Molecular genetic polymorphism of American mink populations (Neovison vison) in model fur farms and on the adjacent territories in Belarus

American mink (Neovison vison) is both a problematic invader and an economically valuable fur breed species in Belarus. The increasing scale of mink breeding for fur and the growing impact of this invasive species on the local ecosystems requires sound, novel strategies for managing both farm and wild populations. Containment of wild American mink populations under the effects of possible migration from the fur farms could be especially problematic. With that issue in mind, we have used microsatellite analysis todetermine the genetic polymorphism in two color breeds of farm-bred American mink in the populations of several Belorussian model fur farms, as well as the same characteristics for the feral populations on the territories adjacent to said fur farms. We confirm the presence of effective influx of mink into the wild from fur farms, determined through the means of analyzing microsatellite genotype data of feral and farm populations.

Microsatellite Typing and Resistance Mechanism Analysis of Voriconazole-Resistant Aspergillus flavus Isolates in South Korean Hospitals

ABSTRACT A recent surveillance study in South Korea revealed that 14% (7/50) of Aspergillus flavus clinical isolates had a voriconazole minimum inhibitory concentration of ≥4 μg/ml. Of seven non-wild-type (non-WT) isolates, six ear isolates from four hospitals shared the same microsatellite genotype. None of the non-WT isolates showed cyp51 mutations associated with azole resistance. However, the mean expression levels of efflux pump (MDR2, atrF, and mfs1) and target (cyp51A) genes exhibited significant differences between non-WT and other isolates.

Genetic Diversity and In Vitro Antifungal Susceptibility of 200 Clinical and Environmental Aspergillus flavus Isolates

ABSTRACT Aspergillus flavus has been frequently reported as the leading cause of invasive aspergillosis in certain tropical and subtropical countries. Two hundred A. flavus strains originating from clinical and environmental sources and collected between 2008 and 2015 were phylogenetically identified at the species level by analyzing partial β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. In vitro antifungal susceptibility testing was performed against antifungals using the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) broth microdilution method. In addition, genotyping was performed using a short-tandem-repeat (STR) assay of a panel of six microsatellite markers (A. flavus 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, and 3C), in order to determine the genetic variation and the potential relationship between clinical and environmental isolates. The geometric means of the minimum inhibitory concentrations/minimum effective concentrations (MICs/MECs) of the antifungals across all isolates were (in increasing order): posaconazole, 0.13 mg/liter; anidulafungin, 0.16 mg/liter; itraconazole, 0.29 mg/liter; caspofungin, 0.42 mg/liter; voriconazole, 0.64 mg/liter; isavuconazole, 1.10 mg/liter; amphotericin B, 3.35 mg/liter; and flucytosine, 62.97 mg/liter. All of the clinical isolates were genetically different. However, an identical microsatellite genotype was found between a clinical isolate and two environmental strains. In conclusion, posaconazole and anidulafungin showed the greatest in vitro activity among systemic azoles and echinocandins, respectively. However, the majority of the A. flavus isolates showed reduced susceptibility to amphotericin B. Antifungal susceptibility of A. flavus was not linked with the clinical or environmental source of isolation. Microsatellite genotyping may suggest an association between clinical and environmental strains, although this requires further investigation.

Recent occurrences of wild-origin wolves (Canis spp.) in Canada south of the St. Lawrence River revealed by stable isotope and genetic analysis

A free-ranging canid killed near Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada, in 2012 exhibited a mitochondrial DNA sequence of Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) origin and a Y-chromosome haplotype of Eastern Wolf (C. lycaon) origin. The animal, which is the first wolf recorded in New Brunswick since 1862, was identified as a Gray–Eastern Wolf hybrid (C. lupus x C. lycaon) based on analysis of its autosomal microsatellite genotype. Stable carbon isotope values (δ13C) suggest that the Caraquet wolf was of wild origin. Likewise, δ13C analysis suggests that a wolf–coyote hybrid killed in Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River in 2002 was also of wild origin. However, δ13C values for a wolf from the same region in 2006 suggest that this animal spent most of its life feeding predominantly on non-wild-source food items. Recent occurrences of wild-origin animals south of the St. Lawrence River demonstrate that wolves are capable of dispersal to formerly occupied areas in southeastern Canada and the United States. However, limited natural dispersal alone will likely not be sufficient to re-establish wolves in northeastern North America.

Resolving microsatellite genotype ambiguity in populations of allopolyploid and diploidized autopolyploid organisms using negative correlations between allelic variables

A major limitation in the analysis of genetic marker data from polyploid organisms is non-Mendelian segregation, particularly when a single marker yields allelic signals from multiple, independently segregating loci (isoloci). However, with markers such as microsatellites that detect more than two alleles, it is sometimes possible to deduce which alleles belong to which isoloci. Here we describe a novel mathematical property of codominant marker data when it is recoded as binary (presence/absence) allelic variables: under random mating in an infinite population, two allelic variables will be negatively correlated if they belong to the same locus, but uncorrelated if they belong to different loci. We present an algorithm to take advantage of this mathematical property, sorting alleles into isoloci based on correlations, then refining the allele assignments after checking for consistency with individual genotypes. We demonstrate the utility of our method on simulated data, as well as a real microsatellite dataset from a natural population of octoploid white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Our methodology is implemented in the R package polysat version 1.5.