TILLING - a shortcut in functional genomics

Recent advances in large-scale genome sequencing projects have opened up new possibilities for the application of conventional mutation techniques in not only forward but also reverse genetics strategies. TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes) was developed a decade ago as an alternative to insertional mutagenesis. It takes advantage of classical mutagenesis, sequence availability and high-throughput screening for nucleotide polymorphisms in a targeted sequence. The main advantage of TILLING as a reverse genetics strategy is that it can be applied to any species, regardless of its genome size and ploidy level. The TILLING protocol provides a high frequency of point mutations distributed randomly in the genome. The great mutagenic potential of chemical agents to generate a high rate of nucleotide substitutions has been proven by the high density of mutations reported for TILLING populations in various plant species. For most of them, the analysis of several genes revealed 1 mutation/200–500 kb screened and much higher densities were observed for polyploid species, such as wheat. High-throughput TILLING permits the rapid and low-cost discovery of new alleles that are induced in plants. Several research centres have established a TILLING public service for various plant species. The recent trends in TILLING procedures rely on the diversification of bioinformatic tools, new methods of mutation detection, including mismatch-specific and sensitive endonucleases, but also various alternatives for LI-COR screening and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery using next-generation sequencing technologies. The TILLING strategy has found numerous applications in functional genomics. Additionally, wide applications of this throughput method in basic and applied research have already been implemented through modifications of the original TILLING strategy, such as Ecotilling or Deletion TILLING

Genetic diversity of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis in Algeria as revealed by amplified fragement length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis

Tan spot caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis is a major wheat disease. DNA of 61 isolates of P.$$tritici-repentis from different cereal growing areas in Algeria were analyzed using amplified fragment$$length polymorphism (AFLP) in order to study the genetic diversity among this population. Initially, 78$$primer combinations were tested, of which 12 were selected and applied to the 61 isolates. There was a$$high genetic diversity in this population of P. tritici-repentis with 61 different haplotypes among the 61$$isolates selected. The Jaccard similarity index range was 1.43 to 68.37$$clustering of isolates was independent of their race classification, geographic origin, or host plant.$$However, one isolate (Ptr24) that showed a new virulence pattern in our previous race analysis study$$was clearly distinguished from the rest of the population studied. This isolate had not only new$$virulence but also different genetic makeup to other P. tritici-repentis isolates and requires additional$$studies to decipher complete knowledge of host-pathogen interactions for tan spot of wheat.4082-409