Life Sciences Commons^™

Mycoprotein: The Future Of Nutritious Nonmeat Protein, A Symposium Review, Tim Finnigan, Benjamin Wall, Peter Wilde, Francis Stephens, Steve Taylor, Marjorie Freedman

Faculty Publications

Mycoprotein is an alternative, nutritious protein source with a meat-like texture made from Fusarium venenatum, a naturally occurring fungus. Its unique method of production yields a significantly reduced carbon and water footprint relative to beef and chicken. Mycoprotein, sold as Quorn, is consumed in 17 countries, including the United States. In line with current dietary guidelines, mycoprotein is high in protein and fiber, and low in fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar. Mycoprotein may help maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels, promote muscle synthesis, control glucose and insulin levels, and increase satiety. It is possible that some susceptible consumers will become …

In Situ Observations Of Fish Larvae Encased Within A Pelagic Gelatinous Matrix, Adam T. Greer, Luciano M. Chiaverano, James G. Ditty, Frank J. Hernandez

Faculty Publications

The degree to which marine fish larvae aggregate (i.e. patchiness) is predominantly determined by the physical oceanographic environment. Biological traits, however, can also influence spatial distributions and have adaptive value for larvae (e.g. favorable transport or reducing predation mortality). Although several fish families are known to release eggs within a gelatinous matrix, hatched larvae have not been found inside this type of structure. We present observations of hatched, preflexion yolk-sac larvae encased within a pelagic gelatinous matrix (mass). Two different masses (40-60 mm in length) containing free swimming, elongate larvae were imaged in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) near …

Flowering, Drought, And Disease Tolerance, And Landscape Performance Of Landscape Rose Grown Under Low-Input Conditions In North Central Texas, Derald A. Harp, Gaye Hammond, David C. Zlesak, Greg Church, Mark Chamblee, Steve George

Faculty Publications

Landscaping today involves the struggle to balance aesthetically pleasing plants while minimizing the impact on the environment, reducing water usage, decreasing fertilizer use, and eliminating or significantly reducing pesticide usage. Roses (Rosa sp.), although seen as challenging plants, remain the most popular flowering shrub in the United States. The identification of new cultivars that combine beauty, pest and disease resistance, and drought tolerance are important to Texas landscapes. Sixty roses were assessed over a 3-year period to determine flowering, drought tolerance, disease resistance, and overall landscape performance in minimal-input gardens in north central Texas. Atypical weather during the study …

Genomic, Ecological, And Morphological Approaches To Investigating Species Limits: A Case Study In Modern Taxonomy From Tropical Eastern Pacific Surgeonfishes, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

A wide variety of species are distinguished by slight color variations. However, molecular analyses have repeatedly demonstrated that coloration does not always correspond to distinct evolutionary histories between closely related groups, suggesting that this trait is labile and can be misleading for species identification. In the present study, we analyze the evolutionary history of sister species of Prionurus surgeonfishes in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP), which are distinguished by the presence or absence of dark spots on their body. We examined the species limits in this system using comparative specimen-based approaches, a mitochondrial gene (COI), more than 800 nuclear loci …

Influence Of Sorghum Cultivar, Phenological Stage, And Fertilization On Development And Reproduction Of Melanaphis Sacchari (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Blake E. Wilson, Jeffrey Davis, Thomas Reagan, Luna Lama

Faculty Publications

The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an invasive pest of grain sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench (Poaceae). Since its first outbreak in sorghum in 2013, severe infestations have spread throughout the southern USA, causing major economic losses. Whereas insecticide applications can mitigate some of the pest's impacts, a sustainable ecology-based management program is needed to reduce reliance on chemical control. Two greenhouse assays examined the influence of selected host plant characteristics on M. sacchari life table parameters. We studied the effects of silicon (rates equivalent to 0 and 3,360 kg silicon per ha) and nitrogen (rates equivalent …

Hemipteran Pests Of Sugarcane In North America, Blake E. Wilson

Faculty Publications

ing-sucking herbivores (Insecta: Hemiptera) represent one of the greatest threats to agricultural production worldwide. Hemipteran pests directly injure plants as well as vector disease-causing plant pathogens. Production of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in North America is impacted by a complex of Hemiptera including the sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner (Aphididae); yellow sugarcane aphid, Sipha flava (Forbes) (Aphididae); West Indian canefly, Saccharosydne saccharivora (Westwood) (Delphacidae); sugarcane delphacid, Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy (Delphacidae); and sugarcane lace bug, Leptodictya tabida (Herric-Schaeffer) (Tingidae). None of these pests is consistently damaging to large amounts of sugarcane acreage, but regional outbreaks are common. The biology, ecology, and pest …

Amplification Dynamics Of Platy-1 Retrotransposons In The Cebidae Platyrrhine Lineage, Mark A. Batzer, Jessica M. Storer, Jackson R. Mierl, Sarah A. Brantley

Faculty Publications

Platy-1 elements are Platyrrhine-specific, short interspersed elements originally discovered in the Callithrix jacchus (common marmoset) genome. To date, only the marmoset genome has been analyzed for Platy-1 repeat content. Here, we report full-length Platy-1 insertions in other New World monkey (NWM) genomes (Saimiri boliviensis, squirrel monkey; Cebus imitator, capuchin monkey; and Aotus nancymaae, owl monkey) and analyze the amplification dynamics of lineage-specific Platy-1 insertions. A relatively small number of full-length and lineage-specific Platy-1 elements were found in the squirrel, capuchin, and owl monkey genomes compared with the marmoset genome. In addition, only a few older Platy-1 subfamilies were recovered in …

The Cure For Cultivating Fastidious Microbes, William Wischusen, Arundhati Bakshi, Austen T. Webber, Lorelei E. Patrick

Faculty Publications

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) expand the scientific educational benefits of research to large groups of students in a course setting. As part of an ongoing effort to integrate CUREs into first-year biology labs, we developed a microbiology CURE (mCURE) that uses a modified dilution-to-extinction high throughput culturing protocol for isolating abundant yet fastidious aquatic bacterioplankton during one semester. Students learn common molecular biology techniques like nucleic acid extraction, PCR, and molecular characterization; read and evaluate scientific literature; and receive training in scientific communication through written and oral exercises that incorporate social media elements. In the first three semesters, the …

The Strength Of Migratory Connectivity For Birds En Route To Breeding Through The Gulf Of Mexico, Emily B. Cohen, Clark R. Rushing, Frank R. Moore, Michael T. Hallworth, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez, Peter P. Marra

Faculty Publications

The strength of migratory connectivity is a measure of the cohesion of populations among phases of the annual cycle, including breeding, migration, and wintering. Many Nearctic‐Neotropical species have strong migratory connectivity between breeding and wintering phases of the annual cycle. It is less clear if this strength persists during migration when multiple endogenous and exogenous factors may decrease the cohesion of populations among routes or through time along the same routes. We sampled three bird species, American redstart Setophaga ruticilla, ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla, and wood thrush Hylocichla mustelina, during spring migration through the Gulf of Mexico region …

Age And Growth Of Gray Triggerfish (Balistes Capriscus) From A North-Central Gulf Of Mexico Artifical Reef Zone, Amanda E. Jefferson, Robert J. Allman, Ashley E. Pacicco, James S. Franks, Frank J. Hernandez, Mark A. Albins, Sean P. Powers, Robert L. Shipp, J. Marcus Drymon

Faculty Publications

The overexploitation of many traditionally targeted reef fishes such as red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus, Poey 1860), alongside the implementation of increasingly restrictive management measures on those species, has led to increased targeting of conventionally discarded Gulf of Mexico gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus, Gmelin 1789) commercially and recreationally. The goal of this study was to assess age and growth of gray triggerfish from the Alabama Artificial Reef Zone in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Gray triggerfish (n = 1135) were collected predominantly from artificial habitat during 1999 – 2017. Specimens were sexed macroscopically and ages were assigned …

Too Much Workplace Sitting: A Brief Historical Perspective, Raymond Jones, Daniel P. Credeur, Stephanie M. Mccoy

Faculty Publications

Sedentary behavior is a risk factor for the development of chronic diseases, especially those of cardiovascular and metabolic origins. Prolonged sitting is one of the most common sedentary behaviors among adults. Individuals sit for hours every day for several reasons, including work and or physical limitations. Historical accounts regarding the negative health effects of prolonged sitting began with early epidemiological studies, which sparked a breakout of research examining this behavior in the workplace setting. Understanding the risks associated with prolonged workplace sitting is important when considering workplace interventions, such as sit-stand workstations. These interventions appear to be beneficial in reducing …

Sex-Specific Growth And Reproductive Dynamics Of Red Drum In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Corbin F. Bennetts, Robert T. Leaf, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson

Faculty Publications

The Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus stock is heavily targeted in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by recreational fishers and supports a small commercial fishery in Mississippi. Despite their popularity, little recent work has been done to describe their life history. In this work, we describe sex‐specific growth and reproductive dynamics of Red Drum collected from the northern GOM from September 2016 through October 2017. We evaluated seven candidate growth models and found that the three‐parameter von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) was the best candidate length‐at‐age model. No significant difference in growth between sexes was observed with the three‐parameter VBGF, despite …

Importance Of Weak Trophic Interactions In The Structure Of The Food Web In La Paz Bay, Southern Gulf Of California: A Topological Approach, Andrés F. Navia, Sergio R. Maciel-Zapata, Adrián F. González-Acosta, Robert T. Leaf, Victor H. Cruz-Escalona

Faculty Publications

Here, we describe the trophic structure of the La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and evaluate the role of weak trophic interactions in the ecosystem using a suite of topological indices. We used information derived from published and unpublished stomach contents analysis studies from the region to construct an unweighted and directional trophic network (comprising 250 nodes and 1528 associated interactions) to assess the impact of predators in three scenarios. Each scenario simulated the removal of weak interactions corresponding to removal of those nodes with trophic contributions less than 5%, 10%, and 15%. In each removal scenario, the nodes …

An Effective Model For Engaging Faculty And Undergraduate Students In Neuroscience Outreach With Middle Schoolers, Peter J. Vollbrecht, Riley S. Frenette, Andrew J. Gall

Faculty Publications

Engaging undergraduate students in science outreach events is critical for improving future communication between scientists and community members. Outreach events are opportunities for faculty and undergraduates to utilize active learning strategies to engage non-scientists in scientific questions and principles. Through careful design of outreach events, undergraduate students can practice science communication skills while reaching populations of the public that remain underserved and underrepresented in scientific fields. Here we describe a classroom outreach event designed to give a broad overview of the field of neuroscience to middle school students of all backgrounds by delivering the content in school, during school hours. …

Ultra-Strong Long-Chain Polyamide Elastomers With Programmable Supramolecular Interactions And Oriented Crystalline Microstructures, Lingzhi Song, Tianyu Zhu, Liang Yuan, Jiangjun Zhou, Yaqiong Zhang, Zhongkai Wang, Chuanbing Tang

Faculty Publications

Polyamides are one of the most important polymers. Long-chain aliphatic polyamides could bridge the gap between traditional polyamides and polyethylenes. Here we report an approach to preparing sustainable ultra-strong elastomers from biomass-derived long-chain polyamides by thiol-ene addition copolymerization with diamide diene monomers. The pendant polar hydroxyl and non-polar butyrate groups between amides allow controlled programming of supramolecular hydrogen bonding and facile tuning of crystallization of polymer chains. The presence of thioether groups on the main chain can further induce metal–ligand coordination (cuprous-thioether). Unidirectional step-cycle tensile deformation has been applied to these polyamides and significantly enhances tensile strength to over 210 …

Functional And Transcriptomic Characterization Of Carboplatin-Resistant A2780 Ovarian Cancer Cell Line, Tamara Viscarra, Kurt Buchegger, Ignacio Jofre, Ismael Riquelme, Louise Zanella, Michel Abanto, Alyssa C. Parker, Stephen R. Piccolo, Juan Carlos Roa, Carmen Ili, Priscilla Brebi

Faculty Publications

Background

Ovarian cancer is a significant cancer-related cause of death in women worldwide. The most used chemotherapeutic regimen is based on carboplatin (CBDCA). However, CBDCA resistance is the main obstacle to a better prognosis. An in vitro drug-resistant cell model would help in the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying this drug-resistance phenomenon. The aim of this study was to characterize cellular and molecular changes of induced CBDCA-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780.

Methods

The cell selection strategy used in this study was a dose-per-pulse method using a concentration of 100 μM for 2 h. Once 20 cycles of exposure to …

The Role Of Temperature In Affecting Carry-Over Effects And Larval Competition In The Globally Invasive Mosquito Aedes Albopictus, Nnaemeka F. Ezeakacha, Donald Yee

Faculty Publications

Background

Ectotherms, like mosquitoes, have evolved specific responses to variation in environmental conditions like temperature, and these responses could confer a fitness benefit or cost when carried-over to different life stages. However, effects of temperature on animals with complex life-cycles often only focus on part of their life-cycle, or only consider how single aspects of life-history may carry over to new stages. Herein we investigated how temperature affects intraspecific larval competition and carry-over effects from larval to adult stages in the widespread invasive Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus.

Methods

For larval competition, larvae were reared at three densities (10, …

Group-Based Physical Activity Trajectories In Children Transitioning From Elementary To High School, Russell R. Pate, Michaela A. Schenkelberg, Marsha Dowda, Kerry L. Mciver

Faculty Publications

Background

Physical activity has been observed repeatedly to decline as children transition into adolescence; however, few studies have explored the possibility that sub-groups of children experience unique patterns of change during this transition. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the physical activity trajectories in clusters of youth transitioning from 5th to 11th grade.

Methods

Participants (n = 652) were recruited as 5th graders (ages 10–12 years) from elementary schools (n = 21) in two school districts. Demographic, anthropometric, and physical activity data were collected once per year when children were in 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th …

Does Family Communication Matter? Exploring Knowledge Of Breast Cancer Genetics In Cancer Families, Deborah Himes, Sarah H. Davis, Jane Lassetter Phd, Rn, Neil E. Peterson, Margaret F. Clayton, Wendy C. Birmingham, Anita Y. Kinney

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Knowledge of breast cancer genetics is critical for those at increased hereditary risk who must make decisions about breast cancer screening options. This descriptive study explored theory-based relationships among cognitive and emotional variables related to knowledge of breast cancer genetics in cancer families. Methods: Participants included first-degree relatives of women with breast cancer who had received genetic counseling and testing. Study participants themselves did not have breast cancer and had not received genetic counseling or testing. Data were collected by telephone interviews and surveys. Variables analyzed included numeracy, health literacy, cancer-related distress, age, education, and the reported amount of …

Predicting Protein Residue-Residue Contacts Using Random Forests And Deep Networks, Joseph Luttrell Iv, Tong Liu, Chaoyang Zhang, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: The ability to predict which pairs of amino acid residues in a protein are in contact with each other offers many advantages for various areas of research that focus on proteins. For example, contact prediction can be used to reduce the computational complexity of predicting the structure of proteins and even to help identify functionally important regions of proteins. These predictions are becoming especially important given the relatively low number of experimentally determined protein structures compared to the amount of available protein sequence data.

Results: Here we have developed and benchmarked a set of machine learning methods …

Similarities And Differences Between Variants Called With Human Reference Genome Hg19 Or Hg38, Bohu Pan, Rebecca Kusko, Wenming Xiao, Yuantin Zheng, Zhichao Liu, Chunlin Xiao, Sugunadevi Sakkiah, Wenjing Guo, Ping Gong, Chaoyang Zhang, Weigong Ge, Leming Shi, Weida Tong, Huixiao Hong

Faculty Publications

Background: Reference genome selection is a prerequisite for successful analysis of next generation sequencing (NGS) data. Current practice employs one of the two most recent human reference genome versions: HG19 or HG38. To date, the impact of genome version on SNV identification has not been rigorously assessed.

Results: We conducted analysis comparing the SNVs identified based on HG19 vs HG38, leveraging whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the genome-in-a-bottle (GIAB) project. First, SNVs were called using 26 different bioinformatics pipelines with either HG19 or HG38. Next, two tools were used to convert the called SNVs between HG19 and …

White Spot Syndrome Virus (Wssv) In Cultured Juvenile Blue Crabs Callinectes Sapidus: Oral Versus Injection Exposure, And Feeding Frequency Effects, Reginald B. Blaylock, Stephen S. Curran, Jeffrey M. Lotz

Faculty Publications

The efficacy of oral versus injection exposure and the effect of feeding frequency on the transmission of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in cultured juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus were investigated. Crabs in Group 1 (G-1, n = 48) were exposed once orally to 100 mg of WSSV-infected shrimp tissue mg^-1 of body weight (BW). The oral inoculum contained 2.6 × 10⁹ WSSV genome copies mg^-1 tissue. Group 2 (G-2, n = 46) received the same dosage once weekly for 5 wk. Group 3 (G-3, n = 12) was injected with 0.01 ml (2.6 × 10^{7 …}

Tadkb:Family Classification And A Knowledge Base Of Topologically Associating Domains, Tong Liu, Jacob Porter, Chenguang Zhao, Hao Zhu, Nan Wang, Zheng Sun, Yin-Yuan Mo, Zheng Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: Topologically associating domains (TADs) are considered the structural and functional units of the genome. However, there is a lack of an integrated resource for TADs in the literature where researchers can obtain family classifications and detailed information about TADs.

Results: We built an online knowledge base TADKB integrating knowledge for TADs in eleven cell types of human and mouse. For each TAD, TADKB provides the predicted three-dimensional (3D) structures of chromosomes and TADs, and detailed annotations about the protein-coding genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) existent in each TAD. Besides the 3D chromosomal structures inferred by population …

Complex Gene Loss And Duplication Events Have Facilitated The Evolution Of Multiple Loricrin Genes In Diverse Bird Species, Anthony C. Davis, Matthew J. Greenwold, Roger H. Sawyer

Faculty Publications

The evolution of a mechanically resilient epidermis was a key adaptation in the transition of amniotes to a fully terrestrial lifestyle. Skin appendages usually form via a specialized type of programmed cell death known as cornification which is characterized by the formation of an insoluble cornified envelope (CE). Many of the substrates of cornification are encoded by linked genes located at a conserved genetic locus known as the epidermal differentiation complex (EDC). Loricrin is the main protein component of the mammalian CE and is encoded for by a gene located within the EDC. Recently, genes resembling mammalian loricrin, along with …

Establishment Of Listeria Monocytogenes In The Gastrointestinal Tract, Morgan L. Davis, Steven C. Ricke, Janet R. Donaldson

Faculty Publications

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive foodborne pathogen that can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of a number of hosts, including humans. These environments contain numerous stressors such as bile, low oxygen and acidic pH, which may impact the level of colonization and persistence of this organism within the GI tract. The ability of L. monocytogenes to establish infections and colonize the gastrointestinal tract is directly related to its ability to overcome these stressors, which is mediated by the efficient expression of several stress response mechanisms during its passage. This review will focus upon how and when this occurs and how …

The Aqueous Environment As An Active Participant In The Protein Folding Process, Michal Brylinski

Faculty Publications

Existing computational models applied in the protein structure prediction process do not sufficiently account for the presence of the aqueous solvent. The solvent is usually represented by a predetermined number of H2O molecules in the bounding box which contains the target chain. The fuzzy oil drop (FOD) model, presented in this paper, follows an alternative approach, with the solvent assuming the form of a continuous external hydrophobic force field, with a Gaussian distribution. The effect of this force field is to guide hydrophobic residues towards the center of the protein body, while promoting exposure of hydrophilic residues on its surface. …

The Type Of Dietary Fat In An Isocaloric Breakfast Meal Does Not Modify Postprandial Metabolism In Overweight/Obese Pregnant Women, Mary Lesser, Kasuen Mauldin, Lisa Sawrey-Kubicek, Virginia Gildengorin, Janet King

Faculty Publications

Almonds provide a satiating, healthy source of fat and fiber. The postprandial metabolic and satiety response to 2 ounces of nuts or dairy was assessed in 18 overweight/obese women during late pregnancy. Serum glucose, triglycerides, insulin, c-peptide, leptin, ghrelin, and lipoprotein particles were measured prior to and during a 5-h postprandial period following the consumption of an isocaloric breakfast meal with equivalent amounts of fat from either nuts or dairy on two separate mornings. Satiety was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires and ad libitum food intake at the end of the study. At 33 weeks gestation, the women …

Host Lipids In Positive-Strand Rna Virus Genome Replication, Zhenlu Zhang, Guijuan He, Natalie A. Filipowicz, Glenn Randall, George A. Belov, Benjamin G. Kopek, Xiaofeng Wang

Faculty Publications

Membrane association is a hallmark of the genome replication of positive-strand RNA viruses [(+)RNA viruses]. All well-studied (+)RNA viruses remodel host membranes and lipid metabolism through orchestrated virus-host interactions to create a suitable microenvironment to survive and thrive in host cells. Recent research has shown that host lipids, as major components of cellular membranes, play key roles in the replication of multiple (+)RNA viruses. This review focuses on how (+)RNA viruses manipulate host lipid synthesis and metabolism to facilitate their genomic RNA replication, and how interference with the cellular lipid metabolism affects viral replication.

A New Multivariate Optical Computing Microelement And Miniature Sensor For Spectroscopic Chemical Sensing In Harsh Environments: Design, Fabrication, And Testing, Christopher M. Jones, Bin Dai, Jimmy Price, Jian Li, Megan Pearl, Bill Soltmann, Michael L. Myrick

Faculty Publications

Multivariate optical computing (MOC) is a compressed sensing technique with the ability to provide accurate spectroscopic compositional analysis in a variety of different applications to multiple industries. Indeed, recent developments have demonstrated the successful deployment of MOC sensors in downhole/well-logging environments to interrogate the composition of hydrocarbon and other chemical constituents in oil and gas reservoirs. However, new challenges have necessitated sensors that operate at high temperatures and pressures (up to 230 °C and 138 MPa) as well as even smaller areas that require the miniaturization of their physical footprint. To this end, this paper details the design, fabrication, and …

Population Connectivity Of Pelagic Megafauna In The Cuba-Mexico-United States Triangle, Jay R. Rooker, Michael A. Dance, R.J. David Wells, Matthew J. Ajemian, Barbara A. Block, Michael R. Castleton, J. Marcus Drymon, Brett J. Falterman, James S. Franks, Neil Hammerschlag, Jill M. Hendon, Eric R. Hoffmayer, Richard T. Kraus, Jennifer A. Mckinney, David H. Secor, Gregory W. Stunz, John F. Walter

Faculty Publications

The timing and extent of international crossings by billfishes, tunas, and sharks in the Cuba-Mexico-United States (U.S.) triangle was investigated using electronic tagging data from eight species that resulted in >22,000 tracking days. Transnational movements of these highly mobile marine predators were pronounced with varying levels of bi- or tri-national population connectivity displayed by each species. Billfishes and tunas moved throughout the Gulf of Mexico and all species investigated (blue marlin, white marlin, Atlantic bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna) frequently crossed international boundaries and entered the territorial waters of Cuba and/or Mexico. Certain sharks (tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead) displayed prolonged periods …