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Abstract Background The honey bee reference genome, HAv3.1, was produced from a commercial line sample that was thought to have a largely dominant Apis mellifera ligustica genetic background. Apis mellifera mellifera, often referred to as the black bee, has a separate evolutionary history and is the original type in western and northern Europe. Growing interest in this subspecies for conservation and non-professional apicultural practices, together with the necessity of deciphering genome backgrounds in hybrids, triggered the necessity for a specific genome assembly. Moreover, having several high-quality genomes is becoming key for taking structural variations into account in pangenome analyses. Results Pacific Bioscience technology long reads were produced from a single haploid black bee drone. Scaffolding contigs into chromosomes was done using a high-density genetic map. This allowed for re-estimation of the recombination rate, which was over-estimated in some previous studies due to mis-assemblies, which resulted in spurious inversions in the older reference genomes. The sequence continuity obtained was very high and the only limit towards continuous chromosome-wide sequences seemed to be due to tandem repeat arrays that were usually longer than 10 kb and that belonged to two main families, the 371 and 91 bp repeats, causing problems in the assembly process due to high internal sequence similarity. Our assembly was used together with the reference genome to genotype two structural variants by a pangenome graph approach with Graphtyper2. Genotypes obtained were either correct or missing, when compared to an approach based on sequencing depth analysis, and genotyping rates were 89 and 76% for the two variants. Conclusions Our new assembly for the Apis mellifera mellifera honey bee subspecies demonstrates the utility of multiple high-quality genomes for the genotyping of structural variants, with a test case on two insertions and deletions. It will therefore be an invaluable resource for future studies, for instance by including structural variants in GWAS. Having used a single haploid drone for sequencing allowed a refined analysis of very large tandem repeat arrays, raising the question of their function in the genome. High quality genome assemblies for multiple subspecies such as presented here, are crucial for emerging projects using pangenomes.

Abstract Background The Algerian honey bee population is composed of two described subspecies A. m. intermissa and A. m. sahariensis, of which little is known regarding population genomics, both in terms of genetic differentiation and of possible contamination by exogenous stock. Moreover, the phenotypic differences between the two subspecies are expected to translate into genetic differences and possible adaptation to heat and drought in A. m. sahariensis. To shed light on the structure of this population and to integrate these two subspecies in the growing dataset of available haploid drone sequences, we performed whole-genome sequencing of 151 haploid drones. Results Integrated analysis of our drone sequences with a similar dataset of European reference populations did not detect any significant admixture in the Algerian honey bees. Interestingly, most of the genetic variation was not found between the A. m. intermissa and A. m. sahariensis subspecies; instead, two main genetic clusters were found along an East–West axis. We found that the correlation between genetic and geographic distances was higher in the Western cluster and that close-family relationships were mostly detected in the Eastern cluster, sometimes at long distances. In addition, we selected a panel of 96 ancestry-informative markers to decide whether a sampled bee is Algerian or not, and tested this panel in simulated cases of admixture. Conclusions The differences between the two main genetic clusters suggest differential breeding management between eastern and western Algeria, with greater exchange of genetic material over long distances in the east. The lack of detected admixture events suggests that, unlike what is seen in many places worldwide, imports of queens from foreign countries do not seem to have occurred on a large scale in Algeria, a finding that is relevant for conservation purposes. In addition, the proposed panel of 96 markers was found effective to distinguish Algerian from European honey bees. Therefore, we conclude that applying this approach to other taxa is promising, in particular when genetic differentiation is difficult to capture.

Research Framework: In a French context of widespread access to home ownership since the 1980s, rental property has long remained neglected in sociological analysis, in favor of owner-occupation analysis. Objectives : This article aims to measure the ways in which working-class families accumulate rental assets across generations and genders, and to assess the effects on social trajectories. Methodology: The article is based on a statistical analysis of Institut National de la Statistiques et des Etudes Economiques (Insee)’s “Histoire de Vie et Patrimoine” survey (2017-2018) and on interview material from 30 upper-, middle- and working-class landlords in Lille conurbation. This article focuses on 10 respondents from working-class backgrounds, one of whom is experiencing a strong upward social mobility towards the middle classes: 5 women and 5 men, aged between 43 and 75, mainly of North African immigrant origin. Results: The analysis shows the importance of hard work on self-rehabilitation and division of dwellings that unabled them to become owners and then landlords. Rental income appears as a means of stabilizing the family group’s economy, as a form of “subsistence work” (Collectif Rosa Bonheur, 2019). Being a landlord is a marker of social success for immigrant families, supporting the social mobility of their children. Equal property rights serve, after separation or death, the autonomy of women who have managed to defend their share of the estate.Conclusions : This article helps to understand the mobilization of kinship group in the context of working-class household savings, and the role of deindustrialized urban space in the creation of real estate wealth and rental income.Contribution : This article contributes to the sociology of working-class and immigrant property ownership and to the renewal of analyses on social strata.

Abstract Background Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeats are situated in the nucleolus organizer regions (NOR) of chromosomes and transcribed into rRNA for ribosome biogenesis. Thus, they are an essential component of eukaryotic genomes. rDNA repeat units consist of rRNA gene clusters that are transcribed into single pre-rRNA molecules, each separated by intergenic spacers (IGS) that contain regulatory elements for rRNA gene cluster transcription. Because of their high repeat content, rDNA sequences are usually absent from genome assemblies. In this work, we used the long-read sequencing technology to describe the chicken IGS and fill the knowledge gap on rDNA sequences of one of the key domesticated animals. Methods We used the long-read PacBio RSII technique to sequence the BAC clone WAG137G04 (Wageningen BAC library) known to contain chicken NOR elements and the HGAP workflow software suit to assemble the PacBio RSII reads. Whole-genome sequence contigs homologous to the chicken rDNA repetitive unit were identified based on the Gallus_gallus-5.0 assembly with BLAST. We used the Geneious 9.0.5 and Mega software, maximum likelihood method and Chickspress project for sequence evolution analysis, phylogenetic tree construction and analysis of the raw transcriptome data. Results Three complete IGS sequences in the White Leghorn chicken genome and one IGS sequence in the red junglefowl contig AADN04001305.1 (Gallus_gallus-5.0) were detected. They had various lengths and contained three groups of tandem repeats (some of them being very GC rich) that form highly organized arrays. Initiation and termination sites of rDNA transcription were located within small and large unique regions (SUR and LUR), respectively. No functionally significant sites were detected within the tandem repeat sequences. Conclusions Due to the highly organized GC-rich repeats, the structure of the chicken IGS differs from that of IGS in human, apes, Xenopus or fish rDNA. However, the chicken IGS shares some molecular organization features with that of the turtles, which are other representatives of the Sauropsida clade that includes birds and reptiles. Our current results on the structure of chicken IGS together with the previously reported ribosomal gene cluster sequence provide sufficient data to consider that the complete chicken rDNA sequence is assembled with confidence in terms of molecular DNA organization.

Abstract Background In quail, two feather colour phenotypes i.e. fawn-2/beige and yellow are associated with the ASIP locus. The aim of our study was to characterize the structural modifications within this locus that explain the yellow mutation (large deletion) and the fawn-2/beige mutation (assumed to be caused by a different structural modification). Results For the yellow phenotype, we identified a complex mutation that involves a 141,162-bp long deletion. For the fawn-2/beige phenotype, we identified a 71-kb tandem duplication that comprises one unchanged copy of ASIP and one copy present in the ITCH-ASIP fusion gene, which leads to a transcript coding for a normal ASIP protein. Although this agrees with previous reports that reported an increased level of ASIP transcripts in the skin of mutant animals, we show that in the skin from fawn-2/beige embryos, this level is higher than expected with a simple duplication of the ASIP gene. Thus, we hypothesize that the 5′ region of the ITCH-ASIP fusion gene leads to a higher transcription level than the 5′ region of the ASIP gene. Conclusions We were able to conclude that the fawn-2 and beige phenotypes are caused by the same allele at the ASIP locus. Both of the associated mutations fawn-2/beige and yellow lead to the formation of a fusion gene, which encodes a transcript for the ASIP protein. In both cases, transcription of ASIP depends on the promoter of a different gene, which includes alternative up-regulating sequences. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the loss of the 5′ region of the ASIP gene itself has additional impacts, especially for the fawn-2/beige mutation. In addition, in several other species including mammals, the existence of other dominant gain-of-function structural modifications that are localized upstream of the ASIP coding sequences has been reported, which supports our hypothesis that repressors in the 5′ region of ASIP are absent in the fawn-2/beige mutant.

Landscapes Prospective Modeling of the landscapes of the Haut Sassandra Classified Forest (Côte d'Ivoire) After the End of The Conflicts. It has been demonstrated that armed conflicts cause biodiversity's degradation, especially in its ecosystemic and specific dimensions. The Haut Sassandra Classified Forest is an interesting case study for this kind of process. Indeed, during the conflicts, a massive migrants infiltration caused a forest cover decline and a plant diversity loss. We created a multi-agent system able to simulate the actors' movements and behaviors. The social simulation generates scenario in the form of clearing maps in classified forest. This model was first conceived as a retro-prospective model in order to test hypotheses on the social dynamics underlying this process, after having worked on its accuracy by confronting reality. This model being validated, the aim of this paper is to present a prospective modeling to illustrate, in terms of forest cover's conservation, the possible consequences of different demographic and political scenarios. Across a geoprospective logic, two scenarios are mentioned such as the continuation of conflict period trends and a proposition of ecological restoration.

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Abstract Background The aim of this study was to analyse the mechanisms that underlie phenotypic quantitative trait loci (QTL) in overfed mule ducks by identifying co-localized proteomic QTL (pQTL). The QTL design consisted of three families of common ducks that were progeny-tested by using 294 male mule ducks. This population of common ducks was genotyped using a genetic map that included 334 genetic markers located across 28 APL chromosomes (APL for Anas platyrhynchos). Mule ducks were phenotyped for 49 traits related to growth, metabolism, overfeeding ability and meat and fatty liver quality, and 326 soluble fatty liver proteins were quantified. Results One hundred and seventy-six pQTL and 80 phenotypic QTL were detected at the 5% chromosome-wide significance threshold. The great majority of the identified pQTL were trans-acting and localized on a chromosome other than that carrying the coding gene. The most significant pQTL (1% genome-wide significance) were found for alpha-enolase on APL18 and fatty acid synthase on APL24. Some proteins were associated with numerous pQTL (for example, 17 and 14 pQTL were detected for alpha-enolase and apolipoprotein A1, respectively) and pQTL hotspots were observed on some chromosomes (APL18, 24, 25 and 29). We detected 66 co-localized phenotypic QTL and pQTL for which the significance of the two-trait QTL (2t-QTL) analysis was higher than that of the strongest QTL using a single-trait approach. Among these, 16 2t-QTL were pleiotropic. For example, on APL15, melting rate and abundance of two alpha-enolase spots appeared to be impacted by a single locus that is involved in the glycolytic process. On APLZ, we identified a pleiotropic QTL that modified both the blood level of glucose at the beginning of the force-feeding period and the concentration of glutamate dehydrogenase, which, in humans, is involved in increased glucose absorption by the liver when the glutamate dehydrogenase 1 gene is mutated. Conclusions We identified pleiotropic loci that affect metabolic pathways linked to glycolysis or lipogenesis, and in the end to fatty liver quality. Further investigation, via transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches, is required to confirm the biomarkers that were found to impact the genetic variability of these phenotypic traits.

There are many reasons why discussions about the imminent return of large numbers of Syrian refugees are premature.

The latest IPCC report presents numerous consequences of temperature elevations on terrestrial biodiversity. Changes in distribution areas of plant species are the result of different processes including reproduction and mortality. The aim of this study is to present the contribution of the modeling approach in the definition of future plants species distribution areas in the Mercantour-Argentera Mountains. Species studied are Dryas octopetala, Pinus cembra and Pinus uncinata. The method developed here allows, with botanical observations from the SILENE database and ecological descriptors (climate, geology, topography), to give a spatial definition of distribution areas in order to begin the study of changes and to integrate it into a dynamic model as seed producing center. Therefore, the method tries to characterize the changes in distribution areas through the simulation of the complex processes of seed production, dissemination, germination and mortality.

The control, functions, practices and spaces of the Syrian border have been profoundly transformed in the course of the Syrian conflict, started as an uprising in March 2011. These transformations result from a web of factors: the internal territorial, political and military fragmentation; the various external interventions into the conflict; the importance of the Syrian refugee communities in Syria’s neighboring countries, and the changing border policies of the latter; the international legal framework that organizes the humanitarian response to the conflict. This article aims to illuminate the ways in which the conflict paradoxically confirms the Westphalian functions of the border in order to protect spaces and orders of peace, while at the same time it is undone and de-bordered by spaces and orders of war.