Biology Commons^™

Rare And Endangered Plants At Gateway National Recreation Area: A Case For Protection Of Urban Natural Areas, Richard Stalter, Michael D. Byer, John T. Tanacredi Ph.D.

Faculty Works: CERCOM

The diversity of native plant species in urban environments is usually overlooked when biodiversity levels are considered. Inventories of native plants reveal many to be rare species surviving the harsh conditions encountered in urban ecosystems. Knowledge of their existence and an inventory of their distribution will assist in maintaining these populations. Protection strategies for rare plant species are outlined for urban National Parks.

Female Choice In Sage Grouse: The Roles Of Attraction And Active Comparison, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Previous studies of female choice in sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have implicated both the acoustic quality and repetition rate of the stereotyped strut display as putative cues for female choice. Stages in the choice process at which specific components of male courtship display influence female decisions were investigated using field observations of female premating behavior. Females visited a subset of territorial males and then actively chose one of these as a mate. The order in which males were visited suggested that females searched until an acceptable mate was found, rather than employing a “best-of-n” tactic. Numbers of females visiting a …

Evidence For Acquisition In Nature Of A Chromosomal 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/(Alpha)-Ketoglutarate Dioxygenase Gene By Different Burkholderia Spp., V. Grace Matheson, Larry J. Forney, Yuichi Suwa, Cindy H. Nakahatsu, Alan J. Sexstone, William E. Holben

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We characterized the gene required to initiate the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) by the soil bacterium Burkholderia sp. strain TFD6, which hybridized to the tfdA gene of the canonical 2,4-D catabolic plasmid pJP4 under low-stringency conditions. Cleavage of the ether bond of 2,4-D by cell extracts of TFD6 proceeded by an (alpha)-ketoglutarate-dependent reaction,characteristic of TfdA (F. Fukumori and R. P. Hausinger, J. Bacteriol. 175:2083-2086, 1993). The TFD6 tfdA gene was identified in a recombinant plasmid which complemented a tfdA transposon mutant of TFD6 created by chromosomal insertion of Tn5. The plasmid also expressed TfdA activity in Escherichia coli …

Characterization Of A Chromosomally Encoded 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/A-Ketoglutarate Dioxygenase From Burkholderia Sp. Strain Rasc, Yuichi Suwa, Alice D. Wright, Fumitasu Fukimori, Kathy A. Nummy, Robert P. Hausinger, William E. Holben, Larry J. Forney

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The findings of previous studies indicate that the genes required for metabolism of the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) are typically encoded on broad-host-range plasmids. However, characterization of plasmid-cured strains of Burkholderia sp. strain RASC, as well as mutants obtained by transposon mutagenesis, suggested that the 2,4-D catabolic genes were located on the chromosome of this strain. Mutants of Burkholderia strain RASC unable to degrade 2,4-D (2,4-D- strains) were obtained by insertional inactivation with Tn5. One such mutant (d1) was shown to have Tn5 inserted in tfdA_RASC, which encodes 2,4-D/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase. This is the first reported example of a …

Oxidative Stress Detection With Escherichia Coli Harboring A Katg'::Lux Fusion, S. Belkin, D. R. Smulski, Amy Cheng Vollmer, T. K. Van Dyk, R. A. Larossa

Biology Faculty Works

A plasmid containing a transcriptional fusion of the Escherichia coli katG promoter to a truncated Vibrio fischeri lux operon (luxCDABE) was constructed. An E. coli strain bearing this plasmid (strain DPD2511) exhibited low basal levels of luminescence, which increased up to 1,000-fold in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, organic peroxides, redox-cycling agents (methyl viologen and menadione), a hydrogen peroxide-producing enzyme system (xanthine and xanthine oxidase), and cigarette smoke. An oxyR deletion abolished hydrogen peroxide-dependent induction, confirming that oxyR controlled katG'::lux luminescence. Light emission was also induced by ethanol by an unexplained mechanism. A marked synergistic response was observed when cells …

Impact Of A Parasitic Plant On The Structure And Dynamics Of Salt Marsh Vegetation, Steven C. Pennings, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We investigated the effect of a native parasitic plant, Cuscuta salina, on the structure and dynamics of the plant community in a California salt marsh. Cuscuta was common in the middle marsh zones. The abundance of Cuscuta was positively correlated with the abundance of Limonium californicum at two sampling scales (0.25— and ≈\approx40—m² quadrats). Sampling at the scale of individual plants indicated that the dominant plant in the marsh, Salicornia virginica, was preferred by Cuscuta as a host over Arthrocnemum subterminale, Limonium californicum, and Frankenia salina. This result was confirmed with host—choice experiments in the field. Based on spatial …

Morphometry Of Juvenile And Subadult Loligo Pealei And L. Plei From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Guillermo Sánchez, Harriet M. Perry, Christine B. Trigg, Michael Vecchione, Clyde Roper, Patricia M. Biesot

Faculty Publications

Two species of Loligo are abundant in northern Gulf waters: the long-finned squid, Loligo pealei. and the arrow squid, Loligo plei. Variability within species and similarities between the species often hamper accurate identification. The two species more closely resemble each other in areas of sympatry. and there is overlap in almost all of the diagnostic characters. Small specimens of Loligo are not easily identified. and there are few studies detailing their morphometry. Because of the taxonomic uncertainties associated with the identification of juveniles and subadults of L. pealei and L. plei, the species were differentiated by isoelectric …

Abundant Protein-Containing Particles In The Sea, Richard A. Long, Farooq Azam

Faculty Publications

The interaction of bacteria with particulate organic matter has implications for organic matter cycling and bacterial ecology in the ocean. Until recently, the focus has been on 'classical' particles visible by unaided eye (marine snow) or light microscopy. Recent discoveries of several new types of abundant particles, from sub-micrometer to sub-marine snow, are changing our ideas of the physical and chemical nature of the particle field with which pelagic bacteria interact. Previous workers have discovered polysaccharide-containing (Alcian Blue stainable) transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) ranging from 3 to 100s of micrometers. Looking for additional components of the sub-marine snow particle field, …

Settlement And Early Post-Settlement Survival Of Sessile Marine Invertebrates On Topographically Complex Surfaces: The Importance Of Refuge Dimensions And Adult Morphology, Linda J. Walters, David S. Wethey

Faculty Publications

We predicted that both refuge dimension and growth form would influence settlement and short-term post-settlement success (≤7 d) of sessile marine invertebrates that live attached to hard substrata in low energy environments. Individuals with unlimited attachment to the substrata should rapidly be protected by their growth form, thus decreasing their need to settle in refuges and limiting the length of time any locations on heterogeneous substrata act as refuges. Alternatively, organisms with limited attachment to the substrata should remain susceptible to the causes of mortality for a longer time, and as a result should settle in high quality refuges (sites …

Offshore Constitutional Settlement 1995, H. G. Brayford, G. E. Lyon

Fisheries management papers

The Offshore Constitutional Settlement OCS is a legal arrangement between the Commonwealth and State Governments, and defines control over the fisheries which operate off each State of Australia. For the Western Australian coast, the first set of arrangements took effect in 1987. The OCS of 1995 specifies five arrangements, under which the fisheries inside the 200 nautical mile approximately 370 km limit of the Australian Fishing Zone AFZ come under either State, Commonwealth, or joint control.

Temperature-Driven Variation In Substrate Oxygenation And The Balance Of Competition And Facilitation, Ragan M. Callaway, Leah King

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Emergent wetland plants often alleviate the effects of anaerobic soils on root respiration by passively transporting oxygen belowground through continuous air spaces (aerenchyma) in leaves and roots. Oxygen leaked from the roots into the rhizosphere may oxidize minerals in the soil or become available to other plants. Some spatial patterns in marsh plant communities suggest interspecific facilitative interactions, but there is little experimental evidence for interplant facilitation via soil oxygenation. We investigated the capability of the widespread, highly aerenchymous wetland plant, Typa latifolia, to aerate sediments and affect the growth of two non—aerenchymous neighbors, Salix exigua and Myosotis laxa, both …

Analysis Of Linear Plasmid Dimers In Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato Isolates: Implications Concerning The Potential Mechanism Of Linear Plasmid Replication, Richard T. Marconi, Sherwood Casjens, Ulrike G. Munderloh, D. Scott Samuels

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Borrelia genome is composed of a linear chromosome and a number of variable circular and linear plasmids. Atypically large linear plasmids of 92 to 105 kb have been identified in several Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates and characterized. These plasmids carry the p27 and ospAB genes, which in other isolates reside on a 50-kb plasmid. Here we demonstrate that these plasmids are dimers of the 50-kb ospAB plasmid (pAB50). The 94-kb plasmid from isolate VS116, pVS94, was an exception and did not hybridize with any plasmid gene probes. When this plasmid was used as a probe, homologous sequences in …

Red-Breasted Mergansers, Mergus Serrator, Nesting In Southern Texas, Jeffery R. Rupert, Timothy Brush

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Two Erroneous, Commonly Cited Examples Of "Swordfish" Piercing Wooden Ships, Harry L. Fierstine, Oliver Crimmen

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Reconnecting The Sciences, John Eggebrecht, Raymond Dagenais, Don Dosch, Norman J. Merczak, Margaret N. Park, Susan C. Styer, David Workman

Faculty Publications & Research

During the last three years at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, we have been working on a partial reconstruction of Whitehead's "one subject matter," a course reconnecting biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, and physics into an Integrated Science program.

Reversal Of Cell Fate Determination In Caenorhabditis Elegans Vulval Development, Susan Euling, Victor Ambros

Dartmouth Scholarship

In Caenorhabditis elegans, the fates of the multipotent vulval precursor cells (VPCs) are specified by intercellular signals, The VPCs divide in the third larval stage (L3) of the wild type, producing progeny of determined cell types, In lin-28 mutants, vulva development is similar to wild-type vulva development except that it occurs precociously, in the second larval stage (L2), Consequently, when lin-28 hermaphrodites temporarily arrest development at the end of L2 in the dauer larva stage, these otherwise determined VPC progeny become reprogrammed back to the multipotent, signal- sensitive state of VPCs. Our results indicate that VPC fate determination by intercellular …

Habitat Edge And Nest Predation In House Wrens, Daniel Moore '96

Honors Projects

I studied the effect of habitat edge on nest predation rates ina population of House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) which bred in nest boxes in central Illinois from 1986-1994. Each nest box was classified according to its distance from the nearest habitat edge, and edges were classified into either abrupt, gradual or riverine edge-types. Nest predation rates varied significantly annually for the the two major nest predator classes, apparent avian and snake, and Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Neither predator class showed significant differences in nest predation rates in relation to distance from the nearest edge. There was no significant effect of edge-type …

Immunolesions Using Site Specific Injections Of 192-Lgg Saporin Into The Basal Forebrain Fail To Affect Radial Arm Maze Performance In The Male Rat, Lesley J. Hickman '96

Honors Projects

In this study I investigated the effects of 192-lgG saporin injections into the medial septal area.(MSA) and nucleus basalis magnocel/ularis (NBM) on radial arm maze performance in the male rat. The results of the present study reveal that combined injections of 192-lgG saporin into the basal forebrain failed to disrupt RAM performance when compared to vehicle-injected controls. In addition, intraperitoneal injections using a muscarinic receptor blocker, scopolamine, failed to reveal a compensatory response of the cholinergic basal forebrain that may have explained the lack of behavioral effects of 192IgG saporin. Consequently, the results of this study suggest that a selective …

Estrogen Levels In House Wren (Troglodytes Aedon) Egg Yolks, V. Brook Waggoner '96

Honors Projects

Estrogen, when present in early embryonic development, regulates sexual differentiation in the avian nestling and adult. In this study, I developed a procedure to extract and quantify levels (by radioimmunoassay) of the estrogen, 17[beta]-estradiol, in house wren (Troglodytes aedon) egg yolk. Levels of 17[beta]-estradiol found in one clutch of eggs increased with the order of laying, indicating female house wrens may be capable of regulating the levels of 17[beta]-estradiol received by the offspring. Since the attraction of mates is often aided by the display of sex differences, maternal control of 17[beta]-estradiol levels in the embryo may influence the future reproductive …

Radioimmunoassay Analysis Of Testosterone Levels In Clutches Of House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon) Egg Yolks, Kimberly A. Fryzel '96

Honors Projects

Recent evidence indicates that variation in intensity of aggressiveness and competitive ability among nestlings of a clutch may be attributed, at least partly, to differences in maternally deposited yolk testosterone that affects embryonic development (Schwabl 1993). We developed a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for measuring yolk testosterone levels in house wren (Troglodytes aedon) eggs. This procedure was used in initial studies to determine whether yolk testosterone varies within a clutch of house wren eggs. The analysis revealed the presence of higher levels of testosterone in yolks of eggs laid later in the clutch sequence. Because later laid eggs tend to hatch later …

Coordinate Cell Cycle Control Of A Caulobacter Dna Methyltransferase And The Flagellar Genetic Hierarchy, Craig Stephens, Gary Zweiger, Lucy Shapiro

Biology

The expression of the Caulobacter ccrM gene and the activity of its product, the M.Ccr II DNA methyltransferase, are limited to a discrete portion of the cell cycle (G. Zweiger, G. Marczynski, and L. Shapiro, J. Mol. Biol. 235:472-485, 1994). Temporal control of DNA methylation has been shown to be critical for normal development in the dimorphic Caulobacter life cycle. To understand the mechanism by which ccrM expression is regulated during the cell cycle, we have identified and characterized the ccrM promoter region. We have found that it belongs to an unusual promoter family used by several Caulobacter class II …

The Competition Of Pityopsis Ruthii With Liatris Microcephala And Andropogon Temarius, Helen Lee

Senior Research Projects

Pityopsis ruthii (Small) Small, currently listed as an endangered species by the State of Tennessee and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is a perennial plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. The distribution of P. ruthii is limited to soil that has accumulated in cracks and crevices of phyllite or graywacke boulders along the Ocoee and Hiwassee Rivers. Analysis of both the soil and the boulders indicate neither the absence nor the presence of any unusual nutrient. P. ruthii is most likely restricted to this habitat mainly because of its inability to compete with other more vigorously growing associates. The …

Dna Representation Of Variegating Heterochromatic P-Element Inserts In Diploid And Polytene Tissues Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Lori L. Wallrath, Vamsi P. Guntur, L Rosman, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Position-effect variegation (PEV) is the mosaic expression of a euchromatic gene brought into juxtaposition with heterochromatin. Fourteen different transformed Drosophila melanogaster lines with variegating P-element inserts were used to examine the DNA levels of these transgenes. Insert sites include pericentric, telomeric and fourth chromosome regions. Southern blot analyses showed that the heterochromatic hsp26 transgenes are underrepresented 1.3- to 33-fold in polytene tissue relative to the endogenous euchromatic hsp26 gene. In contrast, the heterochromatic hsp26 transgenes are present in approximately the same copy number as the endogenous euchromatic hsp26 gene in diploid tissue. It appears unlikely that DNA loss could account …

Heterochromatin And Gene Regulation In Drosophila, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

We have recently learned more about the biochemistry of heterochromatin and about how heterochromatic environments affect gene function. New findings have emphasized the distinctions between telomeric and pericentric heterochromatin in Drosophila and have suggested a mosaic structure within pericentric heterochromatin. Theories concerning the mechanism of inactivation of euchromatic genes in heterochromatic environments have been tested using transgenes inserted into heterochromatin. The current data support a competition/chromatin structure model, in which multiprotein repressor complexes compete with transcriptional activators to assemble an active or inactive chromatin structure.

Mioc Transcription, Initiation Of Replication, And The Eclipse In Escherichia Coli, Joseph A. Bogan, Charles E. Helmstetter

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

The potential role of mioC transcription as a negative regulator of initiation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli was evaluated. When initiation was aligned by a shift of dnaC2(Ts) mutants to nonpermissive temperature (40°C), mioC transcript levels measured at the 5' end or reading through oriC disappeared within one mass doubling. Upon return to permissive temperature (30°C), the transcripts reappeared coordinately about 15 min after the first synchronized initiation and then declined sharply again 10 min later, just before the second initiation. Although these observations were consistent with the idea that mioC transcription might have to be terminated prior to …

Effects Of High-Molecular-Weight Dissolved Organic Matter On Nitrogen Dynamics In The Mississippi River Plume, Wayne S. Gardner, Ronald Benner, Rainer M.W. Amon, James B. Cotner Jr., Joann F. Cavaletto, Jeffrey R. Johnson

Faculty Publications

The dynamics of N and its interactions with labile dissolved organic C (DOC), bacteria, and phytoplankton were studied to determine potential effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and light on N dynamics in surface waters of the Mississippi River (USA) plume in the Gulf of Mexico. Bacterial uptake of added labeled N compounds ( ¹⁵NH₄⁺ or ¹⁵N-labeled dissolved free amino acids. DFAA) was stimulated more by high-molecular-weight (HMW, >l kDa) DOM than by low-molecular-weight (LMW, < l kDa) DOM. An index that inversely indicated the presence of labile DOC was defined as the fraction of assimilated Amino acid-¹⁵N that was Recovered as ¹⁵N -Ammonium (ANRA), following the additions of high-levels (4 µM) of ¹⁵N -DFAA. …

Mutagenicity Of Acridines In A Reversion Assay Based On Tetracycline Resistance In Plasmid Pbr322 In Escherichia Coli, George R. Hoffman, Suzanne M. Deschênes, Teresa Manyin, Robert P. P. Fuchs

Biology Faculty Publications

The mutagenicity of a series of acridine compounds was studied in an assay based on the reversion of mutations in the tetracycline-resistance gene (tet) of plasmid pBR322 in Escherichia coli. Mutations that restore the tetracycline-resistant phenotype were detected in tetracycline-sensitive strains carrying mutant plasmids. Mutations that revert by +2, +1, −1, and −2 frameshift mutations and by base-pair substitutions were used to analyze the mutagenicity of two simple acridines, two acridine mustards, and a nitroacridine. The simple acridines (9-aminoacridine and quinacrine) effectively induced −1 frameshifts and weakly induced +1 frameshifts. The acridine mustards (quinacrine mustard and ICR-191) …

Genetic Variation In Latent Period Among Isolates Of Puccinia Recondita F. Sp. Tritici On Partially Resistant Wheat Cultivars, Jeffrey Lehman

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The durability of partially resistant wheat cultivars to wheat leaf rust depends on the amount of genetic variation in parasitic fitness within populations of the pathogen Pucciniareconditaf. sp.tritici. To assess the durability ofpanialresistance, phenotypic variation inlatentperiod (a major component of parasitic fitness) was quantified and partitioned into genetic and nongenetic components for isolates of P.reconditaf. sp.triticion susceptible and partially resistant cultivars. Latent periods among isolates differed by 24 to 27% on individual partially resistant cultivars. In simulated epidemics, isolates with short latent periods caused 2 to 2.5 times more disease and overcame 13 to 35% of the

resistance of four …

Same Fish - Different Rules - Proceedings Of The National Fisheries Management Network Workshop Held As Part Of The Third Australasian Fisheries Managers Conference August 1995, F. B. Prokop

Fisheries management papers

This workshop represents the third time that a specific recreational fisheries workshop has been held in conjunction with the Australasian Fisheries Managers Conference. It is designed to analyse the different management approaches from the various fisheries agencies which have responsibility for selected species. The case studies that make up the workshop have been selected to represent the diversity of situations including freshwater, marine, pelagic and invertebrate species.

Fishermen's Views On The Future Management Of The Rock Lobster Fishery: A Report Prepared On Behalf Of The Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee, The Marketing Centre, Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee

Fisheries management papers

In June 1995, a self-completion survey of fishermen in the rock lobster fishery was sent out by The Marketing Centre to 589 licensees. A total of 206 valid responses were received. The questionnaire was fairly long and dealt with a number of complex issues. As such, this response rate of 36.0% compares favorably with the average for postal surveys of around 40.0%. The following represents the main findings from the survey.