Project description:Ant societies exhibit a division of labor in which a queen is in charge of reproduction while non-reproductive workers maintain the colony. In Harpegnathos saltator, workers retain reproductive ability, inhibited by the queen pheromones. Following the queen loss, the colony undergoes social unrest with an antenna dueling tournament. Most workers quickly abandon the tournament while a few workers continue the dueling for months and become gamergates (pseudoqueens). However, the temporal dynamics of the molecular mechanisms underlining the caste transition and social dominance remain unclear. To identify genetic factors responsible for this transition, we compared transcriptomes of ovary, fat body, and non-visual brains between dueling and non-dueling workers.
Project description:Cephalopods have a remarkable visual system, with a camera-type eye, high acuity vision, and a wide range of sophisticated visual behaviors. However, the cephalopod brain is organized dramatically differently from that of vertebrates, as well as other invertebrates, and little is known regarding the cell types and molecular determinants of their visual system organization beyond neuroanatomical descriptions. Here we present a comprehensive single-cell molecular atlas of the octopus optic lobe, which is the primary visual processing structure in the cephalopod brain. We combined single-cell RNA sequencing with RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization to both identify putative molecular cell types and determine their anatomical and spatial organization within the optic lobe. Our results reveal six major neuronal cell classes identified by neurotransmitter/neuropeptide usage, in addition to non-neuronal and immature neuronal populations. Moreover, we find that additional markers divide these neuronal classes into subtypes with distinct anatomical localizations, revealing cell type diversity and a detailed laminar organization within the optic lobe. We also delineate the immature neurons within this continuously growing tissue into subtypes defined by evolutionarily conserved fate specification genes as well as novel cephalopod- and octopus- specific genes. Together, these findings outline the organizational logic of the octopus visual system, based on functional determinants, laminar identity, and developmental markers/pathways. The resulting atlas presented here delineates the “parts list” of the neural circuits used for vision in octopus, providing a platform for investigations into the development and function of the octopus visual system as well as the evolution of visual processing.
Project description:Deep sequencing of mRNA from two Ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator Analysis of poly(A)+ RNA of different specimens: egg,larva,male,minor and major for Camponotus floridanus while egg,larva,male,worker and gammergate for Harpegnathos saltator
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE22678: Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of two ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator GSE22679: Small RNA sequencing and analysis of two ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator Refer to individual Series
Project description:Deep sequencing of small RNA from two Ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator Analysis of small RNA expression profile from different specimens: egg,larva,male,minor and major for Camponotus floridanus while egg,larva,male,worker and gammergate for Harpegnathos saltator
Project description:Embryonic stem (ES) cells have a remarkable capacity to self-organize complex, multi-layered optic cups in vitro via a culture technique called SFEBq. During both SFEBq and in vivo optic cup development, Rax (Rx) expressing neural retina epithelial (NRE) tissues utilize Fgf and Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathways to differentiate into neural retina (NR) and retinal-pigmented epithelial (RPE) tissues, respectively. How these signaling pathways affect gene expression during optic tissue formation has remained largely unknown, especially at the transcriptome scale. We generated Day 10 Rx+ optic tissue using SFEBq, exposed these tissues to either Fgf or Wnt/β-catenin stimulation, and assayed their gene expression at Days 12 and 15 using RNA-Seq. We measured gene expression in these 5 sample groups in biological triplicate using RNA-seq (Illumina HiSeq) .
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE31344: smRNA sequencing of queen and virgin queen of two ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator GSE31346: Transcriptome sequencing of queen and virgin queen of two ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator GSE31576: Single base resolution methylome of two ants: Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator Refer to individual Series
Project description:Embryonic stem (ES) cells have a remarkable capacity to self-organize complex, multi-layered optic cups in vitro via a culture technique called SFEBq. During both SFEBq and in vivo optic cup development, Rax (Rx) expressing neural retina epithelial (NRE) tissues utilize Fgf and Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathways to differentiate into neural retina (NR) and retinal-pigmented epithelial (RPE) tissues, respectively. How these signaling pathways affect gene expression during optic tissue formation has remained largely unknown, especially at the transcriptome scale.