The sacred lotus genome provides insights into the evolution of flowering plants.

Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is an ornamental plant that is also used for food and medicine. This basal eudicot species is especially important from an evolutionary perspective, as it occupies a critical phylogenetic position in flowering plants. Here we report the draft genome of a wild strain of sacred lotus. The assembled genome is 792 Mb, which is approximately 85-90% of genome size estimates. We annotated 392 Mb of repeat sequences and 36,385 protein-coding genes within the genome. Using these sequence data, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and confirmed the basal location of sacred lotus within eudicots. Importantly, we found evidence for a relatively recent whole-genome duplication event; any indication of the ancient paleo-hexaploid event was, however, absent. Genomic analysis revealed evidence of positive selection within 28 embryo-defective genes and one annexin gene that may be related to the long-term viability of sacred lotus seed. We also identified a significant expansion of starch synthase genes, which probably elevated starch levels within the rhizome of sacred lotus. Sequencing this strain of sacred lotus thus provided important insights into the evolution of flowering plant and revealed genetic mechanisms that influence seed dormancy and starch synthesis.

Fluorescent labeling for clonal selection of Marc 145 cells secreting high levels of recombinant protein PBD-1.

Despite the powerful impact gene expression markers like the green fluorescent protein (GFP) or enhanced GFP (EGFP) exert on linking the expression of recombinant protein for selection of high producers in recent years, there is still a strong incentive to develop more economical and efficient methods for isolating mammalian cell clones secreting high levels of recombinant proteins. Here we present a new method based on the co-expression of EGFP that allows clonal selection in standard 96-well cell culture plates. The genes encoding the EGFP protein and the related protein are linked by an internal ribosome entry site and thus are transcribed into the same mRNA in an independent translation process. Since both proteins arise from a common mRNA, the EGFP expression level correlates with the expression level of the therapeutic protein in each clone. By expressing recombinant porcine ß-defensin 1 in Marc 145 cells, we demonstrate the robustness and performance of this technique. The method can be served as an alternative to identify high-producer clones with various cell sorting methods.