| 1. |
- A, Teschendorff, et al.
(författare)
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The dynamics of DNA methylation covariation patterns in carcinogenesis
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLoS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 10:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently it has been observed that cancer tissue is characterised by an increased variability in DNA methylation patterns. However, how the correlative patterns in genome-wide DNA methylation change during the carcinogenic progress has not yet been explored. Here we study genome-wide inter-CpG correlations in DNA methylation, in addition to single site variability, during cervical carcinogenesis. We demonstrate how the study of changes in DNA methylation covariation patterns across normal, intra-epithelial neoplasia and invasive cancer allows the identification of CpG sites that indicate the risk of neoplastic transformation in stages prior to neoplasia. Importantly, we show that the covariation in DNA methylation at these risk CpG loci is maximal immediately prior to the onset of cancer, supporting the view that high epigenetic diversity in normal cells increases the risk of cancer. Consistent with this, we observe that invasive cancers exhibit increased covariation in DNA methylation at the risk CpG sites relative to normal tissue, but lower levels relative to pre-cancerous lesions. We further show that the identified risk CpG sites undergo preferential DNA methylation changes in relation to human papilloma virus infection and age. Results are validated in independent data including prospectively collected samples prior to neoplastic transformation. Our data are consistent with a phase transition model of carcinogenesis, in which epigenetic diversity is maximal prior to the onset of cancer. The model and algorithm proposed here may allow, in future, network biomarkers predicting the risk of neoplastic transformation to be identified.
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| 2. |
- Albantakis, L., et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of Integrated Causal Structures in Animats Exposed to Environments of Increasing Complexity
- 2014
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 10:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural selection favors the evolution of brains that can capture fitness-relevant features of the environment's causal structure. We investigated the evolution of small, adaptive logic-gate networks (“animats”) in task environments where falling blocks of different sizes have to be caught or avoided in a ‘Tetris-like’ game. Solving these tasks requires the integration of sensor inputs and memory. Evolved networks were evaluated using measures of information integration, including the number of evolved concepts and the total amount of integrated conceptual information. The results show that, over the course of the animats' adaptation, i) the number of concepts grows; ii) integrated conceptual information increases; iii) this increase depends on the complexity of the environment, especially on the requirement for sequential memory. These results suggest that the need to capture the causal structure of a rich environment, given limited sensors and internal mechanisms, is an important driving force for organisms to develop highly integrated networks (“brains”) with many concepts, leading to an increase in their internal complexity. © 2014 Albantakis et al.
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| 3. |
- Altafini, Claudio, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolic Adaptation Processes That Converge to Optimal Biomass Flux Distributions
- 2015
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 11:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In simple organisms like E. coli, the metabolic response to an external perturbation passes through a transient phase in which the activation of a number of latent pathways can guarantee survival at the expenses of growth. Growth is gradually recovered as the organism adapts to the new condition. This adaptation can be modeled as a process of repeated metabolic adjustments obtained through the resilencings of the non-essential metabolic reactions, using growth rate as selection probability for the phenotypes obtained. The resulting metabolic adaptation process tends naturally to steer the metabolic fluxes towards high growth phenotypes. Quite remarkably, when applied to the central carbon metabolism of E. coli, it follows that nearly all flux distributions converge to the flux vector representing optimal growth, i.e., the solution of the biomass optimization problem turns out to be the dominant attractor of the metabolic adaptation process.
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| 4. |
- Andersen, Malin, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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In silico detection of sequence variations modifying transcriptional regulation
- 2008
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 4:1, s. e5-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identification of functional genetic variation associated with increased susceptibility to complex diseases can elucidate genes and underlying biochemical mechanisms linked to disease onset and progression. For genes linked to genetic diseases, most identified causal mutations alter an encoded protein sequence. Technological advances for measuring RNA abundance suggest that a significant number of undiscovered causal mutations may alter the regulation of gene transcription. However, it remains a challenge to separate causal genetic variations from linked neutral variations. Here we present an in silico driven approach to identify possible genetic variation in regulatory sequences. The approach combines phylogenetic footprinting and transcription factor binding site prediction to identify variation in candidate cis-regulatory elements. The bioinformatics approach has been tested on a set of SNPs that are reported to have a regulatory function, as well as background SNPs. In the absence of additional information about an analyzed gene, the poor specificity of binding site prediction is prohibitive to its application. However, when additional data is available that can give guidance on which transcription factor is involved in the regulation of the gene, the in silico binding site prediction improves the selection of candidate regulatory polymorphisms for further analyses. The bioinformatics software generated for the analysis has been implemented as a Web-based application system entitled RAVEN ( regulatory analysis of variation in enhancers). The RAVEN system is available at http://www.cisreg.ca for all researchers interested in the detection and characterization of regulatory sequence variation.
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| 5. |
- Ardell, David H, et al.
(författare)
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The genomic pattern of tDNA operon expression in E. coli
- 2005
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 1:1, s. e12-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In fast-growing microorganisms, a tRNA concentration profile enriched in major isoacceptors selects for the biased usage of cognate codons. This optimizes translational rate for the least mass invested in the translational apparatus. Such translational streamlining is thought to be growth-regulated, but its genetic basis is poorly understood. First, we found in reanalysis of the E. coli tRNA profile that the degree to which it is translationally streamlined is nearly invariant with growth rate. Then, using least squares multiple regression, we partitioned tRNA isoacceptor pools to predicted tDNA operons from the E. coli K12 genome. Co-expression of tDNAs in operons explains the tRNA profile significantly better than tDNA gene dosage alone. Also, operon expression increases significantly with proximity to the origin of replication, oriC, at all growth rates. Genome location explains about 15% of expression variation in a form, at a given growth rate, that is consistent with replication-dependent gene concentration effects. Yet the change in the tRNA profile with growth rate is less than would be expected from such effects. We estimated per-copy expression rates for all tDNA operons that were consistent with independent estimates for rDNA operons. We also found that tDNA operon location, and the location dependence of expression, were significantly different in the leading and lagging strands. The operonic organization and genomic location of tDNA operons are significant factors influencing their expression. Nonrandom patterns of location and strandedness shown by tDNA operons in E. coli suggest that their genomic architecture may be under selection to satisfy physiological demand for tRNA expression at high growth rates.
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| 6. |
- Asplund-Samuelsson, Johannes, et al.
(författare)
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Wide range of metabolic adaptations to the acquisition of the Calvin cycle revealed by comparison of microbial genomes
- 2021
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 17:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge of the genetic basis for autotrophic metabolism is valuable since it relates to both the emergence of life and to the metabolic engineering challenge of incorporating CO2 as a potential substrate for biorefining. The most common CO2 fixation pathway is the Calvin cycle, which utilizes Rubisco and phosphoribulokinase enzymes. We searched thousands of microbial genomes and found that 6.0% contained the Calvin cycle. We then contrasted the genomes of Calvin cycle-positive, non-cyanobacterial microbes and their closest relatives by enrichment analysis, ancestral character estimation, and random forest machine learning, to explore genetic adaptations associated with acquisition of the Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle overlaps with the pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis, and we could confirm positive associations with fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, aldolase, and transketolase, constituting a conserved operon, as well as ribulose-phosphate 3-epimerase, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase, and phosphoglycerate kinase. Additionally, carbohydrate storage enzymes, carboxysome proteins (that raise CO2 concentration around Rubisco), and Rubisco activases CbbQ and CbbX accompanied the Calvin cycle. Photorespiration did not appear to be adapted specifically for the Calvin cycle in the non-cyanobacterial microbes under study. Our results suggest that chemoautotrophy in Calvin cycle-positive organisms was commonly enabled by hydrogenase, and less commonly ammonia monooxygenase (nitrification). The enrichment of specific DNA-binding domains indicated Calvin-cycle associated genetic regulation. Metabolic regulatory adaptations were illustrated by negative correlation to AraC and the enzyme arabinose-5-phosphate isomerase, which suggests a downregulation of the metabolite arabinose-5-phosphate, which may interfere with the Calvin cycle through enzyme inhibition and substrate competition. Certain domains of unknown function that were found to be important in the analysis may indicate yet unknown regulatory mechanisms in Calvin cycle-utilizing microbes. Our gene ranking provides targets for experiments seeking to improve CO2 fixation, or engineer novel CO2-fixing organisms.
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| 7. |
- Aurell, Erik
(författare)
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The Maximum Entropy Fallacy Redux?
- 2016
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 12:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 8. |
- Bahuguna, Jyotika, et al.
(författare)
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Existence and control of Go/No-Go decision transition threshold in the striatum
- 2015
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : PLOS. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 11:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A typical Go/No-Go decision is suggested to be implemented in the brain via the activation of the direct or indirect pathway in the basal ganglia. Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum, receiving input from cortex and projecting to the direct and indirect pathways express D1 and D2 type dopamine receptors, respectively. Recently, it has become clear that the two types of MSNs markedly differ in their mutual and recurrent connectivities as well as feedforward inhibition from FSIs. Therefore, to understand striatal function in action selection, it is of key importance to identify the role of the distinct connectivities within and between the two types of MSNs on the balance of their activity. Here, we used both a reduced firing rate model and numerical simulations of a spiking network model of the striatum to analyze the dynamic balance of spiking activities in D1 and D2 MSNs. We show that the asymmetric connectivity of the two types of MSNs renders the striatum into a threshold device, indicating the state of cortical input rates and correlations by the relative activity rates of D1 and D2 MSNs. Next, we describe how this striatal threshold can be effectively modulated by the activity of fast spiking interneurons, by the dopamine level, and by the activity of the GPe via pallidostriatal backprojections. We show that multiple mechanisms exist in the basal ganglia for biasing striatal output in favour of either the `Go' or the `No-Go' pathway. This new understanding of striatal network dynamics provides novel insights into the putative role of the striatum in various behavioral deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease, including increased reaction times, L-Dopa-induced dyskinesia, and deep brain stimulation-induced impulsivity.
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| 9. |
- Bahuguna, Jyotika, et al.
(författare)
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Uncoupling the roles of firing rates and spike bursts in shaping the STN-GPe beta band oscillations
- 2020
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 16:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The excess of 15-30 Hz (beta-band) oscillations in the basal ganglia is one of the key signatures of Parkinson's disease (PD). The STN-GPe network is integral to generation and modulation of beta band oscillations in basal ganglia. However, the role of changes in the firing rates and spike bursting of STN and GPe neurons in shaping these oscillations has remained unclear. In order to uncouple their effects, we studied the dynamics of STN-GPe network using numerical simulations. In particular, we used a neuron model, in which firing rates and spike bursting can be independently controlled. Using this model, we found that while STN firing rate is predictive of oscillations but GPe firing rate is not. The effect of spike bursting in STN and GPe neurons was state-dependent. That is, only when the network was operating in a state close to the border of oscillatory and non-oscillatory regimes, spike bursting had a qualitative effect on the beta band oscillations. In these network states, an increase in GPe bursting enhanced the oscillations whereas an equivalent proportion of spike bursting in STN suppressed the oscillations. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the transient beta bursts and how duration and power of beta band oscillations may be controlled by an interplay of GPe and STN firing rates and spike bursts. Author summary The STN-GPe network undergoes a change in firing rates as well as increased bursting during excessive beta band oscillations during Parkinson's disease. In this work we uncouple their effects by using a novel neuron model and show that presence of oscillations is contingent on the increase in STN firing rates, however the effect of spike bursting on oscillations depends on the network state. In a network state on the border of oscillatory and non-oscillatory regime, GPe spike bursting strengthens oscillations. The effect of spike bursting in the STN depends on the proportion of GPe neurons bursting. These results suggest a mechanism underlying a transient beta band oscillation bursts often seen in experimental data.
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| 10. |
- Balbi, P., et al.
(författare)
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A single Markov-type kinetic model accounting for the macroscopic currents of all human voltage-gated sodium channel isoforms
- 2017
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 13:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modelling ionic channels represents a fundamental step towards developing biologically detailed neuron models. Until recently, the voltage-gated ion channels have been mainly modelled according to the formalism introduced by the seminal works of Hodgkin and Huxley (HH). However, following the continuing achievements in the biophysical and molecular comprehension of these pore-forming transmembrane proteins, the HH formalism turned out to carry limitations and inconsistencies in reproducing the ion-channels electrophysiological behaviour. At the same time, Markov-type kinetic models have been increasingly proven to successfully replicate both the electrophysiological and biophysical features of different ion channels. However, in order to model even the finest non-conducting molecular conformational change, they are often equipped with a considerable number of states and related transitions, which make them computationally heavy and less suitable for implementation in conductance-based neurons and large networks of those. In this purely modelling study we develop a Markov-type kinetic model for all human voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). The model framework is detailed, unifying (i.e., it accounts for all ion-channel isoforms) and computationally efficient (i.e. with a minimal set of states and transitions). The electrophysiological data to be modelled are gathered from previously published studies on whole-cell patch-clamp experiments in mammalian cell lines heterologously expressing the human VGSC subtypes (from NaV1.1 to NaV1.9). By adopting a minimum sequence of states, and using the same state diagram for all the distinct isoforms, the model ensures the lightest computational load when used in neuron models and neural networks of increasing complexity. The transitions between the states are described by original ordinary differential equations, which represent the rate of the state transitions as a function of voltage (i.e., membrane potential). The kinetic model, developed in the NEURON simulation environment, appears to be the simplest and most parsimonious way for a detailed phenomenological description of the human VGSCs electrophysiological behaviour.
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| 11. |
- Barbier, Matthieu, et al.
(författare)
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The Spatial Dynamics of Predators and the Benefits and Costs of Sharing Information
- 2016
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 12:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predators of all kinds, be they lions hunting in the Serengeti or fishermen searching for their catch, display various collective strategies. A common strategy is to share information about the location of prey. However, depending on the spatial characteristics and mobility of predators and prey, information sharing can either improve or hinder individual success. Here, our goal is to investigate the interacting effects of space and information sharing on predation efficiency, represented by the expected rate at which prey are found and consumed. We derive a feeding functional response that accounts for both spatio-temporal heterogeneity and communication, and validate this mathematical analysis with a computational agent-based model. This agent-based model has an explicit yet minimal representation of space, as well as information sharing about the location of prey. The analytical model simplifies predator behavior into a few discrete states and one essential tradeoff, between the individual benefit of acquiring information and the cost of creating spatial and temporal correlation between predators. Despite the absence of an explicit spatial dimension in these equations, they quantitatively predict the predator consumption rates measured in the agent-based simulations across the explored parameter space. Together, the mathematical analysis and agent-based simulations identify the conditions for when there is a benefit to sharing information, and also when there is a cost.
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| 12. |
- Bartoszek, Krzysztof, et al.
(författare)
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Predicting pathogenicity behavior in Escherichia coli population through a state dependent model and TRS profiling
- 2018
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Binary State Speciation and Extinction (BiSSE) model is a branching process based model that allows the diversification rates to be controlled by a binary trait. We develop a general approach, based on the BiSSE model, for predicting pathogenicity in bacterial populations from microsatellites profiling data. A comprehensive approach for predicting pathogenicity in E. coli populations is proposed using the state-dependent branching process model combined with microsatellites TRS-PCR profiling. Additionally, we have evaluated the possibility of using the BiSSE model for estimating parameters from genetic data. We analyzed a real dataset (from 251 E. coli strains) and confirmed previous biological observations demonstrating a prevalence of some virulence traits in specific bacterial sub-groups. The method may be used to predict pathogenicity of other bacterial taxa.
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| 13. |
- Basile, Walter, et al.
(författare)
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High GC content causes orphan proteins to be intrinsically disordered
- 2017
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 13:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- De novo creation of protein coding genes involves the formation of short ORFs from noncoding regions; some of these ORFs might then become fixed in the population These orphan proteins need to, at the bare minimum, not cause serious harm to the organism, meaning that they should for instance not aggregate. Therefore, although the creation of short ORFs could be truly random, the fixation should be subjected to some selective pressure. The selective forces acting on orphan proteins have been elusive, and contradictory results have been reported. In Drosophila young proteins are more disordered than ancient ones, while the opposite trend is present in yeast. To the best of our knowledge no valid explanation for this difference has been proposed. To solve this riddle we studied structural properties and age of proteins in 187 eukaryotic organisms. We find that, with the exception of length, there are only small differences in the properties between proteins of different ages. However, when we take the GC content into account we noted that it could explain the opposite trends observed for orphans in yeast (low GC) and Drosophila (high GC). GC content is correlated with codons coding for disorder promoting amino acids. This leads us to propose that intrinsic disorder is not a strong determining factor for fixation of orphan proteins. Instead these proteins largely resemble random proteins given a particular GC level. During evolution the properties of a protein change faster than the GC level causing the relationship between disorder and GC to gradually weaken.
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| 14. |
- Basile, Walter, et al.
(författare)
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Why do eukaryotic proteins contain more intrinsically disordered regions?
- 2019
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 15:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intrinsic disorder is more abundant in eukaryotic than prokaryotic proteins. Methods predicting intrinsic disorder are based on the amino acid sequence of a protein. Therefore, there must exist an underlying difference in the sequences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins causing the (predicted) difference in intrinsic disorder. By comparing proteins, from complete eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteomes, we show that the difference in intrinsic disorder emerges from the linker regions connecting Pfam domains. Eukaryotic proteins have more extended linker regions, and in addition, the eukaryotic linkers are significantly more disordered, 38% vs. 12-16% disordered residues. Next, we examined the underlying reason for the increase in disorder in eukaryotic linkers, and we found that the changes in abundance of only three amino acids cause the increase. Eukaryotic proteins contain 8.6% serine; while prokaryotic proteins have 6.5%, eukaryotic proteins also contain 5.4% proline and 5.3% isoleucine compared with 4.0% proline and ≈ 7.5% isoleucine in the prokaryotes. All these three differences contribute to the increased disorder in eukaryotic proteins. It is tempting to speculate that the increase in serine frequencies in eukaryotes is related to regulation by kinases, but direct evidence for this is lacking. The differences are observed in all phyla, protein families, structural regions and type of protein but are most pronounced in disordered and linker regions. The observation that differences in the abundance of three amino acids cause the difference in disorder between eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins raises the question: Are amino acid frequencies different in eukaryotic linkers because the linkers are more disordered or do the differences cause the increased disorder?
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| 15. |
- Bassot, Claudio, et al.
(författare)
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Accurate contact-based modelling of repeat proteins predicts the structure of new repeats protein families
- 2021
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 17:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Repeat proteins are widespread among organisms and particularly abundant in eukaryotic proteomes. Their primary sequence presents repetition in the amino acid sequences that origin structures with repeated folds/domains. Although the repeated units often can be recognised from the sequence alone, often structural information is missing. Here, we used contact prediction for predicting the structure of repeats protein directly from their primary sequences. We benchmark the methods on a dataset comprehensive of all the known repeated structures. We evaluate the contact predictions and the obtained models for different classes of repeat proteins. Further, we develop and benchmark a quality assessment (QA) method specific for repeat proteins. Finally, we used the prediction pipeline for all PFAM repeat families without resolved structures and found that forty-one of them could be modelled with high accuracy. Repeat proteins are abundant in eukaryotic proteomes. They are involved in many eukaryotic specific functions, including signalling. For many of these proteins, the structure is not known, as they are difficult to crystallise. Today, using direct coupling analysis and deep learning it is often possible to predict a protein's structure. However, the unique sequence features present in repeat proteins have been a challenge to use direct coupling analysis for predicting contacts. Here, we show that deep learning-based methods (trRosetta, DeepMetaPsicov (DMP) and PconsC4) overcomes this problem and can predict intra- and inter-unit contacts in repeat proteins. In a benchmark dataset of 815 repeat proteins, about 90% can be correctly modelled. Further, among 48 PFAM families lacking a protein structure, we produce models of forty-one families with estimated high accuracy.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Bergström, Fanny, 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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Bayesian nowcasting with leading indicators applied to COVID-19 fatalities in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 18:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The real-time analysis of infectious disease surveillance data is essential in obtaining situational awareness about the current dynamics of a major public health event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis of e.g., time-series of reported cases or fatalities is complicated by reporting delays that lead to under-reporting of the complete number of events for the most recent time points. This can lead to misconceptions by the interpreter, for instance the media or the public, as was the case with the time-series of reported fatalities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden. Nowcasting methods provide real-time estimates of the complete number of events using the incomplete time-series of currently reported events and information about the reporting delays from the past. In this paper we propose a novel Bayesian nowcasting approach applied to COVID-19-related fatalities in Sweden. We incorporate additional information in the form of time-series of number of reported cases and ICU admissions as leading signals. We demonstrate with a retrospective evaluation that the inclusion of ICU admissions as a leading signal improved the nowcasting performance of case fatalities for COVID-19 in Sweden compared to existing methods.
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| 19. |
- Bernenko, Dolores, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping the semi-nested community structure of 3D chromosome contact networks
- 2023
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 19:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mammalian DNA folds into 3D structures that facilitate and regulate genetic processes such as transcription, DNA repair, and epigenetics. Several insights derive from chromosome capture methods, such as Hi-C, which allow researchers to construct contact maps depicting 3D interactions among all DNA segment pairs. These maps show a complex cross-scale organization spanning megabase-pair compartments to short-ranged DNA loops. To better understand the organizing principles, several groups analyzed Hi-C data assuming a Russian-doll-like nested hierarchy where DNA regions of similar sizes merge into larger and larger structures. Apart from being a simple and appealing description, this model explains, e.g., the omnipresent chequerboard pattern seen in Hi-C maps, known as A/B compartments, and foreshadows the co-localization of some functionally similar DNA regions. However, while successful, this model is incompatible with the two competing mechanisms that seem to shape a significant part of the chromosomes' 3D organization: loop extrusion and phase separation. This paper aims to map out the chromosome's actual folding hierarchy from empirical data. To this end, we take advantage of Hi-C experiments and treat the measured DNA-DNA interactions as a weighted network. From such a network, we extract 3D communities using the generalized Louvain algorithm. This algorithm has a resolution parameter that allows us to scan seamlessly through the community size spectrum, from A/B compartments to topologically associated domains (TADs). By constructing a hierarchical tree connecting these communities, we find that chromosomes are more complex than a perfect hierarchy. Analyzing how communities nest relative to a simple folding model, we found that chromosomes exhibit a significant portion of nested and non-nested community pairs alongside considerable randomness. In addition, by examining nesting and chromatin types, we discovered that nested parts are often associated with active chromatin. These results highlight that cross-scale relationships will be essential components in models aiming to reach a deep understanding of the causal mechanisms of chromosome folding.
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| 20. |
- Bjelkmar, Pär, et al.
(författare)
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Conformational changes and slow dynamics through microsecond polarized atomistic molecular simulation of an integral Kv1.2 ion channel.
- 2009
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Ingår i: PLoS computational biology. - : Public Library of Science. - 1553-7358 .- 1553-734X. ; 5:2, s. e1000289-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Structure and dynamics of voltage-gated ion channels, in particular the motion of the S4 helix, is a highly interesting and hotly debated topic in current membrane protein research. It has critical implications for insertion and stabilization of membrane proteins as well as for finding how transitions occur in membrane proteins-not to mention numerous applications in drug design. Here, we present a full 1 micros atomic-detail molecular dynamics simulation of an integral Kv1.2 ion channel, comprising 120,000 atoms. By applying 0.052 V/nm of hyperpolarization, we observe structural rearrangements, including up to 120 degrees rotation of the S4 segment, changes in hydrogen-bonding patterns, but only low amounts of translation. A smaller rotation ( approximately 35 degrees ) of the extracellular end of all S4 segments is present also in a reference 0.5 micros simulation without applied field, which indicates that the crystal structure might be slightly different from the natural state of the voltage sensor. The conformation change upon hyperpolarization is closely coupled to an increase in 3(10) helix contents in S4, starting from the intracellular side. This could support a model for transition from the crystal structure where the hyperpolarization destabilizes S4-lipid hydrogen bonds, which leads to the helix rotating to keep the arginine side chains away from the hydrophobic phase, and the driving force for final relaxation by downward translation is partly entropic, which would explain the slow process. The coordinates of the transmembrane part of the simulated channel actually stay closer to the recently determined higher-resolution Kv1.2 chimera channel than the starting structure for the entire second half of the simulation (0.5-1 micros). Together with lipids binding in matching positions and significant thinning of the membrane also observed in experiments, this provides additional support for the predictive power of microsecond-scale membrane protein simulations.
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| 21. |
- Björklund, Åsa K., et al.
(författare)
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Expansion of Protein Domain Repeats
- 2006
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 2:8, s. 959-970
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many proteins, especially in eukaryotes, contain tandem repeats of several domains from the same family. These repeats have a variety of binding properties and are involved in protein-protein interactions as well as binding to other ligands such as DNA and RNA. The rapid expansion of protein domain repeats is assumed to have evolved through internal tandem duplications. However, the exact mechanisms behind these tandem duplications are not well-understood. Here, we have studied the evolution, function, protein structure, gene structure, and phylogenetic distribution of domain repeats. For this purpose we have assigned Pfam-A domain families to 24 proteomes with more sensitive domain assignments in the repeat regions. These assignments confirmed previous findings that eukaryotes, and in particular vertebrates, contain a much higher fraction of proteins with repeats compared with prokaryotes. The internal sequence similarity in each protein revealed that the domain repeats are often expanded through duplications of several domains at a time, while the duplication of one domain is less common. Many of the repeats appear to have been duplicated in the middle of the repeat region. This is in strong contrast to the evolution of other proteins that mainly works through additions of single domains at either terminus. Further, we found that some domain families show distinct duplication patterns, e. g., nebulin domains have mainly been expanded with a unit of seven domains at a time, while duplications of other domain families involve varying numbers of domains. Finally, no common mechanism for the expansion of all repeats could be detected. We found that the duplication patterns show no dependence on the size of the domains. Further, repeat expansion in some families can possibly be explained by shuffling of exons. However, exon shuffling could not have created all repeats.
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| 22. |
- Blau, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Gentle and fast all-atom model refinement to cryo-EM densities via a maximum likelihood approach
- 2023
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 19:7, s. e1011255-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Better detectors and automated data collection have generated a flood of high-resolution cryo-EM maps, which in turn has renewed interest in improving methods for determining structure models corresponding to these maps. However, automatically fitting atoms to densities becomes difficult as their resolution increases and the refinement potential has a vast number of local minima. In practice, the problem becomes even more complex when one also wants to achieve a balance between a good fit of atom positions to the map, while also establishing good stereochemistry or allowing protein secondary structure to change during fitting. Here, we present a solution to this challenge using a maximum likelihood approach by formulating the problem as identifying the structure most likely to have produced the observed density map. This allows us to derive new types of smooth refinement potential-based on relative entropy-in combination with a novel adaptive force scaling algorithm to allow balancing of force-field and density-based potentials. In a low-noise scenario, as expected from modern cryo-EM data, the relative-entropy based refinement potential outperforms alternatives, and the adaptive force scaling appears to aid all existing refinement potentials. The method is available as a component in the GROMACS molecular simulation toolkit. Author summaryCryo-electron microscopy has gone through a revolution and now regularly produces data with 2 & ANGS; resolution. However, this data comes in the shape of density maps, and fitting atomic coordinates into these maps can be a labor-intensive and challenging problem. This is particularly valid when there are multiple conformations, flexible regions, or parts of the structure with lower resolution. In many cases it is also desirable to to understand how a molecule moves between such conformations. This can be addressed with molecular dynamics simulations using densities as target restraints, but the refinement potentials commonly used can distort protein structure or get stuck in local minima when the cryo-EM map has high resolution. This work derives new refinement potentials based on models of the cryo-EM scattering process that provide a gentle way to fit protein structures to densities in simulations, and we also suggest an automated heuristic way to balance the influence of the map and simulation force field.
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| 23. |
- Bongcam Rudloff, Erik
(författare)
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Correction: GOBLET: The Global Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education and Training
- 2015
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Ingår i: PLoS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 11
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Annan publikation (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, high-throughput technologies have brought big data to the life sciences. The march of progress has been rapid, leaving in its wake a demand for courses in data analysis, data stewardship, computing fundamentals, etc., a need that universities have not yet been able to satisfy-paradoxically, many are actually closing "niche" bioinformatics courses at a time of critical need. The impact of this is being felt across continents, as many students and early-stage researchers are being left without appropriate skills to manage, analyse, and interpret their data with confidence. This situation has galvanised a group of scientists to address the problems on an international scale. For the first time, bioinformatics educators and trainers across the globe have come together to address common needs, rising above institutional and international boundaries to cooperate in sharing bioinformatics training expertise, experience, and resources, aiming to put ad hoc training practices on a more professional footing for the benefit of all.
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| 24. |
- Bongcam Rudloff, Erik
(författare)
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GOBLET: The Global Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education and Training
- 2015
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Ingår i: PLoS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, high-throughput technologies have brought big data to the life sciences. The march of progress has been rapid, leaving in its wake a demand for courses in data analysis, data stewardship, computing fundamentals, etc., a need that universities have not yet been able to satisfy-paradoxically, many are actually closing "niche" bioinformatics courses at a time of critical need. The impact of this is being felt across continents, as many students and early-stage researchers are being left without appropriate skills to manage, analyse, and interpret their data with confidence. This situation has galvanised a group of scientists to address the problems on an international scale. For the first time, bioinformatics educators and trainers across the globe have come together to address common needs, rising above institutional and international boundaries to cooperate in sharing bioinformatics training expertise, experience, and resources, aiming to put ad hoc training practices on a more professional footing for the benefit of all.
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| 25. |
- Bottier, Mathieu, et al.
(författare)
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A new index for characterizing micro-bead motion in a flow induced by ciliary beating : Part II, modeling.
- 2017
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Ingår i: PloS Computational Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-734X .- 1553-7358. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mucociliary clearance is one of the major lines of defense of the human respiratory system. The mucus layer coating the airways is constantly moved along and out of the lung by the activity of motile cilia, expelling at the same time particles trapped in it. The efficiency of the cilia motion can experimentally be assessed by measuring the velocity of micro-beads traveling through the fluid surrounding the cilia. Here we present a mathematical model of the fluid flow and of the micro-beads motion. The coordinated movement of the ciliated edge is represented as a continuous envelope imposing a periodic moving velocity boundary condition on the surrounding fluid. Vanishing velocity and vanishing shear stress boundary conditions are applied to the fluid at a finite distance above the ciliated edge. The flow field is expanded in powers of the amplitude of the individual cilium movement. It is found that the continuous component of the horizontal velocity at the ciliated edge generates a 2D fluid velocity field with a parabolic profile in the vertical direction, in agreement with the experimental measurements. Conversely, we show than this model can be used to extract microscopic properties of the cilia motion by extrapolating the micro-bead velocity measurement at the ciliated edge. Finally, we derive from these measurements a scalar index providing a direct assessment of the cilia beating efficiency. This index can easily be measured in patients without any modification of the current clinical procedures.
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