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Background: Meiotic recombination has traditionally been explained based on the structural requirement to stabilize homologous chromosome pairs to ensure their proper meiotic segregation. Competing hypotheses seek to explain the emerging findings of significant heterogeneity in recombination rates within and between genomes, but intraspecific comparisons of genome-wide recombination patterns are rare.

Background: Meiotic recombination has traditionally been explained based on the structural requirement to stabilize homologous chromosome pairs to ensure their proper meiotic segregation. Competing hypotheses seek to explain the emerging findings of significant heterogeneity in recombination rates within and between genomes, but intraspecific comparisons of genome-wide recombination patterns are rare. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) exhibits the highest rate of genomic recombination among multicellular animals with about five cross-over events per chromatid.

Results: Here, we present a comparative analysis of recombination rates across eight genetic linkage maps of the honey bee genome to investigate which genomic sequence features are correlated with recombination rate and with its variation across the eight data sets, ranging in average marker spacing ranging from 1 Mbp to 120 kbp. Overall, we found that GC content explained best the variation in local recombination rate along chromosomes at the analyzed 100 kbp scale. In contrast, variation among the different maps was correlated to the abundance of microsatellites and several specific tri- and tetra-nucleotides.

Conclusions: The combined evidence from eight medium-scale recombination maps of the honey bee genome suggests that recombination rate variation in this highly recombining genome might be due to the DNA configuration instead of distinct sequence motifs. However, more fine-scale analyses are needed. The empirical basis of eight differing genetic maps allowed for robust conclusions about the correlates of the local recombination rates and enabled the study of the relation between DNA features and variability in local recombination rates, which is particularly relevant in the honey bee genome with its exceptionally high recombination rate.

ContributorsRoss, Caitlin R. (Author) / DeFelice, Dominick S. (Author) / Hunt, Greg J. (Author) / Ihle, Kate (Author) / Amdam, Gro (Author) / Rueppell, Olav (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-02-21
Description

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats.

Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits.

Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation.

ContributorsSadd, Ben M. (Author) / Barribeau, Seth M. (Author) / Bloch, Guy (Author) / de Graaf, Dirk C. (Author) / Dearden, Peter (Author) / Elsik, Christine G. (Author) / Gadau, Juergen (Author) / Grimmelikhuijzen, Cornelis J. P. (Author) / Hasselmann, Martin (Author) / Lozier, Jeffrey D. (Author) / Robertson, Hugh M. (Author) / Smagghe, Guy (Author) / Stolle, Eckart (Author) / Van Vaerenbergh, Matthias (Author) / Waterhouse, Robert M. (Author) / Bornberg-Bauer, Erich (Author) / Klasberg, Steffen (Author) / Bennett, Anna K. (Author) / Camara, Francisco (Author) / Guigo, Roderic (Author) / Hoff, Katharina (Author) / Mariotti, Marco (Author) / Munoz-Torres, Monica (Author) / Murphy, Terence (Author) / Santesmasses, Didac (Author) / Amdam, Gro (Author) / Beckers, Matthew (Author) / Beye, Martin (Author) / Biewer, Matthias (Author) / Bitondi, Marcia MG (Author) / Blaxter, Mark L. (Author) / Bourke, Andrew FG (Author) / Brown, Mark JF (Author) / Buechel, Severine D. (Author) / Cameron, Rossanah (Author) / Cappelle, Kaat (Author) / Carolan, James C. (Author) / Christiaens, Olivier (Author) / Ciborowski, Kate L. (Author) / Clarke, David F. (Author) / Colgan, Thomas J. (Author) / Collins, David H. (Author) / Cridge, Andrew G. (Author) / Dalmay, Tamas (Author) / Dreier, Stephanie (Author) / du Plessis, Louis (Author) / Duncan, Elizabeth (Author) / Erler, Silvio (Author) / Evans, Jay (Author) / Falcon, Talgo (Author) / Flores, Kevin (Author) / Freitas, Flavia CP (Author) / Fuchikawa, Taro (Author) / Gempe, Tanja (Author) / Hartfelder, Klaus (Author) / Hauser, Frank (Author) / Helbing, Sophie (Author) / Humann, Fernanda (Author) / Irvine, Frano (Author) / Jermiin, Lars S (Author) / Johnson, Claire E. (Author) / Johnson, Reed M (Author) / Jones, Andrew K. (Author) / Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko (Author) / Kidner, Jonathan H. (Author) / Koch, Vasco (Author) / Kohler, Arian (Author) / Kraus, F. Bernhard (Author) / Lattorff, H. Michael G. (Author) / Leask, Megan (Author) / Lockett, Gabrielle A. (Author) / Mallon, Eamonn B. (Author) / Marco Antonio, David S. (Author) / Marxer, Monika (Author) / Meeus, Ivan (Author) / Moritz, Robin FA (Author) / Nair, Ajay (Author) / Napflin, Kathrin (Author) / Nissen, Inga (Author) / Niu, Jinzhi (Author) / Nunes, Francis MF (Author) / Oakeshott, John G. (Author) / Osborne, Amy (Author) / Otte, Marianne (Author) / Pinheiro, Daniel G. (Author) / Rossie, Nina (Author) / Rueppell, Olav (Author) / Santos, Carolina G (Author) / Schmid-Hempel, Regula (Author) / Schmitt, Bjorn D. (Author) / Schulte, Christina (Author) / Simoes, Zila LP (Author) / Soares, Michelle PM (Author) / Swevers, Luc (Author) / Winnebeck, Eva C. (Author) / Wolschin, Florian (Author) / Yu, Na (Author) / Zdobnov, Evgeny M (Author) / Aqrawi, Peshtewani K (Author) / Blakenburg, Kerstin P (Author) / Coyle, Marcus (Author) / Francisco, Liezl (Author) / Hernandez, Alvaro G. (Author) / Holder, Michael (Author) / Hudson, Matthew E. (Author) / Jackson, LaRonda (Author) / Jayaseelan, Joy (Author) / Joshi, Vandita (Author) / Kovar, Christie (Author) / Lee, Sandra L. (Author) / Mata, Robert (Author) / Mathew, Tittu (Author) / Newsham, Irene F. (Author) / Ngo, Robin (Author) / Okwuonu, Geoffrey (Author) / Pham, Christopher (Author) / Pu, Ling-Ling (Author) / Saada, Nehad (Author) / Santibanez, Jireh (Author) / Simmons, DeNard (Author) / Thornton, Rebecca (Author) / Venkat, Aarti (Author) / Walden, Kimberly KO (Author) / Wu, Yuan-Qing (Author) / Debyser, Griet (Author) / Devreese, Bart (Author) / Asher, Claire (Author) / Blommaert, Julie (Author) / Chipman, Ariel D. (Author) / Chittka, Lars (Author) / Fouks, Bertrand (Author) / Liu, Jisheng (Author) / O'Neill, Meaghan P (Author) / Sumner, Seirian (Author) / Puiu, Daniela (Author) / Qu, Jiaxin (Author) / Salzberg, Steven L (Author) / Scherer, Steven E (Author) / Muzny, Donna M. (Author) / Richards, Stephen (Author) / Robinson, Gene E (Author) / Gibbs, Richard A. (Author) / Schmid-Hempel, Paul (Author) / Worley, Kim C (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-04-24
Description

Two classes of scaling behaviours, namely the super-linear scaling of links or activities, and the sub-linear scaling of area, diversity, or time elapsed with respect to size have been found to prevail in the growth of complex networked systems. Despite some pioneering modelling approaches proposed for specific systems, whether there

Two classes of scaling behaviours, namely the super-linear scaling of links or activities, and the sub-linear scaling of area, diversity, or time elapsed with respect to size have been found to prevail in the growth of complex networked systems. Despite some pioneering modelling approaches proposed for specific systems, whether there exists some general mechanisms that account for the origins of such scaling behaviours in different contexts, especially in socioeconomic systems, remains an open question. We address this problem by introducing a geometric network model without free parameter, finding that both super-linear and sub-linear scaling behaviours can be simultaneously reproduced and that the scaling exponents are exclusively determined by the dimension of the Euclidean space in which the network is embedded. We implement some realistic extensions to the basic model to offer more accurate predictions for cities of various scaling behaviours and the Zipf distribution reported in the literature and observed in our empirical studies. All of the empirical results can be precisely recovered by our model with analytical predictions of all major properties. By virtue of these general findings concerning scaling behaviour, our models with simple mechanisms gain new insights into the evolution and development of complex networked systems.

ContributorsZhang, Jiang (Author) / Li, Xintong (Author) / Wang, Xinran (Author) / Wang, Wen-Xu (Author) / Wu, Lingfei (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-04-29
Description

Background: Cancer diagnosis in both dogs and humans is complicated by the lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test. To meet this clinical need, we apply the recently developed immunosignature assay to spontaneous canine lymphoma as clinical proof-of-concept. Here we evaluate the immunosignature as a diagnostic for spontaneous canine lymphoma at both

Background: Cancer diagnosis in both dogs and humans is complicated by the lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test. To meet this clinical need, we apply the recently developed immunosignature assay to spontaneous canine lymphoma as clinical proof-of-concept. Here we evaluate the immunosignature as a diagnostic for spontaneous canine lymphoma at both at initial diagnosis and evaluating the disease free interval following treatment.

Methods: Sera from dogs with confirmed lymphoma (B cell n = 38, T cell n = 11) and clinically normal dogs (n = 39) were analyzed. Serum antibody responses were characterized by analyzing the binding pattern, or immunosignature, of serum antibodies on a non-natural sequence peptide microarray. Peptides were selected and tested for the ability to distinguish healthy dogs from those with lymphoma and to distinguish lymphoma subtypes based on immunophenotype. The immunosignature of dogs with lymphoma were evaluated for individual signatures. Changes in the immunosignatures were evaluated following treatment and eventual relapse.

Results: Despite being a clonal disease, both an individual immunosignature and a generalized lymphoma immunosignature were observed in each dog. The general lymphoma immunosignature identified in the initial set of dogs (n = 32) was able to predict disease status in an independent set of dogs (n = 42, 97% accuracy). A separate immunosignature was able to distinguish the lymphoma based on immunophenotype (n = 25, 88% accuracy). The individual immunosignature was capable of confirming remission three months following diagnosis. Immunosignature at diagnosis was able to predict which dogs with B cell lymphoma would relapse in less than 120 days (n = 33, 97% accuracy).

Conclusion: We conclude that the immunosignature can serve as a multilevel diagnostic for canine, and potentially human, lymphoma.

ContributorsJohnston, Stephen (Author) / Thamm, Douglas H. (Author) / Legutki, Joseph Barten (Author) / Biodesign Institute (Contributor)
Created2014-09-08
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Description

Honeybee workers are essentially sterile female helpers that make up the majority of individuals in a colony. Workers display a marked change in physiology when they transition from in-nest tasks to foraging. Recent technological advances have made it possible to unravel the metabolic modifications associated with this transition. Previous studies

Honeybee workers are essentially sterile female helpers that make up the majority of individuals in a colony. Workers display a marked change in physiology when they transition from in-nest tasks to foraging. Recent technological advances have made it possible to unravel the metabolic modifications associated with this transition. Previous studies have revealed extensive remodeling of brain, thorax, and hypopharyngeal gland biochemistry. However, data on changes in the abdomen is scarce. To narrow this gap we investigated the proteomic composition of abdominal tissue in the days typically preceding the onset of foraging in honeybee workers.

In order to get a broader representation of possible protein dynamics, we used workers of two genotypes with differences in the age at which they initiate foraging. This approach was combined with RNA interference-mediated downregulation of an insulin/insulin-like signaling component that is central to foraging behavior, the insulin receptor substrate (irs), and with measurements of glucose and lipid levels.
Our data provide new insight into the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity in the honeybee, invoke parallels with vertebrate metabolism, and support an integrated and irs-dependent association of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism with the transition from in-nest tasks to foraging.

ContributorsChan, Queenie W. T. (Author) / Mutti, Navdeep (Author) / Foster, Leonard J. (Author) / Kocher, Sarah D. (Author) / Amdam, Gro (Author) / Wolschin, Florian (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2011-09-28
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Description

Background: Gene bodies are the most evolutionarily conserved targets of DNA methylation in eukaryotes. However, the regulatory functions of gene body DNA methylation remain largely unknown. DNA methylation in insects appears to be primarily confined to exons. Two recent studies in Apis mellifera (honeybee) and Nasonia vitripennis (jewel wasp) analyzed transcription

Background: Gene bodies are the most evolutionarily conserved targets of DNA methylation in eukaryotes. However, the regulatory functions of gene body DNA methylation remain largely unknown. DNA methylation in insects appears to be primarily confined to exons. Two recent studies in Apis mellifera (honeybee) and Nasonia vitripennis (jewel wasp) analyzed transcription and DNA methylation data for one gene in each species to demonstrate that exon-specific DNA methylation may be associated with alternative splicing events. In this study we investigated the relationship between DNA methylation, alternative splicing, and cross-species gene conservation on a genome-wide scale using genome-wide transcription and DNA methylation data.

Results: We generated RNA deep sequencing data (RNA-seq) to measure genome-wide mRNA expression at the exon- and gene-level. We produced a de novo transcriptome from this RNA-seq data and computationally predicted splice variants for the honeybee genome. We found that exons that are included in transcription are higher methylated than exons that are skipped during transcription. We detected enrichment for alternative splicing among methylated genes compared to unmethylated genes using fisher’s exact test. We performed a statistical analysis to reveal that the presence of DNA methylation or alternative splicing are both factors associated with a longer gene length and a greater number of exons in genes. In concordance with this observation, a conservation analysis using BLAST revealed that each of these factors is also associated with higher cross-species gene conservation.

Conclusions: This study constitutes the first genome-wide analysis exhibiting a positive relationship between exon-level DNA methylation and mRNA expression in the honeybee. Our finding that methylated genes are enriched for alternative splicing suggests that, in invertebrates, exon-level DNA methylation may play a role in the construction of splice variants by positively influencing exon inclusion during transcription. The results from our cross-species homology analysis suggest that DNA methylation and alternative splicing are genetic mechanisms whose utilization could contribute to a longer gene length and a slower rate of gene evolution.

ContributorsFlores, Kevin (Author) / Wolschin, Florian (Author) / Corneveaux, Jason J. (Author) / Allen, April N. (Author) / Huentelman, Matthew J. (Author) / Amdam, Gro (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2012-09-15
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Description

Insect immune systems can recognize specific pathogens and prime offspring immunity. High specificity of immune priming can be achieved when insect females transfer immune elicitors into developing oocytes. The molecular mechanism behind this transfer has been a mystery. Here, we establish that the egg-yolk protein vitellogenin is the carrier of

Insect immune systems can recognize specific pathogens and prime offspring immunity. High specificity of immune priming can be achieved when insect females transfer immune elicitors into developing oocytes. The molecular mechanism behind this transfer has been a mystery. Here, we establish that the egg-yolk protein vitellogenin is the carrier of immune elicitors. Using the honey bee, Apis mellifera, model system, we demonstrate with microscopy and western blotting that vitellogenin binds to bacteria, both Paenibacillus larvae – the gram-positive bacterium causing American foulbrood disease – and to Escherichia coli that represents gram-negative bacteria. Next, we verify that vitellogenin binds to pathogen-associated molecular patterns; lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan and zymosan, using surface plasmon resonance. We document that vitellogenin is required for transport of cell-wall pieces of E. coli into eggs by imaging tissue sections. These experiments identify vitellogenin, which is distributed widely in oviparous species, as the carrier of immune-priming signals. This work reveals a molecular explanation for trans-generational immunity in insects and a previously undescribed role for vitellogenin.

ContributorsSalmela, Heli (Author) / Amdam, Gro (Author) / Freitak, Dalial (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-07-31
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Description

There are an increasing variety of applications in which peptides are both synthesized and used attached to solid surfaces. This has created a need for high throughput sequence analysis directly on surfaces. However, common sequencing approaches that can be adapted to surface bound peptides lack the throughput often needed in

There are an increasing variety of applications in which peptides are both synthesized and used attached to solid surfaces. This has created a need for high throughput sequence analysis directly on surfaces. However, common sequencing approaches that can be adapted to surface bound peptides lack the throughput often needed in library-based applications. Here we describe a simple approach for sequence analysis directly on solid surfaces that is both high speed and high throughput, utilizing equipment available in most protein analysis facilities. In this approach, surface bound peptides, selectively labeled at their N-termini with a positive charge-bearing group, are subjected to controlled degradation in ammonia gas, resulting in a set of fragments differing by a single amino acid that remain spatially confined on the surface they were bound to. These fragments can then be analyzed by MALDI mass spectrometry, and the peptide sequences read directly from the resulting spectra.

ContributorsZhao, Zhan-Gong (Author) / Cordovez, Lalaine Anne (Author) / Johnston, Stephen (Author) / Woodbury, Neal (Author) / Biodesign Institute (Contributor)
Created2017-12-19
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Description

Recent infectious outbreaks highlight the need for platform technologies that can be quickly deployed to develop therapeutics needed to contain the outbreak. We present a simple concept for rapid development of new antimicrobials. The goal was to produce in as little as one week thousands of doses of an intervention

Recent infectious outbreaks highlight the need for platform technologies that can be quickly deployed to develop therapeutics needed to contain the outbreak. We present a simple concept for rapid development of new antimicrobials. The goal was to produce in as little as one week thousands of doses of an intervention for a new pathogen. We tested the feasibility of a system based on antimicrobial synbodies. The system involves creating an array of 100 peptides that have been selected for broad capability to bind and/or kill viruses and bacteria. The peptides are pre-screened for low cell toxicity prior to large scale synthesis. Any pathogen is then assayed on the chip to find peptides that bind or kill it. Peptides are combined in pairs as synbodies and further screened for activity and toxicity. The lead synbody can be quickly produced in large scale, with completion of the entire process in one week.

ContributorsJohnston, Stephen (Author) / Domenyuk, Valeriy (Author) / Gupta, Nidhi (Author) / Tavares Batista, Milene (Author) / Lainson, John (Author) / Zhao, Zhan-Gong (Author) / Lusk, Joel (Author) / Loskutov, Andrey (Author) / Cichacz, Zbigniew (Author) / Stafford, Phillip (Author) / Legutki, Joseph Barten (Author) / Diehnelt, Chris (Author) / Biodesign Institute (Contributor)
Created2017-12-14
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Description

Given a complex geospatial network with nodes distributed in a two-dimensional region of physical space, can the locations of the nodes be determined and their connection patterns be uncovered based solely on data? We consider the realistic situation where time series/signals can be collected from a single location. A key

Given a complex geospatial network with nodes distributed in a two-dimensional region of physical space, can the locations of the nodes be determined and their connection patterns be uncovered based solely on data? We consider the realistic situation where time series/signals can be collected from a single location. A key challenge is that the signals collected are necessarily time delayed, due to the varying physical distances from the nodes to the data collection centre. To meet this challenge, we develop a compressive-sensing-based approach enabling reconstruction of the full topology of the underlying geospatial network and more importantly, accurate estimate of the time delays. A standard triangularization algorithm can then be employed to find the physical locations of the nodes in the network. We further demonstrate successful detection of a hidden node (or a hidden source or threat), from which no signal can be obtained, through accurate detection of all its neighbouring nodes. As a geospatial network has the feature that a node tends to connect with geophysically nearby nodes, the localized region that contains the hidden node can be identified.

ContributorsSu, Riqi (Author) / Wang, Wen-Xu (Author) / Wang, Xiao (Author) / Lai, Ying-Cheng (Author) / Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering (Contributor)
Created2016-01-06