Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Genetics

2012

Series

Institution
Keyword
Publication

Articles 1 - 30 of 75

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Review Of "Fifty Animals That Changed The Course Of History" By E. Chaline, John B. Jenkins Dec 2012

Review Of "Fifty Animals That Changed The Course Of History" By E. Chaline, John B. Jenkins

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.


Contour Extraction Of Drosophila Embryos Using Active Contours In Scale Space, Soujanya Siddavaram Ananta Dec 2012

Contour Extraction Of Drosophila Embryos Using Active Contours In Scale Space, Soujanya Siddavaram Ananta

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Contour extraction of Drosophila embryos is an important step to build a computational system for pattern matching of embryonic images which aids in the discovery of genes. Automatic contour extraction of embryos is challenging due to several image variations such as size, shape, orientation and neigh- boring embryos such as touching and non-touching embryos. In this thesis, we introduce a framework for contour extraction based on the connected components in the gaussian scale space of an embryonic image. The active contour model is applied on the images to refine embryo contours. Data cleaning methods are applied to smooth the jaggy …


Septin Phosphorylation And Coiled-Coil Domains Function In Cell And Septin Ring Morphology In The Filamentous Fungus Ashbya Gossypii, Rebecca A. Meseroll, Patricia Occhipinti, Amy S. Gladfelter Nov 2012

Septin Phosphorylation And Coiled-Coil Domains Function In Cell And Septin Ring Morphology In The Filamentous Fungus Ashbya Gossypii, Rebecca A. Meseroll, Patricia Occhipinti, Amy S. Gladfelter

Dartmouth Scholarship

Septins are a class of GTP-binding proteins conserved throughout many eukaryotes. Individual septin subunits associate with one another and assemble into heteromeric complexes that form filaments and higher-order structures in vivo. The mechanisms underlying the assembly and maintenance of higher-order structures in cells remain poorly understood. Septins in several organisms have been shown to be phosphorylated, although precisely how septin phosphorylation may be contributing to the formation of high-order septin structures is unknown. Four of the five septins expressed in the filamentous fungus, Ashbya gossypii, are phosphorylated, and we demonstrate here the diverse roles of these phosphorylation sites …


Intsormil- Centa’S New Bmr Sorghum Varieties Create A Surge In Dairy Production, René Clará Valencia Nov 2012

Intsormil- Centa’S New Bmr Sorghum Varieties Create A Surge In Dairy Production, René Clará Valencia

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

Scientists from the INTSORMIL-CENTA project based at the National Center for Agricultural Technology and Forestry (CENTA) of El Salvador have worked for five years to develop varieties of sorghum for grain and forage that are highly nutritious to cattle. Using the gene bmr-12, received from Dr. Gebisa Ejeta of Purdue University, they combined commercial varieties CENTA S-2, S-3 CENTA, CENTA RCV and VG 146 and were able to form new varieties containing this same gene. The first generation created 76 new varieties.


Scribble Acts In The Drosophila Fat-Hippo Pathway To Regulate Warts Activity, Shilpi Verghese, Indrayani Waghmare, Hailey Kwon, Katelin Hanes, Madhuri Kango-Singh Nov 2012

Scribble Acts In The Drosophila Fat-Hippo Pathway To Regulate Warts Activity, Shilpi Verghese, Indrayani Waghmare, Hailey Kwon, Katelin Hanes, Madhuri Kango-Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

Epithelial cells are the major cell-type for all organs in multicellular organisms. In order to achieve correct organ size, epithelial tissues need mechanisms that limit their proliferation, and protect tissues from damage caused by defective epithelial cells. Recently, the Hippo signaling pathway has emerged as a major mechanism that orchestrates epithelial development. Hippo signaling is required for cells to stop proliferation as in the absence of Hippo signaling tissues continue to proliferate and produce overgrown organs or tumors. Studies in Drosophila have led the way in providing a framework for how Hippo alters the pattern of gene transcription in target …


Freq-Seq: A Rapid, Cost-Effective, Sequencing-Based Method To Determine Allele Frequencies Directly From Mixed Populations, Lon Chubiz, Ming-Chun Lee, Nigel Delaney, Christopher Marx Oct 2012

Freq-Seq: A Rapid, Cost-Effective, Sequencing-Based Method To Determine Allele Frequencies Directly From Mixed Populations, Lon Chubiz, Ming-Chun Lee, Nigel Delaney, Christopher Marx

Biology Department Faculty Works

No abstract provided.


Phylogenetics Links Monster Larva To Deep-Sea Shrimp., Heather D Bracken-Grissom, Darryl L Felder, Nicole L Vollmer, Joel W Martin, Keith A Crandall Oct 2012

Phylogenetics Links Monster Larva To Deep-Sea Shrimp., Heather D Bracken-Grissom, Darryl L Felder, Nicole L Vollmer, Joel W Martin, Keith A Crandall

Computational Biology Institute

Mid-water plankton collections commonly include bizarre and mysterious developmental stages that differ conspicuously from their adult counterparts in morphology and habitat. Unaware of the existence of planktonic larval stages, early zoologists often misidentified these unique morphologies as independent adult lineages. Many such mistakes have since been corrected by collecting larvae, raising them in the lab, and identifying the adult forms. However, challenges arise when the larva is remarkably rare in nature and relatively inaccessible due to its changing habitats over the course of ontogeny. The mid-water marine species Cerataspis monstrosa (Gray 1828) is an armored crustacean larva whose adult identity …


Serotonin System Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated With Impulsivity In A Context Dependent Manner, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Christa C. Christ, Krista B. Highland Oct 2012

Serotonin System Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated With Impulsivity In A Context Dependent Manner, Scott F. Stoltenberg, Christa C. Christ, Krista B. Highland

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Impulsivity is a risk factor for adverse outcomes and characterizes several psychiatric disorders and risk for suicide. There is strong evidence that genetic variation influences individual differences in impulsivity, but the details are not yet understood. There is growing interest in better understanding the context dependency of genetic effects that is reflected in studies examining gender specificity, gene × environment interaction and epistasis (gene-gene interaction). In a cross-sectional study we examined whether polymorphisms in six serotonin system candidate genes and the experience of early life trauma (age 0–12) were associated with individual differences in impulsivity in a nonclinical sample of …


Organellar Signaling Expands Plant Phenotypic Variation And Increases The Potential For Breeding The Epigenome, Roberto De La Rosa Santamaria Oct 2012

Organellar Signaling Expands Plant Phenotypic Variation And Increases The Potential For Breeding The Epigenome, Roberto De La Rosa Santamaria

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

MUTS HOMOLOGUE 1 (MSH1) is a nuclear gene unique to plants that functions in mitochondria and plastids, where it confers genome stability. Phenotypic effects of MSH1 down- regulation were studied in sorghum inbreed line Tx430 and Arabidopsis ecotype Columbia-0, with the hypothesis that RNAi suppression of MSH1 triggers retrograde signaling from organelles to the nucleus, alters the epigenome, and derives heritable phenotypic variation suitable for artificial selection. An array of morphological traits and metabolic pathways was detected, including leaf variegation, male sterility and dwarfism, associated with altered gibberellic acid metabolism, higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and decreased synthesis …


Characterization Of Xylan Utilization And Discovery Of A New Endoxylanase In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum Through Targeted Gene Deletions, Kara K. Podkaminer, Adam M. Guss, Heather L. Trajano, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd Sep 2012

Characterization Of Xylan Utilization And Discovery Of A New Endoxylanase In Thermoanaerobacterium Saccharolyticum Through Targeted Gene Deletions, Kara K. Podkaminer, Adam M. Guss, Heather L. Trajano, David A. Hogsett, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

The economical production of fuels and commodity chemicals from lignocellulose requires the utilization of both the cellulose and hemicellulose fractions. Xylanase enzymes allow greater utilization of hemicellulose while also increasing cellulose hydrolysis. Recent metabolic engineering efforts have resulted in a strain of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum that can convert C5 and C6 sugars, as well as insoluble xylan, into ethanol at high yield. To better understand the process of xylan solubilization in this organism, a series of targeted deletions were constructed in the homoethanologenic T. saccharolyticum strain M0355 to characterize xylan hydrolysis and xylose utilization in this organism. While the deletion of …


Transcriptional Cross Talk Within The Mar-Sox-Rob Regulon In Escherichia Coli Is Limited To The Rob And Marrab Operons, Lon Chubiz, George Glekas, Christopher Rao Sep 2012

Transcriptional Cross Talk Within The Mar-Sox-Rob Regulon In Escherichia Coli Is Limited To The Rob And Marrab Operons, Lon Chubiz, George Glekas, Christopher Rao

Biology Department Faculty Works

Bacteria possess multiple mechanisms to survive exposure to various chemical stresses and antimicrobial compounds. In the enteric bacterium Escherichia coli, three homologous transcription factors—MarA, SoxS, and Rob—play a central role in coordinating this response. Three separate systems are known to regulate the expression and activities of MarA, SoxS, and Rob. However, a number of studies have shown that the three do not function in isolation but rather are coregulated through transcriptional cross talk. In this work, we systematically investigated the extent of transcriptional cross talk in the mar-sox-rob regulon. While the three transcription factors were found to have the potential …


Using The Neandertal And Denisova Genetic Data To Understand The Common Mapt 17q21 Inversion In Modern Humans, Núria Setó-Salvia, Federico Sánchez-Quinto, Eudald Carbonell, Carlos Lorenzo, David Comas, Jordi Clarimón Sep 2012

Using The Neandertal And Denisova Genetic Data To Understand The Common Mapt 17q21 Inversion In Modern Humans, Núria Setó-Salvia, Federico Sánchez-Quinto, Eudald Carbonell, Carlos Lorenzo, David Comas, Jordi Clarimón

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The polymorphic inversion on 17q21, that includes the MAPT gene, represents a unique locus in the human genome characterized by a large region with strong linkage disequilibrium. Two distinct haplotypes, H1 and H2, exist in modern humans, and H1 has been unequivocally related to several neurodegenerative disorders. Recent data indicates that recurrent inversions of this genomic region have occurred through primate evolution, with the H2 haplotype being the ancestral state. Neandertals harbored the H1 haplotype, however until now no data was available for the Denisova hominin. Neandertals and Denisovans are sister groups that share a common ancestor with modern humans. …


Rosette Iron Deficiency Transcript And Microrna Profiling Reveals Links Between Copper And Iron Homeostasis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Brian M. Waters, Samuel A. Mcinturf, Ricardo J. Stein Sep 2012

Rosette Iron Deficiency Transcript And Microrna Profiling Reveals Links Between Copper And Iron Homeostasis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Brian M. Waters, Samuel A. Mcinturf, Ricardo J. Stein

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Iron (Fe) is an essential plant micronutrient, and its deficiency limits plant growth and development on alkaline soils. Under Fe deficiency, plant responses include up-regulation of genes involved in Fe uptake from the soil. However, little is known about shoot responses to Fe deficiency. Using microarrays to probe gene expression in Kas-1 and Tsu-1 ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana, and comparison with existing Col-0 data, revealed conserved rosette gene expression responses to Fe deficiency. Fe-regulated genes included known metal homeostasis-related genes, and a number of genes of unknown function. Several genes responded to Fe deficiency in both roots and rosettes. …


The Effect Of Acp1-Ada1 Genetic Interaction On Human Life Span, Nazzareno Lucarini, Valerio Napolioni, Andrea Magrini, Fulvia Gloria Sep 2012

The Effect Of Acp1-Ada1 Genetic Interaction On Human Life Span, Nazzareno Lucarini, Valerio Napolioni, Andrea Magrini, Fulvia Gloria

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Acid phosphatase (ACP1) is a polymorphic enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of flavinmononucleotide (FMN) to riboflavin and regulates the cellular concentration of flavin-adeninedinucleotide (FAD) and, consequently, energy metabolism. Its activity is modulated by adenosine deaminase (ADA1) genotype. Aim of our work is to verify whether individuals with a high proportion of ACP1 f isozyme and carrying ADA*2 allele, displaying the highest phosphatase activity, may have a higher life expectancy. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of 569 females and 509 males (18-106 years) randomly recruited from Central Italy. These samples were subdivided into three sexspecific age groups …


Extensive Population Structure In San, Khoe And Mixed Ancestry Populations From Southern Africa Revealed By 44 Short 5-Snp Haplotypes, Carina M. Schlebusch, Himla Soodyall Sep 2012

Extensive Population Structure In San, Khoe And Mixed Ancestry Populations From Southern Africa Revealed By 44 Short 5-Snp Haplotypes, Carina M. Schlebusch, Himla Soodyall

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The San and Khoe people currently represent remnant groups of a much larger and widely distributed population of hunter gatherers and pastoralists who had exclusive occupation of southern Africa before the arrival of Bantu-speaking groups in the past 1,200 years and sea-borne immigrants within the last 350 years. Genetic studies (mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome) conducted on San and Khoe groups revealed that they harbour some the most divergent lineages found in living peoples throughout the world. Recently, high-density autosomal SNP-array studies confirmed the early divergence of Khoe-San population groups from all other human populations. The present study made use of …


Analysis Of A Genetic Isolate: The Case Of Carloforte (Italy), R. Robledo, L. Corrias, V. Bachis, N. Puddu, A. Mameli, G. Vona, C. M. Calò Sep 2012

Analysis Of A Genetic Isolate: The Case Of Carloforte (Italy), R. Robledo, L. Corrias, V. Bachis, N. Puddu, A. Mameli, G. Vona, C. M. Calò

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

We reviewed data collected during several studies concerning the genetic isolate of Carloforte (Sardinia, Italy) and analyzed new data on Y-chromosome markers. Carloforte is also a language island, where people still speaks Tabarchino, an archaic form of Ligurian dialect. Demographic data indicate that, in the early years of its history, Carloforte population was characterized by a high degree of endogamy and consanguinity rates that started to decrease around 1850, when marriages with Sardinian people began to occur more frequently. Cultural factors, mainly language, account for the high endogamy. Genetic data from classical markers, mtDNA and Ychromosome markers confirmed the strong …


A Tale Of Two Haplotypes: The Eda2r/Ar Intergenic Region Is The Most Divergent Genomic Segment Between Africans And East Asians In The Human Genome, Amanda M. Casto, Brenna M. Henn, Jeffery M. Kidd, Carlos D. Bustamante, Marcus W. Feldman Sep 2012

A Tale Of Two Haplotypes: The Eda2r/Ar Intergenic Region Is The Most Divergent Genomic Segment Between Africans And East Asians In The Human Genome, Amanda M. Casto, Brenna M. Henn, Jeffery M. Kidd, Carlos D. Bustamante, Marcus W. Feldman

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with large allele frequency differences between human populations are relatively rare. The longest run of SNPs with an allele frequency difference of one between the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Han Chinese is found on the long arm of the X chromosome in the intergenic region separating the EDA2R and AR genes. It has been proposed that the unusual allele frequency distributions of these SNPs are the result of a selective sweep affecting African populations that occurred after the Out-of-Africa migration. To investigate the evolutionary history of the EDA2R/AR intergenic region, we characterized the haplotype structure …


Mutations In Dmrt3 Affect Locomotion In Horses And Spinal Circuit Function In Mice, Lisa S. Andersson, Martin Larhammar, Fatima Memic, Hanna Wootz, Doreen Schwochow, Carl-Johan Rubin, Kalicharan Patra, Thorvaldur Arnason, Lisbeth Wellbring, Göran Hjälm, Freyja Imsland, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Molly E. Mccue, James R. Mickelson, Gus Cothran, Nadav Ahituv, Lars Roepstorff, Sofia Mikko, Anna Vallstedt, Gabriella Lindgren, Leif Andersson, Klas Kullander Aug 2012

Mutations In Dmrt3 Affect Locomotion In Horses And Spinal Circuit Function In Mice, Lisa S. Andersson, Martin Larhammar, Fatima Memic, Hanna Wootz, Doreen Schwochow, Carl-Johan Rubin, Kalicharan Patra, Thorvaldur Arnason, Lisbeth Wellbring, Göran Hjälm, Freyja Imsland, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Molly E. Mccue, James R. Mickelson, Gus Cothran, Nadav Ahituv, Lars Roepstorff, Sofia Mikko, Anna Vallstedt, Gabriella Lindgren, Leif Andersson, Klas Kullander

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Locomotion in mammals relies on a central pattern-generating circuitry of spinal interneurons established during development that coordinates limb movement. These networks produce left–right alternation of limbs as well as coordinated activation of flexor and extensor muscles. Here we show that a premature stop codon in the DMRT3 gene has a major effect on the pattern of locomotion in horses. The mutation is permissive for the ability to perform alternate gaits and has a favorable effect on harness racing performance. Examination of wild-type and Dmrt3-null mice demonstrates that Dmrt3 is expressed in the dI6 subdivision of spinal cord neurons, takes …


Farnesol And Cyclic Amp Signaling Effects On The Hypha-To-Yeast Transition In Candida Albicans, Allia K. Lindsay, Aurélie Deveau, Amy E. Piispanen, Deborah A. Hogan Aug 2012

Farnesol And Cyclic Amp Signaling Effects On The Hypha-To-Yeast Transition In Candida Albicans, Allia K. Lindsay, Aurélie Deveau, Amy E. Piispanen, Deborah A. Hogan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen of humans, regulates its morphology in response to many environmental cues and this morphological plasticity contributes to virulence. Farnesol, an autoregulatory molecule produced by C. albicans, inhibits the induction of hyphal growth by inhibiting adenylate cyclase (Cyr1). The role of farnesol and Cyr1 in controlling the maintenance of hyphal growth has been less clear. Here, we demonstrate that preformed hyphae transition to growth as yeast in response to farnesol and that strains with increased cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling exhibit more resistance to farnesol. Exogenous farnesol did not induce the hypha-to-yeast transition in mutants …


A Genetic Survey Of English Sole Populations In The Salish Sea, Elizabeth S. Gutierrez, Gary A. Winans, Jon Baker, Amanda Cope Aug 2012

A Genetic Survey Of English Sole Populations In The Salish Sea, Elizabeth S. Gutierrez, Gary A. Winans, Jon Baker, Amanda Cope

STAR Program Research Presentations

This summer I interned at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA and participated in NOAA’s Salish Sea Project. The Salish Sea Project’s goal is to identify genetically distinctive groups of species in the Salish Sea that may have unique evolutionary and/or adaptive backgrounds. These findings will allow NOAA to promote and monitor the natural production of species in the Salish Sea, to select representative populations for experimental work regarding pollution, ocean acidification and climate change, to contribute to managing the ecosystem for intra- and inter-species diversity, and to help make informed decisions about adaptive management and marine protected …


Genetic Susceptibility To Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Meta-Analysis Studying The Genetic Differences In Tunisian Populations, Rym Berhouma, S. Kouidhi, M. Ammar, H. Abid, T. Baroudi, H. Ennafaa, A. Benammar-Elgaaied Aug 2012

Genetic Susceptibility To Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Meta-Analysis Studying The Genetic Differences In Tunisian Populations, Rym Berhouma, S. Kouidhi, M. Ammar, H. Abid, T. Baroudi, H. Ennafaa, A. Benammar-Elgaaied

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The present study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate type 2 diabetes (T2D) - associated polymorphisms in cohorts originated from several Tunisian regions. In fact, we evaluated the effect of seven polymorphisms in the following genes; PPARg ( Pro12Ala), TNFα (-308A/G), ENPP1(K121Q), TCF7L2(rs7903146 C/T), MTHFR( C677T), ACE(I/D), CAPN10(3R/2R) on T2D risk, through a meta-analysis combining data of previous studies performed on Tunisian populations originating from the north, centre or south of the country. R statistics version 2.12.1 software was used to estimate the heterogeneity between studies. Pooled ORs were computed by the fixed-effects method of Mantel-Haenszel if no heterogeneity between …


Condensin Ii Promotes The Formation Of Chromosome Territories By Inducing Axial Compaction Of Polyploid Interphase Chromosomes, Christopher R. R. Bauer, Tom A. Hartl, Giovanni Bosco Aug 2012

Condensin Ii Promotes The Formation Of Chromosome Territories By Inducing Axial Compaction Of Polyploid Interphase Chromosomes, Christopher R. R. Bauer, Tom A. Hartl, Giovanni Bosco

Dartmouth Scholarship

The eukaryotic nucleus is both spatially and functionally partitioned. This organization contributes to the maintenance, expression, and transmission of genetic information. Though our ability to probe the physical structure of the genome within the nucleus has improved substantially in recent years, relatively little is known about the factors that regulate its organization or the mechanisms through which specific organizational states are achieved. Here, we show that Drosophila melanogaster Condensin II induces axial compaction of interphase chromosomes, globally disrupts interchromosomal interactions, and promotes the dispersal of peri-centric heterochromatin. These Condensin II activities compartmentalize the nucleus into discrete chromosome territories and indicate …


Paternal Lineage Analysis Supports An Armenian Rather Than A Central Asian Genetic Origin Of The Hamshenis, Ashot Margaryan, Ashot Harutyunyan, Zaruhi Khachatryan, Armine Khudoyan, Levon Yepiskoposyan Aug 2012

Paternal Lineage Analysis Supports An Armenian Rather Than A Central Asian Genetic Origin Of The Hamshenis, Ashot Margaryan, Ashot Harutyunyan, Zaruhi Khachatryan, Armine Khudoyan, Levon Yepiskoposyan

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The Hamshenis are an isolated geographic group of Armenians with a strong ethnic identity who, until the early decades of the twentieth century, inhabited the Pontus area on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Scholars hold alternative views on their origin, proposing eastern Armenia, western Armenia and Central Asia, respectively, as their most likely homeland. To ascertain whether genetic data from the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome is supportive any of these suggestions, we screened 82 Armenian males of the Hamsheni descent for 12 biallelic and 6 microsatellite Y-chromosomal markers. These data were compared with the corresponding datasets …


Gene Ontology Analysis Of Pairwise Genetic Associations In Two Genome-Wide Studies Of Sporadic Als, Nora Chung Kim, Peter C. Andrews, Folkert W. Asselbergs, H Robert Frost, Scott M. Williams, Brent T. Harris, Cynthia Read, Kathleen D. Askland, Jason H. Moore Jul 2012

Gene Ontology Analysis Of Pairwise Genetic Associations In Two Genome-Wide Studies Of Sporadic Als, Nora Chung Kim, Peter C. Andrews, Folkert W. Asselbergs, H Robert Frost, Scott M. Williams, Brent T. Harris, Cynthia Read, Kathleen D. Askland, Jason H. Moore

Dartmouth Scholarship

It is increasingly clear that common human diseases have a complex genetic architecture characterized by both additive and nonadditive genetic effects. The goal of the present study was to determine whether patterns of both additive and nonadditive genetic associations aggregate in specific functional groups as defined by the Gene Ontology (GO).


Politicizing Patents - Patenting Biotechnology In The Wake Of Section 33, Prometheus, And Cls Bank, Jonathan R. K. Stroud Jul 2012

Politicizing Patents - Patenting Biotechnology In The Wake Of Section 33, Prometheus, And Cls Bank, Jonathan R. K. Stroud

Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Tucked into the America Invents Act is the first statutory exemption for any patentable subject matter. Section 33 renders unpatentable all claims “encompassing a human being.” By recognizing a vague subject matter – exception for human beings despite the fact that internal policies had long militated against such patent claims, Congress has politicized the patent law to an unheard-of degree. While textually consistent with internal USPTO policy, the passage of § 33 should not be seen as an invitation to litigators to expand § 101 unpatentable-subject-matter challenges to validity by including arguments that medical methods, genetic tests, biological chimeras, or …


Selfish Little Circles: Transmission Bias And Evolution Of Large Deletion-Bearing Mitochondrial Dna In Caenorhabditis Briggsae Nematodes, Katie A. Clark, Dana K. Howe, Kristin Gafner, Danika Kusuma, Sita Ping, Suzanne Estes Jul 2012

Selfish Little Circles: Transmission Bias And Evolution Of Large Deletion-Bearing Mitochondrial Dna In Caenorhabditis Briggsae Nematodes, Katie A. Clark, Dana K. Howe, Kristin Gafner, Danika Kusuma, Sita Ping, Suzanne Estes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Selfish DNA poses a significant challenge to genome stability and organismal fitness in diverse eukaryotic lineages. Although selfish mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has known associations with cytoplasmic male sterility in numerous gynodioecious plant species and is manifested as petite mutants in experimental yeast lab populations, examples of selfish mtDNA in animals are less common. We analyzed the inheritance and evolution of mitochondrial DNA bearing large heteroplasmic deletions including nad5 gene sequences (nad5Δ mtDNA), in the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae. The deletion is widespread in C. briggsae natural populations and is associated with deleterious organismal effects. We studied the inheritance patterns of nad5Δ …


Two Boundaries Separate Borrelia Burgdorferi Populations In North America, Gabriele Margos, Jean I. Tsao, Santiago Castillo-Ramirez, Yvette A. Girard, Anne G. Hoen Jun 2012

Two Boundaries Separate Borrelia Burgdorferi Populations In North America, Gabriele Margos, Jean I. Tsao, Santiago Castillo-Ramirez, Yvette A. Girard, Anne G. Hoen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Understanding the spread of infectious diseases is crucial for implementing effective control measures. For this, it is important to obtain information on the contemporary population structure of a disease agent and to infer the evolutionary processes that may have shaped it. Here, we investigate on a continental scale the population structure of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), a tick-borne disease, in North America. We test the hypothesis that the observed d population structure is congruent with recent population expansions and that these were preceded by bottlenecks mostly likely caused by the near extirpation in the 1900s …


Genetic Comparison Of Water Molds From Embryos Of Amphibians Rana Cascadae, Bufo Boreas And Pseudacris Regilla, Kori K. Ault, James E. Johnson, Holly C. Pinkart, R. Steven Wagner Jun 2012

Genetic Comparison Of Water Molds From Embryos Of Amphibians Rana Cascadae, Bufo Boreas And Pseudacris Regilla, Kori K. Ault, James E. Johnson, Holly C. Pinkart, R. Steven Wagner

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Water molds that cause the disease saprolegniasis have been implicated in widespread mortality of amphibian embryos. However, because of the limitations of traditional identification methods, water mold species involved in die-offs or utilized in ecological studies often remain unidentified or identified only as Saprolegnia ferax. Furthermore, water mold taxonomy requires revision, so very distinct organisms may all be called S. ferax. Recent DNA-based studies indicate that the diversity of water molds infecting amphibian embryos is significantly higher than what was previously known, but these studies rely on culture methods, which may be biased towards taxa that grow best …


Computational Design And Characterization Of A Temperature-Sensitive Plasmid Replicon For Gram Positive Thermophiles, Daniel G. Olson, Lee R. Lynd May 2012

Computational Design And Characterization Of A Temperature-Sensitive Plasmid Replicon For Gram Positive Thermophiles, Daniel G. Olson, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

Temperature-sensitive (Ts) plasmids are useful tools for genetic engineering, but there are currently none compatible with the gram positive, thermophilic, obligate anaerobe, Clostridium thermocellum. Traditional mutagenesis techniques yield Ts mutants at a low frequency, and therefore requires the development of high-throughput screening protocols, which are also not available for this organism. Recently there has been progress in the development of computer algorithms which can predict Ts mutations. Most plasmids currently used for genetic modification of C. thermocellum are based on the replicon of plasmid pNW33N, which replicates using the RepB replication protein. To address this problem, we set out …


Dna Methylation Arrays As Surrogate Measures Of Cell Mixture Distribution, Eugene Houseman, William P. Accomando, Devin C. Koestler, Brock C. Christensen, Carmen J. Marsit May 2012

Dna Methylation Arrays As Surrogate Measures Of Cell Mixture Distribution, Eugene Houseman, William P. Accomando, Devin C. Koestler, Brock C. Christensen, Carmen J. Marsit

Dartmouth Scholarship

There has been a long-standing need in biomedical research for a method that quantifies the normally mixed composition of leukocytes beyond what is possible by simple histological or flow cytometric assessments. The latter is restricted by the labile nature of protein epitopes, requirements for cell processing, and timely cell analysis. In a diverse array of diseases and following numerous immune-toxic exposures, leukocyte composition will critically inform the underlying immuno-biology to most chronic medical conditions. Emerging research demonstrates that DNA methylation is responsible for cellular differentiation, and when measured in whole peripheral blood, serves to distinguish cancer cases from controls.