Approche hydrogéochimique et structurale des circulations dans un réservoir du domaine alpin (massif d'Allevard, France)

Les caractéristiques hydrogéochimiques des réservoirs profonds du domaine alpin occidental sont abordées par le biais du système hydrominéral d'Allevard (France). Le volume des données et la variabilité des caractéristiques qui en découle, permettent de considérer cette source comme un exemple représentatif des sources thermominérales du domaine alpin occidental. L'étude combinée de ces données relatives à l'hydrochimie, à la géochimie isotopique, à la présence de gaz et d'éléments traces, confrontées au contexte fissural et structural des réservoirs, permet une approche cohérente des circulations profondes.On propose en conclusion un modèle qui pourrait être généralisé aux systèmes thermominéraux situés dans un contexte structural comparable (front de chevauchement des massifs cristallins externes; front de chevauchement briançonnais) et présentant un faciès semblable (eaux chloro-sulfatées). Ce modèle tient compte de mélanges entre eaux d'origine superficielle et/ou semi-profondes et d'eaux d'origine profonde.Investigations of the hydrogeochemical and structural characteristics of groundwater flows in an Alpine hydrothermal reservoir (Allevard Massif, French Western Alps) are carried out in order to define the origin and genesis of thermal and mineral waters.The geological formations constituting the Allevard Massif consist of a Hercynian basement and a continuous sedimentary cover from Carboniferous to Middle Jurassic. The basement is composed mainly of micaschists, the sedimentary cover of Paleozoic clastic deposits : Triassic formations (evaporites, dolomites, limestones); Liassic calcareous marls, schistics marls and Limestones. A groundwater outlet (Allevard Spring) from this reservoir is located in the calcareous terrains of Lias.The basement-cover contact is a major N40 subvertical fault. Faulting tectonics and subsequent rock fracturing is important for the hydrogeology of the area under study since the geological formations are initially impermeable (except for the Triassic terrains). Observations of underground galleries in the neighbourhood of the spring showed the presence of water outflows located on N40 strike-slip faults affecting both the basement and the Liassic terrains. The role of faulting tectonics in groundwater occurrence is indeed clearly emphasized by the position of the Allevard Spring at the intersection of two major faults with N60 and N140 trends.Available data cover nearly a hundred years (1888-1930) and emphasize the great variability of the chemical features of the spring water. This is related to the tact that the water outflowing from the spring is a mixture in varying proportions of waters from different sources. Combined interpretation of the structural characteristics, isotopical (3H; 18O; 2H; 34S) and chemico-physical (major and trace elements, gases, temperature, ...) data provides the basis of a working assumption on a flow and mixing model in which three different hydrogeological subsystems were distinguished : a surface subsystem comprising cold infiltration waters of a bicarbonate-calcium and a sulfate-calcium type; a subsurface subsystem constituted by the fissured Liassic calcareous terrains comprising part of the infiltrated waters which intermingle with much warmer waters of a sodium-chloride type originating from a subsystem located at a great depth. By means of geochemical indicators, a depth of nearly 4000 m has been estimated.Such a model, in agreement with geological evidence and reported by some recent works showing that halite deposits are probable at great depths, could be generalized to other hydrothermal systems occurring within the framework of the French Western Alps in a comparable structural context (thrust front of the external metamorphic massifs; "Briançonnais" thrust front)

Common fragile sites are characterized by histone hypoacetylation

Common fragile sites (CFSs) represent large, highly unstable regions of the human genome. CFS sequences are sensitive to perturbation of replication; however, the molecular basis for the instability at CFSs is poorly understood. We hypothesized that a unique epigenetic pattern may underlie the unusual sensitivity of CFSs to replication interference. To examine this hypothesis, we analyzed chromatin modification patterns within the six human CFSs with the highest levels of breakage, and their surrounding non-fragile regions (NCFSs). Chromatin at most of the CFSs analyzed has significantly less histone acetylation than that of their surrounding NCFSs. Trichostatin A and/or 5-azadeoxycytidine treatment reduced chromosome breakage at CFSs. Furthermore, chromatin at the most commonly expressed CFS, the FRA3B, is more resistant to micrococcal nuclease than that of the flanking non-fragile sequences. These results demonstrate that histone hypoacetylation is a characteristic epigenetic pattern of CFSs, and chromatin within CFSs might be relatively more compact than that of the NCFSs, indicating a role for chromatin conformation in genomic instability at CFSs. Moreover, lack of histone acetylation at CFSs may contribute to the defective response to replication stress characteristic of CFSs, leading to the genetic instability characteristic of this regions

Transcription Initiation Activity Sets Replication Origin Efficiency in Mammalian Cells

Genomic mapping of DNA replication origins (ORIs) in mammals provides a powerful means for understanding the regulatory complexity of our genome. Here we combine a genome-wide approach to identify preferential sites of DNA replication initiation at 0.4% of the mouse genome with detailed molecular analysis at distinct classes of ORIs according to their location relative to the genes. Our study reveals that 85% of the replication initiation sites in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells are associated with transcriptional units. Nearly half of the identified ORIs map at promoter regions and, interestingly, ORI density strongly correlates with promoter density, reflecting the coordinated organisation of replication and transcription in the mouse genome. Detailed analysis of ORI activity showed that CpG island promoter-ORIs are the most efficient ORIs in ES cells and both ORI specification and firing efficiency are maintained across cell types. Remarkably, the distribution of replication initiation sites at promoter-ORIs exactly parallels that of transcription start sites (TSS), suggesting a co-evolution of the regulatory regions driving replication and transcription. Moreover, we found that promoter-ORIs are significantly enriched in CAGE tags derived from early embryos relative to all promoters. This association implies that transcription initiation early in development sets the probability of ORI activation, unveiling a new hallmark in ORI efficiency regulation in mammalian cells

Physiological and anthocyanin biosynthesis genes response induced by vanadium stress in mustard genotypes with distinct photosynthetic activity

The present study aimed to elucidate the photosynthetic performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, anthocyanin contents, anthocyanin biosynthetic gene expression, and vanadium uptake in mustard genotypes (purple and green) that differ in photosynthetic capacity under vanadium stress. The results indicated that vanadium significantly reduced photosynthetic activity in both genotypes. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes were increased significantly in response to vanadium in both genotypes, although the purple exhibited higher. The anthocyanin contents were also reduced under vanadium stress. The anthocyanin biosynthetic genes were highly expressed in the purple genotype, notably the genes TT8, F3H, and MYBL2 under vanadium stress. The results indicate that induction of TT8, F3H, and MYBL2 genes was associated with upregulation of the biosynthetic genes required for higher anthocyanin biosynthesis in purple compared with the green mustard. The roots accumulated higher vanadium than shoots in both mustard genotypes. The results indicate that the purple mustard had higher vanadium tolerance

Evidence for Sequential and Increasing Activation of Replication Origins along Replication Timing Gradients in the Human Genome

Genome-wide replication timing studies have suggested that mammalian chromosomes consist of megabase-scale domains of coordinated origin firing separated by large originless transition regions. Here, we report a quantitative genome-wide analysis of DNA replication kinetics in several human cell types that contradicts this view. DNA combing in HeLa cells sorted into four temporal compartments of S phase shows that replication origins are spaced at 40 kb intervals and fire as small clusters whose synchrony increases during S phase and that replication fork velocity (mean 0.7 kb/min, maximum 2.0 kb/min) remains constant and narrowly distributed through S phase. However, multi-scale analysis of a genome-wide replication timing profile shows a broad distribution of replication timing gradients with practically no regions larger than 100 kb replicating at less than 2 kb/min. Therefore, HeLa cells lack large regions of unidirectional fork progression. Temporal transition regions are replicated by sequential activation of origins at a rate that increases during S phase and replication timing gradients are set by the delay and the spacing between successive origin firings rather than by the velocity of single forks. Activation of internal origins in a specific temporal transition region is directly demonstrated by DNA combing of the IGH locus in HeLa cells. Analysis of published origin maps in HeLa cells and published replication timing and DNA combing data in several other cell types corroborate these findings, with the interesting exception of embryonic stem cells where regions of unidirectional fork progression seem more abundant. These results can be explained if origins fire independently of each other but under the control of long-range chromatin structure, or if replication forks progressing from early origins stimulate initiation in nearby unreplicated DNA. These findings shed a new light on the replication timing program of mammalian genomes and provide a general model for their replication kinetics

Učinak bakra na toksičnost i genotoksičnost kadmija u vodenoj leći (Lemna minor L.)

We investigated interactions between copper (in the concentrations of 2.5 μmol L-1 and 5 μmol L-1) and cadmium (5 μmol L-1) in common duckweed (Lemna minor L.) by exposing it to either metal or to their combinations for four or seven days. Their uptake increased with time, but it was lower in plants treated with combinations of metals than in plants treated with either metal given alone. In separate treatments, either metal increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and catalase and peroxidase activity. Both induced DNA damage, but copper did it only after 7 days of treatment. On day 4, the combination of cadmium and 5 μmol L-1 copper additionally increased MDA as well as catalase and peroxidase activity. In contrast, on day 7, MDA dropped in plants treated with combinations of metals, and especially with 2.5 μmol L-1 copper plus cadmium. In these plants, catalase activity was higher than in copper treated plants. Peroxidase activity increased after treatment with cadmium and 2.5 μmol L-1 copper but decreased in plants treated with cadmium and 5 μmol L-1 copper. Compared to copper alone, combinations of metals enhanced DNA damage after 4 days of treatment but it dropped on day 7. In conclusion, either metal given alone was toxic/genotoxic and caused oxidative stress. On day 4 of combined treatment, the higher copper concentration was more toxic than either metal alone. In contrast, on day 7 of combined treatment, the lower copper concentration showed lower oxidative and DNA damage. These complex interactions can not be explained by simple antagonism and/or synergism. Further studies should go in that direction.U svrhu istraživanja interakcija između bakra kao esencijalnog elementa te kadmija kao neesencijalnog i toksičnog metala, vodenu leću Lemna minor L. uzgajali smo na podlogama s kadmijem (5 μmol L-1) odnosno s bakrom (2,5 μmol L-1 i 5 μmol L-1) te s njihovim kombinacijama. Unos metala u biljke povećavao se s trajanjem pokusa, a kod kombinacije metala u biljkama je izmjerena niža količina kadmija nego u onima uzgajanima samo na kadmiju. U biljkama tretiranim pojedinačnim metalom došlo je do povećanja sadržaja malondialdehida (MDA) te aktivnosti katalaze i peroksidaze u odnosu na kontrolne biljke. Također, primijećeno je oštećenje DNA iako kod bakra tek sedmog dana tretmana. Količina MDA i aktivnost obaju enzima dodatno se povećala na tretmanu kombinacijom kadmija i bakra (5 μmol L-1) nakon četvrtog dana pokusa, dok se količina MDA smanjila nakon sedmog dana kod kombinacije kadmija i 2,5 μmol L-1 bakra. U tim biljkama primijećena je i veća aktivnost katalaze, dok je aktivnost peroksidaze porasla na tretmanu kadmijem i 2,5 μmol L-1 bakrom, ali se smanjila na tretmanu kadmijem i 5 μmol L-1 bakrom. Oštećenje DNA koje je bilo veće kod kombinacije metala nakon četvrtog dana, osobito u usporedbi sa samim bakrom, smanjilo se nakon sedmog dana pokusa. Iz ovih rezultata može se zaključiti da su oba metala u istraživanim koncentracijama toksična i genotoksična za vodenu leću i da uzrokuju oksidacijski stres. Kadmij u kombinaciji s bakrom više koncentracije bio je toksičniji od pojedinačnih metala nakon četvrtog dana pokusa, dok su u biljaka tretiranih kombinacijom kadmija i bakra niže koncentracije toksični učinci bili manji. Budući da su primijećene interakcije vrlo kompleksne i ne uključuju samo antagonizam odnosno sinergizam potrebna su daljnja istraživanja

Is phytostabilisation a sustainable technology for metal contaminated sediment deposit ?

International audienceIn this two-year project, we proposed to demonstrate thé long-term sustainability of phytostabilisation on a sédiment deposit site, highly contaminated with Cd and Zn, by addressing thé following points: (i) restoration of soil function and biodiversity (ii) ré- duction of mobility and bioavailability of metals, (M) sustainability and maintenance of thé végétation cover and soil amendment action and (iv) métal tolérance mechanisms and phytotoxic effects. The first results are discussed