Biology subjects

O'Neill, F.

Publications and source records attributed to O'Neill, F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Molecular Speciation of Cyathostomins From Horses In Ireland

Cyathostomins are globally important equine parasites, responsible for both chronic and acute pathogenic effects. The occurrence of mixed infections with numerous cyathostomin species hinders our understanding of parasite epidemiology, host-parasite dynamics and species pathogenicity. There have been few studies of cyathostomin species occurring in horses in Ireland, where temperate climatic conditions with year-round rainfall provide suitable conditions for infection of grazing animals with bursate nematodes. Here, we amplified and sequenced the ITS-2 region of adult worms harvested at post-mortem from 11 adult horses between August 2018 and June 2020, and recorded species prevalence and abundance of worms recovered from the caecum, right ventral colon and left dorsal colon, using both BLAST and IDTAXA for taxonomic attribution. Phylogenetic relationships and community composition were also recorded and compared with other relevant studies, including a global meta-analysis. Overall, our results agree with previous studies that there does not seem to be a major difference in cyathostomin species occurrence in equids in different geographical regions. We confirmed the results of other workers in relation to the difficulties in discriminating between Cylicostephanus calicatus and Coronocyclus coronatus on the basis of ITS-2 sequences.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mitigating ecosystem impacts of bottom trawl fisheries for North Sea sole Solea solea by replacing mechanical by electrical stimulation

Ecosystem effects of bottom trawl fisheries are a major concern. We analysed whether the replacement of mechanical stimulation by electrical stimulation may reduce the adverse impacts on the benthic ecosystem in the beam trawl fishery for sole. Although the use of electricity is not allowed to catch fish in European Union waters, a number of beam trawlers got derogation and switched to pulse trawling to explore the potential to reduce impacts. We extended a recently developed assessment framework and showed that the switch to pulse trawling substantially reduced benthic impacts when exploiting the Total Allowable Catch of sole in the North Sea. We applied the framework to Dutch beam trawl logbook data from 2009 to 2017 and estimated that the trawling footprint decreased by 23%; the precautionary impact indicator of the benthic community decreased by 39%; the impact on median longevity decreased by 20%; the impact on benthic biomass decreased by 61%; the amount of sediment mobilised decreased by 39%. The decrease is due to the replacement of tickler chains by electrode arrays, a lower towing speed and higher catch efficiency for sole. The effort and benthic impact of the beam trawl fishery targeting plaice Pleuronectes platessa in the central North Sea increased with the recovery of the plaice stock. This study illustrates the usefulness of a standardized methodological framework to assess the differences in time trends and trawling impact between gears.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

KH-type splicing regulatory protein controls colorectal cancer cell growth and modulates the tumor microenvironment

KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP) is a multifunctional nucleic acid binding protein implicated in key aspects of cancer cell biology: inflammation and cell-fate determination. However, the role KHSRP plays in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis remains largely unknown. Using a combination of in silico analysis of large datasets, ex vivo analysis of protein expression in patients, and mechanistic studies using in vitro models of CRC, we investigated the oncogenic role of KHSRP. We demonstrated KHSRP expression in the epithelial and stromal compartments of both primary and metastatic tumors. Elevated expression was found in tumor versus matched normal tissue, and we validated these findings in larger independent cohorts in silico. KHSRP expression was a prognostic indicator of worse overall survival (HR=3.74, 95% CI = 1.43-22.97, p=0.0138). Mechanistic data in CRC cell line models supported a role of KHSRP in driving epithelial cell proliferation in both a primary and metastatic setting, through control of the G1/S transition. Additionally, KHSRP promoted a pro-angiogenic extracellular environment by regulating the secretion of oncogenic proteins involved in diverse cellular processes such as migration and response to cellular stress. Our study provides novel mechanistic insight into the tumor-promoting effects of KHSRP in CRC.

cancer biology↗