Project description:Domesticated animal populations often show profound reductions in predator avoidance and fear-related behavior compared to wild populations. These reductions are remarkably consistent and have been observed in a diverse array of taxa including fish, birds, and mammals. Experiments conducted in common environments indicate that these behavioral differences have a genetic basis. In this study, we quantified differences in fear-related behavior between wild and domesticated zebrafish strains and used microarray analysis to identify genes that may be associated with this variation. Compared to wild zebrafish, domesticated zebrafish spent more time near the water surface and were more likely to occupy the front of the aquarium nearest a human observer. Microarray analysis of the brain transcriptome identified high levels of population variation in gene expression, with 1,749 genes significantly differentially expressed among populations. Genes that varied among populations belonged to functional categories that included DNA repair, DNA photolyase activity, response to light stimulus, neuron development and axon guidance, cell death, iron-binding, chromatin reorganization, and homeobox genes. Comparatively fewer genes (112) differed between domesticated and wild strains with notable genes including gpr177 (wntless), selenoprotein P1a, synaptophysin and synaptoporin, and acyl-CoA binding domain containing proteins (acbd3 and acbd4). Microarray analysis identified a large number of genes that differed among zebrafish populations and may underlie behavioral domestication. Comparisons with similar microarray studies of domestication in rainbow trout and canids identified sixteen evolutionarily or functionally related genes that may represent components of shared molecular mechanisms underlying convergent behavioral evolution during vertebrate domestication. However, this conclusion must be tempered by limitations associated with comparisons among microarray studies and the low level of population-level replication inherent to these studies. RNA was extracted from the brains of fish from four behaviorally distinct strains of zebrafish and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays. Brains from 2-5 individual fish of the same sex were pooled and homogenized together, for a total of two biological replicate pools per sex per strain (16 microarrays total).

Project description:Domesticated animal populations often show profound reductions in predator avoidance and fear-related behavior compared to wild populations. These reductions are remarkably consistent and have been observed in a diverse array of taxa including fish, birds, and mammals. Experiments conducted in common environments indicate that these behavioral differences have a genetic basis. In this study, we quantified differences in fear-related behavior between wild and domesticated zebrafish strains and used microarray analysis to identify genes that may be associated with this variation. Compared to wild zebrafish, domesticated zebrafish spent more time near the water surface and were more likely to occupy the front of the aquarium nearest a human observer. Microarray analysis of the brain transcriptome identified high levels of population variation in gene expression, with 1,749 genes significantly differentially expressed among populations. Genes that varied among populations belonged to functional categories that included DNA repair, DNA photolyase activity, response to light stimulus, neuron development and axon guidance, cell death, iron-binding, chromatin reorganization, and homeobox genes. Comparatively fewer genes (112) differed between domesticated and wild strains with notable genes including gpr177 (wntless), selenoprotein P1a, synaptophysin and synaptoporin, and acyl-CoA binding domain containing proteins (acbd3 and acbd4). Microarray analysis identified a large number of genes that differed among zebrafish populations and may underlie behavioral domestication. Comparisons with similar microarray studies of domestication in rainbow trout and canids identified sixteen evolutionarily or functionally related genes that may represent components of shared molecular mechanisms underlying convergent behavioral evolution during vertebrate domestication. However, this conclusion must be tempered by limitations associated with comparisons among microarray studies and the low level of population-level replication inherent to these studies.

Project description:Gossypium barbadense is widely cultivated because of its extra-long staple cotton with superior luster, silkiness and high yield. These economically important traits were selected during initial domestication of an agronomically inferior wild ancestor, followed by millennia of human- mediated selection. To reveal the effects of this history on the cotton fiber transcriptome, we conducted comparative expression profiling on mechanically isolated fiber cells at three different stages encompassing early, mid, and late fiber elongation in wild (K101) and domesticated (Pima S-7) accessions, using a microarray platform that interrogates 42,429 unigenes. The distribution of differentially expressed genes across developmental stages was different in the two accessions, with a shift toward greater change earlier in cultivated than in wild G. barbadense. Approximately 4200 genes were differentially expressed between wild and domesticated accessions at one or more of the stages studied. Domestication appears to have led to enhanced modulation of cellular redox levels and the avoidance or delay of stress-like processes. Prolonged fiber growth in cultivated relative to wild G. barbadense is associated with upregulation of signal transduction and hormone signaling genes and down-regulation of cell wall maturation genes. Clues are provided into the processes and genes that may unwittingly have been selected by humans during domestication and development of modern elite lines. Several of the transcriptomic differences between wild and domesticated G. barbadense described here appear to have parallels in a second domesticated cotton species, Gossypium hirsutum, suggesting that replicated domestication of two different species has resulted in overlapping, parallel, metabolic transformations. Two accessions of G. barbadense were studied, the elite cultivar, Pima S-7, and a wild accession from Bolivia, K101. Seeds of both accessions were sown in sterilized potting mix in the Pohl Conservatory at Iowa State University, Ames, IA, and three biological replicates were grown for 3-5 months. Flowers were tagged at anthesis and harvested at three time points, 2, 10, and 20 days postanthesis. For each of three biological replicates, ovules were excised, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at -80C.

Project description:Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a prominent role in signal transduction and cellular homeostasis in plants. However, imbalances between generation and elimination of ROS can give rise to oxidative stress in growing cells. Because ROS are important to cell growth, ROS modulation could be responsive to natural or human-mediated selection pressure in plants. To study the evolution of oxidative stress related genes in a single plant cell, we conducted comparative expression profiling analyses of the elongated seed trichomes (‘‘fibers’’) of cotton (Gossypium), using a phylogenetic approach. We measured expression changes during diploid progenitor species divergence, allopolyploid formation and parallel domestication of diploid and allopolyploid species, using a microarray platform that interrogates 42,429 unigenes. The distribution of differentially expressed genes in progenitor diploid species revealed significant up-regulation of ROS scavenging and potential signaling processes in domesticated G. arboreum. Similarly, in two independently domesticated allopolyploid species (G. barbadense and G. hirsutum) antioxidant genes were substantially up-regulated in comparison to antecedent wild forms. In contrast, analyses of three wild allopolyploid species indicate that genomic merger and ancient allopolyploid formation had no significant influences on regulation of ROS related genes. Remarkably, many of the ROS-related processes diagnosed as possible targets of selection were shared among diploid and allopolyploid cultigens, but involved different sets of antioxidant genes. Our data suggests that parallel human selection for enhanced fiber growth in several geographically widely dispersed species of domesticated cotton resulted in similar and overlapping metabolic transformations of the manner in which cellular redox levels have become modulated. We measured expression changes during diploid progenitor species divergence, allopolyploid formation and parallel domestication of diploid and allopolyploid species, using a microarray platform that interrogates 42,429 unigenes. The distribution of differentially expressed genes was studied for domesticated G. arboreum and two independently domesticated allopolyploid species (G. barbadense and G. hirsutum). These were compared to three wild allopolyploid species. Three biological replicates were performed.

Project description:The domestication is an evolutionary process during which individuals will progressively adapt to an environment controlled by humans. It is accompanied by epigenetic and genetic modifications potentially leading to modifications in the transcriptomic profile in various tissues. The reproduction process is among the biological functions highly affected whatever the species and/or the way of domestication. Indeed, the reproduction success often decreases in domesticated populations. For fish, the molecular content of the eggs is crucial for the proper embryogenesis. Among these molecules the mRNA content depends directly from the gene expression and thus may reflect the genetic modifications occurring during this process. Here, we investigated the transcriptomic profile of eggs coming from females of two populations (F1 and Fx) that were reared in the same conditions and were genetically close. Our main goal was thus to determine how the domestication process may affect the reproduction success in the Eurasian perch and if it was mediated by the regulation of the transcription in the eggs. A regular follow up of the oogenesis progression showed few differences of the hormonal production between the two populations. Nevertheless, the histological study showed that the F1 females were more developed by the end of the oogenesis induction than the domesticated ones and as a result, they spawned earlier than the domesticated ones. The study of the early developmental success revealed significant differences between the populations. The microarray analysis of unfertilized eggs presented more than 350 transcripts differently expressed between the two populations. Among them, some specific genes were drastically more expressed in the domesticated (mex3B, hace1 and an uncharacterized protein) or F1 (per) populations. Our data show that the F1 population is more sensitive to the environmental conditions to advance oogenesis and reach the spawning season earlier. The transcriptomic profiles in eggs coming from the two populations were different and may lead to developmental impairments having a potential link with the domestication process. Further analyses are needed to explain these differences.

Dataset Information

Transcriptomic comparison between brain regions of behaviorally distinct wild and domesticated zebrafish (Danio rerio) populations

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