Bioscience

Genome of Swine Flue Virus Partially Sequenced

The Beijing Institute of Genomics (BIG) and Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) jointly accomplished the gene determination and analysis of swine H1N1influenza viral strain provided by WIV and submitted a working report. Currently, researchers of BIG and WIV are carrying out profound tests and analysis in the hope of obtaining its complete genome sequence. They also plan to determine the complete genome sequence of several other human or swine influenza viral strains closely related to the new influenza viral strain. They hope to find out the variation characteristics and laws of evolution of human, swine and chicken viruses through in-depth data analysis.

Complete Mitochondria Genome Sequence of Geisha Distinctissima

The complete mitochondrial genome of Geisha distinctissima (Hemiptera: Flatidae) was recently sequenced by the research group headed by Dr. Liang Aiping from the Institute of Zoology,CAS. Analyses of the sequences revealed that the mitogenome of G. distinctissima is a circular molecule of 15,971 bp with a total A+T content of 75.1%. The gene content, order, and structure in G. distinctissima are consistent with those found in Drosophila yakuba. All 13 protein-coding genes are observed to have a putative, inframe ATR methionine or ATT isoleucine codons as start signals. Canonical TAA and TAG termination codons are found in nine protein-coding genes, and the remaining four genes (cox1, atp6, cox3, and nad4) have incomplete termination codons. The anticodons of all transfer RNA (tRNAs) are identical to those observed in D. yakuba and Philaenus spumarius, and can be folded in the form of a typical clover-leaf structure except for tRNASer(AGN). The major non-coding region (the A+T-rich region or putative control region) between the small ribosomal subunit and thetRNAIle gene includes two sets of repeat regions. The first repeat region consists of a direct 152-bp repetitive unit located near the srRNA gene end, and the second repeat region is composed of a direct repeat unit of 19 bp located toward tRNAIle gene. Comparisons of gene variability across the order Hemiptera suggest that the gene content and arrangement of G. distinctissima mitogenome are similar to other hemipteran insects. The current work represents the first attempt in sequencing the complete mitochondrial genome of the Fulgoroidea and the results of this work are significant in understanding the phylogeny and evolution of the major groups in the Hemiptera.