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Full-Text Articles in Genetics and Genomics

Open-Source Computational Framework For Studying Drosophila Behavioral Phase, Boyan Kostadinov, Hannah Lee Pettibone, Evardra Valerie Bell, Xiaona Zhou, Ausra Pranevicius, Orie Thomas Shafer, Maria Paz Fernandez Mar 2021

Open-Source Computational Framework For Studying Drosophila Behavioral Phase, Boyan Kostadinov, Hannah Lee Pettibone, Evardra Valerie Bell, Xiaona Zhou, Ausra Pranevicius, Orie Thomas Shafer, Maria Paz Fernandez

Publications and Research

This protocol describes a standardized method for analyzing Drosophila behavioral rhythmicity under light dark cycles, temperature ramps, and free running conditions. The protocol constitutes a step-by-step guide from generation of appropriate Drosophila genetic crosses to behavioral experiments. We also provide an opensource computational framework using R for the analysis of the phase of behavior using circular statistics. An extended method for complete use is also provided. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Fernandez et al. (2020).


Not Withering On The Evolutionary Vine: Systematic Revision Of The Brown Vine Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Oxybelis) From Its Northern Distribution, Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith, John C. Murphy Oct 2020

Not Withering On The Evolutionary Vine: Systematic Revision Of The Brown Vine Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Oxybelis) From Its Northern Distribution, Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith, John C. Murphy

Publications and Research

The genus Oxybelis currently is composed of four taxa despite numerous studies suggesting and describing multiple taxa within the O. aeneus complex. Here, we utilize a multilocus molecular dataset (i.e. cyt b, ND4, 12S, 16S, cmos, PRLR, 3663 bp) to conduct phylogenetic analyses to assess the evolutionary history of Oxybelis. Our molecular analyses find three major lineages of Oxybelis (i.e. O. aeneus complex, O. brevirostris, O. fulgidus complex) with a sister relationship between O. brevirostris and the O. aeneus complex to the exclusion of the O. fulgidus complex. More specifically, O. aeneus appears to harbor at least …


Phylogenetic Trees And Networks Can Serve As Powerful And Complementary Approaches For Analysis Of Genomic Data, Christopher Blair, Cécile Ané Aug 2019

Phylogenetic Trees And Networks Can Serve As Powerful And Complementary Approaches For Analysis Of Genomic Data, Christopher Blair, Cécile Ané

Publications and Research

Genomic data have had a profound impact on nearly every biological discipline. In systematics and phylogenetics, the thousands of loci that are now being sequenced can be analyzed under the multispecies coalescent model (MSC) to explicitly account for gene tree discordance due to incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). However, the MSC assumes no gene flow post divergence, calling for additional methods that can accommodate this limitation. Explicit phylogenetic network methods have emerged, which can simultaneously account for ILS and gene flow by representing evolutionary history as a directed acyclic graph. In this point-of-view we highlight some of the strengths and limitations …


The Transcriptome Of The Bermuda Fireworm Odontosyllis Enopla (Annelida: Syllidae): A Unique Luciferase Gene Family And Putative Epitoky-Related Genes, Mercer R. Brugler, M. Teresa Aguado, Michael Tessler, Mark Siddall Aug 2018

The Transcriptome Of The Bermuda Fireworm Odontosyllis Enopla (Annelida: Syllidae): A Unique Luciferase Gene Family And Putative Epitoky-Related Genes, Mercer R. Brugler, M. Teresa Aguado, Michael Tessler, Mark Siddall

Publications and Research

The Bermuda fireworm Odontosyllis enopla exhibits an extremely tight circalunar circadian behavior that results in an impressive bioluminescent mating swarm, thought to be due to a conventional luciferase-mediated oxidation of a light-emitting luciferin. In addition, the four eyes become hypertrophied and heavily pigmented, and the nephridial system is modified to store and release gametes and associated secretions. In an effort to elucidate transcripts related to bioluminescence, circadian or circalunar periodicity, as well as epitoky-related changes of the eyes and nephridial system, we examined the transcriptomic profile of three female O. enopladuring a bioluminescent swarm in Ferry Reach, Bermuda. …


In Silico Study Of Newly Synthesized Opioid Analgesics Bound To Three Opioid Receptors, Abdullah Allaoa, Mai Zahran Dec 2017

In Silico Study Of Newly Synthesized Opioid Analgesics Bound To Three Opioid Receptors, Abdullah Allaoa, Mai Zahran

Publications and Research

Opioids are the most widely used drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe, chronic pain. They achieve antinociception by activation of mu (MOR-1), kappa (KOR-1), and delta (DOR-1) opioid receptors. Natural products found in kratom plant, Mitragyna speciosa, represent diverse chemical groups with opioid activity, providing opportunities to better understand opioid pharmacology. Pharmacology studies show that Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl is a mu agonist/delta antagonist opioid with a signaling bias for G-protein-mediated signaling pathways in vitro and which produced potent antinociception in vivo. Respiratory depression assays along with other behavioral testing also showed that some of the major problems …


Cryptic Diversity And Discordance In Single‐Locus Species Delimitation Methods Within Horned Lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma), Christopher Blair, Robert W. Bryson Jr. Nov 2017

Cryptic Diversity And Discordance In Single‐Locus Species Delimitation Methods Within Horned Lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma), Christopher Blair, Robert W. Bryson Jr.

Publications and Research

Biodiversity reduction and loss continues to progress at an alarming rate, and thus there is widespread interest in utilizing rapid and efficient methods for quantifying and delimiting taxonomic diversity. Single-locus species-delimitation methods have become popular, in part due to the adoption of the DNA barcoding paradigm. These techniques can be broadly classified into tree-based and distance-based methods depending on whether species are delimited based on a constructed genealogy. Although the relative performance of these methods has been tested repeatedly with simulations, additional studies are needed to assess congruence with empirical data. We compiled a large data set of mitochondrial ND4 …


Tumor Necrosis Factor Dynamically Regulates The Mrna Stabilome In Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes, Konstantinos Loupasakis, David Kuo, Upneet K. Sokhi, Christopher Sohn, Bethany Syracuse, Eugenia G. Giannopoulou, Sung Ho Park, Hyelim Kang, Gunnar Rätsch, Lionel B. Ivashkiv, George D. Kalliolias Jul 2017

Tumor Necrosis Factor Dynamically Regulates The Mrna Stabilome In Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes, Konstantinos Loupasakis, David Kuo, Upneet K. Sokhi, Christopher Sohn, Bethany Syracuse, Eugenia G. Giannopoulou, Sung Ho Park, Hyelim Kang, Gunnar Rätsch, Lionel B. Ivashkiv, George D. Kalliolias

Publications and Research

During rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) activates fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) inducing in a temporal order a constellation of genes, which perpetuate synovial inflammation. Although the molecular mechanisms regulating TNF-induced transcription are well characterized, little is known about the impact of mRNA stability on gene expression and the impact of TNF on decay rates of mRNA transcripts in FLS. To address these issues we performed RNA sequencing and genome-wide analysis of the mRNA stabilome in RA FLS. We found that TNF induces a biphasic gene expression program: initially, the inducible transcriptome consists primarily of unstable transcripts but progressively switches …


Machine Learning Meta-Analysis Of Large Metagenomic Datasets: Tools And Biological Insight, Edoardo Pasolli, Duy Tin Truong, Faizan Malik, Levi Waldron, Nicola Segata Jul 2016

Machine Learning Meta-Analysis Of Large Metagenomic Datasets: Tools And Biological Insight, Edoardo Pasolli, Duy Tin Truong, Faizan Malik, Levi Waldron, Nicola Segata

Publications and Research

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of the human associated microbiome provides a rich set of microbial features for prediction and biomarker discovery in the context of human diseases and health conditions. However, the use of such high-resolution microbial features presents new challenges, and validated computational tools for learning tasks are lacking. Moreover, classification rules have scarcely been validated in independent studies, posing questions about the generality and generalization of disease-predictive models across cohorts. In this paper, we comprehensively assess approaches to metagenomics-based prediction tasks and for quantitative assessment of the strength of potential microbiome-phenotype associations. We develop a computational framework for prediction …


Collective Behaviour Without Collective Order In Wild Swarms Of Midges, Alessandro Attanasi, Andrea Cavagna, Lorenzo Del Castello, Irene Giardina, Stefania Melillo, Leonardo Parisi, Oliver Pohl, Bruno Rossaro, Edward Shen, Edmondo Silvestri, Massimilano Viale Jul 2014

Collective Behaviour Without Collective Order In Wild Swarms Of Midges, Alessandro Attanasi, Andrea Cavagna, Lorenzo Del Castello, Irene Giardina, Stefania Melillo, Leonardo Parisi, Oliver Pohl, Bruno Rossaro, Edward Shen, Edmondo Silvestri, Massimilano Viale

Publications and Research

Collective behaviour is a widespread phenomenon in biology, cutting through a huge span of scales, from cell colonies up to bird flocks and fish schools. The most prominent trait of collective behaviour is the emergence of global order: individuals synchronize their states, giving the stunning impression that the group behaves as one. In many biological systems, though, it is unclear whether global order is present. A paradigmatic case is that of insect swarms, whose erratic movements seem to suggest that group formation is a mere epiphenomenon of the independent interaction of each individual with an external landmark. In these cases, …