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Articles 1 - 30 of 31
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Robust Cullin-Ring Ligase Function Is Established By A Multiplicity Of Poly-Ubiquitylation Pathways, Spencer Hill, Kurt Reichermeier, Daniel C. Scott, Lorena Samentar, Jasmin Coulombe-Huntington, Luisa Izzi, Xiaojing Tang, Rebeca Ibarra, Thierry Bertomeu, Annie Moridian, Michael J. Sweredoski, Nora Caberoy, Brenda A. Schulman, Frank Sicheri, Mike Tyers, Gary Kleiger
Robust Cullin-Ring Ligase Function Is Established By A Multiplicity Of Poly-Ubiquitylation Pathways, Spencer Hill, Kurt Reichermeier, Daniel C. Scott, Lorena Samentar, Jasmin Coulombe-Huntington, Luisa Izzi, Xiaojing Tang, Rebeca Ibarra, Thierry Bertomeu, Annie Moridian, Michael J. Sweredoski, Nora Caberoy, Brenda A. Schulman, Frank Sicheri, Mike Tyers, Gary Kleiger
Life Sciences Faculty Research
The cullin-RING ligases (CRLs) form the major family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. The prototypic CRLs in yeast, called SCF enzymes, employ a single E2 enzyme, Cdc34, to build poly-ubiquitin chains required for degradation. In contrast, six different human E2 and E3 enzyme activities, including Cdc34 orthologs UBE2R1 and UBE2R2, appear to mediate SCF-catalyzed substrate polyubiquitylation in vitro. The combinatorial interplay of these enzymes raises questions about genetic buffering of SCFs in human cells and challenges the dogma that E3s alone determine substrate specificity. To enable the quantitative comparisons of SCF-dependent ubiquitylation reactions with physiological enzyme concentrations, mass spectrometry was employed …
Isolation Of Metrosideros (`Ohi`A) Taxa On O`Ahu Increases With Elevation And Extreme Environments, Elizabeth A. Stacy, Tomoko Sakishima, Heaven Tharp, Neil Snow
Isolation Of Metrosideros (`Ohi`A) Taxa On O`Ahu Increases With Elevation And Extreme Environments, Elizabeth A. Stacy, Tomoko Sakishima, Heaven Tharp, Neil Snow
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Species radiations should be facilitated by short generation times and limited dispersal among discontinuous populations. Hawaii’s hyper-diverse, landscape-dominant tree, Metrosideros, is unique among the islands’ radiations for its massive populations that occur continuously over space and time within islands, its exceptional capacity for gene flow by both pollen and seed, and its extended life span (ca. >650 years). Metrosideros shows the greatest phenotypic and microsatellite DNA diversity on O`ahu, where taxa occur in tight sympatry or parapatry in mesic and montane wet forest on 2 volcanoes. We document the nonrandom distributions of 12 taxa (including unnamed morphotypes) along elevation gradients, …
Tunnel-Tube And Fourier Methods For Measuring Three-Dimensional Medium Reaction Force In Burrowing Animals, Alexis Moore Crisp, Clinton J. Barnes, David V. Lee
Tunnel-Tube And Fourier Methods For Measuring Three-Dimensional Medium Reaction Force In Burrowing Animals, Alexis Moore Crisp, Clinton J. Barnes, David V. Lee
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Subterranean digging behaviors provide opportunities for protection, access to prey, and predator avoidance for a diverse array of vertebrates, yet studies of the biomechanics of burrowing have been limited by the technical challenges of measuring kinetics and kinematics of animals moving within a medium. We describe a new system for measuring 3D reaction forces during burrowing, called a ‘tunnel-tube’, which is composed of two, separately instrumented plastic tubes: an ‘entry tube’ with no medium, in series with a ‘digging tube’ filled with medium. Mean reaction forces are measured for a digging bout and Fourier analysis is used to quantify the …
Local‐Regional Similarity In Drylands Increases During Multiyear Wet And Dry Periods And In Response To Extreme Events, Matthew D. Petrie, D. P.C. Peters, N. D. Bruss, W. Ji, H. M. Savoy
Local‐Regional Similarity In Drylands Increases During Multiyear Wet And Dry Periods And In Response To Extreme Events, Matthew D. Petrie, D. P.C. Peters, N. D. Bruss, W. Ji, H. M. Savoy
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Climate change is predicted to impact ecosystems through altered precipitation (PPT) regimes. In the Chihuahuan Desert, multiyear wet and dry periods and extreme PPT pulses are the most influential climatic events for vegetation. Vegetation responses are most frequently studied locally, and regional responses are often unclear. We present an approach to quantify correlation of PPT and vegetation responses (as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI]) at the Jornada ARS‐LTER site (JRN; 550 km2 area) and the surrounding dryland region (from 0 to 500 km distance; 400,000 km2 study area) as a way to understand regional similarity to locally observed patterns. We …
Divergent Selection And Primary Gene Flow Shape Incipient Speciation Of A Riparian Tree On Hawaii Island, Jae Young Choi, Michael Purugganan, Elizabeth A. Stacy
Divergent Selection And Primary Gene Flow Shape Incipient Speciation Of A Riparian Tree On Hawaii Island, Jae Young Choi, Michael Purugganan, Elizabeth A. Stacy
Life Sciences Faculty Research
A long-standing goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms underlying the formation of species. Of particular interest is whether or not speciation can occur in the presence of gene flow and without a period of physical isolation. Here, we investigated this process within Hawaiian Metrosideros, a hypervariable and highly dispersible woody species complex that dominates the Hawaiian Islands in continuous stands. Specifically, we investigated the origin of Metrosideros polymorpha var. newellii (newellii), a riparian ecotype endemic to Hawaii Island that is purportedly derived from the archipelago-wide M. polymorpha var. glaberrima (glaberrima). Disruptive selection across a sharp forestriparian ecotone …
Magnetosome Gene Duplication As An Important Driver In The Evolution Of Magnetotaxis In The Alphaproteobacteria, Haijian Du, Wenyan Zhang, Wensi Zhang, Weijia Zhang, Hongmiao Pan, Yongxin Pan, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Long-Fei Wu, Tian Xiao, Wei Lin
Magnetosome Gene Duplication As An Important Driver In The Evolution Of Magnetotaxis In The Alphaproteobacteria, Haijian Du, Wenyan Zhang, Wensi Zhang, Weijia Zhang, Hongmiao Pan, Yongxin Pan, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Long-Fei Wu, Tian Xiao, Wei Lin
Life Sciences Faculty Research
The evolution of microbial magnetoreception (or magnetotaxis) is of great interest in the fields of microbiology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, geomicrobiology, and geochemistry. Current genomic data from magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), the only prokaryotes known to be capable of sensing the Earth’s geomagnetic field, suggests an ancient origin of magnetotaxis in the domain Bacteria. Vertical inheritance, followed by multiple independent magnetosome gene cluster loss, is considered to be one of the major forces that drove the evolution of magnetotaxis at or above the class or phylum level, although the evolutionary trajectories at lower taxonomic ranks (e.g., within the class level) remain largely …
Correction To: Transcriptome Analyses Of Tumor-Adjacent Somatic Tissues Reveal Genes Co-Expressed With Transposable Elements, Micky Chung, G. M. Jonaid, Sophia Quinton, Austin Ross, Corinne E. Sexton, Adrian Alberto, Cody Clymer, Daphnie Churchill, Omar Navarro Leija, Mira V. Han
Correction To: Transcriptome Analyses Of Tumor-Adjacent Somatic Tissues Reveal Genes Co-Expressed With Transposable Elements, Micky Chung, G. M. Jonaid, Sophia Quinton, Austin Ross, Corinne E. Sexton, Adrian Alberto, Cody Clymer, Daphnie Churchill, Omar Navarro Leija, Mira V. Han
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported errors in Table 2 wherein all “KZFP” in the gene names should be changed to “ZNF”.
Effects Of Rate Of Drying, Life History Phase, And Ecotype On The Ability Of The Moss Bryum Argenteum To Survive Desiccation Events And The Influence On Conservation And Selection Of Material For Restoration, Joshua Lee Greenwood, Lloyd R. Stark, Lindsay P. Chiquoine
Effects Of Rate Of Drying, Life History Phase, And Ecotype On The Ability Of The Moss Bryum Argenteum To Survive Desiccation Events And The Influence On Conservation And Selection Of Material For Restoration, Joshua Lee Greenwood, Lloyd R. Stark, Lindsay P. Chiquoine
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Desiccation stress is frequently experienced by the moss Bryum argenteum and can influence survival, propagation and niche selection. We attempted to disentangle the interacting factors of life history phase (five categories) and rate of desiccation (time allotted for induction of desiccation tolerance) for 13 ecotypes of B. argenteum. Using chlorophyll fluorescence as a stress index, we determined how these parameters influenced desiccation tolerance. Rate of drying and life phase significantly affected desiccation tolerance. The reaction norms of desiccation tolerance displayed by the 13 ecotypes showed a substantial degree of variation in phenotypic plasticity. We observed differences in survival and fluorescence …
Insights Into The Ecological Roles And Evolution Of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase-Containing Hot Spring Archaea, Zheng-Shuang Hua, Yu-Lin Wang, Paul N. Evans, Yan-Ni Qu, Kian Mau Goh, Yang-Zhi Rao, Sun Yat-Sen University Qi, Yu-Xian Li, Min-Jun Huang, Jian-Yu Jiao, Ya-Ting Chen, Wen-Sheng Shu, Wael Hozzein, Brian P. Hedlund, Gene W. Tyson, Tong Zhang, Wen-Jun Li
Insights Into The Ecological Roles And Evolution Of Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase-Containing Hot Spring Archaea, Zheng-Shuang Hua, Yu-Lin Wang, Paul N. Evans, Yan-Ni Qu, Kian Mau Goh, Yang-Zhi Rao, Sun Yat-Sen University Qi, Yu-Xian Li, Min-Jun Huang, Jian-Yu Jiao, Ya-Ting Chen, Wen-Sheng Shu, Wael Hozzein, Brian P. Hedlund, Gene W. Tyson, Tong Zhang, Wen-Jun Li
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Several recent studies have shown the presence of genes for the key enzyme associated with archaeal methane/alkane metabolism, methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr), in metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) divergent to existing archaeal lineages. Here, we study the mcr-containing archaeal MAGs from several hot springs, which reveal further expansion in the diversity of archaeal organisms performing methane/alkane metabolism. Significantly, an MAG basal to organisms from the phylum Thaumarchaeota that contains mcr genes, but not those for ammonia oxidation or aerobic metabolism, is identified. Together, our phylogenetic analyses and ancestral state reconstructions suggest a mostly vertical evolution of mcrABG genes among methanogens and methanotrophs, …
Best Practice Recommendations For The Use Of External Telemetry Devices On Pinnipeds, Markus Horning, Russel D. Andrews, Amanda M. Bishop, Peter L. Boveng, Daniel P. Costa, Daniel E. Crocker, Martin Haulena, Mark Hindell, Allyson G. Hindle, Rachel R. Holser, Sascha K. Hooker, Luis A. Hückstädt, Shawn Johnson, Mary-Anne Lea, Birgitte I. Mcdonald, Clive R. Mcmahon, Patrick W. Robinson, Renae L. Sattler, Courtney R. Shuert, Sheanna M. Steingass, Dave Thompson, Pamela A. Tuomi, Cassondra L. Williams, Jamie N. Womble
Best Practice Recommendations For The Use Of External Telemetry Devices On Pinnipeds, Markus Horning, Russel D. Andrews, Amanda M. Bishop, Peter L. Boveng, Daniel P. Costa, Daniel E. Crocker, Martin Haulena, Mark Hindell, Allyson G. Hindle, Rachel R. Holser, Sascha K. Hooker, Luis A. Hückstädt, Shawn Johnson, Mary-Anne Lea, Birgitte I. Mcdonald, Clive R. Mcmahon, Patrick W. Robinson, Renae L. Sattler, Courtney R. Shuert, Sheanna M. Steingass, Dave Thompson, Pamela A. Tuomi, Cassondra L. Williams, Jamie N. Womble
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Pinnipeds spend large portions of their lives at sea, submerged, or hauled-out on land, often on remote off-shore islands. This fundamentally limits access by researchers to critical parts of pinniped life history and has spurred the development and implementation of a variety of externally attached telemetry devices (ETDs) to collect information about movement patterns, physiology and ecology of marine animals when they cannot be directly observed. ETDs are less invasive and easier to apply than implanted internal devices, making them more widely used. However, ETDs have limited retention times and their use may result in negative short- and long-term consequences …
Reproduction And Dispersal Of Biological Soil Crust Organisms, Steven D. Warren, Larry L. St. Clair, Lloyd R. Stark, Louise A. Lewis, Nuttapon Pombubpa, Tania Kurbessoian, Jason E. Stajich, Zachary T. Aanderud
Reproduction And Dispersal Of Biological Soil Crust Organisms, Steven D. Warren, Larry L. St. Clair, Lloyd R. Stark, Louise A. Lewis, Nuttapon Pombubpa, Tania Kurbessoian, Jason E. Stajich, Zachary T. Aanderud
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) consist of a diverse and highly integrated community of organisms that effectively colonize and collectively stabilize soil surfaces. BSCs vary in terms of soil chemistry and texture as well as the environmental parameters that combine to support unique combinations of organisms—including cyanobacteria dominated, lichen-dominated, and bryophyte-dominated crusts. The list of organismal groups that make up BSC communities in various and unique combinations include—free living, lichenized, and mycorrhizal fungi, chemoheterotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria, diazotrophic bacteria and archaea, eukaryotic algae, and bryophytes. The various BSC organismal groups demonstrate several common characteristics including—desiccation and extreme temperature tolerance, production of various …
Complete Genome Sequences Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Phages Nihilnomen And Carlyle, Isolated In Las Vegas, Nevada, Alicia Salisbury, Ryan Doss, Astha Mehta, Khadija Bhatti, Ciera Dapra, Audrey Huntsinger, Stephanie Rodriguez, Scott Yacek, Rylee Sandberg, Alexis Gildore, Jacinda Knudtson, Frances Tibayan, Tiannah Ohta, Neha Zafar, Guadalupe Mercado, Alan Le, Natalie Mekhaeel, Justin Willer, Edith Rodrich-Zuniga, Merissa Mcfarland, Kurt Regner, Christy Strong, Phillippos K. Tsourkas
Complete Genome Sequences Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Phages Nihilnomen And Carlyle, Isolated In Las Vegas, Nevada, Alicia Salisbury, Ryan Doss, Astha Mehta, Khadija Bhatti, Ciera Dapra, Audrey Huntsinger, Stephanie Rodriguez, Scott Yacek, Rylee Sandberg, Alexis Gildore, Jacinda Knudtson, Frances Tibayan, Tiannah Ohta, Neha Zafar, Guadalupe Mercado, Alan Le, Natalie Mekhaeel, Justin Willer, Edith Rodrich-Zuniga, Merissa Mcfarland, Kurt Regner, Christy Strong, Phillippos K. Tsourkas
Life Sciences Faculty Research
We present the complete genomes of the Mycobacterium smegmatis phages Carlyle and NihilNomen, isolated from soil in Las Vegas, Nevada. The phages were isolated and annotated by undergraduate students enrolled in the Phage Discovery course offered by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Transcriptome Analyses Of Tumor-Adjacent Somatic Tissues Reveal Genes Co-Expressed With Transposable Elements, Micky Chung, G. M. Jonaid, Sophia Quinton, Austin Ross, Corinne E. Sexton, Adrian Alberto, Cody Clymer, Daphnie Churchill, Omar Navarro Leija, Mira V. Han
Transcriptome Analyses Of Tumor-Adjacent Somatic Tissues Reveal Genes Co-Expressed With Transposable Elements, Micky Chung, G. M. Jonaid, Sophia Quinton, Austin Ross, Corinne E. Sexton, Adrian Alberto, Cody Clymer, Daphnie Churchill, Omar Navarro Leija, Mira V. Han
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Background: Despite the long-held assumption that transposons are normally only expressed in the germ-line, recent evidence shows that transcripts of transposable element (TE) sequences are frequently found in the somatic cells. However, the extent of variation in TE transcript levels across different tissues and different individuals are unknown, and the co-expression between TEs and host gene mRNAs have not been examined. Results: Here we report the variation in TE derived transcript levels across tissues and between individuals observed in the non-tumorous tissues collected for The Cancer Genome Atlas. We found core TE co-expression modules consisting mainly of transposons, showing correlated …
Persistence And Turnover In Desert Plant Communities During A 37-Yr Period Of Land Use And Climate Change, Scott R. Abella, Ross J. Guida, Chris L. Roberts, Carrie M. Norman, James S. Holland
Persistence And Turnover In Desert Plant Communities During A 37-Yr Period Of Land Use And Climate Change, Scott R. Abella, Ross J. Guida, Chris L. Roberts, Carrie M. Norman, James S. Holland
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Understanding long‐term changes in ecological communities during global change is a priority for 21st‐century ecology. Deserts, already at climatic extremes, are of unique interest because they are projected to be ecosystems most responsive to global change. Within a 500‐km2 landscape in the Mojave Desert, USA, we measured perennial plant communities at 100 sites three times (1979, 2008, and 2016) during 37 yr to evaluate six hypotheses of community change. These hypotheses encompassed shifts in community measures (e.g., diversity, cover) and species elevational distributions, biotic homogenization, disproportionately large change at the highest elevations, relationships between turnover and species’ responses to disturbance …
Varieties Of The Highly Dispersible And Hypervariable Tree, Metrosideros Polymorpha, Differ In Response To Mechanical Stress And Light Across A Sharp Ecotone, Jill M. Ekar, Donald K. Price, Melissa A. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Stacy
Varieties Of The Highly Dispersible And Hypervariable Tree, Metrosideros Polymorpha, Differ In Response To Mechanical Stress And Light Across A Sharp Ecotone, Jill M. Ekar, Donald K. Price, Melissa A. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Stacy
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Premise: The drivers of isolation between sympatric populations of long‐lived and highly dispersible conspecific plants are not well understood. In the Hawaiian Islands, the landscape‐dominant tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, displays extraordinary phenotypic differences among sympatric varieties despite high dispersibility of its pollen and seeds, thereby presenting a unique opportunity to investigate how disruptive selection alone can maintain incipient forms. Stenophyllous M. polymorpha var. newellii is a recently evolved tree endemic to the waterways of eastern Hawai'i Island that shows striking neutral genetic differentiation from its ancestor, wet‐forest M. polymorpha var. glaberrima, despite sympatry of these forms. We looked for evidence for, …
Prioritization Of Variants For Investigation Of Genotype-Directed Nutrition In Human Superpopulations, Pascal D. Nilsson, Jacklyn M. Newsome, Henry M. Santos, Martin R. Schiller
Prioritization Of Variants For Investigation Of Genotype-Directed Nutrition In Human Superpopulations, Pascal D. Nilsson, Jacklyn M. Newsome, Henry M. Santos, Martin R. Schiller
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Dietary guidelines recommended by key health agencies are generally designed for a global population. However, ethnicity affects human disease and environment-gene interactions, including nutrient intake. Historically, isolated human populations with different genetic backgrounds have adapted to distinct environments with varying food sources. Ethnicity is relevant to the interaction of food intake with genes and disease susceptibility; yet major health agencies generally do not recommend food and nutrients codified by population genotypes and their frequencies. In this paper, we have consolidated published nutrigenetic variants and examine their frequencies in human superpopulations to prioritize these variants for future investigation of population-specific genotype-directed …
Paired-End Mappability Of Transposable Elements In The Human Genome, Corinne E. Sexton, Mira V. Han
Paired-End Mappability Of Transposable Elements In The Human Genome, Corinne E. Sexton, Mira V. Han
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Though transposable elements make up around half of the human genome, the repetitive nature of their sequences makes it difficult to accurately align conventional sequencing reads. However, in light of new advances in sequencing technology, such as increased read length and paired-end libraries, these repetitive regions are now becoming easier to align to. This study investigates the mappability of transposable elements with 50 bp, 76 bp and 100 bp paired-end read libraries. With respect to those read lengths and allowing for 3 mismatches during alignment, over 68, 85, and 88% of all transposable elements in the RepeatMasker database are uniquely …
A Method For Improving The Accuracy And Efficiency Of Bacteriophage Genome Annotation, Alicia Salisbury, Philippos K. Tsourkas
A Method For Improving The Accuracy And Efficiency Of Bacteriophage Genome Annotation, Alicia Salisbury, Philippos K. Tsourkas
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Bacteriophages are the most numerous entities on Earth. The number of sequenced phage genomes is approximately 8000 and increasing rapidly. Sequencing of a genome is followed by annotation, where genes, start codons, and functions are putatively identified. The mainstays of phage genome annotation are auto-annotation programs such as Glimmer and GeneMark. Due to the relatively small size of phage genomes, many groups choose to manually curate auto-annotation results to increase accuracy. An additional benefit of manual curation of auto-annotated phage genomes is that the process is amenable to be performed by students, and has been shown to improve student recruitment …
Position-Specific Metabolic Probing And Metagenomics Of Microbial Communities Reveal Conserved Central Carbon Metabolic Network Activities At High Temperatures, Scott C. Thomas, Kevin O. Tamadonfar, Cale O. Seymour, Dengxun Lai, Jeremy A. Dodsworth, Senthil K. Murugapiran, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh, Paul Dijkstra, Brian P. Hedlund
Position-Specific Metabolic Probing And Metagenomics Of Microbial Communities Reveal Conserved Central Carbon Metabolic Network Activities At High Temperatures, Scott C. Thomas, Kevin O. Tamadonfar, Cale O. Seymour, Dengxun Lai, Jeremy A. Dodsworth, Senthil K. Murugapiran, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh, Paul Dijkstra, Brian P. Hedlund
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Temperature is a primary driver of microbial community composition and taxonomic diversity; however, it is unclear to what extent temperature affects characteristics of central carbon metabolic pathways (CCMPs) at the community level. In this study, 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenome sequencing were combined with 13C-labeled metabolite probing of the CCMPs to assess community carbon metabolism along a temperature gradient (60–95°C) in Great Boiling Spring, NV. 16S rRNA gene amplicon diversity was inversely proportional to temperature, and Archaea were dominant at higher temperatures. KO richness and diversity were also inversely proportional to temperature, yet CCMP genes were similarly represented across …
Heterogeneity In Surface Sensing Suggests A Division Of Labor In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Populations, Catherine R. Armbuster, Calvin K. Lee, Jessica Parker-Gilham, Jaime De Anda, Aiguo Xia, Kun Zhao, Keiji Murakami, Boo Shan Tseng, Lucas R. Hoffman, Fan Jin, Caroline S. Harwood, Gerard Cl Wong, Matthew R. Parsek
Heterogeneity In Surface Sensing Suggests A Division Of Labor In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Populations, Catherine R. Armbuster, Calvin K. Lee, Jessica Parker-Gilham, Jaime De Anda, Aiguo Xia, Kun Zhao, Keiji Murakami, Boo Shan Tseng, Lucas R. Hoffman, Fan Jin, Caroline S. Harwood, Gerard Cl Wong, Matthew R. Parsek
Life Sciences Faculty Research
The second messenger signaling molecule cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) drives the transition between planktonic and biofilm growth in many bacterial species. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has two surface sensing systems that produce c-di-GMP in response to surface adherence. Current thinking in the field is that once cells attach to a surface, they uniformly respond by producing c-di-GMP. Here, we describe how the Wsp system generates heterogeneity in surface sensing, resulting in two physiologically distinct subpopulations of cells. One subpopulation has elevated c-di-GMP and produces biofilm matrix, serving as the founders of initial microcolonies. The other subpopulation has low c-di-GMP and engages in …
Novel Algorithms For Ldd Motif Search, Peng Xiao, Martin Schiller, Sanguthevar Rajasekaran
Novel Algorithms For Ldd Motif Search, Peng Xiao, Martin Schiller, Sanguthevar Rajasekaran
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Background: Motifs are crucial patterns that have numerous applications including the identification of transcription factors and their binding sites, composite regulatory patterns, similarity between families of proteins, etc. Several motif models have been proposed in the literature. The (l,d)-motif model is one of these that has been studied widely. However, this model will sometimes report too many spurious motifs than expected. We interpret a motif as a biologically significant entity that is evolutionarily preserved within some distance. It may be highly improbable that the motif undergoes the same number of changes in each of the species. To address this issue, …
Muscular Apoptosis But Not Oxidative Stress Increases With Old Age In A Long-Lived Diver, The Weddell Seal, Kaitlin N. Allen, Jose Pablo Vazquez-Medina, John M. Lawler, Jo-Ann E. Mellish, Markus Horning, Allyson G. Hindle
Muscular Apoptosis But Not Oxidative Stress Increases With Old Age In A Long-Lived Diver, The Weddell Seal, Kaitlin N. Allen, Jose Pablo Vazquez-Medina, John M. Lawler, Jo-Ann E. Mellish, Markus Horning, Allyson G. Hindle
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Seals experience repeated bouts of ischemia–reperfusion while diving, potentially exposing their tissues to increased oxidant generation and thus oxidative damage and accelerated aging. We contrasted markers of oxidative damage with antioxidant profiles across age and sex for propulsive (longissismus dorsi) and maneuvering (pectoralis) muscles of Weddell seals to determine whether previously observed morphological senescence is associated with oxidative stress. In longissismus dorsi, old (age 17–26 years) seals exhibited a nearly 2-fold increase in apoptosis over young (age 9–16 years) seals. There was no evidence of age-associated changes in lipid peroxidation or enzymatic antioxidant profiles. In pectoralis, 4-hydroxynonenal-Lys (4-HNE-Lys) levels increased …
The Anti-Sigma Factor Muca Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: Dramatic Differences Of A Muca22 Vs. A Δmuca Mutant In Anaerobic Acidified Nitrite Sensitivity Of Planktonic And Biofilm Bacteria In Vitro And During Chronic Murine Lung Infection, Warunya Panmanee, Shengchang Su, Michael J. Schurr, Gee W. Lau, Xiaoting Zhu, Zhaowei Ren, Cameron T. Mcdaniel, Long J. Lu, Dennis E. Ohman, Daniel A. Muruve, Ralph J. Panos, Hongwei D. Yu, Thomas B. Thompson, Boo Shan Tseng, Daniel J. Hassett
The Anti-Sigma Factor Muca Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: Dramatic Differences Of A Muca22 Vs. A Δmuca Mutant In Anaerobic Acidified Nitrite Sensitivity Of Planktonic And Biofilm Bacteria In Vitro And During Chronic Murine Lung Infection, Warunya Panmanee, Shengchang Su, Michael J. Schurr, Gee W. Lau, Xiaoting Zhu, Zhaowei Ren, Cameron T. Mcdaniel, Long J. Lu, Dennis E. Ohman, Daniel A. Muruve, Ralph J. Panos, Hongwei D. Yu, Thomas B. Thompson, Boo Shan Tseng, Daniel J. Hassett
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Mucoid mucA22 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is an opportunistic lung pathogen of cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients that is highly sensitive to acidified nitrite (A-NO2-). In this study, we first screened PA mutant strains for sensitivity or resistance to 20 mM A-NO2- under anaerobic conditions that represent the chronic stages of the aforementioned diseases. Mutants found to be sensitive to A-NO2- included PA0964 (pmpR, PQS biosynthesis), PA4455 (probable ABC transporter permease), katA (major catalase, KatA) and rhlR (quorum sensing regulator). In contrast, mutants lacking PA0450 (a putative phosphate transporter) and PA1505 (moaA2) were A-NO2- resistant. However, …
Ecological Effects Of Fear: How Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity In Predation Risk Influences Mule Deer Access To Forage In A Sky‐Island System, Christopher Lowrey, Kathleen M. Longshore, David M. Choate, Jyoteshwar R. Nagol, Joseph Sexton, Daniel Thompson
Ecological Effects Of Fear: How Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity In Predation Risk Influences Mule Deer Access To Forage In A Sky‐Island System, Christopher Lowrey, Kathleen M. Longshore, David M. Choate, Jyoteshwar R. Nagol, Joseph Sexton, Daniel Thompson
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Forage availability and predation risk interact to affect habitat use of ungulates across many biomes. Within sky‐island habitats of the Mojave Desert, increased availability of diverse forage and cover may provide ungulates with unique opportunities to extend nutrient uptake and/or to mitigate predation risk. We addressed whether habitat use and foraging patterns of female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) responded to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), NDVI rate of change (green‐up), or the occurrence of cougars (Puma concolor). Female mule deer used available green‐up primarily in spring, although growing vegetation was available during other seasons. Mule deer and cougar shared similar …
Uptake And Persistence Of Bacterial Magnetite Magnetosomes In A Mammalian Cell Line: Implications For Medical And Biotechnological Applications., Jefferson Cypriano, Jacques Werckmann, Gabriele Vargas, Adrana Lopes Dos Santos, Karen T. Silva, Pedro Leao, Fernando P. Almeida, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Marcos Farina, Ulysses Lins, Fernanda Abreu
Uptake And Persistence Of Bacterial Magnetite Magnetosomes In A Mammalian Cell Line: Implications For Medical And Biotechnological Applications., Jefferson Cypriano, Jacques Werckmann, Gabriele Vargas, Adrana Lopes Dos Santos, Karen T. Silva, Pedro Leao, Fernando P. Almeida, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Marcos Farina, Ulysses Lins, Fernanda Abreu
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Magnetotactic bacteria biomineralize intracellular magnetic nanocrystals surrounded by a lipid bilayer called magnetosomes. Due to their unique characteristics, magnetite magnetosomes are promising tools in Biomedicine. However, the uptake, persistence, and accumulation of magnetosomes within mammalian cells have not been well studied. Here, the endocytic pathway of magnetite magnetosomes and their effects on human cervix epithelial (HeLa) cells were studied by electron microscopy and high spatial resolution nano-analysis techniques. Transmission electron microscopy of HeLa cells after incubation with purified magnetosomes showed the presence of magnetic nanoparticles inside or outside endosomes within the cell, which suggests different modes of internalization, and that …
Hawaiian Picture‐Winged Drosophila Exhibit Adaptive Population Divergence Along A Narrow Climatic Gradient On Hawaii Island, Jon Eldon, M. Renee Bellinger, Donald K. Price
Hawaiian Picture‐Winged Drosophila Exhibit Adaptive Population Divergence Along A Narrow Climatic Gradient On Hawaii Island, Jon Eldon, M. Renee Bellinger, Donald K. Price
Life Sciences Faculty Research
1. Anthropogenic influences on global processes and climatic conditions are increasingly affecting ecosystems throughout the world. 2. Hawaii Island’s native ecosystems are well studied and local long‐term climatic trends well documented, making these ecosystems ideal for evaluating how native taxa may respond to a warming environment. 3.This study documents adaptive divergence of populations of a Hawaiian picture‐winged Drosophila, D. sproati, that are separated by only 7 km and 365 m in elevation. 4.Representative laboratory populations show divergent behavioral and physiological responses to an experimental low‐intensity increase in ambient temperature during maturation. The significant interaction of source population by temperature treatment …
Investigating The Dna-Binding Site For Virb, A Key Transcriptional Regulator Of Shigella Virulence Genes, Using An In Vivo Binding Tool, Monika M.A. Karney, Joy A. Mckenna, Natasha Weatherspoon-Griffin, Alexander D. Karabachev, Makensie E. Millar, Eliese A. Potoceck, Helen J. Wing
Investigating The Dna-Binding Site For Virb, A Key Transcriptional Regulator Of Shigella Virulence Genes, Using An In Vivo Binding Tool, Monika M.A. Karney, Joy A. Mckenna, Natasha Weatherspoon-Griffin, Alexander D. Karabachev, Makensie E. Millar, Eliese A. Potoceck, Helen J. Wing
Life Sciences Faculty Research
The transcriptional anti-silencing and DNA-binding protein, VirB, is essential for the virulence of Shigella species and, yet, sequences required for VirB-DNA binding are poorly understood. While a 7-8 bp VirB-binding site has been proposed, it was derived from studies at a single VirB-dependent promoter, icsB. Our previous in vivo studies at a different VirB-dependent promoter, icsP, found that the proposed VirB-binding site was insufficient for regulation. Instead, the required site was found to be organized as a near-perfect inverted repeat separated by a single nucleotide spacer. Thus, the proposed 7-8 bp VirB-binding site needed to be re-evaluated. Here, we engineer …
Starvation Resistance Is Associated With Developmentally Specified Changes In Sleep, Feeding And Metabolic Rate, Elizabeth B. Brown, Melissa E. Slocumb, Milan Szuperak, Arianna Kerbs, Allen G. Gibbs, Matthew S. Kayser, Alex C. Keene
Starvation Resistance Is Associated With Developmentally Specified Changes In Sleep, Feeding And Metabolic Rate, Elizabeth B. Brown, Melissa E. Slocumb, Milan Szuperak, Arianna Kerbs, Allen G. Gibbs, Matthew S. Kayser, Alex C. Keene
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Food shortage represents a primary challenge to survival, and animals have adapted diverse developmental, physiological and behavioral strategies to survive when food becomes unavailable. Starvation resistance is strongly influenced by ecological and evolutionary history, yet the genetic basis for the evolution of starvation resistance remains poorly understood. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster provides a powerful model for leveraging experimental evolution to investigate traits associated with starvation resistance. While control populations only live a few days without food, selection for starvation resistance results in populations that can survive weeks. We have previously shown that selection for starvation resistance results in increased …
Complete Genome Sequences Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, And Riparian, Isolated In Las Vegas, Nevada, Alicia Salisbury, Erin Cassin, Kevin Ayala-Pineda, Nicolas Barroga, Vanessa Cadiz, Ramiro Cisneros, Joseph Fersini, Tiffany Jeanite, Jonathan Juste, Juvie Ines, Gabriel Leyva, Dyanne Macalinao, Spencer Muscelli, Sophia Nhan, Gustavo S. Reyes, Heather Rhoden, Rodney Tan, Erika Torres, Krystal Tran, Georgette Uriarte-Valle, Christopher Wallace, Simon Wong, Kurt Regner, Christy Strong, Philippos K. Tsourkas
Complete Genome Sequences Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, And Riparian, Isolated In Las Vegas, Nevada, Alicia Salisbury, Erin Cassin, Kevin Ayala-Pineda, Nicolas Barroga, Vanessa Cadiz, Ramiro Cisneros, Joseph Fersini, Tiffany Jeanite, Jonathan Juste, Juvie Ines, Gabriel Leyva, Dyanne Macalinao, Spencer Muscelli, Sophia Nhan, Gustavo S. Reyes, Heather Rhoden, Rodney Tan, Erika Torres, Krystal Tran, Georgette Uriarte-Valle, Christopher Wallace, Simon Wong, Kurt Regner, Christy Strong, Philippos K. Tsourkas
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Here, we present the complete genome sequences of Mycobacterium smegmatis phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, and Riparian, isolated from soil in Las Vegas, NV. The phages were isolated and annotated by undergraduate students enrolled in the Phage Discovery course offered by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Mfd Protects Against Oxidative Stress In Bacillus Subtilis Independently Of Its Canonical Function In Dna Repair, Holly Anne Martin, Katelyne E. Porter, Carmen Vallin, Tatiana Ermi, Natalie Contreras, Mario Pedraza-Reyes, Eduardo Robleto
Mfd Protects Against Oxidative Stress In Bacillus Subtilis Independently Of Its Canonical Function In Dna Repair, Holly Anne Martin, Katelyne E. Porter, Carmen Vallin, Tatiana Ermi, Natalie Contreras, Mario Pedraza-Reyes, Eduardo Robleto
Life Sciences Faculty Research
Background: Previous reports showed that mutagenesis in nutrient-limiting conditions is dependent on Mfd in Bacillus subtilis. Mfd initiates one type of transcription-coupled repair (TCR); this type of repair is known to target bulky lesions, like those associated with UV exposure. Interestingly, the roles of Mfd in repair of oxidative-promoted DNA damage and regulation of transcription differ. Here, we used a genetic approach to test whether Mfd protected B. subtilis from exposure to two different oxidants. Results: Wild-type cells survived tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) exposure significantly better than Mfd-deficient cells. This protective effect was independent of UvrA, a component of the canonical …