by Paris Veltsos, John K. Kelly Gene expression can be influenced by genetic variants that are closely linked to the expressed gene (cis eQTLs) and variants in other parts of the genome (trans eQTLs). We created a multiparental mapping population by sampling genotypes from a single natural population of Mimulus guttatus and scored gene expression in the leaves of 1,588 plants. We find that nearly every measured gene exhibits cis regulatory variation (91% have FDR ..read more

by Beth L. Dumont, Daniel M. Gatti, Mallory A. Ballinger, Dana Lin, Megan Phifer-Rixey, Michael J. Sheehan, Taichi A. Suzuki, Lydia K. Wooldridge, Hilda Opoku Frempong, Raman Akinyanju Lawal, Gary A. Churchill, Cathleen Lutz, Nadia Rosenthal, Jacqueline K. White, Michael W. Nachman The laboratory mouse has served as the premier animal model system for both basic and preclinical investigations for over a century. However, laboratory mice capture only a subset of the genetic variation found in wild mouse populations, ultimately limiting the potential of classical inbred strains to uncover phenot ..read more

by Manuela Alvarado Obando, Diego Rey-Varela, Felipe Cava, Tobias Dörr Peptidoglycan (PG) is the main component of the bacterial cell wall; it maintains cell shape while protecting the cell from internal osmotic pressure and external environmental challenges. PG synthesis is essential for bacterial growth and survival, and a series of PG modifications are required to allow expansion of the sacculus. Endopeptidases (EPs), for example, cleave the crosslinks between adjacent PG strands to allow the incorporation of newly synthesized PG. EPs are collectively essential for bacterial growth and must ..read more

by Suhan Ma, Xuyang Ni, Shimin Chen, Xiaomu Qiao, Xuejiao Xu, Weizhe Chen, Jackson Champer, Jia Huang CRISPR-based gene drives offer promising prospects for controlling disease-transmitting vectors and agricultural pests. A significant challenge for successful suppression-type drive is the rapid evolution of resistance alleles. One approach to mitigate the development of resistance involves targeting functionally constrained regions using multiple gRNAs. In this study, we constructed a 3-gRNA homing gene drive system targeting the recessive female fertility gene Tyrosine decarboxylase 2 (Tdc2 ..read more

by Egill Richard, Baptiste Darracq, Eloi Littner, Gael A. Millot, Valentin Conte, Thomas Cokelaer, Jan Engelstädter, Eduardo P. C. Rocha, Didier Mazel, Céline Loot Integrons are adaptive devices that capture, stockpile, shuffle and express gene cassettes thereby sampling combinatorial phenotypic diversity. Some integrons called sedentary chromosomal integrons (SCIs) can be massive structures containing hundreds of cassettes. Since most of these cassettes are non-expressed, it is not clear how they remain stable over long evolutionary timescales. Recently, it was found that the experimental inv ..read more

by Anna Cho, Gordon Lax, Samuel J. Livingston, Yumiko Masukagami, Mariia Naumova, Olivia Millar, Filip Husnik, Patrick J. Keeling Symbiomonas scintillans Guillou et Chrétiennot-Dinet, 1999 is a tiny (1.4 μm) heterotrophic microbial eukaryote. The genus was named based on the presence of endosymbiotic bacteria in its endoplasmic reticulum, however, like most such endosymbionts neither the identity nor functional association with its host were known. We generated both amplification-free shotgun metagenomics and whole genome amplification sequencing data from S. scintillans strains RCC257 and RCC ..read more

by Rachel N. DuMez-Kornegay, Lillian S. Baker, Alexis J. Morris, Whitney L. M. DeLoach, Robert H. Dowen The popularity of the ancient, probiotic-rich beverage Kombucha Tea (KT) has surged in part due to its purported health benefits, which include protection against metabolic diseases; however, these claims have not been rigorously tested and the mechanisms underlying host response to the probiotics in KT are unknown. Here, we establish a reproducible method to maintain C. elegans on a diet exclusively consisting of Kombucha Tea-associated microbes (KTM), which mirrors the microbial community ..read more

by Titas Sengupta, Jonathan St. Ange, Rachel Kaletsky, Rebecca S. Moore, Renee J. Seto, Jacob Marogi, Cameron Myhrvold, Zemer Gitai, Coleen T. Murphy C. elegans can learn to avoid pathogenic bacteria through several mechanisms, including bacterial small RNA-induced learned avoidance behavior, which can be inherited transgenerationally. Previously, we discovered that a small RNA from a clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, PA14, induces learned avoidance and transgenerational inheritance of that avoidance in C. elegans. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important human pathogen, and there are ..read more

by Shuangshuang Qi, Shengfei Dai, Xin Zhou, Xueyan Wei, Ping Chen, Yuanyuan He, Thomas D. Kocher, Deshou Wang, Minghui Li Sex is determined by multiple factors derived from somatic and germ cells in vertebrates. We have identified amhy, dmrt1, gsdf as male and foxl2, foxl3, cyp19a1a as female sex determination pathway genes in Nile tilapia. However, the relationship among these genes is largely unclear. Here, we found that the gonads of dmrt1;cyp19a1a double mutants developed as ovaries or underdeveloped testes with no germ cells irrespective of their genetic sex. In addition, the gonads of dm ..read more

by The PLOS Genetics Staff ..read more