Germline MBD4 deficiency causes a multi-tumor predisposition syndrome

We report an autosomal recessive, multi-organ tumor predisposition syndrome, caused by bi-allelic loss-of-function germline variants in the base excision repair (BER) gene MBD4. We identified five individuals with bi-allelic MBD4 variants within four families and these individuals had a personal and/or family history of adenomatous colorectal polyposis, acute myeloid leukemia, and uveal melanoma. MBD4 encodes a glycosylase involved in repair of G:T mismatches resulting from deamination of 5′-methylcytosine. The colorectal adenomas from MBD4-deficient individuals showed a mutator phenotype attributable to mutational signature SBS1, consistent with the function of MBD4. MBD4-deficient polyps harbored somatic mutations in similar driver genes to sporadic colorectal tumors, although AMER1 mutations were more common and KRAS mutations less frequent. Our findings expand the role of BER deficiencies in tumor predisposition. Inclusion of MBD4 in genetic testing for polyposis and multi-tumor phenotypes is warranted to improve disease management

Germline MBD4-deficiency causes a multi-tumor predisposition syndrome

We report an autosomal recessive, multi-organ tumor predisposition syndrome, caused by bi-allelic loss-of-function germline variants in the base excision repair (BER) gene MBD4. We identified five individuals with bi-allelic MBD4 variants within four families and these individuals had a personal and/or family history of adenomatous colorectal polyposis, acute myeloid leukemia, and uveal melanoma. MBD4 encodes a glycosylase involved in repair of G:T mismatches resulting from deamination of 5′-methylcytosine. The colorectal adenomas from MBD4-deficient individuals showed a mutator phenotype attributable to mutational signature SBS1, consistent with the function of MBD4. MBD4-deficient polyps harbored somatic mutations in similar driver genes to sporadic colorectal tumors, although AMER1 mutations were more common and KRAS mutations less frequent. Our findings expand the role of BER deficiencies in tumor predisposition. Inclusion of MBD4 in genetic testing for polyposis and multi-tumor phenotypes is warranted to improve disease management

Mecanismos de evolução cromossômica e diferenciação cariotípica em espécies das subfamílias Hylinae (tribos Cophomantini e Lophiohylini) e Phyllomedusinae (Hylidae, Anura, Amphibia)

A classe Amphibia, especialmente a família Hylidae, passou por extensas modificações na taxonomia e sistemática, realizadas com base, principalmente, em dados moleculares, mas quase nenhuma contribuição das informações citogenéticas. Os hilídeos são os anuros mais abundantes em número de espécies, porém, a maioria delas foi sequer cariotipada e grande parte das informações disponíveis na literatura está restrita apenas ao número e morfologia dos cromossomos. No presente trabalho, foram cariotipadas 28 espécies da subfamília Hylinae, sendo da tribo Cophomantini Aplastodiscus arildae, A. callipygius, A. eugenioi, A. leucopygius, A. perviridis, Hypsiboas aff. polytaenius, Hypsiboas sp. aff. albopunctatus, H. albomarginatus, H. albopunctatus, H. bakeri, H. caingua, H. caipora, H. crepitans, H. faber, H. latistriatus, H. lundii, H. pardalis, H. polytaenius, H. prasinus, H. raniceps e H. semilineatus; da tribo Lophiohylini, as espécies Aparasphenodon bokermanni, Itapotihyla langsdorffii, Phyllodytes edelmoi, P. luteolus, Trachycephalus sp., T. mesophaeus e T. typhonius; e da subfamília Phyllomedusinae, duas espécies, Phyllomedusa distincta e P. tetraploidea, bem como seus híbridos triploides. A maioria das espécies da subfamília Hylinae compartilha cariótipo 2n=24, FN=48, bandas C majoritariamente centroméricas e RON em cromossomos pequenos do par 11 em Cophomantini e do par 10 em Lophiohylini. As exceções são as do gênero Phyllodytes, da tribo Lophyohylini, cujas espécies têm 2n=22, FN=44 e RON no par 2, e as do gênero Aplastodiscus, da tribo Cophomantini, cujas espécies têm diferentes números cromossômicos de 2n=24, 2n=22, 2n=20 e 2n=18, mas compartilham o mesmo padrão de bandamento C e o mesmo par marcador de RON. As bandas de replicação por incorporação de BrdU...The Amphibia class, especially the family Hylidae, went through extensive changes in taxonomy and systematics, based mainly on molecular data, but with almost no contribution of cytogenetic information. This family is the most speciose among the anurans, however, the great majority of the species was never karyotyped, and most of the cytogenetic information on hylids available in the literature is restricted to the number and morphology of the chromosomes. In the present work we karyotyped 28 representatives of the subfamily Hylinae, belonging to the tribe Cophomantini the species Aplastodiscus arildae, A. callipygius, A. eugenioi, A. leucopygius, A. perviridis, Hypsiboas aff. polytaenius, Hypsiboas sp. aff. albopunctatus, H. albomarginatus, H. albopunctatus, H. bakeri, H. caingua, H. caipora, H. crepitans, H. faber, H. latistriatus, H. lundii, H. pardalis, H. polytaenius, H. prasinus, H. raniceps e H. semilineatus; to the tribe Lophiohylini the species Aparasphenodon bokermanni, Itapotihyla langsdorffii, Phyllodytes edelmoi, P. luteolus, Trachycephalus sp., T. mesophaeus e T. typhonius; and two species of the subfamily Phyllomedusinae, Phyllomedusa distincta and P. tetraploidea, as well as their triploid hybrids. Most species of the subfamily Hylinae share the same karyotype with 2n=24, FN=48, C bands with predominantly centromeric distribution, and NOR located on small chromosomes belonging to the pair 11 in Cophomantini and to the pair 10 in Lophiohylini. The exceptions are the genus Phyllodytes, from the tribe Lophyohylini, whose species have 2n=22, FN=44 and NOR in the pair 2, and the genus Aplastodiscus, from the tribe Cophomantini, whose species have different chromosome numbers of 2n=24, 2n=22, 2n=20, Abstract and 2n=18, but sharing the same C-banding pattern and the same pair of NOR marker... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Use of lymphocyte cultures for BrdU replication banding patterns in anuran species (Amphibia)

Descreve-se a padronização da cultura de linfócitos com a finalidade de melhorar as preparações citológicas de espécies de anfíbios anuros. Esta metodologia permite o uso do tratamento pelo BrdU para se obter padrões de bandas de replicação nos cromossomos dessas espécies.We describe the standardization of lymphocyte culture procedures in order to improve cytological preparations of anuran species. This methodology permits the use of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) treatment to obtain replication banding patterns in the chromosomes of these species.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Chromosome banding in three species of Hypsiboas (Hylidae, Hylinae), with special reference to a new case of B-chromosome in anuran frogs and to the reduction of the diploid number of 2n=24 to 2n=22 in the genus

The chromosomes of hylids Hypsiboas albopunctatus, H. raniceps, and H. crepitans from Brazil were analyzed with standard and differential staining techniques. The former species presented 2n = 22 and 2n = 23 karyotypes, the odd diploid number is due to the presence of an extra element interpreted as B chromosome. Although morphologically very similar to the small-sized chromosomes of the A complement, the B was promptly recognized, even under standard staining, on the basis of some characteristics that are usually attributed to this particular class of chromosomes. The two other species have 2n = 24, which is the chromosome number usually found in the species of Hypsiboas karyotyped so far. This means that 2n = 22 is a deviant diploid number, resulted from a structural rearrangement, altering the chromosome number of 2n = 24 to 2n = 22. Based on new chromosome data, some possibilities were evaluated for the origin of B chromosome in Hypsiboas albopunctatus, as well as the karyotypic evolution in the genus, leading to the reduction in the diploid number of 2n = 24 to 2n = 22

Cytogenetic analysis of Phyllomedusa distincta Lutz, 1950 (2n = 2x = 26), P. tetraploidea Pombal and Haddad, 1992 (2n = 4x = 52), and their natural triploid hybrids (2n = 3x = 39) (Anura, Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae)

Background: Natural polyploidy has played an important role during the speciation and evolution of vertebrates, including anurans, with more than 55 described cases. The species of the Phyllomedusa burmeisteri group are mostly characterized by having 26 chromosomes, but a karyotype with 52 chromosomes was described in P. tetraploidea. This species was found in sintopy with P. distincta in two localities of São Paulo State (Brazil), where triploid animals also occur, as consequence of natural hybridisation. We analyse the chromosomes of P. distincta, P. tetraploidea, and their triploid hybrids, to enlighten the origin of polyploidy and to obtain some evidence on diploidisation of tetraploid karyotype.Results: Phyllomedusa distincta was 2n = 2x = 26, whereas P. tetraploidea was 2n = 4x = 52, and the hybrid individuals was 2n = 3x = 39. In meiotic phases, bivalents were observed in the diploid males, whereas both bivalents and tetravalents were observed in the tetraploid males. Univalents, bivalents or trivalents; metaphase II cells carrying variable number of chromosomes; and spermatids were detected in the testis preparations of the triploid males, indicating that the triploids were not completely sterile. In natural and experimental conditions, the triploids cross with the parental species, producing abnormal egg clutches and tadpoles with malformations. The embryos and tadpoles exhibited intraindividual karyotype variability and all of the metaphases contained abnormal constitutions. Multiple NORs, detected by Ag-impregnation and FISH with an rDNA probe, were observed on chromosome 1 in the three karyotypic forms; and, additionally, on chromosome 9 in the diploids, mostly on chromosome 8 in the tetraploids, and on both chromosome 8 and 9 in the triploids. Nevertheless, NOR-bearing chromosome 9 was detected in the tetraploids, and chromosome 9 carried active or inactive NORs in the triploids. C-banding, base-specific fluorochrome stainings with CMA3 and DAPI, FISH with a telomeric probe, and BrdU incorporation in DNA showed nearly equivalent patterns in the karyotypes of P. distincta, P. tetraploidea, and the triploid hybrids.Conclusions: All the used cytogenetic techniques have provided strong evidence that the process of diploidisation, an essential step for stabilising the selective advantages produced by polyploidisation, is under way in distinct quartets of the tetraploid karyotype. © 2013 Gruber et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Comparative analysis based on replication banding reveals the mechanism responsible for the difference in the karyotype constitution of treefrogs Ololygon and Scinax (Arboranae, Hylidae, Scinaxinae)

According to the recent taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of the family Hylidae, species of the former Scinax catharinae (Boulenger, 1888) clade were included in the resurrected genus Ololygon Fitzinger, 1843, while species of the Scinax ruber (Laurenti, 1768) clade were mostly included in the genus Scinax Wagler, 1830, and two were allocated to the newly created genus Julianus Duellman et al., 2016. Although all the species of the former Scinax genus shared a diploid number of 2n = 24 and the same fundamental number of chromosome arms of FN = 48, two karyotypic constitutions were unequivocally recognized, related mainly to the distinct size and morphology of the first two chromosome pairs. Some possible mechanisms for these differences had been suggested, but without any experimental evidence. In this paper, a comparison was carried out based on replication chromosome banding, obtained after DNA incorporation of 5-bromodeoxiuridine in chromosomes of Ololygon and Scinax. The obtained results revealed that the loss of repetitive segments in chromosome pairs 1 and 2 was the mechanism responsible for karyotype difference. The distinct localization of the nucleolus organizer regions in the species of both genera also differentiates the two karyotypic constitutions

A Transcript Finishing Initiative for Closing Gaps in the Human Transcriptome

We report the results of a transcript finishing initiative, undertaken for the purpose of identifying and characterizing novel human transcripts, in which RT-PCR was used to bridge gaps between paired EST clusters, mapped against the genomic sequence. Each pair of EST clusters selected for experimental validation was designated a transcript finishing unit (TFU). A total of 489 TFUs were selected for validation, and an overall efficiency of 43.1% was achieved. We generated a total of 59,975 bp of transcribed sequences organized into 432 exons, contributing to the definition of the structure of 211 human transcripts. The structure of several transcripts reported here was confirmed during the course of this project, through the generation of their corresponding full-length cDNA sequences. Nevertheless, for 21% of the validated TFUs, a full-length cDNA sequence is not yet available in public databases, and the structure of 69.2% of these TFUs was not correctly predicted by computer programs. The TF strategy provides a significant contribution to the definition of the complete catalog of human genes and transcripts, because it appears to be particularly useful for identification of low abundance transcripts expressed in a restricted set of tissues as well as for the delineation of gene boundaries and alternatively spliced isoforms