Project description:Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized systems-based analysis of cellular functions. The goal of this study is to compare NGS-derived salivary gland transcriptome profilings (RNA-seq) to better understand the molecular nature of the physiological differences in adult murine salivary glands. Methods: Major murine salivary gland mRNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed at the gene level with STAR followed by Cufflinks. In vivo NaCl reabsorption measurements were performed for validation. Results: Using an optimized data analysis workflow, we mapped about 15 million sequence reads per sample to the mouse genome (build mm10) and identified 1991 genes that were differentially expressed across three major salivary glands. RNA-seq data provided valuable insights into the nature of the functional differences among the major salivary glands Conclusions: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of murine salivary gland transcriptomes, with biologic replicates, generated by RNA-seq technology. Our results confirm functions of many genes, identified using genetically modified mice. We conclude that RNA-seq-based transcriptome characterization would offer a comprehensive and sensitive evaluation of the gene expression.
Project description:SUUR protein was found to be a major component of three repressive chromatin states named BLACK, BLUE and GREEN chromatins. Here we addressed a question of developmental dynamics of these chromatin states using SUUR as a marker. SUUR binding in larval salivary glands, brains and 12-14 hours embryos was determined using DamID technique.
Project description:The Norway rat has important impacts on our life. They are amongst the most used research subjects, resulting in ground-breaking advances. At the same time, wild rats live in close association with us, leading to various adverse interactions. In face of this relevance, it is surprising how little is known about their natural behaviour. While recent laboratory studies revealed their complex social skills, little is known about their social behaviour in the wild. An integration of these different scientific approaches is crucial to understand their social life, which will enable us to design more valid research paradigms, develop more effective management strategies, and to provide better welfare standards. Hence, I first summarise the literature on their natural social behaviour. Second, I provide an overview of recent developments concerning their social cognition. Third, I illustrate why an integration of these areas would be beneficial to optimise our interactions with them.
Project description:BackgroundMurine kobuviruses (MuKV) are newly recognized picornaviruses first detected in murine rodents in the USA in 2011. Little information on MuKV epidemiology in murine rodents is available. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the prevalence and genomic characteristics of rat kobuvirus in Guangdong, China.ResultsFecal samples from 223 rats (Rattus norvegicus) were collected from Guangdong and kobuviruses were detected in 12.6% (28) of samples. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial 3D and complete VP1 sequence regions showed that rat kobuvirus obtained in this study were genetically closely related to those of rat/mouse kobuvirus reported in other geographical areas. Two near full-length rat kobuvirus genomes (MM33, GZ85) were acquired and phylogenetic analysis of these revealed that they shared very high nucleotide/amino acids identity with one another (95.4%/99.4%) and a sewage-derived sequence (86.9%/93.5% and 87.5%/93.7%, respectively). Comparison with original Aichivirus A strains, such human kobuvirus, revealed amino acid identity values of approximately 80%.ConclusionOur findings indicate that rat kobuvirus have distinctive genetic characteristics from other Aichivirus A viruses. Additionally, rat kobuvirus may spread via sewage.
Project description:Inflammation is a key component of pathological angiogenesis. Here we induce cornea neovascularisation using sutures placed into the cornea, and sutures are removed to induce a regression phase. We used whole transcriptome microarray to monitor gene expression profies of several genes
Project description:Ecological factors, such as predation, have traditionally been used to explain sociability. However, it is increasingly recognised that individuals within a group do not associate randomly, and that these non-random associations can generate fitness advantages. The majority of the empirical evidence on differentiated associations in group-living mammals, however, comes from a limited number of taxa and we still know very little about their occurrence and characteristics in some highly social species, such as rats (Rattus spp.). Here, using network analysis, we quantified association patterns in four groups of male fancy rats. We found that the associations between rats were not randomly distributed and that most individuals had significantly more preferred/avoided associates than expected by random. We also found that these preferences can be stable over time, and that they were not influenced by individuals' rank position in the dominance hierarchy. Our findings are consistent with work in other mammals, but contrast with the limited evidence available for other rat strains. While further studies in groups with different demographic composition are warranted to confirm our findings, the occurrence of differentiated associations in all male groups of rats have important implications for the management and welfare of captive rat populations.
Project description:Individual differences in behaviors are seen across many species, and investigations have focused on traits linked to aggression, risk taking, emotionality, coping styles, and differences in cognitive systems. The current study investigated whether there were individual differences in proactive interference tasks in rats (Rattus Norvegicus), and tested hypotheses suggesting that these tasks should load onto a single factor and there should be clusters of rats who perform well or poorly on these tasks. The performance of 39 rats was tested across three learning tasks that all involved disengagement from an irrelevant previously learned stimulus to a relevant stimulus: latent inhibition (LI), partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE), and reversal learning (RL). An exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of one factor underlying performance. A cluster analysis revealed the existence of sets of rats displaying either weak LI and strong PREE and RL effects, or vice versa. These findings suggest that proactive interference may be based on a single underlying psychological system in rats.
Project description:Proteins produced in the salivary glands of arthropod herbivores can function as effectors to modify plant defense responses. To obtain a set of candidate, salivary gland specific genes for the mite herbivore Tetranychus urticae, mites were dissected and the head region was recovered. Specifically, the proterosoma was dissected from 250 mites. This includes the salivary glands, and other nearby tissue (given their small size, exact micro-dissection of salivary glands was not possible). As a reference for assessing differential expression to identify genes that might be salivary gland specific, three replicates of 100 whole mites were used. Female mites, which are much larger than males, were used in all cases for collection of RNA.