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MRNA-seq of individual genetically identical Caenorhabditis elegans adults

ABSTRACT: Individual phenotypic differences persist even in genetically identical individuals, although separating genetic and environmental causation is difficult or impossible in most organisms. To understand the basis of individual differences in the absence of genetic differences, we measured two quantitative reproductive traits in genetically identical young adult Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms in a shared environment and performed single-individual mRNA-seq on each worm. We identified hundreds of genes for which expression variation was strongly associated with reproductive traits, some of which depended on prior environmental experience and some of which was random. Multiple small sets of genes together were highly predictive of reproductive traits across individuals.

ORGANISM(S): Caenorhabditis elegans

PROVIDER: GSE244875 | GEO | 2025/08/04

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The transcript levels of many genes exhibit significant variation in tissue samples from inbred laboratory mice. A microarray experiment was designed to separate transcript abundance variation across samples from adipose, heart, kidney, and liver tissues of C57BL/6J mice into within-mouse and between-mouse components. Within-mouse variance captures variation due to heterogeneity of gene expression within tissues, RNA-extraction, and array processing. Between-mouse variance reflects differences in transcript levels between these genetically identical mice. Many biological sources can contribute to heterogeneous transcript levels within a tissue sample including inherent stochasticity of biochemical processes such as intrinsic and extrinsic noise within cells and differences in cell-type composition which can result from heterogeneity of stem and progenitor cell populations. Differences in global signaling patterns between individuals and micro-environmental influences such as interactions with pathogens and cage mates can also contribute to variation, but are likely to contribute more to the between-mouse variance component. RESULTS: The nature and extent of transcript abundance variation differs across tissues. Adipose has the largest total variance and the largest within-mouse variance. Liver has the smallest total variance, but it has the most between-mouse variation. Genes with high variability can be classified into groups with correlated patterns of expression that are enriched for specific biological functions. Variation between mice is associated with circadian rhythm, growth hormone signaling, immune response, androgen regulation, lipid metabolism, and the extracellular matrix. Genes showing correlated patterns of within mouse variation were also associated with biological functions, spatial connectivity of stochastic variation and heterogeneity of cell types within tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Genetically identical mice are individuals and they can experience different outcomes for medically important traits. This is reflected in the stochastic variation in gene expression observed between genetically identical mice. Much of the stochasticity has organismal, tissue, or spatial connectivity. Prior knowledge of the genes and functional classes of genes that are likely to vary in the absence of experimental perturbations, whether these are genetic or environmental, can inform experimental design decisions and the interpretation of gene expression data. Variation in gene expression in genetically identical mice sheds light on the impact of stochastic and micro-environmental factors and their phenotypic consequences.

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MRNA-seq of individual genetically identical Caenorhabditis elegans adults

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