Association between IL8 haplotypes and pathogen levels in chronic periodontitis

Chronic periodontitis (CP) is considered to be a multifactorial disease influenced by microbial and genetic factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the genetic susceptibility to CP in individuals with the IL8 ATC/TTC haplotype is associated with subgingival levels of periodontopathogens. Sixty-five individuals, grouped according to the presence (n = 28) or absence (n = 37) of the IL8 haplotype, were evaluated. After clinical periodontal evaluation, each group was subdivided according to the presence (CP) or absence (H) of periodontitis. Four subgingival samples were obtained from CP and two samples per subject from H patients. The levels and proportions of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). No differences were found in the proportion of periodontopathogenic bacteria between groups with the presence or absence of the IL8 haplotype. However, in the CP groups, the levels of periodontopathogens were significantly higher in the individuals without the IL8 haplotype than in the individuals with the IL8 haplotype. These results suggest that periodontal destruction may occur in patients who are considered to be genetically susceptible to CP with a lower microbial challenge because of the presence of the IL8 ATC/TTC haplotype than in patients without this haplotype. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Detecting Loci under Recent Positive Selection in Dairy and Beef Cattle by Combining Different Genome-Wide Scan Methods

As the methodologies available for the detection of positive selection from genomic data vary in terms of assumptions and execution, weak correlations are expected among them. However, if there is any given signal that is consistently supported across different methodologies, it is strong evidence that the locus has been under past selection. In this paper, a straightforward frequentist approach based on the Stouffer Method to combine P-values across different tests for evidence of recent positive selection in common variations, as well as strategies for extracting biological information from the detected signals, were described and applied to high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data generated from dairy and beef cattle (taurine and indicine). The ancestral Bovinae allele state of over 440,000 SNP is also reported. Using this combination of methods, highly significant (P<3.17×10-7) population-specific sweeps pointing out to candidate genes and pathways that may be involved in beef and dairy production were identified. The most significant signal was found in the Cornichon homolog 3 gene (CNIH3) in Brown Swiss (P = 3.82×10-12), and may be involved in the regulation of pre-ovulatory luteinizing hormone surge. Other putative pathways under selection are the glucolysis/gluconeogenesis, transcription machinery and chemokine/cytokine activity in Angus; calpain-calpastatin system and ribosome biogenesis in Brown Swiss; and gangliosides deposition in milk fat globules in Gyr. The composite method, combined with the strategies applied to retrieve functional information, may be a useful tool for surveying genome-wide selective sweeps and providing insights in to the source of selection.

Phylogeographic Structure And Outbreeding Depression Reveal Early Stages Of Reproductive Isolation In The Neotropical Orchid Epidendrum Denticulatum

Phylogeographic studies provide an important framework for investigating the mechanisms operating during the earliest stages of speciation, as reproductive barriers can be examined among divergent lineages in a geographic context. We investigated the evolution of early stages of intrinsic postmating isolation among different populations and lineages of Epidendrum denticulatum, a Neotropical orchid distributed across different biomes in South America. We estimated genetic diversity and structure for both nuclear and plastid markers, using a haplotype network, differentiation tests, Bayesian assignment analysis, and divergence time estimates of the main lineages. Reproductive barriers among divergent lineages were examined by analyzing seed viability following reciprocal crossing experiments. Strong plastid phylogeographic structure was found, indicating that E. denticulatum was restricted to multiple refuges during South American forest expansion events. In contrast, significant phylogeographic structure was not found for nuclear markers, suggesting higher gene flow by pollen than by seeds. Large asymmetries in seed set were observed among different plastid genetic groups, suggesting the presence of polymorphic genic incompatibilities associated with cytonuclear interactions. Our results confirm the importance of phylogeographic studies associated with reproductive isolation experiments and suggest an important role for outbreeding depression during the early stages of lineage diversification. © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Rastreamento de polimorfsmos no gene HIOMT e associações com os fenótipos circadianos

HIOMT is a gene that encodes hydroxyindole-O-methyltransfe-rase, the final enzyme in the melatonin synthesis pathway. As the timing of melatonin synthesis is different for morning and evening people, it is possible that polymorphisms in genes coding for the enzymes which participate in melatonin synthesis can influence this hormone synthesis and release patterns that may result in different circadian outputs. The aim of this study was to search for polymorphisms in the HIOMT gene and to verify possible associations between genetic variations in this gene and circadian phenotypes in a Brazilian population sample. Among the 44 extreme morning and the 48 extreme evening people, ten polymorphisms were found, being two of them not described so far. Haploview analyses showed linkage disequilibrium between pairs of polymorphisms in the promoter B region. Also, the haplotype AG (rs4446909, rs5989681) is associated with evening preference. The analysis of these data indicates that polymorphisms in the HIOMT gene exhibit a possible trend to influence circadian phenotypes in this Brazilian population sample, possibly affecting the rate and/or level of melatonin synthesis.

Filogeografia de Thoropa grupo miliaris (Anura: Cycloramphidae)

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Evidências moleculares dos padrões evolutivos e filogeográficos de populações de Astyanax paranae (Pisces : Characidae) com base em caracteres do DNA mitocondrial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análises moleculares e da presença de endobactérias de Camponotus textor Forel, 1899 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Celular e Molecular) - IBRC

Utlização do DNA mitocondrial no contexto forense brasileiro

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise de polimorfismos da região controle do dna mitocondrial em indivíduos nascidos e residentes no estado do espírito santo para utilização na identificação humana

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Papel de polimorfismos genéticos nos genes IL10, TNF e LTA na hanseníase

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise dos genes mitocondriais COI e 16S de populações de Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) de diferentes localidades geográficas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização molecular de populações do inseto praga psilídeo de concha (Glycaspis brimblecombei) por meio de marcadores do tipo ITS 1 (Internal Tanscribed Spacer 1)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estresse oxidativo em doentes falciformes: influência dos haplótipos e udo de medicação específica

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Expressão fenotípica da homozigose para hemoglobina S em relação aos haplótipos da beta globina, polimorfismos da glutationa S-transferase e enzimas de detoxificação

Pós-graduação em Genética - IBILCE