Project description:With the recent advancements in genome editing, next generation sequencing (NGS), and scalable cloning techniques, scientists can now conduct genetic screens at unprecedented levels of scale and precision. With such a multitude of technologies, there is a need for a simple yet comprehensive pipeline to enable systematic mammalian genetic screening. In this study, we develop novel algorithms for target identi fication and a toxin-less Gateway cloning tool, termed MegaGate, for library cloning which, when combined with existing genetic perturbation methods and NGS-coupled readouts, enable versatile engineering of relevant mammalian cell lines. Our integrated pipeline for Sequencing-based Target Ascertainment and Modular Perturbation Screening (STAMPScreen) can thus be utilized for a host of cell state engineering applications.
Project description:We report a novel modular pipeline (iMir) for comprehensive analysis of miRNA-Seq data, from linker removal and sequence quality check to differential expression and biological target prediction, integrating multiple open source modules and resources linker together in an automated flow. Development of an integrated pipeline (iMir) for comprehensive analysis of miRNA-Seq experiment.
Project description:Generating mammalian cells with desired mtDNA sequences is enabling for studies of mitochondria, disease modeling, and potential regenerative therapies. MitoPunch, a high-throughput mitochondrial transfer device, produces cells with specific mtDNA-nDNA combinations by transferring isolated mitochondria from mouse or human cells into primary or immortal mtDNA-deficient (p0) cells. Stable isolated mitochondrial recipient (SIMR) cells isolated in restrictive media permanently retain donor mtDNA and reacquire respiration. However, SIMR fibroblasts maintain a p0-like cell metabolome and transcriptome despite growth in restrictive media. We reprogram non-immortal SIMR fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with subsequent differentiation into diverse functional cell types, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Remarkably, following reprogramming and differentiation, SIMR fibroblasts molecularly and phenotypically resemble un-manipulated control fibroblasts carried through the same protocol. Thus, our MitoPunch ‘pipeline’ enables the production of SIMR cells with unique mtDNA-nDNA combinations for additional studies and applications in multiple cell types.
Project description:ChIP-Seq is a technique used to analyse protein-DNA interactions. The protein-DNA complex is pulled down using a protein antibody, after which sequencing and analysis of the bound DNA fragments is performed. A key bioinformatics analysis step is “peak” calling - identifying regions of enrichment. Benchmarking studies have consistently shown that no optimal peak caller exists. Peak callers have distinct selectivity and specificity characteristics which are often not additive and seldom completely overlap in many scenarios. In the absence of a universal peak caller, we rationalized one ought to utilize multiple peak-callers to 1) gauge peak confidence as determined through detection by multiple algorithms, and 2) more thoroughly survey the protein-bound landscape by capturing peaks not detected by individual peak callers owing to algorithmic limitations and biases. We therefore developed an integrated ChIP-Seq Analysis Pipeline (ChIP AP) which performs all analysis steps from raw fastq files to final result, and utilizes four commonly used peak callers to more thoroughly and comprehensively analyse datasets. Results are integrated and presented in a single file enabling users to apply selectivity and sensitivity thresholds to select the consensus peak set, the union peak set, or any sub-set in-between to more confidently and comprehensively explore the protein bound landscape. (https://github.com/JSuryatenggara/ChIP-AP).
Project description:Tubulin detyrosination is a reversible post-translational modification thought to be important for processes including the generation of cell polarity and cell division. The Y/ΔY cycle does not affect the intrinsic properties of microtubules per se, but rather influences the cohort of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and motor proteins that associate with microtubules. Here we present a screening pipeline to identify proteins that bind microtubules in a manner that depends on the Y versus ΔY state.
Project description:Background: Schizophrenia is a severe, highly heritable, neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by episodic psychosis and altered cognitive function. Despite success in identifying genetic variants associated with schizophrenia, there remains uncertainty about the causal genes involved in disease pathogenesis and how their function is regulated. Insights into the functional complexity of the genome have focussed attention on the role of non-sequence-based genomic variation in health and disease. Although a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying disease phenotypes is best achieved using an integrated functional genomics strategy, few studies have attempted to systematically integrate genetic and epigenetic epidemiological approaches. Results: We performed a multi-stage epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), quantifying genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in a total of 1,801 individuals from three independent sample cohorts. We identified multiple differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and region (DMRs) associated with schizophrenia, independently of important confounders such as smoking, with consistent effects across the three independent cohorts. We also show that polygenic burden for schizophrenia is associated with epigenetic variation at multiple loci across the genome, independently of loci implicated in the analysis of diagnosed schizophrenia. Finally, we show how DNA methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTL) analyses can be used to annotate the extended genomic regions nominated by genetic studies of schizophrenia, with Bayesian co-localization analyses highlighting potential regulatory variation causally involved in disease. Conclusion: This study represents the first systematic integrated analysis of genetic and epigenetic variation in schizophrenia, introducing a methodological pipeline that can be used to inform EWAS analyses of other complex traits and diseases. We demonstrate the utility of using polygenic risk score (PRS) for identifying molecular variation associated with etiological variation, and mQTLs for refining the functional/regulatory variation associated with schizophrenia risk variants. Finally, we present strong evidence for the co-localization of genetic associations for schizophrenia and differential DNA methylation. 675 whole blood derived DNA samples (353 schizophrenia cases and 322 controls) representing phase 1 of our meta-analysis. Bisulfite converted DNA from these samples were hybridized to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip v1.0.