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Cloning And Expression Of A Tobacco Stearoyl-Acp Desaturase Gene Sbip24 And Its Interaction With Sabp2 In Sa Pathway, Amin J. Ferdous Dec 2014

Cloning And Expression Of A Tobacco Stearoyl-Acp Desaturase Gene Sbip24 And Its Interaction With Sabp2 In Sa Pathway, Amin J. Ferdous

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salicylic acid binding protein 2 (SABP2) that converts methyl salicylate to salicylic acid (SA) plays an obligatory role in the SA-mediated disease resistance pathway in plants. SABP2 interacts with SBIP24 in a yeast two-hybrid screening. SBIP24 belongs to the stearoyl-acyl carrier protein-desaturase protein family. To biochemically characterize the SBIP24, it was cloned from tobacco leaves using RT-PCR and expressed in E. coli. Recombinant SBIP24 was affinity purified using Ni-NTA chromatography. RT-PCR was performed to determine the role of SABP2 in modulating the expression SBIP24. TMV infected transgenic C3 (control tobacco plant containing empty silencing vector) and 1-2 (SABP2-silenced) …


Biochemical Characterization Of Sbip-470 And Its Role In Sa-Mediated Signaling In Plants, Danda P. Chapagai Dec 2014

Biochemical Characterization Of Sbip-470 And Its Role In Sa-Mediated Signaling In Plants, Danda P. Chapagai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salicylic acid binding protein 2 (SABP2) is known to play a key role in Salicylic acid mediated defense pathway. SBIP-470 is SABP2 interacting protein that might be putatively involved in transfer of lipids. SBIP-470 was cloned without the signal peptide and expressed in E. coli. In vitro lipid binding assay using recombinant SBIP-470 failed to detect lipid binding. In vitro lipid transfer assay showed recombinant SBIP-470 does not transfer phospholipid. Study has shown that SBIP-470 is highly inducible upon infection with viral as well as bacterial pathogens. Induction of SBIP-470 expression upon the TMV infection most likely depends upon …


The Vascular Flora Of Steele Creek Park And A Quantitative Study Of Vegetation Patterns In Canopy Gaps, Sullivan County, Tennessee, Phillip C. Klahs Dec 2014

The Vascular Flora Of Steele Creek Park And A Quantitative Study Of Vegetation Patterns In Canopy Gaps, Sullivan County, Tennessee, Phillip C. Klahs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An inventory of vascular plants was conducted in Steele Creek Park in Sullivan County, Tennessee from March 2013 to September 2014. The park covers an area of 892 ha and lies within the Ridge and Valley Province. The inventory of vascular plants documented 547 species of 323 genera and 101 families. Two hundred sixteen taxa were newly reported for Sullivan County. Tennessee Special Concern Species included Cardamine rotundifolia, Castanea dentata, Lonicera dioica, Allium tricoccum, Cypripedium acaule, and Panax quinquefolius. A single species, Juglans cinerea L., is considered a Tennessee Threatened Species. Vegetation patterns were studied quantitatively by installing 10 …


Characterization Of A Putative Phospholipase D ´ Like Gene As A Lipid Signaling Modulator And Its Role In Salicylic Acid Mediated Defense Pathway In Nicotiana Tabacum, Phillip T. Dean Dec 2014

Characterization Of A Putative Phospholipase D ´ Like Gene As A Lipid Signaling Modulator And Its Role In Salicylic Acid Mediated Defense Pathway In Nicotiana Tabacum, Phillip T. Dean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plants are in a perpetual evolutionary arms race with a wide range of pathogens. Their sessile nature has led plants to evolve defense mechanisms that can quickly recognize a unique stressor and deploy a resistance tailored for a specific attack. The salicylic acid (SA) mediated defense pathway has been shown to be one of the major defense tactics plants can initiate to defend themselves against microbial pathogens. Following a pathogen attack high levels of methyl salicylate (MeSA) are produced that can be converted to SA by the enzyme salicylic acid binding protein 2 (SABP2). A yeast two-hybrid screening was performed …


Relationship Between Relative Hive Entrance Position And Dance Floor Location, Chelsea E. Corrigan Dec 2014

Relationship Between Relative Hive Entrance Position And Dance Floor Location, Chelsea E. Corrigan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

It has been observed that returning honey bee foragers congregate with unemployed foragers and food receiver bees in a localized region of the hive known as the dance floor. Here, the returning foragers advertise food sources via the waggle dance. It was hypothesized that the close proximity of the dance floor to the hive entrance was related to foragers minimizing time and travel inside the hive. The hive entrance is conventionally located at the bottom of the hive. It was suggested that this location was ideal for easy removal of debris. This correlation between dance floor location and hive entrance …


Identification, Cloning, And Expression Of Tobacco Responsive To Dehydration Like Protein (Rd22), Sbip-355 And Its Role In Sabp2 Mediated Sa Pathway In Plant Defense, Hanadi Abdulaali Almazroue Dec 2014

Identification, Cloning, And Expression Of Tobacco Responsive To Dehydration Like Protein (Rd22), Sbip-355 And Its Role In Sabp2 Mediated Sa Pathway In Plant Defense, Hanadi Abdulaali Almazroue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abscisic acid (ABA) induces RD22, responsive to dehydration stress gene. Salicylic acid (SA) has been the focus of research due to its role against pathogens and abiotic stress. Interaction between ABA and SA signaling pathways is still poorly understood. SA-Binding Protein 2 (SABP2) converts methyl salicylate to SA. An attempt was made to identify proteins that interact with SABP2 using a yeast 2-hybrid screening. Several interactors were identified. One of them, SA-Binding Protein 2 Interacting Protein-355 (SBIP-355), showed high homology to RD22. Bioinformatic approaches showed that SBIP-355 contains a BURP domain. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that SBIP-355 clustered into the …


An Agent-Based Model Of Ant Colony Energy And Population Dynamics: Effects Of Temperature And Food Fluctuation, Guo Xiaohui Aug 2014

An Agent-Based Model Of Ant Colony Energy And Population Dynamics: Effects Of Temperature And Food Fluctuation, Guo Xiaohui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ant colony, known as a self-organized system, can adapt to the environment by a series of negative and positive feedbacks. There is still a lack of mechanistic understanding of how the factors, such as temperature and food, coordinate the labor of ants. According to the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE), the metabolic rate could control ecological process at all levels. To analyze self-organized process of ant colony, we constructed an agent-based model to simulate the energy and population dynamics of ant colony. After parameterizing the model, we ran 20 parallel simulations for each experiment and parameter sweeps to find …


Northern Saw-Whet Owl (Aegolius Acadicus) Abundance And Distribution In The Southern Appalachian Mountains Of Northeast Tennessee, John P. Mccormick Aug 2014

Northern Saw-Whet Owl (Aegolius Acadicus) Abundance And Distribution In The Southern Appalachian Mountains Of Northeast Tennessee, John P. Mccormick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the distribution, abundance, or life histories of the Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee. This study relied upon the Pennsylvania Protocol of audio playback of a Northern Saw-whet Owl call to monitor for owl presence at various areas above 3,500 feet in elevation. Owls were found at multiple areas in Northeast Tennessee, including Roan Mountain, Unaka Mountain, Rocky Fork, and the Pond Mountain Area. Statistical analysis revealed that these owls were not limited by habitat, showing equal presence in Hardwood habitats along with Spruce and/or Fir habitats. …


Production Of An Antibiotic-Like Activity By Streptomyces Sp. Couk1 Under Different Growth Conditions, Olaitan G. Akintunde Aug 2014

Production Of An Antibiotic-Like Activity By Streptomyces Sp. Couk1 Under Different Growth Conditions, Olaitan G. Akintunde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Streptomyces are known to produce a large variety of antibiotics and other bioactive compounds with remarkable industrial importance. Streptomyces sp. COUK1 was found as a contaminant on a plate in which Rhodococcus erythropolis was used as a test strain in a disk diffusion assay and produced a zone of inhibition against the cultured R. erythropolis. The identity of the contaminant was confirmed as Streptomyces through 16S rRNA sequencing. This Streptomyces produces a strong inhibitory compound in different growth media. A culture extract from inorganic salts starch agar was found to be very active; producing a large zone of inhibition …


Paleozoic Seed Bank And Their Ecological Significance, Petra Seka Yehnjong May 2014

Paleozoic Seed Bank And Their Ecological Significance, Petra Seka Yehnjong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil seed banks are a reservoir of viable seeds present in the soil in plant communities. They have been studied and characterized in various ways in different habitats. However, these studies are limited to modern seed banks. This study extends seed bank studies to the Paleozoic Era. It was hypothesized that size distribution and seed density in Paleozoic seed banks exhibit similar patterns as in modern seed banks. Seed sizes and seed density of fossil seed from Wise Virginia were estimated. Modern seed bank information was obtained from published data. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test. The …


Neogene Climate Change In Eastern North America: A Quantitative Reconstruction, Kyrie A. Baumgartner May 2014

Neogene Climate Change In Eastern North America: A Quantitative Reconstruction, Kyrie A. Baumgartner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though much is known of the global paleoclimate during the Neogene, little is understood about eastern North America at that time. During the Neogene the global paleoclimate was transitioning from the warm temperatures and higher levels of precipitation of the Paleogene to the cooler temperatures and lower levels of precipitation during the Pleistocene. Eleven fossil sites from Neogene eastern North America were analyzed using the Coexistence Approach: Pollack Farm, Brandon Lignite, Legler Lignite, Alum Bluff, Bryn Mawr, Big Creek on Sicily Island, Brandywine, Gray Fossil Site, Citronelle, Peace Creek, and Ohoopee River Dune Field. Analyses showed a general trend that …


Subcloning, Expression And Purification Of Functional E. Coli Nucleotide Excision Repair Protein Uvra Using Impact-Cn System, Cathy W. Lin Mrs May 2014

Subcloning, Expression And Purification Of Functional E. Coli Nucleotide Excision Repair Protein Uvra Using Impact-Cn System, Cathy W. Lin Mrs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

DNA in cells is constantly damaged by both endogenous and exogenous genotoxic agents. DNA repair is a cellular machinery that counters DNA damage and thus preserve genome integrity. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) in Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the DNA repair systems that recognizes and removes a variety of DNA damage such as pyrimidine dimers, bulky chemical adducts, DNA intrastrand cross-links, etc. The genes responsible for E. coli NER incisions are UvrA, UvrB, and UvrC. As the first step of E. coli NER, DNA damage recognition is achieved through the UvrA2B …


Adaptive Strategies For Foraging And Their Implications For Flower Constancy, Or: Do Honey Bees Multitask?, Ashley E. Wagner May 2014

Adaptive Strategies For Foraging And Their Implications For Flower Constancy, Or: Do Honey Bees Multitask?, Ashley E. Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classical experiments on honey bee time-memory showed that foragers trained to collect food at a fixed time of day return the following day with remarkable time-accuracy. Previous field experiments revealed that not all foragers return to a food source on unrewarded test days. Rather, there exist 2 subgroups: “persistent” foragers reconnoiter the source; “reticent” foragers wait in the hive for confirmation of source availability. To examine how these foragers contribute to a colony’s ability to reallocate foragers across sources with rapidly changing availabilities, foragers were trained to collect sucrose during a restricted window for several days and observed over 3 …