Project description:In summer 2014, we conducted experiments to determine the effects of different N substrates on phytoplankton communities in the North Pacific Ocean and in the transition zone of the California Current and gyre (Shilova, Mills et al., 2017). Samples were incubated with nitrate, ammonium, urea, and filtered deep water (FDW) for 48 hours (T48). Two treatments added iron, alone (Fe) or with a mix of N substrates (N+Fe), to determine the effects of Fe on the utilization of N substrates. All treatments resulted in changes in phytoplankton cell abundances and photosynthetic activity at both locations, with differences between phytoplankton groups. Prochlorococcus had large increases in biomass in response to ammonium and urea, while both eukaryotic phytoplankton and Synechococcus had only modest biomass increases in response to N+Fe and FDW. Moreover, distinct physiological responses were observed within sub-populations of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. In order to understand the variable responses to N substrates among phytoplankton groups and sub-populations in the California Current transition zone, the present work examines transcriptional changes that occurred 24 h after the substrates were added. Specifically, we hypothesize that transcription changes at 24 h indicate which phytoplankton taxa are N-limited, and thus help explain changes in cell abundances and photosynthetic activity by individual phytoplankton groups observed at 48 h. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the diversity in physiological responses within Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are evident in the transcriptional responses measured at sub-population resolution.
Project description:The genetic structure of the indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, the oldest known lineage of modern man, holds an important key to understanding humanity's early history. Previously sequenced human genomes have been limited to recently diverged populations. Here we present the first complete genome sequences of an indigenous hunter-gatherer from the Kalahari Desert and of a Bantu from Southern Africa, as well as protein-coding regions from an additional three hunter-gatherers from disparate regions of the Kalahari. We characterize the extent of whole-genome and exome diversity among the five men, reporting 1.3 million novel DNA differences genome-wide, and 13,146 novel amino-acid variants. These data allow genetic relationships among Southern African foragers and neighboring agriculturalists to be traced more accurately than was previously possible. Adding the described variants to current databases will facilitate inclusion of Southern Africans in medical research efforts.
Project description:The genetic structure of the indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of Southern Africa, the oldest known lineage of modern man, holds an important key to understanding humanity's early history. Previously sequenced human genomes have been limited to recently diverged populations. Here we present the first complete genome sequences of an indigenous hunter-gatherer from the Kalahari Desert and of a Bantu from Southern Africa, as well as protein-coding regions from an additional three hunter-gatherers from disparate regions of the Kalahari. We characterize the extent of whole-genome and exome diversity among the five men, reporting 1.3 million novel DNA differences genome-wide, and 13,146 novel amino-acid variants. These data allow genetic relationships among Southern African foragers and neighboring agriculturalists to be traced more accurately than was previously possible. Adding the described variants to current databases will facilitate inclusion of Southern Africans in medical research efforts. Copy number differences between NA18507 and KB1 were predicted from the depth of whole-genome shotgun sequence reads. These predictions were then validated using array-CGH using a a genome-wide design as well as a custom design targeted at specific regions of copy number difference