Publications by authors named "Stacy Li"
The genus is one of the largest clades of bats, and exhibits some of the most extreme variation in lifespans among mammals alongside unique adaptations to viral tolerance and immune defense. To study the evolution of longevity-associated traits and infectious disease, we generated near-complete genome assemblies and cell lines for 8 closely related species of . Using genome-wide screens of positive selection, analyses of structural variation, and functional experiments in primary cell lines, we identify new patterns of adaptation contributing to longevity, cancer resistance, and viral interactions in bats.
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- Meiotic recombination is crucial for genetic diversity, involving both crossovers and non-crossover events that lead to gene conversion.
- Researchers used long sequencing reads from sperm samples to analyze recombination events, highlighting variability between and within male donors.
- The study found non-crossover gene conversions often occur near PRDM9 binding sites, suggesting two distinct mechanisms: one common, linked to PRDM9, and another rarer, associated with complex genetic events.
Aging is a nearly inescapable trait among organisms yet lifespan varies tremendously across different species and spans several orders of magnitude in vertebrates alone. This vast phenotypic diversity is driven by distinct evolutionary trajectories and tradeoffs that are reflected in patterns of diversification and constraint in organismal genomes. Age-specific impacts of selection also shape allele frequencies in populations, thus impacting disease susceptibility and environment-specific mortality risk.
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- - The study evaluated the performance of ten quick lateral flow assays and two lab-based tests for detecting antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, focusing on the time after symptom onset and previous test samples.
- - It found that seropositivity increased over time, peaking over 20 days after symptoms began, but test specificity varied between 84.3% and 100%, mainly influenced by IgM results.
- - Recommendations from the study emphasize optimizing seropositivity thresholds and ensuring proper reader training to improve the reliability of these assays, with four tests showing over 80% positivity and over 95% specificity in later time intervals.
Background: Serological tests are crucial tools for assessments of SARS-CoV-2 exposure, infection and potential immunity. Their appropriate use and interpretation require accurate assay performance data.
Method: We conducted an evaluation of 10 lateral flow assays (LFAs) and two ELISAs to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.