Life Sciences Commons^™

Developmental Biology, The Stem Cell Of Biological Disciplines, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines.” Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, developmental biology remains vigorous, pluripotent, and relatively undifferentiated. In many disciplines, especially in evolutionary biology and oncology, the developmental perspective is being reasserted as an important research program.

Multiple Signaling Functions Of Song In A Polymorphic Species With Alternative Reproductive Strategies, M. L. Grunst, A. S. Grunst, Vincent A. Formica, R. A. Gonser, E. M. Tuttle

Biology Faculty Works

Vocal traits can be sexually selected to reflect male quality, but may also evolve to serve additional signaling functions. We used a long-term dataset to examine the signaling potential of song in dimorphic white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis). We investigated whether song conveys multifaceted information about the vocalizing individual, including fitness, species identity, individual identity, and morph. We also evaluated whether song traits correlate differently with fitness in the two morphs, as the more promiscuous strategy of white, relative to tan, morph males might impose stronger sexual selection. Males with high song rates achieved higher lifetime reproductive success, and this pattern …

Concise Review: Translating Regenerative Biology Into Clinically Relevant Therapies: Are We On The Right Path?, Jennifer Simkin, Ashley W. Seifert

Biology Faculty Publications

Despite approaches in regenerative medicine using stem cells, bio-engineered scaffolds, and targeted drug delivery to enhance human tissue repair, clinicians remain unable to regenerate large-scale, multi-tissue defects in situ. The study of regenerative biology using mammalian models of complex tissue regeneration offers an opportunity to discover key factors that stimulate a regenerative rather than fibrotic response to injury. For example, although primates and rodents can regenerate their distal digit tips, they heal more proximal amputations with scar tissue. Rabbits and African spiny mice re-grow tissue to fill large musculoskeletal defects through their ear pinna, while other mammals fail to regenerate …

Investigation Of Conical Spinneret In Generating More Dense And Compact Electrospun Nanofibers, Aya Hamed, Nader Shehata, Mohammad Elosairy

Biology Faculty Publications

Electrospinning is an important, widely used process to generate nanofibers. However, there is still an open window for different designs of both spinneret and collector electrodes to be investigated. This paper introduces the impact of new design of conical spinneret electrode on the generated electrospun nanofibers. In this work, the conical feeder is used to generate electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers, and being compared to the traditional needle feeder at the same processing conditions. The jet’s mechanism is simulated using discrete bead model along with estimated calculations of both deposition area and fiber radius. The electric field distribution that is …

Emma Lucy Braun's Forest Plots In Eastern North America, Robert Ricklefs

Biology Department Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Atomistic Simulations And Network-Based Modeling Of The Hsp90-Cdc37 Chaperone Binding With Cdk4 Client Protein: A Mechanism Of Chaperoning Kinase Clients By Exploiting Weak Spots Of Intrinsically Dynamic Kinase Domains, John Czemeres, Kurt Buse, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A fundamental role of the Hsp90 and Cdc37 chaperones in mediating conformational development and activation of diverse protein kinase clients is essential in signal transduction. There has been increasing evidence that the Hsp90-Cdc37 system executes its chaperoning duties by recognizing conformational instability of kinase clients and modulating their folding landscapes. The recent cryo-electron microscopy structure of the Hsp90-Cdc37- Cdk4 kinase complex has provided a framework for dissecting regulatory principles underlying differentiation and recruitment of protein kinase clients to the chaperone machinery. In this work, we have combined atomistic simulations with protein stability and network-based rigidity decomposition analyses to characterize dynamic …

Complete Mitogenome Sequences Of Smooth Hammerhead Sharks, Sphyrna Zygaena, From The Eastern And Western Atlantic, Derek S. Guy, Cassandra L. Ruck, Jose V. Lopez, Mahmood S. Shivji

Biology Faculty Articles

We report the first mitogenome sequences of the circumglobally distributed, highly mobile, smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena, from the eastern and western Atlantic. Both genomes were 16,729 bp long with 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and a non-coding control region. The two Atlantic shark sequences differ from each other by 13 SNPs, and by 43 and 44 SNPs from the published mitogenome of an S. zygaena specimen from the eastern Pacific Ocean. The cross-Atlantic mitogenome sequences reported here provide a resource to assist with population genetics studies of this widely exploited species of conservation concern.

Feather Mite Abundance Varies But Symbiotic Nature Of Mite-Host Relationship Does Not Differ Between Two Ecologically Dissimilar Warblers, Alix E. Matthews, Jeffery L. Larkin, Douglas W. Raybuck, Morgan C. Slevin, Scott H. Stoleson, Than J. Boves

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Feather mites are obligatory ectosymbionts of birds that primarily feed on the oily secretions from the uropygial gland. Feather mite abundance varies within and among host species and has various effects on host condition and fitness, but there is little consensus on factors that drive variation of this symbiotic system. We tested hypotheses regarding how within-species and among-species traits explain variation in both (1) mite abundance and (2) relationships between mite abundance and host body condition and components of host fitness (reproductive performance and apparent annual survival). We focused on two closely related (Parulidae), but ecologically distinct, species: Setophaga cerulea …

Infanticide In Chimpanzees: Taphonomic Case Studies From Gombe, Claire A. Kirchhoff, Michael L. Wison, Deus C. Mjungu, Jane Raphael, Shadrack Kamenya, D. Anthony Collins

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives

We present a study of skeletal damage to four chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infanticide victims from Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Skeletal analysis may provide insight into the adaptive significance of infanticide by examining whether nutritional benefits sufficiently explain infanticidal behavior. The nutritional hypothesis would be supported if bone survivorship rates and skeletal damage patterns are comparable to those of monkey prey. If not, other explanations, such as the resource competition hypothesis, should be considered.

Methods

Taphonomic assessment of two chimpanzee infants included description of breakage and surface modification, data on MNE, %MNE, and bone survivorship. Two additional infants …

Ticks, Ixodes Scapularis, Feed Repeatedly On White-Footed Mice Despite Strong Inflammatory Response: An Expanding Paradigm For Understanding Tick-Host Interactions, Jennifer M. Anderson, Ian N. Moore, Bianca M. Nagata, José M.C. Ribeiro, Jesus G. Valenzuela, Daniel E. Sonenshine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks transmit infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and protozoa. However, their transmission may be compromised by host resistance to repeated tick feeding. Increasing host resistance to repeated tick bites is well known in laboratory animals, including intense inflammation at the bite sites. However, it is not known whether this also occurs in wild rodents such as white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, and other wildlife, or if it occurs at all. According to the "host immune incompetence" hypothesis, if these mice do not have a strong inflammatory response, they would not reject repeated tick bites by Ixodes scapularis. To test …

Predicted Suitable Habitat Declines For Midwestern United States Amphibians Under Future Climate And Land-Use Change Scenarios, Brock Struecker, Joseph Milanovich

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

With current declines of vertebrate taxa meeting or exceeding those of historic mass extinction events, there is a growing need to investigate the main drivers of losses. Two of the main drivers of declines are global climate and land-use changes, both affecting multiple groups of taxa. Amphibians are at great risk from these two drivers of change and investigations into the impact of future change could assist with the formation of conservation plans to mitigate losses. Forecasting changes in suitable habitat with ecological niche modeling serves as a useful tool to begin to understand how species may respond to anthropogenic …

Mitochondrial Dynamics And Respiration Within Cells With Increased Open Pore Cytoskeletal Meshes, David H. Jang, Sarah C. Seeger, Martha E. Grady, Frances S. Shofer, David M. Eckmann

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The cytoskeletal architecture directly affects the morphology, motility, and tensional homeostasis of the cell. In addition, the cytoskeleton is important for mitosis, intracellular traffic, organelle motility, and even cellular respiration. The organelle responsible for a majority of the energy conversion for the cell, the mitochondrion, has a dependence on the cytoskeleton for mobility and function. In previous studies, we established that cytoskeletal inhibitors altered the movement of the mitochondria, their morphology, and their respiration in human dermal fibroblasts. Here, we use this protocol to investigate applicability of power law diffusion to describe mitochondrial locomotion, assessment of rates of fission and …

Foraging Behavior And Energetics Of Albatrosses In Contrasting Breeding Environments, Michelle Antolos, Scott Shaffer, Henri Weimerskirch, Yann Tremblay, Daniel Costa

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Animals can maximize fitness by optimizing energy acquisition through the selection of favorable foraging habitats, but trade-offs exist between time spent in preferred feeding habitats, energetic costs of travel, and reproductive constraints. For pelagic seabirds, geographic distribution of suitable breeding islands can restrict access to marine prey resources and influence foraging strategies. Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis) and black-footed albatrosses (P. nigripes) breeding in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses (Thalassarche carteri) breeding in the Southern Indian Ocean, utilize productive subtropical-subpolar transition zones during their breeding and non-breeding periods, but this marine feature is at a comparatively greater distance for …

Data From: Target Sequence Capture Of Nuclear-Encoded Genes For Phylogenetic Analysis In Ferns, Paul G. Wolf, Tanner A. Robison, Matthew G. Johnson, Michael A. Sundue, Weston L. Testo, Carl J. Rothfels

Browse all Datasets

Premise of the study: Until recently, most phylogenetic studies of ferns were based on chloroplast genes. Evolutionary inferences based on these data can be incomplete because the characters are from a single linkage group and are uniparentally inherited. These limitations are particularly acute in studies of hybridization, which is prevalent in ferns; fern hybrids are common and ferns are able to hybridize across highly diverged lineages, up to 60 million years since divergence in one documented case. However, it not yet clear what effect such hybridization has on fern evolution, in part due to a paucity of available biparentally inherited …

Reduced Light Availability Diminishes Mycorrhizal Growth Response Of Invasive Forb, Regina O'Kelley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mycorrhizae, a common, well-studied symbiotic relationship. Controls on the magnitude and direction of plant mycorrhizal growth response (MGR) remain obscured. Specifically, the influence of light availability in the MGR of an invasive forb, spotted knapweed Centaurea stoebe, has not been studied. Greenhouse studies exploring the growth response of knapweed to arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) often fail to report light intensity levels, which could impact the quality of their data. I conducted a greenhouse experiment studying the MGR in spotted knapweed under shaded and unshaded conditions, designed to approximate light availability in ambient greenhouse and full-sun …

Vertebrate Body Size Jumps The Wright Way, Peter J. Wagner

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Fossil data provide copious evidence that anatomical (morphological) change within individual lineages is not constant: short bursts of great change commonly separate long durations of little change (1, 2). Despite this, most models of morphological change assume that probabilities of morphological character change are the same from one generation to the next: even if rates change over time—such as in “Cambrian explosion” or “early burst” models, where high disparity among anatomies evolves early—then it is still assumed that fast rates of continuous character change gave way to slow rates of continuous change (3). In statistical parlance, early bursts usually are …

Nitrogen Addition And Ecosystem Functioning: Both Species Abundances And Traits Alter Community Structure And Function, Anna R. Tatarko, Johannes M.H. Knops

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Increased nutrient inputs can cause shifts in plant community composition and plant functional traits, both of which affect ecosystem function. We studied community- and species-level leaf functional trait changes in a full factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization experiment in a semi-arid grassland. Nitrogen was the only nutrient addition to significantly affect leaf functional traits, and N addition increased community-weighted specific leaf area (SLA) by 19%, leaf chlorophyll content by 34%, height by 26%, and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) decreased by 11% while leaf thickness and toughness did not change significantly. At the species level, most …

Nanostructured Apatite-Mullite Glass-Ceramics For Enhanced Primary Human Osteoblast Cell Response, Gordon Cooke, Conor Dunne, Sarah Keane, Daithi De Faoite, Seamas Donnelly, Kenneth Stanton

Articles

This work investigates the difference in viability of primary human foetal osteoblast cells on a glass-ceramic surface with nanoscale topography relative to viability on a smooth glass-ceramic surface containing a bioactive phase. Apatite-mullite glass-ceramics containing bioactive fluorapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆F₂) and bioinert mullite (Si₂Al₆O₁₃) were synthesised and subsequent heat-treatment was optimised to form nano-sized fluorapatite crystals. Etching was used to selectively remove the bioactive phase, producing a surface with disordered nanoscale topography. Cells were seeded onto a smooth polished glass-ceramic substrate with the bioactive phase intact, an etched …

Using Mixed Effects Modeling To Quantify Difference Between Patient Groups With Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Rachel French

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

When diabetes progresses, many patients suffer from chronic foot ulcers. In a study described in Matrix Metalloproteinases and Diabetic Foot Ulcers (Muller et al., 2008), sixteen patients with diabetic foot ulcers were examined throughout a twelve week healing period. During this period, levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1), their inhibitors (TIMP-1), and the extracellular matrix in a wound area were measured at distinct time intervals for each patient. The ratios of these healing components are vital in determining whether a wound will heal or become chronic and never properly heal. Connecting Local and Global Sensitivities in a Mathematical Model for Wound …

Editorial: Murine Models Of Leukemia And Lymphoma, Christine E. Cutucache, Pierluigi Porcu

Biology Faculty Publications

Murine models serve as an effective way to mimic the in vivo tumor microenvironmental interactions that take place in patients with leukemias and lymphomas. Specifically, leukemias and lymphomas rely heavily on the surrounding stroma and tissue microenvironmental cytokine and chemokine signals to ensure survival and expansion of tumor cells. Finally, leukemic cells migrate thanks to signals from varying regions of the host, furthering the progression and severity of disease. It is therefore impossible to fully understand such a dynamic relationship between tumor cells and their surrounding microenvironment, and the events to transformation in leukemias and lymphomas without an in vivo, …

Genetic Analysis Of The Major Capsid Protein Of The Archaeal Fusellovirus Ssv1: Mutational Flexibility And Conformational Change, Eric A. Iverson, David A. Goodman, Madeline E. Gorchels, Kenneth M. Stedman

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Viruses with spindle or lemon-shaped virions are rare in the world of viruses, but are common in viruses of archaeal extremophiles, possibly due to the extreme conditions in which they thrive. However, the structural and genetic basis for the unique spindle shape is unknown. The best-studied spindle-shaped virus, Sulfolobus Spindle-shaped Virus 1 (SSV1), is composed mostly of the major capsid protein VP1. Similar to many other viruses, proteolytic cleavage of VP1 is thought to be critical for virion formation. Unlike half of the genes in SSV1, including the minor capsid protein gene VP3, the VP1 gene does not tolerate …

Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches To Understanding The Fate Of The Federally Endangered Schaus’ Swallowtail Butterfly (Heraclides Aristodemus Ponceanus), Jaeson T. Clayborn

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The federally endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) populations have declined precipitously over the years. Despite tremendous efforts to augment the numbers of this butterfly through captive-bred releases and habitat enhancements, it remains imperiled and federally endangered. The dissertation’s objectives were: 1) to restore dry forest habitat in Biscayne National Park (BNP) for Schaus’ swallowtails; 2) to assess host plant (torchwood and wild lime) survivorship and growth in the restoration sites (BNP) and project dry forest habitat loss because of imminent sea level rise (SLR); 3) to quantify ant activity and record predator-prey interactions against Heraclides caterpillars …

Insights Into The Molecular Roles Of Zika Virus In Human Reproductive Complications And Congenital Neuropathologies, Rajendra Ghardbaran, Latchman Somenarain

Publications and Research

The recent upsurge in the association of congenital neurological disorders and infection by the Zika virus (ZIKV) has resulted in increased research focus on the biology of this flavivirus. Studies in animal models indicate that ZIKV can breach the placental barrier and selectively infect and deplete neuroprogenitor cells (NPCs) of the developing fetus, resulting in changes of brain structures, reminiscent of human microcephaly. In vitro and ex vivo studies using human cells and tissues showed that human NPCs and placental cells are targeted by ZIKV. Also of concern is the impact of ZIKV on human reproductive structures, with the potential …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, Volume 39, Number 2, Fall/ Winter, 2017, Scott L. Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

Fall/Winter 2017 issue of the ASP newsletter.

Neutral Genetic Variation In Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) Affects Brain-To-Body Trade-Off And Brain Laterality, Mallory L. Wiper, Sarah J. Lehnert, Daniel D. Heath, Dennis M. Higgs

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Low levels of heterozygosity can have detrimental effects on life history and growth characteristics of organisms but more subtle effects such as those on trade-offs of expensive tissues and morphological laterality, especially of the brain, have not been explicitly tested. The objective of the current study was to investigate how estimated differences in heterozygosity may potentially affect brain-to-body trade-offs and to explore how these heterozygosity differences may affect differential brain growth, focusing on directional asymmetry in adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using the laterality and absolute laterality indices. Level of inbreeding was estimated as mean microsatellite heterozygosity resulting …

Developmental Nonlinearity Drives Phenotypic Robustness, Rebecca M. Green, Jennifer L. Fish, Nathan M. Young, Francis J. Smith, Benjamin Roberts, Katie Dolan, Irene Choi, Courtney L. Leach, Paul Gordon, James M. Cheverud, Charles C. Roseman, Trevor J. Williams, Ralph S. Marcucio, Benedikt Hallgrímsson

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Robustness to perturbation is a fundamental feature of complex organisms. Mutations are the raw material for evolution, yet robustness to their effects is required for species survival. The mechanisms that produce robustness are poorly understood. Nonlinearities are a ubiquitous feature of development that may link variation in development to phenotypic robustness. Here, we manipulate the gene dosage of a signaling molecule, Fgf8, a critical regulator of vertebrate development. We demonstrate that variation in Fgf8 expression has a nonlinear relationship to phenotypic variation, predicting levels of robustness among genotypes. Differences in robustness are not due to gene expression variance or …

Why Georeferencing Matters: Introducing A Practical Protocol To Prepare Species Occurrence Records For Spatial Analysis, Trevor D.S. Bloom, Aquila Flower, Eric G. Dechaine

Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff Publications

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are widely used to understand environmental controls on species’ ranges and to forecast species range shifts in response to climatic changes. The quality of input data is crucial determinant of the model’s accuracy. While museum records can be useful sources of presence data for many species, they do not always include accurate geographic coordinates. Therefore, actual locations must be verified through the process of georeferencing. We present a practical, standardized manual georeferencing method (the Spatial Analysis Georeferencing Accuracy (SAGA) protocol) to classify the spatial resolution of museum records specifically for building improved SDMs. We used the …

A Redescription Of The Ichnospecies Koreanaornis Anhuiensis (Aves) From The Lower Cretaceous Qiuzhuang Formation At Mingguang City, Anhui Province, China, Li-Da Xing, Yuan-Chao Hu, Jian-Dong Huang, Qing He, Martin G. Lockley, Michael E. Burns, Jun Fang

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The Cretaceous bird trackway originally labeled Aquatilavipes anhuiensis, in 1994, had previously been examined, photographed and replicated, but never described or illustrated in detail. However, it has been part of a widening discussion about the distribution of Aquatilavipes and Koreanaornis in China (and Korea). Here we illustrate and formally describe the holotype in detail and assign it to Koreanaornis (Koreanaornis anhuiensis) as informally proposed by previous authors. We also demonstrate that most authenticated reports of Koreanaornis, including the Anhui occurrence, are from the Lower Cretaceous, not from the Upper Cretaceous as previously reported.

Inhibitory Or Excitatory? Optogenetic Interrogation Of The Functional Roles Of Gabaergic Interneurons In Epileptogenesis, Hui Ye

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Alteration in the excitatory/inhibitory neuronal balance is believed to be the underlying mechanism of epileptogenesis. Based on this theory, GABAergic interneurons are regarded as the primary inhibitory neurons, whose failure of action permits hyperactivity in the epileptic circuitry. As a consequence, optogenetic excitation of GABAergic interneurons is widely used for seizure suppression. However, recent evidence argues for the context-dependent, possibly “excitatory” roles that GABAergic cells play in epileptic circuitry. We reviewed current optogenetic approaches that target the “inhibitory” roles of GABAergic interneurons for seizure control. We also reviewed interesting evidence that supports the “excitatory” roles of GABAergic interneurons in epileptogenesis. …

Connectivity Motifs Of Inhibitory Neurons In The Mouse Auditory Cortex, Hysell V. Oviedo

Publications and Research

Connectivity determines the function of neural circuits and it is the gateway to behavioral output. The emergent properties of the Auditory Cortex (ACx) have been difficult to unravel partly due to our assumption that it is organized similarly to other sensory areas. But detailed investigations of its functional connectivity have begun to reveal significant differences from other cortical areas that perform different functions. Using Laser Scanning Photostimulation we previously discovered unique circuit features in the ACx. Specifically, we found that the functional asymmetry of the ACx (tonotopy and isofrequency axes) is reflected in the local circuitry of excitatory inputs to …