Life Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Spore Shape Determination In Streptomyces, Ning Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Streptomycetes are Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacteria that possess a complex life cycle with the alternation of vegetative mycelium, aerial mycelium, and spores. Streptomyces. coelicolor spore maturation is a complex process that involves spore shape metamorphosis from cylindrical pre-spores into ellipsoid spores, but the details of this process have remained enigmatic. Previously, our lab identified a novel gene ssdA that might play a role in spore shape determination using a transposon-based insertion mutagenesis in S. coelicolor. In this study, I isolated a S. coelicolor ssdA-null mutant that showed increased colony hydrophobicity and misshapen spores in sizes and shapes, confirming the …

An Analysis Of Extraction Efficiencies Of Various Swabs On Sperm Recovery, Lindsey Campany

Graduate Student Research Symposium

With advancements in the DNA technology and methodology, more complete DNA profiles can be obtained. Extraction procedures and their reagents have been optimized for maximal DNA yield, but the cotton swab used and provided for sexual assault examinations has not advanced. Despite research suggesting the cotton swab’s absorbent nature and its inclination to retain cellular material, the field of forensic nursing has not yet implemented another swab.

Three swabs that this research will be evaluating are nylon flocked swabs, cotton swabs, and the cytobrush swab. The nylon flocked and cotton swabs have been studied for their efficiency, but no studies …