Project description:The Tetraodontidae family encompasses several species which attract scientific interest in terms of their ecology and evolution. The silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) is a well-known "invasive sprinter" that has invaded and spread, in less than a decade, throughout the Eastern and part of the Western Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. In this study, we built and analysed the first near-chromosome level genome assembly of L. sceleratus and explored its evolutionary landscape. Through a phylogenomic analysis, we positioned L. sceleratus closer to T. nigroviridis, compared to other members of the family, while gene family evolution analysis revealed that genes associated with the immune response have experienced rapid expansion, providing a genetic basis for studying how L. sceleratus is able to achieve highly successful colonisation. Moreover, we found that voltage-gated sodium channel (NaV 1.4) mutations previously connected to tetrodotoxin resistance in other pufferfishes are not found in L. sceleratus, highlighting the complex evolution of this trait. The high-quality genome assembly built here is expected to set the ground for future studies on the species biology.
Project description:It has been claimed previously that loss of (cytosine-5) DNA methylation in Dnmt2 mutant embryos affected the establishment of silent chromatin at Invader4 LTRs (Phalke et al., 2009). The inability of Dnmt2 mutants to control TE expression after heat shock (GSE40432) raised the possibility that DNA methylation could be required for control of Invader 4 during the heat shock response. We used DNA bisulfite sequencing at Inv4 LTRs that were previously suggested to be methylated (Phalke et al., 2009).
Project description:The inbred LOU/C/Jall rat is currently described as a model of successful aging. These rats have a longer healthy median lifespan than other strains, do not develop obesity, diabetes, or tumor and more importantly they do not show cognitive decline with aging. This is the first study to examine gene expression changes in the inbred LOU/C/Jall rat hippocampus and frontal cortex. Microarray data from LOU/C/Jall rats aged of 5 months were compared to the one measured in rats aged of 26 month. We have identified a set of 15 genes in the hippocampus and 70 genes in the frontal cortex that could be grouped into several clusters of similar expression profiles and that are involved in biological functions, namely regulation of plasticity, inflammatory response, metabolic, catabolic and homeostatic processes, and transcription. Genes were mainly up-regulated in aged brain. Gene expression profil in hippocampus and cortex frontal of LOU/C/Jall rats strain. Rats were 3 and 26 months old.
Project description:The inbred LOU/C/Jall rat is currently described as a model of successful aging. These rats have a longer healthy median lifespan than other strains, do not develop obesity, diabetes, or tumor and more importantly they do not show cognitive decline with aging. This is the first study to examine gene expression changes in the inbred LOU/C/Jall rat hippocampus and frontal cortex. Microarray data from LOU/C/Jall rats aged of 5 months were compared to the one measured in rats aged of 26 month. We have identified a set of 15 genes in the hippocampus and 70 genes in the frontal cortex that could be grouped into several clusters of similar expression profiles and that are involved in biological functions, namely regulation of plasticity, inflammatory response, metabolic, catabolic and homeostatic processes, and transcription. Genes were mainly up-regulated in aged brain.