Publications by authors named "Erwin van Dijk"

is the leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea in industrialized countries. Many questions remain to be answered about the mechanisms governing its interaction with the host during infection. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) contribute to shape virulence in many pathogens and modulate host responses; however, their role in infection (CDI) has not been explored.

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Here we conduct a study involving 12 individuals with retinal dystrophy, neurological impairment, and skeletal abnormalities, with special focus on GPATCH11, a lesser-known G-patch domain-containing protein, regulator of RNA metabolism. To elucidate its role, we study fibroblasts from unaffected individuals and patients carrying the recurring c.328+1 G > T mutation, which specifically removes the main part of the G-patch domain while preserving the other domains.

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Physiological status can influence social behavior, which in turn can affect physiology and health. Previously, we reported that tumor growth in Drosophila virgin females depends on the social context, but did not investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms. Here, we sought to characterize the signal perceived between tumorous flies, ultimately discovering that the tumor suppressive effect varies depending on reproductive status.

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Article Synopsis
  • Long-read sequencing (LRS) technologies have advanced significantly, overcoming initial technical limitations and improving in read length, throughput, and accuracy.
  • The review highlights recent impactful discoveries enabled by LRS, including high-resolution genome and transcriptome sequencing, as well as the detection of DNA and RNA modifications.
  • LRS methods are poised to enhance our understanding of human genetic variation, transcriptomics, and epigenetics in the near future.
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About 10% of bacteria have a multichromosome genome with a primary replicon of bacterial origin, called the chromosome, and other replicons of plasmid origin, the chromids. Studies on multichromosome bacteria revealed potential points of coordination between the replication/segregation of chromids and the progression of the cell cycle. For example, replication of the chromid of Vibrionales (called Chr2) is initiated upon duplication of a sequence carried by the primary chromosome (called Chr1), in such a way that replication of both replicons is completed synchronously.

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The family Flavobacteriaceae (phylum Bacteroidetes) is a major component of soil, marine and freshwater ecosystems. In this understudied family, Flavobacterium psychrophilum is a freshwater pathogen that infects salmonid fish worldwide, with critical environmental and economic impact. Here, we report an extensive transcriptome analysis that established the genome map of transcription start sites and transcribed regions, predicted alternative sigma factor regulons and regulatory RNAs, and documented gene expression profiles across 32 biological conditions mimicking the pathogen life cycle.

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The study of small RNAs (sRNAs) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is challenged by bias issues during library preparation. Several types of sRNAs such as plant microRNAs (miRNAs) carry a 2'-O-methyl (2'-OMe) modification at their 3' terminal nucleotide. This modification adds another level of difficulty as it inhibits 3' adapter ligation.

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Patients with Crohn's disease exhibit abnormal colonization of the intestine by adherent invasive E. coli (AIEC). They adhere to epithelial cells, colonize them and survive inside macrophages.

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Dissecting the genetic basis of intraspecific variations in life history traits is essential to understand their evolution, notably for potential biocontrol agents. Such variations are observed in the endoparasitoid Cotesia typhae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), specialized on the pest Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Previously, we identified two strains of C.

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The study of small RNAs (sRNAs) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is challenged by bias issues during library preparation. Several types of sRNA such as plant microRNAs (miRNAs) carry a 2'-O-methyl (2'-OMe) modification at their 3' terminal nucleotide. This modification adds another difficulty as it inhibits 3' adapter ligation.

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The genomes of 11 conspecific strains, i.e., from the same species and inhabiting the same ecological niche, were sequenced and assembled.

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In this work, by comparing genomes of closely related individuals of isolated at a spatial microscale (millimeters or centimeters), we investigated the extent and impact of horizontal gene transfer in the diversification of a natural population. We show that despite these conspecific strains sharing a recent common ancestor, all harbored significantly different gene contents, implying massive and rapid gene flux. The accessory genome of the strains was distributed across insertion/deletion events (indels) ranging from one to several hundreds of genes.

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Blackleg and soft rot are devastating diseases on potato stem and tuber caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya pectinolytic enterobacteria. In European potato cultures, D. dianthicola and D.

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Forty years ago the advent of Sanger sequencing was revolutionary as it allowed complete genome sequences to be deciphered for the first time. A second revolution came when next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies appeared, which made genome sequencing much cheaper and faster. However, NGS methods have several drawbacks and pitfalls, most notably their short reads.

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Genome replication is highly regulated in time and space, but the rules governing the remodeling of these programs during evolution remain largely unknown. We generated genome-wide replication timing profiles for ten Lachancea yeasts, covering a continuous evolutionary range from closely related to more divergent species. We show that replication programs primarily evolve through a highly dynamic evolutionary renewal of the cohort of active replication origins.

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The mitochondrial genomes of strains contain up to 13 introns. An intronless recombinant genome introduced into the nuclear background of strain W303 gave the CW252 strain, which is used to model mitochondrial respiratory pathologies. The complete sequence of this mitochondrial genome was obtained using a hybrid assembling methodology.

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Article Synopsis
  • Next-generation sequencing has changed how researchers study small RNAs (sRNAs), but traditional preparation methods can skew results, especially during the adapter ligation process.
  • The presence of a 2'-O-methyl modification on some sRNAs complicates the ligation and library prep process, leading to various preparation kits being evaluated for their effectiveness in detecting these modified RNAs.
  • Among the five tested kits, the SMARTer and CATS had less bias but struggled with biological samples, while NEXTflex was effective in detecting more miRNAs; modifications to the TruSeq and NEXTflex protocols enhanced their performance for 2' OMe RNAs.
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Background: The 15 sibling species of the Paramecium aurelia cryptic species complex emerged after a whole genome duplication that occurred tens of millions of years ago. Given extensive knowledge of the genetics and epigenetics of Paramecium acquired over the last century, this species complex offers a uniquely powerful system to investigate the consequences of whole genome duplication in a unicellular eukaryote as well as the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that drive speciation. High quality Paramecium gene models are important for research using this system.

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Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to regulate gene expression, chromatin domains and chromosome stability in eukaryotic cells. Recent observations have reported the existence of telomeric repeats containing long ncRNAs ⁻ in mammalian and yeast cells. However, their functions remain poorly characterized.

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Ten years ago next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies appeared on the market. During the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in terms of speed, read length, and throughput, along with a sharp reduction in per-base cost. Together, these advances democratized NGS and paved the way for the development of a large number of novel NGS applications in basic science as well as in translational research areas such as clinical diagnostics, agrigenomics, and forensic science.

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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has caused a revolution in biology. NGS requires the preparation of libraries in which (fragments of) DNA or RNA molecules are fused with adapters followed by PCR amplification and sequencing. It is evident that robust library preparation methods that produce a representative, non-biased source of nucleic acid material from the genome under investigation are of crucial importance.

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The human exosome is a 3'-5' exoribonuclease complex that functions both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm to either degrade or process RNA. Little is known yet about potential differences among core exosome complexes in these different cellular compartments and the roles of the individual subunits in maintaining a stable and functional complex. Glycerol gradient sedimentation analyses indicated that a significant subset of nuclear exosomes is present in much larger complexes (60-80S) than the cytoplasmic exosomes ( approximately 10S).

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The exosome is a complex of 3'-5' exoribonucleases and RNA-binding proteins, which is involved in processing or degradation of different classes of RNA. Previously, the characterization of purified exosome complexes from yeast and human cells suggested that C1D and KIAA0052/hMtr4p are associated with the exosome and thus might regulate its functional activities. Subcellular localization experiments demonstrated that C1D and KIAA0052/hMtr4p co-localize with exosome subunit PM/Scl-100 in the nucleoli of HEp-2 cells.

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The identification and characterization of the exosome complex has shown that the exosome is a complex of 3' --> 5' exoribonucleases that plays a key role in the processing and degradation of a wide variety of RNA substrates. Advances in the understanding of exosome function have led to the identification of numerous cofactors that are required for a selective recruitment of the exosome to substrate RNAs, for their structural alterations to facilitate degradation, and to aid in their complete degradation/processing. Structural data obtained by two-hybrid interaction analyses and X-ray crystallography show that the core of the exosome adopts a doughnut-like structure and demonstrates that probably not all exosome subunits are active exoribonucleases.

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Article Synopsis
  • Eukaryotic mRNA and small nuclear RNA (snRNA) transcribed by RNA polymerase II feature a cap structure at their 5' end, which is crucial for multiple cellular processes.
  • This cap serves as a 'landing pad' for various factors that assist in pre-mRNA splicing, RNA export, and translation initiation.
  • Recent studies of cap metabolism in cellular and viral systems reveal new insights into cell structure and function.
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