Eric Faure

High similarity between flanking regions of different microsatellites detected within each of two species of Lepidoptera: Parnassius apollo and Euphydryas aurinia.

Microsatellite flanking regions have been compared in two butterfly species. Several microsatellite flanking regions showed high similarity to one another among different microsatellites within a same species, but very few similarities were found between species. This can be the consequence of either duplication/multiplication events involving large regions containing microsatellites or of microsatellites imbedded in minisatellite regions. The multiplication of microsatellites might also be linked to mobile elements. Furthermore, crossing over between nonhomologous microsatellites can lead to the exchange of the flanking regions between microsatellites. The same phenomenon was observed in both studied butterfly species but not in Aphis fabae (Hemiptera), which was screened at the same time using the same protocol. These findings might explain, at least partially, why microsatellite isolation in Lepidoptera has been relatively unsuccessful so far.

Probable presence of an ubiquitous cryptic mitochondrial gene on the antisense strand of the cytochrome oxidase I gene

BackgroundMitochondria mediate most of the energy production that occurs in the majority of eukaryotic organisms. These subcellular organelles contain a genome that differs from the nuclear genome and is referred to as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Despite a disparity in gene content, all mtDNAs encode at least two components of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, including cytochrome c oxidase I (Cox1).Presentation of the hypothesisA positionally conserved ORF has been found on the complementary strand of the cox1 genes of both eukaryotic mitochondria (protist, plant, fungal and animal) and alpha-proteobacteria. This putative gene has been named gau for gene antisense ubiquitous in mtDNAs. The length of the deduced protein is approximately 100 amino acids. In vertebrates, several stop codons have been found in the mt gau region, and potentially functional gau regions have been found in nuclear genomes. However, a recent bioinformatics study showed that several hypothetical overlapping mt genes could be predicted, including gau; this involves the possible import of the cytosolic AGR tRNA into the mitochondria and/or the expression of mt antisense tRNAs with anticodons recognizing AGR codons according to an alternative genetic code that is induced by the presence of suppressor tRNAs. Despite an evolutionary distance of at least 1.5 to 2.0 billion years, the deduced Gau proteins share some conserved amino acid signatures and structure, which suggests a possible conserved function. Moreover, BLAST analysis identified rare, sense-oriented ESTs with poly(A) tails that include the entire gau region. Immunohistochemical analyses using an anti-Gau monoclonal antibody revealed strict co-localization of Gau proteins and a mitochondrial marker.Testing the hypothesisThis hypothesis could be tested by purifying the gau gene product and determining its sequence. Cell biological experiments are needed to determine the physiological role of this protein.Implications of the hypothesisStudies of the gau ORF will shed light on the origin of novel genes and their functions in organelles and could also have medical implications for human diseases that are caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, this strengthens evidence for mitochondrial genes coded according to an overlapping genetic code.

An archaeological and historical review of the relationships between felids and people.

ABSTRACT A review of the archaeological and historical records reveals several lines of evidence that people have had close relationships with felids. Almost 40% of felid species have been tamed on all continents, excluding Europe and Oceania, but only one species was domesticated. However, taming occurred mostly in five felid lineages, mostly in South and Central America, and Southwest Asia and North Africa, which is consistent with the early development of permanent human settlements and agriculture in these regions. In the Old World, probably since the beginning of the Neolithic, the first farmers encouraged commensal small carnivorans, which had been attracted either by rodent pests or scavenging opportunities. Recent genetic evidence supports archaeological evidence for the domestic cats origin in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia. However, full domestication may have occurred only in ancient Egypt, where breeding of imported Mesopotamian wildcats may have been controlled, thereby allowing artificial selection, and suggesting that putative early domestic cats were most probably tamed wildcats. As there was no tameable, small felid in Europe, other indigenous carnivorans, such as mustelids, viverrids, and herpestids, were tamed instead. They were slowly replaced as the domestic cat spread gradually throughout Europe, principally with the Romans. The wildcat was fully domesticated, owing probably to a specific set of human cultural events and requirements, rather than as a consequence of a unique tendency to tameness in some populations of Felis silvestris. The global spread of the domestic cat probably obviated the need for domestication of other small felids elsewhere.

Molecular phylogeography of western Mediterranean dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus

Intraspecific sequence variation in a portion of the gene coding for cytochrome b in the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus Lowe 1834), an endangered fish species in various regions of the Mediterranean sea, was examined in 29 individuals from the western Mediterranean sea. Sixty-four phylogenetically informative nucleotide positions were present in a 353-base pair cytochrome b sequence, amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis of the sequence data using a variety of tree-building algorithms separated the taxa into one group of dusky groupers corresponding to some of the Algerian individuals and another regrouped set of fishes originating in France, Tunisia and the remaining Algerian specimens. Although, on the basis of their morphology, E. marginatus are now considered as a single species, our results suggest that a subgroup of the Algerian dusky grouper constitutes a cryptic (undescribed) species. These results suggest that morphological and genetic evolution may be uncoupled in dusky grouper, resulting in morphological similarity between species despite extensive genetic divergence. In addition, we cannot rule out the possibility of gene introgression with other species of grouper. A more in depth phylogenetic analysis (i.e. between and within the different Epinephelus species) would likely affect many conservation management decisions about this assemblage of groupers.

Is the European spatial distribution of the HIV-1-resistant CCR5-Δ32 allele formed by a breakdown of the pathocenosis due to the historical Roman expansion?

We studied the possible effects of the expansion of ancient Mediterranean civilizations during the five centuries before and after Christ on the European distribution of the mutant allele for the chemokine receptor gene CCR5 which has a 32-bp deletion (CCR5-Delta32). There is a strong evidence for the unitary origin of the CCR5-Delta32 mutation, this it is found principally in Europe and Western Asia, with generally a north-south downhill cline frequency. Homozygous carriers of this mutation show a resistance to HIV-1 infection and a slower progression towards AIDS. However, HIV has clearly emerged too recently to have been the selective force on CCR5. Our analyses showed strong negative correlations in Europe between the allele frequency and two historical parameters, i.e. the first colonization dates by the great ancient Mediterranean civilizations, and the distances from the Northern frontiers of the Roman Empire in its greatest expansion. Moreover, other studies have shown that the deletion frequencies in both German Bronze Age and Swedish Neolithic populations were similar to those found in the corresponding modern populations, and this deletion has been found in ancient DNA of around 7000 years ago, suggesting that in the past, the deletion frequency could have been relatively high in European populations. In addition, in West Nile virus pathogenesis, CCR5 plays an antimicrobial role showing that host genetic factors are highly pathogen-specific. Our results added to all these previous data suggest that the actual European allele frequency distribution might not be due to genes spreading, but to a negative selection resulting in the spread of pathogens principally during Roman expansion. Indeed, as gene flows from colonizers to European native populations were extremely low, the mutational changes might be associated with vulnerability to imported infections. To date, the nature of the parasites remains unknown; however, zoonoses could be incriminated.

Forte différenciation génétique de la daurade Sparus aurata (L., 1758) entre les deux rives de la Méditerranée occidentale

We characterised four samples of gilthead sea bream from the two western Mediterranean banks with three microsatellite loci and two RAPDs systems. Contrarily to what could be predicted for a highly mobile species with a planktonic larval dispersal phase, we observed a strong and significant genetic differentiation at all loci between the two banks (F(st)=0.069(***)), whereas two samples from the Gulf of Lions were almost identical (F(st)=0.003 ns) while the two from the Gulf of Annaba displayed varied levels of differentiation according to the molecular marker considered. RAPDs showed a similar trend as microsatellites. The reasons for this surprisingly strong genetic differentiation, as compared to what has been observed in other species over comparable geographical distance, may be sought for either in a smaller as suspected larval dispersal, or in the non-neutrality of the loci studied.

The differential expression of ribosomal 18S RNA paralog genes from the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera

Chaetognaths constitute a small marine phylum of approximately 120 species. Two classes of both 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences have been evidenced in this phylum, even though significant intraindividual variation in the sequences of rRNA genes is unusual in animal genomes. These observations led to the hypothesis that this unusual genetic characteristic could play one or more physiological role(s). Using in situ hybridization on the frontal sections of the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera, we found that the 18S Class I genes are expressed in the whole body, with a strong expression throughout the gut epithelium, whereas the expression of the 18S Class II genes is restricted to the oocytes. Our results could suggest that the paralog products of the 18S Class I genes are probably the “housekeeping” 18S rRNAs, whereas those of class II would only be essential in specific tissues. These results provide support for the idea that each type of 18S paralog is important for specific cellular functions and is under the control of selective factors.

Physical contact with lymphocytes is required for reactivation of dormant HIV-1 in colonic epithelial cells: involvement of the HIV-1 LTR

HIV-1 transmission from mucosal epithelial cells to lymphocytes is a potential mechanism of HIV-1 contamination during sexual intercourse. The human colon epithelial cell line HT-29, that is infectable by various HIV-1 strains, is a useful model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in this process. In the present study, we show that HT-29 cells, when exposed to either HIV-1(LAI) or HIV-1(NDK) at a low multiplicity of infection, became infected but did not produce infectious virions. Using two-compartment cell culture chambers separated by a porous membrane, we showed that PBL were able to rescue infectious HIV-1 from latently infected HT-29 cells following a physical interaction between the two cell populations. In contrast, HT-29 cells, infected with the same viruses at a high multiplicity of infection, were able to produce mature viral particles that were infectious to PBL in absence of cellular contacts. Transient expression assays using an indicator gene under the control of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat revealed that cell-to-cell contact induced an activation of the HIV-1 promoter. These observations provide a putative molecular mechanism for transmission of HIV-1 from mucosal epithelial cells to lymphocytes.

UVB irradiation-induced transcription from the long terminal repeat of intracisternal A particles and UVB-induced secretion of an extracellular factor that induces transcription of the intracisternal A particles in unirradiated cells

Intracisternal A particles (IAPs) are endogenous defective retroviral-like elements encoded by a family of proviral sequences present as a thousand copies in the mouse genome. In order to analyse the regulation of the long terminal repeat (LTR) directed transcription by UVB, D152 murine cells were transfected with a chimeric construct carrying the LTR of IAP linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol-acetyl-transferase reporter gene and then subjected by UVB irradiation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Like the human immunodeficiency virus 1 type LTR and in spite of the lack of the nuclear factor kappa B consensus sequence, the IAP LTR could be activated by UVB. In addition, the D152 cells produced an extracellular factor are factors in response to UVB irradiation which activated the IAP LTR in unirradiated cells. This factor was detected both when responding cells were cocultured with inducing cells and when conditioned medium from irradiated cultures was added to the cell cultures.