1. |
- Pälike, Heiko, et al.
(author)
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A Cenozoic record of the equatorial Pacific carbonate compensation depth
- 2012
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 488:7413, s. 609-614
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and climate are regulated on geological timescales by the balance between carbon input from volcanic and metamorphic outgassing and its removal by weathering feedbacks; these feedbacks involve the erosion of silicate rocks and organic-carbon-bearing rocks. The integrated effect of these processes is reflected in the calcium carbonate compensation depth, which is the oceanic depth at which calcium carbonate is dissolved. Here we present a carbonate accumulation record that covers the past 53 million years from a depth transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The carbonate compensation depth tracks long-term ocean cooling, deepening from 3.0-3.5 kilometres during the early Cenozoic (approximately 55 million years ago) to 4.6 kilometres at present, consistent with an overall Cenozoic increase in weathering. We find large superimposed fluctuations in carbonate compensation depth during the middle and late Eocene. Using Earth system models, we identify changes in weathering and the mode of organic-carbon delivery as two key processes to explain these large-scale Eocene fluctuations of the carbonate compensation depth.
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2. |
- Fresard, Laure, et al.
(author)
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Identification of rare-disease genes using blood transcriptome sequencing and large control cohorts
- 2019
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In: Nature Medicine. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 25:6, s. 911-919
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is estimated that 350 million individuals worldwide suffer from rare diseases, which are predominantly caused by mutation in a single gene(1). The current molecular diagnostic rate is estimated at 50%, with whole-exome sequencing (WES) among the most successful approaches(2-5). For patients in whom WES is uninformative, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has shown diagnostic utility in specific tissues and diseases(6-8). This includes muscle biopsies from patients with undiagnosed rare muscle disorders(6,9), and cultured fibroblasts from patients with mitochondrial disorders(7). However, for many individuals, biopsies are not performed for clinical care, and tissues are difficult to access. We sought to assess the utility of RNA-seq from blood as a diagnostic tool for rare diseases of different pathophysiologies. We generated whole-blood RNA-seq from 94 individuals with undiagnosed rare diseases spanning 16 diverse disease categories. We developed a robust approach to compare data from these individuals with large sets of RNA-seq data for controls (n = 1,594 unrelated controls and n = 49 family members) and demonstrated the impacts of expression, splicing, gene and variant filtering strategies on disease gene identification. Across our cohort, we observed that RNA-seq yields a 7.5% diagnostic rate, and an additional 16.7% with improved candidate gene resolution.
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3. |
- Jakobsdottir, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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Rare Functional Variant in TM2D3 is Associated with Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease
- 2016
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 12:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We performed an exome-wide association analysis in 1393 late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) cases and 8141 controls from the CHARGE consortium. We found that a rare variant (P155L) in TM2D3 was enriched in Icelanders (similar to 0.5% versus < 0.05% in other European populations). In 433 LOAD cases and 3903 controls from the Icelandic AGES substudy, P155L was associated with increased risk and earlier onset of LOAD [odds ratio (95% CI) = 7.5 (3.5-15.9), p = 6.6x10(-9)]. Mutation in the Drosophila TM2D3 homolog, almondex, causes a phenotype similar to loss of Notch/Presenilin signaling. Human TM2D3 is capable of rescuing these phenotypes, but this activity is abolished by P155L, establishing it as a functionally damaging allele. Our results establish a rare TM2D3 variant in association with LOAD susceptibility, and together with prior work suggests possible links to the beta-amyloid cascade.
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4. |
- Yamamoto, Masanobu, et al.
(author)
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Importance of Lignin Coniferaldehyde Residues for Plant Properties and Sustainable Uses
- 2020
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In: ChemSusChem. - : Wiley. - 1864-5631 .- 1864-564X. ; 13:17, s. 4400-4408
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increases in coniferaldehyde content, a minor lignin residue, significantly improves the sustainable use of plant biomass for feed, pulping, and biorefinery without affecting plant growth and yields. Herein, different analytical methods are compared and validated to distinguish coniferaldehyde from other lignin residues. It is shown that specific genetic pathways regulate amount, linkage, and position of coniferaldehyde within the lignin polymer for each cell type. This specific cellular regulation offers new possibilities for designing plant lignin for novel and targeted industrial uses.
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