Project description:The heterogeneity in symptomatology and phenotypic profile attributable to COVID-19 is widely unknown. For the first time, our study provides the unique advantage of obtaining samples from the Middle Eastern population, an underrepresented region in genetic studies, and explore new genotypes in this population that will yield to novel genetic association. Specifically, we studied 646 patients in the United Arab Emirates. We describe strong association signals from genes on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 11 and 13, which carry genes that are expressed in the lung, have been associated with tumour progression, emphysema, airway obstruction, and surface tension within the lung. Identifying genetic variants associated to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity may uncover novel biological insights into disease pathogenesis and identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic and vaccine development.
Project description:Persistent mucosal inflammation and microbial infection are characteristic of Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS). Though mucosal microbiota dysbiosis is a characteristic feature of other chronic inflammatory diseases, the relationship between sinus microbiota composition and CRS is unknown. Here we demonstrate, using comparative microbiome profiling of a cohort of CRS patients and healthy subjects, that the sinus microbiota of CRS patients exhibit significantly reduced bacterial diversity. Characteristic of this community collapse is the depletion of multiple, phylogenetically distinct, Lactic Acid Bacteria and the concomitant increase in relative abundance of a single species, Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum. Recapitulating the conditions observed in our human cohort in a murine model confirmed the pathogenic potential of C. tuberculostearicum and the critical necessity for a replete mucosal microbiota to protect against this species. Moreover, we provide evidence that Lactobacillus sakei, identified from our comparative microbiome analyses as a potentially protective species, affords defense against C. tuberculostearicum sinus infection, even in the context of a depleted sinus bacterial community. These studies demonstrate that sinus mucosal health is highly dependent on the composition of the resident microbiota, and identifies a new sino-pathogen and a strong bacterial candidate for therapeutic intervention. A total of 14 samples were profiled for microbiome composition: 7 from non-sinusitis patients, and 7 from patients with clinically diagnosed chronic sinusitis.
Project description:The whitefly Bemisa tabaci is a species complex with global distribution and extensive genetic diversity. In this species complex, Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1, previously referred to as the âB biotypeâ) species has been spreading rapidly in tropical and subtropical regions. we analyzed the transcriptional responses of the invasive MEAM1 and the indigenous Asia II 3 species of B. tabaci complex during host plant shift (from cotton to tobacco) using the Illumina sequencing technology.The different gene expression pattern of energy and carbonhydrate metabolism and detoxification metabolism between MEAM1 and Asia II 3 were the main reasons of their different capacity of adapation. The global transcriptional difference between the invasive whitefly Bemisia tabaci species (MEAM1) and the indigenous whitefly species (Asia II 3) on cotton and tobacco were analyzed using the Illumina sequencing technology.