Project description:Lizards cannot naturally regenerate limbs but are the closest known relatives of mammals capable of epimorphic tail regrowth. However, the mechanisms regulating lizard blastema derivation and chondrogenesis remain unclear. We utilized single-cell RNA sequencing analyses of regenerating lizard tails throughout the course of regeneration to assess diversity and heterogeneity in regeneating tail cell populations.
Project description:Lung function is closely coupled to its structural anatomy, which varies greatly across vertebrates. Although architecturally simple, a complex pattern of airflow is thought to be achieved in the lizard lung due to its cavernous central lumen and honeycomb-shaped wall. We find that the wall of the lizard lung is generated from an initially smooth epithelial sheet, which is pushed through holes in a hexagonal smooth muscle meshwork by forces from fluid pressure, similar to a stress ball. By combining next-generation sequencing with timelapse imaging, we reveal that the hexagonal smooth muscle geometry self-assembles in response to circumferential and axial stresses downstream of pressure. A quantitative computational model predicts the pressure-driven changes in epithelial topology, which we replicate using a 3D-printed engineered tissue model of optogenetically-driven smooth muscle contraction. These results reveal the physical principles used to sculpt the unusual architecture of the lizard lung, which could be exploited as a novel strategy to engineer tissues.
Project description:Based on its phylogenetic relationship to monitor lizards (Varanidae), Gila monsters (Heloderma spp.), and the earless monitor Lanthanotus borneesis, the Chinese crocodile lizard, Shinisaurus crocodilurus, has been assigned to the Toxicofera clade, which comprises venomous reptiles. However, no data about composition and biological activities of its oral secretion have been reported. In the present study, a proteomic analysis of the mandibular gland of S. crocodilurus and, for comparison, of the herbivorous Solomon Island skink Corucia zebrata, was performed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the teeth from S. crocodilurus revealed a sharp ridge on the anterior surface, but no grooves, whereas those of C. zebrata possess a flattened crown with a pointed cusp. Proteomic analysis of their gland extracts provided no evidence of venom-derived peptides or proteins, strongly supporting the non-venomous character of these lizards.
Project description:Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized systems-based analysis of melanic variation. The goals of this study are to evaluate population evolutionary genetics associated with dark and light color variation in a lizard.
Project description:This experiment contains the Anolis carolinensis subset of data from the experiment E-GEOD-41338 (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/experiments/E-GEOD-41338/). mRNA profiles of several organs (brain, liver, kidney, heart, skeletal muscle) in multiple vertebrate species (mouse, chicken, lizard, frog, pufferfish) were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq to better understand how species with similar repertoires of protein-coding genes differ so markedly at the phenotypic level.
Project description:We have developed an imaging-free framework to localize nucleic acids within a tissue by combining a compressed sensing tissue-sampling strategy based on multi-angle-sectioning and an associated image reconstruction algorithm. Initially, the tissue is cut into consecutive thin slices. Subsequently these are further sliced along an orthogonal plane at predefined orientations resulting in tissue strips that are subject to RNA sequencing. We implemented this framework to transform a single-cell RNA sequencing protocol into an imaging-free spatial transcriptomics technique. The method was validated by profiling the transcriptome of the Murine brain, and used to spatially profile the brain transcriptome of the Australian Central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps.
