Project description:By comparing transcriptomes of tolerant and intolerant plants of sickle alfalfa subject to intensive animal grazing, we identified pathways involved in nutrient-responsive signaling, light and wound response, cell wall formation, and energy metabolism. In these pathways, grazing suppressed 39 genes, but less severe in the tolerant plant, and activated 5 genes all carrying polymorphisms in their homologous transcripts between the tolerant and intolerant plants. These genes and pathways - responsive to grazing and differentially expressed between the tolerant and intolerant plants – underline a defense mechanism in alfalfa against grazing stresses.
Project description:By comparing transcriptomes of tolerant and intolerant plants of sickle alfalfa subject to intensive animal grazing, we identified pathways involved in nutrient-responsive signaling, light and wound response, cell wall formation, and energy metabolism. In these pathways, grazing suppressed 39 genes, but less severe in the tolerant plant, and activated 5 genes all carrying polymorphisms in their homologous transcripts between the tolerant and intolerant plants. These genes and pathways - responsive to grazing and differentially expressed between the tolerant and intolerant plants â?? underline a defense mechanism in alfalfa against grazing stresses. We examined transcriptomes of 3 alfalfa plants: grazing tolerant and grazed, grazing tolerant and not grazed, grazing intolerant and grazed, all at single replicate each.
Project description:To investigate the potential effect of grazing movement on miRNA circulation in cattle, here we profiled miRNA expression in centrifugally prepared exosomes from the plasma of both grazing and housed Japanese Shorthorn cattle. Microarray analysis of the c-miRNAs resulted in detection of a total of 231 bovine exosomal miRNAs in the plasma, with a constant expression level of let-7g across the duration and cattle groups. Expression of muscle-specific miRNAs such as miR-1, miR-133a, miR-206, miR-208a/b, and miR-499 were undetectable, suggesting the mildness of grazing movement as exercise.
Project description:To investigate the potential effect of grazing movement on miRNA circulation in cattle, here we profiled miRNA expression in centrifugally prepared exosomes from the plasma of both grazing and housed Japanese Shorthorn cattle. Microarray analysis of the c-miRNAs resulted in detection of a total of 231 bovine exosomal miRNAs in the plasma, with a constant expression level of let-7g across the duration and cattle groups. Expression of muscle-specific miRNAs such as miR-1, miR-133a, miR-206, miR-208a/b, and miR-499 were undetectable, suggesting the mildness of grazing movement as exercise. Changes in miRNA expression in plasma exosome of cattle was measured at during 0, 1, 2 and 4 months of grazing or housing. Plasma exosome samples prepared from three cattle for each treatment were collected and mixed within the treatment at each time for microarray analysis .
Project description:Fire is a crucial event regulating the structure and functioning of many ecosystems. Yet few studies focused on how fire affects both the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil microbial communities, along with plant diversity and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics. Here, we analyze these effects for a grassland ecosystem 9-months after an experimental fire at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment (JRGCE) site in California, USA. Fire altered soil microbial communities considerably, with community assembly process analysis indicating that environmental selection pressure was higher in burned sites. However, a small subset of highly connected taxa were able to withstand the disturbance. In addition, fire decreased the relative abundances of most genes associated with C degradation and N cycling, implicating a slow-down of microbial processes linked to soil C and N dynamics. In contrast, fire stimulated plant growth, likely enhancing plant-microbe competition for soil inorganic N. To synthesize our findings, we performed structural equation modeling, which showed that plants but not microbial communities were responsible for the significantly higher soil respiration rates in burned sites. In conclusion, fire is well-documented to considerable alter the taxonomic and functional composition of soil microorganisms, along with the ecosystem functioning, thus arousing feedback of ecosystem responses to affect global climate.
Project description:The aim of this study was to elucidate which changes in gene expression are related to the induced anti-herbivory response in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus. Microarray hybridizations were used to identify genes differentially expressed in response to grazing by the isopod Idotea baltica. This study shows that modifications in gene expression occur simultaneously to a reduced palatability and that defence induction entails reallocation of resources from primary to secondary metabolism with down-regulation of photosynthesis and degradation of storage compounds. Total RNA of Fucus vesiculosus pieces that were or were not previously grazed by Idotea baltica for 15 and 18 days (3 biological replicates each) was hybridized against pooled RNA from 4 F. vesiculosus pieces that were collected before onset of grazing (day 0).
Project description:Soil fungi are key players in biomass recycling. Predation influences fungal communities and modulates ecosystem services provided by fungi. Fungal chemical defense against predation comprises toxic proteins and secondary metabolites. The intent of this experiment was to generate transcriptomic information when a fungus, in this case Fusarium graminearum, was in the presence of a predator (Folsomia candida). We assumed that defense metabolites are synthesized on demand and transcriptome analysis can be used to pinpoint genes of defense pathways. To carry out the experiment, cultures of F. graminearum were subjected to grazing by springtail F. candida. After 48 hours at 15°C in dark, springtails were removed, and RNA was extracted from mycelium. Controls were incubated under the same conditions without animals. Each group consisted of four replicates. Strand-specific cDNA libraries were prepared using Illumina’s TruSeq stranded mRNA kit (75 bp paired-end) and sequenced on Illumina NextSeq 500V2.
Project description:Neotyphodium coenophialum is an endophytic fungus that infects most tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) pastures that are commonly used in animal grazing systems in the United States. Beef cattle grazing such pastures are impaired in health and production performance, resulting in a large economic loss in US food-animal production systems. Based on clinical and biochemical blood analyte profiles, hepatic targeted gene and protein analyses, and hepatic transcriptomic profiling, microarray analysis using the BovGene-1_0-v1 array (Affymetrix) was conducted to determine if grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue pastures affects pituitary gene expression profiles of growing beef steers. The specific overall hypothesis tested was that grazing high endophyte-infected pasture would alter the pituitary genomic expression profiles of the same growing steers, especially genes involved in production and secretion of prolactin, growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone.
Project description:The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in gene expression related to the induced anti-herbivory response in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus. Microarray hybridizations were used to identify genes differentially expressed in response to grazing by the periwinkle Littorina obtusata. This study shows that modifications in gene expression occur simultaneously to a reduced palatability and that defence induction entails reallocation of resources from primary to secondary metabolism with down-regulation of photosynthesis. Total RNA of Fucus vesiculosus pieces that were or were not previously grazed by Littorina obtusata for 3, 12, 15, 21, and 24 days (5 biological replicates each) was hybridized against pooled RNA from 5 F. vesiculosus pieces that were collected before onset of grazing (day 0).