University of Geneva

About: University of Geneva is a education organization based out in Geneva, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 26887 authors who have published 65265 publications receiving 2931373 citations. The organization is also known as: Geneva University & Universite de Geneve.

The Hidden Side of Invasions: Massive Introgression by Local Genes

Abstract: Despite hundreds of reports involving both plants and animals, the mechanisms underlying introgression remain obscure, even if some form of selection is frequently invoked. Introgression has repeatedly been reported in species that have recently colonized a new habitat, suggesting that demographic processes should be given more attention for understanding the mechanisms of introgression. Here we show by spatially explicit simulations that massive introgression of neutral genes takes place during the invasion of an occupied territory if interbreeding is not severely prevented between the invading and the local species. We also demonstrate that introgression occurs almost exclusively from the local to the invading species, especially for populations located far away from the source of the invasion, and this irrespective of the relative densities of the two species. This pattern is strongest at markers experiencing reduced gene flow, in keeping with the observation that organelle genes are often preferentially introgressed across species boundaries. A survey of the literature shows that a majority of published empirical studies of introgression during range expansions, in animals and in plants, follow the predictions of our model. Our results imply that speciation genes can be identified by comparing genomes of interfertile native and invading species pairs.

New loci associated with kidney function and chronic kidney disease

Abstract: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health problem, and recent genetic studies have identified common CKD susceptibility variants. The CKDGen consortium performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 67,093 individuals of European ancestry from 20 predominantly population-based studies in order to identify new susceptibility loci for reduced renal function as estimated by serum creatinine (eGFRcrea), serum cystatin c (eGFRcys) and CKD (eGFRcrea < 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2); n = 5,807 individuals with CKD (cases)). Follow-up of the 23 new genome-wide-significant loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)) in 22,982 replication samples identified 13 new loci affecting renal function and CKD (in or near LASS2, GCKR, ALMS1, TFDP2, DAB2, SLC34A1, VEGFA, PRKAG2, PIP5K1B, ATXN2, DACH1, UBE2Q2 and SLC7A9) and 7 loci suspected to affect creatinine production and secretion (CPS1, SLC22A2, TMEM60, WDR37, SLC6A13, WDR72 and BCAS3). These results further our understanding of the biologic mechanisms of kidney function by identifying loci that potentially influence nephrogenesis, podocyte function, angiogenesis, solute transport and metabolic functions of the kidney.

Absolute structure and absolute configuration.

Abstract: Fundamental notions concerning absolute structure and absolute configuration, and their determination from single-crystal diffraction measurements, are presented and reviewed. A glossary of terms with definitions useful in this field is provided. For absolute structure and its determination, the separate but interacting influences of the structure and the inversion-distinguishing power of an X-ray diffraction experiment with dispersive scatterers are examined. Important experimental and algorithmic details of the current methods used for absolute-structure determination are provided. Characterization of crystals for absolute-structure determination and of molecules for absolute-configuration determination are treated. Attention is given to the analysis of absolute structure and absolute configuration in twinned crystals.