Life Sciences Commons^™

Characterization Of Genes Required For Preimplantation Embryo Development, Marc P. Maserati Jr

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Preimplantation embryo development in the mouse is a time of rapid cellular morphological and molecular changes leading to embryo implantation for the generation of offspring. The Mager lab studies these events occuring between fertilization and implantation in order to better understand the initial events which set the stage for all future aspects of development. The result of this research impacts many scientific disciplines including in-vitro based means of embryo culture, establishment of epigenetic marks, differentiation and cellular reprogramming and can be used in translational research for the improvement of in-vitro culture techniques and develop novel therapies such as cell replacement …

Purification And Characterization Of Novel Nucleases From A Thermophilic Fungus, Kyle S. Landry

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

A thermophilic fungus was isolated from composted horse manure. The organism was as a Chaetomium sp. by sequencing the highly conserved ITS region of the fungus and comparing to known regions in a genomic database and was referred to as TM-417. TM-417 was found to have an optimal growth temperature of 45 ^oC and an optimal pH of 7.0. An extracellular DNase and RNase was found to be produced by the isolate and were purified 145.58-fold and 127.6-fold respectively using a combination of size exclusion chromatography and a novel affinity membrane purification system. The extent of purification was determined …

Examination Of Promotor Hypermethylation Patterns In Magnetically Enriched Exfoliated Breast Milk Epithelial Cells, Chung M. Wong

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Suppression of genes involved in DNA repair, tumor suppression and detoxification through epigenetic modifications has been implicated in the etiology of cancer. As such analysis of promoter methylation patterns in genes frequently down regulated in breast cancer in non-cancerous subjects may serve as an indicator of breast cancer risk. CpG-island hypermethylation of single genes has been detected in cells isolated from nipple aspirate and ductal lavage, yet both isolation methods yield insufficient cells to complete an extensive analysis on any one donor sample.

As an alternative we have turned to magnetic separation of human mammary epithelial cells from breast milk. …

Polygenic Resistance In The Highly Ddt-Resistant 91-R Strain Of Drosophila Melanogaster Involves Decreased Penetration, Increased Metabolism And Direct Excretion Of Ddt, Joseph P. Strycharz

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Resistance to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in the 91-R strain of Drosophila melanogaster is extremely high compared to the susceptible Canton-S strain (>1500 times). Oxidative detoxification is involved in resistance but is not the only mechanism. Rates of DDT penetration, metabolism, and excretion were determined radiometrically between resistant 91-R and susceptible Canton-S strains. Contact penetration was ~1.5-times slower with 91-R flies compared to Canton-S flies. The 91-R strain had 13-fold more cuticular hydrocarbons, possibly resulting in penetration differences. DDT was metabolized ~33-fold more extensively by 91-R than Canton-S resulting in dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), two unidentified metabolites and polar conjugates being formed in …

A New Laser Pointer Driven Optical Microheater For Precise Local Heat Shock, Mike Placinta

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The zebrafish has emerged as an important genetic model system for the study of vertebrate development. However, while genetics is a powerful tool for the study of early gene functions, the approach is more limited when it comes to understanding later functions of genes that have essential roles in early embryogenesis. There is thus a need to manipulate gene expression at different times, and ideally only in some regions of the developing embryo. Methods for conditional gene regulation have been established in Drosophila, C.elegans and the mouse, utilizing conditional gene activation systems such as the Gal4-UAS system (fly) and the …