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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Molecular Basis Of Corynebacterium Diphtheriae Virulence And Infection In The Caenorhabditis Elegans Model Host, Melissa M. Broadway
Molecular Basis Of Corynebacterium Diphtheriae Virulence And Infection In The Caenorhabditis Elegans Model Host, Melissa M. Broadway
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the causative agent of cutaneous and pharyngeal diphtheria in humans. While lethality is certainly caused by diphtheria toxin, corynebacterial colonization may primarily require proteinaceous fibers called pili, which mediate adherence to specific tissues. The type strain of C. diphtheriae possesses three distinct pilus structures, namely the SpaA, SpaD, and SpaH-type pili, which are encoded by three distinct pilus gene clusters. The pilus is assembled onto the bacterial peptidoglycan by a specific transpeptidase enzyme called sortase. Although the SpaA pili are shown to be specific for pharyngeal cells in vitro, little is known about functions of the three …
Mechanisms Of Presynaptic Cav2 Calcium Channel Localization In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yasunori Saheki
Mechanisms Of Presynaptic Cav2 Calcium Channel Localization In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yasunori Saheki
Student Theses and Dissertations
Neurotransmitter release at nerve terminals is a fundamental aspect of communication in the nervous system. Voltage changes in the presynaptic membrane are sensed by presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels that mediate calcium influx at the nerve terminals to execute exocytosis of various kinds of neurotransmitters. Defects in presynaptic calcium channels lead to many neurological disorders, emphasizing the importance of these channels in the regulation of neuronal activities in the brain. Previous physiological studies have focused on opening kinetics of the channels and their modulation by auxiliary subunits. Cell biological questions such as trafficking and clustering of the channels at the presynaptic …
Mechanisms For Maintaining Cell Identity In C.Elegans Olfactory Neurons, Bluma J. Lesch
Mechanisms For Maintaining Cell Identity In C.Elegans Olfactory Neurons, Bluma J. Lesch
Student Theses and Dissertations
Maintenance of cell identity is a complex process that depends on developmentally determined transcriptional states and on environmental input. In neurons, which are both highly differentiated and highly sensitive to external stimuli, maintenance of identity is especially challenging. In this thesis, I describe the isolation and characterization of several genes involved in maintaining the identities of two olfactory neuron subtypes, AWCON and AWCOFF, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The AWCON and AWCOFF identities are specified by a stochastic decision during embryogenesis, but several of the genes involved in this embryonic decision are subsequently downregulated. Additional mechanisms must therefore act to …
The Model System C. Elegans Demonstrates The Health Benefits Of Legumes And The Potential Benefits Of Legume Consumption, Carla Michele Sandlin
The Model System C. Elegans Demonstrates The Health Benefits Of Legumes And The Potential Benefits Of Legume Consumption, Carla Michele Sandlin
LSU Master's Theses
Legumes are high in protein and are a good source of fiber and folate. They contain beneficial oligosaccharides, plant sterols and phenolics. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the health benefits of legumes using the model system Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Nine legumes (black beans, cranberry beans, dark red beans, great northern beans, large lima beans, lentils, light red kidney beans, navy beans and white kidney beans) were tested in the C. elegans model system. The various legume samples were ground using a centrifugal mill to 0.75mm, suspended in water (1% w/v) solution and autoclaved. C. elegans were …