Project description:Mammalian feces can be collected non-invasively during field research and provides valuable information on the ecology and evolution of the host individuals. Undigested food objects, genome/metagenome, steroid hormones, and stable isotopes obtained from fecal samples provide evidence on diet, host/symbiont genetics, and physiological status of the individuals. However, proteins in mammalian feces have hardly been studied, which hampers the molecular investigations into the behavior and physiology of the host individuals. Here, we apply mass spectrometry-based proteomics to fecal samples (n = 10) that were collected from infant, juvenile, and adult captive Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) to describe the proteomes of the host, food, and intestinal microbes. The results show that fecal proteomics is a useful method to investigate dietary changes along with breastfeeding and weaning, to reveal the organ/tissue and taxonomy of dietary items, and to estimate physiological status inside intestinal tracts. These types of insights are difficult or impossible to obtain through other molecular approaches. Most mammalian species are facing extinction risk and there is an urgent need to obtain knowledge on their ecology and evolution for better conservation strategy. The fecal proteomics framework we present here is easily applicable to wild settings and other mammalian species, and provides direct evidence of their behavior and physiology.
Project description:We mapped and sequenced the SLC26A5 of the American bullfrog from its inner ear cDNA using RNA-Seq. The frog SLC26A5 cDNA was 2,292 bp long, encoding a polypeptide of 763 amino acid residues, with 40% identity to mammals. After isolating the prestin gene of the frog, we generated a stable cell line transfected with this new coding gene and found it possessing similar electrophysiological features as the hair cells from the frog’s auditory organ. Our experiment demonstrated that the new coding gene could encode a functionally active protein conferring NLC to both frog HCs and the mammalian cell line.
