Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Book Review Of "Of Flies, Mice, And Men: On The Revolution In Molecular Biology, By One Of The Scientists Who Helped Make It" By François Jacob, Nancy Curtis

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Protein And Rna Interactions Of The Hiv-1 Rev Protein, John Francis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The HIV-1 Rev protein enters the nucleus via it’s nuclear localization sequence/RNA binding domain and interacts with a ≈234 nt region of viral RNA, termed the Rev Response Element (RRE), which is located in the env region of unspliced and singly-spliced HIV-1 mRNA. The Rev nuclear export sequence (NES) then mediates translocation of the viral transcript to the cytoplasm, allowing for translation of viral structural genes and active virion formation. We report identification of two yeast nucleopore proteins, NUP49 and NUP100, that have been found to interact with Rev in vivo using the yeast two-hybrid system. NUP49 and NUP100 contain …

Drosophila Unpaired Encodes A Secreted Protein That Activates The Jak Signaling Pathway, Douglas A. Harrison, Patricia E. Mccoon, Richard Binari, Michael Gilman, Norbert Perrimon

Biology Faculty Publications

In vertebrates, many cytokines and growth factors have been identified as activators of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. In Drosophila, JAK and STAT molecules have been isolated, but no ligands or receptors capable of activating the pathway have been described. We have characterized the unpaired (upd) gene, which displays the same distinctive embryonic mutant defects as mutations in the Drosophila JAK (hopscotch) and STAT (stat92E) genes. Upd is a secreted protein, associated with the extracellular matrix, that activates the JAK pathway. We propose that Upd is a ligand that relies on JAK signaling to stimulate transcription of pair-rule genes in a …

Mutational Analysis Of A Transcriptional Activation Region Of The Vp16 Protein Of Herpes Simplex Virus, Susan M. Sullivan, Peter J. Horn, Victoria A. Olson, Allen H. Koop

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The VP16 protein of herpes simplex virus is a potent transcriptional activator of the viral immediate early genes. The transcriptional activation region of VP16 can be divided into two functional subregions, here designated VP16N (comprising amino acids 413-456) and VP16C (amino acids 450-490). Assays of VP16C mutants resulting from both random and alanine-scanning mutagenesis indicated that the sidechains of three phenylalanines (at positions 473, 475 and 479) and one acidic residue (glutamate 476) are important for transcriptional activation. Aromatic and bulky hydrophobic amino acids were effective substitutes for each of the three Phe residues, whereas replacement with smaller or polar …

Influence Of The Ccr2-V64i Polymorphism On Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Coreceptor Activity And On Chemokine Receptor Function Of Ccr2b, Ccr3, Ccr5, And Cxcr4, Benhur Lee, Benjamin J. Doranz, Shalini Rana, Yanji Yi, Mario Mellado, Jose M. R. Frade, Carlos Martinez-A., Stephen J. O'Brien, Michael Dean, Ronald G. Collman, Robert W. Doms

Biology Faculty Articles

The chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4 are used by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in conjunction with CD4 to infect cells. In addition, some virus strains can use alternative chemokine receptors, including CCR2b and CCR3, for infection. A polymorphism in CCR2 (CCR2-V64I) is associated with a 2- to 4-year delay in the progression to AIDS. To investigate the mechanism of this protective effect, we studied the expression of CCR2b and CCR2b-V64I, their chemokine and HIV-1 coreceptor activities, and their effects on the expression and receptor activities of the major HIV-1 coreceptors. CCR2b and CCR2b-V64I were expressed at …

Developmental Regulation Of A Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor Controls Postembryonic Cell Cycle Progression In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yang Hong, Richard Roy, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

C. elegans cki-1 encodes a member of the CIP/KIP family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, and functions to link postembryonic developmental programs to cell cycle progression. The expression pattern of cki-1::GFP suggests that cki-1 is developmentally regulated in blast cells coincident with G1, and in differentiating cells. Ectopic expression of CKI-1 can prematurely arrest cells in G1, while reducing cki-1 activity by RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) causes extra larval cell divisions, suggesting a role for cki-1 in the developmental control of G1/S. cki-1 activity is required for the suspension of cell cycling that occurs in dauer larvae and starved L1 larvae in …

Identification Of A Rapd Marker Linked To Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration In Dogs, Weikuan Gu, Gregory M. Acland, Amelia A. Langston, Elaine A. Ostrander, Gustavo D. Aguirre, Kunal Ray

Gustavo D. Aguirre, VMD, PhD

Characterization Of Metal-Regulated Genes In Pseudomonas Fluorescens, Melanie Pearson

Honors Theses

One side effect of today's industrialized world is increased levels of heavy metals in the environment. Many of these metals are necessary for biological function as trace elements, but at higher concentrations are toxic. Other metals, such as cadmium, are not beneficial at any level, and have only deleterious effects on living organisms. Cadmium is primarily thought to interfere with normal biological function of proteins. Human exposure to cadmium appears to primarily damage the kidneys, but may also affect the liver, lungs, immune system, and central nervous system. Bacteria, however, have developed several methods for handling toxic heavy metals: cation …

Identification Of Putative Cytoskeletal Protein Homologues In The Protozoan Host Hartmannella Vermiformis As Substrates For Induced Tyrosine Phosphatase Activity Upon Attachment To The Legionnaires' Disease Bacterium, Legionella Pneumophila, Chandrasekar Venkataraman, Lian-Yang Gao, Subbarao Bondada, Yousef Abu Kwaik

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The Legionnaires' disease bacterium, Legionella pneumophila, is a facultative intracellular pathogen that invades and replicates within two evolutionarily distant hosts, free living protozoa and mammalian cells. Invasion and intracellular replication within protozoa are thought to be major factors in the transmission of Legionnaires' disease. We have recently reported the identification of a galactose/N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (Gal/GalNAc) lectin in the protozoan host Hartmannella vermiformis as a receptor for attachment and invasion by L. pneumophila (Venkataraman, C., B.J. Haack, S. Bondada, and Y.A. Kwaik. 1997. J. Exp. Med. 186:537–547). In this report, we extended our studies to the …

Heritability Of Expression Of The 70kd Heat-Shock Protein In Drosophila Melanogaster And Its Relevance To The Evolution Of Thermotolerance, Robert A. Krebs, Martin E. Feder, Jeehyun Lee

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

The principle inducible heat-shock protein of Drosophila melanogasrer, Hsp70, contributes to thermotolerance throughout the entire life cycle of the species but may also reduce fitness in some life stages. In principle, selection might maximize the benefits of Hsp70 expression relative to its costs by adjusting the magnitude of Hsp70 expression for each life-cycle stage independently. Therefore we examined whether the magnitude of Hsp70 ex pre sion varied during the life cycle and the relationship of this variation to several life-history traits. For 28 isofemale lines derived from a single natural population, estimates of heritable variation in Hsp70 expression ranged between …

Plant-Delivered Cholera Toxin B Subunit As An Immunomodulatory Molecule, Takeshi Arakawa

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The B subunit of cholera toxin (CTB) functions as an effective mucosal carrier molecule of chemically or genetically conjugated antigens. Orally delivered CTB or CTB fusion protein binds to G_M1-ganglioside receptor molecules located on cells in the gutassociated lymphoid tissues, the site of immunological induction. We have generated transgenic plants synthesizing CTB conjugated with vaccine antigens for food plant-based prevention of cholera and rotavirus toxin-induced diarrhea and for autoimmune diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).

Mice fed with transgenic potato tubers synthesizing 0.3% of CTB as total tuber protein generated serum and mucosal antibodies with toxin neutralizing …

Igf-Ii Expression In Human Tumor Tissues And Human Igf-Ii Ribozyme Action, Zhaodong Xu

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are potent mitogens for a variety of cancer cells in vitro. In breast, prostate and neuroblastoma cancer cells, it has been suggested that IGF-II plays a paracrine/autocrine role. However, information on cell-type -specific IGF-II expression in vivo is limited. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry were carried out to determine the cell type expressing IGF-II in different tumor tissues. Both IGF-II mRNA and protein were localized to malignant cells, and expression in the stroma was minimal in all the tumors. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that cancer cell growth is regulated by IGF-II, and therefore …

A Model Using Radiation And Pws4-Htnf-Α Gene Therapy For Treatment Of Glioblastomas, Angelo G. Baher

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The efficacy of radiotherapy for cancer is limited by the dose that can be safely delivered to the tumor without causing debilitating side effects. In addition, successful treatment of highly malignant tumors such as glioblastomas is likely to require adjunctive therapies to enhance tumor response to radiation. Previous studies have shown immunomodulation and a synergestic reduction in tumor volume of malignant tumors when tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) protein is administered prior to radiation. The major goal of the present investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of pWS4-human TNF-α (pWS4-hTNF-α), a new plasmid construct that expresses human TNF-α protein, together with …

An Investigation Of Crystalline Intensity Of The Wood Of Poplar Clones Grown In Jiangsu Province, China, Bernard R. Parresol, Fuliang Cao

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Identification Of A Genetic Marker For Litter Size In Sheep, Olivia Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the estrogen receptor gene (ESR) could be used as a genetic marker for litter size in sheep. The estrogen receptor gene was chosen because it has been successfully used as a genetic marker for litter size in swine. In this study, DNA dilutions from two experimental flocks, totaling approximately 200 animals, were used. Amplification of exon 1/intron 1 of the ESR gene was performed using PCR. Initial results indicated a polymorphism in the gene when cut with the restriction enzyme Ava ll. It appeared that the gene contained a deletion with …

Clones Help Develop Ewe Feeding Strategy, Myra Yelland, Rob Kelly, John Davies, Johan Greeff

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Cloned sheep are not a new animal to the researchers of Agriculture WA, but the method that produced Dolly is.

Cloned sheep have been produced at the great Southern Research Institute as early as the mid 1980s. Myra Yelland, Rob Kelly, John Davies and Johan Greef outline how clones are used in experimental studies on wool production

Consequences Of Differing Wool Growth Rates On Staple Strength Of Merino Wethers With Divergent Staple Strengths, A. C. Schlink, G. Mata, R. M. Lewis

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary protein intake after a period of weight loss on the wool components of staple strength for sheep with a history of low or high staple strength (18.0 vs 34 Nlktex). After being fed to lose 15% of their liveweight over 10 weeks, sheep within each staple strength group were assigned in equal numbers to either a low or high protein diet designed to re-gain initialliveweight in 8 weeks. Liveweight, feed intakes and the growth, fibre diameter and fibre length characteristics of wool were measured at regular intervals. After the weight …

Intracellular Coexpression Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, Her-2/Neu, And P21ras In Human Breast Cancers: Evidence For The Existence Of Distinctive Patterns Of Genetic Evolution That Are Common To Tumors From Different Patients, Stanley E. Shackney, Agnese A. Pollice, Charles A. Smith, Laura E. Janocko, Lillian Sweeney, Kathryn A. Brown, Sarita G. Singh, Lingping Gu, Robert Yakulis, Joseph F. Lucke

Joseph Lucke

Multiparameter flow cytometry studies were performed on cells from the primary tumors of 94 patients with breast cancer. Correlated cellular measurements of cell DNA content, Her-2/neu, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and p21ras levels were performed on each of 5,000 to 100,000 cells from each tumor. When criteria for positivity were matched with those in common use for immunohistochemical studies, 28 of 94 (30\%) breast cancers were classified as positive for Her-2/neu overexpression. When similar criteria were applied to the EGFR measurements, 23 of 94 (24\%) cases were classified as positive for EGFR overexpression. Similarly, 23 of 94 (24\%) cases …

Molecular Systematics Of The Freshwater Mussel Genus Potamilu (Bivalvia: Unionidae), Kevin J. Roe, Charles Lydeard

Kevin J. Roe

Few explicit hypotheses for the relationships of unionid mussels exist. The absence of explicit phylogenetic hypotheses is problematic and is in part responsible for the lack of taxonomic stability seen in this group. In this paper we examine the relationships of mussels in the genus Potamilus, based upon the DNA sequences of a 600 base pair portion of the first subunit of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COI) gene. We also examine the genetic distinctiveness of populations of the inflated heelsplitter P. inflatus. The molecular phylogeny indicates that Potamilus is paraphyletic with Leptodea fragilis and Lampsilis ornata nested between P. …

The Use Of Isoelectric Focusing To Assess The Genetic Diversity Of The Cyprinid Fishes: Rhinichthys Cataractae And Rhinichthys Atratulus In West Virginia, Fauzia Alam Miah

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In this study, isoelectric focusing is used to separate proteins of Rhinichthys cataractae and R. atratulus and conventional staining is used to identify alleles of six genes. The objective of this work is to determine whether these methods can effectively assay isozymes that may be used to establish the relationship between anthropogenic stress and genetic diversity. Alleles for LDH-A, LDH-B, EST-A, EST-B, EST-C, and EST-D loci were identified for two species of fish, R. atratulus and R. cataractae. Both fish species are known to be sensitive to anthropogenic stress and known to be widely distributed in stressed environments. Alleles …

The Mechanics And Regulation Of Rat Aortic Smooth Muscle Contraction: Implications Of Cytoskeletal Remodeling, Protein Phosphorylations, And Microtubule-Based Kinase Transport, Alison Summers Battistella-Patterson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The exact nature of the mechanisms and the regulation of vascular smooth muscle contraction is not well understood. To better understand these processes, we examined two systems involved in smooth muscle contraction, the cytoskeleton and the protein kinases. In order to study the role of the cytoskeleton in smooth muscle contraction, we examined the contractile and mechanical effects of cytoskeleton disruption. We found that the relationship between passive tension applied to aortic rings and the resulting increase in tissue length was nearly linear over the range of 1 g to 15 g. However, even with increasing tissue length, within the …

Title, Fergus Ryan, D Devaney, Caroline Joyce, A Nestorowicz, M Permutt, Benjamin Glaser, Paul Thornton, David E. Barton

Articles

Persistent hypoglycaemia in infancy is most commonly caused by hyperinsulinism. A case is reported of the somatic loss of the maternal 11p in an insulin secreting focal adenoma in association with a germline SUR-1mutation on the paternal allele in a baby boy with hyperinsulinism diagnosed at 49 days old. A reduction to homozygosity of an SUR-1 mutation is proposed as a critical part of the cause of focal hyperinsulinism.

Comparative Evolution Of Molecular Markers: An Analysis Of Genetic Variation Within The Blue Marlin (Makaira Nigricans), Vincent Patrick Buonaccorsi

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Blue marlin diversity was assessed at mtDNA, scnDNA, microsatellite DNA, and allozyme molecular markers. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most genetic variation was maintained within populations, with a non-significant fraction attributable to variation among temporal replicates and between locations within oceans. In contrast, inter-ocean divergence was highly significant for a majority of loci within each marker class. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; n = 104) genetic variation within the blue marlin revealed two distinct clades of haplotypes, one of which was present only in the Atlantic (the 'Atlantic clade'), at a frequency of 40% &(F\sb{lcub}st{rcub}& = …

Phenotypic Clines In The Intertidal Snail Littorina Obtusata: The Role Of Water Temperature And Predator Effluent As Inducers Of Phenotypic Plasticity And Associated Trade-Offs In Shell Form, Geoffrey Clayton Trussell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

I examined variability in the shell form of 25 Littorina obtusata populations from Massachusetts to northern Maine. I chose this scale because the history of one of L. obtusata's principal predators, the crab Carcinus maenas, has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. Before 1900, Carcinus did not occur north of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but by 1950 it had reached Canadian border. Moreover, in summer water temperatures during average 6-8&\sp\circ&C colder at northern locations. Shell thickness and mass increased and body mass decreased with increasing latitude. to test whether these patterns reflect plasticity in response to predators, snails from two …

Multiple Members Of A Third Subfamily Of P-Type Atpases Identified By Genomic Sequences And Ests, Margaret S. Halleck, Deepti Pradhan, Christie Blackman, Charlotte A. Berkes, Partrick Williamson, Robert A. Schlegel

Biology Faculty Publications

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome contains five P-type ATPases divergent from both of the well-known subfamilies of these membrane ion transporters. This newly recognized third subfamily can be further divided into four classes of genes with nearly equal relatedness to each other. Genes of this new subfamily are also present and expressed in multicellular organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and mammals; some, but not all, can be assigned to the classes identified in yeast. Different classes of genes and different genes within a class are expressed differentially in tissues of the mouse. The recently cloned gene for the mammalian aminophospholipid translocase …

Biogeography Of Amphi-Atlantic And Amphi-American Fishes: The Scomberomorus Regalis (Scombridae), Strongylura Marina (Belonidae) And Hyporhamphus Unifasciatus (Hemiramphidae) Species Groups, Heidi M. Banford

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Phylogenetic and historical biogeographic hypotheses were explored for three groups of teleost fishes that are hypothesized to share a common biogeographic track. Distributed across the eastern Pacific/eastern Atlantic (EP/EA) biogeographic track of Rosen (1975) are the Scomberomorus regalis (Scombridae), Strongylura marina (Belonidae) and Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Hemiramphidae) species groups comprised of one eastern Atlantic; three, three and four western Atlantic; and two, two and four eastern Pacific species, respectively, for each group. In addition, two species in the Strongylura marina and Hyporhamphus unifasciatus groups, have invaded freshwater drainages of Central and South America. Each of the three species groups were found …

The Phylogeny Of Coleoid Cephalopods Inferred From Molecular Evolutionary Analyses Of The Cytochrome C Oxidase I, Muscle Actin, And Cytoplasmic Actin Genes, David Bruno Carlini

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Although the fossil record of early cephalopods is rich and demonstrates the dominance of the group in Paleozoic times, the mainly soft-bodied coleoids (Cephalopoda: Coleoidea) are poorly represented. Therefore, little is known of the evolutionary history of coleoids through paleontology and current classifications of the subclass are based primarily on the morphology of extant representatives. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Coleoidea was therefore warranted. Phylogenetic relationships within the Coleoidea were constructed using molecular sequence data from one mitochondrial and two nuclear genes: cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and two unlinked actin genes (Actin I and Actin II, respectively). A …

Toward A Framework Of Mutualism: The Jewish Community In Genetics Research, Karen H. Rothenberg, Amy B. Rutkin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (Mrsa): Molecular Detection And Dna Fingerprinting, Leslie Cotter

Theses

Throughout the 1990s, the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has increased in many health care areas including acute and chronic care facilities, outpatient clinics and in the community. Once introduced into a health care environment, this nosocomial pathogen can spread rapidly and as MRSA are resistant to multiple antibiotics, treatment is often difficult. Therefore effective infection control measures are required to prevent cross-infection and further spread of endemic strains.

In this study, a sensitive and specific triplex-PCR assay was designed for MRSA detection, wherein three genes, the methicillin resistance gene (mecA). femA and the extracellular thermonuclease gene (rmc) were simultaneously …

Molecular Analysis Of The Factor V-Leiden Mutation In A Cardiac Transplant Patient Population, Caroline Maher

Theses

Venous thrombosis is a serious health problem affecting 1 in 1000 individuals annually. Until recently the pathogenic factors underlying thrombosis were associated with genetic defects in protein C, protein S and antithrombin III. However these were recognised in fewer than 5-10% of thrombotic patients. A breakthrough was made with the discovery of activated protein C resistance (APCr) which is associated in 90% of cases v/herein a G-->A transition in the factor V gene results in an abnormal molecule, Factor V Leiden. APCr is a major risk factor for thrombosis being present in 20-60% of thrombotic patients. Recently a G-^A …