Computing folding pathways between RNA secondary structures

Given an RNA sequence and two designated secondary structures A, B, we describe a new algorithm that computes a nearly optimal folding pathway from A to B. The algorithm, RNAtabupath, employs a tabu semi-greedy heuristic, known to be an effective search strategy in combinatorial optimization. Folding pathways, sometimes called routes or trajectories, are computed by RNAtabupath in a fraction of the time required by the barriers program of Vienna RNA Package. We benchmark RNAtabupath with other algorithms to compute low energy folding pathways between experimentally known structures of several conformational switches. The RNApathfinder web server, source code for algorithms to compute and analyze pathways and supplementary data are available at http://bioinformatics.bc.edu/clotelab/RNApathfinder

The engagement of selectins and their ligands in colorectal cancer liver metastases

The colonization of the liver by colorectal cancer (CRC) cells is a complicated process which includes many stages, until macrometastases occur. The entrapment of malignant cells within the hepatic sinusoids and their interactions with resident non-parenchymal cells are considered very important for the whole metastatic sequence. In the sinusoids, cell connection and signalling is mediated by multiple cell adhesion molecules, such as the selectins. The three members of the selectin family, E-, P- and L-selectin, in conjunction with sialylated Lewis ligands and CD44 variants, regulate colorectal cell communication and adhesion with platelets, leucocytes, sinusoidal endothelial cells and stellate cells. Their role in CRC liver metastases has been investigated in animal models and human tissue, in vivo and in vitro, in static and shear flow conditions, and their key-function in several molecular pathways has been displayed. Therefore, trials have already commenced aiming to exploit selectins and their ligands in the treatment of benign and malignant diseases. Multiple pharmacological agents have been developed that are being tested for potential therapeutic applications

Complex Evolutionary History of the Aeromonas veronii Group Revealed by Host Interaction and DNA Sequence Data

Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria, Aeromonas veronii biovar veronii, and Aeromonas allosaccharophila are a closely related group of organisms, the Aeromonas veronii Group, that inhabit a wide range of host animals as a symbiont or pathogen. In this study, the ability of various strains to colonize the medicinal leech as a model for beneficial symbiosis and to kill wax worm larvae as a model for virulence was determined. Isolates cultured from the leech out-competed other strains in the leech model, while most strains were virulent in the wax worms. Three housekeeping genes, recA, dnaJ and gyrB, the gene encoding chitinase, chiA, and four loci associated with the type three secretion system, ascV, ascFG, aexT, and aexU were sequenced. The phylogenetic reconstruction failed to produce one consensus tree that was compatible with most of the individual genes. The Approximately Unbiased test and the Genetic Algorithm for Recombination Detection both provided further support for differing evolutionary histories among this group of genes. Two contrasting tests detected recombination within aexU, ascFG, ascV, dnaJ, and gyrB but not in aexT or chiA. Quartet decomposition analysis indicated a complex recent evolutionary history for these strains with a high frequency of horizontal gene transfer between several but not among all strains. In this study we demonstrate that at least for some strains, horizontal gene transfer occurs at a sufficient frequency to blur the signal from vertically inherited genes, despite strains being adapted to distinct niches. Simply increasing the number of genes included in the analysis is unlikely to overcome this challenge in organisms that occupy multiple niches and can exchange DNA between strains specialized to different niches. Instead, the detection of genes critical in the adaptation to specific niches may help to reveal the physiological specialization of these strains

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

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