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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Behavioral And Pharmacological Actions Of Nmda Receptor Antagonism Are Conserved In Zebrafish Larvae, John Chen, Roshni Patel, Theodore Friedman, Kevin Jones
The Behavioral And Pharmacological Actions Of Nmda Receptor Antagonism Are Conserved In Zebrafish Larvae, John Chen, Roshni Patel, Theodore Friedman, Kevin Jones
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) is one of several NMDA receptor antagonists that is widely used to pharmacologically model the symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia in animals. MK-801 elicits behaviors in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) that are phenotypically consistent with behaviors observed in humans and rodents exposed to tbhe drug. However, the molecular and cellular processes that mediate the psychotomimetic, cognitive and locomotive behaviors of MK-801 are unclear. We exposed zebrafish larvae to MK-801 to assess their merit as a model organism to elucidate the behavioral effects of NMDA receptor blockade. Zebrafish larvae were acutely immersed in MK-801 to assess the effect …
Applications Of Natural Products In The Control Of Mosquito-Transmitted Diseases, Jesse Hardin, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson
Applications Of Natural Products In The Control Of Mosquito-Transmitted Diseases, Jesse Hardin, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Mosquito-transmitted diseases remain one of the most significant causes of mortality in the African continent, despite successes in controlling these diseases in other regions of the world. The disproportionate impact in areas of poverty suggests a need for control that is efficient and does not require complex technological control strategies. Focusing on the vectors of disease, the mosquito, there are many alternatives to synthetic, chemical pesticides that await discovery and development. Although some natural products have been described, there is still a need for continuing research that incorporates endogenous knowledge in the selection process for potential vector control candidates. Recent …
Introducing Mothur: Open-Source, Platform-Independent, Community-Supported Software For Describing And Comparing Microbial Communities, Courtney Robinson
Introducing Mothur: Open-Source, Platform-Independent, Community-Supported Software For Describing And Comparing Microbial Communities, Courtney Robinson
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
mothur aims to be a comprehensive software package that allows users to use a single piece of software to analyze community sequence data. It builds upon previous tools to provide a flexible and powerful software package for analyzing sequencing data. As a case study, we used mothur to trim, screen, and align sequences; calculate distances; assign sequences to operational taxonomic units; and describe the α and β diversity of eight marine samples previously characterized by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments. This analysis of more than 222,000 sequences was completed in less than 2 h with a laptop computer.
Robustness Of The Bacterial Community In The Cabbage White Butterfly Larval Midgut, Courtney Robinson, Patrick Schloss, Yolied Ramos, Kenneth Raffa, Jo Handelsman
Robustness Of The Bacterial Community In The Cabbage White Butterfly Larval Midgut, Courtney Robinson, Patrick Schloss, Yolied Ramos, Kenneth Raffa, Jo Handelsman
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Microbial communities typically vary in composition and structure over space and time. Little is known about the inherent characteristics of communities that govern various drivers of these changes, such as random variation, changes in response to perturbation, or susceptibility to invasion. In this study, we use 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences to describe variation among bacterial communities in the midguts of cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) larvae and examine the influence of community structure on susceptibility to invasion. We compared communities in larvae experiencing the same conditions at different times (temporal variation) or fed different diets (perturbation). The most highly …
Ectopic T-Bet Expression Licenses Dendritic Cells For Il-12-Independent Priming Of Type 1 T Cells In Vitro, Michael Lipscomb
Ectopic T-Bet Expression Licenses Dendritic Cells For Il-12-Independent Priming Of Type 1 T Cells In Vitro, Michael Lipscomb
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
T-bet (TBX21) is a transcription factor required for the optimal development of type 1 immune responses. Although initially characterized for its intrinsic role in T cell functional polarization, endogenous T-bet may also be critical to the licensing of type 1-biasing APCs. Here, we investigated whether human dendritic cells (DC) genetically engineered to express high levels of T-bet (i.e., DC.Tbet) promote superior type 1 T cell responses in vitro. We observed that DC.Tbet were selective activators of type 1 effector T cells developed from the naive pool of responder cells, whereas DC.Tbet and control DC promoted type 1 responses equitably from …
Was Climate The Prime Releaser For Encephalization? An Editorial Comment, David Schwartzman, George Middendorf, Miranda Armour-Chelu
Was Climate The Prime Releaser For Encephalization? An Editorial Comment, David Schwartzman, George Middendorf, Miranda Armour-Chelu
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Kleidon (2009) concludes that warm climates impose important constraints on the evolution of large brains relative to body size, confirming our previous hypothesis (Schwartzman and Middendorf 2000). Here we update the case for our hypothesis and present a first approximation estimate of the cooling required for hominin brain size increase using a simple model of heat loss. We conclude that Pleistocene glacial episodes were likely sufficient to serve as prime releasers for emergence of Homo habilis and Homo erectus. In addition, we propose that atmospheric oxygen levels may been an analogous constraint on insect encephalization.
Molluscan Models In Evolutionary Biology: Apple Snails (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) As A System For Addressing Fundamental Questions, Kenneth Hayes
Molluscan Models In Evolutionary Biology: Apple Snails (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) As A System For Addressing Fundamental Questions, Kenneth Hayes
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Molluscs constitute the second largest phylum in terms of the number of described species and possess a wide array of characteristics and adaptations for living in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater habitats. They are morphologically diverse and appear in the fossil record as far back as the early Cambrian (-560 mybp). Despite their high diversity and long evolutionary history, molluscs are often underused as models for the study of general aspects of evolutionary biology. Freshwater snails in the family Ampullariidae have a global tropical and subtropical distribution and high diversity with more than 150 species in nine currently recognized genera, making …
Treatment Options For Hepatitis C And The Rationale For Low Response Rates In African Americans, Cheu Patricia Manka, Ralph Gomes, Rebecca Reviere, Clarence Lee
Treatment Options For Hepatitis C And The Rationale For Low Response Rates In African Americans, Cheu Patricia Manka, Ralph Gomes, Rebecca Reviere, Clarence Lee
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the leading cause for liver transplantation, is emerging as1 of the infections that pose public health problems in the world since about 170 million people worldwide are infected with this virus. Inequality in addressing racial/ethnic disparities in treatment for hepatitis C is a pressing problem. HCV is more common among African Americans than among other racial groups in the United States. Although African Americans have been shown to have a lower rate of viral clearance and a higher rate of chronic hepatitis C, they may have at the same time a much lower rate of fibrosis …
Contributions Of Gut Bacteria To Bacillus Thuringiensis-Induced Mortality Vary Across A Range Of Lepidoptera, Nichole Broderick, Courtney Robinson, Matthew Mcmahon, Kenneth Raffa
Contributions Of Gut Bacteria To Bacillus Thuringiensis-Induced Mortality Vary Across A Range Of Lepidoptera, Nichole Broderick, Courtney Robinson, Matthew Mcmahon, Kenneth Raffa
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Gut microbiota contribute to the health of their hosts, and alterations in the composition of this microbiota can lead to disease. Previously, we demonstrated that indigenous gut bacteria were required for the insecticidal toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis to kill the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. B. thuringiensis and its associated insecticidal toxins are commonly used for the control of lepidopteran pests. A variety of factors associated with the insect host, B. thuringiensis strain, and environment affect the wide range of susceptibilities among Lepidoptera, but the interaction of gut bacteria with these factors is not understood. To assess the contribution of gut …
Inheritance Of Shoulder Spotting In The Tetra, Hyphessobrycon Bentosi Characidae, Jack Frankel
Inheritance Of Shoulder Spotting In The Tetra, Hyphessobrycon Bentosi Characidae, Jack Frankel
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The tetra (Hyphessobrycon bentosi) exhibits two phenotypes associated with shoulder spotting. Fish possess ei-ther a prominent black vertical spot located directly behind the operculum (H. b. bentosi, bentosi white tip tetra) or lack this spot (H. b. rosaceus, rosy tetra). Segregation patterns observed from the progenies of ten different crosses suggest that the inheritance of these phenotypes is controlled by two autosomal loci acting in a complementary fashion, with domi-nance at both loci required for the expression of the spotted phenotype.