Propionibacterium freudenreichii est une bactérie très utilisée par l’industrie laitière. Elle appartient aux Actinomycètes connus pour leur survie pendant de longues périodes, dans des conditions environnementales défavorables. Pour mieux comprendre ce phénomène, la caractérisation phénotypique de 8 souches de P. freudenreichii a été réalisée sur 11 jours dans un milieu en carence nutritionnelle. Le taux de survie bactérienne a été mesuré par densité optique, par énumération et évaluation de la viabilité cellulaire. En outre, l’absence de lyse cellulaire a été évaluée par PCR quantitative. La croissance de P. freudenreichii a été décrite en phases exponentielle, stationnaire, stationnaire tardive et survie à long terme.Dans nos conditions expérimentales pendant la période de survie à long terme, les bactéries sont restées viables. La caractérisation phénotypique a montré que P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA138 était la plus résistante à la carence nutritionnelle et entrait dans un état viable mais non-cultivable. Cette souche a été utilisée pour une étude fonctionnelle par RNA-Seq ainsi que pour des analyses biochimiques sur les surnageants de culture, en phases exponentielle et stationnaire. L’association de ces données transcriptomiques et métabolomiques a permis de déduire les stratégies impliquées dans la survie de cette bactérie. La préparation à l’état de dormance, la diminution du métabolisme et l’utilisation de sources alternatives d’énergie semblent impliquées dans l’adaptation et la persistence de P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA138 en carence nutritionnelle durant de long / Propionibacterium freudenreichii is a dairy bacterium belonging to the Actinobacteria group, which is known to survive for long periods in harsh environmental conditions. In order to investigate the long-term survival phenomenon in P. freudenreichii, 8 strains were phenotypically characterized for a period of 11 days in nutrient shortage condition. Bacterial survival rate was assessed by optical density, CFU counting and live-dead cellular viability. In addition, the absence of cell lysis was evaluated by quantitative PCR. P. freudenreichii growth phases were classified as exponential, stationary, late stationary and long-term survival. Moreover, it was observed that bacterial viability was maintained during long-term survival.Phenotypical characterization indicated that P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA138 was more resistant to nutrient shortage being able to enter into a viable but nonculturable dormant state. In addition, functional studies of this strain were conducted by RNA-Seq on cultures sampled in exponential and stationary growth phases. Concomitantly, several biochemical analyses were carried out on the culture supernatant. An integrative approach of metabolomic and transcriptomic data allowed us to infer strategies associated with the survival of this bacterium, such as preparation for the dormant state, slow down of metabolic activity and utilization of alternative sources of energy, which altogether might allow P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 138 to adapt and persist through nutrient shortage for long periods.

Nous proposons de modéliser les données issues des technologies de séquençage du transcriptome (RNA-Seq) à l'aide de la loi binomiale négative, et nous construisons des modèles de segmentation adaptés à leur étude à différentes échelles biologiques, dans le contexte où ces technologies sont devenues un outil précieux pour l'annotation de génome, l'analyse de l'expression des gènes, et la détection de nouveaux transcrits. Nous développons un algorithme de segmentation rapide pour analyser des séries à l'échelle du chromosome, et nous proposons deux méthodes pour l'estimation du nombre de segments, directement lié au nombre de gènes exprimés dans la cellule, qu'ils soient précédemment annotés ou détectés à cette même occasion. L'objectif d'annotation précise des gènes, et plus particulièrement de comparaison des sites de début et fin de transcription entre individus, nous amène naturellement à nous intéresser à la comparaison des localisations de ruptures dans des séries indépendantes. Nous construisons ainsi dans un cadre de segmentation bayésienne des outils de réponse à nos questions pour lesquels nous sommes capable de fournir des mesures d'incertitude. Nous illustrons nos modèles, tous implémentés dans des packages R, sur des données RNA-Seq provenant d'expériences sur la levure, et montrons par exemple que les frontières des introns sont conservées entre conditions tandis que les débuts et fin de transcriptions sont soumis à l'épissage différentiel. / We propose to model the output of transcriptome sequencing technologies (RNA-Seq) using the negative binomial distribution, as well as build segmentation models suited to their study at different biological scales, in the context of these technologies becoming a valuable tool for genome annotation, gene expression analysis, and new-transcript discovery. We develop a fast segmentation algorithm to analyze whole chromosomes series, and we propose two methods for estimating the number of segments, a key feature related to the number of genes expressed in the cell, should they be identified from previous experiments or discovered at this occasion. Research on precise gene annotation, and in particular comparison of transcription boundaries for individuals, naturally leads us to the statistical comparison of change-points in independent series. To address our questions, we build tools, in a Bayesian segmentation framework, for which we are able to provide uncertainty measures. We illustrate our models, all implemented in R packages, on an RNA-Seq dataset from a study on yeast, and show for instance that the intron boundaries are conserved across conditions while the beginning and end of transcripts are subject to differential splicing.

Dans le domaine des plantes, la formation de la fleur a été un pas crucial dans la capacité des végétaux à coloniser une grande diversité de niches écologiques sur notre planète. Les deux espèces Petunia x hybrida et Arabidopsis thaliana représentent deux groupes majeurs des plantes à fleur. Nous avons montré que les gènes à homéodomaine d’une famille appelée WOX (Wuschel homeobOX) sont fortement impliqués dans le développement des organes dotés de polarité (dont les feuilles et des organes de la fleur : sépales, pétales, carpelles). Un double mutant (maw mawb), chez le Pétunia, développe des pétales en forme de filament, avec disparition du tube floral. De plus, nous avons découvert que ces mêmes gènes interagissent au niveau génétique avec d’autres gènes (appelés gènes à boite MADS) dans la formation des ovules, structures à partir desquelles les graines se forment. Nous avons aussi montré que des gènes de la même famille sont impliqués dans la formation d’autres structures chez le Pétunia : les trichomes ou poils aériens de surface. Ces derniers sont impliqués dans plusieurs taches, qui vont de la protection contre les pathogènes à celles contre les stress abiotiques. Grâce à des études de génétique fonctionnelle nous avons pu montrer un recrutement différentiel des gènes WOX ici étudiés, dépendant de l’organe et de l’espèce. Ces travaux de thèse montrent l’importance de cette famille génique pour les études d’evo-devo (Biologie Evolutionniste du Développement). Finalement, une analyse de RNA-Seq (séquençage du transcriptome), dévoile les réseaux génétiques contrôlés par ces gènes WOX. / In the Kingdom of Plants, the emergence of flowers was a crucial step in their ability to colonize a large variety of ecological niches on our planet. The two species Petunia x hybrida and Arabidopsis thaliana represent two major groups of flowering plants. In this work, we have shown that HOMEOBOX genes from the WOX family (Wuschel homeoboxes) are heavily involved in polar organ development (such as leaves and sepals, petals, and carpels at the flower level). The maw mawb double mutant in Petunia displays string-like petals, with consequent disappearance of the floral tube. Moreover, we found that these two genes genetically interact with genes from a different family (the MADS family) in ovule identity (ovules are the structures from which seeds develop). We have also shown that other genes from the WOX family are involved in development of a different kind of structures in Petunia: the trichomes. Trichomes are involved in different tasks, protecting the plant from pathogens or abiotic stress. Thanks to functional genetics studies, we have shown functional genetic recruitment of these WOX genes among different plant organs and among different species. This PhD thesis provides evidence for the importance of the WOX family in Evo-Devo studies. Eventually, we unravelled genetic networks controlled by MAW and MAWB trough RNA-Seq analysis.

Orientadores: Gustavo Henrique Goldman, Juliana Velasco de Castro Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T05:49:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Borin_GustavoPagotto_M.pdf: 4025117 bytes, checksum: 5d652481786ac0f6cf4259069d181514 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A parede celular vegetal é uma estrutura recalcitrante, composta por polissacarídeos complexos que podem ser quebrados em açúcares fermentáveis. A desconstrução desse material complexo pode ser feita por diversos tipos de enzimas hidrolíticas, que são produzidas naturalmente por uma variedade de microrganismos. Entre eles, o fungo Trichoderma reesei se destaca pela capacidade de produzir e secretar estas enzimas em grandes quantidades. Embora alguns trabalhos utilizando abordagens de proteômica e transcriptômica já tenham sido realizados com esse fungo, ainda não são conhecidos em detalhes os mecanismos moleculares responsáveis pela degradação da parede e a regulação gênica envolvida nesse sistema lignocelulolítico. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal a análise da expressão gênica global de T. reesei, crescido por 6, 12 e 24 horas em bagaço e colmo de cana-de-açúcar como fontes únicas de carbono, pela técnica de sequenciamento high-throughput de RNA (RNA-Seq). No transcriptoma de T. reesei foram identificadas sendo hiper-expressas as principais celulases, hemicelulases e proteínas acessórias relacionadas direta ou indiretamente com a desconstrução da parede vegetal. De modo geral, as celulases e hemicelulases apresentaram uma expressão maior do que outras enzimas, e o nível dos seus transcritos foi crescente ao longo do tempo tanto em colmo quanto no bagaço. A grande maioria dos genes de CAZymes e proteínas acessórias hiper-expressos foram compartilhados pelos dois substratos, o que demonstra que a estratégia usada por T. reesei para degradar a parede celular do colmo e do bagaço é similar. Adicionalmente, vários fatores de transcrição, proteínas de função desconhecida e transportadores supostamente envolvidos na assimilação dos açúcares liberados também foram hiper-expressos nas condições amostradas. Para validação do RNA-Seq, foi realizado PCR em tempo real de diversos genes hiper-expressos que codificam para enzimas hidrolíticas, reguladores transcricionais, proteínas acessórias e genes ainda não caracterizados. Para isso, a análise temporal foi ampliada para 30 minutos, 2, 4, 6, 12 e 24 horas de crescimento após o inóculo, o que permitiu uma análise mais detalhada da expressão desses genes. Como objetivo secundário, foi analisado o secretoma deste fungo e os açúcares concomitantemente liberados no sobrenadante. Estas análises indicaram que a desconstrução da parede celular já se inicia dentro de 6 horas pós inoculo, com a liberação de monômeros (principalmente xilose e glicose) dos polissacarídeos e secreção de diversas CAZymes. Ensaios enzimáticos também foram realizados, mostrando atividades celulo e hemicelulolíticas. Assim, descrevemos pela primeira vez o arsenal de enzimas transcritas e secretadas por T. reesei RUT C30, desde pontos inicias de crescimento, em bagaço explodido e colmo de cana-de-açúcar. Por fim, este trabalho também permitiu a identificação de vários genes, com função predita ou não, que podem abrir caminho para a descoberta de novos atuantes na resposta do fungo ao substrato lignocelulósico / Abstract: Plant cell wall is a recalcitrant structure composed of complex polysaccharides which can be broken down into fermentable sugars. The deconstruction of this complex material can be made by a variety of hydrolytic enzymes which are naturally produced by a variety of microorganisms. Among them, stands out the fungus Trichoderma reesei, able to produce and secrete those enzymes in large quantities. Although some studies using transcriptomics and proteomics approaches have been performed with this fungus, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the degradation of the cell wall and gene regulation involved in this lignocellulosic system are not well known. This work has as main objective the analysis of global gene expression of T. reesei grown at 6, 12 and 24 hours in sugarcane bagasse and culm as sole carbon sources by high-throughput RNA sequencing technology (RNA-Seq). In the T. reesei transcriptome, it was identified the major cellulases, hemicellulases and accessory proteins directly or indirectly related to the deconstruction of plant cell wall. In general, cellulases and hemicellulases exhibited higher expression than other enzymes, and the level of their transcripts was increased over the time in both culm and bagasse cultures. Most of up-regulated CAZymes and accessory proteins were shared between the two substrates, which demonstrates the strategy used by T. reesei to degrade the bagasse and culm cell wall is similar. Furthermore, several transcription factors, proteins of unknown function and transporters supposedly involved in the assimilation of sugars were also up-regulated in the sampled conditions. To validate the RNA-Seq data, real-time PCR of several up-regulated genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes, transcriptional regulators, accessory proteins and proteins not yet characterized was carried out. The time points was extended to 30 min, 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 hours of growth after inoculation, allowing a more detailed analysis of the expression of these genes. As a secondary objective, T. reesei secretome and the sugars released in the supernatant were analyzed. It was shown that the sugarcane cell wall deconstruction begins within the first 6 hours post inoculation, releasing sugar monomers (mainly xylose and glucose) from polysaccharides due to the secretion of several hydrolytic enzymes. Enzymatic assays were also performed, showing cellulosic and hemicellulosic activities. Finally, this is the first study showing the arsenal of enzymes transcribed and secreted by T. reesei grown on steam exploded sugarcane bagasse and culm, at early time points. It was possible identify several genes, with predicted function or not, that can open new paths to discover novel players on the fungus response to lignocellulosic substrate / Mestrado / Microbiologia / Mestre em Genética e Biologia Molecular

Les nématodes à galles (RKN) du genre Meloidogyne spp. sont des parasites obligatoires des plantes qui induisent la formation d’un site nourricier spécialisé au sein des racines. Mon projet de thèse a pour objectif d’identifier des gènes spécifiques de ces nématodes qui sont impliqués dans le parasitisme en se focalisant sur des protéines sécrétées ou effecteurs. La technologie de séquençage Illumina a été utilisée pour comparer les transcriptomes de M. incognita au cours de son cycle de vie. A partir de 307 gènes surexprimés dans -au moins- un stade du cycle de vie, nous avons sélectionné 14 candidats d’effecteurs. Des expériences de RT-qPCR, d’hybridation in situ et d’ARN interférence ont permis de confirmer le profil d’expression, de localiser l’expression des effecteurs et d’étudier leur rôle dans la pathogénicité. Ce travail a permis de démontrer le rôle important d’une petite protéine, MiSCR1, dans les stades précoces du parasitisme. Parallèlement, nous avons réalisé l’assemblage de novo du transcriptome de M. enterolobii, qui représente une nouvelle menace pour l’agriculture mondiale du fait de sa capacité à se reproduire sur la majorité des plantes résistantes aux autres RKN. Les premières comparaisons avec d'autres RKN nous ont permis d'identifier, non seulement des effecteurs en commun, mais aussi ceux qui sont spécifiques à certaines espèces de RKN et qui pourraient expliquer des différences de gamme d'hôtes. En conclusion, les analyses de transcriptomes de RKN ont permis de caractériser des nouveaux effecteurs candidats impliqués dans la pathogénicité, et d’apporter de nouvelles connaissances pour le développement de méthodes de lutte contre ces bioagresseurs / Root-knot nematodes (RKN) are obligate endoparasites that maintain a biotrophic relationship with their hosts inducing specialized feeding cells. My PhD project aims to identify RKN genes specifically involved in plant parasitism with an emphasis on genes encoding new secreted proteins, named effectors. Using Illumina RNA-seq technologies, we compared transcriptomes of Meloidogyne incognita during its life cycle. From 307 genes over-expressed at -at least- one stage of the life cycle, we selected 14 effector candidates. RT-qPCR, in situ hybridisation and siRNA soaking experiments were carried out to confirm their expression profile, localize the spatial expression of these candidates in the nematode and to study their role in pathogenicity. The silencing of the dorsal gland specific-Minc18876 gene and its paralogues resulted in a significant, reproducible decrease in the number of egg masses, demonstrating a potentially important role for the small cysteine-rich effector, MiSCR1, it encodes in early stages of giant cell formation. In parallel, we perform a de novo assembly of M. enterolobii transcriptome. This RKN species represents a new threat for the agriculture worldwide because of its ability to reproduce on the majority of known RKN-resistant plants. First comparisons with others RKN allowed us to identify, not only the common set of effectors, but also those specific to some RKN species and possibly involved in host range differences. In conclusion, the transcriptome profiling of RKNs allowed the characterisation of new candidate effectors involved in the plant pathogenicity, and provided a better knowledge for the development of new methods to control these pests

Les technologies de séquençage jouent un rôle croissant dans l'analyse de l'expression des transcrits . La méthode la plus courante de séquençage du transcriptome, RNA-Seq est une méthode d'investigation d'une population de transcrits par cisaillement aléatoire, amplification et séquençage à haut débit. Les données issues du RNA-Seq peuvent être utilisées pour la quantification des niveaux d'expression des transcrits et pour la détection des régions transcrites et demandent des approches bioinformatiques.Nous avons développé des approches statistiques pour l'estimation des niveaux de transcription et l'identification des frontières de transcription sans faire usage de l'annotation existante et pour l'analyse des différences dans l'expression entre deux conditions. La reconstruction du paysage transcriptionel est faite dans un cadre probabiliste (Chaînes de Markov Caché - HMM) ou les variations du niveau de la transcription sont prises en compte en termes de changements brusques et de dérives. Le HMM est complété par une loi d'émission qui capture la variance des comptages dans un transcrit, l'auto-corrélation de courte portée et la fraction des positions avec zéro comptages. L'estimation repose sur un algorithme de Monte Carlo Séquentiel (SMC), le Particle Gibbs, dont le temps d'exécution est plus adapté aux génomes microbiennes. L'analyse des différences dans l'expression (DE) est réalisée sans faire usage de l'annotation existante. L'estimation de DE est premièrement faite à la résolution de position et en suite les régions avec un signal DE continu sont agrégés. Deux programmes nommés Parseq et Pardiff sont disponibles à http://www.lgm.upmc.fr/parseq/. / In this thesis we address the problem of reconstructing the transcription profile from RNA-Seq reads in cases where the reference genome is available but without making use of existing annotation. In the first two chapters consist of an introduction to the biological context, high-throughput sequencing and the statistical methods that can be used in the analysis of series of counts. Then we present our contribution for the RNA-Seq read count model, the inference transcription profile by using Particle Gibbs and the reconstruction of DE regions. The analysis of several data-sets proved that using Negative Binomial distributions to model the read count emission is not generally valid. We develop a mechanistic model which accounts for the randomness generated within all RNA-Seq protocol steps. Such a model is particularly important for the assessment of the credibility intervals associated with the transcription level and coverage changes. Next, we describe a State Space Model accounting for the read count profile for observations and transcription profile for the latent variable. For the transition kernel we design a mixture model combining the possibility of making, between two adjacent positions, no move, a drift move or a shift move. We detail our approach for the reconstruction of the transcription profile and the estimation of parameters using the Particle Gibbs algorithm. In the fifth chapter we complete the results by presenting an approach for analysing differences in expression without making use of existing annotation. The proposed method first approximates these differences for each base-pair and then aggregates continuous DE regions.

The scope and application of high throughput techniques has expanded from studying a single genome, transcriptome or proteome to understanding complex environments at a greater resolution with the help of novel computational frameworks. Comprehensive structural annotation i.e. description of all functional elements in the genome, is required for measuring genome response accurately, using high throughput methods. Annotation of genome sequences using high throughput data from RNA-seq and proteomics experiments complement computational methods for identifying functional elements and can help validate existing in silico annotation, correct annotation errors, and could potentially identify novel functional elements. Re-annotation studies in recent times have revealed shortcomings of automated methods and the necessity to validate existing annotations using experimental data. This dissertation elucidates re-annotation of Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni, bacterial pathogens associated with bovine respiratory disease in cattle. Experimental re-annotation of these bacterial genomes using RNA-seq and proteomics enabled the validation of existing annotation and discovery of novel functional elements that can be utilized in future functional genomics studies. We also addressed the need for developing an automated bioinformatics workflow that is broadly applicable for bacterial genome re-annotation, by developing open source Perl pipeline that can use RNA-seq and proteomics data as input. Simultaneous analysis of host and pathogen gene expression profiling using metatranscriptomics approaches is necessary to improve our understanding of infectious diseases. Traditional methods for analysis of RNA-seq data do not address the impact of cross-mapping of reads to multiple genomes for data originating from a metatranscriptomic study. Analysis of sequence conservation between species can help determine a metric for cross mapping to correct for signal vs. noise. We generated artificial RNA-seq data and evaluated the impact of read length and sequence conservation on cross-mapping. Comparative genomics was used to identify a core and pan-genome for quantifying gene expression. Our results show that cross mapping between genomes can directly be related to evolutionary distance between these genomes and that an increase in RNA-seq read length tends to negate cross mapping.

A biomassa do bagaço da cana-de-açúcar é composta de material lignocelulósico, principalmente celulose e hemicelulose, os quais são constituídos por açúcares de alta energia que podem ser convertidos a etanol. No entanto, a associação recalcitrante dessa biomassa impõe um grande desafio para a produção de biocombustíveis de segunda geração, devido à dificuldade em recuperar esses açúcares sob a forma de monômeros com elevado grau de pureza. Na natureza, muitos microrganismos realizam a degradação da biomassa de plantas através da ação de múltiplas CAZymes. Dentre esses, os fungos filamentosos se destacam devido a sua capacidade de produzir misturas enzimáticas altamente específicas para os substratos com que se deparam e, por essa razão, são a principal fonte das enzimas utilizadas nos coquetéis enzimáticos comercializados, em especial a espécie T. reesei. Contudo, esses coquetéis precisam ser otimizados e, para tanto, é necessário investir no estudo de outros fungos, como o A. fumigatus. Apesar de patogênico, o mesmo é considerado um importante produtor de enzimas lignocelulolíticas, cujas eficiências são aumentadas devido ao efeito sinérgico entre elas. Dessa forma, uma melhor compreensão dos mecanismos utilizados por esse fungo durante a exposição a biomassas vegetais é necessária. Nesse sentido, a determinação das atividades de celulases e xilanases após diferentes tempos de incubação foi realizada nos sobrenadantes das culturas do A. fumigatus crescido em SEB e em frutose, resultando em valores 21, 59 e 271 vezes maiores para as celulases e 150, 541 e 74 vezes para as xilanases, após 24, 48 e 72 horas de cultivo, respectivamente, na presença do bagaço. Para verificar se as enzimas estavam efetivamente hidrolisando a biomassa, foi realizada a dosagem dos açúcares redutores nos sobrenadantes das culturas em SEB, tendo sido observado um aumento na concentração desses açúcares à medida que o tempo de exposição ao bagaço aumentava. Com o propósito de compreender o mecanismo envolvido na hidrólise do bagaço, foi realizada a análise transcricional do A. fumigatus por RNA-seq, quando esse fungo foi crescido na presença desse substrato, assim como em frutose. A análise dos dados revelou 144 CAZymes induzidas em SEB, frente a 65 reprimidas nessa biomassa. Dentre os genes induzidos, foram identificados muitos potencialmente envolvidos na desconstrução da lignocelulose, como aqueles que codificam endoglucanases, celobiohidrolases, glucosidades, xilanases, xilosidases, manosidases, LPMOs, pectinases, entre outros. Para verificar se essas proteínas estavam sendo secretadas pelo fungo, o secretoma do mesmo foi analisado por espectrometria de massas LC/MS. Com isso, identificou-se uma gama muito maior de proteínas na presença de SEB (130) em comparação ao crescimento em frutose (44), sendo a maioria CAZymes (59%). Todos esses resultados evidenciam o potencial do A. fumigatus na hidrólise do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar, podendo suas enzimas contribuir para a produção de coquetéis enzimáticos mais eficientes e, consequentemente, para a produção de etanol de segunda geração / Sugarcane bagasse biomass is composed of lignocellulosic material, mainly cellulose and hemicellulose, which are composed of high energy sugars that can be converted into ethanol. However, the recalcitrant association of this biomass imposes a major challenge for the production of second-generation biofuels, due to the difficulty in recovering these sugars in the form of monomers with high purity. In nature, many microorganisms perform the degradation of plant biomass through the action of multiple CAZymes. Among them, filamentous fungi stand out for their ability to produce highly specific enzymatic mixtures for the substrates they are in the presence of and, therefore, they are the main source of enzymes used in commercialized enzymatic cocktails, especially T. reesei. However, these cocktails need to be optimized and, for this reason, it is necessary to invest in the study of other fungi, such as the A. fumigatus. Although pathogenic, it is considered an important producer of lignocellulolytic enzymes, whose efficiencies are increased due to the synergistic effect between them. Thus, a better understanding about the mechanisms used by this fungus during exposure to plant biomass is necessary. In this sense, the determination of cellulases and xylanases activities after different incubation times was performed after collection of supernatants from A. fumigatus grown in SEB and fructose cultures, resulting in 21, 59 and 271-fold higher values for cellulases, and 150, 541 and 74-fold higher values for xylanases, after 24, 48 and 72 hours of cultivation, respectively, in presence of the bagasse. To verify if the enzymes were effectively hydrolyzing the biomass, the supernatants from SEB cultures were collected and the reducing sugars were quantified. An increase in the concentration of these sugars was observed as the exposure time to the bagasse increased. In order to understand the mechanism involved in bagasse hydrolysis, the transcriptional analysis of A. fumigatus grown in the presence of this substrate and in fructose was performed by RNA-seq. Data analysis revealed 144 CAZymes induced by SEB, compared to 65 repressed by this biomass. Among the induced genes, many potentially involved in the lignocellulose deconstruction, such as those encoding for endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, glucosidases, xylanases, xylosidases, mannosidases, LPMOs, pectinases, among others, were identified. To verify if these proteins were being secreted, the secretome of the fungus was analyzed by LC/MS mass spectrometry. Hence, a much larger range of proteins was identified in the presence of SEB (130) as compared to growth in fructose (44), most of them being CAZymes (59%). All these results show the potential of A. fumigatus in the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse and its enzymes can contribute to the production of more efficient enzymatic cocktails and, consequently, to the production of second-generation ethanol

O fitopatógeno Xylella fastidiosa coloniza o lúmen dos vasos do xilema de seus hospedeiros e o aparelho bucal do inseto-vetor. É responsável por doenças de extrema gravidade em videira, laranjeira, e oliveira, entre outras plantas de relevância econômica. Há evidência de especificidade entre cepas de X. fastidiosa e as diferentes espécies de plantas que colonizam, mas as bases moleculares desta interação são desconhecidas. O objetivo central deste trabalho foi elucidar o repertório completo de genes expressos e/ou diferencialmente expressos por diferentes cepas X. fastidiosa em meios e tempos de cultivo distintos e relacionar as respostas transcricionais a mecanismos de virulência, patogenicidade e especificidade ao hospedeiro. Foram sequenciados, analisados e comparados os transcritomas de cepas de laranjeiras (9a5c, J1a12, U24d e Fb7), de cafeeiro (3124), de hibisco (Hib4), ameixeira (Pr8x) e de videira (Temecula1), no início e fim da fase a exponencial de crescimento populacional em meio rico PWG e em meio mínimo PIM6, que mimetiza a seiva do xilema. Foi observado que a maioria dos genes de X. fastidiosa é expressa, ainda que, dependendo da cepa e da condição experimental, 40-80% dos transcritos sejam pouco abundantes. Por outro lado, foi verificado um conjunto de transcritos muito abundantes, uma parte deles comuns a todas as cepas, e que incluem os ncRNAs 6S e RNAse P, além de transcritos de microcinas, proteases, lipases, proteínas de resposta a estresse e proteínas de função desconhecida. Além da definição de perfis transcricionais, foram descritas as regiões 5\' e 3\' não-traduzidas dos transcritos. As estruturas de 545 e 386 operons expressos, respectivamente pelas cepas 9a5c e Temecula1, também foram mapeadas, e pela primeira vez foi obtido o perfil de sRNAs expressos por X. fastidiosa. As análises de expressão diferencial entre transcritomas das duas fases de crescimento no mesmo meio indicam que o estresse gerado pela limitação nutricional do meio PIM6 exigiu mudanças mais drásticas na expressão gênica do que no meio PWG. Foi também observado que diferentes cepas respondem de maneiras distintas a uma mesma condição, indicando que genes ortólogos são regulados de formas diferentes. Além disso, a transcritômica comparativa revelou diferenças relevantes na regulação gênica de cepas de hospedeiros vegetais distintos que podem estar relacionadas à especificidade ao hospedeiro. Por fim, as análises dos transcritomas evidenciaram vários genes candidatos que poderão ser futuramente investigados quanto ao seu papel na biologia e na virulência de X. fastidiosa. / The phytopathogenXylella fastidiosa colonizes the lumen of xylem vessels from its hosts and the mouth apparatus of the insect-vector. It is responsible for severe diseases in grapevine, orange and olive trees, among other plants of economic relevance. There is evidence for specificity between X. fastidiosa strains and the different plant species they colonize, but the molecular bases of this interaction are unknown. The main objective of this work was elucidate the complete repertoire of expressed and/or differentially expressed genes by different X. fastidiosa strains in distinct media and growth times and associate transcriptional responses to virulence mechanisms, pathogenicity and host specificity. Transcriptomes of orange strains (9a5c, J1a12, U24d and Fb7), coffee (3124), hibiscus (Hib4), plum (Pr8x) and grapevine (Temecula1), were sequenced, analyzed and compared from cells at the beginning and end stages of exponential growth phase in rich medium PWG and in minimum medium PIM6, which mimics xylem sap. It was observed that the majority of X. fastidiosa genes is expressed, although, depending of the strain and experimental condition, 40-80% of transcripts are less abundant. On the other hand, it was verified a set of more abundant transcripts, some of them shared by all strains, including 6S and RNAse P ncRNAs as well as transcripts for microcins, proteases, lipases, stress response proteins and proteins of unknown function. Besides the definition of transcriptional profiles, 5\' and 3\' untranslated regions of transcripts were described. The structure of 545 and 386 expressed operons, respectively for 9a5c and Temecula1 strains, were also mapped, and for the first time the expressed profile of sRNAs in X. fastidiosa was obtained. The differential expression analyzes between transcriptomes of two growth phases in the same medium indicate that the stress generated by nutritional limitation of PIM6 medium required more drastic changes in gene expression than PWG medium. It was also observed that different strains respond in distinct manners to a same condition, indicating that orthologous genes are regulated in different ways. Moreover, comparative transcriptomics revealed relevant differences in gene regulation of strain of distinct plant hosts that can be related to host specificity. Lastly, transcriptomic analyzes pointed to several gene candidates that could be further investigated for their roles in X. fastidiosa biology and virulence.

A cana-de-açúcar é uma gramínea C4 de alta biomassa que acumula grandes quantidades de sacarose e é utilizada para produção de etanol, um combustível de baixa emissão de carbono. Restrições bióticas e abióticas afetam significativamente a produtividade das culturas, pois elas podem prejudicar severamente o crescimento e desempenho da planta. Compreender as bases moleculares para essa perda de produtividade ajudará na investigação das estratégias de mitigação. Para estudar estes dois tipos de estresses, plantas jovens de cana-de-açúcar foram submetidas à herbivoria e à privação de água. Uma investigação foi realizada para estudar as mudanças transcricionais em cana-de-açúcar sujeita ao ataque da Diatraea saccharalis, usando macroarranjo para monitorar a seleção de transcritos, contendo sequências de ESTs de serina proteases e inibidores de serina proteases de cana-de-açúcar do banco de dados SUCEST. Análises do macroarranjo revelaram sequências diferencialmente expressas em resposta à herbivoria. PCR em tempo real confirmou que 10 ESTs homólogos à inibidores de protease (4 homólogos aos inibidores do tipo Bowman-Birk de arroz e milho (BBI), 5 homólogos à inibidores de proteinase de milho (MPI) e 1 homólogo ao inibidor de subtilisina) e 3 ESTs homólogos à serina proteases das famílias S1, S10 e S14 foram positivamente regulados pela herbivoria. Embora a função dos inibidores de protease na defesa está bem estabelecida, o envolvimento de proteases de planta na resposta à herbivoria ainda precisa ser elucidado. Neste trabalho nós mostramos que uma protease da família S14 foi induzida em resposta ao ataque da lagarta e ao ferimento mecânico em cana-de-açúcar. Curiosamente, sequências homólogas de arroz e Arabidopsis também responderam aos mesmos tratamentos, sugerindo um papel conservado desta protease S14 na defesa contra herbívoros. Uma importante aplicação destes resultados é a identificação de genes para utilização em estratégias biotecnológicas para melhorar a resistência da cana-de-açúcar a insetos. Outra investigação foi realizada para estudar os parâmetros fisiológicos e perfis transcricionais de genes responsivos ao estresse hídrico em plantas jovens de cana-de-açúcar. Resultados deste trabalho indicaram que a interrupção da irrigação resultou em efeitos fisiológicos mensuráveis e análises de expressão de genes selecionados de resposta ao estresse revelaram expressão diferencial significativa entre os grupos irrigado e não irrigado. Resultados do RNA-Seq revelaram atividade transcricional de 24.142 transcritos de folhas de cana-de-açúcar submetidas à seca. Análises de expressão gênica em resposta à seca revelaram 68 (resposta precoce) e 2.390 (resposta tardia) transcritos diferencialmente expressos no 3º e 7º dia de tratamento, respectivamente. O decréscimo em vários parâmetros fisiológicos foi observado depois de seis dias de privação de água. Reduções na taxa de fotossíntese, condutância estomática e transpiração foliar ocorreram antes que fossem observadas alterações físicas visíveis, mas estas foram precedidas por mudanças significativas na expressão de genes com papel na fotossíntese. RNA-Seq identificou novos transcritos com papéis na defesa precoce e tardia à seca e a validação por PCR em tempo real confirmou os resultados obtidos pelo RNA-Seq. Isto irá incentivar mais pesquisas sobre a eficiência do uso da água em cana-de-açúcar, levando a identificação de variedades com maior tolerância às condições ambientais adversas. / Sugarcane is a high biomass tropical C4 grass crop which accumulates large quantities of sucrose and is used for bioethanol production, a low-carbon emission fuel. Biotic and abiotic constraints significantly impact crop productivity, because they can severely impair plant growth and performance. Understanding the molecular basis for this loss in productivity will aid in identifying strategies for mitigation. To study these two types of stresses, young sugarcane plants were subject to herbivore and water privation. An investigation was undertaken to study the sugarcane transcriptional changes following Diatraea saccharalis damage, using macroarrays to monitor a selection of transcripts, containing sequences of sugarcane ESTs of serine proteases and serine proteinase inhibitors from the SUCEST (Sugarcane EST Project) database. Macroarray analyses revealed differently expressed sequences in response to herbivory. Real-Time PCR confirmed that 10 ESTs homologous to proteinase inhibitors (4 homologous to maize and rice Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBI), 5 homologous to maize proteinase inhibitors (MPI) and 1 homologue to subtilisin inhibitor) and 3 ESTs homologous to serine proteases of the S1, S10 and S14 family were positively regulated by herbivory. While the protease inhibitor\'s function in defense is well established, the involvement of plant proteases in response to herbivory still remains to be elucidated. In this work we show that a sugarcane encoding S14 family protease member was upregulated in response to both D. saccharalis damage and wound treatment. Interestingly, homologous sequences from rice and Arabidopsis also responded to the same treatments, suggesting a conserved role of this S14 protease in defense against herbivores. One important application of these results is the identification of genes for use in biotechnological strategies to improve sugarcane insect resistance. Another investigation was undertaken to study the physiological parameters and transcriptional profiles of genes responsive to water stress in young sugarcane plants. Results of this work indicated that termination of irrigation resulted in measurable physiological effects in sugarcane plants and analysis of the expression of the chosen stress-response genes revealed significant differential expression between the control and treatment groups. RNA-Seq results revealed transcriptional activity of 24.142 transcripts from sugarcane leaf subjected to water stress. Gene expression analyses in response to water deprivation revealed 68 (early response) and 2,390 (later response) differentially expressed transcripts on day 3 and day 7, respectively. Sustained decreases in various physiological parameters were observed in water-stressed sugarcane plants after six days of water deprivation. Reductions in photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance and leaf transpiration occurred before visible physical changes were observed, but this was preceded by significant changes in expression of genes with roles in photosynthesis. RNA-seq identified novel transcripts with roles in early and late response to drought stress and Real-Time qPCR validation confirmed the RNA-Seq results. This will inform further research on water use efficiency in sugarcane, leading to identification of varieties with improved tolerance to adverse environmental conditions.