Life Sciences Commons^™

Mig-5/Dsh Controls Cell Fate Determination And Cell Migration In C. Elegans, Timothy Walston, Chaobo Guo, Rui Proenca, Mingfu Wu, Michael Herman, Jeff Hardin, Edward Hedgecock

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Cell fate determination and cell migration are two essential events in the development of an organism. We identify mig-5, a Dishevelled family member, as a gene that regulates several cell fate decisions and cell migrations that are important during C. elegans embryonic and larval development. In offspring from mig-5 mutants, cell migrations are defective during hypodermal morphogenesis, QL neuroblast migration, and the gonad arm migration led by the distal tip cells (DTCs). In addition to abnormal migration, DTC fate is affected, resulting in either an absent or an extra DTC. The cell fates of the anchor cell in hermaphrodites …

Evaluating Genetic Viability Of Pronghorn In Wind Cave National Park, Jonathan A. Jenks, Christopher N. Jacques, Jaret D. Sievers, Robert W. Klaver, R. Terry Bowyer, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) was reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, in 1914 and thus, has inhabited the Park for almost a century. A decline in the population has raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside Wind Cave National Park. Historically, pronghorn numbers reached greater than 300 individuals in the 1960's but declined to about 30 individuals by 2002. The primary objective of our study was to evaluate genetic characteristics of pronghorn to determine if reduced heterozygosity contributed to the decline of pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park. Microsatellite DNA was collected from 75 …

Environmental Stress And Reproduction In Drosophila Melanogaster: Starvation Resistance, Ovariole Numbers And Early Age Egg Production, Marta L. Wayne, Usha Soundararajan, Lawrence G. Harshman

Papers in Genetics

Background: The Y model of resource allocation predicts a tradeoff between reproduction and survival. Environmental stress could affect a tradeoff between reproduction and survival, but the physiological mechanisms underlying environmental mediation of the tradeoff are largely unknown. One example is the tradeoff between starvation resistance and early fecundity. One goal of the present study was to determine if reduced early age fecundity was indeed a robust indirect response to selection for starvation resistance, by investigation of a set of D. melanogaster starvation selected lines which had not previously been characterized for age specific egg production. Another goal of the present …

Coordinated Diabrotica Genetics Research: Accelerating Progress On An Urgent Insect Pest Problem, Thomas W. Sappington, Blair D. Siegfried, Thomas Guillemaud

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Diabrotica spp. (western, northern, and Mexican corn rootworms) represent the main pest complex of continuous field corn, Zea mays (L.), in North America. The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, also has become the main pest of continuous corn in Central and Southeastern Europe since its introduction near Belgrade 15–20 years ago, and it represents a major risk to Western Europe. It has already caused economic losses in Eastern Europe, and Western countries such as France have committed large expenditures for containment and/or eradication.

Rootworm larvae feed on corn roots, and damaged plants are more susceptible to drought and …

Cross-Subtype T-Cell Immune Responses Induced By A Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Group M Consensus Env Immunogen†0--, Eric A. Weaver, Zhongjing Lu, Zenaido T. Camacho, Fatiha Moukdar, Hua-Xin Liao, Ben-Jiang Ma, Mark Muldoon, James Theiler, Gary J. Nabel, Norman L. Letvin, Bette T. Korber, Beatrice H. Hahn, Barton F. Haynes, Feng Gao

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The genetic diversity among globally circulating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains is a serious challenge for HIV-1 vaccine design. We have generated a synthetic groupMconsensus env gene (CON6) for induction of cross-subtype immune responses and report here a comparative study of T-cell responses to this and natural strain env immunogens in a murine model. Three different strains of mice were immunized with CON6 as well as subtype A, B, or C env immunogens, using a DNA prime-recombinant vaccinia virus boost strategy. T-cell epitopes were mapped by gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot analysis using five overlapping Env peptide sets from …

Chlorella Virus Mt325 Encodes Water And Potassium Channels That Interact Synergistically, Sabrina Gazzarrini, Ming Kang, Svetlana Epimashko, James L. Van Etten, Jack Dainty, Gerhard Thiel, Anna Moroni

James Van Etten Publications

Fast and selective transport of water through cell membranes is facilitated by water channels. Water channels belonging to the major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) family have been found in all three domains of life, Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Here we show that Chlorella virus MT325 has a water channel gene, aqpv1, that forms a functional aquaglyceroporin in oocytes. aqpv1 is transcribed during infection together with MT325 kcv, a gene encoding a previously undescribed type of viral potassium channel. Coexpression of AQPV1 and MT325-Kcv in Xenopus oocytes synergistically increases water transport, suggesting a possible concerted action of the two channels in …

Chlorella Viruses, Takashi Yamada, Hideki Onimatsu, James L. Van Etten

James Van Etten Publications

Chlorella viruses or chloroviruses are large, icosahedral, plaque‐forming, double‐stranded‐DNA— containing viruses that replicate in certain strains of the unicellular green alga Chlorella. DNA sequence analysis of the 330‐kbp genome of Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV‐1), the prototype of this virus family (Phycodnaviridae), predict ∼366 protein‐encoding genes and 11 tRNA genes. The predicted gene products of ∼50% of these genes resemble proteins of known function, including many that are completely unexpected for a virus. In addition, the chlorella viruses have several features and encode many gene products that distinguish them from most viruses. These products include: (1) multiple …

Characterization Of 35 Microsatellite Loci In The Pacific Lion-Paw Scallop (Nodipecten Subnodosus) And Their Cross-Species Amplification In Four Other Scallops Of The Pectinidae Family, Ana M. Ibarra, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Thomas R. Famula, Bernie May

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Four microsatellite-enriched DNA libraries yielded 35 microsatellite loci from 100 primer pairs designed for Pacific lion-paw scallop, Nodipecten subnodosus. The number of alleles ranged from four to 28. Three of the 35 loci were not in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium was found for one pair of loci. These microsatellites will be used to analyze the population structure of the species in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to propose management strategies for scallop aquaculture development. Twenty-six primer pairs cross-amplified in Nodipecten nodosus, whereas none (Argopecten ventricosus) or few cross-amplified in the Argopecten species.

Cross-Subtype T-Cell Immune Responses Induced By A Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Group M Consensus Env Immunogen, Eric A. Weaver, Zenaido T. Camacho, Fatiha Moukdar, Hua-Xin Liao, Ben-Jiang Ma, Mark Muldoon, James Theiler, Gary J. Nabel, Norman L. Letvin, Bette T. Korber, Beatrice H. Hahn, Barton F. Haynes, Feng Gao, Zhongjing Lu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The genetic diversity among globally circulating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains is a serious challenge for HIV-1 vaccine design. We have generated a synthetic group M consensus env gene (CON6) for induction of cross-subtype immune responses and report here a comparative study of T-cell responses to this and natural strain env immunogens in a murine model. Three different strains of mice were immunized with CON6 as well as subtype A, B, or C env immunogens, using a DNA prime-recombinant vaccinia virus boost strategy. T-cell epitopes were mapped by gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot analysis using five overlapping Env peptide …

Evolutionary Dynamics Of The Short-Nosed Fruit Bat, Cynopterus Sphinx (Pteropodidae): Inferences From The Spatial Scale Of Genetic And Phenotypic Differentiation, Jay F. Storz, Hari R. Bhat, Johnson Balasingh, P. Thiruchenthil Nathan, Thomas H. Kunz

Jay F. Storz Publications

We report the results of a population-genetic study of the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Pteropodidae). The purpose of our study was to assess the relative importance of drift, gene flow, and spatially varying selection in shaping patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation across a latitudinal climatic gradient in peninsular India. At a microgeographic scale, polygynous mating resulted in a substantial reduction of effective population size. However, at a macrogeographic scale, rates of migration were sufficiently high to prevent a pronounced degree of stochastic differentiation via drift. Spatial analysis of genetic and phenotypic differentiation revealed that clinal variation in body …

Tannerella Forsythia, A Periodontal Pathogen Entering The Genomic Era, Anne C.R. Tanner, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Several questions need to be addressed to evaluate whether Tannerella forsythia is to be considered a periodontal pathogen. T. forsythia has been detected in periodontal health and disease, so could it be a pathogen? The species was not detected in many studies despite finding other putative pathogens, so could it be important in pathogenicity? The challenges of working with T. forsythia include its fastidious and anaerobic growth requirements for cultural detection. Thus, studies associating T. forsythia with periodontal and other oral infections have used noncultural approaches (immunoassays and DNA-based assays) in addition to cultural approaches. We feel the timing of …

Design Clues From Functional Constraints And Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies, Tongqing Zhou, Ling Xu, Barna Dey, Ann J. Hessell, Shahzad Majeed, Donald Van Ryk, Shi-Hua Xiang, Xinzhen Yang, Mei-Yun Zhang, Michael B. Zwick, James Arthos, Dennis R. Burton, Dimiter S. Dimitrov, Joseph Sodroski, Richard Wyatt, Gary J. Nabel, Peter D. Kwong

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Group M Consensus Envelope Glycoprotein Induces Antibodies That Neutralize Subsets Of Subtype B And C Hiv-1 Primary Viruses, Hua-Xin Lin, Laura L. Sutherland, Shi-Mao Xia, Mary E. Brock, Richard M. Scearce, Stacie Vanleeuwen, S. Munir Alam, Mildred Mcadams, Eric A. Weaver, Zenaido T. Camacho, Ben-Jiang Ma, Yingying Li, Julie M. Decker, Gary J. Nabel, David C. Montefiori, Beatrice H. Hahn, Bette T. Korber, Feng Gao, Barton F. Haynes

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

HIV-1 subtype C is the most common HIV-1 group M subtype in Africa and many parts of Asia. However, to date HIV-1 vaccine candidate immunogens have not induced potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies against subtype C primary isolates. We have used a centralized gene strategy to address HIV-1 diversity, and generated a group M consensus envelope gene with shortened consensus variable loops (CON-S) for comparative studies with wildtype (WT) Env immunogens. Our results indicate that the consensus HIV-1 group M CON-S Env elicited cross-subtype neutralizing antibodies of similar or greater breadth and titer than the WT Envs tested, indicating the …