Project description:Horse fly females (Diptera, Tabanidae) are hematophagous and can vector pathogens that affect livestock. Complexes of cryptic species are common in Tabanidae, as exemplified by some species of Tabanus, including Tabanus triangulum and Tabanus occidentalis, both prevalent in the Southern region of Brazil. In this study, geometric morphometrics were employed to ascertain the wing venation in species identification. It was demonstrated that this tool effectively differentiates T. triangulum from T. occidentalis in the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, situated within the Pampa biome. The results indicate that T. triangulum and T. occidentalis occupy distinct regions of the morphological space, allowing their precise identification through geometric morphometrics, which is fast, affordable, and easy to implement.
Project description:Primary objectives: The primary objective is to investigate circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) via deep sequencing for mutation detection and by whole genome sequencing for copy number analyses before start (baseline) with regorafenib and at defined time points during administration of regorafenib for treatment efficacy in colorectal cancer patients in terms of overall survival (OS).
Primary endpoints: circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) via deep sequencing for mutation detection and by whole genome sequencing for copy number analyses before start (baseline) with regorafenib and at defined time points during administration of regorafenib for treatment efficacy in colorectal cancer patients in terms of overall survival (OS).
Project description:BackgroundTabanus bromius (Diptera: Tabanidae) is one of the most notable Tabanidae species of veterinary and medical importance distributed throughout the Palearctic region. In this study, we investigate the genetic diversity and the phylogeographic structure of T. bromius sampled from Turkey, Croatia, and Iran.MethodsFor this purpose, a 686-base-pair (bp) fragment of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) and 1339 bp of the nuclear DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were sequenced from 247 individuals representing 15 populations.ResultsThe sequences generated 169 COI haplotypes and 90 ITS alleles. A higher haplotype/allele diversity (h = 0.9909 for the COI gene and Ad = 0.8193 for the ITS region) compared to a low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.020605 for COI gene and π = 0.013667 for the ITS region), present for a high number of singleton and private haplotypes/alleles imply population expansion in the past. The results of phylogenetic analysis led to the uncovering of geographically significant groupings of lineages with regard to the entrance of the species into Anatolia and the location of major geographic barriers. According to current data, the species appears to have entered Turkey from Caucasia and Iran. A molecular clock applied to the COI data suggests that T. bromius diverged from the outgroup species nearly 8.83 million years ago, around the end of the Miocene era.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate remarkable genetic diversity across the studied range of the species. High haplotype/allele versus low nucleotide diversity and demographic analyses implied that the T. bromius populations have undergone a series of expansions and retreats in the past. Our current findings suggest that T. bromius split from outgroups around the Late Miocene. Subsequent diversification events during the climatic and environmental fluctuation times of the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene periods also significantly influenced the species, resulting in the formation of some major genetic lineages. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that T. bromius most likely entered Turkey from the Caucasus region and Iran.
Project description:Blood feeding animals face their host's defenses against tissue injury and blood loss while attempting to feed. One adaptation to surmount these barriers involves the evolution of a salivary potion that disarms their host's inflammatory and anti-hemostatic processes. The composition of the peptide moiety of this potion, or sialome (from the Greek sialo = saliva), can be deducted in part by proper interpretation of the blood feeder' sialotranscriptome. In this work we disclose the sialome of the blood feeding adult female Tabanus bromius. Following assembly of over 75 million Illumina reads (101 nt long) 16,683 contigs were obtained from which 4078 coding sequences were extracted. From these, 320 were assigned as coding for putative secreted proteins. These 320 contigs mapped 85% of the reads. The antigen-5 proteins family was studied in detail, indicating three Tabanus specific clades with and without disintegrin domains, as well as with and without leukotriene binding domains. Defensins were also detailed; a clade of salivary tabanid peptides was found lacking the propeptide domain ending in the KR dipeptide signaling furin cleavage. Novel protein families were also disclosed. Viral transcripts were identified closely matching the Kotonkan virus capsid proteins. Full length Mariner transposases were also identified. A total of 3043 coding sequences and their protein products were deposited in Genbank. Hyperlinked excel spreadsheets containing the coding sequences and their annotation are available at http://exon.niaid.nih.gov/transcriptome/T_bromius/Tbromius-web.xlsx (hyperlinked excel spreadsheet, 11 MB) and http://exon.niaid.nih.gov/transcriptome/T_bromius/Tbromius-SA.zip (Standalone excel with all local links, 360 MB). These sequences provide for a platform from which further proteomic studies may be designed to identify salivary proteins from T. bromius that are of pharmacological interest or used as immunological markers of host exposure.
| S-EPMC4646416 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Whole genome sequenes of Bacteriophages from Tabanus par