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Diversity of two short tandem repeat loci (CD4 and F13A1) in three Brazilian ethnic groups.

Two microsatellites (CD4 and F13A1) were investigated in seven Brazilian populations: one group each of European- and African-derived subjects from Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, and five Amerindian tribes (three Tupi-Mondé speaking [Gavião, Surui, and Zoró], one Macro-Gê [Xavante], and one Carib [Wai-Wai]). For both markers, neo-Brazilians presented with a high diversity, but Amerindians showed a low level of variability. Genotype frequency distributions were heterogeneous among populations, the only exception being similar CD4 frequencies in Afro- and Euro-Brazilians. Gene diversity analysis revealed that most of the total variation is due to intrapopulational diversity in all populations. Because of the high information content of these markers in Afro- and Euro-Brazilians, these systems are most appropriate for forensic analyses. The comparison among Brazilian and other world populations revealed high similarity among populations of the same ethnic group, indicating a high discriminative power for these markers.

Brazil↗

What are the effects of tobacco policies on vulnerable populations? A better practices review.

BACKGROUND: While comprehensive tobacco policies have reduced the prevalence of smoking in Canada, some groups remain vulnerable to tobacco use and display high rates of smoking. This article reviews three types of tobacco policies--tax and price, smoking location restrictions and sales restrictions--and examines the consequences for Aboriginal people, youth and low-income people. METHODS: A better practices review model was used to assess the strength of studies published between 1990 and 2004 that examined the effects of these tobacco policies on the three vulnerable populations of interest. A total of 72 studies were assessed and 42 judged medium or high strength. A gender-based and diversity analysis was applied to assess the differential impacts on females and males and/or diverse characteristics within these populations. Intended and unintended consequences were examined. FINDINGS: Few studies assessed the potential or differential effects of tobacco policies on the three selected populations. In these, it was difficult to disentangle the effects of each policy in a comprehensive tobacco control environment, and there is need for improved indicators and greater attention to sex and gender analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Research is required to measure the intended and unintended impacts of tobacco policies on populations vulnerable to tobacco use. There are problems in assessing these studies that could be resolved with more precise indicator development. An equity-based framework for assessing the effects of tobacco policies is needed that is conceptually linked to health determinants and inequities. The article concludes with a set of recommendations for research, evaluation, policy and ethics arising from this review.

Canada↗

Taxonomic status of Ixodes neotomae and I. spinipalpis (Acari: Ixodidae) based on mitochondrial DNA evidence.

Ixodes spinipalpis Hadwen & Nuttall and I. neotomae Cooley are enzootic vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner in western North America. The taxa overlap in host preference, habitat, and morphology. Mitochondrial DNA was compared between the taxa to test for reproductive isolation. A 300-bp region of the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA gene was amplified in 28 specimens of I. neotomae and 149 specimens of I. spinipalpis. These products were screened for sequence variation using single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, and 9 haplotypes were detected. Haplotype frequencies varied between taxa; however, Shannon diversity analysis indicated that most variation arose among collections within each taxon, and no unique haplotypes characterized either one. Phylogenetic analysis of 18 sequences, representing a replicate of each of the 9 haplotypes, was performed with Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls and Ixodes jellisoni Cooley & Kohls as outgroups. Strong monophyletic support was found for a clade containing I. neotomae and I spinipalpis and within this clade no lineages comprised exclusively either taxon. These results argue against treatment of I. neotomae and I. spinipalpis as distinct species.

Animals↗

Comparison of microsatellite and blood protein diversity in sheep: inconsistencies in fragmented breeds.

Finnsheep, Romanov, Oxford Down and three local breeds from Finland or northwestern Russia were assessed at 15 microsatellite and 7 protein loci. A novel albumin allele was identified. Diversity patterns were mostly concordant between marker types, but discrepancies appeared for the local Viena and Vepsia sheep, both demonstrating frequent linkage disequilibria for both marker types and excess of homozygotes for microsatellites, and in the case of Vepsia also for proteins as signs of breed fragmentation. On the basis of microsatellite data, the neighbour-joining tree and two-dimensional map constructed from DA distances suggested that difference in longitude of breed origin would relate to breed relationship, whereas on the basis of protein data latitude would have this quality. These different impressions resulted because genetic distances involving Vepsia sheep were relatively low for protein variation compared with microsatellites. Microsatellite variation correlated positively with protein variation, but for the local Viena sheep protein variation was comparatively low. Populations had significant differences in allelic richness, but not in genetic diversity. Analysis implied that at least 30 polymorphic loci were needed to detect a difference in diversity between populations using a paired t-test, if the true mean diversity difference was 0.2. In the total sample, proteins demonstrated larger theta-values, but this was reversed for Finnsheep, for which model-based clustering of microsatellite genotypes revealed a structure associated with coat colour. Imported and rare sheep exhibited lowered allelic variability and increased frequency of pairwise disequilibria between unlinked markers. Our results emphasize that more loci are required for studying fragmented breeds.

Albumins↗

In situ T-cell responses in a primary regressive melanoma and subsequent metastases: a comparative analysis.

In an earlier study of the immune response in a patient with a cutaneous primary regressive melanoma, a T-cell-receptor diversity analysis demonstrated in situ amplification of certain lymphocytes. Two of them could be cloned and characterized as CD8+ HLA-class-l-restricted CTL with strong selective anti-tumor activity. Following a disease-free period of 3 years, the patient developed a gastric metastasis and subsequently (after an additional year) a metastasis in one axillary lymph node. Melanoma cell lines derived from the 2 secondary lesions have been established here. It was found that these metastatic cells have maintained expression of both HLA-class-I molecules and the peptidic antigen(s) recognized by the 2 clones amplified at the primary site. However, the corresponding T lymphocytes were either undetectable or poorly represented both in the gastric and in the axillary lesions. These results suggest that substantial alterations in the quality of T-cell infiltrates occurred during melanoma progression, despite an apparent stability in presentation of tumor-associated antigen(s) which initially triggered a positive rejection response.

Aged↗

PDA: a pipeline to explore and estimate polymorphism in large DNA databases.

Polymorphism studies are one of the main research areas of this genomic era. To date, however, no available web server or software package has been designed to automate the process of exploring and estimating nucleotide polymorphism in large DNA databases. Here, we introduce a novel software, PDA, Pipeline Diversity Analysis, that automatically can (i) search for polymorphic sequences in large databases, and (ii) estimate their genetic diversity. PDA is a collection of modules, mainly written in Perl, which works sequentially as follows: unaligned sequence retrieved from a DNA database are automatically classified by organism and gene, and aligned using the ClustalW algorithm. Sequence sets are regrouped depending on their similarity scores. Main diversity parameters, including polymorphism, synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions, linkage disequilibrium and codon bias are estimated both for the full length of the sequences and for specific functional regions. Program output includes a database with all sequences and estimations, and HTML pages with summary statistics, the performed alignments and a histogram maker tool. PDA is an essential tool to explore polymorphism in large DNA databases for sequences from different genes, populations or species. It has already been successfully applied to create a secondary database. PDA is available on the web at http://pda.uab.es/.

Databases, Nucleic Acid↗

Diversity of bacteria associated with the coral Pocillopora damicornis from the Great Barrier Reef.

The microbial community associated with the reef building coral Pocillopora damicornis located on the Great Barrier Reef was investigated using culture-independent molecular microbial techniques. The microbial communities of three separate coral colonies were assessed using clone library construction alongside restriction fragment length polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis. Diversity was also investigated spatially across six replicate samples within each single coral colony using 16S rDNA and rpoB-DGGE analysis. Clone libraries demonstrated that the majority of retrieved sequences from coral tissue slurry libraries affiliated with gamma-Proteobacteria. This contrasted with clone libraries of seawater and coral mucus, which were dominated by alpha-Proteobacteria. A number of retrieved clone sequences were conserved between coral colonies; a result consistent with previous studies suggesting a specific microbe-coral association. rpoB-DGGE patterns of replicate tissue slurry samples underestimated microbial diversity, but demonstrated that fingerprints were identical within the same coral. These fingerprints were also conserved across coral colonies. The 16S rDNA-DGGE patterns of replicate tissue slurry samples were more complex, although non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis showed groupings of these banding patterns indicating that some bacterial diversity was uniform within a coral colony. Sequence data retrieved from DGGE analysis support clone library data in that the majority of affiliations were within the gamma-Proteobacteria. Many sequences retrieved also affiliated closely with sequences derived from previous studies of microbial diversity of healthy corals in the Caribbean. Clones showing high 16S rDNA sequence identity to both Vibrio shiloi and Vibrio coralliilyticus were retrieved, suggesting that these may be opportunist pathogens. Comparisons of retrieved microbial diversity between two different sampling methods, a syringe extracted coral mucus sample and an airbrushed coral tissue slurry sample were also investigated. Non-metric multidimensional scaling of clone library data highlighted that clone diversity retrieved from a coral mucus library more closely reflected the diversity of surrounding seawater than a corresponding coral tissue clone library.

Animals↗

Grouping of tropical mid-altitude maize inbred lines on the basis of yield data and molecular markers.

The classification of maize inbred lines into heterotic groups is an important undertaking in hybrid breeding. The objectives of our research were to: (1) separate selected tropical mid-altitude maize inbred lines into heterotic groups based on grain yield data; (2) assess the genetic relationships among these inbred lines using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers; (3) examine the consistency between yield-based and marker-based groupings of the inbred lines. Thirty-eight tropical mid-altitude maize inbred lines were crossed to two inbred line testers representing the flint and dent heterotic pattern, respectively. The resulting testcrosses were evaluated in a trial at three locations for 2 years. Significant general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects for grain yield were detected among the inbred lines. The tester inbred lines classified 23 of the 38 tested inbred lines into two heterotic groups based on SCA effects and testcross mean grain yields. This grouping was not related to endosperm type of the inbred lines. The outstanding performance of testcrosses of the remaining 15 inbred lines indicates the presence of significant genetic diversity that may allow the assignment of the lines into more than two heterotic groups. Diversity analysis of the 40 maize inbred lines using AFLP and SSR markers found high levels of genetic diversity among these lines and subdivided them into two main groups with subdivision into sub-groups consistent with breeding history, origin and parentage of the lines. However, heterotic groups formed using yield-based combining ability were different from the groups established on the basis of molecular markers. Considering the diversity of the genetic backgrounds of the mid-altitude inbred lines, the marker-based grouping may serve as the basis to design and carry out combining ability studies in the field to establish clearly defined heterotic groups with a greater genetic similarity within groups.

Altitude↗

Next station in microarray data analysis: GEPAS.

The Gene Expression Profile Analysis Suite (GEPAS) has been running for more than four years. During this time it has evolved to keep pace with the new interests and trends in the still changing world of microarray data analysis. GEPAS has been designed to provide an intuitive although powerful web-based interface that offers diverse analysis options from the early step of preprocessing (normalization of Affymetrix and two-colour microarray experiments and other preprocessing options), to the final step of the functional annotation of the experiment (using Gene Ontology, pathways, PubMed abstracts etc.), and include different possibilities for clustering, gene selection, class prediction and array-comparative genomic hybridization management. GEPAS is extensively used by researchers of many countries and its records indicate an average usage rate of 400 experiments per day. The web-based pipeline for microarray gene expression data, GEPAS, is available at http://www.gepas.org.

Cluster Analysis↗

Effect of primers hybridizing to different evolutionarily conserved regions of the small-subunit rRNA gene in PCR-based microbial community analyses and genetic profiling.

Genetic profiling techniques of microbial communities based on PCR-amplified signature genes, such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis or single-strand-conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, are normally done with PCR products of less than 500-bp. The most common target for diversity analysis, the small-subunit rRNA genes, however, are larger, and thus, only partial sequences can be analyzed. Here, we compared the results obtained by PCR targeting different variable (V) regions (V2 and V3, V4 and V5, and V6 to V8) of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene with primers hybridizing to evolutionarily conserved flanking regions. SSCP analysis of single-stranded PCR products generated from 13 different bacterial species showed fewer bands with products containing V4-V5 (average, 1.7 bands per organism) than with V2-V3 (2.2 bands) and V6-V8 (2.3 bands). We found that the additional bands (>1 per organism) were caused by intraspecies operon heterogeneities or by more than one conformation of the same sequence. Community profiles, generated by PCR-SSCP from bacterial-cell consortia extracted from rhizospheres of field-grown maize (Zea mays), were analyzed by cloning and sequencing of the dominant bands. A total of 48 sequences could be attributed to 34 different strains from 10 taxonomical groups. Independent of the primer pairs, we found proteobacteria (alpha, beta, and gamma subgroups) and members of the genus Paenibacillus (low G+C gram-positive) to be the dominant organisms. Other groups, however, were only detected with single primer pairs. This study gives an example of how much the selection of different variable regions combined with different specificities of the flanking "universal" primers can affect a PCR-based microbial community analysis.

Bacteria↗

Study of the genetic origin of the Mexican creole donkey (Equus asinus) by means of the analysis of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA.

The aim of this work was to analyse the genetic origin of the Mexican Creole donkey, as well as its genetic diversity, by comparison with Spanish and African donkey populations by means of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA. To this end, the genomic DNA of 68 Mexican Creole donkeys from eight geographical regions in six States of the Republic of Mexico and from a Sicilian donkey was obtained. By the polymerase chain-reaction technique (PCR) a fragment of 541 bp was amplified, corresponding to the most informative region of the mitochondrial DNA, the D-loop. The fragments were subsequently sequenced. The analysed sequences revealed 10 new Mexican haplotypes that were different from those of the Spanish and African breeds with which they were compared, showing high levels of genetic diversity. Analysis of the phylogenetic relationships in the different Creole varieties showed a tendency of origin towards Spanish breeds, mainly the Andaluza, Zamorano-Leonesa and Majorera from the Canary Islands; these in turn showed an African origin, seven Mexican haplotypes and three haplotypes similar to those analysed by Aranguren and colleagues (2004) of Spanish and African breeds being obtained. This work allows us to reach the preliminary conclusion that the origin of Mexican Creole donkey populations in the different states of the Republic of Mexico is clearly of Iberian origin, the Spanish donkey breed Andaluza being the main one contributing to the populations of the Mexican Creole donkeys, followed by the Spanish breeds Zamorano-Leonesa and Majorera from the Canary Islands, and that the populations possess high levels of genetic diversity.

Animals↗

Elucidating genetic diversity with oligonucleotide arrays.

DNA microarrays, initially designed to measure gene expression levels, also provide an ideal platform for determining genetic diversity. Oligonucleotide microarrays, predominantly high-density oligonucleotide arrays, have emerged as the principal platforms for performing genome-wide diversity analysis. They have wide-ranging potential applications including comparative genomics, polymorphism discovery and genotyping. The identification of inheritable genetic markers also permits the analysis of quantitative traits, population studies and linkage analysis. In this review, we will discuss the application of oligonucleotide arrays, in particular high-density oligonucleotide arrays for elucidating genetic diversity and highlight some of the directions that the field may take.

Animals↗

Widespread intra-serotype recombination in natural populations of dengue virus.

Diversity analysis of 71 published dengue virus gene sequences revealed several strains that appeared to be mosaics comprising gene regions with conflicting evolutionary histories. Subsequent maximum likelihood breakpoint estimation identified seven recombinants, including members of three of the four dengue virus serotypes, with breakpoints in the premembrane/membrane gene, the envelope gene, and at the junction of the envelope and first nonstructural genes. Many of the individual recombinants contain sequence representing separate genetic subtypes. The results were highly statistically significant and were confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of the regions of interest. These findings indicate that recombination may play a very significant role in shaping genetic diversity in dengue virus and, as such, have important implications for its biology and its control.

Dengue Virus↗

Linkage analysis of geographic and clinical clusters in Pseudomonas cepacia infections by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and ribotyping.

Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and ribotyping were used to characterize 83 strains of Pseudomonas cepacia, mostly isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, although a number of isolates from non-CF nosocomial infections and reference environmental strains were represented. Twenty enzyme electrophoretic types (ETs) were determined; of these, one clone (ET12) was associated with six of nine ribotypes (RTs) said to be geographically representative of the United Kingdom and all of the Ontario (Canada) isolates from CF patients. This clone was not associated with nosocomial infections or environmental strains and was never found in CF isolates from British Columbia or Nova Scotia, Canada, or a center in the eastern United States. Individual isolate EcoRI RT signatures did not cluster geographically as did the ET signatures by clonal analysis. Frequently RTs occurred in more than a single ET. Known point source focal nosocomial outbreaks were typified by single ETs and stable RTs. Dendrographic analysis of the strains grouped those strains from CF patients, nosocomial outbreaks, and environmental sources into separate ET families, and diversity analysis indicated that, with the exception of ET17, CF isolates clustered in unique and closely related ETs different from those from nosocomial and environmental sources. This study has also shown the potential of multilocus enzyme electrophoresis to monitor the intercontinental spread of P. cepacia strains in CF patients, and this may have a significant impact on plans for CF patient summer camps and design of infection control practices. Whether the intercontinental ET12 clone, which predominates in the United Kingdom and the province of Ontario, linked by summer camp acquisition, has increased virulence for CF patients remains to be established.

Alleles↗

Differences in the relative distribution of human gene diversity between electrophoretic and red and white cell antigen loci.

Gene frequency data for 25 loci (2 HLA loci, 9 blood group loci, and 14 electrophoretically detectable loci) were collected from the literature of 18 human populations from all over the world. The data were subjected to a hierarchical gene diversity analysis to provide an estimate of the relative distribution of genetic variation between and within populations and population groups for different types of loci. Two different ways of grouping the populations, i.e., according to anthropological criteria and to a cluster analysis based on gene frequency data, gave essentially the same results. For all loci combined approximately 86% of total gene diversity was found within populations, 3% was associated with differences between populations within groups, and 11% related to group differences. These results are very similar to those obtained in previous studies based on fewer loci and different sets of populations. The distribution of genetic variation is different for different types of loci. The HLA loci give a picture very similar to that of the electrophoretic loci while the blood group loci have a substantially larger fraction of the total gene diversity distributed between populations or population groups.

Blood Group Antigens↗

Characterization of a mouse recombination hot spot locus encoding a novel non-protein-coding RNA.

Our current knowledge of recombination hot spot activity in mammalian systems implicates a role for both the primary DNA sequence and the nature of the chromatin domain around it. In mice, the only recombination hot spots mapped to date have been confined to a cluster within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region. We present a high resolution analysis of a new recombination hot spot in the mouse genome which maps to mouse chromosome 8 C-D. Haplotype diversity analysis across 40 different strains of mice has enabled us to map recombination breakpoints to a 1-kb interval. This hot spot has a recombination intensity that is 10- to 100-fold above the genome average and has a mean gene conversion tract length of 371 bp. This meiotically active locus happens to be flanked by a transcribed region encoding a non-protein-coding RNA polymerase II transcript and the previously characterized repair site. Many of the primary DNA sequence features that have been reported for the mouse MHC hot spots are also shared by this hot spot locus and in addition, along with three other MHC hot spot loci, we show a new parallel feature of association of the crossover sites with the nuclear matrix.

Animals↗

Low level of genetic diversity in cultivated Pigeonpea compared to its wild relatives is revealed by diversity arrays technology.

Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity among individuals, populations and gene pools is crucial for the efficient management of germplasm collections and breeding programs. Diversity analysis is routinely carried out using sequencing of selected gene(s) or molecular marker technologies. Here we report on the development of Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) for pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and its wild relatives. DArT tests thousands of genomic loci for polymorphism and provides the binary scores for hundreds of markers in a single hybridization-based assay. We tested eight complexity reduction methods using various combinations of restriction enzymes and selected PstI/HaeIII genomic representation with the largest frequency of polymorphic clones (19.8%) to produce genotyping arrays. The performance of the PstI/HaeIII array was evaluated by typing 96 accessions representing nearly 20 species of Cajanus. A total of nearly 700 markers were identified with the average call rate of 96.0% and the scoring reproducibility of 99.7%. DArT markers revealed genetic relationships among the accessions consistent with the available information and systematic classification. Most of the diversity was among the wild relatives of pigeonpea or between the wild species and the cultivated C. cajan. Only 64 markers were polymorphic among the cultivated accessions. Such narrow genetic base is likely to represent a serious impediment to breeding progress in pigeonpea. Our study shows that DArT can be effectively applied in molecular systematics and biodiversity studies.

Biodiversity↗

Diversity of ascomycete laccase gene sequences in a southeastern US salt marsh.

The diversity of ascomycete laccase sequences was surveyed in a southeastern US salt marsh using a degenerate primer set designed around copper binding sites conserved in fungal laccases. This gene was targeted for diversity analysis because of its potential function in lignin degradation in the salt marsh ecosystem and because few studies have assessed functional gene diversity in natural fungal communities. Laccase sequences were amplified from genomic DNA extracted from 24 isolates (representing 10 ascomycete species) cultured from decaying blades of Spartina alterniflora, and from DNA extracted directly from the decaying blades. Among the ascomycete isolates, 21 yielded a PCR product of expected size (900 bp) that was tentatively identified as laccase based on sequence similarities to previously published laccase sequences from related organisms. Overall, 13 distinct sequence types, containing 39 distinct sequences, were identified among the isolates, with several species yielding multiple distinct laccase types. PCR amplifications from early and late decay blades of S. alterniflora yielded seven laccase types. Of these, five were composed of sequences >96% similar at the amino acid level to sequences from three cultured ascomycetes previously found to be dominant members of the fungal communities on decaying S. alterniflora blades. Two of the laccase types from the natural-decay clone library were novel and did not match any of the sequences obtained from the cultured ascomycetes. The 39 distinct sequences and 15 distinct laccase sequence types retrieved from the S. alterniflora decay system demonstrate high sequence diversity of this functional gene in a natural fungal community.

Amino Acid Sequence↗