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Articles 151 - 180 of 396
Full-Text Articles in Biology
The Use Of Commercial Bacterial Soil Inoculant Regime In An Urban Prairie Restoration, W. J. Leonard, Kelly G. Lyons
The Use Of Commercial Bacterial Soil Inoculant Regime In An Urban Prairie Restoration, W. J. Leonard, Kelly G. Lyons
Biology Faculty Research
For successful grassland restoration, commercial soil inoculants are often recommended to increase establishment success. In spring 2009, a 0.94-ha tract was targeted for restoration at Phil Hardberger Park, a 126-ha park in the heart of San Antonio, Texas. Woody species, mainly Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana Scheele), and Ashe juniper (Juniperus asheii Buchholz), were removed and the area was divided into 10 subplots measuring 911 m2 on average. In September 2009, over 40,000 plugs of seven native grass species were planted. In addition, native prairie seed mixes, including various grass and forb seeds, were sown into the site …
Convergent Evolution Of Brain Morphology And Communication Modalities In Lizards, Christopher D. Robinson, Michael S. Patton, Brittany M. Andre, Michele A. Johnson
Convergent Evolution Of Brain Morphology And Communication Modalities In Lizards, Christopher D. Robinson, Michael S. Patton, Brittany M. Andre, Michele A. Johnson
Biology Faculty Research
Animals communicate information within their environments via visual, chemical, auditory, and/or tactile modalities. The use of each modality is generally linked to particular brain regions, but it is not yet known whether the cellular morphology of neurons in these regions has evolved in association with the relative use of a modality. We investigated relationships between the behavioral use of communication modalities and neural morphologies in six lizard species. Two of these species (Anolis carolinensis and Leiocephalus carinatus) primarily use visual signals to communicate with conspecifics and detect potential prey, and two (Aspidoscelis gularis and Scincella lateralis) …
Data From: How Do Lizards Determine Dominance? Applying Ranking Algorithms To Animal Social Behavior, Michele A. Johnson, Eduardo C. Balreira
Data From: How Do Lizards Determine Dominance? Applying Ranking Algorithms To Animal Social Behavior, Michele A. Johnson, Eduardo C. Balreira
Biology Faculty Research
No abstract provided.
United In Diversity: Mechanosensitive Ion Channels In Plants, Eric S. Hamilton, Angela M. Schlegel, Elizabeth S. Haswell
United In Diversity: Mechanosensitive Ion Channels In Plants, Eric S. Hamilton, Angela M. Schlegel, Elizabeth S. Haswell
Biology Faculty Research
Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are a common mechanism for perceiving and responding to mechanical force. This class of mechanoreceptors is capable of transducing membrane tension directly into ion flux. In plant systems, MSion channels have been proposed to play a wide array of roles, from the perception of touch and gravity to the osmotic homeostasis of intracellular organelles. Three families of plant MS ion channels have been identified: the MscS-like (MSL), Mid1-complementing activity (MCA), and two-pore potassium (TPK) families. Channels from these families vary widely in structure and function, localize to multiple cellular compartments, and conduct chloride, calcium, and/or potassium …
A Network For Integrating Bioinformatics Into Life Sciences Education, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Elizabeth Dinsdale, Neal Grandgenett, William Morgan, Anne Rosenwald, William Tapprich, Eric W. Triplett, Mark A. Pauley
A Network For Integrating Bioinformatics Into Life Sciences Education, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Elizabeth Dinsdale, Neal Grandgenett, William Morgan, Anne Rosenwald, William Tapprich, Eric W. Triplett, Mark A. Pauley
Biology Faculty Research
No abstract provided.
In The Social Amoeba, Dictyostelium Discoideum , Density, Not Farming Status, Determines Predatory Success On Unpalatable Escherichia Coli, Susanne Disalvo, Debra A. Brock, Jeff Smith, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann
In The Social Amoeba, Dictyostelium Discoideum , Density, Not Farming Status, Determines Predatory Success On Unpalatable Escherichia Coli, Susanne Disalvo, Debra A. Brock, Jeff Smith, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann
Biology Faculty Research
Background
The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum interacts with bacteria in a variety of ways. It is a predator of bacteria, can be infected or harmed by bacteria, and can form symbiotic associations with bacteria. Some clones of D. discoideum function as primitive farmers because they carry bacteria through the normally sterile D. discoideum social stage, then release them after dispersal so the bacteria can proliferate and be harvested. Some farmer-associated bacteria produce small molecules that promote host farmer growth but inhibit the growth of non-farmer competitors. To test whether the farmers’ tolerance is specific or extends to other growth inhibitory …
An Active Role For The Ribosome In Determining The Fate Of Oxidized Mrna, Carrie L. Simms, Benjamin H. Hudson, John W. Mosior, Ali S. Rangwala, Hani S. Zaher
An Active Role For The Ribosome In Determining The Fate Of Oxidized Mrna, Carrie L. Simms, Benjamin H. Hudson, John W. Mosior, Ali S. Rangwala, Hani S. Zaher
Biology Faculty Research
Chemical damage to RNA affects its functional properties and thus may pose a significant hurdle to the translational apparatus; however, the effects of damaged mRNA on the speed and accuracy of the decoding process and their interplay with quality-control processes are not known. Here, we systematically explore the effects of oxidative damage on the decoding process using a well-defined bacterial in vitro translation system. We find that the oxidative lesion 8-oxoguanosine (8-oxoG) reduces the rate of peptide-bond formation by more than three orders of magnitude independent of its position within the codon. Interestingly, 8-oxoG had little effect on the fidelity …
Ribosomes Left In The Dust: Diverse Strategies For Peptide-Mediated Translation Stalling, Benjamin H. Hudson, Hani S. Zaher
Ribosomes Left In The Dust: Diverse Strategies For Peptide-Mediated Translation Stalling, Benjamin H. Hudson, Hani S. Zaher
Biology Faculty Research
In two recent papers, Arenz et al. (2014a) and Bischoff et al. (2014) provide structural insights into drug-induced, peptide-mediated stalling of the ribosome.
Ontogenetic Trait Variation Influences Tree Community Assembly Across Environmental Gradients, Marko J. Spasojevic, Elizabeth A. Yablon, Brad Oberle, Jonathan A. Myers
Ontogenetic Trait Variation Influences Tree Community Assembly Across Environmental Gradients, Marko J. Spasojevic, Elizabeth A. Yablon, Brad Oberle, Jonathan A. Myers
Biology Faculty Research
Intraspecific trait variation is hypothesized to influence the relative importance of community assembly mechanisms. However, few studies have explicitly considered how intraspecific trait variation among ontogenetic stages influences community assembly across environmental gradients. Because the relative importance of abiotic and biotic assembly mechanisms can differ among ontogenetic stages within and across environments, ontogenetic trait variation may have an important influence on patterns of functional diversity and inferred assembly mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that variation in functional diversity across a topo-edaphic gradient differs among ontogenetic stages and that these patterns reflect a shift in the relative importance of different assembly …
Minimal Effects Of An Invasive Flowering Shrub On The Pollinator Community Of Native Forbs, Y Anny Chung, Laura A. Burkle, Tiffany M. Knight
Minimal Effects Of An Invasive Flowering Shrub On The Pollinator Community Of Native Forbs, Y Anny Chung, Laura A. Burkle, Tiffany M. Knight
Biology Faculty Research
Biological invasions can strongly influence species interactions such as pollination. Most of the documented effects of exotic plant species on plant-pollinator interactions have been observational studies using single pairs of native and exotic plants, and have focused on dominant exotic plant species. We know little about how exotic plants alter interactions in entire communities of plants and pollinators, especially at low to medium invader densities. In this study, we began to address these gaps by experimentally removing the flowers of a showy invasive shrub, Rosa multiflora, and evaluating its effects on the frequency, richness, and composition of bee visitors to …
The Evolution Of Copulation Frequency And The Mechanisms Of Reproduction In Male Anolis Lizards, Michele A. Johnson, Maria Veronica Lopez, Tara K. Whittle, Bonnie K. Kircher, A K. Dill, Divina Varghese, J. Wade
The Evolution Of Copulation Frequency And The Mechanisms Of Reproduction In Male Anolis Lizards, Michele A. Johnson, Maria Veronica Lopez, Tara K. Whittle, Bonnie K. Kircher, A K. Dill, Divina Varghese, J. Wade
Biology Faculty Research
The evolution of many morphological structures is associated with the behavioral context of their use, particularly for structures involved in copulation. Yet, few studies have considered evolutionary relationships among the integrated suite of structures associated with male reproduction. In this study, we examined nine species of lizards in the genus Anolis to determine whether larger copulatory morphologies and higher potential for copulatory muscle performance evolved in association with higher copulation rates. In 10–12 adult males of each species, we measured the size of the hemipenes and related muscles, the seminiferous tubules in the testes, and the renal sex segments in …
Blood Parasite Infection Differentially Relates To Carotenoid-Based Plumage And Bill Color In The American Goldfinch, D. C. Lumpkin, Troy G. Murphy, K. A. Tarvin
Blood Parasite Infection Differentially Relates To Carotenoid-Based Plumage And Bill Color In The American Goldfinch, D. C. Lumpkin, Troy G. Murphy, K. A. Tarvin
Biology Faculty Research
Male and female American goldfinches (Spinus tristis) express condition-dependent carotenoid-based plumage and bill coloration. Plumage color is relatively static, as pigments incorporated into feathers during the spring molt cannot be mobilized thereafter. In contrast, bill color is dynamic, reflecting changes in condition over short time periods. Previous studies have shown that male and female ornaments, though similar in expression, are differentially related to measures of immunocompetence, suggesting that the relationship between ornamentation and parasite infection may differ between the sexes. In this study, we evaluate the relationship between condition-dependent ornamentation (plumage and bill color) and blood parasite infection …
The Evolution Of Genomic Imprinting: Theories, Predictions And Empirical Tests, M M. Patten, L Ross, J P. Curley, David C. Queller, R Bonduriansky, J B. Wolf
The Evolution Of Genomic Imprinting: Theories, Predictions And Empirical Tests, M M. Patten, L Ross, J P. Curley, David C. Queller, R Bonduriansky, J B. Wolf
Biology Faculty Research
The epigenetic phenomenon of genomic imprinting has motivated the development of numerous theories for its evolutionary origins and genomic distribution. In this review, we examine the three theories that have best withstood theoretical and empirical scrutiny. These are: Haig and colleagues’ kinship theory; Day and Bonduriansky’s sexual antagonism theory; and Wolf and Hager’s maternal–offspring coadaptation theory. These theories have fundamentally different perspectives on the adaptive significance of imprinting. The kinship theory views imprinting as a mechanism to change gene dosage, with imprinting evolving because of the differential effect that gene dosage has on the fitness of matrilineal and patrilineal relatives. …
Comparative Analysis Of Metazoan Chromatin Organization, Joshua Ho, Youngsook Jung, Tao Liu, Burak Alver, Soohyun Lee, Kohta Ikegami, Kyung-Ah Sohn, Aki Minoda, Michael Tolstorukov, Alex Appert, Stephen Parker, Tingting Gu, Anshul Kundaje, Nicole Riddle, Eric Bishop, Thea Egelhofer, Sheng'en Hu, Artyom Alekseyenko, Andreas Rechtsteiner, Dalal Asker, Jason Belsky, Sarah Bowman, Q Chen, Ron Chen, Daniel Day, Yan Dong, Andrea Dose, Xikun Duan, Charles Epstein, Sevinc Ercan, Elise Feingold, Francesco Ferrari, Jacob Garrigues, Nils Gehlenborg, Peter Good, Psalm Haseley, Daniel He, Morris Herrmann, Michael Hoffman, Tess Jeffers, Peter Kharchenko, Paulina Kolasinska-Zwierz, Chitra Kotwaliwale, Nischay Kumar, Sasha Langley, Erica Larschan, Isabel Latorre, Maxwell Libbrecht, Xueqiu Lin, Richard Park, Michael Pazin, Hoang Pham, Annette Plachetka, Bo Qin, Yuri Schwartz, Noam Shoresh, Przemyslaw Stempor, Anne Vielle, Chengyang Wang, Christina Whittle, Huiling Xue, Robert Kingston, Ju Kim, Bradley Bernstein, Abby Dernburg, Vincenzo Pirrotta, Mitzi Kuroda, William Noble, Thomas Tullius, Manolis Kellis, David Macalpine, Susan Strome, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Xiaole Liu, Jason Lieb, Julie Ahringer, Gary Karpen, Peter Park
Comparative Analysis Of Metazoan Chromatin Organization, Joshua Ho, Youngsook Jung, Tao Liu, Burak Alver, Soohyun Lee, Kohta Ikegami, Kyung-Ah Sohn, Aki Minoda, Michael Tolstorukov, Alex Appert, Stephen Parker, Tingting Gu, Anshul Kundaje, Nicole Riddle, Eric Bishop, Thea Egelhofer, Sheng'en Hu, Artyom Alekseyenko, Andreas Rechtsteiner, Dalal Asker, Jason Belsky, Sarah Bowman, Q Chen, Ron Chen, Daniel Day, Yan Dong, Andrea Dose, Xikun Duan, Charles Epstein, Sevinc Ercan, Elise Feingold, Francesco Ferrari, Jacob Garrigues, Nils Gehlenborg, Peter Good, Psalm Haseley, Daniel He, Morris Herrmann, Michael Hoffman, Tess Jeffers, Peter Kharchenko, Paulina Kolasinska-Zwierz, Chitra Kotwaliwale, Nischay Kumar, Sasha Langley, Erica Larschan, Isabel Latorre, Maxwell Libbrecht, Xueqiu Lin, Richard Park, Michael Pazin, Hoang Pham, Annette Plachetka, Bo Qin, Yuri Schwartz, Noam Shoresh, Przemyslaw Stempor, Anne Vielle, Chengyang Wang, Christina Whittle, Huiling Xue, Robert Kingston, Ju Kim, Bradley Bernstein, Abby Dernburg, Vincenzo Pirrotta, Mitzi Kuroda, William Noble, Thomas Tullius, Manolis Kellis, David Macalpine, Susan Strome, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Xiaole Liu, Jason Lieb, Julie Ahringer, Gary Karpen, Peter Park
Biology Faculty Research
Genome function is dynamically regulated in part by chromatin, which consists of the histones, non-histone proteins and RNA molecules that package DNA. Studies in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster have contributed substantially to our understanding of molecular mechanisms of genome function in humans, and have revealed conservation of chromatin components and mechanisms. Nevertheless, the three organisms have markedly different genome sizes, chromosome architecture and gene organization. On human and fly chromosomes, for example, pericentric heterochromatin flanks single centromeres, whereas worm chromosomes have dispersed heterochromatin-like regions enriched in the distal chromosomal 'arms', and centromeres distributed along their lengths. To systematically investigate …
Defining Success In Graduate School, Sean M. Bell, Jessica Blumstein, Katja Brose, Adam Carroll, Jean Chang, Julia Charles, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Melissa Michelitsch, Julia C. Owens, Christopher K. Patil, Rebecca Smith, Jon Tupy, Emily Walsh, Tracy Ware
Defining Success In Graduate School, Sean M. Bell, Jessica Blumstein, Katja Brose, Adam Carroll, Jean Chang, Julia Charles, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Melissa Michelitsch, Julia C. Owens, Christopher K. Patil, Rebecca Smith, Jon Tupy, Emily Walsh, Tracy Ware
Biology Faculty Research
[Response to Weiner OD (2014) How should we be selecting our graduate students. Mol Biol Cell 25:429–430. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E13-11-0646.]
Communal Nesting In The Cuban Twig Anole (Anolis Angusticeps) From South Bimini, Bahamas, Christopher D. Robinson, Bonnie K. Kircher, Michele A. Johnson
Communal Nesting In The Cuban Twig Anole (Anolis Angusticeps) From South Bimini, Bahamas, Christopher D. Robinson, Bonnie K. Kircher, Michele A. Johnson
Biology Faculty Research
No abstract provided.
Privatization And Property In Biology, Joan E. Strassmann, David C. Queller
Privatization And Property In Biology, Joan E. Strassmann, David C. Queller
Biology Faculty Research
Organisms evolve to control, preserve, protect and invest in their own bodies. When they do likewise with external resources they privatize those resources and convert them into their own property. Property is a neglected topic in biology, although examples include territories, domiciles and nest structures, food caching, mate guarding, and the resources and partners in mutualisms. Property is important because it represents a solution to the tragedy of the commons; to the extent that an individual exerts long-term control of its property, it can use it prudently, and even invest in it. Resources most worth privatizing are often high in …
Genetic Explanations: Sense And Nonsense, Garland E. Allen
Genetic Explanations: Sense And Nonsense, Garland E. Allen
Biology Faculty Research
Book review of Sheldon Krimsky; Jeremy Gruber (Editors). Genetic Explanations: Sense and Nonsense. xi + 368 pp., index. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013. $45 (cloth).
Joint Phenotypes, Evolutionary Conflict And The Fundamental Theorem Of Natural Selection, David C. Queller
Joint Phenotypes, Evolutionary Conflict And The Fundamental Theorem Of Natural Selection, David C. Queller
Biology Faculty Research
Multiple organisms can sometimes affect a common phenotype. For example, the portion of a leaf eaten by an insect is a joint phenotype of the plant and insect and the amount of food obtained by an offspring can be a joint trait with its mother. Here, I describe the evolution of joint phenotypes in quantitative genetic terms. A joint phenotype for multiple species evolves as the sum of additive genetic variances in each species, weighted by the selection on each species. Selective conflict between the interactants occurs when selection takes opposite signs on the joint phenotype. The mean fitness of …
Herbivory In The Northern Curly-Tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus Carinatus), Bonnie K. Kircher, Christopher D. Robinson, Michele A. Johnson
Herbivory In The Northern Curly-Tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus Carinatus), Bonnie K. Kircher, Christopher D. Robinson, Michele A. Johnson
Biology Faculty Research
No abstract provided.
Fruiting Bodies Of The Social Amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum Increase Spore Transport By Drosophila, Jeff Smith, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann
Fruiting Bodies Of The Social Amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum Increase Spore Transport By Drosophila, Jeff Smith, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann
Biology Faculty Research
Background: Many microbial phenotypes are the product of cooperative interactions among cells, but their putative fitness benefits are often not well understood. In the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum , unicellular amoebae aggregate when starved and form multicellular fruiting bodies in which stress-resistant spores are held aloft by dead stalk cells. Fruiting bodies are thought to be adaptations for dispersing spores to new feeding sites, but this has not been directly tested. Here we experimentally test whether fruiting bodies increase the rate at which spores are acquired by passing invertebrates.
Results: Drosophila melanogaster accumulate spores on their surfaces more quickly …
A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change With Increased Investment In Instructional Time, Christopher Shaffer, Consuleo Alvarez, April Bednarski, David Dunbar, Anya Goodman, Catherine Reinke, Anne Rosenwald, Michael Wolyniak, Cheryl Bailey, Daron Barnard, Christopher Bazinet, Dale Beach, James Bedard, Satish Bhalla, John Braverman, Martin Burg, Vidya Chandrasekaran, Hui-Min Chung, Kari Clase, Randall Dejong, Justin Diangelo, Chunguang Du, Todd Echdahl, Heather Eisler, Julia Emerson, Amy Frary, Donald Frohlich, Yuying Gosser, Shubha Govind, Adam Haberman, Amy Hark, Charles Hauser, Arlene Hoogewerf, Laura Hoopes, Carina Howell, Diana Johnson, Christopher Jones, Lisa Kadlec, Marian Kaehler, Catherine Silver-Key, Adam Kleinschmit, Nighat Kokan, Olga Kopp, Gary Kuleck, Judith Leatherman, Jane Lopilato, Christy Mackinnon, Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado, Gerard Mcneil, Stephanie Mel, Hemlata Mistry, Alexis Nagengast, Paul Overvoorde, Don Paetkau, Susan Parrish, Celeste Peterson, Mary Preuss, Laura Reed, Dennis Revie, Srebrenka Robic, Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, Michael Rubin, Kenneth Saville, Stephanie Schroeder, Karim Sharif, Mary Shaw, Gary Skuse, Christopher Smith, Mary Smith, Sheryl Smith, Eric Spana, Mary Spratt, Aparna Sreenivasan, Joyce Stamm, Paul Szauter, Jeffrey Thompson, Matthew Wawersik, James Youngblom, Leming Zhou, Elaine Mardis, Jeremy Buhler, Wilson Leung, David Lopatto, Sarah C.R. Elgin
A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change With Increased Investment In Instructional Time, Christopher Shaffer, Consuleo Alvarez, April Bednarski, David Dunbar, Anya Goodman, Catherine Reinke, Anne Rosenwald, Michael Wolyniak, Cheryl Bailey, Daron Barnard, Christopher Bazinet, Dale Beach, James Bedard, Satish Bhalla, John Braverman, Martin Burg, Vidya Chandrasekaran, Hui-Min Chung, Kari Clase, Randall Dejong, Justin Diangelo, Chunguang Du, Todd Echdahl, Heather Eisler, Julia Emerson, Amy Frary, Donald Frohlich, Yuying Gosser, Shubha Govind, Adam Haberman, Amy Hark, Charles Hauser, Arlene Hoogewerf, Laura Hoopes, Carina Howell, Diana Johnson, Christopher Jones, Lisa Kadlec, Marian Kaehler, Catherine Silver-Key, Adam Kleinschmit, Nighat Kokan, Olga Kopp, Gary Kuleck, Judith Leatherman, Jane Lopilato, Christy Mackinnon, Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado, Gerard Mcneil, Stephanie Mel, Hemlata Mistry, Alexis Nagengast, Paul Overvoorde, Don Paetkau, Susan Parrish, Celeste Peterson, Mary Preuss, Laura Reed, Dennis Revie, Srebrenka Robic, Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, Michael Rubin, Kenneth Saville, Stephanie Schroeder, Karim Sharif, Mary Shaw, Gary Skuse, Christopher Smith, Mary Smith, Sheryl Smith, Eric Spana, Mary Spratt, Aparna Sreenivasan, Joyce Stamm, Paul Szauter, Jeffrey Thompson, Matthew Wawersik, James Youngblom, Leming Zhou, Elaine Mardis, Jeremy Buhler, Wilson Leung, David Lopatto, Sarah C.R. Elgin
Biology Faculty Research
There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant …
Hp1a: A Structural Chromosomal Protein Regulating Transcription, Joel Eissenberg, Sarah C.R. Elgin
Hp1a: A Structural Chromosomal Protein Regulating Transcription, Joel Eissenberg, Sarah C.R. Elgin
Biology Faculty Research
Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1a in Drosophila) is a conserved eukaryotic chromosomal protein that is prominently associated with pericentric heterochromatin and mediates the concomitant gene silencing. Mechanistic studies implicate HP1 family proteins as 'hub proteins,' able to interact with a variety of chromosomal proteins through the chromo-shadow domain (CSD), as well as to recognize key histone modification sites [primarily histone H3 di/trimethyl Lys9 (H3K9me2/3)] through the chromodomain (CD). Consequently, HP1 has many important roles in chromatin architecture and impacts both gene expression and gene silencing, utilizing a variety of mechanisms. Clearly, HP1 function is altered by context, and potentially by post-translational …
A Broadly Implementable Research Course In Phage Discovery And Genomics For First-Year Undergraduate Students, Tuajuanda Jordan, Sandra Burnett, Susan Carson, Steven Caruso, Kari Clase, Randall Dejong, John Dennehy, Dee Denver, David Dunbar, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Ann Findley, Chris Gissendanner, Urszula Golebiewska, Nancy Guild, Grant Hartzog, Wendy Grillo, Gail Hollowell, Lee Hughes, Allison Johnson, Rodney King, Lynn Lewis, Wei Li, Frank Rosenzweig, Michael Rubin, Margaret Saha, James Sandoz, Christopher Shaffer, Barbara Taylor, Louise Temple, Edwin Vazquez, Vassie Ware, Lucia Barker, Kevin Bradley, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Welkin Pope, Daniel Russell, Steven Cresawn, David Lopatto, Cherly Bailey, Graham Hatfull
A Broadly Implementable Research Course In Phage Discovery And Genomics For First-Year Undergraduate Students, Tuajuanda Jordan, Sandra Burnett, Susan Carson, Steven Caruso, Kari Clase, Randall Dejong, John Dennehy, Dee Denver, David Dunbar, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Ann Findley, Chris Gissendanner, Urszula Golebiewska, Nancy Guild, Grant Hartzog, Wendy Grillo, Gail Hollowell, Lee Hughes, Allison Johnson, Rodney King, Lynn Lewis, Wei Li, Frank Rosenzweig, Michael Rubin, Margaret Saha, James Sandoz, Christopher Shaffer, Barbara Taylor, Louise Temple, Edwin Vazquez, Vassie Ware, Lucia Barker, Kevin Bradley, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Welkin Pope, Daniel Russell, Steven Cresawn, David Lopatto, Cherly Bailey, Graham Hatfull
Biology Faculty Research
Engaging large numbers of undergraduates in authentic scientific discovery is desirable but difficult to achieve. We have developed a general model in which faculty and teaching assistants from diverse academic institutions are trained to teach a research course for first-year undergraduate students focused on bacteriophage discovery and genomics. The course is situated within a broader scientific context aimed at understanding viral diversity, such that faculty and students are collaborators with established researchers in the field. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) course has been widely implemented and has been …
A Distinct Type Of Heterochromatin At The Telomeric Region Of The Drosophila Melanogaster Y Chromosome, Ruth Nan, Sidney Wang, Maria Accardo, Monica F. Sentmanat, Patrizio Dimitri, Sarah C.R. Elgin
A Distinct Type Of Heterochromatin At The Telomeric Region Of The Drosophila Melanogaster Y Chromosome, Ruth Nan, Sidney Wang, Maria Accardo, Monica F. Sentmanat, Patrizio Dimitri, Sarah C.R. Elgin
Biology Faculty Research
Heterochromatin assembly and its associated phenotype, position effect variegation (PEV), provide an informative system to study chromatin structure and genome packaging. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the Y chromosome is entirely heterochromatic in all cell types except the male germline; as such, Y chromosome dosage is a potent modifier of PEV. However, neither Y heterochromatin composition, nor its assembly, has been carefully studied. Here, we report the mapping and characterization of eight reporter lines that show male-specific PEV. In all eight cases, the reporter insertion sites lie in the telomeric transposon array (HeT-A and TART-B2 homologous repeats) of the …
Tribute To Tinbergen: The Place Of Animal Behavior In Biology, Joan E. Strassmann
Tribute To Tinbergen: The Place Of Animal Behavior In Biology, Joan E. Strassmann
Biology Faculty Research
Tinbergen is famous for emphasizing behavioral fieldwork and experimentation under natural circumstances, for founding the field of ethology, for getting a Nobel Prize, and for mentoring Richard Dawkins. He is known for dividing behavior studies into physiology, development, natural selection, and evolutionary history. In the decades since Tinbergen was active, some of the best research in animal behavior fuses Tinbergen's questions, connecting genes to behavioral phenotypes, for example. Behavior is the most synthetic of the life sciences, because observing the actions of an organism can tell us what all those physical and physiological traits are for. Insights from behavior tell …
A Unique Covalent Bond In Basement Membrane Is A Primordial Innovation For Tissue Evolution, Aaron L. Fidler, Roberto M. Vanacore, Sergei V. Chetyrkin, Vadim K. Pedchenko, Gautam Bhave, Viravuth P. Yin, Cody L. Stothers, Kristie Lindsey Rose, W. Hayes Mcdonald, Travis A. Clark, Dorin-Bogdan Borza, Robert E. Steele, Michael T. Ivy, The Aspirnauts, Julie K. Hudson, Billy G. Hudson
A Unique Covalent Bond In Basement Membrane Is A Primordial Innovation For Tissue Evolution, Aaron L. Fidler, Roberto M. Vanacore, Sergei V. Chetyrkin, Vadim K. Pedchenko, Gautam Bhave, Viravuth P. Yin, Cody L. Stothers, Kristie Lindsey Rose, W. Hayes Mcdonald, Travis A. Clark, Dorin-Bogdan Borza, Robert E. Steele, Michael T. Ivy, The Aspirnauts, Julie K. Hudson, Billy G. Hudson
Biology Faculty Research
We recently discovered that the collagen IV scaffolds of bovine, mouse, and Drosophila melanogaster tissues are stabilized by sulfilimine chemical bonds (S = N) (20⇓–22). The bond is a covalent cross-link between methionine-93 (Met93) and lysine-211 or hydroxylysine-211 (Lys211/Hyl211) residues that stabilizes the noncollagenous (NC1) interface of adjoining triple helical protomers (Fig. 1A). Peroxidasin, an animal heme peroxidase embedded in basement membrane, forms these sulfilimine cross-links by producing hypohalous acids as intermediates for Met93 oxidization (21, 22). Here, we explored whether the sulfilimine cross-link of collagen IV is a fundamental requirement in the genesis and evolution of tissues in Eumetazoa. …
Honesty Of A Dynamic Female Aggressive Status Signal: Baseline Testosterone Relates To Bill Color In Female American Goldfinches, T T. Pham, Philip Queller, K A. Tarvin, Troy G. Murphy
Honesty Of A Dynamic Female Aggressive Status Signal: Baseline Testosterone Relates To Bill Color In Female American Goldfinches, T T. Pham, Philip Queller, K A. Tarvin, Troy G. Murphy
Biology Faculty Research
Status signals are linked to fighting ability and enable competitors to gain access to resources without risking injury in aggressive combat. The relationship between testosterone (T), a hormone that mediates aggression, and signals of status is well studied in males, but little is known about the relationship between T and female signals of status. Female and male American goldfinches Spinus tristis express a dynamic carotenoid-based orange bill color during the breeding season and previous work has demonstrated that females use orange bill color to communicate competitive ability during intrasexual competition. We test the hypothesis that female bill color reflects baseline …
Same Trait, Different Receiver Response: Unlike Females, Male American Goldfinches Do Not Signal Status With Bill Colour, Troy G. Murphy, Joe A. West, T T. Pham, Lucy M. Cevallos, Richard K. Simpson, K. A. Tarvin
Same Trait, Different Receiver Response: Unlike Females, Male American Goldfinches Do Not Signal Status With Bill Colour, Troy G. Murphy, Joe A. West, T T. Pham, Lucy M. Cevallos, Richard K. Simpson, K. A. Tarvin
Biology Faculty Research
In species in which both sexes have similar ornamentation, the ornaments often function as sexual or social signals in both sexes. However, males and females may use ornaments in different signalling contexts. We previously demonstrated that carotenoid-based bill colour of female American goldfinches, Spinus tristis, functions as a signal of status during intrasexual, but not intersexual, competition. Here we test whether male bill colour functions as a competitive status signal during both intra- and intersexual contests. We tested whether focal males and females avoided feeding adjacent to taxidermic male models as a function of the models’ experimentally altered bill colour. …
Origins Of The Classical Gene Concept, 1900–1950: Genetics, Mechanistic, Philosophy, And The Capitalization Of Agriculture, Garland E. Allen
Origins Of The Classical Gene Concept, 1900–1950: Genetics, Mechanistic, Philosophy, And The Capitalization Of Agriculture, Garland E. Allen
Biology Faculty Research
In the period of “classical genetics” (roughly 1915–1950), the common view of the gene was mechanistic—that is, genes were seen as individual, atomistic units, as material components of the chromosomes. Although it was recognized early on that genes could interact and influence each other’s expression, they were still regarded as individually functioning units, much like the chemists’ atoms or molecules. Although geneticists in particular knew the story was more complex, the atomistic gene remained the central view for a variety of reasons. It fit the growing philosophy of mechanistic materialism in the life sciences, as biologists tried to make their …