University of Georgia

About: University of Georgia is a education organization based out in Athens, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 41934 authors who have published 93622 publications receiving 3713212 citations. The organization is also known as: UGA & Franklin College.

The ligninolytic system of the white rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus: purification and characterization of the laccase.

Abstract: The white rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus was characterized with respect to its set of extracellular phenoloxidases. Laccase was produced as the predominant extracellular phenoloxidase in conjunction with low amounts of an unusual peroxidase. Neither lignin peroxidase nor manganese peroxidase was detected. Laccase was produced constitutively during primary metabolism. Addition of the most effective inducer, 2,5-xylidine, enhanced laccase production ninefold without altering the isoenzyme pattern of the enzyme. Laccase purified to apparent homogeneity was a single polypeptide having a molecular mass of approximately 81,000 Da, as determined by calibrated gel filtration chromatography, and a carbohydrate content of 9%. The enzyme displayed an unusual behavior on isoelectric focusing gels; the activity was split into one major band (pI, 3.7) and several minor bands of decreasing intensity which appeared at regular, closely spaced intervals toward the alkaline end of the gel. Repeated electrophoresis of the major band under identical conditions produced the same pattern, suggesting that the laccase was secreted as a single acidic isoform with a pI of about 3.7 and that the multiband pattern was an artifact produced by electrophoresis. This appeared to be confirmed by N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the purified enzyme, which yielded a single sequence for the first 21 residues. Spectroscopic analysis indicated a typical laccase active site in the P. cinnabarinus enzyme since all three typical Cu(II)-type centers were identified. Substrate specificity and inhibitor studies also indicated the enzyme to be a typical fungal laccase. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the P. cinnabarinus laccase showed close homology to the N-terminal sequences determined for laccases from Trametes versicolor, Coriolus hirsutus, and an unidentified basidiomycete, PM1. The principal features of the P. cinnabarinus enzyme system, a single predominant laccase and a lack of lignin- or manganese-type peroxidase, make this organism an interesting model for further studies of possible alternative pathways of lignin degradation by white rot fungi.

Diversity and Succession of the Intestinal Bacterial Community of the Maturing Broiler Chicken

Abstract: The diversity of bacterial floras in the ilea and ceca of chickens that were fed a vegetarian corn-soy broiler diet devoid of feed additives was examined by analysis of 1,230 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences. Nearly 70% of sequences from the ileum were related to those of Lactobacillus, with the majority of the rest being related to Clostridiaceae (11%), Streptococcus (6.5%), and Enterococcus (6.5%). In contrast, Clostridiaceae-related sequences (65%) were the most abundant group detected in the cecum, with the other most abundant sequences being related to Fusobacterium (14%), Lactobacillus (8%), and Bacteroides (5%). Statistical analysis comparing the compositions of the different 16S rRNA libraries revealed that population succession occurred during some sampling periods. The significant differences among cecal libraries at 3 and 7 days of age, at 14 to 28 days of age, and at 49 days of age indicated that successions occurred from a transient community to one of increasing complexity as the birds aged. Similarly, the ileum had a stable bacterial community structure for birds at 7 to 21 days of age and between 21 to 28 days of age, but there was a very unique community structure at 3 and 49 days of age. It was also revealed that the composition of the ileal and cecal libraries did not significantly differ when the birds were 3 days old, and in fact during the first 14 days of age, the cecal microflora was a subset of the ileal microflora. After this time, the ileum and cecum had significantly different library compositions, suggesting that each region developed its own unique bacterial community as the bird matured.

Factors Influencing Succession: Lessons from Large, Infrequent Natural Disturbances

Abstract: Disturbance events vary in intensity, size, and frequency, but few opportunities exist to study those that are extreme on more than one of these gradients. This article characterizes successional processes that occur following infrequent disturbance events that are exceptional in their great intensity or large size. The spatial variability in disturbance intensity within large, infrequent disturbances (LIDs) often leads to a heterogeneous pattern of surviving organisms. These surviving organisms dictate much of the initial successional pattern on large disturbances where the opportunities for seeds to disperse into the middle of the disturbance are limited. The traditional distinction between primary and secondary succession is insufficient to capture the tremendous variability in succession following LIDs. Disturbance size influences succession where long-distance colonization by propagules is important. Observations from LIDs suggest the following interrelated hypotheses about trends in succession with increasing distance from seed sources when disturbanceintensity is high: (a) initial densities of organisms will be lower; (b) nucleation processes, in which recovering patches serve as foci for additional colonization and expand spatially, will be more important; (c) competitive sorting will be less important relative to chance arrival in determination of community composition, and (d) community composition will be initially less predictable; and (e) the rate of recovery of community composition will be slower. Prediction of succession following LIDs without considering contingencies such as the abundance, types, and spatial distribution of residuals, and distance to seed sources is likely to be unsuccessful for large portions of the landscape. Abundance and spatial arrangement of survivors and arrival patterns of propagules may be the pivotal factors determining how succession differs between intense disturbances of large and small extent.

Mail survey response rate a meta-analysis of selected techniques for inducing response

Abstract: This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of experimental studies which have examined ten different factors felt to influence response rates to mail surveys. The form of meta- analysis used clearly defines the individual impact of each of the factors examined. Results indicate that prenotification and follow-ups increase the response rate, as does the type of outgo- ing postage used. Furthermore, studies sponsored by a university receive greater returns. Increases in the size of the monetary incentive used appear to have decreasing marginal gains. Finally, some evidence exists to suggest that the color of the question- naire influences response rate. The extensive use of mail surveys coupled with the low response rates typically encountered has made the issue of mail survey response rate improvement an intriguing topic. High response rates have the obvi- ous benefits of increased sample size, reduced costs associated with follow-up contacts, and reduced concern over nonresponse bias. Many experiments have been conducted to measure the effectiveness of one or more of the factors expected to influence response rates. The purpose of this paper is to apply a form of meta-analysis to reported experimental findings to isolate and estimate the individual impact of several typical response rate enhancement techniques. The meta-analysis technique used avoids the problems associated with past similar efforts but is more restrictive in the factors which can be exam-