Project description:Interventions: ntestinal polyp gruop and colorectal cancer gruop:Nil
Primary outcome(s): bacteria;fungi;archaea;virus
Study Design: Factorial
Project description:The rumen harbors a complex mixture of archaea, bacteria, protozoa and fungi that efficiently breakdown plant biomass and its complex dietary carbohydrates into soluble sugars that can be fermented and subsequently converted into metabolites and nutrients utilized by the host animal. While rumen bacteria populations have been well documented, only a fraction of the rumen eukarya are taxonomically and functionally characterized, despite the recognition that they contribute to the cellulolytic phenotype of the rumen fauna. To investigate how anaerobic fungi actively engage in digestion of recalcitrant fiber that is resistant to the initial stages of rumination, we resolved genome-centric metaproteome and metatranscriptome datasets generated from switchgrass samples incubated in nylon bags within the rumen of cannulated dairy cows for 48 hours.
Project description:Methane-generating Archaea drive the final step in anaerobic organic compound mineralization and dictate the carbon flow of Earth’s diverse anaerobic ecosystems. Although such Archaea were presumed to be restricted to life on simple compounds like H2, acetate or methanol, an archaeon, Methermicoccus shengliensis, was recently found to convert methoxylated aromatic compounds to methane. Methoxylated aromatic compounds as component of lignin and coal are present in most subsurface sediments. Despite the significance and novelty of this outstanding archaeon its metabolism has not yet been explored. In this study, transcriptomics and proteomics reveal that M. shengliensis uses a demethoxylation system that is more related to that from acetogenic bacteria than to the methyl transferase system used for methylotrophic methanogenesis. It activates methoxy-groups using tetrahydromethanopterin as the carrier, a mechanism distinct from conventional methanogenic methyl-transfer systems dependent on Coenzyme M.
Project description:Organisms of the third domain of life, the Archaea, share molecular characteristics both with bacteria and eukarya. These organisms attract scientific attention as research models for regulation and evolution of processes such as transcription, translation and RNA processing. We have reconstructed the primary transcriptome of Sulfolobus solfataricus P2, one of the most widely studied model archaeal organisms. Analysis of 625 million bases of sequenced cDNAs yielded a single-bp resolution map of transcription start sites and operon structures for more than 1000 transcriptional units. The analysis led to the discovery of 310 expressed non-coding RNAs, with an extensive expression of overlapping cis-antisense transcripts to a level unprecedented in any bacteria or archaea but resembling that of eukaryotes. As opposed to bacterial transcripts, most Sulfolobus transcripts completely lack 5' UTR sequences, suggesting that mRNA/ncRNA interactions differ between bacteria and archaea. The data also reveal internal hotspots for transcript cleavage linked to RNA degradation, and predict sequence motifs that promote RNA destabilization. This study emphasizes the importance of transcriptome sequencing as a key tool for understanding the mechanisms and extent of RNA-based regulation for bacteria and archaea. 5 samples of cDNA sequencing (2 of these are replicates), and 3 samples of RACE-cDNA sequencing (described in the samples section).
Project description:<p>Despite improved diagnostics, pulmonary pathogens in immunocompromised children frequently evade detection, leading to significant mortality. In this study, we performed RNA and DNA-based metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) on 41 lower respiratory samples collected from 34 children. We identified a rich cross-domain pulmonary microbiome containing bacteria, fungi, RNA viruses, and DNA viruses in each patient. Potentially pathogenic bacteria were ubiquitous among samples but could be distinguished as possible causes of disease by parsing for outlier organisms. Potential pathogens were detected in half of samples previously negative by clinical diagnostics. Ongoing investigation is needed to determine the pathogenic significance of outlier microbes in the lungs of immunocompromised children with pulmonary disease. Metatranscriptomic (RNA) sequencing libraries are reported in the manuscript and are included for this release.</p>