623 results match your criteria: "School of Integrative Biology[Affiliation]"

Long-term Supplementation of Deep-fried Oil Consumption Impairs Oxidative Stress, Colon Histology and Increases Neurodegeneration.

Cell Biochem Biophys

June 2024

Department of Biotechnology, School of Integrative Biology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Neelakudi, Thiruvarur, 610 005, Tamil Nadu, India.

Background: Sesame oil and sunflower oil are popular cooking oils in southern India. Deep-frying is a frequent method of food preparation. Deep-frying at high temperatures has been linked with several disorders, including cancer, diabetes, and unknown metabolic problems.

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Effects of miR-306 Perturbation on Life Parameters in the English Grain Aphid, (Homoptera: Aphididae).

Int J Mol Sci

May 2024

State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) play a vital role in insects' growth and development and have significant potential value in pest control. Previously, we identified miR-306 from small RNA libraries within the English grain aphid, , a devasting insect pest for wheat. miR-306 not only involves in wing morphogenesis, but also is critically important for aphid survival.

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Caste-biased patterns of brain investment in the subterranean termite .

iScience

June 2024

Department of Entomology, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

Article Synopsis
  • Investment in neural tissue varies based on the sensory and behavioral needs of different organisms, with termites showcasing a caste system resulting in distinct morphologies and behaviors.
  • To study brain anatomy differences in eastern subterranean termites, deformation-based morphometry was used to compare the brains of various castes, revealing that workers had larger antennal lobes and mushroom bodies, while reproductives had more developed optic lobes and central bodies.
  • The research found caste-specific brain enlargement in regions not directly linked to distinct neuropils, particularly in soldiers, indicating a strong relationship between caste roles and brain structure in termites.
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Calcification of aortic valve leaflets is a growing mortality threat for the 18 million human lives claimed globally each year by heart disease. Extensive research has focused on the cellular and molecular pathophysiology associated with calcification, yet the detailed composition, structure, distribution and etiological history of mineral deposition remains unknown. Here transdisciplinary geology, biology and medicine (GeoBioMed) approaches prove that leaflet calcification is driven by amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), ACP at the threshold of transformation toward hydroxyapatite (HAP) and cholesterol biomineralization.

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The development of an egg-soaking method for delivering dsRNAs into spider mites.

Pestic Biochem Physiol

May 2024

Department of Entomology, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • The first sprayable RNAi biopesticide, Ledprona, has been approved by the EPA to combat the Colorado potato beetle, highlighting the potential of RNAi technology in pest management.
  • A study developed and evaluated an egg-soaking dsRNA delivery method for spider mites, finding it to be the most efficient and cost-effective way to administer dsRNAs compared to other methods.
  • The research indicated that RNAi effectiveness varies by factors such as target genes, dsRNA concentration, mite species, and life stages, revealing that certain spider mite species are more sensitive to RNAi treatments.
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Whole-genome duplication (WGD) is widespread across eukaryotes and can promote adaptive evolution. However, given the instability of newly-formed polyploid genomes, understanding how WGDs arise in a population, persist, and underpin adaptations remains a challenge. Using our ongoing Multicellularity Long Term Evolution Experiment (MuLTEE), we show that diploid snowflake yeast () under selection for larger multicellular size rapidly undergo spontaneous WGD.

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The ecologically and economically vital symbiosis between nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and leguminous plants is often thought of as a bi-partite interaction, yet studies increasingly show the prevalence of non-rhizobial endophytes (NREs) that occupy nodules alongside rhizobia. Yet, what impact these NREs have on plant or rhizobium fitness remains unclear. Here, we investigated four NRE strains found to naturally co-occupy nodules of the legume alongside in native soils.

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Halotolerant PGPB Staphylococcus sciuri ET101 protects photosynthesis through activation of redox dissipation pathways in Lycopersicon esculentum.

Plant Physiol Biochem

March 2024

Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, 610 005, India; Department of Biotechnology, School of Integrative Biology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, 610 005, India. Electronic address:

Photosynthesis is known to be seriously affected by salt stress. The stress induced membrane damage leads to disrupted photosynthetic components causing imbalance between production and utilization of ATP/NADPH with generation of ROS leading to photoinhibition and photodamage. In the current study, role of halotolerant plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) Staphylococcus sciuri ET101 in protection of photosynthesis in tomato plants during salinity stress was evaluated by analysing changes in antioxidant defense and activation of redox dissipation pathways.

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Copper's dual role: unravelling the link between copper homeostasis, cuproptosis, and cardiovascular diseases.

Hypertens Res

May 2024

Department of Biotechnology, School of Integrative Biology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Neelakudi, Thiruvarur, 610005, Tamil Nadu, India.

This graphic depicts the interplay between copper homeostasis and cuproptosis and their role in cardiovascular diseases. Copper is vital for cardiac mitochondrial function, while its dysregulation induces cuproptosis via Ferredoxin1 (FDX1) and lipoic acid synthase (LIAS). Cuproptosis is linked to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and arrhythmias.

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Taxonomic notes and key to the West Palearctic () Osten Sacken, 1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) with description of a new species from Morocco.

Biodivers Data J

July 2023

Centre 3B, Laboratory of Advance Hydrobiology and Biomonitoring, Babeș-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Centre 3B, Laboratory of Advance Hydrobiology and Biomonitoring, Babeș-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca Romania.

Background: The Mediterranean Region of the West Palearctic is one of the most species-rich biomes in the world, hosting a high level of endemism and relict species with important conservation value. The North Africa Atlas Mountains (spanning Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) belong to a poorly-investigated region of the Mediterranean area, with overlooked aquatic biodiversity; hence, a number of species still remain to be discovered.

New Information: The subgenus Antocha (Antocha) Osten Sacken, 1860 is recorded for the first time from Africa, with a description of A.

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The role of species interactions, as well as genetic and environmental factors, all likely contribute to the composition and structure of the gut microbiome; however, disentangling these independent factors under field conditions represents a challenge for a functional understanding of gut microbial ecology. Avian brood parasites provide unique opportunities to investigate these questions, as brood parasitism results in parasite and host nestlings being raised in the same nest, by the same parents. Here we utilized obligate brood parasite brown-headed cowbird nestlings (BHCO; Molothrus ater) raised by several different host passerine species to better understand, via 16S rRNA sequencing, the microbial ecology of brood parasitism.

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The mitochondrial genome and life history of Tomostethus sinofraxini (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), an emerging pest of Fraxinus chinensis.

J Econ Entomol

April 2024

Department of Entomology, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.

Tomostethus sinofraxini Wang & Wei (a new name is proposed for Tomostethus fraxini Niu & Wei, 2022: Tomostethus sinofraxini Wang & Wei, nom. nov.), an emerging sawfly pest of the Chinese ash, Fraxinus chinensis, is now endemic to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Shandong provinces.

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Article Synopsis
  • Animal communication often involves alarm calls that trigger similar reactions to what they represent, but the auditory response in black-capped chickadees shows a unique pattern when responding to threat calls compared to their referents.
  • A study on red-winged blackbirds revealed that their auditory brain reacts differently to the actual calls of cowbirds and the alarm calls from yellow warblers, suggesting that the perception of these calls does not correspond at the genetic level.
  • Findings indicate that blackbirds show higher gene expression responses to direct threats compared to alarm calls, indicating a lack of perceptual equivalence in their auditory processing concerning these types of sounds.
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Parental care is a critical determinant of offspring fitness, and parents adjust their care in response to ecological challenges, including predation risk. The experiences of both mothers and fathers can influence phenotypes of future generations (transgenerational plasticity). If it is adaptive for parents to alter parental care in response to predation risk, then we expect F and F offspring who receive transgenerational cues of predation risk to shift their parental care behaviour if these ancestral cues reliably predict a similarly risky environment as their F parents.

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The hypothalamic molecular processes participate in the regulation of the neuro-immune-endocrine system, including hormone, metabolite, chemokine circulation, and corresponding physiological and behavioral responses. RNA-sequencing profiles were analyzed to understand the effect of juvenile immune and metabolic distress 100 days after virally elicited maternal immune activation during gestation in pigs. Over 1,300 genes exhibited significant additive or interacting effects of gestational immune activation, juvenile distress, and sex.

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Sexes of a species may show different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs and such sexual dimorphism often occurs in the level of immune response when exposed to pathogens (immunocompetence). In general, females have increased longevity relative to males, which is associated with higher immunocompetence. However, males have higher immunocompetence in some species, such as pipefishes and seahorses.

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Research into the processes governing species richness has often assumed that the environment is fixed, whereas realistic environments are often characterised by random fluctuations over time. This temporal environmental stochasticity (TES) changes the demographic rates of species populations, with cascading effects on community dynamics and species richness. Theoretical and applied studies have used process-based mathematical models to determine how TES affects species richness, but under a variety of frameworks.

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Background: The extremely halophilic archaeon Haloferax (Hfx.) alexandrinus DSM 27206 was previously documented for the ability to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles while mechanisms underlying its silver tolerance were overlooked. In the current study, we aimed to assess the transcriptional response of this haloarchaeon to varying concentrations of silver, seeking a comprehensive understanding of the molecular determinants underpinning its heavy metal tolerance.

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Host learning selects for the coevolution of greater egg mimicry and narrower antiparasitic egg-rejection thresholds.

Evol Lett

December 2023

Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States.

Egg rejection is an effective and widespread antiparasitic defense to eliminate foreign eggs from the nests of hosts of brood parasitic birds. Several lines of observational and critical experimental evidence support a role for learning by hosts in the recognition of parasitic versus own eggs; specifically, individual hosts that have had prior or current experience with brood parasitism are more likely to reject foreign eggs. Here we confirm experimentally the role of prior experience in altering subsequent egg-rejection decisions in the American robin , a free-living host species of an obligate brood parasite, the brown-headed cowbird .

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Host heterogeneity can affect parasite transmission, but determining underlying traits and incorporating them into transmission models remains challenging. Body size is easily measured and affects numerous ecological interactions, including transmission. In the snail-schistosome system, larger snails have a higher exposure to parasites but lower susceptibility to infection per parasite.

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Animals frequently make adaptive decisions about what to prioritize when faced with multiple, competing demands simultaneously. However, the proximate mechanisms of decision-making in the face of competing demands are not well understood. We explored this question using brain transcriptomics in a classic model system: threespined sticklebacks, where males face conflict between courtship and territorial defence.

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Species interactions link animal behaviour to community structure and macroecological patterns of biodiversity. One common type of trophic species interaction is disturbance foraging-the act of obtaining food at a disturbance created by another organism. Disturbance foraging is widespread across the animal kingdom, especially among birds, yet previous research has been largely anecdotal and we still lack a synthetic understanding of how this behaviour varies geographically, phylogenetically and ecologically.

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Article Synopsis
  • Microscopic symbionts, like feather mites, are vital for biological communities, but their small size and low DNA yields complicate high-throughput sequencing (HTS) studies, limiting our understanding of their evolution with host organisms.* -
  • A strategy called Pool-Seq was used by pooling mites from the same host to assess genetic diversity and sequencing efficiency, while trying to maintain individual data integrity.* -
  • Findings revealed that pooling mites increased the ability to map DNA to reference genomes, showing that genetic diversity is more influenced by individual host associations than by the number of mites in the pool, indicating evolutionary processes at the infrapopulation level.*
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Temperature activated transient receptor potential ion channels from Antarctic fishes.

Open Biol

October 2023

Department of Integrative Biology, Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

Antarctic notothenioid fishes (cryonotothenioids) live in waters that range between -1.86°C and an extreme maximum +4°C. Evidence suggests these fish sense temperature peripherally, but the molecular mechanism of temperature sensation in unknown.

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