MURDOCK, C.*; WIBBELS, T.: Use of a quantitative competitive RT-PCR to evaluate aromatase expression in a turtle The red eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta, possess temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Previous studies with T. scripta have suggested that steroids, in particular estrogens, may play key roles in the sex determination cascade. Therefore, steroidogenic enzymes involved in […]

NEDERBRAGT, A.J.*; LESPINET, O.; DICTUS, W.J.A.G.; VANLOON, A.E.; ADOUTTE, A.; VANDENBIGGELAAR, J.A.M.: Twist and Snail Homologues in the Gastropod Mollusk Patella Vulgata: A New Twist for an Old Gene Network? Mesoderm development must have been crucial in the evolution from diploblastic into triploblastic animals. To obtain a reliable insight into the evolution of the mesoderm […]

KIRKTON, R*; THORN, R.S.: Turning On Smell: Nitic Oxide and the Maturation of the Honeybee Olfactory System Freshly eclosed honeybees, Apis mellifera, are known to have poor sensitivity to odor, but subsequently ‘turn on’ their olfactory system within 5-10 days after emergence. We repeated these behavioral experiments and found that young bees can distinguish odors […]

WIGGINS, R.C.*; McCLELLAND, S.: Trackway of a Pennsylvanian Tetrapod (Amphibian?) The trackway of a tetrapod, worm tracks, fern imprints, and other surface features fossalized in a soft mud from the Pennsylvanian period have been recovered from a West Virginia coal strip-mine. Stride and pace analysis over a recovered distance of about 150 cm indicate that […]

Huang, L.; Bartel, R.C.*; Denver, R.J.: Thyroid Hormone Promotes Cell Proliferation, Migration and Differentiation in the Xenopus laevis Tadpole Brain. The essential role of thyroid hormone (T3) in amphibian metamorphosis has been understood for some time. However, the mechanisms by which it causes pleiotropic effects remain unknown. Our group seeks to characterize the molecular action […]

Cappola, V.A.; Fautin, D.G.*: The status of Corallimorpharia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) based on molecular data from mitochrondrial 16S rDNA and nuclear 28S rDNA Corallimorpharia is an order of Anthozoa (phylum Cnidaria) that is currently considered equivalent in rank to Scleractinia (hard corals) and Actiniaria (sea anemones). Rather than being an independent order, Corallimorpharia has been hypothesized […]

Zigler, K.S.: The sea urchin sperm protein bindin is conserved throughout the echinoids The sea urchin sperm protein bindin is the principal component of the acrosomal vesicle and is involved in sperm-egg recognition and sperm-egg fusion. Bindin is not homologous to any known non-echinoid protein. Bindin is only known from several genera of regular echinoids. […]

Robeson II, M.S.*; Garey, J.R.: The mitochondrial genome of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. There are no published sequences of the complete mitochondrial genome from a rotifer. The mitochondrial genome of different isolates of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis vary in size from 16-26 kilobases (kb). About 12 kb from an isolate with a genome totaling approximately […]

NINOMIYA,H.*; ELINSON,R.P.: The geometry of mesoderm formation in the direct developer Eleutherodactylus coqui, a frog with big eggs E. coqui is a direct developing frog, which hatches as a froglet without going through a tadpole stage. It develops from a big egg (diameter 3.5mm), much of which forms large yolky cells, which are assumed to […]

LUKER, L.A.*; HATLE, J.D.; JULIANO, S.A.: The effects of photoperiod on the length of the oviposition cycle of the grasshopper, Romalea microptera The reproductive tactics of many insects are affected by photoperiod because short-day photoperiods serve as a cue of the onset of winter. We tested several hypotheses regarding the effects of photoperiod on the […]