Search results for "APT"

Yeasts in Birds

2017

Wild animals, particularly birds, play a relevant role in disseminating microscopic organisms, including yeasts and filamentous fungi. The ecology of yeasts associated with birds has been studied mainly for the urban avifauna, and little is known about yeasts associated with wild birds including migratory species. Recent findings on the adaptation and persistence of yeasts in animals suggest that birds can play an important role in the ecology and distribution of yeasts.

Role of the epigenetic factor Sirt7 in neuroinflammation and neurogenesis.

2017

Epigenetic regulators are increasingly recognized as relevant modulators in the immune and nervous system. The class of sirtuins consists of NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases that regulate transcription. Sirtuin family member Sirt1 has already been shown to influence the disease course in an animal model of autoimmune neuroinflammation (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). A role of Sirt7, a related epigenetic regulator, on immune system regulation has been proposed before, as these mice are more susceptible to develop inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Sirt7-/- animals showed no differences in clinical score compared to wild-type littermates after EAE induction with myelin oligoden…

Adaptation of gene loci to heterochromatin in the course of Drosophila evolution is associated with insulator proteins.

2020

AbstractPericentromeric heterochromatin is generally composed of repetitive DNA forming a transcriptionally repressive environment. Dozens of genes were embedded into pericentromeric heterochromatin during evolution of Drosophilidae lineage while retaining activity. However, factors that contribute to insusceptibility of gene loci to transcriptional silencing remain unknown. Here, we find that the promoter region of genes that can be embedded in both euchromatin and heterochromatin exhibits a conserved structure throughout the Drosophila phylogeny and carries motifs for binding of certain chromatin remodeling factors, including insulator proteins. Using ChIP-seq data, we demonstrate that ev…

A specific prelimbic-nucleus accumbens pathway controls resilience versus vulnerability to food addiction

2019

Food addiction is linked to obesity and eating disorders and is characterized by a loss of behavioral control and compulsive food intake. Here, using a food addiction mouse model, we report that the lack of cannabinoid type-1 receptor in dorsal telencephalic glutamatergic neurons prevents the development of food addiction-like behavior, which is associated with enhanced synaptic excitatory transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). In contrast, chemogenetic inhibition of neuronal activity in the mPFC-NAc pathway induces compulsive food seeking. Transcriptomic analysis and genetic manipulation identified that increased dopamine D2 receptor express…

Special Issue "Human performance and redox signaling in health and disease".

2016

Increased Motor-Impairing Effects of the Neuroactive Steroid Pregnanolone in Mice with Targeted Inactivation of the GABAA Receptor γ2 Subunit in the …

2016

Endogenous neurosteroids and neuroactive steroids have potent and widespread actions on the brain via inhibitory GABAA receptors. In recombinant receptors and genetic mouse models their actions depend on the α, β, and δ subunits of the receptor, especially on those that form extrasynaptic GABAA receptors responsible for non-synaptic (tonic) inhibition, but they also act on synaptically enriched γ2 subunit-containing receptors and even on αβ binary receptors. Here we tested whether behavioral sensitivity to the neuroactive steroid agonist 5β-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one is altered in genetically engineered mouse models that have deficient GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition in selected neuro…

Microevolutionary response of a gut nematode to intestinal inflammation.

2017

7 pages; International audience; Parasitic helminths interfere with the immune response of their hosts to establish long-lasting, chronic infections. While favorable to the parasite, the capacity to dampen the immune response can also provide a benefit to the host in terms of reduced risk of immune disorders and immunopathology. The immunomodulatory role of nematodes has been exploited in clinical trials to treat a number of inflammatory and immune diseases. However, how parasites adapt to an inflammatory environment remains a poorly explored question. Here, we conducted a serial passage experiment where the gut nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus was maintained for nine generations in mice …

"Islands of divergence" in the Atlantic cod genome represent polymorphic chromosomal rearrangements

2016

- In several species genetic differentiation across environmental gradients or between geographically separate populations has been reported to center at “genomic islands of divergence,” resulting in heterogeneous differentiation patterns across genomes. Here, genomic regions of elevated divergence were observed on three chromosomes of the highly mobile fish Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) within geographically fine-scaled coastal areas. The “genomic islands” extended at least 5, 9.5, and 13 megabases on linkage groups 2, 7, and 12, respectively, and coincided with large blocks of linkage disequilibrium. For each of these three chromosomes, pairs of segregating, highly divergent alleles were id…

Effect of video capture time on sperm kinematic parameters in breeding boars

2019

Abstract Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA) technology is being a common tool in the seminal analysis for seminal doses production in farm animals. The aim of the present work was to define the optimal capturing time for a correct evaluation of boar sperm motility. Six sexually mature boars from the Topigs Lines, were used as semen donors. ISASv1 CASA-Mot system was used with an image acquisition rate of 50 Hz for two seconds capturing. Obtained video frames were fragmented into four segments corresponding to 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 s. ISASD4C20 counting chambers, warmed at 37 °C were used. Total and progressive motility were not affected by capture time. Capture time had a significant e…

Evolution of the immune system influences speciation rates in teleost fishes.

2016

Teleost fishes constitute the most species-rich vertebrate clade and exhibit extensive genetic and phenotypic variation, including diverse immune defense strategies. The genomic basis of a particularly aberrant strategy is exemplified by Atlantic cod, in which a loss of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II functionality coincides with a marked expansion of MHC I genes. Through low-coverage genome sequencing (9–39×), assembly and comparative analyses for 66 teleost species, we show here that MHC II is missing in the entire Gadiformes lineage and thus was lost once in their common ancestor. In contrast, we find that MHC I gene expansions have occurred multiple times, both inside and outs…