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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Physella Acuta, Comparative Immunology And Evolutionary Aspects Of Gastropod Immune Function, Jonathan H. Schultz
Physella Acuta, Comparative Immunology And Evolutionary Aspects Of Gastropod Immune Function, Jonathan H. Schultz
Biology ETDs
Gastropod immunobiology has benefitted from investigations focused on the planorbid snail Biomphalaria glabrata, intermediate host for the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Though such concentrated efforts have elucidated fascinating aspects of invertebrate immunity, they have not provided full knowledge regarding the evolution of immune function among other gastropod species. This dissertation presents the importance of making strategic choices regarding which organisms to select for comparative immunology. Herein, the choice was made to investigate the immunobiology of Physella acuta, a freshwater snail species of the Physidae, a sister family to Planorbidae to which B. glabrata belongs. Benefiting greatly from …
How Does Antibiotic Resistance Spread In Tuberculosis?, Julie A. Spencer
How Does Antibiotic Resistance Spread In Tuberculosis?, Julie A. Spencer
Shared Knowledge Conference
The ancient bacterial disease of tuberculosis (TB) is curable with antibiotics, but according to the World Health Organization, in 2016 over 10 million people became infected with the disease. 600,000 of these cases were resistant to antibiotics, yet the worldwide treatment success rate for drug resistant TB is only 54%. Furthermore, strains exist now that are resistant to all known antibiotics. In the current environment of global travel, this poses a risk for emergent epidemics of drug resistant TB. In this study, I asked: after an antibiotic resistant strain has evolved in someone’s lungs, how does it spread? It is …
Mechanisms For The Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance In Tuberculosis, Julie Allison Spencer
Mechanisms For The Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance In Tuberculosis, Julie Allison Spencer
Shared Knowledge Conference
Tuberculosis (TB) is currently the ninth leading cause of death for humans worldwide, causing 10.4 million new infections in 2016. According to the World Health Organization, of these infections, 600,000 were antibiotic resistant. However, the treatment success rate for resistant TB was only 54%. The potential for emergent epidemics of drug resistant TB highlights the need to understand the mechanisms for the spread of resistance. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, evolves resistant strains within individuals who are being treated with antibiotics. It has been assumed previously that the resistant characteristics of these strains are spread primarily by the …
Genomic Signatures Of Adaptive Evolution, Jessica Weber
Genomic Signatures Of Adaptive Evolution, Jessica Weber
Biology ETDs
Comparative genomics has revolutionized virtually all fields of biology including the study of evolution. In this dissertation, I used next-generation sequencing to explore the evolutionary histories and adaptive evolution of a diverse set of taxa. Comparisons ranged across time scales, from population-level genetic diversity studies to questions spanning the deepest branches of the metazoan lineage. Whole genome sequencing of 50 unrelated Korean individuals revealed that Koreans have a distinct genetic history from the Chinese and Japanese populations. Our Korean-specific variome database was used to identify novel disease-causing variants in the Korean population, highlighting the value of high-quality ethnic variation databases …
Systematics And Diversification Of The Pantropical Avian Order Coraciiformes, Jenna Merle Mccullough
Systematics And Diversification Of The Pantropical Avian Order Coraciiformes, Jenna Merle Mccullough
Biology ETDs
How and why species diversify is a central theme of evolutionary biology. Species-rich, morphologically diverse, pantropical clades provide rare opportunities to explore questions about drivers of diversification in the tropics. Here, we present the first complete species tree of Coraciiformes (6 families, ~177 species of kingfishers, motmots, bee-eaters, and allies), produced with thousands of ultraconserved elements. We recovered a well-supported tree which shows that there are two clades within Coraciiformes: 1) bee-eaters sister to rollers + ground- rollers and 2) todies sister to motmots + kingfishers. We estimated the biogeographical history of the group, explored bill shape evolution with a …
2018 Annual Report, Christopher C. Witt
2018 Annual Report, Christopher C. Witt
Annual Reports
In 2018, the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) has continued to improve its profile and impacts, both on the University of New Mexico campus and in the international scientific community. Its collections serve as scientific infrastructure that enhances research, teaching, community service, and public outreach. The MSB is part of the UNM Department of Biology, and the missions of the MSB and the Department are synergistic. MSB houses extensive and rapidly growing collections representing biodiversity of world, primarily from the last halfcentury. MSB has outstanding collections from New Mexico and western North America, but it also has substantial holdings from …