Project description:This research uses terminal branches from a wild poplar tree to track somatic genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptional changes. Using a multi-omics approach, we aim to identify and describe mutations which arise during the lifetime of a long-lived perennial plant.
Project description:This research uses terminal branches from a wild poplar tree to track somatic genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptional changes. Using a multi-omics approach, we aim to identify and describe mutations which arise during the lifetime of a long-lived perennial plant.
Project description:The Sahel/Savannah belt harbours diverse populations with different demographic histories and different subsistence patterns. However, populations from this large African region are notably under-represented in genomic research. To investigate the population structure and adaptation history of populations from the Sahel/Savannah space, we generated dense genome-wide genotype data of 327 individuals—comprising 14 ethnolinguistic groups, including ten previously unsampled populations. DNA samples were genotyped on the Illumina H3Africa Consortium Array (BeadChip type: H3Africa_2017_20021485_A2; designed for SNP-genotyping of 2,267,346 SNPs) at the SNP&SEQ Technology Platform, NGI/SciLifeLab Genomics (Sweden). Reference: Demographic and Selection Histories of Populations Across the Sahel/Savannah Belt. Fortes-Lima C, Tříska P, Čížková M, Podgorná E, Diallo MY, Schlebusch CM, Černý V. Molecular Biology and Evolution 2022 39(10):msac209. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac209. PMID: 36173804 .
Project description:Daghestan, with its exceptional combination of linguistic, geographic, and cultural diversity, presents an excellent natural laboratory for tracking the influence of demographic processes on patterns of genetic variation. This study was designed to investigate the co-evolution of genes and languages, comparing and contrasting patterns of linguistic, genetic and geographic variation among Daghestani populations.
Project description:This research uses terminal branches from a wild poplar tree to track somatic genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptional changes. Using a multi-omics approach, we aim to identify and describe mutations which arise during the lifetime of a long-lived perennial plant.
Project description:This research uses terminal branches from a wild poplar tree to track somatic genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptional changes. Using a multi-omics approach, we aim to identify and describe mutations which arise during the lifetime of a long-lived perennial plant.
Project description:Contemporary Jews comprise an aggregate of ethno-religious communities whose worldwide members identify with each other through various shared religious, historical, and cultural traditions1,2. Historical evidence suggests common origins in the Middle East, followed by migrations leading to the establishment of communities of Jews in Europe, Africa, and Asia - in what is termed the Jewish Diaspora3-5. This complex demographic history imposes special challenges in attempting to address the genetic structure of the Jewish people6. While many genetic studies have shed light on Jewish diseases and origins, including those focusing on uniparentally- and biparentally-inherited markers7-16, genome-wide patterns of variation across the vast geographic span of Jewish Diaspora communities and their respective neighbors have yet to be addressed. Here we use high-density bead arrays to genotype individuals from 14 Jewish Diaspora communities, and compare these patterns of genome-wide diversity with those from 69 Old World non-Jewish populations, of which 25 have not been previously reported. These samples were carefully chosen to provide comprehensive comparisons between Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Diaspora, as well as with non-Jewish populations from the Middle East and North Africa. Principal component and structure-like analyses identify previously unrecognized genetic substructure within the Middle East. Most Jewish samples form a remarkably tight sub-cluster that overlies Druze and Cypriot samples, but not samples from other Levantine populations or paired Diaspora host populations. In contrast, Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) and Bene Israel Indian Jews cluster with neighbouring autochthonous populations in Ethiopia and western India, respectively; despite a clear paternal link between the Bene Israel and the Levant. These results cast light on the variegated genetic architecture of the Middle East, and trace the origins of most Jewish Diaspora communities to the Levant. 466 samples are analysed on three different Illumina platforms.
Project description:Contemporary Jews comprise an aggregate of ethno-religious communities whose worldwide members identify with each other through various shared religious, historical, and cultural traditions1,2. Historical evidence suggests common origins in the Middle East, followed by migrations leading to the establishment of communities of Jews in Europe, Africa, and Asia - in what is termed the Jewish Diaspora3-5. This complex demographic history imposes special challenges in attempting to address the genetic structure of the Jewish people6. While many genetic studies have shed light on Jewish diseases and origins, including those focusing on uniparentally- and biparentally-inherited markers7-16, genome-wide patterns of variation across the vast geographic span of Jewish Diaspora communities and their respective neighbors have yet to be addressed. Here we use high-density bead arrays to genotype individuals from 14 Jewish Diaspora communities, and compare these patterns of genome-wide diversity with those from 69 Old World non-Jewish populations, of which 25 have not been previously reported. These samples were carefully chosen to provide comprehensive comparisons between Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Diaspora, as well as with non-Jewish populations from the Middle East and North Africa. Principal component and structure-like analyses identify previously unrecognized genetic substructure within the Middle East. Most Jewish samples form a remarkably tight sub-cluster that overlies Druze and Cypriot samples, but not samples from other Levantine populations or paired Diaspora host populations. In contrast, Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) and Bene Israel Indian Jews cluster with neighbouring autochthonous populations in Ethiopia and western India, respectively; despite a clear paternal link between the Bene Israel and the Levant. These results cast light on the variegated genetic architecture of the Middle East, and trace the origins of most Jewish Diaspora communities to the Levant.
Project description:Selfing plant lineages are surprisingly widespread and successful in a broad range of environments, despite showing reduced genetic diversity, which is predicted to reduce their long-term evolutionary potential. However, appropriate short-term plastic responses to new environmental conditions might not require high levels of standing genetic variation. In this study, we tested whether mating system variation among populations, and associated changes in genetic variability, affected short-term responses to environmental challenges. We compared relative fitness and metabolome profiles of naturally outbreeding (genetically diverse) and inbreeding (genetically depauperate) populations of a perennial plant, <i>Arabidopsis lyrata</i>, under constant growth chamber conditions and an outdoor common garden environment outside its native range. We found no effect of inbreeding on survival, flowering phenology or short-term physiological responses. Specifically, naturally occurring inbreeding had no significant effects on the plasticity of metabolome profiles, using either multivariate approaches or analysis of variation in individual metabolites, with inbreeding populations showing similar physiological responses to outbreeding populations over time in both growing environments. We conclude that low genetic diversity in naturally inbred populations may not always compromise fitness or short-term physiological capacity to respond to environmental change, which could help to explain the global success of selfing mating strategies.