Project description:Titinopathies are inherited muscular diseases triggered by genetic mutations in the titin gene. Muscular dystrophy with myositis (mdm) is one such disease caused by a deletion in the N2A-PEVK region of titin, one of the most active binding sites in titin, and mice with this deletion develop progressive muscle degeneration. The range of phenotypic differences observed in mdm mice extends well beyond impacts on titin, making it clear that deletion of this region initiates a cascade of additional transcriptomic changes. Previous research has focused on correlating phenotypic differences with muscle function in mdm mice. These studies have provided understanding of the downstream physiological effects resulting from the deletion but only provide insights on processes that can be physiologically observed and measured. We used differential gene expression (DGE) to compare the transcriptomes of extensor digitorum longus (EDL), psoas and soleus muscles from wild-type and mdm mice to develop a deeper understand of these tissue-specific responses.
Project description:In the modern chicken industry, fast-growing broilers have undergone strong artificial selection for muscle growth, which has led to remarkable phenotypic variations compared with slow-growing chickens. However, the molecular mechanism underlying these phenotypes differences remains unknown. In this study, a systematic identification of candidate genes and new pathways related to myofiber development and composition in chicken Soleus muscle has been made using gene expression profiles of two distinct breeds: Qingyuan partridge (QY), a slow-growing Chinese breed possessing high meat quality and Cobb 500 (CB), a commercial fast-growing broiler line. Agilent cDNA microarray analyses were conducted to determine gene expression profiles of soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscle sampled at sexual maturity age of QY (112 d) and CB (42 d).