Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Biology
Monogenic Control Of Sex-Limited Colouration In The Honey Gourami, Trichogaster Chuna, Jack Frankel
Monogenic Control Of Sex-Limited Colouration In The Honey Gourami, Trichogaster Chuna, Jack Frankel
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Of the numerous subtropical and tropical freshwater speciesof fish, labyrinth fish are among the most varied in bodymarkings and colouration patterns. Four taxonomic families(Belontiidae, Anabantidae, Helostomatidae, and Osphrone-midae) of the suborder Anabantoidei comprise the ‘tradi-tional’ labyrinth fishes, a group of about 80 African andSoutheast Asian species (Linke 1991). These Anabantoidsare popular with aquarists due to their interesting reproduc-tive behaviours, with males of most species brooding eggs intheir mouths or in floating bubble nests (Vevers 1980; Linke1991; Axelrod and Vorderwinkler 1995; Mills 2000). Theyhave also been the focus of genetic, environmental, and mor-phological studies (Sommer 1982; Gosline 1985; Klinkhardtet al. 1995; …
Quorum-Sensing Signals In The Microbial Community Of The Cabbage White Butterfly Larval Midgut, Bradley Borlee, Grant Geske, Courtney Robinson, Helen Blackwell, Jo Handelsman
Quorum-Sensing Signals In The Microbial Community Of The Cabbage White Butterfly Larval Midgut, Bradley Borlee, Grant Geske, Courtney Robinson, Helen Blackwell, Jo Handelsman
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The overall goal of this study was to examine the role of quorum-sensing (QS) signals in a multispecies microbial community. Toward this aim, we studied QS signals produced by an indigenous member and an invading pathogen of the microbial community of the cabbage white butterfly (CWB) larval midgut (Pieris rapae). As an initial step, we characterized the QS system in Pantoea CWB304, which was isolated from the larval midgut. A luxI homolog, designated panI, is necessary for the production of N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones (AHLs) by Pantoea CWB304. To determine whether AHL signals are exchanged in the alkaline environment of the midgut, …
Soluble Factors From Plasmodium Falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Induce Apoptosis In Human Brain Vascular Endothelial And Neuroglia Cells, Winston Anderson
Soluble Factors From Plasmodium Falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Induce Apoptosis In Human Brain Vascular Endothelial And Neuroglia Cells, Winston Anderson
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The severity of malaria is multi-factorial. It is associated with parasite-induced alteration in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine levels in host serum and cerebrospinal fluid. It is also associated with sequestration and cytoadherence of parasitized erythrocytes (pRBCs) in post-capillary venules and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. The role of these factors in development of vascular injury and tissue damage in malaria patients is unclear. While some studies indicate a requirement for pRBC adhesion to vascular endothelial cells (ECs) in brain capillaries to induce apoptosis and BBB damage, others show no role of apoptosis resulting from adhesion of pRBC to EC. …
Phylogenetic Relationships Of Crown Conchs (Melongena Spp.): The Corona Complex Simplified, Kenneth Hayes, Stephen Karl
Phylogenetic Relationships Of Crown Conchs (Melongena Spp.): The Corona Complex Simplified, Kenneth Hayes, Stephen Karl
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The larval stages of marine taxa are often assumed to have an overriding influence on the phylogeographical structure of a species as well as on rates of speciation. Phylogeographical disjunctions in high-dispersal marine taxa are generally attributed to historical events or contemporary ecological factors. The lack of genetic structure in low-dispersal marine taxa is often ascribed to rafting by juveniles, yet few studies discuss the effects of historical conditions. Around peninsular Florida, there are three species of the crown conch, Melongena, which have direct-developing, crawl-away larvae. One of these species, M. corona, is subdivided into three subspecies. We refer to …
Structure Of A Signal Transduction Regulator, Rack1, From Arabidopsis Thaliana, Hemayet Ullah
Structure Of A Signal Transduction Regulator, Rack1, From Arabidopsis Thaliana, Hemayet Ullah
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The receptor for activated C-kinase 1 (RACK1) is a highly conserved WD40 repeat scaffold protein found in a wide range of eukaryotic species from Chlamydymonas to plants and humans. In tissues of higher mammals, RACK1 is ubiquitously expressed and has been implicated in diverse signaling pathways involving neuropathology, cellular stress, protein translation, and developmental processes. RACK1 has established itself as a scaffold protein through physical interaction with a myriad of signaling proteins ranging from kinases, phosphatases, ion channels, membrane receptors, G proteins, IP3 receptor, and with widely conserved structural proteins associated with the ribosome. In the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, RACK1A …
African Genetic Diversity: Implications For Human Demographic History, Modern Human Origins, And Complex Disease Mapping, Michael Campbell, Sarah Tishkoff
African Genetic Diversity: Implications For Human Demographic History, Modern Human Origins, And Complex Disease Mapping, Michael Campbell, Sarah Tishkoff
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Comparative studies of ethnically diverse human populations, particularly in Africa, are important for reconstructing human evolutionary history and for understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic adaptation and complex disease. African populations are characterized by greater levels of genetic diversity, extensive population substructure, and less linkage disequilibrium (LD) among loci compared to non-African populations. Africans also possess a number of genetic adaptations that have evolved in response to diverse climates and diets, as well as exposure to infectious disease. This review summarizes patterns and the evolutionary origins of genetic diversity present in African populations, as well as their implications for the …
Rules Of Engagement: Interspecies Interactions That Regulate Microbial Communities, Ainslie Little, Courtney Robinson, S Peterson, Kenneth Raffa, Jo Handelsman
Rules Of Engagement: Interspecies Interactions That Regulate Microbial Communities, Ainslie Little, Courtney Robinson, S Peterson, Kenneth Raffa, Jo Handelsman
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Microbial communities comprise an interwoven matrix of biological diversity modified by physical and chemical variation over space and time. Although these communities are the major drivers of biosphere processes, relatively little is known about their structure and function, and predictive modeling is limited by a dearth of comprehensive ecological principles that describe microbial community processes. Here we discuss working definitions of central ecological terms that have been used in various fashions in microbial ecology, provide a framework by focusing on different types of interactions within communities, review the status of the interface between evolutionary and ecological study, and highlight important …
Short Report: Detection Of Plasmodium Falciparum Histidine-Rich Protein Ii In Saliva Of Malaria Patients, Nana Wilson, Andrew Adjei, Winston Anderson, Stella Baidoo, Jonathan Stiles
Short Report: Detection Of Plasmodium Falciparum Histidine-Rich Protein Ii In Saliva Of Malaria Patients, Nana Wilson, Andrew Adjei, Winston Anderson, Stella Baidoo, Jonathan Stiles
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Detection of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in patients with malaria necessitates drawing blood, which increases the risk of accidental infections and is poorly accepted in communities with blood taboos. Thus, non-invasive, cost-effective malaria tests that minimize the need for blood collection are needed. Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II (PfHRP II) levels in plasma and saliva were compared in malaria-positive and -negative patients in Ghana. Plasma and saliva obtained from 30 thick-film positive and 10 negative children were evaluated for PfHRP II by ELISA. Among the 30 children with positive blood smear, 16 (53%) were PfHRP II positive in plasma and 13 …
Giant African Snail, Achatina Fulica, As A Snail Predator, Wallace Meyer, Kenneth Hayes, Amanda Meyer
Giant African Snail, Achatina Fulica, As A Snail Predator, Wallace Meyer, Kenneth Hayes, Amanda Meyer
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Individuals of Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) were observed preying on veronicellid slugs at two sites on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. As such, the presence of A. fulica may pose a greater threat to terrestrial mollusc conservation than previously imagined. It is our hope that this note provides some impetus for other researchers to explore the possible predation impacts of introduced populations of A. fulica and to consider the possibility that other introduced snails and slugs may be having as yet unforeseen or unnoticed impacts.
Isolation And Characterization Of Vibrio Tubiashii Outer Membrane Proteins And Determination Of A Toxr Homolog, Broderick Eribo
Isolation And Characterization Of Vibrio Tubiashii Outer Membrane Proteins And Determination Of A Toxr Homolog, Broderick Eribo
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Outer membrane proteins (OMPs) expressed by Vibrio tubiashii under different environmental growth conditions were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, N-terminal amino acid sequencing, and PCR analyses. Results showed the presence of a 38- to 40-kDa OmpU-like protein and ompU gene, a maltoporin-like protein, several novel OMPs, and a regulatory toxR homolog.
Ethnogenetic Layering (El): An Alternative To The Traditional Race Model In Human Variation And Health Disparity Studies, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson
Ethnogenetic Layering (El): An Alternative To The Traditional Race Model In Human Variation And Health Disparity Studies, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Traditionally, studies in human biodiversity, disease risk, and health disparities have defined populations in the context of typological racial models. However, such racial models are often imprecise generalizations that fail to capture important local patterns of human biodiversity.More explicit, detailed, and integrated information on relevant geographic, environmental, cultural, genetic, historical, and demographic variables are needed to understand local group expressions of disease inequities. This paper details the methods used in ethnogenetic layering (EL), a non-typological alternative to the current reliance of the biological racial paradigm in public health, epidemiology, and biomedicine.EL is focused on geographically identified microethnic groups or MEGs, …
Biocontrol In Hawaii: A Response To Messing (2007), Brenden Holland, Carl Christensen, Kenneth Hayes, Robert Cowie
Biocontrol In Hawaii: A Response To Messing (2007), Brenden Holland, Carl Christensen, Kenneth Hayes, Robert Cowie
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Commentary. In recent decades, disagreement regarding the role of biocontrol in causing ecological damage versus its agricultural benefit has increased. Because of the historical importance of biocontrol in its agriculture and the high recent extinction rates of its endemic wildlife, Hawaii has been termed the “crucible of the debate”. A number of biocontrol programs in Hawaii and the Pacific not only failed to control target pests, but have backfired spectacularly, leading directly to range reductions and extinctions of endemic taxa. We agree with Messing that rigorous biological review is important, that minimizing inefficiency, irrationality, lack of transparency and lack of …
Out Of South America: Multiple Origins Of Non-Native Apple Snails In Asia, Kenneth Hayes
Out Of South America: Multiple Origins Of Non-Native Apple Snails In Asia, Kenneth Hayes
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Apple snails (Ampullariidae: Pomacea) native to the New World have become agricultural and environmental pests widely in southern and eastern Asia since their introduction in about 1980. Although their impacts have been extensively documented, considerable confusion persists regarding their identities and geographical origins. Efforts to resolve the confusion have suffered from inadequate taxonomic and geographical sampling from both native and introduced ranges. Using phylogenetic and genealogical methods, we analysed 610–655 bp of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I DNA sequences from 783 apple snails from 164 Asian locations and 57 native South American locations. In Asia, we found four species of …
A High Throughput Live Transparent Animal Bioassay To Identify Non-Toxic Small Molecules Or Genes That Regulate Vertebrate Fat Metabolism For Obesity Drug Development, Kevin Jones
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
The alarming rise in the obesity epidemic and growing concern for the pathologic consequences of the metabolic syndrome warrant great need for development of obesity-related pharmacotherapeutics. The search for such therapeutics is severely limited by the slow throughput of animal models of obesity. Amenable to placement into a 96 well plate, zebrafish larvae have emerged as one of the highest throughput vertebrate model organisms for performing small molecule screens. A method for visually identifying non-toxic molecular effectors of fat metabolism using a live transparent vertebrate was developed. Given that increased levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) via deletion of CD38 …
Dendritic Cell Maturation Versus Polarization In Tumor Escape, Michael Lipscomb, Walter Storkus, Amy Wesa
Dendritic Cell Maturation Versus Polarization In Tumor Escape, Michael Lipscomb, Walter Storkus, Amy Wesa
Department of Biology Faculty Publications
Dendritic cells serve as key immunosurveillance agents throughout the body and orchestrate the coordinate innate and adaptive immune responses to antigenically complex cells and organisms that challenge the host. The ability of dendritic cells to promote beneficial versus irrelevant or even, counterproductive, immunity in the cancer setting depends to a large degree on the operational parameters displayed by the heterogeneous population of dendritic cells found in the tumor microenvironment. This chapter will discuss how tumors manipulate the state of maturation and type of functional polarization displayed by dendritic cells in order to affect immune escape.