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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Investigating Phosphorylation Patterns And Their Effect On The Activity Of Transcription Factor Taabf1 In Imbibing Cereal Grains, Grace Uwase
Honors Theses
The wheat transcription factor TaABF1 plays an important role in hormone-mediated regulation of seed dormancy and germination of cereal grains. Evidence shows that TaABF1 activity is regulated by phosphorylation, and previous work in our lab showed that when serine residues in its conserved regions; S36, S37, S113, S115 were altered to phosphomimetic aspartate, the 4xD TaABF1 mutant had increased activity as a transcription factor. However, when only S113 was altered, TaABF1’s activity was greatly reduced. The work presented here explored whether the S36D/S37D/S115D mutant would have stronger activity than the 4xD mutant. Using the particle bombardment technique to introduce the …
Haloferax Volcanii For Carotenoid Production, Erika Smith
Haloferax Volcanii For Carotenoid Production, Erika Smith
Honors Theses
Carotenoids are used as natural colorants and have been shown to have numerous health benefits, making these molecules highly desirable in the aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical markets. There is increasing consumer demand for the natural synthesis of carotenoids, but current methods are limited by the cost and difficulty of extraction from organisms. The halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii is amenable to extraction and has an endogenous carotenoid biosynthetic pathway that culminates in the accumulation of the carotenoid bacterioruberin; however, H. volcanii also synthesizes important precursors that can be converted into more highly-desired carotenoids, such as β-carotene and astaxanthin, in the presence …
Disc1 Knockout Rats Reveal Sexually Dimorphic Patterns Of Impairment Across Development, Stephanie S. Desrochers
Disc1 Knockout Rats Reveal Sexually Dimorphic Patterns Of Impairment Across Development, Stephanie S. Desrochers
Honors Theses
Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder characterized by three symptom categories: positive (hallucinations, delusions), negative (anhedonia, anxiety), and cognitive (sensory processing and memory deficits). We worked with a biallelic deletion of the Disrupted-in-schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) gene in Sprague-Dawley rats to facilitate our understanding of the biological bases of schizophrenia. Mutations of DISC1 are associated with a higher prevalence of schizophrenia. Adult DISC1 knockout, compared to wildtype, rats display features of schizophrenia-like outcomes in rodent models. The present study investigated the progression of the cognitive symptom deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI), assessing animals at postnatal days 17 (pre-weaning), 26 (post-weaning), 39 (adolescent), and …
The Effects Of Nutrient Limitation On Toxin Production For The Harmful Algal Bloom Species, Pseudo-Nitzschia, In The Gulf Of Maine, Julia M. Park
The Effects Of Nutrient Limitation On Toxin Production For The Harmful Algal Bloom Species, Pseudo-Nitzschia, In The Gulf Of Maine, Julia M. Park
Honors Theses
Pseudo-nitzschia is a pennate marine diatom that produces the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA). Domoic acid accumulates in the digestive tract of filter feeders and becomes concentrated at higher trophic levels. When DA concentrations reach critical levels, consumption of toxic shellfish can induce a condition known as Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP), which has been responsible for the deaths of marine mammals, seabirds and humans. This study worked to respond to a toxic Pseudo-nitzschia bloom in the Gulf of Maine during the fall of 2016, with the goal of quantifying and identifying Pseudo-nitzschia spp. in the bloom region and to determine the …