Life Sciences Commons^™

A Model Species For Agricultural Pest Genomics: The Genome Of The Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa Decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Sean D. Schoville, Yolanda H. Chen, Martin N. Andersson, Joshua B. Benoit, Anita Bhandari, Julia H. Bowsher, Kristian Brevik, Kaat Cappelle, Mei-Ju M. Chen, Anna K. Childers, Christopher Childers, Olivier Christiaens, Justin Clements, Elise M. Didion, Elena N. Elpidina, Patamarerk Engsontia, Markus Friedrich, Inmaculada García-Robles, Richard A. Gibbs, Chandan Goswami, Alessandro Grapputo, Kristina Gruden, Marcin Grynberg, Bernard Henrissat, Emily C. Jennings, Jeffery W. Jones, Megha Kalsi, Sher A. Khan, Abhishek Kumar, Fei Li, Vincent Lombard, Subba Reddy Palli, June-Sun Yoon

Entomology Faculty Publications

The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most challenging agricultural pests to manage. It has shown a spectacular ability to adapt to a variety of solanaceaeous plants and variable climates during its global invasion, and, notably, to rapidly evolve insecticide resistance. To examine evidence of rapid evolutionary change, and to understand the genetic basis of herbivory and insecticide resistance, we tested for structural and functional genomic changes relative to other arthropod species using genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and community annotation. Two factors that might facilitate rapid evolutionary change include transposable elements, which comprise at least 17% of the genome and …

A New Toolset For Protein Expression And Subcellular Localization Studies In Citrus And Its Application To Citrus Tristeza Virus Proteins, Amit Levy, Choaa El-Mochtar, Chunxia Wang, Michael M. Goodin, Vladimir Orbovic

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Background

Transient gene expression is a powerful tool to study gene function in plants. In citrus, Agrobacterium transformation is the method of choice for transient expression studies, but this method does not work efficiently with many gene constructs, and there is a need for a more robust transient expression system in citrus leaves. Biolistic particle delivery is an alternative to Agrobacterium transformation, and in some plants, such as Arabidopsis, gives higher transformation rates in leaf tissues than Agrobacterium.

Results

Here we describe an improved method for gene expression in epidermal cells of citrus leaves, using the Bio-Rad Helios gene-gun. …

Multivariate Analysis To Identify Potential Biomarkers For Prognosis And Treatment Resistance In Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Christina Ann Wicker

Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology

It is estimated that nearly 50,000 individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2017 (American Cancer Society www.cancer.org). Ninety percent of oral cancers are head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Major obstacles in the treatment of HNSCC are recurrence and treatment resistance, which contributes to increased mortality. Therefore, there is increased need to determine genetic alterations in HNSCC that may be ideal novel drug targets, and biomarkers to improve diagnostic and prognostic testing.

Abnormal localization and overexpression of base excision repair protein and transcriptional regulator Apurinic/Apyrimidic endonuclease (APE1) has been associated with …

Chemical Topping Burley Tobacco, Mitchell D. Richmond

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The act of topping tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) involves the removal of the terminal bud or inflorescence of the tobacco plant. This practice ordinarily is accomplished by manually removing the top of each tobacco plant in an entire field which is labor intensive and costly. Chemical topping utilizes sucker control products to inhibit the terminal bud and axillary bud growth without manually removing the top of the tobacco plant. There were several research objectives in order to determine the utility of a chemical topping system: 1) determine if burley tobacco could be chemically topped with currently registered suckercide products …

Comparison Between Listeria Sensu Stricto And Listeria Sensu Lato Strains Identifies Novel Determinants Involved In Infection, Jakob Schardt, Grant Jones, Stefanie Müller-Herbst, Kristina Schauer, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio, Thilo M. Fuchs

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The human pathogen L. monocytogenes and the animal pathogen L. ivanovii, together with four other species isolated from symptom-free animals, form the "Listeria sensu stricto" clade. The members of the second clade, "Listeria sensu lato", are believed to be solely environmental bacteria without the ability to colonize mammalian hosts. To identify novel determinants that contribute to infection by L. monocytogenes, the causative agent of the foodborne disease listeriosis, we performed a genome comparison of the two clades and found 151 candidate genes that are conserved in the Listeria sensu stricto species. Two factors were …

Ablation Of An Ovarian Tumor Family Deubiquitinase Exposes The Underlying Regulation Governing The Plasticity Of Cell Cycle Progression In Toxoplasma Gondii, Animesh Dhara, Rodrigo De Paula Baptista, Jessica C. Kissinger, Ernest Charles Snow, Anthony P. Sinai

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The Toxoplasma genome encodes the capacity for distinct architectures underlying cell cycle progression in a life cycle stage-dependent manner. Replication in intermediate hosts occurs by endodyogeny, whereas a hybrid of schizogony and endopolygeny occurs in the gut of the definitive feline host. Here, we characterize the consequence of the loss of a cell cycle-regulated ovarian tumor (OTU family) deubiquitinase, OTUD3A of Toxoplasma gondii (TgOTUD3A; TGGT1_258780), in T. gondii tachyzoites. Rather than the mutation being detrimental, mutant parasites exhibited a fitness advantage, outcompeting the wild type. This phenotype was due to roughly one-third of TgOTUD3A-knockout (TgOTUD3A-KO) tachyzoites exhibiting deviations from endodyogeny …

The Soybean Rfg1 Gene Restricts Nodulation By Sinorhizobium Fredii Usda193, Yinglun Fan, Jinge Liu, Shanhua Lyu, Qi Wang, Shengming Yang, Hongyan Zhu

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Sinorhizobium fredii is a fast-growing rhizobial species that can establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with a wide range of legume species including soybeans (Glycine max). In soybeans, this interaction shows a high level of specificity such that particular S. fredii strains nodulate only a limited set of plant genotypes. Here we report the identification of a dominant gene in soybeans that restricts nodulation with S. fredii USDA193. Genetic mapping in an F2 population revealed co-segregation of the underlying locus with the previously cloned Rfg1 gene. The Rfg1 allele encodes a member of the Toll-interleukin receptor/nucleotide-binding site/leucine-rich repeat class of …

Pro-Angiogenesis Therapy And Aging: A Mini-Review, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Apart from major illnesses and chronic afflictions, the elderly experience lesser ailments, such as muscle weakness, cold intolerance, and transient memory lapses. Physical signs in the aged include wrinkled skin and the slow healing of skin abrasions. These ailments and signs are grouped together because they may be due in part to an age-linked, waning microcirculation. A reduced capillary density (CD) throughout the body of aged people and animals has been reported in over 40 papers. The reduced CD is due in turn to declining levels of angiogenic growth factors (AGFs) throughout the body during old age, as documented in …

The Feoabc Locus Of Yersinia Pestis Likely Has Two Promoters Causing Unique Iron Regulation, Lauren O'Connor, Jacqueline D. Fetherston, Robert D. Perry

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The FeoABC ferrous transporter is a wide-spread bacterial system. While the feoABC locus is regulated by a number of factors in the bacteria studied, we have previously found that regulation of feoABC in Yersinia pestis appears to be unique. None of the non-iron responsive transcriptional regulators that control expression of feoABC in other bacteria do so in Y. pestis. Another unique factor is the iron and Fur regulation of the Y. pestis feoABC locus occurs during microaerobic but not aerobic growth. Here we show that this unique iron-regulation is not due to a unique aspect of the Y. pestis …

Crystal Structure Of Yersinia Pestis Virulence Factor Yfea Reveals Two Polyspecific Metal-Binding Sites, Christopher D. Radka, Lawrence J. Delucas, Landon S. Wilson, Matthew B. Lawrenz, Robert D. Perry, Stephen G. Aller

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Gram-negative bacteria use siderophores, outer membrane receptors, inner membrane transporters and substrate-binding proteins (SBPs) to transport transition metals through the periplasm. The SBPs share a similar protein fold that has undergone significant structural evolution to communicate with a variety of differentially regulated transporters in the cell. In Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, YfeA (YPO2439, y1897), an SBP, is important for full virulence during mammalian infection. To better understand the role of YfeA in infection, crystal structures were determined under several environmental conditions with respect to transition-metal levels. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and anomalous X-ray scattering data show that …

Zinc Transporters Ybtx And Znuabc Are Required For The Virulence Of Yersinia Pestis In Bubonic And Pneumonic Plague In Mice, Alexander G. Bobrov, Olga Kirillina, Marina Y. Fosso, Jacqueline D. Fetherston, M. Clarke Miller, Tiva T. Vancleave, Joseph A. Burlison, William K. Arnold, Matthew B. Lawrenz, Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, Robert D. Perry

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

A number of bacterial pathogens require the ZnuABC Zinc (Zn²⁺) transporter and/or a second Zn²⁺ transport system to overcome Zn²⁺ sequestration by mammalian hosts. Previously we have shown that in addition to ZnuABC, Yersinia pestis possesses a second Zn²⁺ transporter that involves components of the yersiniabactin (Ybt), siderophore-dependent iron transport system. Synthesis of the Ybt siderophore and YbtX, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, are both critical components of the second Zn²⁺ transport system. Here we demonstrate that a ybtX znu double mutant is essentially avirulent in mouse models of bubonic and pneumonic …

Overcoming Hurdles To Development Of A Vaccine Against Pneumocystis Jirovecii, Beth A. Garvy

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Development of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is a common problem among immunosuppressed individuals. There are windows of opportunity in which vaccination would be beneficial, but to date, no vaccines have made it to clinical trials. Significant hurdles to vaccine development include host range specificity, making it difficult to translate from animal models to humans. Discovery of cross-reactive epitopes is critical to moving vaccine candidates from preclinical animal studies to clinical trials.

Pneumocystis Infection Alters The Activation State Of Pulmonary Macrophages, Jessica M. Deckman, Cathryn J. Kurkjian, Joseph P. Mcgillis, Theodore J. Cory, Susan E. Birket, Linda M. Schutzman, Brian S. Murphy, Beth A. Garvy, David J. Feola

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Recent studies show a substantial incidence of Pneumocystis jirovecii colonization and infection in patients with chronic inflammatory lung conditions. However, little is known about the impact of Pneumocystis upon the regulation of pulmonary immunity. We demonstrate here that Pneumocystis polarizes macrophages towards an alternatively activated macrophage-like phenotype. Genetically engineered mice that lack the ability to signal through IL-4 and IL-13 were used to show that Pneumocystis alternative macrophage activation is dependent upon signaling through these cytokines. To determine whether Pneumocystis-induced macrophage polarization would impact subsequent immune responses, we infected mice with Pneumocystis and then challenged them with Pseudomonas aeruginosa 14 …

Identification Of Mutant Genes And Introgressed Tiger Salamander Dna In The Laboratory Axolotl, Ambystoma Mexicanum, M. Ryan Woodcock, Jennifer Vaughn-Wolfe, Alexandra Elias, David Kevin Kump, Katharina Denise Kendall, Nataliya Y. Timoshevskaya, Vladimir A. Timoshevskiy, Dustin W. Perry, Jeramiah James Smith, Jessica E. Spiewak, David M. Parichy, Stephen Randal Voss

Biology Faculty Publications

The molecular genetic toolkit of the Mexican axolotl, a classic model organism, has matured to the point where it is now possible to identify genes for mutant phenotypes. We used a positional cloning–candidate gene approach to identify molecular bases for two historic axolotl pigment phenotypes: white and albino. White (d/d) mutants have defects in pigment cell morphogenesis and differentiation, whereas albino (a/a) mutants lack melanin. We identified in white mutants a transcriptional defect in endothelin 3 (edn3), encoding a peptide factor that promotes pigment cell migration and differentiation in other …

Radiation Induced Apoptosis Of Murine Bone Marrow Cells Is Independent Of Early Growth Response 1 (Egr1), Karine Z. Oben, Beth W. Gachuki, Sara S. Alhakeem, Mary Kathryn Mckenna, Ying Liang, Daret K. St. Clair, Vivek M. Rangnekar, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

An understanding of how each individual 5q chromosome critical deleted region (CDR) gene contributes to malignant transformation would foster the development of much needed targeted therapies for the treatment of therapy related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs). Early Growth Response 1 (EGR1) is a key transcriptional regulator of myeloid differentiation located within the 5q chromosome CDR that has been shown to regulate HSC (hematopoietic stem cell) quiescence as well as the master regulator of apoptosis—p53. Since resistance to apoptosis is a hallmark of malignant transformation, we investigated the role of EGR1 in apoptosis of bone marrow cells; a cell population from which …

Characterization Of A Large Vertebrate Genome And Homomorphic Sex Chromosomes In The Axolotl, Ambystoma Mexicanum, Melissa Keinath

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Changes in the structure, content and morphology of chromosomes accumulate over evolutionary time and contribute to cell, developmental and organismal biology. The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an important model for studying these changes because: 1) it provides important phylogenetic perspective for reconstructing the evolution of vertebrate genomes and amphibian karyotypes, 2) its genome has evolved to a large size (~10X larger than human) but has maintained gene orders, and 3) it possesses potentially young sex chromosomes that have not undergone extensive differentiation in the structure that is typical of many other vertebrate sex chromosomes (e.g. mammalian XY chromosomes …

Mitochondrial And Nuclear Patterns Of Conflict And Concordance At The Gene, Genome, And Behavioral Scales In Desmognathus Salamanders, Justin D. Kratovil

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Advancements in molecular sequencing have revealed unexpected cryptic genetic diversity and contrasting evolutionary histories within genes and between genomes of many organisms; often in disagreement with recognized taxonomy. Incongruent patterns between the mitochondrial and nuclear evolutionary history can have several plausible explanations, but widespread systematic conflict inevitably challenges our conceptions of species boundaries when there is discordance between coevolving and coinherited genomes. It is unknown to what degree mitonuclear conflict drives the process of divergence, or how ubiquitous these patterns are across the tree of life. To understand the evolutionary relevance of intergenomic discordance we must identify the conflicting patterns …

Antisense Afp Transcripts In Mouse Liver And Their Potential Role In Afp Gene Regulation, Maria S. Dixon

Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of primary liver cancer, ranking the sixth most common cancer and third most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a plasma protein that is highly expressed in the fetal liver and shut off after birth. AFP expression is elevated in regenerating adult liver and HCC and has been used extensively as a diagnostic marker of liver cancer. We have been studying mouse liver gene regulation to better understand mechanisms by which changes in gene expression contribute to liver development, homeostasis and disease. Zinc Fingers and Homeoboxes 2 (Zhx2) has …

Transcriptomic Analyses Of Cathatranthus Roseus Hairy Roots Overexpressing Crmyc2 And Orca3 And Roles Of Cross-Family Transcription Factor Interaction In Terpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis, Xueyi Sui

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle), is a well-known medicinal plant that produces a vast array of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), including two anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. Industrial scale production of TIAs is hampered by the difficulties of total chemical synthesis of these compounds and the fragmented knowledge on TIA pathway. Transcriptional regulation of the TIA biosynthetic pathway has not been thoroughly investigated in Catharanthus and only a few structural genes have been identified as the targets of two master regulators: the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF) CrMYC2 and APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (AP2/ERF), ORCA3. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has been …

Reexamining Chronic Toxoplasma Gondii Infection: Surprising Activity For A "Dormant" Parasite, Anthony P. Sinai, Elizabeth A. Watts, Animesh Dhara, Robert D. Murphy, Matthew S. Gentry, Abhijit R. Patwardhan

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Purpose of Review

Despite over a third of the world’s population being chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii, little is known about this largely asymptomatic phase of infection. This stage is mediated in vivo by bradyzoites within tissue cysts. The absence of overt symptoms has been attributed to the dormancy of bradyzoites. In this review, we reexamine the conventional view of chronic toxoplasmosis in light of emerging evidence challenging both the nature of dormancy and the consequences of infection in the CNS.

Recent Findings

New and emerging data reveal a previously unrecognized level of physiological and replicative capacity of bradyzoites …

The Life Cycle Stages Of Pneumocystis Murina Have Opposing Effects On The Immune Response To This Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen, Heather M. Evans, Grady L. Bryant Iii, Beth A. Garvy

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The cell wall β-glucans of Pneumocystis cysts have been shown to stimulate immune responses in lung epithelial cells, dendritic cells, and alveolar macrophages. Little is known about how the trophic life forms, which do not have a fungal cell wall, interact with these innate immune cells. Here we report differences in the responses of both neonatal and adult mice to the trophic and cystic life cycle stages of Pneumocystis murina. The adult and neonatal immune responses to infection with Pneumocystis murina trophic forms were less robust than the responses to infection with a physiologically normal mixture of cysts and …

Rna-Seq Of Borrelia Burgdorferi In Multiple Phases Of Growth Reveals Insights Into The Dynamics Of Gene Expression, Transcriptome Architecture, And Noncoding Rnas, William K. Arnold, Christina R. Savage, Catherine A. Brissette, Janakiram Seshu, Jonathan Livny, Brian Stevenson

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, differentially expresses numerous genes and proteins as it cycles between mammalian hosts and tick vectors. Insights on regulatory mechanisms have been provided by earlier studies that examined B. burgdorferi gene expression patterns during cultivation. However, prior studies examined bacteria at only a single time point of cultivation, providing only a snapshot of what is likely a dynamic transcriptional program driving B. burgdorferi adaptations to changes during culture growth phases. To address that concern, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis of B. burgdorferi cultures at early-exponential, mid-exponential, and early-stationary phases …

A Cell Cycle-Regulated Toxoplasma Deubiquitinase, Tgotud3a, Targets Polyubiquitins With Specific Lysine Linkages, Animesh Dhara, Anthony P. Sinai

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The contribution of ubiquitin-mediated mechanisms in the regulation of the Toxoplasma gondii cell cycle has remained largely unexplored. Here, we describe the functional characterization of a T. gondii deubiquitinase (TGGT1_258780) of the ovarian-tumor domain-containing (OTU) family, which, based on its structural homology to the human OTUD3 clade, has been designated TgOTUD3A. The TgOTUD3A protein is expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner mimicking its mRNA expression, indicating that it is regulated primarily at the transcriptional level. TgOTUD3A, which was found in the cytoplasm at low levels in G₁ parasites, increased in abundance with the progression of the …

Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury Induces Prolonged Immune Sysregulation And Potentiates Hyperalgesia Following A Peripheral Immune Challenge, Rachel K. Rowe, Gavin I. Ellis, Jordan L. Harrison, Adam D. Bachstetter, Gregory F. Corder, Linda J. Van Eldik, Bradley K. Taylor, Francesc Marti, Jonathan Lifshitz

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Background: Nociceptive and neuropathic pain occurs as part of the disease process after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in humans. Central and peripheral inflammation, a major secondary injury process initiated by the traumatic brain injury event, has been implicated in the potentiation of peripheral nociceptive pain. We hypothesized that the inflammatory response to diffuse traumatic brain injury potentiates persistent pain through prolonged immune dysregulation.

Results: To test this, adult, male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to midline fluid percussion brain injury or to sham procedure. One cohort of mice was analyzed for inflammation-related cytokine levels in cortical biopsies and serum along an …

The Homophilic Domain – An Immunological Archetype, Heinz Kohler, Jagadeesh Bayry, Srinivas V. Kaveri

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The homophilic potential emerges as an important biological principle to boost the potency of immunoglobulins. Since homophilic antibodies in human and mouse sera exist prior environmental exposure, they are part of the natural antibody repertoire. Nevertheless, hemophilic properties are also identified in induced antibody repertoire. The use of homophilicity of antibodies in the adaptive immunity signifies an archetypic antibody structure. The unique feature of homophilicity in the antibody repertoire also highlights an important mechanism to boost the antibody potency to protect against infection and atherosclerosis as well to treat cancer patients.

The Significance Of A Common Idiotype (1f7) On Antibodies Against Human Immune Deficiency Virus Type 1 And Hepatitis C Virus, Sybille Muller, Matthew S. Parsons, Heinz Kohler, Michael Grant

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

In this review, we trace the concept and potential functional role of regulatory idiotypes in the immune response to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), simian immunodeficiency virus, and hepatitis C virus (HCV). A major idiotype involved in these viral infections is recognized and defined by a murine monoclonal antibody (1F7). Antibodies expressing the idiotype defined by 1F7 are dominant in HIV-1 infection and are also found on many broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1. This regulatory idiotypic axis offers opportunities for exploitation in vaccine development for HIV-1, HCV, and other chronic viral infections.

Gene Deletion By Fluorescence-Reported Allelic Exchange Mutagenesis In Chlamydia Trachomatis, Konrad E. Mueller, Katerina Wolf, Kenneth A. Fields

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Although progress in Chlamydia genetics has been rapid, genomic modification has previously been limited to point mutations and group II intron insertions which truncate protein products. The bacterium has thus far been intractable to gene deletion or more-complex genomic integrations such as allelic exchange. Herein, we present a novel suicide vector dependent on inducible expression of a chlamydial gene that renders Chlamydia trachomatis fully genetically tractable and permits rapid reverse genetics by fluorescence-reported allelic exchange mutagenesis (FRAEM). We describe the first available system of targeting chlamydial genes for deletion or allelic exchange as well as curing plasmids from C. trachomatis …

Coordination Of Rna Polymerase Ii Pausing And 3' End Processing Factor Recruitment With Alternative Polyadenylation, Becky Fusby, Soojin Kim, Benjamin Erickson, Hyunmin Kim, Martha L. Peterson, David L Bentley

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Most mammalian genes produce transcripts whose 3' ends are processed at multiple alternative positions by cleavage/polyadenylation (CPA). Poly(A) site cleavage frequently occurs cotranscriptionally and is facilitated by CPA factor binding to the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) C-terminal domain (CTD) phosphorylated on Ser2 residues of its heptad repeats (YS₂PTSPS). The function of cotranscriptional events in the selection of alternative poly(A) sites is poorly understood. We investigated Pol II pausing, CTD Ser2 phosphorylation, and processing factor CstF recruitment at wild-type and mutant IgM transgenes that use alternative poly(A) sites to produce mRNAs encoding the secreted and membrane-bound forms of …

The Role Of Capillaries In The Lesser Ailments Of Old Age And In Alzheimer's Disease And Vascular Dementia: The Potential Of Pro-Therapeutic Angiogenesis, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Apart from chronic diseases (arthritis, diabetes, etc.), old age is generally characterized by three lesser ailments: muscle weakness, minor memory lapses, and cold intolerance. This trio of complaints may have a common, underlying cause, namely, the age-associated reduced microcirculation in muscles, brain, skin, and elsewhere in the body. The Angiogenesis Hypothesis proposes that old age is in part a deficiency disease due to the decline in angiogenic (AG) factors, resulting in a reduced capillary density (CD) throughout the body. Over fifty published papers document waning levels of AG factors and/or decreased CD in various organ systems of aged animals and …

Ecology Of Two Reintroduced Black Bear Populations In The Central Appalachians, Sean Mccarthy Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Reintroduced populations are vulnerable to demographic and environmental stochasticity, deleterious genetic effects, and reduced population fitness, all of which can increase extinction probability. Population viability is principle to determining the status of reintroduced populations and for guiding management decisions. To attempt to reestablish black bear (Ursus americanus) populations in the central Appalachians, two reintroductions using small founder groups occurred during the 1990s in the Big South Fork area along the Kentucky-Tennessee border (BSF) and in the Jefferson National Forest along the Kentucky-Virginia border (KVP). My objectives were to estimate demographic and genetic parameters, and to evaluate long-term viability …