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Improvement Of Phylogenetic Method To Analyze Compositional Heterogeneity, Zehua Zhang, Kecheng Guo, Gaofeng Pan, Jijun Tang, Fei Guo Sep 2017

Improvement Of Phylogenetic Method To Analyze Compositional Heterogeneity, Zehua Zhang, Kecheng Guo, Gaofeng Pan, Jijun Tang, Fei Guo

Faculty Publications

Background: Phylogenetic analysis is a key way to understand current research in the biological processes and detect theory in evolution of natural selection. The evolutionary relationship between species is generally reflected in the form of phylogenetic trees. Many methods for constructing phylogenetic trees, are based on the optimization criteria. We extract the biological data via modeling features, and then compare these characteristics to study the biological evolution between species.

Results: Here, we use maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference method to establish phylogenetic trees; multi-chain Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling method can be used to select optimal phylogenetic tree, resolving local …


The Parasite Extinction Assessment & Red List: An Open-Source, Online Biodiversity Database For Neglected Symbionts, Colin J. Carlson, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Anna J. Phillips, Kevin R. Burgio, Giovanni Castaldo, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Tad Dallas, Jorge Doña, Nyeema Harris, Roger Jovani, Zhongqi Miao, Heather Proctor, Hyun Seok Yoon, Wayne M. Getz Sep 2017

The Parasite Extinction Assessment & Red List: An Open-Source, Online Biodiversity Database For Neglected Symbionts, Colin J. Carlson, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Anna J. Phillips, Kevin R. Burgio, Giovanni Castaldo, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Tad Dallas, Jorge Doña, Nyeema Harris, Roger Jovani, Zhongqi Miao, Heather Proctor, Hyun Seok Yoon, Wayne M. Getz

Faculty Publications

Parasite conservation is a rapidly growing field at the intersection of ecology, epidemiology, parasitology, and public health. The overwhelming diversity of parasitic life on earth, and recent work showing that parasites and other symbionts face severe extinction risk, necessitates infrastructure for parasite conservation assessments. Here, we describe the release of the Parasite Extinction Assessment & Red List (PEARL) version 1.0, an open-access database of conservation assessments and distributional data for almost 500 macroparasitic invertebrates. The current approach to vulnerability assessment is based on range shifts and loss from climate change, and will be expanded as additional data (e.g., host-parasite associations …


Are Northeastern U.S. Forests Vulnerable To Extreme Drought?, Adam P. Coble, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Z. Carter Berry, Katie A. Jennings, Cameron D. Mcintire, John L. Campbell, Lindsey E. Rustad, Pamela H. Templer, Heidi Asbjornsen Sep 2017

Are Northeastern U.S. Forests Vulnerable To Extreme Drought?, Adam P. Coble, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Z. Carter Berry, Katie A. Jennings, Cameron D. Mcintire, John L. Campbell, Lindsey E. Rustad, Pamela H. Templer, Heidi Asbjornsen

Faculty Publications

In the Northeastern U.S., drought is expected to increase in frequency over the next century, and therefore, the responses of trees to drought are important to understand. There is recent debate about whether land-use change or moisture availability is the primary driver of changes in forest species composition in this region. Some argue that fire suppression from the early twentieth century to present has resulted in an increase in shade-tolerant and pyrophobic tree species that are drought intolerant, while others suggest precipitation variability as a major driver of species composition. From this debate, an emerging hypothesis is that mesophication and …


Fungal Community Homogenization, Shift In Dominant Trophic Guild, And Appearance Of Novel Taxa With Biotic Invasion, Mark A. Anthony, Serita D. Frey, Kristina A. Stinson Sep 2017

Fungal Community Homogenization, Shift In Dominant Trophic Guild, And Appearance Of Novel Taxa With Biotic Invasion, Mark A. Anthony, Serita D. Frey, Kristina A. Stinson

Faculty Publications

Invasion by non-native plants may fundamentally restructure the soil fungal community. The invasive plant, Alliaria petiolata, produces secondary compounds suppressive to mycorrhizal fungi and may therefore be expected to have generally negative effects on other components of the fungal community. Here, we compared fungal biomass, diversity, community composition, and the relative abundance of fungal trophic guilds, along with edaphic properties of soils collected from uninvaded and invaded plots across six temperate forests. Invaded plots were differentiated from uninvaded plots by lower variation in fungal community composition (beta diversity) and soil properties, higher fungal richness and community evenness (alpha diversity), and …


Dietary Inflammatory Index And Colorectal Cancer Risk – A Meta-Analysis, Nitin Shivappa, Justyna Godos, James R. Hébert, Michael David Wirth, Gabriele Piuri, Attilio Speciani, Giuseppe Grosso Sep 2017

Dietary Inflammatory Index And Colorectal Cancer Risk – A Meta-Analysis, Nitin Shivappa, Justyna Godos, James R. Hébert, Michael David Wirth, Gabriele Piuri, Attilio Speciani, Giuseppe Grosso

Faculty Publications

Diet and chronic inflammation of the colon have been suggested to be risk factors in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). The possible link between inflammatory potential of diet, measured through the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®), and CRC has been investigated in several populations across the world. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis on studies exploring this association. Data from nine studies were eligible, of which five were case-control and four were cohort studies. Results from meta-analysis showed a positive association between increasing DII scores, indicating a pro-inflammatory diet, and CRC. Individuals in the highest versus …


A Scalable Field Study Protocol And Rationale For Passive Ambient Air Sampling: A Spatial Phytosampling For Leaf Data Collection, Tonny J. Oyana, Slawomir M. Lomnicki, Chuqi Guo, Stephania A. Cormier Sep 2017

A Scalable Field Study Protocol And Rationale For Passive Ambient Air Sampling: A Spatial Phytosampling For Leaf Data Collection, Tonny J. Oyana, Slawomir M. Lomnicki, Chuqi Guo, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Stable, bioreactive, radicals known as environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) have been found to exist on the surface of airborne PM2.5. These EPFRs have been found to form during many combustion processes, are present in vehicular exhaust, and persist in the environment for weeks and biological systems for up to 12 h. To measure EPFRs in PM samples, high volume samplers are required and measurements are less representative of community exposure; therefore, we developed a novel spatial phytosampling methodology to study the spatial patterns of EPFR concentrations using plants. Leaf samples for laboratory PM analysis …


Positive Parenting Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Tina Taylor, Timothy B. Smith, Byran B. Korth, Susanne Olsen Roper, Barbara Mandleco Sep 2017

Positive Parenting Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Tina Taylor, Timothy B. Smith, Byran B. Korth, Susanne Olsen Roper, Barbara Mandleco

Faculty Publications

Although a large body of literature exists supporting the relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there are reasons to analyze separately the relevant literature specific to children with developmental disabilities. However, that literature has not been synthesized in any systematic review. This study examined the association between positive parenting attributes and outcomes of young children with developmental disabilities through meta-analytic aggregation of effect sizes across 14 studies including 576 participants. The random effects weighted average effect size was r = .22 (SE = .06, p < .001), indicative of a moderate association between positive parenting attributes and child outcomes. Publication bias did not appear to be a substantial threat to the results. There was a trend for studies with more mature parents to have effect sizes of higher magnitude than studies with young parents. The results provide support for efforts to evaluate and promote effective parenting skills when providing services for young children with disabilities.


The 9th Conference On Metal Toxicity And Carcinogenesis: The Conference Overview, James T.F. Wise, Lei Wang, Zhuo Zhang, Xianglin Shi Sep 2017

The 9th Conference On Metal Toxicity And Carcinogenesis: The Conference Overview, James T.F. Wise, Lei Wang, Zhuo Zhang, Xianglin Shi

Faculty Publications

Heavy metals, such as arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel, mercury, and uranium are known to cause many human diseases and health complications after occupational or environmental exposure. Consequently, metals are environmental health concerns. This manuscript is an overview of the 9th Conference on Metal Toxicity and Carcinogenesis held in October 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky. Since 2000, this biennial meeting brings together experts in the field to discuss current and prospective research in an effort to advance research pertaining to metal toxicity and carcinogenesis. In this review we summarize the major topics discussed and provide insight regarding current research in the field …


Biomass Estimations Of Invasives Yaupon, Chinese Privet And Chinese Tallow In East Texas Hardwood And Pine Ecosystems, Mike Tiller, Brian P. Oswald, Alyx Frantzen, Warren Conway, I-Kuai Hung Sep 2017

Biomass Estimations Of Invasives Yaupon, Chinese Privet And Chinese Tallow In East Texas Hardwood And Pine Ecosystems, Mike Tiller, Brian P. Oswald, Alyx Frantzen, Warren Conway, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

Forest understory fuels can have profound effects on fire behavior and crown fire initiation. Accurate fire behavior prediction in understory fuels is an essential component for estimating fire intensity and severity during wildfire and prescribed fire events. This study focused on estimating temporal and seasonal changes in fuel loading parameters associated with the expansion of invasive yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) in East Texas pine and hardwood ecosystems. Fuel loading data of invasive species infested sites indicated significant increases in understory biomass when compared to 1988 estimates, suggesting a clear need to revise …


Taming Charge Transport In Semiconducting Polymers With Branched Alkyl Side Chains, Bob C. Schroeder, Tadanori Kurosawa, Tianren Fu, Yu-Cheng Chiu, Jaewan Mun, Ging-Ji Nathan Wang, Xiaodan Gu, Leo Shaw, James Kneller, Theo Kreouzis, Michael F. Toney, Zhenan Bao Sep 2017

Taming Charge Transport In Semiconducting Polymers With Branched Alkyl Side Chains, Bob C. Schroeder, Tadanori Kurosawa, Tianren Fu, Yu-Cheng Chiu, Jaewan Mun, Ging-Ji Nathan Wang, Xiaodan Gu, Leo Shaw, James Kneller, Theo Kreouzis, Michael F. Toney, Zhenan Bao

Faculty Publications

The solid-state packing and polymer orientation relative to the substrate are key properties to control in order to achieve high charge carrier mobilities in organic field effect transistors (OFET). Intuitively, shorter side chains are expected to yield higher charge carrier mobilities because of a denser solid state packing motif and a higher ratio of charge transport moieties. However our findings suggest that the polymer chain orientation plays a crucial role in high-performing diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymers. By synthesizing a series of DPP-based polymers with different branched alkyl side chain lengths, it is shown that the polymer orientation depends on the branched alkyl …


To Authorize Sex With Oneself Via Proxy Or Advance Directive, Thomas Simmons Sep 2017

To Authorize Sex With Oneself Via Proxy Or Advance Directive, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Elevated Expression Of Hypoxanthine Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase Within Malignant Tissue, Michelle H. Townsend, Abigail M. Felsted, Zachary E. Ence, Stephen R. Piccolo, Richard A. Robison, Kim L. O'Neill Sep 2017

Elevated Expression Of Hypoxanthine Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase Within Malignant Tissue, Michelle H. Townsend, Abigail M. Felsted, Zachary E. Ence, Stephen R. Piccolo, Richard A. Robison, Kim L. O'Neill

Faculty Publications

Hypoxanthine Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) is a housekeeping enzyme involved in the purine synthesis of guanine and inosine in the salvage pathway. While other salvage pathway enzymes, such as TK1, have been established as biomarkers for both cancer cell proliferation and cancer development, little research been done to evaluate whether HPRT has the same potential as a cancer biomarker. We designed this study to determine if HPRT has value as an identifier of malignancy within the most common types of cancer. We utilized histological samples from lung, colon, prostate, and breast cancer with additional normal tissue to evaluate whether there was …


Effects Of Pectin Molecular Weight Changes On The Structure, Dynamics, And Polysaccharide Interactions Of Primary Cell Walls Of Arabidopsis Thaliana: Insights From Solid-State Nmr, Pyae Phyo, Tuo Wang, Chaowen Xiao, Charles T. Anderson, Mei Hong Sep 2017

Effects Of Pectin Molecular Weight Changes On The Structure, Dynamics, And Polysaccharide Interactions Of Primary Cell Walls Of Arabidopsis Thaliana: Insights From Solid-State Nmr, Pyae Phyo, Tuo Wang, Chaowen Xiao, Charles T. Anderson, Mei Hong

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Significant cellulose-pectin interactions in plant cell walls have been reported recently based on 2D 13C solid-state NMR spectra of intact cell walls, but how these interactions affect cell growth has not been probed. Here, we characterize two Arabidopsis thaliana lines with altered expression of the POLYGALACTURONASE INVOLVED IN EXPANSION1 (PGX1) gene, which encodes a polygalacturonase that cleaves homogalacturonan (HG). PGX1AT plants overexpress PGX1, have HG with lower molecular weight, and grow larger, whereas pgx1-2 knockout plants have HG with higher molecular weight and grow smaller. Quantitative 13C solid-state NMR spectra show that PGX1AT cell walls …


Parasite Biodiversity Faces Extinction And Redistribution In A Changing Climate, Colin J. Carlson, Kevin R. Burgio, Eric R. Dougherty, Anna J. Phillips, Veronica M. Bueno, Christopher F. Clements, Giovanni Castaldo, Tad Dallas, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Jorge Doña, Nyeema C. Harris, Roger Jovani, Sergey Mironov, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Heather C. Proctor, Wayne M. Getz Sep 2017

Parasite Biodiversity Faces Extinction And Redistribution In A Changing Climate, Colin J. Carlson, Kevin R. Burgio, Eric R. Dougherty, Anna J. Phillips, Veronica M. Bueno, Christopher F. Clements, Giovanni Castaldo, Tad Dallas, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Jorge Doña, Nyeema C. Harris, Roger Jovani, Sergey Mironov, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Heather C. Proctor, Wayne M. Getz

Faculty Publications

Climate change is a well-documented driver of both wildlife extinction and disease emergence, but the negative impacts of climate change on parasite diversity are undocumented. We compiled the most comprehensive spatially explicit data set available for parasites, projected range shifts in a changing climate, and estimated extinction rates for eight major parasite clades. On the basis of 53,133 occurrences capturing the geographic ranges of 457 parasite species, conservative model projections suggest that 5 to 10% of these species are committed to extinction by 2070 from climate-driven habitat loss alone. We find no evidence that parasites with zoonotic potential have a …


Light Rare Earth Element Depletion During Deepwater Horizon Blowout Methanotrophy, Alan M. Shiller, Eric W. Chan, D.J. Joung, Molly Redmond, John D. Kessler Sep 2017

Light Rare Earth Element Depletion During Deepwater Horizon Blowout Methanotrophy, Alan M. Shiller, Eric W. Chan, D.J. Joung, Molly Redmond, John D. Kessler

Faculty Publications

Rare earth elements have generally not been thought to have a biological role. However, recent work has demonstrated that the light REEs (LREEs: La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) are essential for at least some methanotrophs, being co-factors in the XoxF type of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH). We show here that dissolved LREEs were significantly removed in a submerged plume of methane-rich water during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) well blowout. Furthermore, incubation experiments conducted with naturally methane-enriched waters from hydrocarbon seeps in the vicinity of the DWH wellhead also showed LREE removal concurrent with methane consumption. Metagenomic sequencing of incubation …


Fatty Acid Concentration And Phase Transitions Modulate Aβ Aggregation Pathways, Pratip Rana, Dexter Dean, Edward Steen, Ashwin Vaidya, Vijayaraghavan Rangachari, Preetam Ghosh Sep 2017

Fatty Acid Concentration And Phase Transitions Modulate Aβ Aggregation Pathways, Pratip Rana, Dexter Dean, Edward Steen, Ashwin Vaidya, Vijayaraghavan Rangachari, Preetam Ghosh

Faculty Publications

Aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides is a significant event that underpins Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. Aβ aggregates, especially the low-molecular weight oligomers, are the primary toxic agents in AD and hence, there is increasing interest in understanding their formation and behavior. Aggregation is a nucleation-dependent process in which the pre-nucleation events are dominated by Aβ homotypic interactions. Dynamic flux and stochasticity during pre-nucleation renders the reactions susceptible to perturbations by other molecules. In this context, we investigate the heterotypic interactions between Aβ and fatty acids (FAs) by two independent tool-sets such as …


Dna Damage Regulates Direct Association Of Tor Kinase With The Rna Polymerase Ii-Transcribed Hmo1 Gene, Arvind Panday, Ashish Gupta, Kavitha Srinivasa, Lijuan Xiao, Mathew D. Smith, Anne Grove Sep 2017

Dna Damage Regulates Direct Association Of Tor Kinase With The Rna Polymerase Ii-Transcribed Hmo1 Gene, Arvind Panday, Ashish Gupta, Kavitha Srinivasa, Lijuan Xiao, Mathew D. Smith, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2017 Panday et al. The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) senses nutrient sufficiency and cellular stress. When mTORC1 is inhibited, protein synthesis is reduced in an intricate process that includes a concerted down-regulation of genes encoding rRNA and ribosomal proteins. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae high-mobility group protein Hmo1p has been implicated in coordinating this response to mTORC1 inhibition. We show here that Tor1p binds directly to the HMO1 gene (but not to genes that are not linked to ribosome biogenesis) and that the presence of Tor1p is associated with activation of gene activity. Persistent induction of DNA double-strand …


Parasite Biodiversity Faces Extinction And Redistribution In A Changing Climate, Colin J. Carlson, Kevin R. Burgio, Eric R. Dougherty, Anna J. Phillips, Veronica M. Bueno, Christopher F. Clements, Giovanni Castaldo, Tad A. Dallas, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Jorge Doña, Nyeema C. Harris, Roger Jovani, Sergey Mironov, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Heather C. Proctor, Wayne M. Getz Sep 2017

Parasite Biodiversity Faces Extinction And Redistribution In A Changing Climate, Colin J. Carlson, Kevin R. Burgio, Eric R. Dougherty, Anna J. Phillips, Veronica M. Bueno, Christopher F. Clements, Giovanni Castaldo, Tad A. Dallas, Carrie A. Cizauskas, Graeme S. Cumming, Jorge Doña, Nyeema C. Harris, Roger Jovani, Sergey Mironov, Oliver C. Muellerklein, Heather C. Proctor, Wayne M. Getz

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved. Climate change is a well-documented driver of both wildlife extinction and disease emergence, but the negative impacts of climate change on parasite diversity are undocumented. We compiled the most comprehensive spatially explicit data set available for parasites, projected range shifts in a changing climate, and estimated extinction rates for eight major parasite clades. On the basis of 53, 133 occurrences capturing the geographic ranges of 457 parasite species, conservative model projections suggest that 5 to 10% of these species are committed to extinction by 2070 from climate-driven habitat loss alone. We find …


Primers For Castilleja And Their Utility Across Orobanchaceae: Ii. Single-Copy Nuclear Loci, Maribeth Latvis, Sarah J. Jacobs, Sebastian M.E. Mortimer, Melissa Richards, Paul D. Blischak, Sarah Mathews, David C. Tank Sep 2017

Primers For Castilleja And Their Utility Across Orobanchaceae: Ii. Single-Copy Nuclear Loci, Maribeth Latvis, Sarah J. Jacobs, Sebastian M.E. Mortimer, Melissa Richards, Paul D. Blischak, Sarah Mathews, David C. Tank

Faculty Publications

Premise of the study: We developed primers targeting nuclear loci in Castilleja with the goal of reconstructing the evolutionary history of this challenging clade. These primers were tested across other major clades in Orobanchaceae to assess their broader utility. Methods and Results: We assembled low-coverage genomes for three taxa in Castilleja and developed primer combinations for the single-copy conserved ortholog set (COSII) and the pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) gene family. These primer combinations were designed to take advantage of the Fluidigm microfluidic PCR platform and are well suited for high-throughput sequencing applications. Eighty-seven primers were designed for Castilleja, and 27 were …


Characteristics Of Ovarian Cancer Detection By A Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe Activated By Human Nad(P)H: Quinone Oxidoreductase Isozyme 1 (Hnqo1), Yuko Nakamura, Zhenhua Shen, Toshiko Harada, Tadanobu Nagaya, Kazuhide Sato, Shuhei Okuyama, Fusa Ogata, Peter L. Choyke, Robin L. Mccarley, Hisataka Kobayashi Sep 2017

Characteristics Of Ovarian Cancer Detection By A Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe Activated By Human Nad(P)H: Quinone Oxidoreductase Isozyme 1 (Hnqo1), Yuko Nakamura, Zhenhua Shen, Toshiko Harada, Tadanobu Nagaya, Kazuhide Sato, Shuhei Okuyama, Fusa Ogata, Peter L. Choyke, Robin L. Mccarley, Hisataka Kobayashi

Faculty Publications

© Nakamura et al. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes are ideal for in vivo imaging, because they offer deeper tissue penetration by the light and lower background autofluorescence than fluorophores that emit in the visible range. Q3STCy is a newly synthesized, NIR light-emitting probe that is activated by an enzyme commonly overexpressed in tumor cells, human nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate): quinone oxidoreductase isozyme 1, known as hNQO1 or DT-diaphorase. The purpose of this study is to compare the sensitivity of detecting peritoneal ovarian cancer metastasis (POCM) with Q3STCy and gGlu-HMRG, a green fluorescent probe, upon their surface application. In vitro uptake …


Evolution Of Alu Subfamily Structure In The Saimiri Lineage Of New World Monkeys, Mark Batzer, Jasmine N. Baker, Jerilyn A. Walker, John A. Vanchiere, Kacie R. Philippe, Corey P. St. Romain, Paulina Gonzalez-Quiroga, Michael W. Denham, Jackson R. Mierl, Miriam K. Konkel Sep 2017

Evolution Of Alu Subfamily Structure In The Saimiri Lineage Of New World Monkeys, Mark Batzer, Jasmine N. Baker, Jerilyn A. Walker, John A. Vanchiere, Kacie R. Philippe, Corey P. St. Romain, Paulina Gonzalez-Quiroga, Michael W. Denham, Jackson R. Mierl, Miriam K. Konkel

Faculty Publications

Squirrelmonkeys,Saimiri,arecommonlyfoundinzoologicalparksandusedinbiomedicalresearch.S.boliviensisisthemostcommon species for research; however, there is little information about genome evolution within this primate lineage. Here, we reconstruct the Alu element sequence amplification and evolution in the genus Saimiri at the time of divergence within the family Cebidae lineage. Alu elements are the most successful SINE (Short Interspersed Element) in primates. Here, we report 46 Saimiri lineage specificAlusubfamilies.RetrotranspositionactivityinvolvedsubfamiliesrelatedtoAluS,AluTa10,andAluTa15.Manysubfamiliesare simultaneously active within the Saimiri lineage, a finding which supports the stealth model of Alu amplification. We also report a high resolution analysis of Alu subfamilies within the S. boliviensis genome [saiBol1].


Alu Insertion Polymorphisms As Evidence For Population Structure In Baboons, Mark Batzer, Cody J. Steely, Jerilyn A. Walker, Vallmer E. Jordan, Thomas O. Beckstrom, Cullen L. Mcdaniel, Corey P. St. Romain, Emily C. Bennett, Arianna Robichaux, Brooke N. Clement, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Kim C. Worley, Jane Phillips-Conroy, Clifford J. Jolly, Jeff Rogers, Miriam K. Konkel Sep 2017

Alu Insertion Polymorphisms As Evidence For Population Structure In Baboons, Mark Batzer, Cody J. Steely, Jerilyn A. Walker, Vallmer E. Jordan, Thomas O. Beckstrom, Cullen L. Mcdaniel, Corey P. St. Romain, Emily C. Bennett, Arianna Robichaux, Brooke N. Clement, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Kim C. Worley, Jane Phillips-Conroy, Clifford J. Jolly, Jeff Rogers, Miriam K. Konkel

Faculty Publications

Male dispersal from the natal group at or near maturity is a feature of most baboon (Papio) species. It potentially has profound effects upon population structure and evolutionary processes, but dispersal, especially for unusually long distances, is not readily documented by direct field observation. In this pilot study, we investigate the possibility of retrieving baboon population structure in yellow (Papio cynocephalus) and kinda (Papio kindae) baboons from the distribution of variation in a genome-wide set of 494 Alu insertion polymorphisms, made available via the recently completed Baboon Genome Analysis Consortium. Alu insertion variation in a mixed …


Integrating Soil Silicon Amendment Into Management Programs For Insect Pests Of Drill-Seeded Rice, James M. Villegas, Michael O. Way, Rebecca A. Pearson, Michael J. Stout Sep 2017

Integrating Soil Silicon Amendment Into Management Programs For Insect Pests Of Drill-Seeded Rice, James M. Villegas, Michael O. Way, Rebecca A. Pearson, Michael J. Stout

Faculty Publications

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Silicon soil amendment has been shown to enhance plant defenses against insect pests. Rice is a silicon-accumulating graminaceous plant. In the southern United States, the rice water weevil and stem borers are important pests of rice. Current management tactics for these pests rely heavily on the use of insecticides. This study evaluated the effects of silicon amendment when combined with current management tactics for these rice insect pests in the field. Field experiments were conducted from 2013 to 2015. Rice was drill-planted in plots subjected to factorial combinations of variety (conventional …


Role Of Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels In Salivary Gland Function And Sugar Feeding Of The Fruit Fly, Drosophila Melanogaster, Daniel R. Swale, Zhilin Li, Felix Guerrero, Adalberto A. Pérez De León, Lane D. Foil Sep 2017

Role Of Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels In Salivary Gland Function And Sugar Feeding Of The Fruit Fly, Drosophila Melanogaster, Daniel R. Swale, Zhilin Li, Felix Guerrero, Adalberto A. Pérez De León, Lane D. Foil

Faculty Publications

© 2016 The Authors The arthropod salivary gland is of critical importance for horizontal transmission of pathogens, yet a detailed understanding of the ion conductance pathways responsible for saliva production and excretion is lacking. A superfamily of potassium ion channels, known as inward rectifying potassium (Kir) channels, is overexpressed in the Drosophila salivary gland by 32-fold when compared to the whole body mRNA transcripts. Therefore, we aimed to test the hypothesis that pharmacological and genetic depletion of salivary gland specific Kir channels alters the efficiency of the gland and reduced feeding capabilities using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a …


Short Communication: Lack Of Support For Socially Connected Hiv-1 Transmission Among Young Adult Black Men Who Have Sex With Men, Kayo Fujimoto, Lyndon M. Coghill, Christopher A. Weier, Lu Yu Hwang, Ju Yeong Kim, John A. Schneider, Michael L. Metzker, Jeremy M. Brown Sep 2017

Short Communication: Lack Of Support For Socially Connected Hiv-1 Transmission Among Young Adult Black Men Who Have Sex With Men, Kayo Fujimoto, Lyndon M. Coghill, Christopher A. Weier, Lu Yu Hwang, Ju Yeong Kim, John A. Schneider, Michael L. Metzker, Jeremy M. Brown

Faculty Publications

© Copyright 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2017. We explore the phylogenetic relationships among HIV sequences sampled from young adult black men who have sex with men (YAB-MSM), who are connected through peer referral/social ties and who attend common venues. Using 196 viral sequences sampled from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 10 individuals, our preliminary phylogenetic results indicate that these socially connected YAB-MSM are infected with distantly related viruses and provide no evidence for viral transmission between network members. Our results suggest that HIV-prevention strategies that target young adult MSM should extend beyond their network members and local community.


Effect Of Dietary Salt Intake On Epithelial Na+ Channels (Enac) In Vasopressin Magnocellular Neurosecretory Neurons In The Rat Supraoptic Nucleus, Kaustubh Sharma, Masudul Haque, Richard Guidry, Yoichi Ueta, Ryoichi Teruyama Sep 2017

Effect Of Dietary Salt Intake On Epithelial Na+ Channels (Enac) In Vasopressin Magnocellular Neurosecretory Neurons In The Rat Supraoptic Nucleus, Kaustubh Sharma, Masudul Haque, Richard Guidry, Yoichi Ueta, Ryoichi Teruyama

Faculty Publications

© 2017 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Physiological Society Key points: A growing body of evidence suggests that epithelial Na+ channels (ENaCs) in the brain play a significant role in the regulation of blood pressure; however, the brain structures that mediate the effect are not well understood. Because vasopressin (VP) neurons play a pivotal role in coordinating neuroendocrine and autonomic responses to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis, a basic understanding of the regulation and activity of ENaC in VP neurons is of great interest. We show that high dietary salt …


Primers For Castilleja And Their Utility Across Orobanchaceae: I. Chloroplast Primers, Maribeth Latvis, Sebastian M.E. Mortimer, Diego F. Morales-Briones, Samuel Torpey, Simon Uribe-Convers, Sarah J. Jacobs, Sarah Mathews, David C. Tank Sep 2017

Primers For Castilleja And Their Utility Across Orobanchaceae: I. Chloroplast Primers, Maribeth Latvis, Sebastian M.E. Mortimer, Diego F. Morales-Briones, Samuel Torpey, Simon Uribe-Convers, Sarah J. Jacobs, Sarah Mathews, David C. Tank

Faculty Publications

Premise of the study: Chloroplast primers were developed from genomic data for the taxonomically challenging genus Castilleja. We further tested the broader utility of these primers across Orobanchaceae, identifying a core set of chloroplast primers amplifying across the clade. Methods and Results: Using a combination of three low-coverage Castilleja genomes and sequence data from 12 Castilleja plastomes, 76 primer combinations were specifically designed and tested for Castilleja. The primers targeted the most variable portions of the plastome and were validated for their applicability across the clade. Of these, 38 primer combinations were subsequently evaluated in silico and then validated across …


Rubrobacter Spartanus Sp. Nov., A Moderately Thermophilic Oligotrophic Bacterium Isolated From Volcanic Soil, Jeffrey S. Norman, Gary M. King, Maren L. Friesen Sep 2017

Rubrobacter Spartanus Sp. Nov., A Moderately Thermophilic Oligotrophic Bacterium Isolated From Volcanic Soil, Jeffrey S. Norman, Gary M. King, Maren L. Friesen

Faculty Publications

© 2017 IUMS. Bacterial strain HPK2-2T was isolated from soil adjacent to the caldera of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. HPK2-2T is a chemoorganoheterotroph that shows optimal growth at 50 °C (range 45-55 °C) and pH 8.0 (range 5.0-10.0). Sequence analysis of the 16S subunit of the rRNA gene showed that HPK2-2T is most closely related to the type strain of Rubrobactertaiwanensis (ATCC BAA-406T), with which it shared 94.5% sequence identity. The major fatty acids detected in HPK2-2T were C18:0 14-methyl and C16:0 12-methyl; internally branched fatty acids such as these are characteristic of the genus Rubrobacter. The …


Long-Term Entomological Research On Canopy Arthropods In A Tropical Rainforest In Puerto Rico, T. D. Schowalter Sep 2017

Long-Term Entomological Research On Canopy Arthropods In A Tropical Rainforest In Puerto Rico, T. D. Schowalter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


A Preliminary Investigation Of The Interactions Between The Brood Parasite Chalcoela Iphitalis And Its Polistinewasp Hosts, Scott Nacko, Gregg Henderson Sep 2017

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Interactions Between The Brood Parasite Chalcoela Iphitalis And Its Polistinewasp Hosts, Scott Nacko, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

The life history of Chalcoela iphitalis-a common brood parasite of social wasps-has been described in previous literature, but critical information regarding oviposition behavior and possible differential host parasitism remain cryptic. Here we report on infestation levels of this moth in field populations of paper wasps in Polistes and Mischocyttarus, as well as the oviposition behavior of the moths under a laboratory setting. We found evidence for differential parasitism between paper wasp genera in the field, with almost 50% nest infestation in P. bellicosus and no occurrences of moth infestation in M. mexicanus. Laboratory results revealed that oviposition occurs only at …