Biology Commons^™

Synthesis Of 8-Deoxypumiliotoxin 193h And 9-Deoxyhomopumiliotoxin 207o, Takuya Okada, Taiga Yamamoto, Daiki Kato, Masashi Kawasaki, Ralph Saporito, Naoki Toyooka,

2018 Faculty Bibliography

The asymmetric synthesis of 8-deoxypumiliotoxin 193H and 9-deoxyhomopumiliotoxin 207O has been achieved, starting from both enantiomers of (+)- and (−)-10. Enantiomerically pure alcohols (+)- and (−)-10 were obtained by lipase-mediated kinetic resolution of racemic 10, which was prepared in 3 steps from new lactam-type building block (−)-8 in a highly stereoselective manner.

Trichocolea Dumortier, 1822, Nom. Et Orth. Cons. (Jungermanniales, Bryophyta) Vs Trichocoleus Anagnostidis, 2001 (Synechococcales, Cyanophyta) And Trichocolaceae H.Nakai Vs Trichocolaceae, Michael D. Guiry, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Truc Mai

2018 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

The Molecular Chaperone Hsp90 Promotes Notch Signaling In The Germline Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, James L. Lissemore, Elyse Connors, Ying Liu, Li Qiao, Bing Yang, Mark L. Edgley, Stephane Flibotte, Jon Taylor, Vinci Au, Donald G. Moerman, Eleanor M. Maine

2018 Faculty Bibliography

In a genetic screen to identify genes that promote GLP-1/Notch signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells, we found a single mutation, om40, defining a gene called ego-3. ego-3(om40) causes several defects in the soma and the germline, including paralysis during larval development, sterility, delayed proliferation of germline stem cells, and ectopic germline stem cell proliferation. Whole genome sequencing identified om40 as an allele of hsp-90, previously known as daf-21, which encodes the C. elegans ortholog of the cytosolic form of HSP90. This protein is a molecular chaperone with a central position in the protein homeostasis network, which is responsible …

Comment On Amézquita Et Al. (2017) “Conspicuousness, Color Resemblance, And Toxicity In Geographically Diverging Mimicry: The Pan‐Amazonian Frog Allobates Femoralis ”, Ralph Saporito, Taran Grant

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Amézquita et al. (2017) recently concluded that species of the Allobates femoralis group are toxic to mice at levels equivalent to syntopic alkaloid‐containing poison frogs, which they attributed to the presence of alkaloids in skin secretions. However, the chemical composition of skin secretions was not analyzed, and here we present additional data supporting the absence of alkaloids in skin secretions of the Allobates femoralis group. Instead, we suggest the observed toxicity was caused by the anesthetic benzocaine, which was applied to the buccal cavity to euthanize frogs prior to skin removal. We show that orally administered benzocaine is rapidly incorporated …

Ontogenetic Colour Change In Oreophryne Ezra (Anura: Microhylidae) Reflects An Unusual Shift From Conspicuousness To Crypsis But Not In Toxicity, M. W. Bulbert, T. E. White, Ralph Saporito, F. Kraus

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Ontogenetic colour change (OCC) may signal a switch in defensive strategies across development. Commonly, juveniles use cryptic colours and transition to conspicuous coloration as adults. Extensive theoretical and empirical work suggest such a transition is more likely than the converse. Oreophryne ezra, a newly discovered frog from New Guinea, however, undergoes OCC that belies expectations. We investigated the notion juveniles are aposematic while the adults use crypsis. We quantified the extent of conspicuousness of O. ezra across life stages using spectrophotometry and models of avian vision; and analysed skin extracts for the presence of toxic alkaloids. As predicted, the juvenile …

Nunduva, A New Marine Genus Of Rivulariaceae (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) From Marine Rocky Shores, Laura Gonzales-Resendiz, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Luisa Alba-Lois, Claudia Segal–Kischinevzky, Viviana Escobar–Sánchez, Luis F. Jimenez Garcia4, Tomáš Hauer, Hilda León–Tejera

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Several populations of a non–tapering and tapering, fasciculated, single and geminate false branch- ing heterocytous cyanobacterium were collected from rocky shores in the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The populations were provisionally placed in Brasilonema based on morphology, but upon sequencing of both environmental and culture material it was discovered that the populations/cultures belonged to the Rivulariaceae, in a marine subclade of the family containing Kyrtuthrix huatulcensis. In culture, the taxon exhibited tapering in isopolar filaments, providing further evidence that it was a member of the rivulariacean clade. Based on molecular data for other cyanobacteria within the rivulariacean clade, …

Behavioural Preference For Low Levels Of Uv-B Radiation In Two Neotropical Frog Species From Costa Rica, Joseph A. Demarchi*, Andrew Britton**, Kaylee O'Donnell**, Ralph Saporito

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Tropical frogs experience damaging effects from exposure to UV-B radiation, and some diurnally active, con- spicuous species exhibit avoidance behaviours to high levels of UV-B. To determine if similar behaviours are present in

other diurnal frogs, we experimentally compared UV-B avoidance in two common species of neotropical diurnal frogs – Oophaga pumilio, an aposematic poison frog and Craugastor bransfordii, a cryptic leaf-litter frog – in response to different levels of UV-B. Wild-caught frogs were tested in experimental arenas fitted with filters that permitted two different levels of UV-B (low: 14% vs. high: 84% UV-B). Both species spent significantly more time …

Male Mate Preference As An Agent Of Fecundity Selection In A Polymorphic Salamander, Kortney E. Jaworski, Matthew S. Lattanzio, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Carl D. Anthony

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Color polymorphisms are associated with variation in other traits which may affect individual fitness, and these color‐trait associations are expected to contribute to nonrandom mating in polymorphic species. The red‐backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) exhibits a polymorphism in dorsal pattern: striped and unstriped, and previous studies have suggested that they may mate nonrandomly. However, the mechanism(s) contributing to this behavior remain unclear. Here we consider the role that male preference may have in driving mating behavior in P. cinereus. We limit our focus to striped individuals because this morph is most likely to be choosy given their dominant, aggressive behavioral profiles …

Sequestered Alkaloid Defenses In The Dendrobatid Poison Frog Oophaga Pumilio Provide Variable Protection From Microbial Pathogens, K. J. Hovey, E. M. Seiter, Erin E. Johnson, Ralph Saporito

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Most amphibians produce their own defensive chemicals; however, poison frogs sequester their alkaloid-based defenses from dietary arthropods. Alkaloids function as a defense against predators, and certain types appear to inhibit microbial growth. Alkaloid defenses vary considerably among populations of poison frogs, reflecting geographic differences in availability of dietary arthropods. Consequently, environmentally driven differences in frog defenses may have significant implications regarding their protection against pathogens. While natural alkaloid mixtures in dendrobatid poison frogs have recently been shown to inhibit growth of non-pathogenic microbes, no studies have examined the effectiveness of alkaloids against microbes that infect these frogs. Herein, we examined …

An Empirical Test Indicates Only Qualitatively Honest Aposematic Signaling Within A Population Of Vertebrates, Adam M.M. Stuckert, Ralph Saporito, Kyle Summers

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Signaling is an important part of intraspecific and interspecific interactions. Theoretical work examining honest signaling in aposematic species (e.g., those with conspicuous colors and secondary defenses) has focused primarily on discerning the patterns between conspicuousness and defense within populations. Most empirical work, however, has investigated these patterns across populations or species. Here, we test for honest signaling across individuals within a population of the aposematic poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator. We find no evidence that increasing levels of the aposematic signal are correlated with increasing levels of defense in this species, indicating that our study population does not signal in a …

Molecular Characterization Of Geitleria Appalachiana Sp. Nov. (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) And Formation Of Geitleriaceae Fam. Nov., Chase Kilgore, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Truc Mai, Tomáš Hauer, Dale A. Casamata, Christopher Sheil

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Geitleria was described from a limestone cave in Israel, and subsequently reported from caves of France, Romania, Spain, Florida, Costa Rica, and Cook Islands. It is morphologically unusual in that it has true branching, but no heterocytes. A morphologically distinct species of Geitleria was recently collected from a limestone cave in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, and is herein described as G. appalachiana sp. nov. Sequence data for 16S rRNA and rpoC1 loci for the species were obtained from field material using single filament PCR. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Geitleria does not belong to any family in the Nostocales …

Chroakolemma Gen. Nov. (Leptolyngbyaceae, Cyanobacteria) From Soil Biocrusts In The Semi-Desert Central Region Of Mexico, Itzael Becerra-Absalon, Jeffrey R. Johansen, M. Angeles Munoz-Martin, Gustavo Montejano

2018 Faculty Bibliography

Twelve strains of Leptolyngbya-like filaments were isolated from biological soil crust samples from two localities in the Central Region of Mexico. The strains were morphologically distinguished from most Synechococcalean species by the obligate presence of a blackish sheath. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence placed all strains into a strongly supported single clade sister to Scytolyngbya. The genetic identity between our strains and all other Synechococcales, including Scytolyngbya, was less than 95%, and the strains were further distinguished by morphology and terrestrial ecology. The conserved domains of the 16S-23S ITS region had secondary structures distinct from all other …

Revision Of The Synechococcales (Cyanobacteria) Through Recognition Of Four Families Including Oculatellaceae Fam. Nov. And Trichocoleaceae Fam. Nov. And Six New Genera Containing 14 Species, Truc Mai, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Nicole Pietrasiak, Marketa Bohunicka, Michael P. Martin

2018 Faculty Bibliography

A total of 48 strains of thin, filamentous cyanobacteria in Synechococcales were studied by sequencing 16S rRNA and rpo C1 sequence fragments. We also carefully characterized a subset of these by morphology. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene data using Bayesian inference of a large Synechococcales alignment (345 OTU’s) was in agreement with the phylogeny based on the rpo C1 gene for 59 OTU’s. Both indicated that the large family-level grouping formerly classified as the Leptolyngbyaceae could be further divided into four family-level clades. Two of these family-level clades have been recognized previously as Leptolyngbyaceae and Prochlorotrichaceae. Oculatellaceae fam. …

Biodiversity Of Terrestrial Cyanobacteria Of The South Ural Region, Lira A. Gaysina, Markéta Bohunicka, Václava Hazukova, Jeffrey R. Johansen

2018 Faculty Bibliography

South Ural is a territory with a unique geographical position and heterogeneous natural conditions. Unexplored biodiversity of the terrestrial cyanobacteria of this territory is very high. We undertook a floristic study covering all botanical-geographical zones of the Bashkiria and Bredinskiy district of the Chelyabinsk region. In a total of 85 soil samples collected, 56 species of cyanobacteria were identified. The number of cyanobacteria was highest in the boreal-forest zone (39 species) and notably lower in the other zones (18, 29, and 24 species for broad-leaved forest, forest steppe and steppe regions, respectively). Leptolyngbya voronichiniana, Leptolyngbya foveolarum, cf. Trichocoleus hospitus, Pseudophormidium …