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The Effects Of Temperature And Phasins On Polyhydroxyalkanoic Acid (Pha) Accumulation In Heterologous Hosts Containing A Pha Synthase From Vibrio Species B-18, Edward R. Lyons

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHA) are bacterial carbon reserves with application as biodegradable biocompatible plastics. PHA synthase, encoded by phaC, creates the PHA polymer. Evidence presented by many researchers has emphasized the role of phasin proteins in PHA accumulation. Phasins have been implicated in PHA granule localization, PHA synthase activation, and possibly chaperone and nucleoid binding functions. The phaC gene from Vibrio species B-18 with and without an upstream gene showing homology to phasin genes (orf2) were placed into runaway replication vectors, which use temperature to control gene expression. The aim of this thesis is to explore earlier observations that lower temperatures …

Homology Modeling Of The Squalus Acanthias Ahr1 To Locate Structural Determinants Of Function, Timothy Bock

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates a toxic response to many environmental contaminants. Cartilaginous fishes, due to gene duplication events, express 4 distinct AHR genes. Squalus acanthias AHR1 (SaAHR1) does not bind to typical AHR agonists, including dioxin-like chemicals (DLCs), whereas SaAHR2 binds to DLCs and subsequently upregulates genes containing dioxin responsive elements. Three-dimensional homology models were created based upon both human HIF1α and human HIF2α structural templates. These models yielded different secondary structural characteristics, most notably in the length of the β-strand on the C-terminal end of the ligand binding domain, which is …

Trflp Analysis Of The Effect Of A Forest-To-Gap Ectone On Soil Microbial Diversity, Ronald Smith

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

To investigate how soil microbial diversity is influenced by the formation of an experimental edge-creating gap within a southern New England oak-hickory forest, I used a molecular fingerprinting technique known as terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP). Sequence variability in the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene in soil bacterial communities is detected by differences in the length and abundance of fragments produced by digesting PCR products amplified from rRNA genes. The different patterns observed are assumed to represent unique phylotypes.

How does the forest-gap ecotone influence soil bacterial diversity? Based on other studies, I hypothesized that the edge would contain …

Comparison Of Guekensia Demissa Populations Along A Nitrogen Loading Gradient In Narragansett Bay, Ri, Janis Hall

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Anthropogenic eutrophication of coastal estuaries impacts these vital ecosystems by increasing primary production, hypoxic conditions, pathogen concentration, and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are leading to the degradation of shorelines, disease transmission, and hypoxia-related fish kills. Narragansett Bay is a prominent feature of Rhode Island, making up over 500 km of coastline and acting as a watershed for over 2,000 square meters of land in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This estuary is important to both the economy of the state of Rhode Island and its fringing ecosystems are necessary for a healthy shoreline. The beaches of Narragansett Bay …

Investigating The Leaf Cuticle Of The Moss Physcomitrella Patens, Eric John Ricci

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

To minimize water loss, the aerial parts of vascular land plants are covered with a hydrophobic layer called a cuticle. The cuticle typically consists of two major components: cutin and waxes. In contrast to vascular plants, research reports indicate that some primitive nonvascular plants, such as mosses, lack a cuticle. This study attempts to reconcile contradictory literature reports about the presence of a waxy cuticle on the leaves of the moss Physcomitrella patens.

Histochemical staining was utilized to investigate the presence of a cuticle on Physcomitrella leaves. Experiments employing dyes that stain hydrophobic substances were generally consistent with the …

Investigating The Role Of P53 In The Germ Cell Apoptotic Pathway, Jamie Lamkin

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Investigation of the role of p53 in germ cell apoptosis pathways.

Sentient Beings, Betsey Macdonald

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Twenty-two oil paintings focusing on the beauty and energy of animals and their suffering and death through slaughter. Includes artist's statement and bibliography.

Dna Sequence Analysis Of A Bioluminescent Marine Bacterium, Benjamin Ryder

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Studies the sequencing of the DNA fragment containing the gene phaC (PHA synthase) and undertakes the search for open reading frames and putative gene matches in a bioluminescent marine bacterium.