Life Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Cdk5r1 In Β-¬Cell Survival From Apoptosis, Amanda Hobson, Jeffrey Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are classified as a decrease in functional ß-cell mass, which results in impaired blood glucose regulation. Functional ß-cell mass is defined as the glucose stimulated insulin secretion rate multiplied by the total cellular mass which is determined by the proliferation and cell death rates. Though ß-cell mass proliferation rates generally decrease by adolescence, obesity and pregnancy have been shown to be times of significant ß-cell proliferation (1). This implies that the inherent molecular pathways necessary for ß-cell proliferation are present, but highly regulated. Discovering the molecular pathway of ß-cell proliferation could lead to diabetes …

Determining If C-Fos Protects Β-Cells From Apoptosis, Kyle Kener, Jeffery Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Diabetes, a disease characterized by the inability of the body to maintain a normal blood glucose level, continues to affect the lives of many. In both Type I and Type II diabetes, eventual β-cell destruction results in decreased β-cell mass. Regeneration of functional β-cells and protection of such, could help reverse the effects of this disease and could possibly lead to a cure. Many studies have been done to increase functioning β-cell mass, but protecting regenerated β-cells from further apoptotic insults could greatly increase the effectiveness of β-cell transplants and other future treatments of the disease.

This Project Focused On The Effects Of Palmitate On Transcription Factors, Nr4a1 And Nr4a3. All Experiments Were Preformed On A Beta Cell Line. The First Experiment Was Done To Show If Palmitate Effected Proliferation Of Nr4a1 And Nr4a3 Knockout Cell Lines. This Experiment Was Preformed Adding .2 Mmol Palmitate To All Cells And Comparing Them To Untreated And Treated Unknocked Down Cell Lines. This Showed Exactly What Was Expected Which Was That Proliferation Was Decreased In Nr4a1 And Nr4a3 Knockdown Cell Lines., Jordan Tingey, Jeffery Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project focused on the effects of palmitate on transcription factors, Nr4a1 and Nr4a3. All experiments were preformed on a beta cell line. The first experiment was done to show if palmitate effected proliferation of Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 knockout cell lines. This experiment was preformed adding .2 mmol palmitate to all cells and comparing them to untreated and treated unknocked down cell lines. This showed exactly what was expected which was that proliferation was decreased in Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 knockdown cell lines.

Testing The Effect Of Antioxidants On The Pathogenesis Of Alzheimer’S Disease Through The Rage/Nf-Kb Inflammatory Pathway, Harrison Snyder, Jonathan Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) is known to have a role in inflammatory processes. When produced in excess it induces oxidative stress by activating a number of ligand enzymes, resulting in the generation of excessive cytosolic reactive oxidant species. This oxidative stress then stimulates Nuclear Factor Kappa-B (NF-kB), which regulates immune response and inflammation. When RAGE is incorrectly regulated, inflammation occurs in otherwise healthy tissue, a process implicated in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. RAGE is found throughout the body and is seen in greater concentration in inflamed tissues; it has also been found in the brain tissue …

Analysis Of Hmgcr As A Genetic Modifier For Alzheimer’S Disease, Brian Davis, Dr. John S. K. Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that occurs predominantly later in life and represents the fourth most common cause of death in the developed world. Given the absence of curative treatment, discovering the factors related to the development of AD and the conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD is one of the most urgent medical mysteries affecting the aging population. The search for the identification of genes contributing to AD led to the identification of 695 candidate genes of which a surprising number are directly involved in lipid metabolism at the level of transport, synthesis, storage, …

Investigation Of Visual Systems In A New Species Of Firefly, Yelena Pacheco, Dr. Seth Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Fireflies are well known for their bioluminescent flashes causing them to be a particular group of interest concerning insect vision research. Their flashes are used for both sexual communication and as an aposematic warning to predators. Bioluminescent fireflies are known to use either a yellow-green flash or a yellow-orange flash to communicate between sexes in order to find a mate. There have been many studies concerning flash patterns’ role in sexual communication among fireflies; however, the understanding of firefly vision as a whole allows for many more untouched research possibilities. As a member of the Bybee lab I had the …

Association Of Rs75932628 (R47h) With Vascular Dementia In The Cache County Study, Emily Sears, Dr. John Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Vascular dementia (VaD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by atherosclerosis, or inadequate blood flow to the brain as a result of the build-up of fat deposits, dead cells, or other cell debris on the inside of arteries. It shortens the lifespan of those affected, and severely impairs their quality of life. VaD is the second most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 20-30% of dementia cases. Thus far the risk factors that have been determined are non-specific to the brain: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar (Roman et. al 2003). There has not been …

Foot Strike Angle Changes During Shod, Minimalist, And Barefoot Running, And Correlation To Injury, Ani Henriksen, Dr. Sarah Ridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Running is a popular form of exercise. With high incidence of injury, runners are always looking for the next cure to stay injury free. Many webpages offer conflicting advice about shoes and foot strike. Although recommendations vary, barefoot running and use of minimalist shoes has increased. With the change in footwear, many runners have reported injuries from improper technique and repetitive loading. With the use of current technology we analyzed movements of the foot ignored by other studies. This project analyzed foot strike movement in the frontal plane to help us better understand the ideal foot strike technique for running …

The Use Of Bacteriophage For Surface Sterilization Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In Poultry Facilities, Trevor Wienclaw, Bradford Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is potentially dangerous pathogen that can infect humans and animals alike¹. The primary treatment for such infections has been antibiotics, but even shortly after antibiotics began to be used, antibiotic-resistant strains, known as MRSA, were discovered. These resistant strains have since spread, and now account for over half of all clinical isolates⁴. A similar scenario developed in the livestock industry. Antibiotics have been used to treat diseased animals and to promote growth in healthy animals. This use lead to development of MRSA among these animals. These animals may merely be carriers or they …

Role Of The Viral Lana Protein In Human Cancers Caused By Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus, Gregory Low, Brad Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of our experiment was to ascertain the importance of the LANA protein encoded by the Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV). LANA is believed to be essential for the survival of KSHV in human cells. KSHV causes a variety of cancers including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), multicentric Castleman’s disease (MCD), and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). These cancers most often appear in the immunocompromised and can be fatal. The mortality rate of PEL is ~60% after one year, KS 5-year mortality rate is ~30%, and MCD 5-year mortality rate is 35%. No known vaccine or anti-viral drug treatment is currently licensed for …

Identification Of The Function Of A Unique B4 Mycobacteriophage Protein Via In Silico And In Vivo Analysis, Cameron Sargent, Dr. Julianne Grose

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Once the leading cause of death in the United States, tuberculosis still burdens the world as the second deadliest infectious disease worldwide, latently infecting one-third of the world population and causing 1.5 million deaths in 2013 [1]. Tuberculosis is particularly lethal largely because the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis has several characteristics that make detecting, treating, and studying the disease unusually hard. Among these traits, M. tuberculosis has a complex cell wall that limits the effect of many antibiotics and makes genetic manipulation of the bacterium, a necessity for effective research, nearly impossible through conventional transformation techniques [2]. Recently, Howard Hughes Medical …

Isolation And Characterization Of Novel Lytic Phage To Treat Mrsa, Tyler White, Bradford Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The bacterium Staphylococcus Aureus is the cause of a serious skin disease that is known to cause life-threatening infections such as pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis, sepsis, bacteremia, and toxic shock syndrome [1]. Nonetheless, most SA infections are readily remedied via antibiotic treatment with methicillin. However, over the course of frequent exposure to various antibiotics, the bacteria have evolved a mutant strain (MRSA) that is completely resistant to the drug. In 2005 an estimated 11,000 deaths occurred that can be attributed to SA, with the majority caused by MRSA isolates [2]. Albeit the mutant is named MRSA, isolates of this strain are …

The Role Of Hdac1 In Increasing Β-Cell Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion And Apoptosis Resistance, Carrie Draney, Jeffery Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes affects more than 9% of the American population and the incidences of diabetes continue to increase at a startling rate. Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes impede β- cell function (insulin secretion) by destroying β-cell mass. Increasing proliferation and function of β-cells could potentially be used as a cure for diabetes. Research has shown that the homeobox β-cell transcription factor Nkx6.1 induces β-cell proliferation. We have found that Nkx6.1 upregulates expression of HDAC1 and this project will allow us to further define the specific role of HDAC1 in increasing β-cell proliferation. We hypothesize …

Determining If C-Fos Regulates Glucose Stimulated Insulin, Benjamin Bitner, Jeffery Tessem

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Increasing a patient’s functional β-cell mass may provide a cure for both types of diabetes. Previous studies have shown that overexpression of the homeodomain transcription factor Nkx6.1 stimulates β-cell proliferation, increases glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and decreases apoptosis¹. Functional β-cell mass is defined by the number of β-cells, which is dependent on proliferation and apoptosis rates, multiplied by the ability to secrete insulin. Increasing β-cell proliferation or insulin secretion while decreasing apoptosis could be used as a treatment to produce β-cells for islet transplantation, a potential cure for diabetes.

Confirming The Spatial Relationship Between Iron, Tau Protein, And Amyloid Beta Within The Subiculum As A Means To Better Detect Alzheimer’S Disease With Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Brandon Herrington, Jonathan Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States¹, and because of the significant deterioration it causes in the quality of life of its victims, Alzheimer’s disease is an area where research to improve its early diagnosis is paramount to establishing new treatments. Alzheimer’s disease appears to show its effects at a particularly early stage within the hippocampus². More specifically, the subicular area of the hippocampus is noted as a region that is subjected to more severe pathological changes due to the disease³. Braak staging is a method used to classify, …

Application Of Sihler’S Stain To Expose Cardiac Conduction Nerve Fibers, Adam Jorgensen, Jonathan J. Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Arrhythmia is a serious heart condition that affects 14 million people in the United Statesⁱ, and is characterized by irregular frequency of atrial and ventricular beats.ⁱⁱ The most serious effects of arrhythmia include sudden cardiac arrest and stroke.ⁱⁱⁱ About 383,000 cases of cardiac arrest are recorded annually in the United States alone.^iv In a report complied in 2011 by the World Health Organization, stroke has the second highest death rate of any disease worldwide, ending the lives of 6.1 million people annually.^v Recent developments in cardiac ablation have helped in the treatment of arrhythmia …

The Effect Of Gut Microbiota On Starvation Resistance In D. Melanogaster, Alec Judd, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

It has already been established that gut microbiota affect starvation resistance, fat (TAG) content, and development in D. melanogaster. Previous studies in this lab have suggested that effects of the microbiome on these traits are correlated, but this prediction has not been explicitly tested. We are specifically interested in identifying individual bacterial genes that may mediate microbial effects on all three host traits. One way to identify genes with causal influence on animal traits is MGWA (Meta Genome-Wide Association). To this end we have measured starvation resistance in D. melanogaster individually associated with a panel of 43 bacterial strains, and …

Optimization Of The Memory Protocol And Investigation Of Camp Levels In Axenic And Conventional Flies, Toree Lammel, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Going into this project, it was my intention of complete two separate goals: first, to optimize a learning assay for testing memory and learning in Drosophila melanogaster for future use in the Plant and Wildlife Department laboratory at Brigham Young University, and second, to investigate cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels between two genotypes of Drosophila: wild type and dunce. While I was able to successfully complete my first goal, due to unexpected complications while completing it, the second goal was unable to be completed in time. This experience has taught me that experiments can be difficult to work into a specific …

Effects Of Host Microbiota On Intestinal Fiber Content, Kyle Olsen, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As a pseudo-ruminant, the alpaca is highly dependent on the bacteria in its intestinal tract to obtain the nutrients it needs. For example the starch-fermenting bacteria in the compartment 1 (C1) access nutrients from the normally indigestible starches the alpaca consumes. The bacteria release volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in return. The alpaca uses VFAs as a source of energy. In turn, the composition of the microbiome (bacteria in the intestinal tract) is affected by many factors involving its host. These factors could include host genome, diet, and location in the digestive tract. Our research was to survey many aspects of …

The Effect Of Promoter Region Indels On Expression Bias In Polyploid Cotton Species, Zachary Liechty, Joshua Udall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many plants undergo polyploidization events throughout their history, meaning their genome doubles¹; the goal of this project was to identify how these polyploidization events lead to changes in gene expression on a nucleotide level. Polyploidization events provide raw material to be acted upon by natural selection, allowing evolution to occur. Now with four copies of a gene instead of two, mutations can occur or expression levels can change without too great an influence on the plants well-being. This project examines factors relating to changes in gene expression between subgenomes after a polyploidization event among different cotton species. We …

Gene Discovery: Understanding Oat Biosynthetic Pathways Through Characterization Of The Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Gene, Evan Braithwaite, Eric Jellen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Grains that are high in soluble hemicellulose fiber, such as oat, provide numerous health benefits to consumers. These benefits include decreased risk of heart disease and lowered cholesterol. For this reason, information regarding genes that are involved in regulating starch and fiber synthesis in oat is highly valuable to breeders and cereal companies. However, because of the polyploid nature (allohexaploidy) and intrinsic complexity of the oat genome, given its propensity for chromosomal rearrangement, genetic data available for use in further research is limited, with many important regions still unsequenced. One such region is the gene coding for adenosine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase …

Assessment Of Biodiversity On Mount Timpanogos With A Focus On Flies, Diptera: Agromyzidae, Samantha Smith, Dr. Riley Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mount Timpanogos, with an elevation of 3,582 meters, is home to an amazing array of insect species. Through much previous effort, many have studied the insects found in American Fork Canyon leading up to Mount Timpanogos. They have still barely scratched the surface of the abundant biodiversity on the mountain. Varied temperature regimes can cause changes in insects’ life cycle and the length of their feeding period, making the collections at different elevations of Mount Timpanogos during different years of particularly great value (Petitt et al 1991). Thus the value of collections along Mount Timpanogos is two-fold; both to study …

Association Of Rare Genetics Variants To The Protection Of Alzheimer’S Disease In The Cache County Data Set, Josue David Gonzalez Murcia, John Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the world and the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, with 5.5 million people diagnosed with the disease. Alzheimer’s cannot be cured, prevented or slowed. Most research with Alzheimer’s disease has been done on SNPs that have a relatively high frequency in the population this has helped facilitate researchers in finding a broad genetic pathway in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (Naj et al. 2011; Harold et al. 2009). Our research will focus on a very rare SNP, with a much lower frequency than previously …

Expanding The Freshwater Aquatic Invertebrate Identification Guide Cd, Sarah Brown, C. Riley Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Freshwater Aquatic invertebrate Identification Guide (FAIIG) was a computer program created by the C. Riley Nelson lab in 2006 to help students with the identification process of various aquatic invertebrates throughout Utah. It has been used in Bio 100 classes at Brigham Young University to help students successfully identify various aquatic invertebrate specimens from rivers and streams in Utah. The goal of this project was to work on expanding the FAIIG program to include aquatic invertebrates in North America west of the Mississippi River. As well as expanding the breadth of content, we also worked on improving the information …

Assembling Benchmark Datasets For Machine Learning Classification, Parker Hollingsworth, Stephen Piccolo

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Machine learning classification is a type of artificial intelligence that learns from data and makes predictions. There are many different algorithms that can be used to develop predictive models for machine learning. Generally the algorithm looks for patterns in the data and uses those patterns to make predictions on an additional data set. This type of artificial intelligence is being used increasingly in the biomedical community to predict disease diagnosis and prognosis. Although machine learning has shown to provide promising results, it is far from perfect. The accuracy of the predictive model often depends on arbitrary decisions made by researchers. …

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms And Accelerated Telomere Shortening, Rebecca Winner, Dr. Brent Nielsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Telomeres are protective deoxyribonucleic acid caps on the ends of chromosomes which help prevent the chromosome itself from shortening during replication. As a person ages, normal telomere shortening occurs due to chromosome replication. However, accelerated telomere shortening is abnormal and has been linked to several factors such as disease, depression, and anxiety.

This project aims to determine if underlying genetic factors that contribute to increased incidence of depression will produce accelerated telomere shortening as seen in subjects with a history of depression. SNP’s in genes that code for 5-HTT, a serotonin receptor, and DRD2, a dopamine receptor, have been shown …

Finding Clues To Phosphate Homeostasis Through Transposon Sequencing, Tanner Dean, William Mccleary

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Though Escherichia Coli is a thoroughly investigated species of bacteria, questions still remain concerning genes involved in phosphate homeostasis. Phosphate homeostasis is the idea that a cell or bacterium adapts to changing environmental phosphate concentrations. Cells need to adapt to changing phosphate conditions because phosphate is essential to the biochemistry of many cellular processes. A cell therefore, must be able to collect and store phosphate when there is excess or scavenge and utilize stored phosphate in times when there are low levels of extracellular phosphate available. This process is not entirely understood in E.coli or other single celled organisms. A …

The Role Of Wnt Secretion From Neural Crest Cells In Proper Craniofacial Development, Bradley Haynes, Stark Michael

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both Wnt signaling and neural crest cells (NCCs) have a well-established role in the development of facial bones and cartilage. Wnt signaling is known to be required for neural crest cell formation; however, Wnt expression originating from the neural crest after their specification by Wnt1 has not been carefully explored. The purpose of our study is to investigate the role of Wnt secretion from NCCs in craniofacial development. Our hypothesis is that loss of Wnt secretion from NCCs will lead to improper craniofacial development and contribute to facial structure abnormalities.

Novel G-Protein Coupled Receptor Expression And Modulation Of Synaptic Plasticity, Michael Thayer Christensen, Dr. Jeff Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alzheimer’s disease – infamously known for its patients’ loss of memory and other intellectual abilities – is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. Sadly this is just one of many ailments people experience that result in learning and memory loss. Why do so many suffer from these neurodegenerative states? One fundamental problem is that the complex learning and remembering process is not well understood. A specific brain region called the hippocampus is involved in short-term declarative memory; however, many of its intricate signaling pathways that mediate …

Learning Chemistry Through Experimentation, Kyle Long, Jennifer Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For the past five years, Dr. Jennifer Nielson has conducted research in Kampala, Uganda, located in south-central Africa. I have been able to join her for two of the five years, including this past year for nearly three weeks in August. Our research focuses on teaching basic chemistry principle that are difficult to comprehend by using experiments that demonstrate the general concept of atomic structures and functions.