Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Small RNA-Seq'

Methods to map small-molecule interactions with cellular RNAs are important for understanding endogenous activation, such as in riboswitches, as well as the potential for exogenous compounds to target RNA. Cisplatin is one of the most widely used of the platinum anticancer drugs that are prescribed in approximately 40-50% of all chemotherapy treatments (Dyson and Sava, 2006; Harper et al., 2010). Despite nearly 40 years of experience with this class of drugs, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the targets of Pt compounds and their effects on cells. Pt(II) compounds are well-known DNA and RNA crosslinking agents, but the latter area is under-studied. In order to better understand the impacts of cisplatin and other platinum(II)-derived small molecules on cellular RNA, we have developed a technique we call “Platinum-seq,” which couples reverse transcription mapping of platinated RNAs to high-throughput sequencing. Chapter 1 is a study of cisplatin and a novel click-functionalized platinum compound (2-ADAP Pt) binding to the HDV ribozyme, a small catalytic RNA. Chapter 2 moves our platinum mapping approaches from low-throughput, sequencing gel based methods into next-generation sequencing for high-throughput analysis of all platinum sites in cellular RNA, a method we have named “Platinum-seq.” Chapter 3 is a study of differential gene expression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae treated with cisplatin and a second novel platinum(II) compound (azaplatin), using data acquired from the work in Chapter 2. Chapter 4 describes recent efforts to implement pre-enrichment of sequencing targets using click chemistry followed by DNA hybridization, in order to enrich for platinated fragments before sequencing library construction. Together, this work represents a significant step forward in advancing analysis of Pt(II) binding to cellular RNA, a potentially important target for this widely used class of anticancer compounds. Methods developed here are broadly applicable to genome-wide identification of platinum accumulation on DNA as well, which has not been pursued despite the extensive use of these compounds.

Single cell RNA technology is a recent technical advancement used to understand the cancertumorgenicity at single cell resolution. In this study we have analyzed the scRNA data from thenon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) dataset to facilitate the early identification of NSCLCsubtypes namely, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC). Non-immunecells, have a major role in tumorigenesis of the malignant tumors, in early stages. Therefore,we have analyzed the major non-immune cells, namely endothelial cells and fibroblast cellsfrom the GSE127465 dataset using SEURAT pipeline. Dimensionality reduction analysis andcluster analysis indicate that AC and SCC subtypes of NSCLC have different fibroblastcompositions. Differential gene expression analysis indicates that AC tumours have shownelevated content of MGP/PTGDS and INMT/MFAP4 fibroblast cells, whereas squamous cellcarcinoma showed an elevated content of COL6A1/COL6A2 and FNDC1/COL12A1 fibroblastcells. The statistical analysis shows that the clustering is statistically significant and not anartefact. Given that the tumour microenvironment is highly dynamic, in this study we haveattempted to understand the tumour microenvironment by scRNA analysis of non-immune cellsat single cell resolution.

Les organismes bactériens sont en contact direct avec leur environnement et doivent donc constamment s’acclimater aux variations de celui-ci. Pour cela, plusieurs leviers de régulations peuvent être actionnés. Récemment, la régulation post-transcriptionnelle par les ARN régulateurs a été proposée comme un mécanisme de régulation rapide et peu coûteux pour la cellule. Chez le phytopathogène Dickeya dadantii, la régulation de la virulence a quasi exclusivement été étudiée au niveau transcriptionnel et l’implication des ARN régulateurs dans la virulence reste très peu connue. Pour cela, nous avons tout d’abord étudié le rôle des chaperons à ARN dans la pathogénie de D. dadantii et mis en évidence leur implication dans de nombreux facteurs de virulence comme la production d’enzyme de dégradation de la paroi végétale. Puis, nous avons développé une nouvelle méthode d’identification d’ARN à partir de données RNA-seq. Cette méthode a été développée pour tirer profit des séquençages réalisés en paired-end, permettant de séquencer les deux extrémités d’un transcrit. Son évaluation dans sa capacité à détecter de manière précise des ARN connus a montré une performance supérieure aux méthodes de détection existantes. Enfin, cette nouvelle méthode a été appliquée sur des données de séquençage de petits transcrits. Cette analyse nous a permis d’identifier plus d’un millier d’ARN régulateurs potentiels, dont plusieurs pourraient être impliqués dans la régulation de la virulence. Ces travaux ont donc permis de mettre en lumière l’existence d’une régulation post-transcriptionnelle chez D. dadantii et de proposer des pistes concernant les acteurs et mécanismes concernés
Bacterial organisms are directly exposed to environmental conditions and have to respond to environmental stress. To do so, several regulation network are known. Recently, post transcriptional regulation with small RNAs was suggested to be a fast and cheap in energy regulation mechanism. In the phytopathogen Dickeya dadantii, investigations on pathogenic process mostly focused on its control by transcriptional regulators. Knowledge of post-transcriptional regulation of the virulence factors is still in its infancy.To this end, we first studied the impact of RNA chaperones in the virulence of D. dadantii and showed that they were involved in the regulation of several virulence factors, like production of cell wall degrading enzyme. Then, we developed a new method to detect sRNAs from paired-end bacterial RNA-seq data. This method take paired end sequencing into account, which allow the sequencing of the both ends of each fragment. A comparative assessment showed that this method outperforms all the existing methods in terms of sRNA detection and boundary precision. Finally, this method was applied to sequencing data. With this analysis, more than one thousand sRNAs has been detected, with the identification of several candidates potentially involved in virulence.Thereby, this work highlight the existence of post-transcriptionnal regulation in D. dadantii and suggest candidates and mechanisms involved in this regulation

Generalment s'ha pensat que la regulació de l'splicing alternatiu està controlada principalment per la interacció entre els factors reguladors de l'splicing i la taxa d'elongació de la ARN polimerasa II (RNAPII). Hi ha un evidencia emergent de la complexitat de la regulació de l'splicing alternatiu, que ara també inclou l'activitat d'ARNs no codificants i l'estat de la cromatina. Diverses experiments han demostrat que modificacions en les histones poden regular la inclusió d'exons alternatius, i que la taxa d'elongació de la RNAPII pot estar influenciada pels diferents estats de la cromatina. Els ARNs petits (sRNAs) són una família d'ARNs no codificants associats amb membres de la família de proteïnes Argonauta i són efectors de la via de silenciació gènica. Alguns sRNAs participen en una via alternativa anomenada via de silenciació gènica transcripcional (TGS). Evidències experimentals ha mostrat que els sRNAs interferents que s'uneixen a introns poden promoure l'aparició de modificacions en les histones que alteren la taxa de elongació de la transcripció provocant canvis en l'splicing alternatiu. Aquesta via és coneguda com via de silenciació gènica transcripcional acoplada a splicing alternatiu (TGS-AS). Tenint aixó en compte, nosaltres vam proposar que la proteïna Argonauta 1 (AGO1), podria induir la formació d'heterocromatina i canviar l'splicing alternatiu alterant l'elongació de la RNAPII. Per tal de realitzar una análisi a escala genómica de la regulació de l'splicing alternatiu, hem utilitzat dades provinents de noves tècniques de seqüenciació a gran escala, com ChIP-Seq i RNA-Seq. Hem trobat que hi ha regulació d'splicing alternatiu depenent d'AGO1. Els nostres resultats suggereixen que ARNs interferents endógens podrien estar relacionats amb aquesta regulació. A més, a la part final de la tesi demostrem que hi ha un codi de cromatina que requereix AGO1 que regula l'splicing alternatiu i que és específic per diferents tipus cel·lulars. Adicionalment hem trobat que altres efectors, com CTCF i HP1 alpha, també sòn importants per explicar els canvis en l'splicing dels pre-ARNs. Conjunatment amb altres treballs, aquesta tesis demostra que la regulació de l'splicing alternatiu implica la funció de molts components nuclears i probablement de molts altres que encara han de ser descoberts.
The regulation of alternative splicing has been generally thought of being primarily controlled by the interaction of splicing factors with the RNA molecule and by the elongation rate of the RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). There is an emerging understanding of the complexity of how alternative splicing is regulated which now involves the activity of non-coding RNAs and the chromatin state. Different experiments have shown that histone modifications can regulate the inclusion of alternative exons and that the elongation rate of the RNAPII could be influenced by different chromatin states. In this sense, small RNAs (sRNAs), which are a family of non-coding RNAs associated with members of the Argonaute family of proteins, that are effectors of the silencing pathway, which can participate in an alternative pathway known as transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). Experimental evidence shows that siRNAs targeting introns can induce chromatin marks that affect the rate of transcriptional elongation, affecting the splicing of pre-mRNAs, which is called transcriptional gene silencing alternative splicing (TGS-AS) \citep{Allo2009}. Thus, we proposed that the Argonaute protein (AGO1) could trigger heterochromatin formation and affect splicing by affecting RNAPII elongation. In order to perform a genome-wide analysis of the regulation of alternative splicing we used new highthroughput sequencing technologies as ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq. We found that there is AGO1 dependent alternative splicing regulation, and our results suggest that endogenous sRNAs could be involved. Additionally, in the last part of the thesis we show a cell specific alternative splicing chromatin code, which also involves AGO1. Even though AGO1 regulation of alternative splicing was related to some specific cases, we found that other effectors, CTCF and HP1$\alpha$ were also important for the splicing changes decisions. This thesis and other recent reports show the regulation of alternative splicing as an integrated process,

Les Hydrocarbures Aromatiques Polycycliques (HAP) sont des polluants environnementaux majeurs présentant des effets toxiques sur la santé humaine. Parmi les types cellulaires ciblés par les HAP, se trouvent les cellules mononucléaires circulantes du sang (PBMC). La présente étude vise à 1) étudier l'effet du B[a]P, HAP de référence, sur le profil d'expression des microARN (miRNA)in vitro dans les PBMC, ainsi que dans les vésicules extracellulaires (EV) sécrétées par ces cellules, en utilisant une approche de small RNA-seq, 2) Confirmer la présence de miRNA vésiculaires in vivo dans le plasma de rats traités par le B[a]P, 3) analyser, par une approche bioinformatique, les cibles potentielles des miRNA cellulaires et vésiculaires et caractériser, leurs voies de signalisation et fonctions biologiques et 4) comprendre le rôle des EV et de leurs miRNA sur la fonction et le phénotype des cellules endothéliales adjacentes. Nos résultats ont identifié les miARN régulés par le B[a]P dans les PBMCs et l'ontologie a montré que leurs gènes cibles étaient principalement impliqués dans les processus de mort et survie cellulaires. Des études plus approfondies ont révélé l’importance du miR-132, régulé par le B[a]P de manière dose- et temps-dépendants et qui nécessite l’activation du récepteur aryl hydrocarbon (AhR). Nous avons aussi démontré que ce miR-132 était impliqué dans la mort cellulaire induite par le B[a]P, en modifiant la balance des cytochromes P-450 (CYP) de la famille 1, classiquement régulés par l’AhR. Nos résultats rapportent ensuite une augmentation de la libération d'EV à la fois in vitro à partir de PBMC exposées et in vivo dans le plasma de rats exposés au B[a]P et proposent un panel de miRNA vésiculaires régulés par l'exposition aux HAP. Enfin, l'analyse ontologique a révélé différents profils d'expression de miRNA entre les PBMC et leurs EV, en lien avec un adressage sélectif des miRNA à l'intérieur des EV. Cette dernière analyse nous a conduit à nous intéresser au rôle des EV issues des PBMC après exposition aux HAP sur les cellules endothéliales voisines. Nos premiers résultats montrent une internalisation de ces EV associée à une modification de l’expression des gènes endothéliaux impliqués dans l'inflammation, le stress oxydatif et la migration. Au total, ces études proposent les EV et les miRNA comme de nouveaux outils non seulement pour étudier les mécanismes de toxicité des HAP mais aussi pour identifier des marqueurs d’exposition à ces polluants environnementaux
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) are major environmental pollutants with toxic effects on human health. Among the cell types targeted by PAHs are circulating blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The present study aims to 1) investigate the effect of B[a]P, a reference PAH, on the expression profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) in vitro in PBMCs, as well as in extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by these cells, using a small RNA-seq approach, 2) confirm the presence of vesicular miRNAs in vivo in the plasma of B[a]P-treated rats, 3) to analyze, by a bioinformatics approach, the potential targets of cellular and vesicular miRNAs and characterize, their signaling pathways and biological functions and 4) to understand the role of EVs and their miRNAs on the function and phenotype of adjacent endothelial cells. Our results identified B[a]P regulated miRNAs in PBMCs and ontology showed that their target genes were mainly involved in cell death and survival processes. Further studies revealed the importance of miR-132, which is regulated by B[a]P in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and require activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We also demonstrated that this miR-132 was involved in B[a]P-induced cell death by altering the balance of family 1 cytochrome P-450 (CYP), classically regulated by AhR. Our results then report an increase in EV release both in vitro from exposed PBMCs and in vivo in plasma from B[a]P-exposed rats and propose a panel of vesicular miRNAs regulated by PAH exposure. Finally, the ontological analysis revealed different miRNA expression profiles between PBMCs and their EVs, related to selective miRNA addressing within EVs. This last analysis led us to investigate the role of EVs from PBMCs after exposure to PAHs on neighboring endothelial cells. Our first results show internalization of these EVs is associated with a modification of the expression of endothelial genes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, and migration. Altogether, these studies propose EVs and miRNAs as new tools not only to study the mechanisms of PAH toxicity but also to identify markers of exposure to these environmental pollutants

This thesis is about the use of massive DNA sequencing to investigate the transcriptome. During recent decades, several studies have made it clear that the transcriptome comprises a more complex set of biochemical machinery than was previously believed. The majority of the genome can be expressed as transcripts; and overlapping and antisense transcription is widespread. New technologies for the interroga- tion of nucleic acids have made it possible to investigate such cellular phenomena in much greater detail than ever before. For each application, special requirements need to be met. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the transcrip- tome and the development of technology for its analysis. In paper I, we report our development of an automated approach for sample preparation. The procedure was benchmarked against a publicly available reference data set, and we note that our approach outperformed similar manual procedures in terms of reproducibility. In the work reported in papers II-IV, we used different massive sequencing technologies to investigate the transcriptome. In paper II we describe a concatemerization approach that increased throughput by 65% using 454 sequencing,and we identify classes of transcripts not previously described in Populus. Papers III and IV both report studies based on SOLiD sequencing. In the former, we investigated transcripts and proteins for 13% of the human gene and detected a massive overlap for the upper 50% transcriptional levels. In the work described in paper IV, we investigated transcription in non-genic regions of the genome and detected expression from a high number of previ- ously unknown loci.
QC 20100723

Orientador: Ney Lemke
Resumo: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) são pequenas moléculas de RNA que regulam pós-transcricionalmente a expressão de genes, modelando o transcriptoma e a produção de proteínas. Em geral, os miRNAs são conservados no genoma de eucariotos, sendo considerados elementos vitais em diversos processos biológicos durante o desenvolvimento, tais como crescimento, diferenciação e morte celular. A grande diversidade de miRNAs identificados está restrita a poucas espécies e apenas uma parte do total de alvos de miRNAs preditos foi caracterizada funcionalmente. Nesse contexto, o uso da tecnologia de sequenciamento de alto rendimento (high throughput sequencing) atrelada à análise de nível transcricional por RT-qPCR possibilitam a identificação do microRNoma. A tilápia do Nilo, Oreochromis niloticus, é considerada um excelente modelo biológico para o estudo de miRNAs em vertebrados devido à sua importância econômica e evolutiva. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos: organizar os dados do sequenciamento dos miRNAs da tilapia do Nilo; disponibilizá-los em forma de uma base de dados para a comunidade científica; integrar as informações dos miRNAs identificados com outros bancos de dados de miRNAs; analisar os dados através de análises de bioinformática para determinação de agrupamentos definidos pelo nível de expressão de cada miRNA em seis tipos de tecido (músculo branco, músculo vermelho, testículo, ovário, fígado, olho, cérebro e coração) com distinção entre os gêneros e nas fases do desenvolvimento (2,... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Doutor

In Enterobacteriaceae, the transcriptional regulator AmpR, a member of the LysR family, regulates the expression of a chromosomal β-lactamase AmpC. The regulatory repertoire of AmpR is broader in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen responsible for numerous acute and chronic infections including cystic fibrosis. Previous studies showed that in addition to regulating ampC, P. aeruginosa AmpR regulates the sigma factor AlgT/U and production of some quorum sensing (QS)-regulated virulence factors. In order to better understand the ampR regulon, the transcriptional profiles generated using DNA microarrays and RNA-Seq of the prototypic P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain with its isogenic ampR deletion mutant, PAO∆ampR were analyzed. Transcriptome analysis demonstrates that the AmpR regulon is much more extensive than previously thought influencing the differential expression of over 500 genes. In addition to regulating resistance to β-lactam antibiotics via AmpC, AmpR also regulates non-β-lactam antibiotic resistance by modulating the MexEF-OprN efflux pump. Virulence mechanisms including biofilm formation, QS-regulated acute virulence, and diverse physiological processes such as oxidative stress response, heat-shock response and iron uptake are AmpR-regulated. Real-time PCR and phenotypic assays confirmed the transcriptome data. Further, Caenorhabditis elegans model demonstrates that a functional AmpR is required for full pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa. AmpR, a member of the core genome, also regulates genes in the regions of genome plasticity that are acquired by horizontal gene transfer. The extensive AmpR regulon included other transcriptional regulators and sigma factors, accounting for the extensive AmpR regulon. Gene expression studies demonstrate AmpR-dependent expression of the QS master regulator LasR that controls expression of many virulence factors. Using a chromosomally tagged AmpR, ChIP-Seq studies show direct AmpR binding to the lasR promoter. The data demonstrates that AmpR functions as a global regulator in P. aeruginosa and is a positive regulator of acute virulence while negatively regulating chronic infection phenotypes. In summary, my dissertation sheds light on the complex regulatory circuit in P. aeruginosa to provide a better understanding of the bacterial response to antibiotics and how the organism coordinately regulates a myriad of virulence factors.

Bacterial small RNAs are key mediators of post-transcriptional gene regulation. An increasing number of sRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of virulence programs of pathogenic bacteria. Recently, in the enteric pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium, the PinT sRNA has gained increased importance as it is the most upregulated sRNA as Salmonella infects mammalian host cells (Westermann et al., 2016). PinT acts as a temporal regulator of Salmonella‘s two major pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2 (Kim et al., 2019; Westermann et al., 2016). However, the complete set of PinT targets, its role in Salmonella infection and host response is not yet fully understood. Building on the MS2 affinity purification and RNA- seq (MAPS) method (Lalaouna et al., 2015), we here set out to globally identify direct RNA ligands of PinT, relevant to Salmonella infection. We transferred the classical MAPS technique, based on sRNA-bait overexpression, to more physiological conditions, using endogenous levels of the sRNA. Making the henceforth identified targets, less likely to represent artefacts of the overexpression. More importantly, we progressed the MAPS technique to in vivo settings and by doing so, we were able pull-down bacterial RNA transcripts bound by PinT during macrophage infection. While we validate previously known PinT targets, our integrated data revealed novel virulence relevant target. These included mRNAs for the SPI-2 effector SteC, the PhoQ activator UgtL and the 30S ribosomal protein S22 RpsV. Next, we follow up on SteC, the best characterized virulence relevant PinT target. Using genetic and biochemical assays, we demonstrate that PinT represses steC mRNA by direct base-pairing and translational interference. PinT-mediated regulation of SteC leads to alterations in the host response to Salmonella infection. This regulation impacts the cytokine response of infected macrophages, by altering IL10 production, and possibly driving the macrophages to an anti-inflammatory state, more permise to infection. SteC is responsible for F-actin meshwork rearrangements around the SCV (Poh et al., 2008). Here we demonstrate that PinT-mediated regulation of SteC, impacts the formation of this actin meshwork in infected cells. Our results demonstrate that SteC expression is very tightly regulated by PinT in two layers; indirectly, by repressing ssrB and crp; and directly by binding to steC 5’UTR. PinT contributes to post-transcriptional cross-talk between invasion and intracellular replication programs of Salmonella, by controlling the expression of both SPI-1 and SPI-2 genes (directly and indirectly). Together, our collective data makes PinT the first sRNA in Gram-negatives with a pervasive role in virulence, at the center of Salmonella virulence programs and provide molecular input that could help explain the attenuation of pinT-deficient Salmonella strains in whole animal models of infection
Kleine RNAs sind zentrale Stellschrauben der posttranskriptionellen Genregulation in Bakterien. Eine zunehmende Anzahl von sRNAs ist an der Regulation von Virulenzprogrammen pathogener Bakterien beteiligt. In jüngster Zeit hat beim enterischen Erreger Salmonella Typhimurium die PinT-sRNA an Bedeutung gewonnen, da sie die am stärksten hochregulierte sRNA während der Infektion von Säugetierwirtszellen ist (Westermann et al., 2016). PinT fungiert als zeitlicher Regulator der beiden wichtigsten Pathogenitätsinseln von Salmonella, SPI-1 und SPI-2 (Kim et al., 2019a; Westermann et al., 2016). Die vollständige Liste der Targets von PinT und die Rolle von PinT bei der Salmonella-Infektion sowie der Wirstantwort sind jedoch noch nicht vollständig aufgeklärt. Mit Hilfe der MS2 affinity purification and RNA-seq (MAPS)-Methode (Lalaouna et al., 2015) möchten wir hier direkte RNA-Liganden von PinT identifizieren, die für die Salmonella-Infektion relevant sind. Wir übertragen die klassische MAPS-Technik, die auf der Überexpression von sRNA-Baits basiert, auf physiologischere Bedingungen unter Verwendung endogener Mengen der sRNA. Dadurch wird die Wahrschienlichkeit, dass die identifizierten Targets Artefakte sind, verringert. Darüber hinaus sind wir in der Lage, die MAPS-Technik unter in vivo-Bedingungen durchzuführen. Auf diese Weise konnten wie bakterielle Transkripte, die während einer Makrophageninfektion an PinT gebunden wurden, isolieren. Während wir bereits bekannte PinT-Ziele validieren, identifizieren unsere integrierten Daten ein neues Target, das für Virulenz relevant ist. Dazu gehörten mRNAs für den SPI-2-Effektor SteC, den PhoQ-Aktivator UgtL und das ribosomale 30S-Protein S22 RpsV. Zunächst untersuchen wir SteC, das am besten charakterisierte virulenzrelevante PinT-Ziel. Anhand genetischer und biochemischer Assays zeigen wir, dass PinT die steC-mRNA durch direkte Basenpaarung und Translationsrepression reguliert. Die PinT-vermittelte Regulation von SteC führt zu einer veränderten Wirtsreaktion auf eine Salmonella-Infektion. Diese Regulation beeinflusst die Zytokinreaktion infizierter Makrophagen, indem sie die IL10-Produktion verändert und die Makrophagen möglicherweise in einen entzündungshemmenden Zustand versetzt, der sie anfälliger für eine Infektion macht. SteC ist verantwortlich für die Umlagerung von F-Actin-Netzen um die SCV (Poh et al., 2008). Hier zeigen wir, dass die PinT-vermittelte Regulation von SteC die Bildung dieses Aktin-Netzwerks in infizierten Zellen beeinflusst. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Regulation der SteC-Expression durch PinT auf zwei Ebenden stattfindet: indirekt durch Unterdrückung von ssrB und crp; und direkt durch Bindung an steC 5’UTR. PinT trägt zum posttranskriptionellen Crosstalk zwischen Invasions- und intrazellulären Replikationsprogrammen von Salmonella bei, indem die Expression von SPI-1- und SPI-2-Genen (direkt und indirekt) gesteuert wird. Insgesamt macht unterstreichen unsere Daten die zentrale Rolle von PinT in Virulenzprogrammen von Salmonella. PinT ist die erste sRNA in Gram-Negativen mit einer derart durchdringenden Rolle bei der Virulenz. Zudem liefern unsere Ergebnisse Einblick auf molekularer Ebene, die die Attenuation von PinT-defizienten Salmonella-Stämmen in Tiermodellen erklären könnte

In order to understand the regulation of gene expression in organisms, precise genome annotation is essential. In recent years, RNA-Seq has become a potent method for generating and improving genome annotations. However, this Approach is time consuming and often inconsistently performed when done manually. In particular, the discovery of non-coding RNAs benefits strongly from the application of RNA-Seq data but requires significant amounts of expert knowledge and is labor-intensive. As a part of my doctoral study, I developed a modular tool called ANNOgesic that can detect numerous transcribed genomic features, including non-coding RNAs, based on RNA-Seq data in a precise and automatic fashion with a focus on bacterial and achaeal species. The software performs numerous analyses and generates several visualizations. It can generate annotations of high-Resolution that are hard to produce using traditional annotation tools that are based only on genome sequences. ANNOgesic can detect numerous novel genomic Features like UTR-derived small non-coding RNAs for which no other tool has been developed before. ANNOgesic is available under an open source license (ISCL) at https://github.com/Sung-Huan/ANNOgesic. My doctoral work not only includes the development of ANNOgesic but also its application to annotate the transcriptome of Staphylococcus aureus HG003 - a strain which has been a insightful model in infection biology. Despite its potential as a model, a complete genome sequence and annotations have been lacking for HG003. In order to fill this gap, the annotations of this strain, including sRNAs and their functions, were generated using ANNOgesic by analyzing differential RNA-Seq data from 14 different samples (two media conditions with seven time points), as well as RNA-Seq data generated after transcript fragmentation. ANNOgesic was also applied to annotate several bacterial and archaeal genomes, and as part of this its high performance was demonstrated. In summary, ANNOgesic is a powerful computational tool for RNA-Seq based annotations and has been successfully applied to several species
Exakte Genomannotationen sind essentiell für das Verständnis Genexpressionsregulation in verschiedenen Organismen. In den letzten Jahren entwickelte sich RNA-Seq zu einer äußerst wirksamen Methode, um solche Genomannotationen zu erstellen und zu verbessern. Allerdings ist das Erstellen von Genomannotationen bei manueller Durchführung noch immer ein zeitaufwändiger und inkonsistenter Prozess. Die Verwendung von RNA-Seq-Daten begünstigt besonders die Identifizierung von nichtkodierenden RNAs, was allerdings arbeitsintensiv ist und fundiertes Expertenwissen erfordert. Ein Teil meiner Promotion bestand aus der Entwicklung eines modularen Tools namens ANNOgesic, das basierend auf RNA-Seq-Daten in der Lage ist, eine Vielzahl von Genombestandteilen, einschließlich nicht-kodierender RNAs, automatisch und präzise zu ermitteln. Das Hauptaugenmerk lag dabei auf der Anwendbarkeit für bakterielle und archaeale Genome. Die Software führt eine Vielzahl von Analysen durch und stellt die verschiedenen Ergebnisse grafisch dar. Sie generiert hochpräzise Annotationen, die nicht unter Verwendung herkömmlicher Annotations-Tools auf Basis von Genomsequenzen erzeugt werden könnten. Es kann eine Vielzahl neuer Genombestandteile, wie kleine nicht-kodierende RNAs in UTRs, ermitteln, welche von bisherigen Programme nicht vorhergesagt werden können. ANNOgesic ist unter einer Open-Source-Lizenz (ISCL) auf https://github.com/Sung-Huan/ANNOgesic verfügbar. Meine Forschungsarbeit beinhaltet nicht nur die Entwicklung von ANNOgesic, sondern auch dessen Anwendung um das Transkriptom des Staphylococcus aureus-Stamms HG003 zu annotieren. Dieser ist einem Derivat von S. aureus NCTC8325 - ein Stamm, Dear ein bedeutendes Modell in der Infektionsbiologie darstellt. Zum Beispiel wurde er für die Untersuchung von Antibiotikaresistenzen genutzt, da er anfällig für alle bekannten Antibiotika ist. Der Elternstamm NCTC8325 besitzt zwei Mutationen im regulatorischen Genen (rsbU und tcaR), die Veränderungen der Virulenz zur Folge haben und die in Stamm HG003 auf die Wildtypsequenz zurückmutiert wurden. Dadurch besitzt S. aureus HG003 das vollständige, ursprüngliche Regulationsnetzwerk und stellt deshalb ein besseres Modell zur Untersuchung von sowohl Virulenz als auch Antibiotikaresistenz dar. Trotz seines Modellcharakters fehlten für HG003 bisher eine vollständige Genomsequenz und deren Annotationen. Um diese Lücke zu schließen habe ich als Teil meiner Promotion mit Hilfe von ANNOgesic Annotationen für diesen Stamm, einschließlich sRNAs und ihrer Funktionen, generiert. Dafür habe ich Differential RNA-Seq-Daten von 14 verschiedenen Proben (zwei Mediumsbedingungen mit sieben Zeitpunkten) sowie RNA-Seq-Daten, die von fragmentierten Transkripten generiert wurden, analysiert. Neben S. aureus HG003 wurde ANNOgesic auf eine Vielzahl von Bakterien- und Archaeengenome angewendet und dabei wurde eine hohe Performanz demonstriert. Zusammenfassend kann gesagt werden, dass ANNOgesic ein mächtiges bioinformatisches Werkzeug für die RNA-Seq-basierte Annotationen ist und für verschiedene Spezies erfolgreich angewandt wurde

Tese de mestrado em Bioinformática e Biologia Computacional, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, em 2017
A sequenciação de nova geração tornou-se, nos últimos anos, a tecnologia de eleição para o estudo do transcriptoma. Esta metodologia permite a sequenciação de pequenos RNAs não codificantes (small-RNA-seq) a serem expressos numa amostra, tendo contribuído para o aumento, a um ritmo nunca antes visto, da descrição de novos microRNAs (miRNAs) nos genomas de várias espécies. Principalmente, permite caracterizar a complexidade existente numa amostra de RNA, o que acabou por revelar a existência de pequenas variações no que toca ao comprimento e/ou à sequência de miRNAs quando comparados ao respectivo miRNA canónico. Os miRNAs que apresentam estas variações são denominados de isomiRs, sendo que as variações podem incluir a adição ou remoção de um ou mais nucleótidos nas extremidades da sequência ou podem resultar de eventos de editing no interior da sequência. Os miRNAs são conhecidos por actuarem como reguladores de expressão génica em várias espécies, sendo considerados essenciais para manter um bom funcionamento de inúmeras vias biológicas. No entanto, estudos recentes sugerem que as variações na sequência dos isomiRs têm como consequência uma alteração nos alvos destes (miRNAs), resultando em alterações ao nível da programação genética da célula. Apesar de vários estudos apontarem para este cenário, o impacto biológico dos isomiRs ainda não é extensivamente conhecido. Várias ferramentas têm sido desenvolvidas para a análise de dados de small-RNA-seq com o intuito de identificar isomiRs, no entanto, a maioria das ferramentas, não permite identificar todos os tipos possíveis de isomiRs. Adicionalmente, muitas das ferramentas disponibilizadas não realizam de um modo automatizado a inferência sobre o impacto da expressão destes isomiRs ao nível funcional, ou seja, estudar o impacto destas sequências ao nível dos pathways e de redes de regulação génica da célula. Por este motivo, o presente projecto teve como finalidade o desenvolvimento de um pipeline que integra a ferramenta IsomiR Window. A ferramenta em questão permite obter a anotação, quantificação e análise funcional de miRNAs/isomiRs provenientes de dados de small-RNA-seq. O pipeline desenvolvido tem a capacidade de receber múltiplos ficheiros de input para um total de duas condições experimentais, permitindo a identificação e quantificação dos diferentes tipos de pequenos RNAs não codificantes presentes em cada dataset. Posteriormente, é capaz de detectar e categorizar todos os tipos de isomiRs: modificações nas extremidades 3’ e 5’ relativamente ao miRNA canónico, eventos de editing internos, adição de tailings na extremidade 3’ relativamente ao miRNA canónico e possíveis combinações entre os diferentes tipos de isomiRs. Adicionalmente, o pipeline inclui uma etapa de análise de expressão diferencial e análise funcional, fornecendo informação relacionada com os targets de isomiRs específicos e com o seu impacto funcional em diversas vias biológicas. O pipeline integra ainda a funcionalidade de previsão de novos miRNAs. Finalmente, embora não de forma automatizada, é possível adicionar os novos miRNAs previstos à correspondente base de dados das espécies em estudo, permitindo, numa análise subsequente, a identificação de isomiRs derivados de potenciais novos pre-miRNAs. De modo a validar o pipeline desenvolvido, analisaram-se seis datasets que incluíram amostras de indivíduos saudáveis e amostras de indivíduos infectados com hepatite B. Esta análise incluiu a identificação, quantificação, análise de expressão diferencial e por fim, a previsão de alvos para os isomiRs de interesse. Como resultado, identificámos alterações significativas na expressão de alguns isomiRs que não tinham sido anteriormente reportados. Adicionalmente, a análise funcional permitiu identificar genes, que de acordo com a literatura, não têm sido associados a lesões no fígado.
Since the development of deep sequencing for small non-coding RNAs (small-RNA-seq), several novel microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified, which led to the observation that miRNAs can vary in length and/or sequence when comparing to their canonical form. These variants, named isomiRs, appear due to an addition or deletion of one or more nucleotides at the 5' or 3' ends or both. Additionally they can also result from internal editings in their sequence. Nowadays, it is already well-established that microRNAs play an important role as regulators of gene expression across multiple species, being critical for maintaining normal physiology and considered candidate biomarkers, regulators, and therapeutic targets for a wide spectrum of diseases. However, numerous recent studies suggest that isomiRs might regulate the expression of different targets in comparison to their respective canonical. Reports indicating differential functionality for isomiRs are still limited to particular variants, and although isomiRs are common, their biological impact is not yet fully understood. The growing number of available tools to perform small-RNA-seq data analyses shows that the interest in obtaining accurate miRNA annotation and quantification is rapidly increasing. However, several tools fail to provide an accurate identification of all forms of isomiRs and to allow a comprehensive analysis of their function. Here we present the development of the analysis pipeline embedded within the IsomiR Window tool, a bioinformatics tool for accurate annotation, quantification and functional analysis of microRNAs and their isoforms (isomiRs) from small-RNA-sequencing data. The developed pipeline enables the simultaneous processing of multiple data files for two experimental conditions, identifying all types of small non-coding RNAs present in each dataset. It further detects and categorizes all types of isomiRs, such as 5′ and 3′ miRNA modifications, internal editings and 3’ tailings. In addition, the pipeline includes a functional analysis module, providing information related to the targets of selected isomiRs and their functional impact in the cell genetic program in comparison with its canonical form. Additionally, the pipeline offers the possibility to perform novel miRNA prediction, and to add the novel predicted miRNAs to the database file of the species in question, in order to allow the identification of isomiRs derived from these predicted miRNAs, in a subsequent analysis. We applied this pipeline to analyze simultaneously six small-RNA-seq datasets from either healthy individuals or individuals with hepatitis B. The investigation led to the rapid and accurate identification, quantification and differential expression of several miRNAs and isomiRs. Our analysis allowed to identify significant changes at isomiR level, which were not previously investigated, as well as to identify genes that have not been previously associated with liver damage.