Biology Commons^™

Cruise Data For Neuston Net And Paired Bongo Net Tows From 48 Stations In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico From R/V Blazing Seven Cruises Lf2015a And Lf2015b June 2015 And July 2015, Jay R. Rooker, R.J. David Wells

DEEPEND Datasets

Shelf and slope waters in the Deep Water Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) area are known to serve as critical spawning, nursery, and foraging habitat of several important oceanic species including billfishes (e.g. blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish), tunas (bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna), and other pelagic taxa (swordfish, dolphinfishes). The aim of this component was to further investigate potential ecological effects of the DWHOS on pelagic fishes during the early life period. Larval fishes were sampled from 48 stations in the northern Gulf of Mexico and cruise data was collected at each site including latitude/longitude, date, time and environmental data (sea …

Mitochondria Mediate Cell Membrane Repair And Contribute To Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy., Maria C Vila, Sree Rayavarapu, Marshall W Hogarth, Jack H Van Der Meulen, Adam Horn, Aurelia Defour, Shin'ichi Takeda, Kristy J. Brown, Yetrib Hathout, Kanneboyina Nagaraju, Jyoti K. Jaiswal

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

Dystrophin deficiency is the genetic basis for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but the cellular basis of progressive myofiber death in DMD is not fully understood. Using two dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse models, we find that the mitochondrial dysfunction is among the earliest cellular deficits of mdx muscles. Mitochondria in dystrophic myofibers also respond poorly to sarcolemmal injury. These mitochondrial deficits reduce the ability of dystrophic muscle cell membranes to repair and are associated with a compensatory increase in dysferlin-mediated membrane repair proteins. Dysferlin deficit in mdx mice further compromises myofiber cell membrane repair and enhances the muscle pathology at an asymptomatic …

Contribution Of Pentose Catabolism To Molecular Hydrogen Formation By Targeted Disruption Of Arabinose Isomerase (Araa) In The Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Thermotoga Maritima, Derrick White, Raghuveer Singh, Deepak Rudrappa, Jackie Mateo, Levi Kramer, Laura Freese, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Thermotoga maritima ferments a broad range of sugars to form acetate, carbon dioxide, traces of lactate, and near theoretic yields of molecular hydrogen (H₂). In this organism, the catabolism of pentose sugars such as arabinose depends on the interaction of the pentose phosphate pathway with the Embden-Myerhoff and Entner-Doudoroff pathways. Although the values for H₂ yield have been determined using pentose-supplemented complex medium and predicted by metabolic pathway reconstruction, the actual effect of pathway elimination on hydrogen production has not been reported due to the lack of a genetic method for the creation of targeted mutations. Here, …

Replacement Of Fishmeal With Processed Meal From Knife Fish Chitala Ornata In Diets Of Juvenile Nile Tilapia Oreochromis Niloticus, Janice A. Ragaza, Sherilyn T. Abarra, Stephanie F. Velasquez, Kristina Daniela D.C. Guzman, Jaime Lorenzo F. Felipe, Melchor Tayamen

Biology Faculty Publications

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to assess the effects of processed meal from knife fish Chitala ornata (KFM) as fishmeal replacement in diets of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus juveniles. Five iso-nitrogenous (36.4% in dry matter) and isolipidic diets (8.6% in dry matter) with 0 (D1), 25 (D2), 50 (D3), 75 (D4) and 100% (D5) KFM inclusions were prepared. With a stocking density of 15 fish (0.59 ± 0.01 g) per tank, tilapia juveniles were distributed randomly in fifteen 30-L tanks. Results indicate a significant increase (P < 0.05) in the percent average weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed …

Responses Of King Penguin Aptenodytes Patagonicus Adults And Chicks To Two Food-Related Odours, Gregory B. Cunningham, Sarah Leclaire, Camille Toscani, Francesco Bonadonna

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

Increasing evidence suggests that penguins are sensitive to dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a scented airborne compound that a variety of marine animals use to find productive areas of the ocean where prey is likely to be found. Here we present data showing that king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus are also sensitive to DMS. We deployed DMS on a lake near a king penguin colony at Ratmanoff beach in the Kerguelen archipelago. We also presented DMS to ‘sleeping’ adults on the beach. On the lake, penguins responded to the DMS deployments by swimming more, while on the beach, penguins twitched their heads and …

Do The Shuffle: Changes In Symbiodinium Consortia Throughout Juvenile Coral Development, Hannah G. Reich, Deborah L. Robertson, Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley

Biology

Previous studies of symbiotic associations between scleractinians corals and Symbiodinium have demonstrated that the consortium of symbionts can change in response to environmental conditions. However, less is known about symbiont shuffling during early coral development, particularly in brooding species. This study examined whether Symbiodinium consortia (1) varied in Porites astreoides on shallow (10m) and upper mesophotic (30m) reefs, (2) changed during coral development, and (3) influenced growth of juveniles in different environments. Symbiodinium ITS2 sequences were amplified using universal primers and analyzed using phylotype-specific primers designed for phylotypes A, B, and C. Adults from both depths were found to host …

Mitochondrial Dna Analysis Of Eneolithic Trypillians From Ukraine Reveals Neolithic Farming Genetic Roots, Alexey Nikitin, Inna Potekhina, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Malcolm Lillie

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

The agricultural revolution in Eastern Europe began in the Eneolithic with the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture complex. In Ukraine, the Trypillian culture (TC) existed for over two millennia (ca. 5,400±2,700 BCE) and left a wealth of artifacts. Yet, their burial rituals remain a mystery and to date almost nothing is known about the genetic composition of the TC population. One of the very few TC sites where human remains can be found is a cave called Verteba in western Ukraine. This report presents four partial and four complete mitochondrial genomes from nine TC individuals uncovered in the cave. The results of this …

Physiological Regulation And Efficient Xylem Water Transport Regulate Diurnal Water And Carbon Balances Of Tropical Lianas, Ya-Jun Chen, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Yongg-Jiang Zhang, Ze-Xin Fan, Guillermo Goldstein, Kyle W. Tomlinson, Hua Lin, Jiao-Lin Zhang, Kun-Fang Cao

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Gper/Gpr30, A Membrane Estrogen Receptor, Is Expressed In The Brain And Retina Of A Social Fish (Carassius Auratus) And Colocalizes With Isotocin, Lisa A. Mangiamele, Julia R. Gomez, Nancy J. Curtis, Richmond R. Thompson

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Estradiol rapidly (within 30 minutes) influences a variety of sociosexual behaviors in both mammalian and nonmammalian vertebrates, including goldfish, in which it rapidly stimulates approach responses to the visual cues of females. Such rapid neuromodulatory effects are likely mediated via membrane-associated estrogen receptors; however, the localization and distribution of such receptors within the nervous system is not well described. To begin to address this gap, we identified GPER/GPR30, a G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor, in goldfish (Carassius auratus) neural tissue and used reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization to test if GPR30 is expressed in the brain regions that …

Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of The Drosophila Anterior Determinant, Bicoid, John Mclaughlin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a wide variety of biological contexts, messenger RNA (mRNA) is known to have a complex and dynamic life cycle. In particular, the localization and translational control of mRNA are essential for proper development in eukaryotes. The fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model for studying these processes. During D. melanogaster oogenesis, several mRNAs are trafficked and localized within the developing egg chamber, and regulated at the translational level to enable embryo patterning. One such mRNA, bicoid, is localized at the anterior of the oocyte and translated in the early embryo, where its encoded protein directs formation of the fly's …

Migratory And Winter Activity Of Bats In Yellowstone National Park, Joseph S. Johnson, John J. Treanor, Michael J. Lacki, Michael D. Baker, Greg A. Falxa, Luke E. Dodd, Austin G. Waag, Elijah H. Lee

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

A substantial body of work exists describing timing of migration and hibernation among bats in eastern North America, but less is known about these events among bats inhabiting the Rocky Mountain region. Yellowstone National Park is a geothermally influenced landscape comprised of diverse habitats, creating the opportunity for unique behaviors to develop among local bat populations. We identified the timing of migration for the local bat community and determined if bats overwinter in Yellowstone. To accomplish this, we radiotracked 7 little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), 5 western long-eared myotis (M. evotis), 4 big brown bats ( …

The Diet Of The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon Kentucki) In An Old Growth Forest Of Southeastern Kentucky, Jacob M. Hutton, Steven J. Price, Stephen C. Richter

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Terrestrial lungless salamanders are known to reach very high densities in forested ecosystems of the United States.

They can be important for the top down regulation of invertebrates

Diets of 57% (31 of 54) Plethodon salamanders are still poorly known

The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) is a large plethodontid common in the Central Appalachians, however, its diet is only known from West Virginia

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18118.47682

The Gep: Crowd-Sourcing Big Data Analysis With Undergraduates, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Charles Hauser, Teresa Holzen, Christopher Jones, Adam Kleinschmit, Judith Leatherman

Biology Faculty Research

The era of 'big data' is also the era of abundant data, creating new opportunities for student-scientist research partnerships. By coordinating undergraduate efforts, the Genomics Education Partnership produces high-quality annotated data sets and analyses that could not be generated otherwise, leading to scientific publications while providing many students with research experience. Keywords: CURE (course-based undergraduate research experience); bioinformatics; crowd-sourcing science; science education; undergraduate research.

A Model Of The Use Of Evolutionary Trees (Muet) To Inform K-14 Biology Education, Yi Kong, Ankita Thawani, Trevor R. Anderson, Nancy Pelaez

PIBERG Publications

Evolutionary trees are powerful tools used in modern biological research, and also commonly used in textbooks and classroom instruction. Studies have shown that K-14 students have difficulties interpreting evolutionary trees. To improve student learning about this topic, it is essential to teach them how to understand and use trees like professional biologists. Unfortunately, few currently used teaching frameworks for evolution instruction are designed for this purpose. In this study we developed the Model of the Use of Evolutionary Trees (MUET), a conceptual model that characterizes how evolutionary trees were used by professional biologists as represented in their research publications. The …

Amoebozoans Are Secretly But Ancestrally Sexual: Evidence For Sex Genes And Potential Novel Crossover Pathways In Diverse Groups Of Amoebae, Yonas I. Tekle, Fiona C. Wood, Laura A. Katz, Mario A. Cero ́ N-Romero, Lydia A. Gorfu

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sex is beneficial in eukaryotes as it can increase genetic diversity, reshuffle their genomes, and purge deleterious mutations. Yet, its evolution remains a mystery. The eukaryotic clade supergroup Amoebozoa encompasses diverse lineages of polymorphic amoeboid forms, including both free-living and parasitic lineages. The group is generally believed to be asexual, though recent studies show that some of its members are implicated in cryptic forms of sexual cycles. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive inventory and analysis of genes involved in meiosis and related processes, in order to investigate the evolutionary history of sex in the clade. We analyzed genomic …

Body Size And Symbiotic Status Influence Gonad Development In Aiptasia Pallida Anemones, Judith F. Carlisle, Grant K. Murphy, Alison M. Roark

Biology Publications

Pale anemones (Aiptasia pallida) coexist with dinoflagellates (primarily Symbiodinium minutum) in a mutualistic relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of these symbionts in gonad development of anemone hosts. Symbiotic and aposymbiotic anemones were subjected to light cycles that induced gametogenesis. These anemones were then sampled weekly for nine weeks, and gonad development was analyzed histologically. Anemone size was measured as mean body column diameter, and oocytes or sperm follicles were counted for each anemone. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the influence of body size and symbiotic status on whether gonads …

Phylogenetic Patterns And The Adaptive Evolution Of Osmoregulation In Fiddler Crabs (Brachyura, Uca), Samuel Coelho Faria, Diogo Borges Provete, Carl Leo Thurman, John Campbell Mcnamara

Faculty Work

Salinity is the primary driver of osmoregulatory evolution in decapods, and may have influenced their diversification into different osmotic niches. In semi-terrestrial crabs, hyperosmoregulatory ability favors sojourns into burrows and dilute media, and provides a safeguard against hemolymph dilution; hypo-osmoregulatory ability underlies emersion capability and a life more removed from water sources. However, most comparative studies have neglected the roles of the phylogenetic and environmental components of inter-specific physiological variation, hindering evaluation of phylogenetic patterns and the adaptive nature of osmoregulatory evolution. Semi-terrestrial fiddler crabs (Uca) inhabit fresh to hyper-saline waters, with species from the Americas occupying higher …

Physical Mechanisms And Biological Consequences Of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Modulation By Fhf Proteins, Yue Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Purpose: FHFs are cytosolic proteins that bind to voltage-gated sodium channels (Na_Vs) and modulate their functions to control membrane excitability. FHFs raise the voltage dependence of Na_V fast inactivation to promote excitability, while A isoforms FHF (A-FHFs) also capture open sodium channels into a long-term inactivated (LTI) state to limit excitability. My research has addressed how FHFs balance membrane excitability as it relates to normal and pathological brain functions. Part of this work stemmed from the discovery of a missense FHF1 mutation in patients with severe early onset epilepsy. Methods and Results: Wild-type FHF1A and FHF1B were …

Yeast Pro- And Paraprobiotics Have The Capability To Bind Pathogenic Bacteria Associated With Animal Disease, Gabriel A. Posadas, Paul R. Broadway, Justin A. Thornton, Jeffery A. Carroll, Amanda Lawrence, Jimmie R. Corley, Amber Thompson, Janet R. Donaldson

Faculty Publications

Live yeast probiotics and yeast cell wall components (paraprobiotics) may serve as an alternative to the use of antibiotics in prevention and treatment of infections caused by pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics and paraprobiotics can bind directly to pathogens, which limits binding of the pathogens to the intestinal cells and also facilitates removal from the host. However, knowledge of bacterial binding, specificity, and/or capability is limited with regard to probiotics or paraprobiotics. The goal of this study was to characterize the qualitative and quantitative nature of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae probiotics and three S. cerevisiae paraprobiotics to adhere to thirteen different pathogenic bacteria …

The Lower Actinopterygian Fauna From The Lower Carboniferous Albert Shale Formation Of New Brunswick, Canada – A Review Of Previously Described Taxa And A Description Of A New Genus And Species, Kathryn E. Mickle

College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers

The Lower Carboniferous Albert shale formation of New Brunswick, Canada, is well-known for the preservation of countless articulated lower actinopterygian palaeoniscoid fishes. This site is at the boundary between the Devonian and the Lower Carboniferous, making the lower actinopterygians preserved at this site important. The taxonomic history of previously described Albert shale formation actinopterygians is reviewed here. Many of the earliest described actinopterygian taxa from the Albert Formation are represented by poorly preserved type specimens and have the distinction of being moved from one paraphyletic genus to another paraphyletic genus. While these taxa are in need of major redescriptions, such …

Otolith Morphologies In The Genus Sinocyclocheilus, Iqra Iqbal

Theses

Sinocyclocheilus is a genus of Cyprinid fish found in southern China. This genus contains 68 species of which 40 species have adaptations for life in cave habitats. A common adaptation seen in fish that live in caves with no light is the loss of vision. Such cavefish must therefore rely on other sensory modalities to capture prey, communicate between conspecifics, and potentially avoid predators. Previous studies have identified sensory adaptations in cavefish, including the increase in size and number of mechanoreceptors. Sinocyclocheilus are hearing specialists, and it is possible that cave species of this genus have increased reliance on hearing …

Changes In Morphology During The Development Of The Horn And Hump Of The Chinese Cavefish Sinocyclocheillus Furcodorsalis, Michelle Pluviose

Theses

The genus Sinocyclocheilus endemic to southern China and contains many cavefish species. There are approximately sixty species, of which roughly forty are cave-adapted. Cave Sinocyclocheilus are characterized not only by lack of pigmentation and eyes depending on the species, but also by a unique prominent horn on the top of the skull and dorsal hump rostral under the dorsal fin. The horn and the hump are generally considered troglomorphic characteristics, although their functions are still elusive. Here, the development of these distinctive structures in the species, S. furcodorsalis, was examined by using micro CT scans. The horn of the …

Effects Of Litter On Seedling Emergence And Seed Persistence Of Three Common Species On The Loess Plateau In Northwestern China, Rui Zhang, Xiaowen Hu, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Yanrong Wang

Biology Faculty Publications

Litter accumulation resulting from land use change (enclosure) is one of the key variables influencing seedling recruitment and consequently the regeneration of plant populations and seed persistence in the soil seed bank. A better understanding of the effects of litter on seed germination and seedling emergence is crucial for developing a new set of indicators for grassland ecosystem health and for grassland management policy. We investigated the effects of seed position in litter and amount of litter covering the seed on seedling emergence and seed persistence of three common species on the Loess Plateau in northwestern China. Seed position beneath …

Identification Of Mutant Genes And Introgressed Tiger Salamander Dna In The Laboratory Axolotl, Ambystoma Mexicanum, M. Ryan Woodcock, Jennifer Vaughn-Wolfe, Alexandra Elias, David Kevin Kump, Katharina Denise Kendall, Nataliya Y. Timoshevskaya, Vladimir A. Timoshevskiy, Dustin W. Perry, Jeramiah James Smith, Jessica E. Spiewak, David M. Parichy, Stephen Randal Voss

Biology Faculty Publications

The molecular genetic toolkit of the Mexican axolotl, a classic model organism, has matured to the point where it is now possible to identify genes for mutant phenotypes. We used a positional cloning–candidate gene approach to identify molecular bases for two historic axolotl pigment phenotypes: white and albino. White (d/d) mutants have defects in pigment cell morphogenesis and differentiation, whereas albino (a/a) mutants lack melanin. We identified in white mutants a transcriptional defect in endothelin 3 (edn3), encoding a peptide factor that promotes pigment cell migration and differentiation in other …

Analysis For Science Librarians Of The 2016 Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine: The Life And Work Of Yoshinori Ohsumi, Neyda Gilman

Library Scholarship

Autophagy is a cellular process of destruction and recycling. Cellular materials are broken down and recycled as needed, providing the body a way to remove unwanted material while also providing the means to create new needed items. The importance of this process and its possible role in numerous diseases is why Yoshinori Ohsumi has been awarded a 2016 Noble Prize. Ohsumi has been awarded the 2016 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine for his “discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy and thus paving the way for the exciting field of autophagy research” (Nobelprize.org “Press release: The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or …

Comparative Transcriptomics Of Elasmobranchs And Teleosts Highlight Important Processes In Adaptive Immunity And Regional Endothermy, Nicholas J. Marra, Vincent P. Richards, Angela Early, Steve M. Bogdanowicz, Paulina D. Pavinski Bitar, Michael J. Stanhope, Mahmood S. Shivji

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: Comparative genomic and/or transcriptomic analyses involving elasmobranchs remain limited, with genome level comparisons of the elasmobranch immune system to that of higher vertebrates, non-existent. This paper reports a comparative RNA-seq analysis of heart tissue from seven species, including four elasmobranchs and three teleosts, focusing on immunity, but concomitantly seeking to identify genetic similarities shared by the two lamnid sharks and the single billfish in our study, which could be linked to convergent evolution of regional endothermy.

Results: Across seven species, we identified an average of 10,877 Swiss-Prot annotated genes from an average of 32,474 open reading frames within each …

Mechanisms Of Ikbke Activation In Cancer, Sridevi Challa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the USA and it is expected to surpass heart diseases making it important to understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer. The efforts to target single signaling molecule showed little success in increasing the patient survival and it can be due to increased compensation for cell survival by alternative pathway activations. Hence comprehensive understanding of the alternative signaling pathways may help us treat cancer better. Chronic inflammation is attributed to increased risk of cancer and emerging studies show the growing importance of both canonical and non-canonical IκB kinases such as IKKα, IKKβ, …

Seed Dormancy-Breaking In A Cold Desert Shrub In Relation To Sand Temperature And Moisture, Huiliang Liu, Buhailiqiemu Abudureheman, Lingwei Zhang, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Daoyuan Zhang

Biology Faculty Publications

Seasonal periodicity of seed germination and its relationship to seasonal changes in temperature and soil moisture have been well studied in seeds of species with physiological dormancy. However, relatively little information is available on the role of these environmental factors in controlling germination of seeds with physical dormancy (PY). Our primary aim was to determine if seeds of the cold desert sand dune semi-shrub Eremosparton songoricum exhibits seasonal periodicity of seed germination and the relationship between seed dormancy break and soil temperature and moisture. In the laboratory, seeds incubated on dry, wet, wet-dry and dry-wet sand were exposed to a …

Staph Bacteria From First Breath The Interweaving Of The Nasal Microbiome With The Intricate And Complex Nose, Alan L. Gillen

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many microbes live in a mutualistic relationship with the human body, make up the human microbiome, and play a role in our health by stimulating and modulating the immune system. Man’s body is “covered” both inside and outside with millions of microbes that play a role in maintaining normal bodily functions and sustaining life in our changing world. The inner nose in the human body is colonized by millions of microbes during the first week of life. This internal colonization of the upper respiratory system is termed our nasal microbiome. Though we cannot see it, this microbiome is important for …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Biology, Spring 2017, Sandy Avila

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.