Total H3 acetylation in house sparrows
Data files
Nov 02, 2023 version files 11.53 KB
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Ray_et_al_-_house_sparrow_H3_acetylaiton.xlsx
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README.md
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms are increasingly understood to have major impacts across ecology. However, one molecular epigenetic mechanism, DNA methylation, currently dominates the literature. A second mechanism, histone modification, is likely important to ecologically relevant phenotypes and thus warrants investigation, especially because molecular interplay between methylation and histone acetylation can strongly affect gene expression. There are a limited number of histone acetylation studies on non-model organisms, yet those that exist show that it can impact gene expression and phenotypic plasticity. Wild birds provide an excellent system to investigate histone acetylation, as free-living individuals must rapidly adjust to environmental change. Here, we screen histone acetylation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus); we studied this species because DNA methylation was important in the spread of this bird globally. This species has one of the broadest geographic distributions in the world, and part of this success is related to the way that it uses methylation to its gene expression. Here, we verify that a commercially available assay that was developed for mammals can be used in house sparrows. We detected high variance in histone acetylation among individuals in both liver and spleen tissue. Further, house sparrows with higher epigenetic potential in the TLR-4 promoter (i.e., CpG content) had higher histone acetylation in liver. Also, there was a negative correlation between histone acetylation in spleen and TLR-4 expression. In addition to validating a method for measuring histone acetylation in wild songbirds, this study also shows that histone acetylation varies in an ecologically relevant way, adding a new study option for ecological epigenetics.
README: Total H3 Acetylation in House Sparrows
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0k6djhb66
Estimates of total H3 histone acetylation for house sparrows that had been infected with Salmonella.
Description of the data and file structure
Data are presented for each individual (Bird_ID) with starting tissue weight, concentration of histone extraction, three replicates of estimate total H3 acetylation, sex, mass (grams), epigenetic potential, and TLR4 gene expression in cecum.
Sharing/Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
- house sparrow (Passer domesticus)