Immunology and Infectious Disease | Open Access Articles

Comparative Genomic Analysis Of Two Serotype 1/2b Listeria Monocytogenes Isolates From Analogous Environmental Niches Demonstrates The Influence Of Hypervariable Hotspots In Defining Pathogenesis, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Aidan Coffey, Edward M. Fox, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The vast majority of clinical human listeriosis cases are caused by serotype 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b isolates of Listeria monocytogenes. The ability of L. monocytogenes to establish a systemic listeriosis infection within a host organism relies on a combination of genes that are involved in cell recognition, internalization, evasion of host defenses, and in vitro survival and growth. Recently, whole genome sequencing and comparative genomic analysis have proven to be powerful tools for the identification of these virulence-associated genes in L. monocytogenes. In this study, two serotype 1/2b strains of L. monocytogenes with analogous isolation sources, but …

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Ifn-G Induces Histone 3 Lysine 27 Trimethylation In A Small Subset Of Promoters To Stably Silence Gene Expression In Human Macrophages, Yu Qiao, Kyuho Kang, Eugenia Giannopoulou, Celeste Fang, Lionel B. Ivashkiv

Publications and Research

The mechanisms by which IFN-g activates expression of interferon-stimulated genes that have inflammatory and host defense functions are well understood. In contrast, little is known about how IFN-g represses gene expression. By using transcriptomic and epigenomic analysis, we found that stable repression of a small group of genes by IFN-g is associated with recruitment of the histone methyltransferase EZH2 and deposition of the negative mark histone 3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) at their promoters. Repressed genes included MERTK, PPARG, and RANK, which have anti-inflammatory functions and promote osteoclast differentiation. Gene repression and H3K27me3 persisted after IFN-g signaling was terminated, and …

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Receptor-Type Guanylyl Cyclase At 76c (Gyc76c) Regulates De Novo Lumen Formation During Drosophila Tracheal Development, Monn Monn Myat, Unisha Patel

Publications and Research

Lumen formation and maintenance are important for the development and function of essential organs such as the lung, kidney and vasculature. In the Drosophila embryonic trachea, lumena formde novo to connect the different tracheal branches into an interconnected network of tubes. Here, we identify a novel role for the receptor type guanylyl cyclase at 76C (Gyc76C) in de novo lumen formation in the Drosophila trachea.We show that in embryosmutant for gyc76C or its downsteam effector protein kinase G (PKG) 1, tracheal lumena are disconnected. Dorsal trunk (DT) cells of gyc76C mutant embryos migrate to contact each other and complete the …

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Hiv Vaccines: Progress, Limitations And A Crispr/Cas9 Vaccine, Omar A. Garcia Martinez

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

ABSTRACT: The HIV-1 pandemic continues to thrive due to ineffective HIV-1 vaccines. Historically, the world’s most infectious diseases, such as polio and smallpox, have been eradicated or have come close to eradication due to the advent of effective vaccines. Highly active antiretroviral therapy is able to delay the onset of AIDS but can neither rid the body of HIV-1 proviral DNA nor prevent further transmission. A prophylactic vaccine that prevents the various mechanisms HIV-1 has to evade and attack our immune system is needed to end the HIV-1 pandemic. Recent advances in engineered nuclease systems, like the CRISPR/Cas9 system, have …

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Tick-, Mosquito-, And Rodent-Borne Parasite Sampling Designs For The National Ecological Observatory Network [Special Feature: Neon Design], Yuri P. Springer, David Hoekman, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Paul A. Duffy, Rebecca A. Hufft, David T. Barnett, Brian F. Allan, Brian R. Amman, Christopher M. Barker, Roberto Barrera, Charles B. Beard, Lorenza Beati, Mike Begon, Mark S. Blackmore, William E. Bradshaw, Dustin Brisson, Charles H. Calisher, James E. Childs, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Richard J. Douglass, Rebecca J. Eisen, Desmond H. Foley, Janet E. Foley, Holly D. Gaff, Scott Lyell Gardner, Howard S. Ginsberg, Gregory E. Glass, Sarah A. Hamer, Mary H. Hayden, Brian Hjelle, Christina M. Holzapfel, Steven A. Juliano, Laura D. Kramer, Amy J. Kuenzi, Shannon L. Ladeau, Todd P. Livdahl, James N. Mills, Chester G. Moore, Serge Morand, Roger S. Nasci, Nicholas H. Ogden, Richard S. Ostfeld, Robert R. Parmenter, Joseph Piesman, William K. Reisen, Harry M. Savage, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Andrea Swet, Michael J. Yabsley

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Parasites and pathogens are increasingly recognized as significant drivers of ecological and evolutionary change in natural ecosystems. Concurrently, transmission of infectious agents among human, livestock, and wildlife populations represents a growing threat to veterinary and human health. In light of these trends and the scarcity of long-term time series data on infection rates among vectors and reservoirs, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will collect measurements and samples of a suite of tick-, mosquito-, and rodent-borne parasites through a continental-scale surveillance program. Here, we describe the sampling designs for these efforts, highlighting sampling priorities, field and analytical methods, and the …

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Amp Expression In Energetic Hybrid D. Melanogaster Infected With P. Rettgeri, Cassandra K. Treu, Justin Buchanan, Kristi Montooth

UCARE Research Products

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate immune function and energy metabolism, particularly the levels of antimicrobial peptides produced in Drosophila energetically compromised genotypes. This will provide the ability to investigate energetics of immunity without changing diet. Flies were infected with the bacteria P. rettgeri and the resulting immune response was investigated. Females did not mount as effective an immune response as males. All flies exhibited decreased survivorship from infection. Control flies survived at higher levels and showed no mitochondrial:nuclear interaction.

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Identification And Characterization Of Ion Channel Activity Of The M2 Protein From Influenza Virus D (Dm2), Jianing Liu

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Viral ion channels are membrane proteins of influenza viruses that play essential roles in the replication cycle, which enables them to be targeted by antiviral drugs. M2 of influenza type A virus, BM2 of influenza type B virus, and CM2 from influenza type C virus have been characterized as ion channel proteins and antiviral drug amantadine was developed to control influenza type A virus. However, few studies have been conducted to clarify the properties of the M2 protein (DM2) of influenza type D virus, a novel influenza virus genus identified in 2014. To identify the ion channel activity of DM2, …

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Comparing Apples And Oranges?: Next Generation Sequencing And Its Impact On Microbiome Analysis, Adam G. Clooney, Fiona Fouhy, Roy D. Sleator, Aisling O'Driscoll, Stanton Catherine, Paul D. Cotter, Marcus J. Claesson

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Rapid advancements in sequencing technologies along with falling costs present widespread opportunities for microbiome studies across a vast and diverse array of environments. These impressive technological developments have been accompanied by a considerable growth in the number of methodological variables, including sampling, storage, DNA extraction, primer pairs, sequencing technology, chemistry version, read length, insert size, and analysis pipelines, amongst others. This increase in variability threatens to compromise both the reproducibility and the comparability of studies conducted. Here we perform the first reported study comparing both amplicon and shotgun sequencing for the three leading next-generation sequencing technologies. These were applied to …

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Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss, Andrew B. Nuss, Jason M. Meyer, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe, Robert M. Waterhouse, David B. Sattelle, Jose De La Fuente, Jose M. Ribeiro, Karine Megy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing ~57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, cuticle …

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Phylogeny And Biogeography Of Species Of Syphacia Seurat, 1916 (Nemata : Oxyurida : Oxyuridae) From The Australian Bioregion, Haylee J. Weaver, Scott Monks, Scott Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Pinworm nematodes of the genus Syphacia (Nemata : Oxyurida : Oxyuridae) have a global distribution, and infect the caecum of rodents. Within the Australian Bioregion, 17 species of Syphacia infect a range of rodent hosts. Pinworms are traditionally thought to have coevolutionary relationships with their hosts, but the evolution and dispersal of Australian rodents and their helminths remains unclear. This combination of factors allowed us to investigate the likely relationships of Australian Syphacia species based on phylogenetic analysis, overlaid with the ecology and relationships of host species. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis using morphological characters of the species of Syphacia …

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Taxonomic Review Of The Wingmite Genus Cameronieta (Acari: Spinturnicidae) On Neotropical Bats, With A New Species From Northeastern Brazil, Juliana C. Almeida, Donald D. Gettinger, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

The ectoparasitic mite genus Cameronieta (Acari: Mesostigmata: Spinturnicidae) is endemic to the New World and associated exclusively with bats of the family Mormoopidae. The genus consists of 7 species, 4 broadly distributed through the Caribbean and mainland of North and South America, and 3 species limited to the Greater Antilles archipelago. We present a brief review of the taxonomic history, redefine the genus, and consider some questions that remain concerning the biology and systematics of the group. A new species, Cameronieta almaensis n. sp., is described from the wings of Pteronotus parnellii collected from the Serra das Almas Reserve, in …

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Full-Text Articles in Immunology and Infectious Disease

Comparative Genomic Analysis Of Two Serotype 1/2b Listeria Monocytogenes Isolates From Analogous Environmental Niches Demonstrates The Influence Of Hypervariable Hotspots In Defining Pathogenesis, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Aidan Coffey, Edward M. Fox, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Ifn-G Induces Histone 3 Lysine 27 Trimethylation In A Small Subset Of Promoters To Stably Silence Gene Expression In Human Macrophages, Yu Qiao, Kyuho Kang, Eugenia Giannopoulou, Celeste Fang, Lionel B. Ivashkiv

Publications and Research

Receptor-Type Guanylyl Cyclase At 76c (Gyc76c) Regulates De Novo Lumen Formation During Drosophila Tracheal Development, Monn Monn Myat, Unisha Patel

Publications and Research

Hiv Vaccines: Progress, Limitations And A Crispr/Cas9 Vaccine, Omar A. Garcia Martinez

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Amp Expression In Energetic Hybrid D. Melanogaster Infected With P. Rettgeri, Cassandra K. Treu, Justin Buchanan, Kristi Montooth

UCARE Research Products

Identification And Characterization Of Ion Channel Activity Of The M2 Protein From Influenza Virus D (Dm2), Jianing Liu

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Comparing Apples And Oranges?: Next Generation Sequencing And Its Impact On Microbiome Analysis, Adam G. Clooney, Fiona Fouhy, Roy D. Sleator, Aisling O'Driscoll, Stanton Catherine, Paul D. Cotter, Marcus J. Claesson

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss, Andrew B. Nuss, Jason M. Meyer, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe, Robert M. Waterhouse, David B. Sattelle, Jose De La Fuente, Jose M. Ribeiro, Karine Megy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phylogeny And Biogeography Of Species Of Syphacia Seurat, 1916 (Nemata : Oxyurida : Oxyuridae) From The Australian Bioregion, Haylee J. Weaver, Scott Monks, Scott Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Taxonomic Review Of The Wingmite Genus Cameronieta (Acari: Spinturnicidae) On Neotropical Bats, With A New Species From Northeastern Brazil, Juliana C. Almeida, Donald D. Gettinger, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications