Project description:We preformed a systems biological assessment of lower respiratory tract host immune responses and microbiome dynamics in COVD-19 patients, using bulk RNA-sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and techniques, and microbiome analysis. Are focus was on differential gene expression in severe COVID-19 patients who developed ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) during their course versus severe COVID-19 patients who did not develop VAP. We found early impairment in antibacterial immune signaling in patients two or more weeks prior to the development of VAP, compared to COVID-19 patients who did not develop VAP. There was no signficant difference in viral load, but an association of disruption in lung microbiome by alpha and beta diversity metrics was also found.
Project description:We preformed a systems biological assessment of lower respiratory tract host immune responses and microbiome dynamics in COVD-19 patients, using bulk RNA-sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and techniques, and microbiome analysis. Are focus was on differential gene expression in severe COVID-19 patients who developed ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) during their course versus severe COVID-19 patients who did not develop VAP. We found early impairment in antibacterial immune signaling in patients two or more weeks prior to the development of VAP, compared to COVID-19 patients who did not develop VAP. There was no signficant difference in viral load, but an association of disruption in lung microbiome by alpha and beta diversity metrics was also found.
Project description:We used whole-genome fire ant microarrays to examine the molecular basis for social organization in Solenopsis invicta. Monogyne (single queen) fire ant colonies were collected in the field and transported into the lab were they were reared in standard conditions for two weeks. At this point, each colony was split into two sub-colonies: one sub-colony contained the functional mother queen (queenright) while the other was left queenless. Each sub-colony included a nesting chamber, containing the brood and workers performing nursing tasks, and a foraging area, separated from the nesting chamber and provided with food and water sources. For both queenright and queenless sub-colonies, foraging workers were collected in the foraging area while non-foraging workers were collected in the nesting chamber. Total RNA was isolated from pools of 10 whole workers and processed for microarrays.
