Expression of genes related to apoptosis, cell cycle and signaling pathways are independent of TP53 status in urinary bladder cancer cells

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Genomic signatures of evolutionary transitions from solitary to group living

The evolution of eusociality is one of the major transitions in evolution, but the underlying genomic changes are unknown. We compared the genomes of 10 bee species that vary in social complexity, representing multiple independent transitions in social evolution, and report three major findings. First, many important genes show evidence of neutral evolution as a consequence of relaxed selection with increasing social complexity. Second, there is no single road map to eusociality; independent evolutionary transitions in sociality have independent genetic underpinnings. Third, though clearly independent in detail, these transitions do have similar general features, including an increase in constrained protein evolution accompanied by increases in the potential for gene regulation and decreases in diversity and abundance of transposable elements. Eusociality may arise through different mechanisms each time, but would likely always involve an increase in the complexity of gene networks.

Gene flow networks among American Aedes aegypti populations

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Chicken skeletal muscle-associated macroarray for gene discovery

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

In silico network topology-based prediction of gene essentiality

The identification of genes essential for survival is important for the understanding of the minimal requirements for cellular life and for drug design. As experimental studies with the purpose of building a catalog of essential genes for a given organism are time-consuming and laborious, a computational approach which could predict gene essentiality with high accuracy would be of great value. We present here a novel computational approach, called NTPGE (Network Topology-based Prediction of Gene Essentiality), that relies on the network topology features of a gene to estimate its essentiality. The first step of NTPGE is to construct the integrated molecular network for a given organism comprising protein physical, metabolic and transcriptional regulation interactions. The second step consists in training a decision-tree-based machine-learning algorithm on known essential and non-essential genes of the organism of interest, considering as learning attributes the network topology information for each of these genes. Finally, the decision-tree classifier generated is applied to the set of genes of this organism to estimate essentiality for each gene. We applied the NTPGE approach for discovering the essential genes in Escherichia coli and then assessed its performance. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reconstruction of molecular networks involved in citokine-induced myotubes atrophy integrating microRNA and mRNA expression

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Genética) - IBB

Identification of blood meal sources of Lutzomyia longipalpis using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the cytochrome B gene

An analysis of the dietary content of haematophagous insects can provide important information about the transmission networks of certain zoonoses. The present study evaluated the potential of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome B (cytb) gene to differentiate between vertebrate species that were identified as possible sources of sandfly meals. The complete cytb gene sequences of 11 vertebrate species available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database were digested with Aci I, Alu I, Hae III and Rsa I restriction enzymes in silico using Restriction Mapper software. The cytb gene fragment (358 bp) was amplified from tissue samples of vertebrate species and the dietary contents of sandflies and digested with restriction enzymes. Vertebrate species presented a restriction fragment profile that differed from that of other species, with the exception of Canis familiaris and Cerdocyon thous. The 358 bp fragment was identified in 76 sandflies. Of these, 10 were evaluated using the restriction enzymes and the food sources were predicted for four: Homo sapiens (1), Bos taurus (1) and Equus caballus (2). Thus, the PCR-RFLP technique could be a potential method for identifying the food sources of arthropods. However, some points must be clarified regarding the applicability of the method, such as the extent of DNA degradation through intestinal digestion, the potential for multiple sources of blood meals and the need for greater knowledge regarding intraspecific variations in mtDNA.

Differential gene expression in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans LR planktonic and attached cells in the presence of chalcopyrite

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Global liver gene expression differences in Nelore steers with divergent residual feed intake phenotypes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)