Étude transcriptomique de la réponse à l'hybridation chez l'omble de fontaine (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill)

Les mécanismes génétiques sous-jacents au phénomène d'hybridation sont encore très peu connus, en dépit de leurs importantes implications dans les processus de spéciation, d'évolution adaptative et d'innovation agronomique. Dans cette thèse, la réponse transcriptomique des hybrides d'omble de fontaine (Salvelinus fontinalis) ainsi que les mécanismes responsables des différences des niveaux de transcrits et de la taille ont été étudiés. Dans un premier objectif, les niveaux de transcrits de 16006 ESTs entre les populations parentales (Laval, Rupert et domestique) et leurs hybrides ont été étudiés par biopuces. Les résultats révèlent de nombreux transcrits différentiellement exprimés entre les populations parentales, reflétant la réponse adaptative à leur environnement spécifique et la sélection directionnelle pour la population domestique. De plus, le niveau de transcrits est transmis de façon majoritairement additive ou hautement non-additive selon les croisements hybrides. Toutefois, la proportion de transcrits avec un niveau d'expression non-additif varie selon les croisements. Les résultats suggèrent que l'hétérosis et la dépression de croisement dépendent de la distance génétique entre les populations parentales et sont liés aux proportions de dominance et sur/sous-dominance de l'expression des gènes. En plus de l'effet direct de l'expression du génome, les effets parentaux représentent une importante source de variations chez les hybrides. Ainsi, le second objectif était de mesurer ces effets en comparant les niveaux de transcrits des croisements hybrides réciproques à l'aide des biopuces. Les résultats confirment que les effets parentaux agissent sur le transcriptome des hybrides de façon différentielle au cours du développement. L'importance de ces effets dépend de la distance génétique entre les populations parentales. Enfin, plusieurs mécanismes peuvent affecter le niveau de transcrits, notamment une différence dans les éléments régulateurs agissant en cis ou en trans. Le troisième objectif était de détecter les variations dans les éléments régulateurs agissant en cis entre les croisements hybrides pour plusieurs gènes par technique de séquençage à haut débit. Cette expérience a permis d'associer certains polymorphismes de séquences à la variation de taille entre individus. Les résultats de cette thèse montrent ainsi le rôle essentiel des différences d'architecture génétique, et notamment le rôle des différences d'architecture génétique de l'expression de gènes, dans les différences transcriptomique et phénotypique entre hybrides

Data from: The influence of parental effects on transcriptomic landscape during early development in brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill)

Parental effects represent an important source of variation in offspring phenotypes. Depending on the specific mechanisms involved, parental effects may be caused to different degrees by either the maternal or the paternal parent, and these effects may in turn act at different stages of development. To detect parental effects acting on gene transcription regulation and length phenotype during ontogeny, the transcriptomic profiles of two reciprocal hybrids from Laval × Rupert and Laval × Domestic populations of brook charr were compared at hatching, yolk sac resorption and 15 weeks after exogenous feeding. Using a salmonid cDNA microarray, our results show that parental effects modulated gene expression among reciprocal hybrids only at the yolk sac resorption stage. In addition, Laval × Domestic and Laval × Rupert reciprocal hybrids differed in the magnitude of theses parental effects, with 199 and 630 differentially expressed transcripts, respectively. This corresponds to a maximum of 18.5% of the analyzed transcripts. These transcripts are functionally related to cell cycle, nucleic acid metabolism and intracellular protein traffic, which is consistent with observed differences associated with embryonic development and growth differences in other fish species. Our results thus illustrate how parental effects on patterns of gene transcription seem dependent on the genetic architecture of the parents. In addition, in absence of transcriptional differences, non-transcript deposits in the yolk sac could contribute to the observed length differences among the reciprocal hybrids before yolk sac resorption

Data from: Linking transcriptomic and genomic variation to growth in brook charr hybrids (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill)

Hybridization can lead to phenotypic differences arising from changes in gene expression patterns or new allele combinations. Variation in gene expression is thought to be controlled by differences in transcription regulation of parental alleles, either through cis or trans regulatory elements. A previous study among brook charr hybrids from different populations (Rupert, Laval, and domestic) showing distinct length at age during early life stages also revealed different patterns in transcription regulation inheritance of transcript abundance. In the present study, transcript abundance by means of RNA-seq and qRT-PCR, SNP genotypes and allelic imbalance were assessed in order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed transcriptomic and differences in length at age among domestic × Rupert hybrids and Laval × domestic hybrids. We found 198 differentially expressed genes between the two hybrid crosses and allelic imbalance could be analyzed for 69 of them. Among these 69 genes, 36 genes exhibited cis acting regulatory effects in both of the two crosses, thus confirming the prevalent role of cis acting regulatory elements in the regulation of differentially expressed genes among intraspecific hybrids. In addition, we detected a significant association between SNP genotypes of three genes and length at age. Our study is thus one of the few that have highlighted some of the molecular mechanisms potentially involved in the differential phenotypic expression in intraspecific hybrids for non-model species

Data_files

Data of 454 sequencing, phenotypes, Kaspar analysis, qPCR analysis for all experiments used in manuscrip

Fork length Salvelinus fontinalis / File S1

Data includes the fork length measurement for L♀D♂, D♀L♂, L♀R♂ and R♀L♂ offspring and parent

The Transcriptional Landscape of Cross-Specific Hybrids and Its Possible Link With Growth in Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill)

The genetic mechanisms underlying hybridization are poorly understood despite their potentially important roles in speciation processes, adaptative evolution, and agronomical innovation. In this study, transcription profiles were compared among three populations of brook charr and their hybrids using microarrays to assess the influence of hybrid origin on modes of transcription regulation inheritance and on the mechanisms underlying growth. We found that twice as many transcripts were differently expressed between the domestic population and the two wild populations (Rupert and Laval) than between wild ones, despite their deeper genetic distance. This could reflect the consequence of artificial selection during domestication. We detected that hybrids exhibited strikingly different patterns of mode of transcription regulation, being mostly additive (94%) for domestic × Rupert, and nonadditive for Laval × domestic (45.7%) and Rupert × Laval hybrids (37.5%). Both heterosis and outbreeding depression for growth were observed among the crosses. Our results indicated that prevalence of dominance in transcription regulation seems related to growth heterosis, while prevalence of transgressive transcription regulation may be more related to outbreeding depression. Our study clearly shows, for the first time in vertebrates, that the consequences of hybridization on both the transcriptome level and the phenotype are highly dependent on the specific genetic architectures of crossed populations and therefore hardly predictable

Comparative transcriptomics of anadromous and resident brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis before their first salt water transition

Most salmonid taxa have an anadromous life history strategy, whereby fish migrate to saltwater habitats for a growth period before returning to freshwater habitats for spawning. Moreover, several species are characterized by different life history tactics whereby resident and anadromous forms may occur in genetically differentiated populations within a same species, as well as polymorphism within a population. The molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological differences between anadromous and resident forms during the first transition from freshwater to saltwater environments are only partially understood. Insofar research has typically focused on species of the genus Salmo. Here, using a 16,000 cDNA array, we tested the hypothesis that anadromous brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis are characterized by differences in their transcriptome relative to resident brook charr before the anadromous fish migration. Families originating from parapatric populations of anadromous and resident charr were reared in controlled environments mimicking natural temperature and photoperiod, and sampled in spring, while still in fresh water. While anadromous and resident charr showed similar transcriptome profiles in white muscle, they were characterized by striking differences in their gill transcriptome profiles. Genes that were upregulated in the gills of anadromous charr were principally involved in metabolism (mitochondrial electron transport chain, glucose metabolism, and protein synthesis), development (tissue differentiation) and innate immunity. We discuss the nature of these transcriptomic differences in relation to molecular mechanisms underlying the expression of anadromous and resident life history tactics and suggest that the anadromous charr express some of the molecular processes present in other migratory salmonids [Current Zoology 58 (1): 158–170, 2012]

Dietary sodium protects fish against copper-induced olfactory impairment

Exposure to low concentrations of copper impairs olfaction in fish. To determine the transcriptional changes in the olfactory epithelium induced by copper exposure, wild yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were exposed to 20 g/L of copper for 3 and 24 h. A novel yellow perch microarray with 1000 candidate genes was used to measure differential gene transcription in the olfactory epithelium. While three hours of exposure to copper changed the transcription of only one gene, the transcriptions of 70 genes were changed after 24 h of exposure to copper. Real-time PCR was utilized to determine the effect of exposure duration on two specific genes of interest, two sub-units of Na/K-ATPase. At 24 and 48 h, Na/K-ATPase transcription was down-regulated by copper at olfactory rosettes. As copper-induced impairment of Na/K-ATPase activity in gills can be ameliorated by increased dietary sodium, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were used to determine if elevated dietary sodium was also protective against copper-induced olfactory impairment. Measurement of the olfactory response of rainbow trout using electro-olfactography demonstrated that sodium was protective of copper-induced olfactory dysfunction. This work demonstrates that the transcriptions of both subunits of Na/K-ATPase in the olfactory epithelium of fish are affected by Cu exposure, and that dietary Na protects against Cu-induced olfactory dysfunction.Keywords: Olfaction Olfactory toxicity Copper Microarray Real-time PCR Electro-olfactograph

Data_files

Data of 454 sequencing, phenotypes, Kaspar analysis, qPCR analysis for all experiments used in manuscrip

Transcriptional response of yellow perch to changes in ambient metalconcentrations—A reciprocal field transplantation experiment

Recent local adaptation to pollution has been evidenced in several organisms inhabiting environments heavily contaminated by metals. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation to high metal concentrations are poorly understood, especially in fishes. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from lakes in the mining area of Rouyn-Noranda (QC, Canada) have been faced with metal contamination for about 90 years. Here, we examine gene transcription patterns of fish reciprocally transplanted between a reference and a metal-contaminated lake and also fish caged in their native lake. After four weeks, 111 genes were differentially transcribed in metal-naïve fish transferred to the metalcontaminated lake, revealing a plastic response to metal exposure. Genes involved in the citric cycle and beta-oxidation pathways were under-transcribed, suggesting a potential strategy to mitigate the effects of metal stress by reducing energy turnover. However, metal-contaminated fish transplanted to the reference lake did not show any transcriptomic response, indicating a reduced plastic response capability to sudden reduction in metal concentrations. Moreover, the transcription of other genes, especially ones involved in energy metabolism, was affected by caging. Overall, our results highlight environmental stress response mechanisms in yellow perch at the transcriptomic level and support a rapid adaptive response to metal exposure through genetic assimilation.Keywords: Transcriptome Yellow perch Metal exposure Reciprocal transplantation Cagin