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How Science Makes America Great, Kenneth Nickerson
How Science Makes America Great, Kenneth Nickerson
Kenneth Nickerson Papers
The proposed Federal Budget cuts funding for NIH, NSF, and CDC by 16% each and for the EPA by a whopping 31%. Ouch! The situation seems ironic because of President Trump’s slogan “Make America great again!”, which I agree with wholeheartedly. In addition to being a scientist, I also love history (especially military history) and science is at the top of my list of what has made the United States great. ... Why do we do it? I’m in science because it is rewarding. It is invigorating to discover how nature works. Scientists may act individually and in relative obscurity, …
Phytohormone Signaling In Chlorella Sorokiniana: Perspectives On The Evolution Of Plant Cell-To-Cell Signaling, Maya Khasin
Phytohormone Signaling In Chlorella Sorokiniana: Perspectives On The Evolution Of Plant Cell-To-Cell Signaling, Maya Khasin
School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Cell-to-cell communication is a key aspect of microbial physiology and population dynamics, and a cornerstone in understanding the evolution of multicellularity. Quorum sensing in bacteria is a canonical example of microbial cell-to-cell signaling, in which bacteria use small molecule signals in order to monitor their population size and modulate their physiology accordingly. We propose that the evolution of plant hormone signaling arose in unicellular green algae, analogously to quorum sensing in bacteria, and that the complexity of these pathways required the recruitment of increasingly specific enzymes to increasingly sophisticated gene networks throughout the course of phytohormone signaling evolution. Using Chlorella …
Quorum Sensing In Candida Albicans: Farnesol Versus Farnesoic Acid, Wayne R. Riekhof, Kenneth Nickerson
Quorum Sensing In Candida Albicans: Farnesol Versus Farnesoic Acid, Wayne R. Riekhof, Kenneth Nickerson
Kenneth Nickerson Papers
Candida albicans is a clinically important dimorphic fungus that exhibits either a budding yeast or a mycelial-hyphal or pseudohyphal growth, depending on environmental conditions. The yeast-to-mycelia morphologic transition, which is generally regarded as an important virulence determinant, depends on the inoculum size of liquid cultures. The yeast form is favored when cultures are inoculated at > 106 cells∙mL–1, whereas the mycelial form is favored at inoculum densities < 106∙mL–1. Farnesoic acid (FA) and farnesol (FOH) are two related sesquiterpene quorum- sensing molecules that, upon accumulation, prevent the yeast-to-mycelial conversion. Oh et al. showed that C. albicans …
Deciphering Fungal Dimorphism: Farnesol’S Unanswered Questions, Kenneth Nickerson, Audrey L. Atkin
Deciphering Fungal Dimorphism: Farnesol’S Unanswered Questions, Kenneth Nickerson, Audrey L. Atkin
Kenneth Nickerson Papers
Candida albicans excretes E,E-farnesol as a virulence factor and quorum sensing molecule that prevents the yeast to hyphal conversion. Polke et al. (2016) identified eed1Δ/Δ as the first farnesol hypersensitive mutant of C. albicans. eed1Δ/Δ also excretes 10X more farnesol and while able to form hyphae, it cannot maintain hyphae. This mutant enables new research into unanswered questions, including the existence of potential farnesol receptors and transporters, regulation of farnesol synthesis, and relationships among farnesol, germ tube formation and hyphal maintenance. The eed1 farnesol hypersensitivity can be explained by higher internal concentrations of farnesol or lower thresholds for response. One …