Development and characterization of 1,827 expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat markers for ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud)

Genetic insights into the crude protein and fiber content of ramie leaves

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) is a perennial plant with vigorously vegetative growth and high nutritive value that is an excellent source of green feed in China. Crude protein and fiber content are the most important traits associated with ramie forage quality; however, their genetic basis remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the genetic architecture of these two traits using an F₂ population derived from cultivated Zhongsizhu 1 (ZSZ1) and wild Boehmeria nivea var. tenacissima (tenacissima). Linkage mapping identified eight quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in crude fiber and one QTL in crude protein. Of these, five were further validated by association analysis. Then, two major QTLs for crude fiber content, CF7 and CF13, were further identified using bulked segregant analysis (BSA) sequencing, and their exact physical intervals were determined via genotype analysis of F₂ progenies with extremely low crude fiber content. In total, 10 genes in the CF7 and CF13 regions showed differential expression in ZSZ1 and tenacissima leaves, including an MYB gene whole_GLEAN_10016511 from the CF13 region. Wide variation was observed in the promoter regions of whole_GLEAN_10016511, likely responsible for its downregulated expression in tenacissima. Interestingly, more fiber cells were observed in Arabidopsis with overexpression of whole_GLEAN_10016511, indicating that the downregulated expression of this gene could have an association with the relatively low fiber content in wild tenacissima. These results provided evidence that whole_GLEAN_10016511 is a logical candidate for CF13. This study provides important insights into the genetic basis underlying ramie crude protein and fiber content, and it presents genetic loci for improving the forage quality of ramie using marker-assisted selection.

SSR markers development and their application in genetic diversity evaluation of garlic (Allium sativum) germplasm

Garlic (Allium sativum), an asexually propagated vegetable and medicinal crop, has abundant genetic variation. Genetic diversity evaluation based on molecular markers has apparent advantages since their genomic abundance, environment insensitivity, and non-tissue specific features. However, the limited number of available DNA markers, especially SSR markers, are insufficient to conduct related genetic diversity assessment studies in garlic. In this study, 4372 EST-SSR markers were newly developed, and 12 polymorphic markers together with other 17 garlic SSR markers were used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of 127 garlic accessions. The averaged polymorphism information content (PIC) of these 29 SSR markers was 0.36, ranging from 0.22 to 0.49. Seventy-nine polymorphic loci were detected among these accessions, with an average of 3.48 polymorphic loci per SSR. Both the clustering analyses based on either the genotype data of SSR markers or the phenotypic data of morphological traits obtained genetic distance divided the 127 garlic accessions into three clusters. Moreover, the Mantel test showed that genetic distance had no significant correlations with geographic distance, and weak correlations were found between genetic distance and the phenotypic traits. AMOVA analysis showed that the main genetic variation of this garlic germplasm collection existed in the within-population or cluster. Results of this study will be of great value for the genetic/breeding studies in garlic and enhance the utilization of these garlic germplasms.

A genomic resource derived from the integration of genome sequences, expressed transcripts and genetic markers in ramie

Background

The redundancy of genomic resources, including transcript and molecular markers, and their uncertain position in the genome have dramatically hindered the study of traits in ramie, an important natural fiber crop.

Results

We obtained a high-quality transcriptome consisting of 30,591 non-redundant transcripts using single-molecule long-read sequencing and proposed it as a universal ramie transcriptome. Additionally, 55,882 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified and a high-density genetic map was developed. Based on this genetic map, 181.7 Mb ramie genome sequences were assembled into 14 chromosomes. For the convenient use of these resources, 29,286 (~ 95.7%) of the transcripts and all 55,882 SNPs, along with 1827 previously reported sequence repeat markers (SSRs), were mapped into the ramie genome, and 22,343 (~ 73.0%) transcripts, 50,154 (~ 89.7%) SNPs, and 1466 (~ 80.3%) SSRs were assigned to a specific location in the corresponding chromosome.

Conclusion

This is the first study to characterize the ramie transcriptome by long-read sequencing, and the substantial number of transcripts of significant length obtained will accelerate our understanding of ramie growth and development. This integration of genome sequences, expressed transcripts, and genetic markers will provide an extremely useful resource for genetic, molecular, and breeding studies of ramie.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5878-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Draft genome analysis provides insights into the fiber yield, crude protein biosynthesis, and vegetative growth of domesticated ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud)

Plentiful bast fiber, a high crude protein content, and vigorous vegetative growth make ramie a popular fiber and forage crop. Here, we report the draft genome of ramie, along with a genomic comparison and evolutionary analysis. The draft genome contained a sequence of approximately 335.6 Mb with 42,463 predicted genes. A high-density genetic map with 4,338 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was developed and used to anchor the genome sequence, thus, creating an integrated genetic and physical map containing a 58.2-Mb genome sequence and 4,304 molecular markers. A genomic comparison identified 1,075 unique gene families in ramie, containing 4,082 genes. Among these unique genes, five were cellulose synthase genes that were specifically expressed in stem bark, and 3 encoded a WAT1-related protein, suggesting that they are probably related to high bast fiber yield. An evolutionary analysis detected 106 positively selected genes, 22 of which were related to nitrogen metabolism, indicating that they are probably responsible for the crude protein content and vegetative growth of domesticated varieties. This study is the first to characterize the genome and develop a high-density genetic map of ramie and provides a basis for the genetic and molecular study of this crop.

QTL analysis of four main stem bark traits using a GBS-SNP-based high-density genetic map in ramie

Ramie fiber extracted from ramie stem bark (RSB) is a highly important natural fiber, and therefore, RSB is an economically important plant organ. The genetic basis of RSB traits is poorly understood. In the present study, fiber yield and three RSB traits (bark thickness, bark weight, and fiber output ratio) were subject to quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis using an F₂ agamous line population derived from two ramie varieties (Qingdaye and Zhongzhu 1). A total of 4338 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified using the genotyping-by-sequencing technique and were subsequently used to construct a high-density genetic map spanning 1942.9 cM. Thereafter, QTL analysis identified five, two, four, and four QTLs for bark thickness, bark weight, fiber output ratio, and fiber yield, respectively. A 5.1 cM region that corresponded to a QTL for bark thickness (qBT4a) contained 106 candidate genes, and the Zhongzhu 1 allele of one of the genes, a putative MYB gene (evm.

MODEL

scaffold7373.133_D1), included a 760-bp insertion that caused premature termination, thereby producing a protein that lacked part of the MYB domain. Because MYB transcription factors play central roles in regulating the development of secondary cellular walls and fiber biosynthesis, we propose evm.

MODEL

scaffold7373.133_D1 as a likely candidate gene for qBT4a.

Large-scale developing of simple sequence repeat markers and probing its correlation with ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) fiber quality

Marker-assisted selection is an important component of the discipline of molecular breeding. Using DNA markers to assist in plant breeding, the efficiency and precision could be greatly increased. However, the scarcity number of identified DNA markers has hindered the research and the breeding process of ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) in many aspects, especially fiber quality, one of the top-priority breeding objectives of ramie. In this study, 4230 SSR loci were identified in 3969 unigenes (6.80 % of 58,369), which were de novo assembled from the transcriptome involving different ramie fiber developmental stages. Among these SSRs, the dinucleotides (1599, 37.80 %) and trinucleotides (772, 18.25 %) were most abundant; the motifs AG/CT (1140, 26.94 %), AT/AT (407, 9.62 %) and AGA/TCT (246, 8.31 %) comprised the three most abundant repeats. A total of 2431 primer pairs were designed flanking the SSRs and 1050 of them were employed in PCR amplification for their usefulness using three ramie cultivars. The results showed that 88.10 % of these primers could generate positive PCR bands in any of the three cultivars. Further phylogenetic analysis that conducted from the PCR amplification of 52 specifically sifted SSR primers within 17 cultivars approved that the possible correlation may exist between the primers and ramie fiber quality. These developed SSR markers could be applied in downstream studies, like genetic and physical maps, quantitative trait loci mapping, genetic diversity studies and cultivar fingerprinting, and breeding processes of ramie with better fiber quality under further confirmation of the correlation with ramie fiber quality.

Development and Characterization of 1,906 EST-SSR Markers from Unigenes in Jute (Corchorus spp.)

Jute, comprising white and dark jute, is the second important natural fiber crop after cotton worldwide. However, the lack of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers has resulted in a large gap in the improvement of jute. Previously, de novo 48,914 unigenes from white jute were assembled. In this study, 1,906 EST-SSRs were identified from these assembled uingenes. Among these markers, di-, tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeat types were the abundant types (12.0%, 56.9% and 21.6% respectively). The AG-rich or GA-rich nucleotide repeats were the predominant. Subsequently, a sample of 116 SSRs, located in genes encoding transcription factors and cellulose synthases, were selected to survey polymorphisms among12 diverse jute accessions. Of these, 83.6% successfully amplified at least one fragment and detected polymorphism among the 12diverse genotypes, indicating that the newly developed SSRs are of good quality. Furthermore, the genetic similarity coefficients of all the 12 accessions were evaluated using 97 polymorphic SSRs. The cluster analysis divided the jute accessions into two main groups with genetic similarity coefficient of 0.61. These EST-SSR markers not only enrich molecular markers of jute genome, but also facilitate genetic and genomic researches in jute.

Characterization and Development of EST-SSRs by Deep Transcriptome Sequencing in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are among the most important markers for population analysis and have been widely used in plant genetic mapping and molecular breeding. Expressed sequence tag-SSR (EST-SSR) markers, located in the coding regions, are potentially more efficient for QTL mapping, gene targeting, and marker-assisted breeding. In this study, we investigated 51,694 nonredundant unigenes, assembled from clean reads from deep transcriptome sequencing with a Solexa/Illumina platform, for identification and development of EST-SSRs in Chinese cabbage. In total, 10,420 EST-SSRs with over 12 bp were identified and characterized, among which 2744 EST-SSRs are new and 2317 are known ones showing polymorphism with previously reported SSRs. A total of 7877 PCR primer pairs for 1561 EST-SSR loci were designed, and primer pairs for twenty-four EST-SSRs were selected for primer evaluation. In nineteen EST-SSR loci (79.2%), amplicons were successfully generated with high quality. Seventeen (89.5%) showed polymorphism in twenty-four cultivars of Chinese cabbage. The polymorphic alleles of each polymorphic locus were sequenced, and the results showed that most polymorphisms were due to variations of SSR repeat motifs. The EST-SSRs identified and characterized in this study have important implications for developing new tools for genetics and molecular breeding in Chinese cabbage.

Diversity analysis in Cannabis sativa based on large-scale development of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat markers

Cannabis sativa L. is an important economic plant for the production of food, fiber, oils, and intoxicants. However, lack of sufficient simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers has limited the development of cannabis genetic research. Here, large-scale development of expressed sequence tag simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers was performed to obtain more informative genetic markers, and to assess genetic diversity in cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.). Based on the cannabis transcriptome, 4,577 SSRs were identified from 3,624 ESTs. From there, a total of 3,442 complementary primer pairs were designed as SSR markers. Among these markers, trinucleotide repeat motifs (50.99%) were the most abundant, followed by hexanucleotide (25.13%), dinucleotide (16.34%), tetranucloetide (3.8%), and pentanucleotide (3.74%) repeat motifs, respectively. The AAG/CTT trinucleotide repeat (17.96%) was the most abundant motif detected in the SSRs. One hundred and seventeen EST-SSR markers were randomly selected to evaluate primer quality in 24 cannabis varieties. Among these 117 markers, 108 (92.31%) were successfully amplified and 87 (74.36%) were polymorphic. Forty-five polymorphic primer pairs were selected to evaluate genetic diversity and relatedness among the 115 cannabis genotypes. The results showed that 115 varieties could be divided into 4 groups primarily based on geography: Northern China, Europe, Central China, and Southern China. Moreover, the coefficient of similarity when comparing cannabis from Northern China with the European group cannabis was higher than that when comparing with cannabis from the other two groups, owing to a similar climate. This study outlines the first large-scale development of SSR markers for cannabis. These data may serve as a foundation for the development of genetic linkage, quantitative trait loci mapping, and marker-assisted breeding of cannabis.