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Continuous Microwave Processing Of Peanut Beverages, Cristina M. Sabliov, Dorin Boldor, Pablo Coronel, Timothy H. Sanders Dec 2008

Continuous Microwave Processing Of Peanut Beverages, Cristina M. Sabliov, Dorin Boldor, Pablo Coronel, Timothy H. Sanders

Faculty Publications

The feasibility of peanut beverage sterilization by continuous microwave heating as an alternative to conventional ultrahigh temperature (UHT) system processing was studied. Dielectric properties of two products, Peanut Punch (Nestle Trinidad and Tobago Ltd., Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Jamaican Irish Moss Peanut Drink (distributed by Eve Sales Co., Bronx, NY) were measured. The products had similar dielectric properties. Values for the dielectric constant (average of 60) and dielectric loss (average of 23) indicated that the two products were good candidates for rapid microwave heating. The products were processed in a 5 kW focused microwave unit, at two …

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Centers For Oceans And Human Health: Contributions To An Emerging Discipline, Edward A. Laws, Lora E. Fleming, John J. Stegeman Nov 2008

Centers For Oceans And Human Health: Contributions To An Emerging Discipline, Edward A. Laws, Lora E. Fleming, John J. Stegeman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Impacts Of Climate Variability And Future Climate Change On Harmful Algal Blooms And Human Health, Stephanie K. Moore, Vera L. Trainer, Nathan J. Mantua, Micaela S. Parker, Edward A. Laws, Lorraine C. Backer, Lora E. Fleming Nov 2008

Impacts Of Climate Variability And Future Climate Change On Harmful Algal Blooms And Human Health, Stephanie K. Moore, Vera L. Trainer, Nathan J. Mantua, Micaela S. Parker, Edward A. Laws, Lorraine C. Backer, Lora E. Fleming

Faculty Publications

Anthropogenically-derived increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations have been implicated in recent climate change, and are projected to substantially impact the climate on a global scale in the future. For marine and freshwater systems, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are expected to increase surface temperatures, lower pH, and cause changes to vertical mixing, upwelling, precipitation, and evaporation patterns. The potential consequences of these changes for harmful algal blooms (HABs) have received relatively little attention and are not well understood. Given the apparent increase in HABs around the world and the potential for greater problems as a result of climate change …

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Redox-Triggered Contents Release From Liposomes, Winston Ong, Yuming Yang, Angela C. Cruciano, Robin L. Mccarley Nov 2008

Redox-Triggered Contents Release From Liposomes, Winston Ong, Yuming Yang, Angela C. Cruciano, Robin L. Mccarley

Faculty Publications

An exciting new direction in responsive liposome research is endogenous triggering of liposomal payload release by overexpressed enzyme activity in affected tissues and offers the unique possibility of active and site-specific release. Bringing to fruition the fully expected capabilities of this new class of triggered liposomal delivery system requires a collection of liposome systems that respond to different upregulated enzymes; however, a relatively small number currently exist. Here we show that stable, ∼100 nm diameter liposomes can be made from previously unreported quinone-dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (Q-DOPE) lipids, and complete payload release (quenched fluorescent dye) from Q-DOPE liposomes occurs upon their redox …

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Nitric Oxide-Induced Bacteriostasis And Modification Of Iron-Sulphur Proteins In Escherichia Coli, Binbin Ren, Nianhui Zhang, Juanjuan Yang, Huangen Ding Nov 2008

Nitric Oxide-Induced Bacteriostasis And Modification Of Iron-Sulphur Proteins In Escherichia Coli, Binbin Ren, Nianhui Zhang, Juanjuan Yang, Huangen Ding

Faculty Publications

The nitric oxide (NO) cytotoxicity has been well documented in bacteria and mammalian cells. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. Here we report that transient NO exposure effectively inhibits cell growth of Escherichia coli in minimal medium under anaerobic growth conditions and that cell growth is restored when the NO-exposed cells are either supplemented with the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) anaerobically or returned to aerobic growth conditions. The enzyme activity measurements show that dihydroxyacid dehydratase (IlvD), an iron-sulphur enzyme essential for the BCAA biosynthesis, is completely inactivated in cells by NO with the concomitant formation of the …

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Identification Of A Functionally Essential Amino Acid For Arabidopsis Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Ion Channels Using The Chimeric Atcngc11/12 Gene, Joyce Baxter, Wolfgang Moeder, William Urquhart, Dea Shahinas, Kimberley Chin, Dinesh Christendat, Hong Gu Kang, Magdalena Angelova, Naohiro Kato, Keiko Yoshioka Nov 2008

Identification Of A Functionally Essential Amino Acid For Arabidopsis Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Ion Channels Using The Chimeric Atcngc11/12 Gene, Joyce Baxter, Wolfgang Moeder, William Urquhart, Dea Shahinas, Kimberley Chin, Dinesh Christendat, Hong Gu Kang, Magdalena Angelova, Naohiro Kato, Keiko Yoshioka

Faculty Publications

We used the chimeric Arabidopsis cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel AtCNGC11/12 to conduct a structure-function study of plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs). AtCNGC11/12 induces multiple pathogen resistance responses in the Arabidopsis mutant constitutive expresser of PR genes 22 (cpr22). A genetic screen for mutants that suppress cpr22-conferred phenotypes identified an intragenic mutant, #73, which has a glutamate to lysine substitution (E519K) at the beginning of the eighth β-sheet of the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain in AtCNGC11/12. The #73 mutant is morphologically identical to wild-type plants and has lost cpr22-related phenotypes including spontaneous cell death and enhanced pathogen resistance. Heterologous expression analysis …

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Transcriptional Profiling Of Mature Arabidopsis Trichomes Reveals That Noeck Encodes The Mixta-Like Transcriptional Regulator Myb106, Marc J. Jakoby, Doris Falkenhan, Michael T. Mader, Ginger Brininstool, Elisabeth Wischnitzki, Nicole Platz, Andrew Hudson, Martin Hülskamp, John Larkin, Arp Schnittger Nov 2008

Transcriptional Profiling Of Mature Arabidopsis Trichomes Reveals That Noeck Encodes The Mixta-Like Transcriptional Regulator Myb106, Marc J. Jakoby, Doris Falkenhan, Michael T. Mader, Ginger Brininstool, Elisabeth Wischnitzki, Nicole Platz, Andrew Hudson, Martin Hülskamp, John Larkin, Arp Schnittger

Faculty Publications

Leaf hairs (trichomes) of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) have been extensively used as a model to address general questions in cell and developmental biology. Here, we lay the foundation for a systems-level understanding of the biology of this model cell type by performing genome-wide gene expression analyses. We have identified 3,231 genes that are up-regulated in mature trichomes relative to leaves without trichomes, and we compared wild-type trichomes with two mutants, glabra3 and triptychon, that affect trichome morphology and physiology in contrasting ways. We found that cell wall-related transcripts were particularly overrepresented in trichomes, consistent with their highly elaborated structure. In …

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Central Blockade Of Oxytocin Receptors During Mid-Late Gestation Reduces Amplitude Of Slow Afterhyperpolarization In Supraoptic Oxytocin Neurons, R. Teruyama, D. L. Lipschitz, L. Wang, G. R. Ramoz, W. R. Crowley, S. L. Bealer, W. E. Armstrong Nov 2008

Central Blockade Of Oxytocin Receptors During Mid-Late Gestation Reduces Amplitude Of Slow Afterhyperpolarization In Supraoptic Oxytocin Neurons, R. Teruyama, D. L. Lipschitz, L. Wang, G. R. Ramoz, W. R. Crowley, S. L. Bealer, W. E. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin (OT), synthesized in magnocellular paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei, is well known for its effects in lactation. Our previous studies showed that central OT receptor (OTR) binding is increased during gestation and that blockade of central OTRs, specifically during mid-late gestation, causes a delay in OT release during suckling and reduces weight gain in pups, suggesting decreased milk delivery. In the present study, we tested whether central OTR blockade during late gestation disrupts the gestation-related plasticity in intrinsic membrane properties. Whole cell current-clamp recordings were performed in OT neurons from pregnant rats (19-22 days in …

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Synthesis And Spectroelectrochemistry Of N-Cobaltacarborane Porphyrin Conjugates, Erhong Hao, Min Zhang, E. Wenbo, Karl M. Kadish, Frank R. Fronczek, Brandy H. Courtney, M. Graça H. Vicente Nov 2008

Synthesis And Spectroelectrochemistry Of N-Cobaltacarborane Porphyrin Conjugates, Erhong Hao, Min Zhang, E. Wenbo, Karl M. Kadish, Frank R. Fronczek, Brandy H. Courtney, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

N-Substituted porphyrins are well-known for the distortion they exhibit of the porphyrin plane through the sp3 hybridization of one of the pyrrolenic units. They have served as model compounds in investigations of many biochemical processes. In this paper, we developed an efficient route to N-substituted porphyrins, and report the synthesis of a series of new N-substituted cobaltacarborane - porphyrins containing one or two cobaltabisdicarbollide anions linked by (CH2CH2O) 2 chains to either the core porphyrin nitrogens or to a meso-aminophenyl group. These conjugates show different degrees of distortion of the porphyrin macrocycle, which affect their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties. In …

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Effects Of M-Tyrosine On Feeding And Survival Of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Bal K. Gautam, Gregg Henderson Nov 2008

Effects Of M-Tyrosine On Feeding And Survival Of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Bal K. Gautam, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

Amino acids are important to all animal life. Termites rely mainly on microorganisms to retrieve these nitrogen sources from their food. One naturally occurring amino acid, m-tyrosine, has been reported to be toxic to bacteria and weeds. Its direct effects on termite survival are unknown however. Both no-choice and choice bioassays using five different doses of m-tyrosine were conducted to determine the feeding response and survival of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in the laboratory. In no-choice tests, although all doses of m-tyrosine tested reduced filter paper consumption, only the highest dose tested (0.05 M) had significantly …

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Dietary Resistant Starch Upregulates Total Glp-1 And Pyy In A Sustained Day-Long Manner Through Fermentation In Rodents, June Zhou, Roy J. Martin, Richard T. Tulley, Anne M. Raggio, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Li Shen, Samuel Colby Danna, Sasmita Tripathy, Maren Hegsted, Michael J. Keenan Nov 2008

Dietary Resistant Starch Upregulates Total Glp-1 And Pyy In A Sustained Day-Long Manner Through Fermentation In Rodents, June Zhou, Roy J. Martin, Richard T. Tulley, Anne M. Raggio, Kathleen L. Mccutcheon, Li Shen, Samuel Colby Danna, Sasmita Tripathy, Maren Hegsted, Michael J. Keenan

Faculty Publications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) are anti-diabetes/obesity hormones ecreted from the gut after meal ingestion. We have shown that dietary-resistant starch (RS) increased GLP-1 and PYY secretion, but he mechanism remains unknown. RS is a fermentable fiber that lowers the glycemic index of the diet and liberates short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) through fermentation in the gut. This study investigates the two possible mechanisms by which RS stimulates GLP-1 and PYY secretion: the effect of a meal or glycemic index, and the effect of fermentation. Because GLP-1 and PYY secretions are stimulated by nutrient availability in the gut, the …

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Numerical Simulation Of Local Temperature Distortions During Ice Nucleation Of Cells In Suspension, D. Kandra, R. V. Devireddy Nov 2008

Numerical Simulation Of Local Temperature Distortions During Ice Nucleation Of Cells In Suspension, D. Kandra, R. V. Devireddy

Faculty Publications

Knowledge of intercellular ice formation in cells embedded in an extra-cellular suspension is essential for effective design of freezing protocols. The presence of cell membrane causes super-cooling of the intra-cellular region, which nucleates at much lower temperatures than the surrounding extra-cellular space and is accompanied by the exothermic release of the latent heat. This is a dynamic process and causes thermal distortions in and around the cell where nucleation occurs. In the present study, an attempt has been made to numerically determine the magnitude of thermal distortion (ΔT) and the time (dt) it takes for this distortion to damp out …

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Restoration Of Dredged Canals In Wetlands: A Comparison Of Methods, Joseph Baustian, R. Eugene Turner, Nancy F. Walters, David P. Muth Oct 2008

Restoration Of Dredged Canals In Wetlands: A Comparison Of Methods, Joseph Baustian, R. Eugene Turner, Nancy F. Walters, David P. Muth

Faculty Publications

A comparison of two methods for restoring dredged canals to wetlands was examined at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve’s Barataria Preserve Unit near New Orleans, LA. Both northern and southern canals had the remnant dredged spoil material returned to the canal, but the southern canal had additional sediment pumped in from a nearby lake. The water depth in the southern canal shallowed significantly from 1.2 to 0.4 m following backfilling and sediment addition, while the depth of the northern canal (which received no additional sediment) remained unchanged following backfilling. Neither site had complete soil restoration, but the …

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The Psbo1 Mutant Of Arabidopsis Cannot Efficiently Use Calcium In Support Of Oxygen Evolution By Photosystem Ii, Terry M. Bricker, Laurie K. Frankel Oct 2008

The Psbo1 Mutant Of Arabidopsis Cannot Efficiently Use Calcium In Support Of Oxygen Evolution By Photosystem Ii, Terry M. Bricker, Laurie K. Frankel

Faculty Publications

The Arabidopsis thaliana mutant psbo1 contains a point mutation in the psbO-1 gene (At5g66570) leading to the loss of expression of the PsbO-1 protein and overexpression of the PsbO-2 protein (Murakami, R., Ifuku, K., Takabayashi, A., Shikanai, T., Endo, T., and Sato, F. (2002) FEBS Lett. 523, 138-142). Previous characterization of fluorescence induction and decay kinetics by our laboratory documented defects on both the oxidizing and reducing sides of Photosystem II. Additionally, anomalous flash oxygen yield patterns indicated that the mutant contains a defective oxygen-evolving complex that appears to exhibit anomalously long-lived S2 and S3 oxidation states (Liu, H., Frankel, …

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Crystal Structure Of Fosfomycin Resistance Kinase Foma From Streptomyces Wedmorensis, Svetlana Pakhomova, Sue G. Bartlett, Alexandria Augustus, Tomohisa Kuzuyama, Marcia E. Newcomer Oct 2008

Crystal Structure Of Fosfomycin Resistance Kinase Foma From Streptomyces Wedmorensis, Svetlana Pakhomova, Sue G. Bartlett, Alexandria Augustus, Tomohisa Kuzuyama, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

The fosfomycin resistance protein FomA inactivates fosfomycin by phosphorylation of the phosphonate group of the antibiotic in the presence of ATP and Mg(II). We report the crystal structure of FomA from the fosfomycin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces wedmorensis in complex with diphosphate and in ternary complex with the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog adenosine 5′-(β,γ-imido)-triphosphate (AMPPNP), Mg(II), and fosfomycin, at 1.53 and 2.2 Å resolution, respectively. The polypeptide exhibits an open αβα sandwich fold characteristic for the amino acid kinase family of enzymes. The diphosphate complex shows significant disorder in loops surrounding the active site. As a result, the nucleotide-binding site …

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Characterization Of A Site On Pai-1 That Binds To Vitronectin Outside Of The Somatomedin B Domain, Christine R. Schar, Jan K. Jensen, Anni Christensen, Grant E. Blouse, Peter A. Andreasen, Cynthia B. Peterson Oct 2008

Characterization Of A Site On Pai-1 That Binds To Vitronectin Outside Of The Somatomedin B Domain, Christine R. Schar, Jan K. Jensen, Anni Christensen, Grant E. Blouse, Peter A. Andreasen, Cynthia B. Peterson

Faculty Publications

Vitronectin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) are proteins that interact in the circulatory system and pericellular region to regulate fibrinolysis, cell adhesion, and migration. The interactions between the two proteins have been attributed primarily to binding of the somatomedin B (SMB) domain, which comprises the N-terminal 44 residues of vitronectin, to the flexible joint region of PAI-1, including residues Arg-103, Met-112, and Gln-125 of PAI-1. A strategy for deletion mutagenesis that removes the SMB domain demonstrates that this mutant form of vitronectin retains PAI-1 binding (Schar, C. R., Blouse, G. E., Minor, K. M., and Peterson, C. B. (2008) J. …

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Sugary Soda Consumption And Albuminuria: Results From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004, David A. Shoham, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Holly Kramer, Amy Luke, Suma Vupputuri, Abhijit Kshirsagar, Richard S. Cooper Oct 2008

Sugary Soda Consumption And Albuminuria: Results From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004, David A. Shoham, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Holly Kramer, Amy Luke, Suma Vupputuri, Abhijit Kshirsagar, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Background: End-stage renal disease rates rose following widespread introduction of high fructose corn syrup in the American diet, supporting speculation that fructose harms the kidney. Sugar-sweetened soda is a primary source of fructose. We therefore hypothesized that sugary soda consumption was associated with albuminuria, a sensitive marker for kidney disease. Methodology/Principal Findings: Design was a cross-sectional analysis. Data were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2004. The setting was a representative United States population sample. Participants included adults 20 years and older with no history of diabetes mellitus (n = 12,601); after exclusions for missing outcome …

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Drought Stress And Preharvest Aflatoxin Contamination In Agricultural Commodity: Genetics, Genomics And Proteomics, Baozhu Guo, Zhi Yuan Chen, R. Dewey Lee, Brian T. Scully Oct 2008

Drought Stress And Preharvest Aflatoxin Contamination In Agricultural Commodity: Genetics, Genomics And Proteomics, Baozhu Guo, Zhi Yuan Chen, R. Dewey Lee, Brian T. Scully

Faculty Publications

Throughout the world, aflatoxin contamination is considered one of the most serious food safety issues concerning health. Chronic problems with preharvest aflatoxin contamination occur in the southern US, and are particularly troublesome in corn, peanut, cottonseed, and tree nuts. Drought stress is a major factor to contribute to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. Recent studies have demonstrated higher concentration of defense or stress-related proteins in corn kernels of resistant genotypes compared with susceptible genotypes, suggesting that preharvest field condition (drought or not drought) influences gene expression differently in different genotypes resulting in different levels of "end products": PR(pathogenesis-related) proteins in the mature …

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Genome-Wide Association Studies: Implications For Multiethnic Samples, Richard S. Cooper, Bamidele Tayo, Xiaofeng Zhu Oct 2008

Genome-Wide Association Studies: Implications For Multiethnic Samples, Richard S. Cooper, Bamidele Tayo, Xiaofeng Zhu

Faculty Publications

The current gene mapping for complex diseases is heavily weighted by studies of population samples from northern Europe. To capture the full range of genetic diversity and exploit the potential of genetic epidemiology to identify important variants, multiple additional populations will need to be examined. The conduct of genome-wide association studies will therefore confront many of the challenges identified in the first generation of candidate gene and linkage studies, with a substantial increase in complexity. Initial efforts to map causal effects will have to take account of varying patterns of linkage disequilibrium through careful attention to local haplotype structure. Refined …

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Faculty Senate Resolution 08-11, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College Oct 2008

Faculty Senate Resolution 08-11, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Faculty Senate Resolution on transparency and integrity in PS-36-T personnel processes for faculty, adopted on October 7, 2008.

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A Covalent Linker Allows For Membrane Targeting Of An Oxylipin Biosynthetic Complex, Nathaniel C. Gilbert, Marc Niebuhr, Hiro Tsuruta, Tee Bordelon, Oswin Ridderbusch, Adam Dassey, Alan R. Brash, Sue G. Bartlett, Marcia E. Newcomer Oct 2008

A Covalent Linker Allows For Membrane Targeting Of An Oxylipin Biosynthetic Complex, Nathaniel C. Gilbert, Marc Niebuhr, Hiro Tsuruta, Tee Bordelon, Oswin Ridderbusch, Adam Dassey, Alan R. Brash, Sue G. Bartlett, Marcia E. Newcomer

Faculty Publications

A naturally occurring bifunctional protein from Plexaura homomalla links sequential catalytic activities in an oxylipin biosynthetic pathway. The C-terminal lipoxygenase (LOX) portion of the molecule catalyzes the transformation of arachidonic acid (AA) to the corresponding 8R-hydroperoxide, and the N-terminal allene oxide synthase (AOS) domain promotes the conversion of the hydroperoxide intermediate to the product allene oxide (AO). Small-angle X-ray scattering data indicate that in the absence of a covalent linkage the two catalytic domains that transform AA to AO associate to form a complex that recapitulates the structure of the bifunctional protein. The SAXS data also support a model for …

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Toll-Like Receptor 2 Recognition Of The Microsporidia Encephalitozoon Spp. Induces Nuclear Translocation Of Nf-Κb And Subsequent Inflammatory Responses, Jeffrey Fischer, Colby Suire, Hollie Hale-Donze Oct 2008

Toll-Like Receptor 2 Recognition Of The Microsporidia Encephalitozoon Spp. Induces Nuclear Translocation Of Nf-Κb And Subsequent Inflammatory Responses, Jeffrey Fischer, Colby Suire, Hollie Hale-Donze

Faculty Publications

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that are ubiquitous in nature and have been recognized as causing an important emerging disease among immunocompromised individuals. Limited knowledge exists about the immune response against these organisms, and virtually nothing is known about the receptors involved in host recognition. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pattern recognition receptors that bind to specific molecules found on pathogens and signal a variety of inflammatory responses. In this study, we show that both Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis are preferentially recognized by TLR2 and not by TLR4 in primary human macrophages. This is the first demonstration of host receptor …

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Brassicaceae Phylogeny Inferred From Phytochrome A And Ndhf Sequence Data: Tribes And Trichomes Revisited, Mark A. Beilstein, Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz, Sarah Mathews, Elizabeth A. Kellogg Oct 2008

Brassicaceae Phylogeny Inferred From Phytochrome A And Ndhf Sequence Data: Tribes And Trichomes Revisited, Mark A. Beilstein, Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz, Sarah Mathews, Elizabeth A. Kellogg

Faculty Publications

The family Brassicaceae comprises 3710 species in 338 genera, 25 recently delimited tribes, and three major lineages based on phylogenetic results from the chloroplast gene ndhF. To assess the credibility of the lineages and newly delimited tribes, we sequenced an approximately 1.8-kb region of the nuclear phytochrome A (PHYA) gene for taxa previously sampled for the chloroplast gene ndhF. Using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the gene and used the approximately unbiased (AU) test to compare phylogenetic results from PHYA with findings from ndhF. We also combined ndhF and PHYA data and used a Bayesian …

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Jamaican Nightshade (Solanum Jamaicense): A Threat To Florida's Hammocks, Rodrigo Diaz, William A. Overholt, Kenneth Langeland Oct 2008

Jamaican Nightshade (Solanum Jamaicense): A Threat To Florida's Hammocks, Rodrigo Diaz, William A. Overholt, Kenneth Langeland

Faculty Publications

Jamaican nightshade is a prickly, perennial, invasive shrub in central and southern peninsular Florida. It was first seen in Florida in 1930 near St. Cloud, and has since been reported at several other locations in the state. Jamaican nightshade is primarily found in wooded habitats, where it can quickly become dominant in the understory, but it also occasionally grows in isolated patches in the open. Although the distribution of Jamaican nightshade does not appear to be rapidly expanding in Florida, land mangers should be made aware of the potential of this weed to establish at new sites, and initiate control …

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Comparison Of Species Tree Methods For Reconstructing The Phylogeny Of Bearded Manakins (Aves: Pipridae, Manacus) From Multilocus Sequence Data, Robb T. Brumfield, Liang Liu, David E. Lum, Scott V. Edwards Oct 2008

Comparison Of Species Tree Methods For Reconstructing The Phylogeny Of Bearded Manakins (Aves: Pipridae, Manacus) From Multilocus Sequence Data, Robb T. Brumfield, Liang Liu, David E. Lum, Scott V. Edwards

Faculty Publications

Although the power of multi-locus data in estimating species trees is apparent, it is also clear that the analytical methodologies for doing so are still maturing. For example, of the methods currently available for estimating species trees from multiocus data, the Bayesian method introduced by Liu and Pearl (2007; BEST) is the only one that provides nodal support values. Using gene sequences from five nuclear loci, we explored two analytical methods (deep coalescence and BEST) to reconstruct the species tree of the five primary Manacus OTUs: M. aurantiacus, M. candei, M. vitellinus, populations of M. manacus from west of the …

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Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2008, Lsu Agcenter Oct 2008

Louisiana Agriculture Fall, 2008, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

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Haldane's Rule In An Avian System: Using Cline Theory And Divergence Population Genetics To Test For Differential Introgression Of Mitochondrial, Autosomal, And Sex-Linked Loci Across The Passerina Bunting Hybrid Zone, Matthew D. Carling, Robb T. Brumfield Oct 2008

Haldane's Rule In An Avian System: Using Cline Theory And Divergence Population Genetics To Test For Differential Introgression Of Mitochondrial, Autosomal, And Sex-Linked Loci Across The Passerina Bunting Hybrid Zone, Matthew D. Carling, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

Using cline fitting and divergence population genetics, we tested a prediction of Haldane's rule: autosomal alleles should introgress more than z-linked alleles or mitochondrial haplotypes across the Passerina amoena/Passerina cyanea (Aves: Cardinalidae) hybrid zone. We screened 222 individuals collected along a transect in the Great Plains of North America that spans the contact zone for mitochondrial (two genes), autosomal (four loci) and z-linked (two loci) markers. Maximum-likelihood cline widths estimated from the mitochondrial (223 km) and z-linked (309 km) datasets were significantly narrower on average than the autosomal cline widths (466 km). We also found that mean coalescent-based estimates of …

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Rapid Comparison Of Properties On Protein Surface, Lee Sael, David La, Bin Li, Raif Rustamov, Daisuke Kihara Oct 2008

Rapid Comparison Of Properties On Protein Surface, Lee Sael, David La, Bin Li, Raif Rustamov, Daisuke Kihara

Faculty Publications

The mapping of physicochemical characteristics onto the surface of a protein provides crucial insights into its function and evolution. This information can be further used in the characterization and identification of similarities within protein surface regions. We propose a novel method which quantitatively compares global and local properties on the protein surface. We have tested the method on comparison of electrostatic potentials and hydrophobicity. The method is based on 3D Zernike descriptors, which provides a compact representation of a given property defined on a protein surface. Compactness and rotational invariance of this descriptor enable fast comparison suitable for database searches. …

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Field-Evolved Resistance To Bt Toxins, Willam Moar, Rick Roush, Anthony Shelton, Juan Ferré, Susan Macintosh, B. Rogers Leonard, Craig Abel Oct 2008

Field-Evolved Resistance To Bt Toxins, Willam Moar, Rick Roush, Anthony Shelton, Juan Ferré, Susan Macintosh, B. Rogers Leonard, Craig Abel

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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A Multilocus Molecular Phylogeny Of The Parrots (Psittaciformes): Support For A Gondwanan Origin During The Cretaceous, Timothy F. Wright, Erin E. Schirtzinger, Tania Matsumoto, Jessica R. Eberhard, Gary R. Graves, Juan J. Sanchez, Sara Capelli, Heinrich Müller, Julia Scharpegge, Geoffrey K. Chambers, Robert C. Fleischer Oct 2008

A Multilocus Molecular Phylogeny Of The Parrots (Psittaciformes): Support For A Gondwanan Origin During The Cretaceous, Timothy F. Wright, Erin E. Schirtzinger, Tania Matsumoto, Jessica R. Eberhard, Gary R. Graves, Juan J. Sanchez, Sara Capelli, Heinrich Müller, Julia Scharpegge, Geoffrey K. Chambers, Robert C. Fleischer

Faculty Publications

The question of when modern birds (Neornithes) first diversified has generated much debate among avian systematists. Fossil evidence generally supports a Tertiary diversification, whereas estimates based on molecular dating favor an earlier diversification in the Cretaceous period. In this study, we used an alternate approach, the inference of historical biogeographic patterns, to test the hypothesis that the initial radiation of the Order Psittaciformes (the parrots and cockatoos) originated on the Gondwana supercontinent during the Cretaceous. We utilized broad taxonomic sampling (representatives of 69 of the 82 extant genera and 8 outgroup taxa) and multilocus molecular character sampling (3,941 bp from …

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