A natural bacterial pathogen of < i > C < /i > . < i > elegans < /i > uses a small RNA to induce transgenerational inheritance of learned avoidance
by Titas Sengupta, Jonathan St. Ange, Rachel Kaletsky, Rebecca S. Moore, Renee J. Seto, Jacob Marogi, Cameron Myhrvold, Zemer Gitai, Coleen T. MurphyC.elegans can learn to avoid pathogenic bacteria through several mechanisms, including bacterial small RNA-induced learned avoidance behavior, which can be inherited transgenerationally. Previously, we discovered that a small RNA from a clinical isolate ofPseudomonas aeruginosa, PA14, induces learned avoidance and transgenerational inheritance of that avoidance inC.elegans.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important human pathogen, and there are otherPseudomonads inC.elegans ’ na...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 28, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Titas Sengupta Source Type: research
< i > Dmrt1 < /i > is the only male pathway gene tested indispensable for sex determination and functional testis development in tilapia
by Shuangshuang Qi, Shengfei Dai, Xin Zhou, Xueyan Wei, Ping Chen, Yuanyuan He, Thomas D. Kocher, Deshou Wang, Minghui Li
Sex is determined by multiple factors derived from somatic and germ cells in vertebrates. We have identifiedamhy,dmrt1,gsdf as male andfoxl2,foxl3,cyp19a1a as female sex determination pathway genes in Nile tilapia. However, the relationship among these genes is largely unclear. Here, we found that the gonads ofdmrt1;cyp19a1a double mutants developed as ovaries or underdeveloped testes with no germ cells irrespective of their genetic sex. In addition, the gonads ofdmrt1;cyp19a1a;cyp19a1b triple mutants ...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 27, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Shuangshuang Qi Source Type: research
Correction: Tissue-specific and < i > cis < /i > -regulatory changes underlie parallel, adaptive gene expression evolution in house mice
by The PLOS Genetics Staff (Source: PLoS Genetics)
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 27, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: The PLOS Genetics Staff Source Type: research
< i > Spoink < /i > , a LTR retrotransposon, invaded < i > D. melanogaster < /i > populations in the 1990s
by Riccardo Pianezza, Almor ò Scarpa, Prakash Narayanan, Sarah Signor, Robert Kofler
During the last few centuriesD. melanogaster populations were invaded by several transposable elements, the most recent of which was thought to be theP-element between 1950 and 1980. Here we describe a novel TE, which we namedSpoink, that has invadedD. melanogaster. It is a 5216nt LTR retrotransposon of the Ty3/gypsy superfamily. Relying on strains sampled at different times during the last century we show thatSpoink invaded worldwideD. melanogaster populations after theP-element between 1983 and 1993. This invasion was likely triggered ...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 26, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Riccardo Pianezza Source Type: research
Compartment specific responses to contractility in the small intestinal epithelium
This study reveals the complex and diverse responses of different intestinal epithelial cells to contractility and provides important insight into mechanical regulation of intestinal physiology. (Source: PLoS Genetics)
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 22, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Taylor Hinnant Source Type: research
Canadian COVID-19 host genetics cohort replicates known severity associations
by Elika Garg, Paola Arguello-Pascualli, Olga Vishnyakova, Anat R. Halevy, Samantha Yoo, Jennifer D. Brooks, Shelley B. Bull, France Gagnon, Celia M. T. Greenwood, Rayjean J. Hung, Jerald F. Lawless, Jordan Lerner-Ellis, Jessica K. Dennis, Rohan J. S. Abraham, Jean-Michel Garant, Bhooma Thiruvahindrapuram, Steven J. M. Jones, CGEn HostSeq Initiative , Lisa J. Strug, Andrew D. Paterson, Lei Sun, Lloyd T. Elliott
The HostSeq initiative recruited 10,059 Canadians infected with SARS-CoV-2 between March 2020 and March 2023, obtained clinical information on their disease experience and whole genome sequenced (WGS) their DNA. We...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 22, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Elika Garg Source Type: research
Opticool: Cutting-edge transgenic optical tools
by Kelli D. Fenelon, Julia Krause, Theodora Koromila
Only a few short decades have passed since the sequencing of GFP, yet the modern repertoire of transgenically encoded optical tools implies an exponential proliferation of ever improving constructions to interrogate the subcellular environment. A myriad of tags for labeling proteins, RNA, or DNA have arisen in the last few decades, facilitating unprecedented visualization of subcellular components and processes. Development of a broad array of modern genetically encoded sensors allows real-time, in vivo detection of molecule levels, pH, forces, enzyme activity, and othe...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 22, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Kelli D. Fenelon Source Type: research
Recombination, admixture and genome instability shape the genomic landscape of < i > Saccharomyces cerevisiae < /i > derived from spontaneous grape ferments
by Chris M. Ward, Cristobal A. Onetto, Steven Van Den Heuvel, Kathleen M. Cuijvers, Laura J. Hale, Anthony R. Borneman
Cultural exchange of fermentation techniques has driven the spread ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae across the globe, establishing natural populations in many countries. Despite this, Oceania is thought to lack native populations ofS.cerevisiae, only being introduced after colonisation. Here we investigate the genomic landscape of 411S.cerevisiae isolated from spontaneous grape fermentations in Australia across multiple locations, years, and grape cultivars. Spontaneous fermentations contained highly recombined...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 22, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Chris M. Ward Source Type: research
Reciprocal regulation of enterococcal cephalosporin resistance by products of the autoregulated < i > yvcJ-glmR-yvcL < /i > operon enhances fitness during cephalosporin exposure
by Du šanka Djorić, Samantha N. Atkinson, Christopher J. Kristich
Enterococci are commensal members of the gastrointestinal tract and also major nosocomial pathogens. They possess both intrinsic and acquired resistance to many antibiotics, including intrinsic resistance to cephalosporins that target bacterial cell wall synthesis. These antimicrobial resistance traits make enterococcal infections challenging to treat. Moreover, prior therapy with antibiotics, including broad-spectrum cephalosporins, promotes enterococcal proliferation in the gut, resulting in dissemination to other sites of the body and subsequent infect...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 21, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Du šanka Djorić Source Type: research
DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion protein-regulated LINC00473 promotes tumor growth and alters mitochondrial fitness in fibrolamellar carcinoma
by Rosanna K. Ma, Pei-Yin Tsai, Alaa R. Farghli, Alexandria Shumway, Matt Kanke, John D. Gordan, Taranjit S. Gujral, Khashayar Vakili, Manabu Nukaya, Leila Noetzli, Sean Ronnekleiv-Kelly, Wendy Broom, Joeva Barrow, Praveen Sethupathy
Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare liver cancer that disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults. Currently, no standard of care is available and there remains a dire need for new therapeutics. Most patients harbor the fusion oncogeneDNAJB1-PRKACA (DP fusion), but clinical inhibitors are not yet developed and it is critical to identify downstream mediators of FLC pathogenesis...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 21, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Rosanna K. Ma Source Type: research
A quantitative genetic model of background selection in humans
by Vince Buffalo, Andrew D. Kern
Across the human genome, there are large-scale fluctuations in genetic diversity caused by the indirect effects of selection. This “linked selection signal” reflects the impact of selection according to the physical placement of functional regions and recombination rates along chromosomes. Previous work has shown that purifying selection acting against the steady influx of new deleterious mutations at functional portions of the genome shapes patterns of genomic variation. To date, statistical efforts to estimate purifying selection parameters from linked selection models have relied on...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 20, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Vince Buffalo Source Type: research
Subscaling of a cytosolic RNA binding protein governs cell size homeostasis in the multiple fission alga Chlamydomonas
by Dianyi Liu, Cristina Lopez-Paz, Yubing Li, Xiaohong Zhuang, James Umen
Coordination of growth and division in eukaryotic cells is essential for populations of proliferating cells to maintain size homeostasis, but the underlying mechanisms that govern cell size have only been investigated in a few taxa. The green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlamydomonas) proliferates using a multiple fission cell cycle that involves a long G1 phase followed by a rapid series of successive S and M phases (S/M) that produces 2n daughter cells. Two control points show cell-size dependence: the Commitment control point in mid-G1 phase r...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 18, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Dianyi Liu Source Type: research
Gene dosage of independent dynein arm motor preassembly factors influences cilia assembly in < i > Chlamydomonas reinhardtii < /i >
by Gervette M. Penny, Susan K. Dutcher
Motile cilia assembly utilizes over 800 structural and cytoplasmic proteins. Variants in approximately 58 genes cause primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) in humans, including the dynein arm (pre)assembly factor (DNAAF) geneDNAAF4. In humans, outer dynein arms (ODAs) and inner dynein arms (IDAs) fail to assemble motile cilia when DNAAF4 function is disrupted. InChlamydomonas reinhardtii, a ciliated unicellular alga, theDNAAF4 ortholog is calledPF23. Thepf23-1 mutant assembles short cilia and lacks IDAs, but partially retains ODAs. The cilia of a new null allele (pf23-4) completely lack O...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 18, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Gervette M. Penny Source Type: research
Genome biology and evolution of mating-type loci in four cereal rust fungi
by Zhenyan Luo, Alistair McTaggart, Benjamin Schwessinger
Permanent heterozygous loci, such as sex- or mating-compatibility regions, often display suppression of recombination and signals of genomic degeneration. In Basidiomycota, two distinct loci confer mating compatibility. These loci encode homeodomain (HD) transcription factors and pheromone receptor (Pra)-ligand allele pairs. To date, an analysis of genome level mating-type (MAT) loci is lacking for obligate biotrophic basidiomycetes in thePucciniales, an order containing serious agricultural plant pathogens. Here, we focus on four species ofPuccinia that infect oat...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 18, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Zhenyan Luo Source Type: research
Altered Fhod3 expression involved in progressive high-frequency hearing loss via dysregulation of actin polymerization stoichiometry in the cuticular plate
by Ely Cheikh Boussaty, Yuzuru Ninoyu, Leonardo R. Andrade, Qingzhong Li, Ryu Takeya, Hideki Sumimoto, Takahiro Ohyama, Karl J. Wahlin, Uri Manor, Rick A. Friedman
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a common sensory impairment with complex underlying mechanisms. In our previous study, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in mice and identified a novel locus on chromosome 18 associated with ARHL specifically linked to a 32 kHz tone burst stimulus. Consequently, we investigated the role of Formin Homology 2 Domain Containing 3 (Fhod3), a newly discovered candidate gene for ARHL based on the...
Source: PLoS Genetics - March 18, 2024 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Ely Cheikh Boussaty Source Type: research
