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Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

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Articles 721 - 750 of 1571

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Scaling Flow Path Processes To Fluvial Landscapes: An Integrated Field And Model Assessment Of Temperature And Dissolved Oxygen Dynamics In A River-Floodplain-Aquifer System, Ashley M. Helton, Geoffrey C. Poole, Robert A. Payn, Clemente Izurieta, Jack Arthur Stanford Oct 2012

Scaling Flow Path Processes To Fluvial Landscapes: An Integrated Field And Model Assessment Of Temperature And Dissolved Oxygen Dynamics In A River-Floodplain-Aquifer System, Ashley M. Helton, Geoffrey C. Poole, Robert A. Payn, Clemente Izurieta, Jack Arthur Stanford

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Biogeochemical cycling within river ecosystems is strongly influenced by geomorphic and hydrologic dynamics. To scale point observations of temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) to a hydrologically complex and dynamic three-dimensional river-floodplain-aquifer system, we integrated empirical models of temperature and biotic oxygen utilization with a recently published hydrogeomorphic model. The hydrogeomorphic model simulates channel flow, floodplain inundation, and surface-subsurface water exchange on the 16 km(2) Nyack Floodplain, Middle Fork Flathead River, Montana, USA. Model results were compared to observed data sets of DO to test the hypothesis that complexity in spatiotemporal patterns of biogeochemistry emerges from a comparatively simple representation of …

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Cyanolyase: A Database Of Phycobilin Lyase Sequences, Motifs And Functions, Wendy M. Schluchter, Anthony Bretaudeau, Francois Coste, Florian Humily, Laurence Garczarek, Gildas Le Corguille, Christophe Six, Morgane Ratin, Olivier Collin, Frederic Partensky Oct 2012

Cyanolyase: A Database Of Phycobilin Lyase Sequences, Motifs And Functions, Wendy M. Schluchter, Anthony Bretaudeau, Francois Coste, Florian Humily, Laurence Garczarek, Gildas Le Corguille, Christophe Six, Morgane Ratin, Olivier Collin, Frederic Partensky

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

CyanoLyase (http://cyanolyase.genouest.org/) is a manually curated sequence and motif database of phycobilin lyases and related proteins. These enzymes catalyze the covalent ligation of chromophores (phycobilins) to specific binding sites of phycobiliproteins (PBPs). The latter constitute the building bricks of phycobilisomes, the major light-harvesting systems of cyanobacteria and red algae. Phycobilin lyases sequences are poorly annotated in public databases. Sequences included in CyanoLyase were retrieved from all available genomes of these organisms and a few others by similarity searches using biochemically characterized enzyme sequences and then classified into 3 clans and 32 families. Amino acid motifs were computed for each family …

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Arenavirus Infection Induces Discrete Cytosolic Structures For Rna Replication, Nicholas L. Baird, Joanne York, Jack H. Nunberg Oct 2012

Arenavirus Infection Induces Discrete Cytosolic Structures For Rna Replication, Nicholas L. Baird, Joanne York, Jack H. Nunberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Arenaviruses are responsible for acute hemorrhagic fevers with high mortality and pose significant threats to public health and biodefense. These enveloped negative-sense RNA viruses replicate in the cell cytoplasm and express four proteins. To better understand how these proteins insinuate themselves into cellular processes to orchestrate productive viral replication, we have identified and characterized novel cytosolic structures involved in arenavirus replication and transcription. In cells infected with the nonpathogenic Tacaribe virus or the attenuated Candid#1 strain of Junin virus, we find that newly synthesized viral RNAs localize to cytosolic puncta containing the nucleoprotein (N) of the virus. Density gradient centrifugation …

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The Importance Of Host Plant Limitation For Caterpillars Of An Arctiid Moth (Platyprepia Virginalis) Varies Spatially, Richard Karban, Patrick Grof-Tisza, John L. Maron, Marcel Holyoak Oct 2012

The Importance Of Host Plant Limitation For Caterpillars Of An Arctiid Moth (Platyprepia Virginalis) Varies Spatially, Richard Karban, Patrick Grof-Tisza, John L. Maron, Marcel Holyoak

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Spatial dynamic theories such as source–sink models frequently describe habitat-specific demographies, yet there are surprisingly few field studies that have examined how and why interacting species vary in their dynamics across multiple habitat types. We studied the spatial pattern of interaction between a chewing herbivore and its primary larval host plant in two habitat types. We found that the interaction between an arctiid caterpillar (Platyprepia virginalis) and its host (Lupinus arboreus) differed in wet vs. upland dry habitats, as did yearly population dynamics for the caterpillar. In upland sites, there was a strong positive relationship between …

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Neo-Allopatry And Rapid Reproductive Isolation, Daniel Montesinos, Gilberto Santiago, Ragan M. Callaway Oct 2012

Neo-Allopatry And Rapid Reproductive Isolation, Daniel Montesinos, Gilberto Santiago, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Over the past 3 centuries, many species have been dispersed beyond their natural geographic limits by humans, but to our knowledge, reproductive isolation has not been demonstrated for such neo-allopatric species. We grew seeds from three species of Centaurea (Centaurea solstitialis, Centaurea calcitrapa, and Centaurea sulphurea) that are native to Spain and have been introduced into California, and we tested to what extent seed production was affected by pollen source. Compared with within-population crosses, seed production decreased by 52% and 44%, respectively, when C. solstitialis and C. sulphurea from California were pollinated with conspecific pollen from native populations in Spain. …

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Community Impacts Of Prosopis Juliflora Invasion: Biogeographic And Congeneric Comparisons, Rajwant Kaur, Wilfredo L. Gonzáles, Luis Daniel Llambi, Pascual J. Soriano, Ragan M. Callaway, Marnie E. Rout, Timothy J. Gallaher, Inderjit Sep 2012

Community Impacts Of Prosopis Juliflora Invasion: Biogeographic And Congeneric Comparisons, Rajwant Kaur, Wilfredo L. Gonzáles, Luis Daniel Llambi, Pascual J. Soriano, Ragan M. Callaway, Marnie E. Rout, Timothy J. Gallaher, Inderjit

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We coordinated biogeographical comparisons of the impacts of an exotic invasive tree in its native and non-native ranges with a congeneric comparison in the non-native range. Prosopis juliflora is taxonomically complicated and with P. pallida forms the P. juliflora complex. Thus we sampled P. juliflora in its native Venezuela, and also located two field sites in Peru, the native range of Prosopis pallida. Canopies of Prosopis juliflora, a native of the New World but an invader in many other regions, had facilitative effects on the diversity of other species in its native Venezuela, and P. pallida had both negative and …

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Poliovirus Infection Transiently Increases Copii Vesicle Budding, Meg Trahey, Hyung Suk Oh, Craig E. Cameron, Jesse C. Hay Sep 2012

Poliovirus Infection Transiently Increases Copii Vesicle Budding, Meg Trahey, Hyung Suk Oh, Craig E. Cameron, Jesse C. Hay

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Poliovirus (PV) requires membranes of the host cell's secretory pathway to generate replication complexes (RCs) for viral RNA synthesis. Recent work identified the intermediate compartment and the Golgi apparatus as the precursors of the replication "organelles" of PV (N. Y. Hsu et al., Cell 141:799-811, 2010). In this study, we examined the effect of PV on COPII vesicles, the secretory cargo carriers that bud from the endoplasmic reticulum and homotypically fuse to form the intermediate compartment that matures into the Golgi apparatus. We found that infection by PV results in a biphasic change in functional COPII vesicle biogenesis in cells, …

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The Conflict Within And The Escalating War Between The Sex Chromosomes, Jeffrey M. Good Sep 2012

The Conflict Within And The Escalating War Between The Sex Chromosomes, Jeffrey M. Good

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Transcriptome-Based Exon Capture Enables Highly Cost-Effective Comparative Genomic Data Collection At Moderate Evolutionary Scales, Ke Bi, Dan Vanderpool, Sonal Singhal, Tyler Linderoth, Craig Moritz, Jeffrey M. Good Aug 2012

Transcriptome-Based Exon Capture Enables Highly Cost-Effective Comparative Genomic Data Collection At Moderate Evolutionary Scales, Ke Bi, Dan Vanderpool, Sonal Singhal, Tyler Linderoth, Craig Moritz, Jeffrey M. Good

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: To date, exon capture has largely been restricted to species with fully sequenced genomes, which has precluded its application to lineages that lack high quality genomic resources. We developed a novel strategy for designing array-based exon capture in chipmunks (Tamias) based on de novo transcriptome assemblies. We evaluated the performance of our approach across specimens from four chipmunk species. Results: We selectively targeted 11,975 exons (similar to 4 Mb) on custom capture arrays, and enriched over 99% of the targets in all libraries. The percentage of aligned reads was highly consistent (24.4-29.1%) across all specimens, including in multiplexing up …

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Microbial Degradation Of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid On The Greenland Ice Sheet, Marek Stibal, Jacob Baelum, William E. Holben, Sebastian R. Sørensen, Anders Jensen, Carsten S. Jacobsen Aug 2012

Microbial Degradation Of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid On The Greenland Ice Sheet, Marek Stibal, Jacob Baelum, William E. Holben, Sebastian R. Sørensen, Anders Jensen, Carsten S. Jacobsen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) receives organic carbon (OC) of anthropogenic origin, including pesticides, from the atmosphere and/or local sources, and the fate of these compounds in the ice is currently unknown. The ability of supraglacial heterotrophic microbes to mineralize different types of OC is likely a significant factor determining the fate of anthropogenic OC on the ice sheet. Here we determine the potential of the microbial community from the surface of the GrIS to mineralize the widely used herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Surface ice cores were collected and incubated for up to 529 days in microcosms simulating in situ …

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Distorting The Process Of Scientific Inquiry, Richard L. Hutto Aug 2012

Distorting The Process Of Scientific Inquiry, Richard L. Hutto

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Activation Of P115-Rhogef Requires Direct Association Of Gα13 And The Dbl Homology Domain, Zhe Chen, Liang Guo, Jana Hadas, Stephen Gutowski, Stephen R. Sprang, Paul C. Sternweis Jul 2012

Activation Of P115-Rhogef Requires Direct Association Of Gα13 And The Dbl Homology Domain, Zhe Chen, Liang Guo, Jana Hadas, Stephen Gutowski, Stephen R. Sprang, Paul C. Sternweis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

RGS-containing RhoGEFs (RGS-RhoGEFs) represent a direct link between the G(12) class of heterotrimeric G proteins and the monomeric GTPases. In addition to the canonical Dbl homology (DH) and pleckstrin homology domains that carry out the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity toward RhoA, these RhoGEFs also possess RGS homology (RH) domains that interact with activated α subunits of G(12) and G(13). Although the GEF activity of p115-RhoGEF (p115), an RGS-RhoGEF, can be stimulated by Gα(13), the exact mechanism of the stimulation has remained unclear. Using combined studies with small angle x-ray scattering, biochemistry, and mutagenesis, we identify an additional binding …

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The Likelihood Of Extinction Of Iconic And Dominant Herbivores And Detritivores Of Coral Reefs: The Parrotfishes And Surgeonfishes, Mia T. Comeros-Raynal, John H. Choat, Beth A. Polidoro, Kendall D. Clements, Rene Abesamis, Matthew T. Craig, Muhammad E. Lazuardi, Jennifer Mcilwain, Andreas Muljadi, Robert F. Myers, Cleto L. Nanola Jr., Shinta Pardede, Luiz A. Rocha, Barry Russell, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Brian Stockwell, Heather Harwell, Kent E. Carpenter Jul 2012

The Likelihood Of Extinction Of Iconic And Dominant Herbivores And Detritivores Of Coral Reefs: The Parrotfishes And Surgeonfishes, Mia T. Comeros-Raynal, John H. Choat, Beth A. Polidoro, Kendall D. Clements, Rene Abesamis, Matthew T. Craig, Muhammad E. Lazuardi, Jennifer Mcilwain, Andreas Muljadi, Robert F. Myers, Cleto L. Nanola Jr., Shinta Pardede, Luiz A. Rocha, Barry Russell, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Brian Stockwell, Heather Harwell, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Parrotfishes and surgeonfishes perform important functional roles in the dynamics of coral reef systems. This is a consequence of their varied feeding behaviors ranging from targeted consumption of living plant material (primarily surgeonfishes) to feeding on detrital aggregates that are either scraped from the reef surface or excavated from the deeper reef substratum (primarily parrotfishes). Increased fishing pressure and widespread habitat destruction have led to population declines for several species of these two groups. Species-specific data on global distribution, population status, life history characteristics, and major threats were compiled for each of the 179 known species of parrotfishes and surgeonfishes …

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Dissection Of The Role Of The Stable Signal Peptide Of The Arenavirus Envelope Glycoprotein In Membrane Fusion, Emily L. Messina, Joanne York, Jack H. Nunberg Jun 2012

Dissection Of The Role Of The Stable Signal Peptide Of The Arenavirus Envelope Glycoprotein In Membrane Fusion, Emily L. Messina, Joanne York, Jack H. Nunberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The arenavirus envelope glycoprotein (GPC) retains a stable signal peptide (SSP) as an essential subunit in the mature complex. The 58-amino-acid residue SSP comprises two membrane-spanning hydrophobic regions separated by a short ectodomain loop that interacts with the G2 fusion subunit to promote pH-dependent membrane fusion. Small-molecule compounds that target this unique SSP-G2 interaction prevent arenavirus entry and infection. The interaction between SSP and G2 is sensitive to the phylogenetic distance between New World (Junin) and Old World (Lassa) arenaviruses. For example, heterotypic GPC complexes are unable to support virion entry. In this report, we demonstrate that the hybrid GPC …

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Effects Of Moderate Swim Exercise On Adiposity And Metabolic Function In Mice, Roberta L. Pohlman, Ana Carneiro, Vera Farah, Lynn K. Hartzler, Mariana Morris May 2012

Effects Of Moderate Swim Exercise On Adiposity And Metabolic Function In Mice, Roberta L. Pohlman, Ana Carneiro, Vera Farah, Lynn K. Hartzler, Mariana Morris

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Growth And Competitive Effects Of Centaurea Stoebe Populations In Response To Simulated Nitrogen Deposition, Wei-Ming He, Daniel Montesinos, Giles C. Thelan, Ragan M. Callaway Apr 2012

Growth And Competitive Effects Of Centaurea Stoebe Populations In Response To Simulated Nitrogen Deposition, Wei-Ming He, Daniel Montesinos, Giles C. Thelan, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Increased resource availability can promote invasion by exotic plants, raising concerns over the potential effects of global increases in the deposition of nitrogen (N). It is poorly understood why increased N favors exotics over natives. Fast growth may be a general trait of good invaders and these species may have exceptional abilities to increase growth rates in response to N deposition. Additionally, invaders commonly displace locals, and thus may have inherently greater competitive abilities. The mean growth response of Centaurea stoebe to two N levels was significantly greater than that of North American (NA) species. Growth responses to N did …

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Ngf Causes Trka To Specifically Attract Microtubules To Lipid Rafts, Shona Pryor, Gretchen Mccaffrey, Lindsay R. Young, Mark L. Grimes Apr 2012

Ngf Causes Trka To Specifically Attract Microtubules To Lipid Rafts, Shona Pryor, Gretchen Mccaffrey, Lindsay R. Young, Mark L. Grimes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Membrane protein sorting is mediated by interactions between proteins and lipids. One mechanism that contributes to sorting involves patches of lipids, termed lipid rafts, which are different from their surroundings in lipid and protein composition. Although the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors, TrkA and p75(NTR) collaborate with each other at the plasma membrane to bind NGF, these two receptors are endocytosed separately and activate different cellular responses. We hypothesized that receptor localization in membrane rafts may play a role in endocytic sorting. TrkA and p75(NTR) both reside in detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs), yet they responded differently to a variety of conditions. …

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Different Selective Pressures Lead To Different Genomic Outcomes As Newly-Formed Hybrid Yeasts Evolve, Jeff S. Piotrowski, Saisubramanian Nagarajan, Evgueny Kroll, Alison Stanbery, Kami E. Chiotti, Arthur L. Kruckeberg, Barbara Dunn, Gavin Sherlock, Frank Rosenzweig Apr 2012

Different Selective Pressures Lead To Different Genomic Outcomes As Newly-Formed Hybrid Yeasts Evolve, Jeff S. Piotrowski, Saisubramanian Nagarajan, Evgueny Kroll, Alison Stanbery, Kami E. Chiotti, Arthur L. Kruckeberg, Barbara Dunn, Gavin Sherlock, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Interspecific hybridization occurs in every eukaryotic kingdom. While hybrid progeny are frequently at a selective disadvantage, in some instances their increased genome size and complexity may result in greater stress resistance than their ancestors, which can be adaptively advantageous at the edges of their ancestors' ranges. While this phenomenon has been repeatedly documented in the field, the response of hybrid populations to long-term selection has not often been explored in the lab. To fill this knowledge gap we crossed the two most distantly related members of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group, S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum, and established a …

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Population-Level Compensation Impedes Biological Control Of An Invasive Forb And Indirect Release Of A Native Grass, Yvette K. Ortega, Dean E. Pearson, Lauren P. Waller, Nancy J. Sturdevant, John L. Maron Apr 2012

Population-Level Compensation Impedes Biological Control Of An Invasive Forb And Indirect Release Of A Native Grass, Yvette K. Ortega, Dean E. Pearson, Lauren P. Waller, Nancy J. Sturdevant, John L. Maron

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The intentional introduction of specialist insect herbivores for biological control of exotic weeds provides ideal but understudied systems for evaluating important ecological concepts related to top-down control, plant compensatory responses, indirect effects, and the influence of environmental context on these processes. Centaurea stoebe (spotted knapweed) is a notorious rangeland weed that exhibited regional declines in the early 2000s, attributed to drought by some and to successful biocontrol by others. We initiated an experiment to quantify the effects of the biocontrol agent, Cyphocleonus achates, on Ce. stoebe and its interaction with a dominant native grass competitor, Pseudoroegneria spicata, under …

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Cell Signaling. Structural Origins Of Receptor Bias, Stephen R. Sprang, Jackson Chief Elk Mar 2012

Cell Signaling. Structural Origins Of Receptor Bias, Stephen R. Sprang, Jackson Chief Elk

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Agonists can elicit pathway-specific conformational changes in a G protein–coupled receptor.

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Postdispersal Seed Predation Limits The Abundance Of A Long-Lived Perennial Forb (Lithospermum Ruderale), Mary Carolyn Bricker, John L. Maron Mar 2012

Postdispersal Seed Predation Limits The Abundance Of A Long-Lived Perennial Forb (Lithospermum Ruderale), Mary Carolyn Bricker, John L. Maron

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Loss of seeds to consumers is common in plant communities, but the degree to which these losses influence plant abundance or population growth is often unclear. This is particularly the case for postdispersal seed predation by rodents, as most studies of rodent seed predation have focused on the sources of spatiotemporal variation in seed loss but not quantified the population consequences of this loss. In previous work we showed that seed predation by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) substantially reduced seedling recruitment and establishment of Lithospermum ruderale (Boraginaceae), a long-lived perennial forb. To shed light on how rodent seed …

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Regulation Of The Vapbc-1 Toxin-Antitoxin Locus In Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae, Susan D. Cline, Sehresh Saleem, Dayle A. Daines Mar 2012

Regulation Of The Vapbc-1 Toxin-Antitoxin Locus In Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae, Susan D. Cline, Sehresh Saleem, Dayle A. Daines

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) are human-adapted commensal bacteria that can cause a number of chronic mucosal infections, including otitis media and bronchitis. One way for these organisms to survive antibiotic therapy and cause recurrent disease is to stop replicating, as most antimicrobials target essential biosynthetic pathways. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) gene pairs have been shown to facilitate entry into a reversible bacteriostatic state. Characteristically, these operons encode a protein toxin and an antitoxin that associate following translation to form a nontoxic complex, which then binds to and regulates the cognate TA promoter. Under stressful conditions, the labile antitoxin is degraded and the …

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Heterogeneity In Genetic Diversity Among Non-Coding Loci Fails To Fit Neutral Coalescent Models Of Population History, Jeffrey L. Peters, Trina E. Roberts, Kevin Winker, Kevin G. Mccracken Feb 2012

Heterogeneity In Genetic Diversity Among Non-Coding Loci Fails To Fit Neutral Coalescent Models Of Population History, Jeffrey L. Peters, Trina E. Roberts, Kevin Winker, Kevin G. Mccracken

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Inferring aspects of the population histories of species using coalescent analyses of non-coding nuclear DNA has grown in popularity. These inferences, such as divergence, gene flow, and changes in population size, assume that genetic data reflect simple population histories and neutral evolutionary processes. However, violating model assumptions can result in a poor fit between empirical data and the models. We sampled 22 nuclear intron sequences from at least 19 different chromosomes (a genomic transect) to test for deviations from selective neutrality in the gadwall (Anas strepera), a Holarctic duck. Nucleotide diversity among these loci varied by nearly two …

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Inhibitors Of Membranous Adenylyl Cyclases, Roland Seifert, Gerald H. Lushington, Tung-Chung Mou, Andreas Gille, Stephen R. Sprang Feb 2012

Inhibitors Of Membranous Adenylyl Cyclases, Roland Seifert, Gerald H. Lushington, Tung-Chung Mou, Andreas Gille, Stephen R. Sprang

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Membranous adenylyl cyclases (mACs) constitute a family of nine isoforms with different expression patterns. Studies with mAC gene knockout mice provide evidence for the notion that AC isoforms play distinct (patho)physiological roles. Consequently, there is substantial interest in the development of isoform-selective mAC inhibitors. Here, we review the current literature on mAC inhibitors. Structurally diverse inhibitors targeting the catalytic site and allosteric sites (e.g. the diterpene site) have been identified. The catalytic site of mACs accommodates both purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, with a hydrophobic pocket constituting a major affinity-conferring domain for substituents at the 2'- and 3'-O-ribosyl position of nucleotides. …

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Distribution, Population Size, And Structure Of Himalayan Grey Goral Naemorhedus Goral Bedfordi (Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) In Pakistan, Fakhar -I- Abbas, Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl, Afsar Mian, Tanveer Akhtar, Thomas P. Rooney Feb 2012

Distribution, Population Size, And Structure Of Himalayan Grey Goral Naemorhedus Goral Bedfordi (Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) In Pakistan, Fakhar -I- Abbas, Kathreen E. Ruckstuhl, Afsar Mian, Tanveer Akhtar, Thomas P. Rooney

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Himalayan grey goral (Naemorhedus goral bedfordi) is a Red List (Near Threatened) member of Caprinae endemic to Asia, occupying the south-facing slopes of the Himalaya Mountains. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the National Pakistan Red List, but the distribution and abundance of the species within the nation is poorly known. We conducted a national census of Himalayan grey goral in Pakistan during 2002 – 2004, with the objective of documenting the geographic locations of populations, estimating population size, and describing group sizes and sex ratios. We conducted a direct count census in 98 sites distributed over …

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Time Of Day Regulates Subcellular Trafficking, Tripartite Synaptic Localization, And Polyadenylation Of The Astrocytic Fabp7 Mrna, Jason R. Gerstner, William M. Vanderheyden, Timothy Lavaute, Cara J. Westmark, Labib Rouhana, Allan I. Pack, Marvin Wickens, Charles F. Landry Jan 2012

Time Of Day Regulates Subcellular Trafficking, Tripartite Synaptic Localization, And Polyadenylation Of The Astrocytic Fabp7 Mrna, Jason R. Gerstner, William M. Vanderheyden, Timothy Lavaute, Cara J. Westmark, Labib Rouhana, Allan I. Pack, Marvin Wickens, Charles F. Landry

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The astrocyte brain fatty acid binding protein (Fabp7) has previously been shown to have a coordinated diurnal regulation of mRNA and protein throughout mouse brain, and an age-dependent decline in protein expression within synaptoneurosomal fractions. Mechanisms that control time-of-day changes in expression and trafficking Fabp7 to the perisynaptic process are not known. In this study, we confirmed an enrichment of Fabp7 mRNA and protein in the astrocytic perisynaptic compartment, and observed a diurnal change in the intracellular distribution of Fabp7 mRNA in molecular layers of hippocampus. Northern blotting revealed a coordinated time-of-day-dependent oscillation for the Fabp7 mRNA poly(A) tail throughout …

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Construction And Transformation Of A Thermotoga-E. Coli Shuttle Vector, Zhaohui Xu, Dongmei Han, Stephen M. Norris Jan 2012

Construction And Transformation Of A Thermotoga-E. Coli Shuttle Vector, Zhaohui Xu, Dongmei Han, Stephen M. Norris

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Thermotoga spp. are attractive candidates for producing biohydrogen, green chemicals, and thermostable enzymes. They may also serve as model systems for understanding life sustainability under hyperthermophilic conditions. A lack of genetic tools has hampered the investigation and application of these organisms. This study aims to develop a genetic transfer system for Thermotoga spp. Results: Methods for preparing and handling Thermotoga solid cultures under aerobic conditions were optimized. A plating efficiency of similar to 50% was achieved when the bacterial cells were embedded in 0.3% Gelrite. A Thermotoga-E. coli shuttle vector pDH10 was constructed using pRQ7, a cryptic mini-plasmid found …

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Dynamic Model Visualizing The Process Of Viral Plaque Formation, Boriana Marintcheva Jan 2012

Dynamic Model Visualizing The Process Of Viral Plaque Formation, Boriana Marintcheva

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In Microbiology and Virology courses, viral plaques are often presented to students as the way one can visualize viruses/bacteriophages. While students generally grasp the idea that counting plaques is essentially the same as counting viruses in their sample (assuming that one virus entering the cell is sufficient for productive infection), the process of plaque formation itself remains largely obscure. Many students fail to appreciate that viral plaques are actually a “laboratory-made” phenomenon allowing us to observe and study the growth of lytic viruses. The latter often presents a challenge for the interpretation of experimental data related to viral growth and …

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Motivating Students To Learn Biology Vocabulary With Wikipedia, Boriana Marintcheva Jan 2012

Motivating Students To Learn Biology Vocabulary With Wikipedia, Boriana Marintcheva

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Timely learning of specialized science vocabulary is critical for building a solid knowledge base in any scientific discipline. To motivate students to dedicate time and effort mastering biology vocabulary, I have designed a vocabulary exercise utilizing the popular web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The exercise creates an opportunity for students to connect the challenge of vocabulary learning to a prior positive experience of self-guided learning using a content source they are familiar and comfortable with.

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The Pentatomidae, Or Stink Bugs, Of Kansas With A Key To Species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Richard J. Packauskas Ph.D. Jan 2012

The Pentatomidae, Or Stink Bugs, Of Kansas With A Key To Species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Richard J. Packauskas Ph.D.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Forty eight species of Pentatomidae are listed as occurring in the state of Kansas, nine of these are new state records. A key to all species known from the state of Kansas is given, along with some notes on new state records.

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