Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| nuclear arp2/3 drives dna break clustering for homology-directed repair. | dna double-strand breaks repaired by non-homologous end joining display limited dna end-processing and chromosomal mobility. by contrast, double-strand breaks undergoing homology-directed repair exhibit extensive processing and enhanced motion. the molecular basis of this movement is unknown. here, using xenopus laevis cell-free extracts and mammalian cells, we establish that nuclear actin, wasp, and the actin-nucleating arp2/3 complex are recruited to damaged chromatin undergoing homology-direc ... | 2018 | 29925947 |
| gitelman's syndrome: characterization of a novel c.1181g>a point mutation and functional classification of the known mutations. | we have investigated the mechanisms by which a novel missense point mutation (c.1181g>a) found in two sisters causes gitelman's syndrome by impairing the sodium chloride co-transporter (ncc, encoded by slc12a3 gene) function. the cdna and in vitro transcribed mrna of either wild-type or mutated slc12a3 were transfected into hek293 cells and injected into xenopus laevis oocytes, respectively. the expression, maturation, trafficking, and function of the mutated and wild-type ncc were assessed by w ... | 2018 | 29925901 |
| regulation of nuclear factor of activated t cells (nfat) and downstream myogenic proteins during dehydration in the african clawed frog. | xenopus laevis, otherwise known as the african clawed frog, undergoes natural dehydration of up to 30% of its total body water during the dry season in sub-saharan africa. to survive under these conditions, a variety of physiological and biochemical changes take place in x. laevis. we were interested in understanding the role that the calcineurin-nfat pathway plays during dehydration stress response in the skeletal muscles of x. laevis. immunoblotting was performed to characterize the protein le ... | 2018 | 29923155 |
| semicircular canal influences on the developmental tuning of the translational vestibulo-ocular reflex. | vestibulo-ocular reflexes (vors) rely on neuronal computations that transform vestibular sensory signals into spatio-temporally appropriate extraocular motor commands. the motoneuronal discharge for contractions of the superior oblique eye muscle during linear translation derives from a utricular epithelial sector that is spatially aligned with the pulling direction of this muscle. in xenopus laevis, the alignment is gradually achieved during larval development and requires motion-related semici ... | 2018 | 29922219 |
| a wide variety of mitf transcript variants are expressed in the xenopus laevis periodic albino mutant. | the periodic albino mutant of xenopus laevis has been used to study the development of pigment cells because both the retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) and melanophores are affected. in this mutant, "white pigment cells" containing both melanophore-specific and iridophore-specific pigment organelles appear. the present experiments were designed to investigate the structural organization and expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (mitf) in the mutant since mitf is known to re ... | 2018 | 29920861 |
| a sodium transporter hvhkt1;1 confers salt tolerance in barley via regulating tissue and cell ion homeostasis. | our previous studies showed that high salt tolerance in tibetan wild barley accessions was associated with hvhkt1;1, a member of the high-affinity potassium transporter family. however, molecular mechanisms of hvhkt1;1 for salt tolerance and its roles in k+/na+ homeostasis remain to be elucidated. functional characterization of hvhkt1;1 was conducted in the present study. nacl-induced transcripts of hvhkt1;1 were significantly higher in the roots of tibetan wild barley xz16 relative to other gen ... | 2018 | 29917153 |
| isolation and functional characterization of cslsi2, a cucumber silicon efflux transporter gene. | silicon has been proven to exert beneficial effects on plant growth and stress tolerance, and silicon accumulation varies among different plant species. cucumber (cucumis sativus) is a widely used dicot model for silicon accumulation, but little is known about the molecular mechanism of its silicon uptake. previously, we isolated and characterized cslsi1, a silicon influx transporter gene from cucumber. in this study, we cloned a putative silicon efflux transporter gene, cslsi2, from cucumber an ... | 2018 | 29905780 |
| the rna-binding complex escrt-ii in xenopus laevis eggs recognizes purine-rich sequences through its subunit, vps25. | rna-binding proteins (rbp) are critical regulators of gene expression. recent studies have uncovered hundreds of mrna-binding proteins that do not contain annotated rna-binding domains and have well-established roles in other cellular processes. investigation of these nonconventional rbps is critical for revealing novel rna-binding domains and may disclose connections between rna regulation and other aspects of cell biology. the endosomal sorting complex required for transport ii (escrt-ii) is a ... | 2018 | 29903915 |
| transcriptome of xenopus andrei, an octoploid frog, during embryonic development. | although polyploidy occurs throughout the fish and amphibian lineages, the xenopus genus exhibits a high incidence of polyploidy, with 25 out of the 26 known species being polyploid. however, transcriptomic information is currently available for only one of these species, the tetraploid xenopus laevis. xenopus andrei, an octoploid species within the xenopus genus, offers an opportunity for assessing a novel polyploid transcriptome during vertebrate development. rna-seq data was generated at nine ... | 2018 | 29900348 |
| validation and bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed circrnas involved in developing male xenopus laevis chronically exposed to atrazine. | the data presented here are related to the research article titled "identification of circular rnas and their alterations involved in developing male xenopus laevis chronically exposed to atrazine" (sai et al., 2018) [1]. circular rnas (circrnas) are implicated in multiple developmental anomalies (bachmayr-heyda et al., 2015; li et al., 2015) [2], [3]. this report describes the differentially expressed circrnas involved in developing male xenopus laevis (x. laevis) chronically exposed to atrazin ... | 2018 | 29900306 |
| visualization of gene expression patterns by in situ hybridization on early stages of development of xenopus laevis. | in situ hybridization performed using whole fixed embryos provides accurate and detailed visualization of gene expression patterns. these patterns are useful for investigating spatial patterns of gene expression in normally developing embryos but can also be useful in investigating the effects of genetic or environmental changes on expression of genetic markers characteristic of particular tissues, organs, or genetic pathways. our lab's protocol for whole-mount in situ hybridization is presented ... | 2018 | 29896701 |
| evaluation of teratogenicity of pharmaceuticals using fetax. | pharmaceuticals are chemical compounds which are used to preserve human and animal health. once administered, these compounds are metabolized or can remain unaltered until excreted. therefore, a mixture of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites enters municipal sewers and wastewater treatment plants where, depending on their polarity, water solubility, and persistence, they cannot be completely removed or transformed during the treatment process, so that unaltered pharmaceuticals and/or their met ... | 2018 | 29896699 |
| amphibian (xenopus laevis) interleukin-8 (cxcl8): a perspective on the evolutionary divergence of granulocyte chemotaxis. | the glutamic acid-leucine-arginine (elr) motif is a hallmark feature shared by mammalian inflammatory cxc chemokines such the granulocyte chemo-attractant cxcl8 (interleukin-8, il-8). by contrast, most teleost fish inflammatory chemokines lack this motif. interestingly, the amphibian xenopus laevis encodes multiple isoforms of cxcl8, one of which (cxcl8a) possesses an elr motif, while another (cxcl8b) does not. these cxcl8 isoforms exhibit distinct expression patterns during frog development and ... | 2018 | 30258441 |
| molecular determinants of α-conotoxin potency for inhibition of human and rat α6β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. | nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs) containing α6 and β4 subunits are expressed by dorsal root ganglion neurons and have been implicated in neuropathic pain. rodent models are often used to evaluate the efficacy of analgesic compounds, but species differences may affect the activity of some nachr ligands. a previous candidate α-conotoxin-based therapeutic yielded promising results in rodent models, but failed in human clinical trials, emphasizing the importance of understanding species di ... | 2018 | 30249616 |
| the balance of two opposing factors mad and myc regulates cell fate during tissue remodeling. | cell proliferation and differentiation are two distinct yet coupled processes in development in diverse organisms. understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate this process is a central theme in developmental biology. the intestinal epithelium is a highly complex tissue that relies on the coordination of cell proliferation within the crypts and apoptosis mainly at the tip of the villi, preservation of epithelial function through differentiation, and homeostatic cell migration along the c ... | 2018 | 30237868 |
| two tier hox collinearity mediates vertebrate axial patterning. | a two tier mechanism mediates hox collinearity. besides the familiar collinear chromatin modification within each hox cluster (nanocollinearity), there is also a macrocollinearity tier. individual hox clusters and individual cells are coordinated and synchronized to generate multiscale (macro and nano) collinearity in the early vertebrate embryo. macro-collinearity is mediated by three non-cell autonomous hox-hox interactions. these mediate temporal collinearity in early nom (non-organizer mesod ... | 2018 | 30234110 |
| dscam differentially modulates pre- and postsynaptic structural and functional central connectivity during visual system wiring. | proper patterning of dendritic and axonal arbors is a critical step in the formation of functional neuronal circuits. developing circuits rely on an array of molecular cues to shape arbor morphology, but the underlying mechanisms guiding the structural formation and interconnectivity of pre- and postsynaptic arbors in real time remain unclear. here we explore how down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (dscam) differentially shapes the dendritic morphology of central neurons and their presynaptic r ... | 2018 | 30219101 |
| systematic variation of the benzoylhydrazine moiety of the glun2a selective nmda receptor antagonist tcn-201. | glun2a containing n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (nmdars) are important ion channels in the central nervous system and highly involved in several different neurophysiological but also neuropathophysiological processes. however, current understanding of the contribution of glun2a containing nmdars in these processes is incomplete. therefore, highly selective compounds are required to further investigate these ion channels. in 2010, tcn-201 (2), one of the first selective negative allosteric modul ... | 2018 | 30218911 |
| bighead is a wnt antagonist secreted by the xenopus spemann organizer that promotes lrp6 endocytosis. | the xenopus laevis embryo has been subjected to almost saturating screens for molecules specifically expressed in dorsal spemann organizer tissue. in this study, we performed high-throughput rna sequencing of ectodermal explants, called animal caps, which normally give rise to epidermis. we analyzed dissociated animal cap cells that, through sustained activation of mapk, differentiate into neural tissue. we also microinjected mrnas for cerberus, chordin, fgf8, bmp4, wnt8, and xnr2, which induce ... | 2018 | 30209221 |
| a review of interventions against fetal alcohol spectrum disorder targeting oxidative stress. | fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is caused by maternal ethanol exposure; it causes physical, behavioral, cognitive, and neural impairments (murawski et al., 2015). mechanisms of fasd causing damage are not yet fully elucidated. oxidative stress might be one of its mechanisms (henderson et al., 1995). yet no effective treatment against fasd has been found other than ethanol abstention (long et al., 2010). | 2018 | 30205148 |
| in vitro analyses of novel hcn4 gene mutations. | the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel hcn4 contributes significantly to the generation of basic cardiac electrical activity in the sinus node and is a mediator of modulation by β-adrenergic stimulation. heterologous expression of sick sinus syndrome (sss) and bradycardia associated mutations within the human hcn4 gene results in altered channel function. the main aim was to describe the functional characterization of three (two novel and one known) missense mutat ... | 2018 | 30196304 |
| inward rectifier potassium (kir) channels in the soybean aphid aphis glycines: functional characterization, pharmacology, and toxicology. | inward rectifier k+ (kir) channels contribute to a variety of physiological processes in insects and are emerging targets for insecticide development. previous studies on insect kir channels have primarily focused on dipteran species (e.g., mosquitoes, fruit flies). here we identify and functionally characterize kir channel subunits in a hemipteran insect, the soybean aphid aphis glycines, which is an economically important insect pest and vector of soybeans. from the transcriptome and genome of ... | 2018 | 30196125 |
| a dual-app nucleoside probe provides structural insights into the human telomeric overhang in live cells. | understanding the topology adopted by individual g-quadruplex (gq)-forming sequences in vivo and targeting a specific gq motif among others in the genome will have a profound impact on gq-directed therapeutic strategies. however, this remains a major challenge as most of the tools poorly distinguish different gq conformations and are not suitable for both cell-free and in-cell analysis. here, we describe an innovative probe design to investigate gq conformations and recognition in both cell-free ... | 2018 | 30192541 |
| multiscale analysis of architecture, cell size and the cell cortex reveals cortical f-actin density and composition are major contributors to mechanical properties during convergent extension. | the large-scale movements that construct complex three-dimensional tissues during development are governed by universal physical principles. fine-grained control of both mechanical properties and force production is crucial to the successful placement of tissues and shaping of organs. embryos of the frog xenopus laevis provide a dramatic example of these physical processes, as dorsal tissues increase in young's modulus by six-fold to 80 pascal over 8 h as germ layers and the central nervous syst ... | 2018 | 30190279 |
| draft genome of dugesia japonica provides insights into conserved regulatory elements of the brain restriction gene nou-darake in planarians. | planarians are non-parasitic platyhelminthes (flatworms) famous for their regeneration ability and for having a well-organized brain. dugesia japonica is a typical planarian species that is widely distributed in the east asia. extensive cellular and molecular experimental methods have been developed to identify the functions of thousands of genes in this species, making this planarian a good experimental model for regeneration biology and neurobiology. however, no genome-level information is ava ... | 2018 | 30181897 |
| the cytoskeletal protein zyxin interacts with the zinc-finger transcription factor zic1 and plays the role of a scaffold for gli1 and zic1 interactions during early development of xenopus laevis. | we have shown recently that the cytoskeletal protein zyxin participates in the fine tuning of the neural plate pattering in xenopus laevis embryos by modulating activity of one of the effectors of hedgehog (shh) signaling cascade, the transcription factor gli1. in the present work, we show that zyxin can also interact with the potential modulator of the shh pathway, the transcription factor zic1. the interaction of proteins occurs primarily by mean of the zinc-finger domain of zic1 and 2nd lim d ... | 2018 | 30180953 |
| a single xlf dimer bridges dna ends during nonhomologous end joining. | nonhomologous end joining (nhej) is the primary pathway of dna double-strand-break repair in vertebrate cells, yet how nhej factors assemble a synaptic complex that bridges dna ends remains unclear. to address the role of xrcc4-like factor (xlf) in synaptic-complex assembly, we used single-molecule fluorescence imaging in xenopus laevis egg extract, a system that efficiently joins dna ends. we found that a single xlf dimer binds dna substrates just before the formation of a ligation-competent sy ... | 2018 | 30177755 |
| functional analysis of a triplet deletion in the gene encoding the sodium glucose transporter 3, a potential risk factor for adhd. | sodium-glucose transporters (sglt) belong to the solute carrier 5 family, which is characterized by sodium dependent transport of sugars and other solutes. in contrast, the human sglt3 (hsglt3) isoform, encoded by slc5a4, acts as a glucose sensor that does not transport sugar but induces membrane depolarization by na+ currents upon ligand binding. whole-exome sequencing (wes) of several extended pedigrees with high density of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) identified a triplet a ... | 2018 | 30286162 |
| nucleosomes and the three glycosylases: high, medium, and low levels of excision by the uracil dna glycosylase superfamily. | human cells express the udg superfamily of glycosylases, which excise uracil (u) from the genome. the three members of this structural superfamily are uracil dna glycosylase (ung/udg), single-strand selective monofunctional uracil dna glycosylase (smug1), and thymine dna glycosylase (tdg). we previously reported that udg is efficient at removing u from dna packaged into nucleosome core particles (ncp) and is minimally affected by the histone proteins when acting on an outward-facing u in the dya ... | 2018 | 30268365 |
| a xenopus oocyte model system to study action potentials. | action potentials (aps) are the functional units of fast electrical signaling in excitable cells. the upstroke and downstroke of an ap is generated by the competing and asynchronous action of na+- and k+-selective voltage-gated conductances. although a mixture of voltage-gated channels has been long recognized to contribute to the generation and temporal characteristics of the ap, understanding how each of these proteins function and are regulated during electrical signaling remains the subject ... | 2018 | 30266757 |
| unusual light-reflecting pigment cells appear in the xenopus neural tube culture system in the presence of guanosine. | isolation and culture of xenopus laevis neural tubes resulted in differentiation of melanophores and iridophores from neural crest cells; the differentiated melanophores and iridophores were then maintained in culture for more than 6 months. guanosine has been reported to promote reflecting platelet formation in melanin-producing pigment cells; however, the process of pigment organellogenesis is still unclear. in the present study, unusual light-reflecting pigment cells were observed upon additi ... | 2018 | 30309510 |
| uroplakins play conserved roles in egg fertilization and acquired additional urothelial functions during mammalian divergence. | uroplakin (up) tetraspanins and their associated proteins are major mammalian urothelial differentiation products that form unique two-dimensional crystals of 16-nm particles ("urothelial plaques") covering the apical urothelial surface. although uroplakins are highly expressed only in mammalian urothelium and are often referred to as being urothelium specific, they are also expressed in several mouse nonurothelial cell types in stomach, kidney, prostate, epididymis, testis/sperms, and ovary/ooc ... | 2018 | 30303751 |
| retinal tissue preparation for high-resolution live imaging of photoreceptors expressing multiple transgenes. | live imaging has become the favorite method in recent years to study the protein transport, localization and dynamics in live cells. protein transport is extremely essential for proper function of photoreceptors. aberration in the proper transport of proteins gives rise to the loss of photoreceptor and blindness. on the other hand, the ease of generation of transgenic xenopus laevis tadpoles and the advantage of high resolution live confocal imaging provide new insight into understanding protein ... | 2018 | 30302320 |
| antibacterial and antibiofilm activity and mode of action of magainin 2 against drug-resistant acinetobacter baumannii. | antimicrobial peptides (amps) are promising therapeutic agents for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. previous studies showed that magainin 2 (isolated from african clawed fogs xenopus laevis) has antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. the present study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial activity of magainin 2 against acinetobacter baumannii. magainin 2 showed excellent antibacterial activity against a. baumannii strains and high sta ... | 2018 | 30301180 |
| morphomechanical reactions and mechanically stressed structures in amphibian embryos, as related to gastrulation and axial organs formation. | reactions of embryonic tissues to a distributed and concentrated stretching are described and compared with the mechanics of the normal gastrulation movements. a role of mechanically stressed dynamic cell structures in the gastrulation, demarcation of notochord borders and in providing proportionality of the axial rudiments is demonstrated. a morphomechanical scheme of amphibian gastrulation is presented. | 2018 | 30321583 |
| reconstitution of cell-cycle oscillations in microemulsions of cell-free xenopus egg extracts. | real-time measurement of oscillations at the single-cell level is important to uncover the mechanisms of biological clocks. although bulk extracts prepared from xenopus laevis eggs have been powerful in dissecting biochemical networks underlying the cell-cycle progression, their ensemble average measurement typically leads to a damped oscillation, despite each individual oscillator being sustained. this is due to the difficulty of perfect synchronization among individual oscillators in noisy bio ... | 2018 | 30320763 |
| assembly of protein complexes restricts diffusion of wnt3a proteins. | members of the wnt protein family play roles in many aspects of embryogenesis and homeostasis. despite their biological significance, characteristics of wnt proteins still remain unclear, mainly due to their insolubility after the removal of serum. here we examine wnt proteins in serum-containing media by using analytical ultracentrifugation with a fluorescence detection system. this analysis reveals that wnt3a assembles into high-molecular-weight complexes that become dissociable by interaction ... | 2018 | 30320232 |
| polystyrene microplastics did not affect body growth and swimming activity in xenopus laevis tadpoles. | a growing number of studies have highlighted the contamination and the effects towards organisms of diverse microplastics (μps) in the marine environment. surprisingly, although the main sources of μps for marine environments are inland surface waters, the information on the occurrence and the effects of μps in freshwater ecosystems is still scant. thus, the aim of the present work is to investigate the ingestion and possible adverse effects due to the exposure to polystyrene μps (psμps; ø = 3 μ ... | 2018 | 30317408 |
| calcineurin promotes apc/c activation at meiotic exit by acting on both xerp1 and cdc20. | vertebrate oocytes await fertilization arrested at metaphase of the second meiotic division. fertilization triggers a transient calcium wave, which induces the activation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (apc/c) and its co-activator cdc20 resulting in the destruction of cyclin b and hence meiotic exit. two calcium-dependent enzymes are implicated in fertilization-induced apc/ccdc20 activation: calcium-/calmodulin-dependent kinase type ii (camkii) and calcineurin (can). while the role ... | 2018 | 30373936 |
| assessment of the complex refractive indices of xenopus laevis sciatic nerve for the optimization of optical (nir) neurostimulation. | despite an increasing interest in the use of light for neural stimulation, there is little information on how it interacts with neural tissue. the choice of wavelength in most of the optical stimulation literature is based on already available light sources designed for other applications. this paper is the first one to report the complex refractive index of the sciatic nerve of xenopus laevis, which is a crucial parameter for identifying the optimal wavelength of optical stimuli. the xenopus la ... | 2018 | 30371379 |
| the receptor-like pseudokinase ghr1 is required for stomatal closure. | guard cells control the aperture of stomatal pores to balance photosynthetic carbon dioxide uptake with evaporative water loss. stomatal closure is triggered by several stimuli that initiate complex signaling networks to govern the activity of ion channels. activation of slow anion channel1 (slac1) is central to the process of stomatal closure and requires the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (lrr-rlk) guard cell hydrogen peroxide-resistant1 (ghr1), among other signaling components. here ... | 2018 | 30361234 |
| time-lapse imaging of cell death in cell culture and whole living organisms using turn-on deep-red fluorescent probes. | cell death is a central process in developmental biology and also an important indicator of disease status and treatment efficacy. two related fluorescent probes are described that are molecular conjugates of one or two zinc dipicolylamine (zndpa) coordination complexes with an appended solvatochromic benzothiazolium squaraine dye. the probes were designed to target the anionic phospholipid, phosphatidylserine (ps), that is exposed on the surface of dead and dying cells. a series of spectrometri ... | 2018 | 30858977 |
| effects of copper on the early development of xenopus laevis: the case of cuso4 and bordeaux mixture solutions. | 2018 | 30701063 | |
| control of xenopus tadpole locomotion via selective expression of ih in excitatory interneurons. | locomotion relies on the coordinated activity of rhythmic neurons in the hindbrain and spinal cord and depends critically on the intrinsic properties of excitatory interneurons. therefore, understanding how ion channels sculpt the properties of these interneurons, and the consequences for circuit function and behavior, is an important task. the hyperpolarization-activated cation current, ih, is known to play important roles in shaping neuronal properties and for rhythm generation in many neurona ... | 2018 | 30503615 |
| genomic takeover by transposable elements in the strawberry poison frog. | we sequenced the genome of the strawberry poison frog, oophaga pumilio, at a depth of 127.5× using variable insert size libraries. the total genome size is estimated to be 6.76 gb, of which 4.76 gb are from high copy number repetitive elements with low differentiation across copies. these repeats encompass dna transposons, rna transposons, and ltr retrotransposons, including at least 0.4 and 1.0 gb of mariner/tc1 and gypsy elements, respectively. expression data indicate high levels of gypsy and ... | 2018 | 30517748 |
| modeling underwater hearing and sound localization in the frog xenopus laevis. | animals that are small compared to sound wavelengths face the challenge of localizing a sound source since the main cues to sound direction-interaural time differences (itd) and interaural level differences (ild)-both depend on size. remarkably, the majority of terrestrial vertebrates possess internally coupled ears (ice) with an air-filled cavity connecting the two eardrums and producing an inherently directional middle-ear system. underwater, longer wavelengths and faster sound-speed reduce bo ... | 2018 | 30522324 |
| silurana chromosomal evolution: a new piece to the puzzle. | the african clawed frogs of the subgenus silurana comprise both diploid and tetraploid species. the root of the polyploidization event leading to the extant xenopus calcaratus, x. mellotropicalis, and x. epitropicalis is not fully understood so far. in x. mellotropicalis, we previously proposed 2 evolutionary scenarios encompassing complete (scenario a) or incomplete (scenario b) translocation of a heterochromatic block from chromosome 9 to 2 in a diploid ancestor. to resolve this puzzle, we per ... | 2018 | 30537723 |
| the interplay between voluntary food intake, dietary carbohydrate-lipid ratio and nutrient metabolism in an amphibian, (xenopus laevis). | digestion of food and metabolism of frogs are little studied at the moment, and such processes could be very particular in the case of amphibians, given their ectothermic and carnivorous nature which may lead them to use nutrients through specific biochemical pathways. in the present study, 24 adult xenopus laevis (six replicates with two frogs per treatment) were randomly assigned to two diets with different carbohydrate:fat ratio (4.5:1 and 2.1:1), changing the dietary glucogenic and lipogenic ... | 2018 | 30532132 |
| xenopus hybrids provide insight into cell and organism size control. | determining how size is controlled is a fundamental question in biology that is poorly understood at the organismal, cellular, and subcellular levels. the xenopus species, x. laevis and x. tropicalis differ in size at all three of these levels. despite these differences, fertilization of x. laevis eggs with x. tropicalis sperm gives rise to viable hybrid animals that are intermediate in size. we observed that although hybrid and x. laevis embryogenesis initiates from the same sized zygote and pr ... | 2018 | 30564147 |
| alteration of the retinoid acid-cbp signaling pathway in neural crest induction contributes to enteric nervous system disorder. | hirschsprung disease (hscr) and/or hypoganglionosis are common pediatric disorders that arise from developmental deficiencies of enteric neural crest cells (enccs). retinoid acid (ra) signaling has been shown to affect neural crest (nc) development. however, the mechanisms underlying ra deficiency-induced hscr or hypoganglionosis are not well-defined. in this report, we found that in hscr patient bowels, the ra nuclear receptor rarα and its interacting coregulator creb-binding protein (cbp) were ... | 2018 | 30560112 |
| ventx1.1 as a direct repressor of early neural gene zic3 in xenopus laevis. | from xenopus embryo studies, the bmp4/smad1-targeted gene circuit is a key signaling pathway for specifying the cell fate between the ectoderm and neuro-ectoderm as well as the ventral and dorsal mesoderm. in this context, several bmp4/smad1 target transcriptional factors have been identified as repressors of the neuro-ectoderm. however, none of these direct target transcription factors in this pathway, including gata1b, msx1 and ventx1.1 have yet been proven as direct repressors of early neuro- ... | 2018 | 30590909 |
| development of a rapid functional assay that predicts glut1 disease severity. | to examine the genotype to phenotype connection in glucose transporter type 1 (glut1) deficiency and whether a simple functional assay can predict disease outcome from genetic sequence alone. | 2018 | 30588498 |
| divergent subgenome evolution after allopolyploidization in african clawed frogs (xenopus). | whole genome duplication (wgd), the doubling of the nuclear dna of a species, contributes to biological innovation by creating genetic redundancy. one mode of wgd is allopolyploidization, wherein each genome from two ancestral species becomes a 'subgenome' of a polyploid descendant species. the evolutionary trajectory of a duplicated gene that arises from wgd is influenced both by natural selection that may favour redundant, new or partitioned functions, and by gene silencing (pseudogenization). ... | 2018 | 30341989 |
| synthetic light-activated ion channels for optogenetic activation and inhibition. | optogenetic manipulation of cells or living organisms became widely used in neuroscience following the introduction of the light-gated ion channel channelrhodopsin-2 (chr2). chr2 is a non-selective cation channel, ideally suited to depolarize and evoke action potentials in neurons. however, its calcium (ca2+) permeability and single channel conductance are low and for some applications longer-lasting increases in intracellular ca2+ might be desirable. moreover, there is need for an efficient lig ... | 2018 | 30333716 |
| multiple combinations of rdl subunits diversify the repertoire of gaba receptors in the honey bee parasite varroa destructor. | in insects, γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, and gaba-gated ion channels are the target of different classes of insecticides, including fipronil. we report here the cloning of six subunits (four rdl, one lcch3, and one grd) that constitute the repertoire of the gaba-gated ion channel family of the varroa mite (varroa destructor), a honey bee ectoparasite. we also isolated a truncated grd subunit with a premature stop codon. we found that when expressed in xeno ... | 2018 | 30333227 |
| emerin induces nuclear breakage in xenopus extract and early embryos. | emerin is an inner nuclear membrane protein often mutated in emery-dreifuss muscular dystrophy. because emerin has diverse roles in nuclear mechanics, cytoskeletal organization, and gene expression, it has been difficult to elucidate its contribution to nuclear structure and disease pathology. in this study, we investigated emerin's impact on nuclei assembled in xenopus laevis egg extract, a simplified biochemical system that lacks potentially confounding cellular factors and activities. notably ... | 2018 | 30332321 |
| early redox activities modulate xenopus tail regeneration. | redox state sustained by reactive oxygen species (ros) is crucial for regeneration; however, the interplay between oxygen (o2), ros and hypoxia-inducible factors (hif) remains elusive. here we observe, using an optic-based probe (optrode), an elevated and steady o2 influx immediately upon amputation. the spatiotemporal o2 influx profile correlates with the regeneration of xenopus laevis tadpole tails. inhibition of ros production but not ros scavenging decreases o2 influx. inhibition of hif-1α i ... | 2018 | 30327466 |
| expression of trpv channels during xenopus laevis embryogenesis. | transient receptor potential (trp) cation channel genes code for an extensive family of conserved proteins responsible for a variety of physiological processes, including sensory perception, ion homeostasis, and chemical signal transduction. the trp superfamily consists of seven subgroups, one of which is the transient receptor potential vanilloid (trpv) channel family. while trpv channels are relatively well studied in adult vertebrate organisms given their role in functions such as nociception ... | 2018 | 30326274 |
| transcriptome analysis of xenopus orofacial tissues deficient in retinoic acid receptor function. | development of the face and mouth is orchestrated by a large number of transcription factors, signaling pathways and epigenetic regulators. while we know many of these regulators, our understanding of how they interact with each other and implement changes in gene expression during orofacial development is still in its infancy. therefore, this study focuses on uncovering potential cooperation between transcriptional regulators and one important signaling pathway, retinoic acid, during developmen ... | 2018 | 30390632 |
| flow cytometric analysis of xenopus laevis and x. tropicalis blood cells using acridine orange. | automated blood cell counters can distinguish cells based on their size and the presence or absence of a nucleus. however, most vertebrates have nucleated blood cells that cannot be counted automatically. we established an alternative automatic method for counting peripheral blood cells by staining cells with the fluorescent dye acridine orange (ao) and analysing cell populations using flow cytometry (fcm). as promising new animal models, we chose xenopus laevis and three inbred strains of x. tr ... | 2018 | 30390005 |
| size-dependent functional response of xenopus laevis feeding on mosquito larvae. | predators can play an important role in regulating prey abundance and diversity, determining food web structure and function, and contributing to important ecosystem services, including the regulation of agricultural pests and disease vectors. thus, the ability to predict predator impact on prey is an important goal in ecology. often, predators of the same species are assumed to be functionally equivalent, despite considerable individual variation in predator traits known to be important for sha ... | 2018 | 30386704 |
| trypanosoma brucei aquaglyceroporins mediate the transport of metabolic end-products: methylglyoxal, d-lactate, l-lactate and acetate. | bloodstream forms of trypanosoma (t.) brucei, the causative agent of african sleeping sickness, possess a highly active glycolysis, which generates as main end-products: pyruvate under aerobic conditions, and pyruvate and glycerol under anaerobic conditions. to secrete them into the extracellular milieu, the parasites have at least two main specific membrane proteins, the pyruvate transporter and the aquaglyceroporins however, there are several other minor products from the glycolysis that must ... | 2018 | 30409521 |
| brief local application of progesterone via a wearable bioreactor induces long-term regenerative response in adult xenopus hindlimb. | the induction of limb repair in adult vertebrates is a pressing, unsolved problem. here, we characterize the effects of an integrated device that delivers drugs to severed hindlimbs of adult xenopus laevis, which normally regenerate cartilaginous spikes after amputation. a wearable bioreactor containing a silk protein-based hydrogel that delivered progesterone to the wound site immediately after hindlimb amputation for only 24 hr induced the regeneration of paddle-like structures in adult frogs. ... | 2018 | 30404012 |
| atlht1 transporter can facilitate the uptake and translocation of a glycinergic-chlorantraniliprole conjugate in arabidopsis thaliana. | understanding of the transporters involved in the uptake and translocation of agrochemicals in plants could provide an opportunity to guide pesticide to the site of insect feeding. the product of arabidopsis thaliana gene atlht1 makes a major contribution to the uptake into the roots of free amino acids and some of their derivatives. here, a chlorantraniliprole-glycine conjugate (cap-gly-1) was tested for its affinity to atlht1 both in planta and in vitro. seedlings deficient in atlht1 exhibited ... | 2018 | 30403859 |
| cellspecks: a software for automated detection and analysis of calcium channels in live cells. | to couple the fidelity of patch-clamp recording with a more high-throughput screening capability, we pioneered a, to our knowledge, novel approach to single-channel recording that we named "optical patch clamp." by using highly sensitive fluorescent ca2+ indicator dyes in conjunction with total internal fluorescence microscopy techniques, we monitor ca2+ flux through individual ca2+-permeable channels. this approach provides information about channel gating analogous to patch-clamp recording at ... | 2018 | 30447989 |
| automating event-detection of brain neuron synaptic activity and action potential firing in vivo using a random-access multiphoton laser scanning microscope for real-time analysis. | determining how a neuron computes requires an understanding of the complex spatiotemporal relationship between its input (e.g. synaptic input as a result of external stimuli) and action potential output. recent advances in in vivo, laser-scanning multiphoton technology, known as random-access microscopy (ram), can capture this relationship by imaging fluorescent light, emitted from calcium-sensitive biosensors responding to synaptic and action potential firing in a neuron's full dendritic arbor ... | 2018 | 30440280 |
| expression of hyaluronan synthases upregulated by thyroid hormone is involved in intestinal stem cell development during xenopus laevis metamorphosis. | during amphibian intestinal remodeling, thyroid hormone (th) induces adult stem cells, which newly generate the absorptive epithelium analogous to the mammalian one. we have previously shown that hyaluronan (ha) is newly synthesized and plays an essential role in the development of the stem cells via its major receptor cd44 in the xenopus laevis intestine. we here focused on ha synthase (has) and examined how the expression of has family genes is regulated during natural and th-induced metamorph ... | 2018 | 30430240 |
| novel findings on the impact of chytridiomycosis on the cardiac function of anurans: sensitive vs. tolerant species. | understanding of the physiological effects of chytridiomycosis is crucial to worldwide amphibian conservation. therefore, we analyzed the cardiac function of two anuran species (xenopus laevis and physalaemus albonotatus) with different susceptibilities to infection by the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (hereafter bd). | 2018 | 30425891 |
| a taxonomically and geographically constrained information base limits non-native reptile and amphibian risk assessment: a systematic review. | for many taxa, new records of non-native introductions globally occur at a near exponential rate. we undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed publications on non-native herpetofauna, to assess the information base available for assessing risks of future invasions, resulting in 836 relevant papers. the taxonomic and geographic scope of the literature was also compared to a published database of all known invasions globally. we found 1,116 species of herpetofauna, 95% of which were present i ... | 2018 | 30425887 |
| development of an acute method to deliver transgenes into the brains of adult xenopus laevis. | the central vocal pathway of the african clawed frog, xenopus laevis, is a powerful vertebrate model to understand mechanisms underlying central pattern generation. however, fast and efficient methods of introducing exogenous genes into the neurons of adult x. laevis are currently not available. here, we systematically tested methods of transgene delivery into adult x. laevis neurons. although successfully used for tadpole neurons for over a decade, electroporation was not efficient in transfect ... | 2018 | 30416430 |
| thyroid hormone levels and temperature during development alter thermal tolerance and energetics of xenopus laevis larvae. | environmental variation induced by natural and anthropogenic processes including climate change may threaten species by causing environmental stress. anuran larvae experiencing environmental stress may display altered thyroid hormone (th) status with potential implications for physiological traits. therefore, any capacity to adapt to environmental changes through plastic responses provides a key to determining species vulnerability to environmental variation. we investigated whether developmenta ... | 2018 | 30464840 |
| the effect of an environmentally relevant phthalate mixture on primordial germ cells of xenopus laevis embryos. | 2018 | 32550375 | |
| effects of quinine, quinidine and chloroquine on human muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. | the genus cinchona is known for a range of alkaloids, such as quinine, quinidine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine. cinchona bark has been used as an antimalarial agent for more than 400 years. quinine was first isolated in 1820 and is still acknowledged in the therapy of chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria; in lower dosage quinine has been used as treatment for leg cramps since the 1940s. here we report the effects of the quinoline derivatives quinine, quinidine, and chloroquine on human adult ... | 2018 | 30515099 |
| auditory perception exhibits sexual dimorphism and left telencephalic dominance in xenopus laevis. | sex differences in both vocalization and auditory processing have been commonly found in vocal animals, although the underlying neural mechanisms associated with sexual dimorphism of auditory processing are not well understood. in this study we investigated whether auditory perception exhibits sexual dimorphism in xenopus laevis to do this we measured event-related potentials (erps) evoked by white noise (wn) and conspecific calls in the telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon respectively ... | 2018 | 30509903 |
| extinction of an introduced warm-climate alien species, xenopus laevis, by extreme weather events. | invasive, non-native species represent a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. the african amphibian xenopus laevis is widely regarded as an invasive species and a threat to local faunas. populations originating at the western cape, south africa, have been introduced on four continents, mostly in areas with a similar mediterranean climate. some introduced populations are also established in cooler environments where persistence for many decades suggests a capacity for long-term adaptation. in ... | 2017 | 26430383 |
| fmrp regulates neurogenesis in vivo in xenopus laevis tadpoles. | fragile x syndrome (fxs) is the leading known monogenic form of autism and the most common form of inherited intellectual disability. fxs results from silencing the fmr1 gene during embryonic development, leading to loss of fragile x mental retardation protein (fmrp), an rna-binding protein that regulates mrna transport, stability, and translation. fxs is commonly thought of as a disease of synaptic dysfunction, however, fmrp expression is lost early in embryonic development, well before most sy ... | 2017 | 25844398 |
| methylmercury exposure during early xenopus laevis development affects cell proliferation and death but not neural progenitor specification. | methylmercury (mehg) is a widespread environmental toxin that preferentially and adversely affects developing organisms. to investigate the impact of mehg toxicity on the formation of the vertebrate nervous system at physiologically relevant concentrations, we designed a graded phenotype scale for evaluating xenopus laevis embryos exposed to mehg in solution. embryos displayed a range of abnormalities in response to mehg, particularly in brain development, which is influenced by both mehg concen ... | 2017 | 25496965 |
| aquaglyceroporins are the entry pathway of boric acid in trypanosoma brucei. | the boron element possesses a range of different effects on living beings. it is essential to beneficial at low concentrations, but toxic at excessive concentrations. recently, some boron-based compounds have been identified as promising molecules against trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness. however, until now, the boron metabolism and its access route into the parasite remained elusive. the present study addressed the permeability of t. brucei aquaglyceroporins (tbaqps) ... | 2017 | 28087364 |
| functional characterisation and cell specificity of bvsut1, the transporter that loads sucrose into the phloem of sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.) source leaves. | sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.) is one of the most important sugar-producing plants worldwide and provides about one third of the sugar consumed by humans. here we report on molecular characterisation of the bvsut1 gene and on the functional characterisation of the encoded transporter. in contrast to the recently identified tonoplast-localised sucrose transporter bvtst2.1 from sugar beet taproots, which evolved within the monosaccharide transporter (mst) superfamily, bvsut1 represents a classical ... | 2017 | 28075052 |
| sucrose transporter localization and function in phloem unloading in developing stems. | how sucrose transporters (suts) regulate phloem unloading in monocot stems is poorly understood and particularly so for species storing high suc concentrations. to this end, sorghum bicolor suts sbsut1 and sbsut5 were characterized by determining their transport properties heterologously expressed in yeast or xenopus laevis oocytes, and their in planta cellular and subcellular localization. the plasma membrane-localized sbsut1 and sbsut5 exhibited a strong selectivity for suc and high suc affini ... | 2017 | 27986867 |
| h(+)-dependent inorganic phosphate uptake in trypanosoma brucei is influenced by myo-inositol transporter. | trypanosoma brucei is an extracellular protozoan parasite that causes human african trypanosomiasis or "sleeping sickness". during the different phases of its life cycle, t. brucei depends on exogenous inorganic phosphate (pi), but little is known about the transport of pi in this organism. in the present study, we showed that the transport of (32)pi across the plasma membrane follows michaelis-menten kinetics and is modulated by ph variation, with higher activity at acidic ph. bloodstream forms ... | 2017 | 28185085 |
| two spatially and temporally distinct ca(2+) signals convey arabidopsis thaliana responses to k(+) deficiency. | in plants, potassium (k(+) ) homeostasis is tightly regulated and established against a concentration gradient to the environment. despite the identification of ca(2+) -regulated kinases as modulators of k(+) channels, the immediate signaling and adaptation mechanisms of plants to low-k(+) conditions are only partially understood. to assess the occurrence and role of ca(2+) signals in arabidopsis thaliana roots, we employed ratiometric analyses of ca(2+) dynamics in plants expressing the ca(2+) ... | 2017 | 27579668 |
| polar localization of the nip5;1 boric acid channel is maintained by endocytosis and facilitates boron transport in arabidopsis roots. | boron uptake in arabidopsis thaliana is mediated by nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein (nip)5;1, a boric acid channel that is located preferentially on the soil side of the plasma membrane in root cells. however, the mechanism underlying this polar localization is poorly understood. here, we show that the polar localization of nip5;1 in epidermal and endodermal root cells is mediated by the phosphorylation of thr residues in the conserved tpg (thrprogly) repeat in the n-terminal region of nip5;1. ... | 2017 | 28341806 |
| models of amphibian myogenesis - the case of bombina variegata. | several different models of myogenesis describing early stages of amphibian paraxial myotomal myogenesis are known. myoblasts of xenopus laevis and hymenochirus boettgeri change their position from perpendicular to parallel, in relation to axial organs, and differentiate into mononucleate myotubes. in bombina variegate the myotomal myoblasts change their shape from round to elongate and then differentiate into mononuclear, morphologically mature myotubes. in pelobates fuscus and triturus vulgari ... | 2017 | 28287243 |
| cloning and expression analysis of zygote arrest 1 (zar1) in new zealand white rabbits. | zygote arrest 1 (zar1) is an oocyte-specific maternal-effect gene. previous studies indicate that zar1 plays important role in early embryo development, but little is known about its function in rabbit. the objectives of this study were to clone the new zealand white rabbit zar1 gene and to investigate its expression in various organs in groups of animals with different reproductive traits.we obtained a 709-bp zar1 cdna fragment consisting of an 8-bp exon 1, 161-bp exon 2, 75-bp exon 3, 271-bp e ... | 2017 | 28360383 |
| targeting functional noncoding rnas. | noncoding rnas have essential biochemical functions in different areas of cellular metabolism, including protein synthesis, rna splicing, protein secretion, and dna replication. we have successfully used morpholino antisense oligonucleotides for the functional inactivation of small noncoding rnas required for dna replication (y rnas in vertebrates and stem-bulge rnas in nematodes). here we discuss specific issues of targeting functional noncoding rnas for inactivation by morpholino antisense oli ... | 2017 | 28364241 |
| isolation and functional characterization of cslsi1, a silicon transporter gene in cucumis sativus. | cucumber (cucumis sativus) is a widely grown cucurbitaceous vegetable that exhibits a relatively high capacity for silicon (si) accumulation, but the molecular mechanism for silicon uptake remains to be clarified. here we isolated and characterized cslsi1, a gene encoding a silicon transporter in cucumber (cv. mch-4). cslsi1 shares 55.70 and 90.63% homology with the lsi1s of a monocot and dicot, rice (oryza sativa) and pumpkin (cucurbita moschata), respectively. cslsi1 was predominantly expresse ... | 2017 | 27701737 |
| a staging table of post-ovipositional development for the south american collared lizard tropidurus torquatus (squamata: tropiduridae). | the mouse, chicken, african clawed frog, and zebrafish are considered ¨model organisms¨ due to their extensive embryological and genetic characterization. however, they are far from representative of known diversity, impairing phylogenetic analyses of developmental patterns. since squamates have historically received limited attention in developmental studies, we here describe the developmental sequence for tropidurus torquatus, and provide the first post-ovipositional developmental series for t ... | 2017 | 27741560 |
| first parasitological study of the african clawed frog (xenopus laevis, amphibia) in chile. | introduced species can arrive into new territories with parasites; however, these species are expected to face lower parasite richness than in their original regions. both introduced hosts and parasites can affect native fauna. since their release into the wild in chile following laboratory use, xenopus laevis daudin, 1802 has widely spread throughout central chile. the only pathogen described on the host is the fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis longcore, pessier, nichols, 1999; thus, this i ... | 2017 | 28746452 |
| heterologous expression of panax ginseng pgtip1 confers enhanced salt tolerance of soybean cotyledon hairy roots, composite, and whole plants. | the panax ginseng tip gene pgtip1 was previously demonstrated to have high water channel activity by its heterologous expression in xenopus laevis oocytes and in yeast; it also plays a significant role in growth of pgtip1-transgenic arabidopsis plants under favorable conditions and has enhanced tolerance toward salt and drought treatment. in this work, we first investigated the physiological effects of heterologous pgtip1 expression in soybean cotyledon hairy roots or composite plants mediated b ... | 2017 | 28769947 |
| the xenopus tadpole: an in vivo model to screen drugs favoring remyelination. | in multiple sclerosis, development of screening tools for remyelination-promoting molecules is timely. | 2017 | 28752787 |
| functional characterization of an aquaporin from a microsporidium, nosema bombycis. | microsporidia are a diverse group of eukaryotic organisms, capable of causing parasitic infections in both vertebrates and invertebrates. during the germination process, there is an increase in the osmotic pressure of microsporidian spores. as part of this study, we cloned a homologous aquaporin gene in nosema bombycis, and named it nosema bombycis aquaporin (nbaqp). sequence analysis revealed that the nbaqp contains an open reading frame with a length of 750 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 249 ... | 2017 | 28749993 |
| iron is a substrate of the plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter pfcrt in xenopus oocytes. | the chloroquine resistance transporter of the human malaria parasite plasmodium falciparum, pfcrt, is an important determinant of resistance to several quinoline and quinoline-like antimalarial drugs. pfcrt also plays an essential role in the physiology of the parasite during development inside erythrocytes. however, the function of this transporter besides its role in drug resistance is still unclear. using electrophysiological and flux experiments conducted on pfcrtexpressing xenopus laevis oo ... | 2017 | 28768767 |
| multi-omics analysis sheds light on the evolution and the intracellular lifestyle strategies of spotted fever group rickettsia spp. | arthropod-borne rickettsia species are obligate intracellular bacteria which are pathogenic for humans. within this genus, rickettsia slovaca and rickettsia conorii cause frequent and potentially severe infections, whereas rickettsia raoultii and rickettsia massiliae cause rare and milder infections. all four species belong to spotted fever group (sfg) rickettsiae. however, r. slovaca and r. raoultii cause scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy (senlat) and are mainly associated with dermacentor ... | 2017 | 28775717 |
| toxicity effects of functionalized quantum dots, gold and polystyrene nanoparticles on target aquatic biological models: a review. | nano-based products are widespread in several sectors, including textiles, medical-products, cosmetics, paints and plastics. nanosafety and safe-by-design are driving nanoparticle (np) production and applications through np functionalization (@nps). indeed, @nps frequently present biological effects that differ from the parent material. this paper reviews the impact of quantum dots (qds), gold nanoparticles (aunps), and polystyrene-cored nps (psnps), evidencing the role of np functionalization i ... | 2017 | 28858240 |
| amphibase: a new genomic resource for non-model amphibian species. | more than five thousand genes annotated in the recently published xenopus laevis and xenopus tropicalis genomes do not have a candidate orthologous counterpart in other vertebrate species. to determine whether these sequences represent genuine amphibian-specific genes or annotation errors, it is necessary to analyze them alongside sequences from other amphibian species. however, due to large genome sizes and an abundance of repeat sequences, there are limited numbers of gene sequences available ... | 2017 | 28095648 |
| molecular evolution of two distinct dmrt1 promoters for germ and somatic cells in vertebrate gonads. | the transcription factor dmrt1 has important functions in two distinct processes, somatic-cell masculinization and germ-cell development in mammals. however, it is unknown whether the functions are conserved during evolution, and what mechanism underlies its expression in the two cell lineages. our analysis of the xenopus laevis and silurana tropicalis dmrt1 genes indicated the presence of two distinct promoters: one upstream of the noncoding first exon (ncex1), and one within the first intron. ... | 2017 | 27927791 |
| comparative micrornaome analysis of the testis and ovary of the chinese giant salamander. | micrornas (mirnas) are 18-24 nucleotides non-coding rnas that regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional suppression of mrna. the chinese giant salamander (cgs, andrias davidianus), which is an endangered species, has become one of the important models of animal evolution; however, no mirna studies on this species have been conducted. in this study, two small rna libraries of cgs ovary and testis were constructed using deep sequencing technology. a bioinformatics pipeline was developed to ... | 2017 | 28630098 |
| genomic epidemiology of the emerging pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis from native and invasive amphibian species in chile. | emerging fungal diseases represent a threat to food security, animal and human health worldwide. amphibian chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd), has been associated with catastrophic and well-documented amphibian population declines and extinctions. for the first time, bd was cultured from native and non-native wild amphibians in chile. phylogenomic analyses revealed that chilean isolates avs2, avs4 and avs7 group within the global panzootic lineage of bd (b ... | 2017 | 29205924 |
| analysis of cell size in the gastrula of ten frog species reveals a correlation of egg with cell sizes, and a conserved pattern of small cells in the marginal zone. | we investigated the relationship between egg and cell sizes in the early gastrula of ten species of frogs with eggs of 1,100-3,500 μm diameters. we asked whether differences in cell size of the vegetal region, blastocoel roof, and marginal zone of the early gastrula were associated with egg size. alternatively, we proposed that cell size differences may associate with gastrulation characteristics. the analyzed species were as follows: xenopus laevis, engystomops randi, engystomops coloradorum, e ... | 2017 | 27381278 |