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The complete genome of snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV) was cloned and molecularly characterized. This was initially accomplished through the sequence determination of its glycoprotein gene and the phylogenetic analysis of this gene with orthologous genes from other rhabdoviruses. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that SHRV groups with viruses of the genus Novirhabdovirus. The full-length glycoprotein was expressed in mammalian cells to investigate its potential use in the production of pseudotyped retroviruses. The sequence of the entire SHRV genome of 11.6 kb was determined, and all encoded proteins, intergenic transcriptional control motifs, and the leader and trailer regions were identified. The genome was found to encode six proteins including a nucleoprotein, a phosphoprotein, a matrix protein, a glycoprotein, a small--presumably non-virion--protein, and a polymerase protein. The presence of a non-virion protein, which is the hallmark feature of all Novirhabdoviruses, supported SHRV's identity as a member of the Novirhabdovirus genus, despite the fact that the non-virion protein showed no homology with any known protein. A system was developed to express a full-length, error-free positive-strand copy of SHRV's RNA genome along with all of the SHRV proteins required for viral replication within the cytoplasm of a virus-susceptible host cell. These factors collectively allowed the recovery of live virus entirely from cloned cDNAs. A unique restriction site was engineered into SHRV's cDNA genome, and the presence of this restriction site was verified following virus recovery, proving the recovered virus was indeed a live recombinant virus. To our knowledge this achievement marks the first time in which reverse genetics has been performed on a nonmammalian negative-stranded RNA virus. / Graduation date: 1999

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisors: Babatunde Ogunnaike and Jeremy S. Edwards, Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation explores the genetic basis of gene expression in Fundulus heteroclitus by focusing on the role of the environment and its effects on gene expression and by making direct estimates of heritability using cDNA microarrays. The second chapter describes the utility of F. heteroclitus cDNA microarrays for studies of F. heteroclitus which seek to understand the genetic variation in gene expression. Measurements of mRNA fluorescence and concentration as well as differences in sample preparation and sampling of blood from a single individual over time demonstrate that F. heteroclitus cDNA microarrays are quantitative, reproducible and consistent. The third chapter examines the effect of the environment and genetic factors on the variation of gene expression. F. heteroclitus cDNA microarrays are used to determine whether a genetic component of gene expression can describe the variation in gene expression between inbred and outbred individuals from the same population. The results show that variation in mRNA expression is related to the genetic variation among individuals within a group. While chapter three reveals that there is a genetic component of variation in gene expression, the percentage of genes that are significantly heritable was not known. In the fourth chapter, the heritability of the variation in gene expression is estimated to determine the genetic basis of gene expression in F1 individuals from natural, outbred populations of F. heteroclitus. The data presented in chapter 4 are the first to formally estimate the genetic component of gene expression in F. heteroclitus. The estimates of heritability range from 0.25 to 0.86 depending on the estimation method with approximately 6.5% of genes having significant heritability. The results presented in this dissertation support the concept that genetic variation affects variation in mRNA expression among natural populations of F. heteroclitus. Natural, heritable variation in gene expression is important for understanding evolutionary adaptation and the role of natural selection in evolutionary processes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. / Prepared for: Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. Bibliography: leaves 202-220. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Karen Katula; submitted to the Dept. of Biology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Sciatic and saphenous neurectomy produces in mice a neuropathic pain-like behaviour (‘autotomy’). A/J mice express higher autotomy levels than C57BL6/J mice. A previous study used autotomy data for these strains and their 23 recombinant daughter inbred lines of the AXB-BXA set, to map a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for autotomy on chromosome 15. Since then, this QTL, named Pain1, was replicated twice. Since all three studies used a low-resolution genetic map based on microsatellites its confidence length precluded identification of candidate gene(s). To overcome this problem, I used a higher resolution SNP-based genetic map and refined Pain1’s peak location, identifying in it 80 candidate genes. But only Lynx1, Arc and Sharpin had sequence mismatches between A/J and C57BL6/J, known neural functions, and contrasting expression levels in DRGs and spinal cord of intact, sham-operated, and neurectomized mice of these lines. Meeting these criteria made them our best candidate genes for autotomy.