Network Analysis of Differential Expression for the Identification of Disease-Causing Genes

Genetic studies (in particular linkage and association studies) identify chromosomal regions involved in a disease or phenotype of interest, but those regions often contain many candidate genes, only a few of which can be followed-up for biological validation. Recently, computational methods to identify (prioritize) the most promising candidates within a region have been proposed, but they are usually not applicable to cases where little is known about the phenotype (no or few confirmed disease genes, fragmentary understanding of the biological cascades involved). We seek to overcome this limitation by replacing knowledge about the biological process by experimental data on differential gene expression between affected and healthy individuals. Considering the problem from the perspective of a gene/protein network, we assess a candidate gene by considering the level of differential expression in its neighborhood under the assumption that strong candidates will tend to be surrounded by differentially expressed neighbors. We define a notion of soft neighborhood where each gene is given a contributing weight, which decreases with the distance from the candidate gene on the protein network. To account for multiple paths between genes, we define the distance using the Laplacian exponential diffusion kernel. We score candidates by aggregating the differential expression of neighbors weighted as a function of distance. Through a randomization procedure, we rank candidates by p-values. We illustrate our approach on four monogenic diseases and successfully prioritize the known disease causing genes.     

Using Sex Pheromone and a Multi-Scale Approach to Predict the Distribution of a Rare Saproxylic Beetle

The European red click beetle, Elater ferrugineus L., is associated with wood mould in old hollow deciduous trees. As a result of severe habitat fragmentation caused by human disturbance, it is threatened throughout its distribution range. A new pheromone-based survey method, which is very efficient in detecting the species, was used in the present study to relate the occurrence of E. ferrugineus to the density of deciduous trees. The latter data were from a recently completed regional survey in SE Sweden recording >120,000 deciduous trees. The occurrence of E. ferrugineus increased with increasing amount of large hollow and large non-hollow trees in the surrounding landscape. Quercus robur (oak) was found to be the most important substrate for E. ferrugineus, whereas two groups of tree species (Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Ulmus glabra, vs. Acer platanoides, Aesculus hippocastanum, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia cordata) were less important but may be a complement to oak in sustaining populations of the beetle. The occurrence of E. ferrugineus was explained by the density of oaks at two different spatial scales, within the circle radii 327 m and 4658 m. In conclusion, priority should be given to oaks in conservation management of E. ferrugineus, and then to the deciduous trees in the genera listed above. Conservation planning at large spatial and temporal scales appears to be essential for long-term persistence of E. ferrugineus. We also show that occurrence models based on strategic sampling might result in pessimistic predictions. This study demonstrates how pheromone-based monitoring make insects excellent tools for sustained feedback to models for landscape conservation management.     

应用基因表达芯片分析水稻高温胁迫相关基因

非生物逆境,如低温、高温、干旱通常会严重影响到农作物的生长及产量,其中高温胁迫则是造成植物伤害的主要原因之一.为深入了解水稻高温胁迫反应的分子机理,发现新的耐高温相关功能基因,为水稻生物工程育种提供候选材料,采用Affymetrix水稻表达芯片分析了超级稻两优培九母本培矮64S(Oryza sativa L.)在高温逆境胁迫下,孕穗期、抽穗开花期的叶片全基因组表达谱,得到大量高温诱导表达基因.应用实时定量PCR方法对其中一部分基因的表达水平进一步分析,所得结果与基因芯片结果基本吻合,证明芯片分析数据是可靠的,为下一步耐高温相关基因的克隆、功能分析等研究提供了基础.     

Microarray-Based Analysis of the Differential Expression of Melanin Synthesis Genes in Dark and Light-Muzzle Korean Cattle

The coat color of mammals is determined by the melanogenesis pathway, which is responsible for maintaining the balance between black-brown eumelanin and yellow-reddish pheomelanin. It is also believed that the color of the bovine muzzle is regulated in a similar manner; however, the molecular mechanism underlying pigment deposition in the dark-muzzle has yet to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to identify melanogenesis-associated genes that are differentially expressed in the dark vs. light muzzle of native Korean cows. Using microarray clustering and real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques, we observed that the expression of genes involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Wnt signaling pathways is distinctively regulated in the dark and light muzzle tissues. Differential expression of tyrosinase was also noticed, although the difference was not as distinct as those of MAPK and Wnt. We hypothesize that emphasis on the MAPK pathway in the dark-muzzle induces eumelanin synthesis through the activation of cAMP response element-binding protein and tyrosinase, while activation of Wnt signaling counteracts this process and raises the amount of pheomelanin in the light-muzzle. We also found 2 novel genes (GenBank No. NM-001076026 and XM-588439) with increase expression in the black nose, which may provide additional information about the mechanism of nose pigmentation. Regarding the increasing interest in the genetic diversity of cattle stocks, genes we identified for differential expression in the dark vs. light muzzle may serve as novel markers for genetic diversity among cows based on the muzzle color phenotype.     

Influence of Pyriproxyfen on the Expression of Haemolymph Protein Genes in the Colorado Potato Beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Pyriproxyfen, a potent juvenile hormone analogue for the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, was applied topically to last-instar larvae and short-day adults at different times after moulting. The effect of the hormone analogue on concentration and composition of protein in the haemolymph was studied at different intervals after pyriproxyfen application. The hormone analogue had little effect on total protein concentration of the haemolymph, but affected protein composition. Diapause protein 1 was prevented from being synthesized if pyriproxyfen was applied before the gene was activated and disappeared from the haemolymph if applied after the gene had been expressed. It therefore inactivated the gene for diapause protein in both larvae and adults. Pyriproxyfen also induced appearance of vitellogenin at both stages, indicating induction of expression of the vitellogenin gene. It also affected the stability of mRNA for diapause protein. The analogue caused mRNA for diapause protein 1 to disappear untimely compared to controls in last-instar larvae and short-day adults. The response of adults to the JHA was much more pronounced than that of larvae, although the analogue had a strong biological effect on last-instar larvae because it prevented metamorphosis at low doses. Copyright 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved     

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals a Differential Gene Expression Profile Between Two Sunflower Inbred Lines with Different Ability to Tolerate Water Stress

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - Although sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is categorized as a medium drought-sensitive crop, in a changing climate scenario and/or with the onset of early...     

盐胁迫诱导的大麦基因差异性表达

大麦幼苗经 0 .2 0mol·L- 1 的NaCl溶液胁迫后 ,从幼根中提取细胞总RNA ,选择OligodT1 2 CA为锚定引物 ,反转录合成cDNA第一链 ,并以此为模板 ,用随机引物进行PCR扩增 ,琼脂糖电泳分离扩增产物 ,得到 5个在胁迫组中特异性表达而未经盐胁迫组中不表达的片段。结果表明大麦幼苗在盐胁迫时发生特异性基因表达     

长柄链格孢四个二甲酰亚胺类杀菌剂胁迫差异表达基因的克隆与序列分析

为了阐明烟草赤星病病原真菌长柄链格孢Alternaria longipes对二甲酰亚胺类杀菌剂(DCFs)抗性的分子机理,前期克隆了16个DCFs胁迫差异表达基因的部分cDNA片段.为了利用基因敲除技术进一步分析这些差异表达基因的功能,本研究选取4个差异表达基因,即AlATP7、AlCIT1、AlGLUT和AlHSP88,应用DNA Walking技术对它们两侧的未知序列进行克隆.DNA测序和Blast搜索表明,AlATP7基因开放阅读框为712 bp,含4个外显子和3个内含子,编码169个氨基酸;AlCIT1、AlGLUT和AlHSP88基因未克隆到全长序列,5′末端还有200-300bp才到达翻译起始密码子ATG;在这些DNA序列中,AlCIT1基因长1 214 bp,含1个内含子,编码386个氨基酸;AlGLUT基因长1 308 bP,含1个内含子,编码417个氨基酸;AlHSP88基因长2 087bp,含2个内含子,编码628个氨基酸.与其他丝状真菌的氨基酸序列同源性比对发现,AlATP7和线粒体ATP合酶D亚基、AlCIT1和柠檬酸合成酶、AlGLUT和主要易化子超家族(MFS)类型葡萄糖转运子、AlHSP88和热休克蛋白HSP88分别具有很高的同源性.同时,还对4个DCFs胁迫差异表达基因的系统发育进行分析.基于这些蛋白功能的文献报道和前期的研究,推测A.longipes存在着一种新的DCFs抗性机制:A.longipes利用MFS类型葡萄糖转运子将DCFs排除到细胞外解毒,线粒体ATP合酶和柠檬酸合成酶参与能量供给,而热休克蛋白AlHSP88可能在该机制中促进一些重要蛋白的正确折叠和修复过程中发挥重要作用.     

Investigation of Reference Genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus for Gene Expression Analysis Using Quantitative RT-PCR

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a significant human pathogen capable of causing foodborne gastroenteritis associated with the consumption of contaminated raw or undercooked seafood. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) is a useful tool for studying gene expression in V. parahaemolyticus to characterize its virulence factors and understand the effect of environmental conditions on its pathogenicity. However, there is not a stable gene in V. parahaemolyticus that has been identified for use as a reference gene for qRT-PCR. This study evaluated the stability of 6 reference genes (16S rRNA, recA, rpoS, pvsA, pvuA, and gapdh) in 5 V. parahaemolyticus strains (O3:K6-clinical strain-tdh⁺, ATCC33846-tdh⁺, ATCC33847-tdh⁺, ATCC17802-trh⁺, and F13-environmental strain-tdh⁺) cultured at 4 different temperatures (15, 25, 37 and 42°C). Stability values were calculated using GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and Delta CT algorithms. The results indicated that recA was the most stably expressed gene in the V. parahaemolyticus strains cultured at different temperatures. This study examined multiple V. parahaemolyticus strains and growth temperatures, hence the finding provided stronger evidence that recA can be used as a reference gene for gene expression studies in V. parahaemolyticus.