Digital Commons Network^™

Louisiana Agriculture Spring, 2006, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Osmotic Immobilization On Refrigerated Storage And Cryopreservation Of Sperm From A Viviparous Fish, The Green Swordtail Xiphophorus Helleri, Huiping Yang, Leona Hazlewood, Ronald B. Walter, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

In this study, refrigerated storage and cryopreservation of sperm from the green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri were investigated. Previous cryopreservation research in this species utilized motile sperm because unlike in most fish species, Xiphophorus sperm can remain continuously motile after collection for a week with refrigerated storage. However, this species reproduces by internal fertilization, and given the significant requirements for motility within the female reproductive tract and potential limitations on sperm energetic capacities, immobilization of sperm prior to insemination could be used to improve fertilization success. Thus, the goal in this study was to use osmotic pressure to inhibit the motility …

Peptide Yy And Proglucagon Mrna Expression Patterns And Regulation In The Gut, Jun Zhou, Maren Hegsted, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Michael J. Keenan, Aochun Xi, Anne M. Raggio, Roy J. Martin

Faculty Publications

Objective: Peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 are important in the control of energy homeostasis and are both secreted from the gut in response to ingested nutrients. However, more studies are needed on nutrient regulation of their gene expression patterns in specific areas of the gut. This study detailed PYY and proglucagon (the gene that encodes glucagon-like peptide-1) gene expression patterns and regulation in the gut. We further examined the regulation of PYY and proglucagon mRNA by a diet containing fermentation- resistant starch (in vivo) and butyrate (in vitro). Research Methods and Procedures: Quantitative real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction …

No Variation And Low Synonymous Substitution Rates In Coral Mtdna Despite High Nuclear Variation, Michael E. Hellberg

Faculty Publications

Background: The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of most animals evolves more rapidly than nuclear DNA, and often shows higher levels of intraspecific polymorphism and population subdivision. The mtDNA of anthozoans (corals, sea fans, and their kin), by contrast, appears to evolve slowly. Slow mtDNA evolution has been reported for several anthozoans, however this slow pace has been difficult to put in phylogenetic context without parallel surveys of nuclear variation or calibrated rates of synonymous substitution that could permit quantitative rate comparisons across taxa. Here, I survey variation in the coding region of a mitochondrial gene from a coral species (Balanophyllia elegans) …

Grander In Her Daughters: Florida's Women During The Civil War, Sally G. Mcmillen

Civil War Book Review

An Untold Story

The Civil War and the Women of Florida

Disturbance-Mediated Trophic Interactions And Plant Performance, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

Disturbances, such as flooding, play important roles in determining community structure. Most studies of disturbances focus on the direct effects and, hence, the indirect effects of disturbances are poorly understood. Within terrestrial riparian areas, annual flooding leads to differences in the arthropod community as compared to non-flooded areas. In turn, these differences are likely to alter the survival, growth, and reproduction of plant species via an indirect effect of flooding (i.e., changes in herbivory patterns). To test for such effects, an experiment was conducted wherein arthropod predators and herbivores were excluded from plots in flooded and non-flooded areas and the …

Rapid Evolution Of A Recently Retroposed Transcription Factor Yy2 In Mammalian Genomes, Chunqing Luo, Xiaochen Lu, Lisa Stubbs, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

YY2 was originally identified due to its unusual similarity to the evolutionarily well-conserved zinc finger gene YY1. In this study, we have determined the evolutionary origin and conservation of YY2 using comparative genomic approaches. Our results indicate that YY2 is a retroposed copy of YY1 that has been inserted into another gene locus named Mbtps2 (membrane-bound transcription factor protease site 2). This retroposition is estimated to have occurred after the divergence of placental mammals from other vertebrates based on the detection of YY2 only in the placental mammals. The N- and C-terminal regions of YY2 have evolved under different selection …

Anthelmintic Resistance Of Gastrointestinal Parasites In Small Ruminants, Sherrill A. Fleming, Tom Craig, Ray M. Kaplan, James E. Miller, Christine Navarre, Mike Rings

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Anthelmintic Resistance Of Gastrointestinal Parasites In Small Ruminants, Sherrill A. Fleming, Tom Craig, Ray M. Kaplan, James E. Miller, Christine Navarre, Mike Rings

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Anthelmintic Resistance Of Gastrointestinal Parasites In Small Ruminants, Sherrill A. Fleming, Tom Craig, Ray M. Kaplan, James E. Miller, Christine Navarre, Mike Rings

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparative Phylogeography In A Genus Of Coral Reef Fishes: Biogeographic And Genetic Concordance In The Caribbean, Michael S. Taylor, Michael E. Hellberg

Faculty Publications

Geographic barriers that limit the movement of individuals between populations may create or maintain phylogenetically discrete lineages. Such barriers are often inferred from geographic surveys of a single mitochondrial marker to identify phylogenetic splits. Mitochondrial DNA, however, has an effective population size one-fourth that of nuclear DNA, which can facilitate the rapid evolution of monophyletic mtDNA lineages in the absence of geographic barriers. The identification of geographic barriers will thus be more robust if barriers are proposed a priori, and tested with multiple independent genetic markers in multiple species. Here, we tested two proposed marine biogeographic breaks located at the …

Coprophagy In A Cave-Adapted Salamander; The Importance Of Bat Guano Examined Through Nutritional And Stable Isotope Analyses, Danté B. Fenolio, G. O. Graening, Bret A. Collier, Jim F. Stout

Faculty Publications

During a two year population ecology study in a cave environment, 15 Eurycea (=Typhlotriton) spelaea were observed ingesting bat guano. Furthermore, E. spelaea capture numbers increased significantly during the time that grey bats (Myotis grisescens) deposited fresh guano. We investigated the hypothesis that this behaviour was not incidental to the capture of invertebrate prey, but a diet switch to an energy-rich detritus in an oligotrophic environment. Stable isotope assays determined that guano may be assimilated into salamander muscle tissue, and nutritional analyses revealed that guano is a comparable food source to potential invertebrate prey items. This is the first report …

The Structure Of The Carboxyltransferase Component Of Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase Reveals A Zinc-Binding Motif Unique To The Bacterial Enzyme, Patrick Bilder, Sandra Lightle, Graeme Bainbridge, Jeffrey Ohren, Barry Finzel, Fang Sun, Susan Holley, Loola Al-Kassim, Cindy Spessard, Michael Melnick, Marcia Newcomer, Grover L. Waldrop

Faculty Publications

Acetyl-coA carboxylase (ACC) is a central metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the committed step in fatty acid biosynthesis: biotin-dependent conversion of acetyl-coA to malonyl-coA. The bacterial carboxyltransferase (CT) subunit of ACC is a target for the design of novel therapeutics that combat severe, hospital-acquired infections resistant to the established classes of frontline antimicrobials. Here, we present the structures of the bacterial CT subunits from two prevalent nosocomial pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, at a resolution of 2.0 and 3.0 Å, respectively. Both structures reveal a small, independent zinc-binding domain that lacks a complement in the primary sequence or structure of …

Trehalose Uptake Through P2x7 Purinergic Channels Provides Dehydration Protection, Gloria D. Elliott, Xiang Hong Liu, Jennifer L. Cusick, Michael Menze, Jill Vincent, Trudy Witt, Steve Hand, Mehmet Toner

Faculty Publications

The tetra-anionic form of ATP (ATP4-) is known to induce monovalent and divalent ion fluxes in cells that express purinergic P2X 7 receptors and with sustained application of ATP it has been shown that dyes as large as 831 Da can permeate the cell membrane. The current study explores the kinetics of loading α,α-trehalose (342 Da) into ATP stimulated J774.A1 cells, which are known to express the purinergic P2X 7 receptor. Cells that were incubated at 37°C in a 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 225 mM trehalose and 5 mM ATP, were shown to load trehalose linearly over …

Nonrandom Processes Maintain Diversity In Tropical Forests, Christopher Wills, Kyle E. Harms, Richard Condit, David King, Jill Thompson, Fangliang He, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Peter Ashton, Elizabeth Losos, Liza Comita, Stephen Hubbell, James Lafrankie, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, H. S. Dattaraja, Stuart Davies, Shameema Esufali, Robin Foster, Nimal Gunatilleke, Savitri Gunatilleke, Pamela Hall, Akira Itoh, Robert John, Somboon Kiratiprayoon, Suzanne Loo De Lao, Marie Massa, Cheryl Nath, Md Nur Supardi Noor, Abdul Rahman Kassim, Raman Sukumar, Hebbalalu Satyanarayana Suresh, I. Fang Sun, Sylvester Tan, Takuo Yamakura

Faculty Publications

An ecological community's species diversity tends to erode through time as a result of stochastic extinction, competitive exclusion, and unstable host-enemy dynamics. This erosion of diversity can be prevented over the short term if recruits are highly diverse as a result of preferential recruitment of rare species or, alternatively, if rare species survive preferentially, which increases diversity as the ages of the individuals increase. Here, we present census data from seven New and Old World tropical forest dynamics plots that all show the latter pattern. Within local areas, the trees that survived were as a group more diverse than those …

Paleo-Indicators And Water Quality Change In The Charlotte Harbor Estuary (Florida), R. Eugene Turner, N N. Rabalais, B Fry, N Atilla, J M. Lee, C Normandeau, T A. Oswald, E M. Swenson, D A. Tomasko

Faculty Publications

We reconstructed water quality changes for 1800 to 2000 in Charlotte Harbor (Florida), a shallow subtropical estuary, by using a suite of biological and geochemical proxies in dated sediments collected in the region of a present day, midsummer hypoxic zone. The declining freshwater loading into the estuary from 1931 to the 1980s is not the probable causal agent encouraging the appearance or expansion of a hypoxia zone (measuring up to 90 km(2) in summer). Rather, the reconstructed trends in nitrogen loading indicate increased phytoplankton production has likely caused a decline in bottom water oxygen concentrations. Sedimentary biogenic silica (BSi), carbon, …

Gumbo Yearbook, Class Of 2006, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

Gumbo Yearbook

The Gumbo yearbook chronicles the entire academic year at LSU. In words and especially photos, the Gumbo shows the people, places, and events that make each year unique. In addition to formal portraits of schools and departments, the book contains hundreds of snapshots of students with their friends and dozens of pages showcasing organizations.

Plasmid-Mediated High-Level Gentamicin Resistance Among Enteric Bacteria Isolated From Pet Turtles In Louisiana, María Alejandra Díaz, Richard Kent Cooper, Axel Cloeckaert, Ronald John Siebeling

Faculty Publications

The sale of small turtles is banned by the Food and Drug Administration from the U.S. market due to concerns about their excretion of Salmonella spp. To produce a safe pet for the export market, the Louisiana pet turtle industry uses gentamicin sulfate baths (1,000 μg/ml) to eradicate Salmonella spp. from turtle eggs. In 1999, we analyzed bacterial samples recovered from turtle farms and found that strains of Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae and other bacteria, such as Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, were resistant to high concentrations of gentamicin (>2,000 μg/ml) and to other aminoglycosides. …

Effect Of Scraping Frequency In A Freestall Barn On Volatile Nitrogen Loss From Dairy Manure, V. R. Moreira, L. D. Satter

Faculty Publications

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of scraping frequency (2× vs. 6× daily) on N volatilization from manure on the floor of a dairy free-stall barn. Three trials (crossover design) were conducted in the summers of 2001 and 2002, and in the winter of 2003. Nitrogen volatilization was estimated from the change in the N:P ratio in excreta at the time of excretion to the time when manure was scraped from the barn. Total N loss was considered a maximum estimate of NH3-N loss, because small amounts of nonammonia N may be volatilized. Nitrogen was determined …

Effects Of Methionine And Lysine On Fermentation In Vitro And In Vivo, Nutrient Flow To The Intestine, And Milk Production, Y. H. Chung, H. G. Bateman, C. C. Williams, C. C. Stanley, D. T. Gantt, T. W. Braud, L. L. Southern, J. D. Ward, P. G. Hoyt, G. A. Sod

Faculty Publications

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the feasibility of using crystalline methionine and lysine as protein supplements for lactating Holstein cows. In the first experiment, Met (DL-methionine) and Lys (L-lysine-HCl) were added to diets used in continuous culture bioreactors to estimate optimal concentrations for use in subsequent in vivo experiments. The second experiment measured ruminal fermentation and nutrient flow to the small intestine when Met and Lys were top-dressed on diets fed to nonlactating cows. The third experiment measured lactation performance when Met and Lys were added to diets fed to late-lactation cows. Providing 0.29 and 2.27% of dry matter …

Sequence Variation In The Coding Region Of The Melanocortin-1 Receptor Gene (Mc1r) Is Not Associated With Plumage Variation In The Blue-Crowned Manakin (Lepidothrix Coronata), Z. A. Cheviron, Shannon J. Hackett, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

Avian plumage traits are the targets of both natural and sexual selection. Consequently, genetic changes resulting in plumage variation among closely related taxa might represent important evolutionary events. The molecular basis of such differences, however, is unknown in most cases. Sequence variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R) is associated with melanistic phenotypes in many vertebrate taxa, including several avian species. The blue-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix coronata), a widespread, sexually dichromatic passerine, exhibits striking geographic variation in male plumage colour across its range in southern Central America and western Amazonia. Northern males are black with brilliant blue crowns whereas southern males …

Louisiana Agriculture Winter, 2006, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

2006 Louisiana Summary: Agriculture And Natural Resources, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Summary: Agriculture and Natural Resources

This book tabulates the value of Louisiana agriculture in 2006. Agents and specialists of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, as well as other agencies – both private and public – compiled the data. Their analysis focuses on the animal, forestry, fisheries, plant and wildlife commodities that comprise our vital agricultural industry. The agricultural industry continues to contribute significantly to the state’s economy with the potential for increased benefits through value-added processing.

In 2005, Louisiana farmers, foresters, fishermen and ranchers faced unprecedented challenges associated with the devastation and destruction caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Louisiana producers continue to adjust production …

Phytochrome Genes In Higher Plants: Structure,Expression, And Evolution, Robert A. Sharrock, Sarah Mathews

Faculty Publications

© 2006 Springer. All Rights Reserved. Phytochromes play critical roles in monitoring light quantity, quality, and periodicity in plants and they relay this photosensory information to a large number of signaling pathways that regulate plant growth and development. Given these complex functions, it is not surprising that the phytochrome apoproteins are encoded by small multigene families and that different forms of phytochrome regulate different aspects of photomorphogenesis. Over the course of the last decade, progress has been made in defining the number, molecular properties, and biological activities of the photoreceptors that constitute a plant R/FR sensing system. This chapter summarizes …

Parenting And Peer-Group Behavior In Cultural Context, David A. Nelson, Larry J. Nelson, Craig H. Hart, Chongming Yang, Shenghua Jin

Faculty Publications

© Cambridge University Press 2006 and Cambridge University Press, 2009. Whether specific patterns of parenting are similarly associated with child peer group behavior in diverse cultural contexts has been a fascinating topic of inquiry. From classic anthropological studies dating back to the early twentieth century to the current interest in cross-cultural studies, knowledge concerning the question of universality and cultural variation in parenting linkages to childhood adjustment has expanded at an unprecedented rate (e.g., Harkness & Super, 2002). As the general field of parenting research has uncovered distinctions in parenting styles and practices (e.g., Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Hart, Newell, …

Relations Between Chinese Mothers' Parenting Practices And Social Withdrawal In Early Childhood, Larry J. Nelson, Craig H. Hart, Bo Wu, Chongming Yang, Susanne Olsen Roper, Shenghua Jin

Faculty Publications

Researchers have identified specific parenting practices used by parents of preschoolers in mainland China (e.g., physical coercion, overprotection, shaming, directiveness, encouragement of modesty). Some of the intrusive practices have been linked to social withdrawal in western societies (e.g., United States, Canada). It seemed important to examine these associations in China because recent research suggests that young Chinese children who exhibit wariness in peer settings may be at risk for negative outcomes such as peer rejection. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between Chinese parenting practices and preschoolers' social withdrawal. Mothers of preschool-age children from mainland …

Cardiovascular Disease And Associated Risk Factors In Cuba: Prospects For Prevention And Control, Richard S. Cooper, Pedro Orduñez, Marcos D.Iraola Ferrer, Jose Luis Bernal Munoz, Alfredo Espinosa-Brito

Faculty Publications

Objectives. An adequate description of the trends in cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not available for most of the developing world. Cuba provides an important exception, and we sought to use available data to offer insights into the changing patterns of CVD there. Methods. We reviewed Cuban public health statistics, surveys, and reports of health services. Results. CVD has been the leading cause of death since 1970. A 45% reduction in heart disease deaths was observed from 1970 to 2002; the decline in stroke was more limited. There are moderate prevalences of all major risk factors. Conclusions. The Cuban medical care …

Dating Paleosol And Animal Remains In Loess Deposits, H. C. Zhang, B. Li, M. S. Yang, G. L. Lei, H. Ding, Jie Niu, H. F. Fan, W. X. Zhang, F. Q. Chang

Faculty Publications

Accurate and reliable dating of paleosols, animal remains, and artifacts is of crucial importance in reconstructing environmental change and understanding the interrelationship between human activities and natural environments. Dating different materials in the same sample can help resolve problems such as soil carbon sources and carbon storage state. Conventional radiocarbon dating of soil (inorganic and organic matter) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of animal remains (fossil bones and teeth) result in different ages for materials from the same sample position in a typical loess section at Xinglong Mountain, Yuzhong County, Gansu Province in NW China. Inorganic matter is ∼3400 …

Chronic Aspiration Of Gastric Fluid Accelerates Pulmonary Allograft Dysfunction In A Rat Model Of Lung Transplantation, Matthew G. Hartwig, James Z. Appel, Bin Li, Chong Chao Hsieh, Yong Han Yoon, Shu S. Lin, William Irish, William Parker, R. Duane Davis

Faculty Publications

Objective: Emerging clinical evidence suggests that gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with pulmonary allograft dysfunction. In this study, we used a model of rat lung transplantation to test the hypothesis that chronic aspiration of gastric contents accelerates pulmonary allograft dysfunction. Methods: We evaluated the effects of chronic aspiration on pulmonary isografts (strain F344) and pulmonary allografts (strain WKY to strain F344). Chronic aspiration consisted of 0.5 mL/kg of filtered gastric contents injected weekly into the left lung for 4 to 8 weeks beginning 1 week after transplantation. Seven days after the last aspiration, animals were killed, and grafts were evaluated …

School Of Renewable Natural Resources Newsletter, Fall 2006, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

Research Matters & RNR Newsletters

The annual newsletter from the School of Renewable Natural Resources was a publication which aimed to update and entertain interested readers with the news and research from RNR faculty, students and staff.