Project description:Owing to their exceptional diversity and central role in vertebrate evolution, teeth are key biological systems. We exploited the diversity of bearded dragon dentitions to unreveal new aspects of major dental characters only represented in non-mammalian lineages.
Project description:Hibernation is a complex physiological state often exploited by animals under adverse environmental conditions. It involves large changes in metabolism and cellular function, with many stress responses modulated to tolerate physiological challenges that would otherwise be lethal. This study explores transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of hibernation in a reptile (the central bearded dragon; Pogona vitticeps) throughout the hibernation season. To better understand molecular dynamics of this remarkable process, total RNA and protein was analyzed in brain, heart and skeletal muscle at three time points; late hibernation, two days post-arousal, and two months post-arousal.
Project description:We have developed an imaging-free framework to localize nucleic acids within a tissue by combining a compressed sensing tissue-sampling strategy based on multi-angle-sectioning and an associated image reconstruction algorithm. Initially, the tissue is cut into consecutive thin slices. Subsequently these are further sliced along an orthogonal plane at predefined orientations resulting in tissue strips that are subject to RNA sequencing. We implemented this framework to transform a single-cell RNA sequencing protocol into an imaging-free spatial transcriptomics technique. The method was validated by profiling the transcriptome of the Murine brain, and used to spatially profile the brain transcriptome of the Australian Central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps.
Project description:Tadpoles of the anuran species Rana pirica can undergo predator-specific morphological responses. Exposure to a predation threat by larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus results in formation of a bulgy body (bulgy morph) with a higher tail. Whereas, dragon fly also induced higher tail tadpole. The tadpoles revert to a normal phenotype upon removal of the larval salamander or dragon fly threat. The objective of the present study was to use Affymetrix Xenopus Genechip to profile gene expression in the tail tissue by different predation threat. Tadpoles of Rana pirica treated with larvae salamander for 8days (S1, S2, S3) or dragon fly for 8days (Y1,Y2, Y3) were analyzed with triplicate. Removal experiments were also treated with predators for 4days and then removed predators from tadpoles (-S1,-S2, -S3) or (-Y1,-Y2,-Y3). Controls were cultured for 8days without predators (C2, C3). Tails from tadpoles after 8days of each treatment were dissected for RNA extraction and gene expression analysis using Affymetrix Xenopus Genechip arrays.
Project description:Tadpoles of the anuran species Rana pirica can undergo predator-specific morphological responses. Exposure to a predation threat by larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus results in formation of a bulgy body (bulgy morph) with a higher tail. Whereas, dragon fly also induced higher tail tadpole. The tadpoles revert to a normal phenotype upon removal of the larval salamander or dragon fly threat. The objective of the present study was to use Affymetrix Xenopus Genechip to profile gene expression in the tail tissue by different predation threat.
Project description:Copy number variation profiles comparing control female Dehong chiken blood DNA with 11 different chicken breeds(Silkie, Tibetan Chicken, Gallus gallus spadiceus, Bearded Chicken, Jinhu Chicken, Anak Chicken, Beijing Fatty Chicken, Langshan Chicken, Qingyuan partridge Chicken, Shek-Ki Chicken, Wenchang Chicken) blood DNA. Each test breeds had one male and one female sample, totally 22 test DNA samples.Goal is to get the golbal copy number variation profile between chicken breeds.
