This article identifies that an rRNA released in hemolysis activates clotting in human and zebrafish plasma. Furthermore, it shows that fish Hgfac plays a role in rRNA-mediated activation of coagulation.

Article describing an approach to expand biocuration through crowdsourcing with undergraduates in the community-oriented wiki framework for GO annotation called the Gene Ontology Normal Usage Tracking System (GONUTS). This multiplies the number of high-quality annotations in international databases, enriches the coverage of the literature on normal gene function, and pushes the field in new directions.

This article is a review examining the characteristics that make an animal model attractive for developmental research and explores opportunities presented by the embryo to adult continuum of alternative bird models including quail, ratites, songbirds, birds of prey, and corvids.

Article using zebrafish as a model and identifies that trypsin induces an aversive response in zebrafish larvae and adult zebrafish. Results show that the trypsin activates PAR2 on keratinocytes signaling the brain, and this pathway of trypsin-induced escape response will provide a unique communication mechanism in zebrafish.

Data management plan for the grant, "LLELA Quail Program: Quail in the Park Cities? Restoring a functional quail population to a small rangeland system in the Dallas Metroplex."

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 …

This article's aim is to determine whether (a) the spatial use of domestic dogs increases with habitat destruction, and (b) domestic dogs and habitat destruction drive the spatial use of native carnivores in a heavily degraded agricultural landscape. Conclusions highlight that domestic dog occupancy was positively correlated with habitat loss and future conditions of increased fragmentation and habitat loss will likely increase the potential contact between domestic dogs and native carnivores.

This article is a review summarizing recent progress in defining the lignin biosynthetic pathway in lycophytes, monilophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. This review provides new insights into the genetic engineering of the lignin biosynthetic pathway to overcome biomass recalcitrance in bioenergy crops.

This article investigates if the widespread use of magnesium in fibromyalgia is supported by evidence in the literature. This review provides a layout of the studies examining the correlation between body magnesium levels and fibromyalgia and elaborates on the trials testing the effectiveness of magnesium in treating different clinical parameters of fibromyalgia.

This article studies the hemolymph vascular system (HVS) in two cambarid crayfishes, i.e. the Marbled Crayfish, Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017 and the Spiny Cheek Crayfish, Faxonius limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) in regard to areas of non-genetic phenotypic variation.

This article uses metazachlor, an inhibitor of VLCFA synthesis, to find that VLCFAs are involved in the TGN/MVB distribution of PI3P. This effect is independent from either synthesis of PI3P by PI3-kinase or degradation of PI(3,5)P2 into PI3P by the SUPPRESSOR OF ACTIN1 (SAC1) phosphatase. Results suggest that PI3P might be transferable from TGN to MVBs and that VLCFAs act in this process.

Data management plan for the grant "Regulators of von Willebrand Factor Levels." Von Willebrand Disease is the most prevalent bleeding disease. In one of the types called type 1 von Willebrand Disease, the disease-causing genes are not known. Using zebrafish as a model, this project proposes to identify genes that cause the disease by crippling the genes by knockdown methods, and such identification may lead to not only the identification of mutations in the corresponding human genes but also to a better diagnosis.

Article identifying novel epigenetic regulators for tfpia and exploiting this information to discover a drug that enhances tfpia mRNA levels and prolongation of TTO. This discovery provides the basis for testing whether UNC6852 could be used as an antithrombotic drug.

Article describing the anatomy of the trunk muscles, their properties that determine muscle performance (mass, length and physiological cross-sectional area [PCSA]) and investigating their scaling in juvenile Alligator mississippiensis spanning an order of magnitude in body mass (359 g–5.5 kg). Findings support existing anecdotal evidence that crocodilians shift their breathing mechanics as they increase in size.

This article explores the connection between thyroid hormones (THs) and immune systems in fish. This article is noteworthy as disruption of the thyroid system during development, which can occur in response to chemicals present in the environment, may have lasting effects on immune function in adulthood for fish.

Article discovering a mechanism for how sphingolipids mediate phosphoinositide homeostasis at the TGN in plant cells. The data presented identifies a mode of action of sphingolipids in lipid interplay at the TGN during protein sorting.

Data management plan for the grant, "Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases and Chemical Communication in Plants." Research seeking to understand how an evolutionarily-conserved group of plant enzymes utilizes chemical signals to regulate growth and to influence their microbial environment. Specific research aims include the discovery of new enzymes and their substrate molecules that act as communication signals. Broader applications of this research may offer new strategies to enhance agricultural outputs by manipulating plant-microbe interactions in crop and soil systems.

This article combines in silico structural predictions with in planta complementation of the severely defective mtnip-1 mutant plants to understand the role of a series of distinct amino acids in the transporter’s function. The findings add to the knowledge of the mechanism of alternative conformational changes as well as symport transport in NPFs and enhance knowledge of the mechanisms for nitrate signaling.

This article investigates the long-term effects of developmental hypoxia on mitochondrial function in a species that regularly encounters hypoxia during development. Findings speculate that adjustments might improve mitochondrial hypoxia tolerance, which would be beneficial for turtles during breath-hold diving and overwintering in anoxic environments.

Data management plan for the grant, "Chemical-Guided Identification of Primary Metabolic Targets for Improvement of Hydroxy Fatty Acid Synthesis in Physaria fendleri." Research on the identification of primary metabolic targets using chemical-guided identification. The first objective of this research is to conduct metabolomics analysis on P. fendleri embryos cultured with two identified chemical regulators of fatty acid metabolism. The second objective of this research is to generate a metabolic flux map of embryos treated with these regulatory compounds in order to determine how metabolic rates and carbon flow can be manipulated to improve HFA production in this species and increase its commercial viability. With properties that could replace imported castor oil, research on the crop in discussion is situated directly in the scope of the USDA-AFRI Education and Workforce Development goals.

Data management plan for the grant, "Non-Genetic Inheritance of Hypoxia Tolerance in Fishes: Dynamics and Mechanisms." Research quantifying the inheritance of tolerance to low oxygen in a model fish and then determine the tolerance mechanisms, at organismal to molecular levels, that are passed on from parents to their offspring. The investigators will not only focus on conventional, well-studied genetic mechanisms for inheritance, but will explore so-called “epigenetic” forms of inheritance that may transfer parental characteristics for only a generation or two. Such “temporary inheritance” might actually require less energy and be more beneficial to a species than the more permanent form of genetic inheritance. This project will quantify non-genetic inheritance of hypoxia tolerance in zebrafish as a model organism and then identify underlying mechanisms, at organismal to molecular levels, in parents and in their progeny. Specifically, this project will quantify non-genetically inherited traits that allow hypoxia tolerance, determine “wash-in” and “wash-out” (i.e., the dynamics) of hypoxia-tolerant phenotypes across multiple generations, and establish epigenetic mechanism(s) of non-genetic inheritance in subsequent generations. The information provided by this project will allow biologists to better predict, and perhaps even mitigate, the negative consequences of future episodes of low oxygen in rivers and lakes.

Article indicating directions in which the field of Developmental Physiology might move. It suggests three categories of challenges: demonstrating broad relevance, promoting conceptual advances, and improving experimental approaches.