| 1. |
- Bengtsson-Palme, Johan, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Improved software detection and extraction of ITS1 and ITS2 from ribosomal ITS sequences of fungi and other eukaryotes for analysis of environmental sequencing data
- 2013
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Ingår i: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. - 2041-210X. ; 4:10, s. 914-919
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is the primary choice for molecular identification of fungi. Its two highly variable spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) are usually species specific, whereas the intercalary 5.8S gene is highly conserved. For sequence clustering and blast searches, it is often advantageous to rely on either one of the variable spacers but not the conserved 5.8S gene. To identify and extract ITS1 and ITS2 from large taxonomic and environmental data sets is, however, often difficult, and many ITS sequences are incorrectly delimited in the public sequence databases. We introduce ITSx, a Perl-based software tool to extract ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2 – as well as full-length ITS sequences – from both Sanger and high-throughput sequencing data sets. ITSx uses hidden Markov models computed from large alignments of a total of 20 groups of eukaryotes, including fungi, metazoans and plants, and the sequence extraction is based on the predicted positions of the ribosomal genes in the sequences. ITSx has a very high proportion of true-positive extractions and a low proportion of false-positive extractions. Additionally, process parallelization permits expedient analyses of very large data sets, such as a one million sequence amplicon pyrosequencing data set. ITSx is rich in features and written to be easily incorporated into automated sequence analysis pipelines. ITSx paves the way for more sensitive blast searches and sequence clustering operations for the ITS region in eukaryotes. The software also permits elimination of non-ITS sequences from any data set. This is particularly useful for amplicon-based next-generation sequencing data sets, where insidious non-target sequences are often found among the target sequences. Such non-target sequences are difficult to find by other means and would contribute noise to diversity estimates if left in the data set.
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| 2. |
- Nilsson, R. Henrik, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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An open source chimera checker for the fungal ITS region
- 2010
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology Resources. - : Wiley. - 1755-0998 .- 1755-098X. ; 10:6, s. 1076-1081
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal repeat unit holds a central position in the pursuit of the taxonomic affiliation of fungi recovered through environmental sampling. Newly generated fungal ITS sequences are typically compared against the International Nucleotide Sequence Databases for a species or genus name using the sequence similarity software suite blast. Such searches are not without complications however, and one of them is the presence of chimeric entries among the query or reference sequences. Chimeras are artificial sequences, generated unintentionally during the polymerase chain reaction step, that feature sequence data from two (or possibly more) distinct species. Available software solutions for chimera control do not readily target the fungal ITS region, but the present study introduces a blast-based open source software package (available at http://www.emerencia.org/chimerachecker.html) to examine newly generated fungal ITS sequences for the presence of potentially chimeric elements in batch mode. We used the software package on a random set of 12 300 environmental fungal ITS sequences in the public sequence databases and found 1.5% of the entries to be chimeric at the ordinal level after manual verification of the results. The proportion of chimeras in the sequence databases can be hypothesized to increase as emerging sequencing technologies drawing from pooled DNA samples are becoming important tools in molecular ecology research.
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| 3. |
- Bachimanchi, Harshith, et al.
(författare)
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Deep-learning-powered data analysis in plankton ecology
- 2024
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Ingår i: Limnology And Oceanography Letters. - 2378-2242.
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The implementation of deep learning algorithms has brought new perspectives to plankton ecology. Emerging as an alternative approach to established methods, deep learning offers objective schemes to investigate plankton organisms in diverse environments. We provide an overview of deep-learning-based methods including detection and classification of phytoplankton and zooplankton images, foraging and swimming behavior analysis, and finally ecological modeling. Deep learning has the potential to speed up the analysis and reduce the human experimental bias, thus enabling data acquisition at relevant temporal and spatial scales with improved reproducibility. We also discuss shortcomings and show how deep learning architectures have evolved to mitigate imprecise readouts. Finally, we suggest opportunities where deep learning is particularly likely to catalyze plankton research. The examples are accompanied by detailed tutorials and code samples that allow readers to apply the methods described in this review to their own data.
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| 4. |
- Bailey, Allison, et al.
(författare)
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Regulation of gene expression is associated with tolerance of the Arctic copepod Calanus glacialis to CO2-acidified sea water
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 7:18, s. 7145-7160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ocean acidification is the increase in seawater pCO2 due to the uptake of atmospheric anthropogenic CO2, with the largest changes predicted to occur in the Arctic seas. For some marine organisms, this change in pCO2, and associated decrease in pH, represents a climate change-related stressor. In this study, we investigated the gene expression patterns of nauplii of the Arctic copepod Calanus glacialis cultured at low pH levels. We have previously shown that organismal-level performance (development, growth, respiration) of C. glacialis nauplii is unaffected by low pH. Here, we investigated the molecular-level response to lowered pH in order to elucidate the physiological processes involved in this tolerance. Nauplii from wild-caught C. glacialis were cultured at four pH levels (8.05, 7.9, 7.7, 7.5). At stage N6, mRNA was extracted and sequenced using RNA-seq. The physiological functionality of the proteins identified was categorized using Gene Ontology and KEGG pathways. We found that the expression of 151 contigs varied significantly with pH on a continuous scale (93% downregulated with decreasing pH). Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that, of the processes downregulated, many were components of the universal cellular stress response, including DNA repair, redox regulation, protein folding, and proteolysis. Sodium:proton antiporters were among the processes significantly upregulated, indicating that these ion pumps were involved in maintaining cellular pH homeostasis. C. glacialis significantly alters its gene expression at low pH, although they maintain normal larval development. Understanding what confers tolerance to some species will support our ability to predict the effects of future ocean acidification on marine organisms.
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| 5. |
- Bergin, Claudia, et al.
(författare)
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Acquisition of a Novel Sulfur-Oxidizing Symbiont in the Gutless Marine Worm Inanidrilus exumae
- 2018
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 84:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gutless marine oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) lack a digestive and excretory system, and live in an obligate association with multiple bacterial endosymbionts that supply them with nutrition. In this study, we discovered an unusual symbiont community in the gutless oligochaete Inanidrilus exumae that differs markedly from the microbiome of all other 22 examined host species. Comparative 16S rRNA sequence analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that I. exumae harboured co-occurring gamma-, alpha- and deltaproteobacterial symbionts, while all other host species harbour gamma- and either alpha- or deltaproteobacterial symbionts. Surprisingly, the primary chemoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizer, Ca. Thiosymbion, which occurs in all other gutless oligochaetes, does not appear to be present in I. exumae. Instead, I. exumae harboured a bacterial endosymbiont that resembled Ca. Thiosymbion morphologically and metabolically, but originated from a novel lineage within the Gammaproteobacteria. This endosymbiont, named Gamma 4 symbiont here, had a 16S rRNA sequence that differed by at least 7% from those of other free-living and symbiotic bacteria and by 10% from Ca. Thiosymbion. Sulfur globules in the Gamma 4 symbiont cells, as well as the presence of genes characteristic for autotrophy (cbbL) and sulfur oxidation (aprA), suggest that this symbiont is a chemoautotrophic sulfur oxidizer. Our results indicate that a novel lineage of free-living bacteria was able to establish a stable and specific association with I. exumae, and displace the Ca. Thiosymbion symbionts originally associated with these hosts.
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| 6. |
- Calosi, Piero, et al.
(författare)
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Will Life find a Way? Evolution of Marine Species Under Global Change
- 2016
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Applications. - : Wiley. - 1752-4571. ; 9:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Projections of marine biodiversity and implementation of effective actions for its maintenance in face of current rapid global environmental change are constrained by our limited understanding of species’ adaptive responses, including, transgenerational plasticity, epigenetics, natural selection. This special issue presents 13 novel studies, which employ experimental and modeling approaches to: (1) Investigate plastic and evolutionary responses of marine species to major global change drivers; (2) ask relevant broad eco-evolutionary questions, implementing well-designed multiple species and populations studies; (3) show the advantages of using advanced experimental designs and tools; (4) construct novel model organisms for marine evolution; (5) help identifying future challenges for the field, and (6) highlight the importance of incorporating existing evolutionary theory into management solutions for the marine realm. What emerges is that at least some populations of marine species are able to adapt to future global change conditions. However, marine organisms’ capacity for adaptation appears finite, due to evolutionary trade-offs and possible rapid losses in genetic diversity. This further corroborate the idea that acquiring an evolutionary perspective on how marine life will respond to the selective pressure of future global changes will guide us in better identifying which conservation efforts will be most needed, and most effective.
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| 7. |
- De Wit, Pierre, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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A decade of progress in marine evolutionary biology
- 2022
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Applications. - : Wiley. - 1752-4571. ; 16:2, s. 193-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This article summarizes the Evolutionary Applications Special Issue, “A decade of progress in Marine Evolutionary Biology.” The globally connected ocean, from its pelagic depths to its highly varied coastlines, inspired Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution during the voyage of the Beagle. As technology has developed, there has been a dramatic increase in our knowledge about life on our blue planet. This Special Issue, composed of 19 original papers and seven reviews, represents a small contribution to the larger picture of recent research in evolutionary biology, and how such advancements come about through the connection of researchers, their fields, and their knowledge. The first European network for marine evolutionary biology, the Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB), was developed to study evolutionary processes in the marine environment under global change. Though hosted by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the network quickly grew to encompass researchers throughout Europe and beyond. Today, more than a decade after its foundation, CeMEB's focus on the evolutionary consequences of global change is more relevant than ever, and knowledge gained from marine evolution research is urgently needed in management and conservation. This Special Issue, organized and developed through the CeMEB network, contains contributions from all over the world and provides a snapshot of the current state of the field, thus forming an important basis for future research directions.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- De Wit, Pierre, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Diet-dependent gene expression highlights the importance of Cytochrome P450 in detoxification of algal secondary metabolites in a marine isopod
- 2018
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Isopods of the genus Idotea have an unusual ability to feed on algae containing high amounts of chemical defense molecules, such as species of the genera Fucus and Ulva. In this study, we compared gene expression patterns of Idotea balthica individuals fed with Fucus vesiculosus to individuals fed with Ulva lactuca. We generated the rst-ever transcriptome assembly for this species, and found 3,233 di erentially expressed genes across feeding regimes. However, only a handful of biological functions were enriched with regard to di erentially expressed genes, the most notable being “alkaloid metabolic process”. Within this category, we found eight di erentially expressed cytochrome P450 (CYP) unigenes, all of which had a higher expression in the U. lactuca diet treatment. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the di erentially expressed CYP genes are closely related to a CYP gene described from the hepatopancreas of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus, and we hypothesize that these transcripts are involved in metabolite detoxi cation. This is a rst step in the understanding of this algae-grazer interaction, and will form a basis for future work to characterize cytochrome P450 functioning in marine crustaceans.
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