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Challenges And Opportunities In The Culture Of Giant Freshwater Prawn In The Philippines, Janice A. Ragaza

Biology Faculty Publications

Amid the irremediable decline of capture fisheries, the Philippine government has identified aquaculture as a sector that will ensure food security and generate new job opportunities geared toward the country’s goal of economic development (Nagothu and Ortiz 2007). Aquaculture of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Fig. 1) is an emerging program that is intended to expand and vary the aquatic species used in freshwater aquaculture, which is still predominantly based on tilapia (Rosario and Tayamen 2004). Attractive characteristics of freshwater prawn culture include ease of breeding, high hatching rate, superior quality of meat and high market value (Keysami and Mohammadpour …

Combined Effects Of Pesticides And Trematode Infections On Hourglass Tree Frog Polypedates Cruciger., Uthpala A. Jayawardena, Jason R. Rohr, Ayanthi N. Navaratne, Priyanie H. Amerasinghe, Rupika S. Rajakaruna

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

The impact of widespread and common environmental factors, such as chemical contaminants, on infectious disease risk in amphibians is particularly important because both chemical contaminants and infectious disease have been implicated in worldwide amphibian declines. Here we report on the lone and combined effects of exposure to parasitic cercariae (larval stage) of the digenetic trematode, Acanthostomum burminis, and four commonly used pesticides (insecticides: chlorpyrifos, dimethoate; herbicides: glyphosate, propanil) at ecologically relevant concentrations on the survival, growth, and development of the common hourglass tree frog, Polypedates cruciger Blyth 1852. There was no evidence of any pesticide-induced mortality on cercariae because all …

Costs Of Resistance And Infection By A Generalist Pathogen, Tad Dallas, Mathieu Holtackers, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Pathogen infection is typically costly to hosts, resulting in reduced fitness. However, pathogen exposure may also come at a cost even if the host does not become infected. These fitness reductions, referred to as “resistance costs”, are inducible physiological costs expressed as a result of a trade-off between resistance to a pathogen and aspects of host fitness (e.g., reproduction). Here, we examine resistance and infection costs of a generalist fungal pathogen (Metschnikowia bicuspidata) capable of infecting a number of host species. Costs were quantified as reductions in host lifespan, total reproduction, and mean clutch size as a function …

Art Influences Hiv Persistence In The Female Reproductive Tract And Cervicovaginal Secretions, Rikke Olesen, Michael D. Swanson, Martina Kovarova, Tomonori Nochi, Morgan Chateau, Jenna B. Honeycutt, Julie M. Long, Paul W. Denton, Michael G. Hudgens, Amy Richardson, Martin Tolstrup, Lars Østergaard, Angela Wahl, J. Victor Garcia

Biology Faculty Publications

The recently completed HIV prevention trials network study 052 is a landmark collaboration demonstrating that HIV transmission in discordant couples can be dramatically reduced by treating the infected individual with antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the cellular and virological events that occur in the female reproductive tract (FRT) during ART that result in such a drastic decrease in transmission were not studied and remain unknown. Here, we implemented an in vivo model of ART in BM/liver/thymus (BLT) humanized mice in order to better understand the ability of ART to prevent secondary HIV transmission. We demonstrated that the entire FRT of BLT …

Comparing Apples And Oranges?: Next Generation Sequencing And Its Impact On Microbiome Analysis, Adam G. Clooney, Fiona Fouhy, Roy D. Sleator, Aisling O'Driscoll, Stanton Catherine, Paul D. Cotter, Marcus J. Claesson

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Rapid advancements in sequencing technologies along with falling costs present widespread opportunities for microbiome studies across a vast and diverse array of environments. These impressive technological developments have been accompanied by a considerable growth in the number of methodological variables, including sampling, storage, DNA extraction, primer pairs, sequencing technology, chemistry version, read length, insert size, and analysis pipelines, amongst others. This increase in variability threatens to compromise both the reproducibility and the comparability of studies conducted. Here we perform the first reported study comparing both amplicon and shotgun sequencing for the three leading next-generation sequencing technologies. These were applied to …

Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

An operators’ guide to the management arrangements 1 September 2015 – 31 August 2016.

Identification Of Novel Cyclic Lipopeptides From A Positional Scanning Combinatorial Library With Enhanced Antibacterial And Antibiofilm Activities, Nina Bionda, Renee M. Fleeman, César De La Fuente-Núñez, Maria C. Rodriguez, Fany Reffuveille, Lindsey N. Shaw, Irena Pastar, Stephen C Davis, Robert E W Hancock, Predrag Cudic

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Treating bacterial infections can be difficult due to innate or acquired resistance mechanisms, and the formation of biofilms. Cyclic lipopeptides derived from fusaricidin/LI-F natural products represent particularly attractive candidates for the development of new antibacterial and antibiofilm agents, with the potential to meet the challenge of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. A positional-scanning combinatorial approach was used to identify the amino acid residues responsible for driving antibacterial activity, and increase the potency of these cyclic lipopeptides. Screening against the antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogens revealed the importance of hydrophobic as well as positively charged amino acid residues for activity of this class …

The Effect Of In Vitro Cultivation On The Transcriptome Of Adult Brugia Malayi, Cristina Ballesteros, Lucienne Tritten, Maeghan O'Neill, Erica Burkman, Weam I. Zaky, Jianguo Xia, Andrew Moorhead, Steven A. Williams, Timothy G. Geary

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Filarial nematodes cause serious and debilitating infections in human populations of tropical countries, contributing to an entrenched cycle of poverty. Only one human filarial parasite, Brugia malayi, can be maintained in rodents in the laboratory setting. It has been a widely used model organism in experiments that employ culture systems, the impact of which on the worms is unknown.

The Effect Of In Vitro Cultivation On The Transcriptome Of Adult Brugia Malayi, Cristina Ballesteros, Lucienne Tritten, Maeghan O’Neill, Erica Burkman, Weam I. Zaky, Jianguo Xia, Andrew Moorhead, Steven A. Williams, Timothy G. Geary

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Infections with filarial worms cause serious physical impairment and affect tens of millions of people in tropical and subtropical countries. To better understand the biology and phar- macology of these parasites, Brugia malayi is often used as a model. This parasite can be maintained in the laboratory in Mongolian jirds, enabling researchers to test drugs in vivoand in vitro, among other studies. The effects of removing worms from their hosts and cul- turing them may affect many aspects of their physiology, including response to drugs, but the extent to which the worms undergo changes during culture has remained unknown. Using …

Evidence Of In Vivo Existence Of Borrelia Biofilm In Borrelial Lymphocytomas, Eva Sapi, Kunthavai Balasubramanian, Akhila Poruri, Jasmin S. Maghsoudlou, Kayla Socarras, Venkata Arun Timmaraju, Katherine Filush, Khusali Gupta, Shafiq Shaikh, Priyanka A.S. Theophilus, David F. Luecke, A. Macdonald, Bettina Zelger

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Lyme borreliosis, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, has grown into a major public health problem. We recently identified a novel morphological form of B. burgdorferi, called biofilm, a structure that is well known to be highly resistant to antibiotics. However, there is no evidence of the existence of Borrelia biofilm in vivo; therefore, the main goal of this study was to determine the presence of Borrelia biofilm in infected human skin tissues. Archived skin biopsy tissues from borrelial lymphocytomas (BL) were reexamined for the presence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato using Borrelia-specific immunohistochemical staining (IHC), fluorescent in …

Changes In The Levels Of Liver Hsp70, Plasma Nitric Oxide, And The Antioxidative System In An Experimentally Induced Endotoxemia Mouse Model And The Role Of Reduced Glutathione, Temel İlgün, Kezban Yildiz Dalginli, Canan Gülmez, Onur Ataki̇şi̇

Turkish Journal of Biology

Endotoxin molecules in lipopolysaccharides are among most important molecules that initiate a cascade of events in sepsis/endotoxemia. Lipopolysaccharide exposure may result in strong immune responses, disrupt the intracellular oxidant/antioxidant balance, and cause excessive reactive oxygen species generation. The purpose of the study was to examine if reduced glutathione (GSH) has a protective role against lipopolysaccharides. The effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or GSH alone or in combination on the levels of the plasma antioxidant system, NO, and liver HSP70 were investigated. A total of 100 Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups as Group I (control), Group II (20 μg/kg …

A New Reliable And Sensitive Nested Pcr Assay Based On The Human Sry Gene For Detection Of Interspecific Chimeras, Jie Yu, Kaijing Li, Main Huang, Liping Guan, Min Zhang, Weihua Li, Jianfa Huang, Ting Luo, Wencong Wang, Bikun Xian, Xing Liu, Bing Huang

Turkish Journal of Biology

Although interspecific chimeras can be identified using laborious techniques, more accurate and rapid detectable methods need to be established. The present study develops a nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assay to detect human-mouse chimeras. A set of previously validated outer primers, specific to the human SRY gene, was used for conventional one-step PCR, while the inner primers for nPCR were designed. The specificities of PCR and nPCR assays were examined; both primer sets yielded PCR amplification products from male human epidermis-derived mesenchymal stem cell-like pluripotent cell DNA but no amplification products from negative control DNA. The sensitivity of this nPCR …

Genotoxic Potential Of Cynanchum Sarcomedium Meve & Liede Coupled With Its Modulatory Action On Oxidative-Stress?Mediatedgenotoxicity By Hydrogen Peroxideneethu Kannan Bhagyanathan*, John Ernest Thoppilcell And Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department Of Botany, University Of Calicut, Kerala, India, Neethu Kannan Bhagyanathan, John Ernest Thoppil

Turkish Journal of Biology

The present study evaluated the genotoxic effect of aqueous extract of C. sarcomedium Meve and Liede and its protective role in chromosomal aberrations induced by 2% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on Allium cepa root meristem. Our results showed that the C. sarcomedium extract induced major chromosomal aberrations, viz., nuclear lesions, chromosome breaks, chromosome laggards, vagrance, stickiness, and bridges. These are irreversible in nature and indicate that the plant is a potent clastogen. Total chromosome aberrations were more frequent with increase in exposure time and concentrations of plant extract. For antigenotoxic screening, three different modes of treatment were used: pretreatment, posttreatment, and …

Sex-Bias In Lupus-Prone (Nzbxnzw)F1 Mice: The Interplay Of Gr1+Cd11b+ Cells, Testosterone And Genetics, Abhishek Trigunaite

ETD Archive

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic systemic autoimmune disorder predominantly (9:1) targeting females. Currently, there is no cure for SLE and also there is a lack of disease predicting biomarkers. The major aim of my research is to determine the cellular basis of the sex bias in SLE and subsequently facilitate the development of better therapeutics and biomarkers for the disease. In (NZBxNZW) F1 mice a similar female bias is observed as in humans and testosterone is shown to be protective against lupus-like disease development, but the mechanism is not well understood.

We found higher levels of Gr1hiCD11b+ myeloid …

Use Of A Mouse Model To Evaluate The Effect Of Statins On The Immune Response To An Influenza Virus Vaccine, Calvin Olsen, Bart Tarbet

Biology Posters

Statins are cholesterol lowering drugs that have shown a profound effect on human health by reducing cardiovascular disease. However, two recent publications in the Journal of Infectious Diseases showed that statin use had a negative impact on the influenza vaccine response in elderly individuals [1, 2]. We propose to evaluate the immune response following vaccination in mice undergoing statin treatment. An initial study will determine the therapeutic window for statin treatment of mice fed a lipid-enriched diet. From the literature this window is expected to be between 21-28 days. That therapeutic window will be used for evaluation of the immune …

Jet Lag And The Biological Clock, Shayna Melool

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Jet lag is a resulting disorder of flight travel across several time zones. Circadian rhythms, the approximately 24 hour system that our bodies follow, become distorted following such a trip, as the body’s internal biological clock has not yet caught up to the current local time zone. Time cues and other external factors are necessary to adjust the clocks and reverse the negative effects of jet lag.

Suppression Of Pulmonary Innate Immunity By Pneumoviruses, Jayeeta Dhar

ETD Archive

Pneumonia Virus of Mice (PVM) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are negative sense, single-stranded, enveloped RNA viruses from Pneumovirus genus, Paramyxoviridae family. RSV is the leading cause of respiratory diseases in infants. PVM causes similar respiratory illness in mice. PVM is used as an animal model to study RSV pathogenesis because of its similarity with RSV infection. Viral infection induces type I interferon (IFN) response as an antiviral strategy. PVM and RSV both have two non-structural (NS) proteins that are known to be IFN antagonists. While RSV can target different signaling components of IFN pathway, the mechanism of IFN suppression …

Effects Of Nutrient Supplementation On Host-Pathogen Dynamics Of The Amphibian Chytrid Fungus: A Community Approach, Julia C. Buck, Jason R. Rohr, Andrew R. Blaustein

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

1. Anthropogenic stressors may influence hosts and their pathogens directly or may alter host–pathogen dynamics indirectly through interactions with other species. For example, in aquatic ecosystems, eutrophication may be associated with increased or decreased disease risk. Conversely, pathogens can influence community structure and function and are increasingly recognised as important members of the ecological communities in which they exist.
2. In outdoor mesocosms, we experimentally manipulated nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and the presence of a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and examined the effects on Bd abundance on larval amphibian hosts (Pseudacris regilla: Hylidae), amphibian traits and community dynamics. We …

Spatial Spread Of The West Africa Ebola Epidemic, Andrew M. Kramer, J. Tomlin Pulliam, Laura W. Alexander, Andrew W. Park, Pejman Rohani, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Controlling Ebola outbreaks and planning an effective response to future emerging diseases are enhanced by understanding the role of geography in transmission. Here we show how epidemic expansion may be predicted by evaluating the relative probability of alternative epidemic paths. We compared multiple candidate models to characterize the spatial network over which the 2013–2015 West Africa epidemic of Ebola virus spread and estimate the effects of geographical covariates on transmission during peak spread. The best model was a generalized gravity model where the probability of transmission between locations depended on distance, population density and international border closures between Guinea, Liberia …

The Contribution Of Marine Aggregate-Associated Bacteria To The Accumulation Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Oysters: An Agent-Based Model, Andrew M. Kramer, J. Evan Ward, Fred C. Dobbs, Melissa L. Pierce, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Bivalves process large volumes of water, leading to their accumulation of bacteria, including potential human pathogens (e.g., vibrios). These bacteria are captured at low efficiencies when freely suspended in the water column, but they also attach to marine aggregates, which are captured with near 100% efficiency. For this reason, and because they are often enriched with heterotrophic bacteria, marine aggregates have been hypothesized to function as important transporters of bacteria into bivalves. The relative contribution of aggregates and unattached bacteria to the accumulation of these cells, however, is unknown. We developed an agent-based model to simulate accumulation of vibrio-type bacteria …

Stains Induce Apoptosis And Autophagy In Primary And Transformed Mast Cells, Patrick A. Paez

Theses and Dissertations

Statin drugs are widely employed in the clinic to reduce serum low density lipoproteins (LDLs) in patients with hypocholesteremia. In addition to their cholesterol-lowering effects through HMG CoA reductase antagonism, isoprenyl lipids necessary for membrane anchorage and signaling of small G-proteins are abrogated. We previously found that statins suppress mast cell activation in murine and human cells, suggesting these drugs might be useful in treating allergic disease. While mast cell function is critical to allergic inflammation, mast cell hyperplasia and survival also impact these diseases, and were not studied in our previous work. In this study, we describe Fluvastatin-mediated apoptosis …

The Role Of Calcium In Pathogen Defense Responses In The Moss Mnium Cuspidatum, Morgan Blake

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

When exposed to stress, whether that be by pathogen, thermal or weather changes, or other components of the environment, plants employ a variety of defense mechanisms depending on the severity of the stress. When attacked by a pathogen, the moss Mnium cuspidatum utilizes an innate, basal response followed by hypersensitive response (HR) and systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Calcium is known to be involved in signaling cascades that mediate defense responses in other organisms. In the present study, lanthanum nitrate (LaNO3), methoxyerapamil (D600), and ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) were used to inhibit the presence of calcium in M. cuspidatum in …

Tick-, Mosquito-, And Rodent-Borne Parasite Sampling Designs For The National Ecological Observatory Network, Yuri P. Springer, David Hoekman, Pieter T. J. Johnson, Paul A. Duffy, Rebecca A. Hufft, David T. Barnett, Brian F. Allan, Brian R. Amman, Christopher M. Barker, Steven A. Juliano

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Parasites and pathogens are increasingly recognized as significant drivers of ecological and evolutionary change in natural ecosystems. Concurrently, transmission of infectious agents among human, livestock, and wildlife populations represents a growing threat to veterinary and human health. In light of these trends and the scarcity of long-term time series data on infection rates among vectors and reservoirs, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will collect measurements and samples of a suite of tick-, mosquito-, and rodent-borne parasites through a continental-scale surveillance program. Here, we describe the sampling designs for these efforts, highlighting sampling priorities, field and analytical methods, and the …

Broad Activation Of Latent Hiv-1 In Vivo, Kirston Barton, Bonnie Hiener, Anni Winckelmann, Thomas Aagaard Rasmussen, Wei Shao, Karen Byth, Robert Lanfear, Ajantha Solomon, James Mcmahon, Sean Harrington, Maria Buzon, Mathias Lichterfeld, Paul W. Denton, Rikke Olesen, Lars Østergaard, Martin Tolstrup, Sharon R. Lewin, Ole Schmeltz Søgaard, Sarah Palmer

Biology Faculty Publications

The ‘shock and kill’ approach to cure human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) includes transcriptional induction of latent HIV-1 proviruses using latency-reversing agents (LRAs) with targeted immunotherapy to purge infected cells. The administration of LRAs (panobinostat or vorinostat) to HIV-1-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy induces a significant increase in cell-associated unspliced (CA-US) HIV-1 RNA from CD4+ T cells. However, it is important to discern whether the increases in CA-US HIV-1 RNA are due to limited or broad activation of HIV-1 proviruses. Here we use single-genome sequencing to find that the RNA transcripts observed following LRA administration are genetically diverse, indicating activation of …

Using Animal Models To Overcome Temporal, Spatial And Combinatorial Challenges In Hiv Persistence Research, Paul W. Denton, Ole S. Søgaard, Martin Tolstrup

Biology Faculty Publications

Research challenges associated with understanding HIV persistence during antiretroviral therapy can be categorized as temporal, spatial and combinatorial. Temporal research challenges relate to the timing of events during establishment and maintenance of HIV persistence. Spatial research challenges regard the anatomical locations and cell subsets that harbor persistent HIV. Combinatorial research challenges pertain to the order of administration, timing of administration and specific combinations of compounds to be administered during HIV eradication therapy. Overcoming these challenges will improve our understanding of HIV persistence and move the field closer to achieving eradication of persistent HIV. Given that humanized mice and non-human primate …

3: "The Current Extinction: Defaunation & Ecosystem Disruption", Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Crystal Randall

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

Information taken from: Dirzo, R. et al (2014). Defaunation in the Anthropocene. Science, 345(401).

Scientists estimate, conservatively, that there are 5 to 9 million different animal species on the planet. But that number is continually changing, and unfortunately, dropping, as we are likely losing 11,000- 58,000 species annually, and evidence suggests that on average, there has been a decline of about 28% in terms of numbers of individuals within a species over the last four decades. Both of these statistics are vitally important. The critical nature of the first is perhaps more obvious, as total loss of a species is …

Full Issue: Volume 9, Number 2

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

No abstract provided.

Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss, Andrew B. Nuss, Jason M. Meyer, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe, Robert M. Waterhouse, David B. Sattelle, Jose De La Fuente, Jose M. Ribeiro, Karine Megy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing ~57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, cuticle …

Invasion Of Two Tick-Borne Diseases Across New England: Harnessing Human Surveillance Data To Capture Underlying Ecological Invasion Processes, Katharine S. Walter, Kim M. Pepin, Colleen T. Webb, Holly D. Gaff, Peter J. Krause, Virginia E. Pitzer, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Modelling the spatial spread of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens maintained in enzootic transmission cycles remains a major challenge. The best available spatio-temporal data on pathogen spread often take the form of human disease surveillance data. By applying a classic ecological approach-occupancy modelling-to an epidemiological question of disease spread, we used surveillance data to examine the latent ecological invasion of tick-borne pathogens. Over the last half-century, previously undescribed tick-borne pathogens including the agents of Lyme disease and human babesiosis have rapidly spread across the northeast United States. Despite their epidemiological importance, the mechanisms of tick-borne pathogen invasion and drivers underlying the distinct …

Assessment Of Staphylococcus Aureus Genetics: Clinical Versus Community Epidemiology, Matthew Lawrance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus has an historical relationship with anthropogenic environments, particularly hospitals, where infection characteristics differ from community-acquired disease. This has promoted a designation of strains as healthcare or community associated. Despite this affiliation, genetic approaches have failed to support these groupings. In order to establish the genetic relationship between S. aureus from differing anthropogenic environments, I have analyzed the relatedness between three cohorts of S. aureus: nasal carriage isolates from community participants, infectious isolates from hospitals, and a cohort from an uninvestigated environment, an ambulatory clinic. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Staphylococcus aureus protein a (spa) repeat regions were analyzed …