Project description:Twenty transgenic fish overexpressing agouti-signaling protein (ASIP, Ceinos et al., Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research 28:196-209, 2015) and wild type (WT) zebrafish were placed in 6-liter tanks and acclimated during 30 days prior to sampling to minimize physiological differences. Animals were sacrificed and the brain+pituitary and the skin dissected under the stereo microscope, placed in trizol and stored at -80C until RNA extraction. Six biological replicates (3 females and 3 males) of each tissue (skin and brain) of each group (ASIP vs WT) were analyzed in a total of 6 slides containing 4 microarrays in the 4 × 44 k format. Global gene expression analyses were performed to search for both sex-dependent and transgene-dependent effects as well as the interaction between both factors (sex x phenotype) on the brain+pituitary and skin transcriptome. Wild type (Tu) or transgenic zebrafish overexpression agouti-signaling protein (ASIP) were reared in similar conditions. Brain+pituitary and skin were sampled from 6 ASIP (3 males + 3 females) and WT (3 males + 3 females) zebrafish. Samples were individually hybridized in a total of 6 slides containing 4 microarrays in the 4 × 44 k format. Microarrays included 60-mer probes to the unique transcripts from Ensembl and Unigene which were annotated by functional categories of GO and pathways of KEGG with bioinformatics package STARS
Project description:Dieldrin is a legacy pesticide that has multiple modes of action (MOA) that include being an estrogen receptor agonist, GABA receptor antagonist, and a chemical that disrupts mitochondrial function. There is also evidence that dieldrin exposure is significantly associated with an increased risk for neurodegeneration in humans. The objective of this thesis was to clarify the effects of dieldrin in the hypothalamus, the major neuroendocrine region of the brain, in the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish were fed pellets containing 0.03, 0.15, or 1.8 µg/g dieldrin for 21 days and a global gene expression analysis was performed to characterize cellular processes and pathways affected by dieldrin.
Project description:We used microarray analyses in adult female zebrafish (Danio rerio) to identify metabolic pathways regulated by starvation in two key organs that 1) serve biosynthetic and energy mobilizing functions (liver) and 2) consume energy and direct behavioral responses (brain). Starvation affected the expression of 574 transcripts in the liver, indicating an overall decrease in metabolic activity, reduced lipid metabolism, protein biosynthesis and proteolysis, and cellular respiration, and increased gluconeogenesis. Starvation also regulated expression of many components of the Unfolded Protein Response, the first such report in a species other than yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mice (Mus musculus). The response of the zebrafish hepatic transcriptome to starvation was strikingly similar to that of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but very different from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and mouse. The transcriptome of zebrafish whole brain was much less affected than the liver, with only two differentially expressed genes, both down-regulated. Down-regulation of one of these genes, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (mmp9), suggests increased inhibition of apoptosis (neuroprotection) and decreased restructuring of the extracellular matrix in the brain of starved zebrafish. The low level of response in the transcriptome of whole zebrafish brain agrees with observations that the brain is metabolically protected compared to the rest of the body. Keywords: starvation study