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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Study Of A Putative Niche Adapting Operon In Microbes Inhabiting The Gut Of Blood Digesting Animals, Marlene Abouaassi
Study Of A Putative Niche Adapting Operon In Microbes Inhabiting The Gut Of Blood Digesting Animals, Marlene Abouaassi
University Scholar Projects
The sialic acid utilization (SAU) operon is a horizontally acquired gene set that allows bacteria to utilize sialic acid as an alternate source of carbon and nitrogen in the guts of blood eating animals. Sialic acid often occurs as a terminal sugar in complex glycoproteins. It functions in cell signaling and adhesion. Sialic acid is an important component of the cellular envelope of animals. Some microorganisms have evolved to decorate their own surface with sialic acid to evade the host’s immune response (molecular mimicry). The SAU operon encodes enzymes that hydrolyze sialic acid from glycoproteins, transport sialic acid into the …
Investigation Of Bacteria From The Trachymyrmex Septentrionalis Fungus Garden For Potential Antibacterial Drug Leads, Brendan Stewart
Investigation Of Bacteria From The Trachymyrmex Septentrionalis Fungus Garden For Potential Antibacterial Drug Leads, Brendan Stewart
University Scholar Projects
Bacterial and fungal strains are growing resistance to antibiotics and antifungal agents at an alarming rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over two million people in the United States in 2016 were diagnosed with an infection resistant to antibiotics. As such, there has been increased interest in natural products as sources of novel compounds that are essential to the development of new drugs and treatment methods. Within the environment, there are various host-microbe symbioses, one of which is the Trachymyrmex septentrionalis leaf-cutter ant community. The microbes in symbioses like the T. septentrionalis community are hypothesized to …
Characterization Of A Putative Cephalotoxin From The Hemocytes Of Euprymna Scolopes, Jessie E. Scott
Characterization Of A Putative Cephalotoxin From The Hemocytes Of Euprymna Scolopes, Jessie E. Scott
University Scholar Projects
Many organisms have beneficial microbial symbionts, and complex interactions between the immune system and the bacteria must occur to allow these symbioses to persist. The host immune system must recognize and preferentially tolerate the beneficial microorganisms, while simultaneously eliminating harmful pathogens. The Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, is a model organism for host-microbe interactions because of the unique light organ symbiosis. Hemocytes, the squid’s primary immune cell, infiltrate and patrol the light organ and continuously interact with the symbiont Vibrio fischeri. Using this model, several innate immunity genes have been shown to be differentially expressed in the hemocytes …