There is growing interest in the genetic analysis of schizophrenia using endophenotypes rather than clinical diagnosis or symptom dimensions. Endophenotypes could be alternative phenotypes for the clinical phenotypes. With their intermedicate and quantitative characteristics, endophenotypes could be functionally important links in the pathways between the genetic variation and clinical expression of the disorder. In this regard, the neurophysiological and neurocognitive endophenotypes used in the genetic analysis of schizophrenia have been reviewed.
Diagnosis ; Endophenotypes* ; Genetic Variation ; Genetics* ; Phenotype ; Schizophrenia*

OBJECTIVETo analyze the genetic difference of biological characters on germplasm resources of Sophora alopecuroides.

METHODTwenty-three populations of S. alopecuroides from Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolian were used to analyze the seed size, 1 000-grain weight, and germination characteristics and so on.

RESULTIt showed that there were significant differences in seed size, 1 000-grain weight and the vitality of seeds. The biggest seed of S. alopecuroides was 4.7 mm x 3.5 mm, and the smallest was 3.8 mm x 2.9 mm, and the 1 000-grain weight was 15-26 g. Results of seeds vitality in 8 populations indicated that the highest vitality of seeds were No. 103 and No. 122. The germination index was 36.51 and 36.24 respectively, and the vitality index was 1 323.49 and 1 274.56. The coefficient of variation in seed traits exceeded 10% except the seed size.

CONCLUSIONThere are some differences and different heredity background in various S. alopecuroides germplasm resources.

OBJECTIVETo study genetic diversity and genetic relationships among Lonicera macranthoides cultivars.

METHODFive cultivars were estimated by ISSR and SRAP. The data of amplified bands were analyzed by Treeconw software. The system diagram of genetic relationship was built by UPGMA.

RESULTTwenty ISSR primers amplified 186 bands with 103 (54.63%) polymorphic bands and 58 SRAP primer combinations amplified 591 bands with 347(55.46%) polymorphic bands. Genetic distance ranges were 0.058 4-0.230 8 (by ISSRs) and 0.1071-0.2611 (by SRAPs). Both ISSR and SRAP analyses revealed a middle level of genetic diversity in L. macranthoides cultivars. The dendrograms based on SRAP and ISSR markers were not all the same.

CONCLUSIONThe genetic diversity of L. macranthoides cultivars is middle. ISSR and SRAP markers can be effectively applied to genetic analysis in L. macranthoides cultivars.

Illumina Xten was employed for shallow sequencing of Panax ginseng(ginseng) samples, MISA for screening of SSR loci, and Primer 3 for primer design. Polymorphic primers were screened from 180 primers. From the successfully amplified polymorphic primers, 15 primers which featured clear peak shape, good polymorphism, and ease of statistics were selected and used to evaluate the genetic diversity and germplasm resources of 36 ginseng accessions with different fruit colors from Jilin province. The results showed that red-fruit ginseng population had high genetic diversity with the average number of alleles(N_a) of 1.031 and haploid genetic diversity(h) of 0.172. The neighbor-joining cluster analysis demonstrated that the germplasms of red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng populations were obviously intermixed, and pick-fruit ginseng germplasms clustered into a single clade. The results of STRUCTURE analysis showed high proportion of single genotype in pick-fruit ginseng germplasm and abundant genotypes in red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng germplasms with obvious germplasm mixing. AMOVA revealed that genetic variation occurred mainly within populations(62.00%, P<0.001), and rarely among populations(39%, P<0.001), but homogenization was obvious among different populations. In summary, pink-fruit ginseng population may contain rare genotypes, which is the basis for breeding of high-quality high-yield, and multi-resistance varieties, genetic improvement of varieties, and sustainable development and utilization of ginseng germplasm resources.
Fruit/genetics* ; Genetic Variation ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Panax/genetics* ; Plant Breeding

The present study aimed to provide the protection strategies for wild germplasm resources of original plants of Viticis Fructus and a theoretical basis for the sustainable use of Viticis Fructus. The genetic diversity and genetic structures of the 232 indivi-duals in 19 populations of Vitex rotundifolia and V. trifolia were analyzed by eight SSR markers with tools such as Popgene32, GenAlex 6.502, and STRUCTURE. Bottleneck effect was detected for the population with more than 10 individuals. The results indicated that 42 and 26 alleles were detected from the populations of V. rotundifolia and V. trifolia, respectively, with average expected heterozygo-sities of 0.448 6 and 0.583 9, which are indicative of low genetic diversity. AMOVA revealed the obvious genetic variation of V. rotundifolia and V. trifolia within population(84.43%, P<0.01; 60.37%, P<0.01). Furthermore, in eight SSR loci, six from V. rotundifolia populations and two from V. trifolia populations failed to meet Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations(P<0.05), which confirmed that the populations experienced bottleneck effect. As assessed by Mantel test, geographical distance posed slight impacts on the genetic variation between the populations of V. rotundifolia and V. trifolia. Principal component analysis(PCA) and STRUCTURE analysis demonstrated evident introgression of genes among various populations. The original plants of Viticis Fructus were confirmed low in genetic diversity and genetic differentiation level. Therefore, the protection of wild resources of original plants of Viticis Fructus should be strengthened to ensure its sustainable use.
Alleles ; Fruit/genetics* ; Genetic Variation ; Geography ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Vitex/genetics*

To explore the genetic diversity of Asarum sieboldii this study developed SSR markers based on transcriptome sequencing results and five populations of A.sieboldii from different regions were used as samples for genetic diversity assessment using software such as GenALEx 6.5, NTSYS 2.1, and Structure 2.3.4. The results showed that 16 SSR markers with high polymorphism and good repeatability were selected from the A.sieboldii transcriptome. Primers designed based on the flanking sequences of these markers successfully amplified 56 polymorphic fragments from 150 individual samples of the five A.sieboldii populations. On average, each primer amplified 3.5 polymorphic fragments, ranging from 2 to 8. The mean values of expected heterozygosity(H_e), Shannon's diversity index(I), Nei's gene diversity index(H), and the polymorphic information content(PIC) were 0.172, 0.281, 0.429, and 0.382, respectively. The mean population differentiation coefficient(F_(ST)) was 0.588, consistent with the analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA) results, which indicated greater genetic variation among A.sieboldii populations(69%) than that within populations(31%). The percentage of polymorphic loci(PPL) ranged from highest to lowest as SNJ>LN>SY>SZ>TB. Principal coordinate analysis(PCoA) and UPGMA clustering analysis further revealed genetic clustering of A.sieboldii individuals based on their geographical distribution, consistent with the results of the structure clustering analysis. In summary, the SSR markers developed from the transcriptome effectively assessed the genetic differentiation and population structure of natural A.sieboldii populations, revealing a relatively low genetic diversity in A.sieboldii, with genetic variation primarily observed at the population level and a correlation between population differentiation and geographic distance.
Humans ; Genetic Variation ; Asarum ; Transcriptome/genetics* ; Microsatellite Repeats/genetics* ; Phylogeny

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of highly conserved small noncoding RNAs which can regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional degradation or translational repression. miRNAs are involved in the regulation of cell apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and other physiological processes, and are closely related with development of cancer. More recently, it has been proposed that the presence of genetic variations in microRNA genes, their biogenesis pathway and target binding sites can affect the miRNA processing machinery and targeting, therefore have a significant genetic effect. Since polymorphisms in a miRNA regulatory pathway can result in the loss or gain of a miRNA function and can affect the expression of hundreds of genes, more and more evidence suggested a strong association of miRNA polymorphisms with disease progression, diagnosis and prognosis. Whether in the pathogenesis research of complex diseases or finding biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis, polymorphisms in the miRNA regulatory pathway have an extremely important value for research.
Animals ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate 4 populations of 80 samples of Vitex trifolia var. simplicifolia collected from Shandong and Jiangxi province and analyze their intraspecies genetic variance.

METHODInter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) technique was applied for the study.

RESULTFifteen specific and stable primers were selected from 100 primers. A total of 129 sites were generated, and 115 of them (89.15%) were polymorphic. The data analyzed by PopGene demonstrated that the average polymorphic site percentage among the four populations was 71.89%. The average Shannon's information index was 0. 220 4. According to cluster analysis and the law of geographic variation, the populations were classified into two large groups: the Shandong group and the Jiangxi group.

CONCLUSIONThese results will provide the information for protection and utilization of V. trifolia var. simplicifolia and also further data for the study of genetic variation and species differentiation of V. trifolia var. simplicifolia.

OBJECTIVEStudies on DNA fingerprinting of eight species of Paris and application of restriction site amplification polymorphism (RSAP) to the identification of Paris.

METHODSequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) molecular markers were used to detect the genetic diversity of 7 accessions of Paris collected from Tianquan and Baoxing in Sichuan, and one from Lijiang in Yunnan.

RESULTThe DNA fingerprinting of 8 species were generated by 18 primer combination screened from 45 primer combinations. Eight accessions were clustered into 4 groups by genetic distance.

CONCLUSIONBased on molecular biology methods of RSAP analysis, accurate molecular identification could be performed on traditional Chinese medicinal material plants in Paris, and provided molecular evidence for taxonomy and identification of different species in Paris.

OBJECTIVETo explore the genetic diversity and relationship of different Scrophularia ningpoensis cultivars.

METHODForty-eight germplasmic resources of S. ningpoensis cultivars were analyzed by Start Codon Targeted Polymorphism(SCOT) molecular markers. Genetic distance was calculated by TREECONW software and the systematic diagram of genetic relationship was clustered by UPGMA method.

RESULTA total of 279 bands were detected using 48 primers, among which 214 were polymorphic bands. The average percentage of polymorphic bands was 76.7%. Genetic distance was changed from 0.1507 to 0.4933. Clustering results showed that the genetic relationship of S. ningpoensis cultivars was more complex. There was significant correlation between some germplasm and its geographic origin while geographical distribution of some germplasm was not very obvious, but it was also showed that some of the S. ningpoensis from the same region were in the same group which presented the law of geographical distribution in the tested materials.

CONCLUSIONSignificant polymorphism and genetic diversity can be observed among S. ningpoensis germplasm resources which provided a wealth of genetic basis for cultivating fine varieties.