University of Lausanne

About: University of Lausanne is a education organization based out in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 20508 authors who have published 46458 publications receiving 1996655 citations. The organization is also known as: Université de Lausanne & UNIL.

The genome of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta

Abstract: Ants have evolved very complex societies and are key ecosystem members. Some ants, such as the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, are also major pests. Here, we present a draft genome of S. invicta, assembled from Roche 454 and Illumina sequencing reads obtained from a focal haploid male and his brothers. We used comparative genomic methods to obtain insight into the unique features of the S. invicta genome. For example, we found that this genome harbors four adjacent copies of vitellogenin. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that an ancestral vitellogenin gene first underwent a duplication that was followed by possibly independent duplications of each of the daughter vitellogenins. The vitellogenin genes have undergone subfunctionalization with queen- and worker-specific expression, possibly reflecting differential selection acting on the queen and worker castes. Additionally, we identified more than 400 putative olfactory receptors of which at least 297 are intact. This represents the largest repertoire reported so far in insects. S. invicta also harbors an expansion of a specific family of lipid-processing genes, two putative orthologs to the transformer/feminizer sex differentiation gene, a functional DNA methylation system, and a single putative telomerase ortholog. EST data indicate that this S. invicta telomerase ortholog has at least four spliceforms that differ in their use of two sets of mutually exclusive exons. Some of these and other unique aspects of the fire ant genome are likely linked to the complex social behavior of this species.

The pharmaceutical industry and natural products: historical status and new trends

Abstract: Owing to the high diversity of terrestrial and marine organisms, natural products (secondary metabolites) are some of the most successful source of drug leads for the treatment of many diseases and illnesses. In the 1990s, advancements in automation [high-throughput screening (HTS)] and isolation technologies resulted in the surge in research towards natural products both in the fields of human health and agriculture. These strategies and techniques generated a substantial shift towards this ‘green Eldorado’, a real ‘Green Rush’ between 1990 and 2000. However, in the early 2000s most of the big Pharmas terminated their HTS and bioprospecting endeavours but to date, the low productivity of combichem and rational drug design is silently positioning pharmacognosy back on the rails and natural product discovery is remerging as a reputable source of current drugs on the market. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has come to the realisation of the importance of biodiversity which would be able to offer affordable, therapeutic solutions to the majority of the world population. The preservation of the world’s biodiversity and its access is a critical issue which could hamper a serene utilisation of natural products in the developing world with herbal-based phytopharmaceuticals representing a significant share of the total world pharmaceutical market. This review presents an industrial perspective discussing natural product drug discovery, lead research, botanicals, pro-drugs, synergy effects, drugs interactions with botanicals, traditional medicines, reverse pharmacognosy and presents the difficulties in accessing biodiversity.

Defining Responses to Therapy and Study Outcomes in Clinical Trials of Invasive Fungal Diseases: Mycoses Study Group and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Consensus Criteria

Abstract: Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) have become major causes of morbidity and mortality among highly immunocompromised patients. Authoritative consensus criteria to diagnose IFD have been useful in establishing eligibility criteria for antifungal trials. There is an important need for generation of consensus definitions of outcomes of IFD that will form a standard for evaluating treatment success and failure in clinical trials. Therefore, an expert international panel consisting of the Mycoses Study Group and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer was convened to propose guidelines for assessing treatment responses in clinical trials of IFDs and for defining study outcomes. Major fungal diseases that are discussed include invasive disease due to Candida species, Aspergillus species and other molds, Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Coccidioides immitis. We also discuss potential pitfalls in assessing outcome, such as conflicting clinical, radiological, and/or mycological data and gaps in knowledge.

Statistical significance of quantitative PCR

Abstract: PCR has the potential to detect and precisely quantify specific DNA sequences, but it is not yet often used as a fully quantitative method. A number of data collection and processing strategies have been described for the implementation of quantitative PCR. However, they can be experimentally cumbersome, their relative performances have not been evaluated systematically, and they often remain poorly validated statistically and/or experimentally. In this study, we evaluated the performance of known methods, and compared them with newly developed data processing strategies in terms of resolution, precision and robustness. Our results indicate that simple methods that do not rely on the estimation of the efficiency of the PCR amplification may provide reproducible and sensitive data, but that they do not quantify DNA with precision. Other evaluated methods based on sigmoidal or exponential curve fitting were generally of both poor resolution and precision. A statistical analysis of the parameters that influence efficiency indicated that it depends mostly on the selected amplicon and to a lesser extent on the particular biological sample analyzed. Thus, we devised various strategies based on individual or averaged efficiency values, which were used to assess the regulated expression of several genes in response to a growth factor. Overall, qPCR data analysis methods differ significantly in their performance, and this analysis identifies methods that provide DNA quantification estimates of high precision, robustness and reliability. These methods allow reliable estimations of relative expression ratio of two-fold or higher, and our analysis provides an estimation of the number of biological samples that have to be analyzed to achieve a given precision.