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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Direct Reprogramming Of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Into Gabaergic Neurons, Nicholas J. Wasko May 2013

Direct Reprogramming Of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Into Gabaergic Neurons, Nicholas J. Wasko

Honors Scholar Theses

Recent studies in which mouse and human fibroblasts were directly reprogrammed into functional neurons have demonstrated that lineage-specific transcription factors can override differentiation processes previously thought to be irreversible. Notably, three factors have been shown to be required for the induction of neural cell fate. Subsequent experiments have identified additional factors capable of generating specific neuronal subtypes, including motor neurons and dopaminergic neurons, but the factors necessary for inducing GABAergic neuronal fate have yet to be elucidated. Here, factors linked to GABAergic fate were transfected into mouse fibroblasts in order to identify candidate factors for inhibitory interneuron direct reprogramming. Results …


Modulation Of Synaptic Transmission By Adenosine In Layer 2/3 Of The Rat Visual Cortex In Vitro, Nicholas M. Bannon Apr 2013

Modulation Of Synaptic Transmission By Adenosine In Layer 2/3 Of The Rat Visual Cortex In Vitro, Nicholas M. Bannon

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.


Euryhalinity In An Evolutionary Context, Eric T. Schultz, Stephen D. Mccormick Jan 2013

Euryhalinity In An Evolutionary Context, Eric T. Schultz, Stephen D. Mccormick

EEB Articles

This chapter focuses on the evolutionary importance and taxonomic distribution of euryhalinity. Euryhalinity refers to broad halotolerance and broad halohabitat distribution. Salinity exposure experiments have demonstrated that species vary tenfold in their range of tolerable salinity levels, primarily because of differences in upper limits. Halotolerance breadth varies with the species’ evolutionary history, as represented by its ordinal classification, and with the species’ halohabitat. Freshwater and seawater species tolerate brackish water; their empirically-determined fundamental haloniche is broader than their realized haloniche, as revealed by the halohabitats they occupy. With respect to halohabitat distribution, a minority of species (<10%) are euryhaline. Habitat-euryhalinity is prevalent among basal actinopterygian fishes, is largely absent from orders arising from intermediate nodes, and reappears in the most derived taxa. There is pronounced family-level variability in the tendency to be halohabitat-euryhaline, which may have arisen during a burst of diversification following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction. Low prevalence notwithstanding, euryhaline species are potent sources of evolutionary diversity. Euryhalinity is regarded as a key innovation trait whose evolution enables exploitation of new adaptive zone, triggering cladogenesis. We review phylogenetically-informed studies that demonstrate freshwater species diversifying from euryhaline ancestors through processes such as landlocking. These studies indicate that some euryhaline taxa are particularly susceptible to changes in halohabitat and subsequent diversification, and some geographic regions have been hotspots for transitions to freshwater. Comparative studies on mechanisms among multiple taxa and at multiple levels of biological integration are needed to clarify evolutionary pathways to, and from, euryhalinity.