Project description:Metagenome data from soil samples were collected at 0 to 10cm deep from 2 avocado orchards in Channybearup, Western Australia, in 2024. Amplicon sequence variant (ASV) tables were constructed based on the DADA2 pipeline with default parameters.
Project description:Toxicity of river sediments are assessed using whole sediment toxicity tests with benthic organisms. The challenge, however, is the differentiation between multiple effects caused by complex contaminant mixtures and the unspecific toxicity endpoints such as survival, growth or reproduction. Moreover, natural sediment properties, such as grain size distribution and organic carbon content, can influence the test parameters by masking pollutant toxicity. The use of gene expression profiling facilitates the identification of transcriptional changes at the molecular level that are specific to the bioavailable fraction of pollutants. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is ideally suited for these purposes, as (i) it can be exposed to whole sediments, and (ii) its genome is fully sequenced and widely annotated. In this pilot study we exposed C. elegans for 48 h to three sediments varying in degree of contamination with e.g. heavy metals and organic pollutants. Following the exposure period, gene expression was profiled using a whole genome DNA-microarray approach. Whole genome DNA microarray experiments were performed using a common reference design to identify differentially expressed genes in nematodes exposed to one of three river sediments of differing pollution level. Each sample consists of the 5 “biological replicates”.
Project description:Dietary intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) has been inversely associated with lower risk of ulcerative colitis. A pig model was used to evaluate the impact of feeding FV on the host response to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods: Six-week-old pigs were fed a grower diet alone or supplemented with lyophilized FV equivalent to the half (half-FV) or full (full-FV) daily levels recommended for humans by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Pigs were fed a 1) grower diet alone (negative control), 2) grower diet and orally treated with 4% DSS for 10 days to induce colitis (positive control), 3) half-FV diet treated with 4% DSS or 4) full-FV diet treated with 4% DSS. Pigs were monitored for the development of clinical signs of colitis. Proximal colon (PC) contents and mucosa (PCM) were collected for gut metagenome, tissue transcriptome and histopathological analysis. Results: Pigs fed the full-FV diet did not exhibit diarrhea, showed less fecal occult blood (FOB), PCM crypt hyperplasia but with no differential expressed genes (DEG) or changes in PC microbiome diversity (p < 0.05). Pigs within the half-FV group exhibited increased group FOB and DEG associated with tissue remodeling, crypt and goblet cell hyperplasia in the PCM and no changes in PC microbiome diversity and two pigs exhibiting diarrhea (p < 0.05). Pigs within the DSS positive control group exhibited a reduced DEG involved with intestinal immune response and PC microbiome diversity with altered metagenome, increased group PCM erosion and FOB with persistent diarrhea in one pig (p < 0.05) Conclusions: Overall, our results showed that pigs fed a three-week full-FV supplemented diet, were resistant to DSS-induced colitis with a differential dose-dependent protective effect on host intestinal tissue and gut metagenome when exposed to an inflammatory challenge.