bioRxiv Science⌕ Search

Biology subjects

Kinoshita, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Kinoshita, S..

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Potential silencing of gene expression by PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in somatic tissues in mollusk

PIWI/piRNA suppress transposon activity in animals, thereby safeguarding the genome from detrimental insertion mutagenesis. Recently, evidence revealed additional piRNA targets and functions in various animals. Although piRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in somatic tissues of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata, their role is not well-characterized. Here, we report a PIWI/piRNA pathway, including piRNA biogenesis and piRNA-mediated gene regulation in P. fucata. A locked-nucleic-acid modified oligonucleotide (LNA-antagonist) was used to silence a single piRNA (piRNA0001) expression in P. fucata, which resulted in the differential expression of hundreds of endogenous genes. Target prediction analysis revealed that, following silencing, tens of endogenous genes were targeted by piRNA0001, including twelve up-regulated and nine down-regulated genes. Bioinformatic analyses suggested that different piRNA populations participate in the ping-pong amplification loop in a tissue-specific manner. These findings have improved our knowledge of the role of piRNA in mollusks, and provided evidence to understand the regulatory function of the PIWI/piRNA pathway on protein-coding genes outside of germline cells.

molecular biology↗

Chromosome-level genome construction of a Japanese stickleback species using ultra-dense linkage analysis using single-cell sequencing of sperms

The presence of high quality genomes at the chromosome level is very useful in the search for the causal genes of mutants and in genetic breeding. The advent of next-generation sequencers has made it easier to decode genomes, but it is still difficult to construct the genomes of higher organisms. In order to construct the genome of a higher organism, the genome sequence of the organism is extended to the length of the chromosome by linkage analysis after assembly and scaffolding. However, in the past linkage analysis, it was difficult to make a high-density linkage map, and it was not possible to analyze organisms without an established breeding system. As an innovative alternative to conventional linkage analysis, we devised a method for genotyping sperm using 10x single-cell genome (CNV) sequencing libraries to generate a linkage map without interbreeding individuals. The genome was constructed using sperm from Gasterosteus nipponicus, and single-cell genotyping yielded 1,864,430 very dense hetero-SNPs. The average coverage per sperm cell is 0.13x. The number of sperm used is 1,738, which is an order of magnitude higher than the number of sperm used for conventional linkage analysis. We have improved the linkage analysis tool SELDLA (Scaffold Extender with Low Depth Linkage Analysis) so that we can analyze the data in accordance with the characteristics of single-cell genotyping data. Finally, we were able to determine the location and orientation on the chromosome for 85.6% of the contigs in the 456 Mbase genome of Gasterosteus nipponicus sequenced in nanopores. A total of 95.6% of the contigs in which a cross-reaction was detected within the contigs.

genomics↗

Age-associated different transcriptome profiling in zebrafish and rat: insight into diversity of vertebrate aging

BackgroundAging and death are inevitable for most species and are of intense interest for human beings. Most mammals, including humans, show obvious aging phenotypes, for example, loss of tissue plasticity and sarcopenia. In this regard, fish provide attractive models because of their unique aging characteristics. First, the lifespan of fish is highly varied and some long-lived fish can live for over 200 years. Second, some fish show anti-aging features and indeterminate growth throughout their life. Because these characteristics are not found in mammalian model organisms, exploring mechanisms of senescence in fish is expected to provide new insights into vertebrate aging. Therefore, we conducted transcriptome analysis for brain, gill, heart, liver and muscle from 2-month-, 7-month-, 16month- and 39-month-old zebrafish. In addition, we downloaded RNA-seq data for sequential age related gene expression in brain, heart, liver and muscle of rat (1). These RNA-seq data from two species were compared, and common and species-specific features of senescence were analyzed.\n\nResultsScreening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in all zebrafish tissues examined revealed up-regulation of circadian genes and down-regulation of hmgb3a. Comparative analysis of DEG profiles associated with aging between zebrafish and rat showed both conserved and clearly different aging phenomena. Furthermore, up-regulation of circadian genes with aging and down-regulation of collagen genes were observed in both species. On the other hand, in zebrafish, up-regulation of autophagy related genes in muscle and atf3 in various tissues suggested fish-specific anti- aging characteristics. Consistent with our knowledge of mammalian aging, a tissue deterioration-related DEG profile was observed in rat. We also detected aging-associated down-regulation of muscle development and ATP metabolism-related genes in zebrafish gill. Correspondingly, hypoxia-related genes were systemically up-regulated in aged zebrafish, suggesting age-related hypoxia as a senescence modulator in fish.\n\nConclusionsOur results indicate both common and different aging profiles between fish and mammals. Gene expression profiles specific to fish will provide new insight for future translational research.

bioinformatics↗

Orthogonal linear separation analysis: an approach to decompose the complex effect of a perturbagen

Drugs have multiple, not single, effects. Decomposition of drug effects into basic components helps us to understand the pharmacological properties of a drug and contributes to drug discovery. We have extended factor analysis and developed a novel profile data analysis method, orthogonal linear separation analysis (OLSA). OLSA contracted 11,911 genes to 118 factors from transcriptome data of MCF7 cells treated with 318 compounds in Connectivity Map. Ontology of the main genes constituting the factors detected significant enrichment of the ontology in 65 of 118 factors and similar results were obtained in two other data sets. One factor discriminated two Hsp90 inhibitors, geldanamycin and radicicol, while clustering analysis could not. Doxorubicin was estimated to inhibit Na+/K+ ATPase, one of the suggested mechanisms of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Based on the factor including PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 inhibition activity, 5 compounds were predicted to be novel autophagy inducers, and other analysis including western blotting revealed that 4 of the 5 actually induced autophagy. These findings indicate the potential of OLSA to decompose the effects of a drug and identify its basic components. (<175 words)

bioinformatics↗

Is reading automatic? Are the ERP correlates of masked priming really lexical?

Humans have an almost unbounded ability to adapt their behaviour to perform different tasks. In the laboratory, this flexibility is sometimes viewed as a nuisance factor that prevents access to the underlying cognitive mechanisms of interest. For example, in order to study \"automatic\" lexical processing, psycholinguists have used masked priming or evoked potentials to measure \"automatic\" lexical processing. However, the pattern of masked priming can be radically altered by changing the task. In lexical decision, priming is observed for words but not for nonwords, yet in a same-different matching task, priming is observed for same responses but not for different responses, regardless of whether the target is a word or a nonword (Norris & Kinoshita, 2008). Here we show that evoked potentials are equally sensitive to the nature of required decision, with the neural activity normally associated with lexical processing being seen for both words and nonwords on same trials, and for neither on different trials. (150)

neuroscience↗

Designed hybrids facilitate efficient generation of high-resolution linkage maps

In sequencing eukaryotic genomes, linkage maps are indispensable for building scaffolds with which to assemble and/or to validate chromosomes. However, current approaches to construct linkage maps are limited by marker density and cost-effectiveness, especially for wild organisms. We have now devised a new strategy based on artificially generated hybrid organisms to acquire ultra high-density genomic markers at lower cost and build highly accurate linkage maps. Using this method, linkage maps and draft sequences for two species of pufferfish were obtained simultaneously. We anticipate that the method will accelerate genomic analysis of sexually reproducing organisms.

genomics↗