Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Ctenophores are a phylum of non-bilaterian marine (mostly planktonic) animals, characterised by several unique synapomorphies (e.g., comb rows, apical organ). Relationships between and within the nine recognised ctenophore orders are far from understood, notably due to a paucity of phylogenetically informative anatomical characters. Previous attempts to address ctenophore phylogeny using molecular data (18S rRNA) led to poorly resolved trees but demonstrated the paraphyly of the order Cydippida. Here we compiled an updated 18S rRNA data set, notably including a few newly sequenced species representing previously unsampled families (Lampeidae, Euryhamphaeidae), and we constructed an additional more rapidly evolving ITS1 + 5.8S rRNA + ITS2 alignment. These data sets were analysed separately and in combination under a probabilistic framework, using different methods (maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference) and models (e.g., doublet model to accommodate secondary structure; data partitioning). An important lesson from our exploration of these datasets is that the fast-evolving internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions are useful markers for reconstructing high-level relationships within ctenophores. Our results confirm the paraphyly of the order Cydippida (and thus a ``cydippid-like'' ctenophore common ancestor) and suggest that the family Mertensiidae could be the sister group of all other ctenophores. The family Lampeidae (also part of the former ``Cydippida'') is probably the sister group of the order Platyctenida (benthic ctenophores). The order Beroida might not be monophyletic, due to the position of Beroe abyssicola outside of a clade grouping the other Beroe species and members of the ``Cydippida'' family Haeckeliidae. Many relationships (e.g. between Pleurobrachiidae, Beroida, Cestida, Lobata, Thalassocalycida) remain unresolved. Future progress in understanding ctenophore phylogeny will come from the use of additional rapidly evolving markers and improvement of taxonomic sampling.
ISSN: 0944-2006

hal-01544475
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544475
DOI : 10.1016/j.zool.2014.06.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Neurogenesis initiates during early development and it continues through later developmental stages and in adult animals to enable expansion, remodeling, and homeostasis of the nervous system. The generation of nerve cells has been analyzed in detail in few bilaterian model organisms, leaving open many questions about the evolution of this process. As the sister group to bilaterians, cnidarians occupy an informative phylogenetic position to address the early evolution of cellular and molecular aspects of neurogenesis and to understand common principles of neural development. Here we review studies in several cnidarian model systems that have revealed significant similarities and interesting differences compared to neurogenesis in bilaterian species, and between different cnidarian taxa. Cnidarian neurogenesis is currently best understood in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, where it includes epithelial neural progenitor cells that express transcription factors of the soxB and atonal families. Notch signaling regulates the number of these neural progenitor cells, achaete-scute and dmrt genes are required for their further development and Wnt and BMP signaling appear to be involved in the patterning of the nervous system. In contrast to many vertebrates and Drosophila, cnidarians have a high capacity to generate neurons throughout their lifetime and during regeneration. Utilizing this feature of cnidarian biology will likely allow gaining new insights into the similarities and differences of embryonic and regenerative neurogenesis. The use of different cnidarian model systems and their expanding experimental toolkits will thus continue to provide a better understanding of evolutionary and developmental aspects of nervous system formation.
ISSN: 1759-7692

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/
hal-01405097
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01405097
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01405097/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01405097/file/Rentzsch_et_al-2016-Wiley_Interdisciplinary_Reviews__Developmental_Biology.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/wdev.257

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Ctenophores are one of the four animal phyla positioned outside from the Bilateria. Most ctenophore species are planktonic and gelatinous, and are easily recognisable by their eight comb rows used for swimming. Ctenophore systematics remains nowadays poorly understood. Anatomical characters do not help much in placing them within the animal tree, and similarly the grounds for establishment of their internal phylogeny as well as delimitation of species are notoriously weak due to a paucity of informative morpho-anatomical characters. Until now, the use of molecular data has failed to improve significantly this situation. The aim of this PhD thesis was to bring a contribution to our understanding of ctenophore evolution at different taxonomic scales. At the metazoan level, the position of ctenophores was addressed using a phylogenomic approach. Taxonomic sampling was significantly improved through sequencing and assembly of transcriptomes of 22 non-bilaterian species (belonging to ctenophores, cnidarians and sponges). Two independent datasets were analysed, one consisting in an update of an existing supermatrix of 128 genes, the other one (4235 genes) having been entirely built de novo, thanks to a newly-devised semi-automated protocol intended to eliminate all major potential causes of artefacts (contaminations, paralogies, missing data). Results clearly contradict recent phylogenomic studies which claimed Ctenophora to be the most early-diverging animal lineage, our analyses instead supporting Porifera as the sister-group to other metazoans. The exact position of ctenophores remains however uncertain at this stage, different conditions of analyses yielding three contradictory hypotheses as open possibilities. At the intra-phyletic level, analyses of a ADNr 18S and ITS (internal transcribed spacers) dataset, together with study of duplicated genes and the results of phylogenomic analyses, allowed resolving most phylogenetic relationships between ctenophore orders and families, including the placement of the ctenophore tree root. Finally, at smaller taxonomic scale, in-depth comparison between two species of the genus Pleurobrachia using immunohistochemistry demonstrates the potential of these techniques for uncovering new structural “micro-anatomical” characters useful for diagnosis and identification of ctenophore species. It is our hope that this work will contribute to improving the systematics of a poorly known phylum of great importance for understanding early animal evolution.
Les cténophores représentent l’un des quatre embranchements animaux extérieurs aux Bilateria. La majoritédes espèces sont planctoniques et gélatineuses, et sont reconnaissables à leurs huit rangées de peignes dont lebattement permet la nage. Leur systématique est encore de nos jours mal comprise. L'anatomie descténophores offre peu de caractères aussi bien pour placer la lignée dans l’arbre des métazoaires, que pourétablir les relations de parenté au sein de l’embranchement et délimiter les espèces, et jusqu’à présent lesdonnées moléculaires n’ont pas permis de résoudre ces problèmes de manière satisfaisante. L’objectif de cetravail de thèse est de contribuer à améliorer notre compréhension de l'évolution des cténophores àdifférentes échelles taxonomiques. A l’échelle des métazoaires, la position phylogénétique des cténophores aété abordée par une approche phylogénomique. Un effort significatif a été réalisé pour améliorerl’échantillonnage taxonomique à travers le séquençage et l’assemblage des transcriptomes de 22 espèces denon-Bilateria (cténophores, cnidaires, spongiaires). Deux jeux de données indépendants ont été analysés, lepremier représentant une mise à jour d’une supermatrice existante de 128 gènes ; le second (4235 gènes)ayant été entièrement construit de novo via un protocole original comportant la mise au point de nouvellesméthodes pour traiter de manière semi-automatisée les principales sources potentielles d’artéfact(contaminations, paralogies, données manquantes). Les résultats contredisent certaines études récentes enmontrant que les spongiaires et non les cténophores représentent le groupe-frère des autres métazoaires. Laposition exacte de ces derniers reste à ce stade incertaine (trois options se présentant suivant les analyses). Al’échelle intra-phylétique, l'analyse d'un jeu de données comprenant les marqueurs ADNr 18S et InternalTranscribed Spacers (ITS), associée à des analyses de gènes dupliqués chez les cténophores et aux analysesphylogénomiques précédentes, a permis de résoudre une grande partie des relations phylogénétiques entre lesordres et les familles de cténophores, tout en permettant de préciser la position de la racine. Enfin, à uneéchelle taxonomique plus fine, une comparaison approfondie entre deux espèces du genre Pleurobrachia aumoyen de marquages immunohistochimiques montre le potentiel de ces techniques comme source denouveaux caractères structuraux « micro-anatomiques » à valeur diagnostique pour la délimitation etl’identification des espèces de cténophores. En conclusion, ce travail se veut une contribution au progrès dela systématique d’un embranchement encore méconnu et d’une grande importance pour la compréhensiondes évènements anciens de l’évolution animale.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01165014

NNT : 2014PA066448
tel-01165014
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01165014
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01165014/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01165014/file/these_archivage_3158995o.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: Myosin II (or Myosin Heavy Chain II, MHCII) is a family of molecular motors involved in the contractile activity of animal muscle cells but also in various other cellular processes in non-muscle cells. Previous phylogenetic analyses of bilaterian MHCII genes identified two main clades associated respectively with smooth/non-muscle cells (MHCIIa) and striated muscle cells (MHCIIb). Muscle cells are generally thought to have originated only once in ancient animal history, and decisive insights about their early evolution are expected to come from expression studies of Myosin II genes in the two non-bilaterian phyla that possess muscles, the Cnidaria and Ctenophora. Results: We have uncovered three MHCII paralogues in the ctenophore species Pleurobrachia pileus. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the MHCIIa /MHCIIb duplication is more ancient than the divergence between extant metazoan lineages. The ctenophore MHCIIa gene (PpiMHCIIa) has an expression pattern akin to that of ``stem cell markers'' (Piwi, Vasa...) and is expressed in proliferating cells. We identified two MHCIIb genes that originated from a ctenophore-specific duplication. PpiMHCIIb1 represents the exclusively muscular form of myosin II in ctenophore, while PpiMHCIIb2 is expressed in non-muscle cells of various types. In parallel, our phalloidin staining and TEM observations highlight the structural complexity of ctenophore musculature and emphasize the experimental interest of the ctenophore tentacle root, in which myogenesis is spatially ordered and strikingly similar to striated muscle formation in vertebrates. Conclusion: MHCIIa expression in putative stem cells/proliferating cells probably represents an ancestral trait, while specific involvement of some MHCIIa genes in smooth muscle fibres is a uniquely derived feature of the vertebrates. That one ctenophore MHCIIb paralogue (PpiMHCIIb2) has retained MHCIIa-like expression features furthermore suggests that muscular expression of the other paralogue, PpiMHCIIb1, was the result of neofunctionalisation within the ctenophore lineage, making independent origin of ctenophore muscle cells a likely option.
ISSN: 1471-2148

hal-01544486
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544486
DOI : 10.1186/1471-2148-12-107

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Magnolia Press
Résumé : International audience
Hydroporus rifensis sp. n. is described from Central Rif in northern Morocco. The new species is the first member of the Hydroporus tristis-group to be recorded from the African continent. Analyses of cytochrome oxydase 1 (CO1) and 16S rRNA partial sequences indicate unambiguously that H. rifensis sp. n. is a geographical vicariant of the widespread and common European species Hydroporus gyllenhalii Schiodte, 1841, whose closest Iberian populations are known from southern Spain and southern Portugal. Genetically the two species are very close, but in terms of morphology they differ considerably, to the extent that in several respects H. rifensis sp. n. is more similar to some species of the H. striola-group, the sister clade of the H. tristis-group. The new species differs from H. gyllenhalii notably by its larger size, lighter elytra, stronger pubescence, much finer elytral punctation, morphology of the median prosternum area, and marked differentiation of protarsal claws in male. Hydroporus rifensis sp. n. is the first dytiscid species endemic to the Rif and the second Hydroporus species endemic to Morocco.
ISSN: 1175-5326

hal-01544481
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544481
DOI : 10.11646/zootaxa.3841.1.4

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Resolving the early diversification of animal lineages has proven difficult, even using genome-scale datasets. Several phylogenomic studies have supported the classical scenario in which sponges (Porifera) are the sister group to all other animals (''Porifera-sister''3 hypothesis), consistent with a single origin of the gut, nerve cells, and muscle cells in the stem lineage of eumetazoans (bilaterians + ctenophores + cnidarians). In contrast, several other studies have recovered an alternative topology in which ctenophores are the sister group to all other animals (including sponges). The ``Ctenophora-sister'' hypothesis implies that eumetazoan-specific traits, such as neurons and muscle cells, either evolved once along the metazoan stem lineage and were then lost in sponges and placozoans or evolved at least twice independently in Ctenophora and in Cnidaria + Bilateria. Here, we report on our reconstruction of deep metazoan relationships using a 1,719-gene dataset with dense taxonomic sampling of non-bilaterian animals that was assembled using a semi-automated procedure, designed to reduce known error sources. Our dataset outperforms previous metazoan gene superalignments in terms of data quality and quantity. Analyses with a best-fitting site-heterogeneous evolutionary model provide strong statistical support for placing sponges as the sister-group to all other metazoans, with ctenophores emerging as the second-earliest branching animal lineage. Only those methodological settings that exacerbated long-branch attraction artifacts yielded Ctenophora-sister. These results show that methodological issues must be carefully addressed to tackle difficult phylogenetic questions and pave the road to a better understanding of how fundamental features of animal body plans have emerged.
ISSN: 0960-9822

hal-01681528
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01681528
DOI : 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.031

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-VCH Verlag
Résumé : International audience
o abstract
ISSN: 0265-9247

hal-01544485
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544485
DOI : 10.1002/bies.201100183

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The separation of the germ line from the soma is a classic concept in animal biology, and depending on species is thought to involve fate determination either by maternally localized germ plasm (''preformation'' or ``maternal inheritance'') or by inductive signaling (classically termed ``epigenesis'' or ``zygotic induction''). The latter mechanism is generally considered to operate in non-bilaterian organisms such as cnidarians and sponges, in which germ cell fate is determined at adult stages from multipotent stem cells. We have found in the hydrozoan cnidarian Clytia hemisphaerica that the multipotent ``interstitial'' cells (i-cells) in larvae and adult medusae, from which germ cells derive, express a set of conserved germ cell markers: Vasa, Nanos1, Piwi and PL10. In situ hybridization analyses unexpectedly revealed maternal mRNAs for all these genes highly concentrated in a germ plasm-like region at the egg animal pole and inherited by the i-cell lineage, strongly suggesting i-cell fate determination by inheritance of animal-localized factors. On the other hand, experimental tests showed that i-cells can form by epigenetic mechanisms in Clytia, since larvae derived from both animal and vegetal blastomeres separated during cleavage stages developed equivalent i-cell populations. Thus Clytia embryos appear to have maternal germ plasm inherited by i-cells but also the potential to form these cells by zygotic induction. Reassessment of available data indicates that maternally localized germ plasm molecular components were plausibly present in the common cnidarian/bilaterian ancestor, but that their role may not have been strictly deterministic.
ISSN: 0012-1606

hal-01544487
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544487
DOI : 10.1016/j.ydbio.2012.01.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Ctenophores are non-bilaterian metazoans of uncertain phylogenetic position, some recent studies placing them as sister-group to all other animals whereas others suggest this placement is artefactual and ctenophores are more closely allied with cnidarians and bilaterians, with which they share nerve cells, muscles and gut. Available information about developmental genes and their expression and function in ctenophores is reviewed. These data not only unveil some conserved aspects of molecular developmental mechanisms with other basal metazoan lineages, but also can be expected to enlighten the genomic and molecular bases of the evolution of ctenophore-specific traits, including their unique embryonic development, complex anatomy and high cell type diversity.
ISSN: 0959437X

hal-01509720
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01509720
ARXIV : 1605.05876
DOI : 10.1016/j.gde.2016.05.020

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Due to their phylogenetic position outside from Bilateria, cnidarians and ctenophores are key phyla to understanding the origin and early evolution of molecular mechanisms, cell types, or body plan features at the level of Metazoa. Unlike other non-bilaterian phyla (sponges and placozoans), they possess neurons and muscle cells. The first part of my work relates to the problem of the origin of the metazoan nervous system. Recent studies have suggested a dual origin for nerve cells, with ctenophore neurons having emerged independently from those of cnidarians and bilaterians. This hypothesis relies on phylogenomic analyses supporting ctenophores as sister-group to all other metazoans, and on the purported absence in ctenophores of almost all well-known neuro-transmission systems, including the cholinergic system. Refuting this claim, I present substantial evidence in favour of acetylcholine (Ach) being used in the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus as an extra-cellular messenger, including within the nervous system. This conclusion arises from the conjunction of multiple approaches at the molecular scale (orthology analyses, Ach immuno-localisation, gene in situ hybridisation), at the cellular scale (calcium imaging on muscle cells exposed to Ach) and at the organism scale (pharmacological treatments with an Ach analogue and Ach antagonists). In the second part of my thesis, I address the conservation of molecular mechanisms involved in the control of cellular proliferation. Notably, the Hippo pathway is known for its role in bilaterians in the negative control of cellular proliferation. I show that components of this pathway are conserved in Pleurobrachia pileus and in Clytia hemisphaerica and that the nuclear vs. cytoplasmic localisation of the transcriptional co-factor Yorkie is correlated to the extent of proliferation within C. hemisphaerica tissues. Finally, RNAseq differential gene expression analyses along a cellular conveyor belt of the C. hemisphaerica medusa suggests a tendency for conservation of function among a set of genes whose mammalian orthologues have documented roles in the arrest of cellular proliferation.
Les Cnidaires et les Cténaires sont deux embranchements extérieurs aux Bilatériens qui, de par leur position phylogénétique, constituent des modèles d'étude cruciaux pour comprendre l'origine et l'évolution de mécanismes moléculaires ou encore de types cellulaires à grande échelle chez les Métazoaires. Ils sont les deux seuls embranchements non-Bilatériens à posséder des cellules nerveuses ainsi que des cellules musculaires. La première partie de mon travail de thèse s'inscrit dans le contexte de la compréhension de l'origine du système nerveux des Métazoaires. Des études récentes suggèrent une origine double du système nerveux ; ainsi celui des Cténaires aurait été acquis de manière convergente par rapport à celui des Cnidaires et des Bilatériens. Cela repose sur des données récentes de phylogénomique proposant les Cténaires en tant que groupe-frère de tous les autres Métazoaires et sur l'absence supposée chez les Cténaires de quasiment tous les systèmes de neurotransmission connus y compris le système cholinergique. A l'encontre de ces hypothèses, j'ai pu mettre en évidence l'existence d'un système cholinergique chez le Cténaire Pleurobrachia pileus ainsi que son étroite association avec le système nerveux. Cette conclusion repose sur une multiplicité d'approches à l'échelle moléculaire (analyses d'orthologie, immunolocalisation, hybridations in situ), cellulaire (imagerie calcique) et de l'organisme (approche pharmacologique). Dans la seconde partie de ma thèse, j'aborde la question de la conservation des mécanismes moléculaires impliqués dans le contrôle de la prolifération cellulaire à l'échelle des Métazoaires. J'ai pu mettre en évidence la conservation des acteurs.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01633223

NNT : 2015PA066629
tel-01633223
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01633223
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01633223v2/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01633223/file/2015PA066629.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: The Hippo pathway regulates growth rate and organ size in fly and mouse, notably through control of cell proliferation. Molecular interactions at the heart of this pathway are known to have originated in the unicellular ancestry of metazoans. They notably involve a cascade of phosphorylations triggered by the kinase Hippo, with sub‑ sequent nuclear to cytoplasmic shift of Yorkie localisation, preventing its binding to the transcription factor Scalloped, thereby silencing proliferation genes. There are few comparative expression data of Hippo pathway genes in non‑ model animal species and notably none in non‑bilaterian phyla.Results: All core Hippo pathway genes could be retrieved from the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus and the hydro‑ zoan cnidarian Clytia hemisphaerica, with the important exception of Yorkie in ctenophore. Expression study of the Hippo, Salvador and Scalloped genes in tentacle " cellular conveyor belts " of these two organisms revealed striking differences. In P. pileus, their transcripts were detected in areas where undifferentiated progenitors intensely prolifer‑ ate and where expression of cyclins B and D was also seen. In C. hemisphaerica, these three genes and Yorkie are expressed not only in the proliferating but also in the differentiation zone of the tentacle bulb and in mature tentacle cells. However, using an antibody designed against the C. hemiphaerica Yorkie protein, we show in two distinct cell lineages of the medusa that Yorkie localisation is predominantly nuclear in areas of active cell proliferation and mainly cytoplasmic elsewhere.Conclusions: This is the first evidence of nucleocytoplasmic Yorkie shift in association with the arrest of cell prolifera‑ tion in a cnidarian, strongly evoking the cell division‑promoting role of this protein and its inhibition by the activated Hippo pathway in bilaterian models. Our results furthermore highlight important differences in terms of deployment and regulation of Hippo pathway genes between cnidarians and ctenophores.
ISSN: 2041-9139

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01286578
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01286578
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01286578/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01286578/file/comparative.pdf
DOI : 10.1186/s13227-016-0041-y

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Signalling through the Wnt family of secreted proteins originated in a common metazoan ancestor and greatly influenced the evolution of animal body plans. In bilaterians, Wnt signalling plays multiple fundamental roles during embryonic development and in adult tissues, notably in axial patterning, neural development and stem cell regulation. Studies in various cnidarian species have particularly highlighted the evolutionarily conserved role of the Wnt/b-catenin pathway in specification and patterning of the primary embryonic axis. However in another key non-bilaterian phylum, Ctenophora, Wnts are not involved in early establishment of the body axis during embryogenesis. We analysed the expression in the adult of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus of 11 orthologues of Wnt signalling genes including all ctenophore Wnt ligands and Fz receptors and several members of the intracellular b-catenin pathway machinery. All genes are strongly expressed around the mouth margin at the oral pole, evoking the Wnt oral centre of cnidarians. This observation is consistent with primary axis polarisation by the Wnts being a universal metazoan feature, secondarily lost in ctenophores during early development but retained in the adult. In addition, local expression of Wnt signalling genes was seen in various anatomical structures of the body including in the locomotory comb rows, where their complex deployment suggests control by the Wnts of local comb polarity. Other important contexts of Wnt involvement which probably evolved before the ctenophore/ cnidarian/bilaterian split include proliferating stem cells and progenitors irrespective of cell types, and developing as well as differentiated neuro-sensory structures.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01544483
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544483
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0084363

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Magnolia Press
Résumé : International audience
The genus Notomicrus Sharp, 1882 is recorded from Guadeloupe for the first time. Examination of recently collected material revealed the presence of four species, of which three are described as new species so far endemic to Guadeloupe. Notomicrus sabrouxi sp. n. is akin to the continental Neotropical species N. gracilipes Sharp, 1882 and N. traili Sharp, 1882. Notomicrus chailliei sp. n. and N. femineus sp. n. are sibling species which diverge from each other by 3.4% of observed distance in cytochrome oxidase 1 sequences. The latter species seems to be comprised of only females, and is suspected to reproduce by obligate parthenogenesis. The fourth species is N. sharpi Balfour-Browne, 1939. These species are morphologically described notably through scanning electron microscopy study, and data on their distribution in the Guadeloupe archipelago and habitat preferences are presented and discussed.
ISSN: 1175-5326

hal-01544477
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544477

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Magnolia Press
Résumé : International audience
Hydroporus galloprovincialis sp. n. is described from Jouques, north-east of Aix-en-Provence in south-eastern France (Provence). The new species belongs to the Hydroporus memnonius-group, within which it is the only ascertained normandi-complex species of the French fauna. The habitat (small springs) and morphological features of the species suggest a semi-subterranean life style. It can be separated from the other species of the complex notably by its more elongated and parallel-sided habitus, by its wider pronotum and flatter dorsal surface, and furthermore differs from H. normandi Regimbart, 1903 by a different shape of the gonocoxa. Illustrations are provided for other described normandi-complex species and subspecies for comparison. Analyses of partial cox1 sequences indicate that the three sampled H. normandi-complex species (H. galloprovincialis sp. n., H. normandi and H. lluci Fery, 1999) diverged recently; their relationships are unresolved. H. galloprovincialis sp. n. is for the moment the only species of the genus Hydroporus Clairville, 1806 endemic to continental France.
ISSN: 1175-5326

hal-01544484
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544484
DOI : 10.11646/zootaxa.3652.4.4

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD National Academy of Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Stem cells are pivotal for development and tissue homeostasis of multicellular animals, and the quest for a gene toolkit associated with the emergence of stem cells in a common ancestor of all metazoans remains a major challenge for evolutionary biology. We reconstructed the conserved gene repertoire of animal stem cells by transcriptomic profiling of totipotent archeocytes in the demosponge Ephydatia fluviatilis and by tracing shared molecular signatures with flatworm and Hydra stem cells. Phylostratigraphy analyses indicated that most of these stem-cell genes predate animal origin, with only few metazoan innovations, notably including several partners of the Piwi machinery known to promote genome stability. The ancestral stem-cell transcriptome is strikingly poor in transcription factors. Instead, it is rich in RNA regulatory actors, including components of the ``germ-line multipotency program'' and many RNA-binding proteins known as critical regulators of mammalian embryonic stem cells.
ISSN: 0027-8424

hal-01544480
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544480
DOI : 10.1073/pnas.1514789112