Project description:Mycosphaerella graminicola is the causal agent of Mycosphaerella graminicola infection (STB) disease of wheat. Wheat genotypes vary in their response to this disease. Cultivar (cv.) Longbow is susceptible and cv. Flame is resistant to STB disease, with cv. Flame possessing the STB resistance locus Stb6 that confers resistance to pathogen strain IPO323. Gene expression profiling (conducted using Affymetrix wheat gene chip) identified transcripts that accumulate in leaves of both these wheat cultivars as an early response to M. graminicola strain IPO323 (at 24h post-treatment). At this initial time point, microscopic analysis verified that fungal spores had germinated, but not penetrated the leaves of both genotypes. Results showed that basal defence genes were activated in both the compatible and incompatible interactions. A subset of genes were identified that were more pathogen-responsive in the cv. Flame v. IPO323 incompatible interaction as compared to the cv. Longbow v. IPO323 compatible interaction, including defence genes such as peroxidases, beta-1,3-glucanase, annexin, chitinases, brassinosteroid-associated kinase 1 and a jasmonate-inducible protein.
Project description:Corneal epithelial stem cells reside in the limbus that is the transitional zone between the cornea and conjunctiva, and are essential to maintain the homeostasis of corneal epithelium. However, their characterization is poorly understood. Therefore, we constructed gene expression profiles of limbal epithelial SP and non-SP cell using RNA-sequencing. As a result, limbal epithelial SP cells have immature cell phenotypes with endothelial/mesenchymal cell markers, while limbal epithelial non-SP cells have epithelial progenitor cell markers.
Project description:Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici is the cause of wheat stem rust. A microarray was designed from genes predicted from the P. graminis f. sp. tritici genome assembly, and gene expression measured for four conditions which include wheat or barley infecting growth stages initiated by urediniospores. mRNA was prepared from fresh urediniospores, uredinospores germinated for 24 hr, wheat seedlings infected with urediniospores for 8 days, and barley seedlings infected with urediniospores for 8 days. The asexual uredinial infection cycle on wheat produces additional urediniospores, which can start new cycles of wheat infection and are readily spread by aerial transport. This expression data is further described in Duplessis et al, Obligate Biotrophy Features Unraveled by the Genomic Analysis of the Rust Fungi, Melampsora larici-populina and Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici
Project description:Targeted therapies against cancer stem cells which are enriched in side populations (SP) involves interruption of Wnt-signalling. Furthermore, EpCAM is a SP marker and modulator of Wnt-signalling. Therefore, the effects of an anti-EpCAM treatment on SP-cells and WNT/β-catenin signalling was studied. SP of the murine lung adenocarcinoma cell line A2C12 was obtained by fluorescence activated cell sorting and whole genome scans helped to define their molecular phenotype after anti-EpCAM antibody treatment.