Project description:The goal of this study is to compare the transcriptome (RNA-seq) modulations in the roots and shoots of Arabidopsis thaliana, as a plant model, exposed to two toxic concentrations of rare earth elements. Lanthanum and ytterbium were used as representative of light and heavy rare earth elements, respectively.
Project description:Purpose: The goals of this study is to compare the transcriptome (RNA-seq) modulations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae exposed to two rare earth elements. Lanthanum and ytterbium were used as representative of light and heavy rare earth elements, respectively. Methods: mRNA were sequenced from Saccharomyces cerevisiae exposed to two different rare earth elements. Lanthanum and ytterbium were used as representative of light and heavy rare earth elements respectively. The transcriptome of S. cerevisiae was analysed after being exposed for one hour to the EC10 (Effective concentration 10 %) and the EC50 (Effective concentration 50 %) of lanthanum (50 and 160 µM) and ytterbium (6 and 8 µM). The sequence reads were trimmed using Trimmomativ v0.36.1 and FastQC v0.67 used for quality check. Reads passing the quality check were mapped on the reference genome (S288C R64-2-1 of 2015-01-31 from https://www.yeastgenome.org/) of S. cerevisiae using TopHat v2.1.1. Reads that were mapped on the reference genome were quantified using HTSeq-count v0.6.1p1. Finally, differential gene expression analysis between treatments was carried out using DESeq2 v1.14.1. Differentially expressed genes between conditions were obtained and expressed as log2-fold change with adjusted p-values calculated via a Benjamini-Hochberg test. A cut-off adjusted p-value of < 0.01 was applied. Results: The transcription of genes related to several crucial pathways was modulated in response to both REEs, such as oxidative-reduction processes, DNA replication, and carbohydrate metabolism. REE-specific responses involving the cell wall and the pheromone signalling pathways were highlighted, while these were not reported for other metals. REE exposure also modified the expression and abundance of several ion transport systems, for which strong discrepancies were observed between the two contrasted REEs. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the discrepancies in yeast response to different rare earth elements (light vs heavy rare earth elements). This results are valuable to prioritize key genes and proteins involved in REE detoxification mechanisms that would deserve further characterisation to better understand the REE toxicity on the environment and human health.
Project description:Chinese and Philippine strains of the blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum present clear and distinctive phenotypes in areas of fecundity, pathology, drug sensitivity and immunology. Despite these differences large scale sequencing efforts have focused solely on Chinese mainland strain of the parasite. We have undertaken a comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) approach to highlight some of the structural differences in the genome of two of the major geographical isolates of S. japonicum. We identified seven distinct regions of the S. japonicum genome that present differential CGH between Chinese and Philippine strains of the blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum, representing either deletion or duplication regions in the Philippine strain. Within these regions, genes that may be related to phenotypical differences are identified and discussed.
Project description:Because of their ubiquity and resistance to spacecraft decontamination, bacterial spores are considered likely potential forward contaminants on robotic missions to Mars. Thus it is important to understand their global responses to long-term exposure to space or Mars environments. As part of the PROTECT experiment, spores of B. subtilis 168 were exposed to real space conditions and to simulated martian conditions for 559 days in low Earth orbit mounted on the EXPOSE-E exposure platform outside the European Columbus module on the International Space Station. Upon return, spores were germinated, total RNA extracted and fluorescently labeled, and used to probe a custom Bacillus subtilis microarray to identify genes preferentially activated or repressed relative to ground control spores. Increased transcript levels were detected for a number of stress-related regulons responding to DNA damage (SOS response, SPβ prophage induction), protein damage (CtsR/Clp system), oxidative stress (PerR regulon) and cell envelope stress (SigV regulon). Spores exposed to space demonstrated a much broader and more severe stress response than spores exposed to simulated Mars conditions. The results are discussed in the context of planetary protection for a hypothetical journey of potential forward contaminant spores from Earth to Mars and their subsequent residence on Mars. Two-color microarrays were performed comparing germination of Space-exposed or Mars-exposed vs. ground-control (Earth) spores.