The genome of the polar eukaryotic microalga Coccomyxa subellipsoidea reveals traits of cold adaptation

Background

Little is known about the mechanisms of adaptation of life to the extreme environmental conditions encountered in polar regions. Here we present the genome sequence of a unicellular green alga from the division chlorophyta, Coccomyxa subellipsoidea C-169, which we will hereafter refer to as C-169. This is the first eukaryotic microorganism from a polar environment to have its genome sequenced.

Results

The 48.8 Mb genome contained in 20 chromosomes exhibits significant synteny conservation with the chromosomes of its relatives Chlorella variabilis and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The order of the genes is highly reshuffled within synteny blocks, suggesting that intra-chromosomal rearrangements were more prevalent than inter-chromosomal rearrangements. Remarkably, Zepp retrotransposons occur in clusters of nested elements with strictly one cluster per chromosome probably residing at the centromere. Several protein families overrepresented in C. subellipsoidae include proteins involved in lipid metabolism, transporters, cellulose synthases and short alcohol dehydrogenases. Conversely, C-169 lacks proteins that exist in all other sequenced chlorophytes, including components of the glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol anchoring system, pyruvate phosphate dikinase and the photosystem 1 reaction center subunit N (PsaN).

Conclusions

We suggest that some of these gene losses and gains could have contributed to adaptation to low temperatures. Comparison of these genomic features with the adaptive strategies of psychrophilic microbes suggests that prokaryotes and eukaryotes followed comparable evolutionary routes to adapt to cold environments.     

Chronic food shortage and seasonal modulations of daily torpor and locomotor activity in the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)

The extent to which seasonal plasticity in torpor displayed by one of the smallest Malagasy primates (Microcebus murinus) will help survival in the context of ongoing global change-induced chronic food shortage, is unknown. Body temperature (Tb) and locomotor activity were measured by telemetry in short- (SD, winter-acclimated) and long-days (LD, summer-acclimated) males (n = 24) during an experimental 35-day calorie restriction of 40 or 80%. Under SD exposure, regardless of calorie restriction intensity, mouse lemurs immediately increased torpor depth and duration by 4.6-fold, and showed greater phase-advanced entry into torpor (2.4-fold). Tb adjustments were efficient under 40% calorie restriction to maintain body mass, whereas they did not prevent a 0.71 +/- 0.11 g/day mass loss during 80% calorie restriction. The 40% food-deprived LD animals combined an early shallow deepening of torpor (1 degrees C) and a late 18% decrease in locomotor activity, resulting in a moderate 6% mass loss. After 15 days of 80% calorie restriction, LD animals exhibited a SD phenotype by increasing their torpor duration and phase-advancing the entry of torpor (16 min/day). Those adjustments had no impact on mass loss (0.93 +/- 0.07 g/day) as locomotor activity increased four-fold. Daily torpor allows M. murinus to face moderate food shortage whatever the photoperiod but poorly mitigates energy imbalance during severe food deprivation, especially under LD exposure. Although the behavioral thermoregulation role warrants further investigation in energy savings, M. murinus survival would be impaired during long-term food shortage in summer.     

Influence of delayed isotopic equilibration in urine on the accuracy of the (2)H(2)(18)O method in the elderly.

Isotopic determination of total energy expenditure (TEE) by the doubly labeled water (DLW) method may be affected by urine retention in the elderly. The isotopic enrichments in urine and plasma sampled simultaneously 4 h post-DLW dose were compared in a subset of 281 subjects [139 women, 142 men, 75 +/- 3 (SD) yr] of the 3,075 participants in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study. Based on analytic precisions, a +/- 2% urine-plasma difference was set as the cut-off value. Ten percent of the population presented a difference lower than -2%, suggesting a delay in urine isotopic equilibration. This -13 +/- 10% urine-plasma difference was not linked to analytic errors, illnesses, the sampling time, or the time and quantity of water intake, suggesting that urine retention may be the main factor. The consequences are an 18 +/- 13 and 21 +/- 16% overestimation of the total body water and the TEE, respectively. Unexpectedly, 21% of the population presented a urine-plasma difference higher than +/- 2% that resulted, however, in a nonsignificant TEE underestimation of -3 +/- 5%. In conclusion, the delayed isotopic equilibration observed in urine reduces the accuracy of the DLW method in the elderly. It is recommended, when blood sampling is impossible, to adopt the intercept method with urine sampling 24 h postdose.     

Phylogenetic and Genome-Wide Deep-Sequencing Analyses of Canine Parvovirus Reveal Co-Infection with Field Variants and Emergence of a Recent Recombinant Strain

Canine parvovirus (CPV), a fast-evolving single-stranded DNA virus, comprises three antigenic variants (2a, 2b, and 2c) with different frequencies and genetic variability among countries. The contribution of co-infection and recombination to the genetic variability of CPV is far from being fully elucidated. Here we took advantage of a natural CPV population, recently formed by the convergence of divergent CPV-2c and CPV-2a strains, to study co-infection and recombination. Complete sequences of the viral coding region of CPV-2a and CPV-2c strains from 40 samples were generated and analyzed using phylogenetic tools. Two samples showed co-infection and were further analyzed by deep sequencing. The sequence profile of one of the samples revealed the presence of CPV-2c and CPV-2a strains that differed at 29 nucleotides. The other sample included a minor CPV-2a strain (13.3% of the viral population) and a major recombinant strain (86.7%). The recombinant strain arose from inter-genotypic recombination between CPV-2c and CPV-2a strains within the VP1/VP2 gene boundary. Our findings highlight the importance of deep-sequencing analysis to provide a better understanding of CPV molecular diversity.     

MSCs—cells with many sides

The field of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) biology and clinical cellular therapy has grown exponentially over the last few decades. With discovery of multiple tissue specific sources of stromal cells, invariably being termed MSCs, and their increasing clinical application, there is a need to further delineate the true definition of a mesenchymal stromal cell and to recognise the inherit differences between cell sources; both their potential and limitations.In this review, we discuss the importance of considering every stromal cell source as an independent entity and the need to critically evaluate and appreciate the true phenotype of these cells and their safety when considering their use in novel cell therapies.     

Optimal processing method to obtain four-color confocal fluorescent images of the cytoskeleton and nucleus in three-dimensional chondrocyte cultures.

Tissue engineering of articular cartilage requires accurate imaging of the chondrocyte cytoskeleton. Past studies have applied various fixation and permeabilization protocols without optimization of parameters. In this study, we have examined procedures using glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde as fixatives and Triton X-100 and Octyl-POE as permeabilizing detergents. A four-color fluorescence confocal method was developed to simultaneously image actin, tubulin, vimentin, and the nucleus. We found optimal preservation and morphology of the chondrocyte cytoskeleton after simultaneous fixation and permeabilization with glutaraldehyde and Triton X-100. These images displayed less cellular shrinkage and higher-resolution filamentous structures than with paraformaldehyde or when permeabilization followed fixation.