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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Cd46 Interaction With Adenovirus Type 64, A Causative Agent For Viral Pink Eye, Hanglin (Henry) Zhu Jan 2024

Cd46 Interaction With Adenovirus Type 64, A Causative Agent For Viral Pink Eye, Hanglin (Henry) Zhu

Honors Theses

Human adenovirus type 64 (Ad64) is a causative agent of contagious viral pink eye. We do not understand why Ad64 causes eye infections. One likely reason is the presence of a receptor molecule on the exposed surface of eye cells, but not other cells. Ad64 binds to a protein called CD46 on the cell surface. We aim to visualize how CD46 binds to the surface of Ad64. I mixed the extracellular portion of CD46 with purified Ad64 virus, then visualized it using negative stain transmission electron microscopy. In order to gain insight into how the virus binds CD46, we used …


An Overview Of Viruses And The Infamous Sars-Cov-2, Jake Sun May 2023

An Overview Of Viruses And The Infamous Sars-Cov-2, Jake Sun

The Confluence

Background information on viruses is first presented which include topics like evolution, ecology, history, identification, structure, and application. The novel SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, pandemic originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Millions of people were infected with the virus in a short time period causing urgent concern worldwide. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief and general understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 to increase awareness and actions toward preventive measures. COVID-19 is a (+) ssRNA spherical enveloped virion that causes primarily respiratory illnesses. The S protein interacts with ACE-2 receptors on the host cell to gain entry …


Insectdisease: Programmatic Access To The Ecological Database Of The World’S Insect Pathogens, Tad Dallas, Colin J. Carlson, Patrick R. Stephens, Sadie J. Ryan, David W. Onstad Dec 2022

Insectdisease: Programmatic Access To The Ecological Database Of The World’S Insect Pathogens, Tad Dallas, Colin J. Carlson, Patrick R. Stephens, Sadie J. Ryan, David W. Onstad

Faculty Publications

Curated databases of species interactions are instrumental to exploring and understanding the spatial distribution of species and their biotic interactions. In the process of conducting such projects, data development and curation efforts may give rise to a data product with utility beyond the scope of the original work, but which becomes inaccessible over time. Data describing insect host–pathogen interactions are fairly rare, and should thus be preserved and curated with appropriate metadata. Here, we introduce the insectDisease R package, a mechanism for curating, updating and distributing data from the Ecological Database of the World's Insect Pathogens, a database of insect …


Sequence-Based Bioinformatics Approaches To Predict Virus-Host Relationships In Archaea And Eukaryotes, Yingshan Li Dec 2022

Sequence-Based Bioinformatics Approaches To Predict Virus-Host Relationships In Archaea And Eukaryotes, Yingshan Li

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Viral metagenomics is independent of lab culturing and capable of investigating viromes of virtually any given environmental niches. While numerous sequences of viral genomes have been assembled from metagenomic studies over the past years, the natural hosts for the majority of these viral contigs have not been determined. Different computational approaches have been developed to predict hosts of bacteria phages. Nevertheless, little progress has been made in the virus-host prediction, especially for viruses that infect eukaryotes and archaea. In this study, by analyzing all documented viruses with known eukaryotic and archaeal hosts, we assessed the predictive power of four computational …


Vircy-Seq : A Protocol For Characterizing Viral Activity, Tyler James Dion Dec 2022

Vircy-Seq : A Protocol For Characterizing Viral Activity, Tyler James Dion

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The main purpose of pharmaceutical production is to produce safe effective medicine for patient use. In an effort to ensure patient safety constant surveillance for viruses takes place. The detection of a viral nucleic acid in a pharmaceutical production setting results in investigations to assess its infectious potential. This is an intensive, expensive process that entails many tests such as the observation of hemadsorption, cytopathic effects (CPE), and more. These tests are typically specific and only capture certain viruses, as factors like CPE can only be observed in some viral species. A new investigational method that is effective on all …


(R1980) Effect Of Climate Change On Brain Tumor, Pardeep Kumar, Sarita Jha, Rajiv Aggarwal, Govind Kumar Jha Dec 2022

(R1980) Effect Of Climate Change On Brain Tumor, Pardeep Kumar, Sarita Jha, Rajiv Aggarwal, Govind Kumar Jha

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we introduce a new dynamical model addressing the variation in climate condition due the presence of microorganisms. We also introduce a new dynamical model of cancer growth which includes three interactive cell populations with drug free environment, namely tumor cells, healthy host cells, and immune effector cells. In this, we considered the super growth of tumor cells. For the choice of certain parameters, both of the systems exhibit chaotic behavior. The aim of this work is to design the controller to control the chaos and to provide sufficient conditions which achieve synchronization of two non-identical systems, which …


Epigenetic Influences Of Mobile Genetic Elements On Ciliate Genome Architecture And Evolution, Caitlin M. Timmons, Shahed U.A. Shazib, Laura A. Katz Sep 2022

Epigenetic Influences Of Mobile Genetic Elements On Ciliate Genome Architecture And Evolution, Caitlin M. Timmons, Shahed U.A. Shazib, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are transient genetic material that can move either within a single organism's genome or between individuals or species. While historically considered “junk” DNA (i.e., deleterious or at best neutral), more recent studies reveal the potential adaptive advantages MGEs provide in lineages across the tree of life. Ciliates, a group of single-celled microbial eukaryotes characterized by nuclear dimorphism, exemplify how epigenetic influences from MGEs shape genome architecture and patterns of molecular evolution. Ciliate nuclear dimorphism may have evolved as a response to transposon invasion and ciliates have since co-opted transposons to carry out programmed DNA deletion. Another …


Mutant Viruses From Hell: Comparing The Capsid Structure Of Vp1 Mutants To The Wild-Type, Jenni Tran, Thejanee Liyanaarachchi, Ignacio De La Higuera, Jono Abshier, Ken Stedman May 2022

Mutant Viruses From Hell: Comparing The Capsid Structure Of Vp1 Mutants To The Wild-Type, Jenni Tran, Thejanee Liyanaarachchi, Ignacio De La Higuera, Jono Abshier, Ken Stedman

Student Research Symposium

Viruses can be defined as genetic material tightly packed in a protein coat called the capsid. The spindle-shaped fuselloviruses are found worldwide in hot springs at over 80°C and below pH 4. Sulfolobus spindle-shaped virus 1 (SSV1) is a fusellovirus known to infect the archaea, Saccharolobus solfataricus. This research will provide further insights into the survival of macromolecules, particularly proteins, that are present in extreme environments. To study the interaction of proteins within these extreme environments, we are studying the capsid structure of SSV1. The capsid of SSV1 is composed of two main proteins, VP1 (major) and VP3 (minor). There …


Expression Of Sv40 T Antigen Is Not Sufficient To Alter Tead-1 Isoform Production In Immortalized Human Diploid Fibroblasts, Alec Delgado Jan 2022

Expression Of Sv40 T Antigen Is Not Sufficient To Alter Tead-1 Isoform Production In Immortalized Human Diploid Fibroblasts, Alec Delgado

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

SV40 T-ag is capable of transforming rodent cells in culture and inducing tumor formation in animal models through interactions with cellular proteins. The TEAD-1/TEF-1 transcription factor, discovered complexed with T-ag, activates early viral gene expression and is essential for the YAP/TAZ proliferation and anti-apoptosis pathway. Studies in rat cells showed expression of T-ag induced an alternatively spliced isoform of TEAD1; thus, this study investigated if this isoform existed in human cells and what role it may play in transformation. Using T-ag-transformed HDFs, TEAD1 was assessed by RT-PCR and immunoblot. Preliminary RT-PCR data showed 2 of 3 primer sets exhibited a …


Assessment Of Virus-Induced Myocarditis In Human Heart Tissue Samples, Gabriel Galeotos Dec 2021

Assessment Of Virus-Induced Myocarditis In Human Heart Tissue Samples, Gabriel Galeotos

Honors Theses

The heart is a major organ whose function is to transport nutrients and waste throughout the body. This organ can become infected by pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Infection of the middle heart layer, or myocardium, is often caused by a viral agent. This disease has three stages: viral infiltration, adaptive immune system activation, and finally either viral clearance or cardiac cell remodeling. During this process the immune system will begin to secrete cytokines, which are signaling molecules that alert other members of the immune pathways, and also participate in cardiac remodeling. Evaluating the correlation between the cytokine …


Characterization Of The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Rsv) Attachment Protein Mucin Domains, Molly Kathleen Roe Dec 2021

Characterization Of The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Rsv) Attachment Protein Mucin Domains, Molly Kathleen Roe

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is currently a leading cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI). Despite contributing to a significant mortality rate in young children and immunocompromised populations, it still lacks a vaccine. Live-attenuated vaccines are the preferred vaccination model for RSV, but achieving attenuation, immunogenicity, and stability can be difficult. Previous studies have indicated that deletion of the RSV G protein attenuates viral replication, but the role of the protein’s mucin domains has not been fully explored. We generate two new RSV strains here with varying G protein deletions: A2-line19F-G155 with deletion of the G-protein mucin domains, and A2- …


A Comparison Of The Evolution, Structure, And Function Of Sars-Cov And Sars-Cov-2 Spike Proteins, Tai Michaels Aug 2021

A Comparison Of The Evolution, Structure, And Function Of Sars-Cov And Sars-Cov-2 Spike Proteins, Tai Michaels

The Yale Undergraduate Research Journal

As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed into the largest pandemic of the twenty-first century, it has become apparent that this disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is unlike anything the modern world has faced before. Not only has the disease infected more than 16 million people worldwide, but its rapid spread has drawn global attention to the gaps in our understanding of its pathogenesis and the development of vaccines and treatments. One of the most important topics of research in the disease is the viral spike (S) protein which facilitates binding and entering host cells and plays a key role …


Polerovirus Genomic Variation And Mechanisms Of Silencing Suppression By P0 Protein, Natalie Holste Nov 2020

Polerovirus Genomic Variation And Mechanisms Of Silencing Suppression By P0 Protein, Natalie Holste

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The family Luteoviridae consists of three genera: Luteovirus, Enamovirus, and Polerovirus. The genus Polerovirus contains 32 virus species. All are transmitted by aphids and can infect a wide variety of crops from cereals and wheat to cucurbits and peppers. However, little is known about how this wide range of hosts and vectors developed. In poleroviruses, aphid transmission and virion formation is mediated by the coat protein read-through domain (CPRT) while silencing suppression and phloem limitation is mediated by Protein 0 (P0)—a protein unique to poleroviruses. P0 gives poleroviruses a great advantage amongst plant viruses and diversifies polerovirus species, but the …


Mechanisms Of Cross-Presentation By Cdc1s, Derek James Theisen Aug 2020

Mechanisms Of Cross-Presentation By Cdc1s, Derek James Theisen

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classical dendritic cells (cDCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells that can be divided into distinct subsets based on the types of pathogens they respond to and the type of immune response they generate. The cDC1 subset is specialized in priming CD8 T cell responses through the process of cross-presentation. During cross-presentation, exogenous protein antigens are taken up by cDC1 and presented on MHCI molecules, allowing for the priming of CD8 T cells during conditions when DCs themselves are not directly infected. The ability to cross-present in vivo is unique to cDC1, and is essential for anti-viral responses and rejection of …


Lysogeny And Use Of Mycobacteriophage Pita2, Eleanor Behling, Neocles B. Leontis, Jill Zeilstra-Ryalls May 2020

Lysogeny And Use Of Mycobacteriophage Pita2, Eleanor Behling, Neocles B. Leontis, Jill Zeilstra-Ryalls

Honors Projects

The CDC has classified antibiotic resistance as the biggest health challenge of our era; every year 2 million lives are impacted and even lost due to resistant bacteria. Bacteriophages provide an alternative route to fighting infections that does not further the development of antibiotic resistance among bacterial species. A bacteriophage replicates inside a bacterial cell and then causes that cell to lyse, an event that kills the bacterial host. However, some phage can integrate their genomes into the host chromosome without causing lysis. The HHMI SEA-PHAGES program has generated a collection of bacteriophage that infect Actinobacteria species. Over 13,000 phages …


The Binding Site Between The Adenoviral Protein E4 11k And The Cellular Protein Ddx6, O'Nekia Samuel Apr 2020

The Binding Site Between The Adenoviral Protein E4 11k And The Cellular Protein Ddx6, O'Nekia Samuel

Georgia College Student Research Events

Adenovirus is a nonenveloped virus that consists of an icosahedral capsid that contains double-stranded DNA. Viruses of this type can cause the common cold, conjunctivitis, and diarrhea. An important gene of adenoviruses is an early viral gene called E4 ORF3, which encodes the protein, E4 11k. This gene is responsible for changing the cellular environment, which aids in viral replication and prevents the host cell’s synthesis of proteins. E4 11k binds to Ddx6, a cellular protein located in P-bodies, and disrupts its localization. P-bodies are granules in the cytoplasm that contain mRNAs that have been repressed and proteins that are …


Mechanisms Of Silencing Suppression By A Polerovirus P0 Protein, Natalie Holste, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz Apr 2020

Mechanisms Of Silencing Suppression By A Polerovirus P0 Protein, Natalie Holste, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

School of Biological Sciences: Posters and Presentations

Maize lethal necrosis is an intense viral disease spreading across sub-Saharan Africa. Maize is the staple crop grown in sub-Saharan Africa, but most crops infected with maize lethal necrosis will not survive to harvest. This causes immense economic hardship and starvation within the population. Maize lethal necrosis consists of a combination of two viruses, Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and a virus from the genus potyvirus. In a recent study, a Maize yellow dwarf virus-RMV (MYDV-RMV)-like polerovirus, was repeatedly detected in plants with maize lethal necrosis. Poleroviruses have a silencing suppressor, P0 protein, and the mechanism of suppression is poorly …


Analysis Of The Thermal Stability Of A Diverse Panel Of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Rsv) Strains, Darby Deford Jan 2019

Analysis Of The Thermal Stability Of A Diverse Panel Of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Rsv) Strains, Darby Deford

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major respiratory pathogen of young infants and the elderly and is associated with upper and lower respiratory disease. Vaccine development for RSV has been hindered by poor immunogenicity in target populations, genetic and physical instabilities, and a legacy of vaccine-enhanced disease. The fusion and attachment proteins of RSV, F and G, have been seen to be responsible for inducing the majority of neutralizing antibodies. However, little remains known about how differences in RSV F and G affect virus replication and stability. In this thesis, we proposed to examine the replication and thermal stability of …


Investigating The Antiviral Effects Of Vig-3 From Rainbow Trout, Shanee Herrington-Krause Jan 2019

Investigating The Antiviral Effects Of Vig-3 From Rainbow Trout, Shanee Herrington-Krause

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Rainbow trout is the most farmed fish in Ontario, and thus is economically important to the province. Despite this, there is a lack of understanding regarding fish innate immunity, specifically with regards to interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and their antiviral effector functions. ISGs are the workhorses of the innate antiviral response, operating together to limit each step of virus replication. The Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) induced gene (Vig)-3 is a newly identified ISG within many fish species and is homologous to ISG-15 in mammals. It is a small ubiquitin-like protein inducible by type I interferon (IFN-I), and is suggested to …


Viral Mhc Class I Evasion Affects Anti-Viral T Cell Development And Responses, Elvin James Lauron Aug 2018

Viral Mhc Class I Evasion Affects Anti-Viral T Cell Development And Responses, Elvin James Lauron

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTLs) play a critical role in protective immunity against viruses, a fact underscored by the evolution of viral CTL evasion mechanisms. For instance, many viruses commonly target the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHCI) antigen presentation pathway to prevent CTLs from recognizing infected cells. A striking example of this is cowpox virus (CPXV), which interferes with MHCI antigen presentation through two distinct mechanisms. One mechanism of CPXV-mediated MHCI inhibition is to retain MHCI molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The second mechanism is to prevent antigen peptide loading onto MHCI molecules. When combined these mechanisms result …


The Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Mc160 Protein Requires Both Death Effector Domains To Inhibit Mavs- And Tbk1-Induced Interferon Activation, Lissette Bouza Jul 2018

The Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Mc160 Protein Requires Both Death Effector Domains To Inhibit Mavs- And Tbk1-Induced Interferon Activation, Lissette Bouza

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The Molluscum Contagiosum Virus (MCV) causes a common persistent, skin infection. Two MCV immune evasion molecules, MCV MC159 and MC160 contain tandem death effector domains (DEDs). DEDs are found in several host proteins including pro-apoptotic proteins Fas-associated Death Domain (FADD) and procaspase-8 and are well characterized in innate immune signaling. MC159 blocks apoptosis induced by both Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and the Fas ligand (FasL) and inhibits activation the host pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) (Shisler, 2001; Murao and Shisler 2005). MC160, however, does not inhibit apoptosis, but does dampen TNF-induced NF-κB activation (Shisler, …


Analyzing The Effects Of Site-Directed Mutagenesis On The Structure Of Coxsackievirus B3 Genomic Rna, Erin Dimon May 2018

Analyzing The Effects Of Site-Directed Mutagenesis On The Structure Of Coxsackievirus B3 Genomic Rna, Erin Dimon

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is known to cause myocarditis and pancreatitis in humans. The virus has a single stranded RNA genome that codes for 11 different proteins. CVB3 is found to have two serotypes: 28 (virulent and disease causing) and GA (avirulent and not disease causing). Like other members of the Picornaviridae family, CVB3 utilizes the genomic 5’ untranslated region (5’ UTR) to initiate viral replication mechanisms through interactions with host protein factors. Structural variations of the CVB3 5’ UTR are hypothesized to influence the success of such interactions and consequentially determine viral virulence. The aim of this project was to …


Bacteriophages Of The Urinary Microbiome, Taylor Miller-Ensminger, Andrea Garretto, Jonathon Brenner, Krystal Thomas-White, Adriano Zambom, Alan J. Wolfe, Catherine Putonti May 2018

Bacteriophages Of The Urinary Microbiome, Taylor Miller-Ensminger, Andrea Garretto, Jonathon Brenner, Krystal Thomas-White, Adriano Zambom, Alan J. Wolfe, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) play a significant role in microbial community dynamics. Within the human gastrointestinal tract, for instance, associations amongst bacteriophages (phages), microbiota stability, and human health have been discovered. In contrast to the gastrointestinal tract, the phages associated with the urinary microbiota are largely unknown. Preliminary metagenomic surveys of the urinary virome indicate a rich diversity of novel lytic phage sequences, at an abundance far outnumbering eukaryotic viruses. These surveys, however, exclude the lysogenic phages residing within the bacteria of the bladder. To characterize this phage population, we examined 181 genomes representative of the phylogenetic diversity of bacterial species …


Gene Co-Occurrence Networks Reflect Bacteriophage Ecology And Evolution, Jason W. Shapiro, Catherine Putonti Mar 2018

Gene Co-Occurrence Networks Reflect Bacteriophage Ecology And Evolution, Jason W. Shapiro, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Bacteriophages are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on the planet, and new phage genomes are being discovered at a rapid pace. As more phage genomes are published, new methods are needed for placing these genomes in an ecological and evolutionary context. Phages are difficult to study by phylogenetic methods, because they exchange genes regularly, and no single gene is conserved across all phages. Here, we demonstrate how gene-level networks can provide a high-resolution view of phage genetic diversity and offer a novel perspective on virus ecology. We focus our analyses on virus host range and show how network …


Rack1 Is A Critical Component In Ires-Mediated Translation, Ethan Asher Lafontaine Jan 2018

Rack1 Is A Critical Component In Ires-Mediated Translation, Ethan Asher Lafontaine

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Due to its sheer number of interacting partners, core ribosomal protein RACK1 is a key player in many cellular processes and has been shown to play a vital role of translation initiation of the Hepatitis C virus RNA. The HCV 5′ untranslated region contains an internal ribosome entry site. IRES-mediated translation is a process employed in eukaryotes by select viruses and some cellular mRNAs by which translation initiation bypasses the canonical mRNA cap-dependent pathway by means of an RNA secondary structure (the IRES). While cap-dependent translation requires the recruitment of a suite of initiation factors, IRES-mediated translation requires few to …


Analyzing Coxsackievirus B3 Genomic Rna By Site Directed Mutagenesis And Shape Analysis, Sara Smith Dec 2017

Analyzing Coxsackievirus B3 Genomic Rna By Site Directed Mutagenesis And Shape Analysis, Sara Smith

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Virulent Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is linked to myocarditis, pancreatitis, and type I diabetes. Avirulent CVB3 doesn’t cause disease. CVB3 possesses a positive, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome containing 7,400 nucleotides, organized into four sections: a 5’ untranslated region (5’ UTR), a single open reading frame, a 3’ untranslated region, and a poly-A tail. The 5’ UTR is 743 nucleotides divided into 7 domains. Mutations within the 5’ UTR can alter RNA structure, and thus alter virulence. Nucleotide associations responsible for higher level RNA folding patterns and structure haven’t been defined. We are investigating the 5’ UTR by selective 2’ hydroxyl …


Importance Of Seed As An Inoculum Source For High Plains Virus In Sweet Corn, Brooke Olson, Claudia Nischwitz Nov 2017

Importance Of Seed As An Inoculum Source For High Plains Virus In Sweet Corn, Brooke Olson, Claudia Nischwitz

Biology Posters

High Plains Virus (HPV) is found in small grains and corn and is commonly transmitted by the wheat curl mite. In 2016, a local farmer had a high incidence of HPV in all of his sweet corn in three different locations. However no mites were found. Drone imagery was taken of the field and showed a pattern of infected corn plants that indicated that the virus was seed borne. Yield loss was an estimated 50% for the field. Seed transmission of HPV in corn has been considered unimportant in the past due to low percentage of infection (Forster et al. …


Mechanisms Responsible For A Φx174 Mutant's Ability To Infect Escherichia Coli By Phosphorylation, Jennifer Cox, Catherine Putonti Sep 2017

Mechanisms Responsible For A Φx174 Mutant's Ability To Infect Escherichia Coli By Phosphorylation, Jennifer Cox, Catherine Putonti

Catherine Putonti

The ability for a virus to expand its host range is dependent upon a successful mode of viral entry. As such, the host range of the well-studied ΦX174 bacteriophage is dictated by the presence of a particular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the bacterial surface. The mutant ΦX174 strain JACS-K, unlike its ancestor, is capable of infecting both its native host Escherichia coli C and E. coli K-12, which does not have the necessary LPS. The conversion of an alanine to a very reactive threonine on its virion surface was found to be responsible for the strain's expanded host range.


Abundance And Distribution Of Microbial Cells And Viruses In An Alluvial Aquifer, Donald Pan, Jason Nolan, Kenneth H. Williams, Karrie A. Weber Jul 2017

Abundance And Distribution Of Microbial Cells And Viruses In An Alluvial Aquifer, Donald Pan, Jason Nolan, Kenneth H. Williams, Karrie A. Weber

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Viruses are the most abundant biological entity on Earth and their interactions with microbial communities are recognized to influence microbial ecology and impact biogeochemical cycling in various ecosystems. While the factors that control the distribution of viruses in surface aquatic environments are well-characterized, the abundance and distribution of continental subsurface viruses with respect to microbial abundance and biogeochemical parameters have not yet been established. In order to begin to understand the factors governing virus distribution in subsurface environments, we assessed microbial cell and virus abundance in groundwater concurrent with groundwater chemistry in a uranium impacted alluvial aquifer adjoining the Colorado …


Isolation Of A Mycobacterium Virus With The Infectivity Rate Tested At Various Temperatures, Katie Wegenast Apr 2017

Isolation Of A Mycobacterium Virus With The Infectivity Rate Tested At Various Temperatures, Katie Wegenast

Undergraduate Theses

Isolation techniques developed by the HHMI and the SEA-PHAGES program were used to obtain a bacteriophage from a mixture of loamy clay soil. The sample was retrieved from a forest edge in central Kentucky. The isolate produced large lytic plaques on a lawn of the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis. The bacteriophage was purified, amplified, and analyzed using restriction digest analysis with visualization by gel electrophoresis. Restriction digest analysis suggests the virus belongs to a group known as “A”. Mycobacteriophages are placed into distinct groups based on DNA sequences comparison. The next step in the procedure will be to document with …