scholarly journals Identification and Functional Annotation of Genes Related to Horses’ Performance: From GWAS to Post-GWAS

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1173
Author(s):  
Thayssa O. Littiere ◽  
Gustavo H. F. Castro ◽  
Maria del Pilar R. Rodriguez ◽  
Cristina M. Bonafé ◽  
Ana F. B. Magalhães ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Gene Network Analysis ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms

Integration of genomic data with gene network analysis can be a relevant strategy for unraveling genetic mechanisms. It can be used to explore shared biological processes between genes, as well as highlighting transcription factors (TFs) related to phenotypes of interest. Unlike other species, gene–TF network analyses have not yet been well applied to horse traits. We aimed to (1) identify candidate genes associated with horse performance via systematic review, and (2) build biological processes and gene–TF networks from the identified genes aiming to highlight the most candidate genes for horse performance. Our systematic review considered peer-reviewed articles using 20 combinations of keywords. Nine articles were selected and placed into groups for functional analysis via gene networks. A total of 669 candidate genes were identified. From that, gene networks of biological processes from each group were constructed, highlighting processes associated with horse performance (e.g., regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure by vasopressin and regulation of actin polymerization and depolymerization). Transcription factors associated with candidate genes were also identified. Based on their biological processes and evidence from the literature, we identified the main TFs related to horse performance traits, which allowed us to construct a gene–TF network highlighting TFs and the most candidate genes for horse performance.

scholarly journals Co-expression network analysis of the genes associated with pistillody-stamen development in wheat

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingli Liao ◽  
Zhenyong Chen ◽  
Zaijun Yang ◽  
Weiying Chen ◽  
Shuhong Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Male Sterility ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Ovary Development ◽  
Mads Box ◽  
Stamen Development ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Wheat Tissues

Abstract Background: Crop male sterility has great values in both theoretical research and breeding application. Wheat pistillody-stamen is an important male sterility phenomenon, and HTS-1 is an important pistillody-stamen material. However the molecular mechanism of HTS-1 stamens transformed into pistils or pistil-like structures remains a mystery. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) are widely used to explore hub genes and gene interaction networks from high throughput data in various plants. Results: In the present study, for exploring gene networks associated with wheat pistillody-stamen development, WGCNA was employed to analyze 11 RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data of wheat tissues, including stamens of CSTP, pistils and pistillody-stamen of HTS-1. 19 out of 25 merged modules were highly associated with specific wheat tissues, and the MEdarkseagreen1 module was highly related to wheat pistillody-stamen (correlation with weight r =0.7, correlation p-value p =0.02). Then 180 genes about wheat flower development were identified from the MEdarkseagreen1 module by GO term analysis. Among 180 genes, the hub gene number associated with anther, filament, style, and ovary development were 12, 3, 3, and 10, respectively. We compared the published pistillody related proteins with proteins of HTS-1 by BLAST. A total of 58 pistillody-stamen development associated proteins were validated by BLAST. MADS-box and YABBY transcription factor about pistillody-stamen development were also analyzed in wheat flower. There were 47 of MADS-box and 17 of YABBY transcription factors were identified. BLAST program was used to align the published pistillody associated MADS-box and YABBY transcription factors with transcription factors identified in wheat flower. Totally, 36 of 47 MADS-box and 14 of 17 YABBY transcription factors were considered to regulate the development of pistillody-stamen, which had never been reported yet. Conclusion: These results have systematically identified the key candidate genes about the development of HTS-1 substructures flower. The tissue-specific correlation network analyses provide important insights into the molecular interactions underlying psitillody-stamen development.

scholarly journals Prioritization of biological processes based on the reconstruction and analysis of associative gene networks describing the response of plants to adverse environmental factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 580-592
Author(s):  
P. S. Demenkov ◽  
E. A. Oshchepkova ◽  
T. V. Ivanisenko ◽  
V. A. Ivanisenko
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Ion Transport ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Saline Stress ◽  
Cadmium Content ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Associative Gene Networks

Methods for prioritizing or ranking candidate genes according to their importance based on specific criteria via the analysis of gene networks are widely used in biomedicine to search for genes associated with diseases and to predict biomarkers, pharmacological targets and other clinically relevant molecules. These methods have also been used in other fields, particularly in crop production. This is largely due to the development of technologies to solve problems in marker-oriented and genomic selection, which requires knowledge of the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying the formation of agriculturally valuable traits. A new direction for the study of molecular genetic mechanisms is the prioritization of biological processes based on the analysis of associative gene networks. Associative gene networks are heterogeneous networks whose vertices can depict both molecular genetic objects (genes, proteins, me tabolites, etc.) and the higher-level factors (biological processes, diseases, external environmental factors, etc.) related to regulatory, physicochemical or associative interactions. Using a previously developed method, biological processes involved in plant responses to increased cadmium content, saline stress and drought conditions were prioritized according to their degree of connection with the gene networks in the SOLANUM TUBEROSUM knowledge base. The prioritization results indicate that fundamental processes, such as gene expression, post-translational modifications, protein degradation, programmed cell death, photosynthesis, signal transmission and stress response play important roles in the common molecular genetic mechanisms for plant response to various adverse factors. On the other hand, a group of processes related to the development of seeds (“seeding development”) was revealed to be drought specific, while processes associated with ion transport (“ion transport”) were included in the list of responses specific to salt stress and processes associated with the metabolism of lipids were found to be involved specifically in the response to cadmium.

scholarly journals Genome-wide analysis and expression profile of the bZIP gene family in poplar

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhao ◽  
Song Chen ◽  
Wenjing Yao ◽  
Zihan Cheng ◽  
Boru Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Stress ◽  
Systems Biology ◽  
Gene Family ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Metal Ion ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Biological Processes

Abstract Background The bZIP gene family, which is widely present in plants, participates in varied biological processes including growth and development and stress responses. How do the genes regulate such biological processes? Systems biology is powerful for mechanistic understanding of gene functions. However, such studies have not yet been reported in poplar. Results In this study, we identified 86 poplar bZIP transcription factors and described their conserved domains. According to the results of phylogenetic tree, we divided these members into 12 groups with specific gene structures and motif compositions. The corresponding genes that harbor a large number of segmental duplication events are unevenly distributed on the 17 poplar chromosomes. In addition, we further examined collinearity between these genes and the related genes from six other species. Evidence from transcriptomic data indicated that the bZIP genes in poplar displayed different expression patterns in roots, stems, and leaves. Furthermore, we identified 45 bZIP genes that respond to salt stress in the three tissues. We performed co-expression analysis on the representative genes, followed by gene set enrichment analysis. The results demonstrated that tissue differentially expressed genes, especially the co-expressing genes, are mainly involved in secondary metabolic and secondary metabolite biosynthetic processes. However, salt stress responsive genes and their co-expressing genes mainly participate in the regulation of metal ion transport, and methionine biosynthetic. Conclusions Using comparative genomics and systems biology approaches, we, for the first time, systematically explore the structures and functions of the bZIP gene family in poplar. It appears that the bZIP gene family plays significant roles in regulation of poplar development and growth and salt stress responses through differential gene networks or biological processes. These findings provide the foundation for genetic breeding by engineering target regulators and corresponding gene networks into poplar lines.

scholarly journals Transcription Factors as the “Blitzkrieg” of Plant Defense: A Pragmatic View of Nitric Oxide’s Role in Gene Regulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 522
Author(s):  
Noreen Falak ◽  
Qari Muhammad Imran ◽  
Adil Hussain ◽  
Byung-Wook Yun
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Plant Defense ◽  
Systemic Acquired Resistance ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Acquired Resistance ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Transcriptional Changes

Plants are in continuous conflict with the environmental constraints and their sessile nature demands a fine-tuned, well-designed defense mechanism that can cope with a multitude of biotic and abiotic assaults. Therefore, plants have developed innate immunity, R-gene-mediated resistance, and systemic acquired resistance to ensure their survival. Transcription factors (TFs) are among the most important genetic components for the regulation of gene expression and several other biological processes. They bind to specific sequences in the DNA called transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) that are present in the regulatory regions of genes. Depending on the environmental conditions, TFs can either enhance or suppress transcriptional processes. In the last couple of decades, nitric oxide (NO) emerged as a crucial molecule for signaling and regulating biological processes. Here, we have overviewed the plant defense system, the role of TFs in mediating the defense response, and that how NO can manipulate transcriptional changes including direct post-translational modifications of TFs. We also propose that NO might regulate gene expression by regulating the recruitment of RNA polymerase during transcription.

scholarly journals Identification of Key Candidate Genes Involved in the Progression of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
Yu Cui ◽  
Jie Ji ◽  
Jiwei Hou ◽  
Yi Tan ◽  
Xiaodong Han
Keyword(s):  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Protein Protein Interaction ◽  
Novel Treatments ◽  
Kegg Pathway Analysis ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
Upregulated Genes

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal, agnogenic interstitial lung disease with limited therapeutic options. To investigate vital genes involved in the development of IPF, we integrated and compared four expression profiles (GSE110147, GSE53845, GSE24206, and GSE10667), including 87 IPF samples and 40 normal samples. By reanalyzing these datasets, we managed to identify 62 upregulated genes and 20 downregulated genes in IPF samples compared with normal samples. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis to illustrate relevant pathways of IPF, biological processes, molecular function, and cell components. The DEGs were then subjected to protein–protein interaction (PPI) for network analysis, serving to find 11 key candidate genes (ANXA3, STX11, THBS2, MMP1, MMP9, MMP7, MMP10, SPP1, COL1A1, ITGB8, IGF1). The result of RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining verified our finding as well. In summary, we identified 11 key candidate genes related to the process of IPF, which may contribute to novel treatments of IPF.

scholarly journals Genome-wide identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs involved in flag leaf senescence of rice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Huang ◽  
Hongyu Zhang ◽  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Rong Guo ◽  
Lingxia Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Leaf Senescence ◽  
Flag Leaf ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Systematic Identification

Abstract Key message This study showed the systematic identification of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) involving in flag leaf senescence of rice, providing the possible lncRNA-mRNA regulatory relationships and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA networks during leaf senescence. Abstract LncRNAs have been reported to play crucial roles in diverse biological processes. However, no systematic identification of lncRNAs associated with leaf senescence in plants has been studied. In this study, a genome-wide high throughput sequencing analysis was performed using rice flag leaves developing from normal to senescence. A total of 3953 lncRNAs and 38757 mRNAs were identified, of which 343 lncRNAs and 9412 mRNAs were differentially expressed. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), 22 continuously down-expressed lncRNAs targeting 812 co-expressed mRNAs and 48 continuously up-expressed lncRNAs targeting 1209 co-expressed mRNAs were considered to be significantly associated with flag leaf senescence. Gene Ontology results suggested that the senescence-associated lncRNAs targeted mRNAs involving in many biological processes, including transcription, hormone response, oxidation–reduction process and substance metabolism. Additionally, 43 senescence-associated lncRNAs were predicted to target 111 co-expressed transcription factors. Interestingly, 8 down-expressed lncRNAs and 29 up-expressed lncRNAs were found to separately target 12 and 20 well-studied senescence-associated genes (SAGs). Furthermore, analysis on the competing endogenous RNA (CeRNA) network revealed that 6 down-expressed lncRNAs possibly regulated 51 co-expressed mRNAs through 15 miRNAs, and 14 up-expressed lncRNAs possibly regulated 117 co-expressed mRNAs through 21 miRNAs. Importantly, by expression validation, a conserved miR164-NAC regulatory pathway was found to be possibly involved in leaf senescence, where lncRNA MSTRG.62092.1 may serve as a ceRNA binding with miR164a and miR164e to regulate three transcription factors. And two key lncRNAs MSTRG.31014.21 and MSTRG.31014.36 also could regulate the abscisic-acid biosynthetic gene BGIOSGA025169 (OsNCED4) and BGIOSGA016313 (NAC family) through osa-miR5809. The possible regulation networks of lncRNAs involving in leaf senescence were discussed, and several candidate lncRNAs were recommended for prior transgenic analysis. These findings will extend the understanding on the regulatory roles of lncRNAs in leaf senescence, and lay a foundation for functional research on candidate lncRNAs.

scholarly journals Circulating or tissue microRNAs and extracellular vesicles as potential lung cancer biomarkers: a systematic review

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Song ◽  
Xiuli Yu ◽  
Zongmei Zang ◽  
Guijuan Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Cancer Biomarkers ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Lung Cancer Patients ◽  
Prediction Of Prognosis

For both lung cancer patients and clinical physicians, tumor biomarkers for more efficient early diagnosis and prediction of prognosis are always wanted. Biomarkers in circulating serum, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and extracellular vesicles, hold the greatest possibilities to partially substitute for tissue biopsy. In this systematic review, studies on circulating or tissue miRNAs and extracellular vesicles as potential biomarkers for lung cancer patients were reviewed and are discussed. Furthermore, the target genes of the miRNAs indicated were identified through the miRTarBase, while the relevant biological processes and pathways of miRNAs in lung cancer were analyzed through MiRNA Enrichment Analysis and Annotation (MiEAA). In conclusion, circulating or tissue miRNAs and extracellular vesicles provide us with a window to explore strategies for diagnosing and assessing prognosis and treatment in lung cancer patients.

scholarly journals Identification of MEF2-regulated genes during muscle differentiation

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Paris ◽  
Carl Virtanen ◽  
Zhibin Lu ◽  
Mark Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Muscle Differentiation ◽  
Signaling Cascades ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Selection Parameters ◽  
First Time

Although a great deal has been elucidated concerning the mechanisms regulating muscle differentiation, little is known about transcription factor-specific gene regulation. Our understanding of the genetic mechanisms regulating cell differentiation is quite limited. Much of what has been defined centers on regulatory signaling cascades and transcription factors. Surprisingly few studies have investigated the association of genes with specific transcription factors. To address these issues, we have utilized a method coupling chromatin immunoprecipitation and CpG microarrays to characterize the genes associated with MEF2 in differentiating C2C12 cells. Results demonstrated a defined binding pattern over the course of differentiation. Filtered data demonstrated 9 clones to be elevated at 0 h, 792 at 6 h, 163 by 1 day, and 316 at 3 days. Using unbiased selection parameters, we selected a subset of 291 prospective candidates. Clones were sequenced and filtered for removal of redundancy between clones and for the presence of repetitive elements. We were able to place 50 of these on the mouse genome, and 20 were found to be located near well-annotated genes. From this list, previously undefined associations with MEF2 were discovered. Many of these genes represent proteins involved in neurogenesis, neuromuscular junctions, signaling and metabolism. The remaining clones include many full-length cDNA and represent novel gene targets. The results of this study provides for the first time, a unique look at gene regulation at the level of transcription factor binding in differentiating muscle.

scholarly journals Vitis OneGenE: A Causality-Based Approach to Generate Gene Networks in Vitis vinifera Sheds Light on the Laccase and Dirigent Gene Families

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1744
Author(s):  
Stefania Pilati ◽  
Giulia Malacarne ◽  
David Navarro-Payá ◽  
Gabriele Tomè ◽  
Laura Riscica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Networks ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Gene Families ◽  
Stilbene Synthase ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Transcriptomic Data ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Manual Curation ◽  
Inference Methods

The abundance of transcriptomic data and the development of causal inference methods have paved the way for gene network analyses in grapevine. Vitis OneGenE is a transcriptomic data mining tool that finds direct correlations between genes, thus producing association networks. As a proof of concept, the stilbene synthase gene regulatory network obtained with OneGenE has been compared with published co-expression analysis and experimental data, including cistrome data for MYB stilbenoid regulators. As a case study, the two secondary metabolism pathways of stilbenoids and lignin synthesis were explored. Several isoforms of laccase, peroxidase, and dirigent protein genes, putatively involved in the final oxidative oligomerization steps, were identified as specifically belonging to either one of these pathways. Manual curation of the predicted sequences exploiting the last available genome assembly, and the integration of phylogenetic and OneGenE analyses, identified a group of laccases exclusively present in grapevine and related to stilbenoids. Here we show how network analysis by OneGenE can accelerate knowledge discovery by suggesting new candidates for functional characterization and application in breeding programs.

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