@article{8503, abstract = {We prove there are finitely many isometry classes of planar central configurations (also called relative equilibria) in the Newtonian 5-body problem, except perhaps if the 5-tuple of positive masses belongs to a given codimension 2 subvariety of the mass space.}, author = {Albouy, Alain and Kaloshin, Vadim}, issn = {0003-486X}, journal = {Annals of Mathematics}, number = {1}, pages = {535--588}, publisher = {Princeton University Press}, title = {{Finiteness of central configurations of five bodies in the plane}}, doi = {10.4007/annals.2012.176.1.10}, volume = {176}, year = {2012}, } @article{887, abstract = {A subject of extensive study in evolutionary theory has been the issue of how neutral, redundant copies can be maintained in the genome for long periods of time. Concurrently, examples of adaptive gene duplications to various environmental conditions in different species have been described. At this point, it is too early to tell whether or not a substantial fraction of gene copies have initially achieved fixation by positive selection for increased dosage. Nevertheless, enough examples have accumulated in the literature that such a possibility should be considered. Here, I review the recent examples of adaptive gene duplications and make an attempt to draw generalizations on what types of genes may be particularly prone to be selected for under certain environmental conditions. The identification of copy-number variation in ecological field studies of species adapting to stressful or novel environmental conditions may improve our understanding of gene duplications as a mechanism of adaptation and its relevance to the long-term persistence of gene duplications.}, author = {Fyodor Kondrashov}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences}, number = {1749}, pages = {5048 -- 5057}, publisher = {Royal Society, The}, title = {{Gene duplication as a mechanism of genomic adaptation to a changing environment}}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2012.1108}, volume = {279}, year = {2012}, } @article{9049, abstract = {Diffusiophoretic motion of colloids and macromolecules under salt gradients exhibits a logarithmic-sensing, i.e. the particle velocity is proportional to the spatial gradient of the logarithm of the salt concentration, as VDP = DDP∇logc. Here we explore experimentally the implications of this log-sensing behavior, on the basis of a hydrogel microfluidic device allowing to build spatially and temporally controlled gradients. We first demonstrate that the non-linearity of the salt-taxis leads to a trapping of particles under concentration gradient oscillations via a rectification of the motion. As an alternative, we make use of the high sensitivity of diffusiophoretic migration to vanishing salt concentration due to the log-sensing: in a counter-intuitive way, a vanishing gradient can lead to measurable velocity provided that the solute concentration is low enough, thus keeping ∇c/c finite. We show that this leads to a strong segregation of particles in osmotic shock configuration, resulting from a step change of the salt concentration at the boundaries. These various phenomena are rationalized on the basis of a theoretical description for the time-dependent Smoluchowski equation for the colloidal density.}, author = {Palacci, Jérémie A and Cottin-Bizonne, Cécile and Ybert, Christophe and Bocquet, Lydéric}, issn = {1744-6848}, journal = {Soft Matter}, number = {4}, pages = {980--994}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, title = {{Osmotic traps for colloids and macromolecules based on logarithmic sensing in salt taxis}}, doi = {10.1039/c1sm06395b}, volume = {8}, year = {2012}, } @article{922, abstract = {We study theoretically the morphologies of biological tubes affected by various pathologies. When epithelial cells grow, the negative tension produced by their division provokes a buckling instability. Several shapes are investigated: varicose, dilated, sinuous, or sausagelike. They are all found in pathologies of tracheal, renal tubes, or arteries. The final shape depends crucially on the mechanical parameters of the tissues: Young's modulus, wall-to-lumen ratio, homeostatic pressure. We argue that since tissues must be in quasistatic mechanical equilibrium, abnormal shapes convey information as to what causes the pathology. We calculate a phase diagram of tubular instabilities which could be a helpful guide for investigating the underlying genetic regulation.}, author = {Hannezo, Edouard B and Prost, Jacques and Joanny, Jean}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Mechanical instabilities of biological tubes}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.018101}, volume = {109}, year = {2012}, } @article{9499, abstract = {EMBRYONIC FLOWER1 (EMF1) is a plant-specific gene crucial to Arabidopsis vegetative development. Loss of function mutants in the EMF1 gene mimic the phenotype caused by mutations in Polycomb Group protein (PcG) genes, which encode epigenetic repressors that regulate many aspects of eukaryotic development. In Arabidopsis, Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2), made of PcG proteins, catalyzes trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) and PRC1-like proteins catalyze H2AK119 ubiquitination. Despite functional similarity to PcG proteins, EMF1 lacks sequence homology with known PcG proteins; thus, its role in the PcG mechanism is unclear. To study the EMF1 functions and its mechanism of action, we performed genome-wide mapping of EMF1 binding and H3K27me3 modification sites in Arabidopsis seedlings. The EMF1 binding pattern is similar to that of H3K27me3 modification on the chromosomal and genic level. ChIPOTLe peak finding and clustering analyses both show that the highly trimethylated genes also have high enrichment levels of EMF1 binding, termed EMF1_K27 genes. EMF1 interacts with regulatory genes, which are silenced to allow vegetative growth, and with genes specifying cell fates during growth and differentiation. H3K27me3 marks not only these genes but also some genes that are involved in endosperm development and maternal effects. Transcriptome analysis, coupled with the H3K27me3 pattern, of EMF1_K27 genes in emf1 and PRC2 mutants showed that EMF1 represses gene activities via diverse mechanisms and plays a novel role in the PcG mechanism.}, author = {Kim, Sang Yeol and Lee, Jungeun and Eshed-Williams, Leor and Zilberman, Daniel and Sung, Z. Renee}, issn = {1553-7404}, journal = {PLoS Genetics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Public Library of Science}, title = {{EMF1 and PRC2 cooperate to repress key regulators of Arabidopsis development}}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1002512}, volume = {8}, year = {2012}, }