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:Comparison of mouse ES cells and three different XEN cell cultures. Three XEN cell cultures: Two different strains (IM8A1 is PO, and XEN1-3 is ICR). And two different culture conditions (IM8A1-I versus IM8A1-II). Three biological replicates of XEN cell RNA were submitted to the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada) for preparation of cRNA and hybridization to the mouse U74Av2 Affymetrix gene array. QIAGEN RNeasy midi kit (QIAGEN Inc., Santa Clarita, CA) was used to extract total RNA from all samples according to manufacturer's instructions. The samples were (1) XEN1-3 cells at passage 18 (ICR strain, male) cultured on gelatin with 70% EMFI-CM, (2) IM8A1 cells at passage 27 (PO strain) cultured on gelatin with 70% EMFI-CM, (3) IM8A1 cells at passage 27 cultured on tissue culture plastic in RPMI 1640 (Gibco) supplemented with 20% FBS (CanSera, Rexdale, Canada), 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 2 mM L-glutamine, 50 mg/ml each of penicillin/streptomycin (all from Gibco), 100 uM b-mercaptoethanol (Sigma) for 4 days. RNA was also obtained from R1 ES cells grown in the absence of EMFIs in the above medium with LIF. Keywords = ES cells Keywords = XEN cells Keywords: ordered
Project description:Comparison of mouse ES cells and three different XEN cell cultures. Three XEN cell cultures: Two different strains (IM8A1 is PO, and XEN1-3 is ICR). And two different culture conditions (IM8A1-I versus IM8A1-II). Three biological replicates of XEN cell RNA were submitted to the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada) for preparation of cRNA and hybridization to the mouse U74Av2 Affymetrix gene array. QIAGEN RNeasy midi kit (QIAGEN Inc., Santa Clarita, CA) was used to extract total RNA from all samples according to manufacturer's instructions. The samples were (1) XEN1-3 cells at passage 18 (ICR strain, male) cultured on gelatin with 70% EMFI-CM, (2) IM8A1 cells at passage 27 (PO strain) cultured on gelatin with 70% EMFI-CM, (3) IM8A1 cells at passage 27 cultured on tissue culture plastic in RPMI 1640 (Gibco) supplemented with 20% FBS (CanSera, Rexdale, Canada), 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 2 mM L-glutamine, 50 mg/ml each of penicillin/streptomycin (all from Gibco), 100 uM b-mercaptoethanol (Sigma) for 4 days. RNA was also obtained from R1 ES cells grown in the absence of EMFIs in the above medium with LIF.
Project description:Translational research is commonly performed in the C57B6/J mouse strain, chosen for its genetic homogeneity and phenotypic uniformity. Here, we evaluate the suitability of the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as a model organism for aging research, offering a comparative analysis against C57B6/J and diversity outbred (DO) Mus musculus strains. Our study includes comparisons of body composition, skeletal muscle function, and cardiovascular parameters, shedding light on potential applications and limitations of P. leucopus in aging studies. Notably, P. leucopus exhibits distinct body composition characteristics, emphasizing reduced muscle force exertion and a unique metabolism, particularly in fat mass. Cardiovascular assessments showed changes in arterial stiffness, challenging conventional assumptions and highlighting the need for a nuanced interpretation of aging-related phenotypes. Our study also highlights inherent challenges associated with maintaining and phenotyping P. leucopus cohorts. Behavioral considerations, including anxiety-induced responses during handling and phenotyping assessment, pose obstacles in acquiring meaningful data. Moreover, the unique anatomy of P. leucopus necessitates careful adaptation of protocols designed for Mus musculus. While showcasing potential benefits, further extensive analyses across broader age ranges and larger cohorts are necessary to establish the reliability of P. leucopus as a robust and translatable model for aging studies.
Project description:A transcriptome study in mouse hematopoietic stem cells was performed using a sensitive SAGE method, in an attempt to detect medium and low abundant transcripts expressed in these cells. Among a total of 31,380 unique transcript, 17,326 (55%) known genes were detected, 14,054 (45%) low-copy transcripts that have no matches to currently known genes. 3,899 (23%) were alternatively spliced transcripts of the known genes and 3,754 (22%) represent anti-sense transcripts from known genes.