Evidence for Positive Selection at the Pantophysin (Pan I) Locus in Walleye Pollock, Theragra chalcogramma

Genetic stock structure of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) inferred by PCR-RFLP analysis of the mitochondrial DNA and SNP analysis of nuclear DNA

Walleye pollock, Theragra chalocogramma, is one of the most important species in the North Pacific and Bering Sea ecosystems. However genetic population structuring of walleye pollock is uncertain. In the present study, genetic variation of walleye pollock collected in several spawning areas ranging from the Japan Sea to the Gulf of Alaska was investigated by DNA analysis. Three regions of the spacer control region, the ND5 and ND6 region (ND complex), and the ND1 and 16S rRNA region (rDNA complex) were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was conducted on these PCR products and composite haplotypes were calculated. Furthermore, several nuclear DNA regions (actin, Calmodulin, S7 ribosomal protein, creatin kinase, and SypI gene) were investigated to study the stock structure of walleye pollock. It was considered that Calmodulin gene was one of good genetic marker, therefore we conducted SNP analysis for Calmodulin gene by SnaPshot kits. In RFLP analyses, there were no area-specific fragment patterns in the three regions, control region, ND complex and rDNA complex of mtDNA. However compositions of the fragment patterns for the three digested sets, control region/HinfI, rDNA complex/MspI and ND complex/MspI indicated that there are significant differences between around the Japan (Sado-Funka Bay-Wakkanai-Rausu) and the Bering Sea (Western Bering Sea-Nabarin-Atka I.-Bogoslof I). Furthermore, in the case of haplotype frequency, composition showed also significant genetic difference between two areas. Moreover, in Calmodulin analyses, haplotype compositions were changing from western area to eastern area gradually and the results of AMOVA analysis showed that there are interesting differences between western Pacific, western Bering Sea, and eastern Bering Sea. Judging from these results, it was considered that there are three populations of walleye pollock in the Northern Ocean. However, area-specific pattern was not found in some populations in the Northern Ocean. Therefore, we suggested that these populations were related by weak gene flow, and the walleye pollock was formed with meta-population around the Japan and the Bering Sea.

Evidence for positive selection in putative virulence factors within the Paracoccidioides brasiliensis species complex

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a dimorphic fungus that is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, the most important prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America. Recently, the existence of three genetically isolated groups in P. brasiliensis was demonstrated, enabling comparative studies of molecular evolution among P. brasiliensis lineages. Thirty-two gene sequences coding for putative virulence factors were analyzed to determine whether they were under positive selection. Our maximum likelihood–based approach yielded evidence for selection in 12 genes that are involved in different cellular processes. An in-depth analysis of four of these genes showed them to be either antigenic or involved in pathogenesis. Here, we present evidence indicating that several replacement mutations in gp43 are under positive balancing selection. The other three genes (fks, cdc42 and p27) show very little variation among the P. brasiliensis lineages and appear to be under positive directional selection. Our results are consistent with the more general observations that selective constraints are variable across the genome, and that even in the genes under positive selection, only a few sites are altered. We present our results within an evolutionary framework that may be applicable for studying adaptation and pathogenesis in P. brasiliensis and other pathogenic fungi.

The fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, a severe pulmonary mycosis that is endemic to Latin America, where an estimated 10 million people are infected with the fungus. Despite the importance of this disease, we know little about the ecological and evolutionary history of this fungus. Here, we present a survey of genetic variation in putative virulence genes in P. brasiliensis in what constitutes the first systematic approach to understand the molecular evolution of the fungus. We used a population genetics approach to determine the role has natural selection played in the coding genes for proteins involved in pathogenesis. We found that nonsynonymous mutations are more common in genes that code for virulence factors than in housekeeping genes. Our results suggest that positive selection has played an important role in the evolution of virulence factors of P. brasiliensis and is therefore an important factor in the host–pathogen dynamics. Our results also have implications for the possible development of a vaccine against paracoccidioidomycosis, since gp43—the main vaccine candidate—has a high level of polymorphism maintained by natural selection.

Identification of gadoid species in fish meat by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on genomic DNA

Identification of fish species is significant due to the increasing interest of consumers in the meat of sea fish. Methods focusing on fish species identification help to reveal fraudulent substitution among economically important gadoid species in commercial seafood products. The objective of this work was to develop a conventional PCR method for the differentiation of the following gadoid fish species in fish products: Alaska pollack ( Theragra chalcogramma), blue whiting ( Micromesistius poutassou), hake spp. ( Merluccius spp.), Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua), saithe ( Pollachius virens), and whiting ( Merlangius merlangus). The species-specific primer pairs for gadoid species determination were based on the partial pantophysin I ( PanI) genomic sequence. Sequence identification was confirmed by cloning and sequencing of the PCR products obtained from the species considered. For the simultaneous detection of Alaska pollack, blue whiting, and hake spp., a quadruplex PCR system was constructed. Other gadoid species were detected in separate PCR reactions. After optimization of the reactions, the developed PCR systems were used for the analysis of codfish samples obtained from the Czech market and the customs' laboratories. This method represents an alternative approach in the use of genomic DNA for the identification of fish species. This method is rapid, simple, and reliable without the need for further confirmative methods. Furthermore, the identification of a mixture of more than one species is possible. The PCR system has been optimized for routine diagnostic purposes.