Project description:Gene expression was determined for Male accessory gland and testes in different members of the Anopheles gambiae complex, including An. gambiae (Savannah, MRA-762), An. coluzzii (Mopti) [2], An. arabiensis [3], An. merus [4] and An. quadriannalatus [5. All the mosquito stocks were obtained from the Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4) in Atlanta (https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-762.aspx). References: 1. MR4 wild stocks information. Access Jenuary 2018. (Kisumu) https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-762.aspx 2. MR4 wild stocks information. Access Jenuary 2018. (Mopti) https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-763.aspx 3. MR4 wild stocks information. Access Jenuary 2018. (arabiensis) https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-856.aspx 4. MR4 wild stocks information. Access Jenuary 2018. (merus) https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-1156.aspx 5. MR4 wild stocks information. Access Jenuary 2018. (quadriannulatus) https://www.beiresources.org/Catalog/BEIVectors/MRA-1155.aspx
Project description:Small-scale microarray profiling of all the genes encoding P450 enzymes of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae in active steroidogenic organs of adults. Ovaries from non blood-fed females were compared to ovaries of blood-fed females at different times after the blood meal: 16 and 22h post-blood-meal, and to male reproductive tracts from males.
Project description:Estrogen induce organ-specific cell proliferation and development in female reproductive organs, though the reproductive differentiation, sex maturation, implantation and lactation. However, the mechanism of organ-specific estrogen responsive genes is unknown. Thus, we examined early estrogen responsive genes in mouse uterus, vagina and mammary gland. Keywords: organ specificity
Project description:In Drosophila, the accessory gland proteins (Acps) secreted from the male accessory glands (MAGs) and transferred along with sperm into the female reproductive tract have been implicated in triggering postmating behavioral changes, including refractoriness to subsequent mating and propensity to egg laying. Recently, Acps have been found also in Anopheles, suggesting similar functions. Understanding the mechanisms underlying transcriptional regulation of Acps and their functional role in modulating Anopheles postmating behavior may lead to the identification of novel vector control strategies to reduce mosquito populations. We identified heat-shock factor (HSF) binding sites within the Acp promoters of male Anopheles gambiae and discovered three distinct Hsf isoforms; one being significantly up-regulated in the MAGs after mating. Through genome-wide transcription analysis of Hsf-silenced males, we observed significant down-regulation in 50% of the Acp genes if compared to control males treated with a construct directed against an unrelated bacterial sequence. Treated males retained normal life span and reproductive behavior compared to control males. However, mated wild-type females showed a ∼46% reduction of egg deposition rate and a ∼23% reduction of hatching rate (∼58% combined reduction of progeny). Our results highlight an unsuspected role of HSF in regulating Acp transcription in A. gambiae and provide evidence that Acp down-regulation in males leads a significant reduction of progeny, thus opening new avenues toward the development of novel vector control strategies.
Project description:Estrogen induce organ-specific cell proliferation and development in female reproductive organs, though the reproductive differentiation, sex maturation, implantation and lactation. However, the mechanism of organ-specific estrogen responsive genes is unknown. Thus, we examined early estrogen responsive genes in mouse uterus, vagina and mammary gland. Keywords: organ specificity 70-day-old ovariectomized mice (C57BL/6J)(n=4) were treated with 17beta-estradiol (5micro g/kg) or sesame oil. Whole uterus (Ut), vagina (Vg) and mammary gland (Mg) were sacrificed 6h after the injection.
Project description:Study description:This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/ Schistosomes are blood dwelling digenean trematodes that mature as adults in the intestinal or urinary veins, predominantly of mammals. Adult female Schistosomes produce eggs of which approximately 40% fail to pass into faeces or urine (species-dependent) but are dispersed by the blood stream into different organs where they provoke severe inflammation. This parasitic infection is known as schistosomiasis and considered by the WHO as the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease, next only to malaria, with hundreds of millions infected worldwide. As the eggs represent the causative pathogenic agents, the understanding of egg forming processes, and therefore of the schistosomal reproductive biology in general, is of fundamental interest. Additionally the differences between immature (pre-mating) and mature (post-mating) adult worms are of significant interest; adults only reach maturity upon mating. Trasncriptomic sequencing of gonad-specific cellular material will help to unravel signal transduction cascades involved in e.g. gametogenesis and/or vitellogenesis. This project aims to characterize the transcriptome profiles of immature and mature adult ovaries and adult testes.
Project description:Changes in gene expression are thought to underlie many of the phenotypic differences between species. However, large-scale analyses of gene expression evolution were until recently prevented by technological limitations. Here we report the sequencing of polyadenylated RNA from six organs across ten species that represent all major mammalian lineages (placentals, marsupials and monotremes) and birds (the evolutionary outgroup), with the goal of understanding the dynamics of mammalian transcriptome evolution. We show that the rate of gene expression evolution varies among organs, lineages and chromosomes, owing to differences in selective pressures: transcriptome change was slow in nervous tissues and rapid in testes, slower in rodents than in apes and monotremes, and rapid for the X chromosome right after its formation. Although gene expression evolution in mammals was strongly shaped by purifying selection, we identify numerous potentially selectively driven expression switches, which occurred at different rates across lineages and tissues and which probably contributed to the specific organ biology of various mammals. Our transcriptome data provide a valuable resource for functional and evolutionary analyses of mammalian genomes.
Project description:Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium, is being investigated as a vector control agent in several insect species. Along with the well known classical reproductive parasitism Wolbachia employs against its host to spread within the population, it is emerging that the bacteria can protect the host against pathogens and reduced pathogen transmission. Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, have never been found to harbour Wolbachia in nature, and despite numerous transinfection attempts, no stable line has been developed. However recently, two strains of Wolbachia, wAlbB from Aedes albopictus, and wRi from Drosophila simulans were cultured in Anopheles gambiae Sua5B cells. These cell lines provides an amenable system to study Wolbachia-Anopheles interaction in the absence of a stable transinfected line. It has been proposed that the compromised vector competence of Wolbachia infected insects is due to an up regulation of the basal immune state. We therefore completed a genome wide expression profile of Wolbachia infected Anopheles, assessing both wAlbB and wRi infected cells in parallel against uninfected Sua5B cells.