Life Sciences Commons^™

The Combined Effect Of Environmental And Host Factors On The Emergence Of Viral Rna Recombinants, Hannah M. Jaag, Peter D. Nagy

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Viruses are masters of evolution due to high frequency mutations and genetic recombination. In spite of the significance of viral RNA recombination that promotes the emergence of drug-resistant virus strains, the role of host and environmental factors in RNA recombination is poorly understood. Here we report that the host Met22p/Hal2p bisphosphate-3'-nucleotidase regulates the frequency of viral RNA recombination and the efficiency of viral replication. Based on Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) and yeast as a model host, we demonstrate that deletion of MET22 in yeast or knockdown of AHL, SAL1 and FRY1 nucleotidases/phosphatases in plants leads to increased TBSV recombination …

Sialic Acid Transport And Catabolism Are Cooperatively Regulated By Siar And Crp In Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae, Jason W. Johnston, Haider Shamsulddin, Anne-Frances Miller, Michael A. Apicella

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The transport and catabolism of sialic acid, a critical virulence factor for nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, is regulated by two transcription factors, SiaR and CRP.

RESULTS: Using a mutagenesis approach, glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN-6P) was identified as a co-activator for SiaR. Evidence for the cooperative regulation of both the sialic acid catabolic and transport operons suggested that cooperativity between SiaR and CRP is required for regulation. cAMP was unable to influence the expression of the catabolic operon in the absence of SiaR but was able to induce catabolic operon expression when both SiaR and GlcN-6P were present. Alteration of helical phasing supported …

Bpab, A Novel Protein Encoded By The Lyme Disease Spirochete's Cp32 Prophages, Binds To Erp Operator 2 Dna, Logan H. Burns, Claire A. Adams, Sean P. Riley, Brandon L. Jutras, Amy Bowman, Alicia M. Chenail, Anne E. Cooley, Laura A. Haselhorst, Alisha M. Moore, Kelly Babb, Michael G. Fried, Brian Stevenson

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Borrelia burgdorferi produces Erp outer surface proteins throughout mammalian infection, but represses their synthesis during colonization of vector ticks. A DNA region 5′ of the start of erp transcription, Operator 2, was previously shown to be essential for regulation of expression. We now report identification and characterization of a novel erp Operator 2-binding protein, which we named BpaB. erp operons are located on episomal cp32 prophages, and a single bacterium may contain as many as 10 different cp32s. Each cp32 family member encodes a unique BpaB protein, yet the three tested cp32-encoded BpaB alleles all bound to the same DNA …

Oas1 Polymorphisms Are Associated With Susceptibility To West Nile Encephalitis In Horses, Jonathan J. Rios, Joann G. W. Fleming, Uneeda K. Bryant, Craig N. Carter, John C. Huber Jr., Maureen T. Long, Thomas E. Spencer, David L. Adelson

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Faculty Publications

West Nile virus, first identified within the United States in 1999, has since spread across the continental states and infected birds, humans and domestic animals, resulting in numerous deaths. Previous studies in mice identified the Oas1b gene, a member of the OAS/RNASEL innate immune system, as a determining factor for resistance to West Nile virus (WNV) infection. A recent case-control association study described mutations of human OAS1 associated with clinical susceptibility to WNV infection. Similar studies in horses, a particularly susceptible species, have been lacking, in part, because of the difficulty in collecting populations sufficiently homogenous in their infection and …

Copy Number Variation Shapes Genome Diversity In Arabidopsis Over Immediate Family Generational Scales, Seth Debolt

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Arabidopsis thaliana is the model plant and is grown worldwide by plant biologists seeking to dissect the molecular underpinning of plant growth and development. Gene copy number variation (CNV) is a common form of genome natural diversity that is currently poorly studied in plants and may have broad implications for model organism research, evolutionary biology, and crop science. Herein, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to identify and interrogate regions of gene CNV across the A. thaliana genome. A common temperature condition used for growth of A. thaliana in our laboratory and many around the globe is 22 degrees C. …