Project description:Illumina technology was used to generate mRNA profiles of stem apex of Populus yunnanensis with cutting and inverted cutting. Total RNA was extracted separately from each plant and pooled to three biological replicates per condition. RNA concentration and purity was measured using NanoDrop 2000(Thermo Fisher Scientific, Wilmington, DE). RNA integrity was assessed using the RNA Nano 6000 Assay Kit of the Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 system (Agilent Technologies, CA, USA).
Project description:Leaf-cutting ants of the genera Acromyrmex and Atta live in mutualistic symbiosis with a basidiomycete fungus (Leucocoprinus gongylophorus), which they cultivate as fungal gardens in underground nest chambers. The ants provide the fungus with a growth substrate consisting of freshly cut leaf fragments. After new leaf fragments are brought into the nest, the ants chew them into smaller pieces and apply droplets of fecal fluid to the leaf pulp before depositing this mixed substrate in the fungus garden and inoculating it with small tufts of mycelium from older parts of the garden. Previous work has shown that the fecal fluid contains a range of digestive enzymes including proteases, amylases, chitinases, cellulases, pectinases, hemicellulases and laccases, and that most of these enzymes are produced by the fungal symbiont in specialized structures called gongylidia that the ants eat. After ingestion, the enzymes apparently pass unharmed through the alimentary channel of the ants and end up in the fecal fluid. Most likely this complex system is an adaptation of the ant-fungus symbiosis to a herbivorous lifestyle, as the ancient ancestors of the ants and the fungus lived as hunter-gatherers and saprotrophs, respectively. The promise of fecal fluid for getting insight into the molecular adaptations that enables the ant-fungus holosymbiont to live as a herbivore, led us to investigate the fecal fluid proteome using LC-MS/MS in order to get a more comprehensive picture of the repertoire of proteins present.
Project description:Eusocial insects have evolved the capacity to generate adults with distinct morphological, reproductive and behavioural phenotypes from the same genome. Recent studies suggest that RNA editing might enhance the diversity of gene products at the post-transcriptional level, particularly to induce functional changes in the nervous system. Using head samples from the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior, we compare RNA editomes across eusocial castes, identifying ca. 11,000 RNA editing sites in gynes, large workers and small workers. Those editing sites map to 800 genes functionally enriched for neurotransmission, circadian rhythm, temperature response, RNA splicing and carboxylic acid biosynthesis. Most A. echinatior editing sites are species specific, but 8M-bM-^@M-^S23% are conserved across ant subfamilies and likely to have been important for the evolution of eusociality in ants. The level of editing varies for the same site between castes, suggesting that RNA editing might be a general mechanism that shapes caste behaviour in ants. Analysis of genome-wide RNA editing in three different female castes of the the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior.
Project description:Identify specific genetic regulatory and signaling mechanisms that result in occurrence of “dark cutting meat” from beef carcasses in order to develop novel strategies for reducing incidence
Project description:In this study, small RNAs were isolated from individual donations of eight forensically relevant biological fluids (blood, semen, vaginal fluid, menstrual blood, saliva, urine, feces, and perspiration) and subjected to next generation sequencing using the Illumina® Hi-Seq platform. Sequencing reads were aligned and annotated against miRbase release 21, resulting in a list of miRNAs and their relative expression levels for each sample analyzed. Body fluids with high bacterial loads (vaginal fluid, saliva, and feces) yielded relatively low annotated miRNA counts, likely due to oversaturation of small RNAs from the endogenous bacteria. Both body-fluid specific and potential normalization miRNAs were identified for further analysis as potential body fluid identification tools for each body fluid. 32 samples - 3-5 replicates of each human biological fluid: venous blood, urine, semen (normal and vasectomized), vaginal secretions, menstrual secretions, perspiration, feces, saliva
Project description:The ability to predict tissue type and donor’s age from molecular profiles of crime scene samples has practical implications in forensics. In order to identify body fluid- and age-associated DNA methylation changes, genome-wide DNA methylation profiling was carried out for body fluids including blood, saliva, semen, menstrual blood, and vaginal fluid obtained from individuals aged 20 to 59. The Illumina Infinium 450k Human DNA methylation Beadchip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 450,000 CpGs in bisulfite converted DNA. Samples included 12 of each blood, saliva and semen samples from 18 male donors aged 20 to 59, and 3 of each vaginal fluid and menstrual blood samples from 4 female donors in their twenties. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of body fluids obtained from young and old individuals. The Illumina Infinium 450K Human DNA methylation Beadchip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 450K CpGs from human body fluids including blood, saliva, semen, vaginal fluid and menstrual blood. Bisulfite converted DNA from the 24 samples were hybridised to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip
Project description:Identifying the type and origin of biological samples left at a crime scene is crucial in forensic investigations as it can provide important clues for crime scene reconstruction and linkages between victim/perpetrator/scene. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered to be more stable than mRNA due to their small size and protection by protein and have been demonstrated to be a viable tool for body fluid identification in forensic casework. To screen reliable body-fluid specific miRNAs, ten arrays were performed in five body fluids (peripheral blood, menstrual blood, saliva, semen and vaginal secretion). Two arrays were carried out for each body fluid: three samples for the first and the other two for the second (for menstrual blood, the second array detected three samples).
Project description:In this study, small RNAs were isolated from individual donations of eight forensically relevant biological fluids (blood, semen, vaginal fluid, menstrual blood, saliva, urine, feces, and perspiration) and subjected to next generation sequencing using the Illumina® Hi-Seq platform. Sequencing reads were aligned and annotated against miRbase release 21, resulting in a list of miRNAs and their relative expression levels for each sample analyzed. Body fluids with high bacterial loads (vaginal fluid, saliva, and feces) yielded relatively low annotated miRNA counts, likely due to oversaturation of small RNAs from the endogenous bacteria. Both body-fluid specific and potential normalization miRNAs were identified for further analysis as potential body fluid identification tools for each body fluid.
Project description:The ability to predict tissue type and donor’s age from molecular profiles of crime scene samples has practical implications in forensics. In order to identify body fluid- and age-associated DNA methylation changes, genome-wide DNA methylation profiling was carried out for body fluids including blood, saliva, semen, menstrual blood, and vaginal fluid obtained from individuals aged 20 to 59. The Illumina Infinium 450k Human DNA methylation Beadchip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 450,000 CpGs in bisulfite converted DNA. Samples included 12 of each blood, saliva and semen samples from 18 male donors aged 20 to 59, and 3 of each vaginal fluid and menstrual blood samples from 4 female donors in their twenties.