The contrasting dose of sex chromosomes in males and females potentially introduces a large-scale imbalance in levels of gene expression between sexes. In many organisms dosage compensation has thus evolved to equalize sex-linked gene expression in males and females1,2, in mammals achieved by X chromosome inactivation and in flies and worms by up- or down-regulation of X-linked expression, respectively. Another form of dosage compensation ensures that expression levels on the X chromosome and on autosomes are balanced3,4. While otherwise widespread in systems with heteromorphic sex chromosomes, the case of dosage compensation in birds (males ZZ, females ZW) remains an unsolved enigma5,6. Here we use a microarray approach to show that male day 18 chicken embryos generally express higher levels of Z-linked genes than female birds, both in soma and in gonads. The distribution of male-to-female fold-change values for Z chromosome genes is wide and has a mean of 1.4-1.6, which is consistent with absence of dosage compensation and sex-specific feedback regulation of gene expression at individual loci2. Intriguingly, without global dosage compensation, female chicken has significantly lower expression levels of Z-linked compared to autosomal genes, which is not the case in male birds. The pronounced sex difference in gene expression is likely to contribute to sexual dimorphism among birds, and potentially has implication to avian sex determination.
Faced with inequality: chicken do not have a general dosage compensation of sex-linked genes.
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View SamplesHost responses to intracellular UPEC communities
Functional genomic studies of uropathogenic Escherichia coli and host urothelial cells when intracellular bacterial communities are assembled.
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View SamplesSpinal cord injury leads to impaired motor and sensory functions. After spinal cord injury there is a an initial phase of hypo-reflexia followed by a developing hyper-reflexia, often termed spasticity. Previous studies have suggested a relationship between the reappearence of plateau potentials in motor neurons and the development of spasticity after spinalization. To understand the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon we examined the transcriptional response of the motor neurons after spinal cord injury.
Global gene expression analysis of rodent motor neurons following spinal cord injury associates molecular mechanisms with development of postinjury spasticity.
Sex
View SamplesSpinal cord injury leads to impaired motor and sensory functions. After spinal cord injury there is a an initial phase of hypo-reflexia followed by a developing hyper-reflexia, often termed spasticity. Previous studies have suggested a relationship between the reappearence of plateau potentials in motor neurons and the development of spasticity after spinalizaion. To understand the moleclar mechanism behind this pheneomona we examined the transcriptional response of the motor neurons after spinal cord injury as it progress over time.
Transcriptional regulation of gene expression clusters in motor neurons following spinal cord injury.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesDiurnal temperature cycling is an intrinsic characteristic of many exposed microbial ecosystems. However, its influence on yeast physiology and transcriptome has not been studied in detail. In this study, 24-h sinoidal temperature cycles, oscillating between 12 and 30C, were imposed on anaerobic, glucose-limited chemostat cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After three diurnal temperature cycles (DTC), concentrations of glucose, and extracellular metabolites, as well as CO2-production rates showed regular, reproducible circadian rhytms. DTC also led to waves of transcriptional activation and repression, which involved one sixth of the yeast genome. A substantial fraction of these DTC-responsive genes appeared to primarily respond to changes in glucose concentration. Elimination of known glucose-responsive genes revealed overrepresentation of previously identified temperature-responsive genes as well as genes involved in cell cycle and de novo purine biosynthesis. Analyses of budding index and flow cytomery demonstrated that DTC led to a partial synchronization of the cell cycle of the yeast populations in the chemostat cultures, which was lost upon release from DTC. Comparison of DTC results with data from steady-state cultures showed that DTC was sufficiently slow to allow S. cerevisiae chemostat cultures to almost completely acclimatize their transcriptome and physiology at the DTC temperature maximum, and to approach acclimation at the DTC temperature minimum.
Physiological and transcriptional responses of anaerobic chemostat cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae subjected to diurnal temperature cycles.
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View SamplesThe present study aims to explore chemostat-based transcriptome analysis of mixed cultures by investigating interactions between the yeast S. cerevisiae and the lactic acid bacterium Lb. bulgaricus . S. cerevisiae and Lb. bulgaricus are both frequently encountered in kefir, a fermented dairy product (25). In the context of this study, this binary culture serves as a model for the many traditional food and beverage fermentation processes in which yeasts and lactic acid bacteria occur together (19,26-30). The design of the cultivation conditions was based on the observation that Lb. bulgaricus, but not S. cerevisiae, can use lactose as a carbon source for growth and that S. cerevisiae, but not Lb. bulgaricus, can grow on galactose that is released upon hydrolysis of lactose by the bacterial -galactosidase.
Transcriptome-based characterization of interactions between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus in lactose-grown chemostat cocultures.
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View SamplesHuman aging is associated with loss of function and regenerative capacity. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) are involved in tissue regeneration, evidenced by their capacity to differentiate into several lineages and therefore are considered the gold standard for cell-based regeneration therapy. Tissue maintenance and regeneration is dependent on stem cells and declines with age and aging is thought to influence therapeutic efficacy, therefore, more insight in the process of aging of hMSCs is of high interest. We, therefore, hypothesized that hMSCs might reflect signs of aging. In order to find markers for donor age, early passage hMSCs were isolated from bone marrow of 61 donors, with ages varying from 17-84, and clinical parameters, in vitro characteristics and microarray analysis were assessed. Although clinical parameters and in vitro performance did not yield reliable markers for aging since large donor variations were present, genome-wide microarray analysis resulted in a considerable list of genes correlating with human age. By comparing the transcriptional profile of aging in human with the one from rat, we discovered follistatin as a common marker for aging in both species. The gene signature presented here could be a useful tool for drug testing to rejuvenate hMSCs or for the selection of more potent, hMSCs for cell-based therapy.
A mesenchymal stromal cell gene signature for donor age.
Sex, Age
View SamplesZinc is indispensable for the catalytic activity and structural stability of many proteins, and its deficiency can have severe consequences for microbial growth in natural and industrial environments. For example, Zn depletion in wort negatively affects beer fermentation and quality. Several studies have investigated yeast adaptation to low Zn supply, but were all performed in batch cultures, where specific growth rate depends on Zn availability. The transcriptional responses to growth-rate and Zn availability are then intertwined, which obscures result interpretation. In the present study, transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Zn availability were investigated at a fixed specific growth rate under Zn limitation and excess in chemostat culture. To investigate the context-dependency of this transcriptional response, yeast was grown under several chemostat regimes resulting in various carbon (glucose), nitrogen (ammonium) and oxygen supplies. A robust set of genes that responded consistently to Zn limitation was identified and enabled the definition of a Zn-specific Zap1 regulon comprising of 26 genes and characterized by a broader ZRE consensus (MHHAACCBYNMRGGT) than so far described. Most surprising was the Zn-dependent regulation of genes involved in storage carbohydrate metabolism. Their concerted down-regulation was physiologically relevant as revealed by a substantial decrease in glycogen and trehalose cellular content under Zn limitation. An unexpectedly large amount of genes were synergistically or antagonistically regulated by oxygen and Zn availability. This combinatorial regulation suggested a more prominent involvement of Zn in mitochondrial biogenesis and function than hitherto identified
Physiological and transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to zinc limitation in chemostat cultures.
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View SamplesZinc is indispensable for the catalytic activity and structural stability of many proteins, and its deficiency can have severe consequences for microbial growth in natural and industrial environments. For example, Zn depletion in wort negatively affects beer fermentation and quality. Several studies have investigated yeast adaptation to low Zn supply, but were all performed in batch cultures, where specific growth rate depends on Zn availability. The transcriptional responses to growth-rate and Zn availability are then intertwined, which obscures result interpretation. In the present study, transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Zn availability were investigated at a fixed specific growth rate under Zn limitation and excess in chemostat culture. To investigate the context-dependency of this transcriptional response, yeast was grown under several chemostat regimes resulting in various carbon (glucose), nitrogen (ammonium) and oxygen supplies. A robust set of genes that responded consistently to Zn limitation was identified and enabled the definition of a Zn-specific Zap1 regulon comprising of 26 genes and characterized by a broader ZRE consensus (MHHAACCBYNMRGGT) than so far described. Most surprising was the Zn-dependent regulation of genes involved in storage carbohydrate metabolism. Their concerted down-regulation was physiologically relevant as revealed by a substantial decrease in glycogen and trehalose cellular content under Zn limitation. An unexpectedly large amount of genes were synergistically or antagonistically regulated by oxygen and Zn availability. This combinatorial regulation suggested a more prominent involvement of Zn in mitochondrial biogenesis and function than hitherto identified.
Physiological and transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to zinc limitation in chemostat cultures.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesZinc is indispensable for the catalytic activity and structural stability of many proteins, and its deficiency can have severe consequences for microbial growth in natural and industrial environments. For example, Zn depletion in wort negatively affects beer fermentation and quality. Several studies have investigated yeast adaptation to low Zn supply, but were all performed in batch cultures, where specific growth rate depends on Zn availability. The transcriptional responses to growth-rate and Zn availability are then intertwined, which obscures result interpretation. In the present study, transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Zn availability were investigated at a fixed specific growth rate under Zn limitation and excess in chemostat culture. To investigate the context-dependency of this transcriptional response, yeast was grown under several chemostat regimes resulting in various carbon (glucose), nitrogen (ammonium) and oxygen supplies. A robust set of genes that responded consistently to Zn limitation was identified and enabled the definition of a Zn-specific Zap1 regulon comprising of 26 genes and characterized by a broader ZRE consensus (MHHAACCBYNMRGGT) than so far described. Most surprising was the Zn-dependent regulation of genes involved in storage carbohydrate metabolism. Their concerted down-regulation was physiologically relevant as revealed by a substantial decrease in glycogen and trehalose cellular content under Zn limitation. An unexpectedly large amount of genes were synergistically or antagonistically regulated by oxygen and Zn availability. This combinatorial regulation suggested a more prominent involvement of Zn in mitochondrial biogenesis and function than hitherto identified
Physiological and transcriptional responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to zinc limitation in chemostat cultures.
No sample metadata fields
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