Project description:The olfactory system is intricately intertwined with species adaptation in insects. Genomic studies have unveiled significant duplications and expansions of olfactory receptor genes in social behavior insects. However, the precise mechanisms through which these duplicated genes integrate into olfactory neural circuitries to enhance species-specific adaptative functions remain inadequately understood.
Project description:The olfactory system is intricately intertwined with species adaptation in insects. Genomic studies have unveiled significant duplications and expansions of olfactory receptor genes in social behavior insects. However, the precise mechanisms through which these duplicated genes integrate into olfactory neural circuitries to enhance species-specific adaptative functions remain inadequately understood.
Project description:Inherent hemispheric asymmetry is significant for cognition, language and other functions. An understanding of normal brain and asymmetry development in the early period will further the knowledge of how different hemispheres prioritize specific functions, which is still unknown. We analysed the developmental changes in and asymmetry of the proteome in the bilateral frontal lobes of three foetal specimens in the late first trimester of pregnancy (9, 11, 13 gestational weeks). We found that during this period, the difference in expression between gestational weeks increased, and the difference in asymmetric expression decreased. The patterns of protein expression changes in the bilateral frontal lobes were different. Our results show that brain asymmetry can be observed in the early stage. Researchers can use these findings to further investigate the mechanisms of brain asymmetry.
Project description:Non-syndromic facial asymmetry is commonly found in dentofacial deformity populations with skeletal malocclusions. Asymmetry of this type may result from imbalanced growth and function of both the jaw and associated muscles. Among the multiple genes that interact to affect the craniofacial musculoskeletal complex during pre and postnatal growth and development, NODAL signaling pathwy (NSP) genes are active in adult skeletal muscle and may be key factors in development, growth and maintenance of facial asymmetry. It is of interest to determine whether expression of NODAL pathway genes might differ in masseter muscles between individuals with malocclusion that have facial asymmetry and normal symmetry. Human Transcriptome 2.0 GeneChips (HTA2.0) were used to examine global gene expression in masster muscles between malocclusion subjects with posterior facial asymmetry and with normal facial symmetry.
Project description:Hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal processes is a fundamental feature of the human brain and drives symptom lateralization in Parkinson's disease (PD), but its molecular determinants are unknown. Here, we determine epigenetic changes and genes involved in hemispheric asymmetry in the healthy and PD brain. Neurons of healthy individuals exhibit numerous hemispheric differences in DNA methylation, affecting genes implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. In PD patients, hemispheric asymmetry in DNA methylation is even greater and involves many PD risk genes. Moreover, the lateralization of clinical PD symptoms involves epigenetic, transcriptional, and proteomic differences across hemispheres that affect neurodevelopment, immune activation, and synaptic transmission. In aging, healthy neurons demonstrate a progressive loss of hemisphere asymmetry in epigenomes that is amplified in PD. For PD patients, a long disease course is associated with retaining more hemispheric asymmetry in neuronal epigenomes. Hemispheric differences in epigenetic gene regulation are prevalent in neurons and may affect the progression and symptoms of PD.
Project description:Allogrooming is a behaviour in which a worker uses its mouth parts to remove debris from the body of other colony members. This behaviour, observed in several species of eusocial insects, play a role in defence against parasites and pathogens. In honeybees, allogrooming represents an important resistance mechanism that seems to limit ectoparasites load, especially mites, within colonies and its expression depends on genetic and environmental factors. The degree of specialization of individuals performing this task is still unclear and behavioural and physiological correlates of allogroomers are largely unknown. It would be advantageous for allogroomers to be able to detect nestmates needing to be groomed. Since many stressors, including pathogens and parasites, change the odour of workers in A. mellifera, an enhanced perception of such chemical cues could contribute to a possibly specialized phenotype of allogroomers. Indeed, antennae play a key role in the expression of hygienic behaviours and proteomic investigation also showed that in the honeybee individuals performing different tasks differ for antennal profile of soluble olfactory proteins, which play a crucial role in the first steps of odour recognition. We thus investigated the expression of olfactory proteins in the antennae, predicting that if allogroomers have any degree of chemosensory specialization, this would reflect in a different antennal proteomic profile.
Project description:Non-syndromic facial asymmetry is commonly found in dentofacial deformity populations with skeletal malocclusions. Asymmetry of this type may result from imbalanced growth and function of both the jaw and associated muscles. Among the multiple genes that interact to affect the craniofacial musculoskeletal complex during pre and postnatal growth and development, NODAL signaling pathwy (NSP) genes are active in adult skeletal muscle and may be key factors in development, growth and maintenance of facial asymmetry. It is of interest to determine whether expression of NODAL pathway genes might differ in masseter muscles between individuals with malocclusion that have facial asymmetry and normal symmetry. Human Transcriptome 2.0 GeneChips (HTA2.0) were used to examine global gene expression in masster muscles between malocclusion subjects with posterior facial asymmetry and with normal facial symmetry. Eleven patients undergoing orthoganthic surgery were selected for comparison of masseter muscle gene expression on microarrays. Two subjects had posterior facial asymmetry (one with class II open bite and one with class III open bite malocclusion) and nine subjects had normal facial symmetry (three with class II open bite, two with class III open bite and four with class II deep bite malocclusion). RNA representative of total gene expression in masseter muscles of the malocclusion subjects with and without posterior facial asymmetry was prepared for labeling and hybridization on HTA2.0 chips. The two subjects with facial asymmetry clustered separately from eight other malocclusion subjects by a principle component analysis (PCA), even though one had a class II and the other a class III malocclusion. Sample 4L_Open_II is from a subject who has sleep apnea. Data from 4L_Open_II clustered independent of the asymmetry group and the eight other subjects of the symmetry group by PCA and was not included in analysis of differential expression with facial symmetry. Masseter muscles are paired jaw muscles (i.e. right and left masseter). In some cases, there was not sufficient quantity/quality of RNA from one side, thus the other side was used. Please note that the following information is provided in the 'source name' field of each sample record; subject ID number; either left or right masseter; J CRANIOFAC SURG_ID# corresponding to the data presented in the manuscript
Project description:We analyzed data from sequencing-based massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) retaining the strand orientation of the alignments. These analyses showed pervasive asymmetry in reporter signal from test element strand orientation. Present in elements derived from all regions of the human genome, we found test elements derived from gene bodies display concordant strand asymmetry with the sense orientation of the gene body. Furthermore, we observe that test elements form Alu sequence also present concordant strand asymmetry with Alu retrotransposon features. We establish sequence features that drive some of this asymmetry.
Project description:Distant enhancer elements are a major source of specificity in mammalian gene expression. Although enhancers that regulate broad developmental decisions and inducible gene expression have been studied extensively, little is known about regulatory elements that govern monogenic and monoallelic expression. Here, using high throughput epigenetic and genetic techniques we identified a plethora of distant enhancers that regulate monoallelic olfactory receptor (OR) gene expression. Potential OR enhancers have unique, cell type specific epigenetic marks that distinguish them from other neuronal enhancers and correlate with enhancer activity in vivo. Using sequence capture to enrich for these sequences we identified Dnase-protected footprints that reveal novel regulatory sequences and transcription factors required for OR gene activation. Our experiments provide insight to the regulation of OR expression, and describe novel principles and methodologies towards the understanding of transcriptional mechanisms that generate cellular diversity. In vivo examination of H3K79me3 enrichment and DNAse protected footprints on olfactory receptor enhancer sequences. We performed ChIP-seq on native chromatin isolated from the mouse olfactory epithelium using antibodies against H3K79me3. To sequence accessible regions of the genome we treated nuclei with limiting amounts of DNAse I to digest accessible chromatin and perform Dnase Hypersensitivity (DHS)-seq. In the olfactory epithelium, the H enhancer – the first described enhancer for olfactory receptors has a well-defined DNAse I hypersensitivity peak and is flanked by high levels of H3K79me3. We find other intergenic sequences nearby olfactory receptor genes that share the same chromatin signature, and test their function in vivo. TO uncover transcription factor footprints on olfactory receptor enhancers we performed sequence capture of the DHS-seq library to enrich for these sequences. We find multiple DNAse-protected sequences and perform motif analysis on transcription factor footprints to reveal factors involved in olfactory receptor gene regulation.