Search results for "Molecular evolution"

Evolutionary genomics and functional studies on the metabolic role of Blattabacterium, primary endosymbiont of cockroaches

2013

Introducció La simbiosi, entesa com la relació de interdependència entre dos o més individus de diferents espècies, ha tingut un profunda influència al llarg de l’evolució de la vida. De fet, hi ha un ampli consens respecte a la importància de les associacions simbiòtiques, en l’aparició i evolució primerenca de la cèl•lula eucariota, així com en l’evolució del sistema immunitari en eucariotes complexos o en l’adquisició de noves capacitats metabòliques en plantes i animals, permetent-los així explorar noves fonts d’aliments o ocupar nous nínxols ecològics. Segons l’efecte de la interacció sobre els membres de l’associació, es poden distingir tres tipus: comensalisme, quan un dels membres e…

Prebiotic Evolution and the Origin of Life: Chemical and Biochemical Aspects

1988

Evolution, as the term is used here, signifies any development or change adapting to the environment. Chemical evolution connotes changes of chemical substances, it thus signifies that changes occur fundamentally in the molecules. Frequently “chemical evolution” is used synonymously for “abiotic” or “prebiotic formation” of organic molecules in a cosmic system, usually on the prebiotic (or primitive) Earth. It is then assumed that the organic molecules were formed from the constituents of the primitive atmosphere, hydrosphere, and — in part — lithospere.

Dynamics and molecular evolution of HIV-1 strains in Sicily among antiretroviral naïve patients.

2012

Abstract HIV-1 subtype B is the most frequent strain in Sicily. To date, there is no available data about the genetic diversity of HIV-1 viral strains circulating in Sicily among antiretroviral (ARV) naive subjects and the role of immigration as potential determinant of evolutionary dynamics of HIV-1 molecular epidemiology. For this purpose, HIV-1 polymerase (pol) sequences obtained from 155 ARV naive individuals from 2004 to 2009 were phylogenetically analysed. The overall rate of HIV-1 non-B infections was 31.0% (n = 48/155), increasing from 7.8% in 2004–2006 to 40.9% in 2009, and about one-third were identified as unique recombinant forms. CRF02_AG was the prevalent non-B clade (n = 28/4…

The evolution of metazoan α-carbonic anhydrases and their roles in calcium carbonate biomineralization

2014

The carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) superfamily is a class of ubiquitous metallo-enzymes that catalyse the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. The ?-CA family, present in all metazoan clades, is a key enzyme involved in a wide range of physiological functions including pH regulation, respiration, photosynthesis, and biocalcification. This paper reviews the evolution of the ?-CA family, with an emphasis on metazoan ?-CA members involved in biocalcification. Phylogenetic analyses reveal a complex evolutionary history of ?-CAs, and suggest ?-CA was independently co-opted into a variety of skeleton forming roles (e.g. as a provider of HCO3? ions, a structural protein, a nucleation activ…

Experimental evolution of an oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus with increased selectivity for p53-deficient cells

2014

Experimental evolution has been used for various biotechnological applications including protein and microbial cell engineering, but less commonly in the field of oncolytic virotherapy. Here, we sought to adapt a rapidly evolving RNA virus to cells deficient for the tumor suppressor gene p53, a hallmark of cancer cells. To achieve this goal, we established four independent evolution lines of the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in p53-knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts (p53-/- MEFs) under conditions favoring the action of natural selection. We found that some evolved viruses showed increased fitness and cytotoxicity in p53-/- cells but not in isogenic p53+/+ cells, indicating gene-specifi…

Molecular evolution and complete genome sequences in forensic analysis: Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a transmission case

2019

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analyses are frequently used in the investigation of viral transmission cases in forensic contexts. Here, we present the methods and results of the analysis of a bacterial transmission in an alleged child abuse case using complete genome sequences obtained by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods.

Variation of haplotype distributions of two genomic regions of Citrus tristeza virus populations from eastern Spain.

2003

Genetic variation in natural populations of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) was studied using haplotypes detected by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of two genomic regions (p20 gene and segment A, located in ORF1a). Analysis of 254 samples from 125 trees, collected at 12 different sites, yielded 8 different haplotypes for p20 and 5 for segment A. The most frequent haplotype of p20 was predominant at all sites, but several sites differed in the predominance of segment A haplotypes. At most sites, the homozygosity observed for the p20 gene tended to be higher than expected in a neutral evolution, whereas the opposite was true for segment A. Comparison of the populations at…

Functional Changes in the Family of Type 3 Copper Proteins During Evolution

2004

Preservation of genetic and regulatory robustness in ancient gene duplicates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2014

[EN] Biological systems remain robust against certain genetic and environmental challenges. Robustness allows the exploration of ecological adaptations. It is unclear what factors contribute to increasing robustness. Gene duplication has been considered to increase genetic robustness through functional redundancy, accelerating the evolution of novel functions. However, recent findings have questioned the link between duplication and robustness. In particular, it remains elusive whether ancient duplicates still bear potential for innovation through preserved redundancy and robustness. Here we have investigated this question by evolving the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 2200 generations …

Comparative Molecular Evolution of Primary (Buchnera) and Secondary Symbionts of Aphids Based on Two Protein-Coding Genes

2001

A+T content, phylogenetic relationships, codon usage, evolutionary rates, and ratio of synonymous versus non-synonymous substitutions have been studied in partial sequences of the atpD and aroQ/pheA genes of primary ( Buchnera) and secondary symbionts of aphids and a set of selected non-symbiotic bacteria, belonging to the five subdivisions of the Proteobacteria. Compared to the homologous genes of the last group, both genes belonging to Buchnera behave in a similar way, showing a higher A+T content, forming a monophyletic group, a loss in codon bias, especially in third base position, an evolutionary acceleration and an increase in the number of non-synonymous substitutions, confirming pre…