Project description:Rye, wheat and barley contain gluten, proteins that trigger immune-mediated inflammation of the small intestine in people with coeliac disease (CD). The only treatment for CD is a lifelong gluten-free diet. To be classified as gluten-free by the World Health Organisation the gluten content must be below 20 mg/kg, but Australia has a more rigorous standard of no detectable gluten and not made from wheat, barley, rye or oats. The purpose of this study was to devise an LC-MS/MS method to detect rye in food. An MS-based assay could overcome some of the limitations of current immunoassays, wherein antibodies often show cross-reactivity and lack specificity due to the diversity of gluten proteins in commercial food and the homology between rye and wheat gluten isoforms. Comprehensive proteomic analysis of 20 rye cultivars originating from 12 countries enabled the identification of a panel of candidate rye-specific peptide markers. The peptide markers were assessed in 16 cereal and pseudo-cereal grains, and in 10 breakfast cereals and 7 snacks foods. Spelt flour was contaminated with rye at a level of 2% and trace levels of rye were found in a breakfast cereal that based on its labelled ingredients should be gluten-free.
Project description:Our main objectives were: 1) to test whether the caudal fin may be used to detect the effects of pollutant exposure by means of DNA microarray; 2) to test whether the fin may be used to detect the effects of pollutants in wild contaminated fish; 3) to investigate the mechanisms of toxicity for Cd metal. Detecting and unraveling specific effects of contaminants in a multi-stress field context remain a major challenge in ecotoxicology. The aim of this study was to apply a previously developed DNA microarray comprising 1000 candidate genes on caudal fin clips in order to assess the usefulness of a non-invasive method in ecotoxicogenomic studies in the European eel. Fin gene expression patterns of eels exposed in laboratory to Cd or a PCBs mixture were compared to test whether fin clips may be used to detect effects of these contaminants. Then, gene transcription profiles of wild fish from 3 sampling sites with differing contamination levels were compared to experimental exposures to test whether fin could detect and unravel the in situ effects of these contaminants. Also, transcriptomic profiles from liver and caudal fin of eels experimentally exposed to Cd were compared to test whether fins may be used to investigate the toxicity mechanisms of this metal. Our results showed distinct fin transcription profiles in response to Cd or PCBs exposure. In addition, the transcription profiles of eels from the most contaminated site clustered with the laboratory-exposed fish. Finally, gene transcription patterns from caudal fin and liver in Cd-exposed eels showed significant differences between the two organs and only 16 common genes were identified. Many of these genes were found to be involved in tissue development and in epigenetic mechanisms. This study thus demonstrates the applicability and usefulness of performing gene transcription assays on non-invasive tissue sampling in order to assess the effect of Cd and PCBs on the transcriptome of fish.
Project description:Geobacteraceae transfer electrons from a donor such as acetate to an electron acceptor such as Fe(III) or U(VI). Geobacter uraniireducens is found in uranium-contaminated sites and plays an important role in in situ bioremediation. In this experiment, gene expression was compared between G. uraniireducens cultures grown in sediments from a uranium contaminated site amended with acetate and cultures grown in acetate/fumarate medium. Keywords: two-condition comparison
Project description:Wheat straw grown cultures of T. reesei QM9414 were supplemented with 100 µM L-methionine and the genome wide gene expression monitored in order to find novel L-Methionine repressible genes.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate target mRNAs by inducing degradation or preventing translation of their target mRNAs. Winter wheat, Triticum aestivum., is an important crop plant, yet there are only a few studies on the association of miRNAs and growth and development of winter wheat grown in the field. Here we carried out experimental analysis of miRNAs in wheat leaves by analyzing small RNA profiles at different growth stages.
Project description:Cd levels in the shoots, as well as in the roots were unexpectedly reduced in 35S:AtHMA4-expressing tobacco. Obtained results indicate that in the generation of the Cd-related phenotypes of transgenic plants substantial modifications of the host plant transcriptome was involved. Microarray based analysis was performed to compare expression profiles of the roots from tobacco expressing 35S-AtHMA4 with the wild-type (WT) plants, which were grown in the presence of 0.25 µM Cd. An effort was undertaken to understand which processes were modified in tobacco as a result of the expression of 35S:AtHMA4, which lead to decreased Cd uptake and lower accumulation in the shoots. Knowing underlying mechanisms is important for developing strategies to grow low cadmium tobacco.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of wheat embryos of developing seed comparing seeds grown at low temperature:13˚C with seeds grown at high temperature:25˚C during seed development using wheat 2 cultivars: Norin61 (N61) and Shiroganekomugi (SK). Goal was to determine the effects of temperature on global gene expression.