Project description:In recent decades, arboreal Darwin's Finches have suffered from a dramatic population decline, which has been attributed to parasitism by the invasive botfly Philornis downsi. However, changes to their primary habitat caused by invasive plant species may have additionally contributed to the observed population decline. The humid cloud forest on Santa Cruz Island is a stronghold of arboreal Darwin's Finches but has been invaded by blackberry (Rubus niveus). In some areas, manual control and herbicide application are used to combat this invasion, both causing a temporary removal of the entire understory. We hypothesized that the removal of the understory reduces the availability of arthropods, which are a main food source during chick rearing. We compared the foraging behaviour of Warbler Finches (Certhidea olivacea) and Small Tree Finches (Camarhynchus parvulus) at three study sites that varied in the degree of R. niveus invasion and the length of time since the last herbicide application. We used prey attack rate and foraging success as an index for food availability and predicted a lower attack rate and foraging success in areas that had recently been sprayed with herbicides. We found that both the invasion and the management of R. niveus influenced microhabitat use, foraging substrate and prey choice in both species. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find a lower attack rate or foraging success in the area with recent herbicide application. This may be explained by the finding that both species mainly foraged in the canopy but also used dead plant structures of the understory of the recently controlled area that resulted from the invasive plant management.
| S-EPMC6956869 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Species of Geospiza and Camarhynchus finches from the Galapagos Islands Raw sequence reads
Project description:modENCODE_submission_5986 This submission comes from a modENCODE project of Jason Lieb. For full list of modENCODE projects, see http://www.genome.gov/26524648 Project Goal: The focus of our analysis will be elements that specify nucleosome positioning and occupancy, control domains of gene expression, induce repression of the X chromosome, guide mitotic segregation and genome duplication, govern homolog pairing and recombination during meiosis, and organize chromosome positioning within the nucleus. Our 126 strategically selected targets include RNA polymerase II isoforms, dosage-compensation proteins, centromere components, homolog-pairing facilitators, recombination markers, and nuclear-envelope constituents. We will integrate information generated with existing knowledge on the biology of the targets and perform ChIP-seq analysis on mutant and RNAi extracts lacking selected target proteins. For data usage terms and conditions, please refer to http://www.genome.gov/27528022 and http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Research/ENCODE/ENCODEDataReleasePolicyFinal2008.pdf EXPERIMENT TYPE: CHIP-seq. BIOLOGICAL SOURCE: Strain: N2; Developmental Stage: L3 Larva; Genotype: wild type; Sex: mixed Male and Hermaphrodite population; EXPERIMENTAL FACTORS: Developmental Stage L3 Larva; temp (temperature) 20 degree celsius; Strain N2; Antibody NURF-1 SDQ3525 (target is NURF-1)
Project description:Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins counteract Polycomb silencing by an as yet uncharacterized mechanism. A well-known member of the TrxG is the histone methyltransferase Absent, Small, or Homeotic discs 1 (ASH1). In Drosophila ASH1 is needed for the maintenance of Hox gene expression throughout development, which is tightly coupled to preservation of cell identity. In order to understand the molecular function of ASH1 in this process, we performed affinity purification of tandem-tagged ASH1 followed by mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and identified FSH, another member of the TrxG as interaction partner. Here we provide genome-wide chromatin maps of both proteins based on ChIP-seq. Our Dataset comprises of 4 ChIP-seq samples using chromatin from S2 cells which was immunoprecipitated, using antibodies against Ash1, FSH-L and FSH-SL.
Project description:Seeds are comprised of three major parts of distinct parental origin: the seed coat, embryo, and endosperm. The maternally-derived seed coat is important for nurturing and protecting the seeds during development. By contrast, the embryo and the endosperm are derived from a double fertilization event, where one sperm fertilizes the egg to form the diploid zygote and the other sperm fertilizes the central cell to form the triploid endosperm. Each seed part undergoes distinct developmental programs during seed development. What methylation changes occur in the different seed parts, if any, remains unknown. To uncover the possible role of DNA methylation in different parts of the seed, we characterized the methylome of three major parts of cotyledon stage seeds, the seed coat, embryonic cotyledons, and embryonic axis, using Illumina sequencing. Illumina sequencing of bisulfite-converted genomic DNA from three parts of soybean cotyledon stage seeds: seed coat (COT-SC), embryonic cotyledons (COT-COT), and embryonic axis (COT-AX).