Project description:Molecular events regulating apple fruit ripening and sensory quality are largely unknown. Such knowledge is essential for genomic-assisted apple breeding and postharvest quality management. In this study, a parallel transcriptome profile analysis, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination and systematic physiological characterization were performed on two apple cultivars, Honeycrisp (HC) and Cripps Pink (CP), which have distinct ripening features and texture attributes. Systematic physiological characterization of fruit ripening based on weekly maturity data indicated substantial differences in fruit crispness and firmness at comparable ripening stages. SEM images of fruit cortex tissues prepared from fruits with equivalent maturity suggested that the cell wall thickness may contribute to the observed phenotypes of fruit firmness and crispness. A high-density long-oligo apple microarray consisting of duplex 190,135 cross-hybridization-free 50-70-mer isothermal probes, and representing 23,997 UniGene clusters, was manufactured on a Nimblegen array platform. Transcriptome profiling identified a total of 1793 and 1209 UniGene clusters differentially expressed during ripening from cortex tissues of HC and CP, respectively. UniGenes implicated in hormone metabolism and response, cell wall biosynthesis and modification and those encoding transcription factors were among the prominent functional groups. Between the two cultivars, most of the identified UniGenes were similarly regulated during fruit ripening; however, a short list of gene families or specific family members exhibited distinct expression patterns between the two cultivars, which may represent candidate genes regulating cultivar-specific apple fruit ripening patterns and quality attributes. Using a single color labeling system, a total of 24 microarray slides were utilized, one for each cortex tissue sample, for transcriptome profiling analysis. 2 cultivars x 3 developmental stages x 4 biological replicates.
Project description:Molecular events regulating apple fruit ripening and sensory quality are largely unknown. Such knowledge is essential for genomic-assisted apple breeding and postharvest quality management. In this study, a parallel transcriptome profile analysis, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination and systematic physiological characterization were performed on two apple cultivars, Honeycrisp (HC) and Cripps Pink (CP), which have distinct ripening features and texture attributes. Systematic physiological characterization of fruit ripening based on weekly maturity data indicated substantial differences in fruit crispness and firmness at comparable ripening stages. SEM images of fruit cortex tissues prepared from fruits with equivalent maturity suggested that the cell wall thickness may contribute to the observed phenotypes of fruit firmness and crispness. A high-density long-oligo apple microarray consisting of duplex 190,135 cross-hybridization-free 50-70-mer isothermal probes, and representing 23,997 UniGene clusters, was manufactured on a Nimblegen array platform. Transcriptome profiling identified a total of 1793 and 1209 UniGene clusters differentially expressed during ripening from cortex tissues of HC and CP, respectively. UniGenes implicated in hormone metabolism and response, cell wall biosynthesis and modification and those encoding transcription factors were among the prominent functional groups. Between the two cultivars, most of the identified UniGenes were similarly regulated during fruit ripening; however, a short list of gene families or specific family members exhibited distinct expression patterns between the two cultivars, which may represent candidate genes regulating cultivar-specific apple fruit ripening patterns and quality attributes.
Project description:Genome wide DNA methylation profiling of blood samples from eight female identical twins of Han Chinese for forensic age prediction, age 21 to 32. The Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 485,000 CpGs at a single-nucleotide resolution. Samples included 8 pairs of identical female twins of Han Chinese.
Project description:Objective: To characterize miRNAs in 41-year archived plasma in relation to life expectancy independent of genes. Method: Plasma miRNAs from nine identical male twins were profiled using next-generation sequencing. Results: The average absolute difference in the minimum life expectancy was 9.68 years. Intra-class correlation coefficients were above 0.4 for 50% of miRNAs. Comparing deceased twins with their alive co-twin brothers, the concentrations were increased for 34 but decreased for 30 miRNAs. Conclusion: Identical twins discordant in life expectancy were unlike in the majority of miRNAs, suggesting that environmental factors are pivotal in miRNAs related to life expectancy.
Project description:Genetically identical inbred mice exhibit substantial stable individual variability in exploratory behavior. We used microarrays to look at gene expression differences in the hippocampus in female mice separated by stable differences in exploratory behavior
Project description:Comparison of female and male Daphnia magna gene expression with age. The sexes in Daphnia magna are genetically identical. The aim of this study was to identify possible differences in gene expression between genders with age.
Project description:Individual phenotypic differences persist even in genetically identical individuals, although separating genetic and environmental causation is difficult or impossible in most organisms. To understand the basis of individual differences in the absence of genetic differences, we measured two quantitative reproductive traits in genetically identical young adult Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms in a shared environment and performed single-individual mRNA-seq on each worm. We identified hundreds of genes for which expression variation was strongly associated with reproductive traits, some of which depended on prior environmental experience and some of which was random. Multiple small sets of genes together were highly predictive of reproductive traits across individuals.