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2016

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Multidisciplinary Research And Extension Team Evolution: Processes, Outcomes, And Strategies, Daren Redfearn, Jay Parsons, Mary Drewnoski Jan 2016

Multidisciplinary Research And Extension Team Evolution: Processes, Outcomes, And Strategies, Daren Redfearn, Jay Parsons, Mary Drewnoski

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Team-based research is not an innovative concept; however, the current models of team research are based principally on self-formed teams with a defined duration. Current trends seem to point toward the development of administratively designed multidisciplinary teams. Although this seems logical, minimal guidelines exist to aid in team development or evaluate team outcomes. Critical processes in a team-based research atmosphere have not been identified, much less described, and strategies for successful implementation have not been proposed. The strength of this approach can be summarized as a unified focus during the course of problem definition and solution. Many trade-offs and obstacles …


Identification And Verification Of Qtl Associated With Frost Tolerance Using Linkage Mapping And Gwas In Winter Faba Bean, Ahmed Sallam, Mustapha Arbaoui, Mohamed El-Esawi, Nathan Abshire Jan 2016

Identification And Verification Of Qtl Associated With Frost Tolerance Using Linkage Mapping And Gwas In Winter Faba Bean, Ahmed Sallam, Mustapha Arbaoui, Mohamed El-Esawi, Nathan Abshire

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Frost stress is one of the abiotic stresses that causes a significant reduction in winter faba bean yield in Europe. The main objective of this work is to genetically improve frost tolerance in winter faba bean by identifying and validating QTL associated with frost tolerance to be used in marker-assisted selection (MAS). Two different genetic backgrounds were used: a biparental population (BPP) consisting of 101 inbred lines, and 189 genotypes from single seed descent (SSD) from the Gottingen Winter bean Population (GWBP). All experiments were conducted in a frost growth chamber under controlled conditions. Both populations were genotyped using the …


Pumpage Reduction By Using Variable Rate Irrigation To Mine Undepleted Soil Water, Tsz Him Lo, Derek M. Heeren, Derrel Martin, Luciano Mateos, Joe D. Luck, Dean E. Eisenhauer Jan 2016

Pumpage Reduction By Using Variable Rate Irrigation To Mine Undepleted Soil Water, Tsz Him Lo, Derek M. Heeren, Derrel Martin, Luciano Mateos, Joe D. Luck, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conventional irrigation schedules are typically based on portions of the field where root zones hold the least available soil water. This leaves undepleted available water in areas with larger water holding capacities. The undepleted water could be used through variable-rate irrigation (VRI) management; however, the benefits of VRI without in-field mapping are unexamined. In this research, the field-averaged amount of undepleted available soil water in the root zone was calculated from the NRCS Soil Survey Geographic database for 49,224 center-pivot irrigated fields in Nebraska. Potential reductions in pumpage from mining undepleted available water were then estimated. Results of the analysis …


Stabilin-1 And Stabilin-2 Are Specific Receptors For The Cellular Internalization Of Phosphorothioate-Modified Antisense Oligonucleotides (Asos) In The Liver, Colton M. Miller, Aaron J. Donner, Emma E. Blank, Andrew W. Egger, Brianna M. Kellar, Michael E. Østergaard, Punit P. Seth, Edward N. Harris Jan 2016

Stabilin-1 And Stabilin-2 Are Specific Receptors For The Cellular Internalization Of Phosphorothioate-Modified Antisense Oligonucleotides (Asos) In The Liver, Colton M. Miller, Aaron J. Donner, Emma E. Blank, Andrew W. Egger, Brianna M. Kellar, Michael E. Østergaard, Punit P. Seth, Edward N. Harris

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Phosphorothioate (PS)-modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have been extensively investigated over the past three decades as pharmacological and therapeutic agents. One second generation ASO, KynamroTM, was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and over 35 second generation PS ASOs are at various stages of clinical development. In this report, we show that the Stabilin class of scavenger receptors, which were not previously thought to bind DNA, do bind and internalize PS ASOs. With the use of primary cells from mouse and rat livers and recombinant cell lines each expressing Stabilin-1 and each isoform …


Activation Of Erk And Nf-Κb During Hare-Mediated Heparin Uptake Require Only One Of The Four Endocytic Motifs, Madhu S. Pandey, Colton M. Miller, Edward N. Harris, Paul H. Weigel Jan 2016

Activation Of Erk And Nf-Κb During Hare-Mediated Heparin Uptake Require Only One Of The Four Endocytic Motifs, Madhu S. Pandey, Colton M. Miller, Edward N. Harris, Paul H. Weigel

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Fifteen different ligands, including heparin (Hep), are cleared from lymph and blood by the Hyaluronan (HA) Receptor for Endocytosis (HARE; derived from Stabilin-2 by proteolysis), which contains four endocytic motifs (M1-M4). Endocytosis of HARE•Hep complexes is targeted to coated pits by M1, M2, and M3 (Pandey et al, Int. J. Cell Biol. 2015, article ID 524707), which activates ERK1/2 and NF-κB (Pandey et al J. Biol. Chem. 288, 14068–79, 2013). Here, we used a NF-κB promoter-driven luciferase gene assay and cell lines expressing different HARE cytoplasmic domain mutants to identify motifs needed for Hepmediated signaling. Deletion of M1, M2 or …


Fatty Acid Transport Proteins: Targeting Fatp2 As A Gatekeeper Involved In The Transport Of Exogenous Fatty Acids, Paul N. Black, Constance Ahowesso, David Montefusco, Nipun Saini, Concetta C. Dirusso Jan 2016

Fatty Acid Transport Proteins: Targeting Fatp2 As A Gatekeeper Involved In The Transport Of Exogenous Fatty Acids, Paul N. Black, Constance Ahowesso, David Montefusco, Nipun Saini, Concetta C. Dirusso

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The fatty acid transport proteins (FATP) are classified as members of the solute carrier 27 (Slc27) family of proteins based on their ability to function in the transport of exogenous fatty acids. These proteins, when localized to the plasma membrane or at intracellular membrane junctions with the endoplasmic reticulum, function as a gate in the regulated transport of fatty acids and thus represent a therapeutic target to delimit the acquisition of fatty acids that contribute to disease as in the case of fatty acid overload. To date, FATP1, FATP2, and FATP4 have been used as targets in the selection of …


Cadmium And Secondary Structure-Dependent Function Of A Degron In The Pca1p Cadmium Exporter, Nathan Smith, Wenzhong Wel, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Quin, Javier Seravalli, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee Jan 2016

Cadmium And Secondary Structure-Dependent Function Of A Degron In The Pca1p Cadmium Exporter, Nathan Smith, Wenzhong Wel, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Quin, Javier Seravalli, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Protein turnover is a critical cellular process regulating biochemical pathways and destroying terminally misfolded or damaged proteins. Pca1p, a cadmium exporter in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is rapidly degraded by the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) system via a cis-acting degron that exists at the 250–350 amino acid region of Pca1p and is transferable to other proteins to serve as a degradation signal. Cadmium stabilizes Pca1p in a manner dependent on the degron. This suggested that cadmium-mediated masking of the degron impedes its interaction with the molecular factors involved in the ERAD. The characteristics and mechanisms of action of the …


Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation Of Pca1p, A Polytopic Protein, Via Interaction With The Proteasome At The Membrane, Nathan Smith, David J. Adle, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Quin, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee Jan 2016

Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation Of Pca1p, A Polytopic Protein, Via Interaction With The Proteasome At The Membrane, Nathan Smith, David J. Adle, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Quin, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) plays a critical role for destruction of terminally misfolded proteins at the secretory pathway. The system also regulates expression levels of several proteins such as Pca1p, a cadmium exporter in yeast. To gain better insight into the mechanisms underlying ERAD of Pca1p and other polytopic proteins by the proteasome in the cytosol, our study determined the roles for the molecular factors of ERAD in dislodging Pca1p from the ER. Inactivation of the 20S proteasome leads to accumulation of ubiquitinylated Pca1p in the ER membrane, suggesting a role for the proteasome in extraction of Pca1p from the …


Oma1 Links Mitochondrial Protein Quality Control And Tor Signaling To Modulate Physiological Plasticity And Cellular Stress Responses, Iryna Bohovych, Stavroula Kastora, Sara Christianson, Danelle Topil, Heejeong Kim, Teresa Fangman, You J. Zhou, Antoni Barrientos, Jaekwon Lee, Alistair J.P. Brown, Oleh Khalimonchuk Jan 2016

Oma1 Links Mitochondrial Protein Quality Control And Tor Signaling To Modulate Physiological Plasticity And Cellular Stress Responses, Iryna Bohovych, Stavroula Kastora, Sara Christianson, Danelle Topil, Heejeong Kim, Teresa Fangman, You J. Zhou, Antoni Barrientos, Jaekwon Lee, Alistair J.P. Brown, Oleh Khalimonchuk

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

A network of conserved proteases known as the intramitochondrial quality control (IMQC) system is central to mitochondrial protein homeostasis and cellular health. IMQC proteases also appear to participate in establishment of signaling cues for mitochondrion- to-nucleus communication. However, little is known about this process. Here, we show that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, inactivation of the membrane-bound IMQC protease Oma1 interferes with oxidative-stress responses through enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during logarithmic growth and reduced stress signaling via the TORC1-Rim15- Msn2/Msn4 axis. Pharmacological or genetic prevention of ROS accumulation in Oma1-deficient cells restores this defective TOR signaling. Additionally, inactivation …


Regulation Of Dj-1 By Glutaredoxin 1 In Vivo – Implications For Parkinson’S Disease, William M. Johnson, Marcin Golczak, Kyonghwan Choe, Pierce L. Curran, Olga Gorelenkova Miller, Chen Yao, Wenzhang Wang, Jiusheng Lin, Nicole M. Milkovic, Ajit Ray, Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Xiongwei Zhu, Mark A. Wilson, Amy L. Wilson-Delfosse, Shu G. Chen, John J. Mieyal Jan 2016

Regulation Of Dj-1 By Glutaredoxin 1 In Vivo – Implications For Parkinson’S Disease, William M. Johnson, Marcin Golczak, Kyonghwan Choe, Pierce L. Curran, Olga Gorelenkova Miller, Chen Yao, Wenzhang Wang, Jiusheng Lin, Nicole M. Milkovic, Ajit Ray, Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Xiongwei Zhu, Mark A. Wilson, Amy L. Wilson-Delfosse, Shu G. Chen, John J. Mieyal

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide, caused by the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Mutations in PARK7 (DJ-1) result in early onset autosomal recessive PD, and oxidative modification of DJ-1 has been reported to regulate the protective activity of DJ-1 in vitro. Glutathionylation is a prevalent redox modification of proteins resulting from the disulfide adduction of the glutathione moiety to a reactive cysteine-SH; and glutathionylation of specific proteins has been implicated in regulation of cell viability. Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) is the principal deglutathionylating enzyme within cells, and it has …


Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation Of Pca1p, A Polytopic Protein, Via Interaction With The Proteasome At The Membrane, Nathan Smith, David J. Adle, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Qin, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee Jan 2016

Endoplasmic Reticulum-Associated Degradation Of Pca1p, A Polytopic Protein, Via Interaction With The Proteasome At The Membrane, Nathan Smith, David J. Adle, Miaoyun Zhao, Xiaojuan Qin, Heejeong Kim, Jaekwon Lee

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) plays a critical role in the destruction of terminally misfolded proteins at the secretory pathway. The system also regulates expression levels of several proteins such as Pca1p, a cadmium exporter in yeast. To gain better insight into the mechanisms underlying ERAD of Pca1p and other polytopic proteins by the proteasome in the cytosol, our study determined the roles for the molecular factors of ERAD in dislodging Pca1p from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Inactivation of the 20S proteasome leads to accumulation of ubiquitinated Pca1p in the ER membrane, suggesting a role for the proteasome in extraction of …


Caloric Restriction Of Db/Db Mice Reverts Hepatic Steatosis And Body Weight With Divergent Hepatic Metabolism, Kyung Eun Kim, Youngae Jung, Soonki Min, Miso Nam, Rok Won Heo, Byeong Tak Jeon, Dae Hyun Song, Chin-Ok Yi, Eun Ae Jeong, Hwajin Kim, Jeonghyun Kim, Seon-Yong Jeong, Woori Kwak, Do Hyun Ryu, Tamas L. Horvath, Gu Seob Roh, Geum-Sook Hwang Jan 2016

Caloric Restriction Of Db/Db Mice Reverts Hepatic Steatosis And Body Weight With Divergent Hepatic Metabolism, Kyung Eun Kim, Youngae Jung, Soonki Min, Miso Nam, Rok Won Heo, Byeong Tak Jeon, Dae Hyun Song, Chin-Ok Yi, Eun Ae Jeong, Hwajin Kim, Jeonghyun Kim, Seon-Yong Jeong, Woori Kwak, Do Hyun Ryu, Tamas L. Horvath, Gu Seob Roh, Geum-Sook Hwang

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of liver disease and its prevalence is a serious and growing clinical problem. Caloric restriction (CR) is commonly recommended for improvement of obesity-related diseases such as NAFLD. However, the effects of CR on hepatic metabolism remain unknown. We investigated the effects of CR on metabolic dysfunction in the liver of obese diabetic db/db mice. We found that CR of db/db mice reverted insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, body weight and adiposity to those of db/m mice. H-NMR- and UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolite profiling data showed significant metabolic alterations related to lipogenesis, …


Evidence For Pipecolate Oxidase In Mediating Protection Against Hydrogen Peroxide Stress, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Ezhumalai Muthukrishnan, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Justin L. Mott, Donald F. Becker Jan 2016

Evidence For Pipecolate Oxidase In Mediating Protection Against Hydrogen Peroxide Stress, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Ezhumalai Muthukrishnan, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Justin L. Mott, Donald F. Becker

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Pipecolate, an intermediate of the lysine catabolic pathway, is oxidized to Δ1-piperideine-6-carboxylate (P6C) by the flavoenzyme lpipecolate oxidase (PIPOX). P6C spontaneously hydrolyzes to generate α-aminoadipate semialdehyde, which is then converted into α-aminoadipate acid by α-aminoadipatesemialdehyde dehydrogenase. l-pipecolate was previously reported to protect mammalian cells against oxidative stress. Here, we examined whether PIPOX is involved in the mechanism of pipecolate stress protection. Knockdown of PIPOX by small interference RNA abolished pipecolate protection against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in HEK293 cells suggesting a critical role for PIPOX. Subcellular fractionation analysis showed that PIPOX is localized in the mitochondria of HEK293 …


Engineering A Trifunctional Proline Utilization A Chimaera By Fusing A Dna-Binding Domain To A Bifunctional Puta, Benjamin W. Arentson, Erin L. Hayes, Weidong Zhu, John J. Tanner, Donald F. Becker Jan 2016

Engineering A Trifunctional Proline Utilization A Chimaera By Fusing A Dna-Binding Domain To A Bifunctional Puta, Benjamin W. Arentson, Erin L. Hayes, Weidong Zhu, John J. Tanner, Donald F. Becker

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Proline utilization A (PutA) is a bifunctional flavoenzyme with proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and Δ1-pyrroline-5- carboxylate (P5C) dehydrogenase (P5CDH) domains that catalyses the two-step oxidation of proline to glutamate. Trifunctional PutAs also have an N-terminal ribbon–helix–helix (RHH) DNA-binding domain and moonlight as autogenous transcriptional repressors of the put regulon. A unique property of trifunctional PutA is the ability to switch functions from DNA-bound repressor to membrane-associated enzyme in response to cellular nutritional needs and proline availability. In the present study, we attempt to construct a trifunctional PutA by fusing the RHH domain of Escherichia coli PutA (EcRHH) to the …


Mechanistic Nanotherapeutic Approach Based On Sirna-Mediated Dj-1 Protein Suppression For Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Canan Schumann, Stephanie Chan, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Shannon Khal, Vitaliya Moskal, Vidhi Shah, Adam W. G. Alani, Olena Taratula, Oleh Taratula Jan 2016

Mechanistic Nanotherapeutic Approach Based On Sirna-Mediated Dj-1 Protein Suppression For Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Canan Schumann, Stephanie Chan, Oleh Khalimonchuk, Shannon Khal, Vitaliya Moskal, Vidhi Shah, Adam W. G. Alani, Olena Taratula, Oleh Taratula

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

We report an efficient therapeutic modality for platinum resistant ovarian cancer based on siRNAmediated suppression of a multifunctional DJ-1 protein that is responsible for the proliferation, growth, invasion, oxidative stress and overall survival of various cancers. The developed therapeutic strategy can work alone or in concert with a low dose of the first line chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin, to elicit a maximal therapeutic response. To achieve an efficient DJ-1 knockdown, we constructed the polypropylenimine dendrimer-based nanoplatform targeted to LHRH receptors overexpressed on ovarian cancer cells. The quantitative PCR and western immunoblotting analysis, revealed that the delivered DJ-1 siRNA downregulated the expression …


Antisense Oligonucleotides: Treatment Strategies And Cellular Internalization, Colton M. Miller, Ed Harris Jan 2016

Antisense Oligonucleotides: Treatment Strategies And Cellular Internalization, Colton M. Miller, Ed Harris

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The clinical application of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) is becoming more of a reality as several drugs have been approved for the treatment of human disorders and many others are in various phases in development and clinical trials. ASOs are short DNA/RNA oligos which are heavily modified to increase their stability in biological fluids and retain the properties of creating RNA-RNA and DNA-RNA duplexes that knock-down or correct genetic expression. This review outlines several strategies that ASOs utilize for the treatment of various congenital diseases and syndromes that develop with aging. In addition, we discuss some of the mechanisms for specific …


Antisense Oligonucleotides: Treatment Strategies And Cellular Internalization, Colton M. Miller, Edward N. Harris Jan 2016

Antisense Oligonucleotides: Treatment Strategies And Cellular Internalization, Colton M. Miller, Edward N. Harris

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The clinical application of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) is becoming more of a reality as several drugs have been approved for the treatment of human disorders and many others are in various phases in development and clinical trials. ASOs are short DNA/RNA oligos which are heavily modified to increase their stability in biological fluids and retain the properties of creating RNA-RNA and DNA-RNA duplexes that knock-down or correct genetic expression. This review outlines several strategies that ASOs utilize for the treatment of various congenital diseases and syndromes that develop with aging. In addition, we discuss some of the mechanisms for specific …


Polyglycine Acts As A Rejection Signal For Protein Transport At The Chloroplast Envelope, Joshua K. Endow, Agostinho Gomes Rocha, Amy J. Baldwin, Rebecca L. Roston, Toshio Yamaguchi, Hironari Kamikubo, Kentaro Inoue Jan 2016

Polyglycine Acts As A Rejection Signal For Protein Transport At The Chloroplast Envelope, Joshua K. Endow, Agostinho Gomes Rocha, Amy J. Baldwin, Rebecca L. Roston, Toshio Yamaguchi, Hironari Kamikubo, Kentaro Inoue

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

PolyGly is present in many proteins in various organisms. One example is found in a transmembrane β-barrel protein, translocon at the outer-envelope-membrane of chloroplasts 75 (Toc75). Toc75 requires its N-terminal extension (t75) for proper localization. t75 comprises signals for chloroplast import (n75) and envelope sorting (c75) in tandem. n75 and c75 are removed by stromal processing peptidase and plastidic type I signal peptidase 1, respectively. PolyGly is present within c75 and its deletion or substitution causes mistargeting of Toc75 to the stroma. Here we have examined the properties of polyGly-dependent protein targeting using two soluble passenger proteins, the mature portion …


Mutation In Atg5 Reduces Autophagy And Leads To Ataxia With Developmental Delay, Myungjin Kim, Erin Sandford, Damian Gatica, Yu Qiu, Xu Liu, Yumei Zheng, Brenda A. Schulman, Jishu Xu, Ian Semple, Seung-Hyun Ro, Boyoung Kim, R. Nehir Mavioglu, Aslihan Tolun, Andras Jipa, Szabolcs Takats, Manuela Karpati, Jun Z. Li, Zuhal Yapici, Gabor Juhasz, Jun Hee Lee, Daniel J. Klionsky, Margit Burmeister Jan 2016

Mutation In Atg5 Reduces Autophagy And Leads To Ataxia With Developmental Delay, Myungjin Kim, Erin Sandford, Damian Gatica, Yu Qiu, Xu Liu, Yumei Zheng, Brenda A. Schulman, Jishu Xu, Ian Semple, Seung-Hyun Ro, Boyoung Kim, R. Nehir Mavioglu, Aslihan Tolun, Andras Jipa, Szabolcs Takats, Manuela Karpati, Jun Z. Li, Zuhal Yapici, Gabor Juhasz, Jun Hee Lee, Daniel J. Klionsky, Margit Burmeister

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Autophagy is required for the homeostasis of cellular material and is proposed to be involved in many aspects of health. Defects in the autophagy pathway have been observed in neurodegenerative disorders; however, no genetically-inherited pathogenic mutations in any of the core autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been reported in human patients to date. We identified a homozygous missense mutation, changing a conserved amino acid, in ATG5 in two siblings with congenital ataxia, mental retardation, and developmental delay. The subjects’ cells display a decrease in autophagy flux and defects in conjugation of ATG12 to ATG5. The homologous mutation in yeast …


Signal Traits And Oxidative Stress: A Comparative Study Across Populations With Divergent Signals, Maren N. Vitousek, Oldřich Tomášek, Tomáš Albrecht, Matt Wilkins, Rebecca Safran Jan 2016

Signal Traits And Oxidative Stress: A Comparative Study Across Populations With Divergent Signals, Maren N. Vitousek, Oldřich Tomášek, Tomáš Albrecht, Matt Wilkins, Rebecca Safran

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Diverging populations often shift patterns of signal use – a process that can contribute to reproductive isolation and speciation. Yet it is not clear why most traits gain or lose signal value during divergence. One reason this could occur is because changes in the relationship between signals and relevant physiological parameters degrade the reliability of a signal, or even change its underlying information content. Here we test the hypothesis that the relationship between signal trait elaboration and a central component of organismal health – oxidative stress – differs across closely related populations that have diverged in signal use and preferences. …


Candida Albicans Isw2 Regulates Chlamydospore Suspensor Cell Formation And Virulence In Vivo In A Mouse Model Of Disseminated Candidiasis, Dhammika Navarathna, Ruvini U. Pathirana, Michail S. Lionakis, Kenneth W. Nickerson, David D. Roberts Jan 2016

Candida Albicans Isw2 Regulates Chlamydospore Suspensor Cell Formation And Virulence In Vivo In A Mouse Model Of Disseminated Candidiasis, Dhammika Navarathna, Ruvini U. Pathirana, Michail S. Lionakis, Kenneth W. Nickerson, David D. Roberts

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Formation of chlamydospores by Candida albicans was an established medical diagnostic test to confirm candidiasis before the molecular era. However, the functional role and pathological relevance of this in vitro morphological transition to pathogenesis in vivo remain unclear. We compared the physical properties of in vitro-induced chlamydospores with those of large C. albicans cells purified by density gradient centrifugation from Candida infected mouse kidneys. The morphological and physical properties of these cells in kidneys of mice infected intravenously with wild type C. albicans confirmed that chlamydospores can form in infected kidneys. A previously reported chlamydospore-null Δisw2/ …


Biotin Auxotrophy And Biotin Enhanced Germ Tube Formation In Candida Albicans, Nur Ahmad Hussin, Ruvini U. Pathirana, Sahar Hasim, Swetha Tati, Jessica A. Scheib-Owens, Kenneth Nickerson Jan 2016

Biotin Auxotrophy And Biotin Enhanced Germ Tube Formation In Candida Albicans, Nur Ahmad Hussin, Ruvini U. Pathirana, Sahar Hasim, Swetha Tati, Jessica A. Scheib-Owens, Kenneth Nickerson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Due to the increased number of immunocompromised patients, infections with the pathogen Candida albicans have significantly increased in recent years. C. albicans transition from yeast to germ tubes is one of the essential factors for virulence. In this study we noted that Lee’s medium, commonly used to induce filamentation, contained 500-fold more biotin than needed for growth and 40-fold more biotin than is typically added to growth media. Thus, we investigated the effects of excess biotin on growth rate and filamentation by C. albicans in different media. At 37 ˚C, excess biotin (4 µM) enhanced germ tube formation (GTF) ca. …


Polymorphisms And Resistance Mutations Of Hepatitis C Virus On Sequences In The European Hepatitis C Virus Database, Dimas Alexandre Kliemann, Cristiane Valle Tovo, Ana Beatriz Gorini Da Veiga, Angelo Alves De Mattos, Charles Wood Jan 2016

Polymorphisms And Resistance Mutations Of Hepatitis C Virus On Sequences In The European Hepatitis C Virus Database, Dimas Alexandre Kliemann, Cristiane Valle Tovo, Ana Beatriz Gorini Da Veiga, Angelo Alves De Mattos, Charles Wood

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

AIM: To evaluate the occurrence of resistant mutations in treatment-naïve hepatitis C virus (HCV) sequences deposited in the European hepatitis C virus database (euHCVdb).

METHODS: The sequences were downloaded from the euHCVdb (https://euhcvdb.ibcp.fr/euHCVdb/). The search was performed for full-length NS3 protease, NS5A and NS5B polymerase sequences of HCV, separated by genotypes 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 3a, and resulted in 798 NS3, 708 NS5A and 535 NS5B sequences from HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 3a, after the exclusion of sequences containing errors and/or gaps or incomplete sequences, and sequences from patients previously treated with direct antiviral agents (DAA). …


Advantages Of An Improved Rhesus Macaque Genome For Evolutionary Analyses, Julien S. Gradnigo, Abhishek Majumdar, Robert B. Norgren Jr., Etsuko N. Moriyama Jan 2016

Advantages Of An Improved Rhesus Macaque Genome For Evolutionary Analyses, Julien S. Gradnigo, Abhishek Majumdar, Robert B. Norgren Jr., Etsuko N. Moriyama

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is widely used in molecular evolutionary analyses, particularly to identify genes under adaptive or unique evolution in the human lineage. For such studies, it is necessary to align nucleotide sequences of homologous protein-coding genes among multiple species. The validity of these analyses is dependent on high quality genomic data. However, for most mammalian species (other than humans and mice), only draft genomes are available. There has been concern that some results obtained from evolutionary analyses using draft genomes may not be correct. The rhesus macaque provides a unique opportunity to determine whether an …


A Guide For Graduate Students Interested In Postdoctoral Positions In Biology Education Research, Melissa L. Aikens, Lisa A. Corwin, Tessa C. Andrews, Brian A. Couch, Sarah L. Eddy, Lisa Mcdonnell, Gloriana Trujillo Jan 2016

A Guide For Graduate Students Interested In Postdoctoral Positions In Biology Education Research, Melissa L. Aikens, Lisa A. Corwin, Tessa C. Andrews, Brian A. Couch, Sarah L. Eddy, Lisa Mcdonnell, Gloriana Trujillo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Postdoctoral positions in biology education research (BER) are becoming increasingly common as the field grows. However, many life science graduate students are unaware of these positions or do not understand what these positions entail or the careers with which they align. In this essay, we use a backward-design approach to inform life science graduate students of postdoctoral opportunities in BER. Beginning with the end in mind, we first discuss the types of careers to which BER postdoctoral positions lead. We then discuss the different types of BER postdoctoral positions, drawing on our own experiences and those of faculty mentors. Finally, …


A Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia Strain Evades A Major Caenorhabditis Elegans Defense Pathway, Corin V. White, Brian J. Darby, Robert J. Breeden, Robert J. Breeden, Michael A. Herman Jan 2016

A Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia Strain Evades A Major Caenorhabditis Elegans Defense Pathway, Corin V. White, Brian J. Darby, Robert J. Breeden, Robert J. Breeden, Michael A. Herman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a ubiquitous bacterium and an emerging nosocomial pathogen. This bacterium is resistant to many antibiotics, associated with a number of infections, and a significant health risk, especially for immunocompromised patients. Given that Caenorhabditis elegans shares many conserved genetic pathways and pathway components with higher organisms, the study of its interaction with bacterial pathogens has biomedical implications. S. maltophilia has been isolated in association with nematodes from grassland soils, and it is likely that C. elegans encounters this bacterium in nature. We found that a local S. maltophilia isolate, JCMS, is more virulent than the other S. maltophilia …


Functional Genomic Insights Into Regulatory Mechanisms Of High-Altitude Adaptation, Jay F. Storz, Zachary A. Cheviron Jan 2016

Functional Genomic Insights Into Regulatory Mechanisms Of High-Altitude Adaptation, Jay F. Storz, Zachary A. Cheviron

Jay F. Storz Publications

Recent studies of indigenous human populations at high altitude have provided proof-of-principle that genome scans of DNA polymorphism can be used to identify candidate loci for hypoxia adaptation. When integrated with experimental analyses of physiological phenotypes, genome-wide surveys of DNA polymorphism and tissue-specific transcriptional profiles can provide insights into actual mechanisms of adaptation. It has been suggested that adaptive phenotypic evolution is largely mediated by cis-regulatory changes in genes that are located at integrative control points in regulatory networks. This hypothesis can be tested by conducting transcriptomic analyses of hypoxic signaling pathways in conjunction with experimental measures of vascular …


Baylisascaris Larva Migrans, Kevin R. Kazacos Jan 2016

Baylisascaris Larva Migrans, Kevin R. Kazacos

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Zoonotic diseases, such as baylisascariasis, are receiving increasing attention as components of disease emergence and resurgence (Kazacos, 2001). Baylisascariasis is caused by the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis and is one of the more recent zoonotic disease developments. This disease remains one of the least known and poorly understood zoonotic diseases, yet over the past several decades it has become widespread. It originated in wildlife species and is now well established as a human malady. Baylisascariasis is transmitted to humans via consumption of contaminated feces, and the role of wildlife (primarily raccoons) in this transmission process is becoming more clearly known and …


Trematode Diversity In Freshwater Fishes Of The Globe Ii: “New World”, Anindo Choudhury, M. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, Stephen S. Curran, Margarita Ostrowski De Núñez, Robin M. Overstreet, Gerardo Pérez-Ponce De León, Cláudia Portes Santos Jan 2016

Trematode Diversity In Freshwater Fishes Of The Globe Ii: “New World”, Anindo Choudhury, M. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, Stephen S. Curran, Margarita Ostrowski De Núñez, Robin M. Overstreet, Gerardo Pérez-Ponce De León, Cláudia Portes Santos

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We provide a summary overview of the diversity of trematode parasites in freshwater fishes of the “New World,” i.e. the Americas, with emphasis on adult forms. The trematode fauna of three regions, South America, Middle America, and USA and Canada (North America north of Mexico), are considered separately. In total, 462 trematode species have been reported as adults from the Americas. The proportion of host species examined for parasites varies widely across the Americas, from a high of 45% in the Mexican region of Middle America to less than 5% in South America. North and South America share no adult …


Description Of Three Species Of Isorchis (Digenea: Atractotrematidae) From Australia, Michael J. Andres, Eric E. Pulis, Robin M. Overstreet Jan 2016

Description Of Three Species Of Isorchis (Digenea: Atractotrematidae) From Australia, Michael J. Andres, Eric E. Pulis, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Three species of Isorchis Durio and Manter, 1969 are described from Australian waters. Isorchis megas sp. nov. is described from the spotbanded scat, Selenotoca multifasciata (Richardson), off Western Australia (WA) and Northern Territory (NT); Isorchis currani sp. nov. is described from S. multifasciata off NT; and Isorchis anomalus sp. nov. is described from the milkfish, Chanos chanos Forsskål, off WA. Isorchis megas sp. nov. can be differentiated from the other species of Isorchis by possessing a single, large egg that is greater than 20% of the body length; having a shorter body (the largest specimen is less than 500 μm); …