Project description:Transcriptomics and molecular evolutionary rate analysis of the Bladderwort (Utricularia), a Carnivorous Plant with a Minimal Genome
Project description:In this study, we have addressed the involvement of chromatin organizer SATB2 in orchestrating zygotic genome activation and neural crest specification during zebrafish embryogenesis. Integrative analysis of transcriptome, genome-wide occupancy and chromatin accessibility reveals contrasting molecular activities of maternally deposited and zygotically synthesized Satb2. Comparative analysis with mouse embryos highlighted conserved molecular mechansisms for Satb2 during neural crest specification.
Project description:Purpose:To study the molecular mechanism of nerve necrosis (VNN) virus infection, and to provide help for molecular breeding and further development of Marine fishery Results: we found that 17,939 genes are elevated after NNV infection compared with control group, suggesting that NNV infection can strongly induce the expression of immune associated genes. In summary, we obtained high quality transcriptome of orange-spotted grouper and comparative analysis of transcriptome analysis reveals dramatically perturbation of gene expression with NNV infection.
Project description:Microtus fortis is the only mammal that exhibits natural resistance against Schistosoma. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this natural resistance are not yet known. Here we performed the first genome assembly of M. fortis, comparative gene annotation and evolution analysis. Furthermore, we compared recovery rate of Schistosoma, pathological change of host and liver transcriptome between non-permissive M. fortis and susceptible mouse at different time points after Schistosoma infection. Our findings offer new insights to the natural resistance mechanism of M. fortis against Schistosoma.
Project description:Complex multicellular organisms have evolved numerous cell types with many different functions. Comparative transcriptomic data yields valuable insights into cell type, tissue, and organ evolution. However, interpreting this data requires understanding how transcriptomes evolve. A particularly difficult problem is that cell type transcriptomes may not evolve independently, a key assumption of most evolutionary analyses. Non-independence of cell types can occur when cell types share regulatory mechanisms. This leads to concerted evolution in gene expression across different cell types, confounding efforts to unravel the history of cell type evolution, and identify cell type-specific patterns of expression. Here we present a statistical model to estimate the level of concerted transcriptome evolution and apply it to published and new data. The results indicate that tissues undergo pervasive concerted evolution in gene expression. Tissues related by morphology or developmental lineage exhibit higher levels of concerted evolution. Concerted evolution also causes tissues from the same species to be more similar in gene expression to each other than to homologous tissues in another species. This result may explain why some tissue transcriptomes cluster by species rather than homology. Our analysis of bird skin appendages data suggests levels of concerted evolution also varies with phylogenetic age of the tissue. Our study illustrates the importance of accounting for concerted evolution when interpreting comparative transcriptome data, and should serve as a foundation for future investigations of cell type evolution.
Project description:Background: Vicia sativa (the common vetch) possesses a predominant zygomorphic flower and belongs to the subfamily Papilionoideae, which is related to Arabidopsis thaliana in the eurosid II clade of the core eudicots. Each vetch flower consists of 21 concentrically arranged organs: the outermost five sepals, then five petals and ten stamens, and a single carpel in the center. Methodology/Principal Findings: We explored the floral transcriptome to examine a genome-scale genetic model of the zygomorphic flower of vetch. mRNA was obtained from an equal mixture of six floral organs, leaves and roots. De novo assembly of the vetch transcriptome using Illumina paired-end technology produced 71,553 unigenes with an average length of 511 bp. We then compared the expression changes in the 71,553 unigenes in the eight independent organs through RNA-Seq Quantification analysis. We predominantly analyzed gene expression patterns specific to each floral organ and combinations of floral organs that corresponded to the traditional ABC model domains. Comparative analyses were performed in the floral transcriptomes of vetch and Arabidopsis, and genomes of vetch and Medicago truncatula. Conclusions/Significance: Our comparative analysis of vetch and Arabidopsis showed that the vetch flowers conform to a strict ABC model. We analyzed the evolution and expression of the TCP gene family in vetch at a whole-genome level, and several unigenes specific to three different vetch petals, which might offer some clues toward elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying floral zygomorphy. Our results provide the first insights into the genome-scale molecular regulatory network that controls the evolution and development of the zygomorphic flower in Papilionoideae. Examination of the transcriptomic changes in the six floral organs, leaves and roots in common vetch.