Small-scale genetic structure of Cerastoderma glaucum in a lagoonal environment: potential significance of habitat discontinuity and unstable population dynamics

Environmental heterogeneity in coastal lagoons is expected to facilitate local adaptation in response to different ecological conditions, causing significant genetic structuring within lagoon populations at a small scale and also differentiation between lagoons. However, these patterns and processes of genetic structuring are still poorly understood. The aims of our study were (1) to seek genetic structure at a small scale in Cerastoderma glaucum inside the Mar Menor coastal lagoon using a mitochondrial DNA marker (COI) that has previously detected genetic differentiation inside the lagoon in other species and (2) to evaluate the influence of extreme environmental conditions and habitat discontinuity on its genetic composition. The results indicate high levels of haplotype diversity and low values of nucleotide diversity. COI data provide evidence of significant population differentiation among some localities within the lagoon. Limited gene flow and unstable population dynamics (i.e. fluctuations in population size caused by local extinction and recolonization), probably due to the high environmental heterogeneity, could generate the small-scale genetic divergence detected between populations within the lagoon.

Bayesian methodology for genetics of complex diseases

Genetic research of complex diseases is a challenging, but exciting, area of research. The early development of the research was limited, however, until the completion of the Human Genome and HapMap projects, along with the reduction in the cost of genotyping, which paves the way for understanding the genetic composition of complex diseases. In this thesis, we focus on the statistical methods for two aspects of genetic research: phenotype definition for diseases with complex etiology and methods for identifying potentially associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and SNP-SNP interactions. With regard to phenotype definition for diseases with complex etiology, we firstly investigated the effects of different statistical phenotyping approaches on the subsequent analysis. In light of the findings, and the difficulties in validating the estimated phenotype, we proposed two different methods for reconciling phenotypes of different models using Bayesian model averaging as a coherent mechanism for accounting for model uncertainty. In the second part of the thesis, the focus is turned to the methods for identifying associated SNPs and SNP interactions. We review the use of Bayesian logistic regression with variable selection for SNP identification and extended the model for detecting the interaction effects for population based case-control studies. In this part of study, we also develop a machine learning algorithm to cope with the large scale data analysis, namely modified Logic Regression with Genetic Program (MLR-GEP), which is then compared with the Bayesian model, Random Forests and other variants of logic regression.

Evidence for time dependency of molecular rate estimates

Long-term changes in the genetic composition of a population occur by the fixation of new mutations, a process known as substitution. The rate at which mutations arise in a population and the rate at which they are fixed are expected to be equal under neutral conditions (Kimura, 1968). Between the appearance of a new mutation and its eventual fate of fixation or loss, there will be a period in which it exists as a transient polymorphism in the population (Kimura and Ohta, 1971). If the majority of mutations are deleterious (and nonlethal), the fixation probabilities of these transient polymorphisms are reduced and the mutation rate will exceed the substitution rate (Kimura, 1983). Consequently, different apparent rates may be observed on different time scales of the molecular evolutionary process (Penny, 2005; Penny and Holmes, 2001). The substitution rate of the mitochondrial protein-coding genes of birds and mammals has been traditionally recognized to be about 0.01 substitutions/site/million years (Myr) (Brown et al., 1979; Ho, 2007; Irwin et al., 1991; Shields and Wilson, 1987), with the noncoding D-loop evolving several times more quickly (e.g., Pesole et al., 1992; Quinn, 1992). Over the past decade, there has been mounting evidence that instantaneous mutation rates substantially exceed substitution rates, in a range of organisms (e.g., Denver et al., 2000; Howell et al., 2003; Lambert et al., 2002; Mao et al., 2006; Mumm et al., 1997; Parsons et al., 1997; Santos et al., 2005). The immediate reaction to the first of these findings was that the polymorphisms generated by the elevated mutation rate are short-lived, perhaps extending back only a few hundred years (Gibbons, 1998; Macaulay et al., 1997). That is, purifying selection was thought to remove these polymorphisms very rapidly.

Extinction risk analysis of exploited green turtle stocks in the Indo-Pacific

In parts of the Indo-Pacific, large-scale exploitation of the green turtle Chelonia mydas continues to pose a serious threat to the persistence of this species; yet very few studies have assessed the pattern and extent of the impact of such harvests. We used demographic and genetic data in an age-based model to investigate the viability of an exploited green turtle stock from Aru, south-east Indonesia. We found that populations are decreasing under current exploitation pressures. The effects of increasingly severe exploitation activities at foraging and nesting habitat varied depending on the migratory patterns of the stock. Our model predicted a rapid decline of the Aru stock in Indonesia under local exploitation pressure and a shift in the genetic composition of the stock. We used the model to investigate the influence of different types of conservation actions on the persistence of the Aru stock. The results show that local management actions such as nest protection and reducing harvests of adult nesting and foraging turtles can have considerable conservation outcomes and result in the long-term persistence of genetically distinct management units. © 2010 The Authors. Animal Conservation © 2010 The Zoological Society of London.

Construction of microsatellite linkage maps for Corymbia

The genus Corymbia is closely related to the genus Eucalyptus, and like Eucalyptus contains tree species that are important for sub-tropical forestry. Corymbia's close relationship with Eucalyptus suggests genetic studies in Corymbia should benefit from transfer of genetic information from its more intensively studied relatives. Here we report a genetic map for Corymbia spp. based on microsatellite markers identified de novo in Corymbia sp or transferred from Eucalyptus. A framework consensus map was generated from an outbred F 2 population (n = 90) created by crossing two unrelated Corymbia torelliana x C. citriodora subsp. variegata F1 trees. The map had a total length of 367 cM (Kosambi) and was composed of 46 microsatellite markers distributed across 13 linkage groups (LOD 3). A high proportion of Eucalyptus microsatellites (90%) transferred to Corymbia. Comparative analysis between the Corymbia map and a published Eucalyptus map identified eight homeologous linkage groups in Corymbia with 13 markers mapping on one or both maps. Further comparative analysis was limited by low power to detect linkage due to low genome coverage in Corymbia, however, there was no convincing evidence for chromosomal structural differences because instances of non-synteny were associated with large distances on the Eucalyptus map. Segregation distortion was primarily restricted to a single linkage group and due to a deficit of hybrid genotypes, suggesting that hybrid inviability was one factor shaping the genetic composition of the F2 population in this inter-subgeneric hybrid. The conservation of microsatellite loci and synteny between Corymbia and Eucalyptus suggests there will be substantial value in exchanging information between the two groups.

Increased reproductive success in older female red kangaroos and the impact of harvesting

Wildlife harvesting has a long history in Australia, including obvious examples of overexploitation. Not surprisingly, there is scepticism that commercial harvesting can be undertaken sustainably. Kangaroo harvesting has been challenged regularly at Administrative Appeals Tribunals and elsewhere over the past three decades. Initially, the concern from conservation groups was sustainability of the harvest. This has been addressed through regular, direct monitoring that now spans > 30 years and a conservative harvest regime with a low risk of overharvest in the face of uncertainty. Opposition to the harvest now continues from animal rights groups whose concerns have shifted from overall harvest sustainability to side effects such as animal welfare, and changes to community structure, genetic composition and population age structure. Many of these concerns are speculative and difficult to address, requiring expensive data. One concern is that older females are the more successful breeders and teach their daughters optimal habitat and diet selection. The lack of older animals in a harvested population may reduce the fitness of the remaining individuals; implying population viability would also be compromised. This argument can be countered by the persistence of populations under harvesting without any obvious impairment to reproduction. Nevertheless, an interesting question is how age influences reproductive output. In this study, data collected from a number of red kangaroo populations across eastern Australia indicate that the breeding success of older females is up to 7-20% higher than that of younger females. This effect is smaller than that of body condition and the environment, which can increase breeding success by up to 30% and 60% respectively. Average age of mature females in a population may be reduced from 9 to 6 years old, resulting in a potential reduction in breeding success of 3-4%. This appears to be offset in harvested populations by improved condition of females from a reduction in kangaroo density. There is an important recommendation for management. The best insurance policy against overharvest and unwanted side effects is not research, which could be never-ending. Rather, it is a harvest strategy that includes safeguards against uncertainty such as harvest reserves, conservative quotas and regular monitoring. Research is still important in fine tuning that strategy and is most usefully incorporated as adaptive management where it can address the key questions on how populations respond to harvesting.

Phylogeography and hybrid swarms: history of brackish water bivalve diversity in North European marginal seas

This study addressed the large-scale molecular zoogeography in two brackish water bivalve molluscs, Macoma balthica and Cerastoderma glaucum, and genetic signatures of the postglacial colonization of Northern Europe by them. The traditional view poses that M. balthica in the Baltic, White and Barents seas (i.e. marginal seas) represent direct postglacial descendants of the adjacent Northeast Atlantic populations, but this has recently been challenged by observations of close genetic affinities between these marginal populations and those of the Northeast Pacific. The primary aim of the thesis was to verify, quantify and characterize the Pacific genetic contribution across North European populations of M. balthica and to resolve the phylogeographic histories of the two bivalve taxa in range-wide studies using information from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear allozyme polymorphisms. The presence of recent Pacific genetic influence in M. balthica of the Baltic, White and Barents seas, along with an Atlantic element, was confirmed by mtDNA sequence data. On a broader temporal and geographical scale, altogether four independent trans-Arctic invasions of Macoma from the Pacific since the Miocene seem to have been involved in generating the current North Atlantic lineage diversity. The latest trans-Arctic invasion that affected the current Baltic, White and Barents Sea populations probably took place in the early post-glacial. The nuclear genetic compositions of these marginal sea populations are intermediate between those of pure Pacific and Atlantic subspecies. In the marginal sea populations of mixed ancestry (Barents, White and Northern Baltic seas), the Pacific and Atlantic components are now randomly associated in the genomes of individual clams, which indicates both pervasive historical interbreeding between the previously long-isolated lineages (subspecies), and current isolation of these populations from the adjacent pure Atlantic populations. These mixed populations can be characterized as self-supporting hybrid swarms, and they arguably represent the most extensive marine animal hybrid swarms so far documented. Each of the three swarms still has a distinct genetic composition, and the relative Pacific contributions vary from 30 to 90 % in local populations. This diversity highlights the potential of introgressive hybridization to rapidly give rise to new evolutionarily and ecologically significant units in the marine realm. In the south of the Danish straits and in the Southern Baltic Sea, a broad genetic transition zone links the pure North Sea subspecies M. balthica rubra to the inner Baltic hybrid swarm, which has about 60 % of Pacific contribution in its genome. This transition zone has no regular smooth clinal structure, but its populations show strong genotypic disequilibria typical of a hybrid zone maintained by the interplay of selection and gene flow by dispersing pelagic larvae. The structure of the genetic transition is partly in line with features of Baltic water circulation and salinity stratification, with greater penetration of Atlantic genes on the Baltic south coast and in deeper water populations. In all, the scenarios of historical isolation and secondary contact that arise from the phylogeographic studies of both Macoma and Cerastoderma shed light to the more general but enigmatic patterns seen in marine phylogeography, where deep genetic breaks are often seen in species with high dispersal potential.

Population genetics of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum): implications for fishery management along the coast of the southeastern United States

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is a pelagic, migratory species with a transoceanic distribution in tropical and subtropical waters. Recreational fishing pressure on Cobia in the United States has increased substantially during the last decade, especially in areas of its annual inshore aggregations, making this species potentially susceptible to overfishing. Although Cobia along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the southeastern United States are currently managed as a single fishery, the genetic composition of Cobias in these areas is unclear. On the basis of a robust microsatellite data set from collections along the U.S. Atlantic coast (2008–09), offshore groups were genetically homogenous. However, the 2 sampled inshore aggregations (South Carolina and Virginia) were genetically distinct from each other, as well as from the offshore group. The recapture of stocked fish within their release estuary 2 years after release indicates that some degree of estuarine fidelity occurs within these inshore aggregations and supports the detection of their unique genetic structure at the population level. These results complement the observed high site fidelity of Cobias in South Carolina and support a recent study that confirms that Cobia spawn in the inshore aggregations. Our increased understanding of Cobia life history will be beneficial for determining the appropriate scale of fishery management for Cobia.

The sequence and de novo assembly of the giant panda genome

Using next-generation sequencing technology alone, we have successfully generated and assembled a draft sequence of the giant panda genome. The assembled contigs (2.25 gigabases (Gb)) cover approximately 94% of the whole genome, and the remaining gaps (0.05 Gb) seem to contain carnivore-specific repeats and tandem repeats. Comparisons with the dog and human showed that the panda genome has a lower divergence rate. The assessment of panda genes potentially underlying some of its unique traits indicated that its bamboo diet might be more dependent on its gut microbiome than its own genetic composition. We also identified more than 2.7 million heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the diploid genome. Our data and analyses provide a foundation for promoting mammalian genetic research, and demonstrate the feasibility for using next-generation sequencing technologies for accurate, cost-effective and rapid de novo assembly of large eukaryotic genomes.

水稻同源四倍体高代自交系农艺性状分析及遗传差异研究

课题组在不断地创制新的同源四倍体材料的同时，连续多年以提高结实率为目的培育、筛选自交系材料，已获得自交繁殖十二年的高代自交系材料。相对于诱导创制初期，材料表现出的结实率低，同种系单株间的差异较大；高代材料已表现出较显著的结实率提升和较一致的农艺性状表型。 本实验选取课题组多年培育的同源四倍体水稻高代自交系材料，通过形态学、农艺性状和细胞遗传学比较，研究水稻同源四倍体与二倍体之间的异同。结果显示，所有同源四倍体材料的染色体组成均为2N=4X=48，花粉母细胞(PMC)减数分裂行为较正常，99%以上的染色体都能在减数分裂中期I（MI）发生联会、配对，形成四价体和二价体，这与理论染色体组构成相符。在减数分裂过程中，结实率较高的材料染色体异常现象较少而结实率较低的材料染色体异常现象较严重。统计分析表明，二价体和四价体的比例对结实率没有显著影响，但是三价体的数目对结实率有一定影响。这一结果表明了结实率和细胞减数分裂行为可能存在相关性，同源四倍体的减数分裂行为为筛选高结实率的同源四倍体种系提供了依据。 然后，对同源四倍体水稻高代自交系材料进行农艺性状和品质性状的统计与分析。主要针对结实率、每穗实粒数、有效分蘖和穗长等主要农艺性状，以及直链淀粉含量这一重要的品质性状进行统计。将统计结果与1996年诱导加倍的初代材料的数据相对比分析，结果显示所有材料经过多代选育培养，其农艺性状已经有了较显著的提高，同时同源四倍体材料的农艺性状稳定性也有了较显著的提升。如结实率的提高幅度较大，所有材料的平均结实率均显著高于加倍初代，而同种材料不同单株间的结实率差异也显著地减少，变异系数（CV）的平均值由1996年的41.15%减少到了2008年的28.81%。其他重要农艺性状也有不同程度的改良，种内变异系数也相应地降低。此外，实验测量了同源四倍体材料和来源二倍体材料的直链淀粉含量。分析结果显示，部分材料的直链淀粉含量与二倍体亲本产生了较显著的差异，这可能是诱导加倍过程中的遗传变异造成的；同源四倍体材料的种内变异系数（CV）平均值由1996年的6%下降到了2008年的3.88%，显示出在品质性状方面，同源四倍体材料的遗传稳定性也有较显著的增加。同源四倍体材料农艺性状经过多年的选育，表现出一定的提升，同时，经过多年自交纯化，所有材料种系内的性状差异逐渐缩小，说明同源四倍体水稻的遗传稳定性随着自交纯化而增强，这为同源四倍体水稻的进一步选育打下了良好的基础。 最后，通过测量连续两年的自交系材料的遗传多态性，分析材料间遗传差异和种群遗传结构，深入研究连续两代材料间的遗传差异，研究同源四倍体水稻与二倍体材料遗传稳定性之间的差异。实验采用18对SSR微卫星标记对连续两代15个材料，共94份样本进行差异分析。通过扩增条带长度多态性分析，计算不同材料以及同种材料不同世代间的遗传距离，构建同源四倍体和二倍体水稻的分子指纹库，并绘制聚类图。结果显示，同源四倍体和二倍体不同材料间的遗传差异比较大，遗传距离处于0.4757至0.2816之间；而相同品种不同世代材料间的遗传差异较小，但也表现出一定的遗传差异。同种同源四倍体材料不同世代间的遗传差异比二倍体材料更大，两代四倍体材料间遗传距离处于0.1359至0.0485之间；而两代二倍体材料间的遗传距离处于均小于0.0388。结果表明，同源四倍体水稻高代材料具有一定的遗传稳定性，但与来源二倍体材料相比，其世代间的遗传变异性仍然较强。这种结果说明，经过多代的自交纯化培育，同源四倍体水稻材料能够建立起相对稳定的遗传结构，同时，其强于二倍体亲本的变异性有能够为新品种的选育，农艺性状、品质性状的改良提供一定的遗传基础。此外，分析结果表明通过分子标记辅助检验，水稻材料间的遗传多态性能够有效地区分不同的品种，这为水稻品种的分子鉴定提供了一定的依据。 本研究从细胞学鉴定，农艺性状统计分析以及分子标记辅助聚类分析多方面地对同源四倍体水稻高代系进行了研究，对探究同源四倍体水稻的遗传规律，进一步揭示其遗传特性、农艺性状的遗传构成，为进一步选育优质的多倍体水稻提供了一定的理论依据。 This group insists on creating new Autotetraploid Rice (Oryza sativa L.) materials, while improving the seed-setting of them for many years, cultivated and selected the inbred line materials, has obtained the high generation inbred lines after twelve years cultivation. Compared to the early induced materials, which shown the low seed setting, and the large difference between the different plants in the same germ-line; the high generation materials have shown significant improvement in seed setting and more uniform phenotype agronomic traits. The autotetraploid rice high generation inbred lines material, which has been cultivated for more than 12 years, was chose in this experiment. The similarities and differences between autotetraploid and diploid rice was studied through morphological, agronomic and cytogenetic ways. The results showed that all the chromosome of autotetraploid materials are composed of 2N=4X=48, the pollen mother cells (PMC) meiosis behavior is normal, more than 99% chromosomes in metaphase I(MI) were federated and paired to form tetravalents or bivalents, which constitutes a consistent theory of genome. In the meiosis process, the material with a higher seed setting showed less chromosome abnormal than the material whose seed setting is lower. However, statistical analysis showed that the bivalent and tetravalent rate had no significant impact on seed setting, but the number of trivalent had a certain impact on seed setting. The result shows that the seed setting may be related to the meiosis behavior, which provides a basis to cultivate new autotetraploid germ line with high seed setting through the meiotic behavior. Furthermore, the agronomic and quality traits of autotetraploid rice high generation inbred material were statistically analyzed. The statistically analysis was focused on major agronomic traits such as: seed setting, grains per panicle, effective tillers and panicle length, as well as the important quality trait amylose content. The statistic data was compared with the data in 1996, when the first induced generation of autotetraploid material, and the result shows that after a multi-generation breeding, the agronomic traits has been significantly improved in all the materials, while the stability of agronomic traits also significant upgraded. For instant, the seed setting increased significantly, the average seed setting of all materials was significantly higher than the first induced generation, and the differences between different plants in the same species also significantly reduced, the average of the coefficient of variation (CV) was reduced from 41.15% in 1996 to 28.81% in 2008. Other important agronomic traits had improved in different degrees; the coefficient of variation within species is also reduced accordingly. In addition, the amylose content of autotetraploid and diploid materials was measured in this experiment. The results shows that the amylose content of some of the material differed from diploid parents significantly, it may caused by the genetic change during the inducing, autotetraploid materials intra-specific coefficient of variation (CV) average reduced from 6% in 1996 to 3.88% in 2008, shows that this is a significant increase of quality traits stability in autotetraploid rice. Agronomic traits of autotetraploid material shows some improvement after years of breeding, at the same time, after years of purification, all material within the germ-line gradually narrow the differences in traits indicates that autotetraploid rice genetic stability was enhanced, which laid a good foundation for the further autotetraploid rice breeding. Finally, this experiment studied the genetic differences between materials of two generations and researched the difference of genetic stability between diploid and autotetraploid rice materials through investigating the genetic polymorphism, genetic differences between materials and population genetic structure of inbred line materials of two consecutive years.18 pairs of SSR microsatellite markers for 15 materials of two generations were used in this experiment, and the total of 94 samples were analyzed. Through the amplification length polymorphism analysis of different materials and materials in different generations, the genetic distance between materials and generations was analyzed, a diploid and autotetraploid rice molecular fingerprint database and map rendering cluster were constructed. The result shows that the genetic distance is between 0.4757 to 0.2816 among different autotetraploid and diploid materials; the genetic distance between different generations of same species was less, but also shows a certain degree of genetic differences. The inter-generational genetic differences of autotetraploid materials were greater than of the diploid materials, which are 0.1359 to 0.0485 as the genetic distance; comparing with the 0.0388 of diploid materials. The result shows that high generation inbred autotetraploid rice material has a certain genetic stability, but the genetic variation between generations is still strong comparing with the source diploid materials. It indicates that, after many generations of purification cultivation, autotetraploid rice materials established a relatively stable genetic structure, at the same time, stronger variability than its diploid parents are useful in the breeding of new varieties, provides a genetic foundation to the agronomic and quality traits improvement. In addition, the analysis result shows that the through the molecular marker-assisted testing, rice genetic polymorphism between materials can effectively distinguish different species, provides a certain basis for molecular identification of varieties of rice. A series of investigation such as cytological identification, statistical analysis of agronomic traits, molecular marker-assisted cluster analysis was applied in this experiment to research genetic pattern of autotetraploid rice high generation inbred lines, revealed the genetic characteristics and the genetic composition of agronomic traits, provides a theoretical basis for the further selection of high quality autotetraploid rice.

A transcriptase reversa como alvo terapêutico em doenças retrovirais

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Farmacêuticas

Novel insights into the role of the GABAB receptor in depression and anxiety

The GABAB receptor is a functional heterodimer comprising the GABAB1 and GABAB2 subunits, with the GABAB1 subunit displaying two major isoforms, GABAB(1a) and GABAB(1b). Preclinical findings have strongly implicated the GABAB receptor in stress-related psychiatric disorders, however, the precise contribution of the GABAB receptor in depression and anxiety disorders remains unknown. Emerging data suggest that the interaction between adverse environmental conditions, such as early life stress, and a specific genetic composition can increase the risk to develop psychiatric disorders in adulthood. This thesis investigated the role of the GABAB receptor alone or in combination with early-life stress (maternal separation), in modulating antidepressant like and anxiety-related behaviours. Pharmacological blockade of the GABAB receptor with CGP52432 had antidepressant-like behavioural effects. Moreover, mice lacking the GABAB(1b) receptor subunit isoform exhibited antidepressant-like behaviours in adulthood but anxiety-like behaviour in early-life. In response to maternal separation, GABAB(1a)-/- mice exhibited early-life stress-induced anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, while GABAB(1b)-/- mice exhibited a more resilient phenotype. Moreover, when compared with wildtype or GABAB(1a)-/- mice, GABAB(1b)-/- mice that underwent maternal separation exhibited enhanced stressinduced neuronal activation in the hippocampus and in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a critical area for anhedonia thus suggesting that enhanced stress-induced neuronal activation in the hippocampus and NAcc in GABAB(1b)-/- mice may be important for their antidepressant-like phenotype and their resilience to stress-induced anhedonia. Pharmacological blockade of GABAB receptor and GABAB(1b) receptor subunit isoform loss of function increased adult hippocampal cell proliferation, thus suggesting that increased hippocampal neurogenesis could be a potential mechanism for the antidepressant-like effects of GABAB receptor antagonists and GABAB(1b) receptor subunit isoform disruption. Finally, this thesis investigated whether the expression of several genes involved in hippocampal neurogenesis or the antidepressant response were altered in the mouse hippocampus following chronic treatment with a GABAB receptor antagonist.

The relationship between the distribution of genetically distinct inbred lines and upper lethal temperature in Lasaea rubra

Lasaea rubra is an inbreeding bivalve species, living at most heights on rocky shores. Freshly collected animals from different shore heights showed significantly different upper median lethal temperatures (MLTs), with upper shore animals having higher MLTs than lower shore specimens. Experiments with animals acclimated for at least one month to a single temperature (15°C) demonstrated that these differences in upper MLT were unaffected by thermal acclimation. Electrophoretic investigation showed that the differences in thermal response had a genetic basis. Homogeneous populations of the high-water inbred line (‘Inbred line A’) had a higher MLT than homogeneous populations of ‘Inbred line C’ which was found on the middle and lower shore. No differences were detected between the MLTs of separate populations of Inbred lines A or C. A third inbred line (‘Inbred line B’) was found on the middle shore, but no homogeneous populations were found. However, indirect evidence suggests that Inbred line B has a thermal response intermediate between those of Inbred lines A and C. Study of populations made up of mixtures of inbred lines confirmed the relationship between upper MLTs and genetic composition of the population.

Recombinant Subgroup B Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Expressing Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein Efficiently Replicates in Primary Human Cells and Is Virulent in Cotton Rats

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most important viral cause of severe respiratory tract disease in infants. Two subgroups (A and B) have been identified, which cocirculate during, or alternate between, yearly epidemics and cause indistinguishable disease. Existing in vitro and in vivo models of HRSV focus almost exclusively on subgroup A viruses. Here, a recombinant (r) subgroup B virus (rHRSV(B05)) was generated based on a consensus genome sequence obtained directly from an unpassaged clinical specimen from a hospitalized infant. An additional transcription unit containing the gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was introduced between the phosphoprotein and matrix genes (position 5) of the genome to generate rHRSV(B05)EGFP(5). The recombinant viruses replicated efficiently in both HEp-2 cells and in well-differentiated normal human bronchial cells grown at air-liquid interface. Intranasal infection of cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) resulted in high numbers of EGFP(+) cells in epithelia of the nasal septum and conchae. When administered in a relatively large inoculum volume, the virus also replicated efficiently in bronchiolar epithelial cells and spread extensively in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Virus replication was not observed in ciliated epithelial cells of the trachea. This is the first virulent rHRSV strain with the genetic composition of a currently circulating wild-type virus. In vivo tracking of infected cells by means of EGFP fluorescence in the absence of cytopathic changes increases the sensitivity of virus detection in HRSV pathogenesis studies.

IMPORTANCE

Virology as a discipline has depended on monitoring cytopathic effects following virus culture in vitro. However, wild-type viruses isolated from patients often do not cause significant changes to infected cells, necessitating blind passage. This can lead to genetic and phenotypic changes and the generation of high-titer, laboratory-adapted viruses with diminished virulence in animal models of disease. To address this, we determined the genome sequence of an unpassaged human respiratory syncytial virus from a sample obtained directly from an infected infant, assembled a molecular clone, and recovered a wild-type recombinant virus. Addition of a gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein allowed this wild-type virus to be tracked in primary human cells and living animals in the absence of significant cytopathic effects. Imaging of fluorescent cells proved to be a highly valuable tool for monitoring the spread of virus and may help improve assays for evaluating novel intervention strategies.

Chromosomal structure: a selectable trait for evolution

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Evolutionary Biology