Project description:Hybrids can experience genetic incompatibilities that lead to cellular dysfunction and infertility. Previous analyses of mitochondrial function in the lizards Urosaurus graciosus and Urosaurus ornatus found that hybrids, which had introgressed mtDNA, experienced higher ATP production which increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, one of the main causes of damage to DNA. Hybrid populations of these lizards have persisted so we predicted they may have mechanisms for protecting their DNA from damage. To test this, we exposed liver cells of these lizards to hydrogen peroxide, a source of ROS, and compared DNA damage using single-cell gel electrophoresis. Hybrid cells showed significantly less DNA damage. We then examined potential mechanisms to explain this result by comparing melanin content of livers and expression levels of antioxidant genes. If functioning to deal with ROS, these should be expressed higher in hybrids. Melanin content of livers was highly variable among U. graciosus individuals and therefore not highest in hybrids as expected. Eighteen antioxidant genes showed significant differential expression but were not expressed consistently higher in hybrids. The overall gene expression profiles of hybrids and U. graciosus were very similar while that of the mtDNA donor species, U. ornatus, was highly divergent from both. Three antioxidant genes with different expression levels in hybrids and that warrant further study were SOD2, SOD3, and PRDX2. These results show how species can compensate for mtDNA introgression and highlight the complexity of genetic interactions encountered when closely related species exchange genetic material in zones of secondary contact.
Project description:Mosquito-borne helminth infections are responsible for a significant worldwide disease burden in both humans and animals. Accordingly, development of novel strategies to reduce disease transmission by targeting these pathogens in the vector are of paramount importance. We found that a strain of Aedes aegypti that is refractory to infection by Dirofilaria immitis, the agent of canine heartworm disease, mounts a stronger immune response during infection than does a susceptible strain. Moreover, activation of the Toll immune signaling pathway in the susceptible strain arrests larval development of the parasite, thereby decreasing the number of transmissionstage larvae. Notably, this strategy also blocks transmission stage Brugia malayi, an agent of human lymphatic filariasis. Our data show that mosquito immunity can play a pivotal role in restricting filarial nematode development and suggest that genetically engineering mosquitoes with enhanced immunity will help reduce disease transmission.
Project description:Patterns in functional diversity of organisms at large spatial scales can provide insight into possible responses to future climate change, but it remains a challenge to link large-scale patterns at the organismal level to their underlying physiological mechanisms. The climate variability hypothesis predicts that temperate ectotherms will be less vulnerable to climate warming than tropical ectotherms, due to their superior acclimatization capacity.We investigate thermal acclimation of three species of Takydromus lizards distributed along a broad latitudinal gradient in China, by studying metabolic modifications at the level of the whole organism,organ, mitochondria, metabolome, and proteome.
Project description:Proteins are ubiquitous macromolecules displaying a vast repertoire of chemical and enzymatic functions making them suitable candidates for chemosignals used in intraspecific communication. Proteins are present in skin gland secretions of vertebrates but their identity, and especially, their functions, remain largely unknown. Many species of lizards possess femoral glands, i.e. epidermal organs primarily involved in the production and secretion of chemosignals playing a pivotal role in mate choice and intrasexual communication. The lipophilic fraction of femoral glands has been well studied in lizards. In contrast, proteins have been the focus of only a handful of investigations. Here, we study the identity, inter-individual expression patterns and functionality of proteins present in femoral glands of sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) by applying mass-spectrometry proteomics. Our results showed that the total number of proteins varied substantially among individuals. None of the identified femoral gland proteins could be directly linked to chemical communication in lizards, although this result hinges on protein annotation in databases in which squamate semiochemicals are poorly represented. In contrast to our expectations, proteins consistently expressed across individuals were related to immune system, antioxidant activity and lipid metabolism as the main functions, adding support to the hypothesis that proteins in reptilian epidermal glands have other functions besides chemical communication. Interestingly, we found that major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC) expression is enriched in femoral gland secretions. Previously, MHC was hypothesized to have been coopted to serve a semiochemical function in sand lizards, specifically in partner recognition. We speculate with the possibility that MHC proteins could be linked to semiochemical function in sand lizards.
Project description:Solanum torvum Sw is worldwide employed as rootstock for eggplant cultivation because of its vigour and resistance/tolerance to the most serious soil-borne diseasesas bacterial, fungal wilts and root-knot nematodes. A 30,0000 features custom combimatrix chip was designed and microarray hybridizations were conducted for both control and 14 dpi (day post inoculation) with Meloidogyne incognita-infected roots samples. We also tested the chip with samples from the phylogenetically-related nematode-susceptible eggplant species Solanum melongena.The genes identified from S. torvum catalogue, bearing high homology to knownnematode resistance genes, were further investigated in view of their potential role in the nematode resistance mechanism. total RNA was extracted from control and 14 days post-infection (infection with root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita) from roots of Solanum torvum and Solanum melongena. Three biological replicates were used for each condition and genotype for a total of 12 samples.