Genome sequence of bacteriophage Djungelskog isolated from an culture.

Actinobacteriophage Djungelskog was isolated from a sample of degraded organic material in Poughkeepsie, NY, using . Its genome is 54,512 bp and encodes 86 putative protein-coding genes. Djungelskog has a siphovirus morphology and is assigned to cluster AW based on gene content similarity to actinobacteriophages.

Complete genome sequence of bacteriophage MrAaronian isolated from an culture.

Arthrobacteriophage MrAaronian contains a 54,509 bp DNA genome with 87 predicted protein-coding genes. MrAaronian has siphovirus morphology and was collected from a flowerbed soil sample in Poughkeepsie, NY, and isolated on an B-2979 culture. MrAaronian has > 99% nucleotide identity with cluster AW arthrobacteriophages Michelle, Stayer, Sloopyjoe, and StarLord.

Models of Classroom Assessment for Course-Based Research Experiences.

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment - 1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; 2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; 3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and 4) Metacognition of Learning - along with a set of practices for each aim.

A BLOC-1-AP-3 super-complex sorts a cis-SNARE complex into endosome-derived tubular transport carriers.

Membrane transport carriers fuse with target membranes through engagement of cognate vSNAREs and tSNAREs on each membrane. How vSNAREs are sorted into transport carriers is incompletely understood. Here we show that VAMP7, the vSNARE for fusing endosome-derived tubular transport carriers with maturing melanosomes in melanocytes, is sorted into transport carriers in complex with the tSNARE component STX13.

SLC45A2 protein stability and regulation of melanosome pH determine melanocyte pigmentation.

encodes a putative transporter expressed primarily in pigment cells. mutations cause oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4) and polymorphisms are associated with pigmentation variation, but the localization, function, and regulation of SLC45A2 and its variants remain unknown. We show that SLC45A2 localizes to a cohort of mature melanosomes that only partially overlaps with the cohort expressing the chloride channel OCA2.

Myosin VI and branched actin filaments mediate membrane constriction and fission of melanosomal tubule carriers.

Vesicular and tubular transport intermediates regulate organellar cargo dynamics. Transport carrier release involves local and profound membrane remodeling before fission. Pinching the neck of a budding tubule or vesicle requires mechanical forces, likely exerted by the action of molecular motors on the cytoskeleton.

BLOC-1 and BLOC-3 regulate VAMP7 cycling to and from melanosomes via distinct tubular transport carriers.

Endomembrane organelle maturation requires cargo delivery via fusion with membrane transport intermediates and recycling of fusion factors to their sites of origin. Melanosomes and other lysosome-related organelles obtain cargoes from early endosomes, but the fusion machinery involved and its recycling pathway are unknown. Here, we show that the v-SNARE VAMP7 mediates fusion of melanosomes with tubular transport carriers that also carry the cargo protein TYRP1 and that require BLOC-1 for their formation.

BLOC-1 Brings Together the Actin and Microtubule Cytoskeletons to Generate Recycling Endosomes.

Recycling endosomes consist of a tubular network that emerges from vacuolar sorting endosomes and diverts cargoes toward the cell surface, the Golgi, or lysosome-related organelles. How recycling tubules are formed remains unknown. We show that recycling endosome biogenesis requires the protein complex BLOC-1.

BLOC-2 targets recycling endosomal tubules to melanosomes for cargo delivery.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a group of disorders characterized by the malformation of lysosome-related organelles, such as pigment cell melanosomes. Three of nine characterized HPS subtypes result from mutations in subunits of BLOC-2, a protein complex with no known molecular function. In this paper, we exploit melanocytes from mouse HPS models to place BLOC-2 within a cargo transport pathway from recycling endosomal domains to maturing melanosomes.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-selective ligands modulate endometrial tumor growth.

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. GPER/GPR30 is a 7-transmembrane spanning G protein-coupled receptor that has been identified as the third estrogen receptor, in addition to ERα and ERβ. High GPER expression is predictive of poor survival in endometrial and ovarian cancer, but despite this, the estrogen-mediated signaling pathways and specific estrogen receptors involved in endometrial cancer remain unclear.

Synthesis and characterization of tricarbonyl-Re/Tc(I) chelate probes targeting the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPER/GPR30.

The discovery of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPER (also GPR30) and the resulting development of selective chemical probes have revealed new aspects of estrogen receptor biology. The potential clinical relevance of this receptor has been suggested from numerous studies that have identified GPER expression in breast, endometrial, ovarian and other cancers. Thus GPER can be considered a candidate biomarker and target for non-invasive imaging and therapy.

Differential recognition of a dileucine-based sorting signal by AP-1 and AP-3 reveals a requirement for both BLOC-1 and AP-3 in delivery of OCA2 to melanosomes.

Cell types that generate unique lysosome-related organelles (LROs), such as melanosomes in melanocytes, populate nascent LROs with cargoes that are diverted from endosomes. Cargo sorting toward melanosomes correlates with binding via cytoplasmically exposed sorting signals to either heterotetrameric adaptor AP-1 or AP-3. Some cargoes bind both adaptors, but the relative contribution of each adaptor to cargo recognition and their functional interactions with other effectors during transport to melanosomes are not clear.

Identification of a GPER/GPR30 antagonist with improved estrogen receptor counterselectivity.

GPER/GPR30 is a seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled estrogen receptor that regulates many aspects of mammalian biology and physiology. We have previously described both a GPER-selective agonist G-1 and antagonist G15 based on a tetrahydro-3H-cyclopenta[c]quinoline scaffold. The antagonist lacks an ethanone moiety that likely forms important hydrogen bonds involved in receptor activation.

Synthesis and characterization of iodinated tetrahydroquinolines targeting the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPR30.

A series of iodo-substituted tetrahydro-3H-cyclopenta[c]quinolines was synthesized as potential targeted imaging agents for the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPR30. The affinity and specificity of binding to GPR30 versus the classical estrogen receptors ER alpha/beta and functional responses associated with ligand-binding were determined. Selected iodo-substituted tetrahydro-3H-cyclopenta[c]quinolines exhibited IC(50) values lower than 20 nM in competitive binding studies with GPR30-expressing human endometrial cancer cells.

In vivo effects of a GPR30 antagonist.

Estrogen is central to many physiological processes throughout the human body. We have previously shown that the G protein-coupled receptor GPR30 (also known as GPER), in addition to classical nuclear estrogen receptors (ER and ER), activates cellular signaling pathways in response to estrogen. In order to distinguish between the actions of classical estrogen receptors and GPR30, we have previously characterized G-1 (1), a selective agonist of GPR30.

A multifunctional androgen receptor screening assay using the high-throughput Hypercyt flow cytometry system.

The androgen receptor (AR) is a steroid hormone receptor which regulates transcription of androgen-sensitive genes and is responsible for the development and maintenance of male secondary sexual characteristics. Chemicals that interfere with AR activity may lead to pathological conditions in androgen-sensitive tissues. A variety of reporter systems have been developed, driven by androgen-sensitive promoters, which screen for chemicals that modulate androgenic activity.