Project description:Sporotrichosis, an implantation mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii, gained attention over the two last decades due to its broad geographic range and prevalence in tropical and subtropical areas. The dimorphic switching from hyphal form to the yeast form is essential for the pathogenesis of S. schenckii. During the mycelium-to-yeast transition, there are many changes in asexual development, yeast-phase cell formation, cell wall integrity, and melanin synthesis. However, the mechanisms of the signaling pathways associated with these process remain unclear. In this study, transcriptome sequencing of both the yeast stage and mycelium of S. schenckii was carried out. The results showed that 12217 genes, including genes involved in signal transduction and chitin synthesis, were expressed differentially between the two stages. According to these results, a map of the signaling pathways, related to the dimorphic switch, was drawn. Overall, the transcriptome data and analysis presented here lay the foundation for further research into the molecular mechanisms controlling the dimorphic switch of S. schenckii and support the development of anti-S. schenckii strategies targeting genes related to signaling pathways.
Project description:Gene expression changes in human populations exposed to chronic low level radiation have important implications. There are few areas around the world where human population is exposed to elevated levels of natural background radiation. The high level natural radiation areas (HLNRAs) of Kerala coast in south west India is unique for its wide variation in the background radiation dose (<1.0mGy to 45mGy/year). The areas with a background radiation dose of ≤ 1.5mGy/year are considered as normal level natural radiation areas (NLNRA), whereas areas with > 1.5mGy/year are considered as HLNRA. We used microarray analysis to find out global changes in gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of individuals belonging to different HLNRA groups as compared to individuals from normal level natural radiation areas (NLNRA).
