Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small noncoding RNAs (18–25 nt) that are involved in many physiological processes including development, cancer, immunity, apoptosis and host-microbe interactions through posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. In this study, we measured the profile of small RNAs in Zea mays after one day and three days of Spodoptera frugiperda feeding. We identified 500 miRNAs, including 449 known and 51 novel miRNAs. In addition, we identified the miRNAs differentially expressed in Z. mays after one day and three days of S. frugiperda feeding, and the possible target genes were identified. This study identified critical miRNAs involved in the Z. mays during S. frugiperda feeding, thus providing a useful resource for exploring the regulatory role of miRNAs during plant-insect interactions.
Project description:Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a pathogenic fungus that infects hundreds of crop species, causing extensive yield loss every year. Chemical fungicides are used to control this phytopathogen, but with concerns about increasing resistance and impacts on non-target species, there is a need to develop alternative control measures. In the present study, we engineered Brassica napus to constitutively express a hairpin (hp)RNA molecule to silence ABHYRDOLASE-3 in S. sclerotiorum. We demonstrate the potential for Host Induced Gene Silencing (HIGS) to protect B. napus from S. sclerotiorum using leaf, stem and whole plant infection assays. The interaction between the transgenic host plant and invading pathogen was further characterized at the molecular level using dual-RNA sequencing and at the anatomical level through microscopy to understand the processes and possible mechanisms leading to increased tolerance to this damaging necrotroph. We observed significant shifts in the expression of genes relating to plant defense as well as cellular differences in the form of structural barriers around the site of infection in the HIGS-protected plants. Our results provide proof-of-concept that HIGS is an effective means of limiting damage caused by S. sclerotiorum to the plant and demonstrates the utility of this biotechnology in the development of resistance against fungal pathogens.
Project description:In this experiment we are exploring which genes are regulated by TRIM24 in androgen-dependent and castration-resistant prostate cancer cells.
Project description:Evolutionary alterations to cis-regulatory sequences are likely to cause adaptive phenotypic complexity, through orchestrating changes in cellular proliferation, identity and communication. For non-model organisms with adaptive key-innovations, patterns of regulatory evolution have been predominantly limited to targeted sequence-based analyses. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) is a technology that has only been used in genetic model systems and is a powerful experimental tool to screen for active cis-regulatory elements. Here, we show that it can also be used in ecological model systems and permits genome-wide functional exploration of cis-regulatory elements. As a proof of concept, we use ChIP-seq technology in adult fin tissue of the cichlid fish Oreochromis niloticus to map active promoter elements, as indicated by occupancy of trimethylated Histone H3 Lysine 4 (H3K4me3). The fact that cichlids are one of the most phenotypically diverse and species-rich families of vertebrates could make them a perfect model system for the further in-depth analysis of the evolution of transcriptional regulation. examination of H3K4me3 in adult fin tissue of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Project description:Autophagy is essential for plant response to a variety of developmental and environmental factors. However, unlike yeast and animals, only a few autophagy genes in plants are functionally conserved in the biological world. An important question is, how plants form autophagy related functions in evolution? Here, we developed and verified a workflow that identified 997 high-confidence autophagy related genes (ARG) in A.thaliana using multi-group data from nearly 10,000 samples and established a co-network of autophagy containing 3,419 new presumptive connections. Of note, through the genomic analysis of 76 representative plants from lower to higher levels, we found that ARGs were preferentially retained after polyploidization followed by terrestrialization, forming plant-specific autophagy-related functions. In addition, we provide the evolutionary gains and losses of ARGs function in monocotyledons and dicotyledons, and verified two novel genes ml2 and ml5 presumed to be involved in autophagy and leaf senescence. This work provides valuable resources for the study of plant autophagy and highlights that ARGs may selectively promote the success of plant autophagy through polyploidy in the process of evolution.