Project description:We demonstrate that blueberry supplementation led to global changes in the gut microbiome, which could possibly contribute to physiological changes in mice
Project description:In the present study, we employed the high-throughput sequencing technology to profile miRNAs in blueberry fruits. A total of 9,992,446 small RNA tags with sizes ranged from 18 to 30 nt were obtained, indicating that blueberry fruits have a large and diverse small RNA population. Bioinformatic analysis has identified 412 conserved miRNAs, which belong to 20 families, and 57 predicted novel miRNAs likely unique to blueberries. Among them, expression profiles of 5 conserved miRNAs were validated by stem loop qRT-PCR. Furthermore, the potential target genes of the abundant conserved and novel miRNAs were predicted and subjected for Gene Ontology (GO) annotation. Enrichment analysis of the GO-represented biological processes and molecular functions revealed that these target genes were involved in a wide range of metabolic and developmental processes. This study is the first report on genome-wide miRNA profile analysis in blueberry and it provides a useful resource for further elucidation of the functional roles of miRNAs during fruit development and ripening.
Project description:Blueberry is one of the most desirable and nutritious fruits. During fruit development, the blueberry’s organoleptic properties and phytonutrient composition are ever-changing [1]. Blueberry fruit development is typically described in five phases: pads, cups, green, pink, and blue (ripe) [2]. The former two phases are referred to as the initial “expansion”. During expansion, young fruit is generally hard, dark green and distinguishable by size [3]. The latter three phases are referred to as maturation. Green fruit are hard and fully rounded green berries; pink berries are partially pigmented; blue (ripe) berries are fully colored and soft. Fruit maturation has attracted considerable research attention, and typically, the characteristics fruit softening, coloring, and sweetening are assessed [4].
Project description:Human volunteers (N=143; 98 females and 45 males; aged 18-45 years) consumed one litre of blueberry-apple juice per day for four weeks. Before and after the intervention blood was drawn and lymphocytes were isolated for subsequent RNA isolation. Each participant acted as his own control.
