Bacterial Community Sequences of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Potomac River.

Here, we report results from PCR and sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from leaf and root surfaces from nine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) samples comprising five species. Samples were from four sites along the Potomac River

Natural variation in teosinte at the domestication locus teosinte branched1 (tb1)

The teosinte branched1(tb1) gene is a major QTL controlling branching differences between maize and its wild progenitor, teosinte. The insertion of a transposable element (Hopscotch) upstream of tb1 is known to enhance the gene’s expression, causing reduced tillering in maize. Observations of the maize tb1 allele in teosinte and estimates of an insertion age of theHopscotch that predates domestication led us to investigate its prevalence and potential role in teosinte. We assessed the prevalence of the Hopscotchelement across an Americas-wide sample of 837 maize and teosinte individuals using a co-dominant PCR assay. Additionally, we calculated population genetic summaries using sequence data from a subset of individuals from four teosinte populations and collected phenotypic data using seed from a single teosinte population where Hopscotch was found segregating at high frequency. Genotyping results indicate the Hopscotchelement is found in a number of teosinte populations and linkage disequilibrium near tb1 does not support recent introgression from maize. Population genetic signatures are consistent with selection on the tb1 locus, revealing a potential ecological role, but a greenhouse experiment does not detect a strong association between the Hopscotch and tillering in teosinte. Our findings suggest the role of Hopscotch differs between maize and teosinte. Future work should assess tb1 expression levels in teosinte with and without the Hopscotch and more comprehensively phenotype teosinte to assess the ecological significance of the Hopscotch insertion and, more broadly, the tb1 locus in teosinte

A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research

Research into the microbiomes of natural environments is changing the way ecologists and evolutionary biologists view the importance of microbes in ecosystem function. This is particularly relevant in ocean environments, where microbes constitute the majority of biomass and control most of the major biogeochemical cycles, including those that regulate the Earth's climate. Coastal marine environments provide goods and services that are imperative to human survival and well-being (e.g. fisheries, water purification), and emerging evidence indicates that these ecosystem services often depend on complex relationships between communities of microorganisms (the ‘microbiome’) and their hosts or environment – termed the ‘holobiont’. Understanding of coastal ecosystem function must therefore be framed under the holobiont concept, whereby macroorganisms and their associated microbiomes are considered as a synergistic ecological unit. Here we evaluated the current state of knowledge on coastal marine microbiome research and identified key questions within this growing research area. Although the list of questions is broad and ambitious, progress in the field is increasing exponentially, and the emergence of large, international collaborative networks and well-executed manipulative experiments are rapidly advancing the field of coastal marine microbiome research

A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research

Research into the microbiomes of natural environments is changing the way ecologists and evolutionary biologists view the importance of microbes in ecosystem function. This is particularly relevant in ocean environments, where microbes constitute the majority of biomass and control most of the major biogeochemical cycles, including those that regulate the Earth's climate. Coastal marine environments provide goods and services that are imperative to human survival and well-being (e.g. fisheries, water purification), and emerging evidence indicates that these ecosystem services often depend on complex relationships between communities of microorganisms (the ‘microbiome’) and their hosts or environment – termed the ‘holobiont’. Understanding of coastal ecosystem function must therefore be framed under the holobiont concept, whereby macroorganisms and their associated microbiomes are considered as a synergistic ecological unit. Here we evaluated the current state of knowledge on coastal marine microbiome research and identified key questions within this growing research area. Although the list of questions is broad and ambitious, progress in the field is increasing exponentially, and the emergence of large, international collaborative networks and well-executed manipulative experiments are rapidly advancing the field of coastal marine microbiome research

Diversity issues in conflict: How MFT programs respond to issues of religion and sexual orientation

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how MFT graduate training programs respond to the specific diversity conflict between religion and sexual orientation. Currently, there is a lack of religious and affirmative training in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training programs. The execution of diversity training in MFT programs is discussed, focusing upon the strategies for implementing diversity within classroom curricula, supervision, self-of-the-therapist work, and outside exposure. The author sampled all faculty members working at Master\u27s level programs approved by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and their students. In response to a call for increasing cultural competence in the field, this study tests the effectiveness of these strategies for incorporating diversity as partially mediated by religious and tolerance toward lesbian, gay male, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Results show that incorporating diversity program-wide was the only significant predictor of effectiveness from the faculty sample; however, incorporating religious and LGB topics in the classroom and in supervision were significant predictors of sexual orientation counselor competency and students\u27 effectiveness at managing the conflict between religion and sexual orientation. Results also confirm the partially mediating effects of tolerance and self-of-the-therapist development. Consequently, the findings from this study have several important implications for diversity training, particularly as it relates to the inclusion of religious and LGB training in MFT program

Alignment for the 5' UTR

<p>Alignment for the 5' UTR region for the 4 Jalisco populations</p

SAS code

<p>SAS code used for phenotyping analysis</p

STRUCTURE script

<p>STRUCTURE script for making 5kb haplotypes</p