Digital Commons Network^™

Alu Recombination-Mediated Structural Deletions In The Chimpanzee Genome, Kyudong Han, Jungnam Lee, Thomas J. Meyer, Jianxin Wang, Shurjo K. Sen, Deepa Srikanta, Ping Liang, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

With more than 1.2 million copies, Alu elements are one of the most important sources of structural variation in primate genomes. Here, we compare the chimpanzee and human genomes to determine the extent of Alu recombination-mediated deletion (ARMD) in the chimpanzee genome since the divergence of the chimpanzee and human lineages (∼6 million y ago). Combining computational data analysis and experimental verification, we have identified 663 chimpanzee lineage-specific deletions (involving a total of ∼771 kb of genomic sequence) attributable to this process. The ARMD events essentially counteract the genomic expansion caused by chimpanzee-specific Alu inserts. The RefSeq databases indicate that …

Effect Of An Herbal Extract Number Ten (Nt) On Body Weight In Rats, David A. York, Sonyja Thomas, Frank L. Greenway, Zhijun Liu, Jennifer C. Rood

Faculty Publications

Background: Chinese herbal extract Number Ten (NT) is a dietary herbal formulation prepared from rhubarb, ginger, astragalus, red sage and tumeric. This study tested the effectiveness of NT in reducing body weight gain in rats. Methods: Sixty female Wistar rats were fed a high fat diet and acclimated to gavage feeding. The rats were divided into five treatment groups: (1) Control (n = 15); (2) NT-H (n = 15), 1.5 g/day; (3) NT-L (n = 10), 0.75 g/day; (4) Pr-fed (n = 10), pair fed to NT-H; (5) d-FF (n = 10), d-fenfluramine 2 mg/kg. Ten rats per group were …

Spiroplasma Spp. From Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Brains Or Ticks Induce Spongiform Encephalopathy In Ruminants, Frank O. Bastian, Dearl E. Sanders, Will A. Forbes, Sue D. Hagius, Joel V. Walker, William G. Henk, Fred M. Enright, Philip H. Elzer

Faculty Publications

Spiroplasma, small motile wall-less bacteria, are linked by molecular and serological studies to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. In this study, two experiments were undertaken to determine the role of spiroplasma in the pathogenesis of TSE. In experiment 1, Spiroplasma mirum, a rabbit tick isolate that had previously been shown to experimentally induce spongiform encephalopathy in rodents, was inoculated intracranially (IC) into ruminants. S. mirum-inoculated deer manifested clinical signs of TSE after 1.5 to 5.5 months incubation. The deer, as well as sheep and …

Spiroplasma Spp. From Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Brains Or Ticks Induce Spongiform Encephalopathy In Ruminants, Frank O. Bastian, Dearl E. Sanders, Will A. Forbes, Sue D. Hagius, Joel V. Walker, William G. Henk, Fred M. Enright, Philip H. Elzer

Faculty Publications

Spiroplasma, small motile wall-less bacteria, are linked by molecular and serological studies to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. In this study, two experiments were undertaken to determine the role of spiroplasma in the pathogenesis of TSE. In experiment 1, Spiroplasma mirum, a rabbit tick isolate that had previously been shown to experimentally induce spongiform encephalopathy in rodents, was inoculated intracranially (IC) into ruminants. S. mirum-inoculated deer manifested clinical signs of TSE after 1.5 to 5.5 months incubation. The deer, as well as sheep and …

Comparative Microbiota Of Rickettsia Felis-Uninfected And -Infected Colonized Cat Fleas, Ctenocephalides Felis, Walairat Pornwiroon, Michael T. Kearney, Claudia Husseneder, Lane D. Foil, Kevin R. Macaluso

Faculty Publications

Fleas serve as arthropod vectors for several emerging and re-emerging infectious disease causing agents including, Rickettsia felis. Although the prevalence of R. felis infection in colonies of fleas has been examined, the influence of the R. felis infection on flea microbiota has not been investigated. We identified three colonies of cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis, with varying prevalence of R. felis infection (Louisiana State University (LSU), 93.8; Professional Laboratory and Research Services Inc. (PLRS), 16.4; Elward II (EL), 0) and subsequently utilized polymerase chain reaction amplification, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing of the 1.4-kb portions of 16S rRNA genes …

Footprints On Water: The Genetic Wake Of Dispersal Among Reefs, M. E. Hellberg

Faculty Publications

Analysis of genetic data can reveal past and ongoing demographic connections between reef populations. The history, extent, and geography of isolation and exchange help to determine which populations are evolutionarily distinct and how to manage threatened reefs. Here the genetic approaches undertaken to understand connectivity among reefs are reviewed, ranging from early allozyme studies on genetic subdivision, through the use of sequence data to infer population histories, to emerging analyses that pull the influences of the past connections away from the effects of ongoing dispersal. Critically, some of these new approaches can infer migration and isolation over recent generations, thus …

Description, Life History, And Parasitism Of A New Species Of Delphacid Planthopper (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea), James T. Cronin, Stephen W. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Delphacodes scolochloa Cronin & Wilson (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) is a newly discovered delphacid planthopper that feeds and oviposits exclusively on the stems of sprangletop, Scolochloa festucacea (Willd.) Link (Poaceae: Pooidae), in the prairie pothole region of northeastern North Dakota. D. scolochloa is bivoltine. It is also wing dimorphic, but populations are composed predominantly of flightless brachypters. Macropters incur a substantial cost in terms of reduced longevity and fecundity relative to brachypters. The parasitoid complex attacking D. scolochloa consists of two egg parasitoids, Anagrus nigriventris Girault and Anagrus columbi Perkins (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), and one undescribed dryinid. The proportion of eggs parasitized averages …

Historic And Contemporary Levels Of Genetic Variation In Two New Zealand Passerines With Different Histories Of Decline, S. S. Taylor, I. G. Jamieson, G. P. Wallis

Faculty Publications

We compared historic and contemporary genetic variation in two threatened New Zealand birds (saddlebacks and robins) with disparate bottleneck histories. Saddlebacks showed massive loss of genetic variation when extirpated from the mainland, but no significant loss of variation following a severe bottleneck in the 1960s when the last population was reduced from ∼1000 to 36 birds. Low genetic variation was probably characteristic of this isolated island population: considerably more genetic variation would exist in saddlebacks today if a mainland population had survived. In contrast to saddlebacks, contemporary robin populations showed only a small decrease in genetic variation compared with historical …

Comparative Mitochondrial Genomics Of Snakes: Extraordinary Substitution Rate Dynamics And Functionality Of The Duplicate Control Region, Zhi J. Jiang, Todd A. Castoe, Christopher C. Austin, Frank T. Burbrink, Matthew D. Herron, Jimmy A. Mcguire, Christopher L. Parkinson, David D. Pollock

Faculty Publications

Background. The mitochondrial genomes of snakes are characterized by an overall evolutionary rate that appears to be one of the most accelerated among vertebrates. They also possess other unusual features, including short tRNAs and other genes, and a duplicated control region that has been stably maintained since it originated more than 70 million years ago. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of evolutionary dynamics in snake mitochondrial genomes to better understand the basis of these extreme characteristics, and to explore the relationship between mitochondrial genome molecular evolution, genome architecture, and molecular function. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes from Slowinski's corn …

Alvin Explores The Deep Northern Gulf Of Mexico Slope, Harry Roberts, Robert Carney, Mathew Kupchik, Charles Fisher, Kim Nelson, Erin Becker, Liz Goehring, Stephanie Lessard-Pilon, Guy Telesnicki, Bernie Bernard, James Brooks, Monika Bright, Erik Cordes, Stephane Hourdez, Jesse Hunt, William Shedd, Gregory Boland, Samantha Joye, Vladimir Samarkin, Meaghan Bernier, Marshall Bowles, Ian Macdonald, Helge Niemann, Cindy Petersen, Jeremy Potter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Bathing Buds: Water Calyces Protect Flowers From A Microlepidopteran Herbivore, Jane E. Carlson, Kyle E. Harms

Faculty Publications

Protective floral structures may evolve in response to the negative effects of floral herbivores. For example, water calyces - liquid-filled, cup-like structures resulting from the fusion of sepals - may reduce floral herbivory by submerging buds during their development. Our observations of a water-calyx plant, Chrysothemis friedrichsthaliana (Gesneriaceae), revealed that buds were frequently attacked by ovipositing moths (Alucitidae), whose larvae consumed anthers and stigmas before corollas opened. Almost 25% of per-plant flower production was destroyed by alucitid larvae over two seasons, far exceeding the losses to all other floral herbivores combined. Experimental manipulation of water levels in calyces showed that …

The Katanin Microtubule Severing Protein In Plants, David H. Burk, Ruiqin Zhong, Zheng Hua Ye

Faculty Publications

Katanin is a heterodimeric microtubule (MT) severing protein that uses energy from ATP hydrolysis to generate internal breaks along MTs. Katanin p60, one of the two subunits, possesses ATPase and MT-binding/ severing activities, and the p 80 subunit is responsible for targeting of katanin to certain subcellular locations. In animals, katanin plays an important role in the release of MTs from their nucleation sites in the centrosome. It is also involved in severing MTs into smaller fragments which can serve as templates for further polymerization to increase MT number during meiotic and mitotic spindle assembly. Katanin homologs are present in …

Interventional Closure Of Postpneumonectomy Bronchial Pleural Fistula With A Self-Expandable Double Umbrella-Shaped Occluder Knitted With Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy, Jianhua Zhang, Shengshou Hu, Bingren Gao, Debin Liu, Feixue Song, Bin Li, Yongzhu Yang, Shenjun Zhu, Zhiping Wang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Seed Preferences Of Wintering Henslow's Sparrows, Jennifer K. Dimiceli, Philip C. Stouffer, Erik I. Johnson, Claudia Leonardi, Edgar B. Moser

Faculty Publications

The Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii), a species of conservation concern, winters primarily in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest ecosystems in the southeastern U.S. These pine savannas have been reduced to 5% of their former range, with remaining patches requiring active management with fire to maintain characteristic structure and plant diversity. Wintering Henslow's Sparrow abundance tracks growing-season fires; bird abundance peaks in the winter following burning, then declines in subsequent winters. Fire also determines dominant plant species, suggesting that Henslow's Sparrows may respond to abundance of preferred seeds. To determine diet preferences of Henslow's Sparrows, we tested seeds from eight species …

Development Of A Simplified And Standardized Protocol With Potential For High-Throughput For Sperm Cryopreservation In Zebrafish Danio Rerio, Huiping Yang, Carrie Carmichael, Zoltan M. Varga, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Sperm cryopreservation offers potential for long-term storage of genetic resources. However, the current protocols for zebrafish Danio rerio are cumbersome and poorly reproducible. Our objective was to facilitate adoption of cryopreservation by streamlining methods from sperm collection through thawing and use. First, sperm activation was evaluated, and motility was completely inhibited when osmolality of the extender was ≥295-300 mOsmol/kg. To evaluate cryoprotectant toxicity, sperm were incubated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N,N-dimethyl acetamide (DMA), methanol, or glycerol at 5, 10, and 15% concentrations. Based on motility, DMSO, DMA, and methanol (≤10%) were less toxic; therefore, sperm were cryopreserved using these cryoprotectants …

Unidirectional Na+ And Ca2+ Fluxes In Two Euryhaline Teleost Fishes, Fundulus Heteroclitus And Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Acutely Submitted To A Progressive Salinity Increase, Viviane Prodocimo, Fernando Galvez, Carolina A. Freire, Chris M. Wood

Faculty Publications

Na+ and Ca2+ regulation were compared in two euryhaline species, killifish (normally estuarine-resident) and rainbow trout (normally freshwater-resident) during an incremental salinity increase. Whole-body unidirectional fluxes of Na+ and Ca2+, whole body Na+ and Ca2+, and plasma concentrations (trout only), were measured over 1-h periods throughout a total 6-h protocol of increasing salinity meant to simulate a natural tidal flow. Killifish exhibited significant increases in both Na+ influx and efflux rates, with efflux slightly lagging behind efflux up to 60% SW, but net Na+ balance was restored by the time killifish reached 100% SW. Whole body Na+ did not change, …

Energizing An Invertebrate Embryo: Bafilomycin-Dependent Respiration And The Metabolic Cost Of Proton Pumping By The V-Atpase, Joseph A. Covi, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

We examine herein the contribution of V-ATPase activity to the energy budget of aerobically developing embryos of Artemia franciscana and discuss the results in the context of quiescence under anoxia. 31P-NMR analysis indicates that intracellular pH and NTP levels are unaffected by acute incubation of dechorionated embryos with the V-ATPase inhibitor, bafilomycin A1. Bafilomycin A1 also has no significant effect on oxygen consumption by isolated mitochondria. Taken together, these data indicate that bafilomycin does not affect energy-producing pathways in the developing embryo. However, the V-ATPase inhibitor exhibits a concentration-dependent inhibition of oxygen consumption in aerobic embryos. A conservative analysis of …

Sines, Evolution And Genome Structure In The Opossum, Wanjun Gu, David A. Ray, Jerilyn A. Walker, Erin W. Barnes, Andrew J. Gentles, Paul B. Samollow, Jerzy Jurka, Mark A. Batzer, David D. Pollock

Faculty Publications

Short INterspersed Elements (SINEs) are non-autonomous retrotransposons, usually between 100 and 500 base pairs (bp) in length, which are ubiquitous components of eukaryotic genomes. Their activity, distribution, and evolution can be highly informative on genomic structure and evolutionary processes. To determine recent activity, we amplified more than one hundred SINE1 loci in a panel of 43 M. domestica individuals derived from five diverse geographic locations. The SINE1 family has expanded recently enough that many loci were polymorphic, and the SINE1 insertion-based genetic distances among populations reflected geographic distance. Genome-wide comparisons of SINE1 densities and GC content revealed that high SINE1 …

Louisiana Agriculture Summer, 2007, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Genomic Organization And Imprinting Of The Peg3 Domain In Bovine, Joomyeong Kim, Anne Bergmann, Jung Ha Choo, Lisa Stubbs

Faculty Publications

Using multiple mammalian genomic sequences, we have analyzed the evolution and imprinting of several genes located in the Peg3 domain, including Mim1 (approved name, Mimt1), Usp29, Zim3, and Zfp264. A series of comparative analyses shows that the overall genomic structure of this 500-kb imprinted domain has been well maintained throughout mammalian evolution but that several lineage-specific changes have also occurred in each species. In the bovine domain, Usp29 has lost its protein-coding capability, Zim3 has been duplicated, and the expression of Zfp264 has become biallelic in brain and testis, which differs from paternal expression of mouse Zfp264 in brain. In …

Population Spread Of The Introduced Red Imported Fire Ant Parasitoid, Pseudacteon Tricuspis Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), In Louisiana, D. C. Henne, S. J. Johnson, J. T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

Predicting the spread of introduced species, such as natural enemies used in classical biological control programs, requires quantitative data on the rates of spread. Here, the pattern of spread of Pseudacteon tricuspis Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), a parasitoid of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren; Hymenoptera: Formicidae), was monitored at two widely separated release sites in Louisiana, USA. At both sites, P. tricuspis range expansion (measured as the mean radius of the range from four cardinal directions) was accelerating during the first four years post-release. This pattern contrasts with a linear pattern expected with simple diffusion. This suggests that …

Characterization Of Beaf Mutations Isolated By Homologous Recombination In Drosophila, Swarnava Roy, Matthew K. Gilbert, Craig M. Hart

Faculty Publications

The Drosophila BEAF-32A and BEAF-32B proteins bind to the scs′ insulator and to hundreds of other sites on Drosophila chromosomes. These two proteins are encoded by the same gene. We used ends-in homologous recombination to generate the null BEAFAB-KO allele and also isolated the BEAF A-KO allele that eliminates production of only the BEAF-32A protein. We find that the BEAF proteins together are essential, but BEAF-32B alone is sufficient to obtain viable flies. Our results show that BEAF is important for both oogenesis and development. Maternal or zygotic BEAF is sufficient to obtain adults, although having only maternal BEAF impairs …

Civil War Treasures: Facing The Enemyplanter's Diary Outlines Daily Struggle With Occupation, Leah W. Wood

Civil War Book Review

Collection: John C. Elder diary, Mss. 4353, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La. Size: 1 item.

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Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections

LSU Libraries' Special Collections

Molecular Phylogeny Of The Scincid Lizards Of New Caledonia And Adjacent Areas: Evidence For A Single Origin Of The Endemic Skinks Of Tasmantis, Sarah A. Smith, Ross A. Sadlier, Aaron M. Bauer, Christopher C. Austin, Todd Jackman

Faculty Publications

We use ∼1900 bp of mitochondrial (ND2) and nuclear (c-mos and Rag-1) DNA sequence data to recover phylogenetic relationships among 58 species and 26 genera of Eugongylus group scincid lizards from New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea. Taxon sampling for New Caledonian forms was nearly complete. We find that the endemic skink genera occurring on New Caledonia, New Zealand and Lord Howe Island, which make up the Gondwanan continental block Tasmantis, form a monophyletic group. Within this group New Zealand and New Zealand + Lord Howe Island form monophyletic clades. These clades are nested within …

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone And Receptor Distributions In The Visual Processing Regions Of Four Coral Reef Fishes, Karen P. Maruska, Timothy C. Tricas

Faculty Publications

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is widely distributed in the brain of fishes where it may function as a neuromodulator of sensory processing and behavior. Immunocytochemical and neuronal label experiments were conducted on species from four families of coral reef fishes (Chaetodontidae, butterflyfish; Pomacentridae, damselfish; Gobiidae, goby; and Labridae, wrasse) to assess conservation of GnRH targets in the visual processing retina and brain. In all species, GnRH-immunoreactive (-ir) axons from the terminal nerve project principally to the boundary between the inner plexiform (IPL) and inner nuclear (INL) layers of the retina, and are less prominent in the optic nerve, ganglion cell, IPL …

Applications Of Chitosan For Improvement Of Quality And Shelf Life Of Foods: A Review, H. K. No, S. P. Meyers, W. Prinyawiwatkul, Z. Xu

Faculty Publications

Chitosan is a modified, natural biopolymer derived by deacetylation of chitin, a major component of the shells of crustacean. Recently, chitosan has received increased attention for its commercial applications in the biomedical, food, and chemical industries. Use of chitosan in food industry is readily seen due to its several distinctive biological activities and functional properties. The antimicrobial activity and film-forming property of chitosan make it a potential source of food preservative or coating material of natural origin. This review focuses on the applications of chitosan for improvement of quality and shelf life of various foods from agriculture, poultry, and seafood …

Rnai Knockdown Of Nopp140 Induces Minute-Like Phenotypes In Drosophila, Zhengfang Cui, Patrick J. Dimario

Faculty Publications

Nopp140 associates with small nucleolar RNPs to chaperone pre-rRNA processing and ribosome assembly. Alternative splicing yields two isoforms in Drosophila: Nopp140-True is homologous to vertebrate Nopp140 particularly in its carboxy terminus, whereas Nopp140-RGG contains a glycine and arginine-rich (RGG) carboxy terminus typically found in vertebrate nucleolin. Loss of ribosome function or production at critical points in development leads to Minute phenotypes in Drosophila or the Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) in humans. To ascertain the functional significance of Nopp140 in Drosophila development, we expressed interfering RNA using the GAL4/UAS system. Reverse transcription-PCR showed variable losses of Nopp140 mRNA in larvae from …

Genome Of The Marsupial Monodelphis Domestica Reveals Innovation In Non-Coding Sequences, Tarjei S. Mikkelsen, Matthew J. Wakefield, Bronwen Aken, Chris T. Amemiya, Jean L. Chang, Shannon Duke, Manuel Garber, Andrew J. Gentles, Leo Goodstadt, Andreas Heger, Jerzy Jurka, Michael Kamal, Evan Mauceli, Stephen M.J. Searle, Ted Sharpe, Michelle L. Baker, Mark A. Batzer, Panayiotis V. Benos, Katherine Belov, Michele Clamp, April Cook, James Cuff, Radhika Das, Lance Davidow, Janine E. Deakin, Melissa J. Fazzari, Jacob L. Glass, Manfred Grabherr, John M. Greally, Wanjun Gu, Timothy A. Hore, Gavin A. Huttley, Michael Kleber, Randy L. Jirtle

Faculty Publications

We report a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of the grey, short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). As the first metatherian ('marsupial') species to be sequenced, the opossum provides a unique perspective on the organization and evolution of mammalian genomes. Distinctive features of the opossum chromosomes provide support for recent theories about genome evolution and function, including a strong influence of biased gene conversion on nucleotide sequence composition, and a relationship between chromosomal characteristics and X chromosome inactivation. Comparison of opossum and eutherian genomes also reveals a sharp difference in evolutionary innovation between protein-coding and non-coding functional elements. True innovation in …

Disambiguation Of Overlapping Experiences By Neurons In The Medial Entorhinal Cortex., Lipton Pa, White Ja, Eichenbaum H

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Retroposition And Evolution Of The Dna-Binding Motifs Of Yy1, Yy2 And Rex1, Jeong Do Kim, Christopher Faulk, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

YY1 is a DNA-binding transcription factor found in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Database searches identified 62 YY1 related sequences from all the available genome sequences ranging from flying insects to human. These sequences are characterized by high levels of sequence conservation, ranging from 66% to 100% similarity, in the zinc finger DNA-binding domain of the predicted proteins. Phylogenetic analyses uncovered duplication events of YY1 in several different lineages, including flies, fish and mammals. Retroposition is responsible for generating one duplicate in flies, PHOL from PHO, and two duplicates in placental mammals, YY2 and Reduced Expression 1 (REX1) from YY1. DNA-binding …