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Abstract Background Sharing a common ErbB/HER receptor signaling pathway, heregulin (HRG) induces differentiation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells while epidermal growth factor (EGF) elicits proliferation. Although cell fates resulting from action of the aforementioned ligands completely different, the respective gene expression profiles in early transcription are qualitatively similar, suggesting that gene expression during late transcription, but not early transcription, may reflect ligand specificity. In this study, based on both the data from time-course quantitative real-time PCR on over 2,000 human transcription factors and microarray of all human genes, we identified a series of transcription factors which may control HRG-specific late transcription in MCF-7 cells. Results We predicted that four transcription factors including EGR4, FRA-1, FHL2, and DIPA should have responsibility of regulation in MCF-7 cell differentiation. Validation analysis suggested that one member of the activator protein 1 (AP-1) family, FOSL-1 (FRA-1 gene), appeared immediately following c-FOS expression, might be responsible for expression of transcription factor FHL2 through activation of the AP-1 complex. Furthermore, RNAi gene silencing of FOSL-1 and FHL2 resulted in increase of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation of which duration was sustained by HRG stimulation. Conclusion Our analysis indicated that a time-dependent transcriptional regulatory network including c-FOS, FRA-1, and FHL2 is vital in controlling the ERK signaling pathway through a negative feedback loop for MCF-7 cell differentiation.

Abstract Background Wheat is an allopolyploid plant that harbors a huge, complex genome. Therefore, accumulation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for wheat is becoming particularly important for functional genomics and molecular breeding. We prepared a comprehensive collection of ESTs from the various tissues that develop during the wheat life cycle and from tissues subjected to stress. We also examined their expression profiles in silico. As full-length cDNAs are indispensable to certify the collected ESTs and annotate the genes in the wheat genome, we performed a systematic survey and sequencing of the full-length cDNA clones. This sequence information is a valuable genetic resource for functional genomics and will enable carrying out comparative genomics in cereals. Results As part of the functional genomics and development of genomic wheat resources, we have generated a collection of full-length cDNAs from common wheat. By grouping the ESTs of recombinant clones randomly selected from the full-length cDNA library, we were able to sequence 6,162 independent clones with high accuracy. About 10% of the clones were wheat-unique genes, without any counterparts within the DNA database. Wheat clones that showed high homology to those of rice were selected in order to investigate their expression patterns in various tissues throughout the wheat life cycle and in response to abiotic-stress treatments. To assess the variability of genes that have evolved differently in wheat and rice, we calculated the substitution rate (Ka/Ks) of the counterparts in wheat and rice. Genes that were preferentially expressed in certain tissues or treatments had higher Ka/Ks values than those in other tissues and treatments, which suggests that the genes with the higher variability expressed in these tissues is under adaptive selection. Conclusion We have generated a high-quality full-length cDNA resource for common wheat, which is essential for continuation of the ongoing curation and annotation of the wheat genome. The data for each clone's expression in various tissues and stress treatments and its variability in wheat and rice as a result of their diversification are valuable tools for functional genomics in wheat and for comparative genomics in cereals.

Abstract Background An ideal format to describe transcriptome would be its composition measured on the scale of absolute numbers of individual mRNAs per cell. It would help not only to precisely grasp the structure of the transcriptome but also to accelerate data exchange and integration. Results We conceived an idea of competitive PCR between genomic DNA and cDNA. Since the former contains every gene exactly at the same copy number, it can serve as an ideal normalization standard for the latter to obtain stoichiometric composition data of the transcriptome. This data can then be easily converted to absolute quantification data provided with an appropriate calibration. To implement this idea, we improved adaptor-tagged competitive PCR, originally developed for relative quantification of the 3'-end restriction fragment of each cDNA, such that it can be applied to any restriction fragment. We demonstrated that this "generalized" adaptor-tagged competitive PCR (GATC-PCR) can be performed between genomic DNA and cDNA to accurately measure absolute expression level of each mRNA in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, we constructed a large-scale GATC-PCR system to measure absolute expression levels of 5,038 genes to show that the yeast contains more than 30,000 copies of mRNA molecules per cell. Conclusion We developed a GATC-PCR method to accurately measure absolute expression levels of mRNAs by means of competitive amplification of genomic and cDNA copies of each gene. A large-scale application of GATC-PCR to the budding yeast transcriptome revealed that it is twice or more as large as previously estimated. This method is flexibly applicable to both targeted and genome-wide analyses of absolute expression levels of mRNAs.

Abstract Background Cryptomeria japonica D. Don is one of the most commercially important conifers in Japan. However, the allergic disease caused by its pollen is a severe public health problem in Japan. Since large-scale analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in the male strobili of C. japonica should help us to clarify the overall expression of genes during the process of pollen development, we constructed a full-length enriched cDNA library that was derived from male strobili at various developmental stages. Results We obtained 36,011 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from either one or both ends of 19,437 clones derived from the cDNA library of C. japonica male strobili at various developmental stages. The 19,437 cDNA clones corresponded to 10,463 transcripts. Approximately 80% of the transcripts resembled ESTs from Pinus and Picea, while approximately 75% had homologs in Arabidopsis. An analysis of homologies between ESTs from C. japonica male strobili and known pollen allergens in the Allergome Database revealed that products of 180 transcripts exhibited significant homology. Approximately 2% of the transcripts appeared to encode transcription factors. We identified twelve genes for MADS-box proteins among these transcription factors. The twelve MADS-box genes were classified as DEF/GLO/GGM13-, AG-, AGL6-, TM3- and TM8-like MIKCC genes and type I MADS-box genes. Conclusion Our full-length enriched cDNA library derived from C. japonica male strobili provides information on expression of genes during the development of male reproductive organs. We provided potential allergens in C. japonica. We also provided new information about transcription factors including MADS-box genes expressed in male strobili of C. japonica. Large-scale gene discovery using full-length cDNAs is a valuable tool for studies of gymnosperm species.

Abstract Background Populus is one of favorable model plants because of its small genome. Structural genomics of Populus has reached a breakpoint as nucleotides of the entire genome have been determined. Reaching the post genome era, functional genomics of Populus is getting more important for well-comprehended plant science. Development of bioresorce serving functional genomics is making rapid progress. Huge efforts have achieved deposits of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in various plant species consequently accelerating functional analysis of genes. ESTs from full-length cDNA clones are especially powerful for accurate molecular annotation. We promoted collection and annotation of the ESTs from Populus full-length enriched cDNA clones as part of functional genomics of tree species. Results We have been collecting the full-length enriched cDNA of the female poplar (Populus nigra var. italica) for years. By sequencing P. nigra full-length (PnFL) cDNA libraries, we generated about 116,000 5'-end or 3'-end ESTs corresponding to 19,841 nonredundant PnFL clones. Population of PnFL cDNA clones represents 44% of the predicted genes in the Populus genome. Conclusion Our resource of P. nigra full-length enriched clones is expected to provide valuable tools to gain further insight into genome annotation and functional genomics in Populus.

Abstract Background Gene expression is regulated mainly by transcription factors (TFs) that interact with regulatory cis-elements on DNA sequences. To identify functional regulatory elements, computer searching can predict TF binding sites (TFBS) using position weight matrices (PWMs) that represent positional base frequencies of collected experimentally determined TFBS. A disadvantage of this approach is the large output of results for genomic DNA. One strategy to identify genuine TFBS is to utilize local concentrations of predicted TFBS. It is unclear whether there is a general tendency for TFBS to cluster at promoter regions, although this is the case for certain TFBS. Also unclear is the identification of TFs that have TFBS concentrated in promoters and to what level this occurs. This study hopes to answer some of these questions. Results We developed the cluster score measure to evaluate the correlation between predicted TFBS clusters and promoter sequences for each PWM. Non-promoter sequences were used as a control. Using the cluster score, we identified a PWM group called PWM-PCP, in which TFBS clusters positively correlate with promoters, and another PWM group called PWM-NCP, in which TFBS clusters negatively correlate with promoters. The PWM-PCP group comprises 47% of the 199 vertebrate PWMs, while the PWM-NCP group occupied 11 percent. After reducing the effect of CpG islands (CGI) against the clusters using partial correlation coefficients among three properties (promoter, CGI and predicted TFBS cluster), we identified two PWM groups including those strongly correlated with CGI and those not correlated with CGI. Conclusion Not all PWMs predict TFBS correlated with human promoter sequences. Two main PWM groups were identified: (1) those that show TFBS clustered in promoters associated with CGI, and (2) those that show TFBS clustered in promoters independent of CGI. Assessment of PWM matches will allow more positive interpretation of TFBS in regulatory regions.

Mammalian development is strongly influenced by the epigenetic phenomenon called genomic imprinting, in which either the paternal or the maternal allele of imprinted genes is expressed. Paternally expressed Xist, an imprinted gene, has been considered as a single cis-acting factor to inactivate the paternally inherited X chromosome (Xp) in preimplantation mouse embryos. This means that X-chromosome inactivation also entails gene imprinting at a very early developmental stage. However, the precise mechanism of imprinted X-chromosome inactivation remains unknown and there is little information about imprinted genes on X chromosomes. In this study, we examined whether there are other imprinted genes than Xist expressed from the inactive paternal X chromosome and expressed in female embryos at the preimplantation stage. We focused on small RNAs and compared their expression patterns between sexes by tagging the female X chromosome with green fluorescent protein. As a result, we identified two micro (mi)RNAs–miR-374-5p and miR-421-3p–mapped adjacent to Xist that were predominantly expressed in female blastocysts. Allelic expression analysis revealed that these miRNAs were indeed imprinted and expressed from the Xp. Further analysis of the imprinting status of adjacent locus led to the discovery of a large cluster of imprinted genes expressed from the Xp: Jpx, Ftx and Zcchc13. To our knowledge, this is the first identified cluster of imprinted genes in the cis-acting regulatory region termed the X-inactivation center. This finding may help in understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating imprinted X-chromosome inactivation during early mammalian development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative sequence analyses have identified highly conserved genomic DNA sequences, including noncoding sequences, between humans and other species. By performing whole-genome comparisons of human and mouse, we have identified 611 conserved noncoding sequences longer than 500 bp, with more than 95% identity between the species. These long conserved noncoding sequences (LCNS) include 473 new sequences that do not overlap with previously reported ultraconserved elements (UCE), which are defined as aligned sequences longer than 200 bp with 100% identity in human, mouse, and rat. The LCNS were distributed throughout the genome except for the Y chromosome and often occurred in clusters within regions with a low density of coding genes. Many of the LCNS were also highly conserved in other mammals, chickens, frogs, and fish; however, we were unable to find orthologous sequences in the genomes of invertebrate species. In order to examine whether these conserved sequences are functionally important or merely mutational cold spots, we directly measured the frequencies of ENU-induced germline mutations in the LCNS of the mouse. By screening about 40.7 Mb, we found 35 mutations, including mutations at nucleotides that were conserved between human and fish. The mutation frequencies were equivalent to those found in other genomic regions, including coding sequences and introns, suggesting that the LCNS are not mutational cold spots at all. Taken together, these results suggest that mutations occur with equal frequency in LCNS but are eliminated by natural selection during the course of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was generally believed that autosomal CpG islands (CGIs) escape methylation. However, our comprehensive analysis of allelic methylation status of 149 CGIs on human chromosome 21q revealed that a sizable fraction of them are methylated on both alleles even in normal blood cells. Here, we performed a similar analysis of 656 CGIs on chromosome 11q, which is gene-rich in contrast with 21q. The results indicate that 11q contains less methylated CGIs, especially those with tandem repeats and those in the coding or 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs), than 21q. Thus, methylation status of CGIs may substantially differ from one chromosome to another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Impact is an evolutionarily conserved gene subjected to genomic imprinting in mouse but not in human. A characteristic tandem repeat similar to those found in many other imprinted genes and an elevated expression level, both observed only for the mouse gene, are implicated in the evolution of imprinting, to which the repeat might have contributed via enhancement of the expression. To pursue the possibility further, we examined the correlation among the repeat, expression level, and imprinting of Impact in various mammals ranging from rodents, lagomorphs, carnivores, artiodactyls to primates. Intriguingly, rabbit Impact is abundantly expressed and imprinted like those of rodents, but is missing the repeat from its first intron like those of other mammals that express both alleles weakly. It thus seems that lineage-specific enhancement of gene expression rather than the tandem repeat per se played a critical role in the evolution of imprinting of Impact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We and others recently isolated a human TPRD gene, possessing a motif of the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR), from the Down syndrome-critical region (DCR) of chromosome 21q22.2. In this study, we isolated a mouse homologue of TPRD cDNA, mtprd, and examined its expression profile in mouse embryos. The gene was mapped to mouse chromosome 16C3.3–4, consistent with the location of DCR, and encodes 1, 979 amino acid residues with 76% identity to TPRD. The mtprd protein has three units of the TPR motif with 91% homology to TPRD. The protein also has two regions homologous to several matrix proteins with 86 and 70% identities to those of TPRD. Several splicing variants of the 5' portion of the open reading frame of mtprd were identified by RT-PCR and sequencing of mRNAs. In situ hybridization showed that mtprd is ubiquitously expressed in mouse embryos but predominantly in the central nervous system, including the telencephalon, mesencephalon, and metencephalon. These results suggest that the TPRD gene is one of the genes responsible for not only the morphological anomalies but also the neurological abnormalities observed in Down syndrome. The presence of splicing variants indicates that the protein may also have several isoforms in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MSM/Ms is an inbred strain derived from the Japanese wild mouse, Mus musculus molossinus. It is believed that subspecies molossinus has contributed substantially to the genome constitution of common laboratory strains of mice, although the majority of their genome is derived from the west European M. m. domesticus. Information on the molossinus genome is thus essential not only for genetic studies involving molossinus but also for characterization of common laboratory strains. Here, we report the construction of an arrayed bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library from male MSM/Ms genomic DNA, covering ∼11x genome equivalent. Both ends of 176,256 BAC clone inserts were sequenced, and 62,988 BAC-end sequence (BES) pairs were mapped onto the C57BL/6J genome (NCBI mouse Build 30), covering 2,228,164 kbp or 89% of the total genome. Taking advantage of the BES map data, we established a computer-based clone screening system. Comparison of the MSM/Ms and C57BL/6J sequences revealed 489,200 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 51,137,941 bp sequenced. The overall nucleotide substitution rate was as high as 0.0096. The distribution of SNPs along the C57BL/6J genome was not uniform: The majority of the genome showed a high SNP rate, and only 5.2% of the genome showed an extremely low SNP rate (percentage identity = 0.9997); these sequences are likely derived from the rnolossinus genome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently released human genome sequences provide us with reference data to conduct comparative genomic research on primates, which will be important to understand what genetic information makes us human. Here we present a first-generation human-chimpanzee comparative genome map and its initial analysis. The map was constructed through paired alignment of 77,461 chimpanzee bacterial artificial chromosome end sequences with publicly available human genome sequences. We detected candidate positions, including two clusters on human chromosome 21 that suggest large, nonrandom regions of difference between the two genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]