Project description:To gain insights into the molecular mechanisms controlling bamboo growth, mRNA differential display was used to clone genes that are differentially expressed in various tissues of shoots at different growth stages, and their expression patterns were further validated by cDNA microarray. A number of genes and signaling pathways are proposed to have significant roles in controlling the elongation of the bamboo culm. Etiolated shoots (average height: 15 cm) that had not yet emerged from the ground and green shoots (average height: 100 cm) of Bambusa oldhamii were collected. The shoots were divided into three parts, the culm base, the middle and the top regions for RNA extraction and processing. The RNA from the middle region of the etiolated shoots was used as a reference in microarray comparisons.
Project description:To gain insights into the molecular mechanisms controlling bamboo growth, mRNA differential display was used to clone genes that are differentially expressed in various tissues of shoots at different growth stages, and their expression patterns were further validated by cDNA microarray. A number of genes and signaling pathways are proposed to have significant roles in controlling the elongation of the bamboo culm.
Project description:The iconic giant panda is an endangered species known worldwide for its peculiar dietary habits. While retaining the digestive system of a carnivore, the giant panda successfully moved into a diet almost exclusively based on bamboo. Digestion of lignocellulose is believed to be conducted solely by its gut microbiome, provided that no lignocellulose-degrading enzyme was found in the giant panda’s genome. Many reports focused on which lignocellulose component feeds the giant panda, while little effort was made to link the products of bamboo fermentation to the panda’s dietary choices. In the present study, fermentation of either green leaves or yellow pith was conducted in the laboratory using gut microbiomes derived from either green or yellow stools, respectively. Green leaves were fermented to ethanol, lactate and acetate, while yellow pith to lactate resembling, respectively, hetero/homo-fermentation patterns. Several microbial pathways (assessed by metaproteomics) related to hemicellulose rather than cellulose degradation. However, alpha-amylases (E.C. 3.2.1.1) from the giant panda itself were the most predominant enzyme (up to 60% of all metaproteins), indicating that they have a primary role in bamboo digestion. The distinct fermentation profiles resulting from digestion of selected portions of bamboo may be part of the feeding strategy of giant pandas.