Biology Commons^™

First International External Quality Assessment Scheme Of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests For The Detection Of Schistosoma And Soil-Transmitted Helminths, Including Strongyloides: A Pilot Study, Piet Cools, Lisette Van Lieshout, Rob Koelewijn, David Addiss, Sitara S.R. Ajjampur, Mio Ayana, Richard S. Bradbury, Jason L. Cantera, Daniel Dana, Kerstin Fischer, Rubina Imtiaz, Joyce Kabagenyi, James Lok, James Mccarthy, Rojelio Mejia, Zeleke Mekonnen, Sammy M. Njenga, Nurulhasanah Othman, Hongguang Shao, Rebecca Traub, Marjan Van Esbroeck, Jozef Vercruysse, Johnny Vlaminck, Steven A. Williams, Jaco J. Verweij, Jaap J. Van Hellemond, Bruno Levecke

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are increasingly being used as diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator ameri-canus, Ancylostoma duodenale and A. ceylanicum), Strongyloides stercoralis and Schisto-soma in human stool. Currently, there is a large diversity of NAATs being applied, but an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for these diagnostics is lacking. An EQAS involves a blinded process where test results reported by a laboratory are compared to those reported by reference or expert laboratories, allowing for an objective assessment of the diagnostic performance of a laboratory. In the current study, we piloted an international …

Selection And Exploitation Of Prevalent, Tandemly Repeated Genomic Targets For Improved Real-Time Pcr-Based Detection Of Wuchereria Bancrofti And Plasmodium Falciparum In Mosquitoes, Michael F. Zulch, Nils Pilotte, Jessica R. Grant, Corrado Minetti, Lisa J. Reimer, Steven A. Williams

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background Optimization of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostics requires the careful selection of molecular targets that are both highly repetitive and pathogen-specific. Advances in both next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and bioinformatics-based analysis tools are facilitating this selection process, informing target choices and reducing labor. Once developed, such assays provide disease control and elimination programs with an additional set of tools capable of evaluating and monitoring intervention successes. The importance of such tools is heightened as intervention efforts approach their endpoints, as accurate and complete information is an essential component of the informed decision-making process. As global efforts for the control …

Symbiont Community Diversity Is More Variable In Corals That Respond Poorly To Stress, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Benedicte Bachelot, Rachel M. Wright, Carly D. Kenkel, Line K. Bay, Adrienne M.S. Correa

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are declining globally as climate change and local water quality press environmental conditions beyond the physiological tolerances of holobionts—the collective of the host and its microbial symbionts. To assess the relationship between symbiont composition and holobiont stress tolerance, community diversity metrics were quantified for dinoflagellate endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) from eight Acropora millepora genets that thrived under or responded poorly to various stressors. These eight selected genets represent the upper and lower tails of the response distribution of 40 coral genets that were exposed to four stress treatments (and control conditions) in a 10-day experiment. Specifically, four ‘best performer’ …

Comparison Of Multi-Parallel Qpcr And Double-Slide Kato-Katz For Detection Of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection Among Children In Rural Bangladesh, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Nils Pilotte, Ayse Ercumen, Jessica R. Grant, Jacqueline R.M.A. Maasch, Andrew M. Gonzalez, Ashanta C. Ester, Benjamin F. Arnold, Mahbubur Rahman, Rashidul Haque, Alan E. Hubbard, Stephen P. Luby, Steven A. Williams, John M. Colford

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

There is growing interest in local elimination of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection in endemic settings. In such settings, highly sensitive diagnostics are needed to detect STH infection. We compared double-slide Kato-Katz, the most commonly used copromicroscopic detection method, to multi-parallel quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 2,799 stool samples from children aged 2–12 years in a setting in rural Bangladesh with predominantly low STH infection intensity. We estimated the sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic using Bayesian latent class analysis. Compared to double-slide Kato-Katz, STH prevalence using qPCR was almost 3-fold higher for hookworm species and nearly 2-fold higher for …

Field Evaluation Of Dna Detection Of Human Filarial And Malaria Parasites Using Mosquito Excreta/Feces, Corrado Minetti, Nils Pilotte, Michael Zulch, Tiago Canelas, Edward J. Tettevi, Francis B.D. Veriegh, Mike Yaw Osei-Atweneboana, Steven A. Williams, Lisa J. Reimer

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We recently developed a superhydrophobic cone-based method for the collection of mosquito excreta/feces (E/F) for the molecular xenomonitoring of vector-borne parasites show-ing higher throughput compared to the traditional approach. To test its field applicability, we used this platform to detect the presence of filarial and malaria parasites in two villages of Ghana and compared results to those for detection in mosquito carcasses and human blood. We compared the molecular detection of three parasites (Wuchereria bancrofti, Plas-modium falciparum and Mansonella perstans) in mosquito E/F, mosquito carcasses and human blood collected from the same households in two villages in the Savannah Region …

Semester-Long Course-Based Research Project In Second-Semester Organic Chemistry: Synthesizing Potential Lead Compounds For The Treatment Of A Neglected Tropical Disease, Kerry L. Barnett, Kevin M. Shea, Catherine Mcgeough, Kristine Trotta, Steven A. Williams, Minh Ly, Kathryn Aloisio

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

A semester-long research project for second-semester organic chemistry lab sections was developed. Student projects were based on preliminary data from faculty research that suggested the natural product neurolenin B to be a treatment for lymphatic filariasis. Students isolated neurolenins from the Central American plant Neurolaena lobata and proposed syntheses of previously unknown analogues using reactions learned in first- and second-semester organic chemistry. Using literature-based procedures, students ran reactions on neurolenins and analyzed their results by TLC and NMR spectroscopy. The semester culminated with a public poster session and final report using the Organic Letters template. Students in a total of …

De Novo Sequencing, Assembly, And Annotation Of The Transcriptome For The Free-Living Testate Amoeba Arcella Intermedia, Giulia M. Ribeiro, Alfredo L. Porfírio-Sousa, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Laura A. Katz, Daniel J.G. Lahr

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Arcella, a diverse understudied genus of testate amoebae is a member of Tubulinea in Amoebozoa group. Transcriptomes are a powerful tool for charac- terization of these organisms as they are an efficient way of characterizing the protein-coding potential of the genome. In this work, we employed both sin- gle-cell and clonal populations transcriptomics to create a reference transcrip- tome for Arcella. We compared our results with annotations of Dictyostelium discoideum, a model Amoebozoan. We assembled a pool of 38 Arcella inter- media transcriptomes, which after filtering are composed of a total of 14,712 translated proteins. There are GO categories enriched …

Top-Down And Bottom-Up Controls On Microeukaryotic Diversity (I.E., Amplicon Analyses Of Sar Lineages) And Function (I.E., Metatranscriptome Analyses) Assessed In Microcosm Experiments, Jean David Grattepanche, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The availability of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has transformed our understanding of the diversity of microbial eukaryotes (i.e., protists) across diverse habitats. Yet relating this biodiversity to function remains a challenge, particularly in the context of microbial food webs. Here we perform a set of microcosm experiments to evaluate the impact of changing predator and prey concentrations on a marine protist community, focusing on SAR (Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria) lineages. We combine an estimate of taxonomic diversity through analysis of SSU-rDNA amplicons with metatranscriptomics, a proxy for function. We assess changes in a community sampled from New England waters with varying …

What Does Soil-Transmitted Helminth Elimination Look Like? Results From A Targeted Molecular Detection Survey In Japan, Mitsuko Hasegawa, Nils Pilotte, Mihoko Kikuchi, Arianna R. Means, Marina Papaiakovou, Andrew M. Gonzalez, Jacqueline R.M.A. Maasch, Hiroshi Ikuno, Toshihiko Sunahara, Kristjana H. Ásbjörnsdóttir, Judd L. Walson, Steven A. Williams, Shinjiro Hamano

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Japan is one of the few countries believed to have eliminated soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). In 1949, the national prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides was 62.9%, which decreased to 0.6% in 1973 due to improvements in infrastructure, socioeconomic status, and the implementation of national STH control measures. The Parasitosis Prevention Law ended in 1994 and population-level screening ceased in Japan; therefore, current transmission status of STH in Japan is not well characterized. Sporadic cases of STH infections continue to be reported, raising the possibility of a larger-scale recrudescence of STH infections. Given that traditional microscopic detection methods are not sensitive to …

What Does Soil-Transmitted Helminth Elimination Look Like? Results From A Targeted Molecular Detection Survey In Japan, Mitsuko Hasegawa, Nils Pilotte, Mihoko Kikuchi, Arianna R. Means, Marina Papaiakovou, Andrew M. Gonzalez, Jacqueline R.M.A. Maasch, Hiroshi Ikuno, Toshihiko Sunahara, Kristjana H. Ásbjörnsdóttir, Judd L. Walson, Steven A. Williams, Shinjiro Hamano

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Japan is one of the few countries believed to have eliminated soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). In 1949, the national prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides was 62.9%, which decreased to 0.6% in 1973 due to improvements in infrastructure, socioeconomic status, and the implementation of national STH control measures. The Parasitosis Prevention Law ended in 1994 and population-level screening ceased in Japan; therefore, current transmission status of STH in Japan is not well characterized. Sporadic cases of STH infections continue to be reported, raising the possibility of a larger-scale recrudescence of STH infections. Given that traditional microscopic detection methods are not sensitive to …

Phylogenomics Of The Epigenetic Toolkit Reveals Punctate Retention Of Genes Across Eukaryotes, Agnes K.M. Weiner, Mario A. Cerón-Romero, Ying Yan, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Epigenetic processes in eukaryotes play important roles through regulation of gene expression, chromatin structure, and genome rearrangements. The roles of chromatin modification (e.g., DNA methylation and histone modification) and non-protein-coding RNAs have been well studied in animals and plants. With the exception of a few model organisms (e.g., Saccharomyces and Plasmodium), much less is known about epigenetic toolkits across the remainder of the eukaryotic tree of life. Even with limited data, previous work suggested the existence of an ancient epigenetic toolkit in the last eukaryotic common ancestor. We use PhyloToL, our taxon-rich phylogenomic pipeline, to detect homologs of epigenetic genes …

Dietary Fish Oil Supplement Induces Age-Specific Contractile And Proteomic Responses In Muscles Of Male Rats, David W. Russ, Kalina Dimova, Emily Morris, Marguerite Pacheco, Sean M. Garvey, Stylianos P. Scordilis

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Dietary fish oil (DFO) has been identified as a micronutrient supplement with the potential to improve musculoskeletal health in old age. Few data are available for effects of DFO on muscle contractility, despite the significant negative impact of muscle weakness on age-related health outcomes. Accordingly, the effects of a DFO intervention on the contractile function and proteomic profile of adult and aged in an animal model of aging were investigated.

Methods: This preliminary study evaluated 14 adult (8 months) and 12 aged (22 months) male, Sprague-Dawley rats consuming a DFO-supplemented diet or a control diet for 8 weeks (7 …

Characterizing The Diverse Cells That Associate With The Developing Commissures Of The Zebrafish Forebrain, Jake Schnabl, M.P.H Litz, Caitlin Schneider, N. Penkofflidbeck, Sarah Bashiruddin, M. S. Schwartz, Kristin Alligood, Michael Barresi

Zebrafish Forebrain Cellular Characterization

During embryonic development of bilateral organisms, neurons send axons across the midline at specific points to connect the two halves of the nervous system with a commissure. Little is known about the cells at the midline that facilitate this tightly regulated process. We exploit the con served process of vertebrate embryonic development in the zebrafish model system to elucidate the identity of cells at the midline that may facilitate postoptic (POC) and anterior commissure (AC) development. We have discovered that three differentgfap+ astroglial cell morphologies persist in contact with pathfinding axons throughout commissure formation. Similarly, olig2+ progenitor cells occupy delineated …

Comparative Studies On The Polymorphism And Copy Number Variation Of Mtssu Rdna In Ciliates (Protista, Ciliophora): Implications For Phylogenetic, Environmental, And Ecological Research, Yurui Wang, Yaohan Jiang, Yongqiang Liu, Yuan Li, Laura A. Katz, Feng Gao, Ying Yan

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Molecular Detection Of Intestinal Helminths And Protozoa Among Young Children In Dosso Region, Niger, Kristen Aiemjoy, Ahmed M. Arzika, Catherine Cook, Elodie Lebas, Nils Pilotte, Jessica R. Grant, Steven A. Williams, Thomas M. Lietman, Jeremy D. Keenan

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Eukaryotic parasites are significant contributors to childhood illness in Niger. While helminthiases have received national attention through mass deworming efforts, the epidemiology of intestinal protozoa in Niger remains underexamined. This study employed real-time PCR diagnostics to describe the prevalence of two schistosomes, four soil-transmitted helminths, and one protozoan parasite in Boboye Department, Dosso Region. Prevalence was assessed using bulk stool specimens collected from a population-based sample of 86 children residing in 9 communities. Anthropometric measurements were used to calculate child growth z-scores and stool consistency was graded. Helminths were absent from the study population, with the exception of a single …

Misconceptions About Conception And Other Fallacies: Historical Bias In Reproductive Biology, Virginia Hayssen

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Natural selection (differential reproduction) is a major tenet of evolutionary theory. In mammals the success of reproduction is primarily controlled by females who provide the majority of offspring care via gestation and lactation. In some species, maternal care also extends post-weaning. This primacy of female reproduction in evolution has not quite crept into our understanding of organismal adaptations in anatomy, physiology, and behavior. This cultural legacy has left its mark and led to misconceptions in our understanding of reproductive biology that are especially prominent in the understanding of reproduction in the general public. Here, I give examples of such misconceptions. …

The Wisdom Of A Crowd Of Near-Best Fits: Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis In The United States, Ellie Mainou, Gwen Spencer, Dylan Shepardson, Robert Dorit

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis (TB) strains pose a major challenge to TB eradication. Existing US epidemiological models have not fully incorporated the impact of antibiotic-resistance. To develop a more realistic model of US TB dynamics, we formulated a compartmental model integrating single-and multi-drug resistance. We fit twenty-seven parameters to twenty-two years of historical data using a genetic algorithm to minimize a non-differentiable error function. Since counts for several compartments are not available, many parameter combinations achieve very low error. We demonstrate that a crowd of near-best fits can provide compelling new evidence about the ranges of key parameters. While available data is …

Eukaryotic Plankton Communities Across Reef Environments In Bocas Del Toro Archipelago, Panamá, Andrea M. Rodas, Rachel M. Wright, Logan K. Buie, Hannah E. Aichelman, Karl D. Castillo, Sarah W. Davies

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Variation in light and temperature can influence the genetic diversity and structure of marine plankton communities. While open-ocean plankton communities receive much scientific attention, little is known about how environmental variation affects plankton communities on tropical coral reefs. Here, we characterize eukaryotic plankton communities on coral reefs across the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama´. Temperature loggers were deployed, and midday light levels were measured to quantify environmental differences across reefs at four inshore and four offshore sites (Inshore = Punta Donato, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) Point, Cristobal, Punta Laurel and Offshore = Drago Mar, Bastimentos North, Bastimentos South, and …

Combined Genome And Transcriptome Analyses Of The Ciliate Schmidingerella Arcuata (Spirotrichea) Reveal Patterns Of Dna Elimination, Scrambling, And Inversion, Susan A. Smith, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Ying Yan, Laura A. Katz, Luciana F. Santoferrara, George B. Mcmanus

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Schmidingerella arcuata is an ecologically important tintinnid ciliate that has long served as a model species in plankton trophic ecology. We present a partial micronuclear genome and macronuclear transcriptome resource for S. arcuata, acquired using single-cell techniques, and we report on pilot analyses including functional annotation and genome architecture. Our analysis shows major fragmentation, elimination, and scrambling in the micronuclear genome of S. arcuata. This work introduces a new nonmodel genome resource for the study of ciliate ecology and genomic biology and provides a detailed functional counterpart to ecological research on S. arcuata.

Complementary Metagenomic Approaches Improve Reconstruction Of Microbial Diversity In A Forest Soil, L. V. Alteio, F. Schulz, R. Seshadri, N. Varghese, W. Rodriguez-Reillo, E. Ryan, D. Goudeau, S. A. Eichorst, R. R. Malmstrom, R. M. Bowers, Laura A. Katz, J. L. Blanchard, T. Woyke

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Soil ecosystems harbor diverse microorganisms and yet remain only partially characterized as neither single-cell sequencing nor whole-community sequencing offers a complete picture of these complex communities. Thus, the genetic and metabolic potential of this “uncultivated majority” remains underexplored. To address these challenges, we applied a pooled-cell-sorting-based mini-metagenomics approach and compared the results to bulk metagenomics. Informatic binning of these data produced 200 mini-metagenome assembled genomes (sorted-MAGs) and 29 bulk metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs). The sorted and bulk MAGs increased the known phylogenetic diversity of soil taxa by 7.2% with respect to the Joint Genome Institute IMG/M database and showed clade-specific …

Engaging New Audiences With Imaging And Microscopy, Michael J. Barresi, Enrico Coen, Elisabeth Kugler, Jamie Shuda, Derek C. Sung

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this Spotlight, we hear first-hand accounts from five scientists and educators who use microscopy and imaging to engage, entertain, educate and inspire new audiences with science and the field of developmental biology in particular. The 'voices' that follow each convey each authors' own personal take on why microscopy is such a powerful tool for capturing the minds, and the hearts, of scientists, students and the public alike. They discuss how microscopy and imaging can reveal new worlds, and improve our communication and understanding of developmental biology, as well as break down barriers and promote diversity for future generations of …

Δscope: A New Method To Quantify 3d Biological Structures And Identify Differences In Zebrafish Forebrain Development, Morgan S. Schwartz, Jake Schnabl, Mackenzie P.H. Litz, Benjamin Baumer, Michael Barresi

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Research in the life sciences has traditionally relied on the analysis of clear morphological phenotypes, which are often revealed using increasingly powerful microscopy techniques analyzed as maximum intensity projections (MIPs). However, as biology turns towards the analysis of more subtle phenotypes, MIPs and qualitative approaches are failing to adequately describe these phenotypes. To address these limitations and quantitatively analyze the three-dimensional (3D) spatial relationships of biological structures, we developed the computational method and program called ∆SCOPE (Changes in Spatial Cylindrical Coordinate Orientation using PCA Examination). Our approach uses the fluorescent signal distribution within a 3D data set and reorients the …

The Concept Of The Hologenome, An Epigenetic Phenomenon, Challenges Aspects Of The Modern Evolutionary Synthesis, Adena Collens, Emma Kelley, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

John Tyler Bonner's call to re-evaluate evolutionary theory in light of major transitions in life on Earth (e.g., from the first origins of microbial life to the evolution of sex, and the origins of multicellularity) resonate with recent discoveries on epigenetics and the concept of the hologenome. Current studies of genome evolution often mistakenly focus only on the inheritance of DNA between parent and offspring. These are in line with the widely accepted Neo-Darwinian framework that pairs Mendelian genetics with an emphasis on natural selection as explanations for the evolution of biodiversity on Earth. Increasing evidence for widespread symbioses complicates …

Gene Expression Of Endangered Coral (Orbicella Spp.) In Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary After Hurricane Harvey, Rachel M. Wright, Adrienne M.S. Correa, Lucinda A. Quigley, Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Kathryn E.F. Shamberger, Sarah W. Davies

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

About 190 km south of the Texas–Louisiana border, the East and West Flower Garden Banks (FGB) have maintained > 50% coral cover with infrequent and minor incidents of disease or bleaching since monitoring began in the 1970s. However, a mortality event, affecting 5.6 ha (2.6% of the area) of the East FGB, occurred in late July 2016 and coincided with storm-generated freshwater runoff extending offshore and over the reef system. To capture the immediate effects of storm-driven freshwater runoff on coral and symbiont physiology, we leveraged the heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Harvey in late August 2017 by sampling FGB corals …

Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveal A Correlation Between Genome Architecture And Gene Family Evolution In Ciliates, Ying Yan, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Rob Knight, Sergei L.Kosakovsky Pond, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ciliates, a eukaryotic clade that is over 1 billion years old, are defined by division of genome function between transcriptionally inactive germline micronu-clei and functional somatic macronuclei. To date, most analyses of gene family evolution have been limited to cultivable model lineages (e.g., Tetrahymena, Paramecium, Oxytricha, and Stylonychia). Here, we focus on the uncultivable Karyorelictea and its understudied sister class Heterotrichea, which represent two extremes in genome architecture. Somatic macronuclei within the Karyorelictea are described as nearly diploid, while the Heterotrichea have hyperpolyploid somatic genomes. Previous analyses indicate that genome architecture impacts ciliate gene family evolution as the most diverse …

Ubiquity Or Not Ubiquity: That Is The Question, Robin S. Sleith, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The nature of population structure in eukaryotic microbes has been the subject of intense debate, but until recently the tools to test these hypotheses were either problematic (e.g., allozymes that cannot detect all genetic changes) or beyond financial and technological limits of most laboratories (e.g., high throughput sequencing). In a recent issue of Molecular Ecology, Craig et al. (2019) use a genomic approach to investigate the population structure of a model alga, the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Figure 1). Using high throughput sequencing, read mapping, and variant calling, they detected strong signals of differentiation at a continental scale, while local patterns …

Production Of Dynein And Kinesin Motor Ensembles On Dna Origami Nanostructures For Single Molecule Observation, Jingjie Hu, Nathan Derr

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Summary

The goal of this protocol is to form ensembles of molecular motors on DNA origami nanostructures and observe the ensemble motility using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy.

Abstract

Cytoskeletal motors are responsible for a wide variety of functions in eukaryotic cells, including mitosis, cargo transport, cellular motility, and others. Many of these functions require motors to operate in ensembles. Despite a wealth of knowledge about the mechanisms of individual cytoskeletal motors, comparatively less is known about the mechanisms and emergent behaviors of motor ensembles, examples of which include changes to ensemble processivity and velocity with changing motor number, location, …

Evolution And Unprecedented Variants Of The Mitochondrial Genetic Code In A Lineage Of Green Algae, David Zihala, Marek Eliáš, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mitochondria of diverse eukaryotes have evolved various departures from the standard genetic code, but the breadth of possible modifications and their phylogenetic distribution are known only incompletely. Furthermore, it is possible that some codon reassignments in previously sequenced mitogenomes have been missed, resulting in inaccurate protein sequences in databases. Here we show, considering the distribution of codons at conserved amino acid positions in mitogenome-encoded proteins, that mitochondria of the green algal order Sphaeropleales exhibit a diversity of codon reassignments, including previously missed ones and some that are unprecedented in any translation system examined so far, necessitating redefinition of existing translation …

Positive Genetic Associations Among Fitness Traits Support Evolvability Of A Reef-Building Coral Under Multiple Stressors, Rachel M. Wright, Hanaka Mera, Carly D. Kenkel, Maria Nayfa, Line K. Bay, Mikhail V. Matz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Climate change threatens organisms in a variety of interactive ways that requires simultaneous adaptation of multiple traits. Predicting evolutionary responses requires an understanding of the potential for interactions among stressors and the genetic variance and covariance among fitness-related traits that may reinforce or constrain an adaptive response. Here we investigate the capacity of Acropora millepora, a reef-building coral, to adapt to multiple environmental stressors: rising sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and increased prevalence of infectious diseases. We measured growth rates (weight gain), coral color (a proxy for Symbiodiniaceae density), and survival, in addition to nine physiological indicators of coral and …

A Case For Using Genomics And A Bioinformatics Pipeline To Develop Sensitive And Species-Specific Pcr-Based Diagnostics For Soil-Transmitted Helminths, Jessica R. Grant, Nils Pilotte, Steven A. Williams

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The balance of expense and ease of use vs. specificity and sensitivity in diagnostic assays for helminth disease is an important consideration, with expense and ease often winning out in endemic areas where funds and sophisticated equipment may be scarce. In this review, we argue that molecular diagnostics, specifically new assays that have been developed with the aid of next-generation sequence data and robust bioinformatic tools, more than make up for their expense with the benefit of a clear and precise assessment of the situation on the ground. Elimination efforts associated with the London Declaration and the World Health Organization …