Life Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Molecular Mechanisms Of Paradoxical Activation In The Braf Kinase Dimers: Atomistic Simulations Of Conformational Dynamics And Modeling Of Allosteric Communication Networks And Signaling Pathways, Amanda Tse, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The recent studies have revealed that most BRAF inhibitors can paradoxically induce kinase activation by promoting dimerization and enzyme transactivation. Despite rapidly growing number of structural and functional studies about the BRAF dimer complexes, the molecular basis of paradoxical activation phenomenon is poorly understood and remains largely hypothetical. In this work, we have explored the relationships between inhibitor binding, protein dynamics and allosteric signaling in the BRAF dimers using a network-centric approach. Using this theoretical framework, we have combined molecular dynamics simulations with coevolutionary analysis and modeling of the residue interaction networks to determine molecular determinants of paradoxical activation. We …

Coupled Impacts Of Climate And Land Use Change Across A River-Lake Continuum: Insights From An Integrated Assessment Model Of Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Basin, 2000-2040, Asim Zia, Arne Bomblies, Andrew W. Schroth, Christopher Koliba, Peter D.F. Isles, Yushiou Tsai, Ibrahim N. Mohammed, Gabriela Bucini, Patrick J. Clemins, Scott Turnbull, Morgan Rodgers, Ahmed Hamed, Brian Beckage, Jonathan Winter

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Global climate change (GCC) is projected to bring higher-intensity precipitation and higher-variability temperature regimes to the Northeastern United States. The interactive effects of GCC with anthropogenic land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) are unknown for watershed level hydrological dynamics and nutrient fluxes to freshwater lakes. Increased nutrient fluxes can promote harmful algal blooms, also exacerbated by warmer water temperatures due to GCC. To address the complex interactions of climate, land and humans, we developed a cascading integrated assessment model to test the impacts of GCC and LULCC on the hydrological regime, water temperature, water quality, bloom duration and severity …

Coupled Impacts Of Climate And Land Use Change Across A River-Lake Continuum: Insights From An Integrated Assessment Model Of Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Basin, 2000-2040, Asim Zia, Arne Bomblies, Andrew W. Schroth, Christopher Koliba, Peter D.F. Isles, Yushiou Tsai, Ibrahim N. Mohammed, Gabriela Bucini, Patrick J. Clemins, Scott Turnbull, Morgan Rodgers, Ahmed Hamed, Brian Beckage, Jonathan Winter, Carol Adair, Gillian L. Galford, Donna Rizzo, Judith Van Houten

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Global climate change (GCC) is projected to bring higher-intensity precipitation and higher-variability temperature regimes to the Northeastern United States. The interactive effects of GCC with anthropogenic land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) are unknown for watershed level hydrological dynamics and nutrient fluxes to freshwater lakes. Increased nutrient fluxes can promote harmful algal blooms, also exacerbated by warmer water temperatures due to GCC. To address the complex interactions of climate, land and humans, we developed a cascading integrated assessment model to test the impacts of GCC and LULCC on the hydrological regime, water temperature, water quality, bloom duration and severity …

Genome Sequence Of Mycobacterium Phage Waterfoul, Paige N. Jackson, Ella K. Embry, Christa O. Johnson, Jessica R. Douglas, J. Michael Sellers, William A. D'Angelo, Dmitri V. Mavrodi

Faculty Publications

Waterfoul is a new isolated temperate siphovirus of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc²155. It was identified as a member of the K5 cluster of Mycobacterium phages and has a 61,248-bp genome with 95 predicted genes."

Assessment Of Olfactory Function In Maptassociated Neurodegenerative Disease Reveals Odor-Identification Irreproducibility As A Non-Disease-Specific, General Characteristic Of Olfactory Dysfunction, Katerina Markopoulou, Bruce A. Chase, Piotr Robowski, Audrey Strongosky, Ewa Narożańska, Emilia J. Sitek, Mariusz Berdynski, Maria Barcikowska, Matt C. Baker, Jarosøaw Søawek, Christine Klein, Katja Hückelheim, Meike Kasten, Zbigniew K. Wszolek

Biology Faculty Publications

Olfactory dysfunction is associated with normal aging, multiple neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and other diseases such as diabetes, sleep apnea and the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis. The wide spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders associated with olfactory dysfunction suggests different, potentially overlapping, underlying pathophysiologies. Studying olfactory dysfunction in presymptomatic carriers of mutations known to cause familial parkinsonism provides unique opportunities to understand the role of genetic factors, delineate the salient characteristics of the onset of olfactory dysfunction, and understand when it starts relative to motor and cognitive symptoms. We evaluated olfactory dysfunction in 28 carriers …

Draft Genome Sequence For A Urinary Isolate Of Nosocomiicoccus Ampullae, Evann Elizabeth Hilt, Travis Kyle Price, Katherine Diebel, Catherine Putonti, Alan J. Wolfe

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

A draft genome sequence for a urinary isolate of Nosocomiicoccus ampullae (UMB0853) was investigated. The size of the genome was 1,578,043 bp, with an observed G+C content of 36.1%. Annotation revealed 10 rRNA sequences, 40 tRNA genes, and 1,532 protein-coding sequences. Genome coverage was 727× and consisted of 32 contigs, with an N₅₀ of 109,831 bp.

Fluctuating Temperatures Alter Environmental Pathogen Transmission In A Daphnia–Pathogen System, Tad Dallas, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Environmental conditions are rarely constant, but instead vary spatially and temporally. This variation influences ecological interactions and epidemiological dynamics, yet most experimental studies examine interactions under constant conditions. We examined the effects of variability in temperature on the host–pathogen relationship between an aquatic zooplankton host (Daphnia laevis) and an environmentally transmitted fungal pathogen (Metschnikowia bicuspidata). We manipulated temperature variability by exposing all populations to mean temperatures of 20°C for the length of the experiments, but introducing periods of 1, 2, and 4 hr each day where the populations were exposed to 28°C followed by periods of …

Barriers, Motivations, And Preferences For Physical Activity Among Female African American Older Adults, Neha P. Gothe, Bradley J. Kendall

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 11% of adults more than the age of 65 meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Among minority populations, only 5% of non-Hispanic Black older adults met the guidelines. Given our limited understanding of psychosocial and environmental factors that affect physical activity participation in these groups, the purpose of our focus groups was to investigate barriers, motivators, and preferences of physical activity for community-dwelling African American older adults. Three focus groups were conducted with female African American older adults (N = 20). Questions posed to each focus group …

Pld-Specific Small-Molecule Inhibitors Decrease Tumor-Associated Macrophages And Neutrophils Infiltration In Breast Tumors And Lung And Liver Metastases, Karen M. Henkels, Naveen Reddy Muppani, Julian Gomez-Cambronero

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Phospholipase D-2 (PLD2) has a key role in breast cancer formation and metastasis formation with PLD small inhibitors reducing primary tumor growth. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of targeting PLD on the tumor microenvironment. We provide evidence about the beneficial effect of PLD inhibitors [FIPI (dual PLD1/PLD2) or VU0155072-2 (PLD2 inhibitor)] on avoiding infiltration of tumor-helping macrophages and neutrophils. Tumor growth and metastasis within the primary tumors had low (<20% over controls) PLD enzyme activity. Unexpectedly, we found that the inhibitors also affected PLD2 gene expression and protein albeit at a lesser extent. The later could indicate that targeting both the actual PLD enzyme and its activity could be beneficial for potential cancer treatments in vivo. F4/80 and Ly6G staining of macrophages and neutrophils, respectively, and Arg1 staining data were consistent with M2 and N2 polarization. NOS2 staining increased in xenotransplants …

The Nuts And Bolts Of The Platelet Release Reaction, Smita Joshi, Sidney W. Whiteheart

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Secretion is essential to many of the roles that platelets play in the vasculature, e.g., thrombosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation, enabling platelets to modulate the microenvironment at sites of vascular lesions with a myriad of bioactive molecules stored in their granules. Past studies demonstrate that granule cargo release is mediated by Soluble NSF Attachment Protein Receptor (SNARE) proteins, which are required for granule-plasma membrane fusion. Several SNARE regulators, which control when, where, and how the SNAREs interact, have been identified in platelets. Additionally, platelet SNAREs are controlled by post-translational modifications, e.g., phosphorylation and acylation. Although there have been many …

Transcriptome Analysis Revealed The Dynamic Oil Accumulation In Symplocos Paniculata Fruit, Qiang Liu, Youping Sun, Jingzhen Chen, Peiwang Li, Genhua Niu, Lijuan Jiang, Changzhu Li

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Background Symplocos paniculata, asiatic sweetleaf or sapphire berry, is a widespread shrub or small tree from Symplocaceae with high oil content and excellent fatty acid composition in fruit. It has been used as feedstocks for biodiesel and cooking oil production in China. Little transcriptome information is available on the regulatory molecular mechanism of oil accumulation at different fruit development stages. Results The transcriptome at four different stages of fruit development (10, 80,140, and 170 days after flowering) of S. paniculata were analyzed. Approximately 28 million high quality clean reads were generated. These reads were trimmed and assembled into 182,904 non-redundant …

One Health Interactions Of Chagas Disease Vectors, Canid Hosts, And Human Residents Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Melissa N. Garcia, Sarah O’Day, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Rodion Gorchakov, Ramiro Patino, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Susan T. Laing, Joe E. Lopez, Alexandra Ingber, Kathryn M. Jones, Kristy O. Murray

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi infection) is the leading cause of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy in Latin America. Texas, particularly the southern region, has compounding factors that could contribute to T. cruzi transmission; however, epidemiologic studies are lacking. The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of T. cruzi in three different mammalian species (coyotes, stray domestic dogs, and humans) and vectors (Triatoma species) to understand the burden of Chagas disease among sylvatic, peridomestic, and domestic cycles.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To determine prevalence of infection, we tested sera from coyotes, stray domestic dogs housed in public …

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 15, 2016, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for November 15, 2016 (11/15/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

A Dna Methylation Biomarker Of Alcohol Consumption, C. Liu, R. E. Marioni, Å. K. Hedman, L. Pfeiffer, P. -C. Tsai, L. M. Reynolds, A. C. Just, Q. Duan, C. G. Boer, T. Tanaka, C. E. Elks, S. Aslibekyan, J. A. Brody, B. Kühnel, C. Herder, L. M. Almli, D. Zhi, Y. Wang, T. Huan, C. Yao, M. M. Mendelson, R. Joehanes, L. Liang, S. -A. Love, W. Guan, S. Shah, A. F. Mcrae, A. Kretschmer, H. Prokisch, K. Strauch, Donna K. Arnett

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The lack of reliable measures of alcohol intake is a major obstacle to the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol-related diseases. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation may provide novel biomarkers of alcohol use. To examine this possibility, we performed an epigenome-wide association study of methylation of cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites in relation to alcohol intake in 13 population-based cohorts (n_total=13 317; 54% women; mean age across cohorts 42–76 years) using whole blood (9643 European and 2423 African ancestries) or monocyte-derived DNA (588 European, 263 African and 400 Hispanic ancestry) samples. We performed meta-analysis and variable selection in …

Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition Leads To Disease-Stage Differences In Circulating Tumor Cell Detection And Metastasis In Pre-Clinical Models Of Prostate Cancer, Lori E. Lowes, David Goodale, Ying Xia, Carl Postenka, Matthew M. Piaseczny, Freeman Paczkowski, Alison L. Allan

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Metastasis is the cause of most prostate cancer (PCa) deaths and has been associated with circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The presence of >= 5 CTCs/7.5mL of blood is a poor prognosis indicator in metastatic PCa when assessed by the CellSearch (R) system, the "gold standard" clinical platform. However, similar to 35% of metastatic PCa patients assessed by CellSearch (R) have undetectable CTCs. We hypothesize that this is due to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and subsequent loss of necessary CTC detection markers, with important implications for PCa metastasis. Two pre-clinical assays were developed to assess human CTCs in xenograft models; one comparable …

Habitual Coffee Consumption And Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes, Ischemic Heart Disease, Depression And Alzheimer’S Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Man Ki Kwok, Gabriel M. Leung, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

Observationally, coffee is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), depression and Alzheimer’s disease, but not ischemic heart disease (IHD). Coffee features as possibly protective in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Short-term trials suggest coffee has neutral effect on most glycemic traits, but raises lipids and adiponectin. To clarify we compared T2DM, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and IHD and its risk factors by genetically predicted coffee consumption using two-sample Mendelian randomization applied to large extensively genotyped case-control and cross-sectional studies. Childhood cognition was used as a negative control outcome. Genetically predicted coffee consumption was not associated with T2DM (odds …

Intranasal Oxytocin Enhances Connectivity In The Neural Circuitry Supporting Social Motivation And Social Perception In Children With Autism., Ilanit Gordon, Allison Jack, Charlotte M Pretzsch, Brent Vander Wyk, James F Leckman, Ruth Feldman, Kevin A. Pelphrey

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Oxytocin (OT) has become a focus in investigations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The social deficits that characterize ASD may relate to reduced connectivity between brain sites on the mesolimbic reward pathway (nucleus accumbens; amygdala) that receive OT projections and contribute to social motivation, and cortical sites involved in social perception. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, we show that OT administration in ASD increases activity in brain regions important for perceiving social-emotional information. Further, OT enhances connectivity between nodes of the brain's reward and socioemotional processing systems, and does so preferentially for …

Quantitative And Qualitative Nutritional Analysis Of Gvsu Managed Honey Bee Colonies, Emily Noordyke, Anne Marie Fauvel

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Managed honeybee colonies are in significant decline worldwide. The interaction between poor nutrition, pests and diseases, and pesticide use are most cited as potential culprits for the precarious state of the beekeeping industry. By evaluating food coming into the hive, conclusions can be drawn about the quality of hive location and forage availability. Pollen from an apiary with historically low honey production and poor colony health was compared to pollen from an apiary with high honey production and good colony health. Pollen was collected weekly in a 24-hour period, hive weight was monitored, and colonies were assessed for overall growth …

An Iron Detection System Determines Bacterial Swarming Initiation And Biofilm Formation, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Yu-Huan Tsai, Chih-Jung Chang, Shun-Fu Tseng, Tseng-Ru Wu, Chia-Chen Lu, Ting-Shu Wu, Jang-Jih Lu, Jim-Tong Horng, Jan Martel, David M. Ojcius, Hsin-Chih Lai, John Ding-E. Young

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Iron availability affects swarming and biofilm formation in various bacterial species. However, how bacteria sense iron and coordinate swarming and biofilm formation remains unclear. Using Serratia marcescens as a model organism, we identify here a stage-specific iron-regulatory machinery comprising a two-component system (TCS) and the TCS-regulated iron chelator 2-isocyano-6,7-dihydroxycoumarin (ICDH-Coumarin) that directly senses and modulates environmental ferric iron (Fe3+) availability to determine swarming initiation and biofilm formation. We demonstrate that the two-component system RssA-RssB (RssAB) directly senses environmental ferric iron (Fe³⁺) and transcriptionally modulates biosynthesis of flagella and the iron chelator ICDH-Coumarin whose production requires the pvc cluster. …

Quantitative Proteomic Profiling Reveals Hepatic Lipogenesis And Liver X Receptor Activation In The Pander Transgenic Model., Mark G. Athanason, Whitney A. Ratliff, Dale Chaput, Catherine B. Marelia, Melanie N. Kuehl, Stanley M. Stevens Jr., Brant R. Burkhardt

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

PANcreatic-DERived factor (PANDER) is a member of a superfamily of FAM3 proteins modulating glycemic levels by metabolic regulation of the liver and pancreas. The precise PANDER-induced hepatic signaling mechanism is still being elucidated and has been very complex due to the pleiotropic nature of this novel hormone. Our PANDER transgenic (PANTG) mouse displays a selective hepatic insulin resistant (SHIR) phenotype whereby insulin signaling is blunted yet lipogenesis is increased, a phenomena observed in type 2 diabetes. To examine the complex PANDER-induced mechanism of SHIR, we utilized quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis using Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino Acids in Cell …

Co2-Fixing One-Carbon Metabolism In A Cellulose-Degrading Bacterium Clostridium Thermocellum, Wei Xiong, Paul P. Lin, Lisa Warner, James C. Liao, Pin-Ching Maness, Katherine J. Chou

Biomolecular Research Center Publications and Presentations

Clostridium thermocellum can ferment cellulosic biomass to formate and other end products, including CO₂. This organism lacks formate dehydrogenase (Fdh), which catalyzes the reduction of CO₂ to formate. However, feeding the bacterium ¹³C-bicarbonate and cellobiose followed by NMR analysis showed the production of ¹³C-formate in C. thermocellum culture, indicating the presence of an uncharacterized pathway capable of converting CO₂ to formate. Combining genomic and experimental data, we demonstrated that the conversion of CO₂ to formate serves as a CO₂ entry point into the reductive one-carbon (C1) metabolism, and internalizes CO_{2 …}

Variability Of Particle Size Distributions In The Bohai Sea And The Yellow Sea, Zhongfeng Qui, Deyong Sun, Chuanmin Hu, Sengquiang Wang, Lufei Zheng, Yu Huang, Tian Peng

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Particle size distribution (PSD) is an important parameter that is relevant to many aspects of marine ecosystems, such as phytoplankton functional types, optical absorption and scattering from particulates, sediment fluxes, and carbon export. However, only a handful of studies have documented the PSD variability in different regions. Here, we investigate the PSD properties and variability in two shallow and semi-enclosed seas (the Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS)), using in situ laser diffraction measurements (LISST-100X Type C) and other measurements at 79 stations in November 2013. The results show large variability in particle concentrations (in both volume and number …

Current And Emerging Uses Of Statins In Clinical Therapeutics: A Review, Jonathan T. Davies, Spencer F. Delfino, Chad E. Feinberg, Meghan F. Johnson, Veronica L. Nappi, Joshua T. Olinger, Anthony P. Schwab, Hollie I. Swanson

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications that inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, are commonly administered to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Statin use may expand considerably given its potential for treating an array of cholesterol-independent diseases. However, the lack of conclusive evidence supporting these emerging therapeutic uses of statins brings to the fore a number of unanswered questions including uncertainties regarding patient-to-patient variability in response to statins, the most appropriate statin to be used for the desired effect, and the efficacy of statins in treating cholesterol-independent diseases. In this review, the adverse effects, costs, and drug–drug and drug–food interactions associated with statin …

The Interplay Of Tlr9, Myeloid Cells, And A20 In Periodontal Inflammation, Katie E. Crump, Jennifer C. Oakley, Xia Xia-Juan, Theandra C. Madu, Swathi Devaki, Erin C. Mooney, Sinem E. Sahingur

Biology Faculty Articles

TLR9 deficient (TLR9^-/-) mice are resistant to periodontitis, a disease characterized by a dysbiotic microbiota and deregulated immune response resulting in tooth loss and various systemic conditions. However, the mechanisms and biological pathways by which TLR9 instigates periodontal inflammation are yet to be identified. In a ligature-induced model of periodontitis, we demonstrate TLR9^-/- mice exhibited significantly less alveolar bone loss compared to their wild-type (WT) counterparts. Consistent with the disease phenotype, gingival tissues showed significantly more inflammatory cell infiltrate in the WT ligated but not in the TLR9^-/- ligated mice compared to their unligated controls. Peritoneal …

A Compilation Of Iron Speciation Data For Open Oceanic Waters, Salvatore Caprara, Kristen N. Buck, Loes J. A. Gerringa, Micha J. A. Rijkenberg, Damiano Monticelli

Marine Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ordination Obscures The Influence Of Environment On Plankton Metacommunity Structure, Tad Dallas, Andrew M. Kramer, Marcus Zokan, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

The composition of plankton communities in individual habitats is often influenced by environmental conditions like pH or hydroperiod. At larger scales, environmental gradients can influence community structure across interconnected local communities. Detecting the role of environmental and spatial factors on metacommunity structure depends on the ordering of sites and species prior to analysis. We investigated this ordination in two wetland metacommunities; a well-sampled, hyper-diverse zooplankton metacommunity, and a Central American phytoplankton metacommunity. We calculated coherence, turnover, and boundary clumping to classify the structure of the metacommunity, and we propose a statistic that responds to variation in both coherence and turnover. …

Tai Chi Can Improve Postural Stability As Measured By Resistance To Perturbation Related To Upper Limb Movement Among Healthy Older Adults, Jiahao Pan, Cuixian Liu, Shuqi Zhang, Li Li

Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the effects of Tai Chi (TC) training on postural control when upright standing was perturbed by upper limb movement.

Methods: Three groups, TC, Brisk walk (BW), and sedentary (SE), of thirty-six participants aged from 65 to 75 years were recruited from local community centers. Participants performed static balance task (quiet standing for 30 s with eyes open and closed) and fitting task (two different reaching distances X three different opening sizes to fit objects through). During tasks, the COP data was recorded while standing on the force plate. Criteria measures calculated …

Meador, Thomas (Sc 3074), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid, scan and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3074. Agreement, 25 February 1854, between O. S. Warner and Thomas Meador setting out the terms of Meador’s employment on Warner’s farm in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. The agreement provides for payment, the provision of housing and produce from an orchard, and the use of pasture by Meador. Meador’s 12-month, full-time engagement makes allowances for his family and business, and for “unnecessary exposure” to “wet weather or heavy dews.”

Genome Of The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora Glabripennis), A Globally Significant Invasive Species, Reveals Key Functional And Evolutionary Innovations At The Beetle-Plant Interface, Duane D. Mckenna, Erin D. Scully, Yannick Pauchet, Kelli Hoover, Roy Kirsch, Scott M. Geib, Robert F. Mitchell, Robert M. Waterhouse, Seung-Joon Ahn, Deanna Arsala, Joshua B. Benoit, Heath Blackmon, Tiffany Bledsoe, Julia H. Bowsher, André Busch, Bernarda Calla, Hsu Chao, Anna K. Childers, Christopher Childers, Dave J. Clarke, Lorna Cohen, Jeffery P. Demuth, Huyen Dinh, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Amanda Dolan, Jian J. Duan, Shannon Dugan, Markus Friedrich, Karl M. Glastad, Michael A. D. Goodisman, Stephanie Haddad, Yi Han, Daniel S. T. Hughes, Panagiotis Ioannidis, J. Spencer Johnston, Jeffery W. Jones, Leslie A. Kuhn, David R. Lance, Chien-Yueh Lee, Sandra L. Lee, Han Lin, Jeremy A. Lynch, Armin P. Moczek, Shwetha C. Murali, Donna M. Muzny, David R. Nelson, Subba R. Palli, Kristen A. Panfilio, Dan Pers, Monica F. Poelchau, Honghu Quan, Jiaxin Qu, Ann M. Ray, Joseph P. Rinehart, Hugh M. Robertson, Richard Roehrdanz, Andrew J. Rosendale, Seunggwan Shin, Christian Silva, Alex S. Torson, Iris M. Vargas Jentzsch, John H. Werren, Kim C. Worley, George Yocum, Evgeny M. Zdobnov, Richard A. Gibbs, Stephen Richards

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: Relatively little is known about the genomic basis and evolution of wood-feeding in beetles. We undertook genome sequencing and annotation, gene expression assays, studies of plant cell wall degrading enzymes, and other functional and comparative studies of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, a globally significant invasive species capable of inflicting severe feeding damage on many important tree species. Complementary studies of genes encoding enzymes involved in digestion of woody plant tissues or detoxification of plant allelochemicals were undertaken with the genomes of 14 additional insects, including the newly sequenced emerald ash borer and bull-headed dung beetle.

Results: …

How To Restore Phragmites-Invaded Wetlands, Christine Rohal, Keith Hambrecht, Chad Cranney, Karin M. Kettenring

UAES Publications

Phragmites grows in tall, dense stands that shade out native plants. It spreads rapidly and overtakes important habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl, reducing the availability of nesting, loafing, and foraging areas. Phragmites makes large areas of wetlands inaccessible to wildlife and humans alike.