Biology Commons^™

Metagenomic Analysis Of Dental Calculus In Ancient Egyptian Baboons, Claudio Ottoni, Meriam Guellil, Andrew T. Ozga, Anne C. Stone, Oliver Kersten, Barbara Bramanti, Stephanie Porcier, Wim Van Neer

Biology Faculty Articles

Dental calculus, or mineralized plaque, represents a record of ancient biomolecules and food residues. Recently, ancient metagenomics made it possible to unlock the wealth of microbial and dietary information of dental calculus to reconstruct oral microbiomes and lifestyle of humans from the past. Although most studies have so far focused on ancient humans, dental calculus is known to form in a wide range of animals, potentially informing on how human-animal interactions changed the animals’ oral ecology. Here, we characterise the oral microbiome of six ancient Egyptian baboons held in captivity during the late Pharaonic era (9^th–6^th centuries …

The 14-3-3 (Ywha) Proteins In Signalling And Development Of The Fruit Fly, Drosophila Melanogaster, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

The 14-3-3 (YWHA or Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase/Tryptophan 5-Monooxygenase Activation proteins) are a family of highly conserved, homologous proteins critical to diverse cellular events including cell cycle, signal transduction and embryonic development. Various species-specific isoforms of 14-3-3 exist, encoded by separate genes. They are expressed in a wide variety of organisms ranging from plants to animals, including the fruit fly or Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila is one of the most universally accepted model systems to study complex cellular mechanisms of signalling and development. However, regulation of these processes in fruit flies by the 14-3-3 proteins have not been entirely understood. This mini …

Ywha (14-3-3) Protein Isoforms And Their Interactions With Cdc25b Phosphatase In Mouse Oogenesis And Oocyte Maturation, Alaa A. Eisa, Santanu De, Ariana Detwiler, Eva Gilker, Alexander C. Ignatious, Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan, Douglas Kline

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

Immature mammalian oocytes are held arrested at prophase I of meiosis by an inhibitory phosphorylation of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1). Release from this meiotic arrest and germinal vesicle breakdown is dependent on dephosphorylation of CDK1 by the protein, cell cycle division 25B (CDC25B). Evidence suggests that phosphorylated CDC25B is bound to YWHA (14-3-3) proteins in the cytoplasm of immature oocytes and is thus maintained in an inactive form. The importance of YWHA in meiosis demands additional studies.

Results

Messenger RNA for multiple isoforms of the YWHA protein family was detected in mouse oocytes and eggs. All seven mammalian YWHA …

Oral Microbiome Diversity In Chimpanzees From Gombe National Park, Andrew T. Ozga, Ian C. Gilby, Rebecca Nockerts, Michael L. Wilson, Anne Pusey, Anne C. Stone

Biology Faculty Articles

Historic calcified dental plaque (dental calculus) can provide a unique perspective into the health status of past human populations but currently no studies have focused on the oral microbial ecosystem of other primates, including our closest relatives, within the hominids. Here we use ancient DNA extraction methods, shotgun library preparation, and next generation Illumina sequencing to examine oral microbiota from 19 dental calculus samples recovered from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) who died in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. The resulting sequences were trimmed for quality, analyzed using MALT, MEGAN, and alignment scripts, and integrated with previously published dental …

Comparative Chromosome Mapping Of Musk Ox And The X Chromosome Among Some Bovidae Species, Anastasiya A. Proskuryakova, Anastasia I. Kulemzina, Polina L. Perelman, Dmitry V. Yudkin, Natalya A. Lemskaya, Innokentii M. Okhlopkov, Egor V. Kirillin, Marta Farré, Denis M. Larkin, M. Roelke-Parker, Stephen James O'Brien, Mitchell Bush, Alexander S. Graphodatsky

Biology Faculty Articles

Bovidae, the largest family in Pecora infraorder, are characterized by a striking variability in diploid number of chromosomes between species and among individuals within a species. The bovid X chromosome is also remarkably variable, with several morphological types in the family. Here we built a detailed chromosome map of musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), a relic species originating from Pleistocene megafauna, with dromedary and human probes using chromosome painting. We trace chromosomal rearrangements during Bovidae evolution by comparing species already studied by chromosome painting. The musk ox karyotype differs from the ancestral pecoran karyotype by six fusions, one fission, …

Antibiotics Overuse And Bacterial Resistance, Mir Saleem, Brett Deters, Adam De La Bastide, Martha Korzen

Biology Faculty Articles

Antibiotic usage has become very widespread, as they are used to treat so many infectious diseases today. Antimicrobial agents exert their actions via different mechanisms including blockage of cell wall synthesis, interference of protein and/or nucleic acid synthesis, interruption of cell membrane structure, and inhibition of a metabolic pathway. The treatment of bacterial infections with antimicrobial agents has become more difficult due to the capability of bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. Erroneous diagnosing, misconceptions, and improper physician-patient dynamics have led to overuse of antibiotics and the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Bacterial colonies have been shown to confer advantageous genetic …

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of An Atlantic Ocean Shortfin Mako Shark, Isurus Oxyrinchus, Jonathan Gorman, Nicholas J. Marra, Mahmood S. Shivji, Bryce J. Stanhope

Biology Faculty Articles

We report the first complete mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako shark from the Atlantic Ocean. The genome had 16,700 base pairs and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a non-coding D-loop. There were 81 individual differences compared to the published mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako from the Pacific Ocean, with most variability found in protein coding genes, especially ND5, ND3, and ND1. These highly variable genes may be useful population markers in future studies, and availability of a second mitogenome will assist with future, genome-scale studies of this IUCN Endangered species.

Gut Microbiome Diversity Is Associated With Sleep Physiology In Humans, Robert Smith, Cole Easson, Sarah M. Lyle, Ritishka Kapoor, Chase P. Donnelly, Eileen Davidson, Esha Parikh, Jose Lopez, Jaime L. Tartar

Biology Faculty Articles

The human gut microbiome can influence health through the brain-gut-microbiome axis. Growing evidence suggests that the gut microbiome can influence sleep quality. Previous studies that have examined sleep deprivation and the human gut microbiome have yielded conflicting results. A recent study found that sleep deprivation leads to changes in gut microbiome composition while a different study found that sleep deprivation does not lead to changes in gut microbiome. Accordingly, the relationship between sleep physiology and the gut microbiome remains unclear. To address this uncertainty, we used actigraphy to quantify sleep measures coupled with gut microbiome sampling to determine how the …

Diverse Deep-Sea Anglerfishes Share A Genetically Reduced Luminous Symbiont That Is Acquired From The Environment, Lydia Baker, Lindsay L. Freed, Cole Easson, Jose Lopez, Dante Fenolio, Tracey Sutton, Spencer Nyholm, Tory Hendry

Biology Faculty Articles

Deep-sea anglerfishes are relatively abundant and diverse, but their luminescent bacterial symbionts remain enigmatic. The genomes of two symbiont species have qualities common to vertically transmitted, host-dependent bacteria. However, a number of traits suggest that these symbionts may be environmentally acquired. To determine how anglerfish symbionts are transmitted, we analyzed bacteria-host codivergence across six diverse anglerfish genera. Most of the anglerfish species surveyed shared a common species of symbiont. Only one other symbiont species was found, which had a specific relationship with one anglerfish species, Cryptopsaras couesii. Host and symbiont phylogenies lacked congruence, and there was no statistical support …

Characterization Of The Microbiome And Bioluminescent Symbionts Across Life Stages Of Ceratioid Anglerfishes Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Lindsay L. Freed, Cole Easson, Lydia Baker, D. Fenolio, Tracey Sutton, Yasmin Khan, Patricia Blackwelder, Tory Hendry, Jose Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

The interdependence of diverse organisms through symbiosis reaches even the deepest parts of the oceans. As part of the DEEPEND project (deependconsortium.org) research on deep Gulf of Mexico biodiversity, we profiled the bacterial communities (‘microbiomes’) and luminous symbionts of 36 specimens of adult and larval deep-sea anglerfishes of the suborder Ceratioidei using 16S rDNA. Transmission Electron Microscopy was used to characterize the location of symbionts in adult light organs (esca). Whole larval microbiomes, and adult skin and gut microbiomes, were dominated by bacteria in the genera Moritella and Pseudoalteromonas genera. 16S rDNA sequencing results from adult fishes corroborate …

"The Dead Shall Be Raised": Multidisciplinary Analysis Of Human Skeletons Reveals Complexity In 19th Century Immigrant Socioeconomic History And Identity In New Haven, Connecticut, Gary P. Aronsen, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, John Krigbaum, George D. Kamenov, Gerald J. Conlogue, Christina Warinner, Andrew T. Ozga, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Anthony Griego, Daniel W. Deluca, Howard T. Eckels, Romuald K. Byczkiewicz, Tania Grgurich, Natalie A. Pelletier, Sarah A. Brownlee, Ana Marichal, Kylie Williamson, Yukiko Tonoike, Nicholas F. Bellantoni

Biology Faculty Articles

In July 2011, renovations to Yale-New Haven Hospital inadvertently exposed the cemetery of Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut’s first Catholic cemetery. While this cemetery was active between 1833 and 1851, both the church and its cemetery disappeared from public records, making the discovery serendipitous. Four relatively well-preserved adult skeletons were recovered with few artifacts. All four individuals show indicators of manual labor, health and disease stressors, and dental health issues. Two show indicators of trauma, with the possibility of judicial hanging in one individual. Musculoskeletal markings are consistent with physical stress, and two individuals have arthritic indicators of repetitive movement/specialized …

Getting Back To Nature: Feralization In Animals And Plants, Eben Gering, Darren Incorvaia, R. Henriksen, Jeffrey Conner, Thomas Getty, Dominic Wright

Biology Faculty Articles

Formerly domesticated organisms and artificially selected genes often escape controlled cultivation, but their subsequent evolution is not well studied. In this review, we examine plant and animal feralization through an evolutionary lens, including how natural selection, artificial selection, and gene flow shape feral genomes, traits, and fitness. Available evidence shows that feralization is not a mere reversal of domestication. Instead, it is shaped by the varied and complex histories of feral populations, and by novel selection pressures. To stimulate further insight we outline several future directions. These include testing how ‘domestication genes’ act in wild settings, studying the brains and …

Identification And Cloning Of Putative Serine Protease Inhibitor (Serpin) Genes In Rice (Oryza Sativa) And A Preliminary Approach To Generate Rnai Using The Cloned Sequences, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

Programmed Cell Death (PCD) is an important mechanism of plant immune response against diseases. Serine protease inhibitors (‘serpins’) are a conserved superfamily of proteins that inhibit serine protease targets and prevent programmed cell death (PCD) in plants, in absence of pathogen infection. In this project, putative serpin genes in rice (Oryza sativa) which are homologous to necrotic/‘Nec’ serpin genes in Drosophila are identified by bioinformatic analyses. This is followed by cloning of specific exon sequences of the rice serpin genes identified. Finally, one of the cloned sequences is utilized in a series of steps to produce interfering RNA …

Hyperinsulinemia, Cancer And Maqui Berry: The Promise Of Nutritional Supplementation, Brett Deters, Mir Saleem

Biology Faculty Articles

Nutritional supplementation has long been studied as a possible treatment alternative or as an adjunct to the standard treatments for common ailments and diseases. According to the latest research, the Chilean maqui berry, Aristotelia chilensis, has been shown to reduce postprandial insulin levels by as much as fifty percent. The berry, which has been shown to be as effective as metformin at increasing insulin sensitivity and controlling blood glucose levels, follows a simple mechanism of action that involves the inhibition of sodium dependent glucose transporters in the small intestine, slowing the rate at which sugars enter the bloodstream and thereby …

Precision Nomenclature For The New Genomics, Harris A. Lewin, Jennifer A. Marshall Graves, Oliver A. Ryder, Alexander S. Graphodatsky, Stephen James O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

The confluence of two scientific disciplines may lead to nomenclature conflicts that require new terms while respecting historical definitions. This is the situation with the current state of cytology and genomics, which offer examples of distinct nomenclature and vocabularies that require reconciliation. In this article, we propose the new terms C-scaffold (for chromosome-scale assemblies of sequenced DNA fragments, commonly named scaffolds) and scaffotype (the resulting collection of C-scaffolds that represent an organism's genome). This nomenclature avoids conflict with the historical definitions of the terms chromosome (a microscopic body made of DNA and protein) and karyotype (the collection of images …

Avian Binocularity And Adaptation To Nocturnal Environments: Genomic Insights Froma Highly Derived Visual Phenotype, Rui Borges, Joao Fonseca, Cidalia Gomes, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen James O'Brien, Guojie Zhang, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Erich D. Jarvis, Agostinho Antunes

Biology Faculty Articles

Typical avian eyes are phenotypically engineered for photopic vision (daylight). In contrast, the highly derived eyes of the barn owl (Tyto alba) are adapted for scotopic vision (dim light). The dramatic modifications distinguishing barn owl eyes from other birds include: 1) shifts in frontal orientation to improve binocularity, 2) rod-dominated retina, and 3) enlarged corneas and lenses. Some of these features parallel mammalian eye patterns, which are hypothesized to have initially evolved in nocturnal environments. Here, we used an integrative approach combining phylogenomics and functional phenotypes of 211 eye-development genes across 48 avian genomes representing most avian orders, …

Inevitable Future: Space Colonization Beyond Earth With Microbes First, Jose Lopez, Raquel S. Peixoto, Alexandre S. Rosado

Biology Faculty Articles

Based on modern microbiology, we propose a major revision in current space exploration philosophy and planetary protection policy, especially regarding microorganisms in space. Mainly, microbial introduction should not be considered accidental but inevitable. We hypothesize the near impossibility of exploring new planets without carrying and/or delivering any microbial travelers. In addition, although we highlight the importance of controlling and tracking such contaminations—to explore the existence of extraterrestrial microorganisms—we also believe that we must discuss the role of microbes as primary colonists and assets, rather than serendipitous accidents, for future plans of extraterrestrial colonization. This paradigm shift stems partly from the …

The Vertebrate Tlr Supergene Family Evolved Dynamically By Gene Gain/Loss And Positive Selection Revealing A Host–Pathogen Arms Race In Birds, Imran Khan, Emanuel Maldonado, Liliana Silva, Daniela Almeida, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen James O'Brien, Guojie Zhang, Erich D. Jarvis, M. Thomas Gilbert, Agostinho Antunes

Biology Faculty Articles

The vertebrate toll-like receptor (TLRs) supergene family is a first-line immune defense against viral and non-viral pathogens. Here, comparative evolutionary-genomics of 79 vertebrate species (8 mammals, 48 birds, 11 reptiles, 1 amphibian, and 11 fishes) revealed differential gain/loss of 26 TLRs, including 6 (TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, TLR14, TLR21, and TLR22) that originated early in vertebrate evolution before the diversification of Agnatha and Gnathostomata. Subsequent dynamic gene gain/loss led to lineage-specific diversification with TLR repertoires ranging from 8 subfamilies in birds to 20 in fishes. Lineage-specific loss of TLR8-9 and TLR13 in birds and gains of TLR6 and TLR10-12 in mammals …

Maladaptation In Feral And Domesticated Animals, Eben Gering, Darren Incorvaia, R. Henriksen, Dominic Wright

Biology Faculty Articles

Selection regimes and population structures can be powerfully changed by domestication and feralization, and these changes can modulate animal fitness in both captive and natural environments. In this review, we synthesize recent studies of these two processes and consider their impacts on organismal and population fitness. Domestication and feralization offer multiple windows into the forms and mechanisms of maladaptation. Firstly, domestic and feral organisms that exhibit suboptimal traits or fitness allow us to identify their underlying causes within tractable research systems. This has facilitated significant progress in our general understandings of genotype–phenotype relationships, fitness trade‐offs, and the roles of population …

Global Spatial Risk Assessment Of Sharks Under The Footprint Of Fisheries, Nuno Queiroz, Nicolas E. Humphries, Ana Couto, Marisa Vedor, Ivo Da Costa, Ana M. M. Sequeira, Gonzalo Mucientes, Antonio M. Santos, Francisco J. Abascal, Debra L. Abercrombie, Katya Abrantes, David Acuna-Marrero, Andre S. Afonso, Darrell Anders, Gonzalo Araujo, Randall Arauz, Pascal Bach, Adam Barnett, Diego Bernal, Michael L. Berumen, Sandra Bessudo Lion, Natalia P. A. Bezerra, Antonin V. Blaison, Barbara A. Block, Mark E. Bond, Russell W. Bradford, Camrin D. Braun, Edward J. Brooks, Annabelle Brooks, Judith Brown, Barry D. Bruce, Michael Byrne, Steven E. Campana, Aaron B. Carlisle, Demian D. Chapman, Taylor K. Chapple, John Chisholm, Christopher R. Clarke, Erik G. Clua, Jesse E. M. Cochran, Estelle C. Crochelet, Laurent Dagorn, Ryan Daly, Daniel Devia Cortes, Thomas K. Doyle, Michael Drew, Clinton A. J. Duffy, Thor Erikson, Eduardo Espinoza, Luciana C. Ferreira, Francesco Ferretti, John D. Filmalter, G. Chris Fischer, Richard Fitzpatrick, Jorge Fontes, Fabian Forget, Mark Fowler, Malcolm P. Francis, Austin J. Gallagher, Enrico Gennari, Simon D. Goldsworthy, Matthew J. Gollock, Jonathan R. Green, Johan A. Gustafson, Tristan L. Guttridge, Hector M. Guzman, Neil Hammerschlag, Luke Harman, Fabio H.V. Hazin, Matthew Heard, Alex R. Hearn, John C. Holdsworth, Bonnie J. Holmes, Lucy A. Howey-Jordan, Mauricio Hoyos, Robert E. Hueter, Nigel E. Hussey, Charlie Huveneers, Dylan T. Irion, David M. P. Jacoby, Oliver J. D. Jewell, Ryan Johnson, Lance K. B. Jordan, Salvador J. Jorgensen, Warren Joyce, Clare A. Keating Daly, James T. Ketchum, A. Peter Klimley, Alison A. Kock, Pieter Koen, Felipe Ladino, Fernanda O. Lana, James S. E. Lea, Fiona Llewellyn, Warrick S. Lyon, Anna Macdonnell, Bruno C. L. Macena, Heather Marshall, Jaime D. Mcallister, Rory Mcauley, Michael A. Meyer, John J. Morris, Emily R. Nelson, Yannis P. Papastamatiou, Toby A. Patterson, Cesar Peñaherrera-Palma, Julian G. Pepperell, Simon J. Pierce, Francois Poisson, Lina Maria Quintero, Andrew J. Richardson, Paul J. Rogers, Christoph A. Rohner, David R. L. Rowat, Melita Samoilys, Jayson M. Semmens, Marcus Sheaves, George Shillinger, Mahmood S. Shivji, Sarika Singh, Gregory B. Skomal, Malcolm J. Smale, Laurenne B. Snyders, German Soler, Marc Soria, Kilian M. Stehfest, John D. Stevens, Simon R. Thorrold, Mariana T. Tolotti, Alison Towner, Paulo Travassos, John P. Tyminski, Frederic Vandeperre, Jeremy Vaudo, Yuuki Y. Watanabe, Sam B. Weber, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Timothy D. White, Sean Williams, Patricia M. Zarate, Robert Harcourt, Graeme C. Hays, Mark G. Meekan, Michele Thums, Xabier Irigoien, Victor M. Eguiluz, Carlos M. Duarte, Lara L. Sousa, Samantha J. Simpson, Emily J. Southall, David W. Sims

Biology Faculty Articles

Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively) and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We …

Oomycete Metabarcoding Reveals The Presence Of Lagenidium Spp. In Phytotelmata, Paula Leoro-Garzon, Andrew J. Gonedes, Isabel Olivera, Aurelien Tartar

Biology Faculty Articles

The oomycete genus Lagenidium, which includes the mosquito biocontrol agent L. giganteum, is composed of animal pathogens, yet is phylogenetically closely related to the well characterized plant pathogens Phytophthora and Pythium spp. These phylogenetic affinities were further supported by the identification of canonical oomycete effectors in the L. giganteum transcriptome, and suggested, mirroring the endophytic abilities demonstrated in entomopathogenic fungi, that L. giganteum may have similarly retained capacities to establish interactions with plant tissues. To test this hypothesis, culture-independent, metabarcoding analyses aimed at detecting L. giganteum in bromeliad phytotelmata (a proven mosquito breeding ground) microbiomes were performed. Two …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Nitrosomonas Sp. Strain Apg5, A Betaproteobacterial Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterium Isolated From Beach Sand, Hidetoshi Urakawa, Jorie L. Skutas, Jose Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

Nitrosomonas sp. strain APG5 (=NCIMB 14870 = ATCC TSA-116) was isolated from dry beach sand collected from a supralittoral zone of the northwest coast of the United States. The draft genome sequence revealed that it represents a new species of the cluster 6 Nitrosomonas spp. that is closely related to Nitrosomonas ureae and Nitrosomonas oligotropha.

Manipulating Neck Temperatures Alters Contagious Yawning In Humans, Valentina Ramirez, Colleen P. Ryan, Omar Tonsi Eldakar, Andrew C. Gallup

Biology Faculty Articles

The existence of yawning across a diverse array of species has led many researchers to postulate its neurological significance. One hypothesis, which has garnered recent support, posits that yawns function to cool the brain by flushing hyperthermic blood away from the skull while simultaneously introducing a cooler arterial supply. The current study tested this hypothesis by examining how manipulations aimed at modifying carotid artery temperature, which in turn directly alters cranial temperature, influences contagious yawning in humans. Participants held either a warm (46 °C), cold (4 °C) or room temperature (22 °C) pack firmly to their neck, just over their …

Plasticity Of Mating Duration In Response To Slightly Biased Operational Sex Ratios In The Water Strider (Aquarius Remigis): The Effect Of Cohabitation Under Standard Laboratory Conditions, Andrew C. Gallup, Krista Pietruch, Omar Tonsi Eldakar

Biology Faculty Articles

In polygynandrous species, males face the trade-off between the pursuit of increased mating opportunities and securing paternity. Within such systems, males need to accurately assess the social composition of the local environment to maximize fitness. Here, we investigated this capability in the water strider (Aquarius remigis), a semi-aquatic insect known to exhibit a broad spectrum of mating behaviors and inhabit a socially diverse and changing environment. Using a combination of methodological designs to track both within- and between-subject effects, individuals remained in same-sex housing prior to being exposed to slightly biased operational sex ratios (2:1 vs. 1:2) with or without …

White Shark Genome Reveals Ancient Elasmobranch Adaptations Associated With Wound Healing And The Maintenance Of Genome Stability, Nicholas J. Marra, Michael J. Stanhope, Nathaniel K. Jue, Minghui Wang, Qi Sun, Paulina D. Pavinski Bitar, Vincent P. Richards, Aleksey S. Komissarov, Mike Rayko, Sergey Kliver, Bryce J. Stanhope, Chuck Winkler, Stephen James O'Brien, Agostinho Antunes, Salvador Jorgensen, Mahmood S. Shivji

Biology Faculty Articles

The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias; Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) is one of the most publicly recognized marine animals. Here we report the genome sequence of the white shark and comparative evolutionary genomic analyses to the chondrichthyans, whale shark (Elasmobranchii) and elephant shark (Holocephali), as well as various vertebrates. The 4.63-Gbp white shark genome contains 24,520 predicted genes, and has a repeat content of 58.5%. We provide evidence for a history of positive selection and gene-content enrichments regarding important genome stability-related genes and functional categories, particularly so for the two elasmobranchs. We hypothesize that the molecular adaptive emphasis on genome stability …

The Efficacy Of Whole Human Genome Capture On Ancient Dental Calculus And Dentin, Kirsten A. Ziesemer, Jazmin Ramos-Madrigal, Allison E. Mann, Bernd W. Brandt, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Andrew T. Ozga, Menno Hoogland, Courtney A. Hofman, Domingo C. Salazar-Garcia, Bruno Frohlich, George R. Miller, Anne C. Stone, Mark Aldenderfer, Cecil M. Lewis Jr., Corinne L. Hofman, Christina Warinner, Hannes Schroeder

Biology Faculty Articles

Objectives

Dental calculus is among the richest known sources of ancient DNA in the archaeological record. Although most DNA within calculus is microbial, it has been shown to contain sufficient human DNA for the targeted retrieval of whole mitochondrial genomes. Here, we explore whether calculus is also a viable substrate for whole human genome recovery using targeted enrichment techniques.

Materials and methods

Total DNA extracted from 24 paired archaeological human dentin and calculus samples was subjected to whole human genome enrichment using in‐solution hybridization capture and high‐throughput sequencing.

Results

Total DNA from calculus exceeded that of dentin in all cases, …

Depth-Dependent Environmental Drivers Of Microbial Plankton Community Structure In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Cole Easson, Jose Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is a dynamic marine ecosystem influenced by multiple natural and anthropogenic processes and inputs, such as the intrusion of warm oligotrophic water via the Loop Current, freshwater and nutrient input by the Mississippi River, and hydrocarbon inputs via natural seeps and industrial spills. Microbial plankton communities are important to pelagic food webs including in the GoM but understanding the drivers of the natural dynamics of these passively distributed microorganisms can be challenging in such a large and heterogeneous system. As part of the DEEPEND consortium, we applied high throughput 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate the …