Let's Talk: Using Genomic Techniques to Better Understand Mental Disorders

In the last few years Bell Canada has started "Let's Talk Day", a day dedicated to increasing conversation and awareness of mental health issues to break through the stigmas associated with mental health. Through "Let's Talk" Bell hopes to encourage those who are suffering to seek help and encourage those who are not suffering to learn more about these very serious disorders. In recognition of this great movement today we are choosing to highlight how genomic studies are helping to give scientists an understanding of the underlying conditions for disorders such as extreme anxiety or depression and helping to direct future pharmacogenic efforts in developing new therapies.

Last year, research published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience demonstrated the role of seratonergic neurons of the Raphe nuclei in mental disorders such as extreme anxiety and depression. Building off this knowledge, a recent paper has used genomic techniques to identify single seratonergic neurons and perform single cell sequencing of transcripts to identify active genes within these neurons. Identification of new targets through a single cell transcriptome approach can direct future studies to potential targets for new therapies; many current drugs only have approximately 60% response rate for many patients.

The authors used YFP, a fluorescent protein, to specifically label the neurons they were interested in so that they could isolate single cells. From single cells they were able to isolate the total mRNA from the cell and build libraries for RNA-Seq. This gave unique insights to how these neurons are regulated and provides valuable information on which receptors are actively expressed under excitatory or inhibitory conditions and provides direction for future drug efficacy studies (for more detailed information read the paper).

Engaging in conversations about mental health and breaking through the stigmas associated with it is a very important topic. At Aurora we are extremely proud to be able to support the kind of research that can make real, tangible impacts on people's lives. For more information about how Aurora supports genomic techniques, visit our website here. To learn more about Bell "Let's Talk" and join the conversation, visit the website: http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/.

Elephant DNA Never Forgets

Although the picture is a little clearer, best not call off Scooby and the gang just yet (don't turn around that Mystery Machine Fred!). A recent study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have looked at the mitochondrial DNA of isolated elephant populations to look at the breeding history of these species. For some people, this story is interesting enough, for others a dramatic backstory not necessarily highly exaggerated for the purpose of entertainment is necessary. To set the story I choose to do both.

Following the tragic death of Alexander the Great his empire lay in ruins; former generals began snatching up the ruins of the empire and wars broke out over the lands in between kingdoms. In particular Ptolemy and Antiochus met at the battle of Raphia and this is where the mystery begins. Historical accounts go that Ptolemy had 73 African war elephants from what is now Eritrea in North-Eastern Africa, while Antiochus had 102 Asian war elephants. As the account goes, when the two armies met in battle the African war elephants turned around and ran away from the larger Asian war elephants. The problem is: African elephants are generally larger than Asian elephants. So what gives, did Ptolemy just get the short end of the stick at the war elephant store (can you get a refund on some lightly used war elephants?), or was he using a different species of elephant than the historically accepted version (were they savanna elephants or perhaps forest elephants)? Hence the mystery (cue dramatic music).

 

Although research is not necessarily funded just to look into irrelevant historical events, sometimes it has the benefit of making two African war elephants run away with just one Asian war elephant. The research group at the University of Illinois was looking at elephant mitochondrial DNA to study population dynamics and population migration. mtDNA is passed only from mother to offspring, as female elephants stay with the same herd from birth while males may disperse throughout different herds, mtDNA provides a tool to study the breeding dynamics and migration of a specific herd with time. Looking at modern day elephants in Eritrea it was found that the elephants are in fact related to the savanna elephants, and not forest elephants, debunking the explanation that Ptolemy was using a different species of elephants than is historically defined.

Mitochondria have separate DNA from that which is normally contained in the nucleus of our cells. There are several different techniques for specifically separating mtDNA from nuclear DNA during nucleic acid purifications. In order to screen many, many members of a candidate herd to generate concrete evidence of evolutionary relationships, high throughput techniques are necessary to solve the bottlenecks associated with manual sample preparations. At Aurora Biomed we are pleased to work with researchers to develop liquid handling automation tailored to specific applications, and development of high throughput protocols to support research workflows. To find out more about Aurora's liquid handling workstations, visit the website at www.aurorabiomed.com.

Happy New Year From Aurora Biomed!

It's January 2nd. Fresh off the jubilations of New Years Eve we realize that another year is behind us and a new one in front. In keeping with the timeless New Year's tradition of making resolutions, here are some resolutions from Aurora Biomed:

1. Continue optimizing high throughput solutions for our applications including NGLP, SPE, NAP-PCR etc.

We strive to offer customers comprehensive solutions for a variety of applications, to achieve this we want to continue testing our instruments with new applications and work with clients to ensure the best possible fit. Also, we want to develop new exciting features to make our instruments even more versatile

2. Travel

We like to attend conferences every year that represent various different focuses within science. Coming up in January we are exhibiting at the Plant and Animal Genomes Conference in San Diego. Other travel plans include Analytica in Germany, Pittcon in Chicago, and AMP in Washington DC!

3. Meet New People

One of the best parts of being in sales and getting to travel is meeting new people. We want to make an impression on all prospective customers and work with them to ensure that the best solution is found for whatever needs they may have! In 2014 I hope to meet lots of new people.

What are your resolutions? Want to streamline your research to publish more papers? (We can help!) Finally get rid of that pesky tendonitis from too much manual pipetting? (We can help with that too!) Finally lose that last 10 pounds? (Sorry you're on your own!)

Whatever your resolutions are, we hope that 2014 may bring you new opportunities, new friends, and new adventures. And hey, if you do need some lab automation, give us a call!

More about Aurora Biomed: www.aurorabiomed.com