Sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 1227 Felis catus cDNA sequences enriched for developmental, clinical and nutritional phenotypes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The feline genome is valuable to the veterinary and model organism genomics communities because the cat is an obligate carnivore and a model for endangered felids. The initial public release of the Felis catus genome assembly provided a framework for investigating the genomic basis of feline biology. However, the entire set of protein coding genes has not been elucidated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified and characterized 1227 protein coding feline sequences, of which 913 map to public sequences and 314 are novel. These sequences have been deposited into NCBI's genbank database and complement public genomic resources by providing additional protein coding sequences that fill in some of the gaps in the feline genome assembly. Through functional and comparative genomic analyses, we gained an understanding of the role of these sequences in feline development, nutrition and health. Specifically, we identified 104 orthologs of human genes associated with Mendelian disorders. We detected negative selection within sequences with gene ontology annotations associated with intracellular trafficking, cytoskeleton and muscle functions. We detected relatively less negative selection on protein sequences encoding extracellular networks, apoptotic pathways and mitochondrial gene ontology annotations. Additionally, we characterized feline cDNA sequences that have mouse orthologs associated with clinical, nutritional and developmental phenotypes. Together, this analysis provides an overview of the value of our cDNA sequences and enhances our understanding of how the feline genome is similar to, and different from other mammalian genomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The cDNA sequences reported here expand existing feline genomic resources by providing high-quality sequences annotated with comparative genomic information providing functional, clinical, nutritional and orthologous gene information.</p

Bacterial community assembly driven by temporal succession rather than spatial heterogeneity in Lake Bosten: a large lake suffering from eutrophication and salinization

Oligosaline lakes in arid and semi-arid regions play a crucial role in providing essential water resources for local populations. However, limited research exists on the impact of the environment on bacterial community structure in these lakes, co-occurrence patterns and the mechanisms governing bacterial community assembly. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by examining samples collected from five areas of Lake Bosten over four seasons. Using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing method, we identified a total of 510 to 1,005 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 37 phyla and 359 genera in Lake Bosten. The major bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria (46.5%), Actinobacteria (25.9%), Bacteroidetes (13.2%), and Cyanobacteria (5.7%), while the major genera were hgcI_clade (12.9%), Limnohabitans (6.2%), and Polynucleobacter (4.7%). Water temperature emerged as the primary driver of these community structure variations on global level. However, when considering only seasonal variations, pH and nitrate were identified as key factors influencing bacterial community structures. Summer differed from other seasons in aspects of seasonal symbiotic patterns of bacterial communities, community assembly and function are different from other seasons. There were notable variations in bacterial community structures between winter and summer. Deterministic processes dominated community assembly, but there was an increase in the proportion of stochastic processes during summer. In summer, the functions related to photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, and decomposition of organic matter showed higher abundance. Our findings shed light on the response of bacterial communities to environmental changes and the underlying mechanisms of community assembly in oligosaline lakes in arid regions

Functional Connectivity of Anterior Insula Predicts Recovery of Patients With Disorders of Consciousness

Background: We hypothesize that the anterior insula is important for maintenance of awareness. Here, we explored the functional connectivity alterations of the anterior insula with changes in the consciousness level or over time in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) and determined potential correlation with clinical outcomes.Methods: We examined 20 participants (9 patients with DOC and 11 healthy controls). Each patient underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and a standardized Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) assessment on the same day. We categorized the patients according to the prognosis: those who emerged from a minimally conscious state (recovery group, n = 4) and those who remained in the unconscious state (unrecovery group, n = 5). Two rs-fMRI scans were obtained from all patients, and the second scan of patients in the recovery group was obtained after they regained consciousness. We performed seed-based fMRI analysis and selected the left ventral agranular insula (vAI) and dorsal agranular insula (dAI) as the regions of interest. Correlations with CRS-R were determined with the Spearman's correlation coefficient.Results: Compared with healthy controls, the functional connectivity between dAI and gyrus rectus of patients who recovered was significantly increased (p &lt; 0.001, cluster-wise family-wise error rate [FWER] &lt; 0.05). The second rs-fMRI scan of patients who remained with DOC showed a significant decreased functional connectivity between the dAI to contralateral insula, pallidum, bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL), precentral gyrus, and middle cingulate cortex (p &lt; 0.001, cluster-wise FWER &lt; 0.05) as well as the functional connectivity between vAI to caudate and cingulum contrast to controls (p &lt; 0.001, cluster-wise FWER &lt; 0.05). Finally, the functional connectivity strength of dAI-temporal pole (Spearman r = 0.491, p &lt; 0.05) and dAI-IPL (Spearman r = 0.579, p &lt; 0.05) were positively correlated with CRS-R scores in all DOC patients. The connectivity of dAI-IPL was also positively correlated with clinical scores in the recovery group (Spearman r = 0.807, p &lt; 0.05).Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the recovery of consciousness is associated with an increased connectivity of the dAI to IPL and temporal pole. This possibly highlights the role of the insula in human consciousness. Moreover, longitudinal variations in dAI-IPL and dAI-temporal pole connectivity may be potential hallmarks in the outcome prediction of DOC patients

Clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 before and after the Omicron outbreak: a multi-center study

IntroductionThe emergence of the Omicron variant has seen changes in the clinical and radiological presentations of COVID-19 in pediatric patients. We sought to compare these features between patients infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those during the Omicron outbreak.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 68 pediatric COVID-19 patients, of which 31 were infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain (original group) and 37 with the Omicron variant (Omicron group). Clinical symptoms and chest CT scans were examined to assess clinical characteristics, and the extent and severity of lung involvement.ResultsPediatric COVID-19 patients predominantly had normal or mild chest CT findings. The Omicron group demonstrated a significantly reduced CT severity score than the original group. Ground-glass opacities were the prevalent radiological findings in both sets. The Omicron group presented with fewer symptoms, had milder clinical manifestations, and recovered faster than the original group.DiscussionThe clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 patients have evolved with the advent of the Omicron variant. For children displaying severe symptoms warranting CT examinations, it is crucial to weigh the implications of ionizing radiation and employ customized scanning protocols and protective measures. This research offers insights into the shifting disease spectrum, aiding in the effective diagnosis and treatment of pediatric COVID-19 patients