L’objectif de cette thèse était de progresser dans la compréhension de la régulation génique ARN‑dépendante chez les procaryotes. Le développement de nouvelles approches bioinformatiques a permis de découvrir de nouveaux ARN régulateurs non-codant (ARNrnc), de les caractériser notamment évolutivement et d’identifier leurs cibles putatives. Les ARNrnc ont en commun de pouvoir modifier l’abondance de certaines protéines en interagissant avec l’ARN messager (ARNm) qui les code. Cet effet peut être obtenu selon divers modes d’action qui mènent à la distinction de trois classes d’ARNrnc, les petits ARN régulateurs (pARN), les ARN cis-régulateurs (ARNcis) et les ARN antisens (ARNa). Avec la généralisation des approches d‘identification expérimentale des ARN (transcriptomique), il devient plus facile d’obtenir la liste des pARN que d'identifier les ARNm qu’ils ciblent. Dans le cas des ARNcis, c’est l’inverse, les méthodes expérimentales ne permettent pas de les identifier, mais une fois connus leurs cibles sont évidentes.Pour répondre à ces problématiques, nous avons principalement développé deux nouvelles méthodes : la première permet de prédire des couples pARN/ARNm en se basant leurs profils d’expressions, les résultats nous ont permis de proposer un réseau de régulation pour lequel les pARN auraient un rôle central dans la sporulation bactérienne. La seconde permet d’identifier de nouveaux ARNcis dans les génomes sur la base d’un profilage phylogénétique. Nos résultats nous conduisent à penser que le nombre de pARN et d’ARNcis dans les génomes est actuellement sous estimé. Nous proposons aussi la présence de plusieurs ARNcis chez une Archée, dont un candidat capable de détecter des variations de températures.Les avancées réalisées lors de cette thèse ont permis de mieux appréhender l’importance des ARNrnc dans la régulation génique. Les ARNrnc sont présents dans plus d’organismes et en plus grand nombre que ce que nous le pensions jusqu’à présent. Ces résultats constituent des éléments supplémentaires en faveur d’un rôle plus central des pARN que ce qui était admis jusqu’alors. / The aim of this thesis was to improve our understanding of the RNA-dependent gene regulation in prokaryotes. Newly developed bioinformatics approaches revealed new non-coding regulatory RNAs and allowed us to identify putative targets.Regulatory RNAs can change the abundance of certain proteins by interacting with cognate messenger RNAs (mRNA). This effect is achieved through various modes of action that lead to the distinction of three RNA classes: small RNA (sRNA), cis-regulatory RNA (cisRNA) and antisense RNA (asRNA). With the generalization of experimental RNA identification (transcriptomics), it becomes easier to obtain the list of expressed RNA but most of their target mRNA remain unknown. Conversely, cisRNA cannot be easily identified through experimental procedures but their targets are obvious.To address these issues, we developed two new methods: the first predicts pairs of sRNA and mRNA targets based on the analysis of expression profiles and led us to propose a new regulatory network with sRNAs playing a central role in bacterial sporulation. The second identifies new RNAs in genomes based on the analysis of phylogenetic profiles. Our results suggest that the abundance of sRNAs and cisRNA were previously underestimated. We also suggest the presence of several cisRNAs in an Archaea, including a strong candidate of thermosensitive regulator.Progress made in this thesis contributed to a better understanding of RNA importance in bacterial cell regulation. Regulatory RNAs are abundant and present in more organisms than expected previously. These results are new evidences that the physiological roles of sRNAs are more central than was previously thought.

Submitted by Celso Magalhaes (celsomagalhaes@ufrrj.br) on 2018-09-13T17:03:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017 - Gustavo Feitosa de Matos.pdf: 1844017 bytes, checksum: 0ed6966082e21d15123a12cd0e5777ef (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-13T17:03:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017 - Gustavo Feitosa de Matos.pdf: 1844017 bytes, checksum: 0ed6966082e21d15123a12cd0e5777ef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPQ / Recent molecular biology studies have indicated that bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium and Rhizobium may also play a role in the biological nitrogen fixation process (BNF) when associated with sugarcane. The use of Vigna unguiculata trap plants allowed obtaining a diverse collection of endophytic Bradyrhizobium spp. from sugarcane roots. The present work aimed to characterize a group of bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium from sugarcane roots, as well as to evaluate the ability of a representative strain of this group and an isolate of the genus Rhizobium to promote growth in this crop. To define the taxonomic position of the isolates of the group, phylogenetic analyzes were performed with the individual 16S rRNA, ITS, nodC and recA genes and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) involving four housekeeping genes (recA, dnaK, glnII and atpD), in four representative isolates (BR 10280T, BR 10266, BR 10555 and BR 10556). In addition, biochemical and morphophysiological tests were performed. Experiments in which the isolates P9-20 (BR 10280) (Bradyrhizobium sp.) and P5-2 (Rhizobium sp.) were inoculated in sugarcane seedlings were conducted in a greenhouse to evaluate the growth promoting effect of these isolates. Two harvests were performed at 30 and 75 days after transplanting (DAT). Among the analyzed variables were the budding speed index (BSI), dry mass and total nitrogen (N). Phylogenetic analyzes positioned the isolates in the superclade of B. japonicum in an independent branch close to B. huanghuaihaiense, a soybean micro-symbiont. Despite the proximity of the group under study to B. huanghuaihaiense, these isolates did not induce nodulation in Glycine max. In addition, unlike B. huanghuaihaiense, the new isolates induced nodule formation in Phaseolus vulgaris. In morphophysiological studies, significant differences were demonstrated between the representative isolates from this study and B. huanghuaihaiense. In the greenhouse experiment, an increase on BSI and root dry mass of the inoculated treatment with the P5-2 isolate was observed in the first harvest. In the second harvest, increments were found in the root dry mass and root volume, as well as in the total N of the roots and aerial part, in the treatment inoculated with P5-2, although no statistical difference was detected. These results of the characterization indicate that the sugarcane isolates of the genus Bradyrhizobium represent a new species of this genus. In relation to the greenhouse experiment, the isolate of the genus Rhizobium sp. presented potential as a growth promoter in the sugarcane crop. / Estudos recentes de biologia molecular indicaram que bact?rias do g?nero Bradyrhizobium e Rhizobium tamb?m podem ter um papel no processo de fixa??o biol?gica de nitrog?nio (FBN) quando associadas ? cana-de-a??car. O uso de plantas de Vigna unguiculata como ?isca? possibilitou a obten??o de uma cole??o diversa de Bradyrhizobium spp. endof?ticos a partir de ra?zes de cana-de-a??car. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar um grupo de bact?rias do g?nero Bradyrhizobium proveniente de ra?zes de cana-de-a??car, assim como avaliar a capacidade de uma estirpe representante desse grupo e de um isolado do g?nero Rhizobium em promover efeito de crescimento nessa cultura. Para definir o posicionamento taxon?mico dos isolados do grupo, an?lises filogen?ticas foram realizadas com os genes individuais 16S rRNA, ITS, nodC e recA e an?lise de sequ?ncia de multilocus (MLSA) envolvendo quatro genes ?housekeeping? (recA, dnaK, glnII e atpD), em quatro isolados representantes (BR 10280T, BR 10266, BR10555 e BR 10556). Al?m disso, foram realizados testes bioqu?micos e morfofisiol?gicos. Experimento onde os isolados P9-20 (BR 10280) (Bradyrhizobium sp.) e P5-2 (Rhizobium sp.) foram inoculados em minitoletes de cana-de-a??car foi conduzido em casa de vegeta??o. Foram realizadas coletas aos 30 e 75 dias ap?s transplantio (DAT). Entre as vari?veis analisadas est?o o ?ndice de velocidade de brotamento (IVB), massa seca e Nitrog?nio (N) total. An?lises filogen?ticas posicionaram os isolados no super clado de B. japonicum em um ramo independente pr?ximo a B. huanghuaihaiense, um microssimbionte de soja. Apesar da proximidade do grupo em estudo com B. huanghuaihaiense, estes isolados n?o induziram nodula??o em Glycine max. Al?m disso, diferente de B. huanghuaihaiense, os novos isolados induziram a forma??o de n?dulos em Phaseolus vulgaris. Em estudos morfofisiol?gicos foram demostradas diferen?as significativas entre os isolados representantes do grupo em estudo e B. huanghuaihaiense. Em experimento em casa de vegeta??o, observou-se na primeira coleta um incremento sobre o IVB e massa seca da raiz no tratamento inoculado com o isolado P5-2, embora n?o tenham sido observadas diferen?as estat?sticas. Na segunda coleta, incrementos foram encontrados na massa seca de raiz e volume de raiz, assim como, no N total das ra?zes e parte a?rea, no tratamento incoculado com P5-2, embora n?o tenham apresentado diferen?a estat?stica. Massa seca da parte a?rea do tratamento inoculado com P5-2 apresentou incremento na primeira e segunda coleta, em rela??o aos controles, embora n?o tenha sido detectada diferen?a estat?stica. Os resultados da caracteriza??o do grupo indicam que os isolados de cana-de-a??car do g?nero Bradyrhizobium representam uma nova esp?cie desse g?nero. Em rela??o ao experimento em casa de vegeta??o, o isolado do g?nero Rhizobium sp. apresentou potencial como promotor de crescimento na cultura de cana-de-a??car

This research project presents a comprehensive functional analysis of a complex prokaryotic signal transduction system and the mechanisms underlying its evolution. The chemotaxis system regulates motility in prokaryotes and is their most complex signal transduction system. The system has been extensively characterized experimentally, but recent studies have created new questions about the function and origin of this system. Comparative genomics analyses are well-suited for studying the chemotaxis system since it is present in taxonomically diverse organisms. The first aim of this project is to understand the evolutionary history of the chemotaxis system that has resulted in the diversity of chemotaxis systems that have been experimentally. The results reveal three functional families of chemotaxis systems that regulate flagellar motility, type IV pili motility, and non-motility outputs. The flagellar family shows extensive diversity with 10 conserved classes that have variable accessory proteins, and these classes show a co-evolutionary relationship with flagella. The second aim of this project is to analyze the molecular evolution of chemotaxis system components and utilize that information to predict the contact sites involved in protein-protein interactions. The analysis supports that there is evolutionary pressure at the amino acid sequence level to maintain protein-protein interactions. From this observation, a method to predict the contact sites of protein-protein interactions from sequence information alone was developed and validated by experimental and structural information.

The studies in this dissertation demonstrate that the gene expression pathway maps are useful tools to notice alteration in different branches of sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway based on microarray and other transcriptomic analysis. To facilitate the integrative analysis of gene expression and sphingolipid amounts, updated pathway maps were prepared using an open access visualization tool, Pathvisio v1.1. The datasets were formatted using Perl scripts and visualized with the aid of color coded pathway diagrams. Comparative analysis of transcriptomics and sphingolipid alterations from experimental studies and published literature revealed 72.8 % correlation between mRNA and sphingolipid differences (p-value < 0.0001 by the Fisher's exact test).The high correlation between gene expression differences and sphingolipid alterations highlights the application of this tool to evaluate molecular changes associate with sphingolipid alterations as well as predict differences in specific metabolites that can be experimentally verified using sensitive approaches such as mass spectrometry. In addition, bioinformatics sequence analysis was used to identify transcripts for sphingolipid biosynthesis enzyme 3-ketosphinganine reductase, and homology modeling studies helped in the evaluation of a cell line defective in sphingolipid metabolism due to mutation in the enzyme serine palmitoyltransferase, the first enzyme of de novo biosynthesis pathway. Hence, the combination of different bioinformatics approaches, including protein and DNA sequence analysis, structure modeling and pathway diagrams can provide valuable inputs for biochemical and molecular studies of sphingolipid metabolism.

Os fitoplasmas são organismos procariotos sem parede celular, que habitam as células do floema das plantas e são transmitidos, principalmente, por cigarrinhas sugadoras de floema. Este patógeno é responsável por causar doenças em diversas espécies vegetais, provocando a expressão de diversos sintomas, entre os quais podem ser destacados a redução do tamanho foliar, amarelecimento das folhas, superbrotamento de ramos e enfezamento da planta hospedeira. Entre os anos de 2013 e 2014, plantas de três espécies vegetais com sintomas característicos de infecção causada por fitoplasmas foram observadas no estado de São Paulo. O DNA total foi extraído a partir de plantas de couve-flor com sintomas de nanismo, malformação da inflorescência e necrose dos vasos do floema; de plantas da ornamental conhecida por árvore-da-felicidade com sintomas amarelecimento e redução do limbo foliar; e de plantas de Alho-poró com sintomas de enfezamento. Por meio do teste de PCR conduzido em sua maioria com os primers P1A/16S-SR foi possível detectar fitoplasmas nas três espécies vegetais testadas. Os fragmentos genômicos correspondentes ao 16S rRNA dos fitoplasmas foram sequenciados e identificados. Nas plantas de couve-flor e da árvore-da-felicidade foram identificados fitoplasmas afilados ao grupo 16SrVII-B, através da análise virtual de RFLP, cálculo do coeficientes de similaridade (F) e análise filogenética. Para ambas as espécies, este é o primeiro relato da ocorrência de representantes deste grupo, nas condições brasileiras. Nas plantas de Alho-poró foram identificados fitoplasmas afiliados ao subgrupo 16SrIII-J e ao grupo 16SrXIII, com base na análise dos genes 16S rRNA, SecY e proteína ribossomal, conduzidas através de análise virtual de RFLP, valores de coeficientes de similaridade e análise filogenética. Para o fitoplasma membro do grupo 16SrXIII foram identificadas quatro estirpes, uma delas afiliada ao subgrupo 16SrXIII-E e as demais como prováveis representantes de novos subgrupos. O presente estudo se constitui em uma contribuição ao conhecimento de novos patossistemas envolvendo fitoplasmas, bem como à caracterização molecular de fitoplasmas baseadas em diferentes genes marcadores, atualmente usados para a classificação de representantes deste grupo emergente de agentes causais de doenças de plantas. / The phytoplasmas are prokaryotic organisms without cell walls, which inhabit the phloem cells of plants and are transmitted mainly by leafhoppers sucking the phloem. This pathogen is responsible for causing diseases in various plant species, leading to expression of many symptoms, among which can be highlighted the reduction of leaf size, leaf yellowing, shoots proliferation and stunting of the plant host. Between the years 2013 and 2014, three plant species with characteristic symptoms of infection caused by phytoplasma were observed in São Paulo. Total DNA was extracted from cauliflower plants with symptoms of stunting, malformation of the inflorescence and necrosis of the phloem; ornamental plants known for Ming Aralia with symptoms yellowing and little leaves; and leek plants with symptoms of stunting. Through the PCR test conducted mostly with the primers P1A/16S-SR was possible to detect phytoplasmas in the three species of plants. The genomic fragments corresponding of 16S rRNA gene of the phytoplasma were sequenced and identified. In plants of cauliflower and Ming Aralia were identified phytoplasmas belonging to 16SrVII-B group through virtual RFLP analysis, calculation of similarity coefficients (F) and phylogenetic analysis. For both species, this is the first report of the occurrence of representatives of this group, in Brazilian conditions. In leek plants were identified phytoplasmas affiliated with 16SrIII-J subgroup, and the 16SrXIII group, based on the analysis of the 16S rRNA, SecY and ribosomal protein genes, conducted through virtual analysis of RFLP, similarity coefficient values and phylogenetic analysis. For the phytoplasma member of group 16SrXIII were identified four strains, one affiliated with 16SrXIII-E subgroup and the others as probable representatives of new subgroups. This study constitutes a contribution to knowledge of new pathosystems involving phytoplasmas and the molecular characterization of phytoplasma based on different marker genes, currently used for the classification of representatives of this emerging group of plant pathogens.

Bacteriophage genomes show pervasive mosaicism, indicating that horizontal gene exchange plays a crucial role in their evolution. Phage genomes represent unique combinations of modules, each of them with a different phylogenetic history. Thus, a web-like, rather than a hierarchical scheme is needed for an appropriate representation of phage evolutionary relationships. Part of the virology community has long recognized this fact and calls for changing the traditional taxonomy that classifies tailed phages according to the type of genetic materials and phage tail and head/capsid morphologies. Moreover, based on morphological features, the current system depends on inspection of phage virions under the electron microscope and cannot directly classify prophages. With the genomic era, many phages have been sequenced that are not classified, calling for development of an automatic classification procedure that can cope with the sequencing pace. The ACLAME database provides a classification of phage proteins into families and assigns the families with at least 3 members to one or several functions.<p>In the first contribution of this work, the relative contribution of those different protein families to the similarities between the phages is assessed using pair-wise similarity matrices. The modular character of phage genomes is readily visualized using heatmaps, which differ depending on the function of the proteins used to measure the similarity. <p>Next, I propose a framework that allows for a reticulate classification of phages based on gene content (with statistical assessment of the significance of number of shared genes). Starting from gene/protein families, we built a weighted graph, where nodes represent phages and edges represent phage-phage similarities in terms of shared families. The topology of the network shows that most dsDNA phages form an interconnected group, confirming that dsDNA phages share a common gene pool, as proposed earlier. Differences are observed between temperate and virulent phages in the values of several centrality measures, which may correlate with different constraints to rampant recombination dictated by the phage lifestyle, and thus with a distinct evolutionary role in the phage population. <p>To this graph I applied a two-step clustering method to generate a fuzzy classification of phages. Using this methodology, each phage is associated with a membership vector, which quantitatively characterizes the membership of the phage to the clusters. Alternatively, genes were clustered based on their ‘phylogenetic profiles’ to define ‘evolutionary cohesive modules’. Phages can then be described as composite of a set of modules from the collection of modules of the whole phage population. The relationships between phages define a network based on module sharing. Unlike the first network built from statistical significant number of shared genes, this second network allows for a direct exploration of the nature of the functions shared between the connected phages. This functionality of the module-based network runs at the expense of missing links due to genes that are not part of modules, but which are encoded in the first network. <p>These approaches can easily focus on pre-defined modules for tracing one or several traits across the population. They provide an automatic and dynamic way to study relationships within the phage population. Moreover, they can be extended to the representation of populations of other mobile genetic elements or even to the entire mobilome.<p>Finally, to enrich the phage sequence space, which in turn allows for a better assessment of phage diversity and evolution, I devise a prophage prediction tool. With this methodology, approximately 800 prophages are predicted in 266 among 800 replicons screened. The comparison of a subset of these predictions with a manually annotated set shows a sensitivity of 79% and a positive predictive value of 91%, this later value suggesting that the procedure makes few false predictions. The preliminary analysis of the predicted prophages indicates that many may constitute novel phage types.<p>This work allows tracing guidelines for the classification and analysis of other mobile genetic elements. One can foresee that a pool of putative mobile genetic elements sequences can be extracted from the prokaryotic genomes and be further broken down in groups of related elements and evolutionary conserved modules. This would allow widening the picture of the evolutionary and functional relationships between these elements.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Ciliates are the most diversified protists in suboxic and anoxic habitats where they often form symbioses with prokaryotes. Although the diversity of anaerobic ciliates has been overlooked for a long time, anaerobic representatives can be found in most ciliate classes. This study focuses on anaerobic ciliates from the subclass Scuticociliatia, a neglected lineage, which belongs to the species-rich class Oligohymenophorea. One of the main outcomes resulting from this study is the discovery of a novel anaerobic clade of ciliates, from which only one species has been described molecularly to date. We have shown that the clade represents a diversified lineage, likely a new order. Thanks to the sampling of many freshwater and marine anoxic sediments, we have established the largest culture collection of anaerobic scuticociliates in the world. This has enabled us to determine the 18S rRNA gene sequences of 55 cultured anaerobic scuticociliates and to study their morphology both in-vivo and using various silver- impregnation methods. Besides, we applied transmission and scanning electron microscopy techniques to study the ultrastructure of both ciliates and symbionts. To identify the symbionts, we also employed other methods including microbiome sequencing and fluorescence in-situ hybridization. Since all...

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Il suolo è un ambiente complesso che è alla base di molteplici servizi ecosistemici per la produzione agricola. Questa complessità è riflessa nella composizione e nelle funzioni degli organismi microbici coinvolti. Lo scopo di questa tesi è stato quello di esplorare le risposte della comunità microbica all’intervento dell’uomo in suoli agricoli. Lo studio ha coinvolto suoli di comune origine, modificatisi negli ultimi 6-700 anni a causa di differente uso e gestione agronomica del suolo. Per ottenere questo risultato, il DNA del suolo è stato analizzato con tecniche di sequenziamento avanzato. I risultati indicano che i suoli disturbati sono più diversi rispetto ai suoli naturali. I fattori che influenzano la comunità microbica sono il disturbo, la disponibilità di nutrienti e la dormienza microbica. In un altro esperimento, a carico di batteri ammonio ossidanti, si sono studiati gli effetti di diversi stress come l’umidità e la concentrazione di zinco nel suolo o la presenza di pesticidi nella lettiera. In tutte queste situazioni i batteri hanno mostrato una ridondanza e una variabilità che permettono di rispondere agli stress. In conclusione i risultati di questa tesi dimostrano che l’intervento umano è responsabile nel determinare la struttura e le funzioni della comunità procariotica dei suoli. / Soil is a complex environment comprising the basis for several ecosystem services, with many of them being connected to agricultural production. This complexity is reflected on the composition and functions of the hosted microbial life mainly responsible for the acquired services. Aim of the described studies was to explore microbial community responses to ecosystem services related human intervention in agricultural soils. Total prokaryotic diversity was studied in soils of common origin, which diverged in properties during the late 6-7 centuries due to different land use and management. For achieving this, related DNA markers were screened with high throughput sequencing. Cultivated environments had increased diversity compared to more natural soils. Factors potentially affecting the microbial community structure were: soil disturbance events; available nutrients; and microbial dormancy. In a second approach, ammonia oxidizing prokaryotes were used as biomarkers for studying stress effects caused by humidity and increased zinc concentrations and also the presence of organic pesticides in soil and litter respectively. In both referred cases the studied microbial guilds responded to the applied stresses showing strain or taxon level functional redundancy potentials, and tolerance variability. Overall, results show that human intervention is determining for the prokaryotic structure and functions in agricultural soils.