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Articles 31 - 60 of 179
Full-Text Articles in Biology
Host Species, And Not Environment, Predicts Variation In Blood Parasite Prevalence, Distribution, And Diversity Along A Humidity Gradient In Northern South America, Robert Ricklefs, Paulo Pulgarín‐R, Juan Gómez
Host Species, And Not Environment, Predicts Variation In Blood Parasite Prevalence, Distribution, And Diversity Along A Humidity Gradient In Northern South America, Robert Ricklefs, Paulo Pulgarín‐R, Juan Gómez
Biology Department Faculty Works
Environmental factors strongly influence the ecology and evolution of vector‐borne infectious diseases. However, our understanding of the influence of climatic variation on host–parasite interactions in tropical systems is rudimentary. We studied five species of birds and their haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) at 16 sampling sites to understand how environmental heterogeneity influences patterns of parasite prevalence, distribution, and diversity across a marked gradient in water availability in northern South America. We used molecular methods to screen for parasite infections and to identify parasite lineages. To characterize spatial heterogeneity in water availability, we used weather‐station and remotely sensed climate data. We …
Mode And Rate Of Evolution Of Haemosporidian Mitochondrial Genomes: Timing The Radiation Of Avian Parasites, Patricia Parker, M Pacheco, Nubia Matta, Gediminas Valkiūnas, Beatriz Mello, Craig Stanley, Miguel Lentino, Maria Garcia-Amado, Michael Cranfield, Sergei Pond, Ananias Escalante
Mode And Rate Of Evolution Of Haemosporidian Mitochondrial Genomes: Timing The Radiation Of Avian Parasites, Patricia Parker, M Pacheco, Nubia Matta, Gediminas Valkiūnas, Beatriz Mello, Craig Stanley, Miguel Lentino, Maria Garcia-Amado, Michael Cranfield, Sergei Pond, Ananias Escalante
Biology Department Faculty Works
Haemosporidians are a diverse group of vector-borne parasitic protozoa that includes the agents of human malaria; however, most of the described species are found in birds and reptiles. Although our understanding of these parasites’ diversity has expanded by analyses of their mitochondrial genes, there is limited information on these genes’ evolutionary rates. Here, 114 mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) were studied from species belonging to four genera: Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Hepatocystis, and Plasmodium. Contrary to previous assertions, the mtDNA is phylogenetically informative. The inferred phylogeny showed that, like the genus Plasmodium, the Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus genera are not monophyletic groups. Although sensitive to …
Landscape Genomics: Natural Selection Drives The Evolution Of Mitogenome In Penguins, Barbara Ramos, Daniel González-Acuña, David Loyola, Warren Johnson, Patricia Parker, Melanie Massaro, Gisele Dantas, Marcelo Miranda, Juliana Vianna
Landscape Genomics: Natural Selection Drives The Evolution Of Mitogenome In Penguins, Barbara Ramos, Daniel González-Acuña, David Loyola, Warren Johnson, Patricia Parker, Melanie Massaro, Gisele Dantas, Marcelo Miranda, Juliana Vianna
Biology Department Faculty Works
BackgroundMitochondria play a key role in the balance of energy and heat production, and therefore the mitochondrial genome is under natural selection by environmental temperature and food availability, since starvation can generate more efficient coupling of energy production. However, selection over mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes has usually been evaluated at the population level. We sequenced by NGS 12 mitogenomes and with four published genomes, assessed genetic variation in ten penguin species distributed from the equator to Antarctica. Signatures of selection of 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes were evaluated by comparing among species within and among genera (Spheniscus, Pygoscelis, Eudyptula, Eudyptes and …
Emma Lucy Braun's Forest Plots In Eastern North America, Robert Ricklefs
Emma Lucy Braun's Forest Plots In Eastern North America, Robert Ricklefs
Biology Department Faculty Works
No abstract provided.
Bet-Hedging In Bacteriocin Producing Escherichia Coli Populations: The Single Cell Perspective, Bihter Bayramoglu, David Toubiana, Simon Van Vliet, R. Inglis, Nadav Shnerb, Osnat Gillor
Bet-Hedging In Bacteriocin Producing Escherichia Coli Populations: The Single Cell Perspective, Bihter Bayramoglu, David Toubiana, Simon Van Vliet, R. Inglis, Nadav Shnerb, Osnat Gillor
Biology Department Faculty Works
No abstract provided.
Chronic Plasmodium Brasilianum Infections In Wild Peruvian Tamarins, Gideon Erkenswick, Mrinalini Watsa, M. Pacheco, Ananias Escalante, Patricia Parker, Georges Snounou
Chronic Plasmodium Brasilianum Infections In Wild Peruvian Tamarins, Gideon Erkenswick, Mrinalini Watsa, M. Pacheco, Ananias Escalante, Patricia Parker, Georges Snounou
Biology Department Faculty Works
There is an increased interest in potential zoonotic malarias. To date, Plasmodium malariae that infects humans remains indistinguishable from Plasmodium brasilianum, which is widespread among New World primates. Distributed throughout tropical Central and South America, the Callitrichidae are small arboreal primates in which detection of natural Plasmodium infection has been extremely rare. Most prior screening efforts have been limited to small samples, the use of low-probability detection methods, or both. Rarely have screening efforts implemented a longitudinal sampling design. Through an annual mark-recapture program of two sympatric callitrichids, the emperor (Saguinus imperator) and saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) tamarins, whole blood samples …
The Sulfoquinovosyltransferaselike Enzyme Sqd2.2 Is Involved In Flavonoid Glycosylation, Regulating Sugar Metabolism And Seed Setting In Rice, Xuemin Wang, Qingwen Shen, Xinqiao Zhan, Yueyun Hong
The Sulfoquinovosyltransferaselike Enzyme Sqd2.2 Is Involved In Flavonoid Glycosylation, Regulating Sugar Metabolism And Seed Setting In Rice, Xuemin Wang, Qingwen Shen, Xinqiao Zhan, Yueyun Hong
Biology Department Faculty Works
Seed setting is an important trait that contributes to seed yield and relies greatly on starchaccumulation. In this study, a sulfoquinovosyl transferase-like protein, designated as SQD2.2involved in seed setting and flavonoid accumulation, was identified and characterized in rice.Rice SQD2.2 is localized to the cytoplasm, and the SQD2.2 transcript was highest in leaves. RiceSQD2.2-overexpressing (OE) plants exhibited a decreased seed setting rate and diminished tillernumber simultaneously with an increased glycosidic flavonoid level compared with wild-type(WT) plants. SQD2.2 catalyzes the glycosylation of apigenin to produce apigenin 7-O-glucosideusing uridine diphosphate-glucose (UDPG) as a sugar donor, but it failed to compensate forsulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) synthesis …
A Genetic Signature Of The Evolution Of Loss Of Flight In The Galapagos Cormorant, Patricia Parker, Alejandro Burga, Weiguang Wang, Eyal Ben-David, Paul Wolf, Andrew Ramey, Claudio Verdugo, Karen Lyons, Leonid Kruglyak
A Genetic Signature Of The Evolution Of Loss Of Flight In The Galapagos Cormorant, Patricia Parker, Alejandro Burga, Weiguang Wang, Eyal Ben-David, Paul Wolf, Andrew Ramey, Claudio Verdugo, Karen Lyons, Leonid Kruglyak
Biology Department Faculty Works
We have a limited understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of evolutionary changes in the size and proportion of limbs. We studied wing and pectoral skeleton reduction leading to flightlessness in the Galapagos cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi). We sequenced and de novo assembled the genomes of four cormorant species and applied a predictive and comparative genomics approach to find candidate variants that may have contributed to the evolution of flightlessness. These analyses and cross-species experiments in Caenorhabditis elegans and in chondrogenic cell lines implicated variants in genes necessary for transcriptional regulation and function of the primary cilium. Cilia are essential …
Growth Trade-Offs Accompany The Emergence Of Glycolytic Metabolism In Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1, Lon Chubiz, Christopher Marx
Growth Trade-Offs Accompany The Emergence Of Glycolytic Metabolism In Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1, Lon Chubiz, Christopher Marx
Biology Department Faculty Works
Bacteria increase their metabolic capacity via the acquisition of genetic material or by the mutation of genes already present in the genome. Here, we explore the mechanisms and trade-offs involved when Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium that typically consumes small organic and amino acids, rapidly evolves to expand its metabolic capacity to catabolize glucose after a short period of adaptation to a glucose-rich environment. Using whole-genome sequencing and genetic approaches, we discovered that deletions in a region including the transcriptional repressor (nagR) that regulates the expression of genes associated with catabolism of N-acetylglucosamine are the common basis for evolved glucose metabolism …
Identification Of The Potentiating Mutations And Synergistic Epistasis That Enabled The Evolution Of Inter-Species Cooperation, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, Christopher Marx
Identification Of The Potentiating Mutations And Synergistic Epistasis That Enabled The Evolution Of Inter-Species Cooperation, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, Christopher Marx
Biology Department Faculty Works
Microbes often engage in cooperation through releasing biosynthetic compounds required by other species to grow. Given that production of costly biosynthetic metabolites is generally subjected to multiple layers of negative feedback, single mutations may frequently be insufficient to generate cooperative phenotypes. Synergistic epistatic interactions between multiple coordinated changes may thus often underlie the evolution of cooperation through overproduction of metabolites. To test the importance of synergistic mutations in cooperation we used an engineered bacterial consortium of an Escherichia coli methionine auxotroph and Salmonella enterica. S. enterica relies on carbon by-products from E. coli if lactose is the only carbon source. …
From Galapagos Doves To Passerines: Spillover Of Haemoproteus Multipigmentatus, Maricruz Jaramillo, Sage Rohrer, Patricia Parker
From Galapagos Doves To Passerines: Spillover Of Haemoproteus Multipigmentatus, Maricruz Jaramillo, Sage Rohrer, Patricia Parker
Biology Department Faculty Works
Haemoproteus (Haemoproteus) multipigmentatus, a haemosporidian parasite thought to be specific to columbiform birds, was detected in passeriform birds on Santiago Island in the Galapagos archipelago. We surveyed birds along an altitudinal gradient on the islands of Santa Cruz, Isabela and Santiago between June 2013 and July 2015. Molecular screening of 2254 individuals from 25 species of endemic and introduced birds revealed clusters of passerine birds positive for H. multipigmentatus on Santiago Island that coincide with captures of Galapagos doves at sampled sites. Of 507 individuals from 10 species of endemic passerines sampled on Santiago, 58 individuals from 6 species were …
Evolution Of Floral Zygomorphy In Androecium And Corolla In Solanaceae, Jingbo Zhang, Peter Stevens, Wenheng Zhang
Evolution Of Floral Zygomorphy In Androecium And Corolla In Solanaceae, Jingbo Zhang, Peter Stevens, Wenheng Zhang
Biology Department Faculty Works
In Solanaceae, a group dominated by actinomorphic‐flowered species, floral zygomorphy is frequently observed among the early‐branching clades. Morphological studies indicated that a zygomorphic androecium is much more common than a zygomorphic corolla in the family. Ontogenic studies suggested the evolution of floral zygomorphy in these two whorls is independent. Here, we have examined the evolution of floral symmetry in the androecium and corolla in Solanaceae. The character states of floral symmetry were assembled for androecium and corolla separately, and ancestral state reconstructions were carried out at both the genus and species levels for Solanaceae and its outgroups. Correlation tests were …
Phylogenetic Patterns Of Rarity In A Regional Species Pool Of Tropical Woody Plants, M. Loza, Iván Jiménez, Peter Jørgensen, Gabriel Arellano, Manuel Macía, Vania Torrez, Robert Ricklefs
Phylogenetic Patterns Of Rarity In A Regional Species Pool Of Tropical Woody Plants, M. Loza, Iván Jiménez, Peter Jørgensen, Gabriel Arellano, Manuel Macía, Vania Torrez, Robert Ricklefs
Biology Department Faculty Works
AimRarity, which is believed to influence extinction risk, can be defined in terms of local abundance, geographical range size and habitat breadth. Phylogenetic patterns in these attributes provide insight into the extent to which rarity and extinction risk are conserved during evolution and the potential for species‐level heritability. We evaluated phylogenetic signal (i.e., related species resembling each other more than species drawn at random) and evolutionary conservatism (similarity among related species exceeding that expected from a Brownian model of evolution) in three axes of rarity (local abundance, geographical range size and habitat breadth) among species in a regional pool of …
Temporal And Demographic Blood Parasite Dynamics In Two Free-Ranging Neotropical Primates, Gideon Erkenswick, Mrinalini Watsa, Alfonso Gozalo, Nicole Dmytryk, Patricia Parker
Temporal And Demographic Blood Parasite Dynamics In Two Free-Ranging Neotropical Primates, Gideon Erkenswick, Mrinalini Watsa, Alfonso Gozalo, Nicole Dmytryk, Patricia Parker
Biology Department Faculty Works
Parasite-host relationships are influenced by several factors intrinsic to hosts, such as social standing, group membership, sex, and age. However, in wild populations, temporal variation in parasite distributions and concomitant infections can alter these patterns. We used microscropy and molecular methods to screen for naturally occurring haemoparasitic infections in two Neotropical primate host populations, the saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus imperator) tamarin, in the lowland tropical rainforests of southeastern Peru. Repeat sampling was conducted from known individuals over a three-year period to test for parasite-host and parasite-parasite associations. Three parasites were detected in L. weddelli including Trypanosoma minasense, Mansonella …
Host Sympatry And Body Size Influence Parasite Straggling Rate In A Highly Connected Multihost, Multiparasite System, Jose Rivera-Parra, Iris Levin, Kevin Johnson, Patricia Parker
Host Sympatry And Body Size Influence Parasite Straggling Rate In A Highly Connected Multihost, Multiparasite System, Jose Rivera-Parra, Iris Levin, Kevin Johnson, Patricia Parker
Biology Department Faculty Works
Parasite lineages commonly diverge when host lineages diverge. However, when large clades of hosts and parasites are analyzed, some cases suggest host switching as another major diversification mechanism. The first step in host switching is the appearance of a parasite on an atypical host, or “straggling.” We analyze the conditions associated with straggling events. We use five species of colonially nesting seabirds from the Galapagos Archipelago and two genera of highly specific ectoparasitic lice to examine host switching. We use both genetic and morphological identification of lice, together with measurements of spatial distribution of hosts in mixed breeding colonies, to …
Phospholipase Dζ Enhances Diacylglycerol Flux Into Triacylglycerol, Wenyu Yang, Geliang Wang, Jia Li, Philip Bates, Xuemin Wang, Douglas Allen
Phospholipase Dζ Enhances Diacylglycerol Flux Into Triacylglycerol, Wenyu Yang, Geliang Wang, Jia Li, Philip Bates, Xuemin Wang, Douglas Allen
Biology Department Faculty Works
Plant seeds are the primary source of triacylglycerols (TAG) for food, feed, fuel, and industrial applications. As TAG is produced from diacylglycerol (DAG), successful engineering strategies to enhance TAG levels have focused on the conversion of DAG to TAG. However, the production of TAG can be limited by flux through the enzymatic reactions that supply DAG. In this study, two Arabidopsis phospholipase Dζ genes (AtPLDζ1 and AtPLDζ2) were coexpressed in Camelina sativa to test whether the conversion of phosphatidylcholine to DAG impacts TAG levels in seeds. The resulting transgenic plants produced 2% to 3% more TAG as a component of …
Passerine Morphology: External Measurements Of Approximately One-Quarter Of Passerine Bird Species, Robert Ricklefs
Passerine Morphology: External Measurements Of Approximately One-Quarter Of Passerine Bird Species, Robert Ricklefs
Biology Department Faculty Works
Studies of community organization and clade diversification that include functional traits have become an important component of the analysis of ecological and evolved systems. Such studies frequently are limited by availability of consistently collected data. Here, I present a data set including eight measurements of the external morphology of 1642 species, roughly one‐quarter of all passerine birds (Aves: Order Passeriformes), from all parts of the world, characterizing the relative proportions of the wing, tail, legs, and beak. Specimens were measured opportunistically over the past 40 years in museums in the United States and Europe. Numbers of individuals measured per species …
Seed Dispersal For The Unusual Inflated Berries Of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae), Diana Gamba, N. Maguiña, Camilo Calderón-Acevedo, Karina Torres, Nathan Muchhala
Seed Dispersal For The Unusual Inflated Berries Of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae), Diana Gamba, N. Maguiña, Camilo Calderón-Acevedo, Karina Torres, Nathan Muchhala
Biology Department Faculty Works
Examining dispersal is critical for understanding the diversity of Andean-centered plant lineages, like Burmeistera (Campanulaceae). One-third of its species present an unusual inflated berry. Unlike the bright colors of non-inflated fruits in the genus, these fruits are typically dull-green; however, the fact that the seeds are loosely held in the placenta and easily removed when touched seems to suggest adaptation to animal dispersal. We studied two inflated-baccate species, Burmeistera glabrata and B. borjensis, with the aim of testing the non-exclusive hypotheses that their seeds are dispersed by (1) small mammals, (2) slugs, or (3) adult flies that develop inside the …
Overlap In The Seasonal Infection Patterns Of Avian Malaria Parasites And West Nile Virus In Vectors And Hosts, Matthew Medeiros, Robert Ricklefs, Jeffrey Brawn, Marilyn Ruiz, Tony Goldberg, Gabriel Hamer
Overlap In The Seasonal Infection Patterns Of Avian Malaria Parasites And West Nile Virus In Vectors And Hosts, Matthew Medeiros, Robert Ricklefs, Jeffrey Brawn, Marilyn Ruiz, Tony Goldberg, Gabriel Hamer
Biology Department Faculty Works
Multiple vector-borne pathogens often circulate in the same vector and host communities, and seasonal infection dynamics influence the potential for pathogen interactions. Here, we explore the seasonal infection patterns of avian malaria (Haemosporida) parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) and West Nile virus (WNV) in birds and mosquitoes in suburban Chicago. We show that both pathogens vary seasonally in Culex mosquitoes and avian hosts, but that patterns of covariation are complex. Different putative Plasmodium species varied asynchronously across the season in mosquitoes and birds, suggesting that different forces may govern their transmission. Infections of Culex mosquitoes with Plasmodium parasites were positively associated …
Parallel Mutations Result In A Wide Range Of Cooperation And Community Consequences In A Two-Species Bacterial Consortium, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, F. Ytreberg, Christopher Marx
Parallel Mutations Result In A Wide Range Of Cooperation And Community Consequences In A Two-Species Bacterial Consortium, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, F. Ytreberg, Christopher Marx
Biology Department Faculty Works
Multi-species microbial communities play a critical role in human health, industry, and waste remediation. Recently, the evolution of synthetic consortia in the laboratory has enabled adaptation to be addressed in the context of interacting species. Using an engineered bacterial consortium, we repeatedly evolved cooperative genotypes and examined both the predictability of evolution and the phenotypes that determine community dynamics. Eight Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains evolved methionine excretion sufficient to support growth of an Escherichia coli methionine auxotroph, from whom they required excreted growth substrates. Non-synonymous mutations in metA, encoding homoserine trans-succinylase (HTS), were detected in each evolved S. enterica …
Chemical Similarity And Local Community Assembly In The Species Rich Tropical Genus Piper, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar, M. Jaramillo
Chemical Similarity And Local Community Assembly In The Species Rich Tropical Genus Piper, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar, M. Jaramillo
Biology Department Faculty Works
Community ecologists have strived to find mechanisms that mediate the assembly of natural communities. Recent evidence suggests that natural enemies could play an important role in the assembly of hyper‐diverse tropical plant systems. Classic ecological theory predicts that in order for coexistence to occur, species differences must be maximized across biologically important niche dimensions. For plant–herbivore interactions, it has been recently suggested that, within a particular community, plant species that maximize the difference in chemical defense profiles compared to neighboring taxa will have a relative competitive advantage. Here we tested the hypothesis that plant chemical diversity can affect local community …
Ode To Ehrlich And Raven Or How Herbivorous Insects Might Drive Plant Speciation, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar, Christina Baer, Jason Reinhardt, Galen Priest, Kirk Barnett
Ode To Ehrlich And Raven Or How Herbivorous Insects Might Drive Plant Speciation, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar, Christina Baer, Jason Reinhardt, Galen Priest, Kirk Barnett
Biology Department Faculty Works
Fifty years ago, Ehrlich and Raven proposed that insect herbivores have driven much of plant speciation, particularly at tropical latitudes. There have been no explicit tests of their hypotheses. Indeed there were no proposed mechanisms either at the time or since by which herbivores might generate new plant species. Here we outline two main classes of mechanisms, prezygotic and postzygotic, with a number of scenarios in each by which herbivore‐driven changes in host plant secondary chemistry might lead to new plant lineage production. The former apply mainly to a sympatric model of speciation while the latter apply to a parapatric …
Non-Specific Phospholipase C1 Affects Silicon Distribution And Mechanical Strength In Stem Nodes Of Rice, Huasheng Cao, Lin Zhuo, Yuan Su, Linxiao Sun, Xuemin Wang
Non-Specific Phospholipase C1 Affects Silicon Distribution And Mechanical Strength In Stem Nodes Of Rice, Huasheng Cao, Lin Zhuo, Yuan Su, Linxiao Sun, Xuemin Wang
Biology Department Faculty Works
Silicon, the second abundant element in the crust, is beneficial for plant growth, mechanical strength, and stress responses. Here we show that manipulation of the non‐specific phospholipase C1, NPC1, alters silicon content in nodes and husks of rice (Oryza sativa). Silicon content in NPC1‐overexpressing (OE) plants was decreased in nodes but increased in husks compared to wild‐type, whereas RNAi suppression of NPC1 resulted in the opposite changes to those of NPC1‐OE plants. NPC1 from rice hydrolyzed phospholipids and galactolipids to generate diacylglycerol that can be phosphorylated to phosphatidic acid. Phosphatidic acid interacts with Lsi6, a silicon transporter that is expressed …
Evolution Of Kaic-Dependent Timekeepers: A Proto-Circadian Timing Mechanism Confers Adaptive Fitness In The Purple Bacterium Rhodopseudomonas Palustris, Peijun Ma, Tetsuya Mori, Chi Zhao, Teresa Thiel, Carl Johnson
Evolution Of Kaic-Dependent Timekeepers: A Proto-Circadian Timing Mechanism Confers Adaptive Fitness In The Purple Bacterium Rhodopseudomonas Palustris, Peijun Ma, Tetsuya Mori, Chi Zhao, Teresa Thiel, Carl Johnson
Biology Department Faculty Works
Circadian (daily) rhythms are a fundamental and ubiquitous property of eukaryotic organisms. However, cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotic group for which bona fide circadian properties have been persuasively documented, even though homologs of the cyanobacterial kaiABC central clock genes are distributed widely among Eubacteria and Archaea. We report the purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris (that harbors homologs of kaiB and kaiC) only poorly sustains rhythmicity in constant conditions–a defining characteristic of circadian rhythms. Moreover, the biochemical characteristics of the Rhodopseudomonas homolog of the KaiC protein in vivo and in vitro are different from those of cyanobacterial KaiC. Nevertheless, R. palustris …
Presence Of A Loner Strain Maintains Cooperation And Diversity In Well-Mixed Bacterial Communities, Fredrik Inglis, J Biernaskie, A Gardner, R Kümmerli
Presence Of A Loner Strain Maintains Cooperation And Diversity In Well-Mixed Bacterial Communities, Fredrik Inglis, J Biernaskie, A Gardner, R Kümmerli
Biology Department Faculty Works
Cooperation and diversity abound in nature despite cooperators risking exploitation from defectors and superior competitors displacing weaker ones. Understanding the persistence of cooperation and diversity is therefore a major problem for evolutionary ecology, especially in the context of well-mixed populations, where the potential for exploitation and displacement is greatest. Here, we demonstrate that a ‘loner effect’, described by economic game theorists, can maintain cooperation and diversity in real-world biological settings. We use mathematical models of public-good-producing bacteria to show that the presence of a loner strain, which produces an independent but relatively inefficient good, can lead to rock–paper–scissor dynamics, whereby …
Membrane Glycerolipidome Of Soybean Root Hairs And Its Response To Nitrogen And Phosphate Availability, Fang Wei, Brian Fanella, Liang Guo, Xuemin Wang
Membrane Glycerolipidome Of Soybean Root Hairs And Its Response To Nitrogen And Phosphate Availability, Fang Wei, Brian Fanella, Liang Guo, Xuemin Wang
Biology Department Faculty Works
Root hairs are tubular extensions of specific root epidermal cells important in plant nutrition and water absorption. To determine membrane glycerolipids in root hairs and roots may differ, as well as their respective response to nutrient availability, this study analyzed the membrane glycerolipid species in soybean root hairs and in roots stripped of root hairs, and their response to nitrogen (N) and phosphate (Pi) supplementation. The ratio of phospholipids to galactolipids was 1.5 fold higher in root hairs than in stripped roots. Under Pi deficiency, the ratio of phospholipids to galactolipids in stripped roots decreased with the greatest decrease found …
Local Parasite Lineage Sharing In Temperate Grassland Birds Provides Clues About Potential Origins Of Galapagos Avian Plasmodium, Patricia Parker, Iris Levin, Rachel Colborn, Daniel Kim, Noah Perlut, Rosalind Renfrew
Local Parasite Lineage Sharing In Temperate Grassland Birds Provides Clues About Potential Origins Of Galapagos Avian Plasmodium, Patricia Parker, Iris Levin, Rachel Colborn, Daniel Kim, Noah Perlut, Rosalind Renfrew
Biology Department Faculty Works
Oceanic archipelagos are vulnerable to natural introduction of parasites via migratory birds. Our aim was to characterize the geographic origins of two Plasmodium parasite lineages detected in the Galapagos Islands and in North American breeding bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) that regularly stop in Galapagos during migration to their South American overwintering sites. We used samples from a grassland breeding bird assemblage in Nebraska, United States, and parasite DNA sequences from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, to compare to global data in a DNA sequence registry. Homologous DNA sequences from parasites detected in bobolinks and more sedentary birds (e.g., brown‐headed cowbirds Molothrus ater, …
Overexpression Of Patatin‐Related Phospholipase Aiiiδ Altered Plant Growth And Increased Seed Oil Content In Camelina, Xuemin Wang, Maoyin Li, Fang Wei, Amanda Tawfall, Michelle Tang, Allison Saettele
Overexpression Of Patatin‐Related Phospholipase Aiiiδ Altered Plant Growth And Increased Seed Oil Content In Camelina, Xuemin Wang, Maoyin Li, Fang Wei, Amanda Tawfall, Michelle Tang, Allison Saettele
Biology Department Faculty Works
Camelina sativa is a Brassicaceae oilseed species being explored as a biofuel and industrial oil crop. A growing number of studies have indicated that the turnover of phosphatidylcholine plays an important role in the synthesis and modification of triacylglycerols. This study manipulated the expression of a patatin‐related phospholipase AIIIδ (pPLAIIIδ) in camelina to determine its effect on seed oil content and plant growth. Constitutive overexpression of pPLAIIIδ under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic 35S promoter resulted in a significant increase in seed oil content and a decrease in cellulose content. In addition, the content of major membrane phospholipids, …
The Complexity Of Background Clutter Affects Nectar Bat Use Of Flower Odor And Shape Cues, Nathan Muchhala, Diana Serrano
The Complexity Of Background Clutter Affects Nectar Bat Use Of Flower Odor And Shape Cues, Nathan Muchhala, Diana Serrano
Biology Department Faculty Works
Given their small size and high metabolism, nectar bats need to be able to quickly locate flowers during foraging bouts. Chiropterophilous plants depend on these bats for their reproduction, thus they also benefit if their flowers can be easily located, and we would expect that floral traits such as odor and shape have evolved to maximize detection by bats. However, relatively little is known about the importance of different floral cues during foraging bouts. In the present study, we undertook a set of flight cage experiments with two species of nectar bats (Anoura caudifer and A. geoffroyi) and artificial flowers …
Role Of Aminoalcoholphosphotransferases 1 And 2 In Phospholipid Homeostasis In Arabidopsis, Xuemin Wang, Yu Liu, Geliang Wang
Role Of Aminoalcoholphosphotransferases 1 And 2 In Phospholipid Homeostasis In Arabidopsis, Xuemin Wang, Yu Liu, Geliang Wang
Biology Department Faculty Works
Aminoalcoholphosphotransferase (AAPT) catalyzes the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphotidylethanolamine (PE), which are the most prevalent membrane phospholipids in all eukaryotic cells. Here, we show that suppression of AAPTs results in extensive membrane phospholipid remodeling in Arabidopsis thaliana. Double knockout (KO) mutants that are hemizygous for either aapt1 or aapt2 display impaired pollen and seed development, leading to embryotic lethality of the double KO plants, whereas aapt1 or aapt2 single KO plants show no overt phenotypic alterations. The growth rate and seed yield of AAPT RNA interference (RNAi) plants are greatly reduced. Lipid profiling shows decreased total galactolipid and phospholipid …