Cucumber is an economically important crop as well as a model system for sex determination studies and plant vascular biology. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., assembled using a novel combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation Illumina GA sequencing technologies to obtain 72.2-fold genome coverage. The absence of recent whole-genome duplication, along with the presence of few tandem duplications, explains the small number of genes in the cucumber. Our study establishes that five of the cucumber's seven chromosomes arose from fusions of ten ancestral chromosomes after divergence from Cucumis melo. The sequenced cucumber genome affords insight into traits such as its sex expression, disease resistance, biosynthesis of cucurbitacin and 'fresh green' odor. We also identify 686 gene clusters related to phloem function. The cucumber genome provides a valuable resource for developing elite cultivars and for studying the evolution and function of the plant vascular system.

Here we present the first diploid genome sequence of an Asian individual. The genome was sequenced to 36-fold average coverage using massively parallel sequencing technology. We aligned the short reads onto the NCBI human reference genome to 99.97% coverage, and guided by the reference genome, we used uniquely mapped reads to assemble a high-quality consensus sequence for 92% of the Asian individual's genome. We identified approximately 3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) inside this region, of which 13.6% were not in the dbSNP database. Genotyping analysis showed that SNP identification had high accuracy and consistency, indicating the high sequence quality of this assembly. We also carried out heterozygote phasing and haplotype prediction against HapMap CHB and JPT haplotypes (Chinese and Japanese, respectively), sequence comparison with the two available individual genomes (J. D. Watson and J. C. Venter), and structural variation identification. These variations were considered for their potential biological impact. Our sequence data and analyses demonstrate the potential usefulness of next-generation sequencing technologies for personal genomics.

A single–base pair resolution silkworm genetic variation map was constructed from 40 domesticated and wild silkworms, each sequenced to approximately threefold coverage, representing 99.88% of the genome. We identified ∼16 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, many indels, and structural variations. We find that the domesticated silkworms are clearly genetically differentiated from the wild ones, but they have maintained large levels of genetic variability, suggesting a short domestication event involving a large number of individuals. We also identified signals of selection at 354 candidate genes that may have been important during domestication, some of which have enriched expression in the silk gland, midgut, and testis. These data add to our understanding of the domestication processes and may have applications in devising pest control strategies and advancing the use of silkworms as efficient bioreactors.

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By dispersing Li6.25Ga0.25La3Zr2O12 (Ga-LLZO) nanoparticles in poly­(ethylene oxide) (PEO) matrix, PEO:Ga-LLZO composite polymer electrolytes are synthesized. The PEO: Ga-LLZO composite with 16 vol % Ga-LLZO nanoparticles shows a conductivity of 7.2 × 10–5 S cm–1 at 30 °C, about 4 orders of magnitude higher than the conductivity of PEO. The enhancement of the ionic conductivity is closely related to the space charge region (∼3 nm) formed at the interface between the PEO matrix and the Ga-LLZO nanoparticles. The space charge region is observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and corroborated by the phase-field simulation. Using the random resistor model, the lithium-ion transport in the composite polymer electrolyte is simulated by the Monte Carlo simulation, demonstrating that the enhanced ionic conductivity can be ascribed to the ionic conduction in the space charge regions and the percolation of the space charge regions.

Nineteen Thermococcus kodakarensis strains have been constructed, each of which synthesizes a different His6-tagged protein known or predicted to be a component of the archaeal DNA replication machinery. Using the His6-tagged proteins, stable complexes assembled in vivo have been isolated directly from clarified cell lysates and the T. kodakarensis proteins present have been identified by mass spectrometry. Based on the results obtained, a network of interactions among the archaeal replication proteins has been established that confirms previously documented and predicted interactions, provides experimental evidence for previously unrecognized interactions between proteins with known functions and with unknown functions, and establishes a firm experimental foundation for archaeal replication research. The proteins identified and their participation in archaeal DNA replication are discussed and related to their bacterial and eukaryotic counterparts.

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Summary Myxococcus xanthus