Project description:Neuropterida phylogeny using Anchored Phylogenomics
| PRJNA398561 | ENA
Project description:A VIEW OF RHYNCHOSPOREAE (CYPERACEAE) DIVERSIFICATION BEFORE AND AFTER THE APPLICATION OF ANCHORED PHYLOGENOMICS ACROSS THE ANGIOSPERMS
| PRJNA672127 | ENA
Project description:Targeted sequencing of the C4 Cyperus Clade (Cyperaceae)
Project description:Yersinia enterocolitica, an important cause of human gastroenteritis generally caused by the consumption of livestock, has traditionally been categorized into three groups with respect to pathogenicity, i.e., nonpathogenic (biotype 1A), low pathogenicity (biotypes 2 to 5), and highly pathogenic (biotype 1B). However, genetic differences that explain variation in pathogenesis and whether different biotypes are associated with specific nonhuman hosts are largely unknown. In this study, we applied comparative phylogenomics (whole-genome comparisons of microbes with DNA microarrays combined with Bayesian phylogenies)to investigate a diverse collection of 94 strains of Y.enterocolitica consisting of 35 human, 35 pig, 15 sheep, and 9 cattle isolates from nonpathogenic, low-pathogenicity, and highly pathogenic biotypes. Analysis confirmed three distinct statistically supported clusters composed of a nonpathogenic clade, a low-pathogenicity clade, and a highly pathogenic clade. Genetic differences revealed 125 predicted coding sequences (CDSs) present in all highly pathogenic strains but absent from the other clades. These included several previously uncharacterized CDSs that may encode novel virulence determinants including a hemolysin, a metalloprotease, and a type III secretion effector protein. Additionally, 27 CDSs were identified which were present in all 47 low-pathogenicity strains and Y.enterocolitica 8081 but absent from all nonpathogenic 1A isolates. Analysis of the core gene set for Y.enterocolitica revealed that 20.8% of the genes were shared by all of the strains, confirming this species as highly heterogeneous, adding to the case for the existence of three subspecies of Y.enterocolitica. Further analysis revealed that Y.enterocolitica does not cluster according to source (host). Data is also available from http://bugs.sgul.ac.uk/E-BUGS-36
Project description:Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen that can cause meningitis and sepsis in both pigs and humans. In this study,we evaluated the genetic difference of 40 Streptococcus suis strains belonging to various sequence types by comparative genomic hybridization to identify genes associated with the variation in pathogenicity using NimbleGen’s tilling microarray platform. Application of Comparative Phylogenomics to Identify Genetic Differences Relating to Pathogenicity of Streptococcus suis
Project description:Small regulatory RNAs guide Argonaute (Ago) proteins in a sequence-specific manner to their targets and therefore have important roles in eukaryotic gene silencing. Of the three small RNA classes, microRNAs and short interfering RNAs are processed from double-stranded precursors into defined 21- to 23-mers by Dicer, an endoribonuclease with intrinsic ruler function. PIWI- interacting RNAs (piRNAs)—the 22–30-nt-long guides for PIWI- clade Ago proteins that silence transposons in animal gonads— are generated independently of Dicer from single-stranded precursors. piRNA 5′ ends are defined either by Zucchini, the Drosophila homologue of mitoPLD—a mitochondria-anchored endonuclease, or by piRNA-guided target cleavage. Formation of piRNA 3′ ends is poorly understood. Here we report that two genetically and mechanistically distinct pathways generate piRNA 3′ ends in Drosophila. The initiating nucleases are either Zucchini or the PIWI-clade proteins Aubergine (Aub)/Ago3. While Zucchini- mediated cleavages directly define mature piRNA 3′ ends, Aub/ Ago3-mediated cleavages liberate pre-piRNAs that require extensive resection by the 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease Nibbler (Drosophila homologue of Mut-7). The relative activity of these two pathways dictates the extent to which piRNAs are directed to cytoplasmic or nuclear PIWI-clade proteins and thereby sets the balance between post-transcriptional and transcriptional silencing. Notably, loss of both Zucchini and Nibbler reveals a minimal, Argonaute-driven small RNA biogenesis pathway in which piRNA 5′ and 3′ ends are directly produced by closely spaced Aub/Ago3-mediated cleavage events. Our data reveal a coherent model for piRNA biogenesis, and should aid the mechanistic dissection of the processes that govern piRNA 3′-end formation.