23 research outputs found
Effective Theory Approach to the Spontaneous Breakdown of Lorentz Invariance
We generalize the coset construction of Callan, Coleman, Wess and Zumino to
theories in which the Lorentz group is spontaneously broken down to one of its
subgroups. This allows us to write down the most general low-energy effective
Lagrangian in which Lorentz invariance is non-linearly realized, and to explore
the consequences of broken Lorentz symmetry without having to make any
assumptions about the mechanism that triggers the breaking. We carry out the
construction both in flat space, in which the Lorentz group is a global
spacetime symmetry, and in a generally covariant theory, in which the Lorentz
group can be treated as a local internal symmetry. As an illustration of this
formalism, we construct the most general effective field theory in which the
rotation group remains unbroken, and show that the latter is just the
Einstein-aether theory.Comment: 45 pages, no figures
Environmental sensing and response genes in cnidaria : the chemical defensome in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Cell Biology and Toxicology 24 (2008): 483-502, doi:10.1007/s10565-008-9107-5.The starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis has been recently established as a
new model system for the study of the evolution of developmental processes, as cnidaria
occupy a key evolutionary position at the base of the bilateria. Cnidaria play important
roles in estuarine and reef communities, but are exposed to many environmental stressors.
Here I describe the genetic components of a ‘chemical defensome’ in the genome of
N. vectensis, and review cnidarian molecular toxicology. Gene families that defend
against chemical stressors and the transcription factors that regulate these genes have
been termed a ‘chemical defensome,’ and include the cytochromes P450 and other
oxidases, various conjugating enyzymes, the ATP-dependent efflux transporters,
oxidative detoxification proteins, as well as various transcription factors. These genes
account for about 1% (266/27200) of the predicted genes in the sea anemone genome,
similar to the proportion observed in tunicates and humans, but lower than that observed
in sea urchins. While there are comparable numbers of stress-response genes, the stress
sensor genes appear to be reduced in N. vectensis relative to many model protostomes
and deuterostomes. Cnidarian toxicology is understudied, especially given the important
ecological roles of many cnidarian species. New genomic resources should stimulate the
study of chemical stress sensing and response mechanisms in cnidaria, and allow us to
further illuminate the evolution of chemical defense gene networks.WHOI Ocean Life Institute and NIH R01-ES01591