Biology subjects

Derous, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Derous, D..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

From the lung to the muscle: Systemic insights from an integrative MultiOmics analysis of harbour porpoises in poor respiratory health

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the North and Baltic Seas are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic pressures, including underwater noise, fisheries and pollution. These pressures correlate with declining population health, particularly affecting the respiratory system. Growing pathological lesions, partly resulting from high prevalence of parasitic infestations and subsequent diseases, can impair tissue function and oxygen supply to distant end-organs. In this study, we applied an integrative MultiOmics approach (proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics) to analyse the lungs and muscles of 12 wild harbour porpoises with compromised respiratory health. Our aim was to identify dysregulated biological pathways across omics layers to advance insights into adaptive physiological responses and to define disease-associated molecular signatures that could assist health assessments. Our analysis revealed pronounced immune system and antioxidative responses in the lungs and muscles, indicated by enhanced immunoglobulins, plasmalogens and glutathione-related proteins. In the lungs, high cardiolipin levels and reduced collagen suggest impaired tissue structure and function, while tissue maintenance processes were elevated in the muscle. Both tissues exhibited metabolic alterations suggestive of energetic imbalance, including increased purine metabolism in the lung and decreased lipid metabolism in the muscle. Several dysregulated molecules were shared across tissues, pointing to pathophysiological effects. The proposed disease-associated molecular signatures included the protein SLC25A4, the metabolite O-phosphoethanolamine and the lipid TG O-16:0_16:0_20:4 for the lung, and the protein SPEG, the metabolite pipecolic acid, and the lipid BMP 18:1_22:6 in the muscle. Our findings elucidate the complexity of molecular mechanisms linking anthropogenic and environmental stressors with vulnerability and resilience in a marine sentinel species. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential of integrative omics to define disease-related marker panels, thereby supporting ongoing and future health monitoring and conservation efforts.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Super food or super toxic? Turmeric and spirulina as culprits for the toxic effects of food dyes in Drosophila

Prolonged exposure to food dyes, even for those considered safe for consumption, are known to have toxic effects. However, we lack a proper understanding of the underlying compounds that are responsible for the observed toxicity. In this study, we tested the toxic physiological effects of three common commercially available natural food dyes (red, green, blue), and their main ingredients (turmeric and spirulina), on Drosophila melanogaster oviposition, larval development, and larval foraging behaviour. Larval development and egg-to-adult survival was significantly impacted by blue and green dyes. These effects were recapitulated when flies were fed with increasing concentrations of turmeric and spirulina, suggesting that turmeric is a toxic component of the food dye. Red dye, which contains neither turmeric or spirulina, had little impact on fly health and behaviour. Green and blue food dyes decreased egg laying, an effect similar to that observed in increasing concentrations of turmeric and, to a lesser extent, spirulina. When given a choice, larvae preferred to feed as follows: control > red > blue > green diet patches, a pattern inversely correlating with the previously observed toxicity. Our results show that, despite turmeric being often considered a super food, it can have toxic effects that the impact organismal physiology and health.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2022

The transcriptomic signature of physiological trade-offs caused by larval overcrowding in Drosophila melanogaster

Intraspecific competition at the larval stage is an important ecological factor affecting life-history, adaptation and evolutionary trajectory in holometabolous insects. However, the molecular pathways and physiological trade-offs underpinning these ecological processes are poorly characterised. We reared Drosophila melanogaster at three egg densities (5, 60 and 300 eggs/ml) and sequenced the transcriptomes of pooled third-instar larvae. We also examined emergence time, egg-to-adult viability, adult mass and adult sex-ratio at each density. Medium crowding had minor detrimental effects on adult phenotypes compared to low density and yielded 24 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including several chitinase enzymes. In contrast, high crowding had substantial detrimental effects on adult phenotypes and yielded 2107 DEGs. Among these, upregulated gene sets were enriched in sugar, steroid and amino acid metabolism as well as DNA replication pathways, whereas downregulated gene sets were enriched in ABC transporters, Taurine, Toll/Imd signalling and P450 xenobiotics metabolism pathways. Overall, our findings show that larval overcrowding has a large consistent effect on several molecular pathways (i.e., core responses) with few pathways displaying density-specific regulation (i.e., idiosyncratic responses). This provides important insights into how holometabolous insects respond to intraspecific competition during development.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Adaptations of energy metabolism in cetaceans have consequences for their response to foraging disruption

Cetaceans have varied their anatomical structure, physiology and metabolism to adapt to the challenges of aquatic life. Key to this change is the deposition of blubber. This adipose tissue plays a significant regulatory and signaling role in mammalian metabolism. As foraging disruption by human activities is emerging as a key conservation threat for cetaceans, we need to understand how selection for aquatic life might have altered key nutrient sensing pathways associated with adipose signaling. We compared selection pressure on those energy metabolism biological pathways by contrasting the rate of substitution observed in genes associated with them in cetacean and artiodactyl genomes. We then estimated the likely consequence of these selection pressures for pathway functions. Here we show that genes involved in the insulin, mTOR, SIRT and NF-{kappa}B pathways were under significant positive selection in cetaceans compared to their terrestrial sister taxon. Our results suggest these genes may have been positively selected to adapt to a glucose-poor diet and it is unlikely that fat depots signaling function in the same manner as in terrestrial mammals. Secondary adaptation to life in water significantly affected functions in nutrient sensing pathways in cetaceans. Insulin is not likely to play the same role in energy balance as it does in terrestrial mammals and adiposity is not likely to have the deleterious health consequences it has in terrestrial mammals. The physiological ecology of cetacean fat deposition, and therefore its value as a condition index, needs to be interpreted in this evolutionary context.

evolutionary biology↗