Project description:In Hawaii, a rapidly-evolving mutation in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus silences males by interfering with the development of sound-producing structures on their forewings. The mutation is called flatwing (fw), and it persists because of natural selection imposed by an acoustically-orienting parasitoid. We examined gene expression differences between wild-type and mutant crickets, focusing on juvenile wing buds. We profiled mRNA expression levels using RNA-seq, and characterized the wing bud proteome using quantitative mass spectrometry.
Project description:In Hawaii, a rapidly-evolving mutation in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus silences males by interfering with the development of sound-producing structures on their forewings. The mutation is called flatwing (fw), and it persists because of natural selection imposed by an acoustically-orienting parasitoid. We examined gene expression differences between wild-type and mutant crickets, focusing on juvenile wing buds. We profiled mRNA expression levels using RNA-seq, and characterized the wing bud proteome using quantitative mass spectrometry. Accessing protein expression profiles under the same experimental conditions enabled us to test correspondence between the two ‘omic levels.
Project description:Relative levels of RNA transcripts were compared between anterior and posterior wing bud thirds from stage HH24 normal and talpid3 mutant chicken embryos using chicken Affymetrix chips. Data collected with Affymetrix scanner was normalized using the Plier algorithm within the expression console package from Affymetrix and log2 transformed. 5 replicates of anterior third normal wing buds, 4 replicates of posterior third of normal wing buds and 4 replicates each of anterior and posterior thirds of talpid3 wing buds at stage HH24 were examined.
Project description:We performed RNA sequencing of wing discs at the wandering L3 larval stage from 32 inbred lines of Drosophila genetic reference panel (DGRP) that consists of 16 big and 16 small wing lines. We aimed to understand system-wide gene regulatory mechanisms that attain the observed natural variation in wing size including the sexual size dimorphism.
Project description:RNA-seq on 120hr L3 larval wing imaginal discs. 3 replicates of dis3L2 null mutant, and 3 replicates of control wing discs. rRNA depleted, Illumina TruSeq libraries. Paired-end sequencing on a HiSeq 3000.
Project description:Amongst the various different insect groups, there is remarkable diversity in the number and size of wings. However the development of the basic body plan in insects is similar to a large extent. The genes of the hox complex regulate various pathways to bring about the development or modification of different organs. Ubx, a gene of the bithorax hox complex is expressed in the third thoracic segment of insects and is known to specify the fate of wing appendage in that segment.To understand the role of Ubx and how its regulatory mechanism has evolved through the course of evolution we have compared its genome wide targets in different insect orders. The identification of regulatory pathways and the key players Ubx regulates is crucial to understand how it has controlled wing development across insect orders. Our lab has previously identified direct targets of Ubx in Drosophila using ChIP-chip (Agrawal et al, 2011). To further our knowledge on the role of regulation in development and modification of hind wing appendage we have studied the targets in the hind wings of other insects (silk moth; Lepidoptera and honeybee; Hymenoptera) and performed a comparative analysis. We have employed ChIP followed by illumina sequencing to identify the targets of Ubx in developing hind and fore wing buds of Bombyx larvae. This is a first next generation sequencing study in Lepidoptera in an attempt to understand wing development. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was used to identify genome wide targets bound by Ubx in Bombyx larval wing buds. The experiment to enrich Ubx bound regions was carried out using a Bombyx N terminal-Ubx specific poylclonal antibody raised in Rabbit and purified against a Protein A column to obtain IgG fraction. An Immunoprecipitation (IP) with Normal Rabbit IgG was used as a negative control to eliminate the regions that pertained to non specific binding to an Immunogloubulin. The normalization of both ChIP and IgG was done against sequenced input chromatin. Two replicates of single end 36 bp reads were sequenced using Ilumina for all the three conditions and for both fore and hind wing tissue samples.The peaks common to both the replicates were considered after applying a FDR cutoff.The fore wing target set was used for comparison with the hind wing targets.
Project description:Among the parasites of insects, endoparasitoids impose a costly challenge to host defenses because they use their host’s body for the development and maturation of their eggs or larvae, and ultimately kill the host. Tachinid flies are highly specialized acoustically-orienting parasitoids that release first instar mobile larvae which burrow into the host’s body to feed. We investigated the possibility that Teleogryllus oceanicus field crickets employ post-infestation strategies to maximize survival when infested with the larvae of the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea. Using crickets from the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where the parasitoid is present, and crickets from the Cook Islands (Mangaia), where the parasitoid is absent, we evaluated fitness consequences of infestation by comparing feeding behavior, reproductive capacity, and survival of males experimentally infested with O. ochracea larvae. We also evaluated genetic mechanisms underlying host responses by comparing gene expression in crickets infested with fly larvae for different lengths of time with that of uninfested control crickets. We observe some differences in fitness (spermatophore production) and survival (total survival time post-infestation) between populations. However, for both traits significant population effects 1) were not associated with the slope of the response to different numbers of larvae and 2) only emerged from models containing body condition at one but not both time points evaluated. Gene expression patterns also revealed population differences in response to infestation. We did not find evidence for consistent differences in genes associated with immunity or stress response. Taken together, these results suggest that coevolution with the fly does not strongly select for either post-infestation resistance or tolerance of parasitoid larvae in male crickets.
Project description:Investigation of intratumor heterogeneity in the scrib¹ mutant wing imaginal discs. Method: Staged scrib¹ wing imaginal discs were dissected and transferred to DPBS. The wing imaginal discs were dissociated in 0.25% Trypsin-EDTA solution at 37 ℃ for 10 min. Cells were then washed in DPBS and passed through 35μm filter before library preparation. Construction of 10x single cell libraries and sequencing on Illumina platform were performed by Novogene.
Project description:Study of genomic distribution of H3K27me3 in Drosophila melanogaster Myb mutant wing discs of 3rd instar larvae compared to control animals.
Project description:Study of genomic distribution of H3K4me3 in Drosophila melanogaster Myb mutant wing discs of 3rd instar larvae compared to control animals.