Single-cell RNA sequencing has become a standard technique to characterize tissue development. Hereby, cross-sectional snapshots of the diversity of cell transcriptomes were transformed into (pseudo-) longitudinal trajectories of cell differentiation using computational methods, which are based on similarity measures distinguishing cell phenotypes. Cell development is driven by alterations of transcriptional programs e.g., by differentiation from stem cells into various tissues or by adapting to micro-environmental requirements. We here complement developmental trajectories in cell-state space by trajectories in gene-state space to more clearly address this latter aspect. Such trajectories can be generated using self-organizing maps machine learning. The method transforms multidimensional gene expression patterns into two dimensional data landscapes, which resemble the metaphoric Waddington epigenetic landscape. Trajectories in this landscape visualize transcriptional programs passed by cells along their developmental paths from stem cells to differentiated tissues. In addition, we generated developmental “vector fields” using RNA-velocities to forecast changes of RNA abundance in the expression landscapes. We applied the method to tissue development of planarian as an illustrative example. Gene-state space trajectories complement our data portrayal approach by (pseudo-)temporal information about changing transcriptional programs of the cells. Future applications can be seen in the fields of tissue and cell differentiation, ageing and tumor progression and also, using other data types such as genome, methylome, and also clinical and epidemiological phenotype data.

Cell differentiation is the process of a cell developing from one cell type to another. It is of interest to analyse the differentiation from stem cells to different types of mature cells, and discover what genes are involved in regulating the differentiation to specific cells, for instance to get insights to what is causing certain diseases and find potential treatments.  In this project, two mathematical models are developed for analysing blood cell differentiation (haematopoiesis) with methods based on optimal transportation. Optimal transportation is about moving one mass distribution to another at minimal cost. Modelling a sample of cells as point masses placed in a space based on the cells' gene expressions, accessed by single-cell RNA sequencing, optimal transportation is used to find transitions between cells that costs the least in terms of changes in gene expression. With this, cell-to-cell trajectories, from haematopoietic stem cells to mature blood cells, are obtained. With the first model, cells are divided into groups based on their maturity, which is determined by using diffusion pseudotime, and optimal transportation is preformed between groups. The resulting trajectories suggest that haematopoietic stem cells possibly can develop into the same mature cell type in different ways, and that the cell fate for some cell types is decided late on in development. In future work, the gene regulation along the obtained trajectories can be analysed. The second model is developed to be more general than the first, and not be dependent on a group division before preforming optimal transportation. / Celldifferentiering är processen då en cell utvecklas från en celltyp till en annan. Det är av intresse att analysera differentieringen från stamcell till olika typer av mogna celler, och undersöka vilka gener som har betydelse i regleringen av differentieringen till specifika celler, bland annat för att få en inblick i vad som orsakar vissa sjukdomar och hitta potentiella botemedel. I detta projekt utvecklas två matematiska modeller för att analysera blodcellsutveckling (hematopoes) med metoder som är baserade på optimal transport. Optimal transport handlar om att förflytta en massfördelning till en annan till lägst kostnad. Genom att modellera celler som punktmassor, placerade i ett rum baserat på cellernas genuttryck som fås genom singel-cell RNA-sekvensering, används optimal transport för att hitta förflyttningar mellan celler som kostar minst i termer av förändringar i genuttryck. Från detta skapas vägar mellan celler, från hematopoetiska stamceller till mogna celler. I den första modellen delas cellerna upp i grupper baserat på deras mognadsgrad, som bestäms genom att använda pseudotid baserad på en diffusionsavbildning, och optimal transport används sedan mellan grupperna. De resulterande vägarna visar på att hematopoetiska stamceller möjligen kan utvecklas till samma typ av mogen cell på olika sätt, och att cellödet för vissa typer av celler bestäms sent i utvecklingen. I framtida arbete kan genregleringen längs de funna vägarna analyseras. Den andra modellen utvecklas för att vara mer generell än den första, och inte bero på en gruppuppdelning innan optimal transport används.

Macular neovascularization type 3, formerly known as retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), is a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration and is associated with an accumulation of myeloid cells, such as microglia (MG) and infiltrating blood-derived macrophages (MAC). However, the contribution of MG and MAC to the myeloid cell pool at RAP sites and their exact functions remain unknown. In this study, we combined a microglia-specific reporter mouse line with a mouse model for RAP to identify the contribution of MG and MAC to myeloid cell accumulation at RAP and determined the transcriptional profile of MG using RNA sequencing. We found that MG are the most abundant myeloid cell population around RAP, whereas MAC are rarely, if ever, associated with late stages of RAP. RNA sequencing of RAP-associated MG showed that differentially expressed genes mainly contribute to immune-associated processes, including chemotaxis and migration in early RAP and proliferative capacity in late RAP, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, MG upregulated only a few angiomodulatory factors, suggesting a rather low angiogenic potential. In summary, we showed that MG are the dominant myeloid cell population at RAP sites. Moreover, MG significantly altered their transcriptional profile during RAP formation, activating immune-associated processes and exhibiting enhanced proliferation, however, without showing substantial upregulation of angiomodulatory factors.

Immunosenescence is considered a possible factor in the development of age-related macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). However, age-related changes of myeloid cells (MCs), such as microglia and macrophages, in the healthy retina or during CNV formation are illdefined. In this study, Cx3cr1-positive MCs were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting from six-week (young) and two-year-old (old) Cx3cr1GFP/+ mice, both during physiological aging and laser-induced CNV development. High-throughput RNA-sequencing was performed to define the age-dependent transcriptional differences in MCs during physiological aging and CNV development, complemented by immunohistochemical characterization and the quantification of MCs, as well as CNV size measurements. These analyses revealed that myeloid cells change their transcriptional profile during both aging and CNV development. In the steady state, senescent MCs demonstrated an upregulation of factors contributing to cell proliferation and chemotaxis, such as Cxcl13 and Cxcl14, as well as the downregulation of microglial signature genes. During CNV formation, aged myeloid cells revealed a significant upregulation of angiogenic factors such as Arg1 and Lrg1 concomitant with significantly enlarged CNV and an increased accumulation of MCs in aged mice in comparison to young mice. Future studies need to clarify whether this observation is an epiphenomenon or a causal relationship to determine the role of immunosenescence in CNV formation.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing makes possible to study the gene expression at the level of individual cells. However, one of the main challenges of the single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis today, is the identification and annotation of cell types. The current method consists in manually checking the expression of genes using top differentially expressed genes and comparing them with related cell-type markers available in scientific publications. It is therefore time-consuming and labour intensive. Nevertheless, in the last two years,numerous automatic cell-type identification and annotation tools which use different strategies have been created. But, the lack of specific comparisons of those tools in the literature and especially for immuno-oncologic and oncologic purposes makes difficult for laboratories and companies to know objectively what are the best tools for annotating cell types. In this project, a review of the current tools and an evaluation of R tools were carried out.The annotation performance, the computation time and the ease of use were assessed. After this preliminary results, the best selected R tools seem to be ClustifyR (fast and rather precise) and SingleR (precise) for the correlation-based tools, and SingleCellNet (precise and rather fast) and scPred (precise but a lot of cell types remains unassigned) for the supervised classificationtools. Finally, for the marker-based tools, MAESTRO and SCINA are rather robust if they are provided with high quality markers.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] Resumen Como pez de gran valor económico, procedente de una de las líneas de teleósteos más antiguas, con un ciclo de vida misterioso, un potencial de acuicultura excepcional, y con importancia cultural y actividades de pesca en casi todos los países de Europa, la anguila europea posee un enorme valor socioeconómico. Este valor se suma a la desgraciada situación actual en peligro crítico de población natural de anguilas europeas. Como el ciclo de vida de la anguila aún no se ha conseguido cerrar en cautiverio, si la especie se extingue en la naturaleza, no seremos capaces de recuperarla. El cierre del ciclo de vida de la anguila europea ha sido, por lo tanto, el objetivo final de varios estudios. Sin embargo, a pesar de una investigación científica sustancial, desde la década de 1930, varios aspectos de la maduración de la anguila, como el mecanismo que bloquea la maduración de la anguila en la etapa prepúber en cautiverio, aún no se conocen bien. Por lo tanto, es necesario ampliar nuestro conocimiento sobre la reproducción de la anguila para inducir mejores hipótesis y lograr un progreso sustancial. Para profundizar en este campo, esta tesis se realizó con el objetivo específico de desarrollar métodos innovadores para la inducción de la maduración de la anguila y aumentar el conjunto de conocimientos sobre los procesos europeos de maduración de la anguila. Los procedimientos hormonales utilizados actualmente para la maduración sexual de la anguila artificial probablemente no induzcan el proceso natural de maduración. Por lo tanto, esta tesis ha evaluado el potencial de las hormonas recombinantes específicas de la anguila para inducir un proceso de maduración más natural. Este estudio específico mostró que la espermatogénesis completa y la espermiación se pueden inducir con gonadotropinas específicas de anguila recombinante; sin embargo, la calidad del gameto resultante es aún inferior a los resultados de los protocolos establecidos. Sin embargo, la utilización de hormonas recombinantes tiene un gran potencial para futuras implementaciones. Además, el experimento de gonadotropina recombinante ha generado nuevos detalles sobre el efecto de las gonadotropinas homólogas en el eje BPG de las anguilas europeas. Trabajos previos han llevado a la hipótesis de que un tratamiento térmico adecuado puede reducir o reemplazar parcialmente los tratamientos hormonales estándar para la maduración sexual de la anguila europea, o puede mejorar la calidad y / o cantidad de gametos. En esta tesis, se probó el efecto de varios regímenes térmicos en el eje BPG de machos de anguila europeos prepúberes, sin administración de hormonas. Los resultados muestran claramente que un tratamiento de agua de mar fría durante 2 semanas (10 ° C) afecta el eje BPG de los machos de anguila europeas. Los resultados específicos incluyeron un aumento en la sincronización de espermatogonias, niveles elevados de testosterona y 11-ketotestosterona en plasma, agrupamiento de muestras de transcriptomas del eje BPG del grupo tratado con agua de mar fría y posiblemente niveles aumentados de la proteína subunidad ß de la hormona luteinizante de la hipófisis. Los genes transcritos diferencialmente incluyeron varios genes, procesos y vías interesantes, que parecen estar involucrados en la maduración "natural" temprana de la anguila y que pueden ser biomarcadores adecuados para las distintas etapas de este proceso. Para un análisis adecuado de los datos transcriptómicos, se creó un transcriptoma de anguila europea de novo. Se demostró que este transcriptoma de novo posee una superior integridad al genoma de anguila europea disponible y, por lo tanto, es una herramienta útil para el análisis adicional de genes específicos. Un análisis de este transcriptoma reveló un gran número de pares de genes parálogos, que mostraron una baja divergencia entre secuencias sinónimas. Entre las hipótesis potenciales sobre e / [CA] Com a espècie de renom culinari que pertany a un dels llinatges teleostis més antics, amb un cicle vital misteriós, un potencial d'aqüicultura excepcional, i una tradició pesquera a gairebé tots els països d'Europa, l'anguila europea posseeix un enorme valor socioeconòmic. No obstant això, aquest valor només fa que augmentar la preocupació de la seva població, que actualment es troba catalogada com "en perill crític d'extinció". Atès que el cicle de vida de les anguiles encara no ha estat tancat en captivitat, l'espècie no serà salvable en el cas que s'extingeixi en estat natural, per la qual cosa tancar el cicle de vida d'aquesta espècie ha estat l'objectiu final de diversos grups d'investigació durant els últims anys.. No obstant això, i malgrat la investigació científica de qualitat duta a terme des de la dècada de 1930, encara hi han diversos aspectes de la maduració de les anguiles -com el mecanisme que bloqueja la maduració sexual de l'anguila a l'etapa pre-puberal en captivitat- que son poc coneguts en l'actualitat. Per tal d'ampliar els coneixements sobre la reproducció de les anguiles i aconseguir un progrés substancial, aquesta tesi es va dur a terme amb l'objectiu específic de desenvolupar mètodes innovadors per a la inducció de la maduració de l'anguila europea, a més de afegir-hi el coneixement en els processos de maduració bàsics d'aquesta espècie. Els procediments hormonals utilitzats actualment per a la maduració artificial de l'anguila europea no acaben d'induir el procés de maduració natural tal i com probablement es dóna a la natura. Doncs, en primer lloc, aquesta tesi va avaluar el potencial d'hormones recombinants específiques d'anguila europea per induir un procés de maduració molt més natural. Aquest estudi específic va mostrar que mitjançant estes gonadotropines específiques d'anguila europea és possible induir l'espermatogènesi i l'espermiació completes. Tot i que els resultats van mostrar que la qualitat dels gamets va ser inferior als resultats que generen els protocols establerts fins ara amb un altre tipus d'hormones (generalment d'origen humà), la utilització d'hormones recombinants específiques es presenta amb un gran potencial per a la seva implementació futura en la inducció de la maduració sexual de l'anguila europea, ja que l'estudi va generar noves idees sobre l'efecte de les gonadotropines l'eix BPG de l'anguila europea. En segon lloc, i treballant amb la hipòtesi que un tractament tèrmic adequat pot reduir o substituir parcialment els tractaments hormonals estàndards per a la maduració sexual de l'anguila europea, en aquesta tesi es va provar l'efecte de diversos règims tèrmics (sense administració d'hormones) en l'eix BPG dels mascles europeus pre-puberals amb l'objectiu de millorar la qualitat i / o quantitat dels gamets. Els resultats mostraren clarament que un tractament d'aigua de mar de 2 setmanes a baixa temperatura (10 °C) va afectar l'eix BPG dels mascles europeus d'anguila. Resultats més específics van mostrar un augment de la sincronització de les espermatogonies, elevats nivells plasmàtics de testosterona i 11-ketotestosterona, una agrupació de mostres de transcriptoma de l'eix BPG del grup tractat amb aigua de mar freda i, possiblement, un augment dels nivells de la proteïna de la subunitat ß de la hormona luteinitzant de la hipofisi. Els gens transcrits diferencials van al·ludir a diversos gens, processos i vies interessants, que semblen estar implicats en la maduració inicial de l'anguila "natural" i podrien resultar biomarcadors adequats per a les etapes d'aquest procés. No obstant això, es necessiten estudis addicionals per avaluar el potencial dels biomarcadors d'aquests gens i, de manera complementària, comprovar si un pre-tractament d'aigua de mar freda pot millorar la resposta de les anguiles europees a un tractament hormonal artificial, com suggereixen els resultats. Finalment, amb l'objectiu / [EN] As an expensive fish from one of the most ancient teleost lineages, with a mysterious life cycle, exceptional aquaculture potential, and cultural associations and fishing activity in almost every country in Europe, the European eel possess huge socioeconomic value. This value only adds to the misfortune of the current critically endangered state of the wild European eel population. As the eel lifecycle has not yet been closed in captivity, the species will not be salvable if it went extinct in the wild. Closing the life-cycle of the European eel has thus been the ultimate objective of several studies. However, despite the substantial scientific investigation, since the 1930s, several aspects of eel maturation, such as the mechanism which blocks eel sexual maturation at the pre-pubertal stage in captivity, is still poorly understood. Therefore, it is necessary to broaden our knowledge of eel reproduction to induce better hypotheses and therethrough achieve substantial progress. In order to further this field, this thesis was conducted with the specific objective of developing innovative methods for induction of eel maturation and add to the pool of knowledge of European eel maturation processes. The hormonal procedures currently used for artificial eel sexual maturation are probably not inducing the natural maturation process. Therefore, this thesis has evaluated the potential of eel specific recombinant hormones to induce a more natural maturation process. This specific study showed that full spermatogenesis and spermiation can be induced with recombinant eel specific gonadotropins; however, the resulting gamete quality is still inferior to the results of established protocols. Nevertheless, the utilization of recombinant hormones holds a large potential for future implementation. Furthermore, the recombinant gonadotropin experiment has generated novel insights into the effect of homologous gonadotropins on the BPG axis of European eels. Previous work has led to the hypothesis that the right thermal environmental treatment may reduce or partially replace the standard hormonal treatments for sexual maturation of European eel, or may improve gamete quality and/or quantity. In this thesis, the effect of various thermal regimes was tested on the BPG axis of pre-pubertal European eel males, without administration of hormones. The results clearly show that a 2 week cold (10 °C) seawater treatment effects the BPG-axis of European eel males. Specific results included an increase in the synchronization of spermatogonial cells, elevated testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone plasma levels, clustering of BPG-axis transcriptome samples from the cold seawater treated group and possibly increased levels of pituitary luteinizing hormone ß-subunit protein. Differentially transcribed genes alluded to several interesting genes, processes, and pathways, which appears to be involved in early "natural" eel maturation and may prove to be suitable biomarkers for the stages of this process. In order for proper analysis of the transcriptomic data, a de novo European eel transcriptome was assembled. This de novo transcriptome was proven to have superior completeness to the available European eel genome and is thus a useful tool for further analysis of specific genes. An analysis of this transcriptome revealed a large number of paralog gene pairs, which showed low synonymous sequence divergence. Among the potential hypothesis regarding the origin of these paralog gene pairs, the hypothesis of a 4R whole genome duplication is among the most parsimonious. Several of these duplicated genes were involved in reproduction and the onset of puberty. Regardless of the origin, further analysis of these genes may reveal eel specific adaptations, which could help to better understand the exceptional reproductive system of eels. / Rozenfeld, C. (2019). Development of innovative methods for induction of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) spermatogenesis [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/125697 / Compendio

[ES] La presente tesis muestra la utilización de las lecturas largas para resolver las limitaciones asociadas al ARN-Seq habitual, presentando innovaciones significativas en este campo. Las lecturas largas permiten capturar transcritos completos y detectar nuevas variantes de splicing, mejorando los resultados obtenidos con lecturas cortas en términos de precisión ya que no existe la necesidad de realizar un ensamblado de lecturas que podría dar lugar a isoformas quiméricas. En el marco de este trabajo, se ha desarrollado la herramienta SQANTI3, diseñada para la evaluación y filtrado de transcriptomas. SQANTI3 clasifica modelos de transcripción de lecturas largas según categorías estructurales basadas en sus splice junctions (SJ) y anota diversas características de calidad, tales como la presencia de SJ no canónicas o la fiabilidad de las anotaciones de los sitios de inicio y término de transcripción (TSS y TTS, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizando datos ortogonales. También ofrece un módulo de filtrado de artefactos basado en aprendizaje automático y reglas definidas por el usuario, así como un módulo de "rescate" para evitar la pérdida de genes completos por un filtrado excesivo. Por último, SQANTI3 integra la anotación funcional de los transcriptomas con isoAnnot Lite, facilitando el análisis de cambios en la expresión de isoformas y sus implicaciones funcionales. SQANTI3 se utilizó en los retos 1 y 3 del proyecto LRGASP (Long-read RNA-seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project), un esfuerzo internacional y multicéntrico para el benchmarking de herramientas bioinformáticas de lecturas largas en ARN-Seq. Ambos retos se centraron en la identificación correcta de transcritos en organismos altamente anotados (reto 1) y en organismos no modelo con limitaciones de información a priori (reto 3). LRGASP proporcionó datos de diferentes tecnologías y protocolos a los participantes para que presentaran los resultados obtenidos sus herramientas bioinformáticas. Estos resultados se evaluaron y compararon utilizando SQANTI3, dejando patente las diferencias de transcriptomas obtenidos para una misma muestra dependiendo de los datos y métodos empleados. En resumen, el trabajo en esta tesis resalta la importancia que la utilización de lecturas largas para ARN-Seq puede tener en el futuro y como SQANTI3 es y será una herramienta clave para la evaluación y mejora de la calidad de los transcriptomas. / [CA] La present tesi mostra la utilització de les lectures llargues per resoldre les limitacions associades a l'ARN-Seq habitual, presentant innovacions significatives en aquest camp. Les lectures llargues permeten capturar transcrits complets i detectar noves variants de splicing, millorant els resultats obtinguts amb lectures curtes en termes de precisió, ja que no és necessari realitzar un assemblatge de lectures que podria donar lloc a isoformes quimèriques. En el marc d'aquest treball, s'ha desenvolupat l'eina SQANTI3, dissenyada per a l'avaluació i filtratge de transcriptomes. SQANTI3 classifica models de transcripció de lectures llargues segons categories estructurals basades en les seues splice junctions (SJ) i anota diverses característiques de qualitat, com la presència de SJ no canòniques o la fiabilitat de les anotacions dels llocs d'inici i terme de transcripció (TSS i TTS, per les seues sigles en anglés) utilitzant dades ortogonals. També ofereix un mòdul de filtratge d'artefactes basat en aprenentatge automàtic o regles definides per l'usuari, així com un mòdul de "rescat" per a evitar la pèrdua de gens complets per un filtratge excessiu. Finalment, SQANTI3 integra l'anotació funcional dels transcriptomes amb isoAnnot Lite, facilitant l'anàlisi de canvis en l'expressió d'isoformes i les seues implicacions funcionals. SQANTI3 es va utilitzar en els reptes 1 i 3 del projecte LRGASP (Long-read RNA-seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project), un esforç internacional i multicèntric per al benchmarking d'eines bioinformàtiques de lectures llargues en ARN-Seq. Ambdós reptes es van centrar en la identificació correcta de transcrits en organismes altament anotats (repte 1) i en organismes no model amb limitacions d'informació a priori (repte 3). LRGASP va proporcionar dades de diferents tecnologies i protocols als participants perquè presentaren els resultats obtinguts amb les seues eines bioinformàtiques. Aquests resultats es van avaluar i comparar utilitzant SQANTI3, deixant patent les diferències de transcriptomes obtinguts per a una mateixa mostra depenent de les dades i mètodes emprats. En resum, aquesta tesi ressalta la importància que la utilització de lectures llargues per a ARN-Seq pot tindre en el futur i com SQANTI3 és i serà una eina clau per a l'avaluació i millora de la qualitat dels transcriptomes. / [EN] This thesis presents the usage of long-read sequencing to overcome the limitations associated with conventional RNA-Seq, introducing significant innovations in this field. Long-read sequencing enables the capture of full-length transcripts and the detection of novel splicing variants, improving the accuracy of results compared to short-read sequencing, as there is no need for assembly, which could otherwise lead to chimeric isoforms. As part of this work, the SQANTI3 tool has been designed and developed for the evaluation and filtering of transcriptomes. SQANTI3 classifies long-read transcription models into structural categories based on their splice junctions (SJ) and annotates a wide variety of quality features, such as the presence of non-canonical SJs or the reliability of Transcription Start and Termination Sites (TSS and TTS) detected using orthogonal data. It also includes an artifact filtering module based on machine learning or user-defined rules, as well as a "rescue" module to prevent the loss of complete genes due to excessive filtering. Finally, SQANTI3 integrates the functional annotation of transcriptomes with isoAnnot Lite, facilitating the analysis of isoform expression changes and their functional implications. SQANTI3 was used in challenges 1 and 3 of the Long-read RNA-seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project (LRGASP), an international and multicenter effort to benchmark bioinformatic tools for long-read RNA-Seq data. Both challenges focused on the correct identification of transcripts in well-annotated organisms (challenge 1) and in non-model organisms with limited prior information (challenge 3). LRGASP provided participants with data from different sequencing technologies and protocols to submit the results obtained by their bioinformatics tools. These results were evaluated and compared using SQANTI3, highlighting the differences in transcriptomes obtained from the same sample depending on the data and methods used. In summary, the work in thesis emphasizes the importance that long-read RNA-Seq can have in the future and how SQANTI3 is and will continue to be a key tool for the evaluation and improvement of transcriptome quality. / The project is supported by the following grants: Pew Charitable Trust, NIGMS R35GM138122, NHGRI R21HG011280, Spanish Ministry of Science PID2020-119537RB-10, NIGMS R35GM142647, NIGMS R35GM133569, NHGRI U41HG007234, NHGRI F31HG010999, and UM1 HG009443, NHGRI R01HG008759 and R01HG011469, NHGRI R01HG007182, NHGRI UM1HG009402, NHMRC Investigator Grant GNT2017257, Comunitat Valenciana Grant ACIF/2018/290, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Grant No. 2019-002443, an institutional fund from the Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, an institutional fund from the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, SPBU 73023672, AMED 22kk0305013h9903, 23kk0305024h0001, Wellcome Trust [WT222155/Z/20/Z] , and European Molecular Biology Laboratory. We acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the EMBL partnership, Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa, and CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya and the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with the grant 161L0242A. This work has been also funded by NIH grant R21HG011280, by the Spanish Ministry of Science grants BES-2016-076994 and PID2020-119537RB-100, and by the Comunitat Valenciana grant ACIF/2018/290. / Pardo Palacios, FJ. (2024). Long-Read RNA-Seq: Quality Control and Benchmarking [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/212027

Das Herz ist das zentrale Kreislauforgan in unserem Körper und jede Abweichung seiner Funktion wirkt sich negativ auf die Homöostase des gesamten Körpers aus. Die Herzfunktion beruht auf der Synergie der Zellen, die das Organ bilden. Die detaillierte zelluläre Zusammensetzung sowie die Funktionalität der einzelnen Zellen müssen noch ermittelt werden, und diese Arbeit ist eine wichtige Ergänzung dieser Bemühungen. Dank der jüngsten Entwicklungen in den Einzelzelltechnologien sind wir nun in der Lage, Transkriptome einzelner Zellen aus komplexem Gewebe in beispiellosem Umfang zu charakterisieren. Im ersten Schritt eines solchen Experiments müssen die Zellen und Zellkerne aus dem Gewebe befreit und vereinzelt werden. Herzgewebe wirft in dieser Hinsicht einzigartige Herausforderungen auf, darunter die Knappheit des gesunden menschlichen Herzgewebes für die Forschung, das Vorhandensein von Kardiomyozyten, die aufgrund ihrer Größe nicht durch Microfluid-basierte Standardinstrumente passen und deren Multinukleation, sowie mögliche Voreingenommenheit verschiedener Methoden zur Gewebedissoziation. Hier präsentiere ich den umfassenden Zellatlas des gesunden erwachsenen menschlichen Herzens. Ich beginne mit der Methodenentwicklung zur Isolierung von einzelnen Zellen und Zellkernen aus Mausherzen. Um den Zellatlas des menschlichen Herzens zu erstellen, analysiere ich einen Datensatz von fast einer halben Million Einzelzellen und Zellkerne aus sechs Herzregionen von vierzehn gesunden Menschen. In diesem Atlas definieren wir 11 Hauptzelltypen und 62 Zellzustände des menschlichen Herzens. Ein tieferer Fokus wird auf das Herzgefäßsystem gelegt und die Zellen der arterio-venösen Achse sowie deren Wechselwirkungen und potenzielle Funktionalität werden definiert. Insgesamt präsentiert diese Dissertation einen komplex Datensatz aus menschlichem Herzgewebe und liefert neue Einblicke in die Biologie des gesunden Herzens mit Implikationen für kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen. / The heart is the central circulatory organ in our bodies and any discrepancies of its function relative to healthy homeostasis negatively impact the whole body. Cardiac function relies on the synergy of all the cells that constitute the organ. The detailed cellular composition as well as the heterogeneity and functionality of the individual cells is yet to be established and this work is a major advance in this effort. Thanks to the recent developments in single cell genomics technologies, we are now able to profile transcriptomes from individual cells of complex tissues at unprecedented scale. In the first step of such an experiment, the single cells and nuclei need to be liberated from the tissue. Heart tissue presents a unique set of challenges in this regard, including the scarcity of healthy human cardiac tissue for research, large cardiomyocytes that do not fit into the standard droplet-based instruments, multinucleation of cardiomyocytes that might skew the proportions of the recovered nuclei as well as potential bias of tissue dissociation methods. Here I present a cell atlas of the free walls, apex and septum of the healthy adult human heart. I start with methods development for the isolation of single cells and single nuclei from mouse heart. Next, I move to the building of the atlas of the human cells and nuclei, where I describe the dataset of close to half a million single cells and nuclei sampled from 14 organ donors, defining 11 major cell types and 62 cell states of the heart. A deeper focus on the cardiac vasculature defined the cells of the arterio-venous axis as well as their interactions and potential functionality. Overall, this thesis presents a joined dataset of single cells and single nuclei from human cardiac tissues and provides new insights into cardiac biology in heath with implications for cardiovascular disease.

Bakterien haben eine Vielzahl an Strategien entwickelt, um sich an ständig wechselnde Umweltbedingungen anzupassen, darunter auch post-transkriptionelle regulatorische Mechanismen. Die Genexpression kann hierbei durch gezielten Abbau oder Stabilisierung von RNA durch Ribonukleasen (RNasen) reguliert werden. RNasen weisen je nach Spezies allerdings unterschiedliche Effekte auf Genexpression und bakterielle Physiologie, sowie verschiedene Strategien der Substraterkennung auf. Dies zeigt, dass unser Verständnis des RNA-Abbaus bei weitem nicht vollständig ist. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Eigenschaften und Funktionen der endoRNase Y des humanpathogenen Bakteriums Streptococcus pyogenes zu studieren. Um Einblick in Funktion und Spezifität dieser RNase zu gewinnen, wurden deren genomweite Schnittpositionen (“targetome”) mit Hilfe von RNA-Sequenzierung identifiziert. Zur weiteren Analyse des RNase Y-abhängigen RNA-Abbaus wurde dieses Ergebnis mit dem “targetome” der drei 3′-5′-Exoribonukleasen (ExoRNasen) PNPase, YhaM und RNase R verglichen. Schließlich wurden die Anforderungen für die Prozessierung durch RNase Y und deren Rolle in der Regulation von Virulenzgenen in vivo anhand der speB mRNA, die einen wichtigen Virulenzfaktor codiert, untersucht. Wir konnten in dieser Arbeit zeigen, dass RNase Y Substrate bevorzugt nach einem Guanosin schneidet und dieses Nukleosid essenziell für die Prozessierung der speB mRNA in vivo ist. Obwohl RNase Y die speB mRNA schneidet, unterstützen die Daten ein Modell nach dem RNase Y die Expression von speB auf transkriptioneller Ebene reguliert. Mit Hilfe des “targetome”-Vergleichs konnten wir ferner zeigen, dass RNase Y den RNA-Abbau in S. pyogenes initiiert und die dabei generierten 3′-Enden der RNA hauptsächlich von den 3′-5′-exoRNasen PNPase und/oder YhaM prozessiert werden. Zusammenfassend erweitern diese Erkenntnisse unser Verständnis der Funktionalität von RNase Y und des RNA-Abbaus in Gram-positiven Bakterien. / Bacteria have developed a plethora of strategies to cope with constantly changing environmental conditions, including post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. With this regard, regulation of gene expression can be achieved by either the rapid removal or stabilization of RNA molecules by ribonucleases (RNases). RNases exhibit species-specific effects on gene expression, bacterial physiology and different strategies of target recognition, indicating that our understanding of the RNA degradation machinery is not yet complete. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the features and functions of endoRNase Y from the strict human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. To gain insight into the role and specificity of this RNase, we identified RNase Y cleavage positions (i.e. targetome) genome-wide by RNA sequencing. Next, to investigate the RNA degradation pathway depending on RNase Y, we compared the RNase Y targetome with the ones of the three 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease (exoRNases), namely PNPase, YhaM and RNase R. Finally, to dissect the requirements for RNase Y processing and to decipher the role of RNase Y in virulence gene regulation, we studied the impact of RNase Y on speB mRNA, encoding a major virulence factor. This study reveals that RNase Y preferentially cleaves RNAs downstream of a guanosine and for the first time we were able to show that the presence of a guanosine residue is essential for the processing of speB mRNA, in vivo. Although RNase Y cleaves the speB mRNA, our data underpin a model in which RNase Y-mediated regulation of speB expression occurs at the transcriptional level. Using the targetome comparative approach, we demonstrated that RNase Y initiates RNA decay in S. pyogenes and that the RNase Y-generated RNA 3′ ends are usually further trimmed by PNPase and/or YhaM. Overall, these findings increase our understanding of RNase Y functionality and RNA degradation in Gram-positive bacteria.

Der eukaryotische Zellzyklus ist ein streng regulierter Prozess, für dessen zeitlichen Ablauf unter anderem oszillierende Genexpression notwendig ist. Die Regulation und die zeitliche Koordination des Zellzyklus sind nach wie vor fundamentale Fragen der Zellbiologie. Spezifische Ereignisse, wie DNA Replikation und Zellkernteilung, können vier Zellzyklusphasen zugeordnet werden, welche durch Cyclin-abhängige Kinasen, Cycline und deren Inhibitoren reguliert werden. Während in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cyclin-abhängige Kinasen (Cdc28, Pho85) über den gesamten Zellzyklus zu Verfügung stehen, werden Cycline und ihre Inhibitoren nur in spezifischen Phasen exprimiert. In S. cerevisiae sind drei wichtige G1-Cycline (Cln1-Cln3) in die oszillierende Genexpression involviert. In dieser Arbeit wurde die zeitaufgelöste, transkriptomweite Genexpression im Wildtyp und in Cyclindeletionsmutanten gemessen. Um die Rolle der G1-Cycline für die Feinabstimmung des Zellzykluses zu verstehen, wurden Gene nach charakteristischen Expressionsprofilen geclustert, Expressionsmaxima detektiert, ein Transkriptionsfaktornetzwerk integriert und Zellzyklusphasendauern bestimmt. Um Unterschiede zwischen der Rolle der Cycline zu verstehen, wurden die Zellen zusätzlich Osmostress ausgesetzt. Des Weiteren wurde mit Hilfe von RNA-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) die Expression zweier Cycline (PCL1 und PCL9), die an Pho85 binden, auf Einzelzellniveau gemessen. Um die Expression in spezifischen Zellzyklusphasen zu quantifizieren, wurden einzelne Zellen mithilfe von Zellzyklusmarkern spezifischen Zellzyklusphasen zugeordnet. Nachdem die Expression unter normalen Wachstumsbedingungen gemessen wurde, wurde zusätzlich Osmostress angewandt. Durch die Kombination einer Einzelzellquantifizierung und einer transkriptomweiten Methode konnten spezifische Aufgaben der Cycline, Cln1, Cln2 und Cln3, erforscht werden. Zusätzlich konnten backup Mechanismen für die Zellzyklusregulation entschlüsselt werden. / The eukaryotic cell cycle is a highly ordered process. For its timing and progression, oscillating gene expression is crucial. The stability of cell cycle regulation and the exact timing is still a fundamental question in cell biology. Specific events, like DNA replication and nuclear division can be assigned to four distinct phases. These events are regulated by cyclin-dependent kinases, cyclins and their inhibitors. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdc28, Pho85) are present throughout the cell cycle, while cyclins and their inhibitors are only expressed and active during specific phases. The G1 cyclins Cln1-3 are essential players to induce oscillating gene expression and are thereby involved in the fine-tuning of the cell cycle. To understand the role of the G1 cyclins for exact cell cycle timing and oscillating gene expression, time-resolved, transcriptome-wide gene expression in wild type and cyclin deletion mutants were measured. Characteristic expression profiles were clustered, precise peak times for each gene were estimated, a transcription factor network was integrated and cell cycle phase durations were defined. To further understand the role and differences of each cyclin osmostress was applied. Furthermore the expression of two cyclins (PCL1 and PCL9) corresponding to the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85 was measured in single cells. Using RNA-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and cell cycle progression markers, high and low expression phases and absolute numbers of mRNAs were obtained. Gene expression was quantified under normal and osmostressed growth conditions to understand the necessity of the cyclins for osmostress adaptation in different cell cycle phases. By the combination of a single cell and a transcriptome-wide approach distinct roles of G1 cyclins Cln1, Cln2 and Cln3 were deciphered and an insight in the backup mechanisms during cell cycle progression for normal and osmostressed growth conditions were proposed.