Project description:Our aims in this study were: 1) to identify the miRNAs of the bumble bees Bombus terrestris and B. impatiens; 2) to compare the total numbers of miRNAs between both bumble bee species and between them and the honey bee, Apis mellifera; and 3) to test whether the sequences and expression patterns of miRNAs were conserved between species. To investigate each of these aims we used miRNA-seq (deep sequencing of miRNA-enriched libraries) in B. terrestris, and bioinformatics prediction programs to identify miRNAs in both Bombus species. We identified 131 miRNAs in B. terrestris, and 114 in B. impatiens; of these, 17 were new miRNAs that had not previously been sequenced in any species. We found a striking level of difference in the miRNAs present between Bombus and A. mellifera, with 103 miRNAs in A. mellifera not being present in the genomes of the two bumble bees. miRNA profiles of Bombus terrestris at two developmental stages in larvae. This submission represents 'Bombus terrestris' component of study.
Project description:Our aims in this study were: 1) to identify the miRNAs of the bumble bees Bombus terrestris and B. impatiens; 2) to compare the total numbers of miRNAs between both bumble bee species and between them and the honey bee, Apis mellifera; and 3) to test whether the sequences and expression patterns of miRNAs were conserved between species. To investigate each of these aims we used miRNA-seq (deep sequencing of miRNA-enriched libraries) in B. terrestris, and bioinformatics prediction programs to identify miRNAs in both Bombus species. We identified 131 miRNAs in B. terrestris, and 114 in B. impatiens; of these, 17 were new miRNAs that had not previously been sequenced in any species. We found a striking level of difference in the miRNAs present between Bombus and A. mellifera, with 103 miRNAs in A. mellifera not being present in the genomes of the two bumble bees.
Project description:We use high-thoughput RNA sequencing to investigate the stressors experienced by the vulnerable Bombus terricola near agricultural areas.
Project description:Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription. Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription.