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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons And The Microbiomes Of Two Benthic Species, Samantha Ells Aug 2021

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons And The Microbiomes Of Two Benthic Species, Samantha Ells

Master's Theses

The presence of oil has been shown to affect the microbiomes of the water column, sediments, and organisms, both by altering the diversity and the composition of those microbial communities. If the microbiome is altered it may no longer provide benefits to its host organism, impacting its ability to survive. Thus, it is important to understand the effects of large-scale contamination events including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This study set out to examine the effects of oil exposure on the microbiome of two benthic species, southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) and eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to further understand the effects …


Analysis Of The Slo Bay Microbiome From A Network Perspective, Lien Viet Nguyen Jul 2021

Analysis Of The Slo Bay Microbiome From A Network Perspective, Lien Viet Nguyen

Master's Theses

Microorganisms are key players in the ecosystem functioning. In this thesis, we developed a framework to preprocess raw microbiome data, build a correlation network, and analyze co-occurrence patterns between microbes. We then applied this framework to a marine microbiome dataset. The dataset used in this study comes from a year-long time-series to characterize the microbial communities in our coastal waters off the Cal Poly Pier. In analyzing this dataset, we were able to observe and confirm previously discovered patterns of interactions and generate hypotheses about new patterns. The analysis of co-occurrences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa is relatively novel and …


Effects Of Bacterial Metabolites In Conditioned Media On Colon Cancer Proliferation, Hunter Panier May 2021

Effects Of Bacterial Metabolites In Conditioned Media On Colon Cancer Proliferation, Hunter Panier

Master's Theses

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States with colorectal cancer (CRC) being the third most common type. Available treatments include a combination of surgery and chemotherapy but have debilitating side effects. These also have limited effectiveness in some cases, creating the need for additional treatment options, or supplementary treatments to increase their effectiveness. This is leading scientists to consider the microbiome to fix this shortcoming. Current research is focusing on the microbiome and its interactions with certain diseases, which could lead to pro- or prebiotic therapies. This work aims to establish specific bacterial species can …


How Historic Shipwrecks Influence Dispersal Of Deep-Sea Microbiomes, Rachel Moseley May 2021

How Historic Shipwrecks Influence Dispersal Of Deep-Sea Microbiomes, Rachel Moseley

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates how historic shipwrecks potentially shape dispersal of deep-sea microbiomes. Processes impacting dispersal of microbiomes around artificial structures in the ocean and how they connect to other deep-sea habitats is unknown. Dispersal processes are explained for some macroorganisms by theories in ecology, specifically the Theory of Island Biogeography and the Wooden Stepping Stone hypothesis. These have not been investigated for microorganisms, and thus this work will probe if they are applicable to microbial biogeography in this habitat. Experiments were conducted to establish new “island-like” features in near proximity (25-125 m) to wooden-hulled historic shipwrecks in the northern Gulf …