Publications by authors named "O Bouchez"
Honeybees, Apis mellifera, have experienced the full impacts of globalisation, including the recent invasion by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, now one of the main causes of colony losses worldwide. The strong selection pressure it exerts has led some colonies to develop defence strategies conferring some degree of resistance to the parasite. Assuming these traits are partly heritable, selective breeding of naturally resistant bees could be a sustainable strategy for fighting infestations.
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- The study explores how
- epigenetic inheritance
- , specifically DNA methylation, contributes to the adaptation of the plant pathogen
- Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum
- to different host plants over many generations, challenging the traditional view that adaptation is solely based on genetic mutations.
- Researchers analyzed the
- methylomes
- of evolved bacterial clones and found
- 50 differential methylated sites (DMSs)
- associated with the EpsR regulator gene, suggesting a possible connection between these epigenetic changes and adaptation.
- The study highlights that rapid epigenetic changes can facilitate quick adaptation, and certain changes in DNA methylation may persist for long periods, indicating a potential mechanism for long-term adaptation in bacterial pathogens.*
Article Synopsis
- - Horses transformed human mobility, but the timeline of their domestication and integration as transport is debated, with new genetic data being used to clarify this history.
- - Analysis of 475 ancient horse genomes indicates that modern domestic horses were shaped by human intervention around 2200 BCE, after a domestication bottleneck began around 2700 BCE, leading to a significant expansion across Eurasia.
- - Evidence also suggests that there was early horse husbandry in central Asia at Botai around 3500 BCE, prior to the establishment of contemporary horse bloodlines, challenging the notion of large herds being linked to migrations around 3000 BCE.
Feed efficiency is a trait of interest in pigs as it contributes to lowering the ecological and economical costs of pig production. A divergent genetic selection experiment from a Large White pig population was performed for 10 generations, leading to pig lines with relatively low- (LRFI) and high- (HRFI) residual feed intake (RFI). Feeding behavior and metabolic differences have been previously reported between the two lines.
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- The study explores how diverse host plants influence the genetic and phenotypic evolution of a plant pathogen, focusing on populations evolved on five different host types.
- Researchers found that while major genetic changes were limited, significant changes in gene expression (transcriptomic variations), especially in genes related to bacterial virulence, occurred in evolved clones.
- The results indicated two distinct patterns of gene deregulation based on host genotype, suggesting that the adaptation process is more tied to the type of host rather than its resistance/susceptibility to the pathogen.