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R Terauchi

Publications and source records attributed to R Terauchi.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Nucleotide polymorphism in the acidic chitinase locus (ChiA) region of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

To investigate DNA variation in natural plant populations, a 1.8-kb region of the acidic chitinase locus (ChiA)was analyzed for 17 ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana sampled worldwide and 3 Arabis species in Japan. As in the Adh region, dimorphism was detected throughout the investigated ChiA region, suggesting the possibility that dimorphic DNA variation exists in the entire nuclear genome of A. thaliana. The ChiA region was divided into two blocks by an intragenic recombination between two parental sequence types, which diverged 7.4 MYA under the assumption that nucleotide mutation rate per site per year is mu = 10(-9). Nucleotide diversity in the entire ChiA region was 0.0104. Tajima's test was significantly negative for both nucleotide and indel variations, which was manifested as an excess of unique polymorphisms. However, the level and pattern of polymorphism in the ChiA region were inconsistent with simple theoretical explanations. The HKA test detected no difference in the levels of intra- and interspecific variations between the ChiA and Adh regions. In the ChiA coding region, no difference in the patterns of synonymous and replacement variation was found in intra- and interspecific comparisons by the MK test. Although it was difficult to determine the exact genetic mechanism acting on the ChA locus, these results suggested that the ChA locus region was under the same genetic mechanism before and after the establishment of A. thaliana as a species.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Intragenic recombination in the Adh locus of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Nucleotide variation in the Adh region of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana was analyzed in 17 ecotypes sampled worldwide to investigate DNA polymorphism in natural plant populations. The investigated 2.4-kb Adh region was divided into four blocks by intragenic recombinations between two parental sequence types that diverged 6.3 million years (Myr) ago, if the nucleotide mutation rate mu = 10(-9) is assumed. Within each block, dimorphism of segregating variations was observed with intermediate frequencies, which caused a substantial amount of nucleotide variation in A. thaliana at the species level. The first recombination introduced the divergent variation that resulted in dimorphism in this plant species approximately 3.3 Myr ago, and three subsequent intragenic combinations have occurred sporadically in approximately 1.1-Myr intervals. It was shown that there was only a limited number (six) of sequence types in this species and that no clear association was observed between sequence type and geographic origin. Taken together, these results suggest that A. thaliana has spread over the world only recently. It can be concluded that recombination played an important role in the evolutionary history of A. thaliana, especially through the generation of DNA polymorphism in the natural populations of this plant species.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Molecular systematics of the Trilliaceae sensu lato as inferred from rbcL sequence data.

In this paper, we examine the phylogenetic affinities of Trilliaceae sensu lato. DNA sequences of the rbcL gene were analyzed for 8 species from Trilliaceae sensu lato (Trillium kamtschaticum, T. sessile, Daiswa polyphylla, Kinugasa japonica, Paris tetraphylla, Scoliopus bigelovii, S. hallii, and Medeola virginiana) and 10 other species from Liliaceae sensu lato. The analysis indicates that Trilliaceae sensu stricto (Trillium, Daiswa, Kinugasa, and Paris) is monophyletic and that Trilliaceae sensu lato is not monophyletic. Scoliopus and Medeola do not form a clade with Trilliaceae sensu stricto. Instead, they form a clade with Uvulariaceae and Liliaceae sensu stricto, respectively. Relative to the rbcL genes of Trilliaceae sensu stricto, Scoliopus and Medeola displayed approximately 14-24 synonymous substitutions per 100 sites. In similar comparisons with Streptopus and Clintonia (Uvulariaceae), these displayed approximately 1-4 synonymous substitutions per 100 sites. The rbcL gene analysis supports the previous suggestion that Scoliopus and Medeola should be moved from Trilliaceae to Liliaceae sensu stricto. The analysis also indicated that Veratrum (Melanthiaceae) may be related to Trilliaceae sensu stricto. For reconstructing the phylogeny of lower taxonomic level as such, it was found that data on nonsynonymous base substitution as well as weighting in the first and second positions of codons are not useful.

Base Sequence↗

DNA fingerprinting study on the intraspecific variation and the origin of Prunus yedoensis (Someiyoshino).

In order to investigate the intraspecific variation of Prunus yedoensis (Someiyoshino) and interspecific relationship among P. yedoensis, P. lannesiana (Oshimazakura) and P. pendula (Edohigan), DNA fingerprinting study was conducted by using two different kinds of probes, M13 repeat sequence and (GACA)4 synthetic oligonucleotide. In this study, 68 plants of P. yedoensis grown in 46 prefectures in Japan were investigated. All the P. yedoensis individuals investigated showed the completely same banding pattern, indicating their clonal origin from a single plant. On the other hand, each of P. lannesiana and P. pendula individuals investigated showed a unique banding pattern, suggesting a considerable amount of genetic variation in these two species. About 90% of bands in DNA fingerprints of P. yedoensis were detected in either P. lannesiana or P. pendula. This result supports the hypothesis that P. yedoensis is an interspecific hybrid between P. lannesiana and P. pendula. From those results, it is concluded that P. yedoensis was produced only once through hybridization between P. lannesiana and P. pendula, and that this particular hybrid plant has been spread vegetatively all over Japan.

Base Sequence↗

Microsatellite polymorphism in Dioscorea tokoro, a wild yam species.

Six microsatellite loci were characterized in Dioscorea tokoro, a wild yam species in East Asia. All six loci were polymorphic in a sample of 23 individuals from natural populations in Japan. The microsatellite loci displayed many alleles (6.2 alleles per locus on average), and the observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.54) as well as expected heterozygosity (He = 0.68) were high. The heterozygosities were far more than that previously detected by allozyme analysis of D. tokoro (Ho = 0.23, He = 0.28). Five microsatellite loci were sufficient to provide a paternity exclusion rate (Q) of Q = 0.98, which enables monitoring of the pollen-mediated gene flow between plants in a population. Microsatellite loci are abundant and highly polymorphic in D. tokoro and other plants and are therefore ideal markers for plant population genetic studies.

Alleles↗

A polymorphic microsatellite marker from the tropical tree Dryobalanops lanceolata (Dipterocarpaceae).

Di-nucleotide microsatellites were isolated from a genomic library of a tropical tree species, Dryobalanops lanceolata, in Sarawak, for the purpose of using them as hypervariable genetic markers to study the pollen-mediated gene flow. Among 1600 recombinant clones, in total 20 clones gave positive signals when hybridized with oligonucleotides with the three different repeat motifs, GT, CA and CT. Estimations of abundance of (GT)n/(CA)n and (GA)n/(CT)n dinucleotide repeats in D. lanceolata genome revealed to be one in every 84 kb and 80 kb, respectively. Among six sequenced microsatellite loci, one was selected to synthesize PCR primers to amplify the microsatellite. PCR product size of the locus was variable among different individuals, which is attributed to the different number of di-nucleotide repeats. The same microsatellite genotype was detected in the trunk and canopy of a single large tree, indicating the utility of trunk tissue as the source of DNA for the population genetic study of tropical tree species, the canopy of which is usually difficult to approach.

Base Sequence↗