University of Notre Dame

About: University of Notre Dame is a education organization based out in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 22238 authors who have published 55201 publications receiving 2032925 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Notre Dame du Lac & University of Notre Dame, South Bend.

A standardized kinesin nomenclature.

Abstract: In recent years the kinesin superfamily has become so large that several different naming schemes have emerged, leading to confusion and miscommunication. Here, we set forth a standardized kinesin nomenclature based on 14 family designations. The scheme unifies all previous phylogenies and nomenclature proposals, while allowing individual sequence names to remain the same, and for expansion to occur as new sequences are discovered.

Exosome Function: From Tumor Immunology to Pathogen Biology

Abstract: The number of studies concerning bioactive vesicles has significantly increased in recent years with much of this increase stemming from work on exosomes. This class of bioactive vesicles is formed through the fusion of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) with the plasma membrane and release of intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) as exosomes. Originally observed as a mechanism to remove transferrin receptor during reticulocyte maturation (1), more recent studies have focused on the role of exosomes in antigen presentation (reviewed in 2). The presence of antigens on exosomes released from tumor cells and the ability of these exosomes to stimulate anti-tumor responses in vitro and in vivo suggest that their use may hold therapeutic promise for cancer patients. An area of very recent interest has been on exosomes role in the spread of pathogens as well as their potential function in promoting or regulating an immune response upon infection. Studies have shown that exosomes may function in the cell-to-cell spread of HIV (3,4), although this may simply reflect analogous biogenesis/trafficking of exosome and envelope proteins (5). Exosomes have also been successfully used as vaccines against various pathogens. Finally, studies have suggested that exosomes released from cells infected with intracellular pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) contain microbial components and that these exosomes have immune modulatory activity. In this review, we give a general summary of MVBs and exosomes but focus primarily on their diverse functions as well as their potential usefulness as vaccines and disease biomarkers.

Genetic diversity and chloroquine selective sweeps in Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract: Widespread use of antimalarial agents can profoundly influence the evolution of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Recent selective sweeps for drug-resistant genotypes may have restricted the genetic diversity of this parasite, resembling effects attributed in current debates to a historic population bottleneck. Chloroquine-resistant (CQR) parasites were initially reported about 45 years ago from two foci in southeast Asia and South America, but the number of CQR founder mutations and the impact of chlorquine on parasite genomes worldwide have been difficult to evaluate. Using 342 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers from a genetic map, here we show that the level of genetic diversity varies substantially among different regions of the parasite genome, revealing extensive linkage disequilibrium surrounding the key CQR gene pfcrt and at least four CQR founder events. This disequilibrium and its decay rate in the pfcrt-flanking region are consistent with strong directional selective sweeps occurring over only approximately 20-80 sexual generations, especially a single resistant pfcrt haplotype spreading to very high frequencies throughout most of Asia and Africa. The presence of linkage disequilibrium provides a basis for mapping genes under drug selection in P. falciparum.

Germline transformation of the silkworm Bombyx mori L. using a piggyBac transposon-derived vector

Abstract: We have developed a system for stable germline transformation in the silkworm Bombyx mori L. using piggyBac, a transposon discovered in the lepidopteran Trichoplusia ni. The transformation constructs consist of the piggyBac inverted terminal repeats flanking a fusion of the B. mori cytoplasmic actin gene BmA3 promoter and the green fluorescent protein (GFP). A nonautonomous helper plasmid encodes the piggyBac transposase. The reporter gene construct was coinjected into preblastoderm eggs of two strains of B. mori. Approximately 2% of the individuals in the G1 broods expressed GFP. DNA analyses of GFP-positive G1 silkworms revealed that multiple independent insertions occurred frequently. The transgene was stably transferred to the next generation through normal Mendelian inheritance. The presence of the inverted terminal repeats of piggyBac and the characteristic TTAA sequence at the borders of all the analyzed inserts confirmed that transformation resulted from precise transposition events. This efficient method of stable gene transfer in a lepidopteran insect opens the way for promising basic research and biotechnological applications.