Publications by authors named "Joshua Wood"

The dry forests of northern Peru are dominated by the legumous tree Neltuma pallida which is adapted to hot arid and semiarid conditions in the tropics. Despite having been successfully introduced in multiple other areas around the world, N. pallida is currently threatened in its native area, where it is invaluable for the dry forest ecosystem and human subsistence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In plants, the biosynthetic pathways of some specialized metabolites are partitioned into specialized or rare cell types, as exemplified by the monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA) pathway of Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle), the source of the anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. In the leaf, the C. roseus MIA biosynthetic pathway is partitioned into three cell types with the final known steps of the pathway expressed in the rare cell type termed idioblast.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) creates and studies mouse lines with specific gene mutations to better understand gene functions, using advanced techniques such as the Cas9 nuclease for enhanced efficiency.
  • The IMPC has produced 3313 knockout mouse lines, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of factors that influence successful gene editing in living organisms.
  • The research highlights that the essentiality of genes significantly affects the success rates in producing null alleles, and offers best practice guidelines for using Cas9 in gene engineering linked to human diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Salvia hispanica L. (Chia) is an important crop in Mesoamerica, valued for its nutritional benefits linked to fatty acids in its seeds; varieties include Chia pinta (mixed white and black) and Chia negra (black).
  • Researchers created a detailed genome assembly of the Chia pinta variety and compared it with an existing Chia negra genome, finding high genetic similarity and identifying more terpene synthase genes in Chia pinta.
  • The study also sequenced 20 different Chia accessions based on seed color and origin, shedding light on the population structure and complex evolutionary history of the Salvia genus, which includes evidence of hybridization between species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Plants create complex natural products that are located in specific cell types rather than being evenly distributed throughout their tissues.
  • Researchers have developed a plate-based single-cell mass spectrometry method that allows for the identification and quantification of 16 different natural products in individual plant cells from different tissues like leaf, root, and petal.
  • The findings reveal that natural products have distinct localization patterns in various tissues and can exist in highly variable concentrations among different cells, often exceeding 100 mM in some cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Since 2017, Fulton State Hospital (FSH) has implemented a clozapine-induced constipation protocol. In March 2020, FSH initiated unit quarantines to minimize the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of these quarantines on medical referrals for constipation, the Bristol Stool Chart ratings, utilization of as-needed (PRN) laxatives, and adherence rates with scheduled constipation medication regimens.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) is commercially important not only as an ornamental species but also as a major source of fragrances. To better understand the genomic basis of chemical diversity in lavender, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the 'Munstead' cultivar of L. angustifolia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(L.) Crantz, a member of the Brassicaceae, has potential as a biofuel feedstock which is attributable to the production of fatty acids in its seeds, its fast growth cycle, and low input requirements. While a genome assembly is available for camelina, it was generated from short sequence reads and is thus highly fragmented in nature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sweetpotato, (L.), a key food security crop, is negatively impacted by heat, drought, and salinity stress. The orange-fleshed sweetpotato cultivar "Beauregard" was exposed to heat, salt, and drought treatments for 24 and 48 h to identify genes responding to each stress condition in leaves.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Researchers have long sought to mitigate the detrimental effects of socially desirable responding on personality assessments in high-stakes contexts. This study investigated the effect of reducing the social desirability of personality items on response distortion and criterion validity in a job applicant context. Using a 2 × 2 repeated measures design, participants ( = 584) completed standard (International Personality Item Pool) and less evaluative (Less Evaluative Five Factor Inventory) measures of Big Five personality in a low-stakes context and then several weeks later in a simulated job applicant context.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genome editing with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins holds exceptional promise for "correcting" variants causing genetic disease. To realize this promise, off-target genomic changes cannot occur during the editing process. Here, we use whole genome sequencing to compare the genomes of 50 Cas9-edited founder mice to 28 untreated control mice to assess the occurrence of S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Advances in omics technologies now permit the generation of highly contiguous genome assemblies, detection of transcripts and metabolites at the level of single cells and high-resolution determination of gene regulatory features. Here, using a complementary, multi-omics approach, we interrogated the monoterpene indole alkaloid (MIA) biosynthetic pathway in Catharanthus roseus, a source of leading anticancer drugs. We identified clusters of genes involved in MIA biosynthesis on the eight C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Petrea volubilis, a member of the Order Lamiales and the Verbenaceae family, is an important horticultural species that has been used in traditional folk medicine. To provide a genome sequence for comparative studies within the Order Lamiales that includes important families such as Lamiaceae (mints), we generated a long-read, chromosome-scale genome assembly of this species.

Data Description: Using a total of 45.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Availability of readily transformable germplasm, as well as efficient pipelines for gene discovery are notable bottlenecks in the application of genome editing in potato. To study and introduce traits such as resistance against biotic and abiotic factors, tuber quality traits and self-fertility, model germplasm that is amenable to gene editing and regeneration is needed. Cultivated potato is a heterozygous autotetraploid and its genetic redundancy and complexity makes studying gene function challenging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Astronauts suffer skeletal muscle atrophy in microgravity and/or zero-gravity environments. Artificial muscle-actuated exoskeletons can aid astronauts in physically strenuous situations to mitigate risk during spaceflight missions. Current artificial muscle fabrication methods are technically challenging to be performed during spaceflight.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With an essential role in human health, tocochromanols are mostly obtained by consuming seed oils; however, the vitamin E content of the most abundant tocochromanols in maize (Zea mays L.) grain is low. Several large-effect genes with cis-acting variants affecting messenger RNA (mRNA) expression are mostly responsible for tocochromanol variation in maize grain, with other relevant associated quantitative trait loci (QTL) yet to be fully resolved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects 1-4% of the pediatric population in the U.S. Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) is widely used to localize the level(s) of obstruction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Nepetalactone, an oxidized version of nepetalactol, is famous for attracting cats and potentially repelling insects.
  • * Researchers are using both natural and engineered enzymes to create various stereoisomers of nepetalactol and nepetalactone, expanding the biocatalytic production of these important compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tocochromanols (tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively vitamin E) are lipid-soluble antioxidants important for both plant fitness and human health. The main dietary sources of vitamin E are seed oils that often accumulate high levels of tocopherol isoforms with lower vitamin E activity. The tocochromanol biosynthetic pathway is conserved across plant species but an integrated view of the genes and mechanisms underlying natural variation of tocochromanol levels in seed of most cereal crops remains limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The tocopherol biosynthetic pathway, encoded by VTE genes 1 through 6, is highly conserved in plants but most large effect quantitative trait loci for seed total tocopherols (totalT) lack VTE genes, indicating other activities are involved. A genome-wide association study of Arabidopsis seed tocopherols showed five of seven significant intervals lacked VTE genes, including the most significant, which mapped to an uncharacterized, seed-specific, envelope-localized, alpha/beta hydrolase with esterase activity, designated AtVTE7. Atvte7 null mutants decreased seed totalT 55% while a leaky allele of the maize ortholog, ZmVTE7, decreased kernel and leaf totalT 38% and 49%, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine the patient demographics and the efficacy and safety profile of botulinum toxin (BTX) injections for sialorrhea control in patients under the age of three.

Methods: This is a retrospective chart review study. Patients under three years of age who received BTX injections for sialorrhea management from 2010 to 2021 were assessed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Early responses in healthy adult dogs fed grain-free diets with high inclusion of split peas (20%) and lentils (40%) that may lead to canine diet-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were investigated. To help understand the clinical relevance of the findings, a survey of electronic health records (EHR) was conducted of dogs with and without suspected DCM for comparison. Control and Test diets were fed to Labrador retriever dogs for 30 days (n = 5 and 6, respectively).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Although cutting-edges antineoplastic therapies increase survival in children with malignancies, the optimal surgical strategy to address associated comorbidities such as chronic tympanic membrane perforation is still poorly documented. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of type I tympanoplasty in pediatric cancer survivors who received chemo and/or radiotherapy to the skull and to identify potential associated risk factors.

Methods: This case-control study included medical records review of oncologic patients (age <21) treated at the same Academic medical oncologic center between March 2015 and July 2021 and referred for conductive hearing loss and chronic tympanic membrane perforation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF