Biology subjects

Cokelaer, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Cokelaer, T..

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

KozakExplorer: an interactive framework for genome-wide Kozak sequence analysis

Translation initiation signals shape gene expression across all domains of life. In eukaryotes, nu-cleotide constraints surrounding the start codon are commonly described by the Kozak Consensus Sequence (KCS), whereas in bacteria and archaea, initiation frequently involves Shine-Dalgarno ribosome-binding motifs. Although these signals have been extensively characterized in model or-ganisms, their large-scale diversity and evolutionary distribution remain incompletely explored. We present KozakExplorer, a reproducible framework for quantitative and comparative analysis of translation initiation contexts from genome assemblies and annotations. The software per-forms strand-aware extraction of start codon environments from FASTA and GFF3 files and ap-plies information-theoretic metrics--including Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence and information content (IC)--to measure positional nucleotide constraints relative to a background model. Derived summary statistics (Kozak Strength Index [KSI], maximum information content, peak position) con-vert motif patterns into interpretable per-genome signatures suitable for cross-species comparison. Our primary analysis covers 2,282 eukaryotic reference genomes, producing a standardized dataset of translation initiation metrics. Dimensionality reduction via t-SNE on per-position KL divergence, information content, and motif nucleotide frequencies reveals a structured eukaryotic KCS land-scape with kingdom-level clustering and continuous variation in signal strength. A dedicated case study of 216 Apicomplexa genomes shows genus-level structure consistent with host range and phylogeny. An extended analysis across 25,344 reference genomes (22,253 bacteria, 809 archaea) places eukaryotic patterns in a global comparative framework, revealing transitions between sharply localized Kozak motifs and distributed Shine-Dalgarno-type signatures. Implemented within the open-source Sequana ecosystem, KozakExplorer is distributed as a Python module and an interactive web application that accepts local annotated assemblies, GenBank records, or NCBI RefSeq accessions, and exports all computed metrics, embeddings, and coordi-nates for downstream comparative and evolutionary genomics. AvailabilityImplemented in Python within the Sequana framework. Source code available at https://github.com/sequana/sequana and https://github.com/sequana/webapp_kozak. Contactthomas.cokelaer@pasteur.fr

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2026

Tunneling nanotubes mediate mitochondrial homeostasis in cancer

Tumor progression is driven by cancer cells ability to establish a cellular network through tunneling nanotube-like connections (TNTs), which enable mitochondrial exchange both within the tumor cells and with the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the effects of mitochondrial transfer between tumor and non-tumor cells, and its occurrence in vivo, remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate bidirectional mitochondrial transfer: damaged mitochondria from Glioblastoma (GBM) cells trigger mitophagy in non-tumoral astrocytes (AS), while healthy mitochondria from AS enhance the metabolic activity of GBM cells. Furthermore, intravital subcellular microscopy (ISMic) in a live animal model, allowed the visualization of TNT connections with characteristics similar to those observed in vitro and supported TNT-mediated mitochondrial transfer in vivo. These findings provide critical insights into TME interactions and their contribution to cancer resilience, highlighting TNTs as a potential target for therapeutic intervention and paving the way for further research into their role in cancer.

Cancer Biology↗

bioRxiv2026

LORA: a polymorphic multi-sample LOng Read Assembly pipeline.

Genome assembly from long-read sequencing data has become a standard approach for resolving complex genomic regions and producing high-contiguity assemblies. However, the diversity of available assemblers, their varying performance across species, and the need for reproducible workflows present ongoing challenges. We developed LORA, an easy-to-use and reproducible application for assembling genomes from long-read data. LORA integrates several well-established assemblers, including Canu, HiFiasm, Flye, and Unicycler, as well as more recent tools such as Necat and Pecat. It is implemented as a Snakemake pipeline to parallelize tasks and support seamless execution on both local machines and computing clusters. LORA includes multiple quality assessment steps, interactive HTML reports for interpretation, BLAST-based taxonomic identification, and completeness evaluation. Together, these features provide users with a comprehensive view of assembly quality and potential problematic. We illustrate the capabilities of LORA using datasets from bacterial genomes and unicellular eukaryotes, sequenced with both PacBio and Oxford Nanopore technologies, highlighting typical outcomes and common pitfalls encountered during long-read assemblies. LORA is distributed as part of the Sequana project, an open-source framework designed for reproducibility, maintainability, and straightforward deployment across computing environments.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2025

Intrinsic differences in hamster and mouse macrophage biology correlate with susceptibility to L. donovani infection

The basis for differential susceptibility to Leishmania (L.) donovani infection observed in individuals remains poorly understood. Here we address this important open question comparing bone marrow-derived macrophages from susceptible hamsters (hamBMDMs) and resistant mice (mBMDMs) to identify intrinsic cellular features that may contribute to host-specific outcomes. We first optimized and validated an experimental protocol for generating hamBMDMs, which closely resemble classical mouse BMDMs in terms of morphology, marker gene expression and phagocytic activity. Comparative transcriptomic analysis uncovered rodent-specific, intrinsic differences in the expression of metabolic and immune-related pathways known to influence susceptibility to intracellular Leishmania infection. In vitro infection assays confirmed the microbicidal capacity of hamBMDMs, while also revealing their increased permissiveness to Leishmania proliferation. In conclusion, the combined use of murine and hamster macrophage systems provides a powerful platform to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying L. donovani survival and host resistance. Our improved protocol allows for the generation of large quantities of functionally validated hamster macrophages, enabling systems-level investigations in this important rodent model that more accurately reflects human infection dynamics than mice. This addresses a major bottleneck in experimental infections with L. donovani, but also other clinically relevant pathogens, such as Mycobacterium spp. and SARS-CoV-2, for which hamsters have been used to model human infection.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2025

Cross-subgenus hybridization between Leishmania and Sauroleishmania informs on parasite genomic compatibility and transcriptomic adaptation

Leishmania parasites can enter a cryptic sexual reproductive cycle generating hybrid genotypes that can lead to unpredictable clinical outcomes and transmission cycles. Despite the importance of hybrids in Leishmania epidemiology, the mechanisms involved in their formation - including the impact of parental genetic distance - remain poorly understood. We report the in vitro generation of a hybrid between Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum and Leishmania (Sauroleishmania) tarentolae, two species from sister phylogenetic clades circulating across Southern Italy, providing evidence of genomic compatibility. Whole-Genome Sequencing indicates that, while the hybrid is largely tetraploid, its genome is not just the sum of its parental content. RNA-seq analysis of the hybrid transcriptome uncovers significant differences in the abundance of orthologous transcripts expressed from both parental genomes, driven by either parent-specific gene copy number variations or differential mRNA turnover. These results demonstrate that, beyond genomic restructuring, post-transcriptional regulation may serve as an additional mechanism shaping viable hybrid phenotypes, potentially enhancing parasite adaptability and fitness.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Revisiting oxygen toxicity: evolution and adaptation to superoxide in a SOD-deficient bacterial pathogen

Defenses against oxidants are crucial for the virulence of pathogens, with superoxide scavenging enzymes (SOSEs) playing a vital role for most aerobes. However, our knowledge of superoxide adaptation primarily stems from the study of SOSE-encoding bacteria. Here, we investigated the evolution of a naturally SOSE-deficient pathogen (Leptospira spp.), along with the alternative mechanisms it recruits to combat superoxide stress. We demonstrate that emergence of pathogenic Leptospira correlated with SOD loss, but that a long-lasting adaptation to superoxide remains possible. We reveal that cysteine and leucine biosynthesis are the most induced pathways in response to superoxide and demonstrate the importance of sulfur metabolism in superoxide adaptation in this SOSE-deficient model. We also propose cysteine oxidation as a key mediator of superoxide toxicity in the absence of SOSEs. This study challenges our conventional understanding of the oxygen toxicity theory and proposes a new model of superoxide adaptation through metabolic rewiring in bacteria.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

The Leptospira HemKR two-component system regulates heme/iron homeostasis by sensing 5-aminolevulinic acid

Heme and iron metabolic pathways are highly intertwined, both compounds being essential for key biological processes, yet becoming toxic if overabundant. Their concentrations are exquisitely regulated, including via dedicated two-component systems (TCSs) that sense signals and regulate adaptive responses. HemKR is a TCS involved in the control of heme metabolism in Leptospira spirochetes. However, the signals and molecular means by which HemKR is switched on/off, are still unknown. Moreover, a comprehensive list of HemKR-regulated genes, potentially overlapped with iron-responsive targets, is also missing. Here we show that 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a committed porphyrin biosynthesis precursor, triggers the shutdown of the HemKR pathway by stimulating the phosphatase activity of HemK towards phosphorylated HemR. HemR dephosphorylation leads to differential expression of multiple genes, including of heme metabolism and transport systems. Furthermore, HemR inactivation brings about an iron-deficit tolerant phenotype, synergistically with iron-responsive signalling systems. Such tolerance could be vital during infection in pathogenic Leptospira species, which comprise a conserved HemKR TCS. In sum, HemKR responds to abundance of porphyrin metabolites by shutting down and controlling heme homeostasis, while also contributing to integrate the regulation of heme and iron metabolism in the L. biflexa spirochete model.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

TALEN-induced contraction of CTG trinucleotide repeats in myotonic dystrophy type 1 cells

Trinucleotide repeat expansions are the cause of two dozen neurodegenerative and developmental disorders. One of these, myotonic dystrophy type 1 (Steinert disease, or DM1) is due to the expansion of a CTG triplet in the 3 UTR of the DMPK gene. We used highly specific DNA endonucleases to induce a double-strand break in the repeat tract to contract it below pathological length. Expression of a TALE Nuclease (TALEN) in human DM1 cells induced moderate CTG repeat contractions in 27% of the clones analyzed. These clones exhibited large internal deletions within the TALEN, occurring by homologous recombination between internal TALE repeats, inactivating the nuclease, and explaining its reduced efficacy. Taking advantage of the degeneracy of the genetic code, we recoded the TALEN sequence, to decrease internal redundancy and optimize codon usage. The new recoded TALEN showed increased efficacy in DM1 cells, with 68% of clones exhibiting a moderate to large contraction of the CTG repeat tract. In contrast, Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SaCas9) was unable to contract the CTG repeat tract. In parallel, we completely sequenced to very high coverage the DM1 genome using the PacBio technology. Several clones in which the TALEN was induced were also totally sequenced. In some of them, length changes of other long CTG repeats were detected, possibly corresponding to off-target effects, all of them in introns or intergenic regions. Repeat contractions were never associated with recombination of flanking markers, suggesting that contractions most probably occur by an intra-allelic mechanism such as single-strand annealing. TALENs should now be considered as a promising gene therapy approach, not only for DM1 but also for many other microsatellite expansion disorders.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2023

Belt and braces: two escape ways to maintain the cassette reservoir of large chromosomal integrons

Integrons are adaptive devices that capture, stockpile, shuffle and express gene cassettes thereby sampling combinatorial phenotypic diversity. Some integrons called sedentary chromosomal integrons (SCIs) can be massive structures containing hundreds of cassettes. Since most of these cassettes are non-expressed, it is not clear how they remain stable over long evolutionary timescales. Recently, it was found that the experimental inversion of the SCI of Vibrio cholerae led to a dramatic increase of the cassette excision rate associated to a fitness defect. Here, we question the evolutionary sustainability of this apparently counter selected genetic context through experimental evolution. We find that the integrase is rapidly inactivated and that the inverted SCI can recover its original orientation by homologous recombination between two insertion sequences (ISs) present in the array. These two outcomes of SCI inversion restore the normal growth and prevent the loss of cassettes, enabling SCIs to retain their roles as reservoirs of functions. These results illustrate an interesting interplay between gene orientation, genome rearrangement, bacterial fitness and demonstrate how integrons can benefit from their embedded ISs.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2023

Metabolic reprogramming during Candida albicans planktonic-biofilm transition is modulated by the ZCF15 and ZCF26 paralogs

Candida albicans is a commensal of the human microbiota that can form biofilms on implanted medical devices. These biofilms are tolerant to antifungals and to the host immune system. To identify novel genes modulating C. albicans biofilm formation, we performed a large-scale screen with 2454 C. albicans doxycycline-dependent overexpression strains and identified 16 genes whose overexpression significantly hampered biofilm formation. Among those, overexpression of the ZCF15 and ZCF26 paralogs that encode transcription factors and have orthologs only in biofilm-forming species of the Candida clade, caused impaired biofilm formation both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, overexpression of ZCF15 specifically impeded biofilm formation without any defect in hyphal growth. Transcript profiling, transcription factor binding, and phenotypic microarray analyses conducted upon overexpression of ZCF15 and ZCF26 demonstrated their direct role in reprogramming cellular metabolism by regulating glycolytic cycle and tricarboxylic acid cycle genes. Taken together, this study has identified a new set of biofilm regulators, including ZCF15 and ZCF26, that appear to control biofilm development through their specific role in metabolic remodeling.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Mtfp1 ablation enhances mitochondrial respiration and protects against hepatic steatosis

Hepatic steatosis is the result of an imbalance between nutrient delivery and metabolism in the liver. It is the first hallmark of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is characterized by the accumulation of excess lipids in the liver that can drive liver failure, inflammation, and cancer. Mitochondria control the fate and function of cells and compelling evidence implicates these multifunctional organelles in the appearance and progression of liver dysfunction, although it remains to be elucidated which specific mitochondrial functions are actually causally linked to NAFLD. Here, we identified Mitochondrial Fission Process 1 protein (MTFP1) as a key regulator of mitochondrial and metabolic activity in the liver. Deletion of Mtfp1 in hepatocytes is physiologically benign in mice yet leads to the upregulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activity and mitochondrial respiration, independently of mitochondrial biogenesis. Consequently, hepatocyte-specific knockout mice are protected against high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis and metabolic dysregulation. Additionally, we find that deletion of Mtfp1 in liver mitochondria inhibits mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening in hepatocytes, conferring protection against apoptotic liver damage in vivo and ex vivo. Our work uncovers novel functions of MTFP1 in the liver, positioning this gene as an unexpected regulator of OXPHOS and a therapeutic candidate for NAFLD.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2023

BioConvert: a comprehensive format converter for life sciences

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWBioinformatics is a field known for the numerous standards and formats that have been developed over the years. This plethora of formats, sometimes complementary, and often redundant, poses many challenges to bioinformatics data analysts. They constantly need to find the best tool to convert their data into the suitable format, which is often a complex, technical and time consuming task. Moreover, these small yet important tasks are often difficult to make reproducible. To over-come these difficulties, we initiated BioConvert, a collaborative project to facilitate the conversion of life science data from one format to another. BioConvert aggregates existing software within a single framework and complemented them with original code when needed. It provides a common interface to make the user experience more streamlined instead of having to learn tens of them. Currently, BioConvert supports about 50 formats and 100 direct conversions in areas such as alignment, sequencing, phylogeny, and variant calling. In addition to being useful for end-users, BioConvert can also be utilized by developers as a universal benchmarking framework for evaluating and comparing numerous conversion tools. Additionally, we provide a web server implementing an online user-friendly interface to BioConvert, hence allowing direct use for the community.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2022

Gallocin A, an atypical two-peptide bacteriocin secreted by Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus

Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (SGG) is an opportunistic gut pathogen associated with colorectal cancer. We previously showed that colonization of the murine colon by SGG in tumoral conditions was strongly enhanced by the production of gallocin A, a two-peptide bacteriocin. Here, we aimed at characterizing the mechanisms of its action and resistance. Using a genetic approach, we demonstrated that gallocin A is composed of two peptides, GllA1 and GllA2, which are inactive alone and act together to kill "target" bacteria. We showed that gallocin A can kill phylogenetically close relatives. Importantly, we demonstrated that gallocin A peptides can insert into membranes and permeabilize lipid bilayer vesicles. Next, we showed that the third gene of the gallocin A operon named GIP, is necessary and sufficient to confer immunity to gallocin A. Structural modelling of GllA1 and GllA2 mature peptides suggested that both peptides form alpha-helical hairpins stabilized by intramolecular disulfide bridges. The presence of a disulfide bond in GllA1 and GllA2 was confirmed experimentally. Addition of disulfide reducing agents abrogated gallocin A activity. Likewise, deletion of a gene encoding a surface protein with a thioredoxin-like domain impaired gallocin A ability to kill Enterococcus faecalis. Structural modelling of GIP revealed a hairpin-like structure strongly resembling that of the GllA1 and GllA2 mature peptides, suggesting a mechanism of immunity by competition with GllA1/2. Finally, identification of other class IIb bacteriocins exhibiting a similar alpha-helical hairpin fold stabilized with an intramolecular disulfide bridge suggests the existence of a new subclass of class IIb bacteriocins. IMPORTANCEStreptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (SGG), previously named Streptococcus bovis biotype I, is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for invasive infections (septicemia, endocarditis) in elderly people and often associated with asymptomatic colon tumors. SGG is one of the first bacteria to be associated with the occurrence of colorectal cancer in humans. Previously, we showed that tumor-associated conditions in the colon provide to SGG with the ideal environment to proliferate at the expense of phylogenetically and metabolically closely related commensal bacteria such as enterococci (Aymeric et al., 2017). SGG takes advantage of CRC-associated conditions to outcompete and substitute commensal members of the gut microbiota using a specific bacteriocin named gallocin and renamed gallocin A recently following the discovery of gallocin D in a peculiar SGG isolate. Here, we showed that gallocin A is a two-peptide bacteriocin and that both GllA1 and GllA2 peptides are required for antimicrobial activity. Gallocin A was shown to permeabilize bacterial membranes and to kill phylogenetically closely related bacteria such as most streptococci, lactococci and enterococci, probably through membrane pore formation. GllA1 and GllA2 secreted peptides are unusually long (42 and 60 amino acids long) and with very few charged amino acids compared to well-known class IIb bacteriocins. In silico modelling revealed that both GllA1 and GllA2 exhibit a similar hairpin-like conformation stabilized by an intramolecular disulfide bond. We also showed that the GIP immunity peptide also forms a hairpin like structure like GllA1/GllA2. Thus, we hypothesize that GIP blocks the formation of the GllA1/GllA2 complex by interacting with GllA1 or GllA2. Gallocin A may constitute the first class IIb bacteriocin displaying disulfide bridges important for its structure and activity and the founding member of a subtype of class IIb bacteriocins.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

142 telomere-to-telomere assemblies reveal the genome structural landscape in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

As population genomics is transitioning from single reference genomes to pangenomes, major improvements in terms of genome contiguity, phylogenetic sampling, haplotype phasing and structural variant (SV) calling are required. Here, we generated the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Reference Assembly Panel (ScRAP) comprising 142 reference-quality genomes from strains of various geographic and ecological origins that faithfully represent the genomic diversity and complexity of the species. The ca. 4,800 non-redundant SVs we identified impact the expression of genes near the breakpoints and contribute to gene repertoire evolution through disruptions, duplications, fusions and horizontal transfers. We discovered frequent cases of complex aneuploidies, preferentially involving large chromosomes that underwent large SVs. We also characterized the evolutionary dynamics of complex genomic regions that classically remain unassembled in short read-based projects, including the 5 Ty families and the 32 individual telomeres. Overall, the ScRAP represents a crucial step towards establishing a high-quality, unified and complete S. cerevisiae pangenome.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2022

Core genome sequencing and genotyping of Leptospira interrogans in clinical samples by target capture sequencing

The life-threatening pathogen Leptospira interrogans is the most common agent of leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease. However, little is known about the strains that are circulating worldwide due to the fastidious nature of the bacteria and its difficulty to be culture isolated. In addition, the paucity of bacteria in blood and other clinical samples has proven to be a considerable challenge for directly genotyping the agent of leptospirosis directly from patient material. Here, to elucidate the genomic diversity of Leptospira circulating strains, hybridization capture followed by Illumina sequencing of the core genome was performed directly from 20 biological samples that were PCR positive for pathogenic Leptospira. A set of samples subjected to capture with RNA probes covering the L. interrogans core genome resulted in 72 to 13,000-fold increase in pathogen reads when compared to standard sequencing without capture. A SNP analysis of the genomes sequenced from the biological samples using 273 Leptospira reference genome was then performed in order to determine the genotype of the infecting strain. For samples with sufficent coverage (19/20 samples with coverage >8X), we could unambigously identify L. interrogans sv Icterohaemorrhagiae (14 samples), L. kirschneri sv Grippotyphosa (4 samples) and L. interrogans sv Pyrogenes (1 sample) as the infecting strain. In conclusion, we obtained for most of our biological samples high quality genomic data at suitable coverage for confident core genome genotyping of the agent of leptospirosis. The ability to generate culture-free genomic data opens new opportunities to better understand the epidemiology and evolution of this fastidious pathogen.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction reveals SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and persistence in the olfactory system

While recent investigations have revealed viral, inflammatory and vascular factors involved in SARS-CoV-2 lung pathogenesis, the pathophysiology of neurological disorders in COVID-19 remains poorly understood. Yet, olfactory and taste dysfunction are rather common in COVID-19, especially in pauci-symptomatic patients which constitutes the most frequent clinical manifestation of the infection. We conducted a virologic, molecular, and cellular study of the olfactory system from COVID-19 patients presenting acute loss of smell, and report evidence that the olfactory epithelium represents a highly significant infection site where multiple cell types, including olfactory sensory neurons, support cells and immune cells, are infected. Viral replication in the olfactory epithelium is associated with local inflammation. Furthermore, we show that SARS-CoV-2 induces acute anosmia and ageusia in golden Syrian hamsters, both lasting as long as the virus remains in the olfactory epithelium and the olfactory bulb. Finally, olfactory mucosa sampling in COVID-19 patients presenting with persistent loss of smell reveals the presence of virus transcripts and of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, together with protracted inflammation. Viral persistence in the olfactory epithelium therefore provides a potential mechanism for prolonged or relapsing symptoms of COVID-19, such as loss of smell, which should be considered for optimal medical management and future therapeutic strategies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Autotransporters drive biofilm formation and auto-aggregation in the diderm Firmicute Veillonella parvula

The Negativicutes are a clade of Firmicutes that have retained the ancestral diderm character and possess an outer membrane. One of the best studied Negativicute, Veillonella parvula, is an anaerobic commensal and opportunistic pathogen inhabiting complex human microbial communities, including the gut and the dental plaque microbiota. Whereas adhesion and biofilm capacity of V. parvula is expected to be crucial for its maintenance and development in these environments, studies of V. parvula adhesion have been hindered by the lack of efficient genetic tools to perform functional analyses in this bacterium. Here, we took advantage of a recently described naturally transformable V. parvula isolate, SKV38, and adapted tools developed for the closely related Clostridia spp. to perform random transposon and targeted mutagenesis to identify V. parvula genes involved in biofilm formation. We show that type V secreted autotransporters -typically found in diderm bacteria-are the main determinants of V. parvula auto-aggregation and biofilm formation, which compete with each other for binding either to cells or to surfaces, with strong consequences on V. parvula biofilm formation capacity. We also show that inactivation of the gene coding for a poorly characterized metal-dependent phosphohydrolase HD domain protein conserved in the Firmicutes and their closely related diderm phyla inhibits autotransporter-mediated biofilm formation. This study paves the way for further molecular characterization of V. parvula interactions with other bacteria and the host within complex microbiota environments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2017

GDSCTools for Mining Pharmacogenomic Interactions in Cancer

MotivationLarge pharmacogenomic screenings integrate heterogeneous cancer genomic data sets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on thousand human cancer cell lines. Mining this data to identify new therapies for cancer sub-populations would benefit from common data structures, modular computational biology tools and user-friendly interfaces.\n\nResultsWe have developed GDSCTools: a software aimed at the identification of clinically relevant genomic markers of drug response. The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database (www.cancerRxgene.org) integrates heterogeneous cancer genomic data sets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on a thousand cancer cell lines. Including statistical tools (ANOVA) and predictive methods (Elastic Net), as well as common data structures, GDSCTools allows users to reproduce published results from GDSC, to analyse their own drug responses or genomic datasets, and to implement new analytical methods.\n\nContactthomas.cokelaer@pasteur.fr

cancer biology↗