P0649
Transcriptome Analysis of Alligator Adipose in Comparison to Chicken Adipose

Blair Kathleen Schneider , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Colin Kern , Univeristy of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Allen Hubbard , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Wayne Treible , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
John W. Finger Jr. , Environmental Health Science and Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Tracey Tuberville , University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC
Travis C. Glenn , Department of Environmental Health Science & Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Matt Hamilton , University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC
Carl J. Schmidt , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
The crocodilians are model organisms for understanding environmental regulation of numerous biological processes including developmental biology, temperature regulation, sex determination and morphology. The recent completion of the Alligator mississippiensis genome provided the ability to define gene expression patterns in all tissues of this species.   To better understand energy storage and mobilization, this work focuses on defining the transcriptome of alligator adipose tissue.  Transcriptome libraries were prepared from Alligator fat body samples with the following procedure: 1. Isolation of mRNA using mirVana™ miRNA Kit, 2. Verification of mRNA quality and integrity by Fragment Analysis, 3. Transcriptome libraries prepared using Illumina Stranded RNA Prep Kit and sequenced at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute Core Sequencing Facility, 4. Transcription levels determined using the  fRNAkenseq software, and 5. Identification of differentially expressed genes, data analysis, functional clustering and pathway analysis using JMP Pro 11 and PathRings.  The University of Georgia provided additional transcriptome sequences from other tissues. To begin our analysis, we first identified transcripts enriched in adipose compared to all other alligator tissues.  In addition to identifying transcripts encoding adipokines, adipose enriched transcription factors and numerous enzymes involved in processing fat are enriched in adipose.  The same procedure was performed on chickens, and the gene expression was analyzed in both their abdominal and cardiac adipose tissue.  Current effort focuses on comparing alligator gene expression with that obtained from chicken adipose tissue to better understand the evolution of this tissue in Archosaurs.

Acknowledgements: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1147029 and by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant No. by NIFA 2010-04233 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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