Repeat-sequence turnover shifts fundamentally in species with large genomes

Given the 2,400-fold range of genome sizes (0.06–148.9 Gbp (gigabase pair)) of seed plants (angiosperms and gymnosperms) with a broadly similar gene content (amounting to approximately 0.03 Gbp), the repeat-sequence content of the genome might be expected to increase with genome size, resulting in the largest genomes consisting almost entirely of repetitive sequences. Here we test this prediction, using the same bioinformatic approach for 101 species to ensure consistency in what constitutes a repeat. We reveal a fundamental change in repeat turnover in genomes above around 10 Gbp, such that species with the largest genomes are only about 55% repetitive. Given that genome size influences many plant traits, habits and life strategies, this fundamental shift in repeat dynamics is likely to affect the evolutionary trajectory of species lineages.We thank Natural Environment Research Council (NE/G020256/1), the Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO:60077344) and Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2017-2274) funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (Gobierno de España) for support. We also thank Natural Environment Research Council for funding a studentship to S.D. and the China Scholarship Council for funding W.W.Abstract Main Methods Data availability Code availability References Acknowledgements Author information Ethics declarations Additional information Extended data Supplementary information Rights and permissions About this article Further readin

Possible Associations of NTRK2 Polymorphisms with Antidepressant Treatment Outcome: Findings from an Extended Tag SNP Approach

Background: Data from clinical studies and results from animal models suggest an involvement of the neurotrophin system in the pathology of depression and antidepressant treatment response. Genetic variations within the genes coding for the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its key receptor Trkb (NTRK2) may therefore influence the response to antidepressant treatment. Methods: We performed a single and multi-marker association study with antidepressant treatment outcome in 398 depressed Caucasian inpatients participating in the Munich Antidepressant Response Signature (MARS) project. Two Caucasian replication samples (N = 249 and N = 247) were investigated, resulting in a total number of 894 patients. 18 tagging SNPs in the BDNF gene region and 64 tagging SNPs in the NTRK2 gene region were genotyped in the discovery sample; 16 nominally associated SNPs were tested in two replication samples. Results: In the discovery analysis, 7 BDNF SNPs and 9 NTRK2 SNPs were nominally associated with treatment response. Three NTRK2 SNPs (rs10868223, rs1659412 and rs11140778) also showed associations in at least one replication sample and in the combined sample with the same direction of effects ($P_{corr}$ = .018, $P_{corr}$ = .015 and $P_{corr}$ = .004, respectively). We observed an across-gene BDNF-NTRK2 SNP interaction for rs4923468 and rs1387926. No robust interaction of associated SNPs was found in an analysis of BDNF serum protein levels as a predictor for treatment outcome in a subset of 93 patients. Conclusions/Limitations: Although not all associations in the discovery analysis could be unambiguously replicated, the findings of the present study identified single nucleotide variations in the BDNF and NTRK2 genes that might be involved in antidepressant treatment outcome and that have not been previously reported in this context. These new variants need further validation in future association studies

Search for strongly interacting massive particles generating trackless jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search for dark matter in the form of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) using the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. The SIMPs would be produced in pairs that manifest themselves as pairs of jets without tracks. The energy fraction of jets carried by charged particles is used as a key discriminator to suppress efficiently the large multijet background, and the remaining background is estimated directly from data. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 16.1 fb - 1 , collected with the CMS detector in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. For the simplified dark matter model under consideration, SIMPs with masses up to 100 GeV are excluded and further sensitivity is explored towards higher masses

Through-space transfer of chiral information mediated by a plasmonic nanomaterial

The ability to detect chirality gives stereochemically attuned nanosensors the potential to revolutionise the study of biomolecular processes. Such devices may structurally characterise the mechanisms of protein-ligand binding, the intermediates of amyloidogenic diseases and the effects of phosphorylation and glycosylation. We demonstrate that single nanoparticle plasmonic reporters, or nanotags, can enable a stereochemical response to be transmitted from a chiral analyte to an achiral benzotriazole dye molecule in the vicinity of a plasmon resonance from an achiral metallic nanostructure. The transfer of chirality was verified by the measurement of mirror image surface enhanced resonance Raman optical activity spectra for the two enantiomers of each of ribose and tryptophan. Computational modelling confirms these observations and reveals the novel chirality transfer mechanism responsible. This is the first report of colloidal metal nanoparticles in the form of single plasmonic substrates displaying an intrinsic chiral sensitivity once attached to a chiral molecule