Publications by authors named "A C Gunter"
Invasive species often encounter novel selective pressures in their invaded range, and understanding their potential for rapid evolution is critical for developing effective management strategies. is an invasive drosophilid native to Africa that reached Florida in 2005 and likely re-establishes temperate North American populations each year. We addressed two evolutionary questions in this system: first, do populations evolve phenotypic changes in the generations immediately following colonization of temperate environments? Second, does evolve directional phenotypic changes along a latitudinal cline? We established isofemale lines from wild collections across space and time and measured twelve ecologically relevant phenotypes, using a reference population as a control.
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- * Researchers conducted a genomic study on the African Fig Fly in North America to analyze its population structure, recolonization patterns, and genetic adaptation, finding that early invasive populations may evolve rapidly despite limited overall genetic differentiation.
- * Key findings include the identification of X chromosome haplotypes that are differentiated between populations in Virginia and Florida, indicating natural selection, as well as structural genetic variations that reveal unique evolutionary trends in invasive species compared to their native counterparts.
The guanine-rich telomeric repeats can form G-quadruplexes (G4s) that alter the accessibility of the single-stranded telomeric overhang. In this study, we investigated the effects of Na and K on G4 folding and accessibility through cation introduction and exchange. We combined differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), circular dichroism (CD), and single molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) to monitor the stability, conformational dynamics, and complementary strand binding accessibility of G4 formed by single-stranded telomeric DNA.
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- Sterols are common compounds found in cell membranes and are resistant to breakdown due to their water-insoluble nature; a new pathway for degrading cholesterol has been discovered in the bacterium Sterolibacterium denitrificans.
- This pathway includes a series of ATP-dependent enzyme reactions that modify sterol structures, specifically targeting cholesterol while being unsuitable for other steroids like stigmasterol.
- Researchers identified a key enzyme from S. denitrificans that facilitates the oxidation of sterol intermediates, ultimately enabling a process to hydroxylate the isoprenoid side chain without requiring oxygen, thus presenting a novel method for sterol degradation.
The Mongolian gerbil as an advanced model to study cone system physiology.
Front Cell Neurosci
January 2024
In this work, we introduce a diurnal rodent, the Mongolian gerbil () (MG) as an alternative to study retinal cone system physiology and pathophysiology in mice. The cone system is of particular importance, as it provides high-acuity and color vision and its impairment in retinal disorders is thus especially disabling. Despite their nocturnal lifestyle, mice are currently the most popular animals to study cone-related diseases due to the high availability of genetically modified models.
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