Project description:The roles of histone demethylases (HDMs) for the establishment and maintenance of the pluripotent state are incompletely defined. Here, we show that JmjC domain-containing protein 1c (Jmjd1c), a putative histone H3 Lys 9 (H3K9) demethylase, is required for mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal. To understand how Jmjd1c knockdown (KD) and resultant changes in the H3K9 methylations would affect ESCs at a global gene expression level, we compared the whole genome transcriptomes between the control and Jmjd1c KD ESCs (6 samples, including 2 shNT control samples and 4 shJmjd1c samples, 2 from #3 and 2 from #4 shRNA, respectively) using affymetrix microarray. We used microarrays to identify genes affected by Jmjd1c knockdown in mouse ESCs.
Project description:The ketogenic diet has been successful in promoting weight loss among patients that have struggled with weight gain. This is due to the cellular switch in metabolism that utilizes liver-derived ketone bodies for the primary energy source rather than glucose. Fatty acid transport protein 2 (FATP2) is highly expressed in liver, small intestine, and kidney where it functions in both the transport of exogenous long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and in the activation to CoA thioesters of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA). We have completed a multi-omic study of FATP2-null (Fatp2-/-) mice maintained on a ketogenic diet (KD) or paired control diet (CD), with and without a 24-hour fast (KD-fasted and CD-fasted) to address the impact of deleting FATP2 under high-stress conditions. Control (wt/wt) and Fatp2-/- mice were maintained on their respective diets for 4-weeks. Afterwards, half the population was sacrificed while the remaining were fasted for 24-hours prior to sacrifice. We then performed paired-end RNA-sequencing on the whole liver tissue to investigate differential gene expression. The differentially expressed genes mapped to ontologies such as the metabolism of amino acids and derivatives, fatty acid metabolism, protein localization, and components of the immune system’s complement cascade, and were supported by the proteome and histological staining.
Project description:We collected whole genome testis expression data from hybrid zone mice. We integrated GWAS mapping of testis expression traits and low testis weight to gain insight into the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:It has been recently reported that the pluripotency factor OCT4, the early neural inducing factor NR2F2, and the pluripotency-associated miRNA miR-302 are linked in a regulatory circuitry that critically regulate both pluripotency and neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). We show here that JMJD1C, a H3K9 demethylase expressed in undifferentiated hESCs, plays a key role in the regulatory circuitry. hESCs with JMJD1C knockdown (KD) retain the state of self-renewal and pluripotency, but express lower miR-302c than control hESCs. JMJD1C directly binds to the miR-302 promoter in hESCs and reduces H3K9 methylation on the promoter. Upon withdrawal of bFGF (an inhibitor of neural initiation) from a defined culture medium, the KD, but not control, hESCs differentiate into neural progenitors within three days – the fastest ever reported, accompanied by rapid increase of NR2F2 expression. A miR-302c analogue or an inhibitor of H3K9 methylation reduces neural induction from the KD hESCs, whereas a miR-302c inhibitor promotes hESC differentiation. Together, our findings suggest that JMJD1C plays a central role in control of neural differentiation from hESCs, which involves sustained miR-302c expression, and that inhibition of JMJD1C is sufficient to rapidly induce neural progenitors from hESCs in the defined medium depleted of bFGF. This is also the first evidence, to our knowledge, for epigenetic modification of miR-302 in hESCs. 6 human ES cell lines were used in this microarray assay. Each line has two replicates.
Project description:It has been recently reported that the pluripotency factor OCT4, the early neural inducing factor NR2F2, and the pluripotency-associated miRNA miR-302 are linked in a regulatory circuitry that critically regulate both pluripotency and neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). We show here that JMJD1C, a H3K9 demethylase expressed in undifferentiated hESCs, plays a key role in the regulatory circuitry. hESCs with JMJD1C knockdown (KD) retain the state of self-renewal and pluripotency, but express lower miR-302c than control hESCs. JMJD1C directly binds to the miR-302 promoter in hESCs and reduces H3K9 methylation on the promoter. Upon withdrawal of bFGF (an inhibitor of neural initiation) from a defined culture medium, the KD, but not control, hESCs differentiate into neural progenitors within three days – the fastest ever reported, accompanied by rapid increase of NR2F2 expression. A miR-302c analogue or an inhibitor of H3K9 methylation reduces neural induction from the KD hESCs, whereas a miR-302c inhibitor promotes hESC differentiation. Together, our findings suggest that JMJD1C plays a central role in control of neural differentiation from hESCs, which involves sustained miR-302c expression, and that inhibition of JMJD1C is sufficient to rapidly induce neural progenitors from hESCs in the defined medium depleted of bFGF. This is also the first evidence, to our knowledge, for epigenetic modification of miR-302 in hESCs.
Project description:Genome-wide profiling of miRNAs during differentiation of wild (WT) murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs), scrambled control (SCR) ESCs, and Strip2 silenced (KD) ESCs
Project description:Genome-wide profiling of genes during differentiation of wild (WT) murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs), scrambled control (SCR) ESCs, and Strip2 silenced (KD) ESCs