Biology Commons^™

The Molecular Basis Of High-Altitude Adaptation In Deer Mice, Jay F. Storz, Stephen J. Sabatino, Federico G. Hoffmann, Eben Gering, Hideaki Moriyama, Nuno Ferrand, Bruno Monteiro, Michael W. Nachman

Biology Faculty Articles

Elucidating genetic mechanisms of adaptation is a goal of central importance in evolutionary biology, yet few empirical studies have succeeded in documenting causal links between molecular variation and organismal fitness in natural populations. Here we report a population genetic analysis of a two-locus α-globin polymorphism that underlies physiological adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in natural populations of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus. This system provides a rare opportunity to examine the molecular underpinnings of fitness-related variation in protein function that can be related to a well-defined selection pressure. We surveyed DNA sequence variation in the duplicated α-globin genes of P. maniculatus …

Two Yeast Plasmids That Confer Nourseothricin-Dihydrogen Sulfate And Hygromycin B Resistance In Neurospora Crassa And Cryphonectria Parasitica, Robert P. Smith, Myron L. Smith

Biology Faculty Articles

Two plasmids that were previously used with yeast, pRS41N and pRS41H, were found to confer clonNAT and hygromycin B resistance, respectively, in the filamentous fungi Neurospora crassa and Cryphonectria parasitica. These plasmids are suitable for routine cloning and for use in forcing heterokaryons and are available through the FGSC.

Integration Of Hybridization-Based Markers (Overgos) Into Physical Maps For Comparative And Evolutionary Explorations In The Genus Oryza And In Sorghum, Barbara L. Hass-Jacobus, Montona Futrell-Griggs, Brian Abernathy, Rick Westerman, Jose-Luis Goicoechea, Joshua Stein, Patricia Klein, Bonnie Hurwitz, Bin Zhou, Fariborz Rakhshan, Abhijit Sanyal, Navdeep Gill, Jer-Young Lin, Jason G. Walling, Mei Zhong Luo, Jetty Siva S Ammiraju, Dave Kudrna, Hye Ran Kim, Doreen Ware, Rod A. Wing, Phillip San Miguel, Scott A. Jackson

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: With the completion of the genome sequence for rice (Oryza sativa L.), the focus of rice genomics research has shifted to the comparison of the rice genome with genomes of other species for gene cloning, breeding, and evolutionary studies. The genus Oryza includes 23 species that shared a common ancestor 8–10 million years ago making this an ideal model for investigations into the processes underlying domestication, as many of the Oryza species are still undergoing domestication. This study integrates high-throughput, hybridization-based markers with BAC end sequence and fingerprint data to construct physical maps of rice chromosome 1 orthologues in …

Modern Biological Approaches To Folk Medicines And Traditional Antifungal Therapies, Matthew G. Jessulat, Robert P. Smith, Nadereh H. Mir-Rashed, Golshani Ashkan, John Thor Arnason, Myron L. Smith

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Emotions And Actions Associated With Altruistic Helping And Punishment, Omar Tonsi Eldakar, David Sloan Wilson, Rick O'Gorman

Biology Faculty Articles

Evolutionary altruism (defined in terms of fitness effects) exists in the context of punishment in addition to helping. We examine the proximate psychological mechanisms that motivate altruistic helping and punishment, including the effects of genetic relatedness, potential for future interactions, and individual differences in propensity to help and punish. A cheater who is a genetic relative provokes a stronger emotional reaction than a cheater who is a stranger, but the behavioral response is modulated to avoid making the transgression public in the case of cheating relatives. Numerous behavioral differences are not accompanied by emotional differences, suggesting that other psychological mechanisms …

Cortisol Concentrations In Human Skeletal Muscle Tissue After Phonophoresis With 10% Hydrocortisone Gel, Amanda R. Kuntz, Christine Multer Griffiths, James M. Rankin, Charles W. Armstrong, Thomas J. Mcloughlin

Biology Faculty Articles

CONTEXT: The delivery of hydrocortisone through phonophoresis is a widely prescribed technique for the treatment of various musculoskeletal inflammatory conditions. However, limited scientific evidence exists to support the efficacy of phonophoresis in delivering hydrocortisone to skeletal muscle tissue in humans.

OBJECTIVE: To determine hydrocortisone (cortisol) concentrations in human skeletal muscle tissue after a phonophoresis treatment using 10% hydrocortisone gel.

DESIGN: Randomized design in which 12 subjects were randomly assigned to either an ultrasound (sham) treatment or a 10% hydrocortisone phonophoresis treatment.

SETTING: Laboratory.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Twelve healthy subjects (8 women, 4 men: age = 22.3 +/- 2.64 years, …

D1s80 Single-Locus Discrimination Among African Populations, Rene J. Herrera, Leslie R. Adrien, Luis M. Ruiz, Nahir Y. Sanabria, George Duncan

Biology Faculty Articles

The highly polymorphic D1S80 locus has no known genetic function. However, this variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) locus has been highly valuable in forensic identification. In this study we report the allele and genotype frequencies of five African populations (Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, and Rwanda), which can be used as databases to help characterize populations and identify individuals. The allele frequencies were used to infer genetic associations through phylogenetic, principal component, and G test statistical analyses. Compliance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations was determined as were F_ST estimates, theta p values, and power of discrimination assessment for each population. …

Summer 2004, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

Comprehensive Analysis Of Class I And Class Ii Hla Antigens And Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection, Chloe L. Thio, David L. Thomas, Peter Karacki, Xiaojiang Gao, Darlene Marti, Richard A. Kaslow, James J. Goedert, Margaret Hilgartner, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Priya Duggal, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jacquie Astemborski, Mary Carrington

Biology Faculty Articles

Following an acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, clearance or persistence is determined in part by the vigor and breadth of the host immune response. Since the human leukocyte antigen system (HLA) is an integral component of the immune response, we hypothesized that the highly polymorphic HLA genes are key determinants of viral clearance. HLA class I and II genes were molecularly typed in 194 Caucasian individuals with viral persistence and 342 matched controls who had cleared the virus. A single class I allele, A*0301 (odds ratio [OR], 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.30 to 0.72; P = 0.0005) was …

Density, Species, And Size Distribution Of Groupers (Serranidae) In Three Habitats At Elbow Reef, Florida Keys, Robert D. Sluka, Mark Chiappone, Kathleen M. Sullivan-Sealey, Thomas A. Potts, Jose M. Levy, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, Geoff Meester

Biology Faculty Articles

We examined the density, size and species distribution of groupers in three habitats on an inshore-to-offshore transect across Elbow Reef, Florida Keys: high-relief spur-and-groove (4–9 m depth), relict spur-and-groove (10–20 m), and deep fore reef slope (21–30 m). Physical relief was greatest in the high-relief spur-and-groove (up to 3 m), lowest in the relict spur-and-groove habitat (30%). There were significant differences in the density, size, and species distribution of groupers among the three habitats. Graysby, Epinephelus cruentatus, was numerically dominant, constituting 82–91% of individual observed. Black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci, and Nassau grouper, E. striatus, were more abundant in high to …

Comparison Of Grouper Assemblages In Northern Areas Of The Wider Caribbean: A Preliminary Assessment, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, Robert D. Sluka, Kathleen M. Sullivan-Sealey

Biology Faculty Articles

Groupers (Pisces: Serranidae) are important top-level predators in wider Caribbean, but have experienced significant exploitation, resulting in declines in abundance, size, spawning aggregations, and changes in species composition. Larger groupers are particularly vulnerable to intense fishing because of their longevity, slow growth, delayed reproduction, and aggregate spawning. Marine fishery reserves (MFR), areas permanently closed to consumptive use, offer a viable means to protect grouper resources. This study reports on fishery-independent surveys of groupers in four regions of the tropical western Atlantic during 1995 - 1997: Florida Keys, central Bahamas, southeastern Cuba, and Dominican Republic. The regions surveyed included two national …

Reef Fish Assemblages And Fisheries In Parque Nacional Del Este, Dominican Republic, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, Mark Chiappone, Kathleen M. Sullivan-Sealey, F. X. Geraldes, E. Pugibet, Robert D. Sluka, R. E. Torres, M. Vega, Y. Rodriguez, J. L. Alarcon, Y. Lictensztain, G. Bustamante

Biology Faculty Articles

Parque National del Este is the second largest protected area in the Dominican Republic, comprising 110 km2 of terrestrial habitats located in the southeastern Dominican Republic. Established in 1975, the park delineation did not include the adjacent marine area, despite its long history of commercial fisheries. Since 1994, several U.S. and Dominican partner organizations have conducted scientific investigations of the marine resources of the area. This paper provides data on the status of snapper and groupers reef assemblages and finfish fisheriescollected during 1995 1997. Methods used in the study included: 1) visual transects (20 m x 5 m) of predatory …

Conserved Chromosomal Positions Of Dual Domains Of The Ets Protooncogene In Cats, Mice, And Humans, Dennis K. Watson, Mary J. Mcwilliams-Smith, Christine Kozak, Roger Reeves, John Gearheart, Michael F. Nunn, William Nash, John R. Fowle Iii, Peter Duesberg, Takis S. Papas, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

The mammalian protooncogene homologue of the avian v-ets sequence from the E26 retrovirus consists of two sequentially distinct domains located on different chromosomes. Using somatic cell hybrid panels, we have mapped the mammalian homologue of the 5' v-ets-domain to chromosome 11 (ETS1) in man, to chromosome 9 (Ets-1) in mouse, and to chromosome D1 (ETS1) in the domestic cat. The mammalian homologue of the 3' v-ets domain was similarly mapped to human chromosome 21 (ETS2), to mouse chromosome 16 (Ets-2), and to feline chromosome C2 (ETS2). …

The Ets Sequence From The Transforming Gene Of Avian Erythroblastosis Virus, E26, Has Unique Domains On Human Chromosomes 11 And 21: Both Loci Are Transcriptionally Active, Dennis K. Watson, Mary J. Mcwilliams-Smith, M. F. Nunn, Peter Duesberg, Stephen J. O'Brien, Takis S. Papas

Biology Faculty Articles

Human DNA segments homologous to the ets region from the transforming gene of avian erythroblastosis virus, E26, were molecularly cloned and shown to be closely related to the viral equivalent by hybridization and partial sequence analysis. The transforming gene of E26 has a tripartite origin with the structure ∆gag [1.2 kilobases (kb) from the viral gag gene]-myb(0.9 kb from the chicken myb gene)-ets (1.6 kb from the chicken ets gene). Human ets DNA is located on two distinct human chromosomes. The human ets-1 locus on chromosome 11 encodes a single mRNA of 6.8 kb; the second locus, …

Bvr-1, A Restriction Locus Of A Type C Rna Virus In The Feline Cellular Genome: Identification, Location, And Phenotypic Characterization In Cat X Mouse Somatic Cell Hybrids, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Somatic cell hybrids were constructed between BALB/c-RAG mouse cells and feline lymphoma cells by the hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine selection scheme. RAG cells spontaneously produce an endogenous B-tropic type C virus. Cat-mouse hybrids preferentially segregate feline chromosomes and retain murine chromosomes,demonstrable by karyotypic and isozyme analyses. Despite the presence of the complete mouse genome, including the viral genome, virus production was diminished to 1-5% of the levels observed in RAG parents based upon particle-associated RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) activity in the culture fluid. Thirty-seven hybrids made on four different occasions had suppressed virus levels, and no hybrids expressed parental virus levels. Reverse …

The Α-Glycerophosphate Cycle In Drosophila Melanogaster Iv. Metabolic, Ultrastructural, And Adaptive Consequences Of Αgpdh-1 "Null" Mutations, Stephen J. O'Brien, Yoshio Shimada

Biology Faculty Articles

"Null" mutations previously isolated at the αGpdh-1 locus of Drosophila melanogaster, because of disruption of the energy-producing α-glycerophosphate cycle, severely restrict the flight ability and relative viability of affected individuals. Two "null" alleles, αGpdh-1^BO-1-4, and αGpdh-1^BO-1-5, when made hemizygous with a deficiency of the αGpdh-1 locus,Df(2L)GdhA, were rendered homozygous by recombination with and selective elimination of the Df(2L)GdhA chromosome. After over 25 generations, a homozygous αGpdh-1^BO-1-4stock regained the ability to fly despite the continued absence of …

The Α-Glycerophosphate Cycle In Drosophila Melanogaster. Iii. Relative Viability Of "Null" Mutants At The Α-Glycerophosphate Dehydrogenase-1 Locus, Stephen J. O'Brien, Bruce Wallace, Ross J. Macintyre

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Gene-Enzyme Variability In Natural Populations Of Drosophila Melanogaster And D. Simulans, Stephen J. O'Brien, Ross J. Macintyre

Biology Faculty Articles

Nine populations of D. melanogaster and two populations of D. simulans were analyzed for polymorphism in 10 gene-enzyme systems by the technique of gel electrophoresis. In the eight natural populations of D. melanogaster, an average of 54% of the enzymes were polymorphic, and the average heterozygosity was 22.7%. An experimental population of D. melanogaster, which has been maintained in a laboratory cage for 20 years, showed levels of polymorphism equivalent to those of natural populations. The D. simulans populations had much less variability. The possible factors involved in maintaining these polymorphisms are discussed.