Sex determination mechanisms often differ even between related species yet the evolution of sex chromosomes remains poorly understood in all but a few model organisms. Some nematodes such as Caenorhabditis elegans have an XO sex determination system while others, such as the filarial parasite Brugia malayi, have an XY mechanism. We present a complete B. malayi genome assembly and define Nigon elements shared with C. elegans, which we then map to the genomes of other filarial species and more distantly related nematodes. We find a remarkable plasticity in sex chromosome evolution with several distinct cases of neo-X and neo-Y formation, X-added regions, and conversion of autosomes to sex chromosomes from which we propose a model of chromosome evolution across different nematode clades. The phylum Nematoda offers a new and innovative system for gaining a deeper understanding of sex chromosome evolution.
The changes that occur in mammalian systems following trauma and sepsis, termed systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), elicit major changes in carbohydrate, protein, and energy metabolism. If these events persist for too long they result in a severe depletion of lean body mass, multiple organ dysfunction, and eventually death. Nutritional supplementation has been investigated to offset the severe loss of protein, and recent evidence suggests that diets enriched in branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) may be especially beneficial. BCAAs are metabolized in two major steps that are differentially expressed in muscle and liver. In muscle, BCAAs are reversibly transaminated to the corresponding alpha-keto acids. To complete the degradation of the BCAAs, the alpha-keto acids must travel to the liver to undergo oxidation. The liver, in contrast to muscle, does not significantly express the branched chain amino transferase. Thus, BCAA degradation is under the joint control of both liver and muscle. Recent evidence suggests that in liver, BCAAs may perform signaling functions, more specifically via activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, resulting in positive influences on a wide variety of metabolic and synthetic functions, including increased protein translation, improved insulin resistance, increased insulin-independent glucose transport, and reduced oxidative stress following severe injury and infection. However, understanding of the system-wide effects of BCAAs that integrates both metabolic and signaling aspects is currently lacking. Further investigation in this respect will help rationalize the design and optimization of nutritional supplements containing BCAAs for critically ill patients.
BackgroundThe circadian clock is a critical regulator of biological functions controlling behavioral, physiological and biochemical processes. Because the liver is the primary regulator of metabolites within the mammalian body and the disruption of circadian rhythms in liver is associated with severe illness, circadian regulators would play a strong role in maintaining liver function. However, the regulatory structure that governs circadian dynamics within the liver at a transcriptional level remains unknown. To explore this aspect, we analyzed hepatic transcriptional dynamics in Sprague-Dawley rats over a period of 24 hours to assess the genome-wide responses.ResultsUsing an unsupervised consensus clustering method, we identified four major gene expression clusters, corresponding to central carbon and nitrogen metabolism, membrane integrity, immune function, and DNA repair, all of which have dynamics which suggest regulation in a circadian manner. With the assumption that transcription factors (TFs) that are differentially expressed and contain CLOCK:BMAL1 binding sites on their proximal promoters are likely to be clock-controlled TFs, we were able to use promoter analysis to putatively identify additional clock-controlled TFs besides PARF and RORA families. These TFs are both functionally and temporally related to the clusters they regulate. Furthermore, we also identified significant sets of clock TFs that are potentially transcriptional regulators of gene clusters.ConclusionsAll together, we were able to propose a regulatory structure for circadian regulation which represents alternative paths for circadian control of different functions within the liver. Our prediction has been affirmed by functional and temporal analyses which are able to extend for similar studies.
Lymphatic filariasis affects ∼120 million people and can result in elephantiasis and hydrocele. Here, we report the nearly complete genome sequence of the best-studied causative agent of lymphatic filariasis, Brugia malayi. The assembly contains four autosomes, an X chromosome, and only eight gaps but lacks a contiguous sequence for the known Y chromosome.
Background Sepsis remains a major clinical challenge in intensive care units. The difficulty in developing new and more effective treatments for sepsis exemplifies our incomplete understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of it. One of the more widely used rodent models for studying polymicrobial sepsis is cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). While a number of CLP studies investigated the ensuing systemic inflammatory response, they usually focus on a single time point post CLP and therefore fail to describe the dynamics of the response. Furthermore, previous studies mostly use surgery without infection (herein referred to as Sham CLP, SCLP) as a control for the CLP model, however SCLP represents an aseptic injurious event that also stimulates a systemic inflammatory response. Thus, there is a need to better understand the dynamics and expression patterns of both injury- and sepsis- induced gene expression alterations to identify potential regulatory targets. In this direction, we characterized the response of the liver within the first 24 h in a rat model of SCLP and CLP using a time series of microarray gene expression data. Methods Rats were randomly divided into three groups, sham, SCLP and CLP. Rats in SCLP group are subjected to laparotomy, cecal ligation and puncture while those in CLP group are subjected to the similar procedures without cecal ligation and puncture. Animals were saline resuscitated and sacrificed at defined time points (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h). Liver tissues were explanted and analyzed for their gene expression profiles using microarray technology. Unoperated animals (Sham) serve as negative controls. After identifying differentially expressed probesets between sham and SCLP or CLP conditions over time, the concatenated data sets corresponding to these differentially expressed probesets in sham and SCLP or CLP groups were combined and analyzed using a “consensus clustering” approach. Promoters of genes that share common characteristics were extracted, and compared with gene batteries comprised of co expressed genes in order to identify putatative transcription factors which could be responsible for the co regulation of those genes. Results The SCLP/CLP genes whose expression patterns significantly changed compared to sham over time were identified, clustered, and finally analyzed for pathway enrichment. Our results indicate that both CLP and SCLP triggered the activation of a pro-inflammatory response, enhanced synthesis of acute-phase proteins, increased metabolism and tissue damage markers. Genes triggered by CLP which can be directly linked to bacteria removal functions were absent in SCLP injury. In addition, genes relevant to oxidative stress induced damage were unique to CLP injury, which may be due to the increased severity of CLP injury vs. SCLP injury. Pathway enrichment identified pathways with similar functionality but different dynamics in the two injury models, indicating that the functions controlled by those pathways are under the influence of different transcrip...
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