Life Sciences Commons^™

Gal4 Disrupts A Repressing Nucleosome During Activation Of Gal1 Transcription In Vivo, Jeffrey D. Axelrod, Michael S. Reagan, John Majors

Biology Faculty Publications

Photofootprinting in vivo of GALl reveals an activation- dependent pattern between the UASG and the TATA box, in a sequence not required for transcriptional activation by GAL4. The pattern results from a nucleosome whose position depends on sequences within the UASG. In the wild-type gene, activation by GAL4 and derivatives disrupts this nucleosome. This activity is independent of interactions with DNA-bound core transcription factors and is proportional to the strength of the activator. Presence of the nucleosome correlates with low basal transcription levels under various conditions, suggesting a role in limiting basal expression. We propose a role for the GAL4 …

Ribosomal Dna And The Phylogeny Of Frogs, David M. Hills, Loren K. Ammerman, Michael T. Dixon, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Phylogenetic analysis of 1656 aligned sites in the 28S ribosomal RNA gene of frogs supports some of the recently recognized higher groups of anurans but provides counter-support for others. The 28S rDNA data support the monophyly of the recently recognized Pipanura (me- sobatrachians plus neobatrachians), which in turn indicates paraphyly of archaeobatrachians. Me- sobatrachians (pelobatoids plus pipoids), which are either considered paraphyletic or weakly sup- ported as monophyletic in morphological analyses, also receive support as a monophyletic group from the 28S rDNA data. Hyloidea (=Bufonoidea), which is widely recognized but lacks morphological support, receives some molecular support as being monophyletic. …

Genotypic Diversity In Populations Of A Fungal Endophyte From Douglas-Fir, Timothy L. Mccutcheon, George C. Carroll, Suzanne Schwab

Biology Faculty Publications

Rhabdocline parkeri, an endophyte of Douglas fir, forms symptomless infections within single epidermal cells of healthy needles. Rhabdocline parkeri strains were isolated from trees growing in various habitats ranging from virgin old growth forests to a single young tree growing isolated in a meadow. Different genotypes of R. parkeri were distinguished by using the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. A significantly lower number of R. parkeri genotypes per unit foliage were isolated from trees within a 20-year-old managed stand and from an isolated tree than from old growth trees. Foliage from young trees (20 years old) in a stand …

Mouse Heparin Binding Protein-44 (Hbp-44) Associates With Brushin, A High-Molecular-Weight Glycoprotein Antigen Common To The Kidney And Teratocarcinomas, Masaru Nakamoto, Masayuki Ozawa, Sonia Jacinto, Tatsuhiko Furukawa, Yasuhiro Natori, Hiroshi Shirahama, Suguru Yonezawa, Tatsuo Nakayama, Takashi Muramatsu

Biology Faculty Publications

Heparin binding protein-44 (HBP-44) is a heparin binding protein of 44 kDa, found by cDNA cloning using antibodies against teratocarcinoma glycoproteins [Furukawa, T. et al. (1990) J. Biochem. 108, 297-302]. The N-terminal sequence analysis reported in this publication establishes the structure of its mature form. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that HBP-44 was located in the tubular brush border of the kidney. HBP-44 formed a complex with brushin, a high molecular weight (460 kDa) glycoprotein antigen common to the kidney and teratocarcinoma, but not with OR8 antigen, another antigen (350 kDa) of the same category. Brushin was shown to be the mouse …

Woody Vegetation Of A Disjunct Bur Oak (Quercus Macrocarpa) Forest In East-Central Nebraska, Debra Ann Beightol, Thomas B. Bragg

Biology Faculty Publications

Woody plant composition was assessed for three tree-size classes in two ravines of Oak Glen Wildlife Management Area, a disjunct oak forest in Seward County, Nebraska, using Importance Values (IV) obtained by the Point-Quarter method. Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) dominated the large-size class (>30 cm dbh) (IV = 258) but elms (Ulmus americana L. and U. rubra Muhl.) (IV = 130) dominated the forest in one ravine in the medium-size class (10-30cm dbh) and elm and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) (IV = 114 and 27 respectively) dominated the small-size class (

Review Of American Wildflower Florilegium By Jean Andrews, David M. Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications

This book is a collection of 50 watercolor paintings of American wildflowers ("florilegium" means, literally, "a gathering of flowers"). Accompanying each full-page painting is a summary of general information about the plant, including notes about its botanical classification, the etymology of its name, life history, distribution, description, flowering period, pollination, and propagation.

Floristic Diversity In Ten Tallgrass Prairie Remnants Of Eastern Nebraska, Judith F. Boettcher, Thomas B. Bragg, David M. Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications

Ten eastern Nebraska tallgrass prairie remnants, varying in size from one to 18 ha, were studied or visited during the growing seasons from 1979 to 1993. A total of217 prairie plant species were recorded. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), smooth brome (Bromus inermis subsp. inermis), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus herbaceus var. pubescens), false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and porcupine-grass (Stipa spartea) were prevalent in all the prairies although the specific floristic composition has been reported to vary depending on past management, topography, season of evaluation, and prairie size. Of the total species …

A Comparative 2-Dimensional Gel Protein Database Of The Intact And Regenerating Newt Limbs, Panagiotis A. Tsonis

Biology Faculty Publications

In this paper we describe a two-dimensional gel database of the regenerating newt limb. Protein synthesis was compared in the intact limb, in the 1-week regenerating limb, representing the dedifferentiation stage, and in the 2-week regenerating limb, representing the formation of the blastema. This comparative database provided data on differential expression of about 800 proteins during the process of limb regeneration. In addition, a map has been generated for these proteins for future guidance in characterizing further new, unknown proteins. The overall expression patterns of the proteins indicated that the dedifferentiation stage was marked by down-regulation of most proteins, while …

Wood Anatomy Of Amanoa (Euphorbiaceae), W. John Hayden, Mark P. Simmons, Linda J. Swanson

Biology Faculty Publications

Wood anatomy of 29 specimens of seven species of Amanoa from tropical Africa, South America, and the Caribbean is described. The wood is diffuse-porous with most vessels in short radical multiples. Vessel elements are notably long, have simple perforation plates and small, alternative intervessel pits; tyloses are present in heartwood. Libriform wood fibres bear thick walls. Axial parenchyma distribution is diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Chambered crystalliferous axial parenchyma is common. Rays are heterocellular, narrow, and very tall. The species examined, all from moist lowland forests, have similar wood structure. Wood of Amanoa resembles that of other primitive Euphorbiaceae.

Morfología Y Moléculas: Bases Complementarias De La Sistemática Moderna, Rafael O. De Sá, David M. Hillis

Biology Faculty Publications

RESUMEN

El auge de las técnicas moleculares en las últimas dos décadas ha traído nuevos enfoques en los estudios sistemáticos. Aquí presentaremos una revisión del uso, las aplicaciones, y los problemas de las principales metodologías de trabajo. Cada una de estas técnicas es aplicable a algunos problemas e inapropiada para otros, y es importante entender las suposiciones y limitaciones de cada técnica. Concluimos que el uso combinado de los enfoques morfológicos y moleculares otorga mejor resolución a los problemas sistemáticos.

ABSTRACT

The development of molecular techniques during the last two decades has brought new approaches to the analysis of systematic …

The Nfiii/Oct-1 Binding Site Stimulates Adenovirus Dna Replication In Vivo And Is Functionally Redundant With Adjacent Sequences, Lianna K. Etchberger, P. Hearing

Biology Faculty Publications

The inverted terminal repeat (ITR) of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) is 103 bp in length and contains the origin of DNA replication. Cellular transcription factors NFI/CTF and NFIII/OCT-1 bind to sites within the ITR and participate in the initiation of viral DNA replication in vitro. The ITR also contains multiple copies of two conserved sequence motifs that bind the cellular transcription factors SP1 and ATF. We have analyzed a series of viruses that carry deletions at the left terminus of Ad5. A virus carrying a deletion of the NFIII/OCT-1, SP1, and ATF sites within the ITR (mutant dl309-44/107) was wild …

Population Studies Of Migratory Birds In Virgin Islands National Park, Robert A. Askins, David N. Ewert

Biology Faculty Publications

The majority of the individual songbirds nesting in the deciduous forests of eastern North America migrate to the West Indies, Central America and South America during the winter. They typically spend more than six months in tropical winter habitats. Until recently relatively little was known about their habitat requirements during the winter, but increasing concern about declining pcpulations of many migratory songbirds combined with widespread alarm about the rapid destruction of tropical forests has led to a flurry of research on this subject (Terborgh, 1989; Askins et al. 1990). In 1987 we initiated a study of the ecology and behavior …

A Survey Of Mucilaginous Testa In Chamaesyce, Martha S. Jordan, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

Seeds of Chamaesyce were studied for presence of mucilaginous testa. Samples were selected to represent all major systematic sections within the genus. Observations were made with a dissecting microscope following brief hydration of seeds; additional SEM observations of both intact and fractured dry seeds were made for selected species. With few exceptions, most of Boissier's subsections test positively for seed mucilage; however, mucilage is generally absent in subsections Gymnadeniae and "Sclerophyllae", for which absence of mucilage is regarded as secondary loss from mucilagionus ancestors. Although mucilage production is associated with a well-defined subepidermal layer of macroesclereids, it is …

Forest Fragmentation And The Decline Of Migratory Songbirds, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Individualistic Perspectives On Plant Competition, Nancy J. Huntly

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A New Family Of Heparin Binding Growth/Differentiation Factors: Differential Expression Of The Midkine (Mk) And Hb-Gam Genes During Mouse Development, Masaru Nakamoto, Shyuichiro Matsubara, Teruo Miyauchi, Hiroya Obama, Takashi Muramatsu

Biology Faculty Publications

MK (midkine) and HB-GAM (heparin-binding growth-associated molecule) constitute a new family of heparin-binding growth differentiation factors. The modes of expression of MK and HB-GAM during mouse development were quantitatively examined by mRNA hybridization. The following three distinct patterns of expression were observed in the brain/head region. On the 11th-13th days of gestation, MK was intensely, but HB-GAM relatively weakly expressed; on the 15th-19th days, both MK and HB-GAM expression became weaker; and in the neonatal period, HB-GAM was intensely expressed and MK expression increased slightly. The level of HB-GAM expression was lower than that of MK in the whole embryo …

Status Of Platanthera Praeclara Sheviak & Bowles (Western Prairie Fringed Orchid) In The Platte River Valley In Nebraska From Hamilton To Garden Counties, Tanya E. Bray, Barbara L. Wilson

Biology Faculty Publications

During June and July, 1991, a search for western prairie fringed orchid was conducted in the Platte River Valley in central and west-central Nebraska. No orchids were found in the 370 sites surveyed. Factors which may contribute to the scarcity of this orchid in the area surveyed include drought conditions in the previous three years; habitat alteration by draining, ditching, herbicide application, mowing for hay, crop cultivation and planting of non-native species for hay fields; invasion of the area by trees; and the presence of alkaline soils in some areas

Metabolite Production By Entomopathogenic Fungi, Donald W. Roberts, Raymond J. St. Leger, Sandeep Gupta

Biology Faculty Publications

The entomopathogenic fungi produce a wide assortment of metabolites, some of which are important to the host-specialization of this group of fungi. Very few entomopathogenic fungi have been examined in detail for their metabolites in the disease process. Nevertheless, it is clear that certain proteases and lipases are crucial to the invasion of insect cuticle by the fungus. These fungi have the unusual ability to hydrolyze branched alkanes. Also, they normally produce very active, broad-spectrum proteases. These are needed for penetration of the hydrophobic epicuticle and the highly proteinaceous cuticle of insects. Chitinases also are involved, but usually have only …

Flocking Behavior Of Migratory Warblers In Winter In The Virgin Islands, David N. Ewert, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

We assessed the flocking behavior of birds on St. John and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, with systematic surveys along trails in moist forests. Winter residents (species breeding in North America and that winter in the Virgin Islands), all of which were warblers, comprised 91% of the individuals found in 28 flocks but only 49% of solitary individuals. The average flock size was 4.0 individuals of 3.1 species, and did not differ between St. John and St. Thomas even though the average forest tract on St. John (1,000 ha) was much larger than on St. Thomas (62 ha). Northern Parula …

Review Of The Wild Oat Inflorescence And Seed: Anatomy, Development And Morphology, M. V. S. Raju, David M. Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications

This slim volume describes a detailed study of the reproductive parts of Avena fatua, the wild oat plant-a common weed in the northern plains and the probable ancestor of the cultivated oat. The book integrates the author's own work with information from available literature and includes lengthy technical descriptions of the structure and the growth of the inflorescence, the floret, the ovule, the pollen grain, the embryo, the seed, and the young seedling. Throughout the work, the author relates the wild oat's structure and development to other grasses, other monocotyledons, and other seed plants, offering evolutionary interpretations of many of …

Protecting Forests For Wildlife, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

The subject of managing forests for wildlife is being viewed from a new perspective, a perspective that has developed primarily as a result of studies of forest-interior birds. Forest-interior birds are dependent to a large extent on how forest lands are managed. They are essentially forest specialists and are not normally seen in open areas such as the suburbs, open fields or meadows. In Connecticut and other parts of the northeastern United States, most forest-interior birds are members of one taxonomic group, the wood warblers.

A Taxonomic Study Of Variation In Leptochloa Fascicularis (Lam.) Gray In The Central Great Plains, Todd A. Templeton

Biology Faculty Publications

The morphology of Leptochloa fascicularis (Lam.) Gray (Poaceae) was studied in 25 locations in eastern and central Nebraska to determine if this grass was separable into two distinct taxa as suggested in several recent sources. Field collections were supplemented with herbarium specimens from other parts of the Central Great Plains. Glume and lemma lengths, the characters used in published keys, provided no separations useful in dividing the material into two species or varieties. However, individual local populations exhibited significant differences from each other in these characters. Such local differences appear to be reasonable given the high degree of inbreeding that …

New And Corrected Floristic Records For Nebraska, Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Robert B. Kaul, David M. Sutherland

Biology Faculty Publications

Nineteen species (including eight Eurasian ones) are newly recorded for Nebraska: Alopecurus arundinaceus, Amaranthus californicus, Asclepias asperula, A purpurascens, Cardamine {lexuosa*, Centaurea diffusa, Dipsacus laciniatus, Eriochloa villosa, Euclidium syriacum, Gentiana alba, Geranium viscosissimum, Geum vernum, Goodyera oblongifolia, Haplopappus multicaulis, Heterotheca latifolia, Lathyrus tuberosus, Polygonum douglasii, Scirpus saximontanus, Veronica biloba. Twenty-one others are shown to be more widespread in Nebraska than previously known, one has a more restricted range than previously reported, two (Scirpus smithii, S. torreyi) are deleted from the flora based upon corrected identifications, and the status of some rarely-collected species is updated. Thirty-two additions, two …

Notes On Neotropical Amanoa (Euphorbiaceae), W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

Lectotypes are designated for Amanoa caribaea Krug & Urban and A. guianensis Aublet; presumed syntypes of the latter taxon are shown to be heterogeneous by inclusion of a previously unrecognized species. Four new species of Amanoa are described: A. congesta from French Guiana and northeastern Brazil; A. gracillima from Manaus, Brazil; A. nanayensis from Amazonian Peru and adjacent Colombia and Brazil; and A. neglecta from French Guiana and Surinam. Amanoa sinuosa is proposed as a new name for the later homonym A. robusta Leal. A key to the 13 neotropical species is presented.

Description Of The Tadpoles Of Gastrophryne Pictiventris And Nelsonophryne Aterrima (Anura: Microhylidae), With A Review Of Morphological Variation In Free-Swimming Microhylid Larvae, Maureen A. Donnelly, Rafael O. De Sá, Craig Guyer

Biology Faculty Publications

The tadpoles of Gastrophryne pictiventris and Nelsonophryne aterrima are described based on material collected in Costa Rica and Panama, respectively. The tadpole of G. pictiventris resembles those of the other species of Gastrophryne. The tadpole of N. aterrima differs from other New World microhylid tadpoles in location of the vent tube (medial), the spiracular opening (ventral to the gut), and eyes (dorsolateral). The unique configuration of mouthparts in N. aterrima is described. Morphological variation in microhylid tadpoles is reviewed and six larval characters are analyzed cladistically for IO New World microhylid genera.

Methyl Salicylate Secretory Cells In Roots Of Viola Arvensis And V. Rafinesquii (Violaceae), W. John Hayden, John Clough

Biology Faculty Publications

The aromatic roots of Viola arvensis and V. rafinesquii were studied in order to determine the chemical nature and anatomical localization of their volatile compounds. Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy revealed a single detectable volatile compound, methyl salicylate. Light microscopy and differential staining with Sudan III indicates the source of this compound to be enlarged secretory cells located in the endodermis, an unusual position for such cells in roots of angiosperms. The secretory endodermal cells are sporadic, but are more frequent in primary roots than in secondary roots and the lower portion of the hypocotyl. It is hypothesized that …

A Retinoic Acid Responsive Gene, Mk, Produces A Secreted Protein A With Heparin Binding Activity, Masaru Nakamoto

Biology Faculty Publications

MK is a gene whose expression increases transiently during retinoic acid-induced differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells. MK polypeptide was secreted by differentiating HM-1 embryonal carcinoma cells and by L-cells transfected with an MK cDNA under the control of the S-actin promoter and Rous sarcoma virus enhancer. MK polypeptide was found to have heparin binding activity. Conditioned medium of the transfected L-cells promoted growth of PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells. These findings support the view that MK polypeptide is a secreted factor involved in regulation of growth and differentiation.

Flueggea Willd, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

Shrubs to large trees with watery sap. Leaves simple, alternate, pinnately veined, stipulate. Flowers unisexual (and the plants dioecious or rarely monoecious), actinomorphic, in axillary clusters; sepals 4-7, imbricate; petals absent; nectary disk lobed or entire; stamens (3)4-7, alternate with the lobes of floral disk, staminodes absent in pistillate flowers; filaments distinct; ovary superior, on a hypogynous disk, (2)3(4)-carpellate, ovules 2 per cell, hemitropous, pistillode present in staminate flowers; styles distinct and 2-lobed or stigmas sessile. Fruit a capsule or baccate, indehiscent. Seeds 2 per cell. [Hayden, 1987; Sherff, 1939b]

Microbial Production And Consumption Of Nitrate In An Annual Grassland, John M. Stark, E. A. Davidson, M. K. Firestone

Biology Faculty Publications

Gross nitrification rates (calculated by 15N pool dilution) ranged from 12 to 46% of gross mineralization rates during the growing season of annual grasses. Pools of NH4+ and NO3 (measured as N) remained below 7 and 4 ,ug/g soil, respectively, but turned over about once a day. Microbial assimilation of NO3- occurred at rates similar to previous estimates of plant uptake. Hence two common assumptions, that nitrifying bac-teria are poor competitors for NH4+ and that microbial immobilization of NO3- is insig-nificant, are not correct for this grassland system. Soil heterogeneity probably results in NH4+ availability to NH4+ oxidizers at some …

Muscle Activities That Stretch The Mind, James L. Hanegan, Heather Mckean

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.