Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Acquiring information is indisputably energy-consuming and conversely, the availability of information permits greater efficiency. Strangely, the scientific community long remained reluctant to establish a physical equivalence between the abstract notion of information and sensible thermodynamics. However, certain physicists such as Szilard and Brillouin proposed: (i) to give to information the status of a genuine thermodynamic entity (k B T ln2 joules/bit) and (ii) to link the capacity of storing information inferred from correlated systems, to that of indefinitely increasing organization. This positive feedback coupled to the self-templating molecular potential could provide a universal basis for the spontaneous rise of highly organized structures, typified by the emergence of life from a prebiotic chemical soup. Once established, this mechanism ensures the longevity and robustness of life envisioned as a general system, by allowing it to accumulate and optimize microstate-reducing recipes, thereby giving rise to strong nonlinearity, decisional capacity and multistability. Mechanisms possibly involved in priming this cycle are proposed.
ISSN: 0169-6149

inserm-00826658
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00826658
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00826658/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00826658/file/OLEB-2013.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s11084-013-9329-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Despite their dynamic nature, certain chromatin marks must be maintained over the long term. This is particulary true for histone 3 lysine 9 (H3K9) trimethylation, that is involved in the maintenance of healthy differentiated cellular states by preventing inappropriate gene expression, and has been recently identified as the most efficient barrier to cellular reprogramming in nuclear transfer experiments. We propose that the capacity of the enzymes SUV39H1/2 to rebind to a minor fraction of their products, either directly or via HP1α/β, contributes to the solidity of this mark through (i) a positive feedback involved in its establishment by the mutual enforcement of H3K9me3 and SUV39H1/2 and then (ii) a negative feedback sufficient to strongly stabilize H3K9me3 heterochromatin in post-mitotic cells by generating local enzyme concentrations capable of counteracting transient bursts of demethylation. This model does not require direct molecular interactions with adjacent nucleosomes and is favoured by a series of additional mechanisms including (i) the protection of chromatin-bound SUV39H1/2 from the turnovers of soluble proteins, which can explain the uncoupling between the cellular contents in SUV39H1 mRNA and protein; (ii) the cooperative dependence on the local density of the H3K9me3 of HP1α/β-dependent heterochomatin condensation and, dispensably (iii) restricted enzyme exchanges with chromocenters confining the reactive bursts of SUV39H1/2 in heterochromatin. This mechanism illustrates how seemingly static epigenetic states can be firmly maintained by dynamic and reversible modifications. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms

hal-01467548
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467548
DOI : 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2016.11.006
PUBMED : 27876670

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
We report structural evidence of ductile strain localization in mantle pyroxenite from the spinel to plagioclase websterite transition in the Ronda Peridotite (southern Spain). Mapping shows that, in this domain, small-scale shear zones occurring at the base of the lithospheric section are systematically located within thin pyroxenite layers, suggesting that the pyroxenite was locally weaker than the host peridotite. Strain localization is associated with a sudden decrease of grain size and increasing volume fractions of plagioclase and amphibole as a result of a spinel to plagioclase phase transformation reaction during decompression. This reaction also fostered hydrogen extraction ('dehydroxylation') from clinopyroxene producing effective fluid saturation that catalyzed the synkinematic net-transfer reaction. This reaction produced fine-grained olivine and plagioclase, allowing the onset of grain-size sensitive creep and further strain localization in these pyroxenite bands. The strain localization in the pyroxenites is thus explained by their more fertile composition, which allowed earlier onset of the phase transition reactions. Geothermobarometry undertaken on compositionally zoned constituent minerals suggests that this positive feedback between reactions and deformation is associated with cooling from at least 1000°C to 700°C and decompression from 1*0 to 0*5 GPa.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00941293
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00941293
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egt039

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Science Bv
Résumé : The breakup of Pangea and onset of growth of the Pacific plate led to several paleoenvironmental feedbacks, which radically affected paleoclimate and ocean chemistry during the Jurassic. Overall, this period was characterized by intense volcanic degassing from large igneous provinces and circum-Panthalassan arcs, new oceanic circulation patterns, and changes in heat and humidity transports affecting continental weathering. Few studies, however, have attempted to unravel the global interactions linking these processes over the long-term. In this paper, we address this question by documenting the global changes in continental drainage and surface oceanic circulation for the whole Jurassic period. For this purpose, we present 53 new neodymium isotope values (εNd(t)) measured on well-dated fossil fish teeth, ichthyosaur bones, phosphatized nodules, phosphatized ooids, and clastic sediments from Europe, western Russia, and North America. Combined with an extensive compilation of published εNd(t) data, our results show that the continental sources of Nd were very heterogeneous across the world. Volcanic inputs from a Jurassic equivalent of the modern Pacific Ring of Fire contributed to radiogenic εNd(t) values (− 4 ε-units) in the Panthalassa Ocean. For the Tethyan Ocean, the average surface seawater signal was less radiogenic in the equatorial region (− 6.3), and gradually lower toward the epicontinental peri-Tethyan (− 7.4), western Russian (− 7.4) and Euro-Boreal seas (− 8.6). Different Nd sources contributed to this disparity, with radiogenic Nd influxes from westward Panthalassan currents or juvenile volcanic arcs in open oceanic domains, and substantial unradiogenic inputs from old Laurasian and Gondwanan shields for the NW Tethyan platforms. Overall, the εNd(t) values of Euro-Boreal, peri-Tethyan, and western Russian waters varied quite similarly through time, in response to regional changes in oceanic circulation, paleoclimate, continental drainage, and volcanism. Three positive shifts in εNd(t) values occurred successively in these epicontinental seas during the Pliensbachian, in the Aalenian-Bathonian interval, and in the mid-Oxfordian. The first and third events are interpreted as regional incursions of warm surface radiogenic currents from low latitudes. The Aalenian-Bathonian shift seems linked to volcanic outbursts in the NW Tethys and/or circulation of deep currents resulting from extensional events in the Hispanic Corridor and reduced influences of boreal currents crossing the Viking Corridor. In contrast, the εNd(t) signals decreased and remained very low (< − 8) during the global warming events of the Toarcian and Late Oxfordian - Early Tithonian intervals. In these greenhouse contexts, a latitudinal expansion of humid belts could have extended the drainage pathways toward boreal Nd sources of Precambrian age and increased the supply of very unradiogenic crustal-derived inputs to seawater. Finally, a brief negative εNd(t) excursion recorded in parallel with regional drops in seawater temperature suggests that southward circulation of cold unradiogenic Arctic waters occurred in the NW Tethys in the Callovian - Early Oxfordian. All these results show that changes in surface oceanic circulation resulting from the Pangean breakup could have regionally impacted the evolution of seawater temperatures in the NW Tethys.
Gondwana Research (1342-937X) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2015-06 , Vol. 27 , N. 4 , P. 1599-1615

Droits : 2014 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29015/27443.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.gr.2014.02.006
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00179/29015/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Kisspeptins are well known as mediators of the coordinated communication between the brain-pituitary axis and the gonads in many vertebrates. To test the hypothesis that gonadal steroids regulate kiss1 and kiss2 mRNA expression in European sea bass (a teleost fish), we examined the brains of gonad-intact (control) and castrated animals, as well as castrated males (GDX) and ovariectomized females (OVX) that received testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) replacement, respectively, during recrudescence. In GDX males, low expression of kiss1 mRNA is observed by in situ hybridization in the caudal hypothalamus (CH) and the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), although hypothalamic changes in kiss1 mRNA levels were not statistically different among the groups, as revealed by real-Time PCR. However, T strongly decreased kiss2 expression levels in the hypothalamus, which was documented in the MBH and the nucleus of the lateral recess (NRLd) in GDX T-Treated sea bass males. Conversely, it appears that E2 evokes lowkiss1mRNAin the CH, while there were cells expressing kiss2 in the MBH and NRLd in these OVX females. These results demonstrate that kisspeptin neurons are presumably sensitive to the feedback actions of sex steroids in the sea bass, suggesting that the MBH represents a major site for sex steroid actions on kisspeptins in this species. Also, recent data provide evidence that both positive and negative actions occur in key factors involved in sea bass reproductive function, including changes in the expression of gnrh-1/gonadotropin, cyp19b, er and ar genes and sex steroid and gonadotropin plasma levels in this teleost fish. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
Journal of Experimental Biology

hal-01406072
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01406072
DOI : 10.1242/jeb.137364
PUBMED : 27591305

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
Temperature and fluid pressure conditions control rock deformation and mineralization on geological faults, and hence the distribution of earthquakes1. Typical intraplate continental crust has hydrostatic fluid pressure and a near-surface thermal gradient of 31 ± 15 degrees Celsius per kilometre2, 3. At temperatures above 300–450 degrees Celsius, usually found at depths greater than 10–15 kilometres, the intra-crystalline plasticity of quartz and feldspar relieves stress by aseismic creep and earthquakes are infrequent. Hydrothermal conditions control the stability of mineral phases and hence frictional–mechanical processes associated with earthquake rupture cycles, but there are few temperature and fluid pressure data from active plate-bounding faults. Here we report results from a borehole drilled into the upper part of the Alpine Fault, which is late in its cycle of stress accumulation and expected to rupture in a magnitude 8 earthquake in the coming decades4, 5. The borehole (depth 893 metres) revealed a pore fluid pressure gradient exceeding 9 ± 1 per cent above hydrostatic levels and an average geothermal gradient of 125 ± 55 degrees Celsius per kilometre within the hanging wall of the fault. These extreme hydrothermal conditions result from rapid fault movement, which transports rock and heat from depth, and topographically driven fluid movement that concentrates heat into valleys. Shear heating may occur within the fault but is not required to explain our observations. Our data and models show that highly anomalous fluid pressure and temperature gradients in the upper part of the seismogenic zone can be created by positive feedbacks between processes of fault slip, rock fracturing and alteration, and landscape development at plate-bounding faults.
ISSN: 0028-0836

hal-01685757
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01685757
DOI : 10.1038/nature22355

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Much debate exists concerning the strength distribution of the continental lithosphere, how it controls lithosphere-scale strain localization and hence enables plate tectonics. No rheological model proposed to date is comprehensive enough to describe both the weakness of plate boundary and rigid-like behaviour of plate interiors. Here we show that the duality of strength of the lithosphere corresponds to different stages of microstructural evolution. Geological constraints on lithospheric strength and large strain numerical experiments reveal that the development of layers containing weak minerals and the onset of grain boundary sliding upon grain size reduction in olivine cause strain localisation and reduce strength in the crust and subcontinental mantle, respectively. The positive feedback between weakening and strain localization leads to the progressive development of weak plate boundaries while plate interiors remain
ISSN: 0040-1951

insu-00949213
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00949213/file/Gueydan_et_al_2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.02.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé :  
Tree species-rich tropical rainforests are characterized by a highly variable quality of leaf litter input to the soil at small spatial scales. This diverse plant litter is a major source of energy and nutrients for soil microorganisms, particularly in rainforests developed on old and nutrient-impoverished soils. Here we tested the hypothesis that the variability in leaf litter quality produced by a highly diverse tree community determines the spatial variability of the microbial respiration process in the underlying soil. We analyzed a total of 225 litter-soil pairs from an undisturbed Amazonian rainforest in French Guiana using a hierarchical sampling design. The microbial respiration process was assessed using substrateinduced respiration (SIR) and compared to a wide range of quality parameters of the associated litter layer (litter nutrients, carbon forms, stoichiometry, litter mass and pH). The results show that the variability of both litter quality and SIR rates was more important at large than at small scales. SIR rates varied between 1.1 and 4.0 mg g_1 h_1 and were significantly correlated with litter layer quality (up to 50% of the variability explained by the best mixed linear model). Total litter P content was the individual most important factor explaining the observed spatial variation in soil SIR, with higher rates associated to high litter P. SIR rates also correlated positively with total litter N content and with increasing proportions of labile C compounds. However, contrary to our expectation, SIR rates were not related to litter stoichiometry. These data suggest that in the studied Amazonian rainforest, tree canopy composition is an important driver of the microbial respiration process via leaf litter fall, resulting in potentially strong plant-soil feedbacks. .
ISSN: 0038-0717

hal-01032139
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032139
DOI : 10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.01.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Tropical forests contain an important proportion of the carbon stored in terrestrial vegetation, but estimated aboveground biomass (AGB) in tropical forests varies two-fold, with little consensus on the relative importance of climate, soil and forest structure in explaining spatial patterns. Here, we present analyses from a plot network designed to examine differences among contrasting forest habitats (terra firme, seasonally flooded, and white-sand forests) that span the gradient of climate and soil conditions of the Amazon basin. We installed 0.5-ha plots in 74 sites representing the three lowland forest habitats in both Loreto, Peru and French Guiana, and we integrated data describing climate, soil physical and chemical characteristics and stand variables, including local measures of wood specific gravity (WSG). We use a hierarchical model to separate the contributions of stand variables from climate and soil variables in explaining spatial variation in AGB. AGB differed among both habitats and regions, varying from 78 Mg ha−1 in white-sand forest in Peru to 605 Mg ha−1 in terra firme clay forest of French Guiana. Stand variables including tree size and basal area, and to a lesser extent WSG, were strong predictors of spatial variation in AGB. In contrast, soil and climate variables explained little overall variation in AGB, though they did co-vary to a limited extent with stand parameters that explained AGB. Our results suggest that positive feedbacks in forest structure and turnover control AGB in Amazonian forests, with richer soils (Peruvian terra firme and all seasonally flooded habitats) supporting smaller trees with lower wood density and moderate soils (French Guianan terra firme) supporting many larger trees with high wood density. The weak direct relationships we observed between soil and climate variables and AGB suggest that the most appropriate approaches to landscape scale modeling of AGB in the Amazon would be based on remote sensing methods to map stand structure.
ISSN: 1354-1013

hal-01374829
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01374829
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02432.x
PRODINRA : 183370