Bioinformatics, Phylogeny and Evolutionary Genomics Group

Members

Our group focuses on two main axes: phylogenomics (i.e. the inference of evolutionary history based on genomics data) and evolutionary genomics (understanding the molecular and population processes that drive genome evolution). We see genomes both as a subject of research (how do genomes evolve, why are they structured the way they are?), but also as a main source of empirical knowledge about the macroevolutionary patterns (what do they tell us about the history of life on Earth?), or about the phenotypes and life-history strategies of organisms. Our works heavily rely on methodological developments (bioinformatics, modeling and statistical inference).

Evolution of genome architecture and expression

Genomes are the result of a long-term evolutionary process, shaped by multiple evolutionary forces. Some genomic features are adaptive (i.e. are beneficial for the fitness of organisms), others result from non-adaptive processes (random drift and biased gene conversion - BGC) or are caused by conflicts between multiple levels of selection (e.g. meiotic drive or the spread of selfish genetic elements). We explore different aspects of genome architecture (base composition landscapes, genome structure and size, impact of transposable elements, …) or functioning (gene expression, lncRNAs, epigenetic landscapes, …), and try to disentangle the relative contribution of adaptive and non-adaptive processes to their evolution. For this purpose, we consider both the molecular mechanisms (mutation, repair, recombination) and the population processes (selection, drift, BGC, …) that shape genetic variation.

Phylogenomics

We are interested in reconstructing the history of life on Earth. This research unfolds along several axes. First, we develop phylogenomic databases of aligned genetic sequences (e.g. BIBI, RiboDB or HOGENOM). Second, we conduct methodological research on how to accurately reconstruct deep phylogenies, infer divergence times, reconstruct ancestral genetic sequences, gene repertoires and life-history traits. This methodological work is translated into publicly available software programs (e.g. SeaView, PhyloBayes, Coevol). Finally, we apply these approaches to several important problems, among which: reconstructing the phylogeny of animals, of archaea, or the global tree of life; using phylogenies and ancestral gene repertoires to investigate the evolution of complex systems and the emergence of molecular and cellular functions in the three domains of life; reconstructing ancestral genetic sequences, a research activity that has industrial and biotechnological applications.

Teaching and outreach

We teach at University Lyon 1 (Master Bioinfo@Lyon), INSA, ENS Lyon, we organize bioinformatics internships. We regularly give conferences on evolution (tree of life, human evolution, genetic diversity, …).
Prospective students and postdocs are invited to apply, as we often welcome visitors for internships or research projects.
 
Keywords: Molecular evolution and Population Genomics; Phylogenomics; Computational Genomics; Comparative genomics; Bioinformatics; Statistical inference.

Publications

Display of 691 to 720 publications on 1098 in total

In search of polymorphic Alu insertions with restricted geographic distributions

R. Cordaux, D. Srikanta, J. R. Lee, M. Stoneking, M.A. Batzer

Genomics . 90 : 154-158

DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2007.03.010

Journal article

see the publication

Mating patterns amongst Siberian reindeer herders: Inferences from mtDNA and Y-chromosomal analyses

Brigitte Pakendorf, Innokentij Novgorodov, Vladimir Osakovskij, Mark Stoneking

American Journal of Physical Anthropology . 133 ( 3 ) : 1013-1027

DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20590

Journal article

see the publication

Unexpected observations after mapping LongSAGE tags to the human genome

C. Keime, M. Sémon, Dominique Mouchiroud, L. Duret, Olivier Gandrillon

BMC Bioinformatics . 8 : 1-11

Journal article

see the publication

Identification of Mycobacterium using the EF-Tu encoding (tuf) gene and the tmRNA encoding (ssrA) gene

S. Mignard, J.-P. Flandrois

Journal of Medical Microbiology . 56 ( 8 ) : 1033-1041

DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.47105-0

Journal article

see the publication

In vitro detection of the enzymatic activity of folate-dependent tRNA(U54 C5)methyltransferase

J. Urbonavicius, Céline Brochier-Armanet, S. Skouloubris, H. Myllykallio, H. Grosjean

Methods in Enzymology . 25 : 103-19

Journal article

see the publication

In vitro detection of the enzymatic activity of folate-dependent tRNA (Uracil-54,-C5)-methyltransferase: evolutionary implications.

Jaunius Urbonavicius, Céline Brochier-Armanet, Stéphane Skouloubris, Hannu Myllykallio, Henri Grosjean

Methods in Enzymology . 425 : 103-19

DOI: 10.1016/S0076-6879(07)25004-9

Journal article

see the publication

Comparative RNomics and modomics in mollicutes: prediction of gene function and evolutionary implications

V. de Crécy-Lagard, C. Marck, Céline Brochier-Armanet, H. Grosjean

IUBMB Life . 59 : 634-58

Journal article

see the publication

A General Comparison of Relaxed Molecular Clock Models

Thomas Lepage, David Bryant, Herve Philippe, Nicolas Lartillot

Molecular Biology and Evolution . 24 ( 12 ) : 2669-2680

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msm193

Journal article

see the publication

Exploring Fast Computational Strategies for Probabilistic Phylogenetic analysis

Nicolas Rodrigue, Herve Philippe, Nicolas Lartillot

Systematic Biology . 56 : 711-726

DOI: 10.1080/10635150701611258

Journal article

see the publication

A New Method for Assessing the Effect of Replication on DNA Base Composition Asymmetry

A. Necşulea, J.R. Lobry

Molecular Biology and Evolution . 24 : 2169-2179

Journal article

see the publication

Influence of the transposable element neighborhood on human gene expression in normal and tumor tissues

E. Lerat, M. Sémon

Gene . 396 : 303-311

Journal article

see the publication

Horizontal Gene Transfer Regulation in Bacteria as a ‘‘Spandrel'' of DNA Repair Mechanisms

Saliou Fall, Anne Mercier, Franck Bertolla, Alexandra Calteau, Laurent Gueguen, Guy Perrière...

PLoS ONE . 2 ( 10 ) : e1055-e1066

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001055

Journal article

see the publication

MareyMap: an R-based tool with graphical interface for estimating recombination rates

C. Rezvoy, D. Charif, Laurent Guéguen, Gabriel Marais

Bioinformatics . 23 : 2188-2189

Journal article

see the publication

Adaptation or biased gene conversion? Extending the null hypothesis of molecular evolution

Nicolas Galtier, L. Duret

Trends in Genetics . 23 ( 6 ) : 273-277

DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2007.03.011

Journal article

see the publication

Unexpected observations after mapping LongSAGE tags to the human genome.

Céline Keime, Marie Sémon, Dominique Mouchiroud, Laurent Duret, Olivier Gandrillon

BMC Bioinformatics . 8 : 154

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-8-154

Journal article

see the publication

Integrating transcription factor binding site information with gene expression datasets

I.B. Jeffery, S.F. Madden, P.A. Mcgettigan, G. Perrière, A.C. Culhane, D.G. Higgins

Bioinformatics . 23 : 298-305

Journal article

see the publication

An archaeal orthologue of the universal protein Kae1 is an iron metalloprotein which exhibits atypical DNA-binding properties and apurinic-endonuclease activity in vitro.

Arnaud Hecker, Nicolas Leulliot, Danièle Gadelle, Marc Graille, Anthony Justome, Pierre Dorlet...

Nucleic Acids Research . 35 ( 18 ) : 6042-51

DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkm554

Journal article

see the publication

Early archives of genetically-restricted proviral DNA in the female genital tract after heterosexual transmission of HIV-1

Nicolas Chomont, Hakim Hocini, Gérard Grésenguet, Céline Brochier-Armanet, Hicham Bouhlal, Laurent Andréoletti...

AIDS. Official journal of the international AIDS Society . 21 : 153--162

DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e328011f94b

Journal article

see the publication

Phylogenomics of the archaeal flagellum: rare horizontal gene transfer in a unique motility structure

Elie Desmond-Le Quéméner, Céline Brochier-Armanet, Simonetta Gribaldo

BMC Evolutionary Biology . 7 : 53-70

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-106

Journal article

see the publication

Identification and molecular characterization of new STLV-1 and STLV-3 strains in wild-caught nonhuman primates in Cameroon

Florian Liegeois, Bénédicte Lafay, William M. Switzer, Sabrina Locatelli, Eitel Mpoudi-Ngolé, Severin Loul...

Virology . 371 ( 2 ) : 405-417

DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.09.037

Journal article

see the publication

Evaluation of the models handling heterotachy in phylogenetic inference

Yan Zhou, Nicolas Rodrigue, Nicolas Lartillot, Herve Philippe

BMC Evolutionary Biology . 7 : 206-219

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-206

Journal article

see the publication

Suppression of Long-Branch Attraction Artefacts in the Animal Phylogeny Using a Site-Heterogeneous Model

Nicolas Lartillot, Henner Brinkmann, Herve Philippe

BMC Evolutionary Biology . 7 ( Suppl 1 ) : S4

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-S1-S4

Journal article

see the publication

A New Method for Assessing the Effect of Replication on DNA Base Composition Asymmetry

A. Necşulea, J.R. Lobry

incollection . 7 : 379-381

Journal article

see the publication

Maintenance in the chicken genome of the retroviral-like cENS gene family specifically expressed in early embryos

Emmanuelle Lerat, Anne-Marie Birot, Jacques Samarut, Anne Mey

Journal of Molecular Evolution . 65 ( 3 ) : 215-227

DOI: 10.1007/s00239-007-9001-4

Journal article

see the publication

Predictions for whole genome 2D display according to size and sequence composition

Bénédicte Lafay, Jean-François Mercier, Christine Kingsburry, Gary W. Slater

3rd SCOPE meeting on Microbial Environmental Genomics (MicroEnGenIII ) .

Conference paper

see the publication

Genetic diversity and phylogeographic clustering of SIVcpzPtt in wild chimpanzees in Cameroon.

Fran van Heuverswyn, Yingying Li, Elizabeth Bailes, Cecile Neel, Bénédicte Lafay, Brandon F Keele...

Virology . 368 ( 1 ) : 155-71

DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.06.018

Journal article

see the publication

Prevalence and genetic diversity of simian immunodeficiency virus infection in wild red colobus Monkeys (Piliocolobus badius badius) from the Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire

Sabrina Locatelli, Florian Liegeois, Bénédicte Lafay, Amy D Roeder, M. W. Bruford, Pierre Formenty...

2nd Congress of the European Federation of Primatology .

Conference paper

see the publication

Molecular characterization of a simian immunodeficiency virus lineage (SIVwrc) from western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius badius)

Florian Liegeois, Sabrina Locatelli, Bénédicte Lafay, Pierre Formenty, Valérie Courgnaud, Eric Delaporte...

14th International Workshop of HIV Dynamics & Evolution .

Conference paper

see the publication

Simian immunodeficiency virus infection in wildliving red colobus monkey (Piliocolobus badius badius) from the Taï forest, Côte D'Ivoire

Sabrina Locatelli, Florian Liegeois, Bénédicte Lafay, A.D. Roeder, M. W. Bruford, R. Noë...

14th International Workshop of HIV Dynamics & Evolution .

Conference paper

see the publication

Molecular diversity of legume root-nodule bacteria in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.

Bénédicte Lafay, Jeremy J Burdon

PLoS ONE . 2 ( 3 ) : e277

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000277

Journal article

see the publication