Stéphane Le Crom

A comprehensive evaluation of normalization methods for Illumina high-throughput RNA sequencing data analysis

During the last 3 years, a number of approaches for the normalization of RNA sequencing data have emerged in the literature, differing both in the type of bias adjustment and in the statistical strategy adopted. However, as data continue to accumulate, there has been no clear consensus on the appropriate normalization method to be used or the impact of a chosen method on the downstream analysis. In this work, we focus on a comprehensive comparison of seven recently proposed normalization methods for the differential analysis of RNA-seq data, with an emphasis on the use of varied real and simulated datasets involving different species and experimental designs to represent data characteristics commonly observed in practice. Based on this comparison study, we propose practical recommendations on the appropriate normalization method to be used and its impact on the differential analysis of RNA-seq data.

Comparative genome sequence analysis underscores mycoparasitism as the ancestral life style of Trichoderma

BackgroundMycoparasitism, a lifestyle where one fungus is parasitic on another fungus, has special relevance when the prey is a plant pathogen, providing a strategy for biological control of pests for plant protection. Probably, the most studied biocontrol agents are species of the genus Hypocrea/Trichoderma.ResultsHere we report an analysis of the genome sequences of the two biocontrol species Trichoderma atroviride (teleomorph Hypocrea atroviridis) and Trichoderma virens (formerly Gliocladium virens, teleomorph Hypocrea virens), and a comparison with Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina). These three Trichoderma species display a remarkable conservation of gene order (78 to 96%), and a lack of active mobile elements probably due to repeat-induced point mutation. Several gene families are expanded in the two mycoparasitic species relative to T. reesei or other ascomycetes, and are overrepresented in non-syntenic genome regions. A phylogenetic analysis shows that T. reesei and T. virens are derived relative to T. atroviride. The mycoparasitism-specific genes thus arose in a common Trichoderma ancestor but were subsequently lost in T. reesei.ConclusionsThe data offer a better understanding of mycoparasitism, and thus enforce the development of improved biocontrol strains for efficient and environmentally friendly protection of plants.

Tracking the roots of cellulase hyperproduction by the fungus Trichoderma reesei using massively parallel DNA sequencing

Trichoderma reesei (teleomorph Hypocrea jecorina) is the main industrial source of cellulases and hemicellulases harnessed for the hydrolysis of biomass to simple sugars, which can then be converted to biofuels such as ethanol and other chemicals. The highly productive strains in use today were generated by classical mutagenesis. To learn how cellulase production was improved by these techniques, we performed massively parallel sequencing to identify mutations in the genomes of two hyperproducing strains (NG14, and its direct improved descendant, RUT C30). We detected a surprisingly high number of mutagenic events: 223 single nucleotides variants, 15 small deletions or insertions, and 18 larger deletions, leading to the loss of more than 100 kb of genomic DNA. From these events, we report previously undocumented non-synonymous mutations in 43 genes that are mainly involved in nuclear transport, mRNA stability, transcription, secretion/vacuolar targeting, and metabolism. This homogeneity of functional categories suggests that multiple changes are necessary to improve cellulase production and not simply a few clear-cut mutagenic events. Phenotype microarrays show that some of these mutations result in strong changes in the carbon assimilation pattern of the two mutants with respect to the wild-type strain QM6a. Our analysis provides genome-wide insights into the changes induced by classical mutagenesis in a filamentous fungus and suggests areas for the generation of enhanced T. reesei strains for industrial applications such as biofuel production.

Evolution and cell biology of dopamine receptors in vertebrates

Dopamine, one of main modulatory neurotransmitters of the nervous system acts on target cells through two classes of G protein‐coupled receptors, D1 and D2. The two dopamine receptor classes display different structures, interact with different regulatory partners (including heterotrimeric G proteins) and, accordingly, have independent evolutionary origins. In vertebrates, each of these receptor classes comprises several subtypes, generated by two steps of gene duplications, early in vertebrate evolution. In the D1 receptor class, the D1A, D1B, D1C and D1D subtypes, and in the D2 class, the D2, D3 et D4 receptor subtypes have been conserved in most vertebrate groups. This conservation has been driven by the acquisition, by each receptor subtype, of a small number of specific properties, which were selected for adaptive purpose in vertebrates. Among these properties, affinity for dopamine, the natural ligand, intrinsic receptor activity, and agonist‐induced desensitization clearly distinguish the receptor subtypes. In addition, each dopamine receptor subtype is addressed to a specific location within neuronal networks, although detailed information is lacking for several receptor subtypes. Receptors localization at diverse subcellular places in neurons may also differ from one subtype to another, resulting in different ways of regulating cell signalisation. One challenge for future research on dopamine and its receptors would be to identify the nature of the protein partners and the molecular mechanisms involved in localizing receptors to the neuronal plasma membrane. In this respect, the evolutionary approach we have undertaken suggests that, due to gene duplications, a reasonable degree of freedom exists in the tight organisation of dopamine receptors in neurons. This “evolvability” of dopamine systems has been instrumental to adapt the vertebrate species to nearly all the possible environments.

The CRE1 carbon catabolite repressor of the fungus Trichoderma reesei: A master regulator of carbon assimilation

BackgroundThe identification and characterization of the transcriptional regulatory networks governing the physiology and adaptation of microbial cells is a key step in understanding their behaviour. One such wide-domain regulatory circuit, essential to all cells, is carbon catabolite repression (CCR): it allows the cell to prefer some carbon sources, whose assimilation is of high nutritional value, over less profitable ones. In lower multicellular fungi, the C2H2 zinc finger CreA/CRE1 protein has been shown to act as the transcriptional repressor in this process. However, the complete list of its gene targets is not known.ResultsHere, we deciphered the CRE1 regulatory range in the model cellulose and hemicellulose-degrading fungus Trichoderma reesei (anamorph of Hypocrea jecorina) by profiling transcription in a wild-type and a delta-cre1 mutant strain on glucose at constant growth rates known to repress and de-repress CCR-affected genes. Analysis of genome-wide microarrays reveals 2.8% of transcripts whose expression was regulated in at least one of the four experimental conditions: 47.3% of which were repressed by CRE1, whereas 29.0% were actually induced by CRE1, and 17.2% only affected by the growth rate but CRE1 independent. Among CRE1 repressed transcripts, genes encoding unknown proteins and transport proteins were overrepresented. In addition, we found CRE1-repression of nitrogenous substances uptake, components of chromatin remodeling and the transcriptional mediator complex, as well as developmental processes.ConclusionsOur study provides the first global insight into the molecular physiological response of a multicellular fungus to carbon catabolite regulation and identifies several not yet known targets in a growth-controlled environment.

Comparative transcriptomics reveals different strategies of Trichoderma mycoparasitism

BackgroundTrichoderma is a genus of mycotrophic filamentous fungi (teleomorph Hypocrea) which possess a bright variety of biotrophic and saprotrophic lifestyles. The ability to parasitize and/or kill other fungi (mycoparasitism) is used in plant protection against soil-borne fungal diseases (biological control, or biocontrol). To investigate mechanisms of mycoparasitism, we compared the transcriptional responses of cosmopolitan opportunistic species and powerful biocontrol agents Trichoderma atroviride and T. virens with tropical ecologically restricted species T. reesei during confrontations with a plant pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani.ResultsThe three Trichoderma spp. exhibited a strikingly different transcriptomic response already before physical contact with alien hyphae. T. atroviride expressed an array of genes involved in production of secondary metabolites, GH16 ß-glucanases, various proteases and small secreted cysteine rich proteins. T. virens, on the other hand, expressed mainly the genes for biosynthesis of gliotoxin, respective precursors and also glutathione, which is necessary for gliotoxin biosynthesis. In contrast, T. reesei increased the expression of genes encoding cellulases and hemicellulases, and of the genes involved in solute transport. The majority of differentially regulated genes were orthologues present in all three species or both in T. atroviride and T. virens, indicating that the regulation of expression of these genes is different in the three Trichoderma spp. The genes expressed in all three fungi exhibited a nonrandom genomic distribution, indicating a possibility for their regulation via chromatin modification.ConclusionThis genome-wide expression study demonstrates that the initial Trichoderma mycotrophy has differentiated into several alternative ecological strategies ranging from parasitism to predation and saprotrophy. It provides first insights into the mechanisms of interactions between Trichoderma and other fungi that may be exploited for further development of biofungicides.

Differential Regulation of the Cellulase Transcription Factors XYR1, ACE2, and ACE1 in Trichoderma reesei Strains Producing High and Low Levels of Cellulase

ABSTRACT Due to its capacity to produce large amounts of cellulases, Trichoderma reesei is increasingly being investigated for second-generation biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass. The induction mechanisms of T. reesei cellulases have been described recently, but the regulation of the genes involved in their transcription has not been studied thoroughly. Here we report the regulation of expression of the two activator genes xyr1 and ace2, and the corepressor gene ace1, during the induction of cellulase biosynthesis by the inducer lactose in T. reesei QM 9414, a strain producing low levels of cellulase (low producer). We show that all three genes are induced by lactose. xyr1 was also induced by d-galactose, but this induction was independent of d-galactose metabolism. Moreover, ace1 was carbon catabolite repressed, whereas full induction of xyr1 and ace2 in fact required CRE1. Significant differences in these regulatory patterns were observed in the high-producer strain RUT C30 and the hyperproducer strain T. reesei CL847. These observations suggest that a strongly elevated basal transcription level of xyr1 and reduced upregulation of ace1 by lactose may have been important for generating the hyperproducer strain and that thus, these genes are major control elements of cellulase production.

New Insights into the Pleiotropic Drug Resistance Network from Genome-Wide Characterization of the YRR1 Transcription Factor Regulation System

ABSTRACT Yrr1p is a recently described Zn2Cys6 transcription factor involved in the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) phenomenon. It is controlled in a Pdr1p-dependent manner and is autoregulated. We describe here a new genome-wide approach to characterization of the set of genes directly regulated by Yrr1p. We found that the time-course production of an artificial chimera protein containing the DNA-binding domain of Yrr1p activated the 15 genes that are also up-regulated by a gain-of-function mutant of Yrr1p. Gel mobility shift assays showed that the promoters of the genes AZR1, FLR1, SNG1, YLL056C, YLR346C, and YPL088W interacted with Yrr1p. The putative consensus Yrr1p binding site deduced from these experiments, (T/A)CCG(C/T)(G/T)(G/T)(A/T)(A/T), is strikingly similar to the PDR element binding site sequence recognized by Pdr1p and Pdr3p. The minor differences between these sequences are consistent with Yrr1p and Pdr1p and Pdr3p having different sets of target genes. According to these data, some target genes are directly regulated by Pdr1p and Pdr3p or by Yrr1p, whereas some genes are indirectly regulated by the activation of Yrr1p. Some genes, such as YOR1, SNQ2, and FLR1, are clearly directly controlled by both classes of transcription factor, suggesting an important role for the corresponding membrane proteins.

Eoulsan: a cloud computing-based framework facilitating high throughput sequencing analyses

UNLABELLED We developed a modular and scalable framework called Eoulsan, based on the Hadoop implementation of the MapReduce algorithm dedicated to high-throughput sequencing data analysis. Eoulsan allows users to easily set up a cloud computing cluster and automate the analysis of several samples at once using various software solutions available. Our tests with Amazon Web Services demonstrated that the computation cost is linear with the number of instances booked as is the running time with the increasing amounts of data. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Eoulsan is implemented in Java, supported on Linux systems and distributed under the LGPL License at: http://transcriptome.ens.fr/eoulsan/

Genome-Wide Transcriptome Analyses of Silicon Metabolism in Phaeodactylum tricornutum Reveal the Multilevel Regulation of Silicic Acid Transporters

Background Diatoms are largely responsible for production of biogenic silica in the global ocean. However, in surface seawater, Si(OH)4 can be a major limiting factor for diatom productivity. Analyzing at the global scale the genes networks involved in Si transport and metabolism is critical in order to elucidate Si biomineralization, and to understand diatoms contribution to biogeochemical cycles. Methodology/Principal Findings Using whole genome expression analyses we evaluated the transcriptional response to Si availability for the model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Among the differentially regulated genes we found genes involved in glutamine-nitrogen pathways, encoding putative extracellular matrix components, or involved in iron regulation. Some of these compounds may be good candidates for intracellular intermediates involved in silicic acid storage and/or intracellular transport, which are very important processes that remain mysterious in diatoms. Expression analyses and localization studies gave the first picture of the spatial distribution of a silicic acid transporter in a diatom model species, and support the existence of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulations. Conclusions/Significance Our global analyses revealed that about one fourth of the differentially expressed genes are organized in clusters, underlying a possible evolution of P. tricornutum genome, and perhaps other pennate diatoms, toward a better optimization of its response to variable environmental stimuli. High fitness and adaptation of diatoms to various Si levels in marine environments might arise in part by global regulations from gene (expression level) to genomic (organization in clusters, dosage compensation by gene duplication), and by post-transcriptional regulation and spatial distribution of SIT proteins.