Biology subjects

Wade, C. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Wade, C. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Melanoides tuberculata in East Africa: Investigating the role of Biotic and Abiotic factors in its presence or absence

BackgroundMelanoides tuberculata is one of the most highly invasive snails in the world with strong colonizing capabilities. Its competitive advantage over other freshwater snails has led to its use to biologically control snails that act as intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni, averting the spread of schistosomiasis (a Neglected Tropical Disease infecting approximately 40 million people in East Africa). In East Africa, few studies have been conducted to better understand the biotic and abiotic factors that promote the survival and dominance of M. tuberculata snails. This study purposed to investigate the role of temperature, soil pH, water-depth, water-velocity, soil type, vegetation cover and the presence or absence of other snails on the presence or abscence of M. tuberculata snails from locations across East Africa. ResultsWater depth (p=0.001) was found to be the most statistically significant factor affecting the presence of M. tuberculata snails at the East African sites; the average water-depth where M. tuberculata snails were found was 20.7cm. The presence or absence of other snails was also found to have a statistically significant role on the presence of M. tuberculata snails (p=0.005), with M. tuberculata being rarely found alongside other snails. Water temperature also had a statistically significant role on the presence of M. tuberculata snails (p=0.014); the average water temperature where M. tuberculata snails ere found was 20.27{degrees}C. Vegetation cover (p=0.236), pH (p=0.434), water-velocity (p=0.736) and soil type (p=0.356) potentially had a role on the presence or absence of East African M. tuberculata snails but their effect was not found to be statistically significant. All 7 locations where M. tuberculata snails were found had vegetation cover, an average pH of 8.07, an average water-velocity of 0.49m/s and silt and sandy soil as the soil type. ConclusionIn conclusion, we found that water depth, water temperature and the presence or absence of other snails had a significant role on the presence of M. tuberculata snails in East Africa. Our study provides detailed information on the role of biotic and abiotic factors on the presence of M. tuberculata snails in several locations of East Africa.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Long-read RNA Sequencing Improves the Annotation of the Equine Transcriptome

1A high-quality reference genome assembly, a biobank of diverse equine tissues from the Functional Annotation of the Animal Genome (FAANG) initiative, and incorporation of long-read sequencing technologies, have enabled efforts to build a comprehensive and tissue-specific equine transcriptome. The equine FAANG transcriptome reported here provides up to 45% improvement in transcriptome completeness across tissue types when compared to either RefSeq or Ensembl transcriptomes. This transcriptome also provides major improvements in the identification of alternatively spliced isoforms, novel noncoding genes, and 3 transcription termination site (TTS) annotations. The equine FAANG transcriptome will empower future functional studies of important equine traits while providing future opportunities to identify allele-specific expression and differentially expressed genes across tissues.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Development of a high-density, 2M SNP genotyping array and 670k SNP imputation array for the domestic horse

BackgroundTo date, genome-scale analyses in the domestic horse have been limited by suboptimal single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) density and uneven genomic coverage of the current SNP genotyping arrays. The recent availability of whole genome sequences has created the opportunity to develop a next generation, high-density equine SNP array.\n\nResultsUsing whole genome sequence from 153 individuals representing 24 distinct breeds collated by the equine genomics community, we cataloged over 23 million de novo discovered genetic variants. Leveraging genotype data from individuals with both whole genome sequence, and genotypes from lower-density, legacy SNP arrays, a subset of [~]5 million high-quality, high-density array candidate SNPs were selected based on breed representation and uniform spacing across the genome. Considering probe design recommendations from a commercial vendor (Affymetrix, now Thermo Fisher Scientific) a set of [~]2 million SNPs were selected for a next-generation high-density SNP chip (MNEc2M). Genotype data were generated using the MNEc2M array from a cohort of 332 horses from 20 breeds and a lower-density array, consisting of [~]670 thousand SNPs (MNEc670k), was designed for genotype imputation.\n\nConclusionsHere, we document the steps taken to design both the MNEc2M and MNEc670k arrays, report genomic and technical properties of these genotyping platforms, and demonstrate the imputation capabilities of these tools for the domestic horse.

genomics↗