Resistance of livestock to viruses: mechanisms and strategies for genetic engineering

International audienc

Correlations of genetic resistance of chickens to Marek's disease viruses with vaccination protection and in vivo response to phytohemaglutinin

International audienc

Diversity of endogenous Avian Leukosis Virus subgroup E (ALVE) insertions in indigenous chickens

International audienceAbstractBackgroundAvian leukosis virus subgroup E (ALVE) insertions are endogenous retroviruses (ERV) that are restricted to the domestic chicken and its wild progenitor. In commercial chickens, ALVE are known to have a detrimental effect on productivity and provide a source for recombination with exogenous retroviruses. The wider diversity of ALVE in non-commercial chickens and the role of these elements in ERV-derived immunity (EDI) are yet to be investigated.ResultsIn total, 974 different ALVE were identified from 407 chickens sampled from village populations in Ethiopia, Iraq, and Nigeria, using the recently developed obsERVer bioinformatics identification pipeline. Eighty-eight percent of all identified ALVE were novel, bringing the known number of ALVE integrations to more than 1300 across all analysed chickens. ALVE content was highly lineage-specific and populations generally exhibited a large diversity of ALVE at low frequencies, which is typical for ERV involved in EDI. A significantly larger number of ALVE was found within or near coding regions than expected by chance, although a relative depletion of ALVE was observed within coding regions, which likely reflects selection against deleterious integrations. These effects were less pronounced than in previous analyses of chickens from commercial lines.ConclusionsIdentification of more than 850 novel ALVE has trebled the known diversity of these retroviral elements. This work provides the basis for future studies to fully quantify the role of ALVE in immunity against exogenous ALV, and development of programmes to improve the productivity and welfare of chickens in developing economies

Epilepsy Caused by an Abnormal Alternative Splicing with Dosage Effect of the SV2A Gene in a Chicken Model

Photosensitive reflex epilepsy is caused by the combination of an individual's enhanced sensitivity with relevant light stimuli, such as stroboscopic lights or video games. This is the most common reflex epilepsy in humans; it is characterized by the photoparoxysmal response, which is an abnormal electroencephalographic reaction, and seizures triggered by intermittent light stimulation. Here, by using genetic mapping, sequencing and functional analyses, we report that a mutation in the acceptor site of the second intron of SV2A (the gene encoding synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A) is causing photosensitive reflex epilepsy in a unique vertebrate model, the Fepi chicken strain, a spontaneous model where the neurological disorder is inherited as an autosomal recessive mutation. This mutation causes an aberrant splicing event and significantly reduces the level of SV2A mRNA in homozygous carriers. Levetiracetam, a second generation antiepileptic drug, is known to bind SV2A, and SV2A knock-out mice develop seizures soon after birth and usually die within three weeks. The Fepi chicken survives to adulthood and responds to levetiracetam, suggesting that the low-level expression of SV2A in these animals is sufficient to allow survival, but does not protect against seizures. Thus, the Fepi chicken model shows that the role of the SV2A pathway in the brain is conserved between birds and mammals, in spite of a large phylogenetic distance. The Fepi model appears particularly useful for further studies of physiopathology of reflex epilepsy, in comparison with induced models of epilepsy in rodents. Consequently, SV2A is a very attractive candidate gene for analysis in the context of both mono- and polygenic generalized epilepsies in humans

Resistance of livestock to viruses: mechanisms and strategies for genetic engineering

International audienc

Professional portfolio of the preschool teacher: What is the real content?

Quality in education is directly linked to teachers’ professional qualities. Teacher quality develops over a career in terms of personality, knowledge, skills and approaches. A teacher’s professional portfolio is a comprehensive tool which provides the opportunity to acquire information not just on professional activities, but also professional identity, which may significantly affect career performance. A professional portfolio has a particular structure, such as a CV, career development plan, lesson planning, learning processes, teaching reflections, self-assessment and co-operation with colleagues, parents, the public and others. The professional portfolio is gradually becoming part of the job for teachers in nursery schools in the Czech Republic in order to improve teaching quality. If, however, this tool is perceived as just another obligatory document, its content also changes. So what is the real content of the professional portfolio? In this study, this content is structured on the basis of an analysis of the content of a preschool teacher professional portfolio. Since this type of portfolio is currently in the phase of being introduced to the nursery school environment, data from the portfolios of students who are just setting out on their journey to becoming a professional is used. Specifically, they are ending their third year having completed a month’s work experience in nursery school. Because the analysed document is very large, attention is mainly focused on self-reflection aspects. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG