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Jane Rogers

Publications and source records attributed to Jane Rogers.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Complex haplotypes, copy number polymorphisms and coding variation in two recently divergent mouse strains.

Inbred mouse strains provide the foundation for mouse genetics. By selecting for phenotypic features of interest, inbreeding drives genomic evolution and eliminates individual variation, while fixing certain sets of alleles that are responsible for the trait characteristics of the strain. Mouse strains 129Sv (129S5) and C57BL/6J, two of the most widely used inbred lines, diverged from common ancestors within the last century, yet very little is known about the genomic differences between them. By comparative genomic hybridization and sequence analysis of 129S5 short insert libraries, we identified substantial structural variation, a complex fine-scale haplotype pattern with a continuous distribution of diversity blocks, and extensive nucleotide variation, including nonsynonymous coding SNPs and stop codons. Collectively, these genomic changes denote the level and direction of allele fixation that has occurred during inbreeding and provide a basis for defining what makes these mouse strains unique.

Animals↗

Natural genetic variants influencing type 1 diabetes in humans and in the NOD mouse.

The understanding of the genetic basis of type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases and the application of that knowledge to their treatment, cure and eventual prevention has been a difficult goal to reach. Cumulative progress in both mouse and human are finally giving way to some successes and significant insights have been made in the last few years. Investigators have identified key immune tolerance-associated phenotypes in convincingly reliable ways that are regulated by specific diabetes-associated chromosomal intervals. The combination of positional genetics and functional studies is a powerful approach to the identification of downstream molecular events that are causal in disease aetiology. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the availability of several animal models, especially the NOD mouse, has complemented the efforts to localize human genes causing diabetes and has shown that some of the same genes and pathways are associated with autoimmunity in both species. There is also growing evidence that the initiation or progression of many autoimmune diseases is likely to be influenced by some of the same genes.

Animals↗

Transcriptome analysis for the chicken based on 19,626 finished cDNA sequences and 485,337 expressed sequence tags.

We present an analysis of the chicken (Gallus gallus) transcriptome based on the full insert sequences for 19,626 cDNAs, combined with 485,337 EST sequences. The cDNA data set has been functionally annotated and describes a minimum of 11,929 chicken coding genes, including the sequence for 2260 full-length cDNAs together with a collection of noncoding (nc) cDNAs that have been stringently filtered to remove untranslated regions of coding mRNAs. The combined collection of cDNAs and ESTs describe 62,546 clustered transcripts and provide transcriptional evidence for a total of 18,989 chicken genes, including 88% of the annotated Ensembl gene set. Analysis of the ncRNAs reveals a set that is highly conserved in chickens and mammals, including sequences for 14 pri-miRNAs encoding 23 different miRNAs. The data sets described here provide a transcriptome toolkit linked to physical clones for bioinformaticians and experimental biologists who wish to use chicken systems as a low-cost, accessible alternative to mammals for the analysis of vertebrate development, immunology, and cell biology.

Animals↗

Coping with cold: An integrative, multitissue analysis of the transcriptome of a poikilothermic vertebrate.

How do organisms respond adaptively to environmental stress? Although some gene-specific responses have been explored, others remain to be identified, and there is a very poor understanding of the system-wide integration of response, particularly in complex, multitissue animals. Here, we adopt a transcript screening approach to explore the mechanisms underpinning a major, whole-body phenotypic transition in a vertebrate animal that naturally experiences extreme environmental stress. Carp were exposed to increasing levels of cold, and responses across seven tissues were assessed by using a microarray composed of 13,440 cDNA probes. A large set of unique cDNAs (approximately 3,400) were affected by cold. These cDNAs included an expression signature common to all tissues of 252 up-regulated genes involved in RNA processing, translation initiation, mitochondrial metabolism, proteasomal function, and modification of higher-order structures of lipid membranes and chromosomes. Also identified were large numbers of transcripts with highly tissue-specific patterns of regulation. By unbiased profiling of gene ontologies, we have identified the distinctive functional features of each tissue's response and integrate them into a comprehensive view of the whole-body transition from one strongly adaptive phenotype to another. This approach revealed an expression signature suggestive of atrophy in cooled skeletal muscle. This environmental genomics approach by using a well studied but nongenomic species has identified a range of candidate genes endowing thermotolerance and reveals a previously unrecognized scale and complexity of responses that impacts at the level of cellular and tissue function.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Organization and evolution of a gene-rich region of the mouse genome: a 12.7-Mb region deleted in the Del(13)Svea36H mouse.

Del(13)Svea36H (Del36H) is a deletion of approximately 20% of mouse chromosome 13 showing conserved synteny with human chromosome 6p22.1-6p22.3/6p25. The human region is lost in some deletion syndromes and is the site of several disease loci. Heterozygous Del36H mice show numerous phenotypes and may model aspects of human genetic disease. We describe 12.7 Mb of finished, annotated sequence from Del36H. Del36H has a higher gene density than the draft mouse genome, reflecting high local densities of three gene families (vomeronasal receptors, serpins, and prolactins) which are greatly expanded relative to human. Transposable elements are concentrated near these gene families. We therefore suggest that their neighborhoods are gene factories, regions of frequent recombination in which gene duplication is more frequent. The gene families show different proportions of pseudogenes, likely reflecting different strengths of purifying selection and/or gene conversion. They are also associated with relatively low simple sequence concentrations, which vary across the region with a periodicity of approximately 5 Mb. Del36H contains numerous evolutionarily conserved regions (ECRs). Many lie in noncoding regions, are detectable in species as distant as Ciona intestinalis, and therefore are candidate regulatory sequences. This analysis will facilitate functional genomic analysis of Del36H and provides insights into mouse genome evolution.

Animals↗

Mutagenic insertion and chromosome engineering resource (MICER).

Embryonic stem cell technology revolutionized biology by providing a means to assess mammalian gene function in vivo. Although it is now routine to generate mice from embryonic stem cells, one of the principal methods used to create mutations, gene targeting, is a cumbersome process. Here we describe the indexing of 93,960 ready-made insertional targeting vectors from two libraries. 5,925 of these vectors can be used directly to inactivate genes with an average targeting efficiency of 28%. Combinations of vectors from the two libraries can be used to disrupt both alleles of a gene or engineer larger genomic changes such as deletions, duplications, translocations or inversions. These indexed vectors constitute a public resource (Mutagenic Insertion and Chromosome Engineering Resource; MICER) for high-throughput, targeted manipulation of the mouse genome.

Animals↗

Fine mapping, gene content, comparative sequencing, and expression analyses support Ctla4 and Nramp1 as candidates for Idd5.1 and Idd5.2 in the nonobese diabetic mouse.

At least two loci that determine susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in the NOD mouse have been mapped to chromosome 1, Idd5.1 (insulin-dependent diabetes 5.1) and Idd5.2. In this study, using a series of novel NOD.B10 congenic strains, Idd5.1 has been defined to a 2.1-Mb region containing only four genes, Ctla4, Icos, Als2cr19, and Nrp2 (neuropilin-2), thereby excluding a major candidate gene, Cd28. Genomic sequence comparison of the two functional candidate genes, Ctla4 and Icos, from the B6 (resistant at Idd5.1) and the NOD (susceptible at Idd5.1) strains revealed 62 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), only two of which were in coding regions. One of these coding SNPs, base 77 of Ctla4 exon 2, is a synonymous SNP and has been correlated previously with type 1 diabetes susceptibility and differential expression of a CTLA-4 isoform. Additional expression studies in this work support the hypothesis that this SNP in exon 2 is the genetic variation causing the biological effects of Idd5.1. Analysis of additional congenic strains has also localized Idd5.2 to a small region (1.52 Mb) of chromosome 1, but in contrast to the Idd5.1 interval, Idd5.2 contains at least 45 genes. Notably, the Idd5.2 region still includes the functionally polymorphic Nramp1 gene. Future experiments to test the identity of Idd5.1 and Idd5.2 as Ctla4 and Nramp1, respectively, can now be justified using approaches to specifically alter or mimic the candidate causative SNPs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Complete MHC haplotype sequencing for common disease gene mapping.

The future systematic mapping of variants that confer susceptibility to common diseases requires the construction of a fully informative polymorphism map. Ideally, every base pair of the genome would be sequenced in many individuals. Here, we report 4.75 Mb of contiguous sequence for each of two common haplotypes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), to which susceptibility to >100 diseases has been mapped. The autoimmune disease-associated-haplotypes HLA-A3-B7-Cw7-DR15 and HLA-A1-B8-Cw7-DR3 were sequenced in their entirety through a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) cloning strategy using the consanguineous cell lines PGF and COX, respectively. The two sequences were annotated to encompass all described splice variants of expressed genes. We defined the complete variation content of the two haplotypes, revealing >18,000 variations between them. Average SNP densities ranged from less than one SNP per kilobase to >60. Acquisition of complete and accurate sequence data over polymorphic regions such as the MHC from large-insert cloned DNA provides a definitive resource for the construction of informative genetic maps, and avoids the limitation of chromosome regions that are refractory to PCR amplification.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

Analysis of multiple genomic sequence alignments: a web resource, online tools, and lessons learned from analysis of mammalian SCL loci.

Comparative analysis of genomic sequences is becoming a standard technique for studying gene regulation. However, only a limited number of tools are currently available for the analysis of multiple genomic sequences. An extensive data set for the testing and training of such tools is provided by the SCL gene locus. Here we have expanded the data set to eight vertebrate species by sequencing the dog SCL locus and by annotating the dog and rat SCL loci. To provide a resource for the bioinformatics community, all SCL sequences and functional annotations, comprising a collation of the extensive experimental evidence pertaining to SCL regulation, have been made available via a Web server. A Web interface to new tools specifically designed for the display and analysis of multiple sequence alignments was also implemented. The unique SCL data set and new sequence comparison tools allowed us to perform a rigorous examination of the true benefits of multiple sequence comparisons. We demonstrate that multiple sequence alignments are, overall, superior to pairwise alignments for identification of mammalian regulatory regions. In the search for individual transcription factor binding sites, multiple alignments markedly increase the signal-to-noise ratio compared to pairwise alignments.

Animals↗

The genome sequence of Caenorhabditis briggsae: a platform for comparative genomics.

The soil nematodes Caenorhabditis briggsae and Caenorhabditis elegans diverged from a common ancestor roughly 100 million years ago and yet are almost indistinguishable by eye. They have the same chromosome number and genome sizes, and they occupy the same ecological niche. To explore the basis for this striking conservation of structure and function, we have sequenced the C. briggsae genome to a high-quality draft stage and compared it to the finished C. elegans sequence. We predict approximately 19,500 protein-coding genes in the C. briggsae genome, roughly the same as in C. elegans. Of these, 12,200 have clear C. elegans orthologs, a further 6,500 have one or more clearly detectable C. elegans homologs, and approximately 800 C. briggsae genes have no detectable matches in C. elegans. Almost all of the noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) known are shared between the two species. The two genomes exhibit extensive colinearity, and the rate of divergence appears to be higher in the chromosomal arms than in the centers. Operons, a distinctive feature of C. elegans, are highly conserved in C. briggsae, with the arrangement of genes being preserved in 96% of cases. The difference in size between the C. briggsae (estimated at approximately 104 Mbp) and C. elegans (100.3 Mbp) genomes is almost entirely due to repetitive sequence, which accounts for 22.4% of the C. briggsae genome in contrast to 16.5% of the C. elegans genome. Few, if any, repeat families are shared, suggesting that most were acquired after the two species diverged or are undergoing rapid evolution. Coclustering the C. elegans and C. briggsae proteins reveals 2,169 protein families of two or more members. Most of these are shared between the two species, but some appear to be expanding or contracting, and there seem to be as many as several hundred novel C. briggsae gene families. The C. briggsae draft sequence will greatly improve the annotation of the C. elegans genome. Based on similarity to C. briggsae, we found strong evidence for 1,300 new C. elegans genes. In addition, comparisons of the two genomes will help to understand the evolutionary forces that mold nematode genomes.

Animals↗

Co-duplication of olfactory receptor and MHC class I genes in the mouse major histocompatibility complex.

We report the 897 kb sequence of a cluster of olfactory receptor (OR) genes located at the distal end of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I region on mouse chromosome 17 of strain 129/SvJ (H2bc). With additional information from the mouse genome draft sequence, we identified 59 OR loci (approximately 20% pseudogenes) in contrast to only 25 OR loci (approximately 50% pseudogenes) in the corresponding centromeric OR cluster that is part of the 'extended MHC class I region' on human chromosome 6. Comparative analysis leads to three major observations: (i) most of the OR subfamilies have evolved independently in the two species, expanding more in the mouse, and resulting in co-orthologs--subfamilies of highly similar paralogs that keep orthologous relationships with their human counterparts; (ii) three of the mouse OR subfamilies have no orthologs in humans; and (iii) MHC class I loci are interspersed in the OR cluster in mouse but not in human, and were subjected to co-duplication with OR genes. Screening of our sequence against the available sequences of other strains/haplotypes revealed that most of the OR loci are polymorphic and that the number of OR loci may vary among strains/haplotypes. Our findings that MHC-linked OR loci share duplication with MHC class I loci, have duplicated extensively and are polymorphic revives questions about potential reciprocal influences acting on the dynamics and evolution of the H2 region and the H2-linked OR loci.

Alleles↗

Association of the T-cell regulatory gene CTLA4 with susceptibility to autoimmune disease.

Genes and mechanisms involved in common complex diseases, such as the autoimmune disorders that affect approximately 5% of the population, remain obscure. Here we identify polymorphisms of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 gene (CTLA4)--which encodes a vital negative regulatory molecule of the immune system--as candidates for primary determinants of risk of the common autoimmune disorders Graves' disease, autoimmune hypothyroidism and type 1 diabetes. In humans, disease susceptibility was mapped to a non-coding 6.1 kb 3' region of CTLA4, the common allelic variation of which was correlated with lower messenger RNA levels of the soluble alternative splice form of CTLA4. In the mouse model of type 1 diabetes, susceptibility was also associated with variation in CTLA-4 gene splicing with reduced production of a splice form encoding a molecule lacking the CD80/CD86 ligand-binding domain. Genetic mapping of variants conferring a small disease risk can identify pathways in complex disorders, as exemplified by our discovery of inherited, quantitative alterations of CTLA4 contributing to autoimmune tissue destruction.

Abatacept↗

Comparative and functional analyses of LYL1 loci establish marsupial sequences as a model for phylogenetic footprinting.

Comparative genomic sequence analysis is a powerful technique for identifying regulatory regions in genomic DNA. However, its utility largely depends on the evolutionary distances between the species involved. Here we describe the screening of a genomic BAC library from the stripe-faced dunnart, Sminthopsis macroura, formerly known as the narrow-footed marsupial mouse. We isolated a clone containing the LYL1 locus, completely sequenced the 60.6-kb insert, and compared it with orthologous human and mouse sequences. Noncoding homology was substantially reduced in the human/dunnart analysis compared with human/mouse, yet we could readily identify all promoters and exons. Human/mouse/dunnart alignments of the LYL1 candidate promoter allowed us to identify putative transcription factor binding sites, revealing a pattern highly reminiscent of critical regulatory regions of the LYL1 paralogue, SCL. This newly identified LYL1 promoter showed strong activity in myeloid progenitor cells and was bound in vivo by Fli1, Elf1, and Gata2-transcription factors all previously shown to bind to the SCL stem cell enhancer. This study represents the first large-scale comparative analysis involving marsupial genomic sequence and demonstrates that such comparisons provide a powerful approach to characterizing mammalian regulatory elements.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Validation of a new measure of concept of a good death.

BACKGROUND: The concept of a good death is central to end-of-life care research. Despite its importance and the high interest in the topic, there are few measures currently available for use in clinical research. PURPOSE: The present work describes the development and testing of a set of items intended to measure the importance of several components posited to be critical to the concept of a good death. It is intended for use with health care providers and lay people in the context of end-of-life care research and education. POPULATION: Four cohorts (n = 596) were recruited to participate, representing two helping profession disciplines, nonhelping professionals, and a range of ages, specifically: (1) undergraduate medical students; (2) master's degree students in nursing; (3) graduate students from the life sciences; and (4) practicing hospice nurses. METHODS: Participants completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and retest. Psychometric analyses included item frequency distributions, factor analysis, alpha reliability, intraclass correlation, and measures of association. RESULTS: The new Concept of a Good Death measure demonstrated good item frequency distributions, acceptable internal consistency reliability, and test-retest stability. Its factor structure revealed that three distinct domains are measured, reflecting the psychosocial/spiritual, physical, and clinical aspects of a good death. An examination of patterns of correlations showed differential associations with death anxiety, spiritual beliefs and practices, anxious mood, and sociodemographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The new Concept of a Good Death instrument appears to measure three distinct factors which people consider important to a Good Death. Ratings of the importance of these factors are reliable and valid. The instrument has the advantage of being a brief, self-report index for use in end-of-life care research.

Adult↗

Genomic sequence and transcriptional profile of the boundary between pericentromeric satellites and genes on human chromosome arm 10p.

Contiguous finished sequence from highly duplicated pericentromeric regions of human chromosomes is needed if we are to understand the role of pericentromeric instability in disease, and in gene and karyotype evolution. Here, we have constructed a BAC contig spanning the transition from pericentromeric satellites to genes on the short arm of human chromosome 10, and used this to generate 1.4 Mb of finished genomic sequence. Combining RT-PCR, in silico gene prediction, and paralogy analysis, we can identify two domains within the sequence. The proximal 600 kb consists of satellite-rich pericentromerically duplicated DNA which is transcript poor, containing only three unspliced transcripts. In contrast, the distal 850 kb contains four known genes (ZNF248, ZNF25, ZNF33A, and ZNF37A) and up to 32 additional transcripts of unknown function. This distal region also contains seven out of the eight intrachromosomal duplications within the sequence, including the p arm copy of the approximately 250-kb duplication which gave rise to ZNF33A and ZNF33B. By sequencing orthologs of the duplicated ZNF33 genes we have established that ZNF33A has diverged significantly at residues critical for DNA binding but ZNF33B has not, indicating that ZNF33B has remained constrained by selection for ancestral gene function. These results provide further evidence of gene formation within intrachromosomal duplications, but indicate that recent interchromosomal duplications at this centromere have involved transcriptionally inert, satellite rich DNA, which is likely to be heterochromatic. This suggests that any novel gene structures formed by these interchromosomal events would require relocation to a more open chromatin environment to be expressed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a structurally distinct CD101 molecule encoded in the 950-kb Idd10 region of NOD mice.

Genes affecting autoimmune type 1 diabetes susceptibility in the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse (Idd loci) have been mapped using a congenic strain breeding strategy. In the present study, we used a combination of BAC clone contig construction, polymorphism analysis of DNA from congenic strains, and sequence mining of the human orthologous region to generate an integrated map of the Idd10 region on mouse chromosome 3. We found seven genes and one pseudogene in the 950-kb Idd10 region. Although all seven genes in the interval are Idd10 candidates, we suggest the gene encoding the EWI immunoglobulin subfamily member EWI-101 (Cd101) as the most likely Idd10 candidate because of the previously reported immune-associated properties of the human CD101 molecule. Additional support for the candidacy of Cd101 is the presence of 17 exonic single-nucleotide polymorphisms that differ between the NOD and B6 sequences, 10 causing amino acid substitutions in the predicted CD101 protein. Four of these 10 substitutions are nonconservative, 2 of which could potentially alter N-linked glycosylation. Considering our results together with those previous reports that antibodies recognizing human CD101 modulate human T-cell and dendritic cell function, there is now justification to test whether the alteration of CD101 function affects autoimmune islet destruction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗