Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

New Primers Reveal The Presence Of A Duplicate Histone H3 In The Marine Turtle Leech Ozobranchus Branchiatus, Triet Minh Truong, Audrey E. Mcgowin Ph.D., Philip Lavretsky, Jeffrey L. Peters Ph.D.

Chemistry Student Publications

Marine leeches, specific to sea turtles, have been implicated as potential vector organisms in the spread of fibropapillomatosis (FP), a pandemic neoplastic disease with green turtles (Chelonia mydas) having the highest affliction rate. Polymerase chain reaction identified two independent, seemingly functional histone H3 loci for marine turtle leeches Ozobranchus branchiatus collected from C. mydas in Florida and Hawaii. Primers were developed to amplify each product separately. These novel markers will be useful in identifying ectoparasites in FP research, evaluating other histone variants, and chromatin dynamics regulation studies.

This poster was created and presented by Triet M. Truong at the Wright …

Dna Barcoding Of Sea Turtle Leeches (Ozobranchus Spp.) In Florida Coastal Waters, Triet Minh Truong, Audrey E. Mcgowin Ph.D.

Chemistry Student Publications

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a neoplastic disease originally identified only on green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). The disease is likely to be terminal if tumors are developed internally, but external tumors on the eyes, mouth, and flippers can also lead to fatal impairment of vision and difficulty feeding and swimming. The involvement of an environmental cofactor appears possible since many FP outbreaks occur at sites of poor water quality in Florida, Hawaii, Brazil, and other similar places around the world, but outbreaks have also been recorded at less contaminated sites. Studies have shown an association between FP and the fibropapilloma-associated turtle …

Identification Of Sea Turtle Leeches Using Dna Barcoding, Triet Minh Truong, Audrey E. Mcgowin Ph.D., Adrian M. Corbett Ph.D.

Chemistry Student Publications

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a panzootic plaguing all species of sea turtles with green turtles having the highest percentage of affliction. Although fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpes virus (FPTHV) has been identified as the causative agent of FP, the primary vector triggering this chronic tumor-forming disease is still unknown. Parasitic marine leeches (Ozobranchus spp.) could be a potential mechanical vector behind the emergence of this panzootic, although it is uncertain if it is species specific. Ozobranchus spp. are very small and difficult to distinguish anatomically, and until now, there have been few attempts to document them. DNA barcoding using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase …