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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Insights Into The Speciation Process From Genomic And Phenotypic Analysis Of An Avian Hybrid Zone In Amazonia, Glaucia Christina Del-Rio
Insights Into The Speciation Process From Genomic And Phenotypic Analysis Of An Avian Hybrid Zone In Amazonia, Glaucia Christina Del-Rio
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Understanding the outcome of secondary contact is essential to shed light on the mechanisms governing species formation and maintenance. In Amazonia, closely related bird taxa with limited dispersal abilities are often separated by rivers, which presumably act as dispersal barriers. However, at the headwaters, rivers cease to be dispersal barriers, and this generates opportunities for secondary contact. In my dissertation, I studied genomic mechanisms associated with phenotypic differences, mitochondrial DNA structure, and putative reproductive barriers between two hybridizing Amazonian bird species in the genus Rhegmatorhina, a group of antbirds that find their arthropod prey exclusively by following army-ant swarms. …
An Assessment Of Inp/Zns As Potential Anti-Cancer Therapy: Quantum Dot Treatment Induces Stress On Hela Cells, Victoria Grace Davenport
An Assessment Of Inp/Zns As Potential Anti-Cancer Therapy: Quantum Dot Treatment Induces Stress On Hela Cells, Victoria Grace Davenport
MSU Graduate Theses
Indium Phosphide/Zinc Sulfide (InP/ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) are an emerging option in QD technologies for uses of fluorescent imaging as well as targeted drug and anti-cancer therapies based on their customizable properties. In this study we explored effects of InP/ZnS when treated with HeLa cervical cancer cells. We employed XTT viability assays, reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis, and apoptosis analysis to better understand cytotoxicity extents at different concentrations of InP/ZnS. In addition, we compared the transcriptome profile from the QDtreated HeLa cells with that of untreated HeLa cells to identify changes to the transcriptome in response to the QD. Intracellular …
Characterization Of Yellow Family Proteins In Gryllus Bimaculatus, Alexandra W. Rubenstein
Characterization Of Yellow Family Proteins In Gryllus Bimaculatus, Alexandra W. Rubenstein
Honors Projects
Neuronal plasticity occurs in developing nervous systems, with adult organisms rarely able to recover from neurological damage. The cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, is useful to study neuronal plasticity due to its reorganization of the auditory system in response to injury beyond development. When a cricket ear is removed and auditory afferents severed, a rare phenomenon occurs: the dendrites of interneurons on the deafferented side cross the typically-respected midline of the prothoracic ganglion to form functional synapses with auditory afferents from the opposite side. To find proteins involved in this phenomenon, the Horch Lab assembled a de novo transcriptome from neurons in …
Genetic Removal Of Toxin And Integrase Genes From A Staphylococcal Bacteriophage, Hannah Sparks
Genetic Removal Of Toxin And Integrase Genes From A Staphylococcal Bacteriophage, Hannah Sparks
Graduate Theses & Non-Theses
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect and kill bacterial cells. Phages are the most numerous biological entities on Earth, with an estimated population size of 1031 (1). Discovery, purification, and characterization of phages illuminate the composition of the microbial world and provide potential applications in medicine. To combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, phages are being investigated as supplements or alternatives to antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a commonly acquired infection in hospitals that has become difficult to treat due to its resistance to antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary S. aureus infections (20). Bacteriophage, JB, isolated from dairy …
Functional Significance Of Mtdna Cytosine Modification Tested By Genome Editing, Jason M. Robinson
Functional Significance Of Mtdna Cytosine Modification Tested By Genome Editing, Jason M. Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
The field of epigenetics is gaining popularity and speed, due in part to its capability to answer lingering questions about the root cause of certain diseases. Epigenetics plays a crucial role in regulation of the cell and cell survival, particularly by cytosine methylation. It remains controversial if DNMT’s which facilitate methylation are present in mammalian mitochondria and what the functional significance they may have on modification of mitochondrial DNA. CRISPR-Cas9 technology enabled genome editing to remove the MTS (mitochondrial targeting sequence) from DNMT1 of HCT116 cells, purposefully minimizing effects on nuclear cytosine methylation, while exclusively impacting mitochondrial modification. Removal of …
Characterization Of Somatically-Eliminated Genes During Development Of The Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus), Stephanie A. Bryant
Characterization Of Somatically-Eliminated Genes During Development Of The Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus), Stephanie A. Bryant
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) undergoes programmed genome rearrangements (PGRs) during early development that facilitate the elimination of ~20% of the genome from the somatic cell lineage, resulting in distinct somatic and germline genomes. To improve our understanding of the evolutionary/developmental logic of PGR, we generated computational predictions to identify candidate germline-specific genes within a transcriptomic dataset derived from adult germline and the embryonic stages encompassing PGR. Validation studies identified 44 germline-specific genes and characterized patterns of transcription and DNA loss during early embryogenesis. Expression analyses reveal that several of these genes are differentially expressed during early embryogenesis …
Compositional Traits In Sorghum Bicolor Characterized By Transcriptome, Ionome And Genome-Wide Association Analysis, Nadia Shakoor
Compositional Traits In Sorghum Bicolor Characterized By Transcriptome, Ionome And Genome-Wide Association Analysis, Nadia Shakoor
Theses and Dissertations
To address the challenge of global mineral malnutrition, current biofortification research in crop plants aims to improve mineral concentration and micronutrient bioavailablity via genetic and traditional breeding methods. Many staple food crops are also used as biofuels, and the chemical and mineral composition of these energy crops directly affect biomass quality and subsequent energy output. Identification of genes and QTL that impact mineral and compositional traits in the grain and biomass of major cereals, including sorghum, is fundamental to developing breeding and selection methods aimed at increasing bioavailable minerals and improving biofuel suitability and seed nutritional quality. A combinatorial strategy …
Degenerate Oligonucleotide Primed - Polymerase Chain Reaction Evaluation And Optimization To Improve Downstream Forensic Str Analysis Of Low Quality/Low Quantity Dna, Lindsay Paige Thompson
Degenerate Oligonucleotide Primed - Polymerase Chain Reaction Evaluation And Optimization To Improve Downstream Forensic Str Analysis Of Low Quality/Low Quantity Dna, Lindsay Paige Thompson
Theses and Dissertations
When forensic biological samples yield low quality/low quantity DNA, thecurrent STR analysis methods do not generate acceptable profiles. Whole genomeamplification can be used to pre-amplify the entire genome for downstream analyses. A commercially available kit for DOP-PCR, a form of WGA, is currently being used in the clinical for downstream single locus targets. Forensic analyses utilize a multiplex amplification. This study determined that the "home brew" created by our lab performs the same as the commercially available kit. Future optimization studies of DOP-PCR can utilize this "home brew". Additionally, this research determined that a 10 second increase in electrokinetic injection …
Bioinformatics Study Of Mammalian Mrna Polydenylation, Haibo Zhang
Bioinformatics Study Of Mammalian Mrna Polydenylation, Haibo Zhang
Dissertations
Messenger RNA polyadenylation is one of the key post-transcriptional events in mammalian cells, which have influences on many aspects of mRNA metabolism. Several human diseases have been shown to associate with abnormal polyadenylation, highlighting the importance of this process. The availability of the complete sequence of human and mouse genomes, together with their gene expression data provides valuable resources to study mRNA polyadenylation on a system level. This dissertation addresses the following issues of mammalian mRNA polyadenylation through bioinformatics approaches: (1) the extensive documentation of several key aspects of polyadenylation sites in humans and mice on a genomic level; (2) …