Project description:RNA-sequencing of the orbitofrontal cortex was performed in male and female rats following exposure to the limited bedding and nesting model of early life adversity.
Project description:Leaf contents of free riboflavin were modulated by ectopic expression of the turtle gene encoding riboflavin-binding protein (RfBP). Compared to Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) ecotype Col-0 (wild type), REAT (modified type) that constitutive express RfBP had 71%-77% less flavins of free form. We used microarray to investigate the influence on plants due to the reduced free flavin. One modified line (REAT11) and wild type (WT) were tested by microarray, and the experiments data revealed that abundance of transcripts for 950 genes in REAT was altered compared to the wild type. Four samples were analyzed. Two WT and two REAT11 biological replicates were analyzed (one array each).
Project description:Uncovering the genomic regulation of phenotypic adaptation is a major goal in biology, but this has been hard to achieve for complex behavioral traits. Here, we leverage the repeated evolution of obligate cavity-nesting in birds to test the hypothesis that the shared pressure to compete for a limited breeding resource drives convergent behavioral evolution via convergent gene regulatory changes in the brain. Using behavioral assays in the field, hormonal measures, and transcriptome-wide analyses in 10 focal species, we examined females and males in five avian families, each including one obligate cavity-nesting species and a related species with a more flexible nesting strategy. Results support the hypothesis of behavioral convergence, with high levels of territorial aggression in obligate cavity-nesters, particularly among females. Levels of testosterone were not associated with nesting strategy for either sex, but phylogenetic analyses of individual genes and co-regulated gene networks revealed some shared patterns of gene expression, with functional enrichment related to metabolic and mitochondrial processes. Though this gene regulatory convergence may contribute to behavioral convergence, concordance in gene expression did not scale across multiple families. These observations indicate that replicated evolutionary increases in aggression arise via largely lineage-specific changes in brain gene expression.
Project description:Sex determination is the process by which and original bipotential gonad differentiate into either a testis or ovaries. While mammals and birds determine their sex solely by genetic clues (genetic sex determination, GSD), other vertebrates like the turtle Trachemys scripta are influenced by environmental factors, like temperature (environmental sex determination, ESD). In both cases an initially bipotential gonad develops into either testes or ovaries in response to GSD or ESD cues. In order to shed light into the differences and similarities between sex determination systems we performed single-cell RNA-seq on Trachemys scripta developing gonads during the sex determination window.
Project description:Microbes have central roles in the development and health of animals, being the introduction of specific microbial species a potential conservation strategy to protect animals from emerging diseases. Thus, insight into the microbiota of the species and their habitats is essential. In this manuscript, we report for the first time the bacterial composition of all the components (eggshells of hatched and unhatched eggs, internal content of unhatched eggs, intestinal content of hatchling and pipping sea turtles, and sand) of three nesting beaches of Caretta caretta along the Italian coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The analysis of 26 amplicon samples was carried out using next-generation sequencing analysis, targeting V3-V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Samples featured mainly Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, whose percentages depended on the sample type. Our results showed that, although from different sampling sites, the internal content of the unhatched eggs, intestinal content of hatchling and pipping sea turtles share the microbiota, which was yet different from that of eggshells and sand of the same nesting beach. This study suggests the maternal and environmental influence alongside a protective role of eggshells in shaping the egg microbiota of Caretta caretta sea turtles.
Project description:The long-term variability of marine turtle populations remains poorly understood, limiting science and management. Here we use basin-scale climate indices and regional surface temperatures to estimate loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Borrowing from fisheries research, our models investigate how oceanographic processes influence juvenile recruitment and regulate population dynamics. This novel approach finds local populations in the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic are regionally synchronized and strongly correlated to ocean conditions--such that climate models alone explain up to 88% of the observed changes over the past several decades. In addition to its performance, climate-based modeling also provides mechanistic forecasts of historical and future population changes. Hindcasts in both regions indicate climatic conditions may have been a factor in recent declines, but future forecasts are mixed. Available climatic data suggests the Pacific population will be significantly reduced by 2040, but indicates the Atlantic population may increase substantially. These results do not exonerate anthropogenic impacts, but highlight the significance of bottom-up oceanographic processes to marine organisms. Future studies should consider environmental baselines in assessments of marine turtle population variability and persistence.