Next generation sequencing allows deeper analysis and understanding of genomes and transcriptomes including aspects to fertility

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Werner

Reproduction and fertility are controlled by specific events naturally linked to oocytes, testes and early embryonal tissues. A significant part of these events involves gene expression, especially transcriptional control and alternative transcription (alternative promoters and alternative splicing). While methods to analyse such events for carefully predetermined target genes are well established, until recently no methodology existed to extend such analyses into a genome-wide de novo discovery process. With the arrival of next generation sequencing (NGS) it becomes possible to attempt genome-wide discovery in genomic sequences as well as whole transcriptomes at a single nucleotide level. This does not only allow identification of the primary changes (e.g. alternative transcripts) but also helps to elucidate the regulatory context that leads to the induction of transcriptional changes. This review discusses the basics of the new technological and scientific concepts arising from NGS, prominent differences from microarray-based approaches and several aspects of its application to reproduction and fertility research. These concepts will then be illustrated in an application example of NGS sequencing data analysis involving postimplantation endometrium tissue from cows.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohong Wang ◽  
Yaw A. Afrane ◽  
Guiyun Yan ◽  
Jun Li

Anopheles gambiaeis the major malaria vector in Africa. Examining the molecular basis ofA. gambiaetraits requires knowledge of both genetic variation and genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) map of wildA. gambiaepopulations from malaria-endemic areas. We sequenced the genomes of nine wildA. gambiaemosquitoes individually using next-generation sequencing technologies and detected 2,219,815 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 88% of which are novel. SNPs are not evenly distributed acrossA. gambiaechromosomes. The low SNP-frequency regions overlay heterochromatin and chromosome inversion domains, consistent with the lower recombinant rates at these regions. Nearly one million SNPs that were genotyped correctly in all individual mosquitoes with 99.6% confidence were extracted from these high-throughput sequencing data. Based on these SNP genotypes, we constructed a genome-wide LD map for wildA. gambiaefrom malaria-endemic areas in Kenya and made it available through a public Website. The average size of LD blocks is less than 40 bp, and several large LD blocks were also discovered clustered around theparagene, which is consistent with the effect of insecticide selective sweeps. The SNPs and the LD map will be valuable resources for scientific communities to dissect theA. gambiaegenome.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Bai ◽  
Yanghua He ◽  
Yi Ding ◽  
Huanmin Zhang ◽  
Jilan Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Marek’s disease (MD) is a highly neoplastic disease primarily affecting chickens, and remains as a chronic infectious disease that threatens the poultry industry. Copy number variation (CNV) has been examined in many species and is recognized as a major source of genetic variation that directly contributes to phenotypic variation such as resistance to infectious diseases. Two highly inbred chicken lines 63 (MD-resistant) and 72 (MD-susceptible), as well as their F1 generation and six recombinant congenic strains (RCSs) with varied susceptibility to MD, are considered as ideal models to identify the complex mechanisms of genetic and molecular resistance to MD.Results: In the present study, to unravel the potential genetic mechanisms underlying resistance to MD, we performed a genome-wide CNV detection using next generation sequencing on the inbred chicken lines with the assistance of CNVnator. As a result, a total of 1,649 CNV regions (CNVRs) were successfully identified after merging all the nine datasets, of which 90 CNVRs were overlapped across all the chicken lines. Within these shared regions, 1,360 harbored genes were identified. In addition, 55 and 44 CNVRs with 62 and 57 harbored genes were specifically identified in line 63 and 72, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the nearby genes were significantly enriched in 36 GO terms and 6 KEGG pathways including JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Ten CNVRs (nine deletions and one duplication) involved in 10 disease-related genes were selected for validation by using qRT-PCR, all of which were successfully confirmed. Finally, qRT-PCR was also used to validate two deletion events in line 72 that were definitely normal in line 63. One high-confidence gene, IRF2 was identified as the most promising candidate gene underlying resistance and susceptibility to MD in view of its function and overlaps with data from previous study.Conclusions: Our findings provide valuable insights for understanding the genetic mechanism of resistance to MD and the identified gene and pathway could be considered as the subject of further functional characterization.


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