Molecular Genetics
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12503/21690
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Browsing Molecular Genetics by Author "Allen, Michael"
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Item Bacterial microbiome of the Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum, from Arkansas, United States(2017-03-14) Zhang, Yan; Mitchell, Elizabeth; Allen, Michael; Thapa, SantoshObjective: Amblyomma americanum (the Lone Star tick), an aggressive, human-biting tick abundant in the southern, central, and eastern regions of the United States, is an important vector for many bacterial pathogens, including Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Francisella spp. Additionally, these ticks harbor many commensals and symbionts. The state of Arkansas has a disproportionately high incidence of several tick-borne, bacterial diseases. In order to better understand the community structure in which both pathogenic and non-pathogenic, tick-borne bacteria exist, we characterized the bacterial microbiome of A. americanum ticks collected from multiple sites in Arkansas. In addition to knowing the underlying bacterial communities within these ticks, the resultant data provide information which can potentially be useful in establishing effective interventions to control tick-borne diseases. Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from a total of 87 questing A. americanum ticks (42 females, 21 males, and 24 nymphs) collected in Arkansas during April-June 2015, and the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was targeted using the Illumina MiSeq® sequencing platform to investigate the tick bacterial microbiomes. Raw sequence data were processed with open access mothur software. Sequences with 97% similarity were grouped into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and assigned to differenct taxonomic levels by matching to the Greengenes database. Results: The genus Coxiella, which includes a commonly found bacterial endosymbiont, was detected in all ticks tested, with variable distribution among the females (80%), males (0.17%) and nymphs (65%). The genus Rickettsia, which contains several known pathogens, was detected in all nymphal tick pools (0.10% to 0.90%) and about half of the female ticks (0.20% to 2.10%) but was not found in any males. Of interest, more than three-fourths of the male ticks had high abundance of unclassified bacteria within the Enterobacteriaceae family, while few females carried this group of bacteria. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that differences in the bacterial communities are present, when comparing both life stage and sex of A. americanum ticks from Arkansas. The female ticks exhibited significantly less bacterial diversity and contained numerically dominant levels of Coxiella spp. bacteria, when compared to the males.Item Gut Microbiome of Phenylketonuria Patients(2017-03-14) Zhang, Yan; Durrer, Katherine; Allen, Michael; Mancilla, Viviana J.Background: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disease caused by a mutation in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene, resulting in the inability to metabolize phenylalanine. Currently, the main treatment for PKU is dietary Phe restriction. Numerous studies on the gut microbiome have demonstrated impacts on overall health, and both diet and genetics have been shown to impact the composition of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome in adult PKU patients has not yet been systematically investigated, and the ramifications of dietary Phe restriction are unknown. Objective: Characterize the gut microbiome of PKU patients. Materials and Methods: Gut microbial composition of 16 adult PKU patients were compared to 15 healthy adults by sequencing the 16S RNA gene v4 region using the Illumina MiSeq instrument. Results: The dominant genera found in the gut microbiome of PKU and healthy control were Blautia and Bacteroides. When comparing the microbiome composition of healthy individuals and PKU patients, the abundance of Blautia, Corpococcus, Subdoligranulum, and Psuedonomas were increased in PKU patients, while Bacteriodes, Alistipes, SMB53, Faecalibacterium, and members of the Enterobacteriaceae family were shown to decrease in abundance in PKU patients. Conclusions: The compositions of the PKU gut microbiome showed differences compared to that of healthy controls. This study provides valuable background information on the gut microbiome of PKU patients, which could be beneficial to the development of future treatments.