Copy number variation underlies complex phenotypes in domestic dog breeds and other canids.

Extreme phenotypic diversity, a history of artificial selection, and socioeconomic value make domestic dog breeds a compelling subject for genomic research. Copy number variation (CNV) is known to account for a significant part of inter-individual genomic diversity in other systems. However, a comprehensive genome-wide study of structural variation as it relates to breed-specific phenotypes is lacking.

Liquid brains, solid brains.

Cognitive networks have evolved a broad range of solutions to the problem of gathering, storing and responding to information. Some of these networks are describable as static sets of neurons linked in an adaptive web of connections. These are 'solid' networks, with a well-defined and physically persistent architecture.

On the path to extinction: Inbreeding and admixture in a declining grey wolf population.

Allee effects reduce the viability of small populations in many different ways, which act synergistically to lead populations towards extinction vortexes. The Sierra Morena wolf population, isolated in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and composed of just one or few packs for decades, represents a good example of how diverse threats act additively in very small populations. We sequenced the genome of one of the last wolves identified (and road-killed) in Sierra Morena and that of another wolf in the Iberian Wolf Captive Breeding Program and compared them with other wolf and dog genomes from around the world (including two previously published genome sequences from northern Iberian wolves).

Similar genomic proportions of copy number variation within gray wolves and modern dog breeds inferred from whole genome sequencing.

Background: Whole genome re-sequencing data from dogs and wolves are now commonly used to study how natural and artificial selection have shaped the patterns of genetic diversity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites and variants in mitochondrial DNA have been interrogated for links to specific phenotypes or signals of domestication. However, copy number variation (CNV), despite its increasingly recognized importance as a contributor to phenotypic diversity, has not been extensively explored in canids.

The impact of endogenous content, replicates and pooling on genome capture from faecal samples.

Target-capture approach has improved over the past years, proving to be very efficient tool for selectively sequencing genetic regions of interest. These methods have also allowed the use of noninvasive samples such as faeces (characterized by their low quantity and quality of endogenous DNA) to be used in conservation genomic, evolution and population genetic studies. Here we aim to test different protocols and strategies for exome capture using the Roche SeqCap EZ Developer kit (57.

Limiting replication stress during somatic cell reprogramming reduces genomic instability in induced pluripotent stem cells.

The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from adult somatic cells is one of the most remarkable discoveries in recent decades. However, several works have reported evidence of genomic instability in iPSC, raising concerns on their biomedical use. The reasons behind the genomic instability observed in iPSC remain mostly unknown.

The MEKRE93 (Methoprene tolerant-Krüppel homolog 1-E93) pathway in the regulation of insect metamorphosis, and the homology of the pupal stage.

Recent studies on transcription factor E93 revealed that it triggers adult morphogenesis in Blattella germanica, Tribolium castaneum and Drosophila melanogaster. Moreover, we show here that Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1), a transducer of the antimetamorphic action of juvenile hormone (JH), represses E93 expression. Kr-h1 is upstream of E93, and upstream of Kr-h1 is Methoprene-tolerant (Met), the latter being the JH receptor in hemimetabolan and holometabolan species.

Analysis of structural diversity in wolf-like canids reveals post-domestication variants.

Background: Although a variety of genetic changes have been implicated in causing phenotypic differences among dogs, the role of copy number variants (CNVs) and their impact on phenotypic variation is still poorly understood. Further, very limited knowledge exists on structural variation in the gray wolf, the ancestor of the dog, or other closely related wild canids. Documenting CNVs variation in wild canids is essential to identify ancestral states and variation that may have appeared after domestication.

Genome-wide analysis of wild-type Epstein-Barr virus genomes derived from healthy individuals of the 1,000 Genomes Project.

Most people in the world (∼90%) are infected by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which establishes itself permanently in B cells. Infection by EBV is related to a number of diseases including infectious mononucleosis, multiple sclerosis, and different types of cancer. So far, only seven complete EBV strains have been described, all of them coming from donors presenting EBV-related diseases.

RNAi reveals the key role of Nervana 1 in cockroach oogenesis and embryo development.

Na(+), K(+)-ATPases is a heterodimer protein consisting of α- and β-subunits that control the ion transport through cell membranes. In insects the β-subunit of the Na(+), K(+)-ATPase, known as Nervana, was characterized as a nervous system-specific glycoprotein antigen from adult Drosophila melanogaster heads. Nervana is expressed ubiquitously in all insect tissues, and in epithelial cells appeared located in a basolateral position as part of the septate junctions.