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Strobl EV, Gamazon ER. Transcriptome-Wide Root Causal Inference. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.07.22.24310837. [PMID: 39108507 PMCID: PMC11302617 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.22.24310837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Root causal genes correspond to the first gene expression levels perturbed during pathogenesis by genetic or non-genetic factors. Targeting root causal genes has the potential to alleviate disease entirely by eliminating pathology near its onset. No existing algorithm discovers root causal genes from observational data alone. We therefore propose the Transcriptome-Wide Root Causal Inference (TWRCI) algorithm that identifies root causal genes and their causal graph using a combination of genetic variant and unperturbed bulk RNA sequencing data. TWRCI uses a novel competitive regression procedure to annotate cis and trans-genetic variants to the gene expression levels they directly cause. The algorithm simultaneously recovers a causal ordering of the expression levels to pinpoint the underlying causal graph and estimate root causal effects. TWRCI outperforms alternative approaches across a diverse group of metrics by directly targeting root causal genes while accounting for distal relations, linkage disequilibrium, patient heterogeneity and widespread pleiotropy. We demonstrate the algorithm by uncovering the root causal mechanisms of two complex diseases, which we confirm by replication using independent genome-wide summary statistics.
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Okude G, Yamasaki YY, Toyoda A, Mori S, Kitano J. Genome-wide analysis of histone modifications can contribute to the identification of candidate cis-regulatory regions in the threespine stickleback fish. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:685. [PMID: 38992624 PMCID: PMC11241946 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10602-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cis-regulatory mutations often underlie phenotypic evolution. However, because identifying the locations of promoters and enhancers in non-coding regions is challenging, we have fewer examples of identified causative cis-regulatory mutations that underlie naturally occurring phenotypic variations than of causative amino acid-altering mutations. Because cis-regulatory elements have epigenetic marks of specific histone modifications, we can detect cis-regulatory elements by mapping and analyzing them. Here, we investigated histone modifications and chromatin accessibility with cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) and assay for transposase-accessible chromatin-sequencing (ATAC-seq). RESULTS Using the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as a model, we confirmed that the genes for which nearby regions showed active marks, such as H3K4me1, H3K4me3, and high chromatin accessibility, were highly expressed. In contrast, the expression levels of genes for which nearby regions showed repressive marks, such as H3K27me3, were reduced, suggesting that our chromatin analysis protocols overall worked well. Genomic regions with peaks of histone modifications showed higher nucleotide diversity within and between populations. By comparing gene expression in the gills of the marine and stream ecotypes, we identified several insertions and deletions (indels) with transposable element fragments in the candidate cis-regulatory regions. CONCLUSIONS Thus, mapping and analyzing histone modifications can help identify cis-regulatory elements and accelerate the identification of causative mutations in the non-coding regions underlying naturally occurring phenotypic variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genta Okude
- Ecological Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan.
| | - Yo Y Yamasaki
- Ecological Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Comparative Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Seiichi Mori
- Faculty of Economics, Gifu-Kyoritsu University, Ogaki, Gifu, Japan
| | - Jun Kitano
- Ecological Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan.
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Renganaath K, Albert FW. Trans-eQTL hotspots shape complex traits by modulating cellular states. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.14.567054. [PMID: 38014174 PMCID: PMC10680915 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.14.567054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Regulatory genetic variation shapes gene expression, providing an important mechanism connecting DNA variation and complex traits. The causal relationships between gene expression and complex traits remain poorly understood. Here, we integrated transcriptomes and 46 genetically complex growth traits in a large cross between two strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We discovered thousands of genetic correlations between gene expression and growth, suggesting potential functional connections. Local regulatory variation was a minor source of these genetic correlations. Instead, genetic correlations tended to arise from multiple independent trans-acting regulatory loci. Trans-acting hotspots that affect the expression of numerous genes accounted for particularly large fractions of genetic growth variation and of genetic correlations between gene expression and growth. Genes with genetic correlations were enriched for similar biological processes across traits, but with heterogeneous direction of effect. Our results reveal how trans-acting regulatory hotspots shape complex traits by altering cellular states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushik Renganaath
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, & Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Frank W Albert
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, & Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Zhang W, Higgins EE, Robinson SJ, Clarke WE, Boyle K, Sharpe AG, Fobert PR, Parkin IAP. A systems genomics and genetics approach to identify the genetic regulatory network for lignin content in Brassica napus seeds. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1393621. [PMID: 38903439 PMCID: PMC11188405 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1393621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Seed quality traits of oilseed rape, Brassica napus (B. napus), exhibit quantitative inheritance determined by its genetic makeup and the environment via the mediation of a complex genetic architecture of hundreds to thousands of genes. Thus, instead of single gene analysis, network-based systems genomics and genetics approaches that combine genotype, phenotype, and molecular phenotypes offer a promising alternative to uncover this complex genetic architecture. In the current study, systems genetics approaches were used to explore the genetic regulation of lignin traits in B. napus seeds. Four QTL (qLignin_A09_1, qLignin_A09_2, qLignin_A09_3, and qLignin_C08) distributed on two chromosomes were identified for lignin content. The qLignin_A09_2 and qLignin_C08 loci were homologous QTL from the A and C subgenomes, respectively. Genome-wide gene regulatory network analysis identified eighty-three subnetworks (or modules); and three modules with 910 genes in total, were associated with lignin content, which was confirmed by network QTL analysis. eQTL (expression quantitative trait loci) analysis revealed four cis-eQTL genes including lignin and flavonoid pathway genes, cinnamoyl-CoA-reductase (CCR1), and TRANSPARENT TESTA genes TT4, TT6, TT8, as causal genes. The findings validated the power of systems genetics to identify causal regulatory networks and genes underlying complex traits. Moreover, this information may enable the research community to explore new breeding strategies, such as network selection or gene engineering, to rewire networks to develop climate resilience crops with better seed quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wentao Zhang
- Aquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Erin E. Higgins
- Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Stephen J. Robinson
- Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Wayne E. Clarke
- Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry Boyle
- Aquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Andrew G. Sharpe
- Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Pierre R. Fobert
- Aquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Isobel A. P. Parkin
- Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Yang L, Yin H, Bai L, Yao W, Tao T, Zhao Q, Gao Y, Teng J, Xu Z, Lin Q, Diao S, Pan Z, Guan D, Li B, Zhou H, Zhou Z, Zhao F, Wang Q, Pan Y, Zhang Z, Li K, Fang L, Liu GE. Mapping and functional characterization of structural variation in 1060 pig genomes. Genome Biol 2024; 25:116. [PMID: 38715020 PMCID: PMC11075355 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03253-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Structural variations (SVs) have significant impacts on complex phenotypes by rearranging large amounts of DNA sequence. RESULTS We present a comprehensive SV catalog based on the whole-genome sequence of 1060 pigs (Sus scrofa) representing 101 breeds, covering 9.6% of the pig genome. This catalog includes 42,487 deletions, 37,913 mobile element insertions, 3308 duplications, 1664 inversions, and 45,184 break ends. Estimates of breed ancestry and hybridization using genotyped SVs align well with those from single nucleotide polymorphisms. Geographically stratified deletions are observed, along with known duplications of the KIT gene, responsible for white coat color in European pigs. Additionally, we identify a recent SINE element insertion in MYO5A transcripts of European pigs, potentially influencing alternative splicing patterns and coat color alterations. Furthermore, a Yorkshire-specific copy number gain within ABCG2 is found, impacting chromatin interactions and gene expression across multiple tissues over a stretch of genomic region of ~200 kb. Preliminary investigations into SV's impact on gene expression and traits using the Pig Genotype-Tissue Expression (PigGTEx) data reveal SV associations with regulatory variants and gene-trait pairs. For instance, a 51-bp deletion is linked to the lead eQTL of the lipid metabolism regulating gene FADS3, whose expression in embryo may affect loin muscle area, as revealed by our transcriptome-wide association studies. CONCLUSIONS This SV catalog serves as a valuable resource for studying diversity, evolutionary history, and functional shaping of the pig genome by processes like domestication, trait-based breeding, and adaptive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Hongwei Yin
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Lijing Bai
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Wenye Yao
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Tan Tao
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Qianyi Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yahui Gao
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Jinyan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiting Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuqi Diao
- State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhangyuan Pan
- Department of Animal Science, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Dailu Guan
- Department of Animal Science, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bingjie Li
- Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Roslin Institute Building, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Huaijun Zhou
- Department of Animal Science, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Zhongyin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Fuping Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (Poultry) of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Qishan Wang
- Department of Animal Science, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yuchun Pan
- Department of Animal Science, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kui Li
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
| | - Lingzhao Fang
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - George E Liu
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
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Rudra P, Zhou YH, Nobel A, Wright FA. Control of false discoveries in grouped hypothesis testing for eQTL data. BMC Bioinformatics 2024; 25:147. [PMID: 38605284 PMCID: PMC11007981 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-024-05736-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis aims to detect the genetic variants that influence the expression of one or more genes. Gene-level eQTL testing forms a natural grouped-hypothesis testing strategy with clear biological importance. Methods to control family-wise error rate or false discovery rate for group testing have been proposed earlier, but may not be powerful or easily apply to eQTL data, for which certain structured alternatives may be defensible and may enable the researcher to avoid overly conservative approaches. RESULTS In an empirical Bayesian setting, we propose a new method to control the false discovery rate (FDR) for grouped hypotheses. Here, each gene forms a group, with SNPs annotated to the gene corresponding to individual hypotheses. The heterogeneity of effect sizes in different groups is considered by the introduction of a random effects component. Our method, entitled Random Effects model and testing procedure for Group-level FDR control (REG-FDR), assumes a model for alternative hypotheses for the eQTL data and controls the FDR by adaptive thresholding. As a convenient alternate approach, we also propose Z-REG-FDR, an approximate version of REG-FDR, that uses only Z-statistics of association between genotype and expression for each gene-SNP pair. The performance of Z-REG-FDR is evaluated using both simulated and real data. Simulations demonstrate that Z-REG-FDR performs similarly to REG-FDR, but with much improved computational speed. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrate that the Z-REG-FDR method performs favorably compared to other methods in terms of statistical power and control of FDR. It can be of great practical use for grouped hypothesis testing for eQTL analysis or similar problems in statistical genomics due to its fast computation and ability to be fit using only summary data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratyaydipta Rudra
- Department of Statistics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
| | - Yi-Hui Zhou
- Bioinformatics Research Center, Departments of Statistics and Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Andrew Nobel
- Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Fred A Wright
- Bioinformatics Research Center, Departments of Statistics and Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
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Tsouris A, Brach G, Friedrich A, Hou J, Schacherer J. Diallel panel reveals a significant impact of low-frequency genetic variants on gene expression variation in yeast. Mol Syst Biol 2024; 20:362-373. [PMID: 38355920 PMCID: PMC10987670 DOI: 10.1038/s44320-024-00021-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Unraveling the genetic sources of gene expression variation is essential to better understand the origins of phenotypic diversity in natural populations. Genome-wide association studies identified thousands of variants involved in gene expression variation, however, variants detected only explain part of the heritability. In fact, variants such as low-frequency and structural variants (SVs) are poorly captured in association studies. To assess the impact of these variants on gene expression variation, we explored a half-diallel panel composed of 323 hybrids originated from pairwise crosses of 26 natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates. Using short- and long-read sequencing strategies, we established an exhaustive catalog of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and SVs for this panel. Combining this dataset with the transcriptomes of all hybrids, we comprehensively mapped SNPs and SVs associated with gene expression variation. While SVs impact gene expression variation, SNPs exhibit a higher effect size with an overrepresentation of low-frequency variants compared to common ones. These results reinforce the importance of dissecting the heritability of complex traits with a comprehensive catalog of genetic variants at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Tsouris
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Gauthier Brach
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Friedrich
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jing Hou
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France.
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
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Kadagandla S, Kapoor A. Identification of candidate causal cis -regulatory variants underlying electrocardiographic QT interval GWAS loci. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.13.584880. [PMID: 38585875 PMCID: PMC10996567 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.13.584880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Identifying causal variants among tens or hundreds of associated variants at each locus mapped by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of complex traits is a challenge. As vast majority of GWAS variants are noncoding, sequence variation at cis -regulatory elements affecting transcriptional expression of specific genes is a widely accepted molecular hypothesis. Following this cis -regulatory hypothesis and combining it with the observation that nucleosome-free open chromatin is a universal hallmark of all types of cis -regulatory elements, we aimed to identify candidate causal regulatory variants underlying electrocardiographic QT interval GWAS loci. At a dozen loci, selected for higher effect sizes and a better understanding of the likely causal gene, we identified and included all common variants in high linkage disequilibrium with the GWAS variants as candidate variants. Using ENCODE DNase-seq and ATAC-seq from multiple human adult cardiac left ventricle tissue samples, we generated genome-wide maps of open chromatin regions marking putative regulatory elements. QT interval associated candidate variants were filtered for overlap with cardiac left ventricle open chromatin regions to identify candidate causal cis -regulatory variants, which were further assessed for colocalizing with a known cardiac GTEx expression quantitative trait locus variant as additional evidence for their causal role. Together, these efforts have generated a comprehensive set of candidate causal variants that are expected to be enriched for cis -regulatory potential and thereby, explaining the observed genetic associations.
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Everman ER, Macdonald SJ. Gene expression variation underlying tissue-specific responses to copper stress in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae015. [PMID: 38262701 PMCID: PMC11021028 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Copper is one of a handful of biologically necessary heavy metals that is also a common environmental pollutant. Under normal conditions, copper ions are required for many key physiological processes. However, in excess, copper results in cell and tissue damage ranging in severity from temporary injury to permanent neurological damage. Because of its biological relevance, and because many conserved copper-responsive genes respond to nonessential heavy metal pollutants, copper resistance in Drosophila melanogaster is a useful model system with which to investigate the genetic control of the heavy metal stress response. Because heavy metal toxicity has the potential to differently impact specific tissues, we genetically characterized the control of the gene expression response to copper stress in a tissue-specific manner in this study. We assessed the copper stress response in head and gut tissue of 96 inbred strains from the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource using a combination of differential expression analysis and expression quantitative trait locus mapping. Differential expression analysis revealed clear patterns of tissue-specific expression. Tissue and treatment specific responses to copper stress were also detected using expression quantitative trait locus mapping. Expression quantitative trait locus associated with MtnA, Mdr49, Mdr50, and Sod3 exhibited both genotype-by-tissue and genotype-by-treatment effects on gene expression under copper stress, illuminating tissue- and treatment-specific patterns of gene expression control. Together, our data build a nuanced description of the roles and interactions between allelic and expression variation in copper-responsive genes, provide valuable insight into the genomic architecture of susceptibility to metal toxicity, and highlight candidate genes for future functional characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Everman
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Stuart J Macdonald
- Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Ave, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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Zou D, Cai Y, Jin M, Zhang M, Liu Y, Chen S, Yang S, Zhang H, Zhu X, Huang C, Zhu Y, Miao X, Wei Y, Yang X, Tian J. A genetic variant in the immune-related gene ERAP1 affects colorectal cancer prognosis. Chin Med J (Engl) 2024; 137:431-440. [PMID: 37690994 PMCID: PMC10876254 DOI: 10.1097/cm9.0000000000002845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Findings on the association of genetic factors and colorectal cancer (CRC) survival are limited and inconsistent, and revealing the mechanism underlying their prognostic roles is of great importance. This study aimed to explore the relationship between functional genetic variations and the prognosis of CRC and further reveal the possible mechanism. METHODS We first systematically performed expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Then, the Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to filter out the survival-related eQTL target genes of CRC patients in two public datasets (TCGA and GSE39582 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus database). The seven most potentially functional eQTL single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with six survival-related eQTL target genes were genotyped in 907 Chinese CRC patients with clinical prognosis data. The regulatory mechanism of the survival-related SNP was further confirmed by functional experiments. RESULTS The rs71630754 regulating the expression of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 ( ERAP1 ) was significantly associated with the prognosis of CRC (additive model, hazard ratio [HR]: 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.88, P = 0.012). The results of dual-luciferase reporter assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that the A allele of the rs71630754 could increase the binding of transcription factor 3 (TCF3) and subsequently reduce the expression of ERAP1 . The results of bioinformatic analysis showed that lower expression of ERAP1 could affect the tumor immune microenvironment and was significantly associated with severe survival outcomes. CONCLUSION The rs71630754 could influence the prognosis of CRC patients by regulating the expression of the immune-related gene ERAP1 . TRIAL REGISTRATION No. NCT00454519 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ).
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Affiliation(s)
- Danyi Zou
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, China
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Yimin Cai
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Meng Jin
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Yizhuo Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Shuoni Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Shuhui Yang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Heng Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Xu Zhu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Chaoqun Huang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Ying Zhu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Xiaoping Miao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, China
| | - Yongchang Wei
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Xiaojun Yang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Jianbo Tian
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
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11
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Chen YH, van Zon S, Adams A, Schmidt-Arras D, Laurence ADJ, Uhlig HH. The Human GP130 Cytokine Receptor and Its Expression-an Atlas and Functional Taxonomy of Genetic Variants. J Clin Immunol 2023; 44:30. [PMID: 38133879 PMCID: PMC10746620 DOI: 10.1007/s10875-023-01603-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Genetic variants in IL6ST encoding the shared cytokine receptor for the IL-6 cytokine family GP130 have been associated with a diverse number of clinical phenotypes and disorders. We provide a molecular classification for 59 reported rare IL6ST pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants and additional polymorphisms. Based on loss- or gain-of-function, cytokine selectivity, mono- and biallelic associations, and variable cellular mosaicism, we grade six classes of IL6ST variants and explore the potential for additional variants. We classify variants according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria. Loss-of-function variants with (i) biallelic complete loss of GP130 function that presents with extended Stüve-Wiedemann Syndrome; (ii) autosomal recessive hyper-IgE syndrome (HIES) caused by biallelic; and (iii) autosomal dominant HIES caused by monoallelic IL6ST variants both causing selective IL-6 and IL-11 cytokine loss-of-function defects; (iv) a biallelic cytokine-specific variant that exclusively impairs IL-11 signaling, associated with craniosynostosis and tooth abnormalities; (v) somatic monoallelic mosaic constitutively active gain-of-function variants in hepatocytes that present with inflammatory hepatocellular adenoma; and (vi) mosaic constitutively active gain-of-function variants in hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells that are associated with an immune dysregulation syndrome. In addition to Mendelian IL6ST coding variants, there are common non-coding cis-acting variants that modify gene expression, which are associated with an increased risk of complex immune-mediated disorders and trans-acting variants that affect GP130 protein function. Our taxonomy highlights IL6ST as a gene with particularly strong functional and phenotypic diversity due to the combinatorial biology of the IL-6 cytokine family and predicts additional genotype-phenotype associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin-Huai Chen
- Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sarah van Zon
- Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Alex Adams
- Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Dirk Schmidt-Arras
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | | | - Holm H Uhlig
- Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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12
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Dimayacyac JR, Wu S, Jiang D, Pennell M. Evaluating the Performance of Widely Used Phylogenetic Models for Gene Expression Evolution. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad211. [PMID: 38000902 PMCID: PMC10709115 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods are increasingly used to test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that drive divergence in gene expression among species. However, it is unknown whether the distributional assumptions of phylogenetic models designed for quantitative phenotypic traits are realistic for expression data and importantly, the reliability of conclusions of phylogenetic comparative studies of gene expression may depend on whether the data is well described by the chosen model. To evaluate this, we first fit several phylogenetic models of trait evolution to 8 previously published comparative expression datasets, comprising a total of 54,774 genes with 145,927 unique gene-tissue combinations. Using a previously developed approach, we then assessed how well the best model of the set described the data in an absolute (not just relative) sense. First, we find that Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, in which expression values are constrained around an optimum, were the preferred models for 66% of gene-tissue combinations. Second, we find that for 61% of gene-tissue combinations, the best-fit model of the set was found to perform well; the rest were found to be performing poorly by at least one of the test statistics we examined. Third, we find that when simple models do not perform well, this appears to be typically a consequence of failing to fully account for heterogeneity in the rate of the evolution. We advocate that assessment of model performance should become a routine component of phylogenetic comparative expression studies; doing so can improve the reliability of inferences and inspire the development of novel models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Rafael Dimayacyac
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Shanyun Wu
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daohan Jiang
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Matt Pennell
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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13
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Dimayacyac JR, Wu S, Jiang D, Pennell M. Evaluating the Performance of Widely Used Phylogenetic Models for Gene Expression Evolution. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.09.527893. [PMID: 37645857 PMCID: PMC10461906 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.09.527893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods are increasingly used to test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that drive divergence in gene expression among species. However, it is unknown whether the distributional assumptions of phylogenetic models designed for quantitative phenotypic traits are realistic for expression data and importantly, the reliability of conclusions of phylogenetic comparative studies of gene expression may depend on whether the data is well-described by the chosen model. To evaluate this, we first fit several phylogenetic models of trait evolution to 8 previously published comparative expression datasets, comprising a total of 54,774 genes with 145,927 unique gene-tissue combinations. Using a previously developed approach, we then assessed how well the best model of the set described the data in an absolute (not just relative) sense. First, we find that Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, in which expression values are constrained around an optimum, were the preferred model for 66% of gene-tissue combinations. Second, we find that for 61% of gene-tissue combinations, the best fit model of the set was found to perform well; the rest were found to be performing poorly by at least one of the test statistics we examined. Third, we find that when simple models do not perform well, this appears to be typically a consequence of failing to fully account for heterogeneity in the rate of the evolution. We advocate that assessment of model performance should become a routine component of phylogenetic comparative expression studies; doing so can improve the reliability of inferences and inspire the development of novel models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Rafael Dimayacyac
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Shanyun Wu
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Daohan Jiang
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, USA
| | - Matt Pennell
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, USA
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14
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Wienecke AN, Barry ML, Pollard DA. Natural variation in codon bias and mRNA folding strength interact synergistically to modify protein expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 2023; 224:iyad113. [PMID: 37310925 PMCID: PMC10411576 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Codon bias and mRNA folding strength (mF) are hypothesized molecular mechanisms by which polymorphisms in genes modify protein expression. Natural patterns of codon bias and mF across genes as well as effects of altering codon bias and mF suggest that the influence of these 2 mechanisms may vary depending on the specific location of polymorphisms within a transcript. Despite the central role codon bias and mF may play in natural trait variation within populations, systematic studies of how polymorphic codon bias and mF relate to protein expression variation are lacking. To address this need, we analyzed genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data for 22 Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates, estimated protein accumulation for each allele of 1,620 genes as the log of protein molecules per RNA molecule (logPPR), and built linear mixed-effects models associating allelic variation in codon bias and mF with allelic variation in logPPR. We found that codon bias and mF interact synergistically in a positive association with logPPR, and this interaction explains almost all the effects of codon bias and mF. We examined how the locations of polymorphisms within transcripts influence their effects and found that codon bias primarily acts through polymorphisms in domain-encoding and 3' coding sequences, while mF acts most significantly through coding sequences with weaker effects from untranslated regions. Our results present the most comprehensive characterization to date of how polymorphisms in transcripts influence protein expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastacia N Wienecke
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Margaret L Barry
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Daniel A Pollard
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
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15
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Tsouris A, Brach G, Friedrich A, Hou J, Schacherer J. Diallel panel reveals a significant impact of low-frequency genetic variants on gene expression variation in yeast. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.21.550015. [PMID: 37503053 PMCID: PMC10370210 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.21.550015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Unraveling the genetic sources of gene expression variation is essential to better understand the origins of phenotypic diversity in natural populations. Genome-wide association studies identified thousands of variants involved in gene expression variation, however, variants detected only explain part of the heritability. In fact, variants such as low-frequency and structural variants (SVs) are poorly captured in association studies. To assess the impact of these variants on gene expression variation, we explored a half-diallel panel composed of 323 hybrids originated from pairwise crosses of 26 natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates. Using short- and long-read sequencing strategies, we established an exhaustive catalog of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and SVs for this panel. Combining this dataset with the transcriptomes of all hybrids, we comprehensively mapped SNPs and SVs associated with gene expression variation. While SVs impact gene expression variation, SNPs exhibit a higher effect size with an overrepresentation of low-frequency variants compared to common ones. These results reinforce the importance of dissecting the heritability of complex traits with a comprehensive catalog of genetic variants at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Tsouris
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Gauthier Brach
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Friedrich
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jing Hou
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Strasbourg, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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16
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Jallet A, Friedrich A, Schacherer J. Impact of the acquired subgenome on the transcriptional landscape in Brettanomyces bruxellensis allopolyploids. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad115. [PMID: 37226280 PMCID: PMC10320193 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Gene expression variation can provide an overview of the changes in regulatory networks that underlie phenotypic diversity. Certain evolutionary trajectories such as polyploidization events can have an impact on the transcriptional landscape. Interestingly, the evolution of the yeast species Brettanomyces bruxellensis has been punctuated by diverse allopolyploidization events leading to the coexistence of a primary diploid genome associated with various haploid acquired genomes. To assess the impact of these events on gene expression, we generated and compared the transcriptomes of a set of 87 B. bruxellensis isolates, selected as being representative of the genomic diversity of this species. Our analysis revealed that acquired subgenomes strongly impact the transcriptional patterns and allow discrimination of allopolyploid populations. In addition, clear transcriptional signatures related to specific populations have been revealed. The transcriptional variations observed are related to some specific biological processes such as transmembrane transport and amino acids metabolism. Moreover, we also found that the acquired subgenome causes the overexpression of some genes involved in the production of flavor-impacting secondary metabolites, especially in isolates of the beer population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Jallet
- CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Friedrich
- CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Joseph Schacherer
- CNRS, GMGM UMR 7156, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 75005 Paris, France
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17
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Viñas R, Joshi CK, Georgiev D, Lin P, Dumitrascu B, Gamazon ER, Liò P. Hypergraph factorization for multi-tissue gene expression imputation. NAT MACH INTELL 2023; 5:739-753. [PMID: 37771758 PMCID: PMC10538467 DOI: 10.1038/s42256-023-00684-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Integrating gene expression across tissues and cell types is crucial for understanding the coordinated biological mechanisms that drive disease and characterise homeostasis. However, traditional multitissue integration methods cannot handle uncollected tissues or rely on genotype information, which is often unavailable and subject to privacy concerns. Here we present HYFA (Hypergraph Factorisation), a parameter-efficient graph representation learning approach for joint imputation of multi-tissue and cell-type gene expression. HYFA is genotype-agnostic, supports a variable number of collected tissues per individual, and imposes strong inductive biases to leverage the shared regulatory architecture of tissues and genes. In performance comparison on Genotype-Tissue Expression project data, HYFA achieves superior performance over existing methods, especially when multiple reference tissues are available. The HYFA-imputed dataset can be used to identify replicable regulatory genetic variations (eQTLs), with substantial gains over the original incomplete dataset. HYFA can accelerate the effective and scalable integration of tissue and cell-type transcriptome biorepositories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Viñas
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge
| | | | - Dobrik Georgiev
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge
| | - Phillip Lin
- Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
| | - Bianca Dumitrascu
- Department of Statistics and Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics, Columbia University
| | - Eric R. Gamazon
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute and Data Science Institute, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Pietro Liò
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge
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18
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Zhang T, Keele GR, Gyuricza IG, Vincent M, Brunton C, Bell TA, Hock P, Shaw GD, Munger SC, de Villena FPM, Ferris MT, Paulo JA, Gygi SP, Churchill GA. Multi-omics analysis identifies drivers of protein phosphorylation. Genome Biol 2023; 24:52. [PMID: 36944993 PMCID: PMC10031968 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-02892-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phosphorylation of proteins is a key step in the regulation of many cellular processes including activation of enzymes and signaling cascades. The abundance of a phosphorylated peptide (phosphopeptide) is determined by the abundance of its parent protein and the proportion of target sites that are phosphorylated. RESULTS We quantified phosphopeptides, proteins, and transcripts in heart, liver, and kidney tissue samples of mice from 58 strains of the Collaborative Cross strain panel. We mapped ~700 phosphorylation quantitative trait loci (phQTL) across the three tissues and applied genetic mediation analysis to identify causal drivers of phosphorylation. We identified kinases, phosphatases, cytokines, and other factors, including both known and potentially novel interactions between target proteins and genes that regulate site-specific phosphorylation. Our analysis highlights multiple targets of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), a regulator of mitochondrial function that shows reduced activity in the NZO/HILtJ mouse, a polygenic model of obesity and type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Together, this integrative multi-omics analysis in genetically diverse CC strains provides a powerful tool to identify regulators of protein phosphorylation. The data generated in this study provides a resource for further exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Zhang
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Timothy A Bell
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Pablo Hock
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Ginger D Shaw
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | | | - Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Martin T Ferris
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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19
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Xiao H, Bozi LHM, Sun Y, Riley CL, Philip VM, Chen M, Li J, Zhang T, Mills EL, Emont MP, Sun W, Reddy A, Garrity R, Long J, Becher T, Vitas LP, Laznik-Bogoslavski D, Ordonez M, Liu X, Chen X, Wang Y, Liu W, Tran N, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Cypess AM, White AP, He Y, Deng R, Schöder H, Paulo JA, Jedrychowski MP, Banks AS, Tseng YH, Cohen P, Tsai LT, Rosen ED, Klein S, Chondronikola M, McAllister FE, Van Bruggen N, Huttlin EL, Spiegelman BM, Churchill GA, Gygi SP, Chouchani ET. Architecture of the outbred brown fat proteome defines regulators of metabolic physiology. Cell 2022; 185:4654-4673.e28. [PMID: 36334589 PMCID: PMC10040263 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) regulates metabolic physiology. However, nearly all mechanistic studies of BAT protein function occur in a single inbred mouse strain, which has limited the understanding of generalizable mechanisms of BAT regulation over physiology. Here, we perform deep quantitative proteomics of BAT across a cohort of 163 genetically defined diversity outbred mice, a model that parallels the genetic and phenotypic variation found in humans. We leverage this diversity to define the functional architecture of the outbred BAT proteome, comprising 10,479 proteins. We assign co-operative functions to 2,578 proteins, enabling systematic discovery of regulators of BAT. We also identify 638 proteins that correlate with protection from, or sensitivity to, at least one parameter of metabolic disease. We use these findings to uncover SFXN5, LETMD1, and ATP1A2 as modulators of BAT thermogenesis or adiposity, and provide OPABAT as a resource for understanding the conserved mechanisms of BAT regulation over metabolic physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haopeng Xiao
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Luiz H M Bozi
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yizhi Sun
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Christopher L Riley
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Mandy Chen
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
| | - Jiaming Li
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tian Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Evanna L Mills
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Margo P Emont
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Wenfei Sun
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
| | - Anita Reddy
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ryan Garrity
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Jiani Long
- College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Tobias Becher
- Laboratory of Molecular Metabolism, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Laura Potano Vitas
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Martha Ordonez
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xiong Chen
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China
| | - Weihai Liu
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Nhien Tran
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yitong Liu
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yang Zhang
- Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Aaron M Cypess
- Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Andrew P White
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yuchen He
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Rebecca Deng
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Heiko Schöder
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Joao A Paulo
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mark P Jedrychowski
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Alexander S Banks
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yu-Hua Tseng
- Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Paul Cohen
- Laboratory of Molecular Metabolism, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Linus T Tsai
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Evan D Rosen
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Samuel Klein
- Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | | | | | | | - Edward L Huttlin
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bruce M Spiegelman
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Steven P Gygi
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Edward T Chouchani
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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20
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Shaver AO, Garcia BM, Gouveia GJ, Morse AM, Liu Z, Asef CK, Borges RM, Leach FE, Andersen EC, Amster IJ, Fernández FM, Edison AS, McIntyre LM. An anchored experimental design and meta-analysis approach to address batch effects in large-scale metabolomics. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:930204. [PMID: 36438654 PMCID: PMC9682135 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.930204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Untargeted metabolomics studies are unbiased but identifying the same feature across studies is complicated by environmental variation, batch effects, and instrument variability. Ideally, several studies that assay the same set of metabolic features would be used to select recurring features to pursue for identification. Here, we developed an anchored experimental design. This generalizable approach enabled us to integrate three genetic studies consisting of 14 test strains of Caenorhabditis elegans prior to the compound identification process. An anchor strain, PD1074, was included in every sample collection, resulting in a large set of biological replicates of a genetically identical strain that anchored each study. This enables us to estimate treatment effects within each batch and apply straightforward meta-analytic approaches to combine treatment effects across batches without the need for estimation of batch effects and complex normalization strategies. We collected 104 test samples for three genetic studies across six batches to produce five analytical datasets from two complementary technologies commonly used in untargeted metabolomics. Here, we use the model system C. elegans to demonstrate that an augmented design combined with experimental blocks and other metabolomic QC approaches can be used to anchor studies and enable comparisons of stable spectral features across time without the need for compound identification. This approach is generalizable to systems where the same genotype can be assayed in multiple environments and provides biologically relevant features for downstream compound identification efforts. All methods are included in the newest release of the publicly available SECIMTools based on the open-source Galaxy platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda O. Shaver
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Brianna M. Garcia
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Goncalo J. Gouveia
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Department of Biochemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Alison M. Morse
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Zihao Liu
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Carter K. Asef
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Ricardo M. Borges
- Walter Mors Institute of Research on Natural Products, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Franklin E. Leach
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Department of Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Erik C. Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - I. Jonathan Amster
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Facundo M. Fernández
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Arthur S. Edison
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States,Department of Biochemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Lauren M. McIntyre
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States,University of Florida Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States,*Correspondence: Lauren M. McIntyre,
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21
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Carruthers M, Edgley DE, Saxon AD, Gabagambi NP, Shechonge A, Miska EA, Durbin R, Bridle JR, Turner GF, Genner MJ. Ecological Speciation Promoted by Divergent Regulation of Functional Genes Within African Cichlid Fishes. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:msac251. [PMID: 36376993 PMCID: PMC10101686 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid ecological speciation along depth gradients has taken place repeatedly in freshwater fishes, yet molecular mechanisms facilitating such diversification are typically unclear. In Lake Masoko, an African crater lake, the cichlid Astatotilapia calliptera has diverged into shallow-littoral and deep-benthic ecomorphs with strikingly different jaw structures within the last 1,000 years. Using genome-wide transcriptome data, we explore two major regulatory transcriptional mechanisms, expression and splicing-QTL variants, and examine their contributions to differential gene expression underpinning functional phenotypes. We identified 7,550 genes with significant differential expression between ecomorphs, of which 5.4% were regulated by cis-regulatory expression QTLs, and 9.2% were regulated by cis-regulatory splicing QTLs. We also found strong signals of divergent selection on differentially expressed genes associated with craniofacial development. These results suggest that large-scale transcriptome modification plays an important role during early-stage speciation. We conclude that regulatory variants are important targets of selection driving ecologically relevant divergence in gene expression during adaptive diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Carruthers
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol,
Bristol BS8 1TQ, United
Kingdom
| | - Duncan E Edgley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol,
Bristol BS8 1TQ, United
Kingdom
| | - Andrew D Saxon
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol,
Bristol BS8 1TQ, United
Kingdom
| | - Nestory P Gabagambi
- Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute, Kyela Research
Centre, P.O. Box 98, Kyela, Mbeya, Tanzania
| | - Asilatu Shechonge
- Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute, Dar es Salaam Research
Centre, P.O. Box 9750, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Eric A Miska
- Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 1QN, United
Kingdom
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 3EH, United
Kingdom
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus,
Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Durbin
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB2 3EH, United
Kingdom
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus,
Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
| | - Jon R Bridle
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol,
Bristol BS8 1TQ, United
Kingdom
| | - George F Turner
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University,
Bangor, Wales LL57 2UW, United
Kingdom
| | - Martin J Genner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol,
Bristol BS8 1TQ, United
Kingdom
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22
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Lye Z, Choi JY, Purugganan MD. Deleterious mutations and the rare allele burden on rice gene expression. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6693943. [PMID: 36073358 PMCID: PMC9512150 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Deleterious genetic variation is maintained in populations at low frequencies. Under a model of stabilizing selection, rare (and presumably deleterious) genetic variants are associated with increase or decrease in gene expression from some intermediate optimum. We investigate this phenomenon in a population of largely Oryza sativa ssp. indica rice landraces under normal unstressed wet and stressful drought field conditions. We include single nucleotide polymorphisms, insertion/deletion mutations, and structural variants in our analysis and find a stronger association between rare variants and gene expression outliers under the stress condition. We also show an association of the strength of this rare variant effect with linkage, gene expression levels, network connectivity, local recombination rate, and fitness consequence scores, consistent with the stabilizing selection model of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Lye
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Jae Young Choi
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Michael D Purugganan
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003.,Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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23
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Aggregative trans-eQTL analysis detects trait-specific target gene sets in whole blood. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4323. [PMID: 35882830 PMCID: PMC9325868 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31845-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Large scale genetic association studies have identified many trait-associated variants and understanding the role of these variants in the downstream regulation of gene-expressions can uncover important mediating biological mechanisms. Here we propose ARCHIE, a summary statistic based sparse canonical correlation analysis method to identify sets of gene-expressions trans-regulated by sets of known trait-related genetic variants. Simulation studies show that compared to standard methods, ARCHIE is better suited to identify "core"-like genes through which effects of many other genes may be mediated and can capture disease-specific patterns of genetic associations. By applying ARCHIE to publicly available summary statistics from the eQTLGen consortium, we identify gene sets which have significant evidence of trans-association with groups of known genetic variants across 29 complex traits. Around half (50.7%) of the selected genes do not have any strong trans-associations and are not detected by standard methods. We provide further evidence for causal basis of the target genes through a series of follow-up analyses. These results show ARCHIE is a powerful tool for identifying sets of genes whose trans-regulation may be related to specific complex traits.
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24
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Schwarz T, Boltz T, Hou K, Bot M, Duan C, Loohuis LO, Boks MP, Kahn RS, Ophoff RA, Pasaniuc B. Powerful eQTL mapping through low-coverage RNA sequencing. HGG ADVANCES 2022; 3:100103. [PMID: 35519825 PMCID: PMC9062329 DOI: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2022.100103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Mapping genetic variants that regulate gene expression (eQTL mapping) in large-scale RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) studies is often employed to understand functional consequences of regulatory variants. However, the high cost of RNA-seq limits sample size, sequencing depth, and, therefore, discovery power in eQTL studies. In this work, we demonstrate that, given a fixed budget, eQTL discovery power can be increased by lowering the sequencing depth per sample and increasing the number of individuals sequenced in the assay. We perform RNA-seq of whole-blood tissue across 1,490 individuals at low coverage (5.9 million reads/sample) and show that the effective power is higher than that of an RNA-seq study of 570 individuals at moderate coverage (13.9 million reads/sample). Next, we leverage synthetic datasets derived from real RNA-seq data (50 million reads/sample) to explore the interplay of coverage and number individuals in eQTL studies, and show that a 10-fold reduction in coverage leads to only a 2.5-fold reduction in statistical power to identify eQTLs. Our work suggests that lowering coverage while increasing the number of individuals in RNA-seq is an effective approach to increase discovery power in eQTL studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommer Schwarz
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Toni Boltz
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kangcheng Hou
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Merel Bot
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chenda Duan
- Department of Computer Science, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Loes Olde Loohuis
- Department of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marco P. Boks
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - René S. Kahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, NY, USA
| | - Roel A. Ophoff
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Bogdan Pasaniuc
- Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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25
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The impact of species-wide gene expression variation on Caenorhabditis elegans complex traits. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3462. [PMID: 35710766 PMCID: PMC9203580 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31208-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variation in organism-level traits has been studied in Caenorhabditis elegans wild strains, but the impacts of differences in gene expression and the underlying regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we use natural variation in gene expression to connect genetic variants to differences in organismal-level traits, including drug and toxicant responses. We perform transcriptomic analyses on 207 genetically distinct C. elegans wild strains to study natural regulatory variation of gene expression. Using this massive dataset, we perform genome-wide association mappings to investigate the genetic basis underlying gene expression variation and reveal complex genetic architectures. We find a large collection of hotspots enriched for expression quantitative trait loci across the genome. We further use mediation analysis to understand how gene expression variation could underlie organism-level phenotypic variation for a variety of complex traits. These results reveal the natural diversity in gene expression and possible regulatory mechanisms in this keystone model organism, highlighting the promise of using gene expression variation to understand how phenotypic diversity is generated.
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26
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Abstract
Enhancers control the establishment of spatiotemporal gene expression patterns throughout development. Over the past decade, the development of new technologies has improved our capacity to link enhancers with their target genes based on their colocalization within the same topological domains. However, the mechanisms that regulate how enhancers specifically activate some genes but not others within a given domain remain unclear. In this Review, we discuss recent insights into the factors controlling enhancer specificity, including the genetic composition of enhancers and promoters, the linear and 3D distance between enhancers and their target genes, and cell-type specific chromatin landscapes. We also discuss how elucidating the molecular principles of enhancer specificity might help us to better understand and predict the pathological consequences of human genetic, epigenetic and structural variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás Pachano
- Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC), CSIC/Universidad de Cantabria/SODERCAN, Albert Einstein 22, 39011 Santander, Spain
| | - Endika Haro
- Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC), CSIC/Universidad de Cantabria/SODERCAN, Albert Einstein 22, 39011 Santander, Spain
| | - Alvaro Rada-Iglesias
- Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC), CSIC/Universidad de Cantabria/SODERCAN, Albert Einstein 22, 39011 Santander, Spain
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27
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Venkateswaran S, Somineni HK, Kilaru V, Katrinli S, Prince J, Okou DT, Hyams JS, Denson LA, Kellermayer R, Gibson G, Cutler DJ, Smith AK, Kugathasan S, Conneely KN. Methylation quantitative trait loci are largely consistent across disease states in Crohn’s disease. G3 GENES|GENOMES|GENETICS 2022; 12:6529543. [PMID: 35172000 PMCID: PMC8982416 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Recently, we identified 1,189 CpG sites whose DNA methylation level in blood associated with Crohn’s disease. Here, we examined associations between DNA methylation and genetic variants to identify methylation quantitative trait loci across disease states in (1) 402 blood samples from 164 newly diagnosed pediatric Crohn’s disease patients taken at 2 time points (diagnosis and follow-up), and 74 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls, (2) 780 blood samples from a non-Crohn’s disease adult population, and (3) 40 ileal biopsies (17 Crohn’s disease cases and 23 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls) from group (1). Genome-wide DNAm profiling and genotyping were performed using the Illumina MethylationEPIC and Illumina Multi-Ethnic arrays. SNP-CpG associations were identified via linear models adjusted for age, sex, disease status, disease subtype, estimated cell proportions, and genotype-based principal components. In total, we observed 535,448 SNP-CpG associations between 287,881 SNPs and 12,843 CpG sites (P < 8.21 × 10−14). Associations were highly consistent across different ages, races, disease states, and tissue types, suggesting that the majority of these methylation quantitative trait loci participate in common gene regulation. However, genes near CpGs associated with inflammatory bowel disease SNPs were enriched for 18 KEGG pathways relevant to inflammatory bowel disease-linked immune function and inflammatory responses. We observed suggestive evidence for a small number of tissue-specific associations and disease-specific associations in ileum, though larger studies will be needed to confirm these results. Our study concludes that the vast majority of blood-derived methylation quantitative trait loci are common across individuals, though a subset may be involved in processes related to Crohn’s disease. Independent cohort studies will be required to validate these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suresh Venkateswaran
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Hari K Somineni
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Varun Kilaru
- Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Seyma Katrinli
- Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Jarod Prince
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - David T Okou
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Hyams
- Division of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT 06032, USA
| | - Lee A Denson
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Richard Kellermayer
- Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Texas Children's Hospital Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Greg Gibson
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - David J Cutler
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Alicia K Smith
- Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Subra Kugathasan
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Karen N Conneely
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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28
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Functional genomics data: privacy risk assessment and technological mitigation. Nat Rev Genet 2022; 23:245-258. [PMID: 34759381 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-021-00428-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The generation of functional genomics data by next-generation sequencing has increased greatly in the past decade. Broad sharing of these data is essential for research advancement but poses notable privacy challenges, some of which are analogous to those that occur when sharing genetic variant data. However, there are also unique privacy challenges that arise from cryptic information leakage during the processing and summarization of functional genomics data from raw reads to derived quantities, such as gene expression values. Here, we review these challenges and present potential solutions for mitigating privacy risks while allowing broad data dissemination and analysis.
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29
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Snake Venomics: Fundamentals, Recent Updates, and a Look to the Next Decade. Toxins (Basel) 2022; 14:toxins14040247. [PMID: 35448856 PMCID: PMC9028316 DOI: 10.3390/toxins14040247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Venomic research, powered by techniques adapted from proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics, seeks to unravel the diversity and complexity of venom through which knowledge can be applied in the treatment of envenoming, biodiscovery, and conservation. Snake venom proteomics is most extensively studied, but the methods varied widely, creating a massive amount of information which complicates data comparison and interpretation. Advancement in mass spectrometry technology, accompanied by growing databases and sophisticated bioinformatic tools, has overcome earlier limitations of protein identification. The progress, however, remains challenged by limited accessibility to samples, non-standardized quantitative methods, and biased interpretation of -omic data. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies enable high-throughput venom-gland transcriptomics and genomics, complementing venom proteomics by providing deeper insights into the structural diversity, differential expression, regulation and functional interaction of the toxin genes. Venomic tissue sampling is, however, difficult due to strict regulations on wildlife use and transfer of biological materials in some countries. Limited resources for techniques and funding are among other pertinent issues that impede the progress of venomics, particularly in less developed regions and for neglected species. Genuine collaboration between international researchers, due recognition of regional experts by global organizations (e.g., WHO), and improved distribution of research support, should be embraced.
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30
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Li JR, Tang M, Li Y, Amos CI, Cheng C. Genetic variants associated mRNA stability in lung. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:196. [PMID: 35272635 PMCID: PMC8915503 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08405-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) analyses have been widely used to identify genetic variants associated with gene expression levels to understand what molecular mechanisms underlie genetic traits. The resultant eQTLs might affect the expression of associated genes through transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation. In this study, we attempt to distinguish these two types of regulation by identifying genetic variants associated with mRNA stability of genes (stQTLs). Results Here, we presented a computational framework that takes advantage of recently developed methods to infer the mRNA stability of genes based on RNA-seq data and performed association analysis to identify stQTLs. Using the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) lung RNA-Seq data, we identified a total of 142,801 stQTLs for 3942 genes and 186,132 eQTLs for 4751 genes from 15,122,700 genetic variants for 13,476 genes on the autosomes, respectively. Interestingly, our results indicated that stQTLs were enriched in the CDS and 3’UTR regions, while eQTLs are enriched in the CDS, 3’UTR, 5’UTR, and upstream regions. We also found that stQTLs are more likely than eQTLs to overlap with RNA binding protein (RBP) and microRNA (miRNA) binding sites. Our analyses demonstrate that simultaneous identification of stQTLs and eQTLs can provide more mechanistic insight on the association between genetic variants and gene expression levels. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08405-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-Rong Li
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mabel Tang
- Department of BioSciences, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yafang Li
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher I Amos
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Chao Cheng
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. .,Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. .,Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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31
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Privacy-preserving genotype imputation with fully homomorphic encryption. Cell Syst 2022; 13:173-182.e3. [PMID: 34758288 PMCID: PMC8857019 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Genotype imputation is the inference of unknown genotypes using known population structure observed in large genomic datasets; it can further our understanding of phenotype-genotype relationships and is useful for QTL mapping and GWASs. However, the compute-intensive nature of genotype imputation can overwhelm local servers for computation and storage. Hence, many researchers are moving toward using cloud services, raising privacy concerns. We address these concerns by developing an efficient, privacy-preserving algorithm called p-Impute. Our method uses homomorphic encryption, allowing calculations on ciphertext, thereby avoiding the decryption of private genotypes in the cloud. It is similar to k-nearest neighbor approaches, inferring missing genotypes in a genomic block based on the SNP genotypes of genetically related individuals in the same block. Our results demonstrate accuracy in agreement with the state-of-the-art plaintext solutions. Moreover, p-Impute is scalable to real-world applications as its memory and time requirements increase linearly with the increasing number of samples. p-Impute is freely available for download here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5542001.
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32
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Lone IM, Iraqi FA. Genetics of murine type 2 diabetes and comorbidities. Mamm Genome 2022; 33:421-436. [PMID: 35113203 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-022-09948-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRAC Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a polygenic and multifactorial complex disease, defined as chronic metabolic disorder. It's a major global health concern with an estimated 463 million adults aged 20-79 years with diabetes and projected to increase up to 700 million by 2045. T2D was reported to be one of the four leading causes of non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths in 2012. Environmental factors play a part in the development of polygenic forms of diabetes. Polygenic forms of diabetes often run-in families. Fortunately, T2D, which accounts for 90-95% of the entire four types of diabetes including, Type 1 diabetes (T1D), T2D, monogenic diabetes syndromes (MGDS), and Gestational diabetes mellitus, can be prevented or delayed through nutrition and lifestyle changes as well as through pharmacologic interventions. Typical symptom of the T2D is high blood glucose levels and comprehensive insulin resistance of the body, producing an impaired glucose tolerance. Impaired glucose tolerance of T2D is accompanied by extensive health complications, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD) that vary in morbidity and mortality among populations. The pathogenesis of T2D varies between populations and/or ethnic groupings and is known to be attributed extremely by genetic components and environmental factors. It is evident that genetic background plays a critical role in determining the host response toward certain environmental conditions, whether or not of developing T2D (susceptibility versus resistant). T2D is considered as a silent disease that can progress for years before its diagnosis. Once T2D is diagnosed, many metabolic malfunctions are observed whether as side effects or as independent comorbidity. Mouse models have been proven to be a powerful tool for mapping genetic factors that underline the susceptibility to T2D development as well its comorbidities. Here, we have conducted a comprehensive search throughout the published data covering the time span from early 1990s till the time of writing this review, for already reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated with murine T2D and comorbidities in different mouse models, which contain different genetic backgrounds. Our search has resulted in finding 54 QTLs associated with T2D in addition to 72 QTLs associated with comorbidities associated with the disease. We summarized the genomic locations of these mapped QTLs in graphical formats, so as to show the overlapping positions between of these mapped QTLs, which may suggest that some of these QTLs could be underlined by sharing gene/s. Finally, we reviewed and addressed published reports that show the success of translation of the identified mouse QTLs/genes associated with the disease in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iqbal M Lone
- Department of Clinical Microbiology & Immunology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Fuad A Iraqi
- Department of Clinical Microbiology & Immunology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
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Comprehensive Statistical and Bioinformatics Analysis in the Deciphering of Putative Mechanisms by Which Lipid-Associated GWAS Loci Contribute to Coronary Artery Disease. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10020259. [PMID: 35203469 PMCID: PMC8868589 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10020259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The study was designed to evaluate putative mechanisms by which lipid-associated loci identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are involved in the molecular pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) using a comprehensive statistical and bioinformatics analysis. A total of 1700 unrelated individuals of Slavic origin from the Central Russia, including 991 CAD patients and 709 healthy controls were examined. Sixteen lipid-associated GWAS loci were selected from European studies and genotyped using the MassArray-4 system. The polymorphisms were associated with plasma lipids such as total cholesterol (rs12328675, rs4846914, rs55730499, and rs838880), LDL-cholesterol (rs3764261, rs55730499, rs1689800, and rs838880), HDL-cholesterol (rs3764261) as well as carotid intima-media thickness/CIMT (rs12328675, rs11220463, and rs1689800). Polymorphisms such as rs4420638 of APOC1 (p = 0.009), rs55730499 of LPA (p = 0.0007), rs3136441 of F2 (p < 0.0001), and rs6065906 of PLTP (p = 0.002) showed significant associations with the risk of CAD, regardless of sex, age, and body mass index. A majority of the observed associations were successfully replicated in large independent cohorts. Bioinformatics analysis allowed establishing (1) phenotype-specific and shared epistatic gene–gene and gene–smoking interactions contributing to all studied cardiovascular phenotypes; (2) lipid-associated GWAS loci might be allele-specific binding sites for transcription factors from gene regulatory networks controlling multifaceted molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis.
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Wu J, Chen Y, Wang P, Caselli RJ, Thompson PM, Wang J, Wang Y. Integrating Transcriptomics, Genomics, and Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease: A Federated Model. FRONTIERS IN RADIOLOGY 2022; 1:777030. [PMID: 37492173 PMCID: PMC10365097 DOI: 10.3389/fradi.2021.777030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects more than 1 in 9 people age 65 and older and becomes an urgent public health concern as the global population ages. In clinical practice, structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) is the most accessible and widely used diagnostic imaging modality. Additionally, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and transcriptomics-the study of gene expression-also play an important role in understanding AD etiology and progression. Sophisticated imaging genetics systems have been developed to discover genetic factors that consistently affect brain function and structure. However, most studies to date focused on the relationships between brain sMRI and GWAS or brain sMRI and transcriptomics. To our knowledge, few methods have been developed to discover and infer multimodal relationships among sMRI, GWAS, and transcriptomics. To address this, we propose a novel federated model, Genotype-Expression-Imaging Data Integration (GEIDI), to identify genetic and transcriptomic influences on brain sMRI measures. The relationships between brain imaging measures and gene expression are allowed to depend on a person's genotype at the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level, making the inferences adaptive and personalized. We performed extensive experiments on publicly available Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset. Experimental results demonstrated our proposed method outperformed state-of-the-art expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) methods for detecting genetic and transcriptomic factors related to AD and has stable performance when data are integrated from multiple sites. Our GEIDI approach may offer novel insights into the relationship among image biomarkers, genotypes, and gene expression and help discover novel genetic targets for potential AD drug treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Wu
- School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Yanxi Chen
- School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Panwen Wang
- Department of Health Sciences Research and Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - Richard J. Caselli
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - Paul M. Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Junwen Wang
- Department of Health Sciences Research and Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - Yalin Wang
- School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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Mai TL, Chen CY, Chen YC, Chiang TW, Chuang TJ. Trans-genetic effects of circular RNA expression quantitative trait loci and potential causal mechanisms in autism. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4695-4706. [PMID: 35962193 PMCID: PMC9734057 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01714-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Genetic risk variants and transcriptional expression changes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were widely investigated, but their causal relationship remains largely unknown. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are abundant in brain and often serve as upstream regulators of mRNAs. By integrating RNA-sequencing with genotype data from autistic brains, we assessed expression quantitative trait loci of circRNAs (circQTLs) that cis-regulated expression of nearby circRNAs and trans-regulated expression of distant genes (trans-eGenes) simultaneously. We thus identified 3619 circQTLs that were also trans-eQTLs and constructed 19,804 circQTL-circRNA-trans-eGene regulatory axes. We conducted two different types of approaches, mediation and partial correlation tests (MPT), to determine the axes with mediation effects of circQTLs on trans-eGene expression through circRNA expression. We showed that the mediation effects of the circQTLs (trans-eQTLs) on circRNA expression were positively correlated with the magnitude of circRNA-trans-eGene correlation of expression profile. The positive correlation became more significant after adjustment for the circQTLs. Of the 19,804 axes, 8103 passed MPT. Meanwhile, we performed causal inference test (CIT) and identified 2070 circQTL-trans-eGene-ASD diagnosis propagation paths. We showed that the CIT-passing genes were significantly enriched for ASD risk genes, genes encoding postsynaptic density proteins, and other ASD-relevant genes, supporting the relevance of the CIT-passing genes to ASD pathophysiology. Integration of MPT- and CIT-passing axes further constructed 352 circQTL-circRNA-trans-eGene-ASD diagnosis propagation paths, wherein the circRNA-trans-eGene axes may act as causal mediators for the circQTL-ASD diagnosis associations. These analyses were also successfully applied to an independent dataset from schizophrenia brains. Collectively, this study provided the first framework for systematically investigating trans-genetic effects of circQTLs and inferring the corresponding causal relations in diseases. The identified circQTL-circRNA-trans-eGene regulatory interactions, particularly the internal modules that were previously implicated in the examined disorders, also provided a helpful dataset for further investigating causative biology and cryptic regulatory mechanisms underlying the neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Te-Lun Mai
- grid.28665.3f0000 0001 2287 1366Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201 Taiwan ,grid.19188.390000 0004 0546 0241Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106319 Taiwan
| | - Chia-Ying Chen
- grid.28665.3f0000 0001 2287 1366Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201 Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chen Chen
- grid.28665.3f0000 0001 2287 1366Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201 Taiwan
| | - Tai-Wei Chiang
- grid.28665.3f0000 0001 2287 1366Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201 Taiwan
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Chopra A, Mueller R, Weiner J, Rosowski J, Dommisch H, Grohmann E, Schaefer A. BACH1 Binding Links the Genetic Risk for Severe Periodontitis with ST8SIA1. J Dent Res 2022; 101:93-101. [PMID: 34160287 PMCID: PMC8721550 DOI: 10.1177/00220345211017510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies identified various loci associated with periodontal diseases, but assigning causal alleles remains difficult. Likewise, the generation of biological meaning underlying a statistical association has been challenging. Here, we characterized the genetic association at the gene ST8SIA1 that increases the risk for severe periodontitis in smokers. We used CRISPR/dCas9 activation and RNA-sequencing to identify genetic interaction partners of ST8SIA1 and to determine its function in the cell. We used reporter gene assays to identify regulatory elements at the associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to determine effect directions and allele-specific changes of enhancer activity. Antibody electrophoretic mobility shift assays proved allele-specific transcription factor binding at the putative causal SNPs. We found the reported periodontitis risk gene ABCA1 as the top upregulated gene following ST8SIA1 activation. Gene set enrichment analysis showed highest effects on integrin cell surface interactions (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.85; q = 4.9 × 10-6) and cell cycle regulation (AUC = 0.89; q = 1.6 × 10-5). We identified 2 associated repressor elements in the introns of ST8SIA1 that bind the transcriptional repressor BACH1. The putative causative variant rs2012722 decreased BACH1 binding by 40%. We also pinpointed ST8SIA1 as the target gene of the association. ST8SIA1 inhibits cell adhesion with extracellular matrix proteins, integrins, and cell cycle, as well as enhances apoptosis. Likewise, tobacco smoke reportedly results in an inhibition of cell adhesion and a decrease in integrin-positive cells and cell growth. We conclude that impaired ST8SIA1 repression, independently caused by reduced BACH1 binding at the effect T allele, as well as by tobacco smoke, contributes to higher ST8SIA1 levels, and in smokers who carry the effect T allele, both factors would be additive with damaging effects on the gingival barrier integrity. The activity of ST8SIA1 is also linked with the periodontitis risk gene ABCA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Chopra
- Department of Periodontology, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité–University Medicine Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - R. Mueller
- Department of Periodontology, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité–University Medicine Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - J. Weiner
- Core Unit Bioinformatics, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - J. Rosowski
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - H. Dommisch
- Department of Periodontology, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité–University Medicine Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - E. Grohmann
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - A.S. Schaefer
- Department of Periodontology, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité–University Medicine Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
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Rajabi F, Jabalameli N, Rezaei N. The Concept of Immunogenetics. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1367:1-17. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-92616-8_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Doke T, Huang S, Qiu C, Sheng X, Seasock M, Liu H, Ma Z, Palmer M, Susztak K. Genome-wide association studies identify the role of caspase-9 in kidney disease. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabi8051. [PMID: 34739325 PMCID: PMC8570608 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of genetic risk regions for kidney dysfunction [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)]; however, the causal genes, cell types, and pathways are poorly understood. Integration of GWAS and human kidney expression of quantitative trait analysis using Bayesian colocations, transcriptome-wide association studies, and summary-based Mendelian randomization studies prioritized caspase-9 (CASP9) as a kidney disease risk gene. Human kidney single-cell epigenetic and immunostaining studies indicated kidney tubule cells as a disease-causing cell type. Mice with genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of CASP9 showed lower apoptosis while having improved mitophagy, resulting in dampened activation of cytosolic nucleotide sensing pathways (cGAS-STING), reduction of inflammation, and protection from acute kidney disease or renal fibrosis. In summary, here, we prioritized CASP9 as an eGFR GWAS target gene and demonstrated the causal role of CASP9 in kidney disease development via improving mitophagy and lowering inflammation and apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomohito Doke
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Shizheng Huang
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Chengxiang Qiu
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Xin Sheng
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Matthew Seasock
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Hongbo Liu
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ziyuan Ma
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Matthew Palmer
- Department of Pathology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Katalin Susztak
- Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Ho PW, Piampongsant S, Gallone B, Del Cortona A, Peeters PJ, Reijbroek F, Verbaet J, Herrera B, Cortebeeck J, Nolmans R, Saels V, Steensels J, Jarosz DF, Verstrepen KJ. Massive QTL analysis identifies pleiotropic genetic determinants for stress resistance, aroma formation, and ethanol, glycerol and isobutanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2021; 14:211. [PMID: 34727964 PMCID: PMC8564995 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-021-02059-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is exploited in several industrial processes, ranging from food and beverage fermentation to the production of biofuels, pharmaceuticals and complex chemicals. The large genetic and phenotypic diversity within this species offers a formidable natural resource to obtain superior strains, hybrids, and variants. However, most industrially relevant traits in S. cerevisiae strains are controlled by multiple genetic loci. Over the past years, several studies have identified some of these QTLs. However, because these studies only focus on a limited set of traits and often use different techniques and starting strains, a global view of industrially relevant QTLs is still missing. RESULTS Here, we combined the power of 1125 fully sequenced inbred segregants with high-throughput phenotyping methods to identify as many as 678 QTLs across 18 different traits relevant to industrial fermentation processes, including production of ethanol, glycerol, isobutanol, acetic acid, sulfur dioxide, flavor-active esters, as well as resistance to ethanol, acetic acid, sulfite and high osmolarity. We identified and confirmed several variants that are associated with multiple different traits, indicating that many QTLs are pleiotropic. Moreover, we show that both rare and common variants, as well as variants located in coding and non-coding regions all contribute to the phenotypic variation. CONCLUSIONS Our findings represent an important step in our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of industrially relevant yeast traits and open new routes to study complex genetics and genetic interactions as well as to engineer novel, superior industrial yeasts. Moreover, the major role of rare variants suggests that there is a plethora of different combinations of mutations that can be explored in genome editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping-Wei Ho
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Supinya Piampongsant
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Brigida Gallone
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andrea Del Cortona
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pieter-Jan Peeters
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frank Reijbroek
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jules Verbaet
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Beatriz Herrera
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jeroen Cortebeeck
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Robbe Nolmans
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Veerle Saels
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Steensels
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Daniel F. Jarosz
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Kevin J. Verstrepen
- VIB–KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
- CMPG Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, Department M2S, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute for Beer Research, Leuven, Belgium
- Labo VIB-CMPG, Bio-Incubator, Gaston Geenslaan 1, 3001 Leuven, Heverlee Belgium
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Usova EII, Alieva AS, Yakovlev AN, Alieva MS, Prokhorikhin AA, Konradi AO, Shlyakhto EV, Magni P, Catapano AL, Baragetti A. Integrative Analysis of Multi-Omics and Genetic Approaches-A New Level in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk Prediction. Biomolecules 2021; 11:1597. [PMID: 34827594 PMCID: PMC8615817 DOI: 10.3390/biom11111597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetics and environmental and lifestyle factors deeply affect cardiovascular diseases, with atherosclerosis as the etiopathological factor (ACVD) and their early recognition can significantly contribute to an efficient prevention and treatment of the disease. Due to the vast number of these factors, only the novel "omic" approaches are surmised. In addition to genomics, which extended the effective therapeutic potential for complex and rarer diseases, the use of "omics" presents a step-forward that can be harnessed for more accurate ACVD prediction and risk assessment in larger populations. The analysis of these data by artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) strategies makes is possible to decipher the large amount of data that derives from such techniques, in order to provide an unbiased assessment of pathophysiological correlations and to develop a better understanding of the molecular background of ACVD. The predictive models implementing data from these "omics", are based on consolidated AI best practices for classical ML and deep learning paradigms that employ methods (e.g., Integrative Network Fusion method, using an AI/ML supervised strategy and cross-validation) to validate the reproducibility of the results. Here, we highlight the proposed integrated approach for the prediction and diagnosis of ACVD with the presentation of the key elements of a joint scientific project of the University of Milan and the Almazov National Medical Research Centre.
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Affiliation(s)
- EIena I. Usova
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Asiiat S. Alieva
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Alexey N. Yakovlev
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Madina S. Alieva
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Alexey A. Prokhorikhin
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Alexandra O. Konradi
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Evgeny V. Shlyakhto
- Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (E.I.U.); (A.N.Y.); (M.S.A.); (A.A.P.); (A.O.K.); (E.V.S.)
| | - Paolo Magni
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (A.L.C.); (A.B.)
- IRCCS Multimedica Hospital, Sesto San Giovanni, 20099 Milan, Italy
| | - Alberico L. Catapano
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (A.L.C.); (A.B.)
- IRCCS Multimedica Hospital, Sesto San Giovanni, 20099 Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Baragetti
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (A.L.C.); (A.B.)
- IRCCS Multimedica Hospital, Sesto San Giovanni, 20099 Milan, Italy
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Snelleksz M, Dean B. Lower levels of tubulin alpha 1b in the frontal pole in schizophrenia supports a role for changed cytoskeletal dynamics in the aetiology of the disorder. Psychiatry Res 2021; 303:114096. [PMID: 34274903 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Our transcriptomic study suggested there were markedly lower levels of tubulin alpha 1b (TUBA1B) expression in BA 10, but not BA 9, from patients with schizophrenia. We now use Western blotting to compare levels of TUBA1B protein in BA 9 and 10 from patients with schizophrenia and BA 10 from patients with mood disorders to controls as well as in the frontal cortex from rats after treatment with haloperidol, chlorpromazine or vehicle for 28 days. Levels of TUBA1B were significantly lower (- 18.6%) in BA 10, but not BA 9, from patients with schizophrenia. Levels of TUBA1B did not differ significantly from controls in BA 10 from patients with mood disorders or in the cortex of rats after antipsychotic drug treatments. Levels of TUBA1B were significantly lower (- 30%) in BA 10 from patients with schizophrenia who were not being treated with antipsychotic drugs close to death compared to those who were treated close to death. These data suggest that lower levels of TUBA1B, a cytoskeletal protein, in BA 10 from patients with schizophrenia are not a simple drug effect and therefore add to the hypothesis that a breakdown in cytoskeletal homoeostasis may be contributing to the genesis of the symptoms of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Snelleksz
- The Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Brian Dean
- The Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
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Yoo T, Joo SK, Kim HJ, Kim HY, Sim H, Lee J, Kim HH, Jung S, Lee Y, Jamialahmadi O, Romeo S, Jeong WI, Hwang GS, Kang KW, Kim JW, Kim W, Choi M. Disease-specific eQTL screening reveals an anti-fibrotic effect of AGXT2 in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol 2021; 75:514-523. [PMID: 33892010 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) poses an increasing clinical burden. Genome-wide association studies have revealed a limited contribution of genomic variants to the disease, requiring alternative but robust approaches to identify disease-associated variants and genes. We carried out a disease-specific expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) screen to identify novel genetic factors that specifically act on NAFLD progression on the basis of genotype. METHODS We recruited 125 Korean patients (83 with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 42 without NAFLD) and performed eQTL analyses using 21,272 transcripts and 3,234,941 genotyped and imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms. We then selected eQTLs that were detected only in the NAFLD group, but not in the control group (i.e., NAFLD-eQTLs). An additional cohort of 162 Korean individuals with NAFLD was used for replication. The function of the selected eQTL toward NAFLD development was validated using HepG2, primary hepatocytes and NAFLD mouse models. RESULTS The NAFLD-specific eQTL screening yielded 242 loci. Among them, AGXT2, encoding alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2, displayed decreased expression in patients with NAFLD homozygous for the non-reference allele of rs2291702, compared to no-NAFLD individuals with the same genotype (p = 4.79 × 10-6). This change was replicated in an additional 162 individuals, yielding a combined p value of 8.05 × 10-8 from a total of 245 patients with NAFLD and 42 controls. Knockdown of AGXT2 induced palmitate-overloaded hepatocyte death by increasing endoplasmic reticulum stress, and exacerbated NAFLD diet-induced liver fibrosis in mice, while overexpression of AGXT2 attenuated liver fibrosis and steatosis. CONCLUSIONS We identified a new molecular role for AGXT2 in NAFLD. Our overall approach will serve as an efficient tool for uncovering novel genetic factors that contribute to liver steatosis and fibrosis in patients with NAFLD. LAY SUMMARY Elucidating causal genes for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been challenging due to limited tissue availability and the polygenic nature of the disease. Using liver and blood samples from 125 Korean individuals (83 with NAFLD and 42 without NAFLD), we devised a new analytic method to identify causal genes. Among the candidates, we found that AGXT2-rs2291702 protects against liver fibrosis in a genotype-dependent manner with the potential for therapeutic interventions. Our approach enables the discovery of causal genes that act on the basis of genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taekyeong Yoo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sae Kyung Joo
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Jung Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Young Kim
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyungtai Sim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jieun Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Hoon Kim
- Laboratory of Liver Research, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Sunhee Jung
- Integrated Metabolomics Research Group, Western Seoul Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngha Lee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Oveis Jamialahmadi
- Salhgrenska Academy, Institute of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Stefano Romeo
- Salhgrenska Academy, Institute of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Cardiology Department, Sweden; Department of Medical and Clinical Science, Clinical Nutrition Unit, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Won-Il Jeong
- Laboratory of Liver Research, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Geum-Sook Hwang
- Integrated Metabolomics Research Group, Western Seoul Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry & Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Keon Wook Kang
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Woo Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
| | - Murim Choi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Miculan M, Nelissen H, Ben Hassen M, Marroni F, Inzé D, Pè ME, Dell’Acqua M. A forward genetics approach integrating genome-wide association study and expression quantitative trait locus mapping to dissect leaf development in maize (Zea mays). THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 107:1056-1071. [PMID: 34087008 PMCID: PMC8519057 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The characterization of the genetic basis of maize (Zea mays) leaf development may support breeding efforts to obtain plants with higher vigor and productivity. In this study, a mapping panel of 197 biparental and multiparental maize recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was analyzed for multiple leaf traits at the seedling stage. RNA sequencing was used to estimate the transcription levels of 29 573 gene models in RILs and to derive 373 769 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and a forward genetics approach combining these data was used to pinpoint candidate genes involved in leaf development. First, leaf traits were correlated with gene expression levels to identify transcript-trait correlations. Then, leaf traits were associated with SNPs in a genome-wide association (GWA) study. An expression quantitative trait locus mapping approach was followed to associate SNPs with gene expression levels, prioritizing candidate genes identified based on transcript-trait correlations and GWAs. Finally, a network analysis was conducted to cluster all transcripts in 38 co-expression modules. By integrating forward genetics approaches, we identified 25 candidate genes highly enriched for specific functional categories, providing evidence supporting the role of vacuolar proton pumps, cell wall effectors, and vesicular traffic controllers in leaf growth. These results tackle the complexity of leaf trait determination and may support precision breeding in maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Miculan
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant’AnnaPisa56127Italy
| | - Hilde Nelissen
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and BioinformaticsGhent UniversityGhent9052Belgium
- Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIBGhent9052Belgium
| | - Manel Ben Hassen
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and BioinformaticsGhent UniversityGhent9052Belgium
- Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIBGhent9052Belgium
| | - Fabio Marroni
- IGA Technology ServicesUdine33100Italy
- Department of Agricultural, FoodAT, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A)University of UdineUdine33100Italy
| | - Dirk Inzé
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and BioinformaticsGhent UniversityGhent9052Belgium
- Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIBGhent9052Belgium
| | - Mario Enrico Pè
- Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant’AnnaPisa56127Italy
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44
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Que E, James KL, Coffey AR, Smallwood TL, Albright J, Huda MN, Pomp D, Sethupathy P, Bennett BJ. Genetic architecture modulates diet-induced hepatic mRNA and miRNA expression profiles in Diversity Outbred mice. Genetics 2021; 218:6321522. [PMID: 34849860 PMCID: PMC8757298 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic approaches in model organisms have consistently demonstrated that molecular traits such as gene expression are under genetic regulation, similar to clinical traits. The resulting expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) have revolutionized our understanding of genetic regulation and identified numerous candidate genes for clinically relevant traits. More recently, these analyses have been extended to other molecular traits such as protein abundance, metabolite levels, and miRNA expression. Here, we performed global hepatic eQTL and microRNA expression quantitative trait loci (mirQTL) analysis in a population of Diversity Outbred mice fed two different diets. We identified several key features of eQTL and mirQTL, namely differences in the mode of genetic regulation (cis or trans) between mRNA and miRNA. Approximately 50% of mirQTL are regulated by a trans-acting factor, compared to ∼25% of eQTL. We note differences in the heritability of mRNA and miRNA expression and variance explained by each eQTL or mirQTL. In general, cis-acting variants affecting mRNA or miRNA expression explain more phenotypic variance than trans-acting variants. Finally, we investigated the effect of diet on the genetic architecture of eQTL and mirQTL, highlighting the critical effects of environment on both eQTL and mirQTL. Overall, these data underscore the complex genetic regulation of two well-characterized RNA classes (mRNA and miRNA) that have critical roles in the regulation of clinical traits and disease susceptibility
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Affiliation(s)
- Excel Que
- Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kristen L James
- Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Alisha R Coffey
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 28081, USA
| | - Tangi L Smallwood
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 28081, USA
| | - Jody Albright
- Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
| | - M Nazmul Huda
- Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Daniel Pomp
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Praveen Sethupathy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Brian J Bennett
- Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Davis, CA 95616, USA.,Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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45
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Weller CA, Tilk S, Rajpurohit S, Bergland AO. Accurate, ultra-low coverage genome reconstruction and association studies in Hybrid Swarm mapping populations. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2021; 11:6156828. [PMID: 33677482 PMCID: PMC8759814 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Genetic association studies seek to uncover the link between genotype and phenotype, and often utilize inbred reference panels as a replicable source of genetic variation. However, inbred reference panels can differ substantially from wild populations in their genotypic distribution, patterns of linkage-disequilibrium, and nucleotide diversity. As a result, associations discovered using inbred reference panels may not reflect the genetic basis of phenotypic variation in natural populations. To address this problem, we evaluated a mapping population design where dozens to hundreds of inbred lines are outbred for few generations, which we call the Hybrid Swarm. The Hybrid Swarm approach has likely remained underutilized relative to pre-sequenced inbred lines due to the costs of genome-wide genotyping. To reduce sequencing costs and make the Hybrid Swarm approach feasible, we developed a computational pipeline that reconstructs accurate whole genomes from ultra-low-coverage (0.05X) sequence data in Hybrid Swarm populations derived from ancestors with phased haplotypes. We evaluate reconstructions using genetic variation from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel as well as variation from neutral simulations. We compared the power and precision of Genome-Wide Association Studies using the Hybrid Swarm, inbred lines, recombinant inbred lines (RILs), and highly outbred populations across a range of allele frequencies, effect sizes, and genetic architectures. Our simulations show that these different mapping panels vary in their power and precision, largely depending on the architecture of the trait. The Hybrid Swam and RILs outperform inbred lines for quantitative traits, but not for monogenic ones. Taken together, our results demonstrate the feasibility of the Hybrid Swarm as a cost-effective method of fine-scale genetic mapping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory A Weller
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Susanne Tilk
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Subhash Rajpurohit
- Department of Biological and Life Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad 380009, India
| | - Alan O Bergland
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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46
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Blanc J, Kremling KAG, Buckler E, Josephs EB. Local adaptation contributes to gene expression divergence in maize. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2021; 11:6114460. [PMID: 33604670 PMCID: PMC8022924 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Gene expression links genotypes to phenotypes, so identifying genes whose expression is shaped by selection will be important for understanding the traits and processes underlying local adaptation. However, detecting local adaptation for gene expression will require distinguishing between divergence due to selection and divergence due to genetic drift. Here, we adapt a QST−FST framework to detect local adaptation for transcriptome-wide gene expression levels in a population of diverse maize genotypes. We compare the number and types of selected genes across a wide range of maize populations and tissues, as well as selection on cold-response genes, drought-response genes, and coexpression clusters. We identify a number of genes whose expression levels are consistent with local adaptation and show that genes involved in stress response show enrichment for selection. Due to its history of intense selective breeding and domestication, maize evolution has long been of interest to researchers, and our study provides insight into the genes and processes important for in local adaptation of maize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Blanc
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Karl A G Kremling
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.,Inari Agriculture, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Edward Buckler
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.,Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.,United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Emily B Josephs
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.,Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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47
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Identification of Distant Regulatory Elements Using Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping for Heat-Responsive Genes in Oysters. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12071040. [PMID: 34356056 PMCID: PMC8303352 DOI: 10.3390/genes12071040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Revised: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Many marine ectotherms, especially those inhabiting highly variable intertidal zones, develop high phenotypic plasticity in response to rapid climate change by modulating gene expression levels. Herein, we examined the regulatory architecture of heat-responsive gene expression plasticity in oysters using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis. Using a backcross family of Crassostrea gigas and its sister species Crassostrea angulata under acute stress, 56 distant regulatory regions accounting for 6–26.6% of the gene expression variation were identified for 19 heat-responsive genes. In total, 831 genes and 164 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could potentially regulate expression of the target genes were screened in the eQTL region. The association between three SNPs and the corresponding target genes was verified in an independent family. Specifically, Marker13973 was identified for heat shock protein (HSP) family A member 9 (HspA9). Ribosomal protein L10a (RPL10A) was detected approximately 2 kb downstream of the distant regulatory SNP. Further, Marker14346-48 and Marker14346-85 were in complete linkage disequilibrium and identified for autophagy-related gene 7 (ATG7). Nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) was detected approximately 3 kb upstream of the two SNPs. These results suggested regulatory relationships between RPL10A and HSPA9 and between NRF1 and ATG7. Our findings indicate that distant regulatory mutations play an important role in the regulation of gene expression plasticity by altering upstream regulatory factors in response to heat stress. The identified eQTLs provide candidate biomarkers for predicting the persistence of oysters under future climate change scenarios.
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48
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Takahashi Y, Maynard KR, Tippani M, Jaffe AE, Martinowich K, Kleinman JE, Weinberger DR, Hyde TM. Single molecule in situ hybridization reveals distinct localizations of schizophrenia risk-related transcripts SNX19 and AS3MT in human brain. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:3536-3547. [PMID: 33649454 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01046-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with schizophrenia risk. Integration of RNA-sequencing data from postmortem human brains with these risk SNPs identified transcripts associated with increased schizophrenia susceptibility, including a class of exon 9-spliced isoforms of Sorting nexin-19 (SNX19d9) and an isoform of Arsenic methyltransferase (AS3MT) splicing out exons 2 and 3 (AS3MTd2d3). However, the biological function of these transcript variants is unclear. Defining the cell types where these risk transcripts are dominantly expressed is an important step to understand function, in prioritizing specific cell types and/or neural pathways in subsequent studies. To identify the cell type-specific localization of SNX19 and AS3MT in the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), we used single-molecule in situ hybridization techniques combined with automated quantification and machine learning approaches to analyze 10 postmortem brains of neurotypical individuals. These analyses revealed that both pan-SNX19 and pan-AS3MT were more highly expressed in neurons than non-neurons in layers II/III and VI of DLPFC. Furthermore, pan-SNX19 was preferentially expressed in glutamatergic neurons, while pan-AS3MT was preferentially expressed in GABAergic neurons. Finally, we utilized duplex BaseScope technology, to delineate the localization of SNX19d9 and AS3MTd2d3 splice variants, revealing consistent trends in spatial gene expression among pan-transcripts and schizophrenia risk-related transcript variants. These findings demonstrate that schizophrenia risk transcripts have distinct localization patterns in the healthy human brains, and suggest that SNX19 transcripts might disrupt the normal function of glutamatergic neurons, while AS3MT may lead to disturbances in the GABAergic system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoichiro Takahashi
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Legal Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan
| | - Kristen R Maynard
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Madhavi Tippani
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Andrew E Jaffe
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Keri Martinowich
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joel E Kleinman
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Daniel R Weinberger
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Thomas M Hyde
- Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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49
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A gain-of-function single nucleotide variant creates a new promoter which acts as an orientation-dependent enhancer-blocker. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3806. [PMID: 34155213 PMCID: PMC8217497 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23980-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with human traits and genetic diseases are thought to alter the activity of existing regulatory elements. Some SNVs may also create entirely new regulatory elements which change gene expression, but the mechanism by which they do so is largely unknown. Here we show that a single base change in an otherwise unremarkable region of the human α-globin cluster creates an entirely new promoter and an associated unidirectional transcript. This SNV downregulates α-globin expression causing α-thalassaemia. Of note, the new promoter lying between the α-globin genes and their associated super-enhancer disrupts their interaction in an orientation-dependent manner. Together these observations show how both the order and orientation of the fundamental elements of the genome determine patterns of gene expression and support the concept that active genes may act to disrupt enhancer-promoter interactions in mammals as in Drosophila. Finally, these findings should prompt others to fully evaluate SNVs lying outside of known regulatory elements as causing changes in gene expression by creating new regulatory elements. The role of promoters as potential insulator elements has been largely unexplored in mammals. Here the authors show that a single nucleotide variant in the α-globin locus forms a new promoter and acts as an orientation-dependent enhancer-blocking insulator element.
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50
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Ota Y, Kuwana M. Updates on genetics in systemic sclerosis. Inflamm Regen 2021; 41:17. [PMID: 34130729 PMCID: PMC8204536 DOI: 10.1186/s41232-021-00167-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex disease, in which an interaction of genetic and environmental factors plays an important role in its development and pathogenesis. A number of genetic studies, including candidate gene analysis and genome-wide association study, have found that the associated genetic variants are mainly localized in noncoding regions in the expression quantitative trait locus and influence corresponding gene expression. The gene variants identified as a risk for SSc susceptibility include those associated with innate immunity, adaptive immune response, and cell death, while there are only few SSc-associated genes involved in the fibrotic process or vascular homeostasis. Human leukocyte antigen class II genes are associated with SSc-related autoantibodies rather than SSc itself. Since the pathways between the associated genotype and phenotype are still poorly understood, further investigations using multi-omics technologies are necessary to characterize the complex molecular architecture of SSc, identify biomarkers useful to predict future outcomes and treatment responses, and discover effective drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Ota
- Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603-8582, Japan
| | - Masataka Kuwana
- Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603-8582, Japan.
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