Project description:Transcripcional responses in three genotypes of Muzus persicae, each exhibiting different resistance mechanisms, in response to an anti.cholinesterase insecticide Two-condition experiment in threee different genotypes: Insecticide vs. acetone plus water. Genotypes S (exhibiting no resistance mechanism) Biological replicates: 3. Genotypes RS (resistant through a kdr sodium channel mutation) Biological replicates: 2. Genotypes MR (carrying kdr and MACE mutations) Biological replicates: 2.
Project description:Transcripcional responses in three genotypes of Muzus persicae, each exhibiting different resistance mechanisms, in response to an anti.cholinesterase insecticide
Project description:Illumina HiSeq 2500 technology was used to sequence the transcriptome of three Ethiopian field populations of An. arabiensis (Asendabo (ASN), Chewaka (CHW) and Tolay (TOL)) and two An. arabiensis strains (Sekoru (SEK, from Ethiopia) and Moz (MOZ, from Mozambique)). Both ASN, CHW and TOL were previously shown to be resistant against delamethrin and DDT, while the two An. arabiensis strains (SEK and MOZ) were both susceptible to deltamethrin and DDT (Alemayehu et al. 2017, DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2342-y; Witzig et al. 2013, DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2012.112). Differentially expressed genes (absolute fold change (FC) ≥ 2 and Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p-value < 0.05) were determined between each insecticide resistant field population (ASN, CHW or TOL) and one of the insecticide susceptible strains (SEK or MOZ).
Project description:Synonymous mutations do not change the sequence of the polypeptide but they may still influence fitness. We investigated in Salmonella enterica how four synonymous mutations in the rpsT gene (encoding ribosomal protein S20) reduce fitness (i.e. growth rate) and the mechanisms by which this cost can be genetically compensated. The reduced growth rates of the synonymous mutants were correlated with reduced levels of the rpsT transcript and S20 protein. In an adaptive evolution experiment these fitness impairments could be compensated by mutations that either caused up-regulation of S20 through increased gene dosage (due to duplications), increased transcription of the rpsT gene (due to an rpoD mutation or mutations in rpsT), or increased translation from the rpsT transcript (due to rpsT mutations). We suggest that the reduced levels of S20 in the synonymous mutants result in production of a defective subpopulation of 30S subunits lacking S20 that reduce protein synthesis and bacterial growth and that the compensatory mutations restore S20 levels and the number of functional ribosomes. Our results demonstrate how specific synonymous mutations can cause substantial fitness reductions and that many different types intra- and extragenic compensatory mutations can efficiently restore fitness. Furthermore, our study highlights that also synonymous sites can be under strong selection, which may have implications for the use of dN/dS ratios as signature for selection.
Project description:Purpose: Next-generation transcriptome sequencing was done to understand host and eukaryotic microbiome changes in gene expression in association with defined insecticide selection pressures. The specific goal of this research was to understand whole-body physiological responses in German cockroaches and associated microbiota, at the metatranscriptome level, to defined insecticide selection pressures. Methods: We used the insecticide indoxacarb as the selecting insecticide, which is an important bait active ingredient for cockroach control. Six generations of selection with indoxacarb bait produced a strain with substantial (>20x) resistance relative to inbred control lines originating from the same parental stock. Results: Metatranscriptome sequencing revealed 1123 significantly differentially expressed genes in > two of three statistical models (81 upregulated and 1042 downregulated; FDR p<0.001; log2FC of +/- 1). The majority of upreglated genes were from the host cockroach while the majority of downregulated genes were from associated viruses and the eukaryotic microbiome. Conclusions: We show here significant impacts by insecticide selection on not only host stress-respnses like detoxification, but also on clearace of microbial parasites, pathogens, commensals and/or symbionts.
Project description:Malaria control relies on insecticides targeting the mosquito vector, but is being increasingly compromised by insecticide resistance. Elevated expression of metabolic enzymes frequently drives resistance. In diploids, gene expression is regulated both in cis, by regulatory sequences on the same chromosome, and by trans acting factors, affecting both alleles equally. Differing levels of transcription can be caused by mutations in cis-regulatory modules, but few cis-regulatory modules controlling the expression of genes that determine insecticide resistance have been identified. Genes potentially under differential cis-regulation between bendiocarb resistant and susceptible Anopheles gambiae strains were identified by counting transcripts produced from maternal and paternal alleles in F1 hybrids of these strains (allelic specific expression). Cis regulatory module sequences controlling gene expression in insecticide resistance relevant tissues such as midgut, Malpighian tubules and legs were predicted using a previously established machine learning method. These predictions included CRM proximal to both genes under differential cis regulation and genes that show consistent differential expression patterns in multiple resistant Anopheles strains.
Project description:The prevalence of clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) in healthy individuals increases rapidly from age 60 onwards and has been associated with increased risk for malignancy, heart disease and ischemic stroke. CHIP is driven by somatic mutations in stem cells that are also drivers of myeloid malignancies. Since mutations in stem cells often drive leukaemia, we hypothesised that stem cell fitness substantially contributes to transformation from CHIP to leukaemia. Stem cell fitness is defined as the proliferative advantage over cells carrying no or only neutral mutations. It is currently unknown whether mutations in different CHIP genes lead to distinct fitness advantages that could form the basis for patient stratification. We set out to quantify the fitness effects of CHIP drivers over a 12-year timespan in older age, using longitudinal error-corrected sequencing data. Two key results support the possibility for individualised clinical monitoring of CHIP: (i) We developed a new filtering method to extract fitness effects from longitudinal data using Bayesian inference, while taking into account individual mutational context and co-occurrence of mutations, and thus quantify the growth potential of variants within each individual. (ii) We show that gene-specific fitness differences can outweigh inter-individual variation and therefore could form the basis for personalised clinical management in the future.
Project description:This experiment was used to determine the effect of a botanical insecticide upon gene expression profiles in Drosophila melanogaster. Adult female Drosophila (oregon-R strain) were treated with an ethylacetate extract of Piper nigrum (Piperaceae) seeds formulated in 99% ethanol. Treatment was topical, using a Potter's tower to administer a total of 2 mL of a 0.9mg/mL concentration. Control treatment was identical except flies were treated with 99% ethanol as a solvent control. Gene expression was studied four hours post-treatment. Keywords: insecticide response, stress-response