Project description:The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of autotetraploidy on gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana by comparing diploid versus tetraploid transcriptomes. In particular, this included the comparison of the transcriptome of different tetraploid A. thaliana ecotypes (Col-0 vs. Ler-0). The study was extended to address further aspects. One was the comparison of the transcriptomes in subsequent generations. This intended to obtain information on the genome wide stability of autotetraploid gene expression. Another line of work compared the transcriptomes of different diploid vs. tetraploid tissues. This aimed to investigate whether particular gene groups are specifically affected during the development of A. thaliana autotetraploids. Samples 1-8: Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of diploid vs. tetraploid Col-0 seedlings. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Col-0 lines. Samples 9-12: Arabidopsis thaliana Ler-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of diploid vs. tetraploid Ler-0 seedlings. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Ler-0 lines. Samples 13-24: Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of diploid vs. tetraploid Col-0 leaves (6th - 8th). The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Col-0 lines. Samples 25-32: Arabidopsis thaliana Ler-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of diploid vs. tetraploid Ler-0 leaves (6th - 8th). The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Ler-0 lines. Samples 33-36: Arabidopsis thaliana Ler-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of tetraploid vs. tetraploid Ler-0 seedlings from the second (F2) and third (F3) generation after induction, respectively. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Ler-0 lines. Samples 37-40: Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of tetraploid vs. tetraploid Col-0 seedlings from the second (F2) and third (F3) generation after induction, respectively. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Col-0 lines. Samples 41-44: Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0/Ler-0 diploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of diploid Col-0 vs. diploid Ler-0 seedlings. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of esrablished lines. Samples 45-48: Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0/Ler-0 tetraploid transcriptome. Transcriptional profiling and comparison of tetraploid Col-0 vs tetraploid Ler-0 seedlings. The experiment was carried out with pedigree of independently generated and assessed tetraploid Col-0 and Ler-0 lines.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE18802: Comparison of gene expression profiles in diploid and transformed tetraploid MEF cells GSE18814: Comparison of DNA methylation profiles in diploid and transformed tetraploid MEF cells Refer to individual Series
Project description:Current knowledge of the mechanisms of cell migration is based on differentiated cells in culture where it is known that the actomyosin machinery drives migration via dynamic interactions with the extracellular matrix and adhesion complexes. However, unlike differentiated cells, cells in early metazoan embryos also dynamically change cell sizes as they migrate. The relevance of cell size to cell migration and embryonic development is not known. Here we investigate these phenomena in zebrafish embryos, a model system in which reductive cell divisions causes cell sizes to decrease naturally over time as cells migrate collectively to sculpt the embryonic body plan. Because mutations that can perturb cell sizes so early in development do not exist, we generate haploid and tetraploid zebrafish embryos and show that cell sizes in such embryos are smaller and larger than the diploid norm, respectively. Cells in embryos made of smaller or larger than normal cells migrate sub-optimally, leading to gastrulation defects. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the observed defects originate from altered cell size, and not from pleotropic effects of altered ploidy. This interpretation is strengthened by finding that gastrulation defects are rescued by increasing cell sizes in embryos wherein cell sizes are smaller than normal. We show that the migration defects are cell-autonomous by live imaging migrating haploid and tetraploid cells during gastrulation in chimeric diploid embryos. Analysis of membrane protrusion dynamics in single cells shows that cells normally extend protrusions non-uniformly during migration, a phenomenon which is perturbed when cell sizes deviate from the norm. Thus, an optimal range of developmental stage-specific cell sizes appears necessary for collective cell migration to correctly position cells in space and time to shape an amorphous ball of blastoderm into an embryo.
Project description:Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) was used to profile the transcriptome of 16,015 nuclei in human adult testis. This dataset includes five samples from two different individuals. This dataset is part of a larger evolutionary study of adult testis at the single-nucleus level (97,521 single-nuclei in total) across mammals including 10 representatives of the three main mammalian lineages: human, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, gibbon, rhesus macaque, marmoset, mouse (placental mammals); grey short-tailed opossum (marsupials); and platypus (egg-laying monotremes). Corresponding data were generated for a bird (red junglefowl, the progenitor of domestic chicken), to be used as an evolutionary outgroup.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Project description:As the evolution of miRNA genes has been found to be one of the important factors in formation of the modern type of man, we performed a comparative analysis of the evolution of miRNA genes in two archaic hominines, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova, and elucidated the expression of their target mRNAs in bain.A comparative analysis of the genomes of primates, including species in the genus Homo, identified a group of miRNA genes having fixed substitutions with important implications for the evolution of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova. The mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with mutations specific for Homo sapiens denisova exhibited enhanced expression during postnatal brain development in modern humans. By contrast, the expression of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs bearing variations specific for Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was shown to be enhanced in prenatal brain development.Our results highlight the importance of changes in miRNA gene sequences in the course of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis evolution. The genetic alterations of miRNAs regulating the spatiotemporal expression of multiple genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain may contribute to the progressive evolution of brain function, which is consistent with the observations of fine technical and typological properties of tools and decorative items reported from archaeological Denisovan sites. The data also suggest that differential spatial-temporal regulation of gene products promoted by the subspecies-specific mutations in the miRNA genes might have occurred in the brains of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, potentially contributing to the cultural differences between these two archaic hominines.
Project description:PurposeWe investigated the evidence of recent positive selection in the human phototransduction system at single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and gene level.MethodsSNP genotyping data from the International HapMap Project for European, Eastern Asian, and African populations was used to discover differences in haplotype length and allele frequency between these populations. Numeric selection metrics were computed for each SNP and aggregated into gene-level metrics to measure evidence of recent positive selection. The level of recent positive selection in phototransduction genes was evaluated and compared to a set of genes shown previously to be under recent selection, and a set of highly conserved genes as positive and negative controls, respectively.ResultsSix of 20 phototransduction genes evaluated had gene-level selection metrics above the 90th percentile: RGS9, GNB1, RHO, PDE6G, GNAT1, and SLC24A1. The selection signal across these genes was found to be of similar magnitude to the positive control genes and much greater than the negative control genes.ConclusionsThere is evidence for selective pressure in the genes involved in retinal phototransduction, and traces of this selective pressure can be demonstrated using SNP-level and gene-level metrics of allelic variation. We hypothesize that the selective pressure on these genes was related to their role in low light vision and retinal adaptation to ambient light changes. Uncovering the underlying genetics of evolutionary adaptations in phototransduction not only allows greater understanding of vision and visual diseases, but also the development of patient-specific diagnostic and intervention strategies.
Project description:Polyploidization as the consequence of 2n gamete formation is a prominent mechanism in plant evolution. Studying its effects on the genome and its expression has both basic and applied interest. We crossed two diploid (2n=2x=16) M. sativa plants, a subsp. falcata seed parent and a coerulea x falcata pollen parent that produce a mixture of n and 2n eggs and pollen, respectively. Such cross produced full-sib diploid and tetraploid (2n=4x=32) progenies, the latter being the result of bilateral sexual polyploidization (BSP). These unique materials allowed us to investigate the effects of BSP, and separating the effect of intraspecific hybridization from those of polyploidization by comparing 2x with 4x full sib progeny plants. SSR marker segregation demonstrated tetrasomic inheritance for all chromosomes but one, demonstrating that these neotetraploids are true autotetraploids. BSP brought about increased biomass, earlier flowering, higher seed set and weight, larger leaves with larger cells. Microarray analyses with M. truncatula gene chips showed that several hundred genes, related to diverse metabolic functions, changed their expression level as a consequence of polyploidization. In addition, cytosine methylation increased in 2x but not in 4x hybrids. Our results indicate that sexual polyploidization induce significant transcriptional novelty, possibly mediated in part by DNA methylation, and phenotypic novelty that can be at the base of improved adaptation and reproductive success of tetraploid M. sativa with respect to its diploid progenitor. These polyploidy-induced changes may have promoted the adoption of tetraploid alfalfa in agriculture. Gene expression analysis of leaves at the vegetative stage of two Medicago sativa genotypes (PG-F9 and 12P) compared with three F1 diploid lines and three F1 tetraploid lines originating from crossing PG-F9 x 12P. Three biological replicates were taken for each sample, resulting in a total of twenty-four samples.