scholarly journals Transcriptome and Resequencing Analyses Provide Insight into Differences in Organic Acid Accumulation in Two Pear Varieties

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9622
Author(s):  
Qionghou Li ◽  
Xin Qiao ◽  
Luting Jia ◽  
Yuxin Zhang ◽  
Shaoling Zhang

Fruit acidity is one of the main determinants of fruit flavor and a target trait in fruit breeding. However, the genomic mechanisms governing acidity variation among different pear varieties remain poorly understood. In this study, two pear varieties with contrasting organic acid levels, ‘Dangshansuli’ (low-acidity) and ‘Amute’ (high-acidity), were selected, and a combination of transcriptome and population genomics analyses were applied to characterize their patterns of gene expression and genetic variation. Based on RNA-seq data analysis, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in organic acid metabolism and accumulation were identified. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that nine candidate TCA (tricarboxylic acid)-related DEGs and three acid transporter-related DEGs were located in three key modules. The regulatory networks of the above candidate genes were also predicted. By integrating pear resequencing data, two domestication-related genes were found to be upregulated in ‘Amute’, and this trend was further validated for other pear varieties with high levels of organic acid, suggesting distinct selective sweeps during pear dissemination and domestication. Collectively, this study provides insight into organic acid differences related to expression divergence and domestication in two pear varieties, pinpointing several candidate genes for the genetic manipulation of acidity in pears.

Author(s):  
Nestor Kippes ◽  
Carl VanGessel ◽  
James Hamilton ◽  
Ani Akpinar ◽  
Hikmet Budak ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundPhotoperiod signals provide important cues by which plants regulate their growth and development in response to predictable seasonal changes. Phytochromes, a family of red and far-red light receptors, play critical roles in regulating flowering time in response to changing photoperiods. A previous study showed that loss-of-function mutations in either PHYB or PHYC result in large delays in heading time and in the differential regulation of a large number of genes in wheat plants grown in an inductive long day (LD) photoperiod.ResultsWe found that under non-inductive short-day (SD) photoperiods, phyB-null and phyC-null mutants were taller, had a reduced number of tillers, longer and wider leaves, and headed later than wild-type plants. Unexpectedly, both mutants flowered earlier in SD than LD, the inverse response to that of wild-type plants. We observed a larger number of differentially expressed genes between mutants and wild-type under SD than under LD, and in both cases, the number was larger for phyB than for phyC. We identified subsets of differentially expressed and alternatively spliced genes that were specifically regulated by PHYB and PHYC in either SD or LD photoperiods, and a smaller set of genes that were regulated in both photoperiods. We observed significantly higher transcript levels of the flowering promoting genes VRN-A1, PPD-B1 and GIGANTEA in the phy-null mutants in SD than in LD, which suggests that they could contribute to the earlier flowering of the phy-null mutants in SD than in LD.ConclusionsOur study revealed an unexpected reversion of the wheat LD plants into SD plants in the phyB-null and phyC-null mutants and identified candidate genes potentially involved in this phenomenon. Our RNA-seq data provides insight into light signaling pathways in inductive and non-inductive photoperiods and a set of candidate genes to dissect the underlying developmental regulatory networks in wheat.


Author(s):  
L. Dorland ◽  
M. Duran ◽  
J. B. C. de Klerk ◽  
F. J. Van Sprang ◽  
S. K. Wadman

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1423
Author(s):  
André Albuquerque ◽  
Cristina Óvilo ◽  
Yolanda Núñez ◽  
Rita Benítez ◽  
Adrián López-Garcia ◽  
...  

Gene expression is one of the main factors to influence meat quality by modulating fatty acid metabolism, composition, and deposition rates in muscle tissue. This study aimed to explore the transcriptomics of the Longissimus lumborum muscle in two local pig breeds with distinct genetic background using next-generation sequencing technology and Real-Time qPCR. RNA-seq yielded 49 differentially expressed genes between breeds, 34 overexpressed in the Alentejano (AL) and 15 in the Bísaro (BI) breed. Specific slow type myosin heavy chain components were associated with AL (MYH7) and BI (MYH3) pigs, while an overexpression of MAP3K14 in AL may be associated with their lower loin proportion, induced insulin resistance, and increased inflammatory response via NFkB activation. Overexpression of RUFY1 in AL pigs may explain the higher intramuscular (IMF) content via higher GLUT4 recruitment and consequently higher glucose uptake that can be stored as fat. Several candidate genes for lipid metabolism, excluded in the RNA-seq analysis due to low counts, such as ACLY, ADIPOQ, ELOVL6, LEP and ME1 were identified by qPCR as main gene factors defining the processes that influence meat composition and quality. These results agree with the fatter profile of the AL pig breed and adiponectin resistance can be postulated as responsible for the overexpression of MAP3K14′s coding product NIK, failing to restore insulin sensitivity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Qiao ◽  
Qiming Cheng ◽  
Yutong Zhang ◽  
Wei Yan ◽  
Fengyan Yi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop) is not only a high-quality legume forage, but also a nectar-producing plant. Therefore, the flower color of sainfoin is an important agronomic trait, but the factors affecting its flower phenotype are still unclear. To gain insights into the regulatory networks associated with metabolic pathways of coloration compounds (flavonoids or anthocyanins) and identify the key genes, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the phenotype, metabolome and transcriptome of WF and AF of sainfoin. Results Delphinidin, petunidin and malvidin derivatives were the main anthocyanin compounds in the AF of sainfoin. These substances were not detected in the WF of sainfoin. The transcriptomes of WF and AF in sainfoin at the S1 and S3 stages were obtained using the Illumina HiSeq4000 platform. Overall, 10,166 (4273 upregulated and 5893 downregulated) and 15,334 (8174 upregulated and 7160 downregulated) DEGs were identified in flowers at S1 and S3 stages, respectively (WF-VS-AF). KEGG pathway annotations showed that 6396 unigenes were annotated to 120 pathways and contained 866 DEGs at S1 stages, and 6396 unigenes were annotated to 131 pathways and included 1546 DEGs at the S3 stage. Nine DEGs belonging to the “flavonoid biosynthesis”and “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis” pathways involved in flower color formation were identified and verified by RT-qPCR analyses. Among these DEGs, 4CL3, FLS, ANS, CHS, DFR and CHI2 exhibited downregulated expression, and F3H exhibited upregulated expression in the WF compared to the AF, resulting in a decrease in anthocyanin synthesis and the formation of WF in sainfoin. Conclusions This study is the first to use transcriptome technology to study the mechanism of white flower formation in sainfoin. Our transcriptome data will be a great enrichment of the genetic information for sainfoin. In addition, the data presented herein will provide valuable molecular information for genetic breeding and provide insight into the future study of flower color polymorphisms in sainfoin.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii311-iii312
Author(s):  
Bernhard Englinger ◽  
Johannes Gojo ◽  
Li Jiang ◽  
Jens M Hübner ◽  
McKenzie L Shaw ◽  
...  

Abstract Ependymoma represents a heterogeneous disease affecting the entire neuraxis. Extensive molecular profiling efforts have identified molecular ependymoma subgroups based on DNA methylation. However, the intratumoral heterogeneity and developmental origins of these groups are only partially understood, and effective treatments are still lacking for about 50% of patients with high-risk tumors. We interrogated the cellular architecture of ependymoma using single cell/nucleus RNA-sequencing to analyze 24 tumor specimens across major molecular subgroups and anatomic locations. We additionally analyzed ten patient-derived ependymoma cell models and two patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Interestingly, we identified an analogous cellular hierarchy across all ependymoma groups, originating from undifferentiated neural stem cell-like populations towards different degrees of impaired differentiation states comprising neuronal precursor-like, astro-glial-like, and ependymal-like tumor cells. While prognostically favorable ependymoma groups predominantly harbored differentiated cell populations, aggressive groups were enriched for undifferentiated subpopulations. Projection of transcriptomic signatures onto an independent bulk RNA-seq cohort stratified patient survival even within known molecular groups, thus refining the prognostic power of DNA methylation-based profiling. Furthermore, we identified novel potentially druggable targets including IGF- and FGF-signaling within poorly prognostic transcriptional programs. Ependymoma-derived cell models/PDXs widely recapitulated the transcriptional programs identified within fresh tumors and are leveraged to validate identified target genes in functional follow-up analyses. Taken together, our analyses reveal a developmental hierarchy and transcriptomic context underlying the biologically and clinically distinct behavior of ependymoma groups. The newly characterized cellular states and underlying regulatory networks could serve as basis for future therapeutic target identification and reveal biomarkers for clinical trials.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milda Mickutė ◽  
Kotryna Kvederavičiūtė ◽  
Aleksandr Osipenko ◽  
Raminta Mineikaitė ◽  
Saulius Klimašauskas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Targeted installation of designer chemical moieties on biopolymers provides an orthogonal means for their visualisation, manipulation and sequence analysis. Although high-throughput RNA sequencing is a widely used method for transcriptome analysis, certain steps, such as 3′ adapter ligation in strand-specific RNA sequencing, remain challenging due to structure- and sequence-related biases introduced by RNA ligases, leading to misrepresentation of particular RNA species. Here, we remedy this limitation by adapting two RNA 2′-O-methyltransferases from the Hen1 family for orthogonal chemo-enzymatic click tethering of a 3′ sequencing adapter that supports cDNA production by reverse transcription of the tagged RNA. Results We showed that the ssRNA-specific DmHen1 and dsRNA-specific AtHEN1 can be used to efficiently append an oligonucleotide adapter to the 3′ end of target RNA for sequencing library preparation. Using this new chemo-enzymatic approach, we identified miRNAs and prokaryotic small non-coding sRNAs in probiotic Lactobacillus casei BL23. We found that compared to a reference conventional RNA library preparation, methyltransferase-Directed Orthogonal Tagging and RNA sequencing, mDOT-seq, avoids misdetection of unspecific highly-structured RNA species, thus providing better accuracy in identifying the groups of transcripts analysed. Our results suggest that mDOT-seq has the potential to advance analysis of eukaryotic and prokaryotic ssRNAs. Conclusions Our findings provide a valuable resource for studies of the RNA-centred regulatory networks in Lactobacilli and pave the way to developing novel transcriptome and epitranscriptome profiling approaches in vitro and inside living cells. As RNA methyltransferases share the structure of the AdoMet-binding domain and several specific cofactor binding features, the basic principles of our approach could be easily translated to other AdoMet-dependent enzymes for the development of modification-specific RNA-seq techniques.


Author(s):  
Aniket Bhattacharya ◽  
Vineet Jha ◽  
Khushboo Singhal ◽  
Mahar Fatima ◽  
Dayanidhi Singh ◽  
...  

Abstract Alu repeats contribute to phylogenetic novelties in conserved regulatory networks in primates. Our study highlights how exonized Alus could nucleate large-scale mRNA-miRNA interactions. Using a functional genomics approach, we characterize a transcript isoform of an orphan gene, CYP20A1 (CYP20A1_Alu-LT) that has exonization of 23 Alus in its 3’UTR. CYP20A1_Alu-LT, confirmed by 3’RACE, is an outlier in length (9 kb 3’UTR) and widely expressed. Using publically available datasets, we demonstrate its expression in higher primates and presence in single nucleus RNA-seq of 15928 human cortical neurons. miRanda predicts ∼4700 miRNA recognition elements (MREs) for ∼1000 miRNAs, primarily originated within these 3’UTR-Alus. CYP20A1_Alu-LT could be a potential multi-miRNA sponge as it harbors ≥10 MREs for 140 miRNAs and has cytosolic localization. We further tested whether expression of CYP20A1_Alu-LT correlates with mRNAs harboring similar MRE targets. RNA-seq with conjoint miRNA-seq analysis was done in primary human neurons where we observed CYP20A1_Alu-LT to be downregulated during heat shock response and upregulated in HIV1-Tat treatment. 380 genes were positively correlated with its expression (significantly downregulated in heat shock and upregulated in Tat) and they harbored MREs for nine expressed miRNAs which were also enriched in CYP20A1_Alu-LT. MREs were significantly enriched in these 380 genes compared to random sets of differentially expressed genes (p = 8.134e-12). Gene ontology suggested involvement of these genes in neuronal development and hemostasis pathways thus proposing a novel component of Alu-miRNA mediated transcriptional modulation that could govern specific physiological outcomes in higher primates.


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