Project description:We compared gene expression in the foregut tissues of two rodent species: Stephen's woodrat (Neotoma stephensi), which harbors a dense foregut microbial community, and the lab rat (Rattus norvegicus), which lacks such a community. We found that woodrats have higher abundances of transcripts associated with smooth muscle processes, specifically a higher expression of the smoothelin-like 1 gene, which may assist in contractile properties of this tissue to retain food material in the foregut chamber. The expression of genes associated with keratinization and cornification exhibited a complex pattern of differences between the two species, suggesting distinct molecular mechanisms for this process in each of the two species. Lab rats exhibited higher abundances of transcripts associated with immune function, likely to inhibit microbial growth in the foregut of this species. Some of our results were consistent with previous findings in ruminants (high expression of facilitative glucose transporters, lower expression of B4galnt2), suggestive of possible convergent evolution, while other results were unclear, and perhaps represent novel host-microbe interactions in rodents. Overall, our results suggest that harboring a foregut microbiota is associated with changes to the functions and host-microbe interactions of the foregut tissues.
Project description:The intestinal microbiota has been identified as an environmental factor that markedly impacts energy storage and body fat accumulation, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that the microbiota regulates body composition through the circadian transcription factor NFIL3. Nfil3 transcription oscillates diurnally in intestinal epithelial cells and the amplitude of the circadian oscillation is controlled by the microbiota through type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3), STAT3, and the epithelial cell circadian clock. NFIL3 controls expression of a circadian lipid metabolic program and regulates lipid absorption and export in intestinal epithelial cells. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how the intestinal microbiota regulates body composition and establish NFIL3 as an essential molecular link among the microbiota, the circadian clock, and host metabolism.
Project description:In the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena, de novo heterochromatin body formation is accompanied by programmed DNA elimination. We previously reported that dephosphorylation of the HP1-like protein Pdd1p is required for the formation of heterochromatin bodies during the process of programmed DNA elimination in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena. Here, we show that the heterochromatin body component Jub4p is required for Pdd1p phosphorylation, heterochromatin body formation and DNA elimination. Moreover, our analyses of unphosphorylatable Pdd1p mutants demonstrate that Pdd1p phosphorylation is required for heterochromatin body formation and DNA elimination, while it is dispensable for local heterochromatin assembly. Therefore, both phosphorylation and the following dephosphorylation of Pdd1p are necessary to facilitate the formation of heterochromatin bodies. We suggest that Jub4p-mediated phosphorylation of Pdd1p creates a chromatin environment that is a prerequisite for subsequent heterochromatin body assembly and DNA elimination. New macronuclei (MACs) of exconjugants were isolated from wild-type and various mutant cells at 12 hpm (hours post-mixing), sheared chromatin was immunoprecipitated andprecipitated DNA was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing
Project description:The human intestinal microbiota may play a role in the development of overweight and obesity. However, associations between saliva microbiota and body mass index (BMI) have been sparsely studied, although the oral cavity is the major gateway for microbes into the body. The aim of this study was to identify associations between the saliva microbiota and BMI categories in Finnish children aged 9-14 years.
Project description:This concerns a cross-sectional cohort study of 356 Dutch community-dwelling older adults to study the association of the oral microbiota with poor taste, poor smell, poor appetite and undernutrition. Data-collection consisted of body measurements (incl. body weight, height, and body impedance analysis), extensive appetite and food frequency questionnaires, taste and smell tests, and a tongue swab. The oral microbiota composition was assessed with 16S rRNA sequencing.