Publications by authors named "K A Averill"

Article Synopsis
  • Researchers found 15 new genetic variants in the PSMC3 gene, linked to a specific type of neurodevelopmental delay and intellectual disability in 23 unrelated patients.
  • Mouse and fruit fly experiments showed that these variants hindered normal neuron growth and learning abilities.
  • The variants were shown to disrupt proteasome function, leading to cellular stress and abnormal immune responses, suggesting a connection between proteasome issues and neurodevelopmental disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Premise: Understanding how drought and biomass allocation patterns influence competitive ability can help identify traits related to invasiveness and guide management. Vincetoxicum nigrum and V. rossicum are increasingly problematic herbaceous perennial vines in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Herbivores can profoundly influence plant species assembly, including plant invasion, and resulting community composition. Population increases of native herbivores, e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vegetation removal and soil disturbance from natural resource development, combined with invasive plant propagule pressure, can increase vulnerability to plant invasions. Unconventional oil and gas development produces surface disturbance by way of well pad, road, and pipeline construction, and increased traffic. Little is known about the resulting impacts on plant community assembly, including the spread of invasive plants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Determining which traits may allow some introduced plant species to become invasive in their new environment continues to be a key question in invasion biology. Vincetoxicum rossicum is an invasive, perennial vine colonizing natural and seminatural habitats primarily in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. More than half its seeds exhibit polyembryony, a relatively uncommon condition in which a single seed produces multiple seedlings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF