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Biology subjects

Demaille, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Demaille, B..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Switching of RNA splicing regulators in immature neuroblasts: a key step in adult neurogenesis

The lateral wall of the subventricular zone harbors neural stem cells (NSC, B cells) which generate proliferating transient-amplifying progenitors (TAP, C cells) that ultimately give rise to neuroblasts (NB, A cells). Molecular profiling at the single cell level struggles to distinguish these different cell types. Here, we combined transcriptome analyses of FACS-sorted cells and single-cell RNAseq to demonstrate the existence of an abundant, clonogenic and multipotent population of immature neuroblasts (iNB cells) at the transition between TAP and migrating NB (mNB). iNB are reversibly engaged in neuronal differentiation. Indeed, they keep molecular features of both undifferentiated progenitors, plasticity and unexpected regenerative properties. Strikingly, they undergo important progressive molecular switches, including changes in the expression of splicing regulators leading to their differentiation in mNB subdividing them into 2 subtypes, iNB1 and iNB2. Due to their plastic properties, iNB could represent a new target for regenerative therapy of brain damage.

genomics↗

Inference of population genetic structure from temporal samples of DNA

The recent years have seen a growing number of studies investigating evolutionary questions using ancient DNA techniques and temporal samples of DNA. To address these questions, one of the most frequently-used algorithm is based on principal component analysis (PCA). When PCA is applied to temporal samples, the sample dates are, however, ignored during analysis, which could lead to some misinterpretations of the results. Here we introduce a new factor analysis (FA) method for which individual scores are corrected for the effect of allele frequency drift through time. Based on a diffusion approximation, our approach approximates allele frequency drift in a random mating population by a Brownian process. Exact solutions for estimates of corrected factors are obtained, and a fast estimation algorithm is presented. We compared data representations obtained from the FA method with PCA and with PC projections in simulations of divergence and admixture scenarios. Then we applied FA with correction for temporal drift to study the evolution of hepatitis C virus in a patient infected by multiple strains, and to describe the population structure of ancient European samples.

evolutionary biology↗