France Dufresne

Associate Professor,
Université du Québec à Rimouski

Département de Biologie
E-mail: France_dufresne@uqar.ca
Institution page




Education

Postdoctorate - Population genetics : 1999,Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Postdoctorate - Population genetics: 1998, Université Laval
Doctorate - Zoology: 1995, University of Guelph
Master's - Biologie:1990, Université Laval
Bachelor's: 1987, McGill University


Research

The various kinds of research done in my lab all use different levels of organisation to answer questions of evolutionary biology. My current work is focused on the evolutionary aspects linked to polyploidy in caldocerans. We examine the effects of chromosome duplication on the physiology and ecology of freshwater invertebrates. Thanks to genome sequencing of the water flea, Daphnia pulex, we have new tools to characterize genomes. Additionally, we are interested in genes that control the body size of the daphnia. This characteristic is crucial to evolutionary biology because it is linked to reproductive fitness and curiously, we do not know much about the genes that control it. I am also interested in the factors linked to the origin and maintenance of asexuality. Why do asexual organisms show a different geographical distribution than their asexual ancestors? Certain daphnia clones find themselves in pristine arctic environments and are used to test the different evolutionary hypotheses. The approaches that I use in my lab are to answer these questions using a combination of molecular techniques, metabolic measures as well as experiments.

QCBS students

Samuel Roy

M.Sc.
(Start: 2024, End: 2026)
Other QCBS (co-)supervisor: Pierre Blier
Étude de l'adaptation thermique chez Daphnia magna

marie treillefort

M.Sc.
(Start: 2020)
Genetic structure of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and sweet kelp (Saccharina latissima) populations in the St. Lawrence

Previous students (since 2009)

Philippe Boucher

Ph.D.
(Start: 2007, End: 2010)
Génomique écologique et adaptation à la température chez Daphnia pulex

Dominique Hamel

Ph.D.
Other (co-)supervisor: André Rochon
(Start: 2004, End: 2010)
Diversité génétique chez Alexandrium tamarense de l'estuaire du Saint-Laurent

Adriana Radulovici

Ph.D.
(Start: 2006, End: 2012)
Barcoding et structure génétique des amphipodes marins

Marie-Hélène Armaly St-Gelais

M.Sc.
(Start: 2018, End: 2020)
Le rôle de l’épigénétique dans l’adaptation à la salinité chez le cladocère apomictique Daphnia pulex

Geneviève Coté

M.Sc.
Other (co-)supervisor: Rémy Rochette, Université du Nouveau-Brunswick à Saint-Jean
(Start: 2010, End: 2015)
ASSESSMENT OF MARINE BIODIVERSITY ON ROCKY SUBSTRATE USING DNA BARCODING AND INFLUENCE OF TWO SUBSTRATE TYPES ON THE RECRUITMENT OF ENDEMIC SPECIES AND THE INVASIVE CIONA INSTESTINALIS

Catherine Marcil

M.Sc.
Other (co-)supervisor: Gesche Winkler, ISMER
(Start: 2018, End: 2022)
Genetic and physiological divergence of the glacial relict Boreomysis nobilis in Saguenay fjord, Quebec.
Personal page

Jean-Michel Martin

M.Sc.
(Start: 2014, End: 2018)
Ploidy's and UV Rays Exposure's Effect on Pigmentation's Plasticity of Arctic Daphnia

Frédérique Paquin

M.Sc.
(Start: 2013, End: 2018)
Du génotype au phénotype: effets des contaminants métalliques sur l'accumulation de mutations et le métabolisme mitochondrial des Daphnia pulex

Thierry Ratté

M.Sc.
(Start: 2006, End: 2010)
Croissance et métabolisme à différentes températures en fonction de la ploïdie chez les daphnies

Gaëlle Van Dijk

M.Sc.
(Start: 2013, End: 2015)
Other QCBS (co-)supervisor: Pierre Blier
Heritability of antioxidant capacity in threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

Examples of species studied

Daphnia pulex
Pyganodon
Bivalvia
Unionoida
Unionidae
Daphnia pulicaria
Pulex
Cladocera
Daphniidae
Daphnia magna
Salvelinus alpinus
Nereididae
Neanthes virens
Hediste diversicolor
Mytilus edulis
Hyalella azteca
Semibalanus balanoides
Nereis virens
Hyalella
Amphipoda
Mytilus trossulus
Salvelinus fontinalis
Crustacea
Themisto libellula


Publications

62- Variation in genomic vulnerability to climate change across temperate populations of eelgrass (Zostera marina)
Journal Article
,
2024 Evolutionary Applications (Date Added: 2024-05-29)

61- Variation in genomic vulnerability to climate change across temperate populations of eelgrass (Zostera marina)
Journal Article
,
2024 Evolutionary Applications (Date Added: 2024-05-29)

60- Under pressure—exploring partner changes, physiological responses and telomere dynamics in northern gannets across varying breeding conditions
Journal Article
Pelletier D , Blier P U , Vézina F , Dufresne F , Paquin F , Christen F , Guillemette M ,
2023 PeerJ (Date Added: 2023-12-28)

59- Linseed oil as a substitute for fish oil in the diet of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), brook charr (S. fontinalis) and their reciprocal hybrids.
Journal Article
Dupont-Cyr B , Le François N R , Christen F , Desrosiers V , Savoie A , Vandenberg G W , Dufresne F , Blier P U ,
2022 Aquaculture Reports (Date Added: 2022-01-04)

58- Parthenogenesis
Book Book Chapter
Innes D J , Dufresne F ,
2021 Reproductive Biology: The Natural History of the Crustacea, Volume 6 (Date Added: 2021-08-18)

57- Long-Lived Species of Bivalves Exhibit Low MT-DNA Substitution Rates
Journal Article
Mortz M , Levivier A , Lartillot N , Dufresne F , Blier P U ,
2021 Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (Date Added: 2021-04-08)

56- Life-history traits display strong associations to genome size in annelids
Journal Article
Beaudreau N , Massamba-N’Siala G , Belzile C , Calosi P , Dufresne F ,
2021 Hydrobiologia (Date Added: 2021-02-10)

55- Thermal tolerance and fish heart integrity: Fatty acids profiles as predictors of species resilience
Journal Article
Christen F , Dufresne F , Leduc G , Dupont-Cyr B A , Vandenberg G W , Le François N R , Tardif J , Lamarre S G , Blier P U ,
2020 Conservation Physiology (Date Added: 2021-02-16)

54- Extensive gene rearrangements in the mitogenomes of congeneric annelid species and insights on the evolutionary history of the genus Ophryotrocha
Journal Article
Tempestini A , Massamba-N’Siala G , Vermandele F , Beaudreau N , Mortz M , Dufresne F , Calosi P ,
2020 BMC Genomics (Date Added: 2020-11-29)

53- Spatial genetic structure in Themisto libellula (Amphipoda: Hyperiidae) from the coastal Gulf of Alaska, Bering and Chukchi seas
Journal Article
Tempestini A , Pinchuk A I , Dufresne F ,
2020 Polar Biology (Date Added: 2020-09-28)

52- From Africa to Antarctica: Exploring the Metabolism of Fish Heart Mitochondria Across a Wide Thermal Range
Journal Article
Hunter-Manseau F , Desrosiers V , Le François N R , Dufresne F , Detrich H W , Nozais C , Blier P U ,
2019 Frontiers in Physiology (Date Added: 2019-11-06)

51- Sperm number assessed by flow cytometry in species of Daphnia (Crustacea, Cladocera)
Journal Article
Dufresne F , Belzile C , McKindsey C , Beaudreau N ,
2019 Invertebrate Biology (Date Added: 2019-09-02)

50- Age dependent dysfunction of mitochondrial and ROS metabolism induced by mitonuclear mismatch
Journal Article
Pichaud N , Bérubé R , Côté G , Belzile C , Dufresne F , Morrow G , Tanguay R M , Rand D M , Blier P U ,
2019 Frontiers in Genetics (Date Added: 2019-05-31)

49- Hybridization between char species (Salvelinus alpinus and Salvelinus fontinalis): A fast track for novel allometric trajectories
Journal Article
Dupont Cyr B , Dufresne F , Christen F , Desrosiers V , Proulx ,
2018 Biology Open (Date Added: 2018-11-04)

48- Species identification and connectivity of marine amphipods in Canada’s three oceans
Journal Article
Tempestini A , Rysgaard S , Dufresne F ,
2018 PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2018-06-09)

47- Mytilus trossulus and hybrid (M. edulis-M. trossulus) – New hosts organisms for pathogenic microalgae Coccomyxa sp. from the Estuary and northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
Journal Article
Zuykov M , Anderson J , Archambault P , Dufresne F , Pelletier E ,
2018 Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (Date Added: 2018-03-28)

46- Thermal tolerance and thermal sensitivity of heart mitochondria: Mitochondrial integrity and ROS production
Journal Article
Christen F , Desrosiers V , Dupont-Cyr B A , Vandenberg G W , Le François N R , Tardif J , Dufresne F , Lamarre S G , Blier P U ,
2018 Free Radical Biology and Medicine (Date Added: 2018-01-19)

45- Molecular phylogeny of the genus Themisto (GuCrossed D sign©rin, 1925) (Amphipoda: Hyperiidae) in the Northern Hemisphere
Journal Article
Tempestini A , Fortier L , Pinchuk A , Dufresne F ,
2017 Journal of Crustacean Biology (Date Added: 2018-01-19)

44- Temperature-related differences in mitochondrial function among clones of the cladoceran Daphnia pulex
Journal Article
Kake-Guena S , Touisse K , Warren B , Scott K , Dufresne F , Blier P , Lemieux H ,
2017 Journal of Thermal Biology (Date Added: 2017-06-24)

43- Eicosapentaenoic acid monoglyceride resolves inflammation in an ex vivo model of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell
Journal Article
Morin C , Charbonneau L , Ouellet N , Ouellet H , Blier P U , Dufresne F , Fortin S ,
2017 European Journal of Pharmacology (Date Added: 2017-06-08)

42- Association between clonal diversity and species diversity in subarctic zooplankton communities
Journal Article
Dionne K , Jose C , Caron A , Dufresne F ,
2017 Journal of Plankton Research (Date Added: 2017-04-17)

41- Overlapping trophic niches among co-occurring amphipods from a cryptic species complex
Journal Article
Dionne K , Dufresne F , Nozais C ,
2017 Freshwater Biology (Date Added: 2017-04-12)

40- Variation in δ13C and δ15N trophic enrichment factors among Hyalella azteca amphipods from different lakes
Journal Article
Dionne, K, Dufresne, F, Nozais, C
2016 Hydrobiologia (Date Added: 2016-08-01)

39- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater: identifying and mapping paralogs in salmonids
Journal Article
Dufresne, F
2016 Molecular Ecology Resources (Date Added: 2016-02-01)

38- Quantitative variation for metabolic traits among brook trout populations inhabiting different environments: Variation for metabolic traits in brook trout
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Barroux, A, DitleCadet, D, Blier, PU
2015 Journal of Zoology (Date Added: 2015-09-08)

37- Assessment of mitochondrial functions in Daphnia pulex clones using high-resolution respirometry
Journal Article
Kake-Guena, SA, Touisse, K, Vergilino, R, Dufresne, F, Blier, PU, Lemieux, H
2015 Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A, Ecological Genetics and Physiology (Date Added: 2015-07-10)

36- Climate Effects on High Latitude Daphnia via Food Quality and Thresholds
Journal Article
Przytulska, A, Bartosiewicz, M, Rautio, M, Dufresne, F, Vincent, WF
2015 PloS one (Date Added: 2015-06-01)

35- Assessment of mitochondrial functions in Daphnia pulex clones using high-resolution respirometry
Newspaper Article
Kake-Guena, SA, Touisse, K, Vergilino, R, Dufresne, F, Blier, PU, Lemieux, H
2015 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology (Date Added: 2015-05-03)

34- Impact of ploidy level on the distribution of Pokey element insertions in the Daphnia pulex complex
Journal Article
Vergilino, R, Eagle, SH, Crease, TJ, Dufresne, F
2014 Mobile DNA (Date Added: 2014-08-21)

33- First record of the green microalgae Coccomyxa sp. in blue mussel Mytilus edulis (L.) from the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada)
Journal Article
Zuykov, M, Belzile, C, Lemaire, N, Gosselin, M, Dufresne, F, Pelletier, E
2014 Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (Date Added: 2014-08-21)

32- Mitochondrial Capture Misleads about Ecological Speciation in the Daphnia pulex Complex
Journal Article
Markova S, DF
2013 PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2016-06-22)

31- Evolution of a transposon in Daphnia hybrid genomes
Journal Article
Vergilino, R
2013 MOBILE DNA (Date Added: 2016-06-22)

30- Recent progress and challenges in population genetics of polyploid organisms: an overview of current state-of-the-art molecular and statistical tools
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Stift, M, Vergilino, R, Mable, BK
2013 Molecular Ecology (Date Added: 2013-11-27)

29- Genome size differences in Hyalella cryptic species
Journal Article
Vergilino, R, Dionne, K, Nozais, C, Dufresne, F, Belzile, C
2012 Genome / National Research Council Canada = Genome / Conseil National de Recherches Canada (Date Added: 2016-07-11)

28- Pyganodon (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Unionidae) phylogenetics: a male- and female-transmitted mitochondrial DNA perspective
Journal Article
Doucet-Beaupré, H, Blier, PU, Chapman, EG, Piontkivska, H, Dufresne, F, Sietman, BE, Mulcrone, RS, Hoeh, WR
2012 Molecular phylogenetics and evolution (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

27- No evidence for temporal variation in a Cryptic species community of freshwater amphipods of the Hyalella azteca species complex
Journal Article
Dionne, K, Vergilino, R, Dufresne, F, Charles, F, Nozais, C
2011 Diversity (Date Added: 2015-02-19)

26- The History of the Daphnia Pulex complex: Asexuality, Hybridization, And Polyploidy
Book Chapter
Dufresne,
2011 Phylogeography and population genetics in Crustacea (Date Added: 2012-09-15)

25- Diversity in the Reproductive Modes of European Daphnia pulicaria Deviates from the Geographical Parthenogenesis
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Marková, S, Vergilino, R, Ventura, M, Kotlík, P
2011 PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

24- Spatial variation in food availability predicts extrapair paternity in the arctic fox
Journal Article
Cameron, C, Berteaux, D, Dufresne, F
2011 Behavioral Ecology (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

23- DNA Barcodes for Marine Biodiversity: Moving Fast Forward?
Journal Article
Radulovici, AE, Archambault, P, Dufresne, F
2010 Diversity (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

22- Unusual duplication of the insulin-like receptor in the crustacean Daphnia pulex
Journal Article
Boucher, P, Ditlecadet, D, Dubé, C, Dufresne, F
2010 BMC Evolutionary Biology (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

21- Differential survival among genotypes of Daphnia pulex differing in reproductive mode, ploidy level, and geographic origin
Journal Article
Jose, C, Dufresne, F
2009 Evolutionary Ecology (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

20- DNA barcoding of marine crustaceans from the Estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence: a regional-scale approach
Journal Article
Radulovici, AE, Sainte-Marie, B, Dufresne, F
2009 Molecular ecology resources (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

19- Genome size evolution and polyploidy in the Daphnia pulex complex (Cladocera: Daphniidae)
Journal Article
Vergilino, R, Belzile, C, Dufresne, F
2009 Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

18- Low flexibility of metabolic capacity in subarctic and temperate cytotypes of Daphnia pulex
Journal Article
Jose, C, Chatelain, ÃH, Dufresne, F
2009 Journal of Thermal Biology (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

17- Do territorial male three-spined sticklebacks have sperm with different characteristics than nonterritorial males?
Journal Article
Côté, J, Blier, PU, Caron, A, Dufresne, F
2009 Canadian Journal of Zoology (Date Added: 2012-05-10)

16- Digestive capacities, inbreeding and growth capacities in juvenile Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus
Journal Article
Ditlecadet, D, Blier, PU, Le François, NR, Dufresne, F
2009 Journal of Fish Biology (Date Added: 2012-05-10)

15- Plasticity of growth rate and metabolism in Daphnia magna populations from different thermal habitats
Journal Article
Chopelet, J, Blier, Pu, Dufresne, F
2008 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

14- Large genomes among caridean shrimp
Journal Article
Rees, DJ, Belzile, C, Glémet, H, Dufresne, F
2008 Genome / National Research Council Canada = Génome / Conseil national de recherches Canada (Date Added: 2012-07-04)

13- Cryptic intercontinental colonization in water fleas Daphnia pulicaria inferred from phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation
Journal Article
Marková, S, Dufresne, F, Rees, DJ, ?erný, M, Kotlík, P
2007 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

12- Amphipod genome sizes: first estimates for Arctic species reveal genomic giants
Journal Article
Rees, DJ, Dufresne, F, Glémet, H, Belzile, C
2007 Genome (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

11- Applying microsatellites in two commercial strains of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): Potential for a selective breeding program
Journal Article
Ditlecadet, D, Dufresne, F, Le François, NR, Blier, PU
2006 Aquaculture (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

10- Morphological variation in Nereis (Neanthes) virens (Polychaeta: Nereididae) populations
Journal Article
Breton, S, Dufresne, F, Desrosiers, G, Blier, P
2004 Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (Date Added: 2014-02-19)

9- Population structure of two northern hemisphere polychaetes, Neanthes virens and Hediste diversicolor (Nereididae), with different life-history traits
Journal Article
Breton, S, Dufresne, F, Desrosiers, G, Blier, PU
2003 Marine Biology (Date Added: 2014-02-19)

7- Natural selection and the evolution of mtDNA-encoded peptides: evidence for intergenomic co-adaptation
Journal Article
Blier, PU, Dufresne, F, Burton, RS
2001 Trends in Genetics (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

6- Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in the acorn barnacle Semibalanus balanoides
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Parent, M, Bernatchez, L
1999 Molecular Ecology (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

5- Pleistocene glaciations and polyphyletic origins of polyploidy in an arctic cladoceran
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Hebert, PDN
1997 Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

4- Metabolism and habitat competition in the polychaete Nereis virens
Journal Article
Lemieux, H, Blier, PU, Dufresne, F, Desrosiers, G
1997 Marine Ecology Progress Series (Date Added: 2012-05-10)

3- Polyploidy and clonal diversity in an arctic cladoceran
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Hebert, P
1995 Heredity (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

2- Hybridization and Origins of Polyploidy
Journal Article
Dufresne, F, Hebert, PDN
1994 Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (Date Added: 2012-07-24)

1- Atomic models for the polypeptide backbones of myohemerythrin and hemerythrin
Journal Article
Hendrickson, WA, Ward, KB
1975 Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (Date Added: 2014-08-21)