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Much is still unknown about dominance hierarchies. Many different species form dominance hierarchies and each species have very different ways of forming these hierarchies. Some engage in various different dominance interactions to establish a dominant position. This experiment aims to use the ant species, Harpegnathos saltator, as a model to explore what sets dominant individuals, or gamergates in this case, apart from non-dominant individuals, or non-gamergates. H. saltator ants perform various different behaviors such as dueling, which is a mutually beneficial behavior, dominance biting, which is an aggressive behavior, and policing which is used to bring down those who are dominant. These behaviors can be used to study the importance of initiation and aggression in hierarchy formation. This experiment will explore how aggression through dominance biting, duel initiation, group size, and time period affect the formation of gamergates. To do so, socially unstable colonies of 15, 30, and 60 ants were video recorded for days until gamergates were established. Then, from the recordings, a period of high activity was selected and observed for dueling, duel initiation, dominance biting, dominance bite downs, and policing. The results showed that gamergates tended to perform dominance biting and dominance bite downs far more than non-gamergates during the period of high activity, but not as clearly with duelling and duel initiations. It was inconclusive whether or not the combination of both dueling and dominance biting was what set gamergates apart from non gamergates as different groups showed different results. Gamergates performed visibly more dominance bite downs than non-gamergates, so aggression may be important in setting gamergates apart from non-gamergates. In terms of group size, the smallest group had the least number of gamergates and the least activity, and the medium and large group had a similar number of gamergates and activity.
cause of death in children younger than the age of 5 years. While the introduction of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine (MMR) has significantly decreased morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, vaccine coverage is highly variable across global regions. Current diagnostic methods rely on enzyme immunoassays (EIA) to detect IgM or IgG Abs in serum. Commercially available Diamedix Immunosimplicity® Measles IgG test kit has been shown to have 91.1% sensitivity and 93.8% specificity, with a positive predictive value of 88.7% and a negative predictive value of 90.9% on the basis of a PRN titer of 120. There is an increasing need for rapid screening for measles specific immunity in outbreak settings. This study aims to develop a rapid molecular diagnostic assay to detect IgG reactive to three individual measles virus (MeV) proteins.
Measles virus (MeV) genes were subcloned into the pJFT7_nGST vector to generate N- terminal GST fusion proteins. Single MeV cistrons were expressed using in vitro transcription/translation (IVTT) with human cell lysate. Expression of GST-tagged proteins was measured with mouse anti-GST mAb and sheep anti-mouse IgG. Relative light units (RLUs) as luminescence was measured. Antibodies to MeV antigens were measured in 40 serum samples from healthy subjects.
Protein expression of three MeV genes of interest was measured in comparison with vector control and statistical significance was determined using the Student’s t-test (p<0.05). N expressed at the highest level with an average RLU value of 3.01 x 109 (p<0.001) and all proteins were expressed at least 50% greater than vector control (4.56 x 106 RLU). 36/40 serum samples had IgG to N (Ag:GST ratio>1.21), F (Ag:GST ratio>1.92), or H (Ag:GST ratio> 1.23).
These data indicate that the in vitro expression of MeV antigens, N, F, and H, were markedly improved by subcloning into pJFT7_nGST vector to generate N-terminal GST fusion proteins. The expression of single MeV genes N, F and H, are suitable antigens for serologic capture analysis of measles-specific antibodies. These preliminary data can be used to design a more intensive study to explore the possibilities of using these MeV antigens as a diagnostic marker.