Life Sciences Commons^™

Stairway To Heaven: Evaluating Levels Of Biological Organization Correlated With The Successful Ascent Of Natural Waterfalls In The Hawaiian Stream Goby Sicyopterus Stimpsoni, Richard W. Blob, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Takashi Maie, Kristine N. Moody, Kelsey E. Lesteberg, Tonya C. Schoenfuss

Publications

Selective pressures generated by locomotor challenges act at the level of the individual. However, phenotypic variation among individuals that might convey a selective advantage may occur across any of multiple levels of
biological organization. In this study, we test for differences in external morphology, muscle mechanical advantage, muscle fiber type and protein expression among individuals of the waterfall climbing Hawaiian fish Sicyopterus stimpsoni collected from sequential pools increasing in elevation within a single freshwater stream. Despite predictions from previous laboratory studies of morphological selection, few directional morphometric changes in
body shape were observed at successively higher elevations. Similarly, lever arm …

Goby Climbing Selection, Dominica Versus Hawaii, Sandy M. Kawano, William C. Bridges, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Takashi Maie, Richard W. Blob

All Data Sets

Data set containing morphology data that was used for the selection analyses in the article "Differences in locomotor behavior correspond to different patterns of morphological selection in two species of waterfall-climbing gobiid fishes" Evolutionary Ecology, September 2013, Volume 27, Issue 5, pp 949-969.

Ice Research News, Vol. 3, No. 1 - September 2013, Clemson University

ICE Research News (Biannual Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Localization Of Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate To Lipid Rafts And Uroids In The Human Protozoan Parasite Entamoeba Histolytica, Amrita B. Koushik, Rhonda R. Powell, Lesly A. Temesvari

Publications

Entamoeba histolytica is an intestinal protozoan parasite and is the causative agent of amoebiasis. During invasive infection, highly motile amoebae destroy the colonic epithelium, enter the blood circulation, and disseminate to other organs such as liver, causing liver abscess. Motility is a key factor in E. histolytica pathogenesis, and this process relies on a dynamic actomyosin cytoskeleton. In other systems, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P₂] is known to regulate a wide variety of cellular functions, including signal transduction, actin remodeling, and cell motility. Little is known about the role of PI(4,5)P₂ in E. histolytica pathogenicity. In this study, we …

The Genome Sequence Of The Most Widely Cultivated Cacao Type And Its Use To Identify Candidate Genes Regulating Pod Color, Juan C. Motamayor, Keithanne Mockaitis, Jeremy Schmutz, Niina Haiminen, Donald Livingstone Iii, Omar Cornejo, Seth Findley, Ping Zheng, Filippo Utro, Stefan Royaert, Christopher Saski

Publications

Background

Theobroma cacao L. cultivar Matina 1-6 belongs to the most cultivated cacao type. The availability of its genome sequence and methods for identifying genes responsible for important cacao traits will aid cacao researchers and breeders.

Results

We describe the sequencing and assembly of the genome of Theobroma cacao L. cultivar Matina

1-6. The genome of the Matina 1-6 cultivar is 445 Mbp, which is significantly larger than a sequenced Criollo cultivar, and more typical of other cultivars. The chromosome-scale assembly, version 1.1, contains 711 scaffolds covering 346.0 Mbp, with a contig N50 of 84.4 kbp, a scaffold N50 of …

Forest Fragments As Barriers To Fruit Fly Dispersal: Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) Populations In Orchards And Adjacent Forest Fragments In Puerto Rico, David A. Jenkins, Paul E. Kendra, Skip Van Bloem, Stefanie Whitmire, Russ Mizell Iii, Ricardo Goenaga

Publications

McPhail-type traps baited with ammonium acetate and putrescine were used to monitor populations of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) and Anastrepha suspensa(Loew) in two orchards with hosts of these flies (mango, Mangifera indica L., and carambola, Averrhoa carambola L.), as well as in forest fragments bordering these orchards. Contour maps were constructed to measure population distributions in and around orchards. Our results indicate that Anastrephapopulations are focused around host fruit in both space and time, that traps do not draw fruit flies away from hosts, even when placed within 15 m of the host, and that lures continue to function …

Chemotaxonomic Study Of Citrus, Poncirus And Fortunella Genotypes Based On Peel Oil Volatile Compounds - Deciphering The Genetic Origin Of Mangshanyegan (Citrus Nobilis Lauriro), Cuihua Liu, Dong Jiang, Yunjiang Cheng, Xiuxin Deng, Feng Chen, Liu Fang, Zhaocheng Ma, Juan Xu

Publications

Volatile profiles yielded from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis provide abundant information not only for metabolism-related research, but also for chemotaxonomy. To study the chemotaxonomy of Mangshanyegan, its volatile profiles of fruit and leaf and those of 29 other genotypes of Citrus, Poncirus, and Fortunella were subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Results showed that 145 identified (including 64 tentatively identified) and 15 unidentified volatile compounds were detected from their peel oils. The phylogenetic analysis of peel oils based on hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) demonstrated a good agreement with the Swingle taxonomy system, in which the three genera of Citrus, Poncirus, and …

A Systematic Revision Of Operclipygus Marseul (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini), Michael S. Caterino, Alexey K. Tishechkin

Publications

We revise the large Neotropical genus Operclipygus Marseul, in the histerid tribe Exosternini (Histeridae: Histerinae). We synonymize 3 species, move 14 species from other genera, sink the genus Tribalister Horn into Operclipygus, and describe 138 species as new, bringing the total to 177 species of Operclipygus. Keys are provided for the identification of all species, and the majority of the species are illustrated by habitus and male genitalia illustrations. The species are diverse throughout tropical South and Central America, with only a few species extending into the temperate parts of North America. The majority of species can be recognized by …

Evolutionary Novelty Versus Exaptation: Oral Kinematicsin Feeding Versus Climbing In The Waterfall-Climbing Hawaiian Goby Sicyopterus Stimpsoni, Richard W. Blob, Joshua Cullen, Takashi Maie, Heiko L. Schoenfuss

Publications

Species exposed to extreme environments often exhibit distinctive traits that help meet the demands of such habitats. Such traits could evolve independently, but under intense selective pressures of extreme environments some existing structures or behaviors might be coopted to meet specialized demands, evolving via the process of exaptation. We evaluated the potential for exaptation to have operated in the evolution of novel behaviors of the waterfall-climbing gobiid fish genus Sicyopterus. These fish use an ‘‘inching’’ behavior to climb waterfalls, in which an oral sucker is cyclically protruded and attached to the climbing surface. They also exhibit a distinctive feeding …

Improved Growth Of Lactobacillus Bulgaricus And Streptococcus Thermophilus As Well As Increased Antioxidant Activity By Biotransforming Litchi Pericarp Polysaccharide With Aspergillus Awamori, Sen Lin, Lingrong Wen, Bao Yang, Guoxiang Jiang, John Shi, Feng Chen, Yueming Jiang

Publications

This study was conducted to increase the bioactivity of litchi pericarp polysaccharides (LPPs) biotransformed by Aspergillus awamori. Compared to the non-A. awamori-fermented LPP, the growth effects of A. awamori-fermented LPP on Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were four and two times higher after 3 days of fermentation, respectively. Increased 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and DNA protection activity of litchi pericarp polysaccharides were also achieved after A. awamori fermentation. Moreover, the relative content of glucose and arabinose in LPP after fermentation decreased from 58.82% to 22.60% and from 18.82% to 10.09%, respectively, with a concomitant increase in the relative contents of …

Photosynthetic Characteristics Of Veratrum Californicum In Varied Greenhouse Environments, Jeffrey Adelberg, Youping Sun, Sarah White, David Mann

Publications

Corn lily or California false hellebore (Veratrum californicum Durand), a perennial species native to the western United States, produces several alkaloid compounds. A derivative of these alkaloid compounds, primarily veratramine and cyclopamine, shows promise as a therapeutic agent for treatment of a variety of tumor types. Here we report the first study of corn lily cultivated in greenhouse. Growth response of corn lily was examined under two light levels (ambient and supplemental), two fertilization types (20 N-4.4 P- 16.6 K Peat-lite special and 15N-2.2P-12.5K CalMag special) at 100-mg·L-1 total nitrogen, and three irrigation cycles [sub-irrigation every day (wet), every third …