Oregon State University

About: Oregon State University is a education organization based out in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 28192 authors who have published 64044 publications receiving 2634108 citations. The organization is also known as: Oregon Agricultural College & OSU.

DNA-based methods for pedigree reconstruction and kinship analysis in natural populations

Abstract: The widespread use of microsatellite loci has spurred the recent development of many new statistical methods for inferring kin relationships from molecular data. We now have an unprecedented ability to infer detailed genealogical information about individuals in natural populations, but the best approach for a given problem is not always obvious. Researchers in different fields have also been deriving similar methods independently. Thus, some biologists might not be aware of what is even possible. By adopting these new methods, researchers in ecology and evolution could extract far more pedigree information from natural populations than is currently being exploited.

Analyzing protein circular dichroism spectra for accurate secondary structures

Abstract: We have developed an algorithm to analyze the circular dichroism of proteins for secondary structure. Its hallmark is tremendous flexibility in creating the basis set, and it also combines the ideas of many previous workers. We also present a new basis set containing the CD spectra of 22 proteins with secondary structures from high quality X-ray diffraction data. High flexibility is obtained by doing the analysis with a variable selection basis set of only eight proteins. Many variable selection basis sets fail to give a good analysis, but good analyses can be selected without any a priori knowledge by using the following criteria: (1) the sum of secondary structures should be close to 1.0, (2) no fraction of secondary structure should be less than -0.03, (3) the reconstructed CD spectrum should fit the original CD spectrum with only a small error, and (4) the fraction of alpha-helix should be similar to that obtained using all the proteins in the basis set. This algorithm gives a root mean square error for the predicted secondary structure for the proteins in the basis set of 3.3% for alpha-helix, 2.6% for 3(10)-helix, 4.2% for beta-strand, 4.2% for beta-turn, 2.7% for poly(L-proline) II type 3(1)-helix, and 5.1% for other structures when compared with the X-ray structure.

Soil Enzyme Activities as Indicators of Soil Quality

Abstract: With the increasing pressure to produce more food, fiber, and fuel to meet world demands on a limited land area, there is an unprecedented need to address global concerns about soil degradation. Understanding the underlying biological processes in tandem with identification of early warning indicators of ecosystem stress is needed to provide strategies and approaches for land resource managers and policymakers to promote long-term ecosystem sustainability. Biological and biochemically mediated processes in soils are fundamental to terrestrial ecosystem function. Ultimately, all members of the food web are dependent on the soil as a source of nutrients, and for degradation and cycling of complex organic compounds. Primary decomposers of organic matter provide energy that supports the activities of organisms from a number of trophic levels in soils. Historically, chemical and physical properties have been used as crude measures of soil productivity. Most notably, determination of soil organic matter has been related to general soil tilth. Soil organic matter changes very slowly, and therefore, many years may be required to measure changes resulting from perturbations. However, there is growing evidence that soil biological parameters may hold potential as early and sensitive indicators of soil ecological stress or restoration (Dick, 1992; Dick & Tabatabai, 1992). In Chapter 5 (this book) information is provided on soil quality in relation to soil microorganisms. In this chapter, soil enzyme activities will be discussed as a potential biochemical/biological indicator of soil quality.