Project description:Characterization of miRNAs in red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum by deep sequencing of two different RNA libraries. Sequencing of Tribolium small RNAs from adults and embryos.
Project description:Genome-wide survey of transcriptional differences between males and females of Tribolium castaneum, the red flour beetle Four biological replicates for male and female beetles with 20 individuals per replicate. Two technical replicates, one replicate per sex. 16,434 genes/expressed non-coding regions represented twice on each array. Three 60 mer probes for most exons/expressed non-coding regions. 167,538 unique genomic probes replicated twice per array.
Project description:Evolution of cis-properties (such as enhancers) often plays an important role in the production of diverse morphology. However, a mechanistic understanding is often limited by the absence of methods to study enhancers in species outside of established model systems. Here, we sought to establish methods to identify and test enhancer activity in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. To identify possible enhancer regions, we first obtained genome-wide chromatin profiles from various tissues and stages of Tribolium via FAIRE (Formaldehyde Assisted Isolation of Regulatory Elements)-sequencing. Comparison of these profiles revealed a distinct set of open chromatin regions in each tissue and stage. Second, we established the first reporter assay system that works in both Drosophila and Tribolium, using nubbin in the wing and hunchback in the embryo as case studies. Together, these advances will be useful to study the evolution of cis-language and morphological diversity in Tribolium and other insects.
