Kovalchuk, Igor

Permanent URI for this collection

https://opus.uleth.ca/handle/10133/3488

Browse

Browsing Kovalchuk, Igor by Author "Golubov, Andrey"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Genomic and epigenomic responses to chronic stress involve miRNA-mediated programming
    (Public Library of Science, 2012) Babenko, Olena M.; Golubov, Andrey; Ilnytskyy, Yaroslav; Kovalchuk, Igor; Metz, Gerlinde A. S.
    Stress represents a critical influence on motor system function and has been shown to impair movement performance. We hypothesized that stress-induced motor impairments are due to brain-specific changes in miRNA and protein-encoding gene expression. Here we show a causal link between stress-induced motor impairment and associated genetic and epigenetic responses in relevant central motor areas in a rat model. Exposure to two weeks of mild restraint stress altered the expression of 39 genes and nine miRNAs in the cerebellum. In line with persistent behavioural impairments, some changes in gene and miRNA expression were resistant to recovery from stress. Interestingly, stress up-regulated the expression of Adipoq and prolactin receptor mRNAs in the cerebellum. Stress also altered the expression of Prlr, miR-186, and miR-709 in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In addition, our findings demonstrate that miR-186 targets the gene Eps15. Furthermore, we found an age-dependent increase in EphrinB3 and GabaA4 receptors. These data show that even mild stress results in substantial genomic and epigenomic changes involving miRNA expression and associated gene targets in the motor system. These findings suggest a central role of miRNA-regulated gene expression in the stress response and in associated neurological function.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Transgenerational adaptation of Arabidopsis to stress requires DNA methylation and the function of dicer-like proteins
    (Public Library of Science, 2010) Boyko, Alexander; Blevins, Todd; Yao, Youli; Golubov, Andrey; Bilichak, Andriy; Ilnytskyy, Yaroslav; Hollunder, Jens; Meins, Frederick; Kovalchuk, Igor
    Epigenetic states and certain environmental responses in mammals and seed plants can persist in the next sexual generation. These transgenerational effects have potential adaptative significance as well as medical and agronomic ramifications. Recent evidence suggests that some abiotic and biotic stress responses of plants are transgenerational. For example, viral infection of tobacco plants and exposure of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to UVC and flagellin can induce transgenerational increases in homologous recombination frequency (HRF). Here we show that exposure of Arabidopsis plants to stresses, including salt, UVC, cold, heat and flood, resulted in a higher HRF, increased global genome methylation, and higher tolerance to stress in the untreated progeny. This transgenerational effect did not, however, persist in successive generations. Treatment of the progeny of stressed plants with 5-azacytidine was shown to decrease global genomic methylation and enhance stress tolerance. Dicer-like (DCL) 2 and DCL3 encode Dicer activities important for small RNAdependent gene silencing. Stress-induced HRF and DNA methylation were impaired in dcl2 and dcl3 deficiency mutants, while in dcl2 mutants, only stress-induced stress tolerance was impaired. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that stress-induced transgenerational responses in Arabidopsis depend on altered DNA methylation and smRNA silencing pathways.