨属植物至少有东北赤杨、西伯利亚赤杨和色赤杨三个树种在其“属”的水平上与共生的球囊霉科（Glomaceae）至少一个“种” 的丛枝菌根真菌，即根内球囊霉（Glomus intraradix），在“种”的水平上表现出不相关于宿主海拔高度的某种相互选择性。 东北赤杨AMF菌的宿主专一性水平最强，球囊霉属已成为东北赤杨的优势侵染类群；对于其余三种赤杨，AMF则出现宿主混乱现象。宿主因素比海拔因素对AMF侵染特异性的影响更为重要。 豆科与非豆科样本的混乱性都比较强，在特定植物和AMF属之间无特异侵染规律，相对来说，非豆科树木比豆科树木对于AMF的选择性要更强一些，更倾向于和球囊霉属与无梗孢囊霉属的AMF构建共生体。

固氮树木丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）遗传多样性的研究

丛枝菌根是自然生态系统中分布最广的内生菌根，在促进植物生存与生长、植被恢复以及生物多样性保护等方面有着非常重要的作用。 随着现代分子生物学技术的不断发展，丛枝菌根真菌研究得到空前发展。大量DNA分析新技术在丛枝菌根真菌的分子遗传、分类鉴定、种间及种内亲缘关系、菌株持久性等方面得到应用，与传统菌根研究方法相比，表现出巨大的优越性。 本项研究利用分子生物学技术和研究方法对中国吉林长白山地区非豆科固氮植物以及东北地区固氮树木的丛枝菌根真菌DNA分子多态性及其与宿主植物之间的相互关系等进行初步研究，旨在利用分子生态学理论和研究方法揭示丛枝菌根真菌多样性及其与宿主植物之间相互适应和协同进化的一般规律，为更好地保护和利用这一重要的微生物资源提供理论依据。 通过比较与筛选，建立起丛枝菌根真菌痕量DNA快速、简便、高效的提取纯化方法——改良CTAB法。经PCR检测，所得DNA满足进一步研究的要求。 根据丛枝菌根真菌18s rRNA 小亚基核基因片段的特点，利用“科”特异性引物进行半巢式标记PCR (Labelled Primers-PCR，LP-PCR) 及单链构象多态性（Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism，SSCP）分析技术研究了长白山赤杨在属水平上表现出的多样性。另外，利用巢式PCR-RFLP技术，分别对来源于长白山不同海拔的四种赤杨菌根样品的AMF侵染情况及其系统进化进行了研究。利用AMF特异性PCR技术对我国东北地区四种非豆科树木和5种豆科树木菌根侵染情况和系统发育规律进行了研究 研究结果显示：赤杨根内AMF存在丰富的基因多样性。AMF的侵染有从宿主混乱性向宿主专一性发展的趋势。 长白山地区赤杨属植物至少有东北赤杨、西伯利亚赤杨和色赤杨三个树种在其“属”的水平上与共生的球囊霉科（Glomaceae）至少一个“种” 的丛枝菌根真菌，即根内球囊霉（Glomus intraradix），在“种”的水平上表现出不相关于宿主海拔高度的某种相互选择性。 东北赤杨AMF菌的宿主专一性水平最强，球囊霉属已成为东北赤杨的优势侵染类群；对于其余三种赤杨，AMF则出现宿主混乱现象。宿主因素比海拔因素对AMF侵染特异性的影响更为重要。 豆科与非豆科样本的混乱性都比较强，在特定植物和AMF属之间无特异侵染规律，相对来说，非豆科树木比豆科树木对于AMF的选择性要更强一些，更倾向于和球囊霉属与无梗孢囊霉属的AMF构建共生体.

长白山赤杨从枝菌根真菌DNA分子多态性的研究

丛枝菌根是自然生态系统中分布最广的内生菌根，在促进植物生存与生长、植被恢复以及生物多样性保护等方面有着非常重要的作用。随着现代分子生物学技术的发展，丛枝菌根真菌的研究得到空前发展。大量DNA分析新技术在丛枝菌根真菌的分子遗传、分类鉴定、种间及种内亲缘关系、菌株持久性等方面得到应用，与传统菌根研究方法相比，表现出巨大的优越性。但相比国际而言，国内针对菌根真菌分子水平上的研究发展较为缓慢。本项研究对中国吉林长白山东北赤杨、西伯利亚赤杨、色赤杨丛枝菌根真菌DNA分子多态性进行初步研究，试图揭示其一般规律，为更好地利用这一资源提供理论依据。通过比较与筛选，得到丛枝菌根真菌痕量DNA快速、简便的提取纯化方法—改良CTAB法。经PCR检测，所得DNA满足进一步研究的要求。根据丛枝菌根真菌185 rRNA小亚基核基因片段的特点，利用“科”特异性引物进行半巢式标记PCR（Labelled Primers-PCR，LP-PCR）扩增，再经单链构象多态性（Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism，SSCP）分析来检测其DNA分子在“种”水平上表现出的多态性。研究结果显示：丛枝菌根真菌在“种”的水平上并未随各宿主的变化表现出丰富的多样性；长白山地区赤杨属植物至少有东北赤杨、西伯利亚赤杨和色赤杨三个树种在自身“属”的水平上与共生的球囊霉科（Glomaceae）至少一个“种”的丛枝菌根真菌，即根内球囊霉（Glomus intradix），在“种”的水平上表现出不相关于宿主海拔高度的某种相互选择性。

Conformational transition of DNA induced by cationic lipid vesicle in acidic solution: spectroscopy investigation

The conformational transition of DNA induced by the interaction between DNA and a cationic lipid vesicle, didodecyidimethylammonium bromide (DDAB), had been investigated by circular dichroism (CD) and UV spectroscopy methods. We used singular value decomposition least squares method (SVDLS) to analyze the experimental CD spectra. Although pH value influenced the conformation of DNA in solution, the results showed that upon binding to double helical DNA, positively charged liposomes induced a conformational transition of DNA molecules from the native B-form to more compact conformations. At the same time, no obvious conformational changes occurred at single-strand DNA (ssDNA). While the cationic lipid vesicles and double-strand DNA (dsDNA) were mixed at a high molar ratio of DDAB vesicles to dsDNA, the conformation of dsDNA transformed from the B-form to the C-form resulting in an increase in duplex stability (DeltaT(m) = 8 +/- 0.4 degreesC). An increasing in T-m was also observed while the cationic lipid vesicles interacted with ssDNA.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Peeling a DNA Molecule on Substrate

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to study adhesion and peeling of a short fragment of single strand DNA (ssDNA) molecule from a graphite surface. The critical peel-off force is found to depend on both the peeling angle and the elasticity of ssDNA. For the short ssDNA strand under investigation, we show that the simulation results can be explained by a continuum model of an adhesive elastic band on substrate. The analysis suggests that it is often the peak value, rather than the mean value, of adhesion energy which determines the peeling of a nanoscale material.

Phantom mutation hotspots in human mitochondrial DNA

Phantom mutations are systematic artifacts generated in the course of the sequencing process. Contra common belief these artificial mutations are nearly ubiquitous in sequencing results, albeit at frequencies that may vary dramatically. The amount of artifacts depends not only on the sort of automated sequencer and sequencing chemistry employed, but also on other lab-specific factors. An experimental study executed on four samples under various combinations of sequencing conditions revealed a number of phantom mutations occurring at the same sites of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) repeatedly. To confirm these and identify further hotspots for artifacts, > 5000 mtDNA electropherograms were screened for artificial patterns. Further, > 30000 published hypervariable segment 1 sequences were compared at potential hotspots for phantom mutations, especially for variation at positions 16085 and 16197. Resequencing of several samples confirmed the artificial nature of these and other polymorphisms in the original publications. Single-strand sequencing, as typically executed in medical and anthropological studies, is thus highly vulnerable to this kind of artifacts. In particular, phantom mutation hotspots could easily lead to misidentification of somatic mutations and to misinterpretations in all kinds of clinical mtDNA studies.

Exploring consensus mRNA secondary (folding) structure units by stochastic sampling and folding simulation

It is extremely difficult to explore mRNA folding structure by biological experiments. In this report, we use stochastic sampling and folding simulation to test the existence of the stable secondary structural units of-mRNA, look for the folding units, and explore the probabilistic stabilization of the units. Using this method, We made simulations for all possible local optimum secondary structures of a single strand mRNA within a certain range, and searched for the common parts of the secondary structures. The consensus secondary structure units (CSSUs) extracted from the above method are mainly hairpins, with a few single strands. These CSSUs suggest that the mRNA folding units could be relatively stable and could perform specific biological function. The significance of these observations for the mRNA folding problem in general is also discussed. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.