Project description:Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of grain-filling stage are keys item that determined the growth of rice, and also the quality of seed. Therefore, to elucidating the mechanism of C/N signaling in a seed is an important problem for crops whose seed is used as food like rice. The DNA microarray analysis with the rice seed which was performed the additional fertilizer at the time of heading, in order to clarify how C/N signal change of the rhizosphere in seed production stage affects a seed component on a gene expression level. Fertilization was supplied at the same time of plantation and performed middle fertilizing 37 days after germination. 400 mg of ammonium chloride (NH4 Cl) was supplied at the time of heading to the “ + NH4 Cl ” group. Rice seeds were selected from 6 plants for RNA extraction, and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. We sought to understand the change of gene expression by the additional fertilization.
Project description:The oil palm fruit abnormality, mantled, is a somaclonal variant arising from tissue culture that drastically reduces yield, and has largely halted efforts to clone elite hybrids for breeding and oil production. Widely regarded as epigenetic, mantling had defied explanation, and has become an icon of unsustainability in environmentally sensitive tropical plantation crops. We identified the MANTLED gene using Epigenome Wide Association analysis of genetically identical palms from multiple clonal lineages. Hypomethylation of a LINE retrotransposon related to rice Karma, found in the intron of the homeotic gene DEFICIENS, is common to all mantled clones and is correlated with alternative splicing and loss of small RNA. DNA methylation is regained in spontaneous revertants accounting for non-Medelian inheritance of the Good Karma and Bad Karma epialleles. Thus epigenetic regulation of transposable elements results in somaclonal variation and provides a means to cull mantled nursery palms before committing limiting plantation resources to clonal propagation. DNA methylation profiling was performed using the McrBC DNA methylation dependent fractionation and microarray hybridization method as described in Lippman, Z., Gendrel, A. V., Colot, V. & Martienssen, R. Profiling DNA methylation patterns using genomic tiling microarrays. Nat Methods 2, 219-224 (2005).
Project description:The functional diversity of soil microbial communities was explored for a poplar plantation, which was treated solely with biogas slurry, or combined with biochar at different fertilization intensities over several years.
Project description:The oil palm fruit abnormality, mantled, is a somaclonal variant arising from tissue culture that drastically reduces yield, and has largely halted efforts to clone elite hybrids for breeding and oil production. Widely regarded as epigenetic, mantling had defied explanation, and has become an icon of unsustainability in environmentally sensitive tropical plantation crops. We identified the MANTLED gene using Epigenome Wide Association analysis of genetically identical palms from multiple clonal lineages. Hypomethylation of a LINE retrotransposon related to rice Karma, found in the intron of the homeotic gene DEFICIENS, is common to all mantled clones and is correlated with alternative splicing and loss of small RNA. DNA methylation is regained in spontaneous revertants accounting for non-Medelian inheritance of the Good Karma and Bad Karma epialleles. Thus epigenetic regulation of transposable elements results in somaclonal variation and provides a means to cull mantled nursery palms before committing limiting plantation resources to clonal propagation. DNA methylation profiling was performed using the McrBC DNA methylation dependent fractionation and microarray hybridization method as described in Lippman, Z., Gendrel, A. V., Colot, V. & Martienssen, R. Profiling DNA methylation patterns using genomic tiling microarrays. Nat Methods 2, 219-224 (2005). DNA methylation profiling was performed on 54 parthenocarpic mantled ramet, 43 normal ramet and 1 ortet adult leaf samples. For each sample, two independent fractionations of total genomic DNA and DNA methylation-depleted DNA were performed. Each total DNA/methylation-depleted DNA pair was differentially labeled and hydrized to a custon Nimblegen microarray in a dye-swapped design (4 array hybridizations per sample).
Project description:Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a disease of the central nervous system that progressively affects the motor system. Epidemiological studies have provided evidence that exposure to agriculture-related occupations or agrichemicals elevate a person’s risk for PD. Here, we sought to examine the possible epigenetic changes associated with working on a plantation on Oahu, HI and/or exposure to organochlorines (OGC) in PD cases. We measured genome-wide DNA methylation using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip array in matched peripheral blood and postmortem brain biospecimens in PD cases (n=20) assessed for years of plantation work and presence of organochlorines in brain tissue. The comparison of 10+ to 0 years of plantation work exposure detected 7 and 123 differentially methylated loci (DML) in brain and blood DNA, respectively (P<0.0001). The comparison of cases with 4+ to 0-2 detectable levels of OGC, identified 8 and 18 DML in brain and blood DNA, respectively (P <0.0001). Pathway analyses revealed links to key neurotoxic and neuropathologic pathways related to impaired immune and proinflammatory responses as well as impaired clearance of damaged proteins, as found in the predominantly glial cell population in these environmental exposure-related PD cases.
Project description:As virus diseases cannot be controlled by traditional plant protection methods the risk of their spread have to be minimized on vegetatively propagated plants, such as grapevine. Metagenomics approaches used for virus diagnostics, offer a unique opportunity to reveal the presence of all viral pathogens in the investigated plant, why their usage can reduce the risk of using infected material for a new plantation. Here we used a special field, deep sequencing of virus derived small RNAs, of this high throughput method for virus diagnostics and determined viromes of vineyards in Hungary. With NGS of virus derived small RNAs we could detect not only the viruses tested routinely, but also new ones, which have never been described in Hungary before. Virus presence didn’t correlated with the age of the plantation, moreover phylogenetic analysis of the identified virus isolates suggests that infections mostly caused by the usage of infected propagating material. Our results, validated by other molecular methods, highlighted further questions to be answered before these method can be introduced as a routine, reliable test for grapevine virus diagnostics.
Project description:Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus globulus are among the most widely cultivated trees, differing in lignin composition and plantation areas. As temperature is a key modulator in plant metabolism, a large-scale proteome analysis was carried out to investigate changes induced in plantlets grown at different temperatures.
Project description:The rapid expansion of fast-growing plantations in subtropical regions is closely linked to dry-season irrigation and fertilization; however, improper practices often lead to soil acidification and reduced nutrient bioavailability. Phosphorus (P), one of the most critical elements for plantation tree growth, shows complex spatial distribution patterns in soil that are influenced by multiple factors, directly affecting plantation productivity. This study investigated the effects of long-term fertilization and dry-season irrigation on the vertical distribution of phosphorus in an 8-year-old subtropical Eucalyptus plantation. This study employed stratified sampling (0–30 cm topsoil, 30–60 cm subsoil, 60–90 cm substratum) during dry seasons, coupled with metagenomics, metabolomics, and environmental factor analysis, to reveal vertical phosphorus cycling patterns and multiomics regulatory networks. Key findings: (1) Fertilization and dry-season irrigation had a limited influence on labile phosphorus and the diversity of P-cycling microorganisms. The topsoil presented significantly greater P availability than did the subsoil, manifested as elevated acid phosphatase activity (ACP), significant enrichment of the tryptophan metabolic pathway, and greater microbial diversity. (2) pH and the C:P ratio represent critical factors of vertical stratification in soil P cycling. Under acidic conditions, topsoil microorganisms facilitate P release via diverse metabolic pathways, whereas oligotrophic constraints in the substratum limit enzymatic activities. (3) We believe that potential cross-stratum microbial functional coordination exists in acidic soil P cycling, with linkages to tryptophan metabolism and polyP synthesis/degradation. Our study provides theoretical multiomics insights for optimizing the management of soil P pools in subtropical plantations under fertilization and dry-season irrigation.
Project description:Background and study aims
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commoncancers among humans worldwide. Recent studies demonstrated that the composition of the bacterial community in the human gut, as well as inflammation occurring in the gut, are some of the factors that modify the risk of an individual to develop CRC. The human gut is home to more than 1000 bacterial species, including health-promoting species and disease-causing species.
The consumption of rice bran, a by-product of rice milling, was previously shown to positively modify bacterial composition in the gut among healthy adults. The protective effect of a long-term rice bran consumption against CRC among individuals known to have higher risk of CRC, such as older individuals who are regular smokers and having a family history of CRC, needs to be established.
This study aims to investigate whether the implementation of a 24-week dietary programme involving rice bran consumption among adults at high risk of CRC is feasible, and whether it has any effect in inducing a health-promoting modification of the bacterial community, as well as a reduction of inflammation, in the gut of these individuals.
Who can participate?
Chinese adults of either gender, who are aged 50 or above and are categorised to be in the high risk CRC group by the Asian-Pacific Colorectal Screening tool, in which classification is based on age, smoking status and family history of CRC.
What does the study involve?
After the recruited subjects were screened for eligibility of study participation and written informed consent had been obtained from them, they were randomly assigned into either Group A or Group B. Participants in Group A were given packets of rice bran and were asked to consume 30 grams of the rice bran at 24-hour intervals for 24 weeks. Participants in Group B were given packets of rice powder that has similar appearance and colour as the rice bran, and were asked to consume 30 grams of the rice powder, also at 24-hour intervals for 24 weeks. All participants were asked to provide a stool sample and blood sample at various time points during the study, namely just before rice bran consumption, as well as 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after the start of rice bran consumption. Laboratory tests were conducted on these samples. All participants were also instructed to complete a log book, detailing the date and time of rice bran or rice powder intake each day, and the amount consumed. The participants also completed a faecal diary where they documented the frequency of egestion, and the shape and amount of stool egested each day, as well as the occurrence of any abdominal discomfort or pain.