Heterogeneity In Mitochondrial Morphology And Membrane Potential Is Independent Of The Nuclear Division Cycle In Multinucleate Fungal Cells, John P. Gerstenberger, Patricia Occhipinti, Amy S. Gladfelter

Dartmouth Scholarship

In the multinucleate filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii, nuclei divide asynchronously in a common cytoplasm. We hypothesize that the division cycle machinery has a limited zone of influence in the cytoplasm to promote nuclear autonomy. Mitochondria in cultured mammalian cells undergo cell cycle-specific changes in morphology and membrane potential and therefore can serve as a reporter of the cell cycle state of the cytoplasm. To evaluate if the cell cycle state of nuclei in A. gossypii can influ

Desert Hedgehog Is A Mammal-Specific Gene Expressed During Testicular And Ovarian Development In A Marsupial, William A. O'Hara

Master's Theses

Desert hedgehog (DHH) belongs to the hedgehog gene family that act as secreted intercellular signal transducers. DHH is an essential morphogen for normal testicular development and function in both mice and humans but is not present in the avian lineage. Like other hedgehog proteins, DHH signals through the patched (PTCH) receptors 1 and 2. Here we examine the expression and protein distribution of DHH, PTCH1 and PTCH2 in the developing testes of a marsupial mammal (the tammar wallaby) to determine whether DHH signalling is a conserved factor in gonadal development in all therian mammals.

Tumor Suppression By Cell Competition Through Regulation Of The Hippo Pathway, Chiao-Lin Chen, Molly C. Schroeder, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Chunyao Tao, Georg Halder

Biology Faculty Publications

Homeostatic mechanisms can eliminate abnormal cells to prevent diseases such as cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms of this surveillance are poorly understood. Here we investigated how clones of cells mutant for the neoplastic tumor suppressor gene scribble (scrib) are eliminated from Drosophila imaginal discs. When all cells in imaginal discs are mutant for scrib, they hyperactivate the Hippo pathway effector Yorkie (Yki), which drives growth of the discs into large neoplastic masses. Strikingly, when discs also contain normal cells, the scrib− cells do not overproliferate and eventually undergo apoptosis through JNK-dependent mechanisms. However, induction of apoptosis does …

Parenting As Phenotype: A Behavioral Genetic Approach To Understanding Parenting, Shirley Mcguire, Nancy Segal, S. Hershberger

Psychology

This article discusses the behavioral genetic (BG) approach to parenting. Parenting is considered a phenotype that can be influenced by nature and nurture. Genetic contributions to parenting are conceptualized as evidence of genotype–environment correlation (rGE). Early BG studies focused on demonstrating that some parenting dimensions were heritable due to passive and evocative rGE processes. Current studies are investigating moderators and mediators of genetic and environmental contributions to parenting. The paper uses parent and child report data on parental warmth from the Twins, Adoptees, Peers, and Siblings study to illustrate the BG approach. Results show that heritability is …

Pomc Is Expressed In Pancreatic Alpha Cells, Samia M.M Farrara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic alpha cells secrete glucagon to increase blood glucose during hypoglycemia. Currently, the mechanisms that initiate glucagon secretion are not well understood. This study investigates the expression of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), a potent regulator of glucagon secretion, in alpha cells.

Insulin tolerance tests in mice lacking the POMC gene showed a correlation between alpha MSH, and glucagon secretion from alpha cells (Hochgeschwender et al. 2003). Results from a previous study showed that the POMC product, melanocortin á-MSH, acts through a melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) at the surface of the alpha cells to trigger the release of glucagon [Angleson, unpublished data, Lumsden …

Inheritance Of Humeral Spotting In The Croaking Gourami (Osphronemidae: Trichopsis Vittatus), Jack Frankel, Lisa Alder-Golden, Andre Porter

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The croaking gourami (Trichopsis vittatus) exhibits two phenotypes associated with humeral spotting. Fish possess a prominent, dark humeral patch or spot located behind the operculum or lack this spotting pattern. Segregation patterns observed from the progenies of eleven different crosses support the hypothesis that the inheritance of humeral spotting in T. vittatus is controlled by the action of a single autosomal locus, with complete dominance of the allele controlling the spotted phenotype.

A High Density Snp Array For The Domestic Horse And Extant Perissodactyla: Utility For Association Mapping, Genetic Diversity, And Phylogeny Studies, Molly E. Mccue, Danika L. Bannasch, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Jessica Gurr, Ernie Bailey, Matthew M. Binns, Ottmar Distl, Gérard Guérin, Telhisa Hasegawa, Emmeline W. Hill, Tosso Leeb, Gabriella Lindgren, M. Cecilia T. Penedo, Knut H. Røed, Oliver A. Ryder, June E. Swinburne, Teruaki Tozaki, Stephanie J. Valberg, Mark Vaudin, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Claire M. Wade, James R. Mickelson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

An equine SNP genotyping array was developed and evaluated on a panel of samples representing 14 domestic horse breeds and 18 evolutionarily related species. More than 54,000 polymorphic SNPs provided an average inter-SNP spacing of ~43 kb. The mean minor allele frequency across domestic horse breeds was 0.23, and the number of polymorphic SNPs within breeds ranged from 43,287 to 52,085. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) in most breeds declined rapidly over the first 50–100 kb and reached background levels within 1–2 Mb. The extent of LD and the level of inbreeding were highest in the Thoroughbred and lowest in the …

Index Selection In Terminal Sires Improves Early Lamb Growth, G. C. Márquez, W. Haresign, M. H. Davies, G. C. Emmans, Rainer Roehe, L Bünger, G. Simm, Ronald M. Lewis

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The use of terminal sires (TS) for crossbreeding is integral to the UK sheep industry where approximately 71% of market lambs are sired by TS rams. Early growth of these crossbred lambs affects profitability. The objectives of this study were i) to evaluate the effectiveness of index selection among TS on BW and ADG of their crossbred offspring; and ii) to compare the efficacy of that selection within TS breeds. The most widely used TS breeds in the United Kingdom are Charollais, Suffolk, and Texel. These participated in sire referencing schemes in which they were evaluated on a lean growth …

The Roles Of Gene Duplication, Gene Conversion And Positive Selection In Rodent Esp And Mup Pheromone Gene Families With Comparison To The Abp Family, Robert C. Karn, Christina M. Laukaitis

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Three proteinaceous pheromone families, the androgen-binding proteins (ABPs), the exocrine-gland secreting peptides (ESPs) and the major urinary proteins (MUPs) are encoded by large gene families in the genomes of Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus. We studied the evolutionary histories of the Mup and Esp genes and compared them with what is known about the Abp genes. Apparently gene conversion has played little if any role in the expansion of the mouse Class A and Class B Mup genes and pseudogenes, and the rat Mups. By contrast, we found evidence of extensive gene conversion in many Esp genes although …

The Role Of Epigenetics In Evolution: The Extended Synthesis, Aaron W. Schrey, Christina L. Richards, Victoria Meller, Vincent Sollars, Douglas M. Ruden

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Epigenetic Variation May Compensate For Decreased Genetic Variation With Introductions: A Case Study Using House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus) On Two Continents, Aaron W. Schrey, Courtney A. C. Coon, Michael T. Grispo, Mohammed Awad, Titus Imboma, Earl D. Mccoy, Henry R. Mushinsky, Christina L. Richards, Lynn B. Martin

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Epigenetic mechanisms impact several phenotypic traits and may be important for ecology and evolution. The introduced house sparrow (Passer domesticus) exhibits extensive phenotypic variation among and within populations. We screened methylation in populations from Kenya and Florida to determine if methylation varied among populations, varied with introduction history (Kenyan invasion < 50 years old, Florida invasion ~150 years old), and could potentially compensate for decrease genetic variation with introductions. While recent literature has speculated on the importance of epigenetic effects for biological invasions, this is the first such study among wild vertebrates. Methylation was more frequent in Nairobi, and outlier loci suggest that populations may be differentiated. Methylation diversity was similar between populations, in spite of known lower genetic diversity in Nairobi, which suggests that epigenetic variation may compensate for decreased genetic diversity as a source of phenotypic variation during introduction. Our results suggest that methylation differences may be common among house sparrows, but research is needed to discern whether methylation impacts phenotypic variation.

Distribution Of Genes And Repetitive Elements In The Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Genome Estimated Using Bac Sequencing, Brad S. Coates, Analiza P. Alves, Haichuan Wang, Kimberly K. O. Walden, B. Wade French, Nicholas J. Miller, Craig A. Abel, Hugh M. Robertson, Thomas W. Sappington, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Feeding damage caused by the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is destructive to corn plants in North America and Europe where control remains challenging due to evolution of resistance to chemical and transgenic toxins. A BAC library, DvvBAC1, containing 109,486 clones with 104 ± 34.5 kb inserts was created, which has an ~4.56X genome coverage based upon a 2.58 Gb (2.80 pg) flow cytometry-estimated haploid genome size. Paired end sequencing of 1037 BAC inserts produced 1.17Mb of data (~0.05% genome coverage) and indicated ~9.4 and 16.0% of reads encode, respectively, endogenous genes and transposable elements (TEs). …

Characterization Of Intracellular Interactions Between Dengue Virus And Host Proteins, Dumrong Mairiang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Dengue virus is the causative agent of dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. About two-fifths of world population live in areas where dengue is prevalent, leading to high levels of morbidity and mortality in many areas. Currently there are no vaccines or effective treatments. The virus is transmitted from one person to another by the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The genome of dengue virus encodes only ten proteins implying that the virus needs to interact with and utilize several host proteins for replication. In this project, I used high-throughput yeast two-hybrid screening to identify mosquito and …

"Release Factor 2 (Rf2) Is A Key Structural Component Found In The Ribosomes Of All Prokaryotic Organisms…", Zachary Wise

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Chromatin And Cofactors In The Transcriptional Memory Effect Exerted In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Emily Leigh Paul

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abf1 and Rap1 are functionally similar general regulatory factors (GRFs) found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Abf1, in its role as a transcriptional activator, exerts a memory effect on some genes under its control. This effect results in transcription levels remaining steady when Abf1 dissociates from its binding site in a conditional mutant. In contrast, Rap1 fails to elicit the same effect on its regulatory targets. Transcriptional memory effects have been observed in many fields of study, including immunology, cancer, and stem cells, and conservation of transcription machinery will allow studies in yeast to be applied to higher organisms.

The Role Of Ess1 In Survival, Morphogenetic Switching And Transcription In The Fungal Pathogen Candida Albicans, Dhanushki Poornima Samaranayake

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Candida albicans is a fungal pathogen that causes serious infections among immune-compromised patients and premature infants. C. albicans can become drug resistant, therefore, identifying new antifungal drug targets is an important goal. Here, we study a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase called Ess1 as a potential drug target. Ess1 is conserved among pathogenic fungi, and therefore, potential inhibitors of Ess1 should display a broad spectrum of activity. We confirm that Ess1 is essential for growth in Candida albicans, but unlike the previously published find, deleting one copy of the C. albicans ESS1 gene did not affect morphogenetic switching. However, further reducing activity …

An Unbiased Approach To Identify Genes Involved In Development In A Turtle With Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination, Jena L. Chojnowski, Edward L. Braun

Natural Sciences Faculty Publications

Many reptiles exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). The initial cue in TSD is incubation temperature, unlike genotypic sex determination (GSD) where it is determined by the presence of specific alleles (or genetic loci). We used patterns of gene expression to identify candidates for genes with a role in TSD and other developmental processes without making a priori assumptions about the identity of these genes (ortholog-based approach). We identified genes with sexually dimorphic mRNA accumulation during the temperature sensitive period of development in the Red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta), a turtle with TSD. Genes with differential mRNA accumulation in response to …

Consuming Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Tests: The Role Of Genetic Literacy And Knowledge Calibration, Yvette E. Pearson, Yuping Liu-Thompkins

Philosophy Faculty Publications

As direct-to-consumer marketing of medical genetic tests grows in popularity, there is an increasing need to better understand the ethical and public policy implications of such products. The complexity of genetic tests raises serious concerns about whether consumers possess the knowledge to make sound decisions about their use. This research examines the effects of educational intervention and feedback on consumers' genetic literacy and calibration -- the gap between consumers' actual knowledge and how much they think they know. The authors find that consumers' genetic knowledge was generally low and that people tended to underestimate their knowledge level. Furthermore, consumers' perceived …

Mechanistic Studies Of A Novel Ppar-Gamma Mutant That Causes Lipodystrophy And Diabetes, Olga Astapova

Wayne State University Dissertations

PPAR-gamma is a nuclear receptor that plays a central role in metabolic regulation by regulating extensive gene expression networks in adipose, liver, skeletal muscle and many other tissues. Human PPAR-gamma mutations are rare and cause a monogenetic form of severe type II diabetes with metabolic syndrome, known as familiar partial lypodystrophy. The E157D PPAR-gamma mutant causes atypical lipodystrophy in a large Canadian kindred, presenting with multiple musculoskeletal, neurological and hematological abnormalities in addition to the classic lipodystrophy features of insulin-resistant diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. This mutation is localized to the p-box of PPAR-gamma, a small region that interacts directly with …

Genetics And Cancer, Sachin Puri

A with Honors Projects

Genes' effect in body and relationship with cancer. Role in cell cycle and angiogenesis.

Cryptic Distant Relatives Are Common In Both Isolated And Cosmopolitan Genetic Samples, Brenna M. Henn, Lawrence S. Hon, J. Michael Macpherson, Nicholas Eriksson, Serge Saxonov, Itsik Pe'er, Joanna Mountain

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Although a few hundred single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) suffice to infer close familial relationships, high density genome-wide SNP data make possible the inference of more distant relationships such as 2nd to 9th cousinships. In order to characterize the relationship between genetic similarity and degree of kinship given a timeframe of 100–300 years, we analyzed the sharing of DNA inferred to be identical by descent (IBD) in a subset of individuals from the 23andMe customer database (n = 22,757) and from the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP-CEPH, n = 952). With data from 121 populations, we show that the average amount …

Expansion Dating: Calibrating Molecular Clocks In Marine Species From Expansions Onto The Sunda Shelf Following The Last Glacial Maximum, Eric D. Crandall, Elizabeth J. Sbrocco, Timery S. Deboer, Paul H. Barber, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The rate of change in DNA is an important parameter for understanding molecular evolution and hence for inferences drawn from studies of phylogeography and phylogenetics. Most rate calibrations for mitochondrial coding regions in marine species have been made from divergence dating for fossils and vicariant events older than 1-2 My and are typically 0.5-2% per lineage per million years. Recently, calibrations made with ancient DNA (aDNA) from younger dates have yielded faster rates, suggesting that estimates of the molecular rate of change depend on the time of calibration, decaying from the instantaneous mutation rate to the phylogenetic substitution rate. aDNA …

Higher Il-6 And Il6:Igf Ratio In Patients With Barth Syndrome, Lori D. Wilson, Sadeeka Al-Majid, Cyril Rakovski, Christina D. Schwindt

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Barth Syndrome (BTHS) is a serious X-linked genetic disorder associated with mutations in the tafazzin gene (TAZ, also called G4.5). The multi-system disorder is primarily characterized by the following pathologies: cardiac and skeletal myopathies, neutropenia, growth delay, and exercise intolerance. Although growth anomalies have been widely reported in BTHS, there is a paucity of research on the role of inflammation and the potential link to alterations in growth factors levels in BTHS patients.

Methods: Plasma from 36 subjects, 22 patients with Barth Syndrome (0.5 - 24 yrs) and 14 healthy control males (8 - 21 yrs) was …

Successful Genotyping Of Microsatellites In The Woolly Mammoth, Yasuko Ishida, Alfred L. Roca, Stephen Fratpietro, Alex D. Greenwood

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Genetic analyses using ancient DNA from Pleistocene and early Holocene fossils have largely relied on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Among woolly mammoths, Mammuthus primigenius, mtDNA analyses have identified 2 distinct clades (I and II) that diverged 1-2 Ma. Here, we establish that microsatellite markers can be effective on Pleistocene samples, successfully genotyping woolly mammoth specimens at 2 loci. Although significant differentiation at the 2 microsatellite loci was not detected between 16 clade I and 4 clade II woolly mammoths, our results demonstrate that the nuclear population structure of Pleistocene species can be examined using fast-evolving nuclear microsatellite markers.

Genetic Control Of A Central Pattern Generator: Rhythmic Oromotor Movement In Mice Is Controlled By A Major Locus Near Atp1a2, Steven J. St. John, John D. Boughter Jr, Megan K. Mulligan, Kenichi Tokita, Lu Lu, Detlef H. Heck, Robert W. Williams

Faculty Publications

calreticulin, Animals, Chromosome Mapping, Mammalian Chromosomes, Gene Expression Regulation, Genetic Linkage, Genome-Wide Association Study. Inbred C57BL Mice, Inbred DBA Mice, Quantitative Trait Loci, Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase/genetics, Atp1a2 protein, Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase, feeding behavior, drinking behavior, mice, central pattern generator, genetic control

Identification Of Cellular Functions Of Cardiolipin As Physiological Modifiers Of Barth Syndrome, Amit Shridhar Joshi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cardiolipin (CL) is an anionic phospholipid synthesized in the mitochondrial inner membrane. Perturbation of CL metabolism leads to Barth syndrome (BTHS), a life threatening genetic disorder. I utilized genetic, biochemical and cell biological approaches in yeast to elucidate the cellular functions of CL. Understanding the functions of CL is expected to shed light on the pathology and possible treatments for BTHS.

BTHS is caused by mutations in TAZ1, which encodes a CL remodeling enzyme called tafazzin. BTHS patients exhibit a wide range of clinical presentations, indicating that physiological modifiers influence the BTHS phenotype. A targeted synthetic lethality screen was performed …

Effects Of Ions On The Activity Of Peptidyl-Trna Hydrolase, Blake Holloway

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Isolation Of L4 Ribo-Protein Mutants That Affect The Expression Of Tna Operon Of Escherichia Coli, Soniykha Dhevi Murukan

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Morphological Characterization And Molecular Mediated Genetic Variation Of Thief Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Ralph B. Narain, Shripat T. Kamble, Thomas O. Powers

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The morphological characterization and molecular genetic variation were determined in populations of thief ants, Solenopsis molesta (Say). The genetic variations were elucidated using mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mDNA) sequences of cytochrome oxidase I. DNA from thief ants was extracted with Qiagen’s Gentra PUREGENE DNA Isolation Kit using their solid tissue protocol. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were run on the extracted DNA using primers Lep-F1 (forward) and Lep-R1 (reverse). The DNA products were concentrated and purified by Microcon Centrifugal Filter Unit YM-100. Purified DNA samples were sequenced at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS) DNA Sequencing Core Facility. The sequences were …

Inbreeding-Stress Interactions: Evolutionary And Conservation Consequences, David H. Reed, Charles W. Fox, Laramy S. Enders, Torsten N. Kristensen

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The effect of environmental stress on the magnitude of inbreeding depression has a long history of intensive study. Inbreeding-stress interactions are of great importance to the viability of populations of conservation concern and have numerous evolutionary ramifications. However, such interactions are controversial. Several meta-analyses over the last decade, combined with omic studies, have provided considerable insight into the generality of inbreeding-stress interactions, its physiological basis, and have provided the foundation for future studies. In this review, we examine the genetic and physiological mechanisms proposed to explain why inbreeding-stress interactions occur. We specifically examine whether the increase in inbreeding depression with …