日本一个研究小组日前在DNA Research杂志网络版上报告说，他们破译了有“生物柴油树”之称的麻风树的基因组。
日本千叶县上总DNA研究所、国立遗传学研究所和大阪大学组成的研究小组把麻风树的基因组分成小片段，分析DNA序列。研究人员破译得出，麻风树基因组共包含约4万个基因，并且拥有许多与脂质合成及抗病相关的基因。研究人员认为，这些都是麻风树不断适应干燥环境，最终获得的性质。
麻风树别名南洋油桐，广泛分布于亚热带及干热河谷地区，其果实有毒，不能食用，但含油率高达60％至70％，是一种非常有潜力的油料作物。经改性后的麻风树油可适用于各种柴油发动机。（生物谷Bioon.com）
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DNA Res (2011) 18 (1): 65-76. doi: 10.1093/dnares/dsq030
Sequence Analysis of the Genome of an Oil-Bearing Tree, Jatropha curcas L.
Shusei Sato1, Hideki Hirakawa1, Sachiko Isobe1, Eigo Fukai1, Akiko Watanabe1, Midori Kato1, Kumiko Kawashima1, Chiharu Minami1, Akiko Muraki1, Naomi Nakazaki1, Chika Takahashi1, Shinobu Nakayama1, Yoshie Kishida1, Mitsuyo Kohara1, Manabu Yamada1, Hisano Tsuruoka1, Shigemi Sasamoto1, Satoshi Tabata1,*, Tomoyuki Aizu2, Atsushi Toyoda2, Tadasu Shin-i2, Yohei Minakuchi2, Yuji Kohara2, Asao Fujiyama2,3, Suguru Tsuchimoto4, Shin'ichiro Kajiyama5, Eri Makigano6, Nobuko Ohmido6, Nakako Shibagaki7, Joyce A. Cartagena7, Naoki Wada7, Tsutomu Kohinata8, Alipour Atefeh8, Shota Yuasa8, Sachihiro Matsunaga8 and Kiichi Fukui8,*
Abstract
The whole genome of Jatropha curcas was sequenced, using a combination of the conventional Sanger method and new-generation multiplex sequencing methods. Total length of the non-redundant sequences thus obtained was 285 858 490 bp consisting of 120 586 contigs and 29 831 singlets. They accounted for ～95% of the gene-containing regions with the average G + C content was 34.3%. A total of 40 929 complete and partial structures of protein encoding genes have been deduced. Comparison with genes of other plant species indicated that 1529 (4%) of the putative protein-encoding genes are specific to the Euphorbiaceae family. A high degree of microsynteny was observed with the genome of castor bean and, to a lesser extent, with those of soybean and Arabidopsis thaliana. In parallel with genome sequencing, cDNAs derived from leaf and callus tissues were subjected to pyrosequencing, and a total of 21 225 unigene data have been generated. Polymorphism analysis using microsatellite markers developed from the genomic sequence data obtained was performed with 12 J. curcas lines collected from various parts of the world to estimate their genetic diversity. The genomic sequence and accompanying information presented here are expected to serve as valuable resources for the acceleration of fundamental and applied research with J. curcas, especially in the fields of environment-related research such as biofuel production. Further information on the genomic sequences and DNA markers is available at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/jatropha/.
