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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Characterization Of The Rumen Bacterial Communities Of Bison Heifers Fed A Grass-Based Diet Vs A Grain-Based Free-Choice Diet, Anlly Miley Fresno Rueda Jan 2021

Characterization Of The Rumen Bacterial Communities Of Bison Heifers Fed A Grass-Based Diet Vs A Grain-Based Free-Choice Diet, Anlly Miley Fresno Rueda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A century ago, the North American grasslands and prairie ecosystems were dominated by bison. At least 30 million bison roamed the Great Plains when the first explorers arrived. By 1900, there were little over a thousand bison remained in the United States and Canada. Recovery efforts has been made since the 20th century to reestablish the herds and increase the bison population. Today, over 500,000 bison are distributed across North America, with more than 90% of the existing bison population under commercial production. Modern conservation strategies are made via the collaborative efforts of conservationist, producers, and researchers, resulting in increased …


A Biocontrol Pesticide Derived From Mycovirus-Infected Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum Can Induce Plant Resistance, Connor Pedersen Jan 2021

A Biocontrol Pesticide Derived From Mycovirus-Infected Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum Can Induce Plant Resistance, Connor Pedersen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soybean leaf-associated gemycircularvirus-1 (SlaGemV-1) is a novel mycovirus discovered through the metagenomic sequencing of soybean leaves which is capable of inducing hypovirulence in the highly pathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. RNASeq analysis techniques were used to determine the transcriptional changes caused by the infection of virus in S. sclerotiorum, as well as the transcriptional changes in Glycine max caused by the colonization of hypovirulent, SlaGemV-1-infected S. sclerotiorum. RNASeq results indicate that viral infection leading to hypovirulence may attenuate expression of genes relating to cell wall synthesis, microtubule formation, and metabolism of steroids and natural antibiotics. Cytochrome P450-related genes, kinesin domain genes, …


Improving Nutritional Properties And Extractability Of Pea Proteins For Human Consumption Via Fungal Bioprocessing, Camille Massmann Jan 2021

Improving Nutritional Properties And Extractability Of Pea Proteins For Human Consumption Via Fungal Bioprocessing, Camille Massmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yellow peas are a rich source of protein and phytochemicals. Peas are compatible with many diets restricted by sensitivities, allergies, or personal choice. As a result, peas are gaining popularity in food markets, despite the challenges they present. The biggest challenges for pea proteins in food markets are high content of fiber, starch, and saponins. These components cause processing challenges and create undesirable textures and bitter flavors. Pea proteins are typically extracted with alkaline extraction or air classification methods which result in 80% and 50% protein products respectively. With low protein purity, these products are not competitive with other, more …


Exploration Of Host Health Benefits By A Defined Consortium Of Butyrate-Producing Human Gut Bacteria In Gnotobiotic Mouse Model, Linto Antony Jan 2021

Exploration Of Host Health Benefits By A Defined Consortium Of Butyrate-Producing Human Gut Bacteria In Gnotobiotic Mouse Model, Linto Antony

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aberrant gut microbiota composition is found to be associated with several human diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Reduction in butyrate producing bacteria is one of the characteristic features of such dysbiotic bacterial community in the gut. Modulation of gut microbiota to bring the dysbiotic state back to normal healthy state is a promising therapeutic strategy to cure several diseases like recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) and IBD where traditional therapies using pharmacological substances fails to make a difference. Restoration of butyrate producers is found to be an effective method of such gut microbiota modulation. The potential to produce …


Electrical Sensing In Non-Excitable Cells To Promote Galvanotaxis And Tissue Survival, Anyesha Sarkar Jan 2021

Electrical Sensing In Non-Excitable Cells To Promote Galvanotaxis And Tissue Survival, Anyesha Sarkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weak DC fields have been shown to induce polarity, cell migration and cell proliferation in 2D cultures in vitro. To understand the mechanism by which non-excitable cells sense such weak EFs, we have investigated the mechanism of cathode-directed water flow (electro-osmosis) in the boundary layer of cells by reducing it with neutral, viscous polymers. Our results indicate that low molecular weight polymers decrease cathodal migration and promote anodal migration in a concentration dependent manner. High molecular weight polymers do not affect directionality and can be explained using porosity and hydraulic permeability between the polymers. These results provide the first evidence …


Identification Of Loci Influencing Teosinte Crossing Barrier 1 (Tcb1) Efficacy In Maize By Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Genome-Wide Association Study (Gwas), Namrata Maharjan Jan 2021

Identification Of Loci Influencing Teosinte Crossing Barrier 1 (Tcb1) Efficacy In Maize By Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Genome-Wide Association Study (Gwas), Namrata Maharjan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollen cross-contamination has been a major problem for maize breeders. Various mechanical methods applied to avoid the contaminations are ineffective. The genetic factors related to maize fertilization can be used to develop an effective method to prevent pollen contamination. Pollen rejection ability controlled by Teosinte crossing barrier 1 (Tcb1) is such a genetic system. Silks possessing dominant Tcb1-s reject pollen possessing the recessive allele (tcb1). Successful fertilization occurs when Tcb1-s pollen falls upon tcb1 silks. The efficacy of dominant Tcb1-s was, however, reduced when repeatedly backcross with maize inbred lines, which suggests that there are modifiers to Tcb1-s. To find …


Study On The Human Gut Bacteria Under Different Ecological Conditions: Antibiotic Perturbation And Dietary Quercetin, Shruti Shashidharan Menon Jan 2021

Study On The Human Gut Bacteria Under Different Ecological Conditions: Antibiotic Perturbation And Dietary Quercetin, Shruti Shashidharan Menon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The human intestine encompasses a vast community of microorganisms known as the gut microbiota that play a crucial role in maintaining health. Common perturbations such as changes in the normal diet, antibiotic treatment, and changes in environmental conditions can alter the gut microbiome. This can create dysbiosis in the gut leading to disease conditions. Therefore, it becomes important to determine the forces that influence the gut microbial ecology. In the first study, we focus on antibiotic perturbations on microbial succession and resilience in a synthetic consortium consisting of the most prevalent gut bacteria in humans. In addition, we investigated the …


Assaying Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens Isolates 1ba And 1d3 For Biosurfactant Production And Utilization Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons And Phenolic Acids, Pavan Kulkarni Jan 2021

Assaying Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens Isolates 1ba And 1d3 For Biosurfactant Production And Utilization Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons And Phenolic Acids, Pavan Kulkarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several Bacillus amyloliquefaciens isolates obtained from wheat residue have been studied as biological agents to control wheat diseases. Notable traits of isolates 1BA and 1D3 include growth with high salt (10% NaCl), at temperatures up to 50°C and over a wide pH range. BIOLOG Gen III plates were used to study and further characterize Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 1BA and 1D3. Both isolates showed tolerance to high salt concentration supporting previous studies. They also grew in the presence of lithium chloride, potassium tellurite, and sodium bromate. Both isolates grew at pH 5, with almost identical carbon source utilization fingerprints. However, D-serine, quinic …


Auxin-Based Herbicide Program And Rhizobia Application For Weed Control And Nodulation Potential In Auxin Tolerant Soybean, Joy Amajioyi Jan 2021

Auxin-Based Herbicide Program And Rhizobia Application For Weed Control And Nodulation Potential In Auxin Tolerant Soybean, Joy Amajioyi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Foliar-applied Bradyrhizobia to V4 soybean has been reported to increase yield up to 5%. However, a stand-alone product application may not be practical. Applying with other treatments such as post-emergence herbicide application may be economical but herbicide and/or additives may be deleterious to rhizobial growth. A laboratory study investigated the impact of herbicides (glyphosate and dicamba), additives (an oil to improve absorption and spreading; and AMS used to overcome hard water impacts on glyphosate), and herbicide + additives on bacterial growth. Optical density (OD) measurements at the wavelength of 650 nm assessed solution turbidity, a surrogate measure of bacterial growth. …


Free-Living Diazotrophs And The Nitrogen Cycle In Natural Grassland Revealed By Culture Dependent And Independent Approaches, Amrit Koirala Jan 2021

Free-Living Diazotrophs And The Nitrogen Cycle In Natural Grassland Revealed By Culture Dependent And Independent Approaches, Amrit Koirala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological nitrogen fixation contributes to half of the global supply of nitrogen to the biosphere. It is carried out by a diverse group of prokaryotes called diazotrophs via the nitrogenase enzyme. Nitrogen fixation research is focused on the narrow group of symbiotic diazotrophs, and the vast majority of free-living diazotrophs which contribute significantly to fixed nitrogen are yet to be explored. The goal of this research was to access phylogeny of diazotrophs considering the most up-to-date genomic information and apply that knowledge to understand the diversity of free-living diazotrophs in a natural grassland ecosystem, both by culture dependent and independent …


Investigating The Development Of Fecal Bacterial Communities In Growing Dairy Calves, Emily Fowler Jan 2021

Investigating The Development Of Fecal Bacterial Communities In Growing Dairy Calves, Emily Fowler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The gut development of young calves is crucial for the producer and the calf's future. Many factors can affect the development of a young calf's gastrointestinal system, and there has been little research into the fecal microbiome development of calves from 0 to 12 weeks of age. To gain further insight into this process, development of the fecal microbiome in 12 dairy calves was investigated. Fecal bacterial composition was determined at four time points (weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12) using the 16S rRNA gene through PCR-amplification of the V1-V3 regions from fecal microbial genomic DNA, followed by Illumina MiSeq …