Vector mosquitoes inflict more human suffering than any other organism—and kill more than one million people each year. The mosquito genome projects facilitated research in new facets of mosquito biology, including functional genetic studies in the primary African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae and the dengue and yellow fever vector Aedes aegypti. RNA interference- (RNAi-) mediated gene silencing has been used to target genes of interest in both of these disease vector mosquito species. Here, we describe a procedure for preparation of chitosan/interfering RNA nanoparticles that are combined with food and ingested by larvae. This technically straightforward, high-throughput, and relatively inexpensive methodology, which is compatible with long double stranded RNA (dsRNA) or small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, has been used for the successful knockdown of a number of different genes in A. gambiae and A. aegypti larvae. Following larval feedings, knockdown, which is verified through qRT-PCR or in situ hybridization, can persist at least through the late pupal stage. This methodology may be applicable to a wide variety of mosquito and other insect species, including agricultural pests, as well as other non-model organisms. In addition to its utility in the research laboratory, in the future, chitosan, an inexpensive, non-toxic and biodegradable polymer, could potentially be utilized in the field.
24 Related JoVE Articles!
Preventing the Spread of Malaria and Dengue Fever Using Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI).
In this candid interview, Anthony A. James explains how mosquito genetics can be exploited to control malaria and dengue transmission. Population replacement strategy, the idea that transgenic mosquitoes can be released into the wild to control disease transmission, is introduced, as well as the concept of genetic drive and the design criterion for an effective genetic drive system. The ethical considerations of releasing genetically-modified organisms into the wild are also discussed.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, malaria, dengue fever, genetics, infectious disease, Translational Research
Injection of dsRNA into Female A. aegypti Mosquitos
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Reverse genetic approaches have proven extremely useful for determining which genes underly resistance to vector pathogens in mosquitoes. This video protocol illustrates a method used by the James lab to inject dsRNA into female A. aegypti mosquitoes, which harbor the dengue virus. The technique for calibrating injection needles, manipulating the injection setup, and injecting dsRNA into the thorax is illustrated.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, malaria, genetics, injection
Protocol for Dengue Infections in Mosquitoes (A. aegypti) and Infection Phenotype Determination
Institutions: Johns Hopkins University.
The purpose of this procedure is to infect the Aedes mosquito with dengue virus in a laboratory condition and examine the infection level and dynamic of the virus in the mosquito tissues. This protocol is routinely used for studying mosquito-virus interactions, especially for identification of novel host factors that are able to determine vector competence. The entire experiment must be conducted in a BSL2 laboratory. Similar to Plasmodium falciparum infections, proper attire including gloves and lab coat must be worn at all times. After the experiment, all the materials that came in contact with the virus need to be treated with 75% ethanol and bleached before proceeding with normal washing. All other materials need to be autoclaved before discarding them.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, dengue, fever, infectious disease
Population Replacement Strategies for Controlling Vector Populations and the Use of Wolbachia pipientis for Genetic Drive
Institutions: Johns Hopkins University.
In this video, Jason Rasgon discusses population replacement strategies to control vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. "Population replacement" is the replacement of wild vector populations (that are competent to transmit pathogens) with those that are not competent to transmit pathogens. There are several theoretical strategies to accomplish this. One is to exploit the maternally-inherited symbiotic bacteria Wolbachia pipientis. Wolbachia is a widespread reproductive parasite that spreads in a selfish manner at the extent of its host's fitness. Jason Rasgon discusses, in detail, the basic biology of this bacterial symbiont and various ways to use it for control of vector-borne diseases.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, malaria, genetics, infectious disease, Wolbachia
Microinjection of A. aegypti Embryos to Obtain Transgenic Mosquitoes
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Irvine (UCI).
In this video, Nijole Jasinskiene demonstrates the methodology employed to generate transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are vectors for dengue fever. The techniques for correctly preparing microinjection needles, dessicating embryos, and performing microinjection are demonstrated.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, malaria, virus, dengue, genetics, RNAi, transgenic, microinjections
Automated Midline Shift and Intracranial Pressure Estimation based on Brain CT Images
Institutions: Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University Reanimation Engineering Science (VCURES) Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University.
In this paper we present an automated system based mainly on the computed tomography (CT) images consisting of two main components: the midline shift estimation and intracranial pressure (ICP) pre-screening system. To estimate the midline shift, first an estimation of the ideal midline is performed based on the symmetry of the skull and anatomical features in the brain CT scan. Then, segmentation of the ventricles from the CT scan is performed and used as a guide for the identification of the actual midline through shape matching. These processes mimic the measuring process by physicians and have shown promising results in the evaluation. In the second component, more features are extracted related to ICP, such as the texture information, blood amount from CT scans and other recorded features, such as age, injury severity score to estimate the ICP are also incorporated. Machine learning techniques including feature selection and classification, such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs), are employed to build the prediction model using RapidMiner. The evaluation of the prediction shows potential usefulness of the model. The estimated ideal midline shift and predicted ICP levels may be used as a fast pre-screening step for physicians to make decisions, so as to recommend for or against invasive ICP monitoring.
Medicine, Issue 74, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, Biophysics, Physiology, Anatomy, Brain CT Image Processing, CT, Midline Shift, Intracranial Pressure Pre-screening, Gaussian Mixture Model, Shape Matching, Machine Learning, traumatic brain injury, TBI, imaging, clinical techniques
RNAi-mediated Gene Knockdown and In Vivo Diuresis Assay in Adult Female Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
Institutions: New Mexico State University, New Mexico State University.
This video protocol demonstrates an effective technique to knockdown a particular gene in an insect and conduct a novel bioassay to measure excretion rate. This method can be used to obtain a better understanding of the process of diuresis in insects and is especially useful in the study of diuresis in blood-feeding arthropods that are able to take up huge amounts of liquid in a single blood meal.
This RNAi-mediated gene knockdown combined with an in vivo
diuresis assay was developed by the Hansen lab to study the effects of RNAi-mediated knockdown of aquaporin genes on Aedes aegypti
The protocol is setup in two parts: the first demonstration illustrates how to construct a simple mosquito injection device and how to prepare and inject dsRNA into the thorax of mosquitoes for RNAi-mediated gene knockdown. The second demonstration illustrates how to determine excretion rates in mosquitoes using an in vivo
Genetics, Issue 65, Molecular Biology, Infection, diuresis, Malpighian tubules, RNA interference, Aedes aegypti, aquaporin
Hybridization in situ of Salivary Glands, Ovaries, and Embryos of Vector Mosquitoes
Institutions: University of California, Irvine, University of California, Irvine.
Mosquitoes are vectors for a diverse set of pathogens including arboviruses, protozoan parasites and nematodes. Investigation of transcripts and gene regulators that are expressed in tissues in which the mosquito host and pathogen interact, and in organs involved in reproduction are of great interest for strategies to reduce mosquito-borne disease transmission and disrupt egg development. A number of tools have been employed to study and validate the temporal and tissue-specific regulation of gene expression. Here, we describe protocols that have been developed to obtain spatial information, which enhances our understanding of where specific genes are expressed and their products accumulate. The protocol described has been used to validate expression and determine accumulation patterns of transcripts in tissues related to mosquito-borne pathogen transmission, such as female salivary glands, as well as subcellular compartments of ovaries and embryos, which relate to mosquito reproduction and development.
The following procedures represent an optimized methodology that improves the efficiency of various steps in the protocol without loss of target-specific hybridization signals. Guidelines for RNA probe preparation, dissection of soft tissues and the general procedure for fixation and hybridization are described in Part A, while steps specific for the collection, fixation, pre-hybridization and hybridization of mosquito embryos are detailed in Part B.
Immunology, Issue 64, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Developmental Biology, Hybridization in situ, RNA localization, salivary glands, ovary, embryo, mosquito
Fluorescent in situ Hybridization on Mitotic Chromosomes of Mosquitoes
Institutions: Virginia Tech.
Fluorescent in situ
hybridization (FISH) is a technique routinely used by many laboratories to determine the chromosomal position of DNA and RNA probes. One important application of this method is the development of high-quality physical maps useful for improving the genome assemblies for various organisms. The natural banding pattern of polytene and mitotic chromosomes provides guidance for the precise ordering and orientation of the genomic supercontigs. Among the three mosquito genera, namely Anopheles
, a well-established chromosome-based mapping technique has been developed only for Anopheles
, whose members possess readable polytene chromosomes 1
. As a result of genome mapping efforts, 88% of the An. gambiae
genome has been placed to precise chromosome positions 2,3
. Two other mosquito genera, Aedes
have poorly polytenized chromosomes because of significant overrepresentation of transposable elements in their genomes 4, 5, 6
. Only 31 and 9% of the genomic supercontings have been assigned without order or orientation to chromosomes of Ae. aegypti 7
and Cx. quinquefasciatus 8
, respectively. Mitotic chromosome preparation for these two species had previously been limited to brain ganglia and cell lines. However, chromosome slides prepared from the brain ganglia of mosquitoes usually contain low numbers of metaphase plates 9
. Also, although a FISH technique has been developed for mitotic chromosomes from a cell line of Ae. aegypti 10
, the accumulation of multiple chromosomal rearrangements in cell line chromosomes 11
makes them useless for genome mapping. Here we describe a simple, robust technique for obtaining high-quality mitotic chromosome preparations from imaginal discs (IDs) of 4th
instar larvae which can be used for all three genera of mosquitoes. A standard FISH protocol 12
is optimized for using BAC clones of genomic DNA as a probe on mitotic chromosomes of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus,
and for utilizing an intergenic spacer (IGS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) as a probe on An. gambiae
In addition to physical mapping, the developed technique can be applied to population cytogenetics and chromosome taxonomy/systematics of mosquitoes and other insect groups.
Immunology, Issue 67, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Entomology, Infectious Disease, imaginal discs, mitotic chromosomes, genome mapping, FISH, fluorescent in situ hybridization, mosquitoes, Anopheles, Aedes, Culex
Physiological Recordings and RNA Sequencing of the Gustatory Appendages of the Yellow-fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti
Institutions: United States Department of Agriculture.
Electrophysiological recording of action potentials from sensory neurons of mosquitoes provides investigators a glimpse into the chemical perception of these disease vectors. We have recently identified a bitter sensing neuron in the labellum of female Aedes aegypti
that responds to DEET and other repellents, as well as bitter quinine, through direct electrophysiological investigation. These gustatory receptor neuron responses prompted our sequencing of total mRNA from both male and female labella and tarsi samples to elucidate the putative chemoreception genes expressed in these contact chemoreception tissues. Samples of tarsi were divided into pro-, meso- and metathoracic subtypes for both sexes. We then validated our dataset by conducting qRT-PCR on the same tissue samples and used statistical methods to compare results between the two methods. Studies addressing molecular function may now target specific genes to determine those involved in repellent perception by mosquitoes. These receptor pathways may be used to screen novel repellents towards disruption of host-seeking behavior to curb the spread of harmful viruses.
Molecular Biology, Issue 94, Gustation, insect, Aedes aegypti, electrophysiology, mosquito, RNA-seq, qRT-PCR, taste, chemosensory
Dissection of Midgut and Salivary Glands from Ae. aegypti Mosquitoes
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Irvine (UCI).
The mosquito midgut and salivary glands are key entry and exit points for pathogens such as Plasmodium parasites and Dengue viruses. This video protocol demonstrates dissection techniques for removal of the midgut and salivary glands from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, mosquito, malaria, dissection, infectious disease
Building a Better Mosquito: Identifying the Genes Enabling Malaria and Dengue Fever Resistance in A. gambiae and A. aegypti Mosquitoes
Institutions: Johns Hopkins University.
In this interview, George Dimopoulos focuses on the physiological mechanisms used by mosquitoes to combat Plasmodium falciparum and dengue virus infections. Explanation is given for how key refractory genes, those genes conferring resistance to vector pathogens, are identified in the mosquito and how this knowledge can be used to generate transgenic mosquitoes that are unable to carry the malaria parasite or dengue virus.
Cellular Biology, Issue 5, Translational Research, mosquito, malaria, virus, dengue, genetics, injection, RNAi, transgenesis, transgenic
A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Protein Expression in Different Biofactories: Bacteria, Insect Cells and Plant Systems
Institutions: University of Verona, Verona, Italy, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Plant-based systems are considered a valuable platform for the production of recombinant proteins as a result of their well-documented potential for the flexible, low-cost production of high-quality, bioactive products.
In this study, we compared the expression of a target human recombinant protein in traditional fermenter-based cell cultures (bacterial and insect) with plant-based expression systems, both transient and stable.
For each platform, we described the set-up, optimization and length of the production process, the final product quality and the yields and we evaluated provisional production costs, specific for the selected target recombinant protein.
Overall, our results indicate that bacteria are unsuitable for the production of the target protein due to its accumulation within insoluble inclusion bodies. On the other hand, plant-based systems are versatile platforms that allow the production of the selected protein at lower-costs than Baculovirus/insect cell system. In particular, stable transgenic lines displayed the highest-yield of the final product and transient expressing plants the fastest process development. However, not all recombinant proteins may benefit from plant-based systems but the best production platform should be determined empirically with a case-by-case approach, as described here.
Plant Biology, Issue 97, Plant biotechnology, transient expression, stable expression, transgenic plant, Nicotiana tabacum, Nicotiana benthamiana, Baculovirus/insect cells, recombinant protein
Mass Production of Genetically Modified Aedes aegypti for Field Releases in Brazil
Institutions: Oxitec Ltd, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade de São Paulo, Moscamed Brasil, University of Oxford, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular (INCT-EM).
New techniques and methods are being sought to try to win the battle against mosquitoes. Recent advances in molecular techniques have led to the development of new and innovative methods of mosquito control based around the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)1-3
. A control method known as RIDL (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal)4
, is based around SIT, but uses genetic methods to remove the need for radiation-sterilization5-8
. A RIDL strain of Ae. aegypti
was successfully tested in the field in Grand Cayman9,10
; further field use is planned or in progress in other countries around the world.
Mass rearing of insects has been established in several insect species and to levels of billions a week. However, in mosquitoes, rearing has generally been performed on a much smaller scale, with most large scale rearing being performed in the 1970s and 80s. For a RIDL program it is desirable to release as few females as possible as they bite and transmit disease. In a mass rearing program there are several stages to produce the males to be released: egg production, rearing eggs until pupation, and then sorting males from females before release. These males are then used for a RIDL control program, released as either pupae or adults11,12
To suppress a mosquito population using RIDL a large number of high quality male adults need to be reared13,14
. The following describes the methods for the mass rearing of OX513A, a RIDL strain of Ae. aegypti 8,
for release and covers the techniques required for the production of eggs and mass rearing RIDL males for a control program.
Basic Protocol, Issue 83, Aedes aegypti, mass rearing, population suppression, transgenic, insect, mosquito, dengue
An Experimental and Bioinformatics Protocol for RNA-seq Analyses of Photoperiodic Diapause in the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus
Institutions: Georgetown University, The Ohio State University.
Photoperiodic diapause is an important adaptation that allows individuals to escape harsh seasonal environments via a series of physiological changes, most notably developmental arrest and reduced metabolism. Global gene expression profiling via RNA-Seq can provide important insights into the transcriptional mechanisms of photoperiodic diapause. The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus
, is an outstanding organism for studying the transcriptional bases of diapause due to its ease of rearing, easily induced diapause, and the genomic resources available. This manuscript presents a general experimental workflow for identifying diapause-induced transcriptional differences in A. albopictus.
Rearing techniques, conditions necessary to induce diapause and non-diapause development, methods to estimate percent diapause in a population, and RNA extraction and integrity assessment for mosquitoes are documented. A workflow to process RNA-Seq data from Illumina sequencers culminates in a list of differentially expressed genes. The representative results demonstrate that this protocol can be used to effectively identify genes differentially regulated at the transcriptional level in A. albopictus
due to photoperiodic differences. With modest adjustments, this workflow can be readily adapted to study the transcriptional bases of diapause or other important life history traits in other mosquitoes.
Genetics, Issue 93, Aedes albopictus Asian tiger mosquito, photoperiodic diapause, RNA-Seq de novo transcriptome assembly, mosquito husbandry
Alphavirus Transducing System: Tools for Visualizing Infection in Mosquito Vectors
Institutions: Colorado State University.
Alphavirus transducing systems (ATSs) are important tools for expressing genes of interest (GOI) during infection. ATSs are derived from cDNA clones of mosquito-borne RNA viruses (genus Alphavirus
; family Togaviridae
). The Alphavirus
genus contains about 30 different mosquito-borne virus species. Alphaviruses are enveloped viruses and contain single-stranded RNA genomes (~11.7 Kb). Alphaviruses transcribe a subgenomic mRNA that encodes the structural proteins of the virus required for encapsidation of the genome and maturation of the virus. Alphaviruses are usually highly lytic in vertebrate cells, but persistently infect susceptible mosquito cells with minimal cytopathology. These attributes make them excellent tools for gene expression in mosquito vectors. The most common ATSs in use are derived from Sindbis virus (SINV). The broad species tropism of SINV allows for infection of insect, avian, and mammalian cells8. However, ATSs have been derived from other alphaviruses as well9,10,20
. Foreign gene expression is made possible by the insertion of an additional viral subgenomic RNA initiation site or promoter. ATSs in which an exogenous gene sequence is positioned 5' to the viral structural genes is used for stable protein expression in insects. ATSs, in which a gene sequence is positioned 3' to the structural genes, is used to trigger RNAi and silence expression of that gene in the insect.
ATSs have proven to be valuable tools for understanding vector-pathogen interactions, molecular details of viral replication and maintenance infectious cycles3,4,11,19,21
. In particular, the expression of fluorescent and bioluminescent reporters has been instrumental tracking the viral infection in the vector and virus transmission5,14-16,18
. Additionally, the vector immune response has been described using two strains of SINV engineered to express GFP2,9
Here, we present a method for the production of SINV containing a fluorescent reporter (GFP) from the cDNA infectious clone. Infectious, full-length RNA is transcribed from the linearized cDNA clone. Infectious RNA is introduced into permissive target cells by electroporation. Transfected cells generate infectious virus particles expressing the GOI. Harvested virus is used to infect mosquitoes, as described here, or other host species (not shown herein). Vector competence is assessed by detecting fluorescence outside the midgut or by monitoring virus transmission7
. Use of a fluorescent reporter as the GOI allows for convenient estimation of virus spread throughout a cell culture, for determination of rate of infection, dissemination in exposed mosquitoes, virus transmission from the mosquito and provides a rapid gauge of vector competence.
Infectious Disease, Issue 45, alphavirus, arthropod, mosquito, bloodmeal, reporter, imaging
A Protocol for Collecting and Staining Hemocytes from the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti
Institutions: University of Richmond.
Mosquitoes are vectors for a number of disease-causing pathogens such as the yellow fever virus, malaria parasites and filarial worms. Laboratories are investigating anti-pathogen components of the innate immune system in disease vector species in the hopes of generating transgenic mosquitoes that are refractory to such pathogens1, 2
. The innate immune system of mosquitoes consists of several lines of defense 3
. Pathogens that manage to escape the barrier imposed by the epithelium-lined mosquito midgut 4
enter the hemolymph and encounter circulating hemocytes, important cellular components that encapsulate and engulf pathogens 5, 6
. Researchers have not found evidence for hematopoietic tissues in mosquitoes and current evidence suggests that the number of hemocytes is fixed at adult emergence and numbers may actually decline as the mosquito ages 7
. The ability to properly collect and identify hemocytes from medically important insects is an essential step for studies in cellular immunity. However, the small size of mosquitoes and the limited volume of hemolymph pose a challenge to collecting immune cells.
Two established methods for collecting mosquito hemocytes include expulsion of hemolymph from a cut proboscis 8
, and volume displacement (perfusion), in which saline is injected into the membranous necklike region between the head and thorax (i.e., cervix) and the perfused hemolymph is collected from a torn opening in a distal region of the abdomen 9, 10
. These techniques, however, are limited by low recovery of hemocytes and possible contamination by fat body cells, respectively 11
. More recently a method referred to as high injection/recovery improved recovery of immunocytes by use of anticoagulant buffers while reducing levels of contaminating scales and internal tissues 11
. While that method allows for an improved method of collecting and maintaining hemocytes for primary culture, it entails a number of injection and collecting steps that are not necessary if the downstream goal is to collect, fix and stain hemocytes for diagnostics. Here, we demonstrate our method of collecting mosquito hemolymph that combines the simplicity of perfusion, using anticoagulant buffers in place of saline solution, with the accuracy of high injection techniques to isolate clean preparations of hemocytes in Aedes
Immunology, Issue 51, Immune response, insect innate immunity, microinjector, hemolymph perfusion, hemocyte, granulocyte
High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities
Institutions: Colorado State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Colorado.
Microbes in soils and other environments produce extracellular enzymes to depolymerize and hydrolyze organic macromolecules so that they can be assimilated for energy and nutrients. Measuring soil microbial enzyme activity is crucial in understanding soil ecosystem functional dynamics. The general concept of the fluorescence enzyme assay is that synthetic C-, N-, or P-rich substrates bound with a fluorescent dye are added to soil samples. When intact, the labeled substrates do not fluoresce. Enzyme activity is measured as the increase in fluorescence as the fluorescent dyes are cleaved from their substrates, which allows them to fluoresce. Enzyme measurements can be expressed in units of molarity or activity. To perform this assay, soil slurries are prepared by combining soil with a pH buffer. The pH buffer (typically a 50 mM sodium acetate or 50 mM Tris buffer), is chosen for the buffer's particular acid dissociation constant (pKa) to best match the soil sample pH. The soil slurries are inoculated with a nonlimiting amount of fluorescently labeled (i.e.
C-, N-, or P-rich) substrate. Using soil slurries in the assay serves to minimize limitations on enzyme and substrate diffusion. Therefore, this assay controls for differences in substrate limitation, diffusion rates, and soil pH conditions; thus detecting potential enzyme activity rates as a function of the difference in enzyme concentrations (per sample).
Fluorescence enzyme assays are typically more sensitive than spectrophotometric (i.e.
colorimetric) assays, but can suffer from interference caused by impurities and the instability of many fluorescent compounds when exposed to light; so caution is required when handling fluorescent substrates. Likewise, this method only assesses potential enzyme activities under laboratory conditions when substrates are not limiting. Caution should be used when interpreting the data representing cross-site comparisons with differing temperatures or soil types, as in situ
soil type and temperature can influence enzyme kinetics.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 81, Ecological and Environmental Phenomena, Environment, Biochemistry, Environmental Microbiology, Soil Microbiology, Ecology, Eukaryota, Archaea, Bacteria, Soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs), fluorometric enzyme assays, substrate degradation, 4-methylumbelliferone (MUB), 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (MUC), enzyme temperature kinetics, soil
Exploring the Effects of Atmospheric Forcings on Evaporation: Experimental Integration of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Shallow Subsurface
Institutions: Colorado School of Mines.
Evaporation is directly influenced by the interactions between the atmosphere, land surface and soil subsurface. This work aims to experimentally study evaporation under various surface boundary conditions to improve our current understanding and characterization of this multiphase phenomenon as well as to validate numerical heat and mass transfer theories that couple Navier-Stokes flow in the atmosphere and Darcian flow in the porous media. Experimental data were collected using a unique soil tank apparatus interfaced with a small climate controlled wind tunnel. The experimental apparatus was instrumented with a suite of state of the art sensor technologies for the continuous and autonomous collection of soil moisture, soil thermal properties, soil and air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. This experimental apparatus can be used to generate data under well controlled boundary conditions, allowing for better control and gathering of accurate data at scales of interest not feasible in the field. Induced airflow at several distinct wind speeds over the soil surface resulted in unique behavior of heat and mass transfer during the different evaporative stages.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 100, Bare-soil evaporation, Land-atmosphere interactions, Heat and mass flux, Porous media, Wind tunnel, Soil thermal properties, Multiphase flow
A Technical Perspective in Modern Tree-ring Research - How to Overcome Dendroecological and Wood Anatomical Challenges
Institutions: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.
Dendroecological research uses information stored in tree rings to understand how single trees and even entire forest ecosystems responded to environmental changes and to finally reconstruct such changes. This is done by analyzing growth variations back in time and correlating various plant-specific parameters to (for example) temperature records. Integrating wood anatomical parameters in these analyses would strengthen reconstructions, even down to intra-annual resolution. We therefore present a protocol on how to sample, prepare, and analyze wooden specimen for common macroscopic analyses, but also for subsequent microscopic analyses. Furthermore we introduce a potential solution for analyzing digital images generated from common small and large specimens to support time-series analyses. The protocol presents the basic steps as they currently can be used. Beyond this, there is an ongoing need for the improvement of existing techniques, and development of new techniques, to record and quantify past and ongoing environmental processes. Traditional wood anatomical research needs to be expanded to include ecological information to this field of research. This would support dendro-scientists who intend to analyze new parameters and develop new methodologies to understand the short and long term effects of specific environmental factors on the anatomy of woody plants.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 97, Cell parameters, dendroecology, image analysis, micro sectioning, microtomes, sample preparation, wood anatomy
Characterization of Complex Systems Using the Design of Experiments Approach: Transient Protein Expression in Tobacco as a Case Study
Institutions: RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
Plants provide multiple benefits for the production of biopharmaceuticals including low costs, scalability, and safety. Transient expression offers the additional advantage of short development and production times, but expression levels can vary significantly between batches thus giving rise to regulatory concerns in the context of good manufacturing practice. We used a design of experiments (DoE) approach to determine the impact of major factors such as regulatory elements in the expression construct, plant growth and development parameters, and the incubation conditions during expression, on the variability of expression between batches. We tested plants expressing a model anti-HIV monoclonal antibody (2G12) and a fluorescent marker protein (DsRed). We discuss the rationale for selecting certain properties of the model and identify its potential limitations. The general approach can easily be transferred to other problems because the principles of the model are broadly applicable: knowledge-based parameter selection, complexity reduction by splitting the initial problem into smaller modules, software-guided setup of optimal experiment combinations and step-wise design augmentation. Therefore, the methodology is not only useful for characterizing protein expression in plants but also for the investigation of other complex systems lacking a mechanistic description. The predictive equations describing the interconnectivity between parameters can be used to establish mechanistic models for other complex systems.
Bioengineering, Issue 83, design of experiments (DoE), transient protein expression, plant-derived biopharmaceuticals, promoter, 5'UTR, fluorescent reporter protein, model building, incubation conditions, monoclonal antibody
Mindfulness in Motion (MIM): An Onsite Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) for Chronically High Stress Work Environments to Increase Resiliency and Work Engagement
Institutions: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
A pragmatic mindfulness intervention to benefit personnel working in chronically high-stress environments, delivered onsite during the workday, is timely and valuable to employee and employer alike. Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) is a Mindfulness Based Intervention (MBI) offered as a modified, less time intensive method (compared to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), delivered onsite, during work, and intends to enable busy working adults to experience the benefits of mindfulness. It teaches mindful awareness principles, rehearses mindfulness as a group, emphasizes the use of gentle yoga stretches, and utilizes relaxing music in the background of both the group sessions and individual mindfulness practice. MIM is delivered in a group format, for 1 hr/week/8 weeks. CDs and a DVD are provided to facilitate individual practice. The yoga movement is emphasized in the protocol to facilitate a quieting of the mind. The music is included for participants to associate the relaxed state experienced in the group session with their individual practice. To determine the intervention feasibility/efficacy we conducted a randomized wait-list control group in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). ICUs represent a high-stress work environment where personnel experience chronic exposure to catastrophic situations as they care for seriously injured/ill patients. Despite high levels of work-related stress, few interventions have been developed and delivered onsite for such environments. The intervention is delivered on site in the ICU, during work hours, with participants receiving time release to attend sessions. The intervention is well received with 97% retention rate. Work engagement and resiliency increase significantly in the intervention group, compared to the wait-list control group, while participant respiration rates decrease significantly pre-post in 6/8 of the weekly sessions. Participants value institutional support, relaxing music, and the instructor as pivotal to program success. This provides evidence that MIM is feasible, well accepted, and can be effectively implemented in a chronically high-stress work environment.
Behavior, Issue 101, Mindfulness, resiliency, work-engagement, stress-reduction, workplace, non-reactivity, Intensive-care, chronic stress, work environment
From Voxels to Knowledge: A Practical Guide to the Segmentation of Complex Electron Microscopy 3D-Data
Institutions: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Modern 3D electron microscopy approaches have recently allowed unprecedented insight into the 3D ultrastructural organization of cells and tissues, enabling the visualization of large macromolecular machines, such as adhesion complexes, as well as higher-order structures, such as the cytoskeleton and cellular organelles in their respective cell and tissue context. Given the inherent complexity of cellular volumes, it is essential to first extract the features of interest in order to allow visualization, quantification, and therefore comprehension of their 3D organization. Each data set is defined by distinct characteristics, e.g.
, signal-to-noise ratio, crispness (sharpness) of the data, heterogeneity of its features, crowdedness of features, presence or absence of characteristic shapes that allow for easy identification, and the percentage of the entire volume that a specific region of interest occupies. All these characteristics need to be considered when deciding on which approach to take for segmentation.
The six different 3D ultrastructural data sets presented were obtained by three different imaging approaches: resin embedded stained electron tomography, focused ion beam- and serial block face- scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM, SBF-SEM) of mildly stained and heavily stained samples, respectively. For these data sets, four different segmentation approaches have been applied: (1) fully manual model building followed solely by visualization of the model, (2) manual tracing segmentation of the data followed by surface rendering, (3) semi-automated approaches followed by surface rendering, or (4) automated custom-designed segmentation algorithms followed by surface rendering and quantitative analysis. Depending on the combination of data set characteristics, it was found that typically one of these four categorical approaches outperforms the others, but depending on the exact sequence of criteria, more than one approach may be successful. Based on these data, we propose a triage scheme that categorizes both objective data set characteristics and subjective personal criteria for the analysis of the different data sets.
Bioengineering, Issue 90, 3D electron microscopy, feature extraction, segmentation, image analysis, reconstruction, manual tracing, thresholding
Generation of Recombinant Arenavirus for Vaccine Development in FDA-Approved Vero Cells
Institutions: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, The Scripps Research Institute.
The development and implementation of arenavirus reverse genetics represents a significant breakthrough in the arenavirus field 4
. The use of cell-based arenavirus minigenome systems together with the ability to generate recombinant infectious arenaviruses with predetermined mutations in their genomes has facilitated the investigation of the contribution of viral determinants to the different steps of the arenavirus life cycle, as well as virus-host interactions and mechanisms of arenavirus pathogenesis 1, 3, 11
. In addition, the development of trisegmented arenaviruses has permitted the use of the arenavirus genome to express additional foreign genes of interest, thus opening the possibility of arenavirus-based vaccine vector applications 5
. Likewise, the development of single-cycle infectious arenaviruses capable of expressing reporter genes provides a new experimental tool to improve the safety of research involving highly pathogenic human arenaviruses 16
. The generation of recombinant arenaviruses using plasmid-based reverse genetics techniques has so far relied on the use of rodent cell lines 7,19
, which poses some barriers for the development of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed vaccine or vaccine vectors. To overcome this obstacle, we describe here the efficient generation of recombinant arenaviruses in FDA-approved Vero cells.
Virology, Issue 78, Infection, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Viruses, arenaviruses, plasmid transfection, recombinant virus, reverse genetics techniques, vaccine/vaccine vector seed development, clinical applications