scholarly journals Nonadditive gene expression is correlated with nonadditive phenotypic expression in interspecific triploid hybrids of willow (Salix spp.)

Author(s):  
Craig H Carlson ◽  
Yongwook Choi ◽  
Agnes P Chan ◽  
Christopher D Town ◽  
Lawrence B Smart

Abstract Many studies have highlighted the complex and diverse basis for heterosis in inbred crops. Despite the lack of a consensus model, it is vital that we turn our attention to understanding heterosis in undomesticated, heterozygous, and polyploid species, such as willow (Salix spp.). Shrub willow is a dedicated energy crop bred to be fast-growing and high yielding on marginal land without competing with food crops. A trend in willow breeding is the consistent pattern of heterosis in triploids produced from crosses between diploid and tetraploid species. Here, we test whether differentially expressed genes are associated with heterosis in triploid families derived from diploid S. purpurea, diploid S. viminalis, and tetraploid S. miyabeana parents. Three biological replicates of shoot tips from all family progeny and parents were collected after 12 weeks in the greenhouse and RNA extracted for RNA-Seq analysis. This study provides evidence that nonadditive patterns of gene expression are correlated with nonadditive phenotypic expression in interspecific triploid hybrids of willow. Expression-level dominance was most correlated with heterosis for biomass yield traits and was highly enriched for processes involved in starch and sucrose metabolism. In addition, there was a global dosage effect of parent alleles in triploid hybrids, with expression proportional to copy number variation. Importantly, differentially expressed genes between family parents were most predictive of heterosis for both field and greenhouse collected traits. Altogether, these data will be used to progress models of heterosis to complement the growing genomic resources available for the improvement of heterozygous perennial bioenergy crops.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig H Carlson ◽  
Yongwook Choi ◽  
Agnes P Chan ◽  
Christopher D Town ◽  
Lawrence B Smart

Many studies have highlighted the complex and diverse basis for heterosis in inbred crops. Despite the lack of a consensus model, it is vital that we turn our attention to understanding heterosis in undomesticated, heterozygous, and polyploid species, such as willow (Salix spp.). Shrub willow is a dedicated energy crop bred to be fast-growing and high yielding on marginal land without competing with food crops. A trend in willow breeding is the consistent pattern of heterosis in triploids produced from crosses between diploid and tetraploid species. Here, we test whether differentially expressed genes are associated with heterosis in triploid families derived from diploid S. purpurea, diploid S. viminalis, and tetraploid S. miyabeana parents. Three biological replicates of shoot tips from all family progeny and parents were collected after 12 weeks in the greenhouse and RNA extracted for RNA-Seq analysis. This study provides evidence that nonadditive patterns of gene expression are correlated with nonadditive phenotypic expression in interspecific triploid hybrids of willow. Expression-level dominance was most correlated with heterosis for biomass yield traits and was highly enriched for processes involved in starch and sucrose metabolism. In addition, there was a global dosage effect of parent alleles in triploid hybrids, with expression proportional to copy number variation. Importantly, differentially expressed genes between family parents were most predictive of heterosis for both field and greenhouse collected traits. Altogether, these data will be used to progress models of heterosis to complement the growing genomic resources available for the improvement of heterozygous perennial bioenergy crops.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowan AlEjielat ◽  
Anas Khaleel ◽  
Amneh H. Tarkhan

Abstract Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a rare inflammatory disorder affecting the spinal joints. Although we know some of the genetic factors that are associated with the disease, the molecular basis of this illness has not yet been fully elucidated, and the genes involved in AS pathogenesis have not been entirely identified. The current study aimed at constructing a gene network that may serve as an AS gene signature and biomarker, both of which will help in disease diagnosis and the identification of therapeutic targets. Previously published gene expression profiles of 16 AS patients and 16 gender- and age-matched controls that were profiled on the Illumina HumanHT-12 V3.0 Expression BeadChip platform were mined. Patients were Portuguese, 21 to 64 years old, were diagnosed based on the modified New York criteria, and had Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index scores > 4 and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index scores > 4. All patients were receiving only NSAIDs and/or sulphasalazine. Functional enrichment and pathway analysis were performed to create an interaction network of differentially expressed genes. Results ITM2A, ICOS, VSIG10L, CD59, TRAC, and CTLA-4 were among the significantly differentially expressed genes in AS, but the most significantly downregulated genes were the HLA-DRB6, HLA-DRB5, HLA-DRB4, HLA-DRB3, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1, ITM2A, and CTLA-4 genes. The genes in this study were mostly associated with the regulation of the immune system processes, parts of cell membrane, and signaling related to T cell receptor and antigen receptor, in addition to some overlaps related to the IL2 STAT signaling, as well as the androgen response. The most significantly over-represented pathways in the data set were associated with the “RUNX1 and FOXP3 which control the development of regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs)” and the “GABA receptor activation” pathways. Conclusions Comprehensive gene analysis of differentially expressed genes in AS reveals a significant gene network that is involved in a multitude of important immune and inflammatory pathways. These pathways and networks might serve as biomarkers for AS and can potentially help in diagnosing the disease and identifying future targets for treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Li ◽  
Jing-An Chen ◽  
Qian-Zhi Ding ◽  
Guan-Yi Lu ◽  
Ning Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Methamphetamine (METH) is one of the most widely abused illicit substances worldwide; unfortunately, its addiction mechanism remains unclear. Based on accumulating evidence, changes in gene expression and chromatin modifications might be related to the persistent effects of METH on the brain. In the present study, we took advantage of METH-induced behavioral sensitization as an animal model that reflects some aspects of drug addiction and examined the changes in gene expression and histone acetylation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of adult rats. Methods We conducted mRNA microarray and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) coupled to DNA microarray (ChIP-chip) analyses to screen and identify changes in transcript levels and histone acetylation patterns. Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses, were performed to analyze the differentially expressed genes. We then further identified alterations in ANP32A (acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein-32A) and POU3F2 (POU domain, class 3, transcription factor 2) using qPCR and ChIP-PCR assays. Results In the rat model of METH-induced behavioral sensitization, METH challenge caused 275 differentially expressed genes and a number of hyperacetylated genes (821 genes with H3 acetylation and 10 genes with H4 acetylation). Based on mRNA microarray and GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, 24 genes may be involved in METH-induced behavioral sensitization, and 7 genes were confirmed using qPCR. We further examined the alterations in the levels of the ANP32A and POU3F2 transcripts and histone acetylation at different periods of METH-induced behavioral sensitization. H4 hyperacetylation contributed to the increased levels of ANP32A mRNA and H3/H4 hyperacetylation contributed to the increased levels of POU3F2 mRNA induced by METH challenge-induced behavioral sensitization, but not by acute METH exposure. Conclusions The present results revealed alterations in transcription and histone acetylation in the rat PFC by METH exposure and provided evidence that modifications of histone acetylation contributed to the alterations in gene expression caused by METH-induced behavioral sensitization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantinos G. Broustas ◽  
Axel J. Duval ◽  
Sally A. Amundson

AbstractAs a radiation biodosimetry tool, gene expression profiling is being developed using mouse and human peripheral blood models. The impact of dose, dose-rate, and radiation quality has been studied with the goal of predicting radiological tissue injury. In this study, we determined the impact of aging on the gene expression profile of blood from mice exposed to radiation. Young (2 mo) and old (21 mo) male mice were irradiated with 4 Gy x-rays, total RNA was isolated from whole blood 24 h later, and subjected to whole genome microarray analysis. Pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed young mice responded to x-ray exposure by significantly upregulating pathways involved in apoptosis and phagocytosis, a process that eliminates apoptotic cells and preserves tissue homeostasis. In contrast, the functional annotation of senescence was overrepresented among differentially expressed genes from irradiated old mice without enrichment of phagocytosis pathways. Pathways associated with hematologic malignancies were enriched in irradiated old mice compared with irradiated young mice. The fibroblast growth factor signaling pathway was underrepresented in older mice under basal conditions. Similarly, brain-related functions were underrepresented in unirradiated old mice. Thus, age-dependent gene expression differences should be considered when developing gene signatures for use in radiation biodosimetry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Yu ◽  
Huan Yang ◽  
Qiao-li Lv ◽  
Li-chong Wang ◽  
Zi-long Tan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor. Because of the limited understanding of its pathogenesis, the prognosis of glioblastoma remains poor. This study was conducted to explore potential competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network chains and biomarkers in glioblastoma by performing integrated bioinformatics analysis. Methods Transcriptome expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes between glioblastoma and normal tissues. Biological pathways potentially associated with the differentially expressed genes were explored by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, and a protein-protein interaction network was established using the STRING database and Cytoscape. Survival analysis using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis was based on the Kaplan–Meier curve method. A ceRNA network chain was established using the intersection method to align data from four databases (miRTarBase, miRcode, TargetScan, and lncBace2.0), and expression differences and correlations were verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis and by determining the Pearson correlation coefficient. Additionally, an MTS assay and the wound-healing and transwell assays were performed to evaluate the effects of complement C1s (C1S) on the viability and migration and invasion abilities of glioblastoma cells, respectively. Results We detected 2842 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, 2577 DE long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and 309 DE microRNAs (miRNAs) that were dysregulated in glioblastoma. The final ceRNA network consisted of six specific lncRNAs, four miRNAs, and four mRNAs. Among them, four DE mRNAs and one DE lncRNA were correlated with overall survival (p < 0.05). C1S was significantly correlated with overall survival (p= 0.015). In functional assays, knockdown of C1S inhibited the proliferation and invasion of glioblastoma cell lines. Conclusions We established four ceRNA networks that may influence the occurrence and development of glioblastoma. Among them, the MIR155HG/has-miR-129-5p/C1S axis is a potential marker and therapeutic target for glioblastoma. Knockdown of C1S inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cells. These findings clarify the role of the ceRNA regulatory network in glioblastoma and provide a foundation for further research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1037.2-1038
Author(s):  
X. Sun ◽  
S. X. Zhang ◽  
S. Song ◽  
T. Kong ◽  
C. Zheng ◽  
...  

Background:Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, genetic disease manifesting in the skin or joints or both, and also has a strong genetic predisposition and autoimmune pathogenic traits1. The hallmark of psoriasis is sustained inflammation that leads to uncontrolled keratinocyte proliferation and dysfunctional differentiation. And it’s also a chronic relapsing disease, which often necessitates a long-term therapy2.Objectives:To investigate the molecular mechanisms of psoriasis and find the potential gene targets for diagnosis and treating psoriasis.Methods:Total 334 gene expression data of patients with psoriasis research (GSE13355 GSE14905 and GSE30999) were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. After data preprocessing and screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by R software. Online toll Metascape3 was used to analyze Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs. Interactions of proteins encoded by DEGs were discovered by Protein-protein interaction network (PPI) using STRING online software. Cytoscape software was utilized to visualize PPI and the degree of each DEGs was obtained by analyzing the topological structure of the PPI network.Results:A total of 611 DEGs were found to be differentially expressed in psoriasis. GO analysis revealed that up-regulated DEGs were mostly associated with defense and response to external stimulus while down-regulated DEGs were mostly associated with metabolism and synthesis of lipids. KEGG enrichment analysis suggested they were mainly enriched in IL-17 signaling, Toll-like receptor signaling and PPAR signaling pathways, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and lipid metabolism. In addition, top 9 key genes (CXCL10, OASL, IFIT1, IFIT3, RSAD2, MX1, OAS1, IFI44 and OAS2) were identified through Cytoscape.Conclusion:DEGs of psoriasis may play an essential role in disease development and may be potential pathogeneses of psoriasis.References:[1]Boehncke WH, Schon MP. Psoriasis. Lancet 2015;386(9997):983-94. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61909-7 [published Online First: 2015/05/31].[2]Zhang YJ, Sun YZ, Gao XH, et al. Integrated bioinformatic analysis of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in plaque psoriasis. Mol Med Rep 2019;20(1):225-35. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10241 [published Online First: 2019/05/23].[3]Zhou Y, Zhou B, Pache L, et al. Metascape provides a biologist-oriented resource for the analysis of systems-level datasets. Nat Commun 2019;10(1):1523. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09234-6 [published Online First: 2019/04/05].Acknowledgements:This project was supported by National Science Foundation of China (82001740), Open Fund from the Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology (Shanxi Medical University) (KLCP2019) and Innovation Plan for Postgraduate Education in Shanxi Province (2020BY078).Disclosure of Interests:None declared


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2311
Author(s):  
Hao Ding ◽  
Yueyue Lin ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Lan Chen ◽  
Genxi Zhang ◽  
...  

The mechanisms behind the gene expression and regulation that modulate the development and growth of pigeon skeletal muscle remain largely unknown. In this study, we performed gene expression analysis on skeletal muscle samples at different developmental and growth stages using RNA sequencing (RNA−Seq). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using edgeR software. Weighted gene co−expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify the gene modules related to the growth and development of pigeon skeletal muscle based on DEGs. A total of 11,311 DEGs were identified. WGCNA aggregated 11,311 DEGs into 12 modules. Black and brown modules were significantly correlated with the 1st and 10th day of skeletal muscle growth, while turquoise and cyan modules were significantly correlated with the 8th and 13th days of skeletal muscle embryonic development. Four mRNA−mRNA regulatory networks corresponding to the four significant modules were constructed and visualised using Cytoscape software. Twenty candidate mRNAs were identified based on their connectivity degrees in the networks, including Abca8b, TCONS−00004461, VWF, OGDH, TGIF1, DKK3, Gfpt1 and RFC5, etc. A KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that many pathways were related to the growth and development of pigeon skeletal muscle, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR, AMPK, FAK, and thyroid hormone pathways. Five differentially expressed genes (LAST2, MYPN, DKK3, B4GALT6 and OGDH) in the network were selected, and their expression patterns were quantified by qRT−PCR. The results were consistent with our sequencing results. These findings could enhance our understanding of the gene expression and regulation in the development and growth of pigeon muscle.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Yunxiao Wei ◽  
Guoliang Li ◽  
Shujiang Zhang ◽  
Shifan Zhang ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
...  

Allopolyploidy is an evolutionary and mechanistically intriguing process involving the reconciliation of two or more sets of diverged genomes and regulatory interactions, resulting in new phenotypes. In this study, we explored the gene expression patterns of eight F2 synthetic Brassica napus using RNA sequencing. We found that B. napus allopolyploid formation was accompanied by extensive changes in gene expression. A comparison between F2 and the parent shows a certain proportion of differentially expressed genes (DEG) and activation\silent gene, and the two genomes (female parent (AA)\male parent (CC) genomes) showed significant differences in response to whole-genome duplication (WGD); non-additively expressed genes represented a small portion, while Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that it played an important role in responding to WGD. Besides, genome-wide expression level dominance (ELD) was biased toward the AA genome, and the parental expression pattern of most genes showed a high degree of conservation. Moreover, gene expression showed differences among eight individuals and was consistent with the results of a cluster analysis of traits. Furthermore, the differential expression of waxy synthetic pathways and flowering pathway genes could explain the performance of traits. Collectively, gene expression of the newly formed allopolyploid changed dramatically, and this was different among the selfing offspring, which could be a prominent cause of the trait separation. Our data provide novel insights into the relationship between the expression of differentially expressed genes and trait segregation and provide clues into the evolution of allopolyploids.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382098329
Author(s):  
Yujie Weng ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Yucheng Ji ◽  
Zhongxian Li ◽  
Rong Jia ◽  
...  

Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)+ breast cancer is considered the most dangerous type of breast cancers. Herein, we used bioinformatics methods to identify potential key genes in HER2+ breast cancer to enable its diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction. Datasets of HER2+ breast cancer and normal tissue samples retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases were subjected to analysis for differentially expressed genes using R software. The identified differentially expressed genes were subjected to gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses followed by construction of protein-protein interaction networks using the STRING database to identify key genes. The genes were further validated via survival and differential gene expression analyses. We identified 97 upregulated and 106 downregulated genes that were primarily associated with processes such as mitosis, protein kinase activity, cell cycle, and the p53 signaling pathway. Visualization of the protein-protein interaction network identified 10 key genes ( CCNA2, CDK1, CDC20, CCNB1, DLGAP5, AURKA, BUB1B, RRM2, TPX2, and MAD2L1), all of which were upregulated. Survival analysis using PROGgeneV2 showed that CDC20, CCNA2, DLGAP5, RRM2, and TPX2 are prognosis-related key genes in HER2+ breast cancer. A nomogram showed that high expression of RRM2, DLGAP5, and TPX2 was positively associated with the risk of death. TPX2, which has not previously been reported in HER2+ breast cancer, was associated with breast cancer development, progression, and prognosis and is therefore a potential key gene. It is hoped that this study can provide a new method for the diagnosis and treatment of HER2 + breast cancer.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Victor Campos Coelho ◽  
Rossella Gratton ◽  
João Paulo Britto de Melo ◽  
José Leandro Andrade-Santos ◽  
Rafael Lima Guimarães ◽  
...  

HIV-1 infection elicits a complex dynamic of the expression various host genes. High throughput sequencing added an expressive amount of information regarding HIV-1 infections and pathogenesis. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) is currently the tool of choice to investigate gene expression in a several range of experimental setting. This study aims at performing a meta-analysis of RNA-Seq expression profiles in samples of HIV-1 infected CD4+ T cells compared to uninfected cells to assess consistently differentially expressed genes in the context of HIV-1 infection. We selected two studies (22 samples: 15 experimentally infected and 7 mock-infected). We found 208 differentially expressed genes in infected cells when compared to uninfected/mock-infected cells. This result had moderate overlap when compared to previous studies of HIV-1 infection transcriptomics, but we identified 64 genes already known to interact with HIV-1 according to the HIV-1 Human Interaction Database. A gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed enrichment of several pathways involved in immune response, cell adhesion, cell migration, inflammation, apoptosis, Wnt, Notch and ERK/MAPK signaling.


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