Life Sciences Commons^™

Maximizing Stocker Gains On Pastures, Jeff Lehmkuhler

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Stocker enterprises by definition utilize pasture forages to add weight to light weight feeder cattle. These operations add value to calves by assimilating small groups of calves and combining them into larger uniform packages. Stocker operators also enhance quality through livestock husbandry practices that “upgrade” feeders which could include castrating bulls, dehorning, improving immunity and other attributes. In an effort to optimize profit margins, stocker operators must manage feeders to ensure high rates of gain while finding a balance in stocking rates that provide adequate gains per acre.

Grazing Method: Tool Or Toolbox?, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

This conference makes the 15th consecutive year we have devoted a full day to Grazing. Kentucky is a great state for grazing animals since we have a relatively long pasture season, can grow many forage grasses and legumes and a long tradition of producing quality animal products from quality pasture. We have tremendous potential to improve our overall grazing efficiency and the discussion throughout the day will address many of the practical strategies for improvements.

Foreword And Kfgc Award Winners [2014], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Warming Reduces Tall Fescue Abundance But Stimulates Toxic Alkaloid Concentrations In Transition Zone Pastures Of The U.S., Rebecca L. Mcculley, Lowell P. Bush, Anna E. Carlisle, Huihua Ji, Jim A. Nelson

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Tall fescue pastures cover extensive acreage in the eastern half of the United States and contribute to important ecosystem services, including the provisioning of forage for grazing livestock. Yet little is known concerning how these pastures will respond to climate change. Tall fescue's ability to persist and provide forage under a warmer and wetter environment, as is predicted for much of this region as a result of climate change, will likely depend on a symbiotic relationship the plant can form with the fungal endophyte, Epichloë coenophiala. While this symbiosis can confer environmental stress tolerance to the plant, the endophyte …

Co-Opted Oxysterol-Binding Orp And Vap Proteins Channel Sterols To Rna Virus Replication Sites Via Membrane Contact Sites, Daniel Barajas, Kai Xu, Isabel Fernández De Castro Martín, Zsuzsanna Sasvari, Federica Brandizzi, Cristina Risco, Peter D. Nagy

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Viruses recruit cellular membranes and subvert cellular proteins involved in lipid biosynthesis to build viral replicase complexes and replication organelles. Among the lipids, sterols are important components of membranes, affecting the shape and curvature of membranes. In this paper, the tombusvirus replication protein is shown to co-opt cellular Oxysterol-binding protein related proteins (ORPs), whose deletion in yeast model host leads to decreased tombusvirus replication. In addition, tombusviruses also subvert Scs2p VAP protein to facilitate the formation of membrane contact sites (MCSs), where membranes are juxtaposed, likely channeling lipids to the replication sites. In all, these events result in redistribution and …

Longitudinal Trajectories Of Cholesterol From Midlife Through Late Life According To Apolipoprotein E Allele Status, Brian Downer, Steven Estus, Yuriko Katsumata, David W. Fardo

Physiology Faculty Publications

Background: Previous research indicates that total cholesterol levels increase with age during young adulthood and middle age and decline with age later in life. This is attributed to changes in diet, body composition, medication use, physical activity, and hormone levels. In the current study we utilized data from the Framingham Heart Study Original Cohort to determine if variations in apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene involved in regulating cholesterol homeostasis, influence trajectories of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and total: HDL cholesterol ratio from midlife through late life.

Methods: Cholesterol trajectories from midlife through late life were modeled using generalized …

Egfr Phosphorylates And Inhibits Lung Tumor Suppressor Gprc5a In Lung Cancer, Xiaofeng Lin, Shuangshuang Zhong, Xiaofeng Ye, Yueling Liao, Feng Yao, Xiaohua Yang, Beibei Sun, Jie Zhang, Qi Li, Yong Gao, Yifan Wang, Jingyi Liu, Baohui Han, Y. Eugene Chin, Binhua P. Zhou, Jiong Deng

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: GPRC5A is a retinoic acid inducible gene that is preferentially expressed in lung tissue. Gprc5a- knockout mice develop spontaneous lung cancer, indicating Gprc5a is a lung tumor suppressor gene. GPRC5A expression is frequently suppressed in majority of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), however, elevated GPRC5A is still observed in a small portion of NSCLC cell lines and tumors, suggesting that the tumor suppressive function of GPRC5A is inhibited in these tumors by an unknown mechanism.

METHODS: In this study, we examined EGF receptor (EGFR)-mediated interaction and tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by immunoprecipitation (IP)-Westernblot. Tyrosine phosphorylation of GPRC5A by EGFR …

Experimental Approaches To Study Plant Cell Walls During Plant-Microbe Interactions, Ye Xia, Carloalberto Petti, Mark A. Williams, Seth Debolt

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Plant cell walls provide physical strength, regulate the passage of bio-molecules, and act as the first barrier of defense against biotic and abiotic stress. In addition to providing structural integrity, plant cell walls serve an important function in connecting cells to their extracellular environment by sensing and transducing signals to activate cellular responses, such as those that occur during pathogen infection. This mini review will summarize current experimental approaches used to study cell wall functions during plant-pathogen interactions. Focus will be paid to cell imaging, spectroscopic analyses, and metabolic profiling techniques.

Development Of A Methodology To Measure The Effect Of Ergot Alkaloids On Forestomach Motility Using Real-Time Wireless Telemetry, Amanda M. Egert, James L. Klotz, Kyle R. Mcleod, David L. Harmon

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

The objectives of these experiments were to characterize rumen motility patterns of cattle fed once daily using a real-time wireless telemetry system, determine when to measure rumen motility with this system, and determine the effect of ruminal dosing of ergot alkaloids on rumen motility. Ruminally cannulated Holstein steers (n = 8) were fed a basal diet of alfalfa cubes once daily. Rumen motility was measured by monitoring real-time pressure changes within the rumen using wireless telemetry and pressure transducers. Experiment 1 consisted of three 24-h rumen pressure collections beginning immediately after feeding. Data were recorded, stored, and analyzed using …

The Involvement Of J-Protein Atdjc17 In Root Development In Arabidopsis, Carloalberto Petti, Meera Nair, Seth Debolt

Horticulture Faculty Publications

In a screen for root hair morphogenesis mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana L. we identified a T-DNA insertion within a type III J-protein AtDjC17 caused altered root hair development and reduced hair length. Root hairs were observed to develop from trichoblast and atrichoblast cell files in both Atdjc17 and 35S::AtDJC17. Localization of gene expression in the root using transgenic plants expressing proAtDjC17::GUS revealed constitutive expression in stele cells. No AtDJC17 expression was observed in epidermal, endodermal, or cortical layers. To explore the contrast between gene expression in the stele and epidermal phenotype, hand cut transverse sections of Atdjc17 roots were …

Haploid Induction Via In Vitro Gynogenesis In Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.), He Zhao, Xiao-Xuan Wang, Yong-Cheng Du, De-Wei Zhu, Yan-Mei Guo, Jian-Chang Gao, Fei Li, John C. Snyder

Horticulture Faculty Publications

In order to determine the potential for haploid induction via in vitro gynogenesis in tomato, the ovules and protoplasts of embryo sacs from the hybrids Zhongza 101 and Zhongza 105 were cultured. An efficient method of ovule isolation was established in this study. Using this method, 100-150 ovules could be isolated from one ovary. Isolated ovules were cultured on three induction media to induce gynogenesis in vitro. During culture, ovules were enlarged markedly, with opaque white color. When observed microscopically, there were cell divisions and cell clumps in embryo sacs. Subsequently, the cell clumps in embryo sacs ceased growth, likely …

A Tale Of Two Trials: The Impact Of 5Α-Reductase Inhibition On Prostate Cancer (Review), John M. Lacy, Natasha Kyprianou

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The use of 5α-reductase inhibitors (5α-RIs) as prostate cancer chemoprevention agents is controversial. Two large randomized trials, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) and the Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) Trial, have both shown a decreased incidence of prostate cancer in patients administered with 5α-RIs. Both studies showed, however, an increased risk of higher-grade prostate cancer. Numerous studies have since analyzed the inherent biases in these landmark studies and have used mathematical modeling to estimate the true incidence of prostate cancer and the risk for high-grade prostate cancer in patients undergoing 5α-RI treatment. All primary publications associated …

Function-On-Scalar Regression For Genetic Association Studies, Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya, Dmitri V. Zaykin, Qing Lu

Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya

We propose a general framework to perform gene/region based analysis of sequencing data by regressing a functional response on one or multiple scalar predictors. Next generation sequencing technologies make it possible to uncover genetic information from millions of variants. Since the observed sequenced variants are very close in their genetic positions, we can consider them to be realizations of random continuous functions. Therefore, instead of analyzing multiple individual genetic variants per subject, we can estimate the underlying continuous function and treat it as a functional response in a regression model. Smoothing splines are used to fit these functional responses by …

Platelet Secretion And Hemostasis Require Syntaxin-Binding Protein Stxbp5, Shaojing Ye, Yunjie Huang, Smita Joshi, Jinchao Zhang, Fanmuyi Yang, Guoying Zhang, Susan S. Smyth, Zhenyu Li, Yoshimi Takai, Sidney W. Whiteheart

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have linked genes encoding several soluble NSF attachment protein receptor (SNARE) regulators to cardiovascular disease risk factors. Because these regulatory proteins may directly affect platelet secretion, we used SNARE-containing complexes to affinity purify potential regulators from human platelet extracts. Syntaxin-binding protein 5 (STXBP5; also known as tomosyn-1) was identified by mass spectrometry, and its expression in isolated platelets was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Coimmunoprecipitation studies showed that STXBP5 interacts with core secretion machinery complexes, such as syntaxin-11/SNAP23 heterodimers, and fractionation studies suggested that STXBP5 also interacts with the platelet cytoskeleton. Platelets from Stxbp5 KO mice had …

Huwe1 Is A Molecular Link Controlling Raf-1 Activity Supported By The Shoc2 Scaffold, Eun Ryoung Jang, Ping Shi, Jamal Bryant, Jing Chen, Vikas Dukhande, Matthew S. Gentry, Hyein Jang, Myoungkun Jeoung, Emilia Galperin

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Scaffold proteins play a critical role in controlling the activity of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway. Shoc2 is a leucine-rich repeat scaffold protein that acts as a positive modulator of ERK1/2 signaling. However, the precise mechanism by which Shoc2 modulates the activity of the ERK1/2 pathway is unclear. Here we report the identification of the E3 ubiquitin ligase HUWE1 as a binding partner and regulator of Shoc2 function. HUWE1 mediates ubiquitination and, consequently, the levels of Shoc2. Additionally, we show that both Shoc2 and HUWE1 are necessary to control the levels and ubiquitination of the Shoc2 signaling partner, …

Forage News [2014-10], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Keynote Speakers Highlights Kentucky Grazing Conference
• Dr. Temple Grandin to Speak at Annual AFGC Conference
• Kentucky Cattlemen to Meat in Owensboro
• 35th Kentucky Alfalfa Conference - February 26, 2015
• Beware of Prussic Acid Poisoning as Frost Approaches
• Progressive Forage Grower - Surveys
• Farm Income is Forecast to Decline in 2014
• Annual Forage Calculator
• Kentucky Represented at National Hay Convention

Identifying Candidate Genes For Variation In Sleep-Related Quantitative Traits, Shreyas Joshi, Bruce F. O'Hara

Biology Presentations

Background

Humans spend approximately one third of their lives sleeping, but compared with other biological processes, most of the molecular and genetic aspects of sleep have not been elucidated. A non-existent gene ontology and lack of a dedicated database containing a comprehensive list of sleep-related genes and their function presents a hurdle for sleep researchers.

Materials and methods

Using a two-pronged approach to solve this problem, publicly available microarray data from NCBI GEO (National Center for Biotechnology Information – Gene Expression Omnibus) database was used to develop a list of sleep-related genes for traits of interest. The data were analyzed …

Sesquiterpene Synthase Gene And Protein, Joe Chappell, Bryan T. Greenhagen

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Patents

The invention relates to sesquiterpene synthases and methods for their production and use. Particularly, the invention provides nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence of citrus valencene synthase (CVS) which codes for at least one CVS. The invention further provides nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence coding for amino acid residues forming the tier 1 and tier 2 domains of CVS. The invention also provides for methods of making and using the nucleic acids and amino acids of the current invention.

Ergovaline Stability In Tall Fescue Based On Sample Handling And Storage Methods, Krista La Moen Lea, Lori Smith, Cynthia Gaskill, Robert Coleman, S. Ray Smith

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Ergovaline is an ergot alkaloid produced by the endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum (Morgan-Jones and Gams) found in tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinacea (Schreb.) Dumort.] and blamed for a multitude of livestock disorders. Ergovaline is known to be unstable and affected by many variables. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sample handling and storage on the stability of ergovaline in tall fescue samples. Fresh tall fescue was collected from a horse farm in central Kentucky at three harvest dates and transported on ice to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Plant material was frozen in liquid …

Fragipan Horizon Fragmentation In Slaking Experiments With Amendment Materials And Ryegrass Root Tissue Extracts, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Lloyd W. Murdock, Christopher J. Matocha, John H. Grove, Yvonne L. Thompson

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Slaking experiments were conducted of fragipan clods immersed in solutions of poultry manure, aerobically digested biosolid waste (ADB), fluidized bed combustion byproduct (FBC), D-H₂O, CaCO₃, NaF, Na-hexa-metaphosphate, and ryegrass root biomass. The fragipan clods were sampled from the Btx horizon of an Oxyaquic Fragiudalf in Kentucky. Wet sieving aggregate analysis showed significantly better fragmentation in the NaF, Na-hexa-metaphosphate, and ryegrass root solutions with a mean weight diameter range of 15.5-18.8 mm compared to the 44.2-47.9 mm of the poultry manure, ADB, and FBC treatments. Dissolved Si, Al, Fe, and Mn levels released in solution were ambiguous. …

Repair Of O6-Methylguanine Adducts In Human Telomeric G-Quadruplex Dna By O6-Alkylguanine-Dna Alkyltransferase, Lance M. Hellman, Tyler J. Spear, Colton J. Koontz, Manana Melikishvili, Michael G. Fried

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

O⁶-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) is a single-cycle DNA repair enzyme that removes pro-mutagenic O⁶-alkylguanine adducts from DNA. Its functions with short single-stranded and duplex substrates have been characterized, but its ability to act on other DNA structures remains poorly understood. Here, we examine the functions of this enzyme on O⁶-methylguanine (6mG) adducts in the four-stranded structure of the human telomeric G-quadruplex. On a folded 22-nt G-quadruplex substrate, binding saturated at 2 AGT:DNA, significantly less than the ~ 5 AGT:DNA found with linear single-stranded DNAs of similar length, and less than the value found with the …

Polypeptides, Nucleic Acid Molecules, And Methods For Synthesis Of Triterpenes, Joe Chappell, Thomas D. Niehaus, Shigeru Okada, Timothy P. Devarenne, David Watt

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Patents

This application relates to the polypeptides, nucleic acid molecules, vectors, transfected cells, and methods for synthesis of triterpenes, including botryococcene.

Urbanization And Stream Salamanders: A Review, Conservation Options, And Research Needs, Kyle Barrett, Steven J. Price

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Urban areas are increasing in size and human population density. The implications of widespread urbanization are apparent for a wide variety of stream organisms, but the responses of stream-dwelling salamanders to urbanization have been understudied historically. Studies on this assemblage have increased sufficiently over the last decade to warrant a review and synthesis of current knowledge. Our survey of the literature indicates a research bias toward species within the Piedmont ecoregion of the USA and a strong emphasis on changes in species richness, relative abundance, and occupancy along an urbanization gradient. Very few investigators have examined vital rates for specific …

A Novel Partitivirus That Confers Hypovirulence On Plant Pathogenic Fungi, Xueqiong Xiao, Jiasen Cheng, Jinghua Tang, Yanping Fu, Daohong Jiang, Timothy S. Baker, Said A. Ghabrial, Jiatao Xie

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Members of the family Partitiviridae have bisegmented double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) genomes and are not generally known to cause obvious symptoms in their natural hosts. An unusual partitivirus, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum partitivirus 1 (SsPV1/WF-1), conferred hypovirulence on its natural plant-pathogenic fungal host, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum strain WF-1. Cellular organelles, including mitochondria, were severely damaged. Hypovirulence and associated traits of strain WF-1 and SsPV1/WF-1 were readily cotransmitted horizontally via hyphal contact to different vegetative compatibility groups of S. sclerotiorum and interspecifically to Sclerotinia nivalis and Sclerotinia minor. S. sclerotiorum strain 1980 transfected with purified SsPV1/WF-1 virions also exhibited hypovirulence and associated traits similar …

Forage News [2014-09], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Beef Bash 2014
• Advanced KY Grazing School at Eden Shale
• 15th Kentucky Grazing Conference
• Forage Quotes and Concepts: New Book Offers Fresh Approach to Forage-Livestock Management
• U.S. Ranking in Cattle
• U.S. Alfalfa Production to Grow by 11% in 2014, USDA Reports
• Grazing Drought Stressed Corn Stalks
• Strategies to Deal with Hay Shortages

Factors Limiting The Spread Of The Protective Symbiont Hamiltonella Defensa In Aphis Craccivora Aphids, Hannah R. Dykstra, Stephanie R. Weldon, Adam J. Martinez, Jennifer A. White, Keith R. Hopper, George E. Heimpel, Mark K. Asplen, Kerry M. Oliver

Entomology Faculty Publications

Many insects are associated with heritable symbionts that mediate ecological interactions, including host protection against natural enemies. The cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, is a polyphagous pest that harbors Hamiltonella defensa, which defends against parasitic wasps. Despite this protective benefit, this symbiont occurs only at intermediate frequencies in field populations. To identify factors constraining H. defensa invasion in Ap. craccivora, we estimated symbiont transmission rates, performed fitness assays, and measured infection dynamics in population cages to evaluate effects of infection. Similar to results with the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, we found no consistent costs to infection using …

Lights And Larvae: Using Optogenetics To Teach Recombinant Dna And Neurobiology, John Titlow, Heidi Anderson, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

Switching genes between organisms and controlling an animal’s brain using lasers may seem like science fiction, but with advancements in a technique called optogenetics, such experiments are now common in neuroscience research. Optogenetics combines recombinant DNA technology with a controlled light source to help researchers address biomedical questions in the life sciences. The technique has gained the most traction in neurobiology—the biology of the nervous system—where specific wavelengths of light are used to control or measure the activity of neurons in transgenic organisms (i.e., those with artificially inserted genes).

These optical recording and stimulation techniques are used in nervous system …

An Intronic Picalm Polymorphism, Rs588076, Is Associated With Allelic Expression Of A Picalm Isoform, Ishita Parikh, Christopher Medway, Steven Younkin, David Fardo, Steven Estus

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Although genome wide studies have associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s near PICALM with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the mechanism underlying this association is unclear. PICALM is involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and modulates Aß clearance in vitro. Comparing allelic expression provides the means to detect cis-acting regulatory polymorphisms. Thus, we evaluated whether PICALM showed allele expression imbalance (AEI) and whether this imbalance was associated with the AD-associated polymorphism, rs3851179.

RESULTS: We measured PICALM allelic expression in 42 human brain samples by using next-generation sequencing. Overall, PICALM demonstrated equal allelic expression with no detectable influence by rs3851179. A single sample demonstrated …

Global School-Based Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Review, Melinda J. Ickes, Jennifer Mcmullen, Taj Haider, Manoj Sharma

Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications

Background: The issue of childhood overweight and obesity has become a global public health crisis. School-based interventions have been developed and implemented to combat this growing concern. The purpose of this review is to compare and contrast U.S. and international school-based obesity prevention interventions and highlight efficacious strategies.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted utilizing five relevant databases. Inclusion criteria were: (1) primary research; (2) overweight or obesity prevention interventions; (3) school-based; (4) studies published between 1 January 2002 through 31 December 2013; (5) published in the English language; (6) child-based interventions, which could include parents; and …

Paternal Incarceration And Children's Food Insecurity: A Consideration Of Variation And Mechanisms, Kristen Turney

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Despite growing attention to the unintended consequences of paternal incarceration for children’s wellbeing across the life course, little is known about whether and how paternal incarceration is related to food insecurity among children, an especially acute and severe form of deprivation. In this article, I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a cohort of children born to mostly unmarried mothers, to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and three indicators of food insecurity among young children: current food insecurity (at age five), onset of food insecurity (between ages three and five), and exit from food insecurity …