Decreased synthesis and variable gene transcripts of oxytocin in a domesticated avian species

AbstractThe Bengalese finch was domesticated more than 250 years ago from the wild white-rumped munia. Similar to other domesticated species, Bengalese finches show a reduced fear response and have lower corticosterone levels, compared to white-rumped munias. Bengalese finches and munias also have different song types. Since oxytocin (OT) has been found to be involved in stress coping and auditory processing, we tested whether the OT sequence and brain expression pattern and content differ in wild munias and domesticated Bengalese finches. We identified intra-strain variability in the untranslated regions of the OT sequence in Bengalese finches in comparison to the munia OT. Several of these changes fall in specific transcription factor binding sites, which show either a conserved or a relaxed evolutionary trend in the avian lineage, and in vertebrates in general. Although in situ hybridization in several hypothalamic nuclei did not reveal significant differences in the number of cells expressing OT between the two strains, real-time quantitative PCR showed significantly lower OT mRNA expression in the diencephalon of the Bengalese finches relative to munias. Our study thus points to a decreased OT synthesis in the domestic strain compared with the wild strain in birds. This is an opposite pattern from that found in some domesticated mammals, suggesting that different processes of OT function might have occurred in mammals and birds under domestication.

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Development of a versatile TaqMan™ real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) compliant anchor sequence to quantify bacterial gene transcripts from RNA samples containing carryover genomic DNA

BMC Biotechnology ◽

10.1186/1472-6750-13-7 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Vijay J Gadkar ◽

Martin Filion

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Quantitative Pcr ◽

Genomic Dna ◽

Bacterial Gene ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Gene Transcripts ◽

Anchor Sequence

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Listening to speech and non-speech sounds activates phonological and semantic knowledge differently

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021820923944 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (8) ◽

pp. 1135-1149 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James Bartolotti ◽

Scott R Schroeder ◽

Sayuri Hayakawa ◽

Sirada Rochanavibhata ◽

Peiyao Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Auditory Processing ◽

Semantic Information ◽

Semantic Knowledge ◽

Phonological Information ◽

Opposite Pattern ◽

Semantic Access ◽

Word Forms ◽

Time Courses ◽

The Mind ◽

Phonological Activation

How does the mind process linguistic and non-linguistic sounds? The current study assessed the different ways that spoken words (e.g., “dog”) and characteristic sounds (e.g., <barking>) provide access to phonological information (e.g., word-form of “dog”) and semantic information (e.g., knowledge that a dog is associated with a leash). Using an eye-tracking paradigm, we found that listening to words prompted rapid phonological activation, which was then followed by semantic access. The opposite pattern emerged for sounds, with early semantic access followed by later retrieval of phonological information. Despite differences in the time courses of conceptual access, both words and sounds elicited robust activation of phonological and semantic knowledge. These findings inform models of auditory processing by revealing the pathways between speech and non-speech input and their corresponding word forms and concepts, which influence the speed, magnitude, and duration of linguistic and nonlinguistic activation.

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Monitoring growth compatibility and bacteriocin gene transcription of adjunct with starter lactic acid bacteria strains in milk

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/jfp-20-317 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stamatia Asimakoula ◽

Katerina Giaka ◽

Christos Fanitsios ◽

Athanasia Kakouri ◽

Elpiniki Vandera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Streptococcus Thermophilus ◽

Antagonistic Activity ◽

Starter Cultures ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

Combination Treatments ◽

Gene Transcripts ◽

Bacteriocin Gene

When developing protective starter cultures for application in cheese technologies, monitoring growth interactions between starter and adjunct LAB species and in situ expression of bacteriocin genes in the mixtures, are crucial. This study firstly aimed to monitor growth of mixed LAB strain populations during milk model fermentations by microbial counts and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The primary starter Streptococcus thermophilus ST1 and costarter Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris M78 strains served as the basic starter composite co-inoculated in all milk treatments. Adjunct bacteriocinogenic Enterococcus faecium strains KE82 and GL31 and a ripening Lactiplantibacillus plantarum H25 strain were added separately to the starter composite resulting in four LAB combination treatments. The second aim was to quantify gene transcripts of nisin and enterocins B and A synthesized by M78, KE82 and GL31, respectively, by real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and to detect the in situ antilisterial effects of the cocultures. Adjunct LAB strains showed growth compatibility with the starter, since all of them exhibited a 2 to 3 log units increase in their population levels, compared to their initial inoculation levels, with ST1 prevailing in all treatments. KE82 grew more competitively than GL31 whereas cocultures with KE82 displayed the strongest in situ antilisterial activity. Nisin gene expression levels were higher at the exponential phase of microbial growth in all treatments. Finally, expression of nisin and enterocins A and B genes was interrelated indicating an antagonistic activity.

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Cellotriose and Cellotetraose as Inducers of the Genes Encoding Cellobiohydrolases in the Basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00724-10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 76 (18) ◽

pp. 6164-6170 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Hitoshi Suzuki ◽

Kiyohiko Igarashi ◽

Masahiro Samejima

Keyword(s):

Phanerochaete Chrysosporium ◽

Glycoside Hydrolase ◽

Soluble Sugars ◽

Wood Decay ◽

Actin Gene ◽

Transcript Levels ◽

Time Points ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Genes Encoding ◽

Gene Transcripts

ABSTRACT The wood decay basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium produces a variety of cellobiohydrolases belonging to glycoside hydrolase (GH) families 6 and 7 in the presence of cellulose. However, no inducer of the production of these enzymes has yet been identified. Here, we quantitatively compared the transcript levels of the genes encoding GH family 6 cellobiohydrolase (cel6A) and GH family 7 cellobiohydrolase isozymes (cel7A to cel7F/G) in cultures containing glucose, cellulose, and cellooligosaccharides by real-time quantitative PCR, in order to evaluate the transcription-inducing effect of soluble sugars. Upregulation of transcript levels in the presence of cellulose compared to glucose was observed for cel7B, cel7C, cel7D, cel7F/G, and cel6A at all time points during cultivation. In particular, the transcription of cel7C and cel7D was strongly induced by cellotriose or cellotetraose. The highest level of cel7C transcripts was observed in the presence of cellotetraose, whereas the highest level of cel7D transcripts was found in the presence of cellotriose, amounting to 2.7 × 106 and 1.7 × 106 copies per 105 actin gene transcripts, respectively. These numbers of cel7C and cel7D transcripts were higher than those in the presence of cellulose. In contrast, cellobiose had a weaker transcription-inducing effect than either cellotriose or cellotetraose for cel7C and had little effect in the case of cel7D. These results indicate that cellotriose and cellotetraose, but not cellobiose, are possible natural cellobiohydrolase gene transcription inducers derived from cellulose.

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Stochastic Expression of Invasion Genes in Plasmodium falciparum Schizonts

10.21203/rs.3.rs-152167/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jaishree Tripathi ◽

Lei Zhu ◽

Sourav Nayak ◽

Michal Stoklasa ◽

Zbynek Bozdech

Keyword(s):

Distinct Group ◽

Gene Families ◽

Surface Proteins ◽

Wide Range ◽

Protein Encoding ◽

Erythrocyte Binding ◽

Stochastic Expression ◽

Gene Transcripts ◽

Unicellular Organisms ◽

Variable Gene

Abstract Genetically identical cells are known to exhibit differential phenotypes in the same environmental conditions. These phenotypic variants are linked to transcriptional stochasticity and have been shown to contribute towards adaptive flexibility of a wide range of unicellular organisms. Here, we investigated transcriptional heterogeneity and stochastic gene expression in P. falciparum by performing single cell RNA sequencing on blood stage schizonts. Our data reveals significant transcriptional variations in the schizonts stage with a distinct group of highly variable invasion gene transcripts being identified. Moreover, our data reflected several diversification processes including putative developmental “checkpoint”; transcriptomically distinct parasite sub-populations and transcriptional switches in variable gene families (var, rifin, phist). Most of these features of transcriptional variability were preserved in isogenic parasite cell populations (albeit with a lesser amplitude) suggesting a role of epigenetic factors in cell-to-cell transcriptional variations in human malaria parasites. Lastly, we applied quantitative RT-PCR and RNA-FISH approach and confirmed stochastic expression of merozoites surface proteins encoding msp1, msp3, msp7, rhoptry protein encoding rhopH2 and erythrocyte binding antigen encoding eba181, some of which represent key candidates for invasion blocking vaccines.

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Differential expression of miR-145, miR-429 and its target genes in partial reproductive tissues of swine with high and low litter size

Annals of Animal Science ◽

10.1515/aoas-2016-0082 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 671-681 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiao-Dong Zhang ◽

Yi-Fang Feng ◽

Xu Zhang ◽

Mi Tian ◽

Tao Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Litter Size ◽

Target Genes ◽

Opposite Pattern ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

Reproductive Regulation ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Reproductive Tissues ◽

E Box ◽

Yorkshire Pigs ◽

Zeb1 Expression

Abstract To justify the function of miRNAs in reproductive regulation in swine, the expression of miR-145, miR-429 and their related genes were studied in reproductive tissues of sows. Wannan black pig and Yorkshire pigs with extremely high (n=6) and low (n=6) litter size were sampled, and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed on tissue samples from ovaries, uterus, oviduct, hypothalamus, and pituitary. The results indicated that miR-145, miR-429, and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 gene (ZEB1) were expressed significantly different in Wannan black pig and Yorkshire pigs. In pigs with different fecundity, miR-145 in the uterus was expressed significantly lower in pigs with high litter size, than in pigs with low litter size. The miR-429 expression in the oviduct and pituitary of pigs with high litter size was significantly higher compared with tissues sampled from pigs with low litter size. The ZEB1 expression in the pituitary was lower in pigs with high litter size in comparison to pigs with low litter size, while luteinizing hormone beta subunit (LHβ) showed the opposite pattern of expression. In conclusion, miR-145 and miR-429 were differently expressed in pigs with high and low litter size and might have a role in affecting litter size of sows.

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Evaluation of real-time quantitative PCR machines for the monitoring of fusion gene transcripts using the Europe against cancer protocol

Leukemia ◽

10.1038/sj.leu.2403590 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 305-307 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M Silvy ◽

J Mancini ◽

X Thirion ◽

F Sigaux ◽

J Gabert

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Quantitative Pcr ◽

Fusion Gene ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Gene Transcripts

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Has MRD monitoring superseded other prognostic factors in adult ALL?

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2012-06-379040 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 120 (23) ◽

pp. 4470-4481 ◽

Cited By ~ 98

Author(s):

Monika Brüggemann ◽

Thorsten Raff ◽

Michael Kneba

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Residual Disease ◽

Fusion Gene ◽

Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽

Receptor Gene ◽

Cell Receptor ◽

Early Assessment ◽

Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽

Study Protocols ◽

Gene Transcripts

Abstract Significant improvements have been made in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the past 2 decades, and measurement of submicroscopic (minimal) levels of residual disease (MRD) is increasingly used to monitor treatment efficacy. For a better comparability of MRD data, there are ongoing efforts to standardize MRD quantification using real-time quantitative PCR of clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements, real-time quantitative-based detection of fusion gene transcripts or breakpoints, and multiparameter flow cytometric immunophenotyping. Several studies have demonstrated that MRD assessment in childhood and adult ALL significantly correlates with clinical outcome. MRD detection is particularly useful for evaluation of treatment response, but also for early assessment of an impending relapse. Therefore, MRD has gained a prominent position in many ALL treatment studies as a tool for tailoring therapy with growing evidence that MRD supersedes most conventional stratification criteria at least for Ph-negative ALL. Most study protocols on adult ALL follow a 2-step approach with a first classic pretherapeutic and a second MRD-based risk stratification. Here we discuss whether and how MRD is ready to be used as main decisive marker and whether pretherapeutic factors and MRD are really competing or complementary tools to individualize treatment.

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