| 1. |
- Alvarez-Castro, Jose M., et al.
(författare)
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How to perform meaningful estimates of genetic effects
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:5, s. e1000062-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the genotype-phenotype map plays a central role both in Quantitative and Evolutionary Genetics, the formalization of a completely general and satisfactory model of genetic effects, particularly accounting for epistasis, remains a theoretical challenge. Here, we use a two-locus genetic system in simulated populations with epistasis to show the convenience of using a recently developed model, NOIA, to perform estimates of genetic effects and the decomposition of the genetic variance that are orthogonal even under deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg proportions. We develop the theory for how to use this model in interval mapping of quantitative trait loci using Halley-Knott regressions, and we analyze a real data set to illustrate the advantage of using this approach in practice. In this example, we show that departures from the Hardy-Weinberg proportions that are expected by sampling alone substantially alter the orthogonal estimates of genetic effects when other statistical models, like F-2 or G2A, are used instead of NOIA. Finally, for the first time from real data, we provide estimates of functional genetic effects as sets of effects of natural allele substitutions in a particular genotype, which enriches the debate on the interpretation of genetic effects as implemented both in functional and in statistical models. We also discuss further implementations leading to a completely general genotype-phenotype map.
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| 2. |
- Berger, Juerg, et al.
(författare)
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Systematic identification of genes that regulate neuronal wiring in the Drosophila visual system
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS GENET. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:5, s. e1000085-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forward genetic screens in model organisms are an attractive means to identify those genes involved in any complex biological process, including neural circuit assembly. Although mutagenesis screens are readily performed to saturation, gene identification rarely is, being limited by the considerable effort generally required for positional cloning. Here, we apply a systematic positional cloning strategy to identify many of the genes required for neuronal wiring in the Drosophila visual system. From a large-scale forward genetic screen selecting for visual system wiring defects with a normal retinal pattern, we recovered 122 mutations in 42 genetic loci. For 6 of these loci, the underlying genetic lesions were previously identified using traditional methods. Using SNP-based mapping approaches, we have now identified 30 additional genes. Neuronal phenotypes have not previously been reported for 20 of these genes, and no mutant phenotype has been previously described for 5 genes. The genes encode a variety of proteins implicated in cellular processes such as gene regulation, cytoskeletal dynamics, axonal transport, and cell signalling. We conducted a comprehensive phenotypic analysis of 35 genes, scoring wiring defects according to 33 criteria. This work demonstrates the feasibility of combining large-scale gene identification with large-scale mutagenesis in Drosophila, and provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms that regulate visual system wiring.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of the yellow skin gene reveals a hybrid origin of the domestic chicken
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:2, s. e1000010-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Yellow skin is an abundant phenotype among domestic chickens and is caused by a recessive allele (W*Y) that allows deposition of yellow carotenoids in the skin. Here we show that yellow skin is caused by one or more cis-acting and tissue-specific regulatory mutation(s) that inhibit expression of BCDO2 (beta-carotene dioxygenase 2) in skin. Our data imply that carotenoids are taken up from the circulation in both genotypes but are degraded by BCDO2 in skin from animals carrying the white skin allele (W*W). Surprisingly, our results demonstrate that yellow skin does not originate from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), the presumed sole wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, but most likely from the closely related grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii). This is the first conclusive evidence for a hybrid origin of the domestic chicken, and it has important implications for our views of the domestication process.
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| 4. |
- Francois, Olivier, et al.
(författare)
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Demographic history of European populations of Arabidopsis thaliana
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:5, s. e1000075-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana is successful at colonizing land that has recently undergone human-mediated disturbance. To investigate the prehistoric spread of A. thaliana, we applied approximate Bayesian computation and explicit spatial modeling to 76 European accessions sequenced at 876 nuclear loci. We find evidence that a major migration wave occurred from east to west, affecting most of the sampled individuals. The longitudinal gradient appears to result from the plant having spread in Europe from the east ~10,000 years ago, with a rate of westward spread of ~0.9 km/year. This wave-of-advance model is consistent with a natural colonization from an eastern glacial refugium that overwhelmed ancient western lineages. However, the speed and time frame of the model also suggest that the migration of A. thaliana into Europe may have accompanied the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic transition.
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| 5. |
- Friberg, Urban, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Sexually Antagonistic “Zygotic Drive” of the Sex Chromosomes
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : PLOS Genetics. - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genomic conflict is perplexing because it causes the fitness of a species to decline rather than improve. Many diverse forms of genomic conflict have been identified, but this extant tally may be incomplete. Here, we show that the unusual characteristics of the sex chromosomes can, in principle, lead to a previously unappreciated form of sexual genomic conflict. The phenomenon occurs because there is selection in the heterogametic sex for sex-linked mutations that harm the sex of offspring that does not carry them, whenever there is competition among siblings. This harmful phenotype can be expressed as an antagonistic green-beard effect that is mediated by epigenetic parental effects, parental investment, and/or interactions among siblings. We call this form of genomic conflict sexually antagonistic “zygotic drive”, because it is functionally equivalent to meiotic drive, except that it operates during the zygotic and postzygotic stages of the life cycle rather than the meiotic and gametic stages. A combination of mathematical modeling and a survey of empirical studies is used to show that sexually antagonistic zygotic drive is feasible, likely to be widespread in nature, and that it can promote a genetic “arms race” between the homo- and heteromorphic sex chromosomes. This new category of genomic conflict has the potential to strongly influence other fundamental evolutionary processes, such as speciation and the degeneration of the Y and W sex chromosomes. It also fosters a new genetic hypothesis for the evolution of enigmatic fitness-reducing traits like the high frequency of spontaneous abortion, sterility, and homosexuality observed in humans.
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| 6. |
- Giraud, Antoine, et al.
(författare)
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Dissecting the genetic components of adaptation of Escherichia coli to the mouse gut
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While pleiotropic adaptive mutations are thought to be central for evolution, little is known on the downstream molecular effects allowing adaptation to complex ecologically relevant environments. Here we show that Escherichia coli MG1655 adapts rapidly to the intestine of germ-free mice by single point mutations in EnvZ/OmpR two-component signal transduction system, which controls more than 100 genes. The selective advantage conferred by the mutations that modulate EnvZ/OmpR activities was the result of their independent and additive effects on flagellin expression and permeability. These results obtained in vivo thus suggest that global regulators may have evolved to coordinate activities that need to be fine-tuned simultaneously during adaptation to complex environments and that mutations in such regulators permit adjustment of the boundaries of physiological adaptation when switching between two very distinct environments.
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| 7. |
- Hunley, Keith, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic and Linguistic Coevolution in Northern Island Melanesia
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent studies have detailed a remarkable degree of genetic and linguistic diversity in Northern Island Melanesia. Here we utilize that diversity to examine two models of genetic and linguistic coevolution. The first model predicts that genetic and linguistic correspondences formed following population splits and isolation at the time of early range expansions into the region. The second is analogous to the genetic model of isolation by distance, and it predicts that genetic and linguistic correspondences formed through continuing genetic and linguistic exchange between neighboring populations. We tested the predictions of the two models by comparing observed and simulated patterns of genetic variation, genetic and linguistic trees, and matrices of genetic, linguistic, and geographic distances. The data consist of 751 autosomal microsatellites and 108 structural linguistic features collected from 33 Northern Island Melanesian populations. The results of the tests indicate that linguistic and genetic exchange have erased any evidence of a splitting and isolation process that might have occurred early in the settlement history of the region. The correlation patterns are also inconsistent with the predictions of the isolation by distance coevolutionary process in the larger Northern Island Melanesian region, but there is strong evidence for the process in the rugged interior of the largest island in the region (New Britain). There we found some of the strongest recorded correlations between genetic, linguistic, and geographic distances. We also found that, throughout the region, linguistic features have generally been less likely to diffuse across population boundaries than genes. The results from our study, based on exceptionally fine-grained data, show that local genetic and linguistic exchange are likely to obscure evidence of the early history of a region, and that language barriers do not particularly hinder genetic exchange. In contrast, global patterns may emphasize more ancient demographic events, including population splits associated with the early colonization of major world regions.
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| 8. |
- Lesterlin, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Asymmetry of Chromosome Replichores Renders the DNA Translocase Activity of FtsK Essential for Cell Division and Cell Shape Maintenance in Escherichia coli
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS GENET. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:12, s. e1000288-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bacterial chromosomes are organised as two replichores of opposite polarity that coincide with the replication arms from the ori to the ter region. Here, we investigated the effects of asymmetry in replichore organisation in Escherichia coli. We show that large chromosome inversions from the terminal junction of the replichores disturb the ongoing post-replicative events, resulting in inhibition of both cell division and cell elongation. This is accompanied by alterations of the segregation pattern of loci located at the inversion endpoints, particularly of the new replichore junction. None of these defects is suppressed by restoration of termination of replication opposite oriC, indicating that they are more likely due to the asymmetry of replichore polarity than to asymmetric replication. Strikingly, DNA translocation by FtsK, which processes the terminal junction of the replichores during cell division, becomes essential in inversion-carrying strains. Inactivation of the FtsK translocation activity leads to aberrant cell morphology, strongly suggesting that it controls membrane synthesis at the division septum. Our results reveal that FtsK mediates a reciprocal control between processing of the replichore polarity junction and cell division.
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| 9. |
- Li, Chunmei, et al.
(författare)
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An essential role for DYF-11/MIP-T3 in assembling functional intraflagellar transport complexes
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:3, s. e1000044-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- MIP-T3 is a human protein found previously to associate with microtubules and the kinesin-interacting neuronal protein DISC1 ( Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1), but whose cellular function(s) remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that the C. elegans MIP-T3 ortholog DYF-11 is an intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein that plays a critical role in assembling functional kinesin motor-IFT particle complexes. We have cloned a loss of function dyf-11 mutant in which several key components of the IFT machinery, including Kinesin-II, as well as IFT subcomplex A and B proteins, fail to enter ciliary axonemes and/or mislocalize, resulting in compromised ciliary structures and sensory functions, and abnormal lipid accumulation. Analyses in different mutant backgrounds further suggest that DYF-11 functions as a novel component of IFT subcomplex B. Consistent with an evolutionarily conserved cilia-associated role, mammalian MIP-T3 localizes to basal bodies and cilia, and zebrafish mipt3 functions synergistically with the Bardet-Biedl syndrome protein Bbs4 to ensure proper gastrulation, a key cilium- and basal body-dependent developmental process. Our findings therefore implicate MIP-T3 in a previously unknown but critical role in cilium biogenesis and further highlight the emerging role of this organelle in vertebrate development.
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| 10. |
- Menkis, Audrius, et al.
(författare)
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The mating-type chromosome in the filamentous ascomycete Neurospora tetrasperma represents a model for early evolution of sex chromosomes
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 4:3, s. e100030-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We combined gene divergence data, classical genetics, and phylogenetics to study the evolution of the mating-type chromosome in the filamentous ascomycete Neurospora tetrasperma. In this species, a large non-recombining region of the mating-type chromosome is associated with a unique fungal life cycle where self-fertility is enforced by maintenance of a constant state of heterokaryosis. Sequence divergence between alleles of 35 genes from the two single mating-type component strains (i.e. the homokaryotic mat A or mat a-strains), derived from one N. tetrasperma heterokaryon ( mat A+mat a), was analyzed. By this approach we were able to identify the boundaries and size of the non- recombining region, and reveal insight into the history of recombination cessation. The non- recombining region covers almost 7 Mbp, over 75% of the chromosome, and we hypothesize that the evolution of the mating-type chromosome in this lineage involved two successive events. The first event was contemporaneous with the split of N. tetrasperma from a common ancestor with its outcrossing relative N. crassa and suppressed recombination over at least 6.6 Mbp, and the second was confined to a smaller region in which recombination ceased more recently. In spite of the early origin of the first "evolutionary stratum'', genealogies of five genes from strains belonging to an additional N. tetrasperma lineage indicate independent initiations of suppressed recombination in different phylogenetic lineages. This study highlights the shared features between the sex chromosomes found in the animal and plant kingdoms and the fungal mating-type chromosome, despite fungi having no separate sexes. As is often found in sex chromosomes of plants and animals, recombination suppression of the mating- type chromosome of N. tetrasperma involved more than one evolutionary event, covers the majority of the mating- type chromosome and is flanked by distal regions with obligate crossovers.
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