Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Biological Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2008. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-181). / This thesis describes the development and application of a new tool for profiling marine microbial communities. Chapter 1 places the tool in the context of the range of methods used currently. Chapter 2 describes the development and validation of the "genome proxy" microarray, which targeted marine microbial genomes and genome fragments using sets of 70-mer oligonucleotide probes. In a natural community background, array signal was highly linearly correlated to target cell abundance (R² of 1.0), with a dynamic range from 10²-10⁶ cells/ml. Genotypes with >/=~80% average nucleotide identity to those targeted crosshybridized to target probesets but produced distinct, diagnostic patterns of hybridization. Chapter 3 describes the development an expanded array, targeting 268 microbial genotypes, and its use in profiling 57 samples from Monterey Bay. Comparison of array and pyrosequence data for three samples showed a strong linear correlation between target abundance using the two methods (R²=0.85- 0.91). Array profiles clustered into shallow versus deep, and the majority of targets showed depth-specific distributions consistent with previous observations. Although no correlation was observed to oceanographic season, bloom signatures were evident. Array-based insights into population structure suggested the existence of ecotypes among uncultured clades. Chapter 4 summarizes the work and discusses future directions. / by Virginia Rich. / Ph.D.

A citricultura paulista pode ser considerada uma das mais competitivas e importantes atividades agroindustriais do Brasil, gerando aproximadamente 400 mil empregos e adicionando anualmente U$ 1,4 bilhões ao país. Entretanto ainda apresenta uma produtividade inferior àquela encontrada na Flórida, principalmente devido a deficiências nutricionais e hídricas e a doenças que há diversos anos atingem às lavouras. Nos últimos dez anos a clorose variegada dos citros (CVC), conhecida popularmente como a doença do amarelinho, apresenta-se como o principal problema, sendo a bactéria gram-negativa Xylella fastidiosa seu agente causal. Em vista da importância do cultivo da laranja no país, o projeto \"Genoma Xylella fastidiosa\" foi proposto, visando o seqüenciamento total do genoma deste fitopatógeno bem como o treinamento de pessoal capacitado na utilização das modernas técnicas de biologia molecular. Segmentos de DNA provenientes de 7 cosmídeos e diversos clones provenientes de bibliotecas de \"shotgun\" genômico foram seqüenciados em nosso laboratório, totalizando 271.220 pb do genoma da bactéria. Em seguida foi feita a anotação das orfs preditas por programa GLIMMER, sendo que em nosso laboratório foram anotadas aproximadamente 290 ORFs. Seqüenciamentos diretamente do genoma e de clones das bibliotecas de RDA foram também realizados, complementando as metodologias de primer walking e construção de bibliotecas de fago utilizadas em outros laboratórios do projeto para o fechamento de \"gaps\". Todos os resultados obtidos em nosso laboratório, somados às contribuições de todos os grupos do projeto, serão base para a melhor compreensão dos mecanismos utilizados pela bactéria, podendo favorecer o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias para o combate desta praga. / The São Paulo\'s citriculture can be considered one of the most competitive and important agroindustrial activity from Brazil. It provides aproximately 400,000 jobs and adds US$ 1,4000,000,000 for the country\'s economy. This activity, however, still shows less productivity than the one from Florida, mainly due to nutritional and hydric deficiencies and plagues that are already present for a long time. In the last ten years, the citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), also known as little yellow disease, constitutes the main problem for the orange farmers. This disease is caused by gram-negative bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Due to the importance of the orange cultive in the country, the project called Xylella fastidiosa\'s Genome was proposed. The main goals of this project are to sequence the entire genome of this phytopathogen and the trainning of specialized people in the use of modern techniques of molecular biology. DNA fragments cloned in 7 cosrnids and also form genomic shotgun libraries were sequenced in our laboratory. A total of 271,220 bp of bacteria genome were obtained. The next step was the annotation of the open reading frames (ORFs). This was made using the GLIMMER computer program which generates, in our laboratory, aproximately 290 ORFs. Direct sequencing of the genome and clones of RDA libraries were also done for obtaining nucleotide sequences form gaps. These methodologies complement the primer walking and phage library construction used by other laboratories included in the project. All results, obtained either by our laboratory or the other groups from the project, will be used for a better understanding of the mechanisms used by the bacteria, Altogether, they can be favor the development of new strategies in the plague combact.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma metodologia para identificação de regiões promotoras funcionais a partir de segmentos de um genoma qualquer. O genoma da cana-de-açúcar foi escolhido para o desenvolvimento desta estratégia na qual envolve a obtenção de fragmentos de DNA os quais foram clonados em vetores de expressão. A triagem destes fragmentos foi realizada através de biobalística e resultou no isolamento de quatro clones. Um ensaio de transformação permanente em arroz com três clones gerou 12 plantas. Foi detectada expressão do marcador GUS em calos, folhas e raízes, comprovando sua funcionalidade. Desta maneira, o presente trabalho permitiu estabelecer uma metodologia de recuperação de sequências regulatórias funcionais com ampla possibilidade de serem explorados biotecnologicamente. / The aim of this work is develop a strategy to identify functional promoter regions from any genome. The modern sugarcane genome was chosen as a model for the development of this strategy that involves the generation of fragments of DNA and cloning them into expression vectors. These fragments were then screened by a transient expression assay using biolistic particle delivery resulting in the isolation of four clones. Three clones were permanently transformed in rice, and 12 plants were obtained. GUS expression was detected in the callus, leaves and roots of the rice plants thus confirming the functionality of sequences in these clones. The present work has established a strategy to identify and extract functional regulatory sequences containing functional regulatory regions which show great potential of being useful in both the biotechnology field and in the field of basic science.

O sequenciamento genômico da L. interrogans sorovar Copenhageni e os avanços das análises bioinformáticas permitiram a identificação de seis novos candidatos vacinais. Esses genes de Leptospira foram submetidos a ensaios de conservação do DNA genômico, RNA mensageiro e proteína nativa correspondente em doze sorovares de Leptospira, nos quais o gene LIC11469 foi o mais conservado. As proteínas recombinantes rLIC11469 e rLIC11030 foram purificadas por cromatografia de afinidade a metal, e submetidas a ensaio de dicroísmo circular. Em ensaios de localização celular pudemos observar a presença das proteínas nativas correspondentes na membrana externa de Leptospira. Ensaios de adesão mostraram a ligação da proteína rLIC11469 à laminina e ao plasminogênio. Ensaios de imunização e desafio demonstraram que a proteína rLIC11030 conferiu proteção contra infecção letal de L. interrogans em hamsters. Ambas as proteínas apresentaram reatividade com anticorpos presentes em soros de pacientes com leptospirose, sugerindo sua expressão durante a infecção. / The genomic sequencing of the L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni and the advances of bioinformatics analysis allowed the identification of six new vaccine candidates. These genes were subjected to genomic DNA, mRNA and native protein conservation assays in twelve serovars from Leptospira, and the gene LIC11469 was the most conserved among these serovars. The recombinant proteins rLIC11469 and rLIC11030 were purified by metal affinity chromatography, and subjected to circular dichroism. Through cellular localization assays we could observe the presence of the corresponding native proteins on the outer membrane of Leptospira. In adhesion assays, the protein rLIC11469 showed binding to laminin and plasminogen. Immunization and challenge assays showed that the protein rLIC11030 afforded protection against lethal leptospiral inoculation in hamsters. Both proteins showed reactivity against sera of patients diagnosed with leptospirosis, suggesting that these proteins are probably expressed during infection.

No presente trabalho, AFLPs e marcadores baseados em retrotransposons foram utilizados para a construção de um mapa de ligação integrado em cana-de-açúcar. Dois retrotransposons encontrados no genoma da cana-de-açúcar, denominados SURE e Garapa, foram estudados. Os princípios da técnica NBS-profiling foram usados para gerar marcadores direcionados às sequências desses retrotransposons. Os marcadores foram analisados numa população F1 de cana-de-açúcar, composta por 188 indivíduos, oriunda do cruzamento entre os genitores IAC66-6 e TUC71-7. O mapa integrado foi construído usando-se o software OneMap, especialmente desenvolvido para mapear espécies não endogâmicas. Excelentes padrões de AFLP e de marcas direcionadas ao retrotransposon SURE foram obtidos; entretanto, para o Garapa, ainda são necessários ajustes na técnica. Um total de 600 marcadores de dose única foi obtido a partir de 22 combinações de enzimas de restrição/primers de AFLP e seis combinações otimizadas para amplificar marcas direcionadas ao retrotransposon SURE. Construiu-se um mapa com 107 grupos de ligação, com tamanho de 4.316,5 cM e densidade de 8,74 cM/marcador. O mapeamento dos marcadores derivados do retrotransposon SURE revelou que esse elemento não está uniformemente distribuído nos grupos de ligação e confirmou o seu baixo número de cópias no genoma da cana, conforme foi sugerido na literatura. / In the presenty study, AFLPs and retrotransposon-based markers were used for the construction of an integrated linkage map of sugarcane. Two retrotransposons described in the sugarcane genome, named SURE and Garapa were studied. The principles of NBS-profiling technique were used to generate markers based on these retrotransposon sequences. The markers were analyzed in a F1-population, composed of 188 individuals, derived from a single cross between the IAC66-6 and TUC71-7 parents. The integrated genetic map was constructed using the software OneMap, specially designed for mapping outcrossing species. Excellent gel profiles of AFLP and retrotransposon-derived markers were obtained; however, for the Garapa element, technical adjustments are still needed. A total of 600 single-dose markers were obtained from 22 AFLP restriction enzyme/primer combinations and six combinations optimized to amplify the SURE-based markers. A map with 107 linkage groups was constructed, spanning 4,316.5 cM, with a marker density of 8.74 cM. Mapping of SURE-based markers revealed that this element is not uniformly distributed across the linkage groups, and confirmed its low copy number in the sugarcane genome, as suggested in the literature.

The rare disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) results in high blood pressure in the lung caused by narrowing of lung arteries. Genes causative in PAH were discovered through family studies and very often harbour rare variants. However, the genetic cause in heritable (31%) and idiopathic (79%) PAH cases is not yet known but are speculated to be caused by rare variants. Advances in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies made it possible to detect variants in 98% of the human genome. A drop in sequencing costs made it feasible to sequence 10,000 individuals including 1,250 subjects diagnosed with PAH and relatives as part of the NIHR Bioresource - Rare (BR-RD) disease study. This large cohort allows the genome-wide identification of rare variants to discover novel causative genes associated with PAH in a case-control study to advance our understanding of the underlying aetiology. In the first part of my thesis, I establish a phenotype capture system that allows research nurses to record clinical measurements and other patient related information of PAH patients recruited to the NIHR BR-RD study. The implemented extensions provide a programmatic data transfer and an automated data release pipeline for analysis ready data. The second part is dedicated to the discovery of novel disease genes in PAH. I focus on one well characterised PAH disease gene to establish variant filter strategies to enrich for rare disease causing variants. I apply these filter strategies to all known PAH disease genes and describe the phenotypic differences based on clinically relevant values. Genome-wide results from different filter strategies are tested for association with PAH. I describe the findings of the rare variant association tests and provide a detailed interrogation of two novel disease genes. The last part describes the data characteristics of variant information, available non SQL (NoSQL) implementations and evaluates the suitability and scalability of distributed compute frameworks to store and analyse population scale variation data. Based on the evaluation, I implement a variant analysis platform that incrementally merges samples, annotates variants and enables the analysis of 10,000 individuals in minutes. An incremental design for variant merging and annotation has not been described before. Using the framework, I develop a quality score to reduce technical variation and other biases. The result from the rare variant association test is compared with traditional methods.

A família Baculoviridae é um grande grupo de vírus com cerca de 700 espécies de insetos hospedeiros, com dois fenótipos: o ODV (occlusion derived virion), que faz a infecção primária do intestino médio; e o BV (budded virus), responsável pela infecção sistêmica. No Brasil, o nucleopoliedrovírus Anticarsia gemmatalis (AgMNPV) é utilizado como controle biológico da lagarta-da-soja Anticarsia gemmatalis. O genoma do AgMNPV-2D contém 152 ORFs, 26 das quais codificam proteínas estruturais. Entre elas, a glicoproteína GP64 é fundamental para infecção secundária. Este estudo visa identificar proteínas estruturais do AgMNPV-2D por duas abordagens de espectrometria de massas. Também comparar a variabilidade da gp64 de isolados geográficos por sequenciamento por Sanger e de alta cobertura. Assim, identificamos as substituições de gp64 e vimos que ela não suporta a separação geográfica dos isolados. Também identificamos 44 e 33 proteínas em ODV e BV, respectivamente. Seis novas proteínas foram identificadas no ODV e sete delas no BV. Além disso, 11 proteínas celulares foram identificadas no AgMNPV-2D, possivelmente necessárias para infecção. Este achado contribui para o entendimento da morfogênese do AgMNPV e fatores associados à multiplicação viral. / Baculoviridae are arthropod-specific viruses with more than 700 host insects, which produce two phenotypes: the budded virus (BV) and, the occlusion-derived virus (ODV) for intra and across host spread, respectively. Brazil uses the Anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgMNPV) as a biological control agent of the velvet bean caterpillar (A. gemmatalis). The genome of the AgMNPV-2D carries 152 ORFs, 26 of which code for structural proteins. Herein, the structural proteins of AgMNPV-2D were analyzed by two mass spectrometry techniques. The additional objective was to compare the gene gp64. of different geographical populations by Sanger and next generation sequencing. This analysis allowed us to observe the substitutions of gp64 and refuted the notion of a geographical isolation of the samples. We also observed a total of 44 proteins of the ODV and 33 of the BV. Six new proteins were found in the ODV and seven in the BV. Furthermore, 11 cellular proteins were also identified, which are possibly assorted during viral morphogenesis. These findings may provide novel insights into AgMNPV biology and its host interaction, leading us to a better understanding about morphogenesis and also the associated factors of the viral multiplication.

No presente trabalho, AFLPs e marcadores baseados em retrotransposons foram utilizados para a construção de um mapa de ligação integrado em cana-de-açúcar. Dois retrotransposons encontrados no genoma da cana-de-açúcar, denominados SURE e Garapa, foram estudados. Os princípios da técnica NBS-profiling foram usados para gerar marcadores direcionados às sequências desses retrotransposons. Os marcadores foram analisados numa população F1 de cana-de-açúcar, composta por 188 indivíduos, oriunda do cruzamento entre os genitores IAC66-6 e TUC71-7. O mapa integrado foi construído usando-se o software OneMap, especialmente desenvolvido para mapear espécies não endogâmicas. Excelentes padrões de AFLP e de marcas direcionadas ao retrotransposon SURE foram obtidos; entretanto, para o Garapa, ainda são necessários ajustes na técnica. Um total de 600 marcadores de dose única foi obtido a partir de 22 combinações de enzimas de restrição/primers de AFLP e seis combinações otimizadas para amplificar marcas direcionadas ao retrotransposon SURE. Construiu-se um mapa com 107 grupos de ligação, com tamanho de 4.316,5 cM e densidade de 8,74 cM/marcador. O mapeamento dos marcadores derivados do retrotransposon SURE revelou que esse elemento não está uniformemente distribuído nos grupos de ligação e confirmou o seu baixo número de cópias no genoma da cana, conforme foi sugerido na literatura. / In the presenty study, AFLPs and retrotransposon-based markers were used for the construction of an integrated linkage map of sugarcane. Two retrotransposons described in the sugarcane genome, named SURE and Garapa were studied. The principles of NBS-profiling technique were used to generate markers based on these retrotransposon sequences. The markers were analyzed in a F1-population, composed of 188 individuals, derived from a single cross between the IAC66-6 and TUC71-7 parents. The integrated genetic map was constructed using the software OneMap, specially designed for mapping outcrossing species. Excellent gel profiles of AFLP and retrotransposon-derived markers were obtained; however, for the Garapa element, technical adjustments are still needed. A total of 600 single-dose markers were obtained from 22 AFLP restriction enzyme/primer combinations and six combinations optimized to amplify the SURE-based markers. A map with 107 linkage groups was constructed, spanning 4,316.5 cM, with a marker density of 8.74 cM. Mapping of SURE-based markers revealed that this element is not uniformly distributed across the linkage groups, and confirmed its low copy number in the sugarcane genome, as suggested in the literature.

Human genomic data sets are now reaching sample sizes on the order of hundreds of thousands and soon exceeding millions, providing unprecedented opportunities to understand human evolution. Most studies of human adaptation so far have focused on selection that has acted over the past million to few thousand years. However, powered by large data sets, it is now feasible to study allele frequency changes that occur within the short timescale of a few generations, directly observing selection acting in contemporary humans. I take this approach in the work presented in Chapter 1 of this thesis, where we performed a genome-wide scan to identify a set of genetic variants that influence age-specific mortality in present-day samples. Our findings include two variants in the APOE and CHRNA3 loci, as well as sets of variants contributing to a number of traits, including coronary artery disease and cholesterol levels, and intriguingly, to timing of puberty and child birth. New research directions have also opened up with the advent of large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which have begun to uncover genetic variants underlying a number of human traits, ranging from disease susceptibility to social and behavioral traits such as educational attainment and neuroticism. One such direction is the use of polygenic scores (PGS), which aggregate GWAS findings into one score as a measure of genetic propensity for traits, for phenotypic prediction. A major obstacle to this application is that the prediction accuracy of PGS drops in samples that have a different genetic ancestry than the GWAS sample. Our work, presented in Chapter 2, demonstrates that PGS prediction accuracy is also variable within genetic ancestries depending on factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomic status, as well as GWAS study design. These findings have important implications for the increasing use of these measures in diverse disciplines such as social sciences and human genetics.

La plupart des virus sont connus pour leur capacité à causer des maladies symptomatiques chez l’Homme et chez les autres animaux. Certains d’entre eux sont des grands virus à ADN nommés Virus à Grand ADN Nucléo-Cytoplasmique (NCLDV), rapportés comme infectant les cellules eucaryotiques. Au début du XXI ème siècle, quatre familles ont été définies par Iyer et al. comme ayant une origine commune (groupe monophylétique) : Asfarviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Irido-Ascoviridae et Poxviridae.En 2003, la description d’Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus a cassé un paradigme dans le monde des virus. Par leur taille de particule (450nm), par leur longueur de génomes(supérieure à 1Mb) et leur contenu génique, leur découverte a changé la définition traditionnelle des virus (Lwoff). Depuis 2013 et notamment par les isolements successifs de Pandoravirus,Pithovirus et Mollivirus, ces virus ont été décrits comme possédant de nouvelles propriétés.Leur découverte a été rendue possible grâce à la méthode de co-culture utilisant des protistes, notamment des cellules du genre Acanthamoeba. Cette méthode a été de nombreuses fois modulée par différentes équipes. Dans notre cas, nous avons combiné différentes stratégies appliquées à notre co-culture : la co-culture a été couplée à la cytométrie en flux pour détecter la lyse des protistes. De plus, la cytométrie a été utilisée avec un marqueur à ADN dans le but d’identifier de façon putative le virus et de discriminer les différentes populations virales. Enfin,nous sommes capables de séparer ces populations en utilisant un appareil FACS trieur.L’ensemble de ces techniques a permis l’isolement de nouveaux virus. / Most viruses are known for their ability to cause symptomatic diseases in humans andother animals. Some of them are large DNA viruses named Nucleo-cytoplasmic Large DNAviruses (NCLDV), known for infecting eukaryotic cells. At the beginning of the 21st centuryfour families were defined by Iyer et al. as having a common origin (monophyletic group):Asfarviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Irido-Ascoviridae and Poxviridae.In 2003, the description of Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus broke this paradigmin the virus world. Because of their particles size (450 nm), their genome size (up to 1Mb),and their gene contents, their discovery changed the traditional definition of viruses (Lwoff).Since 2013 and the successive isolations of Pandoravirus, Pithovirus and Mollivirus; theseviruses have been characterized as possessing various novel properties.Their discoveries have been possible thanks to the co-culture method using protistnotably Acanthamoeba genus cells. This method went through multiple improvements and isemployed by different teams in different ways. In our case and in order to enhance thismethod we combined strategies applied in our co-culture. Indeed, this method consists inusing flow cytometry to detect lysis of protist cells (after all steps of co-culture enrichment).In addition, the flow cytometry was used with a DNA marker in order to identity viruses anddiscriminate viral populations. Then, we were able, using a FACS sorter device, to separatedifferent viral populations from our supernatants.Altogether these techniques have permitted the isolation of new viruses.