La mitose est une étape clé du cycle cellulaire, très préservée chez toutes les cellules eucaryotes, durant laquelle le matériel génétique de la cellule (les chromosomes) réparti de manière égale dans les deux cellules filles. Cette équipartition du matériel génétique est cruciale pour le maintien de la stabilité génétique. Durant ce processus, les chromosomes, composés des chromatides soeurs, établissent une plaque métaphasique au centre du fuseau mitotique. Chaque chromatide est attachée à un pôle du fuseau mitotique respectif (on parle d'attachement bipolaire) vers lequel elle se dirigera durant l'anaphase. Les chromatides sont l'unité indivisible du matériel génétique durant la mitose, à l'image des atomes dans une molécule. Initialement, une fois la chromatine condensée en chromosomes, chacun de ces " objets " est détaché et réparti suivant une position précise appellée territoires chromosomiques. Toute la complexité de la mitose est de capturer chacune des chromatides et de les positionner sur la plaque métaphasique avant leur séparation et migration vers leur pôle respectif durant l'anaphase. Cette étape de la division cellulaire requiert donc non seulement un réseau complexe d'interaction et de signalisation biochimique comme dans beaucoup d'autres processus biologiques mais aussi un fin contrôle spatio-temporel du mouvement et du positionnement de ces objets de grande taille à l'échelle de la cellule. Il semblerait que l'origine du mouvement des chromosomes provienne pour une grande part de la dynamique des microtubules. Ce qui est moins certain est la part relative accordée aux différents processus régulant cette dynamique; que ce soit la dynamique intrinsèque (appelée instabilité dynamique des microtubules) ou l'effet de différentes protéines sur les microtubules comme les MAPs (Microtubule Associated Proteins) et les kinésines (protéines motrices). On notera par ailleurs que le mécanisme de transfert d'énergie entre la dynamique des microtubules et le mouvement des chromosomes est encore très largement hypothétique. La dynamique des chromosomes durant la mitose est aussi largement contrôlée par un grand nombre d'acteurs autres que les microtubules. Certains d'entre eux étant responsables de l'attachement MTs-kinétochore comme les complexes NDC80 et DAM1, tandis que d'autres sont impliqués dans la régulation de la dynamique des microtubules comme la kinésine-8 et la kinésine-13. Durant mon travail de thèse, j'ai étudié la dynamique des chromosomes en mitose chez la levure à fission, modèle celulaire dont les mécanismes primordiaux qui contrôlent la mitose sont conservés avec les eucaryotes supérieurs. En effet, j'ai caractérisé deux de ces mécanismes conservés au cours de l'évolution: l'alignement des chromosomes durant la métaphase ainsi qu'un mouvement de va et vient plus ou moins régulier le long du fuseau aussi appelé oscillation des chromosomes. J'ai montré, en analysant les trajectoires des chromosomes que ces deux processus sont pour une large part indépendants [@Mary2015]. De plus, le processus d'alignement des chromosomes, encore mal compris, est en partie contrôlé par la kinésine-8 via une activité dépendante de la longueur des microtubules. Il semblerait donc que cette kinésine soit capable de fournir une information spatiale le long du fuseau mitotique afin de positionner correctement les chromosomes. Enfin, j'ai utilisé un modèle mathématique de la ségrégation des chromosomes précédemment développé dans l'équipe afin de tester de manière quantitative les hypothèses de mécanisme du centrage des chromosomes par la kinésine-8. L'ensemble de mon travail porte donc sur le contrôle du mouvement, de l'attachement et du positionnement des chromosomes durant la mitose afin de mieux comprendre les processus biophysiques associés à la mitose. / Mitosis is a highly preserved process in all eukaryotic cells during which the genetic material (chromosomes) is divided in two parts which spread in both daughter cells. This equipartition is crucial for maintaining genetic stability. During this process, chromosomes form a metaphasic plate at the center of the mitotic spindle. Each chromatid is attached to its respective spindle pole (called bipolar attachment) toward which it will move during anaphase. Chromatids are the indivisible units of genetic material during mitosis just like atoms in a molecule. Originally each of these "\ objects\ " are detached and organized in chromosomes territories. All the complexity of mitosis resides in the capture of each chromatid by the spindle pole to exert forces to position them on the metaphase plate before their separation and migration towards their respective poles in anaphase. This step of cell division not only requires complex interaction networks and metabolic signaling pathways just like many other biological processes but also a fine spatio-temporal control of movement and positioning of these big objects relative to cell size. It is usually accepted that the origin of chromosome movement arises from microtubule dynamics. However, what is less clear is the relative importance of each of these processes regulating chromosome movement: the intrinsic dynamic instability of microtubules or the effect of their associated proteins such as MAPs and kinesins. It is also important to note that the mechanism controlling the transfer of energy between microtubule dynamics and chromosome movement is still largely hypothetical. Moreover, chromosome dynamics during mitosis is regulated by a large number of actors apart from microtubules. Some of them being responsible for MT-kinetochore attachment such as NDC80 and DAM1 complex. While others are involved in the regulation of MT dynamics such as Kinesin-8 and Kinesin-13. During my PhD, I studied fission yest chromosome dynamic during mitosis. This cellular model has the advantage of sharing many fundamental mechanisms of symmetrically dividing higher eukaryotic cells. I characterized two of these conserved mechanisms: chromosome alignment during metaphase and back and forth movement along the spindle, called chromosome oscillation. By analyzing chromosome trajectories, I showed that both processes are performed through independent mechanisms [@Mary2015]. Moreover, chromosome alignment process, which is still poorly understood, is regulated by Kinesin-8 via a length dependent activity on microtubules. This suggests that Kinesin-8 is able to provide spatial information along the mitotic spindle to properly position chromosomes. Finally, I used a mathematical model of chromosome segregation in order to test quantitatively different hypotheses of chromosome centering process. This work is thus deciphering the control of movement, attachment and positioning of chromosomes during mitosis and seeks to better understand the biophysical processes controlling mitosis.

Chromosome changes in the haematological malignancies, lymphomas and sarcomas are known to be important events in the evolution of these tumours as they can, for example, form fusion oncogenes or disrupt tumour suppressor genes. The recently described recurrent fusion genes in prostate and lung cancer proved to be iconic examples as they indicated that important gene fusions are found in the common epithelial cancers also. Breast cancers often display extensive structural and numerical chromosome aberration and have among the most complex karyotyes of all cancers. Genome rearrangements are potentially an important source of mutation in breast cancer but little is known about how they might contribute to this disease. My first aim was to carry out a structural survey of breast cancer cell line genomes in order to find genes that were disrupted by chromosome aberrations in 'typical' breast cancers. I investigated three breast cancer cell lines, HCC1187, VP229 and VP267 using data from array painting, SNP6 array CGH, molecular cytogenetics and massively parallel paired end sequencing. I then used these structural genomic maps to predict fusion transcripts and demonstrated expression of five fusion transcripts in HCC1187, three in VP229 and four inVP267. Even though chromosome aberrations disrupt and fuse many genes in individual breast cancers, a major unknown is the relative importance and timing of genome rearrangements compared to sequence-level mutation. For example, chromosome instability might arise early and be essential to tumour suppressor loss and fusion gene formation or be a late event contributing little to cancer development. To address this question, I considered the evolution of these highly rearranged breast cancer karyotypes. The VP229 and VP267 cell lines were derived from the same patient before and after therapy-resistant relapse, so any chromosome aberration found in both cell lines was probably found in the common in vivo ancestor of the two cell lines. A large majority of structural variants detected by massively parallel paired end sequencing, including three fusion transcripts, were found in both cell lines, and therefore, in the common ancestor. This probably means that the bulk of genome rearrangement pre-dated the relapse. For HCC1187, I classified most of its mutations as earlier or later according to whether they occurred before or after a landmark event in the evolution of the genome-endoreduplication (duplication of its entire genome). Genome rearrangements and sequence-level mutations were fairly evenly divided between earlier and later, implying that genetic instability was relatively constant throughout the evolution of the tumour. Surprisingly, the great majority of inactivating mutations and expressed gene fusions happened earlier. The non-random timing of these events suggests many were selected.

During the screening process 5,20 8 X chromosomes of -Drosophila melanogaster were analyzed for the presence of temperature-sensitive (ts) lethal mutations (i.e. mutants which die at 29°C but are viable at 22°C) in short proximal and distal segments of the chromosome. Seven ts and 16 non-ts lethals were recovered in both regions combined. A new class of mutations (class-3), which failed to survive at 29°C with either proximal or distal duplication and showed ts lethality with one, was found and extensively analyzed. These mutants were initially interpreted to be dominant ts's, although the heterozygotes of each mutant showed this not to be so. It was decided that these might more probably be chromosomes carrying a lethal mutation covered by the duplication, and a ts lethal mapping elsewhere. By masking the non-conditional lethal with a duplication, developmental studies of the ts mutant were made. The temperature-sensitive period (TSP) and lethal phase (LP) were characterized for each. All TSP’s spanned the early pupal interval, though an individual TSP might extend to either side of this interval. The pattern of temperature-sensitivity of C3-3 suggested that once formed at permissive temperature, its product was not affected by 29°C. The experiments suggest that the temperature-sensitive process occurs at transcription or translation. A lethal allele of the dor locus was recovered, and, in analysis of this mutant with other dor alleles and several variegating duplications, dor itself was found to be a ts lethal. "Warped" wing, a new phenotype of the dor locus which occurred only with the variegating duplications, was described. This paper further describes a method for developmental analysis of non-ts lethal mutations, involving the use of variegating rearrangements. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

Homologous chromosomes display associations in many organisms. Drosophila melanogaster (here after, Drosophila) serves as an excellent model to study pairing interactions since chromosomes are paired in all somatic cells throughout development. For many genes, the degree of homolog association influences gene expression. These effects, collectively referred to as transvection, can promote gene activation or silencing. Requirements for transvection are poorly understood. Chapter One reviews what is known about transvection in Drosophila and chromosome interactions in mammals. Recent cell culture studies implicated a requirement for Topoisomerase 2 (Top2) in chromosome pairing. Top2 encodes an ATP dependent homodimeric enzyme that generates double stranded breaks to change DNA topology. This enzyme is a common target of anticancer drugs due to its role in DNA metabolism. To understand the in vivo role of Drosophila Top2, an EMS screen was completed. Chapter Two describes the identification and characterization of fifteen new EMS generated Top2 mutations. Fifteen null and hypomorphic alleles were obtained, including one that displays temperature sensitivity. Molecular analyses of these alleles uncovered single or multiple base pair substitutions within the coding region of each mutant gene. Even though flies carrying individual missense alleles in trans to a deficiency are inviable, heteroallelic combinations of several missense alleles produced viable flies, including two lines carrying mutations that display resistance to anti-cancer drugs. These data indicate that Top2 activity can be restored by dimerization of defective subunits. Our new Top2 alleles establish a novel allelic series and provide a platform for understanding drug resistance. In Chapter Three, the role of Top2 in chromosome associations was tested to determine whether mutations in Top2 disrupted transvection. Viable heteroallelic combinations of Top2 mutations were used to test transvection at three classically studied loci. For each gene, homologous interactions were analyzed by screening for alterations in pairing-dependent changes in phenotype involving transvecting alleles. Only one of the three genes tested displayed phenotypic changes in Top2 complementing adults that were consistent with an alteration in pairing dependent changes in expression. Transcript levels were assessed at the three genes studied that display transvection. Our studies indicate that changes in the phenotype, due to altered Top2, are likely gene specific transcriptional changes. Further investigation of gene associations in Top2 mutants employed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). These studies showed that all loci examined were paired near wild type levels, suggesting that Top2 does not globally disrupt homolog associations in vivo. The differences observed in Top2 function in vivo and in vitro may be explained by two possibilities. First, the probes studied differ from those used in vitro, indicating that different genetic loci may have different sensitivities to unpairing. Second, Top2 plays a role in the segregation of sister chromatids during anaphase and loss of Top2 causes improper resolution of chromosomes resulting in aneuploidy. In cell culture, cells were allowed to go through one division and then were subsequently fixed, permitting analyses on all cells. It is possible that nuclei exhibiting aneuploidy have undergone cell death in vivo, explaining why we do not see increased amounts of unpairing. In conclusion, Top2 contributions to nuclear functions are complex. Loss of Top2 may result in subtle changes in pairing that may affect transcription and transvection.

This thesis presents the results of an investigation conducted to determine the maturation stages and chromosomal composition of the Homophron americanum (Sand Beetle) found in North Texas.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / 2022-08-31

The X and Z chromosomes have unique characteristics that lead to unique evolutionary consequences. Lepidopterans have a well-known, disproportionately large-Z effect for behavioral and morphological traits that distinguish closely related species. A potential explanation for the Large-X effect is the faster evolution of the sex chromosome (Faster-X evolution). We use whole genome re-sequencing of Heliconius erato races and of the incipient species H. himera to test for faster-Z evolution between hybridizing populations at different reproductive isolation levels, by calculating divergence and nucleotide diversity. We show evidence for Faster-Z evolution in Heliconius butterflies at the early stages of speciation and along the speciation continuum. Evidence of higher divergence and lower nucleotide diversity suggests not only selection but also nonaptive process, like demographic changes, may be driving faster-Z evolution, especially in the incipient species.

No description available.

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This investigation reorganizes and identifies chromosomal anomalies and delineates the associated clinical findings. The present investigation involved 37 individuals with anomalies of chromosome 22. The clinical profile with the corresponding cytogenetic anomalies was studied.