The above story is provided based on materials by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Note:
A team of scientists led by Richard Broughton associate professor of biology at the University of Oklahoma published two studies that dramatically increase understanding of fish evolution and their relationships.
They integrated extensive genetic and physical information about specimens to create a new tree of life for fishes.
and the number of genes analyzed and the new patterns of relationships among fish families result in
and has broader applications related to exploring disease-causing genes and developmental processes shared with humans.
#Fertility needs in high-yielding corn productionalthough advances in agronomy breeding and biotechnology have increased dramatically corn grain yields soil test values indicate that producers may not be supplying optimal nutrient levels.
and lower-yielding non-transgenic hybrids may need adjusting. Researchers with the University of Illinois Crop Physiology Laboratory have been reevaluating nutrient uptake and partitioning in modern corn hybrids.
Current fertilization practices may not match the uptake capabilities of hybrids that contain transgenic insect protection
Nutrient recommendations may not be calibrated to modern higher-yielding genetics and management. The study examined six hybrids each with transgenic insect protection at two Illinois locations Dekalb and Urbana.
Researchers sampled plant tissues at six incrementally spaced growth stages. They separated them into their different fractions (leaves stems cobs grain) to determine season-long nutrient accumulation utilization and movement.
and proximity to food shops and stores as well as economic status. The second group was same sex siblings who would be expected to share genetic predispositions for weight
The findings are published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
and research student Michael Yartsev of the Weizmann Institute's Neurobiology Department published today in Science reveals for the first time how three-dimensional volumetric space is perceived in mammalian brains.
Biological sciences and Medical sciences a baseline adherence to a Mediterranean diet (Mediet) is associated with a lower risk of hyperuricemia defined as a serum uric acid (SUA) concentration higher than 7mg/dl in men and higher than 6mg
recommends conservation strategiesan Arizona State university biologist and her team have found that the Asian subspecies of great bustard one of the heaviest birds capable of flight covers migratory routes of more than 2000 miles traveling to
and will be published in the next volume of the Journal of Avian Biology is the first of its kind to monitor the movement of this rarely studied subspecies through satellite telemetry
Mimi Kessler a doctoral candidate in biology at the School of Life sciences has spent more than two years on Eurasian grasslands studying habitat use population genetics causes of mortality and migration routes of the Asian great bustards.
The collars developed in part by an interdisciplinary team at UCSC including wildlife biologists and engineers transmit location data every four hours.
#Chink in the armor of Schmallenberg virus identifieda key building block in the Schmallenberg virus could be targeted by antiviral drugs according to a new study led from the University of Leeds. The disease
but a study published in Nucleic acids Research reports that the Schmallenberg virus nucleocapsid protein which protects its genetic material could be its Achilles'heel.
A University of Leeds-led team of virologists and structural biologists used X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy to decipher the three-dimensional shape of the nucleocapsid protein
and also show how it builds the inner workings of the virus itself. Dr John Barr of the University of Leeds'Faculty of Biological sciences and co-leader of the study said:
The protein forms a chain a bit like a necklace that wraps around and protects the RNA the genetic material of the virus. This chain also recruits other proteins that are vital to the virus'ability to multiply
and cause disease. We have developed a very finely detailed picture of the shape of the protein
and all the nooks and crannies that it needs to present to other molecules to be able to function.
Co-lead Dr Tom Edwards also from Leeds'Faculty of Biological sciences said: The shape of the nucleocapsid protein has shown us important details of how the individual proteins in these rings are interacting.
This not only tells us how the virus works but importantly we think we can block that interaction
and would essentially kill the virus. We are now designing small molecules that could block ring formation
The Schmallenberg virus appears to be spread by midges. It causes a relatively mild illness in adult animals
There is new evidence that the Schmallenberg virus can also spread to wild animal populations such as deer
Developing a vaccine for the Schmallenberg virus is a possibility. One already exists for the similar Akabane virus
but the discovery by the Leeds-led team is the first step toward developing a treatment that could be used after an animal is infected.
biofuel productionhydrogen sulfide the pungent stuff often referred to as sewer gas is a deadly substance implicated in several mass extinctions including one at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago that wiped out more than three-quarters of all species
But in low doses hydrogen sulfide could greatly enhance plant growth leading to a sharp increase in global food supplies and plentiful stock for biofuel production new University of Washington research shows.
But that's not what we were looking for said Frederick Dooley a UW doctoral student in biology who led the research.
Crop yields nearly doubled said Peter Ward Dooley's doctoral adviser a UW professor of biology and of Earth and space sciences and an authority On earth's mass extinctions.
Ward suggests that the rapid plant growth could be the result of genetic signaling passed down in the wake of mass extinctions.
The most significant near-term promise he believes is in growing algae and other stock for biofuels.
Plant lipids are the key to biofuel production and preliminary tests show that the composition of lipids in hydrogen sulfide-treated plants is the same as in untreated plants he said.
That means the plants contain significantly more biomass for fuel production he said. If you look at a slide of the cells under a microscope anyone can understand it.
Ward and Suven Nair a UW biology undergraduate are coauthors of the PLOS ONE paper.
The work was funded by the UW Astrobiology Program. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Washington.
Studies of the human microbiome have become one of the hottest areas of biological research said Knight a scientist in the ongoing National institutes of health Human Microbiome Project that has sequenced thus far the microbial mosaic of 300 humans.
and biochemistry department since results from previous studies suggested there were components of co-habitation involved in microbe sharing.
Specific BACTERIAL RNA genes present in the DNA were amplified then using a technique known as PCR and the genes sequenced with high-capacity DNA sequencers.
The specific BACTERIAL RNA genes amplified from each sample obtained from each body site of each individual were tagged during the PCR step with a sample-specific DNA barcode developed by Knight's group allowing the team to pool hundreds of samples
together prior to a single sequencing run. Knight also is involved in the American Gut project a crowdfunded effort that allows members of the public to learn more about their own individual microbes as well as microbes being carried by their dogs.
helping Africans to irrigate cropscould algae that feast on wastewater produce clean biofuels and a healthful supply of fish food?
This team dubbed Algafuture is composed of undergraduates and graduate students from the departments of Geography and Environmental Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular engineering.
while dining on these pollutants the plant-like organisms could then be used to produce renewable biofuels or food for fish farms.
At the same time the pathogens in wastewater such as viruses fungi and bacteria could destroy the algae themselves
and thwart the plans to produce biofuels and fish food. With an initial EPA grant the student team tested 20 species of algae.
or biofuel production is the most economically viable use for algae grown in wastewater. Their faculty advisers are Edward Bouwer professor and chair of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering and Michael Betenbaugh professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular engineering.
Both departments are within the university's Whiting School of engineering. The other Johns Hopkins team aims to improve the irrigation of vegetable gardens that provide nutrition and income for families in remote rural communities in South africa.
Y. H. Percival Zhang an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture
This bioprocess called simultaneous enzymatic biotransformation and microbial fermentation is easy to scale up for commercial production.
Support for the current research comes from the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Additional resources were contributed by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life sciences'Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research center the Shell Gamechanger Program and the U s. Department of energy Bioenergy Science Center along with the Division of Chemical sciences
Geosciences and Biosciences Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of energy. Chen was supported partially by the China Scholarship Council.
and a possible model for future efforts to maintain the extraordinary biodiversity found in this part of Chile.
and biodiversity loss policy makers are increasingly using financial incentives to encourage conservation. However a research team led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that in the long run conservation incentives may struggle to compete with future agricultural yields.
Financial incentives for conservationincentives are being levereged in dozens of tropical developing countries to conserve forests to protect biodiversity
Said Jacob Phelps a Phd candidate in the Department of Biological sciences at the NUS Faculty of science
#Tulip tree reveals mitochondrial genome of ancestral flowering plantthe extraordinary level of conservation of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) mitochondrial genome has redefined our interpretation of evolution of the angiosperms (flowering plants) finds research in biomed Central's open
access journal BMC Biology. This beautiful'molecular fossil'has a remarkably slow mutation rate meaning that its mitochondrial genome has remained largely unchanged
since the dinosaurs were roaming the Earth. Evolutionary studies make used of mitochondrial (powerhouse) genomes to identify maternal lineages for example the human mitochondrial Eve.
Among plants the lack of genomic data from lineages which split away from the main evolutionary branch early on has prevented researchers from reconstructing patterns of genome evolution.
L. tulipifera is native to North america. It belongs to a more unusual group of dicotyledons (plants with two seed leaves) known as magnoliids
By sequencing the mitochondrial genome of L. tulipifera researchers from Indiana University and University of Arkansas discovered that its mitochondrial genome has one of the slowest silent mutation rates (ones
which do not affect gene function) of any known genome. Compared to humans the rate is 2000 times slower--the amount of genomic change in a single human generation would take 50000 years for the tulip tree.
The rate is even slower for magnolia trees taking 130000 years for the same amount of mitochondrial genomic change.
Ancestral gene clusters and trna genes have been preserved and L. tulipifera still contains many genes lost during the subsequent 200 million years of evolution of flowering plants.
In fact one trna gene is no longer present in any other sequenced angiosperm. Prof Jeffrey Palmer who led this study explained By using the tulip tree as a guide we are able to estimate that the ancestral angiosperm mitochondrial genome contained 41 protein genes 14 trna genes seven trna
genes sequestered from chloroplasts and more than 700 sites of protein editing. Based on this it appears that the genome has been more
-or-less frozen in time for millions and millions of years. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Biomed Central Limited.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal References s
#Maya Long Count calendar calibrated to modern European calendar using carbon-14 datingthe Maya are famous for their complex intertwined calendric systems
and now one calendar the Maya Long Count is calibrated empirically to the modern European calendar according to an international team of researchers.
The fact that moths ants and fruit flies are known now to self-medicate has profound implications for the ecology and evolution of animal hosts and their parasites according to Mark Hunter a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at the School
For example when gypsy moth caterpillars consume foliage high in certain toxic compounds transmission of viruses between the caterpillars is reduced facilitating moth outbreaks.
Analysis of the honeybee genome suggests that they lack many of the immune-system genes of other insects raising the possibility that honeybees'use of medicine has been partly responsible
The study is now online in the International Journal of Food Microbiology and will appear in the April issue.
but turn on genes which produce a biofilm protecting them from the detrimental environment. Researchers tested the resilience of the Salmonella biofilm by drying it
When infected with the bacteria Wolbachia mosquitoes are unable to spread viruses such as dengue a disease
Now Professor Hoffmann from the University of Melbourne and Professor Michale Turelli from the University of California have shown that by introducing an insecticide resistance gene alongside the Wolbachia bacteria into the mosquito that the insects pass on the disease-blocking bacteria to other mosquitoes faster.
and less infected mosquitoes would need to be released in a disease control program said Professor Ary Hoffmann from the University of Melbourne's Bio21 Institute and Department of Genetics.
The approach taken in this new work involves adding a pesticide resistance gene to a newer strain of Wolbachia called wmelpop
which is a strong blocker of dengue and other viruses. Insecticide use is very common in dengue
but then these insects would be unable to pass on a virus to humans. Prof Hoffmann added that insecticide resistance genes would not spread to the uninfected mosquito populations
because a Wolbachia-infected female with a resistance gene will always pass on both the gene and the bacteria to her offspring.
Then when an uninfected female mates with an infected male the bacterium causes cytoplasmic incompatibility which leads to the death of embryos.
Abnormally higher levels of ROS can cause neural stem cells to start differentiating Guan is a professor in the Molecular Medicine & Genetics division of the U-M Department of Internal medicine and in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology.
--whose full name is focal adhesion kinase family interacting protein of 200 kd--in cellular biology for more than a decade.
In that case deleting the gene that encodes FIP200 leads to an increased proliferation and ultimate depletion of such cells called hematopoietic stem cells.
But with neural stem cells they report in the new paper deleting the FIP200 gene led neural stem cells to die
The team is also looking at the role of autophagy in breast cancer stem cells because of intriguing findings about the impact of FIP200 deletion on the activity of the p53 tumor suppressor gene
-M Department of Neurology research lab member Christine Bian and Yuan Zhu Ph d. an associate professor in Molecular Medicine & Genetics and Cell & Developmental Biology.
United states 517-432-4412 rosejo@msu. edulinking advances in genomics research mathematics and earth sciences as well as novel engineering technologies is imperative
protecting water resources and restoring an economically vital coastline we will need to invest in the characterization of our water microbiological communities and shift the pollution science paradigm toward an understanding of risk and resilience under global change.
and land use change and our energy choices (such as biofuels oil sands and shale gas). In this talk we discuss the drivers affecting water sustainability
Technological solutions to these problems that employ the latest developments in materials science chemistry biology and electronics are capable of greatly enhancing the performance of these systems.
Convergence of nanotechnology and microbiology: Emerging opportunities for water disinfection integrated urban water management and risk assessment1.
The convergence of nanotechnology with environmental microbiology could expand the limits of technology enhance global health through safer water reuse
and active smoking was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rates--a common measure of how well the kidneys are Working in addition we found a modest but positive association between serum cotinine concentrations a biomarker of tobacco exposure among first
This is especially true for the cellulase enzymes used to release fermentable sugars from cellulosic biomass for the production of advanced biofuels.
Now researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) through support from the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) have shed literally new light on cellulase catalysis. Using an ultrahigh-precision visible light microscopy
Increasing the sugar yields from cellulosic biomass to help bring down biofuel production costs is essential for the widespread commercial adoption of these fuels.
The enzymatic breakdown of cellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars has been the Achilles heel of biofuels a key economic bottleneck says chemical engineer Harvey Blanch one of the leaders of this research.
Synthesized from the sugars in the cellulosic biomass of grasses other non-food crops and agricultural waste advanced biofuels represent a sustainable nonpolluting source of transportation fuel that would also generate domestic jobs and revenue.
A recent report from the National Research Council stressed the need for advanced biofuels if the United states is to significantly reduce its use of fossil fuels in the coming decades.
Fossil fuels are responsible for the annual release of nearly nine billion metric tons of excess carbon into the atmosphere.
Unlike the simple starch-based glucose sugars in corn and other grains the sugars in cellulosic biomass are complex polysaccharides that must be extricated from a tough polymer called lignin
either crystalline or amorphous but these categories were probably more reflec tive of the limitations of imaging methods than the underlying structural organization of the cellulose says Jerome Fox lead author of the Nature Chemical Biology paper
The new PALM-based technique should allow enzyme cock tails to be matched optimally to the structural organizations of particular biomass substrates such as grass
which in turn will help reduce biofuel production costs. The technique also has applications beyond biofuels. Our technique takes us toward a much more complete understanding of how enzymes work on solid surfaces Blanch says.
With this technique we should be able to tell where any enzyme binds to a solid material
Solazyme's breakthrough biotechnology platform unlocks the power of microalgae achieving over 80 percent oil within each individual cell at commercial scale
which in 2011 supplied 100 percent microalgal-derived advanced biofuel for the first U s. passenger jetliner flight powered by advanced biofuel.
The demand for sustainable energy may divert more cropland to production of crops for biofuel production.
#Engineering algae to make the wonder material nanocellulose for biofuels and moregenes from the family of bacteria that produce vinegar Kombucha tea and nata de coco have become stars in a project
Their report on advances in getting those genes to produce fully functional nanocellulose was part of the 245th National Meeting
It can become the raw material for sustainable production of biofuels and many other products. While producing nanocellulose the algae will absorb carbon dioxide the main greenhouse gas linked to global warming.
If it could be scaled up Brown describes this as one of the most important discoveries in plant biology.
In the 1980s and 1990s Brown's team sequenced the first nanocellulose genes from A. xylinum.
They also pinpointed the genes involved in polymerizing nanocellulose (linking its molecules together into long chains)
or other bacteria engineered with those genes to make commercial amounts of nanocellulose. Bacteria for instance would need a high-purity broth of food
Those drawbacks shifted their focus on engineering the A. xylinum nanocellulose genes into Nobles'blue-green algae. Brown explained that algae have multiple advantages for producing nanocellulose.
Biofuels he said will face a difficult time for decades into the future in competing with the less-expensive natural gas now available with hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
In the long run the United states will need sustainable biofuels he said citing the importance of national energy policies that foster parallel development and commercialization of biofuels.
A paper detailing their newly created sequencing of the mountain pine beetle's (MPB) genome will be gold in the hands of scientists trying to stem the beetle's invasion into eastern forests.
The journal Genome Biology has published the paper. We know a lot about how beetle infestations can devastate forests
It's the beetle's genome that will help us figure out exactly how it does its damage
The genome reveals large variations among individuals in the MPB species--about four times greater than the variation among humans.
The MPB genome allows us to examine the population differences for beetles at various parts of an outbreak.
and environment says Steven Jones an SFU molecular biology and biochemistry professor and SFU graduate. Information like this can help the scientists who model an outbreak
The genome sequencing of the first North american pest bark beetle species in the Genus dendroctonus also uncovers a bacterial gene that has jumped into the MPB genome.
This gene codes for an enzyme that digests sugar. It might be used to digest woody tissue
Gene transfers sometimes make organisms more successful in their environments. The following SFU-related graduates and/or faculty co-authored the paper:
Genetics) SFU molecular biology and biochemistry professor; Inanc Birol SFU computing science adjunct professor; Dezene Huber (Phd Biol;
Maria Li (B. Sc. Biol; Greg Taylor (B. Sc. MBB; Richard Moore health sciences adjunct professor;
Simon Chan (B. Sc. Biol; Pawan Pandoh (B. Sc. Cellular/Molecular Biol) Nancy Liao (M. Sc.
MBB; Diana Palmquist (B. Sc. MBB) and Shaun Jackman (B. Sc. Computer Eng..Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Simon Fraser University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Seeds of model cereal plant now availableseeds of the model cereal plant Brachypodium distachyon are now available at the RIKEN Bioresource Center (BRC) in Japan the second bioresource facility to provide seeds
It is the first of the grass subfamily Pooideae to have sequenced a genome and it is used widely as a model plant for structural and functional genomic studies of grasses and cereals.
In addition to the seeds BRC will provide the scientific community with the technology needed for the cultivation and genetic alteration of Bd21.
Our Bd21 seeds will be of particular interest to Asian scientists who can use it to generate transgenic plants
and study monocot genes of agronomic interest. Explains Dr. Kobayashi Head of the Experimental Plant Division.
The Bd21 Brachypodium distachyon line is an important addition to BRC's wide variety of bioresources
which already include human specimens mice the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana cell lines genes and microorganisms.
Since its establishment in 2001 the RIKEN Bioresource Center has acted as a core bioresource facility for researchers through the collection preservation and distribution of bioresources.
Its New england debut was spotted by two University of New hampshire plant biology graduate students; now researchers are keeping a close eye on the sea potato's progress to determine
in addition to Traggis co-authors were UNH professors of plant biology Arthur Mathieson and Christopher Neefus and Clinton Dawes of UNH's Jackson Estuarine Laboratory and the University of South Florida.
Dr Leadbetter is co-author of the study published this week in Current Biology and joins Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical sciences later this year.
Most worker bees visit thousands of flowers every day in their search for nectar to feed their queen's brood.
For the first time researchers at the University of North carolina have discovered that Hepatitis a virus a common cause of enterically-transmitted hepatitis takes on characteristics of both virus types depending on
The whole universe of virology is divided into two types of viruses--viruses that are enveloped and viruses that are enveloped not.
If you look at any basic virology textbook it will say that these are categories that distinguish all viruses said lead researcher Stanley M. Lemon MD professor of medicine and a member of UNC Lineberger and the Center for Translational Immunology.
In a paper published online in Nature on March 31 Dr. Lemon's team discovered that Hepatitis a virus does not have an envelope
What we have discovered is that a virus that has been considered classically to be enveloped'non'that is Hepatitis a virus actually hijacks membranes from the cells it grows in to wrap itself in an envelope.
No one has shown that previously for a virus. It really blurs that classic distinction between these two types of viruses said Dr. Lemon.
being enveloped in host membranes helps the virus to evade host immune systems and spread within the liver.
Enveloped viruses are generally quite fragile in the environment while non-enveloped viruses are hardier outside of a host
and can survive for longer periods between hosts. Dr. Lemon believes the dual nature of Hepatitis a virus allows it to use the advantages of both virus types to enhance its survivability.
What Hepatitis a virus has done and we don't totally understand how it has accomplished this is to have the advantage of existing as a virus with no envelope
and being very stable in the environment so it can be transmitted efficiently between people but to wrap itself in a membrane to evade neutralizing antibodies
While no other virus has been shown to exhibit this particular behavior Dr. Lemon said that it is likely that Hepatitis a virus is not unique in its dual nature.
The virus is transmitted orally and then passed back into the environment through feces. By not needing its envelope to survive outside the host the virus gains the ability of non-enveloped viruses to survive longer
and be transmitted efficiently. One major question raised by the finding is why the Hepatitis a vaccine works so well to contain the infection.
The vaccine one of the most effective in use was thought to elicit neutralizing antibodies that attack the virus in the blood.
Since it is known now that the envelope surrounding the virus in the blood prevents this the vaccine cannot work as previously thought.
While it was thought previously that vaccine-induced antibodies attacked the virus outside of the cell the new findings suggest antibodies may actually be able to restrict viral replication within a cell.
Understanding how this really good vaccine works will help us in the future to develop better vaccines for other viruses that we are having difficulty developing vaccines for said Dr. Lemon.
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