Modeling cell populations metabolism and competition under maximum power constraints.

Ecological interactions are fundamental at the cellular scale, addressing the possibility of a description of cellular systems that uses language and principles of ecology. In this work, we use a minimal ecological approach that encompasses growth, adaptation and survival of cell populations to model cell metabolisms and competition under energetic constraints. As a proof-of-concept, we apply this general formulation to study the dynamics of the onset of a specific blood cancer-called Multiple Myeloma.

Identification of Conserved Epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Nucleocapsid Protein.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus that first occurred in Wuhan in December 2019. The spike glycoproteins and nucleocapsid proteins are the most common targets for the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Objective: We herein analyze the rate of evolution along with the sequences of spike and nucleocapsid proteins in relation to the spatial locations of their epitopes, previously suggested to contribute to the immune response caused by SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Temporal evolution and adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 codon usage.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first occurred in Wuhan (China) in December of 2019. Since the outbreak, it has accumulated mutations on its coding sequences to optimize its adaptation to the human host. The identification of its genetic variants has become crucial in tracking and evaluating their spread across the globe.

Evolutionary pressures and codon bias in low complexity regions of plasmodia.

The biological meaning of low complexity regions in the proteins of Plasmodium species is a topic of discussion in evolutionary biology. There is a debate between selectionists and neutralists, who either attribute or do not attribute an effect of low-complexity regions on the fitness of these parasites, respectively. In this work, we comparatively study 22 Plasmodium species to understand whether their low complexity regions undergo a neutral or, rather, a selective and species-dependent evolution.

Bacterial Protein Interaction Networks: Connectivity is Ruled by Gene Conservation, Essentiality and Function.

Background: Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are the backbone of all processes in living cells. In this work, we relate conservation, essentiality and functional repertoire of a gene to the connectivity ( the number of interactions, links) of the corresponding protein in the PPI network.

Methods: On a set of 42 bacterial genomes of different sizes, and with reasonably separated evolutionary trajectories, we investigate three issues: i) whether the distribution of connectivities changes between PPI subnetworks of essential and nonessential genes; ii) how gene conservation, measured both by the evolutionary retention index (ERI) and by evolutionary pressures, is related to the connectivity of the corresponding protein; iii) how PPI connectivities are modulated by evolutionary and functional relationships, as represented by the Clusters of Orthologous Genes (COGs).