Project description:Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a term describing a collection of conditions characterised by chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract involving an inappropriate immune response to commensal microorganisms in a genetically susceptible host. Four kiwifruit extracts, aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts of gold kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) or green kiwifruit (A. deliciosa), have previously demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity using in vitro models of IBD. This study examined whether these kiwifruit extracts had immune modulating effects in vivo against inflammatory processes known to be increased in patients with IBD. KFEs were used as a dietary intervention in Il10-/- mice (an in vivo model of IBD) and the C57BL/6J background strain in a 3 x 2 factorial design. While all Il10-/- mice developed significant colonic inflammation compared to the C57BL/6J mice, this was not affected by the inclusion of KFE in the diet. Whole genome gene and protein expression level profiling indicated that KFEs influenced immune signalling pathways and metabolic processes within the colonic tissue; however, the effects were subtle. In particular, adaptive immune pathways were reduced by three out of four kiwifruit extracts, with greater reduction seen in the C57BL/6J mice. This suggests that while immune-modulating activity was present in vivo, KFEs did not reduce inflammatory processes relevant to IBD. Experimental design. Two experiments were conducted, one using extracts from gold kiwifruit and one using extracts from green kiwifruit. Within each experiment, both Il10-/- and C57 mice were randomly divided into three diet treatment groups, to ive the following 12 treatments: 1) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Control diet (AIN-76A), 2) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Aqueous Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 5% Aqueous KFE) 3) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Ethyl Acetate Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 0.11% Ethyl Acetate KFE) 4) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Control diet (AIN-76A), 5) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Aqueous Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 5% Aqueous KFE) 6) Gold Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Ethyl Acetate Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 0.11% Ethyl Acetate KFE) 7) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Control diet (AIN-76A), 8) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Aqueous Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 5% Aqueous KFE) 9) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, C57BL/6J mice, Ethyl Acetate Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 0.11% Ethyl Acetate KFE) 10) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Control diet (AIN-76A), 11) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Aqueous Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 5% Aqueous KFE) 12) Green Kiwifruit Experiment, Il10-/- mice, Ethyl Acetate Kiwifruit Extract Supplemented Diet (AIN-76A + 0.11% Ethyl Acetate KFE) Six biological replicates were analysed from each treatment group, except for groups 3 and 7 where five replicates were analysed due to array quality issues with the sixth replicate. Each replicate contained mRNA from one mouse. A reference design was used, where each slide was hybridised with mRNA from one sample (green channel) and mRNA from a common reference pool (red channel).

Project description:The section Oleifera (Theaceae) has attracted attention for the high levels of unsaturated fatty acids found in its seeds. Here, we report the chromosome-scale genome of the sect. Oleifera using diploid wild Camellia lanceoleosa with a final size of 3.00 Gb and an N50 scaffold size of 186.43 Mb. Repetitive sequences accounted for 80.63% and were distributed unevenly across the genome. Camellia lanceoleosa underwent a whole-genome duplication event approximately 65 million years ago (65 Mya), prior to the divergence of C. lanceoleosa and Camellia sinensis (approx. 6-7 Mya). Syntenic comparisons of these two species elucidated the genomic rearrangement, appearing to be driven in part by the activity of transposable elements. The expanded and positively selected genes in C. lanceoleosa were significantly enriched in oil biosynthesis, and the expansion of homomeric acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) genes and the seed-biased expression of genes encoding heteromeric ACCase, diacylglycerol acyltransferase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and stearoyl-ACP desaturase could be of primary importance for the high oil and oleic acid content found in C. lanceoleosa. Theanine and catechins were present in the leaves of C. lanceoleosa. However, caffeine can not be dectected in the leaves but was abundant in the seeds and roots. The functional and transcriptional divergence of genes encoding SAM-dependent N-methyltransferases may be associated with caffeine accumulation and distribution. Gene expression profiles, structural composition and chromosomal location suggest that the late-acting self-incompatibility of C. lanceoleosa is likely to have favoured a novel mechanism co-occurring with gametophytic self-incompatibility. This study provides valuable resources for quantitative and qualitative improvements and genome assembly of polyploid plants in sect. Oleifera.

Project description:The naked mole-rat (NMR; Heterocephalus glaber) has recently gained considerable attention in the scientific community for its unique potential to unveil novel insights in the fields of medicine, biochemistry, and evolution. NMRs exhibit unique adaptations that include protracted fertility, cancer resistance, eusociality, and anoxia. This suite of adaptations is not found in other rodent species, suggesting that interrogating conserved and accelerated regions in the NMR genome will find regions of the NMR genome fundamental to their unique adaptations. However, the current NMR genome assembly has limits that make studying structural variations, heterozygosity, and non-coding adaptations challenging. We present a complete diploid naked-mole rat genome assembly by integrating long-read and 10X-linked read genome sequencing of a male NMR and its parents, and Hi-C sequencing in the NMR hypothalamus (N=2). Reads were identified as maternal, paternal or ambiguous (TrioCanu). We then polished genomes with Flye, Racon and Medaka. Assemblies were then scaffolded using the following tools in order: Scaff10X, Salsa2, 3d-DNA, Minimap2-alignment between assemblies, and the Juicebox Assembly Tools. We then subjected the assemblies to another round of polishing, including short-read polishing with Freebayes. We assembled the NMR mitochondrial genome with mitoVGP. Y chromosome contigs were identified by aligning male and female 10X linked reads to the paternal genome and finding male-biased contigs not present in the maternal genome. Contigs were assembled with publicly available male NMR Fibroblast Hi-C-seq data (SRR820318). Both assemblies have their sex chromosome haplotypes merged so that both assemblies have a high-quality X and Y chromosome. Finally, assemblies were evaluated with Quast, BUSCO, and Merqury, which all reported the base-pair quality and contiguity of both assemblies as high-quality. The assembly will next be annotated by Ensembl using public RNA-seq data from multiple tissues (SRP061363). Together, this assembly will provide a high-quality resource to the NMR and comparative genomics communities.

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