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The wild origin, early breeding history, and diversity of the China Rose group, including R. chinensis and its varieties, cultivars, and hybrids, are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate the genetic diversity and relationships of the China Roses with related species and hybrids, including information in support of, or refuting, the hypothesis that these roses are the hybrid result of the wild R. chinensis var. spontanea and R. odorata var. gigantea. Ninety Rosa accessions, including China Roses, a Miscellaneous Old Garden Rose, Noisettes, early Polyanthas, Bourbons, Teas, and species from Sections Indicae and Synstylae were surveyed using 23 microsatellite primer pairs. The trnH-psbA chloroplast intergenic spacer was also sequenced for the China Roses, Misc. Old Garden Rose, and the species to look specifically at maternal relationships. A total of 291 alleles were scored for the 23 microsatellites, with alleles per locus ranging from 6-22 and averaging 12.65. A dendrogram based on Dice similarity and a three-dimensional Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoorA) graph were plotted with the data. In the cluster analysis, the similarity coefficients ranged from ~0.15-0.99, with the cultivated roses forming well-defined groups at about 0.45 similarity. These groups generally reflected the American Rose Society horticultural classifications. A large number of sports and synonyms in the China Rose group were identified through this analysis as well. The PCoorA gave a better graphical representation of the relationships of the species and cultivars, and with the inclusion of the chloroplast sequence haplotypes, some maternal relationships could also be identified. This study shows that the cultivated China Roses are a closely related group and identified which accessions were likely Hybrid China Roses. The results also suggest that the China Roses were maternally derived from R. chinensis var. spontanea. Based on the microsatellites and chloroplast sequence haplotypes, the identity of the R. odorata var. gigantea accessions in this study are suspect, but the China Roses may also have this species in their background as the result of natural or artificial hybridization.

Le microbiote pulmonaire complexe de patients atteints de mucoviscidose (MV) peut être modifié par des facteurs de l'hôte (état clinique), xénobiotiques (antibiothérapie, habitat) ainsi que bactériens (pathogènes, commensaux). Notre étude a porté sur ces facteurs bactériens et plus particulièrement sur l'effet de Pseudomonas aeruginosa sur la structuration des microbiotes MV. Le but de notre travail a été d'étudier la structure et la composition des microbiotes pulmonaires chez des patients MV en fonction de la présence ou non de P. aeruginosa, ainsi que l'effet de ces microbiotes sur ce pathogène. Différentes approches nous ont permis de mettre en évidence ces résultats : i) certains genres bactérien (Stenotrophomonas, Prevotella) contenus dans un microbiote particulier plus pauvre et moins diverse sont associés préférentiellement à la présence de P. aeruginosa, ii) aucune diminution de richesse et de diversité n'est observée en amont d'une primo-colonisation par P. aeruginosa mais celle-ci entraine ultérieurement une diminution de richesse du microbiote, iii) le microbiote MV in vitro s'appauvrit et diminue en diversité plus rapidement lors d'une colonisation par une souche ayant un phénotype de « primo-colonisation », iv) les souches de primo-colonisation sont plus virulentes que les souches issues de colonisation chronique, v) ces souches sécrètent des molécules appartenant à la famille des 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline (HAQs) bactéricides vis-à-vis de S. aureus. Une meilleure compréhension de cette modulation des microbiotes MV par P. aeruginosa offriraient de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques afin notamment de contrer l'implantation de ce pathogène au niveau pulmonaire et de limiter le développement d'infections chroniques chez les patients MV / Cystic fibrosis microbiota could be modified by different factors such as host factor (clinical state), xenobiotic factor (antibiotic, environment) or bacterial factors (pathogen, commensal). Our study focused on bacterial factors and more particularly on the impact of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the CF microbiota structure. The objectives were to study the structure and the composition of CF microbiota whether the presence or not of P. aeruginosa and the impact of the CF microbiota on this pathogen. Different experimentations were used to get results : i) bacterial genus (Stenotrophomonas, Prevotella) were preferentially associated with P. aeruginosa in a poor and no diverse microbiota, ii) no previous decrease of microbiota richness was observed when the initial P. aeruginosa pulmonary colonization took place but this event was associated with a later decrease of microbiota richness, iii) In vitro model of CF microbiota showed a more important richness and diversity decrease with early colonization strains, iv) early colonization strains were more virulent than chronic colonization strains, v) these strains secreted bactericid molecules toward Staaphylococcus aureus belonging to 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline (HAQs). Improve our understanding on how P. aeruginosa could modulate CF microbiota could permit to find new therapeutic strategies to prevent the early colonization and then to limit the chronic infections in CF patients

Hybridization is an important mechanism in diversification. It often makes taxonomy difficult. Lack of strong supported intrageneric classification in genus Pteris (Pteridaceae) could be caused by natural hybridization. Most hybridization documnted in Pteris was based on limited evidence. This study focuses on Pteris cadieri complex, the taxon with putative hybridization. The species complex displayed significant morphological variation and was associated with hybrid origin. Reproductive biology revealed variation in spore number per sporangium, spore size, spore shape and apogamous reproduction, which imply its hybrid origin. Cytology analysis using chromosome counting and flow cytometry identified diploids, triploids, and tetraploids. CpDNA and nuclear DNA supported that Pteris cadieri complex is hybrid origin: paternal and maternal lineages were inferred and 11 taxa were identified. Furthermore, comparing materials form Hainan and Taiwan, , it is clear that the species complex is composed by taxa arisen from multiple hybridization. Systematic inconsistency existed between chloroplast and nuclear phylogenies in Pteris impled that other taxa might have involved in hybridization events, in addition to the Pteris cadieri complex. Hybridization may be very common in Pteris. To infer intrageneric taxonomy of Pteris, effect of reticulate evolution should never be neglected. Finally, based on morphological and evolutionary traits, the taxonomy of Pteris cadieri complex is revised. There are Pteris cadieri Christ, Pteris dimorpha Copel. var. dimorpha, Pteris dimorpha var. plumbea (Christ) Y.-S. Chao, H.-Y. Liu & W.-L. Chiou, Pteris grevilleana Wall. ex Agardh var. grevilleanan, Pteris grevilleana Wall. ex Agardh var. ornata Alderw., and Pteris hainanensis Ching.

The Distal-less homeobox (Dlx) genes encode a group of transcription factors that are involved in various developmental processes including forebrain development. Dlx genes are arranged in convergently transcribed bigene clusters with enhancer sequences located in the intergenic region of each cluster. The expression patterns of Dlx1/Dlx2 and of Dlx5/Dlx6 are attributed in part to the activity of I12a/I12b and I56i/I56ii intergenic enhancers, respectively. In an effort to determine how Dlx intergenic enhancers interact with the promoter regions of each cluster, I employed the Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) technique on developing forebrain at E13.5 and E15.5. My 3C analysis provided potential enhancer-promoter interaction, in cis, that are consistent with previously known regulatory mechanisms. Furthermore, trans interactions may exist between Dlx1/Dlx2 and Dlx5/Dlx6 clusters in the developing forebrain at E13.5, thus providing a possible novel cross-regulatory mechanism between these two loci. I have also investigated the phenotypic consequences of Dlx enhancer deletion(s) on forebrain development by characterizing mice with I56ii and I56ii/I12b enhancer deletions. Enhancer deletions significantly impair Dlx expression as well as that of Evf2, Gad2 and of the striatal markers Islet1 and Meis2. Enhancer deletion(s) also reduce the expression of ISLET1 and CTIP2 proteins and Semaphorin 3A, Slit1 and Ephrin A5 that are thought to provide guidance cues in the corridor cells. Overall, these changes may disrupt the guidance of the thalamocortical axons. The data presented here further our understanding of the interactions between Dlx intergenic enhancers and promoter regions. Enhancer deletion(s) furthers our understanding of Dlx regulatory networks necessary that ensure proper Dlx expression, which, in turn may be involved in a genetic pathway underlying the synthesis of GABA, which may be further essential in maintaining the GABAergic phenotype.

The Distal-less homeobox (Dlx) genes encode a group of transcription factors that are involved in various developmental processes including forebrain development. Dlx genes are arranged in convergently transcribed bigene clusters with enhancer sequences located in the intergenic region of each cluster. The expression patterns of Dlx1/Dlx2 and of Dlx5/Dlx6 are attributed in part to the activity of I12a/I12b and I56i/I56ii intergenic enhancers, respectively. In an effort to determine how Dlx intergenic enhancers interact with the promoter regions of each cluster, I employed the Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) technique on developing forebrain at E13.5 and E15.5. My 3C analysis provided potential enhancer-promoter interaction, in cis, that are consistent with previously known regulatory mechanisms. Furthermore, trans interactions may exist between Dlx1/Dlx2 and Dlx5/Dlx6 clusters in the developing forebrain at E13.5, thus providing a possible novel cross-regulatory mechanism between these two loci. I have also investigated the phenotypic consequences of Dlx enhancer deletion(s) on forebrain development by characterizing mice with I56ii and I56ii/I12b enhancer deletions. Enhancer deletions significantly impair Dlx expression as well as that of Evf2, Gad2 and of the striatal markers Islet1 and Meis2. Enhancer deletion(s) also reduce the expression of ISLET1 and CTIP2 proteins and Semaphorin 3A, Slit1 and Ephrin A5 that are thought to provide guidance cues in the corridor cells. Overall, these changes may disrupt the guidance of the thalamocortical axons. The data presented here further our understanding of the interactions between Dlx intergenic enhancers and promoter regions. Enhancer deletion(s) furthers our understanding of Dlx regulatory networks necessary that ensure proper Dlx expression, which, in turn may be involved in a genetic pathway underlying the synthesis of GABA, which may be further essential in maintaining the GABAergic phenotype.

Quorum sensing is a mechanism used by many proteobacteria to regulate expression of target genes in a population-dependent manner. The quorum sensing system of Vibrio fischeri activates the luminescence (lux) operon when the autoinducer signaling molecule (N-3-oxohexanoyl homoserine lactone) is recognized and bound by the activator protein LuxR. LuxR subsequently binds to the lux box centered at à 42.5 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site and activates transcription from the lux operon promoter, resulting in the emission of light at high cell densities. LuxR consists of 250 amino acids arranged into an N-terminal (regulatory) domain and a C-terminal (activation) domain, and is thought to function as an ambidextrous activator capable of making multiple contacts with the alpha and sigma subunits of RNA polymerase (RNAP). Published work describing the results of alanine scanning mutagenesis performed on the C-terminal domain of LuxR (residues 190-250) has identified residues (K198, W201 and I206) that appear to play a role in positive control of transcription initiation. Additional mutagenesis of residues 180-189 has been undertaken via a three-primer or four-primer PCR-based method in this study. Variants of LuxR were screened for their ability to activate luciferase production and to repress transcription from an artificial promoter, and production of full-length LuxR was measured, in an attempt to identify additional positive control variants. No additional positive control variants were found in this study. Work has also been undertaken to identify intergenic suppressors between positive control variants of LuxR and the RNAP alpha subunit, RpoA. Starting with a recombinant Escherichia coli strain encoding the lux operon and LuxR variant I206E, a random chemical mutagenesis was performed on a vector encoding RpoA. Following transformation of the mutated plasmids encoding RpoA, high throughput luminescence assays were used to identify isolates with phenotypes brighter than the control. Isolation of an intergenic suppressor will confirm the existence of protein-protein interactions between LuxR and RpoA within the transcription initiation complex. The ability of other LuxR family members to establish productive protein-protein interactions with RNAP necessary for transcription initiation was also examined. LuxR homologues EsaR of Pantoea stewarti ssp. stewartii, a repressor of known function, and ExpR of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora were also analyzed for their ability to activate the lux operon, as well as to repress transcription from an artificial promoter containing the lux box. / Master of Science

The 16S, 23S, and 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes are highly conserved sequences in bacteria. For this reason, rRNA genes are often used for phylogenetic classification. On the other hand, the regions between the structural sequences, known as intergenic spacer regions (ITS), are under less evolutionary pressure to be conserved. Because they are not as highly conserved, they can be used to differentiate strains of the same bacterial specie. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 16S-23S ITS of Flavobacterium columnare, an important pathogen of cultured fish, by comparing the 16S-23S ITS sequences from 70 isolates. We developed two PCR assays that amplify overlapping regions of one large previously identified ITS. The primers targeted the 16S sequence and isoleucine tRNA encoding sequences and the 23S sequence and alanine tRNA encoding sequences. The PCR products were cloned and sequenced. We also targeted I-CeuI restriction fragments from the ATCC type strain that were separated by pulse field gel electrophoresis and analyzed the 16S-23S ITS regions. We found that the genome of this species harbors at least 6 intergenic spacer regions that are very similar and contain the same tRNA encoding sequences. This suggests that earlier studies that used the ITS for distinguishing between strains of Flavobacterium columnare may be comparing sequences from different structural RNA operons and thus have misleading data.

Not all transcribed DNA encodes protein, and some of these noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as roX1 and roX2, may play important roles in the cell. The functional roles of the majority of these, however, remain largely unknown. In this thesis, I first used EST and mRNA evidence to define 2,788 lincRNA loci within the Drosophila melanogaster genome. I suggest that up to 1,652 of these are functional, as 1,411 show evidence for significant evolutionary constraint while 241 fast-evolving loci are enriched in short RNA species. A distinct set of 1,119 lincRNA loci were defined by RNA-seq, the vast majority of which show clear primary sequence constraint. Their expression profiles and enrichment in particular chromatin domains indicate that these lincRNAs are likely involved in developmental regulation. I also identified 42 potential analogous lincRNAs with shared genomic locations between Drosophila and mouse. Constrained, non-embryonic lincRNAs defined by ESTs are transcribed preferentially in the vicinity of protein-coding genes encoding transcription factors and I demonstrated that one of these, which I name dEvf-2, positively regulates the expression of its genomically adjacent transcription factor, Dll, in cell culture. Finally, I used a reverse genetics approach to search for lincRNA promoter mutations and examined the effect of these on lincRNA expression. My findings suggest that many, previously unknown, functional lincRNAs exist within the Drosophila genome and are worthy of further in-depth experimental investigation.

Orientadora: Eliana Gertrudes de Macedo Lemos / Banca: Maria José Valarini / Banca: Miguel Luis Menezes Freitas / Banca: João Martins Pizauro Junior / Banca: Leandro Borges Lemos / Resumo: A diversidade genética de quinze estirpes de rizóbios isoladas do feijoeiro, provenientes de várias localidades do Brasil e da Venezuela, foi determinada pelo seqüenciamento do gene 16S rRNA. Selecionaram-se as duas melhores estirpes de cada país, com base em nodulação, produção de massa seca e de nitrogênio total em plantas de feijão, e compararam-se as suas produtividades e nodulação no feijoeiro, com duas estirpes comerciais, CIAT-899 e PRF-81, em um solo Latossolo Vermelho-Escuro da região de Jaboticabal SP. Determinou-se ainda a diversidade genética das populações nativas do solo e das quatro estirpes, pelo seqüenciamento do espaço intergênico, entre os genes 16S e 23S rRNA. Experimentos foram conduzidos em blocos casualizados com três repetições, em casa de vegetação, na UNESP, em 2007. O primeiro foi realizado em tubetes com vermiculita e quinze tratamentos: sete diluições seriadas do solo de 10-1 a 10-7, as quatro estirpes, as comerciais e duas testemunhas com e sem nitrogênio. Das colônias isoladas extraiu-se o DNA genômico e realizou-se o seqüenciamento do espaço intergênico. O segundo experimento foi realizado em vasos contendo solo e treze tratamentos: as quatro estirpes isoladamente e misturadas com a estirpe PRF- 81, as comerciais, a mistura delas, e duas testemunhas com e sem nitrogênio. Houve coincidência entre os marcadores moleculares do gene 16S rRNA e o espaço intergênico na identificação das espécies. Encontraram-se estirpes tão produtivas quanto as comercias. A mistura com a estirpe PRF-81 não incrementou a produtividade e produziu um efeito antagônico com a estirpe LBMP-12BR. A população nativa do solo foi identificada como Rhizobium sp., sendo ineficiente na fixação de nitrogênio. Há estirpes promissoras que mostram uma resposta diferencial quando são misturadas nos inoculantes. / Abstract: The genetic diversity of 15 rhizobia strains isolated from common beans grown in Brazil and Venezuela was determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Two strains were selected from each country for further study based on nodulation, dry weight, and total nitrogen in the common bean plants, and productivity and nodulation on the common bean of these strains were evaluated in Latossolo Vermelho Escuro soil of Jaboticabal SP, in comparison to two commercial strains, CIAT-899 and PRF-81. The genetic diversity of the native soil population and the four strains was determined by sequencing of the intergenic space between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes. In 2007, experiments were carried out under glass house conditions at the UNESP. The first was conducted in tubs with vermiculite, and 15 treatments were examined: seven soil serial dilutions (10-1 to 10-7), the four novel strains, two commercial strains, and two controls with and without nitrogen. From the pure isolated colonies, DNA was extracted, and the intergenic space was sequenced. The second experiment was conducted in pots filled with soil, and 13 treatments were examined: the four strains alone and in mixture with the PRF-81 strain, the two commercial strains alone and in mixture, and two controls with and without nitrogen. There was coincidence between the 16S rRNA gene and the intergenic space molecular markers for species identification. Strains that had productivity values equivalent to the commercial strains were identified. The mixture of PRF-81 strain to each one of the four strains did not increase productivity and produced an antagonistic effect on the LBMP-12BR strain. The native soil population was identified as Rhizobium sp. and was found to be inefficient in nitrogen fixation. This study identified promising new Rhizobium strains that exhibit differential responses in mixtures on inoculants. / Doutor