Biology Commons^™

The Role Of Glutamine In Supporting Gut Health And Neuropsychiatric Factors, Brett J. Deters, Mir Saleem

Biology Faculty Articles

Recent research has shown that the amino acid glutamine can positively affect gut health by supporting the gut microbiome, gut mucosal wall integrity, and by modulating inflammatory responses. As modulated by the vagus nerve, via the enteric nervous system, the gut-brain connection can impact the brain's neurochemical environment. Poor gut health can disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters, which can result in neuropsychiatric based conditions such as depression. Glutamine supplementation may provide significant adjunctive nutritional support in cases of depression by promoting proper gut health and function.

Microbiome Analyses Demonstrate Specific Communities Within Five Shark Species, Rachael Storo, Cole Easson, Mahmood S. Shivji, Jose V. Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

Profiles of symbiotic microbial communities (“microbiomes”) can provide insight into the natural history and ecology of their hosts. Using high throughput DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region, microbiomes of five shark species in South Florida (nurse, lemon, sandbar, Caribbean reef, and tiger) have been characterized for the first time. The microbiomes show species specific microbiome composition, distinct from surrounding seawater. Shark anatomical location (gills, teeth, skin, cloaca) affected the diversity of microbiomes. An in-depth analysis of teeth communities revealed species specific microbial communities. For example, the genus Haemophilus, explained 7.0% of the differences of the teeth microbiomes …

Microscopic And Genetic Characterization Of Bacterial Symbionts With Bioluminescent Potential In Pyrosoma Atlanticum, Alexis Berger, Patricia L. Blackwelder, Tamara Frank, Tracey Sutton, Nina Pruzinsky, Natalie Slayden, Jose V. Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

The pelagic tunicate pyrosome, Pyrosoma atlanticum, is known for its brilliant bioluminescence, but the mechanism causing this bioluminescence has not been fully characterized. This study identifies the bacterial bioluminescent symbionts of P. atlanticum collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico using several methods such as light and electron microscopy, as well as molecular genetics. The bacteria are localized within the pyrosome light organs. Greater than 50% of the bacterial taxa present in the tunicate samples were the bioluminescent symbiotic bacteria Vibrionaceae as determined by utilizing current molecular genetics methodologies. A total of 396K MiSeq16S rRNA reads provided total pyrosome …

Functional Influence Of 14-3-3 (Ywha) Proteins In Mammals, Elizabeth Barley, Santanu De

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The 14-3-3 (YWHA) proteins are homologous, ubiquitous, and conserved in most organisms ranging from plants to animals and play important roles in regulating key cellular events such as cell signaling, development, apoptosis, etc. These proteins consist of seven isoforms in mammals, termed under Greek alphabetization: beta (β), gamma (γ), epsilon (ε), eta (η), tau/theta (τ), sigma (σ), and zeta (ζ). Each of these isoforms can interact with a plethora of binding partners and has been shown to serve a distinct role in molecular crosstalk, biological processes, and disease susceptibility. Protein 14-3-3 isoforms are scaffolding proteins capable of forming homodimers and …

Thermal Acclimation Of Tropical Coral Reef Fishes To Global Heat Waves, Jacob L. Johansen, Lauren E. Nadler, Adam Habary, Alyssa J. Bowden, Jodie Rummer

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

As climate-driven heat waves become more frequent and intense, there is increasing urgency to understand how thermally sensitive species are responding. Acute heating events lasting days to months may elicit acclimation responses to improve performance and survival. However, the coordination of acclimation responses remains largely unknown for most stenothermal species. We documented the chronology of 18 metabolic and cardiorespiratory changes that occur in the gills, blood, spleen, and muscles when tropical coral reef fishes are thermally stressed (+3.0°C above ambient). Using representative coral reef fishes (Caesio cuning and Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus) separated by >100 million years of evolution and …

Analysis Of Global Human Gut Metagenomes Shows That Metabolic Resilience Potential For Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production Is Strongly Influenced By Lifestyle, David K. Jacobson, Tanvi P. Honap, Andrew T. Ozga, Nicolas Meda, Thérèse S. Kagoné, Hélène Carabin, Paul Spicer, Raul Y. Tito, Alexandra J. Obregon-Tito, Luis Marin Reyes, Luzmila Troncoso-Corzo, Emilio Guija-Poma, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan

Biology Faculty Articles

High taxonomic diversity in non-industrial human gut microbiomes is often interpreted as beneficial; however, it is unclear if taxonomic diversity engenders ecological resilience (i.e. community stability and metabolic continuity). We estimate resilience through genus and species-level richness, phylogenetic diversity, and evenness in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production among a global gut metagenome panel of 12 populations (n = 451) representing industrial and non-industrial lifestyles, including novel metagenomic data from Burkina Faso (n = 90). We observe significantly higher genus-level resilience in non-industrial populations, while SCFA production in industrial populations is driven by a few phylogenetically closely related species (belonging to …

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies New Loci Associated With Risk Of Hbv Infection And Disease Progression, Zheng Zeng, Liu Hankui, Xu Huifang, Lu Haiying, Yu Yanyan, Xu Xiaoyuan, Yu Min, Zhang Tao, Tian Xiulan, Xi Hongli, Guan Liping, Zhang Jianguo, Stephen James O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: Recent studies have identified susceptibility genes of HBV clearance, chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and showed the host genetic factors play an important role in these HBV-related outcomes.

Results: In order to discover new susceptibility genes for HBV-related outcomes, we conducted a genome-wide association study in 1031 Chinese participants, including 275 HBV clearance subjects, 92 asymptomatic persistence infection carriers (ASPI), 93 chronic hepatitis B patients (CHB), 188 HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis patients (DC), 214 HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients (HCC) and 169 healthy controls (HC). In the case-control study, we observed novel locus significantly associated with CHB …

The Role Of Neuropilin-1 In Covid-19, Bindu Mayi, Jillian A. Leibowitz, Arden T. Woods, Katherine A. Ammon, Alphonse E. Liu, Aarti Raja

Biology Faculty Articles

Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), a member of a family of signaling proteins, was shown to serve as an entry factor and potentiate SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectivity in vitro. This cell surface receptor with its disseminated expression is important in angiogenesis, tumor progression, viral entry, axonal guidance, and immune function. NRP-1 is implicated in several aspects of a SARS-CoV-2 infection including possible spread through the olfactory bulb and into the central nervous system and increased NRP-1 RNA expression in lungs of severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Up-regulation of NRP-1 protein in diabetic kidney cells hint at its importance in a population at …

Acetaminophen Potentiates Fear: Comparing Evaluations Of Ancestral And Modern Threats, Andrew C. Gallup, Brianda K. L. Gagnon, Gillian Perry, Omar T. Eldakar

Biology Faculty Datasets

No abstract provided.

Black Grouper (Mycteroperca Bonaci) Neurocranium, Celeste Jaworski, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 7.5 cm total length. Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci), collected from Denny's Seafood Market on 15/10/2021 by Celeste Jaworski.

Gafftopsail Catfish Neurocranium, Allison J. Soucier

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Gafftopsail Catfish (Bagre marinus), neurocranium length: 11.5 cm, collected from Keewaydin Island in Marco Florida on 15/9/2021 by Allison Soucier.

Effects Of Covid-19 On Education In Healthcare And Stem, Jessica Hallett, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic halted face-to-face classes in most schools, colleges, and universities worldwide, necessitating virtual instruction. This reformation of academics impacted every field of study, especially those students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and in the realm of healthcare science education. Ranging from middle/high school to undergraduate and graduate programs, STEM degrees entail rigorous curricula integrating extensive lectures on theoretical topics, and laboratory exercises to apply those concepts in a practical setting. Likewise, healthcare education involves hands-on, clinical lab components working on patients, guided by supervisors. The guidelines developed by the …

Insights Into Insular Isolation Of The Bull Shark, Carcharhinus Leucas (Müller And Henle, 1839), In Fijian Waters, Kerstin B J Glaus, Sharon A. Appleyard, Brian Stockwell, Juerg M. Brunnschweiler, Mahmood S. Shivji, Eric Clua, Amandine D. Marie, Ciro Rico

Biology Faculty Articles

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a large, mobile, circumglobally distributed high trophic level predator that inhabits a variety of remote islands and continental coastal habitats, including freshwater environments. Here, we hypothesize that the barriers to dispersal created by large oceanic expanses and deep-water trenches result in a heterogeneous distribution of the neutral genetic diversity between island bull shark populations compared to populations sampled in continental locations connected through continuous coastlines of continental shelves. We analyzed 1,494 high-quality neutral single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in 215 individual bull sharks from widespread locations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans …

Ultracontinuous Single Haplotype Genome Assemblies For The Domestic Cat (Felis Catus) And Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus Bengalensis), Kevin R. Bredemeyer, Andrew J. Harris, Gang Li, Le Zhao, Nicole M. Foley, Melody E. Roelke-Parker, Stephen James O'Brien, Leslie A. Lyons, Wesley C. Warren, William J. Murphy

Biology Faculty Articles

In addition to including one of the most popular companion animals, species from the cat family Felidae serve as a powerful system for genetic analysis of inherited and infectious disease, as well as for the study of phenotypic evolution and speciation. Previous diploid-based genome assemblies for the domestic cat have served as the primary reference for genomic studies within the cat family. However, these versions suffered from poor resolution of complex and highly repetitive regions, with substantial amounts of unplaced sequence that is polymorphic or copy number variable. We sequenced the genome of a female F1 Bengal hybrid cat, the …

Karyotype Evolution In 10 Pinniped Species: Variability Of Heterochromatin Versus High Conservatism Of Euchromatin As Revealed By Comparative Molecular Cytogenetics, Violetta R. Beklemisheva, Polina L. Perelman, Natalya A. Lemskaya, Anastasiya A. Proskuryakova, Natalya A. Serdyukova, Vladimir N. Burkanov, Maksim B. Gorshunov, Oliver A. Ryder, Mary Thompson, Gina Lento, Stephen James O'Brien, Alexander S. Graphodatsky

Biology Faculty Articles

Pinnipedia karyotype evolution was studied here using human, domestic dog, and stone marten whole-chromosome painting probes to obtain comparative chromosome maps among species of Odobenidae (Odobenus rosmarus), Phocidae (Phoca vitulina, Phoca largha, Phoca hispida, Pusa sibirica, Erignathus barbatus), and Otariidae (Eumetopias jubatus, Callorhinus ursinus, Phocarctos hookeri, and Arctocephalus forsteri). Structural and functional chromosomal features were assessed with telomere repeat and ribosomal-DNA probes and by CBG (C-bands revealed by barium hydroxide treatment followed by Giemsa staining) and CDAG (Chromomycin A3-DAPI after G-banding) methods. We demonstrated diversity of heterochromatin among pinniped karyotypes in terms of localization, …

Ocean Acidification And Fish Respiration: A Study On The Anatomical, Physiological, And Behavioral Adaptations Of Fishes And Their Ability To Cope With Decreasing Seawater Ph, Mark P. Rogers

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Abstract

Fish stocks across the globe are increasingly being relied upon to supply the ever-growing human population with high quality protein and other nutrients. In addition to fishing pressure, stressors brought on by climate changes, including ocean acidification and hypoxic conditions, have the potential for providing substantial negative impacts on the efficiency of fish respiration, internal acid-base balance, and energy budgets. To meaningfully integrate the potential impacts of ocean acidification on fishes into management practices it is important to study the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that enable fish to cope with decreasing seawater pH and how those mechanisms might …

Birds Ruffled By Big-City Lights, Lauren E. Nadler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Tunel Apoptotic Cell Detection In Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (Sctld): Evaluation Of Potential And Improvements, E. Murphy Mcdonald

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a highly lethal coral disease that has caused a dramatic loss of coral tissue along the Florida Reef Tract and throughout the Wider Caribbean. This study seeks to understand whether programmed cell death (apoptosis) is involved in the pathology of the highly virulent SCTLD tissue loss lesion. Tissues from diseased colonies of Pseudodiploria strigosa collected in 2018 and 2020 were stained using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase (TdT) mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay to visualize areas of programmed cell death. The archived tissue samples collected in 2018 exhibited a significantly higher degree of …

Seasonal Patterns In Stable Isotope And Fatty Acid Profiles Of Southern Stingrays (Hypanus Americana) At Stingray City Sandbar, Grand Cayman, Lisa A. Hoopes, Tonya M. Clauss, Nicole E. Browning, Alexa J. Delaune, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood Shivji, Jessica C. Harvey, Guy C.M. Harvey

Biology Faculty Articles

Ecotourism opportunities in the marine environment often rely heavily on provisioning to ensure the viewing of cryptic species by the public. However, intentional feeding of wildlife can impact numerous aspects of an animals’ behavior and ecology. Southern stingrays (Hypanus americana) provisioned at Stingray City Sandbar (SCS) in Grand Cayman have altered diel activity patterns and decreased measures of health. This study looked at seasonal changes in stable isotope (SI) and fatty acid (FA) profiles of provisioned stingrays at SCS. Plasma δ15N was higher in male stingrays (11.86 ± 1.71‰) compared to females (10.70 ± 1.71‰). Lower values for δ15N in …

Bullseye Snakehead Fish (Channa Marulius) Neurocranium, James A. Moss, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium had an estimated length of 11 cm, Bullseye Snakehead (Channa marulius), invasive species collected from South Florida

Shrinking Salmon: Is Climate Change Linked To Animal Body Size?, Monica D. Bacchus

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

[Silk Snapper, Lutjanus Vivanus] Neurocranium, Rachel Taylor, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Silk snapper, Lutjanus vivanus, apart of the Lutjanidae family. A species of red snapper commonly found in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Neurocranium prep submission for Dr. Kertstetter, MBIO 3700 Biology of Fishes

Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber Scombrus) Neurocranium, Victor A. Reyes, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus), collected on 12/9/20 by Victor Reyes

Wahoo (Acanthocybium Solandri) Neurocranium, Emily M. Salonia, Mariah Medina, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 18.8 cm total length (TL) Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) collected from Dr. Kerstetter's Fisheries and Avian Ecology Laboratory at Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center on 31/8/20 by Emily Salonia.

Queen Snapper(Etelis Oculatus), Katelyn Digirolomo, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 10.5cm total length(TL) of a Queen Snapper, Etelis oculatus. Collected from Lee Be Fish in Naples Florida on September 12th 2020 by Katelyn DiGirolomo.

Lane Snapper (Lutjanus Synagris) Neurocranium, Jordan Warren, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

Mapping Of Diabetes Susceptibility Loci In A Domestic Cat Breed With An Unusually High Incidence Of Diabetes Mellitus, Lois Balmer, Caroline Ann O'Leary, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Victor David, Stephen James O'Brien, Belinda Penglis, Sher Hendrickson, Mia Reeves-Johnson, Susan Gottlieb, Linda Fleeman, Dianne Vankan, Jacquie Rand, Grant Morahan

Biology Faculty Articles

Genetic variants that are associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (T2D) are important for identification of individuals at risk and can provide insights into the molecular basis of disease. Analysis of T2D in domestic animals provides both the opportunity to improve veterinary management and breeding programs as well as to identify novel T2D risk genes. Australian-bred Burmese (ABB) cats have a 4-fold increased incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared to Burmese cats bred in the United States. This is likely attributable to a genetic founder effect. We investigated this by performing a genome-wide association scan on ABB cats. …

Blackfin Tuna (Thunnus Atlanticus) Neurocranium, Chase Adam Dejarnett, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Blackfin Tuna (Thunnus atlanticus)

Neurocranium prep for Biology of Fishes coursework at Nova Southeastern University

Milkfish (Chanos Chanos) Neurocranium, Golda Stewart, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from Milkfish (Chanos chanos), collected from Foodtown on 08/09/2020 by Golda Stewart.

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Neurocranium, Connor Depriest, Nadia Abeido, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

9.0 cm in length. Neurocranium scan of an Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). Collected from Two Bills Seafood on 04/09/20 by Nadia Abeido and Connor Depriest.