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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Conclusions About Niche Expansion In Introduced Impatiens Walleriana Populations Depend On Method Of Analysis, Lisa Mandle, Dan L. Warren, Matthias H. Hoffman, A. Townsend Peterson, Johanna Schmitt, Eric J. Von Wettberg
Conclusions About Niche Expansion In Introduced Impatiens Walleriana Populations Depend On Method Of Analysis, Lisa Mandle, Dan L. Warren, Matthias H. Hoffman, A. Townsend Peterson, Johanna Schmitt, Eric J. Von Wettberg
Department of Biological Sciences
Determining the degree to which climate niches are conserved across plant species’ native and introduced ranges is valuable to developing successful strategies to limit the introduction and spread of invasive plants, and also has important ecological and evolutionary implications. Here, we test whether climate niches differ between native and introduced populations of Impatiens walleriana, globally one of the most popular horticultural species. We use approaches based on both raw climate data associated with occurrence points and ecological niche models (ENMs) developed with Maxent. We include comparisons of climate niche breadth in both geographic and environmental spaces, taking into account differences …
Bilirubin Present In Diverse Angiosperms, Cary Pirone, Jodie V. Johnson, J. Martin E. Quirke, Horacio A. Priestap, David W. Lee
Bilirubin Present In Diverse Angiosperms, Cary Pirone, Jodie V. Johnson, J. Martin E. Quirke, Horacio A. Priestap, David W. Lee
Department of Biological Sciences
Background and aims: Bilirubin is an orange-yellow tetrapyrrole produced from the breakdown of heme by mammals and some other vertebrates. Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria synthesize molecules similar to bilirubin, including the protein-bound bilins and phytochromobilin which harvest or sense light. Recently, we discovered bilirubin in the arils of Strelitzia nicolai, the White Bird of Paradise Tree, which was the first example of this molecule in a higher plant. Subsequently, we identified bilirubin in both the arils and flowers of Strelitzia reginae, the Bird of Paradise Flower. In the arils of both species, bilirubin is present as the primary pigment, and …
Sessile Snails, Dynamic Genomes: Gene Rearrangements Within The Mitochondrial Genome Of A Family Of Caenogastropod Molluscs, Timothy A. Rawlings, Martin J. Macinnis, Rudiger Bieler, Jeffrey L. Boore, Timothy M. Collins
Sessile Snails, Dynamic Genomes: Gene Rearrangements Within The Mitochondrial Genome Of A Family Of Caenogastropod Molluscs, Timothy A. Rawlings, Martin J. Macinnis, Rudiger Bieler, Jeffrey L. Boore, Timothy M. Collins
Department of Biological Sciences
Background: Widespread sampling of vertebrates, which comprise the majority of published animal mitochondrial genomes, has led to the view that mitochondrial gene rearrangements are relatively rare, and that gene orders are typically stable across major taxonomic groups. In contrast, more limited sampling within the Phylum Mollusca has revealed an unusually high number of gene order arrangements. Here we provide evidence that the lability of the molluscan mitochondrial genome extends to the family level by describing extensive gene order changes that have occurred within the Vermetidae, a family of sessile marine gastropods that radiated from a basal caenogastropod stock during the …
How Anthocyanin Mutants Respond To Stress: The Need To Distinguish Between Stress Tolerance And Maximal Vigour, Eric Jb Von Wettberg, Maureen L. Stanton, Justen B. Whittall
How Anthocyanin Mutants Respond To Stress: The Need To Distinguish Between Stress Tolerance And Maximal Vigour, Eric Jb Von Wettberg, Maureen L. Stanton, Justen B. Whittall
Department of Biological Sciences
Background: Anthocyanins are produced by plants in response to diverse stresses Mutants that block the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (A BP) at various steps can easily be compared across numerous abiotic stresses Hypothesis: Anthocyanins or their precursors are required for stress tolerance. Thus, ABP loss-of-function mutants should have proportionately lower fitness than wildtype plants under stress, compared with benign conditions In contrast, a decrease in maximal vigour the general capacity for growth and fecundity should be most pronounced under benign conditions that allow luxuriant growth by the most vigorous genotypes Tests: Determine whether, under stressful conditions. ABP loss-of-function mutants have relatively …
Ants And Plants With Extrafloral Nectaries In Fire Successional Habitates On Andros (Bahamas), Suzanne Koptur, Pascale Williams, Zuriany Olive
Ants And Plants With Extrafloral Nectaries In Fire Successional Habitates On Andros (Bahamas), Suzanne Koptur, Pascale Williams, Zuriany Olive
Department of Biological Sciences
Honey baits were used to assess the activity and abundance of nectar-drinking ants in fire successional habitats of rocklands on Andros Island, Bahamas. Vegetation was sampled in pineyard and coppice habitats (the same communities as Florida’s pine rocklands and hammocks), revealing a larger proportion of taxa with extrafloral nectaries in coppice samples, but roughly equivalent cover of plants with extrafloral nectaries in pineyard and coppice vegetation. Ant activity was greater in pineyard than in coppice habitats, with time to discovery of baits the shortest in open and recently burned pineyards, and most of the baits experiencing recruitment of ants. Overgrown …
Impact Of Herbivore Identity On Algal Succession And Coral Growth On A Caribbean Reef, Deron E. Burkepile, Mark E. Hay
Impact Of Herbivore Identity On Algal Succession And Coral Growth On A Caribbean Reef, Deron E. Burkepile, Mark E. Hay
Department of Biological Sciences
Background: Herbivory is an important top-down force on coral reefs that regulates macroalgal abundance, mediates competitive interactions between macroalgae and corals, and provides resilience following disturbances such as hurricanes and coral bleaching. However, reductions in herbivore diversity and abundance via disease or over-fishing may harm corals directly and may indirectly increase coral susceptibility to other disturbances. Methodology and Principal Findings: In two experiments over two years, we enclosed equivalent densities and masses of either single-species or mixed-species of herbivorous fishes in replicate, 4 m2 cages at a depth of 17 m on a reef in the Florida Keys, USA to …
Specombined Estradiol And Lithium Increase Er-Α Mrna In Embryonic C57bl/6j Primary Hippocampal Cultures, James J. Valdés, Ophelia Weeks
Specombined Estradiol And Lithium Increase Er-Α Mrna In Embryonic C57bl/6j Primary Hippocampal Cultures, James J. Valdés, Ophelia Weeks
Department of Biological Sciences
Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is commonly prescribed during menopause. Post-menopausal women also tend to suffer from bipolar disorders and as a result are prescribed mood stabilizers – in addition to ERT. There is a paucity of data on how combined hormones and mood stabilizers interact in regulating gene expression that led us to hypothesize that in primary cultures of mixed brain cells predominated by glia, combined 17β-estradiol (E2) and lithium chloride (LiCl) (E2/LiCl) will alter estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) mRNA expression. We quantified mRNA expression of ER-α using the cDNA of treated primary cultures of mixed brain cells from a previous …
Lithium Enhances Cortical Mrna Expression In Ovariectomized C57bl/6j Mice, James J. Valdés, Franchesca M. Ramirez, Barbara Juarez, Ophelia Weeks
Lithium Enhances Cortical Mrna Expression In Ovariectomized C57bl/6j Mice, James J. Valdés, Franchesca M. Ramirez, Barbara Juarez, Ophelia Weeks
Department of Biological Sciences
The hippocampus and cortex of the mammalian brain are regions involved in learning and long-term memory. Estrogen and lithium affect similar learning and memory molecular processes. We hypothesized that in ovariectomized mice lithium treatment will enhance genetic factors in the brain that are involved in neuroprotection, learning and memory. Our study used bilaterally ovariectomized (bOVX) C57BL÷6J mice treated for one month with 14.2 mM LiCl in their drinking water. Results indicate that LiCl-treated bOVX mice show enhanced cortical increases in mRNA expression of ER-alpha, NR1, Bcl-2, BDNF, and CaMkII-alpha; hippocampal mRNA showed no changes. Our results indicate that in bOVX …