scholarly journals Learning a genome-wide score of human–mouse conservation at the functional genomics level

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Bin Kwon ◽  
Jason Ernst

AbstractIdentifying genomic regions with functional genomic properties that are conserved between human and mouse is an important challenge in the context of mouse model studies. To address this, we develop a method to learn a score of evidence of conservation at the functional genomics level by integrating information from a compendium of epigenomic, transcription factor binding, and transcriptomic data from human and mouse. The method, Learning Evidence of Conservation from Integrated Functional genomic annotations (LECIF), trains neural networks to generate this score for the human and mouse genomes. The resulting LECIF score highlights human and mouse regions with shared functional genomic properties and captures correspondence of biologically similar human and mouse annotations. Analysis with independent datasets shows the score also highlights loci associated with similar phenotypes in both species. LECIF will be a resource for mouse model studies by identifying loci whose functional genomic properties are likely conserved.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Bin Kwon ◽  
Jason Ernst

AbstractIdentifying genomic regions with functional genomic properties that are conserved between human and mouse is an important challenge in the context of mouse model studies. To address this, we take a novel approach and learn a score of evidence of conservation at the functional genomics level by integrating large-scale information in a compendium of epigenomic, transcription factor binding, and transcriptomic data from human and mouse. The computational method we developed to do this, Learning Evidence of Conservation from Integrated Functional genomic annotations (LECIF), trains a neural network, which is then used to generate a genome-wide score in human and mouse. The resulting LECIF score highlights human and mouse regions with shared functional genomic properties and captures correspondence of biologically similar human and mouse annotations even though it was not explicitly given such information. LECIF will be a resource for mouse model studies.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1984
Author(s):  
Majid Nikpay ◽  
Sepehr Ravati ◽  
Robert Dent ◽  
Ruth McPherson

Here, we performed a genome-wide search for methylation sites that contribute to the risk of obesity. We integrated methylation quantitative trait locus (mQTL) data with BMI GWAS information through a SNP-based multiomics approach to identify genomic regions where mQTLs for a methylation site co-localize with obesity risk SNPs. We then tested whether the identified site contributed to BMI through Mendelian randomization. We identified multiple methylation sites causally contributing to the risk of obesity. We validated these findings through a replication stage. By integrating expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data, we noted that lower methylation at cg21178254 site upstream of CCNL1 contributes to obesity by increasing the expression of this gene. Higher methylation at cg02814054 increases the risk of obesity by lowering the expression of MAST3, whereas lower methylation at cg06028605 contributes to obesity by decreasing the expression of SLC5A11. Finally, we noted that rare variants within 2p23.3 impact obesity by making the cg01884057 site more susceptible to methylation, which consequently lowers the expression of POMC, ADCY3 and DNAJC27. In this study, we identify methylation sites associated with the risk of obesity and reveal the mechanism whereby a number of these sites exert their effects. This study provides a framework to perform an omics-wide association study for a phenotype and to understand the mechanism whereby a rare variant causes a disease.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 164 (1) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinghong Li ◽  
Willis X Li

Abstract Overactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) has been linked to tumorigenesis. To understand how a hyperactivated RTK functions differently from wild-type RTK, we conducted a genome-wide systematic survey for genes that are required for signaling by a gain-of-function mutant Drosophila RTK Torso (Tor). We screened chromosomal deficiencies for suppression of a gain-of-function mutation tor (torGOF), which led to the identification of 26 genomic regions that, when in half dosage, suppressed the defects caused by torGOF. Testing of candidate genes in these regions revealed many genes known to be involved in Tor signaling (such as those encoding the Ras-MAPK cassette, adaptor and structural molecules of RTK signaling, and downstream target genes of Tor), confirming the specificity of this genetic screen. Importantly, this screen also identified components of the TGFβ (Dpp) and JAK/STAT pathways as being required for TorGOF signaling. Specifically, we found that reducing the dosage of thickveins (tkv), Mothers against dpp (Mad), or STAT92E (aka marelle), respectively, suppressed torGOF phenotypes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in torGOF embryos, dpp is ectopically expressed and thus may contribute to the patterning defects. These results demonstrate an essential requirement of noncanonical signaling pathways for a persistently activated RTK to cause pathological defects in an organism.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
Salvatore Mastrangelo ◽  
Filippo Cendron ◽  
Gianluca Sottile ◽  
Giovanni Niero ◽  
Baldassare Portolano ◽  
...  

Through the development of the high-throughput genotyping arrays, molecular markers and genes related to phenotypic traits have been identified in livestock species. In poultry, plumage color is an important qualitative trait that can be used as phenotypic marker for breed identification. In order to assess sources of genetic variation related to the Polverara chicken breed plumage colour (black vs. white), we carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a genome-wide fixation index (FST) scan to uncover the genomic regions involved. A total of 37 animals (17 white and 20 black) were genotyped with the Affymetrix 600 K Chicken single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Array. The combination of results from GWAS and FST revealed a total of 40 significant markers distributed on GGA 01, 03, 08, 12 and 21, and located within or near known genes. In addition to the well-known TYR, other candidate genes have been identified in this study, such as GRM5, RAB38 and NOTCH2. All these genes could explain the difference between the two Polverara breeds. Therefore, this study provides the basis for further investigation of the genetic mechanisms involved in plumage color in chicken.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R. Keys ◽  
Kristin A. Knouse

ABSTRACTOur ability to understand and modulate mammalian physiology and disease requires knowing how all genes contribute to any given phenotype in the organism. Genome-wide screening using CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as a powerful method for the genetic dissection of cellular processes1,2, but the need to stably deliver single guide RNAs to millions of cells has restricted its implementation to ex vivo systems. These ex vivo systems cannot reproduce all of the cellular phenotypes observed in vivo nor can they recapitulate all of the factors that influence these phenotypes. There thus remains a pressing need for high-throughput functional genomics in a living organism. Here, we establish accessible genome-wide screening in the mouse liver and use this approach to uncover the complete regulation of cellular fitness in a living organism. We discover novel sex-specific and cell non-autonomous regulation of cell growth and viability. In particular, we find that the class I major histocompatibility complex is essential for preventing immune-mediated clearance of hepatocytes. Our approach provides the first comprehensive picture of cell fitness in a living organism and highlights the importance of investigating cellular phenomena in their native context. Our screening method is robust, scalable, and easily adapted to examine diverse cellular processes using any CRISPR application. We have hereby established a foundation for high-throughput functional genomics in a living mammal, enabling unprecedented insight into mammalian physiology and disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Rybin ◽  
Melina Ramic ◽  
Natalie R. Ricciardi ◽  
Philipp Kapranov ◽  
Claes Wahlestedt ◽  
...  

Genome instability is associated with myriad human diseases and is a well-known feature of both cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Until recently, the ability to assess DNA damage—the principal driver of genome instability—was limited to relatively imprecise methods or restricted to studying predefined genomic regions. Recently, new techniques for detecting DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and single strand breaks (SSBs) with next-generation sequencing on a genome-wide scale with single nucleotide resolution have emerged. With these new tools, efforts are underway to define the “breakome” in normal aging and disease. Here, we compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of these technologies and their potential application to studying neurodegenerative diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F Oppong ◽  
Pau Navarro ◽  
Chris S Haley ◽  
Sara Knott

We describe a genome-wide analytical approach, SNP and Haplotype Regional Heritability Mapping (SNHap-RHM), that provides regional estimates of the heritability across locally defined regions in the genome. This approach utilises relationship matrices that are based on sharing of SNP and haplotype alleles at local haplotype blocks delimited by recombination boundaries in the genome. We implemented the approach on simulated data and show that the haplotype-based regional GRMs capture variation that is complementary to that captured by SNP-based regional GRMs, and thus justifying the fitting of the two GRMs jointly in a single analysis (SNHap-RHM). SNHap-RHM captures regions in the genome contributing to the phenotypic variation that existing genome-wide analysis methods may fail to capture. We further demonstrate that there are real benefits to be gained from this approach by applying it to real data from about 20,000 individuals from the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study. We analysed height and major depressive disorder (MDD). We identified seven genomic regions that are genome-wide significant for height, and three regions significant at a suggestive threshold (p-value <1x10^(-5) ) for MDD. These significant regions have genes mapped to within 400kb of them. The genes mapped for height have been reported to be associated with height in humans, whiles those mapped for MDD have been reported to be associated with major depressive disorder and other psychiatry phenotypes. The results show that SNHap-RHM presents an exciting new opportunity to analyse complex traits by allowing the joint mapping of novel genomic regions tagged by either SNPs or haplotypes, potentially leading to the recovery of some of the "missing" heritability.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1786
Author(s):  
Soumeya Rida ◽  
Oula Maafi ◽  
Ana López-Malvar ◽  
Pedro Revilla ◽  
Meriem Riache ◽  
...  

Drought is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses hampering seed germination, development, and productivity. Maize is more sensitive to drought than other cereals, especially at seedling stage. Our objective was to study genetic regulation of drought tolerance at germination and during seedling growth in maize. We evaluated 420 RIL with their parents from a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population with PEG-induced drought at germination and seedling establishment. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out to identify genomic regions associated with drought tolerance. GWAS identified 28 and 16 SNPs significantly associated with germination and seedling traits under stress and well-watered conditions, respectively. Among the SNPs detected, two SNPs had significant associations with several traits with high positive correlations, suggesting a pleiotropic genetic control. Other SNPs were located in regions that harbored major QTLs in previous studies, and co-located with QTLs for cold tolerance previously published for this MAGIC population. The genomic regions comprised several candidate genes related to stresses and plant development. These included numerous drought-responsive genes and transcription factors implicated in germination, seedling traits, and drought tolerance. The current analyses provide information and tools for subsequent studies and breeding programs for improving drought tolerance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. e1009317
Author(s):  
Ilario De Toma ◽  
Cesar Sierra ◽  
Mara Dierssen

Trisomy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21) causes Down syndrome (DS). The trisomy does not simply result in the upregulation of HSA21--encoded genes but also leads to a genome-wide transcriptomic deregulation, which affect differently each tissue and cell type as a result of epigenetic mechanisms and protein-protein interactions. We performed a meta-analysis integrating the differential expression (DE) analyses of all publicly available transcriptomic datasets, both in human and mouse, comparing trisomic and euploid transcriptomes from different sources. We integrated all these data in a “DS network”. We found that genome wide deregulation as a consequence of trisomy 21 is not arbitrary, but involves deregulation of specific molecular cascades in which both HSA21 genes and HSA21 interactors are more consistently deregulated compared to other genes. In fact, gene deregulation happens in “clusters”, so that groups from 2 to 13 genes are found consistently deregulated. Most of these events of “co-deregulation” involve genes belonging to the same GO category, and genes associated with the same disease class. The most consistent changes are enriched in interferon related categories and neutrophil activation, reinforcing the concept that DS is an inflammatory disease. Our results also suggest that the impact of the trisomy might diverge in each tissue due to the different gene set deregulation, even though the triplicated genes are the same. Our original method to integrate transcriptomic data confirmed not only the importance of known genes, such as SOD1, but also detected new ones that could be extremely useful for generating or confirming hypotheses and supporting new putative therapeutic candidates. We created “metaDEA” an R package that uses our method to integrate every kind of transcriptomic data and therefore could be used with other complex disorders, such as cancer. We also created a user-friendly web application to query Ensembl gene IDs and retrieve all the information of their differential expression across the datasets.


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