Project description:We studied the evolution of alternative splicing in the early stages of species divergence in the house mouse. We sequenced the testis transcriptomes of three Mus musculus subspecies and Mus spretus using Illumina technology. On the basis of a genome-wide analysis of read coverage differences among subspecies, we identified several hundred candidate alternatively spliced regions.
Project description:Here, we mapped cell-type specific chromatin domain organization in adult mouse cerebral cortex and report strong enrichment of Endogenous Retrovirus 2 (ERV2) repeat sequences in the neuron-specific heterochromatic 'B2NeuN+' megabase-scaling subcompartment. Comparative chromosomal conformation mapping in Mus spretus and Mus musculus revealed neuron-specific reconfigurations tracking recent ERV2 retrotransposon expansions in the murine germline, with significantly higher B2 megadomain contact frequencies at sites with ongoing ERV2 insertions in Mus musculus. Ablation of the retrotransposon silencer Kmt1e/Setdb1 (KO) triggered B2 megadomain disintegration and rewiring with open chromatin domains enriched for cellular stress response genes, along with severe neuroinflammation and proviral assembly of ERV2/Intracisternal-A-Particles (IAPs) infiltrating dendrites and spines. We conclude that neuronal megadomain architectures include evolutionarily adaptive heterochromatic organization which, upon perturbation, unleashes ERV proviruses with strong tropism within mature neurons.
Project description:We report on a genome-wide scan for introgression in the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) involving the Algerian mouse (Mus spretus), using 20 samples from the ranges of sympatry and allopatry. Our analysis reveals significant variability in introgression signatures along the genomes, as well as across the samples. We find that fewer than half of the chromosomes in each genome harbor all detectable introgression. Further, a surprising result is that European mice carry more M. spretus alleles than the sympatric African ones. Using the length distribution and sharing patterns of introgressed genomic tracts across the samples, we propose three hypotheses. First, at least three distinct hybridization events involving M. spretus have occurred, one of which is ancient, and the other two are recent. Second, several of the inferred introgressed tracts contain genes that are likely to confer adaptive advantage. Third, introgressed tracts might contain driver genes that determine the evolutionary fate of those tracts. Further, our analysis revealed introgressed genes of functional importance, including the Vkorc1 gene, which is implicated in rodenticide resistance, and olfactory receptor genes. Our findings highlight the extent and role of introgression in nature, and call for careful analysis and interpretation of house mouse data in evolutionary and genetic studies.
Project description:Analysis of gene expression profiles is an attractive method for discovering how animals respond to environmental challenges in nature. Compared to low altitudes, high altitudes are characterized by reduced partial pressures of oxygen (hypoxia) and cooler ambient temperatures To better understand how mammals cope with high altitudes, we trapped wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) from 3 populations in La Paz, Bolivia (3000 - 3600 m) and 3 populations in Lima, Peru (0 – 200 m). Affymetrix GeneChip® Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Arrays were use to measure mRNA abundance in the livers of these mice.
Project description:We compared gene expression differences in the polytypic species complex Mus musculus (Mus musculus musculus, Mus musculus domesticus, Mus musculus castaneus and Mus musculus ssp) with that of Mus spretus via oligonucleotide microarrays representing more than 20,000 genes. Analysis of the results by two way ANOVA statistics suggests that the most genes with significant differences in expression levels among the subspecies are found in liver and kidney and the least in testis. This picture is different when one compares with Mus spretus, where the largest number of differences is found in testis. Keywords: multi-species comparison