Project description:The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has evolutionarily conserved EV signaling pathways. In this study, we apply a recently published method for high specificity purification of EVs from C. elegans to carry out target-independent proteomic and RNA analysis of EVs from C. elegans. Our experiments uncovered diverse coding and non-coding RNA transcripts as well as protein cargo types commonly found in human EVs.
Project description:We utilized high-throughput RNA-seq to uncover the intermediate-sized noncoding RNAs invovled in UV-DNA Damage Responses in C. elegans. 450 novel transfrags were discovered, some of which show dramatic expression change between the UV irradiation and control. This study should lead to a better understanding of the role of is-ncRNAs invovled in UV-DDR. Examination of intermediate-sized transcripts (70-500nt) in L4 larvae of C. elegans strains, including wild-type (N2), UV-irradiated (N2-UV100J/m2) and NER-deficient mutant (xpa-1) strains.
Project description:We investigated the transcriptome of B. cenocepacia under infection of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. RNAs fractions extracted from C. elegans infected with B. cenocepacia were used for Illumina high throughput sequencing using the CappableSeq method. The main objective of this work was to identify small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) expressed by B. cenocepacia under infection conditions.
Project description:microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA-molecules that influence translation by binding to the target gene mRNA. Many miRNAs are found in nested arrangements within introns, or exons, of larger protein-coding host genes. miRNAs and host genes in a nested arrangement are often transcribed simultaneously, which may indicate that both have similar functions. miRNAs have been implicated in regulating defense responses against pathogen infection in C. elegans and in mammals. Here, we asked if miRNAs in nested arrangements and their host genes are involved in the C. elegans response against infection with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We performed miRNA sequencing and functional genetic analysis of miRNA and/or host gene in four nested arrangements. We identified mir-58.1 and mir-2 as negative regulators of C. elegans resistance to Bt infection. However, we did not find any miRNA/host gene pair in which both contribute to defense against Bt.
Project description:We have adapted the eXcision Repair-sequencing (XR-seq) method to generate single-nucleotide resolution dynamic repair maps of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) photoproducts in the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) genome. We focus on the C. elegans ortholog of the human XPC-deficient strain (xpc-1) and its exclusive use of transcription-coupled repair. We provide evidence demonstrating the utility of xpc-1 XR-seq as a remarkable tool for detecting nascent transcription and identifying new transcripts. The integration of epigenetic markers, chromatin states, and non-coding RNA annotations supports the robust detection of intergenic nascent transcription by XR-seq. Overall, our results provide a comprehensive view of the transcription-coupled repair landscape in C. elegans, highlighting their potential contributions to our understanding of DNA repair mechanisms and non-coding RNA biology.
Project description:microRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a class of small non-coding RNAs (~22nt). They are thought to be generally stable with half-lives of many hours or even days. However, several miRNAs have been reported to decay rapidly in specific situations. In order to examine miRNA stability on a global scale, we quantify relative decay rates of miRNA in first larval stage C. elegans worms that are treated with a transcription inhibitor alpha-amanitin by deep sequencing. Several miRNAs including members of the miR-35 and miR-51 families exhibit accelerated decay. Moreover, biogenesis of miRNAs involves generation of a miRNA duplex intermediate consisting of the miRNA guide strand (miR) and the miRNA passenger strand (miR*). miR and miR* names were originally assigned based on the relative abundance of each strand, with the less abundant strand presumed to be inactive, and thus the miR*. However, subsequent research showed that at least individual miR*s can have biological activity. Our sequencing data reveal that miR*s, operationally defined on the basis of their relative abundance at time point t=1h, are substantially less stable than miRs. This would appear to support the notion that miR*s mainly constitute processing byproducts rather than a less abundant class of functional miRNAs. Examination of microRNA decay rates in the first larval stage C. elegans worms.