Paul A. Klein, PhD
Professor
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Dept. of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine |
Research Interests:
Immunology, virology, microbial pathogenesis and host defense mechanisms in lower vertebrates. Serodiagnosis and seroepidemiology of infectious diseases of wildlife.
Current Research:
Our group participates in the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Initiative and the Marine Mammal Program to provide new understanding and tools needed to prevent wildlife diseases and their associated pathogens from impacting our ecosystems, the health of Floridians, and the State's economy.
Our research has focused primarily on major epizootics affecting several endangered and threatened chelonian species (sea turtles and tortoises). We have studied pathogenic mycoplasmas responsible for epizootics of chronic upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in threatened gopher tortoises. Recently, we have explored the use of a biosensor for the rapid field-based serodiagnosis of mycoplasmosis in gopher and desert tortoises. We have investigated herpesviruses associated with several diseases of marine turtles including lung-eye-trachea disease (LETD) and fibropapillomatosis (FP), a tumor epizootic threatening the survival of sea turtles worldwide. In addition, we have developed new tools to study the host immune response to infectious diseases in a variety of other wildlife species, including bats, pinnipeds, marine mammals, and boids.
Related Links:
The Turtle Hospital
Emerging Pathogens Initiative
Publications
- Wendland LD, Klein PA, Jacobson ER, Brown MB. Mycoplasma agassizii strain variation and distinct host antibody responses explain differences between enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and Western blot assays. Clin. Vaccine Immunol 2010 Nov;17(11):1739-45. Epub 2010
- Wendland LD, Wooding J, White CL, Demcovitz D, Littell R, Berish JD, Ozgul A, Oli MK, Klein PA, Christman MC, Brown MB. Social behavior drives the dynamics of respiratory disease in threatened tortoises. Ecology. May;91(5):1257-62 (2010).
- Stacy BA, Foley AM, Greiner E, Herbst LH, Bolten A, Klein PA, Manire CA, Jacobson ER. Spirorchiidiasis in stranded loggerhead Caretta caretta and green turtles Chelonia mydas in Florida (USA): host pathology and significance. Dis Aquat Organ. Apr 9;89(3):237-59 (2010).
- Stacy B, Frankovich T, Greiner E, Alleman A, Herbst L, Klein PA, Bolten A, McIntosh A, Jacobson E. Detection of Spirorchiid Trematodes in Gastropod Tissues by Polymerase Chain Reaction: Preliminary Identification of an Intermediate Host of Learedius learedi. J Parasitol. Apr 5:1. [Epub ahead of print] (2010)
- James F.X. Wellehan Jr., Linda G. Green, Diane G. Duke, Shadi Bootorabi, Darryl J. Heard, Paul A. Klein , Elliott R. Jacobson. Detection of specific antibody responses to vaccination in variable flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus). Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 32: 379-394 (2009)
- Hendrik H. Nollens, Frances M.D. Gulland, Elliott R. Jacobson, Jorge A. Hernandez, Paul A. Klein, Michael T.Walsh, Richard C. Condit. In vitro susceptibility of sea lion poxvirus to cidofovir. Antiviral Research 80: 77-80 (2008)
- Daniel R. Brown, Lori D. Wendland, G. Javier Ortiz, Marianne F. Kramer, Daniel V. Lim, Mary B. Brown, Paul A. Klein. Evanescent-wave biosensor for field serodiagnosis of tortoise mycoplasmosis. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 124: 322-331 (2008)
- Lawrence H. Herbst, Shefali Lemaire, Ada R. Ene, David J. Heslin, Llewellyn M. Ehrhart, Dean A. Bagley, Paul A. Klein, Jack Lenz. ELISA detection of plasma antibodies to baculovirus-expressed glycoprotein H of chelonid FP-associated herpesvirus and its relationship to the prevalence of fibropapillomatosis in sea turtles. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. 5: 843-851 (2008)
- James F.X. Wellehan Jr., Linda G. Green, Diane G. Duke, Shadi Bootorabi, Darryl J. Heard, Paul A. Klein , Elliott R. Jacobson. Detection of specific antibody responses to vaccination in variable flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus). Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 32, 379-394 (2009)
- Lori D. Wendland,Laurie A. Zacher, Paul A. Klein, Daniel R. Brown, Dina Demcovitz, Ramon Littell, and Mary B. Brown. Improved Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay to Reveal Mycoplasma agassizii Exposure: a Valuable Tool in the Management of Environmentally Sensitive Tortoise Populations. Clin.Vaccine Immunol. 14: 1190-1195 (2007)
- Nollens HH, Green LG, Duke D, Walsh MT, Chittick B, Gearhart S, Klein PA and Jacobson ER Development and validation of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies for the detection of Immunoglobulin G of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations 19: 465-470 (2007)
- Madan K. Oli, Meenakshi Venkataramana, Paul A. Klein, Lori D. Wendland and Mary B. Brown. Population dynamics of infectious diseases: A discrete time model Ecological Modeling 198, 183-194 (2006)
- Nollens HH, Jacobson ER, Gulland FM, Beusse DO, Bossart GD, Hernandez JA, Klein PA, Condit RC. Pathology and preliminary characterization of a parapoxvirus isolated from a california sea lion (zalophus californianus). J Wildl Dis. 42(1):23-32 (2006)
- Nollens HH, Gulland FM, Jacobson ER, Hernandez JA, Klein PA, Walsh MT, Condit RC. Parapoxviruses of seals and sea lions make up a distinct subclade within the genus Parapoxvirus. Virology 349: 316-324 (2006)
- Nollens HH, Gulland FMD, Hernandez JA, Condit RC, Klein PA, Walsh MT, Jacobson ER Seroepidemiology of parapoxvirus infections in captive and free-ranging California sea lions Zalophus californianus. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 69:153-161 (2006)
- Wendland, L.D., D.R. Brown, P.A. Klein, and M.B. Brown. Mycoplasmosis in Tortoises. In Reptile Medicine and Surgery. D.R. Mader ed. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, U.S. (2005)
- F.C. Origgi, C. H. Romero, D. C. Bloom, P.A. Klein, J.M. Gaskin, S. J. Tucker and. E.R. Jacobson. Experimental Transmission of a Herpesvirus in Greek Tortoises (Testudo graeca). J. Vet. Path 41: 50-61, 2004
- Origgi, F.C., Klein, P.A., Tucker, S.J., and E.R. Jacobson. Application of immunoperoxidase- based techniques to detect herpesvirus infections in tortoises. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 15:133-140, 2003
- Lock, B.A., Green, L.G., Jacobson, E.R., and P.A. Klein,. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent Assay for Detecting the Antibody response in Argentine Boa Constrictors (Boa Constrictor Occidentalis). Am. J. Veterinary Research, 64: 388-395, 2003
- D.R. Brown, I.M. Schumacher, G.S. McLaughlin, L.D. Wendland, M.B. Brown, P.A. Klein, and E.R. Jacobson. Development and application of diagnostic tests for mycoplasmal infections of tortoises. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 4(2): 497-507, 2002.
- Coberley, S.S., Condit, R.C., Herbst, L.H., and P. A. Klein. Identification and Expression of Immunogenic Proteins of a Disease-associated Marine Turtle Herpesvirus. J. Virol. 76, 10553-10558, 2002.
- Coberley, S.S., Herbst, L.H, Ehrhart, L.M., Bagley, D.A., Hirama, S.,Jacobson, E.R., and P.A. Klein. Survey of Florida Green Turtles for Exposure to a Disease Associated Herpesvirus. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 47: 159-167, 2001
- Coberley, S.S., Herbst, L.H, Brown, D.R., Ehrhart, L.M., Bagley, D.A., Schaf, S.A., Moretti, R.H., Jacobson, E.R., and P.A. Klein. Detection of Antibodies to a Disease-associated Herpesvirus of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas. J.Clinical Microbiol., 39,3572-3577, 2001
- Coberley, S.S., Herbst, L.H, Ehrhart, L.M., Bagley, D.A., Hirama, S., Jacobson, E.R., and P.A. Klein. Survey of Florida Green Turtles for Exposure to a Disease Associated Herpesvirus, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 47: 159-167, 2001
- Herbst, L.H., Chahrabarti, R., Klein, P.A., and Achary, M. Differential gene expression associated with tumorigenicity of cultured green turtle fibropailloma-derived fibroblasts. Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics, 128: 1-5, 2001