Dataset Information

Unscrambling butterfly oogenesis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Butterflies are popular model organisms to study physiological mechanisms underlying variability in oogenesis and egg provisioning in response to environmental conditions. Nothing is known, however, about; the developmental mechanisms governing butterfly oogenesis, how polarity in the oocyte is established, or which particular maternal effect genes regulate early embryogenesis. To gain insights into these developmental mechanisms and to identify the conserved and divergent aspects of butterfly oogenesis, we analysed a de novo ovarian transcriptome of the Speckled Wood butterfly Pararge aegeria (L.), and compared the results with known model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster and Bombyx mori. RESULTS: A total of 17306 contigs were annotated, with 30% possibly novel or highly divergent sequences observed. Pararge aegeria females expressed 74.5% of the genes that are known to be essential for D. melanogaster oogenesis. We discuss the genes involved in all aspects of oogenesis, including vitellogenesis and choriogenesis, plus those implicated in hormonal control of oogenesis and transgenerational hormonal effects in great detail. Compared to other insects, a number of significant differences were observed in; the genes involved in stem cell maintenance and differentiation in the germarium, establishment of oocyte polarity, and in several aspects of maternal regulation of zygotic development. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides valuable resources to investigate a number of divergent aspects of butterfly oogenesis requiring further research. In order to fully unscramble butterfly oogenesis, we also now also have the resources to investigate expression patterns of oogenesis genes under a range of environmental conditions, and to establish their function.

SUBMITTER: Carter JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3654919 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Unscrambling butterfly oogenesis.

Carter Jean-Michel JM Baker Simon C SC Pink Ryan R Carter David R F DR Collins Aiden A Tomlin Jeremie J Gibbs Melanie M Breuker Casper J CJ

BMC genomics 20130426

<h4>Background</h4>Butterflies are popular model organisms to study physiological mechanisms underlying variability in oogenesis and egg provisioning in response to environmental conditions. Nothing is known, however, about; the developmental mechanisms governing butterfly oogenesis, how polarity in the oocyte is established, or which particular maternal effect genes regulate early embryogenesis. To gain insights into these developmental mechanisms and to identify the conserved and divergent asp ...[more]

PMID: 23622113

Similar Datasets

Project description:Future climate scenarios in the Baltic Sea project an increase of cyanobacterial bloom frequency and duration, attributed to eutrophication and climate change. Some cyanobacteria can be toxic and their impact on ecosystem services is relevant for a sustainable sea. Yet, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms regulating cyanobacterial diversity and biogeography. Here we unravel successional patterns and changes in cyanobacterial community structure using a 2-year monthly time- series during the productive season in a 100 km coastal-offshore transect using microscopy and high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments. A total of 565 cyanobacterial OTUs were found, of which 231 where filamentous/colonial and 334 picocyanobacterial. Spatial differences in community structure between coastal and offshore waters were minor. An "epidemic population structure" (dominance of asingle cluster) was found for Aphanizomenon/Dolichospermum within the filamentous/colonial cyanobacterial community. In summer, this clusters imultaneously occurred with opportunistic clusters/OTUs, e.g., Nodularia spumigena and Pseudanabaena. Picocyanobacteria, Synechococcus/Cyanobium, formeda consistent but highly diverse group. Overall, the potential drivers structuring summer cyanobacterial communities were temperature and salinity. However, the different responses to environmental factors among and within genera suggest high niche specificity for individual OTUs. The recruitment and occurrence of potentially toxic filamentous/colonial clusters was likely related to disturbance such as mixing events and short-term shifts in salinity, and not solely dependent on increasing temperature and nitrogen-limiting conditions. Nutrients did not explain further the changes in cyanobacterial community composition. Novel occurrence patterns were identified as a strong seasonal succession revealing a tight coupling between the emergence of opportunistic picocynobacteria and the bloom offilamentous/colonialclusters. These findings highlight that if environmental conditions can partially explain the presence of opportunistic picocyanobacteria, microbial and trophic interactions with filamentous/colonial cyanobacteria should also be considered as potential shaping factors for single-celled communities. Regional climate change scenarios in the Baltic Sea predict environmental shifts leading to higher temperature and lower salinity; conditions identified here as favorable for opportunistic filamentous/colonial cyanobacteria. Altogether, the diversity and complexity of cyanobacterial communities reported here is far greater than previously known, emphasizing the importance of microbial interactions between filamentous and picocyanobacteria in the context of environmental disturbances.

Dataset Information

Unscrambling butterfly oogenesis.

Publications

Unscrambling butterfly oogenesis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets