Project description:As the most studied type of epigenetic modifications found in many taxa, DNA methylation has been confirmed to play a crucial role in transposon silencing, transcriptional regulation and thus phenotypic variation, as well as rapid adaption to changing environments. To fully understand the methylome variation in Trichinella, here, we report 12 single-base resolution methylomes of three life stages using WGBS. By comparative epigenomics, we observe that the methylome variation in Trichinella is significantly divergent and host-related. By comparative epigenomics, we observe that the methylome variation in Trichinella is significantly divergent and host-related. By comparing DNA methylation patterns between different host classes of species, we found a fraction of parasitism-related genes under epigenetic regulation, such as G-protein-coupled receptor, DNaseII and ligand-gated chloride channel. Moreover, we also reveal associations between methylation divergence and genetic basis, including nucleotide variant and structural variation.
Project description:The sperm DNA methylomes of the MZ twin bulls were investigated by WGBS at single-base resolution. We detected DMRs between the twin bulls with divergent sperm qualities. We also conducted transcriptome sequencing for the MZ twin bulls in three replicates. We investigated the relationship between methylation and gene expression.
Project description:DNA methylation is an important biological form of epigenetic modification, playing key roles in plant development and environmental responses. In this study, we examined single-base resolution methylomes of Populus under control and drought stress conditions using high-throughput bisulfite sequencing for the first time. Our data showed methylation levels of methylated cytosines, upstream2kp, downstream2kb, and repeatitive sequences significantly increased after drought treatment in Populus. Interestingly, methylation in 100 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site (TSS) repressed gene expression, while methylations in 100 – 2000bp upstream of TSS and within the gene body were positively associated with gene expression. Integrated with the transcriptomic data, we found that all cis-splicing genes were non-methylated, suggesting that DNA methylation may not associate with cis-splicing. However, our results showed that 80% of trans-splicing genes were methylated. Moreover, we found 1156 transcription factors (TFs) with reduced methylation and expression levels and 690 TFs with increased methylation and expression levels after drought treatment. These TFs may play important roles in Populus drought stress responses through the changes of DNA methylation. Taken together, these findings may provide valuable new insight into our understanding of the interaction between gene expression and methylation of drought responses in Populus. Methylomes of Poplar response to drought
Project description:Using MetylC-seq we investigated single-base resolution methylomes of embryonic and adult pelvic and pectoral fins of little skate.
Project description:Single-base resolution DNA methylomes have been accomplished for both Arabidopsis and human cells which have high genome methylation levels by Illumina ultra-high-throughput bisulfite sequencing technology (MethylC-Seq). Here by combining MethylC-Seq and biological replicate strategies we generated single-base resolution methylome for the silkworm which has low genome methylation levels like other insects. Our conservative estimation showed that methylcytosines (mCs) accout for about 0.11% of genomic cytosines, exclusively in CG context. The CG methylation is significantly enriched in gene bodies and positively correlated with gene expression levels, suggesting its positive role in gene transcription in silkworms. However, the well-documented functions of methylation on promoters and rDNAs in plants and mammals do not seem to have effects in insects. Methylated genes are enriched in functions involved in cellular metabolism and biosynthesis. Small RNA (smRNA) loci are also significantly enriched in gene bodies, and moreover, the smRNA loci and the predicted target sites of microRNA have high level of CG methylation, indicating functional involvement of smRNAs in the genic methylation This first methylome for silkworms provides a foundation for further studies on the epigenetic gene regulation of silkworms’ or even insects’ gene methylation. Each silk gland of 5th instar larvae of two individuals (called Biological Replicate 1 and 2, respectively) of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) strain Dazao was ground into powder in liquid nitrogen. Half of the powder from each silk gland was used to extract total DNAs using DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit (Qiagen) and another half was used to extract total RNAs using RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen). We sequenced bisulfite-treated total DNA extracted from the silk glands of the two individuals, using Illumina Ultra-High-Throughput Sequencing, generating the Single-Base Resolution Methylomes. To reveal functional consequences of gene body methylation, we generated expression profiles for the two individuals’ silk glands using Digital Gene Expression tag profiling (DGE) technology, which combines classic SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) and Illumina ultra-high-throughput sequencing technology.