Browsing by Subject "Mammals"
Now showing items 1-20 of 24
-
29 mammalian genomes reveal novel exaptations of mobile elements for likely regulatory functions in the human genome.
(PloS one, 2012-01)Recent research supports the view that changes in gene regulation, as opposed to changes in the genes themselves, play a significant role in morphological evolution. Gene regulation is largely dependent on transcription ... -
A high-resolution map of human evolutionary constraint using 29 mammals.
(Nature, 2011-10-12)The comparison of related genomes has emerged as a powerful lens for genome interpretation. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of 29 eutherian genomes. We confirm that at least 5.5% of the human genome ... -
Behavioural and physiological limits to vision in mammals.
(Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2017-04)Human vision is exquisitely sensitive-a dark-adapted observer is capable of reliably detecting the absorption of a few quanta of light. Such sensitivity requires that the sensory receptors of the retina, rod photoreceptors, ... -
Body Mass and Tail Girth Predict Hibernation Expression in Captive Dwarf Lemurs.
(Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ, 2022-03)AbstractHibernation, a metabolic strategy, allows individuals to reduce energetic demands in times of energetic deficits. Hibernation is pervasive in nature, occurring in all major mammalian lineages and geographical regions; ... -
Cell type- and species-specific host responses to Toxoplasma gondii and its near relatives.
(International journal for parasitology, 2020-05-11)Toxoplasma gondii is remarkably unique in its ability to successfully infect vertebrate hosts from multiple phyla and can successfully infect most cells within these organisms. The infection outcome in each of these species ... -
China's endemic vertebrates sheltering under the protective umbrella of the giant panda.
(Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 2016-04)The giant panda attracts disproportionate conservation resources. How well does this emphasis protect other endemic species? Detailed data on geographical ranges are not available for plants or invertebrates, so we restrict ... -
Deep-tissue SWIR imaging using rationally designed small red-shifted near-infrared fluorescent protein.
(Nature methods, 2023-01)Applying rational design, we developed 17 kDa cyanobacteriochrome-based near-infrared (NIR-I) fluorescent protein, miRFP718nano. miRFP718nano efficiently binds endogenous biliverdin chromophore and brightly fluoresces in ... -
Dynamic evolution of the alpha (α) and beta (β) keratins has accompanied integument diversification and the adaptation of birds into novel lifestyles.
(BMC Evol Biol, 2014-12-12)BACKGROUND: Vertebrate skin appendages are constructed of keratins produced by multigene families. Alpha (α) keratins are found in all vertebrates, while beta (β) keratins are found exclusively in reptiles and birds. We ... -
Effects of land use, habitat characteristics, and small mammal community composition on Leptospira prevalence in northeast Madagascar.
(PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2020-12-31)Human activities can increase or decrease risks of acquiring a zoonotic disease, notably by affecting the composition and abundance of hosts. This study investigated the links between land use and infectious disease risk ... -
Encephalic Arterial Canals and Their Functional Significance
(2020)A fundamental question in evolutionary anthropology asks how the human brain evolved. Characterized as relatively large and energetically taxing, numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain how the human brain has ... -
Endangered species hold clues to human evolution.
(The Journal of heredity, 2010-07)We report that 18 conserved, and by extension functional, elements in the human genome are the result of retroposon insertions that are evolving under purifying selection in mammals. We show evidence that 1 of the 18 elements ... -
Environmental fate and effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins from transgenic crops: a review.
(Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2005-06)This paper reviews the scientific literature addressing the environmental fate and nontarget effects of the Cry protein toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), specifically resulting from their expression in transgenic ... -
Evidence for a single loss of mineralized teeth in the common avian ancestor.
(Science, 2014-12-12)Edentulism, the absence of teeth, has evolved convergently among vertebrates, including birds, turtles, and several lineages of mammals. Instead of teeth, modern birds (Neornithes) use a horny beak (rhamphotheca) and a muscular ... -
Evolution of networks and sequences in eukaryotic cell cycle control.
(Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 2011-12-27)The molecular networks regulating the G1-S transition in budding yeast and mammals are strikingly similar in network structure. However, many of the individual proteins performing similar network roles appear to have unrelated ... -
How to protect half of Earth to ensure it protects sufficient biodiversity.
(Science advances, 2018-08-29)It is theoretically possible to protect large fractions of species in relatively small regions. For plants, 85% of species occur entirely within just over a third of the Earth's land surface, carefully optimized to maximize ... -
Involvement of the HERV-derived cell-fusion inhibitor, suppressyn, in the fusion defects characteristic of the trisomy 21 placenta.
(Scientific reports, 2022-06)Suppressyn (SUPYN) is the first host-cell encoded mammalian protein shown to inhibit cell-cell fusion. Its expression is restricted to the placenta, where it negatively regulates syncytia formation in villi. Since its chromosomal ... -
Mammal Diversity, Persistence, and Conservation in India
(2008-12-03)Biodiversity conservation issues are complex and contentious. In this dissertation, I focus on Indian mammal conservation science, management, as well as policy issues that shape these factors. I am particularly interested ... -
Mammalian molar complexity follows simple, predictable patterns.
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021-01)Identifying developmental explanations for the evolution of complex structures like mammalian molars is fundamental to studying phenotypic variation. Previous study showed that a "morphogenetic gradient" of molar proportions ... -
Overview of FEED, the feeding experiments end-user database.
(Integr Comp Biol, 2011-08)The Feeding Experiments End-user Database (FEED) is a research tool developed by the Mammalian Feeding Working Group at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center that permits synthetic, evolutionary analyses of the physiology ... -
Remotely Sensed Data Informs Red List Evaluations and Conservation Priorities in Southeast Asia.
(PloS one, 2016-01)The IUCN Red List has assessed the global distributions of the majority of the world's amphibians, birds and mammals. Yet these assessments lack explicit reference to widely available, remotely-sensed data that can sensibly ...
