Genome survey and development of 13 SSR markers in Eucalyptus cloeziana by NGS.

Eucalyptus cloeziana is a valuable timber tree species for its high durability and excellent sawmilling qualities. However, there is lack of complete genomic information for this plant, which severely constrains its genetic improvement. This study aim to survey the genome of E. cloeziana and determine the large-scale sequencing scheme of this species. Next-generation sequencing based on Illumina Hi- Seq X Ten platform was used to survey the E. cloeziana genome and its SSR markers development. We estimated the genome size to be 491.91 Mb and the heterozygosity rate to be 1.23%, with repetitive sequences accounting for 40.74%. The clean reads of E. cloeziana were assembled into 995,093 scaffolds (556,992,952 bp) with a N50 value of 2297 bp. In the GO database, the 10,172 genes annotated were matched to 50 functional gene groups in three categories of cell component, biological function and molecular function, respectively. Through KEGG pathways analysis, 10,802 genes were successfully annotated and 133 metabolic pathways were detected with the most abundant metabolism-related genes. Meanwhile, a total of 58,832 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) loci were identified in the E. cloeziana genome, and among them, dinucleotide repeats were the most abundant class. AG/CT, AT/AT, AAG/CTT were the three most frequent primitive types. Of the 50 genomic SSR primer pairs randomly selected for screening test, 13 showed polymorphism (PIC = 0.625). Three to nine alleles per locus (mean = 6.23) were observed, with the observed and expected heterozygosity at 0.317-1.000 and 0.276-0.838 across all the 44 E. cloeziana germplasms, respectively. Here, we report the genome information of E. cloeziana, and the novel 13 genomic SSR markers that were developed can be used as powerful tools for evaluating genetic diversity and population structure, and thus contribute to molecular breeding studies of E. cloeziana and other eucalypts.

Development of polymorphic microsatellite markers for Phyllostachys edulis (Poaceae), an important bamboo species in China.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Phyllostachys edulis (Poaceae), an ecologically and economically important bamboo species in China, to evaluate the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of P. edulis and other Phyllostachys species. • METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty microsatellite markers were developed and their polymorphisms were tested on 71 samples from three geographically disparate populations. Each locus exhibited between two and 10 alleles with an average of five alleles. Excluding monomorphic loci, observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from zero to one and from 0.041 to 0.676, respectively. • CONCLUSIONS: These 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci will be useful for studies on the molecular ecology, population genetics, and conservation of P. edulis.

[Hepatoprotective effects of Gentiana scabra on the acute liver injuries in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To study the hepatoprotective effect of the aerial parts and the roots of G. scabra on cute liver injury models. METHOD: Acute liver injury models were induced by CCl4, TAA and D-GlanN in mice, and the levels of serum enzyme ALT, AST and AKP on acute liver injury mice with extracts of theaerial parts and the roots of G. scabra were determined. RESULT: Different dosages of theaerial part extract could significantly reduce the levels of serum enzyme ALT, AST and AKP (P < 0.05) on CCl4 and TAA model mice, but the serum enzymes reduction of D-GlanN model mice was not remarkably. CONCLUSION: The methanolic extracts of the aerial parts and the roots of G. scabra both have certain hepatoprotective effects on acute liver injury models, and so the aerial parts of G. scabra can be used as the succedaneumm of G. scabra roots.