Publications by authors named "Adriana Flores-Moran"
Article Synopsis
- Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is crucial for identifying genetic variants that cause diseases, but it's often too expensive for widespread clinical use; a cheaper alternative, extremely low coverage whole-genome sequencing (XLC-WGS), was explored in a study on retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
- The study analyzed the genomes of 17 family members, including three diagnosed with RP, using Illumina's processing tools to filter and prioritize genetic variants.
- Researchers identified a known mutation in the RP1 gene as the likely cause of RP in the affected individuals, demonstrating that combining pedigree analysis with XLC-WGS is a practical and cost-effective method to find genetic variants related to diseases.
Article Synopsis
- MCTPs (Multiple C2 Domains and Transmembrane region Proteins) are related to other important proteins involved in processes like exocytosis and membrane trafficking, but their specific functions have not been thoroughly researched.
- They are found in endosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum, featuring three conserved C2 domains and two transmembrane regions across different species.
- Structural modeling and docking analysis of MCTP's C2 domains in C. elegans suggests they have calcium- and lipid-binding abilities, indicating that MCTPs likely play a crucial, calcium-dependent role in membrane function.
Article Synopsis
- Two species of filarial worms, Dirofilaria immitis and Acanthocheilonema odendhali, were found in California sea lions, with a significant infection detected in adult females but very low in pups.
- The study involved sampling 45 adult sea lions and 197 pups from different regions in the Gulf of California, revealing microfilariae in 77.78% of adults and only 0.51% of pups.
- The infection prevalence and intensity varied by region, with higher rates in northern colonies, but overall, the sea lions showed no clinical signs of disease, indicating a need for further research on the impact of these infections on population health.
The California sea lion is one of the few wild mammals prone to develop cancer, particularly urogenital carcinoma (UGC), whose prevalence is currently estimated at 25% of dead adult sea lions stranded along the California coastline. Genetic factors, viruses and organochlorines have been identified as factors that increase the risk of occurrence of this pathology. Given that no cases of UGC have as yet been reported for the species along its distribution in Mexican waters, the potential relevance of contaminants for the development of urogenital carcinoma is highlighted even more as blubber levels of organochlorines are more than two orders of magnitude lower in the Gulf of California and Mexican Pacific than in California.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo date, there is limited knowledge of the effects that abnormal sea surface temperature (SST) can have on the physiology of neonate pinnipeds. However, maternal nutritional deficiencies driven by alimentary restrictions would expectedly impact pinniped development and fitness, as an adequate supply of nutrients is essential for growth and proper functioning of all body systems, including red blood cell synthesis and clearance. Here, we investigated red blood cell morphology of California sea lion (CSL) pups from the San Benito Archipelago born during the 2014 and 2015 anomalously high SST events recorded in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe past decades have been characterized by a growing number of climatic anomalies. As these anomalies tend to occur suddenly and unexpectedly, it is often difficult to procure empirical evidence of their effects on natural populations. We analysed how the recent sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the northeastern Pacific Ocean affects body condition, nutritional status, and immune competence of California sea lion pups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammation is one of the most important non-specific and rapid responses that a vertebrate can elicit in response to damage or a foreign insult. To date, despite increasing evidence that the innate and adaptive branches of immunity are more intricately related than previously thought, few have examined interactions between the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC, a polymorphic region of the vertebrate genome that is involved with antigen presentation) and inflammation, and even less is known about these interactions in an eco-immunological context. Here, we examined the effect of MHC class II DRB gene multiplicity and transcription on phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced inflammation during the early stages of development of California sea lions.
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