Journal of Genetics and Genomics

Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Rice through Enhancing Root Nitrate Uptake Mediated by a Nitrate Transporter, NRT1.1B

Zhi Chang Chen, Jian Feng Ma

2015, 42(9): 463-465. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.08.003

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OGT Mediated Histone H2B S112 GlcNAcylation Regulates DNA Damage Response

Panfei Wang, Changmin Peng, Xia Liu, Hailong Liu, Yali Chen, Li Zheng, Baolin Han, Huadong Pei

2015, 42(9): 467-475. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.07.002

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O-GlcNAcylation is an important post-translational modification and has been implicated in many fundamental cellular processes. Recent studies showed that O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) mediated O-GlcNAcylation of histone H2B Ser 112 (H2B S112 GlcNAcylation) plays an important role in gene transcription. However, the role of this histone modification in DNA damage response has not been studied yet. In this study, we found that OGT and OGT mediated H2B S112 GlcNAcylation are involved in DNA damage response for maintaining genomic stability and are required for resistance to many DNA-damaging and replication stress-inducing agents. OGT mediated H2B S112 GlcNAcylation increased locally upon the induction of double-strand breaks (DSBs), and depletion of OGT or overexpression of H2B S112A mutant impaired homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). Mechanistically, H2B S112 GlcNAcylation could bind Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 (NBS1) and regulate NBS1 foci formation. Taken together, our results demonstrate a new function of histone O-GlcNAcylation in DNA damage response (DDR).

ERK1/2 Activities Are Dispensable for Oocyte Growth but Are Required for Meiotic Maturation and Pronuclear Formation in Mouse

Yin-Li Zhang, Xiao-Man Liu, Shu-Yan Ji, Qian-Qian Sha, Jue Zhang, Heng-Yu Fan

2015, 42(9): 477-485. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.07.004

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Previous studies revealed that extracellular regulated kinase-1 and -2 (ERK1/2) cascade plays pivotal roles in regulating oocyte meiotic cell cycle progression. However, most knowledge about the in vivo function of ERK1/2 in mammalian oocytes was indirectly obtained from analyzing the phenotypes of Mos knockout mice. In this study, we knocked out Erk1 and Erk2 in mouse oocytes as early as the primordial follicle stage using the well-characterized Gdf9-Cre mouse model, and for the first time directly investigated the in vivo function of ERK1/2 in mouse oocytes. In this novel mouse model, we observed that ERK1/2 activities in oocyte are dispensable for primordial follicle maintenance, activation and follicle growth. Different from theMos null oocytes, the ERK1/2-deleted oocytes had well-assembled spindles at metaphase I (MI), extruded polar body-1 (PB1) with normal sizes, and did not undergo a full parthenogenetic activation characterized for pronuclear formation. However, the ovulated ERK1/2-deleted oocytes had poorly-assembled metaphase II (MII) spindles, spontaneously released polar body-2 (PB2), and were arrested at another metaphase called metaphase III (MIII). In addition, ERK1/2 deletion prevented male pronuclear formation after fertilization, and caused female infertility. In conclusion, these results indicate that ERK1/2 activities are required for not only MII-arrest maintenance, but also efficient pronuclear formation in mouse oocytes.

Ecdysone and Insulin Signaling Play Essential Roles in Readjusting the Altered Body Size Caused by the dGPAT4 Mutation in Drosophila

Yan Yan, Hao Wang, Hanqing Chen, Anya Lindström-Battle, Renjie Jiao

2015, 42(9): 487-494. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.06.008

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Body size is one of the features that distinguish one species from another in the biological world. Animals have developed mechanisms to control their body size during normal development. However, how animals cope with genetic alterations and/or environmental stresses to develop into normal-sized adults remain poorly understood. The ability of the animals to develop into a normal-sized adult after the challenges of genetic alterations and/or environmental stresses reveals a robustness of body size control. Here we show that the mutation ofdGPAT4, a de novo synthase of lysophosphatidic acid, is a genetic alteration that triggers such a robust response of the animals to body size challenges in Drosophila. Loss of dGPAT4 leads to a severe delay of development, slow growth and resultant small-sized animals during the larval stages, but results in normal-sized adult flies. The robust body size adjustment of the dGPAT4 mutant is likely achieved by corresponding changes in ecdysone and insulin signaling, which is also manifested by compromised food intake. Thus, we propose that a strategy has been evolved by the animals to reach final body size when challenged by genetic alterations, which requires the coordinated ecdysone and insulin signaling.

Genetic Analysis of Chromosomal Loci Affecting the Content of Insoluble Glutenin in Common Wheat

Huaibing Jin, Zhaojun Wang, Da Li, Peipei Wu, Zhengying Dong, Chaowu Rong, Xin Liu, Huanju Qin, Huili Li, Daowen Wang, Kunpu Zhang

2015, 42(9): 495-505. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.04.010

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In common wheat, insoluble glutenin (IG) is an important fraction of flour glutenin macropolymers, and insoluble glutenin content (IGC) is positively associated with key end-use quality parameters. Here, we present a genetic analysis of the chromosomal loci affecting IGC with the data collected from 90 common wheat varieties cultivated in four environments. Statistical analysis showed that IGC was controlled mainly genetically and influenced by the environment. Among the major genetic components known to affect end-use quality, 1BL/1RS translocation had a significantly negative effect on IGC across all four environments. As to the different alleles of Glu-A1, -B1 and -D1 loci, Glu-A1a, Glu-B1b and Glu-D1d exhibited relatively strong positive effects on IGC in all environments. To identify new loci affecting IGC, association mapping with 1355 DArT markers was conducted. A total of 133 markers were found associated with IGC in two or more environments (P < 0.05), ten of which consistently affected IGC in all four environments. The phenotypic variance explained by the ten markers varied from 4.66% to 8.03%, and their elite alleles performed significantly better than the inferior counterparts in enhancing IGC. Among the ten markers,wPt-3743 and wPt-733835 reflected the action of Glu-D1, and wPt-664972 probably indicated the effect of Glu-A1. The other seven markers, forming three clusters on 2AL, 3BL or 7BL chromosome arms, represented newly identified genetic determinants of IGC. Our work provided novel insights into the genetic control of IGC, which may facilitate wheat end-use quality improvement through molecular breeding in the future.

Serological Targeted Analysis of an ITIH4 Peptide Isoform: A Preterm Birth Biomarker and Its Associated SNP Implications

Zhou Tan, Zhongkai Hu, Emily Y. Cai, Cantas Alev, Ting Yang, Zhen Li, Joyce Sung, Yasser Yehia El-Sayed, Gary M. Shaw, David K. Stevenson, Atul J. Butte, Guojun Sheng, Karl G. Sylvester, Harvey J. Cohen, Xuefeng B. Ling

2015, 42(9): 507-510. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.06.001

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Characterization and Fine Mapping of a Novel Vegetative Senescence Lethal Mutant Locus in Rice

Junjie Yin, Xiaobo Zhu, Can Yuan, Jing Wang, Weitao Li, Yuping Wang, Min He, Qinshu Cheng, Bangquan Ye, Weilan Chen, Qianyan Linghu, Jichun Wang, Bingtian Ma, Peng Qin, Shigui Li, Xuewei Chen

2015, 42(9): 511-514. doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2015.05.005

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2015 Vol. 42, No. 9