Genetic diversity and population structure of the Eurosian otte (Lutra lutra) in France

During the last century, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) suffered a dramatic decline in Europe. In France, the same pattern of sharp decline was observed with local extinctions in many regions. Before the recolonisation process, two main populations still remained along the Atlantic coast and in the Massif Central. To investigate the impact of this decline on the genetic diversity and structure of the French otter population, tissue samples of 144 otter carcasses from road kills that were found during 1992–2011 along the Atlantic coast and in the Massif Central were used. They were analysed using 10 microsatellites loci. Observed (Ho = 0.64) and expected heterozygosity (He = 0.62) were moderate, but consistent with results found in other European populations. The bottleneck test showed an excess of heterozygotes, providing evidence of a recent decline. There was evidence for weak but significant allelic frequencies divergence between otters from the Atlantic coast and those from the Massif Central (Fst=0.040, p<0.05), probably resulting from their isolation prior to the recolonisation process. As the French otter population has been expanding for several years, genetic intermixing is now occurring. Although this expansion has not yet genetically homogenised all populations, this is may be a matter a time

Exposure to Farm Animals and Risk of Lung Cancer in the AGRICAN Cohort.

Epidemiologic studies have found lower risks of lung cancer in farmers. However, little is known about the types of agricultural activities concerned. In the Agriculture and Cancer cohort, we assessed the relationship between animal farming and lung cancer by investigating the types of animals, tasks, and timing of exposure. Analyses included 170,834 participants from the Agriculture and Cancer (AGRICAN) cohort in France. Incident lung cancers were identified through linkage with cancer registries from enrollment (2005-2007) to 2011. A Cox model, adjusting for pack-years of cigarette smoking, was used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Lung cancer risk was inversely related to duration of exposure to cattle (≥40 years: hazard ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.41, 0.89; P for trend < 0.01) and to horse farming (≥20 years: hazard ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval: 0.35, 1.17; P for trend = 0.09), especially for adenocarcinomas, but not with poultry or pig farming. More pronounced decreased risks were reported among individuals who had cared for animals, undertaken milking, and who had been exposed to cattle in infancy. Our study provides strong evidence of an inverse association between lung cancer and cattle and horse farming. Further research is warranted to identify the etiologic protective agents and biological mechanisms

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies five new susceptibility loci for pancreatic cancer.

In 2020, 146,063 deaths due to pancreatic cancer are estimated to occur in Europe and the United States combined. To identify common susceptibility alleles, we performed the largest pancreatic cancer GWAS to date, including 9040 patients and 12,496 controls of European ancestry from the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium (PanScan) and the Pancreatic Cancer Case-Control Consortium (PanC4). Here, we find significant evidence of a novel association at rs78417682 (7p12/TNS3, P = 4.35 × 10-8). Replication of 10 promising signals in up to 2737 patients and 4752 controls from the PANcreatic Disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium yields new genome-wide significant loci: rs13303010 at 1p36.33 (NOC2L, P = 8.36 × 10-14), rs2941471 at 8q21.11 (HNF4G, P = 6.60 × 10-10), rs4795218 at 17q12 (HNF1B, P = 1.32 × 10-8), and rs1517037 at 18q21.32 (GRP, P = 3.28 × 10-8). rs78417682 is not statistically significantly associated with pancreatic cancer in PANDoRA. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis in three independent pancreatic data sets provides molecular support of NOC2L as a pancreatic cancer susceptibility gene

Agnostic Pathway/Gene Set Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Data Identifies Associations for Pancreatic Cancer

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify associations of individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with cancer risk but usually only explain a fraction of the inherited variability. Pathway analysis of genetic variants is a powerful tool to identify networks of susceptibility genes. Methods We conducted a large agnostic pathway-based meta-analysis of GWAS data using the summary-based adaptive rank truncated product method to identify gene sets and pathways associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in 9040 cases and 12 496 controls. We performed expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and functional annotation of the top SNPs in genes contributing to the top associated pathways and gene sets. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results We identified 14 pathways and gene sets associated with PDAC at a false discovery rate of less than 0.05. After Bonferroni correction (P Conclusion Our agnostic pathway and gene set analysis integrated with functional annotation and eQTL analysis provides insight into genes and pathways that may be biologically relevant for risk of PDAC, including those not previously identified.Peer reviewe

CO2 storage and release in the deep Southern Ocean on millennial to centennial timescales

This work was supported by NERC Standard Grant NE/N003861/1 to J.W.B.R. and L.F.R., a NOAA Climate and Global Change VSP Fellowship to J.W.B.R, NERC Standard Grant NE/M004619/1 to AB and JWBR, a NERC Strategic Environmental Science Capital Grant to A.B. and J.W.B.R., Marie Curie Career Integration Grant CIG14-631752 to AB, an ERC consolidator grant to L.F.R., NSF grant OCE-1503129 to J.F.A., and NERC studentships to B.T. and E.L.The cause of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during the recent ice ages is yet to be fully explained. Most mechanisms for glacial–interglacial CO2 change have centred on carbon exchange with the deep ocean, owing to its large size and relatively rapid exchange with the atmosphere1. The Southern Ocean is thought to have a key role in this exchange, as much of the deep ocean is ventilated to the atmosphere in this region2. However, it is difficult to reconstruct changes in deep Southern Ocean carbon storage, so few direct tests of this hypothesis have been carried out. Here we present deep-sea coral boron isotope data that track the pH—and thus the CO2 chemistry—of the deep Southern Ocean over the past forty thousand years. At sites closest to the Antarctic continental margin, and most influenced by the deep southern waters that form the ocean’s lower overturning cell, we find a close relationship between ocean pH and atmospheric CO2: during intervals of low CO2, ocean pH is low, reflecting enhanced ocean carbon storage; and during intervals of rising CO2, ocean pH rises, reflecting loss of carbon from the ocean to the atmosphere. Correspondingly, at shallower sites we find rapid (millennial- to centennial-scale) decreases in pH during abrupt increases in CO2, reflecting the rapid transfer of carbon from the deep ocean to the upper ocean and atmosphere. Our findings confirm the importance of the deep Southern Ocean in ice-age CO2 change, and show that deep-ocean CO2 release can occur as a dynamic feedback to rapid climate change on centennial timescales.PostprintPeer reviewe

Etude de l'habitat de la loutre d'Europe (Lutra lutra) en région Auvergne (France) [Texte imprimé] : relations entre le régime alimentaire et la dynamique de composés essentiels et d'éléments toxiques

The habitat and diet of the otter (Lutra lutra) were studied in the Auvergne region, in relation to the dynamics of essential fatty acids and toxic elements. The movement of natural recolonization of the species leads to frequent aquatic environments degraded and not degraded. Diet dominated by fish, is more diversified in its last. The prey of aquatic origin are a major source of essential fatty acids in tissues of otters, and the ratio DHA / LA is a tool for assessing the origin of terrestrial and aquatic prey. Organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, trace elements and anticoagulants were detected in spraints, tissues, and the main prey of the otter. The concentrations of these elements in tissues, increase along a gradient downstream upstream, within the watershed, due to the transfer of toxic compounds from prey to predatorL'habitat et le régime alimentaire de la loutre d'Europe (Lutra lutra) ont été etudiés en région Auvergne, en relation avec la dynamique d'acides gras essentiels et d'éléments toxiques. Le mouvement de recolonisation naturelle de l'espèce l'amène à fréquenter des milieux aquatiques dégradés et non dégradés. Le régime alimentaire, dominé par les poissons, est plus diversifié dans ses derniers. Les proies d'origine aquatique constituent une source majeure d'acides gras essentiels dans les tissus de la loutre, et le rapport DHA/LA constitue un outil d'évaluation de l'origine terrestre ou aquatique des proies. Des pesticides organochlorés, des PCBs ,des éléments traces et des anticoagulants ont été détectés dans les épreintes, les tissus, et les proies principales de la loutre. Les concentrations de ces éléments, dans les tissus, augmentent selon un gradient amont aval, au sein des bassins hydrographiques, en raison du transfert des composés toxiques des proies vers le prédateu