Project description:The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a unique freshwater crayfish characterized by genetic uniformity, phenotypic variability, and substantial invasive potential. As invasion into different habitats occurs in the absence of genetic variation, epigenetic mechanisms have been suggested to mediate phenotypic adaptation. However, epigenetic regulation has not been analyzed in this organism yet. Here we show that the recently published P. virginalis draft genome sequence encodes a conserved DNA methylation system. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of multiple replicates and different tissues revealed a methylation pattern that is characterized by gene body methylation of housekeeping genes. Interestingly, this pattern was largely tissue-invariant, suggesting a function that is unrelated to cell-fate specification. Indeed, integrative analysis of RNA-seq datasets showed that gene body methylation correlated with stable gene expression, while unmethylated genes often showed a high degree of inter-individual expression variation. Our findings thus establish the methylome of an emerging model organism and suggest that methylation-dependent regulation of gene expression variability may facilitate the phenotypic adaptation and invasive spread of this animal.
Project description:There is a need for expansion of the available potato genomic and transcriptomic resources in order to explore novel traits for potato improvement. Transcriptomic data derived from leaves from eleven native South American potato landraces (ten Peruvian and another; TBR Chilean) has been collected in order to aid the annotation of these genomes.
Project description:Leaf senescence, the last step of leaf development, is a highly regulated process, modulated by a number of internal and external factors. During the senescence process resources like nitrogen (N) are remobilized from senescent tissues to sink tissues. This intrinsically depends on the accurate dispersion of resources according to sink strength of various organs competing with each other. Consequently, N deficiency accelerates barley leaf senescence and its resupply can delay the senescence progression. In order to identify genetic and metabolic factors that regulate leaf senescence in response to N supply, transcriptomic and global metabolic rearrangements were analyzed in barley primary at early and later stages of N deprivation, and after N resupply to N-deficient plants.
Project description:The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a unique freshwater crayfish characterized by genetic uniformity, phenotypic variability, and substantial invasive potential. As invasion into different habitats occurs in the absence of genetic variation, epigenetic mechanisms have been suggested to mediate phenotypic adaptation. However, epigenetic regulation has not been analyzed in this organism yet. Here we show that the recently published P. virginalis draft genome sequence encodes a conserved DNA methylation system. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of multiple replicates and different tissues revealed a methylation pattern that is characterized by gene body methylation of housekeeping genes. Interestingly, this pattern was largely tissue-invariant, suggesting a function that is unrelated to cell-fate specification. Indeed, integrative analysis of RNA-seq datasets showed that gene body methylation correlated with stable gene expression, while unmethylated genes often showed a high degree of inter-individual expression variation. Our findings thus establish the methylome of an emerging model organism and suggest that methylation-dependent regulation of gene expression variability may facilitate the phenotypic adaptation and invasive spread of this animal.