[目的]探索生物信息方法在家蚕基因组 snoRNA 预测中的应用,了解snoRNA在家蚕基因组的分布和结构特征.[方法]利用已有和自行设计的生物信息工具对家蚕基因组中Box C/D snoRNA 进行预测和手工校正.[结果]获到家蚕基因组中的 70 个 snoRNA 和 56 个推测的甲基化位点.结构分析发现 D′box 和末端茎环结构的不保守性;分析 snoRNA 在基因组上的分布,未发现普遍的成簇分布的现象,且内含子和基因间隔区的 snoRNA 数目接近;预测得到的家蚕 Box C/D snoRNA 与已报道果蝇 Box C/D snoRNA进行相似性分析,表明两个物种的 Box C/D snoRNAs 在一级结构上存在较大的差异.[结论]基于结构特征预测的方法有利于逐步揭示家蚕基因组中存在的 snoRNA 信息;但与家蚕同源关系较近的物种,其 snoRNA 在序列上可能有较大变化,故可能不适合以序列同源来对其进行预测.
[ Objective ] Attempt to use bioinformatic tools to predict snoRNAs presence in the silkworm genome, and acquire its structure and distribution information. [ Method ] The tool SNOSCAN and our developed script were performed for prediction of Box C/D snoRNA, and the preliminary results were manually verified. [Result] 70 candidate snoRNAs were identified, which were considered to guide 56 sites for methylation. Analysis of the snoRNAs' distribution indicated that there are few snoRNA gene clusters scattered through the whole genome. Functional structures of snoRNA have also been annotated, and we found the D' boxes and terminal stems were not conserved. Moreover, it suggested that intronic snoRNAs lack canonical terminal stems (possibly compensated with the flanking sequences). Comparison of the sequences complementary to rRNAs showed the possibility that Box C/D snoRNAs contain similar complementary sequences. These guide methylation for the same type rRNAs. In addition, the homology analysis of the 70 Box C/D snoRNAs and those reported in Drosophilia melanogaster genome indicated the diversity on primary structure between the two species of animals. [ Conclusion] It is effective to predict the snoRNAs in silkworm genome based on structure feature, however, homology searching seems less helpful because of the high diversity.