Browsing by Author "Kottapalli, Pratibha"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Metabolic benefits of annatto-extracted tocotrienol on glucose homeostasis, inflammation, and gut microbiome(2020) Chung, Eunhee; Elmassry, Moamen M. (TTU); Kottapalli, Pratibha; Kottapalli, Kameswara Rao; Kaur, Gurvinder (TTUHSC) (TTU); Dufour, Jannette M. (TTUHSC) (TTU); Wright, Kandis (TTUHSC); Ramalingam, Latha (TTUHSC) (TTU); Moustaid-Moussa, Naima (TTUHSC) (TTU); Wang, Rui (TTUHSC); Hamood, Abdul N. (TTUHSC); Shen, Chwan Li (TTUHSC) (TTU)Emerging evidence suggests that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the pathophysiology of both obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We previously reported that dietary annatto-extracted tocotrienol exerts beneficial effects by modulating inflammatory responses in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that tocotrienol supplementation when combined with an HFD would result in an altered gut microbiota composition. For 14 weeks, forty-eight male C57BL/6J mice were assigned to 4 groups—low-fat diet, HFD, HFD supplemented with annatto-extracted tocotrienol at 800 mg/kg diet (AT), and HFD supplemented with metformin at 200 mg/kg diet. Glucose homeostasis was assessed by glucose and insulin tolerance tests, serum and pancreas insulin levels, and histological assessments of insulin and glucagon in pancreatic tissue. The concentrations of adipokines were measured in white adipose tissues. For the gut microbiome analysis, cecal content was collected, DNA was extracted, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed. AT supplementation improved glucose homeostasis and lowered resistin, leptin, and interleukin-6 levels in white adipose tissue. Relative to the HFD group, AT-supplemented mice showed a decrease in the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio and had a lower abundance of Ruminococcus lactaris, Dorea longicatena, and Lachnospiraceae family. The relative abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila was increased in the AT group compared to the low-fat diet group. The association between the metabolic improvements and the identified bacterial taxa suggests a potential metabolic modulation caused by AT supplementation through the gut microbiota composition in mice fed an HFD.Item Molecular mechanisms underlying sugarcane response to aluminum stress by rna-seq(2020) Rosa-Santos, Thiago Mateus; da Silva, Renan Gonçalves; Kumar, Poornasree (TTU); Kottapalli, Pratibha; Crasto, Chiquito (TTU); Kottapalli, Kameswara Rao; França, Suzelei Castro; Zingaretti, Sonia MarliSome metals are beneficial to plants and contribute to critical physiological processes. Some metals, however, are not. The presence of aluminum ions (Al3+ ) can be very toxic, especially in acidic soils. Considerable parts of the world’s arable land are acidic in nature; mechanistically elucidating a plant’s response to aluminum stress is critical to mitigating this stress and improving the quality of plants. To identify the genes involved in sugarcane response to aluminum stress, we generated 372 million paired-end RNA sequencing reads from the roots of CTC-2 and RB855453, which are two contrasting cultivars. Data normalization resulted in 162,161 contigs (contiguous sequences) and 97,335 genes from a de novo transcriptome assembly (trinity genes). A total of 4858 and 1307 differently expressed genes (DEGs) for treatment versus control were identified for the CTC-2 and RB855453 cultivars, respectively. The DEGs were annotated into 34 functional categories. The majority of the genes were upregulated in the CTC-2 (tolerant cultivar) and downregulated in RB855453 (sensitive cultivar). Here, we present the first root transcriptome of sugarcane under aluminum stress. The results and conclusions of this study are a crucial launch pad for future genetic and genomic studies of sugarcane. The transcriptome analysis shows that sugarcane tolerance to aluminum may be explained by an efficient detoxification mechanism combined with lateral root formation and activation of redox enzymes. We also present a hypothetical model for aluminum tolerance in the CTC-2 cultivar.Item Root-Knot Nematode Resistance in Gossypium hirsutum Determined by a Constitutive Defense-Response Transcriptional Program Avoiding a Fitness Penalty(2022) Ojeda-Rivera, Jonathan Odilón (TTU); Ulloa, Mauricio; Roberts, Philip A.; Kottapalli, Pratibha; Wang, Congli; Nájera-González, Héctor Rogelio (TTU); Payton, Paxton; Lopez-Arredondo, Damar (TTU); Herrera-Estrella, Luis (TTU)Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important renewable source of natural textile fiber and one of the most cultivated crops around the world. Plant-parasitic nematode infestations, such as the southern Root-Knot Nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita, represent a threat to cotton production worldwide. Host-plant resistance is a highly effective strategy to manage RKN; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms of RKN-resistance remain largely unknown. In this study, we harness the differences in RKN-resistance between a susceptible (Acala SJ-2, SJ2), a moderately resistant (Upland Wild Mexico Jack Jones, WMJJ), and a resistant (Acala NemX) cotton entries, to perform genome-wide comparative analysis of the root transcriptional response to M. incognita infection. RNA-seq data suggest that RKN-resistance is determined by a constitutive state of defense transcriptional behavior that prevails in the roots of the NemX cultivar. Gene ontology and protein homology analyses indicate that the root transcriptional landscape in response to RKN-infection is enriched for responses related to jasmonic and salicylic acid, two key phytohormones in plant defense responses. These responses are constitutively activated in NemX and correlate with elevated levels of these two hormones while avoiding a fitness penalty. We show that the expression of cotton genes coding for disease resistance and receptor proteins linked to RKN-resistance and perception in plants, is enhanced in the roots of RKN-resistant NemX. Members of the later gene families, located in the confidence interval of a previously identified QTL associated with RKN resistance, represent promising candidates that might facilitate introduction of RKN-resistance into valuable commercial varieties of cotton. Our study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie RKN resistance in cotton.