The increasing demand for seaweed extracts has led to the introduction of non-native seaweeds for farming purposes in many tropical regions. Such intentional introductions can lead to spread of non-native seaweeds from farming areas, which can become established in and alter the dynamics of the recipient ecosystems. While tropical seaweeds are of great interest for aquaculture, and have received much attention as pests in the coral reef literature, little is known about the problems and potential of natural populations, or the role of natural seaweed beds in the tropical seascape. This thesis aims to investigate the spread of non-native genetic strains of the tropical macroalga Eucheuma denticulatum, which have been intentionally introduced for seaweed farming purposes in East Africa, and to evaluate the state of the genetically distinct but morphologically similar native populations. Additionally it aims to investigate the ecological role of seaweed beds in terms of the habitat utilization by fish and mobile invertebrate epifauna. The thesis also aims to evaluate the potential of native populations of eucheumoid seaweeds in regard to seaweed farming. The initial results showed that non-native E. denticulatum is the dominating form of wild eucheumoid, not only in areas in close proximity to seaweed farms, but also in areas where farming has never occurred, while native eucheumoids are now scarce (Paper I). The low frequency of native E. denticulatum in seaweed beds, coupled with a low occurrence of reproductive structures, indicates that the effective population size may be low, which in turn may be a threat under changing environmental conditions. These results, combined with indications that seaweeds may be declining in East Africa, illustrates the need for attaining a better understanding of the ecological role of tropical seaweed habitats. The studies on the faunal communities of seaweed beds showed that they are species rich habitats, with high abundances of juvenile fish and mobile epifauna (Paper II and III), strongly indicating that these habitats should be considered for future seascape studies and management actions. Productivity in East African seaweed farming is decreasing, and as the current cultivation is based on a single non-indigenous haplotype, a more diverse genetic base has been suggested as a means to achieve a more productive and sustainable seaweed farming. Although our results show that East African E. denticulatum has a lower growth rate than the currently used cultivar (Paper IV), the several native haplotypes that are present in wild populations illustrates that, though a demanding endeavour, there is potential for strain selection within native populations. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Sequence analysis and structure analysis are two of the fundamental areas of bioinformatics research. This dissertation discusses, specifically, protein structure related problems including protein structure alignment and query, and genome sequence related problems including haplotype reconstruction and genome rearrangement. It first presents an algorithm for pairwise protein structure alignment that is tested with structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). In many cases it outperforms two other well-known algorithms, DaliLite and CE. The preliminary algorithm is a graph-theory based approach, which uses the concept of \stars" to reduce the complexity of clique-finding algorithms. The algorithm is then improved by introducing \double-center stars" in the graph and applying a self-learning strategy. The updated algorithm is tested with a much larger set of protein structures and shown to be an improvement in accuracy, especially in cases of weak similarity. A protein structure query algorithm is designed to search for similar structures in the PDB, using the improved alignment algorithm. It is compared with SSM and shows better performance with lower maximum and average Q-score for missing proteins. An interesting problem dealing with the calculation of the diameter of a 3-D sequence of points arose and its connection to the sublinear time computation is discussed. The diameter calculation of a 3-D sequence is approximated by a series of sublinear time deterministic, zero-error and bounded-error randomized algorithms and we have obtained a series of separations about the power of sublinear time computations. This dissertation also discusses two genome sequence related problems. A probabilistic model is proposed for reconstructing haplotypes from SNP matrices with incomplete and inconsistent errors. The experiments with simulated data show both high accuracy and speed, conforming to the theoretically provable e ciency and accuracy of the algorithm. Finally, a genome rearrangement problem is studied. The concept of non-breaking similarity is introduced. Approximating the exemplar non-breaking similarity to factor n1..f is proven to be NP-hard. Interestingly, for several practical cases, several polynomial time algorithms are presented.

The method of combination p-values from multiple tests is the foundation for some studies like meta-analysis and detection of signal. There are tremendous methods have been developed and applied like minimum p-values, Cauchy Combination, goodness-of-fit combination and Fisher’s combination. In this paper, I tested their ability to detect signals which is related to real case in biology to find out significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). I simulated p-values for SNPs logistics regression model and test 7 combination methods’ power performance in different setting conditions. I compared sparse or dense signals, dependent or independent and combine them in gene-level or pathway-level. One method based on Fisher’s combination called Omni-TFisher is ideal for most of the situations. Recent years, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) focused on BMD-related SNPs at gene significance level. In this paper I used Omni-TFisher to analyses real data on haplotype blocks. As a result, haplotype blocks can find more SNPs in non-coding and intergeneric regions than gene-based and save computational complexity. It finds out not only known genes, but also other genes need further verification.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:38:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ISABELLA LACERDA FERNANDES.pdf: 1467834 bytes, checksum: 985b4aa7bf961993ef7672d3838bc086 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-31 / Microsatellite markers are short sequences, repetitive, highly polymorphic and hereditary present in the DNA, which follow the Mendelian pattern of segregation. Due to its haplotype heritage has been used to trace the paternal line to be passed from generation to generation without any changes, except in cases of mutation. The stepwise mutation model is more acceptable to mutation in microsatellite markers, assuming that each mutational event the length of a microsatellite changes by one or a few repeating units due to slippage process, which occurs during replication DNA. This study aimed to estimate the rates of change of microsatellite markers of the Y chromosome in a sample of the population and its implications in human identification process. It is a molecular study, which was conducted at Biocroma Laboratory in partnership with LaGene and Replicon in Goiânia-Goiás. Samples of study were selected from 80 cases of investigation of paternity by DNA analysis, undergo mutation analysis in the Y chromosome haplotypes with molecular amplification system PowerPlex® Y23 System - Promega Corporation. Were identified 15 records of germline mutations in the Y chromosome between alleged parents and children related to suspected samples. The results have identified 9 mutations gain and 6 mutations loss of repetitions numbers. The DYS576 marker had the highest number of reported mutations (20%), followed by DYS570, which identified two mutations (13.33%). The markers DYS389 II, DYS391, DYS481, DYS549, DYS438, DYS439, DYS393, DYS458, DYS385 a - b DYS456 showed only 1 (6.66%) mutation record each. In the other markers, DYS389 I, DYS448, DYS19, DYS533, DYS437, DYS635, DYS390, DYS392, DYS643 and Y-GATA-H4 mutations were not identified in the samples analyzed in this study. Thus the identification of mutations increases the tools that are used in genetic analysis link laboratories and can deliver a more reliable result minimizing potential errors in the analyzes. / Os marcadores microssatélites são sequências curtas, repetitivas, altamente polimórficas e hereditárias presentes no DNA, que seguem o padrão mendeliano de segregação. Devido a sua herança haplotípica tem sido utilizado para rastrear a linhagem paterna por ser passado de geração em geração sem nenhuma alteração, exceto em casos de mutação. O modelo step-wise mutation é o mais aceito para mutação nos marcadores microssatélites, admitindo-se que, a cada evento mutacional o comprimento de um microssatélite altera por uma ou poucas unidades de repetição devido ao processo de slippage, que ocorre durante a replicação do DNA. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar as taxas de mutações dos marcadores microssatélites do cromossomo Y em uma amostra da população brasileira e suas implicações no processo de identificação humana. Trata-se de um estudo molecular, que foi conduzido no Laboratório Biocroma em parceria com o LaGene e Replicon em Goiânia-Goiás. As amostras de estudo foram selecionadas de 80 casos de investigação de paternidade pela análise do DNA, submetidos a análise de mutações nos haplótipos do cromossomo Y com o sistema de amplificação molecular PowerPlex® Y23 System Promega Corporation. Foram identificados 15 registros de mutações germinativas no cromossomo Y entre supostos pais e supostos filhos referentes às amostras analisadas. Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar 9 mutações de ganho e 6 mutações de perda de números de repetições. O marcador DYS576 apresentou o maior número de mutações registrados (20%), seguido pelo DYS570, que permitiu identificar 2 mutações (13,33%). Os marcadores DYS389 II, DYS391, DYS481, DYS549, DYS438, DYS439, DYS393, DYS458, DYS385 a-b e DYS456 apresentaram apenas 1 (6,66%) registro de mutação cada. Nos demais marcadores, DYS389 I, DYS448, DYS19, DYS533, DYS437, DYS635, DYS390, DYS392, DYS643 e Y-GATA-H4 não foram identificadas mutações nas amostras analisadas neste estudo. Desta forma a identificação das mutações aumenta as ferramentas que são utilizadas nos laboratórios de análise de vínculo genético e que podem garantir um resultado mais confiável minimizando possíveis erros nas análises.

Introdução: Mucopolissacaridose IVA é uma doença lisossômica, autossômica recessiva, causada pela deficiência da enzima N-acetilgalactosamina-6-sulfatase. É uma doença rara e a incidência varia de 1:76.000 a 1:640.000 recém-nascidos vivos. Até o momento 319 diferentes mutações causadoras da doença já foram identificadas, o que demonstra a ampla variabilidade genética. Objetivo: Caracterizar o genótipo de pacientes com MPS IVA, analisar 6 polimorfismos intragênicos e identificar os haplótipos presentes em nossos pacientes, através do estudo molecular do gene GALNS. Métodos: O estudo foi realizado em 45 pacientes provenientes das regiões Nordeste, Sudeste, e Sul do Brasil, com diagnóstico bioquímico confirmado para MPS IVA. A análise molecular foi realizada através de PCR seguida de sequenciamento, pelo método de Sanger, a fim de identificar as mutações causadoras da doença. Para o estudo de haplótipos foram analisados 6 polimorfismos intragênicos através de PCR em Tempo Real, pelo método Taqman, em pacientes e controles. Resultados: A análise do gene GALNS, nos 45 pacientes, permitiu a identificação de 18 diferentes mutações, e a caracterização de 6 haplótipos distintos. Das 18 mutações encontradas, 5 apresentaram uma alta frequência (p.Ser341Arg, p.Arg386Cys, p.Gly301Cys, p.Arg94Leu e p.Gly116Ser), além disso, foram encontradas 4 novas mutações em outros três pacientes (p.Gly115Arg, p.Asn45Gly, p.Thr394Ala e c.759-2A>G). Dentre as mutações encontradas com maior frequência, a mutação p.Ser341Arg foi identificada em um maior número de pacientes, sendo a maioria proveniente da região Nordeste. Além disso, todos os pacientes com esta mutação apresentaram um único haplótipo. Conclusão: Os resultados obtidos permitiram a identificação de 18 mutações dentre elas 4 novas mutações. A alta frequência da mutação p.Ser341Arg no Nordeste do Brasil, principalmente no estado da Paraíba nos leva a inferir um possível efeito fundador da doença. Esta mutação foi observada somente na população brasileira e todos os pacientes com mutação em homozigose apresentaramum único haplótipo. Estas análises são importantes para identificar portadores nas famílias, para diagnóstico pré-natal, e também como forma de identificar uma origem comum em mutações frequentes em determinadas populações. / Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA is an autosomal recessive lysosomal disease, caused by deficiency of N-acetilgalactosamina-6-sulfatase. It is a rare disease and the incidence ranges from 1: 76,000 to 1:640,000 live births. To date 319 mutations have been identified in this gene, demonstrating the wide variability of disease causing mutations. Objective: Analyze and characterize the genotype of patients with MPS IVA, through molecular analysis of GALNS. Methods: Molecular analysis of 45 patients with confirmed biochemical diagnosis for MPS IVA was performed. Mutation analysis was performed by PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Haplotype analysis was performed using 6 intragenic polymorphisms by Real-Time PCR. Results: In this study we found 18 different mutations among 45 Brazilian patients and identified 5 common mutations (p.Ser341Arg, p.Arg386Cys, p.Gly301Cys, p.Arg94Leu e p.Gly116Ser). Four novel mutations were also identified through molecular analysis, including: p.Gly115Arg, p.Asn45Gly, p.Thr394Ala e c.759-2A>G. Patients are distributed in Northeast, Southeast and South regions of Brazil. Six different haplotypes were identified among patients. The p.Ser341Arg mutation showed the highest frequency, and most patients are located in the Northeast, additionally, all patients with this mutation show the same haplotype.Conclusion: These analyzes are important to identify carriers in families, for prenatal diagnosis, and in order to identify the mutation origin when certain recurrent mutation is associated with the same haplotype. In this study, we observed a high frequency of p.Ser341Arg mutation in Northeast, mainly in the state of Paraíba. This mutation was detected with higher frequency among patients, and showed only a haplotype. This mutation is unique for the Brazilian population and thus, we could suggest that a possible founder effect for this mutation could exist.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is one of the most variable regions in the vertebrate genome. Many genes within the MHC play important roles in the development of an immune response, including the response to pathogens, by presenting pathogen fragments to T cells. Pathogen-mediated balancing selection is thought to be important in maintaining the high levels of allelic variation at these loci, though the precise mechanism remains unclear. The number of studies of MHC diversity in non-model organisms has increased dramatically in recent years as genotype data have become cheaper and easier to generate; however, key limitations in many such studies remain a lack of high quality MHC genotypes and associated phenotype data. Many studies focus on a single MHC locus, assuming that one locus will represent the full range of variation within each MHC haplotype. Alternatively, the products of different loci may co-amplify, preventing locus-specific genotypes and hence heterozygosity being accurately determined. Non-model systems are also often limited by small sample sizes and limited recording of associated host and pathogen measures, which, combined with high levels of allelic variation at MHC loci, can limit statistical power. Finally, few MHC studies control for the general effect of relatedness in explaining host traits before testing for MHC effects. With so many methodological impediments, it is challenging to identify robust associations between MHC variation and host phenotypes, such as parasite burden or fitness, and to draw conclusions about the mechanisms underpinning the maintenance of diversity at MHC loci. In this thesis, I address these problems by developing a SNP-based haplotyping system for a population of unmanaged Soay sheep (Ovis aries) on Hirta, St. Kilda, for which data is available on pedigree, phenotypic traits and fitness and its components over a 30- year study period. The ovine MHC consists of four classes of loci, within which loci are tightly clustered and show reduced recombination rates compared to the genome average. Although the mammalian MHC is usually highly variable, one would expect that the number of haplotypes within an MHC class in an island population of sheep with no immigration to be limited. The class IIa region of the ovine MHC includes the classical class II loci which are typically thought to be involved in the presentation of peptides derived from extracellular pathogens, including gastrointestinal helminths, in sheep and other mammals. In chapters 2 to 4, I describe the characterisation of class IIa haplotypic diversity in the Soay sheep using direct Sanger sequencing of PCR amplified fragments, which, in combination with cloning, revealed eight distinct haplotypes. With this knowledge of haplotypic diversity, and genotypes for a sample of Soay sheep typed on the Ovine Infinium HD chip (approximately 600K SNPs), I developed a panel of 13 SNPs which could be used to impute the class IIa haplotypes. This panel was genotyped by KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) in 6034 samples and used to impute the class IIa haplotypes. After quality control measures, class IIa haplotypes were successfully imputed for 5349 individuals. Evidence of balancing selection was identified using the Ewens-Watterson test at different life history stages and within the standing population each year between 1985 and 2012, showing that allele frequencies were more even than would be expected under neutrality. However, there was no evidence of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium identified at different life stages or in the standing population in any year. In chapter 5, I investigate associations between the MHC class IIa haplotypes and individual-level data on host phenotypes - body weight, plasma immunoglobulin levels (measured as anti-Teladorsagia circumcincta third larval stage IgA, IgE and IgG) and strongyle faecal egg counts (FEC). Associations were tested within mixed effects models which were used to account for repeated measures and control for fixed effects known to affect the response variables, as well as within an animal model framework to account for relatedness between individuals. Haplotype heterozygosity was unrelated to any of the traits investigated, suggesting a general heterozygote advantage is unlikely to be operating within the Soay sheep. Six of the eight class IIa haplotypes were associated with multiple traits in different age-sex classes, although many of these associations were removed after inclusion within animal models. The evidence of balancing selection and associations between class IIa haplotypes and phenotypes related to health offers a promising glimpse into the evolutionary mechanisms which may be operating to maintain diversity within this region.

Schizophrenia is one of our most common psychiatric diseases. It severely affects all aspects of psychological functions and results in loss of contact with reality. No cure exists and the treatments available today produce only partial relief for disease symptoms. The aim of this work is to better understand the etiology of schizophrenia by identification of candidate genes and gene pathways involved in the development of the disease. In a preliminarily study, the effects of medication and genetic factors were investigated in a candidate gene, serotonin 2C receptor. This study distinguished pharmacological effects, caused by neuroleptics, and/or genetic effects, caused by unique polymorphisms, from other effects responsible for mRNA expression changes on candidate genes. The core of the thesis describes a new candidate gene for schizophrenia, the quaking homolog, KH domain RNA binding (mouse) or QKI, located on chromosome 6q26-q27. The identification of QKI is supported by previous linkage studies, current association studies and mRNA expression studies using three different sample sets. The investigated samples included a 12-generation pedigree with 16 distantly related schizophrenic cases and their parents, 176 unrelated nuclear families with at least one affected child in each family and human brain autopsies from 55 schizophrenic cases and from 55 controls. Indirect evidence showing involvement of QKI in myelin regulation of central nervous system is presented. Myelin plays an important role in development of normal brains and disruption of QKI might lead to schizophrenia symptoms. In a forth sample set, including extended pedigrees originated from a geographically isolated area above the Arctic Circle, in northeast Sweden, two additional schizophrenia susceptibility loci were identified, 2q13 and 5q21. Both these regions have previously been highlighted as potential schizophrenia loci in several other investigations, including a large Finnish study. This suggests common schizophrenia susceptibility loci for Nordic populations. A pilot investigation including a genome wide haplotype analysis is presented. This statistical strategy could be further developed and applied to the artic Swedish families, including analysis of 900 microsatellites and 10,000 SNPs. These findings will facilitate the understanding of the schizophrenia etiology and may lead to development of more efficient treatments for patients that suffer from schizophrenia.

Prostate cancer constitutes the most common malignancy and the most common cause of cancer‐related death in Swedish men. A large body of evidence suggests that inherited genetic variants contribute to both development and progression of prostate cancer. The aim of this thesis is to identify genetic variants that alter prostate cancer risk and progression. All papers included in this thesis are based on a Swedish population‐based case‐control study (CAPS) comprising 2,965 incident prostate cancer cases and 1,823 controls. In paper I, we investigated if genetic variants in the E‐cadherin gene altered prostate cancer risk. Seven haplotype tagging SNPs(tagSNPs) were selected and genotyped in CAPS and families with hereditary prostate cancer. We confirmed association of a promoter SNP rs16260 previously reported to increase risk of hereditary prostate cancer (OR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.6‐4.3) for homozygous ‘A’ carriers. In paper II, we assessed 46 polymorphisms earlier reported to be associated with prostate cancer risk. Six polymorphisms in five different genes were replicated. Interestingly, three of these genes were involved in the androgen biosynthesis. In paper III, we followed up on the results from paper II by genotyping 23 tagSNPs located in the hormone regulating genes AR, CYP17 and SRD5A2. Multiple SNPs and haplotypes were associated with prostate cancer risk, especially in the AR gene. Combining risk alleles from all genes revealed a substantial risk increase for each additional allele carried (OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.1‐1.2, P=0.00009). In paper IV, we collected information about cause of death for all case patients in CAPS. At time of follow‐up 300 study subjects were deceased from prostate cancer. We assessed AR, CYP17 and SRD5A2 variants for association with lethal prostate cancer and found overall no association. However, one AR promoter SNP was associated with an increased risk of dying from prostate cancer amongst men who received palliative hormonal therapy as primary treatment. In paper V, we assessed common genetic variation at the ERG locus for association between prostate cancer risk and survival. ERG is recognized as a protooncogene frequently overexpressed in prostate cancer. A total of 21 tagSNPs in the 5’ region of ERG were genotyped. There was no correlation between ERG SNPs and prostate cancer risk but common genetic variation located approximately 100,000 basepairs upstream of ERG was significantly associated with prostate cancer specific survival. In summary, our results suggest that common genetic variation in Ecadherin alters prostate cancer risk in Swedish men with a positive family history of prostate cancer. Moreover, common genetic variation in the androgen‐related genes AR, CYP17 and SRD5A2 affects the risk of developing prostate cancer but is unlikely to alter prostate cancer progression. However, genetic variants in AR may affect hormonal therapy response. Finally, ERG polymorphisms are associated with prostate cancer‐specific death but are not likely to play a role in prostate cancer development.

La mucoviscidose est une maladie à transmission autosomique récessive, due à des mutations du gène CFTR. Les patients, partageant de mêmes mutations de CFTR et un même environnement, ont une expression phénotypique variable, suggérant l'influence d'autres gènes modifiant la sévérité de la maladie, appelés gènes modificateurs. L'atteinte respiratoire, caractérisée par une inflammation exacerbée, est un facteur principal de morbimortalité. L'haplotype ancestral AH8.1, impliqué dans la réponse inflammatoire, est constitué de 4 variants : LTa +252A/G, TNF -308G/A, HSPA1B +1267A/G et AGER -429T/C. Ainsi, l'objectif était de rechercher une association entre l'haplotype AH8.1 et la sévérité de l'atteinte respiratoire. Nous avons montré dans une cohorte de 404 patients européens, porteurs de différentes mutations de CFTR, que AH8.1 était associé au déclin de la fonction respiratoire. Nous avons taché de répliquer nos résultats dans une cohorte homogène de 1089 patients français, F508del homozygotes, sans succès à ce jour. Nous poursuivons cette étude chez des patients porteurs d'autres mutations de CFTR. Les variants de cet haplotype ont également été étudié séparément. Nous avons ainsi montré que AGER-429T/C, non seulement modulait la sévérité de l'atteinte respiratoire, mais, était également associé in vitro à une plus grande production de la protéine RAGE. L'ensemble de ces résultats suggère à ce jour que l'haplotype AH8.1 pourrait moduler la sévérité de l'atteinte respiratoire des patients non homozygotes pour la mutation CFTR F508del. De plus, le variant AGER-429T/C seul, modulant la sévérité de l'atteinte respiratoire, la protéine RAGE pourrait être envisagée comme biomarqueur dans la mucoviscidose. Mots clés : mucoviscidose - gène modificateur - haplotype ancestral AH8.1 - RAGE

Accessibility of high-throughput genotyping technology makes possible genome-wide association studies for common complex diseases. When dealing with common diseases, it is necessary to search and analyze multiple independent causes resulted from interactions of multiple genes scattered over the entire genome. The optimization formulations for searching disease-associated risk/resistant factors and predicting disease susceptibility for given case-control study have been introduced. Several discrete methods for disease association search exploiting greedy strategy and topological properties of case-control studies have been developed. New disease susceptibility prediction methods based on the developed search methods have been validated on datasets from case-control studies for several common diseases. Our experiments compare favorably the proposed algorithms with the existing association search and susceptibility prediction methods.