Article describes how monitoring immunological response to physical stressors in a field setting is challenging because existing methods require a laboratory visit and traditional blood collection via venipuncture. The purpose of this study was to determine if our optimized dry blood spot (DBS) methodology yields sufficient total RNA to quantify the effect of Baker's Yeast Beta Glucan supplementation on post-exercise mRNA expression.

Article describes how silicon can be important for the growth, functioning, and stoichiometric regulation of nutrients for high-Si-accumulating bamboo. The authors demonstrated that silicon supply can decrease the ratio of C:Si in bamboo leaves and increase the ratio of N:P without altering nutrient status or the N:P ratio of tree spalings.

Data management plan for the grant, "Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP): Landscape genetics of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in Texas."

Data management plan for the grant, "A Laser Microdissection System to Enhance Agricultural and Food Research in the North Texas and Southern Oklahoma Region."

Data management plan for the grant, "Quantitative PCR Primer Development for Early Detection of Invasive Species."

Article discusses how a bifunctional peroxidase enzyme, 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H/APX), provides a parallel route to the shikimate shunt pathway for the conversion of 4-coumarate to caffeate in the early steps of lignin biosynthesis. Here, a multi-omic approach was used to characterize molecular changes resulting from C3H/APX-KD associated lignin modification and negative growth phenotype in Brachypodium distachyon.

The authors of the article used pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) across South Dakota, USA as a model species to identify environmental factors driving spatiotemporal variation in population productivity. They found that the amount of grassland at a local spatial scale was the primary factor influencing an area being a HotSpot.

Article describes the Streptomyces sanglieri bacteriophages AxeJC, Cumberbatch, Eastland,Eklok, HFrancette, Ignacio, Piccadilly, and Vondra form a novel actinobacteriophage cluster,BP. These siphoviruses have circularly permuted genomes with an average size of 37,700 bp and a GC content of 71%. Each genome contains approximately 58 protein-coding genes, with no tRNAs.

Article describes how kudzu produces both O- and C-glycosylated isoflavones, with puerarin (C-glucosyl daidzein) as an important bioactive compound. The authors go on to explain how expression of recombinant UGTs in Escherichia coli and candidate C-glycosyltransferases in Medicago truncatula were used to explore substrate specificities, and gene silencing of UGT and key isoflavone biosynthetic genes in kudzu hairy roots employed to test hypotheses concerning the substrate(s) for C-glycosylation.

This article explores DNA methylation's role in the regulation of gene expression in reptiles. Results show that embryonic hypoxia programs DNA methylation and gene expression patterns and that these changes are associated with enhanced cardiac anoxia tolerance in snapping turtles later in life.

This article develops a method, using a single DNA construct that uses CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing to knock-out expression of an endogenous gene of lignin monomer biosynthesis while at the same time expressing a modified version of the gene’s open reading frame that escapes cutting by the Cas9 system and complements the introduced mutation in a tissue-specific manner. This method is applicable to any plant species in which transformation and gene editing are feasible and validated vessel-specific promoters are available.

Data management plan for the grant "IRES Track II - Cape Horn ASIs: Climate change and disease ecology at the southern end of the Americas." Research giving students the opportunity to be trained in quantitative experimental design and work as part of a multinational research collaboration to study infectious disease emergence in one of the few remaining pristine places on Earth. The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR) off the southern tip of South America protects pristine ecosystem is perfect for this type of graduate student training. The CHBR is part of the sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion, which is globally significant because it houses the worlds southernmost forest biome, contains numerous endemic species, is remote, and is relatively free of anthropogenic impacts. The research questions themselves will be flexible, but organized thematically. Specifically, this IRES Track-II will focus on the merging molecular genetic analysis using a mobile next generation sequencing lab with mist netting and arthropod trapping to investigate the impacts of wildlife disease on local biodiversity and community structure. Secondarily, eDNA and traditional wildlife disease monitoring approaches will be applied to understand the potential for zoonosis and understanding ecological factors that contribute to, or inhibit, zoonosis. Resultantly, participation in this program …

Article aims to identify other proteases that may activate FVII using zebrafish as a model.

This article studies the nest-site selection and survival rate of the five most abundant open-cup forest-dwelling passerines (Elaenia albiceps, Zonotrichia capensis, Phrygilus patagonicus, Turdus falcklandii, and Anairetes parulus) in the world’s southernmost forests of Navarino Island, in the Cape Horn Biosphere reserve, Chile (55°S).

Article presents a method that provides a novel way to synthesize NPs and expose biological organisms for various toxicological analysis.

Article describes a study which tried to determine which of three methods (useing a drumming device to simulate a double‐knock (i.e., territorial acoustical signal), broadcasting a territorial call, or passively listening) best results in a detection of Magellanic Woodpeckers (Campephilus magellanicus ), and if weather variables influence detection probability.

Article studying water regulation during hypoxia in euryhaline killifish.

Article comparing the metabolism of embryos from two different maize lines, Alex and LH59, to test the hypothesis that directly changing their carbon metabolism may be the key to increasing oil content in maize kernels without affecting yield.

This article is a study using crude oil as an example of an environmental stressor in adult zebrafish. The offspring obtained were then assessed for transgenerational epigenetic transfer of oil-induced phenotypes. The authors conclude that epigenetic transgenerational inheritance can lead to an immediate and simultaneous inheritance of both beneficial and maladaptive traits in a large proportion of the F1 larvae. The adaptive responses may help fish populations survive when facing transient environmental stressors.

This article describes the ideal nature of the Catechyl lignin (C-lignin) via a revised compositional characterization of the vanilla seed coat fiber, new features of the C-lignin's reactivity and stability, and successful attempts at converting it to monomers in near-quantitative yields.

This article describes a study investigating the maturation of convective oxygen transport in embryos of the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Measurements included: mass, oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood oxygen content and affinity and blood flow distribution at 50%, 70% and 90% of the incubation period.

Article proposes a dynamic mathematical model that integrates various datasets and other information regarding the lignin pathway in Brachypodium distachyon and permits explanations for some counterintuitive observations.

This article proposes a dynamic mathematical model that integrates various datasets and other information regarding the lignin pathway in Brachypodium distachyon and permits explanations for some counterintuitive observations.

This article characterizes the CETS gene family from tetraploid cotton in order to understand the regulation of cotton architecture and exploit these principles to enhance crop productivity.