The transport of passively dispersed organisms across tropical margins remains poorly understood. Hypotheses of oceanographic transportation potential lack testing with large scale empirical data. To address this gap, we used the seagrass species, Halodule wrightii, which is unique in spanning the entire tropical Atlantic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: We investigated the ultrastructural characteristics of interstitial cells of Cajal in the guinea pig bladder.
Materials And Methods: Bladders were removed from guinea pigs and processed for transmission electron microscopy. Some sections were labeled with c-Kit antibodies and colloidal gold particles for positive identification of interstitial cells of Cajal.
Gene microarrays provide the field of ecotoxicology new tools to identify mechanisms of action of chemicals and chemical mixtures. Herein we describe the development and application of a 2,000-gene oligonucleotide microarray for the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas, a species commonly used in ecological risk assessments in North America. The microarrays were developed from various cDNA and subtraction libraries that we constructed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics
March 2007
Using subtractive hybridization, we have identified 17 genes that are either up- or down-regulated in the hepatopancreas (Hp) of the lobster, Homarus americanus, by acute exposure to the juvenile hormone analog methoprene. The expression of some of the genes obtained from the subtraction libraries was confirmed by real time Q-PCR experiments. These genes encode several different classes of proteins including: structural, enzymatic and regulatory polypeptides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGraphical systems models are powerful tools that can help facilitate hypothesis-driven ecotoxicogenomic research and aid in mechanistic interpretation of results. This paper describes a novel graphical model of the teleost brain-pituitary-gonadal (BPG) axis designed for ecotoxicogenomics research on endocrine-disrupting chemicals using small fish models. The model incorporates six compartments representing the major organs involved in the fish reproductive axis and depicts the interactions of over 105 proteins and 40 simple molecules, transcriptional regulation of 25 genes, and over 300 different reactions/ processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Mol Biol Educ
January 2005
A laboratory curriculum has been designed for an undergraduate biochemistry course that focuses on the investigation of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). The sequence of procedures extends from analysis of the DNA sequence through PCR amplification, recombinant plasmid DNA synthesis, bacterial transformation, expression, isolation, and characterization of the protein by SDS-PAGE. A survey of participants found that the majority of them were performing most of these procedures for the first time and that participants found the exercises enjoyable and considered them a significant aid to their understanding of biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular genetics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreases in hypoxic conditions are one of the major factors responsible for declines in estuarine habitat quality, yet to date there are no indicators for recognizing populations of estuarine organisms that are suffering from chronic hypoxic stress. Here we test the hypothesis that alterations in gene and protein expression of antioxidant enzymes and other stress-specific proteins can be used as molecular indicators of hypoxic stress. Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, were exposed to 2-3 ppm DO for 5 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study male largemouth bass (LMB) were exposed to the naturally occurring androgens, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) in order to identify genes that are differentially regulated by these steroid hormones. Using subtractive hybridization on livers of fish treated with DHT against vehicle control, many novel LMB genes were cloned. These genes were added to our gene library and arrayed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA variety of anthropogenic compounds are capable of binding to the estrogen receptor (ER) of vertebrate species. Binding of these chemicals to the ER can interfere with homeostasis by altering normal gene expression patterns. The purpose of this study was to characterize the expression of 30 genes using a sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) cDNA macroarray.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA variety of anthropogenic chemicals are capable of binding to the estrogen receptor of vertebrate species. Binding of these compounds can interfere with homeostasis by disrupting normal gene expression patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of applying array technology as a monitoring tool for detecting the presence and distribution of estrogenic compounds in coastal habitats using sheepshead minnows as our model.
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