Project description:The aim of this study is to identify alterations induced in gastric mucosa of mice exposed to Pteridium aquilinum and/or infected with Helicobacter pylori, in order to identify genes that are induced by bracken fern exerts exacerbating effects on gastric lesions associated to the infection. Six groups of C57Bl/6 mice were be used: 1) control, 2) infected Helicobacter pylori, 3) treated with Bracken fern extract orogastrically, 4) treated with Bracken fern extract in drinking water, 5) infected Helicobacter pylori + treated with Bracken fern extract orogastrically, 6) infected Helicobacter pylori + treated with Bracken fern extract in drinking water. The infection procedure was performed using an orogastric inoculation of H.pylori (strain SS1) twice in the first week. The RNA isolation was done in triplicate (3 mice per each condition). Further evaluation of morphological alterations on gastric mucosa, proliferative index and induction of DNA strand breaks will be performed in the mice stomach exposed to Pteridium aquilinum infected or not with Helicobacter pylori. Alterations of glycosylation in gastric tissues will also evaluated.
Project description:Genomes of closely-related species or populations often display localized regions of enhanced relative sequence divergence, termed genomic islands. It has been proposed that these islands arise through selective sweeps and/or barriers to gene flow. Here, we genetically dissect a genomic island that controls flower color pattern differences between two subspecies of Antirrhinum, A.m.striatum and A.m.pseudomajus, and relate it to clinal variation across a natural hybrid zone. We show that selective sweeps likely raised relative divergence at two tightly-linked MYB-like transcription factors, leading to distinct flower patterns in the two subspecies. The two patterns provide alternate floral guides and create a strong barrier to gene flow where populations come into contact. This barrier affects the selected flower color genes and tightly linked loci, but does not extend outside of this domain, allowing gene flow to lower relative divergence for the rest of the chromosome. Thus, both selective sweeps and barriers to gene flow play a role in shaping genomic islands: sweeps cause elevation in relative divergence while heterogeneous gene flow flattens the surrounding “sea”, making the island of divergence stand out. By showing how selective sweeps establish alternative adaptive phenotypes that lead to barriers to gene flow, our study sheds light on possible mechanisms leading to reproductive isolation and speciation.
2018-08-18 | GSE118621 | GEO
Project description:Population divergence and gene flow in two East Asian shorebirds on the verge of speciation