Adaptive history of the chimpanzee subspecies in the genomic era

Although universal and unavoidable, aging does not occur in a uniform way. In this dissertation, we assessed the effects of early life exposure to pro-inflammatory risk factors (air pollution and obesity) on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content and telomere length, considered as markers of biological aging, at birth and during childhood. First we observed that an increment in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure during pregnancy was associated with a decrease in both placental mtDNA content and birth weight and length (chapter 2 and 3). Secondly, we showed that the association between prenatal NO2 exposure and infant growth could be mediated by placental mtDNA content (chapter 2 and 3). Thirdly, our study found that increased pre- and postnatal exposure to air pollutants lead to shorter leukocyte telomere length in 8 year old children (chapter 4). Finally, we showed that increased obesity indicators were associated with significant shorter telomeres in 8 year old children (chapter 5).Tot i que és universal i inevitable, l'envelliment no es produeix de manera uniforme. En aquesta tesi, es van avaluar els efectes de l'exposició primerenca a factors de risc proinflamatoris (contaminació de l'aire i obesitat) sobre el contingut d'ADN mitocondrial (mtDNA) i la longitud del telómero, considerats com a marcadors de l'envelliment biològic, en néixer i durant la infància. En primer lloc, vam observar que un increment de l'exposició al diòxid de nitrogen (NO2) durant l'embaràs es va associar amb una disminució tant del contingut de ADN de la placenta plasmàtica com del pes i la durada del part (capítols 2 i 3). En segon lloc, vam mostrar que l'associació entre l'exposició NO2 prenatal i el creixement infantil podria estar mediada per contingut de ADN de placenta (capítols 2 i 3). En tercer lloc, el nostre estudi va descobrir que l'augment de l'exposició pre i postnatal als contaminants atmosfèrics conduir a una menor longevitat de leucòcits en nens de 8 anys (capítol 4). Finalment, vam mostrar que un augment dels indicadors d'obesitat es van associar amb telòmers més curts significatius en nens de 8 anys (capítol 5)

A fully integrated machine learning scan of selection in the chimpanzee genome

After diverging, each chimpanzee subspecies has been the target of unique selective pressures. Here, we employ a machine learning approach to classify regions as under positive selection or neutrality genome-wide. The regions determined to be under selection reflect the unique demographic and adaptive history of each subspecies. The results indicate that effective population size is important for determining the proportion of the genome under positive selection. The chimpanzee subspecies share signals of selection in genes associated with immunity and gene regulation. With these results, we have created a selection map for each population that can be displayed in a genome browser (www.hsb.upf.edu/chimp_browser). This study is the first to use a detailed demographic history and machine learning to map selection genome-wide in chimpanzee. The chimpanzee selection map will improve our understanding of the impact of selection on closely related subspecies and will empower future studies of chimpanzee