Project description:Expression data for aging female drosophila melanogaster Female drosophila heads were collected RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:We used RNA sequencing to examine the transcriptomes of male and female heads from experimentally-evolved D. melanogaster populations after 117 generations of mating system manipulation in order to examine the pattern of evolution in sex-biased genes.
Project description:High-throughput sequencing of Drosophila melanogaster small RNAs. total RNA, ~18-26nt RNAs isolated using PAGE, ligation to adapters requires 5' monophosphate and 3' OH Small RNAs were sequenced from D. melanogaster heads (male and female), body (male and female), S2 and Kc cells and different stages of embryo. Raw sequences were clipped by 3' linker sequences recognition, and select clipped sequences longer than 18 nt
Project description:Investigation of gene expression level changes in evolved polygamous and monogamous populations of Drosophila melanogaster. The populations investigated are described in Hollis et al. 2011. Populations with elevated mutation load do not benefit from the operation of sexual selection. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24: 1918-1926. A study using total RNA extracted from male and female virgin 4-day old Drosophila melanogaster and then transcriptionally profiled with 12x135k Nimblegen arrays. Also, transcriptional profiling of male and female heads from the same populations using Illumina RNA-Seq.
Project description:Seminal fluid contains some of the fastest evolving proteins currently known. These seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) play crucial roles in reproduction, such as supporting sperm function, and – particularly in insects – modifying female physiology and behaviour. Identification of Sfps in small animals is challenging, and often relies on samples taken from the female reproductive tract after mating. A key pitfall of this method is that it might miss Sfps that are of low abundance due to dilution in the female-derived sample or rapid processing in females. Here we present a new and complimentary method, which provides added sensitivity to Sfp identification. We applied label-free quantitative proteomics to Drosophila melanogaster male reproductive tissue – where Sfps are unprocessed, and highly abundant – and quantified Sfps before and immediately after mating, to infer those transferred during copulation. We also analysed female reproductive tracts immediately before and after copulation to confirm the presence and abundance of known and candidate Sfps, where possible. Results were cross-referenced with transcriptomic and sequence databases to improve confidence in Sfp detection. Our data was consistent with 124 previously reported Sfps. We found 8 high-confidence novel candidate Sfps, which were both depleted in mated versus unmated males and identified within the reproductive tract of mated but not virgin females. We also identified 31 more candidates that are likely Sfps based on their abundance, known expression and predicted characteristics, and revealed that four proteins previously identified as Sfps are at best minor contributors to the ejaculate. The estimated copy numbers for our candidate Sfps were lower than for previously identified Sfps, supporting the idea that our technique provides a deeper analysis of the Sfp proteome than previous studies. Our results demonstrate a novel, high-sensitivity approach to the analysis of seminal fluid proteomes, whose application will further our understanding of reproductive biology.
