Life Sciences Commons^™

An Intelligent System For Automated Dna Base Calling, Mohamad T. Musavi

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

An investigation into improving the performance of DNA base calling algorithms was conducted. The results have shown that the preprocessing steps performed by ABI sequencer on raw data adversely affects the accuracy of DNA sequencing. This adverse effect has been responsible for relatively high error rates, between 3.5% to 6%, in both ABI and Phred sequencing software. Please note that Phred also uses the processed data generated by ABI sequencer; only their base-calling algorithm is different. To remedy this effect, we have developed and implemented a new filtering technique that preserves the initial information contained in the raw data. This …

The Position Of Acoelomorph Turbellarians Among Lower Worms, Seth Tyler

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The Acoelomorpha is a group of worms of comparatively simple structure, and, accordingly, some biologists consider them to represent the most basic form of all multicellular animals. Acoelomorphs digest their food with a multinucleate mass of tissue instead of in the lumen or cavity of a gut, and their nervous system is only loosely organized into concentrations that could be compared to the brain and nerve cords of other animals. Taxonomists divide the group into 17 families, largely on the basis of the structure of the reproductive organs, but have fallen short of explaining how these families relate to each …

Additional Evidence That Juvenile Oyster Disease Is Caused By A Member Of The Roseobacter Group And Colonization Of Nonaffected Animals By Stappia Stellulata-Like Strains, K. J. Boettcher, B. J. Barber, J. T. Singer

Biology and Ecology Faculty Scholarship

Juvenile oyster disease (JOD) causes significant annual mortalities of hatchery-produced Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, cultured in the Northeast. We have reported that a novel species of the α-proteobacteria Roseobacter group (designated CVSP) was numerically dominant in JOD-affected animals sampled during the 1997 epizootic on the Damariscotta River, Maine. In this study we report the isolation of CVSP bacteria from JOD-affected oysters during three separate epizootics in 1998. These bacteria were not detected in nonaffected oysters at the enzootic site, nor in animals raised at a JOD-free site. Animals raised at the JOD enzootic site that were unaffected by JOD were …

Does Elevated Nitrogen And Sulfur Deposition Lead To Net Base Cation Losses In Northern New England Forest Soils?, Ivan J. Fernandez, Stephen A. Norton, Jeffrey Kahl, Lindsey E. Rustad

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The aims of this research are to continue treatment and monitoring of a paired watershed experiment at Bear Brook in northern Maine, with an emphasis on changes in soil base cations, particularly calcium. Base cation depletion is well-recognised as a potential problem in soils that have been subjected to acidic N deposition but few data exist from well-controlled, long-term experiments. The Bear Brook watershed has been periodically treated with ammonium sulfate since the fall of 1989 and is believed to be approaching N saturation. Since 1993 the relationship between base cations and strong acid anions has changed, such that labile …

An Investigation Of The Evolution Of Autotrophic Endosymbioses In Bivalves By Comparative Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis Of Host And Symbiont Rrna Sequences, Daniel L. Distel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Symbiotic associations between animals and bacteria are extremely diverse and commonplace in nature. In fact, it is difficult to find examples of animal species whose existence is not profoundly influenced by symbiotic associations with bacteria. For example, mitochondria (the structures within human cells that generate the energy for metabolic processes) are thought to have arisen from ancient bacteria that long ago formed a symbiotic association with the ancestor of all living animals. The support provided for this project will allow investigation of a type of symbiosis commonly found in clams and worms from deep-sea hydrothermal vents (marine hot springs) that …

Wild Blueberries 1999 Csrees Progress Reports, Alfred A. Bushway, Bodhan Slabyj, Russell Hazen, Darrell W. Donahue, Frank A. Drummond, Judith A. Collins, Rodney J. Bushway, Brian Perkins, Seanna L. Annis, Connie S. Stubbs, John M. Smagula, Walter Litten, Richard Dyer, Karen Loennecker, David E. Yarborough, Timothy M. Hess, David Lambert, John Jemison

Wild Blueberry Research Reports

The 1999 edition of the Wild Blueberries CSREES Progress Reports was prepared for the Maine Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:

1. Effects of QF Processing on Microbiological Quality of Maine Wild Blueberries

2. Separation of Maggot-Infested Blueberries in the IQF Processing Line

3. Determination of Pesticide Residue Levels in Fresh and Processed Wild Blueberries

4. Control Tactics for Blueberry Pest Insects

5. IPM Strategies

6. Biology and Ecology of Blueberry Pest Insects

7. Survey of Stem Blight and Leaf Spot Diseases in …