Category: Genetics and Genomics

Resource Category Topic Type
Bobcat hair cortisol correlates with land use and climate
The bobcat, New Hampshire’s official state wildcat and a critical contributor to the sustainability of the state's forest ecosystem, may be being stressed out by human activity in residential and agricultural areas.
Biological Sciences, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics Resource
Breeding edible and ornamental strawberries for New England
With over 700,000 pounds produced and $2.3 million in farm sales, strawberries are an important crop for New Hampshire farmers. But improving the cultivated strawberry through breeding is particularly challenging. The cultivated strawberries has four times as many chromosome sets as humans, animals and most other crops, which significantly increases its genomic complexity. Research to untangle the plant's genetic structure will enable scientists to more quickly and effectively develop cultivated strawberry varieties that help New England farmers be more resilient and successful.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Genetics and Genomics, Resilient Agriculture, Specialty Crops Resource
Can at-risk species serve as effective conservation surrogates? Case study in northeastern US shrublands
An unintended impact of land-use changes over the past century has been a more than 86 percent decrease in the range of the New England cottontail. Ongoing habitat restoration efforts will help the survival of the New England cottontail, and new research by COLSA researchers finds that these efforts will also benefit at least 12 shrubland-obligate bird species with which the cottontail shares its habitat.
Biological Sciences, Natural Resources and the Environment, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics Resource
Cophylogeny and convergence shape evolution in sponge–microbe symbioses
Sponges in coral reefs are among the earliest animals on the planet. Research from UNH examines coral reef ecosystems with a novel approach to understanding the complex evolution of sponges and the microbes that live in symbiosis with them.
Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Biology Resource
From native plants to new crops: De novo plant domestication in New England
Northern New England weeds could be domesticated and enriched with traits making them suitable for cultivation, like more compact sizes and larger seeds that remain on the plant during maturity, through an accelerated breeding process known as de novo domestication. Researchers found that three traits (plant height, degree of branching and time of initial flowering) all correlated.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Genetics and Genomics, Resilient Agriculture, Specialty Crops Resource
Kiwiberries: A new crop for the Northeast
Introduced to the Northeast in the 1870s and grown widely as a backyard and garden plant throughout the region for nearly 150 years, the kiwiberry (Actinidia arguta) shows great potential for commercial success. The plant is a woody perennial climbing vine that produces clusters of small, grape-sized kiwi-like fruit. Due to high levels of carotenoids and anthocyanins, the nutritious flesh of a kiwiberry can assume a wide range of attractive colors, from dark greens to yellows to reds to purples. The fruit is high in vitamin C and one of the richest. sources of lutein (an antioxidant) in commonly consumed fruits.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Genetics and Genomics, Resilient Agriculture, Specialty Crops Resource
Limited evidence for parallel evolution among desert-adapted peromyscus deer mice
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire found that to live in hotter more desert-like surroundings, and exist without water, there is more than one genetic mechanism allowing animals to adapt.
Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Climate Science, Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics Resource
Molecular interactions and inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease by a thiadiazolidinone derivative
In a first-of-its-kind study, UNH researchers found that using an existing drug compound in a new way, known as drug repurposing, could be successful in blocking the activity of a key enzyme of the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.
Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Biology Resource
Separating proactive conservation from species listing decisions
The decision to not list the New England cottontail under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2015 was attributed to the perceived success of ongoing conservation efforts, as evaluated by the Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts (PECE) analysis. In the seven years since, despite substantial collaborative efforts by the members of the New England Cottontail Conservation Initiative and other stakeholders, the remaining population of New England cottontail in the Northeast has only declined further
Natural Resources and the Environment, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics Resource
The genome of the softshell clam and the evolution of apoptosis
Building on a decades-long legacy of UNH research into cancer in the softshell clam (Mya arenaria), a recent paper by a team of UNH researchers sheds new light on how apoptosis evolved in invertebrates. Their research overturns a longstanding idea in the science of apoptosis by finding that the genetic repertoire that the clam uses for its apoptosis pathway is more similar to humans than to other invertebrates that have been studied.
Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences Genetics and Genomics Resource
Trophic phenotypes as eco-evolutionary mediators of resilience to climate change
As climate warms, lake ecosystems are changing. A challenge is identifying which animals and systems are most vulnerable, or conversely most resilient, to continued climate change. This study investigates four of these charr-bearing lakes in Maine to determine how their habitat and food webs differ, and how this relates to specific Arctic charr behaviors and feeding traits.
Biological Sciences, Funded Proposals Climate Science, Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics Resource
UNH COVID-19 lab surpasses million test milestone
The University of New Hampshire's uniquely designed lab has completed more than one million tests to detect and monitor the coronavirus. The cutting-edge lab not only performs specifically designed self-swab tests for students, faculty and staff but also plays an important testing role to help provide a safe environment for the greater community by processing tests for more than 125 other groups, including secondary schools, long term-care facilities and other colleges in the state.
Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences Genetics and Genomics Resource
UNH receives NIH grant to continue genomic surveillance of COVID-19 variants in New Hampshire
UNH awarded NIH funding to study COVID-19 variants in New Hampshire through genomic surveillance. The aim is to comprehend variant's impact on transmission, immunity evasion & symptom severity.
Funded Proposals, Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Biology Resource