Life Sciences Commons^™

Expanding Metabolic Diversity Of Two Archaeal Phyla: Nanoarchaeota And Korarchaeota, John Forad Kelley

Dissertations and Theses

Culture independent studies have revealed a greater diversity of Archaea than the two kingdoms initially defined by Carl Woese. Culturing species from the newly discovered archaeal lineages, as with the majority of microbes, has been difficult. To overcome the culturing dilemma, metagenomics is being used to reconstruct environmental genomes. Two metagenomic studies are presented in this thesis, with the aim of recovering newly proposed archaeal genomes from the Nanoarchaeota and Korarchaeota.

In the first study, a sediment sample, NZ13, was collected from a terrestrial New Zealand hot spring. Along with the sediment sample, two complex enrichments were sequenced on an …

The Influence Of Phylogeny And Niche Differentiation On The Diets Of Malagasy Primates, Rebekka S. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have shown that haplorhine diet is affected by phylogeny; however, until now studies in Malagasy strepsirrhines were lacking. The evolution of differences in Malagasy primates’ diets appears to differ from the pattern shown in haplorhines. My results indicate that niche differentiation may be a stronger predictor of diet.

Systematics, Biogeography, And Species Delimitation Of The Malagasy Psorospermum (Hypericaceae), Heritiana S. Ranarivelo

Dissertations

Psorospermum belongs to the tribe Vismieae (Hypericaceae). Morphologically, Psorospermum is very similar to Harungana, which also belongs to Vismieae along with another genus, Vismia. Interestingly, Harungana occurs in both Madagascar and mainland Africa, as does Psorospermum; Vismia occurs in both Africa and the New World. However, the phylogeny of the tribe and the relationship between the three genera are uncertain. Using freshly collected specimens from my fieldwork as well as extant herbarium specimens, I aimed first, to generate a phylogeny of Psorospermum; second, to investigate its biogeography; and third, to investigate species boundaries within Malagasy Psorospermum …

Molecular Phylogenetic Studies Of The Genera Of Tribe Polygonateae (Asparagaceae: Nolinoideae): Disporopsis, Heteropolygonatum, And Polygonatum., Aaron Jennings Floden

Doctoral Dissertations

The Polygonateae (Asparagaceae) are a subtribe of the Nolinoideae that is redefined here to include three genera which are investigated here: Disporopsis; Heteropolygonatum, and Polygonatum. This group of genera, characterized by their axillary-flowered habit, are closely related but differ greatly in their morphology, cytology, and diversity. A molecular phylogeny is presented to show their relationships to one another and to closely related outgroups based on data from whole chloroplast genomes with low taxonomic sampling. The results show that the genera of the Polygonateae are each monophyletic, and also show that a fourth genus, Maianthemum, that was …

Assessing And Improving Student Understanding Of Tree-Thinking, Tyler A. Kummer

Theses and Dissertations

Evolution is the unifying theory of biology. The importance of understanding evolution by those who study the origins, diversification and diversity life cannot be overstated. Because of its importance, in addition to a scientific study of evolution, many researchers have spent time studying the acceptance and the teaching of evolution. Phylogenetic Systematics is the field of study developed to understand the evolutionary history of organisms, traits, and genes. Tree-thinking is the term by which we identify concepts related to the evolutionary history of organisms. It is vital that those who undertake a study of biology be able to understand and …

The Female Urogynecological Microbiome: Determining Niche Specificity, Krystal Thomas-White

Dissertations

Contrary to dogma, urine is not sterile. Recent discoveries show that the female urinary bladder contains a unique microbiome,with differences in healthy and disease states. This female urinary microbiome (FUM) is distinguishable from vulvo-vaginal contamination; yet, only the few centimeters of the urethra separate these two niches. Recent studies show that the most common bladder organisms are Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, and a diverse group of anaerobes, the same genera commonly found in the vagina. Thus, we asked if the bladder and vaginal microbiomes are interconnected.

Previous work suggests a link between these two niches. The vaginal tract of reproductive …