Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Use Of Molecular Genetics To Investigate Population Structure And Swayback In Horses, Navid Yousefimashouf

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

The present research incorporated molecular genetic methods to 1) investigate the genetic basis of Juvenile Onset Lordosis or Swayback in the American Saddlebred horses; and 2) conduct a population genetic study to compare the Persian Kurdish, Persian Arabian and American Thoroughbred horse populations.

Juvenile-onset lordosis, or swayback, is a condition in horses where the conformational topline back curvature drops significantly within the first two years of life. The trait has a higher prevalence in Saddlebreds (5%). Prior research on them quantified the trait using a Measurement of Back Contour (MBC), defining an MBC of >7.0 centimeters as swayback, and8.0) MBC …

Placing The Evolutionary History Of Desmognathus Salamanders In Context: A Phylogeographic Approach, Kara Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Patterns of genetic variation do not arise in a vacuum but are instead shaped by the interplay between evolutionary forces and ecological constraints. Here, I use a phylogeographic approach to examine the role that ecology played in lineage divergence in the Desmognathus quadramaculatus species complex (Family: Plethodontidae), which consists of three nominal species: D. quadramaculatus, D. marmoratus, and D. folkertsi. Previous phylogenetic studies have shown that individuals from these species do not form clades based on phenotype. My approach to reconciling phylogenetic discordance was two-fold, using (1) genome-wide markers to provide insight into the …

Alzheimer’S Disease Genetics And Short-Chain Fatty Acid Treatment In Studies Of The Murine Gut Microbiome, Diana Zajac

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Elucidating the relationship of the gut microbiome in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) risk and pathogenesis is an area of intense interest. Since 60 to 80% of AD risk is related to genetics and APOE alleles represent the most impactful genetic risk factors for AD, their mechanism(s) of action are under intense scrutiny.

First, I conducted a study on APOE targeted replacement mice to investigate the impact of APOE alleles on the murine gut microbiome. The relative abundance of bacteria from the family Ruminococacceae and related genera increased with APOE2 status. The relative abundance of the class Erysipelotrichia increased with APOE4 status, …

Molecular Genetic Studies Of Horses, Especially With Reference To Aggrecan And Dwarfism, John Edmund Eberth

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

This work consists of studies on dwarfism in Miniature horses and a study on breakdowns in Thoroughbreds in relation to gene aggrecan. A correction of the description and designation of D3 dwarf variant in aggrecan (ACAN) from the master’s thesis Chondrodysplasia-like dwarfism in the Miniature horse (2013). Commercial sequencing showed previous sequencing reads presented an artifact and not a single base deletion. Analysis showed a single base missense mutation in exon 8 identified as D3* was the actual cause. Multiple alleles of ACAN associated with chondrodysplastic dwarfism in Miniature horses by Eberth et al. (2018), corrected the …

Genetic And Pharmacogenetics Associations Of Cancer Disparities In Appalachia, Nan Lin

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Individuals residing in Appalachian regions have significant health disparities, including higher cancer incidence and mortality rates. Previous studies have addressed the impact of socioeconomic status and environmental risk factors on Appalachia cancer disparities, while few studies have evaluated genetic risk factors.

Germline whole exome sequencing samples from 7,078 individuals with cancer (759 Appalachians) were evaluated. Demographics and relatedness were assessed using KING. Ethnicity was verified by principal component analysis using TRACE, which included 6,034 individuals (85%) of European genetic ancestry. After QC filtering, 5,980 individuals were analyzed. To assess the overall predisposition of hereditary disease, gene level frequency of likely …

Molecular Analysis Of Epigenetic Memory Of Stress Establishment And Long-Term Maintenance In A Perennial Woody Plant, Jia Wen Tan

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Plants adapt to extreme environmental conditions through physiological adaptations, which are usually transient. Recent research has suggested that environmental conditions can activate a memory of stress that can result in a primed response to subsequent stress events. While the effect of priming has been observed in many plants, the underlying mechanisms are puzzling and seldom studied. A large body of research has been developed in the last decade linking response to stress, stress priming, and memory of stress with epigenetic mechanisms. This understanding of plant epigenetics has opened the door to the application of epigenetics to crop improvement, such as …