We aimed to identify prognostic methylation genes associated with lymph node metastasis (LNM) in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Bioinformatics methods were used to obtain optimal prognostic genes for risk model construction using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. ROC curves were adopted to predict the prognostic value of the risk model. Multivariate regression was carried out to identify independent prognostic factors and construct a prognostic nomogram. The differences in overall survival, gene mutation and pathways between high- and low-risk groups were analyzed. Finally, the expression and methylation level of the optimal prognostic genes among different LNM stages were analyzed. FGA, GPR39, RRAD and TINAGL1 were identified as the optimal prognostic genes and were applied to establish a prognostic risk model. Significant differences were found among the different LNM stages. The risk model could predict overall survival, showing a moderate performance with AUC of 0.64–0.68. The model possessed independent prognostic value, and could accurately predict 1-, 3- and 5-year survival. Patients with a high risk score showed poorer survival. Lower gene mutation frequencies and enrichment of leukocyte transendothelial migration and the VEGF signaling pathway in the high-risk group may lead to the poor prognosis. This study identified several specific methylation markers associated with LNM in LUSC and generated a prognostic model to predict overall survival for LUSC patients.

Since the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of research institutes have been sequencing and sharing high-quality severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes to trace the route of infection in Japan. To provide insight into the spread of COVID-19, we developed a web platform named SARS-CoV-2 HaploGraph to visualize the emergence timing and geographical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 haplotypes. Using data from the GISAID EpiCoV database as of June 4, 2022, we created a haplotype naming system by determining the ancestral haplotype for each epidemic wave and showed prefecture- or region-specific haplotypes in each of four waves in Japan. The SARS-CoV-2 HaploGraph allows for interactive tracking of virus evolution and of geographical prevalence of haplotypes, and aids in developing effective public health control strategies during the global pandemic. The code and the data used for this study are publicly available at: https://github.com/ktym/covid19/.

Some strains of silkworms produce green cocoons of varying intensities. This results from quantitative and qualitative differences in flavonoid pigments, which are influenced by the environment and genetic background. We discovered that the appearance of a faint green cocoon is regulated by a gene (G27) located on chromosome 27. Through mating experiments, we found that G27 is identical to an essential flavonoid cocoon gene, Ga. This locus has not been previously described. Furthermore, we narrowed down the Ga region to 438 kbp using molecular markers. Within this region, several predicted genes for sugar transporters form a cluster structure, suggesting that Ga is among them.

Keratins are intermediate filament proteins that are important for epidermal strength and protection from desiccation. Keratin genes are highly duplicated and have diversified by forming two major clusters in the genomes of terrestrial vertebrates. The keratin genes of lungfishes, the closest fish to tetrapods, have not been studied at the genomic level, despite the importance of lungfishes in terrestrial adaptation. Here, we identified keratin genes in the genomes of two lungfish species and performed syntenic and phylogenetic analyses. Additionally, we identified keratin genes from two gobies and two mudskippers, inhabiting underwater and terrestrial environments. We found that in lungfishes, keratin genes were duplicated and diversified within two major clusters, similar to but independent of terrestrial vertebrates. By contrast, keratin genes were not notably duplicated in mudskippers. The results indicate that keratin gene duplication occurred repeatedly in lineages close to tetrapods, but not in teleost fish, even in species adapted to terrestrial environments.

RNA-sequencing was used to develop 16 microsatellite markers for the pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea var. yedoensis (Franch. et Sav.) Ohwi (Asteraceae), which inhabits gravel bars throughout the Japanese archipelago. The mean number of alleles for these 16 markers in two populations in the Hokkaido and Shizuoka Prefectures, was 3.5 and 4.0, respectively, while the mean expected heterozygosity was 0.525 and 0.560, respectively, with a significant genetic differentiation between the two populations. All markers could also be amplified in two conspecific taxa, A. margaritacea var. margaritacea and var. angustifolia, whereas 11 of the 16 markers were amplifiable in two congeneric species, A. sinica and A. alpicola. These newly developed microsatellite markers will support understanding of population genetics and mating systems in A. margaritacea var. yedoensis, and several will potentially be of use in similar studies in other Anaphalis species.

The congenic strain, an inbred strain containing a small genomic region from another strain, is a powerful tool to assess the phenotypic effect of polymorphisms and/or mutations in the substituted genomic region. Recent substantial progress in the genetic studies of complex traits increases the necessity of congenic strains and, therefore, a quick breeding system for congenic strains has become increasingly important in model organisms such as mouse and medaka. Traditionally, more than ten generations are necessary to produce a congenic strain. In contrast, a quick method has been reported previously for the mouse, in which the use of genetic markers reduces the required number of backcross generations to about a half that of the traditional method, so that it would take around six generations to obtain a congenic strain. Here, we present an even quicker congenic production system, which takes only about four generations. The system can produce medaka congenic strains having part of the HNI-II (an inbred medaka strain derived from the northern Japanese population, Oryzias sakaizumii) genome in the HdrR-II1 (another inbred strain from the southern Japanese population, O. latipes) background. In this system, the availability of frozen sperm and genotype data of the BC₁ male population makes it possible to start marker-assisted congenic production after obtaining the BC₂ population. Our evaluation revealed that the system could work well to increase the percentage of recipient genome as expected, so that a congenic strain may be obtained in about one year.

Fagus pashanica is an endangered and endemic tree species in China. To understand its genetic diversity and structure for effective conservation, we used next-generation sequencing data to develop a set of microsatellite markers. Twenty-three of the 68 designed loci were successfully amplified. Fifteen polymorphic loci with clear peaks were selected for further analyses in three F. pashanica populations sampled from Nanjiang, Wangcang and Pingwu counties in Sichuan Province, China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 11. The levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.033–0.852 and 0.033–0.787, respectively. All 23 loci were also successfully amplified in F. longipetiolata and F. lucida, and 19 were successfully amplified in F. engleriana. These microsatellite markers will be useful for population genetic studies of F. pashanica and other Fagus species.

Duplicated genes show various degrees of functional diversification in plants. We previously identified 1,052 pairs of high diversified duplicates (HDDs) and 600 pairs of low diversified duplicates (LDDs) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Single knock-down of HDDs induced abnormal phenotypic changes because the other gene copy could not compensate for the knock-down effect, while single knock-down of LDDs did not induce abnormal phenotypic changes because of functional compensation by the copy gene. Here, focusing on one pair each of HDDs and LDDs, we performed transcriptome analyses in single-knock-down transgenic plants. The numbers of differentially expressed genes in single-knock-down transgenic plants were not different between HDDs and LDDs. Thus, functional compensation inferred by transcriptomics was similar between HDDs and LDDs. However, the trend of differentially expressed genes was similar in the pair of LDDs, while expression profiles were dissimilar in the pair of HDDs. This result indicates that a pair of LDDs tends to share similar functions but a pair of HDDs tends to have undergone functional divergence. Taking these findings together, as the reason for no phenotypic changes in single knock-down of LDDs but phenotypic changes in double knock-down of LDDs, we concluded that phenotypic changes of LDDs were induced by decreasing gene dosage.