This thesis is an investigation of the concepts and tools required for the successful application of genome ecology on real genomic transposable element (TE) data. Beginning with the formation of an interdisciplinary working group to examine the distinction between ecology and evolution within genome ecology. By establishing these definitions it was possible to account for the relative effect of proxies for these processes in explaining the variation with the TE communities in a group of genomes. This resulted in the finding that ecological processes were could only explain variation in closely related groups of genomes. Thus ecological methods, developed for examining species distributions along a linear transect, were used to analyze the 30 B.taurus chromosomes. This resulted in the identification of 8 TE species responsible for explaining the spatial distribution in the B.taurus chromosomes. This successful application of ecological methods on TE data promises to inspire many other promising interdisciplinary studies. / OGS

Ce document est dédié à la modélisation dynamique des interactions hôtes-parasites. Il porte sur deux modèles biologiques très différents, mais étudiés à l’aide de modèles épidémiologiques standards construits à partir de systèmes dynamiques à compartiments. La première contribution est l’implémentation d’un modèle ‘micro-parasites’ pour étudier la transmission du parasite protozoaire Trypanosoma cruzi, agent étiologique de la trypanosomiase américaine (ou ‘maladie de Chagas’), au sein d’une communauté d’hôtes synanthropiques et domestiques. L’analyse du modèle mathématique montre pour la première fois dans ce système biologique un effet de dilution associé aux hôtes aviaires, ainsi que la possibilité de réduire la transmission à l’homme par modification de la composition de la communauté d’hôtes domestiques. La seconde contribution porte sur la dynamique des ‘parasites génomiques’ que sont les éléments transposables. En utilisant les analogies entre concepts de génomique et d’écologie proposées par l’approche d’ « Écologie du génome », il a été possible d’adapter des modèles développés pour les ‘macro-parasites’ à la dynamique d’éléments transposables de classe 1, les retro-transposons. L’analyse de cesmodèles permet de formuler des hypothèses sur l’importance relative de la démographie des hôtes, de la distribution du nombre de copies entre les individus et des mécanismes moléculaires de silencing de ces éléments, sur leurpersistance au sein de population d’hôtes se reproduisant de façon asexuée. / This document is dedicated to the dynamic modeling of host-parasite interactions. It is about two distant biological models, who are studied using standard epidemiological models built from dynamic compartmental models. The first contribution is the implementation of a 'micro-parasites' model to study the transmission of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of American trypanosomiasis (or 'Chagas' disease), within a host community of synanthropic and domestic animals. The analysis of the mathematical model shows for the first time in this biological system a dilution effect associated with avian hosts, as well as the possibility of reducing the transmission to humans by modifying the composition of the domestic host communities. The second contribution deals with the dynamics of the "genomic parasites" that are the transposable elements. Using the analogies between genomics and ecology concepts proposed by the "Genome Ecology" approach, it was possible to adapt models developed for 'macro-parasites' to the dynamics of transposable elements of class 1, retro-transposons. The analysis of these models makes it possible toformulate hypotheses on the relative importance of the host demography, the distribution of the number of copies between individuals and the molecular mechanisms of silencing of these elements, on their persistence within the population of hosts reproducing asexually.