Life Sciences Commons^™

Evolution Of Long Centromeres In Fire Ants, Yu-Ching Huang, Chih-Chi Lee, Chia-Yi Kao, Ni-Chen Chang, Chung-Chi Lin, Dewayne Shoemaker, John Wang

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Background: Centromeres are essential for accurate chromosome segregation, yet sequence conservation is low even among closely related species. Centromere drive predicts rapid turnover because some centromeric sequences may compete better than others during female meiosis. In addition to sequence composition, longer centromeres may have a transmission advantage.

Results: We report the first observations of extremely long centromeres, covering on average 34 % of the chromosomes, in the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta. By comparison, cytological examination of Solenopsis geminata revealed typical small centromeric constrictions. Bioinformatics and molecular analyses identified CenSol, the major centromeric satellite DNA repeat. We found that …

Developing Expressed Sequence Tag Libraries And The Discovery Of Simple Sequence Repeat Markers For Two Species Of Raspberry (Rubus L.), Jill M. Bushakra, Kim S. Lewers, Margaret E. Staton, Tetyana Zhebentyayeva, Christopher A. Saski

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Background

Due to a relatively high level of codominant inheritance and transferability within and among taxonomic groups, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are important elements in comparative mapping and delineation of genomic regions associated with traits of economic importance. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are a source of SSRs that can be used to develop markers to facilitate plant breeding and for more basic research across genera and higher plant orders.

Methods

Leaf and meristem tissue from ‘Heritage’ red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and ‘Bristol’ black raspberry (R. occidentalis) were utilized for RNA extraction. After conversion to cDNA …

Substantial Genome Synteny Preservation Among Woody Angiosperm Species: Comparative Genomics Of Chinese Chestnut (Castanea Mollissima) And Plant Reference Genomes, Margaret Staton, Tetyana Zhebentyayeva, Bode Olukolu, Guang Chen Fang, Dana Nelson, John E. Carlson, Albert G. Abbott

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Background

Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) has emerged as a model species for the Fagaceae family with extensive genomic resources including a physical map, a dense genetic map and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for chestnut blight resistance. These resources enable comparative genomics analyses relative to model plants. We assessed the degree of conservation between the chestnut genome and other well annotated and assembled plant genomic sequences, focusing on the QTL regions of most interest to the chestnut breeding community.

Results

The integrated physical and genetic map of Chinese chestnut has been improved to now include 858 shared sequence-based markers. …

Identifying Avian Malaria Vectors: Sampling Methods Influence Outcomes, Jenny S. Carlson, Erika Walther, Rebecca Trout Fryxell, Sarah Staley, Lisa A. Tell, Ravinder N.M. Sehgal, Christopher M. Barker, Anthony J. Cornel

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Background

The role of vectors in the transmission of avian malaria parasites is currently understudied. Many studies that investigate parasite-vector relationships use limited trapping techniques and/or identify potential competent vectors in the field in such ways that cannot distinguish between an infected or infectious vector. Without the use of multiple trapping techniques that address the specific biology of diverse mosquito species, and without looking at the infection status of individual mosquitoes, it is not possible to make dependable conclusions on the role of mosquitoes in the transmission of avian malaria parasites.

Methods

We conducted two years of mosquito collections at …

Reduced Levels Of Membrane-Bound Alkaline Phosphatase Are Common To Lepidopteran Strains Resistant To Cry Toxins In Bacillus Thuringiensis, Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes, Lohitash Karumbaiah, Sova Rama Krishna Jakka, Changming Ning, Chenxi Liu, Kongming Wu, Jerreme Jackson, Fred Gould, Carlos Blanco, Maribel Portilla, Omaththage Perera, Michael Adang

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Development of insect resistance is one of the main concerns with the use of transgenic crops expressing Cry toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Identification of biomarkers would assist in the development of sensitive DNA-based methods to monitor evolution of resistance to Bt toxins in natural populations. We report on the proteomic and genomic detection of reduced levels of midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (mALP) as a common feature in strains of Cry-resistant Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera frugiperda when compared to susceptible larvae. Reduced levels of H. virescens mALP protein (HvmALP) were detected by two dimensional differential …

The Spatial Epidemiology And Clinical Features Of Reported Cases Of La Crosse Virus Infection In West Virginia From 2003 To 2007, Andrew D. Haddow, Danae Bixler, Agricola Odoi

Entomology & Plant Pathology Publications and Other Works

Background

La Crosse virus (LACV) is a major cause of pediatric encephalitis in the United States. Since the mid-1980s, the number of reported cases of LACV infection in West Virginia has continued to rise and the state currently reports the most cases in the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the spatial epidemiology and clinical presentation of LACV infection cases reported in West Virginia, as well as to provide a description of the environmental conditions present at the residences of the LACV infection cases.

Methods

Descriptive and spatial analyses were performed on LACV infection …