Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing The Role Bipa Plays During Cellular Adaptation In Escherichia Coli, Rebecca Bova

Doctoral Dissertations

BipA, also known as TypA, is a highly conserved protein originally identified in Salmonella typhimurium as a protein that is induced in response to bactericidal/permeability-inducing protein. Mutants lacking BipA exhibit a wide variety of phenotypes. Some of these phenotypes include: diminished pathogenicity, altered capsule biosynthesis, decreased resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides, as well as diminished growth at low temperatures. These data suggest that BipA affects multiple systems throughout the cell, suggesting that BipA plays a role in adaptation to various conditions within the cell. A similar role has been proposed for RelA although effecting transcription during adaptation rather than …

Contemporary And Historic Effects Of Fishing On Largemouth Bass Populations, Using Unexploited Populations For Reference, Jan-Michael Hessenauer

Doctoral Dissertations

Recreational fisheries represent complex coupled human and natural systems subject to intricate feedback loops. These feedback loops can affect anglers, fish populations, and the ecosystem. I studied the effects of recreational angling on Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides populations, using unexploited populations for references. Exploited populations contained significantly more individuals with low metabolic rates than unexploited populations, consistent with predictions of fisheries induced evolution. Naïve individuals from unexploited and exploited populations had equal initial angling vulnerability in standardized trials. However, individuals from exploited populations learned lure avoidance faster than unexploited individuals. The cumulative number of catch events best predicted catch rates, …

The Role Of Astrocyte And Purinergic Signaling In Rtn Chemoreception, Ian C. Wenker

Doctoral Dissertations

Central chemoreception is the mechanism by which the brain regulates breathing in response to changes in tissue pH/CO2. It is particularly important during sleep and its disruption has been associated with certain pathologies, including central sleep apnea and central congenital hypoventilation syndrome. A region of the brainstem called the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is thought to be an important site of central chemoreception. Recent evidence suggests that RTN chemoreception involves two mechanisms. The first appears to be H+-mediated activation of neurons via inhibition of pH-sensitive potassium channels. More recently, a second sensing mechanism has been identified; paracrine release of ATP in …

Inorganic Carbon And Nitrogen Utilization In Mixotrophic Ciliates, Donald M. Schoener

Doctoral Dissertations

Mixotrophy is a common nutritional strategy that uses both heterotrophy and photosynthesis. Kleptoplastidic mixotrophs do not make their own plastids but acquire them from their algal prey. Before we can add mixotrophs to standard ecological models we need to understand how much each nutritional mode contributes to mixotrophic growth, and how this balance may be influenced by plastid acquisition, retention, and turnover.

In order to examine the role of captured chloroplasts in the metabolism of the oligotrich ciliate Strombidium rassoulzadegani. I evaluated the uptake and retention of chloroplasts, the ability of two different algae to supply functional chloroplasts, and …