Digital Commons Network^™

The Genetic Architecture Of Variation In Humans And Dogs, Eldon Goodwin Prince

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Genetic architecture is broadly defined as the structure of how genes come together to produce phenotypes. Primary aspects of genetic architecture include how many and which genes contribute to phenotypic variation. The genetic architecture of human height has been studied for over a century; indeed it is the classic quantitative trait with hundreds of contributing variants. As genome-wide studies of genetic architecture are extended beyond just humans, the genetic basis of polygenic traits like height can be compared between species. Such interspecies comparisons reveal how many of the same loci contribute to variation within each species. The extent to which …

Mechanisms Affecting Predation Success In Wolf Spiders, Matthew Steffenson

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Predator-prey interactions play a role in community structure through a variety of different mechanisms including direct consumption, density-mediated indirect effects, and trait-mediated indirect effects. Understanding factors that can influence the efficacy of direct consumption on prey populations can help us to identify the strength of the impact predators can have on lower trophic levels. My dissertation research focuses on how mechanisms like sexual dimorphism, impaired body condition, and starvation stress alter how effective an intermediate predator (i.e. a predator that occupies an intermediate position in the food web) can be in direct consumption of prey. Using wolf spiders as my …

A Study Of The Function Of Two Nuclear Transport Retrogenes (Dntf-2r And Ran-Like) In Drosophila Melanogaster, Susana Filipa Simoes Lopes Domingues

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The genetic information, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), is the hereditary material that forms the basis for the origin and evolution of life. These molecules encode and store information that can be copied, read, mutated, recombined and selected, providing necessary conditions for the evolution of the diversity of life on earth. With my project I contribute to the understanding of how one class of mutations, namely gene duplication, contributes to the functional differences between species. It has been observed that many new duplicate genes originate for testis functions; not only in the Drosophila genomes but other organisms' genomes …

Investigation Of Potential Virulence Factors In Pathogenic Marine Bacteria, Joshuah Myron Beach-Letendre

Biology Theses - Archive

Coral reefs provide numerous ecological and economic functions and are critical to biodiversity in marine environments. Critical to coral reef health and diversity is the microbial consortium within the coral host along with symbiotic algae. Coral reef invertebrate-microbe interactions within coral reef communities are rapidly shifting out of equilibrium throughout the globe. Higher temperatures are believed to be responsible for this destabilization. In this study, I assessed the production of potential virulence factors in previously isolated bacteria believed to contribute to disease symptoms in a major reef building coral, Orbicella faveolata. I measured the doubling times, respiration rates, biofilm production, …

Tailored Analytical Methods For Surveying Groundwater Quality In Areas Of Unconventional Drilling, Doug Dewayne Carlton Jr.

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Many questions have been raised over the environmental impact of unconventional drilling techniques, especially on the groundwater of the extraction area. Analytical approaches and methods specific to hydraulic fracturing had to be developed due to the lack of available research at the time. The analytical approaches chosen for the extensive survey of groundwater quality included general groundwater measurements, bulk water characterization, and organic, inorganic, and ionic speciation. Some of the chosen targets included volatile and semivolatile ingredients in hydraulic fracturing fluid, metals associated with drilling fluids or formation waters, and total carbon and nitrogen measurements. These methods were developed and …

Modeling Collapse: Analysis Of The Bronze Age-Iron Age Transition At Two Near Eastern Sites, William Nutt

Sociology & Anthropology Theses - Archive

This project tests a three-step model for archaeological collapse, by analyzing assemblages from two museum collections, Alisar Hüyük and Tell el Fakhariyah. Focusing on three categories of artifacts, namely biological remains, tools and weapons, and objects of personal adornment, the model evaluates change over a brief time in order to investigate the transitional period during a collapse. As the sites used for this research were excavated during the first half of the twentieth century, the project assesses the possible utility of old museum collections in light of probable biases.

Characterizing The Impact And Response Of Deep Sea Benthic Foraminifera To The Deepwater Horizon Event In The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico, Patrick Schwing, Isabel C. Romero, Gregg Brooks, David W. Hastings, Rebekka Larson, L. M. Reilly, David J. Hollander, Jeff P. Chanton

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Sediment cores were collected from the Gulf of Mexico to assess the benthic foraminifera (BF) community structure changes in response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event. Short-lived radioisotope geochronologies (210Pb and 234Th), organic geochemical toxicity assessments, and redox metal concentrations were determined to relate changes in sedimentation rate, toxicity levels, and redox conditions with BF abundance. Records from December 2010 document a community-wide decrease in abundance in the upper 10 mm relative to the down-core mean. There is also depletion in the δ13C and Δ14C records of BF calcite (relative to down-core values) that is synchronous with the timing of …

Densovirus Associated With Sea-Star Wasting Disease And Mass Mortality, Ian Hewson, Jason Button, Brent Gudenkauf, Benjamin Miner, Alisa Newton, Mya Breitbart, Elizabeth Fahsbender, Kevin Lafferty

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Sea stars inhabiting the Northeast Pacific Coast have recently experienced an extensive outbreak of wasting disease, leading to their degradation and disappearance from many coastal areas. In this paper, we present evidence that the cause of the disease is transmissible from disease-affected animals to apparently healthy individuals, that the disease-causing agent is a virus-sized microorganism, and that the best candidate viral taxon, the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV), is in greater abundance in diseased than in healthy sea stars.

Genetic Manipulation Of The Toxoplasma Gondii Genome By Fosmid Recombineering, Sumiti Vinayak, Carrie F. Brooks, Anatoli Naumov, Elena Suvorova, Michael W. White, Boris Striepen

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Apicomplexa are obligate intracellular parasites that cause important diseases in humans and animals. Manipulating the pathogen genome is the most direct way to understand the functions of specific genes in parasite development and pathogenesis. In Toxoplasma gondii, nonhomologous recombination is typically highly favored over homologous recombination, a process required for precise gene targeting. Several approaches, including the use of targeting vectors that feature large flanks to drive site-specific recombination, have been developed to overcome this problem. We have generated a new large-insert repository of T. gondii genomic DNA that is arrayed and sequenced and covers 95% of all of the …

Pe-Db: A Database Of Structural Ensembles Of Intrinsically Disordered And Unfolded Proteins, Mihaly Varadi, Simone Kosol, Pierre Lebrun, Erica Valentini, Martin Blackledge, A. Keith Dunker, Isabella C. Felli, Julie D. Forman-Kay, Richard Kriwacki, Roberta Pierattelli, Joel Sussman, Dmitri I. Svergun, Vladimir N. Uversky, Michele Vendruscolo, David Wishart, Peter E. Wright, Peter Tompa

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

The goal of pE-DB (http://pedb.vib.be) is to serve as an openly accessible database for the deposition of structural ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and of denatured proteins based on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering and other data measured in solution. Owing to the inherent flexibility of IDPs, solution techniques are particularly appropriate for characterizing their biophysical properties, and structural ensembles in agreement with these data provide a convenient tool for describing the underlying conformational sampling. Database entries consist of (i) primary experimental data with descriptions of the acquisition methods and algorithms used for the ensemble …

Identifying Novel Cell Cycle Proteins In Apicomplexa Parasites Through Co-Expression Decision Analysis, Carrie L. Butler, Olivier Lucas, Stefan Wuchty, Bin Xue, Vladimir N. Uversky, Michael White

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intrinsic Disorder In The Bk Channel And Its Interactome, Zhenling Peng, Yoshihisa Sakai, Lukasz Kurgan, Bernd Sokolowski, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

The large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channel is broadly expressed in various mammalian cells and tissues such as neurons, skeletal and smooth muscles, exocrine cells, and sensory cells of the inner ear. Previous studies suggest that BK channels are promiscuous binders involved in a multitude of protein-protein interactions. To gain a better understanding of the potential mechanisms underlying BK interactions, we analyzed the abundance, distribution, and potential mechanisms of intrinsic disorder in 27 BK channel variants from mouse cochlea, 104 previously reported BK-associated proteins (BKAPS) from cytoplasmic and membrane/cytoskeletal regions, plus BK β- and γ-subunits. Disorder was evaluated using the MFDp …

Spatiotemporal Chlorophyll-A Dynamics On The Louisiana Continental Shelf Derived From A Dual Satellite Imagery Algorithm, Chengfeng Le, John C. Lehrter, Chuanmin Hu, Michael C. Murrell, Lin Qi

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A monthly time series of remotely sensed chlorophyll-a (Chla_rs) over the Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) was developed and examined for its relationship to river discharge, nitrate concentration, total phosphorus concentration, photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), wind speed, and interannual variation in hypoxic area size. A new algorithm for Chla_rs, tuned separately for clear and turbid waters, was developed using field-observed chlorophyll-a (Chla_obs) collected during 12 cruises from 2002 to 2007. The new algorithm reproduced Chla_obs, with ∼40% and ∼60% uncertainties at satellite pixel level for clear offshore waters and turbid nearshore …

Cover, Ornitología Neotropical

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Cover, Ornitología Neotropical

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Cover, Ornitología Neotropical

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Cover, Ornitología Neotropical

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of 4-Aryl-6-Indolylpyridine-3-Carbonitriles And Evaluation Of Their Antiproliferative Activity, Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Magda Goda El-Meligy, Ahmed Kamel El-Ziaty, Zenat Adeeb Nagib, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

A novel class of 6-indolypyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activities to establish structure–activity relationship. The synthesis was carried out through one-pot multicomponent reaction of 3-acetylindole, aromatic aldehydes, ethyl cyanoacetate, and ammonium acetate in the presence of piperidine as a catalyst, using a microwave irradiation method or a traditional thermal method. This was followed by chlorination for compounds 13a–e and subsequent nucleophilic substitution of the chlorine group by ethylenediamine at C2 position of the pyridine ring. The antiproliferative activity of these new nicotinonitriles was evaluated against human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells. …

Effect Of Light On The Biodegradation Of Selective Azo Dyes By Escherichia Coli And Pseudomonas Sp. And Optimization Of Conditions For Decolorization, Muhammad Kashif, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Ghaffar, Muhammad Yameen, Bushra Munir

Articles

The degradation of two azo dyes; congo red and acid red 27, commonly used in textile industries, was investigated using Pseudomonassp. and Escherichia coli strains isolated from dye contaminated soil sludge. An aqueous medium containing 100 mg/L of dyes were used for the biodegradation experiments. The degradation results as color removal performance were obtained after 5 days incubation. Different factors like azoreductases specificity, pH and effects of a range of wavelengths of light on decolorization efficiencies were studied. Pseudomonassp. showed highest degradation rate for congo red and Escherichia coli showed highest degradation rate for acid red 27. The color of …

Drought-Induced Woody Plant Mortality In An Encroached Semi-Arid Savanna Depends On Topoedaphic Factors And Land Management, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr, Carissa L. Wonkka, Charles A. Taylor, Chris B. Zou, Jeremiah J. Twidwell, William E. Rogers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Questions: How do recent patterns of drought-induced woody plant mortality in Texas semi-arid savanna compare to the extended drought of the 1950s? Does the relative composition of the woody plant community shift ubiquitously across the landscape following woody plant mortality and dieback or are shifts dependent on differences among species, soils, land use and plant demography?

Location: Texas Agrilife Research Station, Sonora, Texas, USA (30.1° N 100.3° W).

Methods: Following an exceptional drought from 1951 to 1957, a study was conducted to quantify rates of mortality for various woody plant species. In 2011, we repeated this study within three long-term …

Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis Of Unsaturated Fatty Acids In A Recombinant Inbred Population Of Soybean, Xianzhi Wang, Guo-Liang Jiang, Marci Green, Roy A. Scott, D. L. Hyten, P. B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an important oilseed crop which produces about 30 %of the world’s edible vegetable oil. The quality of soybean oil is determined by its fatty acid composition. Soybean oil high in oleic and low in linolenic fatty acids is desirable for human consumption and other uses. The objectives of this study were to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for unsaturated fatty acids and to evaluate the genetic effects of single QTL and QTL combinations in soybean. A population of recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross of SD02-4-59 X A02-381100 was evaluated for fatty …

Detection And Confirmation Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Soybean Seed Isoflavones, Christopher J. Smallwood, Catherine N. Nyinyi, Dean A. Kopsell, Carl E. Sams, Dennis R. West, Pengyin Chen, Stella K. Kantartzi, P. B. Cregan, D. L. Hyten, Vincent R. Pantalone

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Interest in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] isoflavones has increased in recent years owing to numerous reported health benefits. Consequently, quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection for marker-assisted breeding for isoflavones is being examined for genetic gains. This study sought to detect QTL for soybean isoflavones in a population of 274 recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between ‘Essex’ and ‘Williams 82’ that were subdivided and tested by maturity (early, mid, and late). The field tests were conducted in three environments in 2009 (Knoxville, TN; Harrisburg, IL; and Stuttgart, AR). The population was genotyped with 480 polymorphic single nucleotide …

Transcriptomic And Physiological Characterization Of The Fefe Mutant Of Melon (Cucumis Melo) Reveals New Aspects Of Iron-Copper Crosstalk, Brian M. Waters, Samuel A. Mcinturf, Keenan Amundsen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) homeostasis are tightly linked across biology. In previous work, Fe deficiency interacted with Cu-regulated genes and stimulated Cu accumulation. The C940-fe (fefe) Fe-uptake mutant of melon (Cucumis melo) was characterized, and the fefe mutant was used to test whether Cu deficiency could stimulate Fe uptake. Wild-type and fefe mutant transcriptomes were determined by RNA-seq under Fe and Cu deficiency. FeFe-regulated genes included core Fe uptake, metal homeostasis, and transcription factor genes. Numerous genes were regulated by both Fe and Cu. The fefe mutant was rescued by high Fe or by …

Arabidopsis Lipins, Pdat1 Acyltransferase, And Sdp1 Triacylglycerol Lipase Synergistically Direct Fatty Acids Toward Β-Oxidation, Thereby Maintaining Membrane Lipid Homeostasis, Jilian Fan, Chengshi Yan, Rebecca Roston, John Shanklin, Changcheng Xu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Triacylglycerol (TAG) metabolism is a key aspect of intracellular lipid homeostasis in yeast and mammals, but its role in vegetative tissues of plants remains poorly defined. We previously reported that PHOSPHOLIPID:DIACYLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE1 (PDAT1) is crucial for diverting fatty acids (FAs) from membrane lipid synthesis to TAG and thereby protecting against FA-induced cell death in leaves. Here, we show that overexpression of PDAT1 enhances the turnover of FAs in leaf lipids. Using the trigalactosyldiacylglycerol1-1 (tgd1-1) mutant, which displays substantially enhanced PDAT1- mediated TAG synthesis, we demonstrate that disruption of SUGAR-DEPENDENT1 (SDP1) TAG lipase or PEROXISOMAL TRANSPORTER1 (PXA1) severely decreases …

Renewing The "Social Contract" Between Law Schools, Lawyers, And Society, Robert W. Adler

Utah OnLaw: The Utah Law Review Online Supplement

A brief perspective essay on the "twin crises"--underemployed lawyers and underserved clients.

Off Target Effects Of Sulforaphane Include The De-Repression Of Long-Terminal Repeats Through Histone Acetylation Events, Scott Baier, Richard Zbasnik, Vicki Schlegel, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate in cruciferous vegetables. Sulforaphane inhibits histone deacetylases, leading to the transcriptional activation of genes including tumor suppressor genes. The compound has attracted considerable attention in the chemoprevention of prostate cancer. Here we tested the hypothesis that sulforaphane is not specific for tumor suppressor genes but also activates loci such as long terminal repeats (LTRs), which might impair genome stability. Studies were conducted using chemically pure sulforaphane in primary human IMR-90 fibroblasts and in broccoli sprout feeding studies in healthy adults. Sulforaphane (2.0 μM) caused an increase in LTR transcriptional activity in cultured cells. Consumption …

Ascension, Megan Hopkins, Jeremy Wilburn, Sandra Bennett

Ascension: Elevating Research & Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Global Analysis Of Chlorella Variabilis Nc64a Mrna Profiles During The Early Phase Of Paramecium Bursaria Chlorella Virus-1 Infection, Janet M. Rowe, Adrien Jeanniard, James R. Gurnon, Yuannan Xia, David D. Dunigan, James L. Van Etten, Guillaume Blanc

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The PBCV-1/Chlorella variabilis NC64A system is a model for studies on interactions between viruses and algae. Here we present the first global analyses of algal host transcripts during the early stages of infection, prior to virus replication. During the course of the experiment stretching over 1 hour, about a third of the host genes displayed significant changes in normalized mRNA abundance that either increased or decreased compared to uninfected levels. The population of genes with significant transcriptional changes gradually increased until stabilizing at 40 minutes post infection. Functional categories including cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins, jasmonic acid biosynthesis and anaphase promoting …

Dynamic Attachment Of Chlorovirus Pbcv-1 To Chlorella Variabilis, Irina Agarkova, Brigitte Hertel, Xinzheng Zhang, Les Lane, Alexander Tchourbanov, David D. Dunigan, Gerhard Thiel, Michael G. Rossmann, James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Chloroviruses infect their hosts by specifically binding to and degrading the cell wall of their algal hosts at the site of attachment, using an intrinsic digesting enzyme(s). Chlorovirus PBCV-1 stored as a lysate survived longer than virus alone, suggesting virus attachment to cellular debris may be reversible. Ghost cells (algal cells extracted with methanol) were used as a model to study reversibility of PBCV-1 attachment because ghost cells are as susceptible to attachment and wall digestion as are live cells. Reversibility of attachment to ghost cells was examined by releasing attached virions with a cell wall degrading enzyme extract. The …

Genetic Variation And Possible Mechanisms Driving The Evolution Of Worldwide Fig Mosaic Virus Isolates, Jeewan Jyot Walia, Anouk Willemsen, Eminur Elci, Kadriye Caglayan, Bryce W. Falk, Luis Rubio

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Fig mosaic virus (FMV) is a multipartite negative-sense RNA virus infecting fig trees worldwide. FMV is transmitted by vegetative propagation and grafting of plant materials, and by the eriophyid mite Aceria ficus. In this work, the genetic variation and evolutionary mechanisms shaping FMV populations were characterized. Nucleotide sequences from four genomic regions (each within the genomic RNAs 1, 2, 3, and 4) from FMV isolates from different countries were determined and analyzed. FMV genetic variation was low, as is seen for many other plant viruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed some geographically distant FMV isolates which clustered together, suggesting long-distance migration. …