Phylogeny of the carolinense clade of solanum (Solanaceae) inferred from nuclear and plastid DNA sequences

pre-printThe large and economically important genus Solanum contains ca. 1,400 species distributed worldwide. One of the 12-14 major clades identified in the genus is the Leptostemonum clade, or the "spiny solanums." Previous molecular phylogenetic studies have identified 14 major clades in the spiny solanums. Among these is the Carolinense clade, which contains Solanum carolinense, the type species of S. subsect. Lathyrocarpum. However, previous results have suggested that the species composition of the Carolinense clade is only partially congruent with taxonomic circumscriptions of S. subsect. Lathyrocarpum. The main goal of this study was to increase taxon sampling over previous molecular phylogenies in order to better understand the composition of the Carolinense clade. We newly sequenced 31 accessions of 17 taxa putatively belonging to the clade for two nuclear (ITS, waxy) and one plastid gene region (trnT-trnF) and combined these with previously generated molecular data. Phylogenetic analyses of separate and combined DNA matrices were done using maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods. Results from analyses of the combined nuclear and plastid data set showed 10 taxa to be resolved within a wellsupported Carolinense clade. However, three species, Solanum dimidiatum, S. perplexum, and S. hieronymi, showed conflicting placements in phylogenies based on analyses of nuclear vs. plastid data sets, suggesting a history of allopolyploidy or introgression. Within the Carolinense clade, the North and South American species were both recovered as well-supported clades, implying a single dispersal event from South to North America

Phylogeny and biogeography of the Canarian Solanum vespertilio and S. lidii (Solanaceae)

Journal ArticleThe endemic and rare Solanum vespertilio and S. lidii from the Canary Islands are notable in being andromonoecious, self compatible, highly heterandrous (with short >reward= anthers and one very long >pollination= anther), and bearing strongly zygomorphic corollas. Solanum vespertilio flowers are also tetramerous, and some display enantiostyly

Discovering and Recovering the Nineteenth-Century Journals of Martha E. McMillan in an American Women Writer’s Course: A Collaborative Digital Recovery Project

The following essay tells a story about an undergraduate American Women Writer\u27s course, the University archives, a nineteenth-century journal, and a Digital Recovery project. The essay explains that the story of undergraduates and their work to discover and to recover a primary text within the context of a single course could not have happened without collaboration. Because our story is a story of collaboration, I cannot tell it alone. I am Michelle Wood, an Associate Professor of English who teaches American Literature. During spring semester 2015, I collaborated with Lynn Brock, the Dean of Library Sciences, to create an archival recovery project for a course entitled American Women Writers. Together we will tell our story

Discovering and Recovering the Nineteenth-Century Journals of Martha E. McMillan in an American Women Writer’s Course: A Collaborative Digital Recovery Project

The following essay tells a story about an undergraduate American Women Writer\u27s course, the University archives, a nineteenth-century journal, and a Digital Recovery project. The essay explains that the story of undergraduates and their work to discover and to recover a primary text within the context of a single course could not have happened without collaboration. Because our story is a story of collaboration, I cannot tell it alone. I am Michelle Wood, an Associate Professor of English who teaches American Literature. During spring semester 2015, I collaborated with Lynn Brock, the Dean of Library Sciences, to create an archival recovery project for a course entitled American Women Writers. Together we will tell our story

Practice in Child Phonological Disorders: Tackling some Common Clinical Problems

Goal of presentation is to identify areas of child phonology that clinicans have difficulty with

Effects of an Unusual Poison Identify a Lifespan Role for Topoisomerase 2 in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

A progressive loss of genome maintenance has been implicated as both a cause and consequence of aging. Here we present evidence supporting the hypothesis that an age-associated decay in genome maintenance promotes aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) due to an inability to sense or repair DNA damage by topoisomerase 2 (yTop2). We describe the characterization of LS1, identified in a high throughput screen for small molecules that shorten the replicative lifespan of yeast. LS1 accelerates aging without affecting proliferative growth or viability. Genetic and biochemical criteria reveal LS1 to be a weak Top2 poison. Top2 poisons induce the accumulation of covalent Top2-linked DNA double strand breaks that, if left unrepaired, lead to genome instability and death. LS1 is toxic to cells deficient in homologous recombination, suggesting that the damage it induces is normally mitigated by genome maintenance systems. The essential roles of yTop2 in proliferating cells may come with a fitness trade-off in older cells that are less able to sense or repair yTop2-mediated DNA damage. Consistent with this idea, cells live longer when yTop2 expression levels are reduced. These results identify intrinsic yTop2-mediated DNA damage as a potentially manageable cause of aging

Long-Term Exposure to an Invasive Fungal Pathogen Decreases Eptesicus fuscus Body Mass With Increasing Latitude

Abstract Invasive pathogens threaten wildlife health and biodiversity. Physiological responses of species highly susceptible to pathogen infections following invasion are well described. However, the responses of less susceptible species (relative to highly susceptible species) are not well known. Latitudinal gradients, which can influence body condition via Bergmann\u27s rule and/or reflect the time it takes for an introduced pathogen to spread geographically, add an additional layer for how mammalian species respond to pathogen exposure. Our goal was to understand how hosts less susceptible to pathogen infections respond to long‐term pathogen exposure across a broad latitudinal gradient. We examined changes in body mass throughout pathogen exposure time across the eastern United States (latitude ranging 30.5° N–44.8° N) in Eptesicus fuscus, a bat species classified as less susceptible to infection (relative to highly susceptible species) by the invasive fungal pathogen that causes white‐nose syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Using 30 years of spring through fall adult capture records, we created linear mixed‐effects models for female and male bats to determine how mass or mass variation changed across the eastern United States from pre‐Pd invasion years through Pd invasion (0–1 years with Pd), epidemic (2–4 years with Pd), and established years (5+ years with Pd). By Pd establishment, all female and male bats decreased body mass with increasing latitude across a spatial threshold at 39.6° N. Differences in bat mass north and south of the spatial threshold progressively increased over Pd exposure time‐steps such that body mass was lower in northern latitudes compared to southern latitudes by Pd establishment. Results indicated that the progressive differences in E. fuscus body mass with latitude across the eastern United States are due to long‐term pathogen exposure; however, other environmental and ecological pressures may contribute to decreases in E. fuscus body mass with latitude and long‐term pathogen exposure. As pathogen introductions and emerging infectious diseases become more prevalent on the landscape, it is imperative that we understand how less susceptible species directly and indirectly respond to long‐term pathogen exposure in order to maintain population health in surviving species

Molecular basis of Diamond–Blackfan anemia: structure and function analysis of RPS19

Diamond–Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare congenital disease linked to mutations in the ribosomal protein genes rps19, rps24 and rps17. It belongs to the emerging class of ribosomal disorders. To understand the impact of DBA mutations on RPS19 function, we have solved the crystal structure of RPS19 from Pyrococcus abyssi. The protein forms a five α-helix bundle organized around a central amphipathic α-helix, which corresponds to the DBA mutation hot spot. From the structure, we classify DBA mutations relative to their respective impact on protein folding (class I) or on surface properties (class II). Class II mutations cluster into two conserved basic patches. In vivo analysis in yeast demonstrates an essential role for class II residues in the incorporation into pre-40S ribosomal particles. This data indicate that missense mutations in DBA primarily affect the capacity of the protein to be incorporated into pre-ribosomes, thus blocking maturation of the pre-40S particles