Project description:The interaction of animals with microbes relies on the specific recognition of microbial-derived molecules by receptors of the immune system. Sponges (phylum Porifera), as sister group of the Eumetazoa, provide insights into conserved mechanisms for animal-microbe crosstalk, but empirical data is limited. Here we aimed to characterize the immune response of sponges upon microbial stimuli by RNA-Seq. Two sponges species from the Mediterranean Sea, Aplysina aerophoba and Dysidea avara, were challenged with microbial-associated molecular patterns (lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan) or sterile artificial seawater (control) in aquarium experiments. Sponge tissue samples were collected 1h, 3h, and 5h after treatment. The response of the sponges to the treatments was assessed by differential gene expression analysis of RNA-Seq data. For each species, we compared the transcriptomic profiles of the samples in MAMP treatment to control within each time point.
Project description:Generation of chromosome level genome assembly of the marine sponge Dysidea avara and exploration of immune receptor NOD-Like structures and expansion
Project description:In this study, we investigated whether miRNA deregulation might underlie the functional abnormalities of cystic fibrosis (CF) macrophages. To this aim we performed miRNA profiling in macrophages from CF and non-CF macrophages. This led to the identification of a panel of differentially expressed miRNAs in CF macrophages compared to non-CF cells.