Biology subjects

Poulain, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Poulain, J..

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Insights into biotic and abiotic modulation of ocean mesopelagic communities

For decades, marine plankton have been investigated for their capacity to modulate biogeochemical cycles and provide fishery resources. Between the sunlit (epipelagic) layer and the deep dark waters, lies a vast and heterogeneous part of the ocean: the mesopelagic zone. How plankton composition is shaped by environment has been well-explored in the epipelagic but much less in the mesopelagic ocean. Here, we conducted comparative analyses of trans-kingdom community assemblages thriving in the mesopelagic oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), mesopelagic oxic, and their epipelagic counterparts. We identified nine distinct types of intermediate water masses that correlate with variation in mesopelagic community composition. Furthermore, oxygen, NO - and particle flux together appeared as the main drivers governing these communities. Novel taxonomic signatures emerged from OMZ while a global co-occurrence network analysis showed that about 70% of the abundance of mesopelagic plankton groups is organized into three community modules. One module gathers prokaryotes, pico-eukaryotes and Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDV) from oxic regions, and the two other modules are enriched in OMZ prokaryotes and OMZ pico-eukaryotes, respectively. We hypothesize that OMZ conditions led to a diversification of ecological niches, and thus communities, due to selective pressure from limited resources. Our study further clarifies the interplay between environmental factors in the mesopelagic oxic and OMZ, and the compositional features of communities.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Functional repertoire convergence of distantly related eukaryotic plankton lineages revealed by genome-resolved metagenomics

Marine planktonic eukaryotes play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycles and climate. However, their poor representation in culture collections limits our understanding of the evolutionary history and genomic underpinnings of planktonic ecosystems. Here, we used 280 billion Tara Oceans metagenomic reads from polar, temperate, and tropical sunlit oceans to reconstruct and manually curate more than 700 abundant and widespread eukaryotic environmental genomes ranging from 10 Mbp to 1.3 Gbp. This genomic resource covers a wide range of poorly characterized eukaryotic lineages that complement long-standing contributions from culture collections while better representing plankton in the upper layer of the oceans. We performed the first comprehensive genome-wide functional classification of abundant unicellular eukaryotic plankton, revealing four major groups connecting distantly related lineages. Neither trophic modes of plankton nor its vertical evolutionary history could explain the functional repertoire convergence of major eukaryotic lineages that coexisted within oceanic currents for millions of years. CoverNavigating on the map of plankton genomics with Tara Oceans and anvio: a comprehensive genome-resolved metagenomic survey dedicated to eukaryotic plankton. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=153 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/341214v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (82K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@536fe5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d72cc9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1bd5281org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@739512_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Dual RNAseq highlights the kinetics of skin microbiome and fish host responsiveness to bacterial infection

a) BackgroundTenacibaculum maritimum is a worldwide-distributed fish pathogen known for causing dramatic damages on a broad range of wild and farmed marine fish populations. Recently sequenced genome of T. maritimum strain NCIMB 2154T provided unprecedented information on the possible molecular mechanisms involved in virulence for this species. However, little is known on the dynamic on the infection in vivo, and information are lacking on both the intrinsic host response (gene expression) and its associated microbiome community. Here, we applied complementary omic approaches, including dual RNAseq and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding sequencing using Nanopore and short-reads Illumina technologies to unravel the host-pathogens interplay in experimental infection system using the tropical fish Platax orbicularis as model. b) ResultsWe show that T. maritimum transcriptomic landscape during infection is characterized by an enhancement of antibiotic catalytic and glucan catalytic functions while decreasing specific sulphate assimilation process, compared to in vitro cultures. Simultaneously, fish host display a large palette of immune effectors, notably involving innate response and triggering acute inflammatory response. In addition, results suggest that fish activate adaptive immune response visible through stimulation of T-helper cells, Th17, with congruent reduction of Th2 and T-regulatory cells. Fish were however largely sensitive to infection, and less than 25% of them survived after 96hpi. These surviving fish showed no evidence of stress (cortisol levels) as well as no significant difference in microbiome diversity compared to control at the same sampling time. The presence of Tenacibaculum in resistant fish skin and the total absence of any skin lesion suggest that these fish did not escape contact with the pathogen but rather prevent the pathogen entry. In these individuals we detected the up-regulation of specific immune-related genes differentiating resistant from control at 96hpi, which suggests a possible genomic basis of resistance while no genetic variations in coding regions was reported. c) ConclusionHere we refine the interplay between common fish pathogens and host immune response during experimental infection. We further highlight key actors of defense response, pathogenicity and possible genomic bases of resistance to T. maritimum.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

A framework for in situ molecular characterization of coral holobionts using nanopore sequencing

Molecular characterization of the coral host and the microbial assemblages associated with it (referred to as the coral holobiont) is currently undertaken via marker gene sequencing. This requires bulky instruments and controlled laboratory conditions which are impractical for environmental experiments in remote areas. Recent advances in sequencing technologies now permit rapid sequencing in the field; however, development of specific protocols and pipelines for the effective processing of complex microbial systems are currently lacking. Here, we used a combination of 3 marker genes targeting the coral animal host, its symbiotic alga, and the associated bacterial microbiome to characterize 60 coral colonies collected and processed in situ, during the Tara Pacific expedition. We used Oxford Nanopore Technologies to sequence marker gene amplicons and developed bioinformatics pipelines to analyze nanopore reads on a laptop, obtaining results in less than 24 hours. Reef scale network analysis of coral-associated bacteria reveals broadly distributed taxa, as well as host-specific associations. Protocols and tools used in this work may be applicable for rapid coral holobiont surveys, immediate adaptation of sampling strategy in the field, and to make informed and timely decisions in the context of the current challenges affecting coral reefs worldwide.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2019

Genomic evidence for global ocean plankton biogeography shaped by large-scale current systems

Biogeographical studies have traditionally focused on readily visible organisms, but recent technological advances are enabling analyses of the large-scale distribution of microscopic organisms, whose biogeographical patterns have long been debated. Here we assessed the global structure of plankton geography and its relation to the biological, chemical and physical context of the ocean (the seascape) by analyzing metagenomes of plankton communities sampled across oceans during the Tara Oceans expedition, in light of environmental data and ocean current transport. Using a consistent approach across organismal sizes that provides unprecedented resolution to measure changes in genomic composition between communities, we report a pan-ocean, size-dependent plankton biogeography overlying regional heterogeneity. We found robust evidence for a basin-scale impact of transport by ocean currents on plankton biogeography, and on a characteristic timescale of community dynamics going beyond simple seasonality or life history transitions of plankton.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

An assessment of environmental metabarcoding protocols aiming at favouring contemporary biodiversity in inventories of deep-sea communities

O_LIThe abyssal seafloor covers more than 50% of planet Earth and is a large reservoir of still mostly undescribed biodiversity. It is increasingly under target of resource-extraction industries although being drastically understudied. In such remote and hard-to-access ecosystems, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a useful and efficient tool for studying biodiversity and implementing environmental impact assessments. Yet, eDNA analysis outcomes may be biased towards describing past rather than present communities as sediments contain both contemporary and ancient DNA. C_LIO_LIUsing commercially available kits, we investigated the impacts of five molecular processing methods on DNA metabarcoding biodiversity inventories targeting prokaryotes (16S-V4V5), unicellular eukaryotes (18S-V4), and metazoans (18S-V1, COI). As the size distribution of ancient DNA is skewed towards small fragments, we evaluated the effect of removing short DNA fragments via size-selection and ethanol reconcentration using DNA extracted from 10 g of sediment at five deep-sea sites. We also compare communities revealed by DNA and RNA co-extracted from 2 g of sediment at the same sites. C_LIO_LIResults show that removing short DNA fragments does not affect alpha and beta diversity estimates in any of the biological compartments investigated. Results also confirm doubts regarding the possibility to better describe live communities using environmental RNA (eRNA). With ribosomal loci, RNA, while resolving similar spatial patterns than co-extracted DNA, resulted in significantly higher richness estimates, supporting hypotheses of increased persistence of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in the environment and unmeasured bias due to over-abundance of rRNA and RNA release. With the mitochondrial locus, RNA detected lower metazoan richness and resolved less spatial patterns than co-extracted DNA, reflecting high messenger RNA lability. Results also highlight the importance of using large amounts of sediment ([≥]10 g) for accurately surveying eukaryotic diversity. C_LIO_LIWe conclude that DNA should be favoured over RNA for logistically realistic, repeatable, and reliable surveys, and confirm that large sediment samples ([≥]10 g) deliver more complete and accurate assessments of benthic eukaryotic biodiversity and that increasing the number of biological rather than technical replicates is important to infer robust ecological patterns. C_LI

genomics↗

bioRxiv2019

Proteolysis and neurogenesis modulated by LNR domain proteins explosion support male differentiation and sacrificial behaviour in the iteroparous crustacean Oithona nana.

Copepods are the most numerous animals and play an essential role in the marine trophic web and biogeochemical cycles. The genus Oithona is described as having the highest numerical density, as the most cosmopolite copepod and iteroparous. The Oithona male paradox obliges it to alternate feeding (immobile) and mating (mobile) phases. As the molecular basis of this trade-off is unknown, we investigated this sexual dimorphism at the molecular level by integrating genomic, transcriptomic and protein-protein interaction analyses.\n\nWhile a ZW sex-determination system was predicted in O. nana, a fifteen-year time-series in the Toulon Little Bay showed a biased sex ratio toward females (male / female ratio < 0.15{+/-}0.11) highlighting a higher mortality in male. Here, the transcriptomic analysis of the five different developmental stages showed enrichment of Lin12-Notch Repeat (LNR) domains-containing proteins coding genes (LDPGs) in male transcripts. The male also showed enrichment in transcripts involved in proteolysis, nervous system development, synapse assembly and functioning and also amino acid conversion to glutamate. Moreover, several male down-regulated genes were involved in the increase of food uptake and digestion. The formation of LDP complexes was detected by yeast two-hybrid, with interactions involving proteases, extracellular matrix proteins and neurogenesis related proteins.\n\nTogether, these results suggest that the O. nana male hypermotility is sustained by LDP-modulated proteolysis allowing the releases and conversions of amino acid into the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. This process could permit new axons and dendrites formation suggesting a sexual nervous system dimorphism. This could support the hypothesis of a sacrificial behaviour in males at the metabolic level.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2019

A flexible pipeline combining bioinformatic correction tools for prokaryotic and eukaryotic metabarcoding

Environmental metabarcoding is an increasingly popular tool for studying biodiversity in marine and terrestrial biomes. With sequencing costs decreasing, multiple-marker metabarcoding, spanning several branches of the tree of life, is becoming more accessible. However, bioinformatic approaches need to adjust to the diversity of taxonomic compartments targeted as well as to each barcode gene specificities. We built and tested a pipeline based on Illumina read correction with DADA2 allowing analyzing metabarcoding data from prokaryotic (16S) and eukaryotic (18S, COI) life compartments. We implemented the option to cluster Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) with swarm v2, a network-based clustering algorithm, and to further curate the ASVs/OTUs based on sequence similarity and co-occurrence rates using a recently developed algorithm, LULU. Finally, flexible taxonomic assignment was implemented via Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) Bayesian classifier and BLAST. We validate this pipeline with ribosomal and mitochondrial markers using eukaryotic mock communities and 42 deep-sea sediment samples. The results show that ASVs, reflecting genetic diversity, may not be appropriate for alpha diversity estimation of organisms fitting the biological species concept. The results underline the advantages of clustering and LULU-curation for producing more reliable metazoan biodiversity inventories, and show that LULU is an effective tool for filtering metazoan molecular clusters, although the minimum identity threshold applied to co-occurring OTUs has to be increased for 18S. The comparison of BLAST and the RDP Classifier underlined the potential of the latter to deliver very good assignments, but highlighted the need for a concerted effort to build comprehensive, ecosystem-specific, databases adapted to the studied communities.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2018

The genome of the jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica and the evolution of the cnidarian life-cycle

Jellyfish (medusae) are a distinctive life-cycle stage of medusozoan cnidarians. They are major marine predators, with integrated neurosensory, muscular and organ systems. The genetic foundations of this complex form are largely unknown. We report the draft genome of the hydrozoan jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica and use multiple transcriptomes to determine gene use across life-cycle stages. Medusa, planula larva and polyp are each characterised by distinct transcriptome signatures reflecting abrupt life cycle transitions, and all deploy a mixture of phylogenetically old and new genes. Medusa specific transcription factors, including many with bilaterian orthologs, associate with diverse neurosensory structures. Compared to Clytia, the polyp-only hydrozoan Hydra has lost many of the medusa-expressed transcription factors, despite similar overall rates of gene content and sequence evolution. Absence of expression and gene loss among Clytia orthologs of genes patterning the anthozoan aboral pole, secondary axis and endomesoderm support simplification of planulae and polyps in Hydrozoa, including loss of bilateral symmetry. Consequently, although the polyp and planula are generally considered the ancestral cnidarian forms, in Clytia the medusa maximally deploys ancestral cnidarian-bilaterian transcription factor gene complexity.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Disentangling The Causes For Faster-X Evolution In Aphids

Faster evolution of X chromosomes has been documented in several species and results from the increased efficiency of selection on recessive alleles in hemizygous males and/or from increased drift due to the smaller effective population size of X chromosomes. Aphids are excellent models for evaluating the importance of selection in faster-X evolution, because their peculiar life-cycle and unusual inheritance of sex-chromosomes lead to equal effective population sizes for X and autosomes. Because we lack a high-density genetic map for the pea aphid whose complete genome has been sequenced, we assigned its entire genome to the X and autosomes based on ratios of sequencing depth in males and females. Unexpectedly, we found frequent scaffold misassembly, but we could unambiguously locate 13,726 genes on the X and 19,263 on autosomes. We found higher non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions ratios (dN/dS) for X-linked than for autosomal genes. Our analyses of substitution rates together with polymorphism and expression data showed that relaxed selection is likely to contribute predominantly to faster-X as a large fraction of X-linked genes are expressed at low rates and thus escape selection. Yet, a minor role for positive selection is also suggested by the difference between substitution rates for X and autosomes for male-biased genes (but not for asexual female-biased genes) and by lower Tajimas D for X-linked than for autosomal genes with highly male-biased expression patterns. This study highlights the relevance of organisms displaying alternative inheritance of chromosomes to the understanding of forces shaping genome evolution.

evolutionary biology↗