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Sexual antagonism occurs when there is a difference between the optimal strategy of males and females to achieve maximum fitness. Interactions between sexually antagonistic alleles within a locus (intralocus sexual conflict; IASC) means that a mutation can be beneficial for one sex and deleterious for the other. In a recent genome-wide association study in Drosophila melanogaster, several different candidate genes containing antagonistic single-base polymorphisms were identified. In order to validate the sexual antagonistic effects of one of the candidate genes, Laminin A (LanA; chromosome 3), the wild-type alleles 1 and 2 of LanA were recreated in the Canton-S genetic background using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Previous observations showed that homozygotes with allele 2 died, which resulted in this study where the aim was to investigate why flies of D. melanogaster with two copies of this wild-type was apparently lethal and at what developmental stage they died. Four different lines were available, three with allele 1 and one with allele 2. Virgin females that were heterozygous for the TM6B balancer from the each line were divided into two groups. Half were mated with heterozygous males of the same allele and half with heterozygous males of the opposite allele in tubes prepared with a limited amount of dry yeast. The females were then placed in individual tubes for oviposition. The number of eggs, unhatched eggs, wild-type-/tubby- pupae and adults were then counted as the offspring underwent development. The results showed a higher mortality in the larval stage in the genotype A2/A2, and that no pupae/adults were wild-type A2 homozygotes. There was a significant relationship between genotype and each treatment. Since mortality was higher for genotype A2/A2 in the larval stage and that there were no surviving wild-type pupae, it shows that they do not die immediately after fertilization but at a later larval stage. With the help of the results, this study can confirm the hypothesis that lines of D. melanogaster with all A2 do not lose their balance chromosome, but not why it happened. To be able to answer this question, further studies are required based on other hypotheses and questions. / Sexuell antagonism uppstår när det finns en skillnad mellan hanar och honors optimala strategi för att uppnå maximal fitness. Interaktioner mellan sexuellt antagonistiska alleler inom ett lokus (intralocus sexual conflict; IASC) innebär att en mutation kan vara fördelaktig för ett av könen och skadligt för det andra. I en nyligen utförd studie gjordes en ”genome-wide association study” på Drosophila melanogaster där flera olika kandidatgener innehållande antagonistiska enbaspolymorfier identifierades. I syfte att validera sexuellt antagonistiska effekter på en av kandidatgenerna, Laminin A (LanA; kromosom 3), återskapades vildtyp allelerna 1 och 2 av LanA med Canton-S bakgrund med hjälp av CRISPR/Cas9. Tidigare observationer visade att homozygoter med allel 2 dog, vilket mynnade ut i denna studie där syftet var att undersöka varför flugor av D. melanogaster med två kopior av vildtypen dör och i vilket utvecklingsstadium det sker. Fyra olika linjer var tillgängliga, tre med allel 1 och en med allel 2. Jungfruhonor som var heterozygota för TM6B balanskromosom från vardera linje delades upp i två lika stora grupper. Ena gruppen parades med heterozygota hanar med samma allel och andra gruppen med heterozygota hanar av motsatt allel i rör preparerade med en begränsad mängd torrjäst. Honorna placerades sedan i individuella rör för äggläggning. Antalet ägg, okläckta ägg, vildtyp-/tubby- puppor och vuxna räknades under tiden som avkommorna utvecklades. Resultaten visade på en högre mortalitet i larvstadiet i genotypen A2/A2 och att inga puppor/vuxna var vildtyp A2 homozygoter. Det fanns ett signifikant samband mellan genotyp och varje behandling. Då mortaliteten var högre för genotyp A2/A2 i larvstadiet och att det inte fanns några överlevande vildtyp-puppor visar det att de inte dör direkt efter fertilisering utan i ett senare larvstadie. Studien kan med hjälp av resultatet bekräfta hypotesen om att linjer av D. melanogaster med alla A2 inte förlorar sin balanskromosom men inte varför detta sker. För att kunna svara på den frågan krävs ytterligare studier baserat på andra hypoteser och frågeställningar.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous disease of connective tissue, the cardinal symptom being fractures and severity ranging from mild to lethal. Dominant mutations in collagen I, encoded by COL1A1 and COL1A2, cause >90% of cases. To delineate genotype-phenotype correlations and pharmaco-genetic response, collagen I was sequenced in 150 unrelated Swedish families and clinical data were collected in Paper I. Mutation type, gene affected, and N- to C-terminal location correlated with phenotype and severity. Bisphosphonate response assessed by calculated yearly change in lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) was inversely related to age and BMD at treatment initiation. Mutations associated with a more severe phenotype exhibited an increased response after 2 years; however, all types of OI responded well. To investigate the effect of naturally occurring variations in collagen I, the only common coding single nucleotide polymorphism (rs42524 in COL1A2) was genotyped in 2004 healthy men in Paper II. Heterozygous genotype was associated with decreased BMD and an increased risk of stroke. An adolescent with repeated fractures despite a markedly high BMD harbored a unique C-terminal procollagen cleavage-site mutation in COL1A1, which motivated extensive investigations in concert with a similar COL1A2 case in Paper III. The probands were found to have impaired procollagen processing, incorporation of collagen with retained C-propeptide in matrix and increased mineral to matrix ratio, which demonstrates that C-propeptide cleavage is crucial to normal bone mineralization and structure. Bisphosphonate therapy has insufficient effect in OI, and as classical OI is a dominant disorder severe cases would benefit from silencing of the mutated allele. In Paper IV and V small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) were used to allele-specifically target primary human bone cells heterozygous for I) a coding polymorphism in COL1A2 and II) insertion/deletions in the 3’UTR of COL1A1 and COL1A2. Results were promising with altered allele ratios and decreased mRNA levels in the predicted fashion. To summarize, this thesis found that collagen I is crucial to bone and connective tissue and that collagen I mutations create markedly diverse phenotypes. Age, BMD and pharmaco-genetic effects influence the response to bisphosphonate therapy in individuals with OI; however, novel approaches are needed. Utilizing allele-specific siRNAs may be a way forward in the treatment of severe OI.

A tropical forage breeding program contains several peculiarities, especially when it involves polyploid species and facultative apomixis. Despite their importance, there is still a lack of information on genetic studies of critical forage traits and on the employment of genomic tools when compared to other crops and temperate forages. The genus Brachiaria is the most important for forage in tropical regions mainly beef production. The commercial species in this genus are excellent perennial forage, and the identification of superior genotypes depends on the selection of many characteristics under complex genetic control, with high cost and time-consuming evaluation. Therefore, the knowledge about uses and applications of classic and genomic tools in forage traits may be useful to support breeding programs and the development of new cultivars. In this context, the aim was to evaluate several different classic and genomic tools to be employed as selection strategies in a traditional tropical forage breeding program. A panel of tetraploid hybrids obtained from crossing Urochloa brizantha x Urochloa ruziziensis was phenotyped and genotyped to evaluate genetic parameters and perform genomic studies. The classic phenotypic analysis showed no clear trend of the importance of additive and non-additive genetics effects for agronomical and nutritional traits. The Mulamba and Mock index should be used in the univariate level, due to the promotion of a more balanced response to selection for all traits in the multivariate selection. In the genomic extraction and evaluations, the reads that were aligned to a \'mock\' reference genome, created from GBS data of the cultivar \'Marandu\', had more SNP discovered compared to the closest true reference genomes, Setaria viridis and S. italica. We recommended different thresholds of sample depth and genotype quality (GQ) to eliminate poor quality reads without introducing genotype bias. Cross-validation revealed that missing genotypes were imputed with a median accuracy of 0.85 using Random Forest algorithm to produce a complete genotype matrix, regardless of heterozygote frequency. The genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) revealed candidate genes associated with many tropical forage traits across all cutting seasons, which could be the first step toward marker-assisted selection (MAS). Moreover, our results suggest that accounting for allele dosage is essential, since the tetraploid level provided more information about the true biological state. Therefore, our findings revealed the complexity of the genetic architecture of Urochloa spp. traits and provided important insights towards the application of GWAS in polyploids species. The genomic selection analysis revealed that GBLUP-A (additive) and GBLUP-AD (additive + dominance) showed similar prediction abilities considering both single and multi-trait models. Conversely, combining GBLUP-AD and tetraploid information could improve the selection coincidence. Furthermore, the multi-trait validation scheme 2 (VS2), where one trait is not evaluated for some individuals, provided an increment of up to 30% to the prediction ability. Therefore, it is an useful strategy for traits with low heritability. Overall, all genomic selection models considered provided greater genetic gains than the phenotypic selection. Similarly, the allele dosage associated with additive, dominance and multi-trait factors increased the accuracy of genomic prediction models for interspecific polyploid hybrids. Finally, genomic tools should be used in forages breeding programs in order to reduce cost and time. / Um programa de melhoramento de forragem tropical contém várias peculiaridades, especialmente quando se trata de espécies poliplóides e de apomixia facultativa. Apesar de sua importância, atualmente, faltam informações sobre estudos genéticos de características forrageiras e sobre o emprego de ferramentas genômicas quando comparadas a outras culturas e forragens de clima temperado. O gênero Brachiaria é o mais importante para formação de pastagens nas regiões tropicais, principalmente para produção de carne bovina. As espécies comerciais deste gênero são excelentes forrageiras perenes, e a identificação de genótipos superiores depende da seleção de muitas características sob controle genético complexo, com alto custo e avaliação demorada. Portanto, o conhecimento sobre usos e aplicações de ferramentas clássicas e genômicas em características forrageiras pode ser útil para apoiar programas de melhoramento e o desenvolvimento de novas cultivares. Nesse contexto, objetivou-se avaliar diversas ferramentas clássicas e genômicas a serem empregadas como estratégias de seleção em um programa tradicional de melhoramento de forrageiras tropicais. Um painel de híbridos tetraplóides obtidos do cruzamento Urochloa brizantha x Urochloa ruziziensis foi fenotipado e genotipado para avaliar parâmetros genéticos e realizar estudos genômicos. Para a análise fenotípica clássica, concluímos que não havia uma tendência clara da importância dos efeitos genéticos aditivos e não-aditivos para características agronômicas e nutricionais. O índice de Mulamba e Mock deve ser usado no nível univariado, devido à promoção de uma resposta mais equilibrada à seleção para todas as características na seleção multivariada. Na extração e nas avaliações genômicas, as leituras que foram alinhadas ao genoma de referência \'simulado\', criado a partir dos dados de GBS da cultivar \'Marandu\', tiveram a maior porcentagem de descoberta de marcadores SNP comparado aos genomas de referência mais próximos, Setaria viridis e S. italica. Recomendamos diferentes limiares de profundidade de leitura e qualidade de genótipo (GQ) para eliminar leituras de baixa qualidade sem introduzir viés de chamada de genótipo. A validação cruzada revelou que os genótipos ausentes foram imputados com uma precisão mediana de 0,85 pelo algoritmo Random Forest para produzir uma matriz genotípica completa, independentemente da frequência de heterozigotos. A análise de associação genômica ampla (GWAS) revelou genes candidatos associados a muitas características forrageiras tropicais, o que poderia ser o primeiro passo em direção à seleção assistida por marcadores (MAS). Além disso, nossos resultados sugerem que a contabilização da dosagem alélica é essencial, uma vez que o nível tetraploide fornece mais informações sobre o verdadeiro estado biológico. Portanto, nossos achados revelam a complexidade da arquitetura genética de características de Urochloa spp. e fornecem informações importantes para a aplicação de GWAS em espécies poliploides. A análise de seleção genômica revela que o GBLUP-A (aditivo) e o GBLUP-AD (aditivo + dominância) mostraram capacidades de predição semelhantes, considerando tanto os modelos simples quanto os multi-característica. Por outro lado, combinando-se GBLUP-AD e informação tetraploide foi possível melhorar a coincidência de seleção. Além disso, o esquema de validação multi-característica 2 (VS2), onde uma característica não é avaliada para alguns indivíduos, pode fornecer um incremento de até 30% da capacidade de previsão. Portanto, é uma estratégia útil para características com baixa herdabilidade. No geral, todos os modelos de seleção genômica considerados proporcionaram maiores ganhos genéticos do que a seleção fenotípica tradicional. Da mesma forma, a dosagem do alelo associado a fatores aditivos, de dominância e multicaracteres aumentou a acurácia dos modelos genômicos de predição para híbridos poliploides interespecíficos. Finalmente, ferramentas genômicas devem ser utilizadas em programas de melhoramento de forragens para reduzir custos e tempo.

Zusammenfassung Viele Untersuchungen deuten darauf hin, dass das Surfaktantprotein A (SP-A) sowohl an der Regulation des Surfaktanthaushalts als auch als unspezifisches Opsonin an der Abwehr von Pathogenen in der Lunge beteiligt ist. Zahlreiche Polymorphismen kennzeichnen die Gene der Proteinuntereinheiten SP-A1 und 2. Die häufigste Aminosäuresubstitution Val50Leu befindet sich in der kollagenartigen Domäne, die an den Kollektinrezeptor der Phagozyten bindet. Weitere existieren in der an der Bindung an Lipopolysaccharide, Surfaktantbestandteile und Rezeptoren auf Pneumozyten beteiligten Kohlehydraterkennungsregion (CRD) der globulären Domäne. Träger des schwach exprimierten Wildtypallels 1a0 des SP-A2-Gens haben ein erhöhtes Risiko, am Atemnotsyndrom des Neugeborenen (RDS) zu erkranken. Bei der Alveolarproteinose akkumulieren die hydrophilen Surfaktantproteine A und D in den Alveolen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine nested PCR zur isolierten Amplifikation beider SP-A-Gene etabliert. 31 Patienten mit Verdacht auf einen Surfaktantproteindefekt wurden auf neue Restriktionsfragmentlängenpolymorphismen (RFLP) im SP-A1-Gen untersucht. Der in einer Familie konstante NcoI-Polymorphismus 1162C>T in Codon 39 und der NdeI-Polymorphismus 3138T>C in Codon 184 wurden mit einer Allelfrequenz von etwa 11 % detektiert. Die Sequenzen der entsprechenden Allele wurden kloniert. Bei 14 Patienten mit idiopathischer Alveolarproteinose, therapierefraktärem Surfaktantmangel oder rezidivierender Pneumonie wurden die SP-A-Gene sequenziert. Der bisher nur SP-A1 zugeschriebene Aminosäureaustausch Val50Leu wurde als Substitution 1220G>C bei zwei Patienten im SP-A2-Gen nachgewiesen. Drei Patienten mit Alveolarproteinose waren homozygot für die Substitution Gln223Lys in der CRD des SP-A2. Bei einem Patienten handelte es sich möglicherweise um eine somatische Mutation der Leukozyten-DNA im Rahmen einer Leukämie mit sekundärer Alveolarproteinose. Ein anderer war heterozygoter Träger des seltenen Allels 6a4 mit der Aminosäuresubstitution Arg219Trp in der CRD des SP-A1 und hatte die Alveolarproteinose erst im Erwachsenenalter entwickelt. Der dritte war homozygoter Träger des sehr seltenen Allels 1a3 des SP-A2 und verstarb im Alter von 6 Wochen an konnataler Alveolarproteinose (CAP), ohne dass ein bekannter Defekt des SP-B- oder des GM-CSF-Rezeptorgens vorlag. Die SSCP-Analyse konnte allelische Varianten als Einzelstrangkonformationspolymorphismen unterscheiden, war jedoch als Suchtest in heterozygoten Proben zu unspezifisch. Der hohe Gehalt an Polymorphismusinformation (PIC) macht den SP-A-Genort sftp1 zu einem nützlichen Marker bei der Untersuchung der Surfaktantproteine und anderer auf Chromosom 10 lokalisierter Gene. / Abstract Many studies give evidence of the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in the regulation of surfactant homeostasis and the defence from pathogens in the lung by opsonisation. The genes for the two protein subunits SP-A1 and SP-A2 are characterised by numerous polymorphisms. The most frequently substituted amino acid Val50Leu is located within the collagen-like region, which is recognised by the collectin-receptor on phagocytes. Further amino acids are substituted in the globular region, which is involved into the binding to lipopolysaccharides, surfactant particles, and receptors on pneumocytes by its carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Individuals carrying the weakly expressed wild-type allele 1a0 of SP-A2 have an increased risk of developing the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of the new-born. Alveolar proteinosis is a disease with accumulation of the hydrophilic surfactant proteins SP-A and SP-D in the alveoli. In this study a nested PCR for separate amplification of the two SP-A genes has been established. 31 patients with suspected deficiency of a surfactant protein has been investigated for new restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) in the SP-A1 gene. The NcoI-polymorphism 1162C>T in codon 39, which was constantly inherited in one family, and the NdeI-polymorphism 3138T>C in codon 184 have been detected with an allele frequency of around 11 %. The DNA sequences of these alleles have been cloned. In 14 patients suffering from idiopathic alveolar proteinosis, therapy-refractory surfactant deficiency, or recurrent pneumonia the SP-A genes have been sequenced. The substituted amino acid Val50Leu, which was previously considered exclusively in SP-A1, has been detected in SP-A2 in two patients. Three patients with alveolar proteinosis proved to be homozygous for the substitution Gln223Lys within the CRD of SP-A2. One of these patients might have a somatic mutation in the DNA of his leucocytes, with alveolar proteinosis developing secondary to his leukaemia. Another one developed alveolar proteinosis as an adult and was heterozygous for the rare allele 6a4 which includes the substituted amino acid Arg219Trp in the CRD of SP-A1. The third one proved to be homozygous for the very rare allele 1a3 of SP-A2 and died at 6 weeks of age from congenital alveolar proteinosis (CAP) without having one of the known mutations responsible for this condition within the genes for surfactant protein B (SP-B) or the GM-CSF receptor protein. The allelic variants could be differentiated by single strand conformation polymorphism but the SSCP-analysis was not enough specific for the screening of heterozygous DNA. Due to its high polymorphism information content (PIC), the SP-A gene locus sftp1 is a useful genetic marker for the analysis of the surfactant proteins and other genes located on chromosome 10.

Anticiper l’impact de fluctuations environnementales de nature climatique ou alimentaire est un enjeu crucial dans les systèmes de productions animales, et plus particulièrement sur la volaille. Cette influence de l’environnement sur les phénotypes passe en partie par des phénomènes épigénétiques, notamment la méthylation de l’ADN, et qui peuvent intervenir dans la régulation de l'expression des gènes. Ce sont des mécanismes qui n'affectent pas la séquence d'ADN mais qui peuvent être transmis par la mitose ou la méiose. Ces interactions entre épigénomes et expression des gènes sont de plus en plus étudiées dans les modèles animaux et chez les plantes. Cependant, les mécanismes de régulation de l'expression du génome par la méthylation de l’ADN sont assez peu connus chez les oiseaux. Ce travail de thèse repose sur deux dispositifs expérimentaux réalisés chez la poule, le but étant de caractériser le méthylome par séquençage haut-débit. Les profils de méthylation le long du génome, et le lien avec l’expression, sont établis d’abord par un séquençage tout-génome (WGBS) au sein d’embryons entiers, puis par un séquençage d'une sous-représentation du génome (RRBS) au sein d’hypothalamus d’individus adultes. À ce jour, aucune étude d'analyses de méthylome par RRBS chez la poule n'a été publiée. Ces deux analyses sont réalisées grâce au développement d'un pipeline bioinformatique, optimisé, disponible à la communauté scientifique. Globalement, le profil de méthylation chez la poule est similaire à ce qui est connu chez les mammifères : les îlots CpG - régions riches en dinucléotides CG, souvent peu méthylées, qui ponctuent le génome principalement dans les régions promotrices des gènes - sont globalement peu méthylés dans les promoteurs sur les données WGBS et RRBS. Les analyses du méthylome des embryons ont confirmé l'absence d'un phénomène de compensation de dose sur les chromosomes sexuels, ou la présence sur le chromosome Z d'une région hyperméthylée. Les analyses des données RRBS révèlent une hyperméthylation globale des CG sur le génome, suggérant une réponse de la méthylation à un stress environnemental. Sur les données WGBS, le niveau de méthylation dans le promoteur est négativement corrélé à l'expression du gène associé. Une méthylation allèle spécifique est également détectée entre les lignées, phénomène mis en évidence pour la première fois chez la poule et dont la fréquence est comparable à ce qui a été observé chez l'Homme. Sur les données RRBS, des résultats préliminaires de la réponse du méthylome aux stress environnementaux montrent le caractère complexe de cette relation. L’utilisation d’aliments moins énergétiques entraînerait une plus grande mobilisation des réserves lipidiques, tandis que les individus soumis à un stress à la chaleur ont un poids corporel plus léger. Une intégration de ces données à des mesures phénotypiques permettrait de faire le lien entre méthylation et environnement. Au-delà de l'aspect fondamental de cette thèse, l'application plus concrète de ces connaissances peut s'appliquer aux systèmes d'élevage pour obtenir des animaux mieux adaptés à l’environnement, en améliorant les caractères de production / Anticipating the impact of environmental changes (on climate and feed) is a crucial issue for livestock production systems, including poultry. The influence of the environment on phenotypes is partly mediated by epigenetic phenomena, including DNA methylation, which may be involved in the regulation of gene expression. These mechanisms do not affect the DNA sequence but can be inherited by mitosis or meiosis. The interactions between epigenomes and gene expression are increasingly being studied in animal models and in plants. However, the mechanisms of regulation of genome expression through DNA methylation are relatively unknown in birds. This thesis work is based on two experimental devices realized in chicken aiming to characterize the methylome by high-throughput sequencing. The methylation patterns across the genome, and their link with expression, were first established by whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) in whole embryos, following a reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) from hypothalamus of adults. To date, no specific chicken RRBS study has been published. These two analyses were carried out by developing an optimized bioinformatics pipeline, available for scientific community. Overall, the pattern of methylation in chicken is like those in mammals: CpG islands - dinucleotides CG-rich regions which are often poorly methylated, and which are found mainly in the promoter regions of the genome - are generally poorly methylated in promoters on WGBS and RRBS data. Embryo methylome analyses confirmed the absence of a dose-compensation phenomenon on sex chromosomes, or the presence of a hypermethylated region on the Z chromosome. The analyses of RRBS data revealed an overall hypermethylation of CGs across the genome, suggesting a methylation response to environmental stress. From the analysis of WGBS data, we found that the level of methylation in promoters was negatively correlated with the expression of the associated gene. For the first time, a specific allele methylation was also detected between chicken lines whose frequency is comparable to that observed in humans. On the RRBS data, preliminary results of the methylome response to environmental stresses showed the complex nature of this relationship. The use of a low-energy diet would led to greater mobilization of body fat, while individuals with heat stress had a lighter body weight. Integrating these data with phenotypic measurements would allow to link methylation and environment. Beyond the fundamental aspect of this thesis, the method developed in this work could be applied to livestock systems to breed animals better adapted to a changing environment, by improving production traits.

A dissertação apresenta os resultados obtidos com o desenvolvimento de um programa de computação abrangente em interface gráfica para ambiente Windows visando a estimativa de parâmetros de interesse genético-populacional (freqüências alélicas, respectivos erros-padrão e intervalos de confiança a 95%) e o teste de hipóteses genéticas (equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg e análise de estruturação hierárquica populacional), por meio de métodos tradicionais e por meio de testes exatos obtidos com procedimentos de simulação (bootstrap e jackknife). / The dissertation presents the results obtained with the development of a comprehensive computation program (software), running on the Windows (MS) graphic interface, with the aim of: (a) estimating parameters of population genetic interest (such as allelic frequencies and their corresponding standard errors and 95% confidence intervals); and (b) performing the testing of genetic hypotheses (Hardy-Weinberg population ratios and analysis of population hierarchical structure) by means of traditional methods as well as through exact tests obtained with computer simulation procedures (bootstrap and jackknife methods).

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2018-06-19T18:56:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 NAYARA LOPES DE SOUZA.pdf: 749306 bytes, checksum: 81981ca0392819388d97ce062f438484 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-19T18:56:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NAYARA LOPES DE SOUZA.pdf: 749306 bytes, checksum: 81981ca0392819388d97ce062f438484 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-13 / Database construction with allelic and genotypic frequencies of STRs has a significant impact on the processes of human identification of different populations. Brazil already has a database of allelic and genotype frequencies of the markers of the autosomal chromosomes and markers of the Y chromosome. However, there are few studies of allelic and genotype frequencies for markers of the X chromosome. These markers have a high discrimination power and have a high rate of resolution in forensic situations, and genetic linkage analysis. The objective of this study was to estimate, in a Brazilian population, allelic and genotypic frequencies, observed in 12 STR markers of the X chromosome, aiming the consolidation of a population database with applications in genetic linkage research. For this, 1,190 genetic profiles of individuals not genetically related and submitted to genetic linkage tests from all regions of Brazil were analyzed. The samples were genotyped using the Investigator® Argus X-12 system (Qiagen, Germany). Capillary electrophoresis was performed on ABI 3500 gene analyzer. Allele frequencies were analyzed using Genetix 4.05.2 and Alerquin ® software and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was analyzed using GenePop 4.1.3 and Alerquin® software. Allele and genotype frequencies were obtained for the 12 STRs of the X chromosome, the 15 allele of the DXS7423 locus was the most frequent, presenting a value corresponding to 0.40 in the female sex and 0.44 in the male sex. However, several alleles in all markers presented frequencies lower than 0.01, being considered rare in the population. No Deviation of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium was observed in the marker set when analyzed simultaneously. The DXS10135 locus had a higher expected heterozygosity than the other loci for females, with a frequency of 0.9445. The observed heterozygosity also presented variation regarding the values found, from 0.9160 to 0.6803. Thus, the Argus X-12 system was informative in the Brazilian population and, therefore, a useful tool in forensic practice, particularly in inconclusive cases and in cases of kinship involving high complexity. / A construção de banco de dados com frequências alélicas e genotípicas de marcadores STRs tem um impacto significativo nos processos de identificação humana de diferentes populações. O Brasil já possui banco de dados de frequências alélicas e genotípicas dos marcadores dos cromossomos autossômicos e marcadores do cromossomo Y. No entanto, existem poucos estudos de frequências alélicas e genotípicas para os marcadores do cromossomo X. Estes marcadores possuem um alto poder de discriminação e apresentam alta taxa de resolutividade em situações forenses, e análises de vínculo genético. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar, em uma amostra populacional brasileira, frequências alélicas e genotípicas, observadas em 12 marcadores STR do cromossomo X visando a consolidação de um banco de dados populacional com aplicações em investigação de vínculo genético. Para isso, foram analisados 1.190 perfis genéticos de indivíduos não relacionados geneticamente e submetidos a testes de investigações de vínculo genético, provenientes de todas as regiões do Brasil. As amostras foram genotipadas utilizando o sistema Investigator® Argus X-12 (Qiagen, Germany). A eletroforese capilar foi realizada no analisador genético ABI 3500. As frequências alélicas e genotípicas foram analisadas com auxílio do software Genetix 4.05.2 e Alerquin®, o equilíbro de Hardy-Weinberg foi analisado através do software GenePop 4.1.3. As frequências alélicas e genotípicas foram obtidas para os 12 marcadores STRs do cromossomo X, o alelo 15 do locus DXS7423 foi o mais frequente, apresentando valor correspondente a 0,40 no sexo feminino e 0,44 no sexo masculino. No entanto, diversos alelos em todos os marcadores apresentaram frequências inferiores a 0,01, sendo considerados raros na população. Não foi observado desvio do Equilíbrio de Hardy- Weinberg no conjunto de marcadores quando analisados simultaneamente. O locus DXS10135 apresentou uma heterozigosidade esperada maior em relação aos outros loci para os indivíduos do sexo feminino, com frequência 0,9445. A heterozigosidade observada também apresentou variação quanto aos valores encontrados, de 0,9160 a 0,6803. Sendo assim, o sistema Argus X-12 apresentou-se informativo na população brasileira, sendo, portanto, uma ferramenta útil na prática forense, particularmente em casos inconclusivos e em casos de parentesco envolvendo alta complexidade.

L’édition du génome utilisant CRISPR/Cas9 est récemment apparue comme une stratégie thérapeutique potentielle des maladies génétiques. Pour les mutations dominantes de type gain de fonction, la correction allèle-spécifique pourrait être l'approche la plus appropriée. Ici, nous avons testé l'inactivation ou la correction d'une mutation hétérozygote du gène de la dynamine 2 (DNM2) causant la forme autosomique dominante de la myopathie centronucléaire (CNM). Des ARN-guides tronqués ciblant spécifiquement l'allèle muté ont été testés sur des cellules de patients et des myoblastes d'un modèle murin. L'allèle muté a été ciblé avec succès et des clones ont été obtenus avec inactivation ou correction précise du génome. Les myoblastes Dnm2R465W/+ ont montré une altération de l'endocytose et de l'autophagie. L'inactivation ou la correction allèle-spécifique a normalisé ces phénotypes. L'allèle muté a également été ciblé avec succès dans les muscles de la souris Dnm2R465W/+. Ces résultats illustrent le potentiel de CRISPR/Cas9 à cibler et corriger de manière allèle-spécifique les mutations ponctuelles hétérozygotes de type de gain de fonction. / Genome editing with the CRISPR/Cas9 technology has emerged recently as a potential strategy for therapy in genetic diseases. For dominant mutations linked to gain-of-function effects, allele-specific correction may be the most suitable approach. Here we tested allele-specific inactivation or correction of a heterozygous mutation in the Dynamin 2 (DNM2) gene causing the autosomal dominant form of centronuclear myopathies (CNM). Truncated single guide RNAs targeting specifically the mutated allele were tested on cells derived from a mouse model and patients. The mutated allele was successfully targeted in patient fibroblasts and Dnm2R465W/+ mouse myoblasts, and clones were obtained with both precise genome correction or inactivation. Dnm2R465W/+ myoblasts showed an alteration in transferrin uptake and autophagy. Specific inactivation or correction of the mutated allele rescued these phenotypes. The mutated allele was also successfully targeted in Dnm2R465W/+ mouse muscles. These findings illustrate the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 to target and correct heterozygous point mutations leading to a gain-of-function effect in an allele-specific manner.

<p>The objective of this study was to develop and validate a six Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping system and to determine its suitability for forensic casework in South Africa. In Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping systems, smaller PCR products are amplified and the primers are positioned as close as possible to the repeat region. For this reason, these systems can be valuable in a variety of scenarios including complex paternity cases, missing persons work, and mass fatality disasters.</p>