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Brandão RA, Fenker J, Lopes BEPDC, de Sena VMDA, Vasconcelos BD. Diet of terrestrial anurans in an ephemeral and simplified habitat during the dry season in the Brazilian Cerrado. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2020.1755373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Reuber A. Brandão
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Jéssica Fenker
- Ecology and Evolution Division, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra-ACT, 2612, Australia
| | - Bruno E. Pires de Carmago Lopes
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Vitor M. de Alcantara de Sena
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
| | - Beatriz D. Vasconcelos
- Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, CEP: 70.910-900, Brazil
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Basham EW, Saporito RA, González‐Pinzón M, Romero‐Marcucci A, Scheffers BR. Chemical defenses shift with the seasonal vertical migration of a Panamanian poison frog. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Edmund W. Basham
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Ralph A. Saporito
- Department of Biology John Carroll University University Heights OH USA
| | - Macario González‐Pinzón
- Escuela de Biología Facultad de Ciencias naturales y Exactas Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí David República de Panamá
| | - Angel Romero‐Marcucci
- Escuela de Biología Facultad de Ciencias naturales y Exactas Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí David República de Panamá
| | - Brett R. Scheffers
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
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Moskowitz NA, Dorritie B, Fay T, Nieves OC, Vidoudez C, 2017 Biology Class CRL, 2017 Biotechnology Class M, Fischer EK, Trauger SA, Coloma LA, Donoso DA, O’Connell LA. Land use impacts poison frog chemical defenses through changes in leaf litter ant communities. NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2020.1744957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tammy Fay
- Masconomet Regional High School, Boxford, MA USA
| | | | - Charles Vidoudez
- Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Facility, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Eva K. Fischer
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sunia A. Trauger
- Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Facility, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Luis A. Coloma
- Centro Jambatu De Investigación Y Conservación De Anfibios, Fundación Jambatu, San Rafael, Quito, Ecuador
| | - David A. Donoso
- Departamento De Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
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Martin A, Wolcott NS, O'Connell LA. Bringing immersive science to undergraduate laboratory courses using CRISPR gene knockouts in frogs and butterflies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/Suppl_1/jeb208793. [PMID: 32034043 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.208793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing offers new opportunities for biology students to perform genuine research exploring the gene-to-phenotype relationship. It is important to introduce the next generation of scientists, health practitioners and other members of society to the technical and ethical aspects of gene editing. Here, we share our experience leading hands-on undergraduate laboratory classes, where students formulate hypotheses regarding the roles of candidate genes involved in development, perform loss-of-function experiments using programmable nucleases and analyze the phenotypic effects of mosaic mutant animals. This is enabled by the use of the amphibian Xenopus laevis and the butterfly Vanessa cardui, two organisms that reliably yield hundreds of large and freshly fertilized eggs in a scalable manner. Frogs and butterflies also present opportunities to teach key biological concepts about gene regulation and development. To complement these practical aspects, we describe learning activities aimed at equipping students with a broad understanding of genome editing techniques, their application in fundamental and translational research, and the bioethical challenges they raise. Overall, our work supports the introduction of CRISPR technology into undergraduate classrooms and, when coupled with classroom undergraduate research experiences, enables hypothesis-driven research by undergraduates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Martin
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Nora S Wolcott
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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Fischer EK, Roland AB, Moskowitz NA, Vidoudez C, Ranaivorazo N, Tapia EE, Trauger SA, Vences M, Coloma LA, O’Connell LA. Mechanisms of Convergent Egg Provisioning in Poison Frogs. Curr Biol 2019; 29:4145-4151.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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Prates I, Paz A, Brown JL, Carnaval AC. Links between prey assemblages and poison frog toxins: A landscape ecology approach to assess how biotic interactions affect species phenotypes. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14317-14329. [PMID: 31938521 PMCID: PMC6953698 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecological studies of species pairs showed that biotic interactions promote phenotypic change and eco-evolutionary feedbacks. However, it is unclear how phenotypes respond to synergistic interactions with multiple taxa. We investigate whether interactions with multiple prey species explain spatially structured variation in the skin toxins of the neotropical poison frog Oophaga pumilio. Specifically, we assess how dissimilarity (i.e., beta diversity) of alkaloid-bearing arthropod prey assemblages (68 ant species) and evolutionary divergence between frog populations (from a neutral genetic marker) contribute to frog poison dissimilarity (toxin profiles composed of 230 different lipophilic alkaloids sampled from 934 frogs at 46 sites). We find that models that incorporate spatial turnover in the composition of ant assemblages explain part of the frog alkaloid variation, and we infer unique alkaloid combinations across the range of O. pumilio. Moreover, we find that alkaloid variation increases weakly with the evolutionary divergence between frog populations. Our results pose two hypotheses: First, the distribution of only a few prey species may explain most of the geographic variation in poison frog alkaloids; second, different codistributed prey species may be redundant alkaloid sources. The analytical framework proposed here can be extended to other multitrophic systems, coevolutionary mosaics, microbial assemblages, and ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Prates
- Department of Vertebrate ZoologyNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Andrea Paz
- Department of BiologyCity College of New York, and Graduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Jason L. Brown
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory & The Center for EcologySouthern Illinois UniversityCarbondaleILUSA
| | - Ana C. Carnaval
- Department of BiologyCity College of New York, and Graduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew YorkNYUSA
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McElroy MT, Donoso DA. Ant Morphology Mediates Diet Preference in a Neotropical Toad (Rhinella alata). COPEIA 2019. [DOI: 10.1643/ch-18-162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T. McElroy
- Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720;
| | - David A. Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador; . Send reprint requests to this address
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Correction: Seasonal changes in diet and chemical defense in the Climbing Mantella frog (Mantella laevigata). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218981. [PMID: 31220186 PMCID: PMC6586341 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
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Civitello ML, Denton R, Zasloff MA, Malone JH. Activation of the Bile Acid Pathway and No Observed Antimicrobial Peptide Sequences in the Skin of a Poison Frog. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2019; 9:581-589. [PMID: 30606754 PMCID: PMC6385980 DOI: 10.1534/g3.118.200880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The skin secretions of many frogs have genetically-encoded, endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Other species, especially aposematic poison frogs, secrete exogenously derived alkaloids that serve as potent defense molecules. The origins of these defense systems are not clear, but a novel bile-acid derived metabolite, tauromantellic acid, was recently discovered and shown to be endogenous in poison frogs (Mantella, Dendrobates, and Epipedobates). These observations raise questions about the evolutionary history of AMP genetic elements, the mechanism and function of tauromatellic acid production, and links between these systems. To understand the diversity and expression of AMPs among frogs, we assembled skin transcriptomes of 13 species across the anuran phylogeny. Our analyses revealed a diversity of AMPs and AMP expression levels across the phylogenetic history of frogs, but no observations of AMPs in Mantella We examined genes expressed in the bile-acid metabolic pathway and found that CYP7A1 (Cytochrome P450), BAAT (bile acid-CoA: amino acid N-acyltransferase), and AMACR (alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase) were highly expressed in the skin of M. betsileo and either lowly expressed or absent in other frog species. In particular, CYP7A1 catalyzes the first reaction in the cholesterol catabolic pathway and is the rate-limiting step in regulation of bile acid synthesis, suggesting unique activation of the bile acid pathway in Mantella skin. The activation of the bile acid pathway in the skin of Mantella and the lack of observed AMPs fuel new questions about the evolution of defense compounds and the ectopic expression of the bile-acid pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan L Civitello
- Institute of Systems Genomics, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269
| | - Robert Denton
- Institute of Systems Genomics, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269
| | - Michael A Zasloff
- Georgetown University School of Medicine, MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute, Washington D.C. 20057
| | - John H Malone
- Institute of Systems Genomics, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269
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