Project description:This study aims to reveal genes related to lignin production in Urochloa humidicola through RNA-Seq. This species is widely used as forrage for cattle, being some species of Urochloa responsible for 85% of pastures in Brazil. Given this importance, lignin is a molecule directly related to low digestibility in cattle. Eight samples were chosen from previous lignin production and forage quality data; four samples had low lignin production, and four had high lignin production. The second extended leaves were collected for RNA extraction using RNeasy® Plant Mini Kit. The cDNA library preparation was generated according to Illumina TruSeq Stranded mRNA Sample Prep kit protocol, and RNA sequencing was performed using HiSeq 2500 sequencer. Quality control was measured by FastQC software v 0.11.8. As Urochloa humidicola does not have a sequenced genome, a transcriptome assembly was built by two approaches: through Trinity v 2.8.4 (Grabherr et al., 2011), and Stringtie v 2.0.4 software (Pertea et al., 2015), using Urochloa ruziziensis as reference genome. Then, the final transcriptome was assembled using those two de novo assembles by PASA v 2.2 (Haas et al., 2003). Salmon v 0.7.2 software (Patro et al., 2017) was used to quantify the sequenced reads. The DEG was identified using DESeq2 package, and genes functions were annotated through Trinotate software (Bryant et al., 2017). In total, approximately 123 million reads were sequenced. The final assembled transcriptome was formed by 48,695 transcripts. The differential expressed genes analysis revealed 258 significatively genes. Here, we highlighted genes related to flavonoid biosynthetic process, regulation of phenylpropanoid metabolic process, and Myb-like DNA-binding domain.
Project description:Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) are essential in precisely regulating gene expression, contributing significantly to the evolution of species. Identifying cell-type-specific CREs is essential for understanding plant evolution, domestication, and improving crops through genome editing. Here, we built a cis-regulatory atlas in Oryza sativa, encompassing 106,143 nuclei representing 138 discrete cell states from nine distinct organs. Within syntenic regions shared with four other grass species (Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor, Panicum miliaceum, and Urochloa fusca), we identified 10,219 cell-type-specific accessible chromatin regions (ACRs), serving as sources for investigating divergence of these species. To elucidate the roles of cell-type-specific ACRs in species divergence, we focused on leaf cells in O. sativa and the aforementioned grass species. We observed species-specific candidate CREs (cCREs) potentially associated with cell differentiation, especially in epidermal cells across species. These data also revealed presence of H3K27me3-associated ACRs in the majority of cell types across different organs and species, potentially harboring silencer cCREs. Together, this study significantly advances our understanding of the role of cCREs during cell differentiation, shedding light on their contribution to species divergence in plants
2024-09-04 | GSE252040 | GEO
Project description:Exploiting biodiversity in Urochloa (Brachiaria) tropical forage grasses
Project description:Frost tolerance is the main component of winter-hardiness. To express this trait, plants have to sense low temperature, and respond by activating the process of cold acclimation. The molecular mechanisms of this acclimation have not been fully understood in the agronomically important group of forage grasses, including Lolium-Festuca species. Herein, the introgression forms of L. multiflorum/F. arundinacea distinct with respect to their frost tolerance, were used as models for the comprehensive, proteomic and physiological, research to recognize the crucial components of cold acclimation in forage grasses. The obtained results stressed the importance of photosynthetic performance under acclimation to low temperature. The stable level of photochemical processes after three weeks of cold acclimation in the introgression form with a higher level of frost tolerance, combined simultaneously with the stable level of CO2 assimilation after that period, despite decreased stomatal conductance, indicated the capacity for that form to acclimate its photosynthetic apparatus to low temperature. This phenomenon was driven by the Calvin cycle efficiency, associated with revealed here accumulation profiles and activities of chloroplastic aldolase. The capacity to acclimate the photosynthetic machinery to cold could be one of the most crucial components of forage grass metabolism to improve frost tolerance.
2018-04-10 | PXD007257 | Pride
Project description:China Forage and Grass Research System (CARS-35)
Project description:Beef represents a major diet component and one of the major sources of protein in human. The beef industry in the United States is currently undergoing changes and is facing increased demands especially for natural grass-fed beef. The grass-fed beef obtained their nutrients directly from pastures, which contained limited assimilable energy but abundant amount of fiber. On the contrary, the grain-fed steers received a grain-based regime that served as an efficient source of high-digestible energy. Lately, ruminant animals have been accused to be a substantial contributor for the green house effect. Therefore, the concerns from environmentalism, animal welfare and public health have driven consumers to choose grass-fed beef. Rumen is one of the key workshops to digest forage constituting a critical step to supply enough nutrients for animals’ growth and production. We hypothesize that rumen may function differently in grass- and grain-fed regimes. The objective of this study was to find the differentially expressed genes in the ruminal wall of grass-fed and grain-fed steers, and then explore the potential biopathways. In this study, the RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) method was used to measure the gene expression level in the ruminal wall. The total number of reads per sample ranged from 24,697,373 to 36,714,704. The analysis detected 342 differentially expressed genes between ruminal wall samples of animals raised under different regimens. The Fisher’s exact test performed in the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software found 16 significant molecular networks. Additionally, 13 significantly enriched pathways were identified, most of which were related to cell development and biosynthesis. Our analysis demonstrated that most of the pathways enriched with the differentially expressed genes were related to cell development and biosynthesis. Our results provided valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms resulting in the phenotype difference between grass-fed and grain-fed cattle.
Project description:Drought is a major limiting factor in foraging grass yield and quality. Medicago ruthenica is a high-quality forage legume with drought resistance, cold tolerance, and strong adaptability. In this study, we integrated transcriptome, small RNA, and degradome sequencing in identifying drought response genes, miRNAs, and key miRNA-target pairs in M. ruthenica under drought and re-watering treatment conditions. A total of 3,905 genes and 50 miRNAs (45 conserved and 5 novel miRNAs) were significantly differentially expressed between the re-watering (RW) vs. drought (DS) comparison and control (CK) groups. The degradome sequencing analysis revealed that 348 miRNAs (37 novel and 311 conserved miRNAs) were identified with 6,912 target transcripts, forming 11,390 miRNA-target pairs in the three libraries. There were 38 differentially expressed targets from 16 miRNAs in DS vs. CK, 31 from 11 miRNAs in DS vs. RW, and 6 from 3 miRNAs in RW vs. CK; 21,18, and 3 miRNA-target gene pairs showed reverse expression patterns in DS vs. CK, DS vs. RW, and RW vs. CK comparison groups, respectively. These findings provide valuable information for further functional characterization of genes and miRNAs in response to abiotic stress, in general, and drought stress in M. ruthenica, and potentially contribute to drought resistance breeding of forage in the future.
2021-08-03 | GSE169022 | GEO
Project description:Sequencing the diploid genome of the forage grass Festuca ovina
Project description:Plastid phylogenomics reveals evolutionary relationships in the mycoheterotrophic orchid genus Dipodium and provides insights into plastid gene degeneration