@article{gookin_holmes_clarke_stauffer_meredith_vandewege_torres-machado_friedenberg_seiler_mathews_et al._2024, title={Acquired dysfunction of CFTR underlies cystic fibrosis-like disease of the canine gallbladder}, volume={327}, ISSN={["1522-1547"]}, DOI={10.1152/ajpgi.00145.2024}, abstractNote={Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulatory protein (CFTR) genomic variants and expression of mRNA, protein, and electrogenic anion secretory activity of CFTR were characterized in dog gallbladder. Acquired inhibition of CFTR expression by gallbladder epithelium was identified as underpinning a naturally occurring muco-obstructive disease of the dog gallbladder that bears striking pathological similarity to animal models of cystic fibrosis.}, number={4}, journal={AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-GASTROINTESTINAL AND LIVER PHYSIOLOGY}, author={Gookin, Jody L. and Holmes, Jenny and Clarke, Lane L. and Stauffer, Stephen H. and Meredith, Bryanna and Vandewege, Michael W. and Torres-Machado, Nicole and Friedenberg, Steven G. and Seiler, Gabriela S. and Mathews, Kyle G. and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Oct}, pages={G513–G530} }
 @article{vandewege_gutierrez_davis_forstner_mali_2024, title={Patterns of genetic divergence in the Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi), a riverine turtle inhabiting an arid and anthropogenically modified system}, ISSN={["1465-7333"]}, DOI={10.1093/jhered/esae011}, abstractNote={Abstract
               The lower Rio Grande and Pecos River of the southwest United States have been heavily modified by human activities, profoundly impacting the integrity of their aquatic wildlife. In this context, we focused our study on the population genomics of the Rio Grande Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi), a freshwater turtle of increasing conservation concern, residing in these two rivers and their tributaries. The genetic data revealed two distinct populations: one in the Pecos and Black Rivers of New Mexico and another in the Rio Grande and Devils River of Texas, with admixed individuals identified at the confluence of the Rio Grande and Pecos River. In addition to having a smaller geographic range, we found lower observed heterozygosity, reduced nucleotide diversity, and a smaller effective population size (Ne) in New Mexico population. Our results depict a significant isolation-by-distance pattern across their distribution, with migration being notably infrequent at river confluences. These findings are pivotal for future conservation and restoration strategies, emphasizing the need to recognize the unique needs of each population.}, journal={JOURNAL OF HEREDITY}, author={Vandewege, Michael W. and Gutierrez, Javier and Davis, Drew R. and Forstner, Michael R. J. and Mali, Ivana}, year={2024}, month={Feb} }
 @article{opazo_vandewege_hoffmann_zavala_melendez_luchsinger_cavieres_vargas-chacoff_morera_burgos_et al._2023, title={How Many Sirtuin Genes Are Out There? Evolution of Sirtuin Genes in Vertebrates With a Description of a New Family Member}, volume={40}, ISSN={["1537-1719"]}, DOI={10.1093/molbev/msad014}, abstractNote={AbstractStudying the evolutionary history of gene families is a challenging and exciting task with a wide range of implications. In addition to exploring fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of genes, disentangling their evolution is also critical to those who do functional/structural studies to allow a deeper and more precise interpretation of their results in an evolutionary context. The sirtuin gene family is a group of genes that are involved in a variety of biological functions mostly related to aging. Their duplicative history is an open question, as well as the definition of the repertoire of sirtuin genes among vertebrates. Our results show a well-resolved phylogeny that represents an improvement in our understanding of the duplicative history of the sirtuin gene family. We identified a new sirtuin gene family member (SIRT3.2) that was apparently lost in the last common ancestor of amniotes but retained in all other groups of jawed vertebrates. According to our experimental analyses, elephant shark SIRT3.2 protein is located in mitochondria, the overexpression of which leads to an increase in cellular levels of ATP. Moreover, in vitro analysis demonstrated that it has deacetylase activity being modulated in a similar way to mammalian SIRT3. Our results indicate that there are at least eight sirtuin paralogs among vertebrates and that all of them can be traced back to the last common ancestor of the group that existed between 676 and 615 millions of years ago.}, number={2}, journal={MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION}, author={Opazo, Juan C. and Vandewege, Michael W. and Hoffmann, Federico G. and Zavala, Kattina and Melendez, Catalina and Luchsinger, Charlotte and Cavieres, Viviana A. and Vargas-Chacoff, Luis and Morera, Francisco J. and Burgos, Patricia V and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Feb} }