Project description:Basque whalers were active in the North Atlantic between the 11th and 18th. In the 16th and 17th c., they focused their attention to the coasts of Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, establishing shore stations from where they launched boats for chasing whales. On shore, they proceeded to render the blubber into oil by boiling it in large trypots. The residual blubber and remaining tissues were then used as fuel to boil more blubber. When the fire pit was full, the cinders were shoveled out, and the process began anew with new materials. Fist-sized lumps of cinder found at Bonne Espérance-4 (EiBk-61), a 16th Basque whaling site on the Quebec Lower North Shore, were sampled for proteomics analysis, to detect potential remains of whale tissues in the cinder. A simple protocol was employed for rapidly processing samples for nanoLC-MS/MS analysis. Out of 10 spots sampled on two lumps, materials recovered from one successfully yielded whale proteins. The study confirmed the presence of blubber and muscle remains (42 protein groups, including proteins such as myosin, myoglobin and hemoglobin) as well as baleen remains identified by cuticular keratins (12 protein groups, and up to 46 % protein coverage on type I keratin). Baleen, abundantly found at the site, was likely also used as fuel; based on keratin markers, the baleen belonged to a Balaenidae species. The processing of bowhead whale tissue was substantiated by specific peptides from myoglobin and obscurin, a result consistent with the targeting of bowhead whale by Basque whalers.
Project description:Comparative genomic hybridisation of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from a single clonal complex, in order to determine genomic diversity. Isolates were selected from a range of tissue types and serotypes in order to cover the full diversity of the clone, and also in order to try and identify tissue-specific genes
Project description:This series includes 3 microarrays used to detect SWCoV1, a novel group III coronavirus in Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga whale) liver. The series includes 2 control whale livers and 1 whale liver containing SWCoV1.
Project description:Tumor heterogeneity may reduce the efficacy of molecularly guided systemic therapy for cancers that have metastasized. To determine whether the genomic alterations in a single metastasis provide a reasonable assessment of the major oncogenic drivers of other dispersed metastases in an individual, we analyzed multiple tumors from men with disseminated prostate cancer through whole-exome sequencing, array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and RNA transcript profiling, and we compared the genomic diversity within and between individuals.
Project description:The identity of every segment in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is determined by the action of one or more homeotic selector genes. These genes encode proteins containing DNA-binding domains and function by regulating downstream target genes. The structure and function of homeotic genes are highly conserved across a wide range of animals including human. Although much information is available on the molecular and biochemical nature of homeotic genes, comparatively little is known regarding the mechanism/s that are used to generate segmental diversity. This series of experiments were carried out to determine targets of the homeotic gene Ultrabithorax.
