Publications by authors named "A Chikhi"

The question of how local adaptation takes place remains a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. The variation of allele frequencies in genes under selection over environmental gradients remains mainly theoretical and its empirical assessment would help understanding how adaptation happens over environmental clines. To bring new insights to this issue we set up a broad framework which aimed to compare the adaptive trajectories over environmental clines in two domesticated mammal species co-distributed in diversified landscapes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Developing more potent antibacterial agents is one of the most important tasks of scientists in the health field due to the problem of antibiotic resistance. Among the antibiotic targets, we mention MurA (UDP-N-Acetylglucosamine Enolpyruvyl Transferase), which is a key enzyme of peptidoglycan biosynthesis of the bacterial cell wall.

Objective: Our objective was to search for new inhibitors of the bacterial enzyme MurA by docking the analogues of its inhibitor T6361, a derivative of 5-sulfonoxy-anthranilic acid.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Early nutrition may influence the development of food allergies later in life. In the absence of breastfeeding, hydrolysates from cow's milk proteins (CMP) were indicated as a prevention strategy in at risk infants, but their proof of effectiveness in clinical and pre-clinical studies is still insufficient. Thanks to a validated mouse model, we then assessed specific and nonspecific preventive effects of administration of extensive hydrolysates from caseins (eHC) on the development of food allergy to CMP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Considering the interesting role in the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway, the enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase is an attractive target to develop new antibacterial agents. It catalyzes the first key step of this pathway and its inhibition leads to bacterial cell death. Fosfomycin is known as the natural inhibitor of MurA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Whole genome sequences (WGS) greatly increase our ability to precisely infer population genetic parameters, demographic processes, and selection signatures. However, WGS may still be not affordable for a representative number of individuals/populations. In this context, our goal was to assess the efficiency of several SNP genotyping strategies by testing their ability to accurately estimate parameters describing neutral diversity and to detect signatures of selection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF