Life Sciences Commons^™

Intercellular Cooperation And Competition In Brain Cancers: Lessons From Drosophila And Human Studies, Indrayani Waghmare, Austin Roebke, Mutsuko Minata, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Ichiro Nakano

Biology Faculty Publications

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a primary brain cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. GBM tumors contain heterogeneous cellular components, including a small subpopulation of tumor cells termed glioma stem cells (GSCs). GSCs are characterized as chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-resistant cells with prominent tumorigenic ability. Studies in Drosophila cancer models demonstrated that interclonal cooperation and signaling from apoptotic clones provokes aggressive growth of neighboring tumorigenic clones, via compensatory proliferation or apoptosis induced proliferation. Mechanistically, these aggressive tumors depend on activation of Jun-N-terminal kinase (upstream of c-JUN), and Drosophila Wnt (Wg) in the apoptotic clones. Consistent with these nonmammalian studies, data from several mammalian …

Persistence And Stability Of Eastern Afromontane Forests: Evidence From Brevicipitid Frogs, Simon P. Loader, F. Sara Ceccarelli, Michele Menegon, Kim M. Howell, Roman Kassahun, Abebe A. Mengistu, Samy A. Saber, Fikirte Gebresenbet, Rafael O. De Sá, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications

Aim: The persistence and stability of habitats through time are considered predictors of high levels of biodiversity in some environments. Long-term habitat persistence and stability may explain the species-rich, endemic forest fauna and flora of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Region (EABR). Using comple- mentary phylogenetic and biogeographical approaches, we examine evolution- ary patterns in EAR brevicipitid frogs. Using these data, we test whether brevicipitid history reflects patterns of long-term forest persistence and/or sta bility across the EABR.

Location: East Africa.

Methods: A dated phylogeny for brevicipitids was constructed using two nuclear and three mitochondrial markers. Alternative diversification modes were used …

Chip-Seq And Rna-Seq Reveal An Amrz-Mediated Mechanism For Cyclic Di-Gmp Synthesis And Biofilm Development By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Christopher J. Jones, David Newsom, Benjamin Kelly, Yasuhiko Irie, Laura K. Jennings, Binjie Xu, Dominique H. Limoli, Joe J. Harrison, Matthew R. Parsek, Peter White, Daniel J. Wozniak

Biology Faculty Publications

The transcription factor AmrZ regulates genes important for P. aeruginosa virulence, including type IV pili, extracellular polysaccharides, and the flagellum; however, the global effect of AmrZ on gene expression remains unknown, and therefore, AmrZ may directly regulate many additional genes that are crucial for infection. Compared to the wild type strain, a ΔamrZ mutant exhibits a rugose colony phenotype, which is commonly observed in variants that accumulate the intracellular second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). Cyclic di-GMP is produced by diguanylate cyclases (DGC) and degraded by phosphodiesterases (PDE). We hypothesized that AmrZ limits the intracellular accumulation of c-di-GMP through transcriptional repression …

The Unseen World: Environmental Microbial Sequencing And Identification Methods For Ecologists, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, J. Izard, C. Klatt, J. Zhou, E. Aronson

Biology Faculty Publications

Microorganisms inhabit almost every environment, comprise the majority of diversity on Earth, are important in biogeochemical cycling, and may be vital to ecosystem responses to large-scale climatic change. In recent years, ecologists have begun to use rapidly advancing molecular techniques to address questions about microbial diversity, biogeography, and responses to environmental change. Studies of microbes in the environment generally focus on three broad objectives: determining which organisms are present, what their functional capabilities are, and which are active at any given time. However, comprehending the range of methodologies currently in use can be daunting. To provide an overview of environmental …