Project description:Eutrophication can lead to an uncontrollable increase in algal biomass, which has repercussions for the entire microbial and pelagic community. Studies have shown how nutrient enrichment affects microbial species succession, however details regarding the impact on community functionality are rare. Here, we applied a metaproteomic approach to investigate the functional changes to algal and bacterial communities, over time, in oligotrophic and eutrophic conditions, in freshwater microcosms. Samples were taken early during algal and cyanobacterial dominance and later under bacterial dominance. 1048 proteins, from the two treatments and two timepoints, were identified and quantified by their exponentially modified protein abundance index. In oligotrophic conditions, Bacteroidetes express extracellular hydrolases and Ton-B dependent receptors to degrade and transport high molecular weight compounds captured while attached to the phycosphere. Alpha- and Beta-proteobacteria were found to capture different substrates from algal exudate (carbohydrates and amino acids, respectively) suggesting resource partitioning to avoid direct competition. In eutrophic conditions, environmental adaptation proteins from cyanobacteria suggested better resilience compared to algae in a low carbon nutrient enriched environment. This study provides insight into differences in functional microbial processes between oligo- and eutrophic conditions at different timepoints and highlights how primary producers control bacterial resources in freshwater environments.
Project description:Recovery of hairpins targeting a known prostate cancer pathway testing the utility of shRNA library screening in prostate cancer as a broad strategy to identify new candidate drug targets. Two cell lines assayed for 4 time points with a control and 2 experimental conditions. Two to four replicates of each instance are provided.
Project description:The ability to rapidly respond to changes in temperature is critical for insects and other ectotherms living in variable environments. In a physiological process termed rapid cold-hardening (RCH), exposure to non-lethal low temperature allows many insects to significantly increase their cold tolerance in a matter of minutes to hours. Additionally, there are rapid changes in gene expression and cell physiology during recovery from cold injury, and we hypothesize that RCH may modulate some of these processes during recovery. In this study, we used a cDNA microarray to examine the molecular mechanisms of RCH and cold shock (CS) recovery in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata. With our custom 2-color array, we measured expression of ~15,000 ESTs during RCH and during recovery from cold shock. Surprisingly, no transcripts were upregulated during RCH, and likewise, RCH had a minimal effect on the transcript signature during recovery from cold shock. However, during recovery from cold shock, we observed differential expression of ~1,400 ESTs, including a number of heat shock proteins, cytoskeletal components, and genes from several cell signaling pathways. Several gene pathways correlated well with metabolomics data, indicating that coordinated changes in gene expression and metabolism contribute to recovery from cold shock.