Incipient Balancing Selection through Adaptive Loss of Aquaporins in Natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae Populations

A major goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how adaptive evolution has influenced natural variation, but identifying loci subject to positive selection has been a challenge. Here we present the adaptive loss of a pair of paralogous genes in specific Saccharomyces cerevisiae subpopulations. We mapped natural variation in freeze-thaw tolerance to two water transporters, AQY1 and AQY2, previously implicated in freeze-thaw survival. However, whereas freeze-thaw–tolerant strains harbor functional aquaporin genes, the set of sensitive strains lost aquaporin function at least 6 independent times. Several genomic signatures at AQY1 and/or AQY2 reveal low variation surrounding these loci within strains of the same haplotype, but high variation between strain groups. This is consistent with recent adaptive loss of aquaporins in subgroups of strains, leading to incipient balancing selection. We show that, although aquaporins are critical for surviving freeze-thaw stress, loss of both genes provides a major fitness advantage on high-sugar substrates common to many strains' natural niche. Strikingly, strains with non-functional alleles have also lost the ancestral requirement for aquaporins during spore formation. Thus, the antagonistic effect of aquaporin function—providing an advantage in freeze-thaw tolerance but a fitness defect for growth in high-sugar environments—contributes to the maintenance of both functional and nonfunctional alleles in S. cerevisiae. This work also shows that gene loss through multiple missense and nonsense mutations, hallmarks of pseudogenization presumed to emerge after loss of constraint, can arise through positive selection

A Catalog of Neutral and Deleterious Polymorphism in Yeast

The abundance and identity of functional variation segregating in natural populations is paramount to dissecting the molecular basis of quantitative traits as well as human genetic diseases. Genome sequencing of multiple organisms of the same species provides an efficient means of cataloging rearrangements, insertion, or deletion polymorphisms (InDels) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). While inbreeding depression and heterosis imply that a substantial amount of polymorphism is deleterious, distinguishing deleterious from neutral polymorphism remains a significant challenge. To identify deleterious and neutral DNA sequence variation within Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we sequenced the genome of a vineyard and oak tree strain and compared them to a reference genome. Among these three strains, 6% of the genome is variable, mostly attributable to variation in genome content that results from large InDels. Out of the 88,000 polymorphisms identified, 93% are SNPs and a small but significant fraction can be attributed to recent interspecific introgression and ectopic gene conversion. In comparison to the reference genome, there is substantial evidence for functional variation in gene content and structure that results from large InDels, frame-shifts, and polymorphic start and stop codons. Comparison of polymorphism to divergence reveals scant evidence for positive selection but an abundance of evidence for deleterious SNPs. We estimate that 12% of coding and 7% of noncoding SNPs are deleterious. Based on divergence among 11 yeast species, we identified 1,666 nonsynonymous SNPs that disrupt conserved amino acids and 1,863 noncoding SNPs that disrupt conserved noncoding motifs. The deleterious coding SNPs include those known to affect quantitative traits, and a subset of the deleterious noncoding SNPs occurs in the promoters of genes that show allele-specific expression, implying that some cis-regulatory SNPs are deleterious. Our results show that the genome sequences of both closely and distantly related species provide a means of identifying deleterious polymorphisms that disrupt functionally conserved coding and noncoding sequences

Loss of habitat and connectivity during drought

This study focuses on eco-hydraulics as a mean to assess the impact of drought on river ecosystems. The health of a river is influenced by many interacting natural and anthropogenic factors among which is flow (discharge). While all facets of the flow regime are important to river ecosystems, discharge has only an indirect effect. Indeed river organisms respond directly to river hydraulics in terms of: (i) available physical habitat (ie depth, velocity) created by the interaction between flow and channel morphology; (ii) river longitudinal connectivity (ie less opportunity to explore food sources, or to find most suitable conditions when connectivity is broken). During a drought, the decrease in discharge first cause a loss of physical habitat, then of connectivity. We chose to represent river hydraulics using Hydraulic Geometry (HG), which is a simple characterisation of river hydraulics as wetted width, mean water depth, and mean water velocity modelled as power functions of flow in natural rivers. We fitted HG models at about 3000 sites in England and Wales. Firstly, we aimed to understand better river hydraulic sensitivity to flow variability and, to assess how catchment properties can influence this. HG models coefficients were analysed against a wide range of catchment descriptors. Secondly, for a subset of sites covering a wide geographical area, we generated time series of depth, width, and velocity. We quantified typical habitat loss at sites during drought years. Site information was then aggregated at catchment level to assess how fragmented they are under drought conditions. Results were mapped. The approach was used with both historical and projected future discharge data

Horse behavior and facial movements in relation to food rewards.

Food rewards are believed to have a positive valence in horses. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of food rewards on horse behavior before entering a horse chute, and behavior and facial movements while restrained in it. Thirteen female adult horses were brought once daily to an animal handling facility for three weeks. In week 1, baseline period, no reinforcement was applied. In weeks 2 and 3, experimental phase, half of the horses received positive reinforcement treatment after entering and remaining in the chute; the remaining horses were considered as controls (no positive reinforcement applied). There was a cross-over between the groups during the experimental phase. Horses were individually brought to the restraining chute and videos recorded during 60-sec. The duration and number of entries into the area close to the gate leading to the chute were measured before restraining and body posture, neck position, and tail swinging were recorded in the chute. Facial movements were also recorded and scored using EquiFACS methodology. Multilevel linear and logistic models were built to assess behavioral changes from baseline to the treatment phase and between phases (control and positively reinforced). Horses did not change their body posture or tail swings across the different phases (P > 0.1) and were less likely to show lowered neck during the positively reinforced phase (OR: 0.05; CI95%: 0.00-0.56; P = 0.05) compared to baseline. The likelihood of a lowered neck did not differ between the positive reinforcement and control phases (P = 0.11). In the positively reinforced phase, horses seemed to be more attentive (ears forward) and active (less eye closures, more nose movements) than in the control phase. A three-day positive reinforcement phase did not elicit major changes in body behavior in the chute but affected the facial movements of group-housed mares

One step purification process for no-carrier-added (64)Cu produced using enriched nickel target

International audienc

Conforto térmico animal e humano em galpões de frangos de corte no semiárido mineiro

Com base na importância que o tema bem-estar tem atingido atualmente buscou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar a condição de conforto térmico para os animais e trabalhadores, durante os primeiros 21 dias de vida de pintos de corte criados em galpões na região do semiárido Mineiro, local onde a temperatura média anual é em torno de 27 ºC. O trabalho foi desenvolvido em duas fases distintas (inverno e verão) em uma granja avícola localizada na cidade de Nova Porteirinha (MG). Para avaliar o conforto térmico dos animais utilizou-se o Índice de Temperatura de Globo Negro e Umidade (ITGU) e, para caracterizar o ambiente térmico para os trabalhadores, adotou-se o Índice de Bulbo Úmido e Termômetro de Globo Negro (IBUTG). De posse dos dados coletados observou-se que, independente da estação do ano, os valores de ITGU estiveram acima de 74 caracterizando condição de estresse térmico para os pintos de corte. Com relação aos trabalhadores verificou-se que a atividade de manejo da granja realizada durante o inverno, não expõe as pessoas à condição de sobrecarga térmica; entretanto, no verão os funcionários precisam, a partir das 09:00 h, adotar pausas frequentes para reestabelecimento fisiológico, com hidratação e descanso

Correlation between infection rate of triatominies and Chagas Disease in Southwest of Bahia, Brazil: a warning sign?

ABSTRACT Chagas disease, caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi, has a wide distribution in South America, and its main method of control is the elimination of triatomines. It is presented here the geographic distribution and the rate of natural infection by T. cruzi of triatomines collected and evaluated from 2008 to 2013 in southwest of Bahia. Triatomines were captured in the intradomiciliary and peridomiciliary areas of five cities located in the southwest of Bahia state, identified, and analyzed for the presence of trypanosomatids in their feces. During the study period the number of patients suspected for acute Chagas disease was recovered from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN). 8966 triatomines were captured and identified as belonging to eight species. Twenty-six presented themselves infected, being Triatoma sordida the most abundant and with the highest percentage of infection by T. cruzi. Tremedal was the city with the highest number of cases of acute Chagas' disease reported to SINAN. All cities showed triatomines infected with T. cruzi, so there is considerable risk of vectorial transmission of Chagas disease in the southwestern Bahia state, evidencing the need for vector transmission control programs and preventive surveillance measures

Is there an interest to use deuteron beams to produce non-conventional radionuclides?

International audienceWith the recent interest on the theranostic approach, there has been a renewed interest for alternative radionuclides in nuclear medicine. They can be produced using common production routes, i.e., using protons accelerated by biomedical cyclotrons or neutrons produced in research reactors. However, in some cases, it can be more valuable to use deuterons as projectiles. In the case of Cu-64, smaller quantities of the expensive target material, Ni-64, are used with deuterons as compared with protons for the same produced activity. For the Sc-44m/Sc-44g generator, deuterons afford a higher Sc-44m production yield than with protons. Finally, in the case of Re-186g, deuterons lead to a production yield five times higher than protons. These three examples show that it is of interest to consider not only protons or neutrons but also deuterons to produce alternative radionuclides