Project description:We report genome-wide gene expression changes in olfactory bulb cells, in the context of low, wild-type or high levels of local CRH signaling by local interneurons onto adult-born CRHR1+ granule neurons. To test the gene expression changes associated with altered local CRH signaling, we utilize the following animal models: CRHR1-/- mice whose bulbs were infected with a control AAV-flex-EGFP virus = low local CRH signaling, CRHR1-Cre mice whose bulbs were infected with AAV-flex-EGFP = pseudo-wild-type local CRH signaling, and CRHR1-Cre mice whose bulbs were infected with AAV-flex-(CA)CRHR1, which is a constitutively active variant of CRHR1 = high local CRH signaling. We find that, in response to changes in local CRH signaling in the bulb, the largest ontological category of transcription changes in the bulb that occurs reciprocally between low and high levels of CRH signaling are gene regulatory factors. To test the contributions of one of these factors, POU6f1, we perform loss- and gain-of-function analysis. We show that CRHR1 activation results in transcriptional activation of POU6f1 and that POU6f1 in turn influences synaptogenesis and dendritic patterning of adult-born neurons and olfactory circuit behavior.
Project description:To quantify gene expression differences in olfactory epithelium between the mouse (Mus musculus) and the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), paired-end RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to profile olfactory epithelium transcriptomes of six Nile rats and six mice (C57BL/6J) (one male and one female at the age of 8, 12, and 16 weeks for each species).
Project description:A subset of COVID-19 patients exhibit altered olfactory function. Here we analyze bulk and single cell RNA-Seq datasets to identify cell types in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb that express cell entry molecules that mediate infection by SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2), the causal agent in COVID-19. We find that samples from whole olfactory mucosa in species including mouse and human express two key genes involved in CoV-2 entry, ACE2 and TMPRSS2. However, neither olfactory sensory neurons nor olfactory bulb neurons express these genes, which are instead expressed in support cells, stem cells, and perivascular cells. These findings suggest that CoV-2 infection of non-neuronal cell types leads to anosmia and related disturbances in odor perception in COVID-19 patients.
Project description:A subset of COVID-19 patients exhibit altered olfactory function. Here we analyze bulk and single cell RNA-Seq datasets to identify cell types in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb that express cell entry molecules that mediate infection by SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2), the causal agent in COVID-19. We find that samples from whole olfactory mucosa in species including mouse and human express two key genes involved in CoV-2 entry, ACE2 and TMPRSS2. However, neither olfactory sensory neurons nor olfactory bulb neurons express these genes, which are instead expressed in support cells, stem cells, and perivascular cells. These findings suggest that CoV-2 infection of non-neuronal cell types leads to anosmia and related disturbances in odor perception in COVID-19 patients.
Project description:The goal of this study is to profile NFIA DNA-binding properties in the adult mouse brain. We performed chromatin immunoprecipitation of NFIA in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb of wildtype mice, and samples were subjected to sequencing. We find that NFIA preferentially binds DNA in the hippocampus but not in the olfactory bulb as evidenced by the distinct lack of NFIA binding peaks in the olfactory bulb. Mass spectrometry results suggested that NFIA has a significantly higher binding affinity for NFIB in the olfactory bulb, potentially blocking NFIA’s ability to bind DNA. Virally induced siRNAs against NFIB or scramble were injected into the olfactory bulb of adult wildtype mice to knock down NFIB. We performed chromatin immunoprecipitation of NFIA in the olfactory bulb injected with siRNA-NFIB or siRNA-scramble. Subsequent sequencing revealed an increase of NFIA binding in the olfactory bulb upon the depletion of NFIB as compared to the siRNA-scramble and wildtype controls.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.