Ranking U.S. Army Generals of the Twentieth Century Using the Group Analytic Hierarchy Process

The group analytic hierarchy process (GAHP) is a mathematically based decision making tool that allows groups of individuals to participate in the decision making process. In this thesis, we use the GAHP and the expert opinions of 10 professional and amateur military historians to rank seven U.S. Army generals of the 20th Century. We use two methods to determine the priority vectors: the traditional eigenvector method and the recently introduced interval linear programming method. We consider the effects of removing outlier data and compare the rankings obtained by each method

Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa Strains TPD3 and TPD4, Isolated from Grapevines in Hou-li, Taiwan.

We report the draft assemblies of TPD3 and TPD4, two Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa isolates infecting grapevines in Hou-li, Taiwan. TPD3 and TPD4 showed similar characteristics regarding genome size (2,483,503 bp and 2,491,539 bp, respectively), GC content (51.49% and 51.47%, respectively), and number of protein-coding sequences (2,394 and 2,413, respectively)

Mechanistic Basis of NMDA Receptor Channel Property Variation

Glutamate mediates the majority of fast excitatory neurotransmission in the vertebrate brain. Glutamate receptors (GluRs) transduce signals in two ways: metabotropic GluRs signal via intracellular G proteins, whereas ionotropic GluRs (iGluRs) open intrinsic ion channels in response to agonist binding. NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate- and glycine-gated iGluRs that play critical roles in spatial learning, contextual fear memory acquisition, synapse elimination, and chronic pain. Their particularly high calcium (Ca2+) permeability and strongly voltage-dependent channel block by external magnesium (Mg2+) distinguish NMDARs from other iGluRs. Mg2+ channel block of NMDARs inhibits current influx through the majority of agonist-bound, open NMDARs at resting membrane potentials (Vms), but this block is relieved by depolarization. Thus, significant current flow through NMDARs requires presynaptic activity (glutamate release) and postsynaptic activity (depolarization to relieve Mg2+ channel block), conferring on NMDARs a coincidence-detection capability that is central to their physiological importance. To mediate this and other important functions, NMDARs require tight regulation of the voltage-dependent Mg2+ block that provides crucial control of NMDAR-mediated current flow and Ca2+ influx. NMDARs are typically composed of NR1 and NR2 subunits. The four NR2 subunits (NR2A-D) contribute to four diheteromeric NMDAR subtypes (NR1/2A-NR1/2D), which differ in many respects, including the magnitudes of channel block by Mg2+, Ca2+ permeability, and single-channel conductance. Previously-gathered data from our lab demonstrates that the subtype specificity of Mg2+ block is principally conferred by a single amino acid site in the third transmembrane region (M3) of NR2 subunits. This "NR2 S/L site" contains a serine in NR2A and NR2B subunits and a leucine in NR2C and NR2D subunits. Surprisingly, the NR2 S/L site does not line the pore. I created several structural homology models of NMDARs to generate hypotheses regarding how the NR2 S/L site conveys its effects to the pore. I tested these hypotheses experimentally and found that the NR2 S/L site interacts with an NR1 subunit tryptophan in the pore-loop to regulate Mg2+ block properties. I further determined that the NR2 S/L site greatly contributes to the subtype variation in single-channel conductance, and likely plays a role in the subtype variation in Ca2+ permeability

THE EFFECT OF ECOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION ON GENETIC RECOMBINATION IN THE ENTEROBACTERIA

The existence of distinct species of life is generally explained by the genetic process of reproduction without recombination between populations and/or the ecological process of adaptation to different environments. Both processes affect prokaryotes, and have shaped existing genomes. Here, we use comparative genomic techniques to evaluate the dynamics of divergence among species of the Enterobacteriaceae. Bacteria such as Escherichia coli preferentially acquire allelic variants from closely related organisms (i.e. other E. coli) rather than from more diverged bacteria. Ecological differences between donor and recipient affect the probability of allelic variants becoming fixed across the recombining population. We examine the history of recombination among groups of genomes that no longer recombine with each other, but retain sufficient conservation of ancestral nucleotide sequences to allow recombination to be inferred. From these analyses, we conclude that substantial levels of recombination occurred between E. coli and diverging lineages even after some regions of the genomes had acquired many nucleotide differences. We identify two evolutionary radiations leading to E. coli where the disparity among loci confounds the phylogenetic relationships among species, as evidenced by topological incongruence among gene trees. The forces affecting recombination, reflected in both pairwise divergence and topologically informative sites, vary across regions of the genome measuring tens of kilobases. To examine the relationship between ecological differentiation and genetic recombination, we characterize differences that could be responsible for ecological differentiation among these species. Some of the loci with the most apparent functional differences (i.e. the gain and loss of genes) are associated with the greatest levels of sequence divergence between species, consistent with the hypothesis that ecological divergence interferes with homologous recombination, and therefore drives sequence divergence and genetic isolation. To investigate the role of more subtle ecological differentiation, we develop a statistical framework to evaluate codon usage bias of each protein-coding gene, taking into account the stochastic balance between codon selection, which is driven by the need for high expression, and mutational biases. This tool will be useful in future studies examining codon selection as contribution to diversification among the ecologically diverse species of Enterobacteriaceae

Efficient inference of bacterial strain trees from genome-scale multilocus data

Motivation: In bacterial evolution, inferring a strain tree, which is the evolutionary history of different strains of the same bacterium, plays a major role in analyzing and understanding the evolution of strongly isolated populations, population divergence and various evolutionary events, such as horizontal gene transfer and homologous recombination. Inferring a strain tree from multilocus data of these strains is exceptionally hard since, at this scale of evolution, processes such as homologous recombination result in a very high degree of gene tree incongruence

Heteroresistance to the model antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B in the emerging Neisseria meningitidis lineage 11.2 urethritis clade: mutations in the pilMNOPQ operon

Clusters of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) urethritis among primarily heterosexual males in multiple US cities have been attributed to a unique non‐encapsulated meningococcal clade (the US Nm urethritis clade, US_NmUC) within the hypervirulent clonal complex 11. Resistance to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is a key feature of urogenital pathogenesis of the closely related species, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The US_NmUC isolates were found to be highly resistant to the model AMP, polymyxin B (PmB, MICs 64–256 µg ml–1). The isolates also demonstrated stable subpopulations of heteroresistant colonies that showed near total resistant to PmB (MICs 384–1024 µg ml–1) and colistin (MIC 256 µg ml–1) as well as enhanced LL‐37 resistance. This is the first observation of heteroresistance in N. meningitidis. Consistent with previous findings, overall PmB resistance in US_NmUC isolates was due to active Mtr efflux and LptA‐mediated lipid A modification. However, whole genome sequencing, variant analyses and directed mutagenesis revealed that the heteroresistance phenotypes and very high‐level AMP resistance were the result of point mutations and IS1655 element movement in the pilMNOPQ operon, encoding the type IV pilin biogenesis apparatus. Cross‐resistance to other classes of antibiotics was also observed in the heteroresistant colonies. High‐level resistance to AMPs may contribute to the pathogenesis of US_NmUC

Environmental shaping of codon usage and functional adaptation across microbial communities.

Microbial communities represent the largest portion of the Earth's biomass. Metagenomics projects use high-throughput sequencing to survey these communities and shed light on genetic capabilities that enable microbes to inhabit every corner of the biosphere. Metagenome studies are generally based on (i) classifying and ranking functions of identified genes; and (ii) estimating the phyletic distribution of constituent microbial species. To understand microbial communities at the systems level, it is necessary to extend these studies beyond the species' boundaries and capture higher levels of metabolic complexity. We evaluated 11 metagenome samples and demonstrated that microbes inhabiting the same ecological niche share common preferences for synonymous codons, regardless of their phylogeny. By exploring concepts of translational optimization through codon usage adaptation, we demonstrated that community-wide bias in codon usage can be used as a prediction tool for lifestyle-specific genes across the entire microbial community, effectively considering microbial communities as meta-genomes. These findings set up a 'functional metagenomics' platform for the identification of genes relevant for adaptations of entire microbial communities to environments. Our results provide valuable arguments in defining the concept of microbial species through the context of their interactions within the community

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging white-tailed deer in the United States

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic virus with documented bi-directional transmission between people and animals. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) poses a unique public health risk due to the potential for reservoir establishment where variantsmay persist and evolve. We collected 8,830 respiratory samples from free-ranging white-tailed deer across Washington, D.C. and 26 states in the United States between November 2021 and April 2022. We obtained 391 sequences and identified 34 Pango lineages including the Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants. Evolutionary analyses showed these white-tailed deer viruses originated fromat least 109 independent spillovers fromhumans,which resulted in 39 cases of subsequent local deer-to-deer transmission and three cases of potential spillover from white-tailed deer back to humans. Viruses repeatedly adapted to white-tailed deer with recurring amino acid substitutions across spike and other proteins. Overall, our findings suggest that multiple SARS-CoV- 2 lineages were introduced, became enzootic, and co-circulated in whitetailed deer

A Model for the Effect of Homologous Recombination on Microbial Diversification

The effect of homologous recombination (HR) on the evolution of microbial genomes remains contentious as competing hypotheses seek to explain the evolutionary dynamics of microbial species. Evidence for HR between microbial genomes is widespread, and this process has been proposed to act as a cohesive force that can constrain the diversification of microbial lineages. We seek to characterize the evolutionary dynamics of sympatric populations to explore the impact of HR on microbial speciation. We describe a simple equation for quantifying the cohesive effect of HR on microbial populations as a function of their nucleotide divergence, μ/ρ = πg10 − 20 πg. The model was verified using a forward-time microbial population simulator that can explore the evolutionary dynamics of sympatric populations in nonoverlapping niche space. The model was also evaluated using multilocus sequence data from a range of microbial species, providing criteria for dividing them into either cohesively recombining or clonally diverging lineages. We conclude that models of microbial diversification that appear contradictory can be explained in a unified manner as the natural and predictable consequence of variation in a small number of population parameters

Obscured phylogeny and possible recombinational dormancy in Escherichia coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Escherichia coli </it>is one of the best studied organisms in all of biology, but its phylogenetic structure has been difficult to resolve with current data and analytical techniques. We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms in chromosomes of representative strains to reconstruct the topology of its emergence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The phylogeny of <it>E. coli </it>varies according to the segment of chromosome analyzed. Recombination between extant <it>E. coli </it>groups is largely limited to only three intergroup pairings.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Segment-dependent phylogenies most likely are legacies of a complex recombination history. However, <it>E. coli </it>are now in an epoch in which they no longer broadly share DNA. Using the definition of species as organisms that freely exchange genetic material, this recombinational dormancy could reflect either the end of <it>E. coli </it>as a species, or herald the coalescence of <it>E. coli </it>groups into new species.</p