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Biology

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2015

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Articles 1 - 30 of 875

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

2015 Final Report: Status Of The Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus Microscaphus) In New Mexico, Mason J. Ryan, Ian M. Latella, Jacek Tomasz Giermakowski, Howard L. Snell Dec 2015

2015 Final Report: Status Of The Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus Microscaphus) In New Mexico, Mason J. Ryan, Ian M. Latella, Jacek Tomasz Giermakowski, Howard L. Snell

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

In 2013, we initiated a field study to assess the status of the Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) in New Mexico. Herein we provide the results of three years (2013-2015) of range-wide population monitoring, a review of threat assessments, and several contributions to the basic ecology of the Arizona Toad in New Mexico. This work highlights the sensitivity of the species to abiotic factors and emphasizes the nature of annual population fluctuations in a variable environment. We provide analyses of environmental factors that influence toad reproductive behaviors, employ occupancy and detection modeling at breeding sites, and provide analyses of tadpole habitat …

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Suppression Of F1 Male-Specific Lethality In Caenorhabditis Hybrids By Cbr-Him-8, Vaishnavi Ragavapuram, Emily Elaine King, Scott Everet Baird Dec 2015

Suppression Of F1 Male-Specific Lethality In Caenorhabditis Hybrids By Cbr-Him-8, Vaishnavi Ragavapuram, Emily Elaine King, Scott Everet Baird

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Haldane's Rule and Darwin's Corollary to Haldane's Rule are the observations that heterogametic F1 hybrids frequently are less fit than their homogametic siblings and that asymmetric results often are obtained from reciprocal hybrid crosses. In Caenorhabditis, Haldane's Rule and Darwin's Corollary have been observed in several hybrid crosses, including crosses of Caenorhabditis briggsae and Caenorhabditis nigoni. Fertile F1 females are obtained from reciprocal crosses. However, F1 males obtained from C. nigoni mothers are sterile and F1 males obtained from C. briggsae die during embryogenesis. We have identified cbr-him-8 as a recessive maternal-effect suppressor of F1 hybrid male-specific lethality …

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Use Of Esi-Fticr-Ms To Characterize Dissolved Organic Matter In Headwater Streams Draining Forest-Dominated And Pasture-Dominated Watersheds, Randolph Chambers Dec 2015

Use Of Esi-Fticr-Ms To Characterize Dissolved Organic Matter In Headwater Streams Draining Forest-Dominated And Pasture-Dominated Watersheds, Randolph Chambers

Arts & Sciences Articles

Electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS) has proven to be a powerful technique revealing complexity and diversity of natural DOM molecules, but its application to DOM analysis in grazing-impacted agricultural systems remains scarce. In the present study, we presented a case study of using ESI-FTICR-MS in analyzing DOM from four headwater streams draining forest- or pasture-dominated watersheds in Virginia, USA. In all samples, most formulas were CHO compounds (71.8–87.9%), with other molecular series (CHOS, CHON, CHONS, and CHOP (N, S)) accounting for only minor fractions. All samples were dominated by molecules falling in the lignin-like region …

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Ethylene, A Hormone At The Center-Stage Of Nodulation, Frédérique C. Guinel Dec 2015

Ethylene, A Hormone At The Center-Stage Of Nodulation, Frédérique C. Guinel

Biology Faculty Publications

Nodulation is the result of a beneficial interaction between legumes and rhizobia. It is a sophisticated process leading to nutrient exchange between the two types of symbionts. In this association, within a nodule, the rhizobia, using energy provided as photosynthates, fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it to ammonium which is available to the plant. Nodulation is recognized as an essential process in nitrogen cycling and legume crops are known to enrich agricultural soils in nitrogenous compounds. Furthermore, as they are rich in nitrogen, legumes are considered important as staple foods for humans and fodder for animals. To tightly control this …

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Rna Sequencing Analysis Of The Msl2msl3, Crl, And Ggps1 Mutants Indicates That Diverse Sources Of Plastid Dysfunction Do Not Alter Leaf Morphology Through A Common Signaling Pathway, Darron R. Luesse, Margaret E. Wilson, Elizabeth S. Haswell Dec 2015

Rna Sequencing Analysis Of The Msl2msl3, Crl, And Ggps1 Mutants Indicates That Diverse Sources Of Plastid Dysfunction Do Not Alter Leaf Morphology Through A Common Signaling Pathway, Darron R. Luesse, Margaret E. Wilson, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Determining whether individual genes function in the same or in different pathways is an important aspect of genetic analysis. As an alternative to the construction of higher-order mutants, we used contemporary expression profiling methods to perform pathway analysis on several Arabidopsis thaliana mutants, including the mscS-like (msl)2msl3 double mutant. MSL2 and MSL3 are implicated in plastid ion homeostasis, and msl2msl3 double mutants exhibit leaves with a lobed periphery, a rumpled surface, and disturbed mesophyll cell organization. Similar developmental phenotypes are also observed in other mutants with defects in a range of other chloroplast or mitochondrial functions, including …

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First Report Of Invasive Crane Fly, Tipula Oleracea, In Utah, A Van Dyke, Ricardo A. Ramirez, B A. Mcgraw Dec 2015

First Report Of Invasive Crane Fly, Tipula Oleracea, In Utah, A Van Dyke, Ricardo A. Ramirez, B A. Mcgraw

Biology Faculty Publications

The known range of the common crane fly (Tipula oleracea L.) is expanding in the western US, as adults were captured (by me) in Utah while emerging and flying over golf course rough. Adults were collected at The Ridge Golf Course in West Valley City on 15 September, 2014, and identified by Dr. Benjamin McGraw at the Pennsylvania State University Turfgrass Entomology Lab in University Park, PA. Crane fly larvae (known as leather jackets for their tough skin) were previously found (again, by me) with the help of golf course superintendent Brian Roth on 4 August, 2012 damaging putting greens …

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Ubiquitin Goes Green, Zhihua Hua, Richard D. Vierstra Dec 2015

Ubiquitin Goes Green, Zhihua Hua, Richard D. Vierstra

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Chloroplasts depend on the nucleus for much of their proteome. Consequently, strong transcriptional coordination exists between the genomes, which is attuned to the developmental and physiological needs of the organelle. Recent studies highlight that the post-translational modifier ubiquitin adds another layer to plastid homeostasis and even helps eliminate damaged chloroplasts.

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Embryogenesis And Tadpole Description Of Hyperolius Castaneus Ahl, 1931 And H. Jackie Dehling, 2012 (Anura, Hyperoliidae) From Montane Bog Pools, Edgar Lehr, J. Dehling, Eli Greenbaum, Ulrich Sinsch Dec 2015

Embryogenesis And Tadpole Description Of Hyperolius Castaneus Ahl, 1931 And H. Jackie Dehling, 2012 (Anura, Hyperoliidae) From Montane Bog Pools, Edgar Lehr, J. Dehling, Eli Greenbaum, Ulrich Sinsch

Scholarship

Tadpoles of Hyperolius castaneus and H. jackie were found in the Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda and adjacent areas. Tadpoles of both species were identified by DNA-barcoding. At the shore of a bog pool three clutches of H. castaneus of apparently different age, all laid on moss pads (Polytrichum commune, Isotachis aubertii) or grass tussocks (Andropogon shirensis) 2–5 cm above the water level, were found. One clutch of H. castaneus was infested by larval dipterid flies. The most recently laid clutch contained about 20 eggs within a broad egg-jelly envelope. The eggs were attached to single blades of a tussock …

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Are Immune Modulating Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated With Necrotizing Enterocolitis?, Ashanti L Franklin, Mariam Said, Clint D Cappiello, Heather Gordish-Dressman, Zohreh Tatari-Calderone, Stanislav Vukmanovic, Khodayar Rais-Bahrami, Naomi L C Luban, Joseph M Devaney, Anthony D Sandler Dec 2015

Are Immune Modulating Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated With Necrotizing Enterocolitis?, Ashanti L Franklin, Mariam Said, Clint D Cappiello, Heather Gordish-Dressman, Zohreh Tatari-Calderone, Stanislav Vukmanovic, Khodayar Rais-Bahrami, Naomi L C Luban, Joseph M Devaney, Anthony D Sandler

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gastrointestinal emergency. The purpose of this study is to determine if functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune-modulating genes pre-dispose infants to NEC. After Institutional Review Board approval and parental consent, buccal swabs were collected for DNA extraction. TaqMan allelic discrimination assays and BglII endonuclease digestion were used to genotype specific inflammatory cytokines and TRIM21. Statistical analysis was completed using logistic regression. 184 neonates were analyzed in the study. Caucasian neonates with IL-6 (rs1800795) were over 6 times more likely to have NEC (p = 0.013; OR = 6.61, 95% CI 1.48-29.39), and over …

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Are Microbes Fundamentally Different Than Macroorganisms? Convergence And A Possible Case For Neutral Phenotypic Evolution In Testate Amoeba (Amoebozoa: Arcellinida), Angela M. Oliverio, Daniel J.G. Lahr, Jessica Grant, Laura A. Katz Dec 2015

Are Microbes Fundamentally Different Than Macroorganisms? Convergence And A Possible Case For Neutral Phenotypic Evolution In Testate Amoeba (Amoebozoa: Arcellinida), Angela M. Oliverio, Daniel J.G. Lahr, Jessica Grant, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study reveals extensive phenotypic convergence based on the non-monophyly of genera and morphospecies of testate (shelled) amoebae. Using two independent markers, small subunit ribosomal DNA (ssu-rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI), we demonstrate discordance between morphology and molecules for ‘core Nebela’ species (Arcellinida; Amoebozoa). Prior work using just a single locus, ssu-rDNA, also supported the non-monophyly of the genera Hyalosphenia and Nebela as well as for several morphospecies within these genera. Here, we obtained COI gene sequences of 59 specimens from seven morphospecies and ssu-rDNA gene sequences of 50 specimens from six morphospecies of hyalosphenids. Our analyses …

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Population Density Of The Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus Woodi) In Managed Sand Pine Scrub And Longleaf Pine Sandhill Habitats, Matthew D. Kaunert, Lance D. Mcbrayer Dec 2015

Population Density Of The Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus Woodi) In Managed Sand Pine Scrub And Longleaf Pine Sandhill Habitats, Matthew D. Kaunert, Lance D. Mcbrayer

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Studies investigating managed landscapes are of increasing importance, as fragmentation is a known cause of biodiversity loss. From June to September 2012, we sampled populations of the rare, endemic Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus woodi) across the Ocala National Forest (ONF) to compare lizard density across two managed habitat types. Florida Scrub habitat in the ONF is clearcut and roller-chopped, whereas Longleaf Pine habitat is managed via prescribed burning. We sampled 10 stands of Florida Scrub (2–3 y post disturbance) and 10 stands of Longleaf Pine (1 y post-disturbance) for lizards. We compared lizard density between the interior of …

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Free Mate Choice Enhances Conservation Breeding In The Endangered Giant Panda, Meghan S. Martin-Wintle, David J. Shepherdson, Guiquan Zhang, Hemin Zhang, Desheng Li, Xiaoping Zhou, Rengui Li, Ronald R. Swaisgood Dec 2015

Free Mate Choice Enhances Conservation Breeding In The Endangered Giant Panda, Meghan S. Martin-Wintle, David J. Shepherdson, Guiquan Zhang, Hemin Zhang, Desheng Li, Xiaoping Zhou, Rengui Li, Ronald R. Swaisgood

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conservation breeding programmes have become an increasingly important tool to save endangered species, yet despite the allocation of significant resources, efforts to create self-sustaining populations have met with limited success. The iconic giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) embodies the struggles associated with ex situ species conservation. Here we show that behavioural mate preferences in giant pandas predict reproductive outcomes. Giant pandas paired with preferred partners have significantly higher copulation and birth rates. Reproductive rates increase further when both partners show mutual preference for one another. If managers were to incorporate mate preferences more fully into breeding management, the production of giant …

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Netrin-1 Signaling In Tetrahymena Thermophila: The Tyrosine Kinase Controversy Continues, Matthew S. Merical, Heather G. Kuruvilla Dec 2015

Netrin-1 Signaling In Tetrahymena Thermophila: The Tyrosine Kinase Controversy Continues, Matthew S. Merical, Heather G. Kuruvilla

Science and Mathematics Faculty Presentations

Netrin-1 is a pleiotropic signaling molecule first discovered for its role in neuronal development, where it is largely responsible for axonal guidance. When signaling through the DCC receptor, netrin-1 serves as a chemoattractant; however, signaling through the UNC5 receptor results in chemorepulsive activity (Ko et al., 2012). In the free-living ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila, netrin-1 and netrin-1 peptide act as chemorepellents at micromolar to nanomolar concentrations, causing cells to exhibit avoidance behavior. While many pharmacological inhibitors that we tested had no effect on avoidance behavior, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein (IC50 ~ 50 μg/ml), inhibited avoidance behavior in this organism. However, …

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The Definitions Of Three-Dimensional Landmarks On The Human Face: An Interdisciplinary View, Stanislav Katina, Kathryn Mcneil, Ashraf Ayoub, Brendan Guilfoyle, Balvinder Khambay, Paul Siebert, Federico Sukno, Mario Rojas, Liberty Vittert, John Waddington, Paul F. Whelan, Adrian W. Bowman Dec 2015

The Definitions Of Three-Dimensional Landmarks On The Human Face: An Interdisciplinary View, Stanislav Katina, Kathryn Mcneil, Ashraf Ayoub, Brendan Guilfoyle, Balvinder Khambay, Paul Siebert, Federico Sukno, Mario Rojas, Liberty Vittert, John Waddington, Paul F. Whelan, Adrian W. Bowman

Publications

The analysis of shape is a key part of anatomical research and in the large majority of cases landmarks provide a standard starting point. However, while the technology of image capture has developed rapidly and in particular three-dimensional imaging is widely available, the definitions of anatomical landmarks remain rooted in their two-dimensional origins. In the important case of the human face, standard definitions often require careful orientation of the subject. This paper considers the definitions of facial landmarks from an interdisciplinary perspective, including biological and clinical motivations, issues associated with imaging and subsequent analysis, and the mathematical definition of surface …

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Possible Synergistic Effects Of Thymol And Nicotine Against Crithidia Bombi Parasitism In Bumble Bees, Olivia Masi Biller, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin, Caitlin Mcallister, Evan C. Palmer-Young Dec 2015

Possible Synergistic Effects Of Thymol And Nicotine Against Crithidia Bombi Parasitism In Bumble Bees, Olivia Masi Biller, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin, Caitlin Mcallister, Evan C. Palmer-Young

Dartmouth Scholarship

Floral nectar contains secondary compounds with antimicrobial properties that can affect not only plant-pollinator interactions, but also interactions between pollinators and their parasites. Although recent work has shown that consumption of plant secondary compounds can reduce pollinator parasite loads, little is known about the effects of dosage or compound combinations. We used the generalist pollinator Bombus impatiens and its obligate gut parasite Crithidia bombi to study the effects of nectar chemistry on host-parasite interactions. In two experiments we tested (1) whether the secondary compounds thymol and nicotine act synergistically to reduce parasitism, and (2) whether dietary thymol concentration affects parasite …

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Root Hydraulic Conductance In Laurel Sumac Experiencing Severe Dieback In The Santa Monica Mountains, Natalie M. Aguirre, Avery N. Davis, Sarah B. Nelson Dec 2015

Root Hydraulic Conductance In Laurel Sumac Experiencing Severe Dieback In The Santa Monica Mountains, Natalie M. Aguirre, Avery N. Davis, Sarah B. Nelson

Featured Research

Malosma laurina (laurel sumac) is a dominant species in coastal chaparral ecosystems, extending its roots down to an average of 40 feet in rocky, sandy soils. The deep root systems of M. laurina provide structural support for the steep Santa Monica Mountains. The roots also allow M. laurina to draw from the deep water table, increasing its drought tolerance. M. laurina dieback is prevalent in coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains presumably due to historic drought predisposing plant tissues to infection by the fungal pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea. In ecosystems that experience annual dry periods, a high hydraulic conductance …

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Extensive Dieback In Malosma Laurina In Coastal Exposures Of The Santa Monica Mountains Associated With Unprecedented Drought In California, Gina S. Gilderman, Kaitlyn E. Sauer, Gabriella N. Palmeri Dec 2015

Extensive Dieback In Malosma Laurina In Coastal Exposures Of The Santa Monica Mountains Associated With Unprecedented Drought In California, Gina S. Gilderman, Kaitlyn E. Sauer, Gabriella N. Palmeri

Featured Research

Throughout coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) there is a recent emergence of widespread dieback in Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina). M. laurina is a keystone species of chaparral that dominates the SMM. A significant trait of M. laurina is an extensive root system exceeding 12 m in depth. We hypothesized that M. laurina was weakened by unprecedented drought in California (2013-2015) and predisposed to fungal pathogens. An initial study conducted in the summer of 2015 revealed all stem samples taken from dieback adult M. laurina plants were infected with Botryosphaeria dothidea, while zero stem samples taken …

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Recent Dieback In A Keystone Chaparral Species Is Caused By A Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, Frida Morales, Mariah Taylor Dec 2015

Recent Dieback In A Keystone Chaparral Species Is Caused By A Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, Frida Morales, Mariah Taylor

Featured Research

Due to the recent drought in Southern California, the abundance of a keystone species within the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) has been dwindling. This species, Malosma laurina, has an average root depth of 40 feet, so it has little difficulty tapping into the watershed. Recently, this species has undergone extensive dieback, which is potentially attributed to the unprecedented drought and the introduction of the fungus B. dothidea. While this fungi appears to be innocuous to M. laurina when the plant is healthy, it is more susceptible to invasion under water stress due to the dry heated conditions of …

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Discovery & Born-Digital Archiving: Open Source Systems For Preservation And Access, L. Bryan Cooper, Margarita Perez-Martinez Dec 2015

Discovery & Born-Digital Archiving: Open Source Systems For Preservation And Access, L. Bryan Cooper, Margarita Perez-Martinez

Works of the FIU Libraries

The Everglades Explorer (EE) portal at http://ee.fiu.edu continues to evolve with the addition of the Internet Archive's Archive-It, and future planned alignment with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The reasons for the development of the portal continue to exist, as originally perceived four years ago. Adaptations to ongoing change and system testing continues, and the use of Archive-It has broad institutional potential beyond EE. Cross-walking skills continue to grown, and will benefit future syndication and discovery system integration. The metadata normalization and harmonization will help save time for the end-user. Preservation and access to learning and research …

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Thermal Biology And Immersion Tolerance Of The Beringian Pseudoscorpion Wyochernes 4 Asiaticus, Susan E. Anthony, Christopher M. Buddle, Brent J Sinclair Dec 2015

Thermal Biology And Immersion Tolerance Of The Beringian Pseudoscorpion Wyochernes 4 Asiaticus, Susan E. Anthony, Christopher M. Buddle, Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is a pseudoscorpion distributed across Beringia, the areas of Yukon, Alaska and Siberia that remained unglaciated at the last glacial maximum. Along with low temperatures, its streamside habitat suggests that submergence during flood events is an important physiological challenge for this species. We collected W. asiaticus in midsummer from 66.8N Yukon Territory, Canada, and measured thermal and immersion tolerance. Wyochernes asiaticus is freeze-avoidant, with a mean supercooling point of -6.9 C. It remains active at low temperatures (mean critical thermal minimum, CTmin, is -3.6 C) and has a critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of 37.8 C, …

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Linking Energetics And Overwintering In Temperate Insects., Brent J Sinclair Dec 2015

Linking Energetics And Overwintering In Temperate Insects., Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

Overwintering insects cannot feed, and energy they take into winter must therefore fuel energy demands during autumn, overwintering, warm periods prior to resumption of development in spring, and subsequent activity. Insects primarily consume lipids during winter, but may also use carbohydrate and proteins as fuel. Because they are ectotherms, the metabolic rate of insects is temperature-dependent, and the curvilinear nature of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship means that warm temperatures are disproportionately important to overwinter energy use. This energy use may be reduced physiologically, by reducing the slope or elevation of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship, or because of threshold changes, such …

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Resource Partitioning Along Multiple Niche Axes Drives Functional Diversity In Parrotfishes On Caribbean Coral Reefs, Thomas C. Adam, Megan Kelley, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Deron E. Burkepile Dec 2015

Resource Partitioning Along Multiple Niche Axes Drives Functional Diversity In Parrotfishes On Caribbean Coral Reefs, Thomas C. Adam, Megan Kelley, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Deron E. Burkepile

Biological Sciences

The recent loss of key consumers to exploitation and habitat degradation has significantly altered community dynamics and ecosystem function across many ecosystems worldwide. Predicting the impacts of consumer losses requires knowing the level of functional diversity that exists within a consumer assemblage. In this study, we document functional diversity among nine species of parrotfishes on Caribbean coral reefs. Parrotfishes are key herbivores that facilitate the maintenance and recovery of coral-dominated reefs by controlling algae and provisioning space for the recruitment of corals. We observed large functional differences among two genera of parrotfishes that were driven by differences in diet. Fishes …

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An Evaluation Of The Genetic Structure Of Mapleleaf Mussels (Quadrula Quadrula) In The Lake Erie Watershed, Wendy L. Paterson, Traci A. Griffith, Robert A. Krebs, Lyubov E. Burlakova, David T. Zanatta Dec 2015

An Evaluation Of The Genetic Structure Of Mapleleaf Mussels (Quadrula Quadrula) In The Lake Erie Watershed, Wendy L. Paterson, Traci A. Griffith, Robert A. Krebs, Lyubov E. Burlakova, David T. Zanatta

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Physical barriers, habitat fragmentation, invasive species and geographic distance have isolated remnant populations of unionids in Great Lakes coastal refuges. Dreissenid species (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) may be the greatest threat to the survival of unionids in the Great Lakes since their introduction in the late 1980s and early 1990s; however, native unionids remain in coastal habitats of western Lake Erie. One of the most abundant unionid species in Lake Erie, Quadrula quadrula, was collected along coastal areas within the lake and from three tributaries, the Maumee River, Huron River (Ohio), and Grand River (Ontario, Canada) and genotyped …

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An Epigenetic Toolkit Allows For Diverse Genome Architectures In Eukaryotes, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Laura A. Katz Dec 2015

An Epigenetic Toolkit Allows For Diverse Genome Architectures In Eukaryotes, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Genome architecture varies considerably among eukaryotes in terms of both size and structure (e.g. distribution of sequences within the genome, elimination of DNA during formation of somatic nuclei). The diversity in eukaryotic genome architectures and the dynamic processes are only possible due to the well-developed epigenetic toolkit, which probably existed in the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA). This toolkit may have arisen as a means of navigating the genomic conflict that arose from the expansion of transposable elements within the ancestral eukaryotic genome. This toolkit has been coopted to support the dynamic nature of genomes in lineages across the eukaryotic …

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Supplementation Of H1n1pdm09 Split Vaccine With Heterologous Tandem Repeat M2e5x Virus-Like Particles Confers Improved Cross-Protection In Ferrets, Nedzad Music, Adrian J. Reber, Min-Chul Kim, Ian A. York, Sang-Moo Kang Dec 2015

Supplementation Of H1n1pdm09 Split Vaccine With Heterologous Tandem Repeat M2e5x Virus-Like Particles Confers Improved Cross-Protection In Ferrets, Nedzad Music, Adrian J. Reber, Min-Chul Kim, Ian A. York, Sang-Moo Kang

Biology Faculty Publications

Current influenza vaccines induce strain-specific immunity to the highly variable hemagglutinin (HA) protein. It is therefore a high priority to develop vaccines that induce broadly cross-protective immunity to different strains of influenza. Since influenza A M2 proteins are highly conserved among different strains, five tandem repeats of the extracellular peptide of M2 in a membrane-anchored form on virus- like particles (VLPs) have been suggested to be a promising candidate for universal influenza vaccine. In this study, ferrets were intramuscularly immunized with 2009 H1N1 split HA vaccine (“Split”) alone, influenza split vaccine supplemented with M2e5x VLP (“Split+M2e5x”), M2e5x VLP alone (“M2e5x”), …

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Temporal And Spatial Dynamics Of Scaling-Specific Features Of A Gene Regulatory Network In Drosophila, Honggang Wu, Renjie Jiao, Manu, Jun Ma Dec 2015

Temporal And Spatial Dynamics Of Scaling-Specific Features Of A Gene Regulatory Network In Drosophila, Honggang Wu, Renjie Jiao, Manu, Jun Ma

Biology Faculty Publications

A widely appreciated aspect of developmental robustness is pattern formation in proportion to size. But how such scaling features emerge dynamically remains poorly understood. Here we generate a data set of the expression profiles of six gap genes in Drosophila melanogasterembryos that differ significantly in size. Expression patterns exhibit size-dependent dynamics both spatially and temporally. We uncover a dynamic emergence of under-scaling in the posterior, accompanied by reduced expression levels of gap genes near the middle of large embryos. Simulation results show that a size-dependent Bicoid gradient input can lead to reduced Krüppel expression that can have long-range and …

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Review Of "Race Unmasked: Biology And Race In The Twentieth Century" By M. Yudell, John B. Jenkins Dec 2015

Review Of "Race Unmasked: Biology And Race In The Twentieth Century" By M. Yudell, John B. Jenkins

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

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The Receptor For Activated C Kinase In Plant Signaling: Tale Of A Promiscuous Little Molecule, Tania Islas-Flores, Ahasanur Rahman, Hemayet Ullah, Marco Villanueva Dec 2015

The Receptor For Activated C Kinase In Plant Signaling: Tale Of A Promiscuous Little Molecule, Tania Islas-Flores, Ahasanur Rahman, Hemayet Ullah, Marco Villanueva

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Two decades after the first report of the plant homolog of the Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1 (RACK1) in cultured tobacco BY2 cells, a significant advancement has been made in the elucidation of its cellular and molecular role. The protein is now implicated in many biological functions including protein translation, multiple hormonal responses, developmental processes, pathogen infection resistance, environmental stress responses, and miRNA production. Such multiple functional roles are consistent with the scaffolding nature of the plant RACK1 protein. A significant advance was achieved when the β-propeller structure of the Arabidopsis RACK1A isoform was elucidated, thus revealing that its …

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Heat Dissipation During Hovering And Forward Flight In Hummingbirds, Don Powers, Bret W. Tobalske, J. Keaton Wilson, Keeley R. Corder Dec 2015

Heat Dissipation During Hovering And Forward Flight In Hummingbirds, Don Powers, Bret W. Tobalske, J. Keaton Wilson, Keeley R. Corder

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Flying animals generate large amounts of heat, which must be dissipated to avoid overheating. In birds, heat dissipation is complicated by feathers, which cover most body surfaces and retard heat loss. To understand how birds manage heat budgets during flight, it is critical to know how heat moves from the skin to the external environment. Hummingbirds are instructive because they fly at speeds from 0 to more than 12ms−1, during which they transit from radiative to convective heat loss. We used infrared thermography and particle image velocimetry to test the effects of flight speed on heat loss from specific body …

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After More Than A Decade Of Soil Moisture Deficit, Tropical Rainforest Trees Maintain Photosynthetic Capacity, Despite Increased Leaf Respiration, Lucy Rowland, Raquel L. Lobo-Do-Vale, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Eliane A. Melém, Bart Kruijt, Steel S. Vasconcelos, Tomas Domingues, Oliver J. Binks, Alex A. R. Oliveira, Daniel Metcalfe Dec 2015

After More Than A Decade Of Soil Moisture Deficit, Tropical Rainforest Trees Maintain Photosynthetic Capacity, Despite Increased Leaf Respiration, Lucy Rowland, Raquel L. Lobo-Do-Vale, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Eliane A. Melém, Bart Kruijt, Steel S. Vasconcelos, Tomas Domingues, Oliver J. Binks, Alex A. R. Oliveira, Daniel Metcalfe

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Determining climate change feedbacks from tropical rainforests requires an understanding of how carbon gain through photosynthesis and loss through respiration will be altered. One of the key changes that tropical rainforests may experience under future climate change scenarios is reduced soil moisture availability. In this study we examine if and how both leaf photosynthesis and leaf dark respiration acclimate following more than 12 years of experimental soil moisture deficit, via a through-fall exclusion experiment (TFE) in an eastern Amazonian rainforest. We find that experimentally drought-stressed trees and taxa maintain the same maximum leaf photosynthetic capacity as trees in corresponding control …

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