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Taxonomic Classification Of Viral And Bacterial Dna Following 2021 Avian Mass Mortality Event, Tessa Baillargeon

Honors Theses and Capstones

From May through July 2021, an unusual mortality event occurred along the eastern coast and Midwest of the United States. Thousands of birds, mostly from the order Passeriformes, were part of the die-off including blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), American robins (Turdus migratorius). Clinical signs included crusted eyes, swollen conjunctiva, otitis, seizures, and ataxia.

The New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (NHVDL) received over 100 affected birds from various collaborators throughout the United States including Washington DC, NJ, CT, MD, and OH. Given the timing and geologic …

Identification Of Novel Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Encoding For Polyketide/Nrps-Producing Chemotherapeutic Compounds From Marine-Derived Streptomyces Hygroscopicus From A Marine Sanctuary, Hannah Ruth Flaherty

Honors Theses and Capstones

Nearly one out of six deaths in 2020, around ten million people, were caused by cancer, making it a leading cause of death worldwide (WHO, 2022). This major public health issue, in addition to the rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, provides a high demand for the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs to be used clinically to treat these conditions. The Streptomyces genus accounts to produce 39% of all microbial metabolites currently approved for human health, indicating its potential as an important species to study for antimicrobial and anticancer agents. The long linear genome of Streptomyces contains specialized sequences known as …

Revolutionary Advances In The Treatment Of Genetic Disease, Emma Kaitlyn Carrigan

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of The Function Of Protein Acyl Transferases Using Crispr-Cas9 To Create Null Mutants, Claire E. Christopher

Honors Theses and Capstones

24 Protein Acyl Transferases (PATs) have been identified in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite knowing the enzymatic function of these genes (palmitoylation), the specific subcellular pathways, protein targets, and cellular activities of these proteins remain unknown. To investigate the pathways that PAT genes are involved in, deletion mutations were created in several genes and the phenotype of the organisms carrying homozygous mutations was observed. To introduce mutations, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was inserted into the plant’s genome using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to cause deletions in PAT genes of interest. To date, no CRISPR-induced pat mutants have a noticeable phenotype. These …

Investigating The Role Of Bromodomain Proteins On Histone Post-Translational Modifications In Toxoplasma Gondii, Joshua Steven Berthiaume

Honors Theses and Capstones

Toxoplasma gondii is a prevalent pathogenic parasite that infects approximately 25 percent of the US population. For the parasite to successfully establish and maintain infection in its host, properly controlled regulation of gene expression is critical. One way Toxoplasma regulates gene expression is through modification of histone proteins that bind to DNA and can control gene accessibility. Acetylation is a modification that is added to histones that changes chromatin structure to enhance gene activation. Histone acetylation can also regulate gene expression by recruitment of important regulators such as bromodomain proteins (BDP). A previous study showed that loss of the bromodomain …