Life Sciences Commons^™

Elevated Co2 Induced Changes In The Chemistry Of Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides Michaux) Leaf Litter: Subsequent Mass Loss And Microbial Response In A Stream Ecosystem, Steven Rier, Nancy Tuchman, Robert Wetzel, James Teeri

Nancy Tuchman

No abstract provided.

Bacterial Diversity And Function Within An Epigenic Cave System And Implications For Other Limestone Cave Systems, Kathleen Merritt Brannen-Donnelly

Doctoral Dissertations

There are approximately 48,000 known cave systems in the United States of America, with caves formed in carbonate karst terrains being the most common. Epigenic systems develop from the downward flow of meteoric water through carbonate bedrock and the solutional enlargement of interconnected subsurface conduits. Despite carbonate karst aquifers being globally extensive and important drinking water sources, microbial diversity and function are poorly understood compared to other Earth environments. After several decades of research, studies have shown that microorganisms in caves affect water quality, rates of carbonate dissolution and precipitation, and ecosystem nutrition through organic matter cycling. However, limited prior …

Scardovia Wiggsiae Prevalence In Orthodontic Patients, Brandon Joseph Streiff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Dental caries has mainly been associated with Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces and Veillonella species. But in recent salivary studies a new cariogenic pathogen, has been identified. This new bacteria, Scardovia wiggsiae (SW), is currently being tested within the UNLV School of Dental Medicine patient population. Although these current studies are being conducted to study its prevalence in both pediatric and adult populations, it has not been evaluated among patients with an altered oral environment as seen in patients with orthodontic appliances. Fixed orthodontic appliances increase the difficulty of removing daily plaque on and in between the teeth with standard oral hygiene …

Rare Occurrences Of Free-Living Bacteria Belonging To Sedimenticola From Subtidal Seagrass Beds Associated With The Lucinid Clam, Stewartia Floridana, Aaron M. Goemann

Masters Theses

Lucinid clams and their sulfur-oxidizing endosymbionts comprise two compartments of a three-stage, biogeochemical relationship among the clams, seagrasses, and microbial communities in marine sediments. A population of the lucinid clam, Stewartia floridana, was sampled from a subtidal seagrass bed at Bokeelia Island Seaport in Florida to test the hypotheses: (1) S. floridana, like other lucinids, are more abundant in seagrass beds than bare sediments; (2) S. floridana gill microbiomes are dominated by one bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) at a sequence similarity threshold level of 97% (a common cutoff for species level taxonomy) from 16S rRNA genes; …

A Newly Discovered Bordetella Species Carries A Transcriptionally Active Crispr-Cas With A Small Cas9 Endonuclease, Yury V. Ivanov, Nikki Shariat, Karen B. Register, Bodo Linz, Israel Rivera, Kai Hu, Edward G. Dudley, Eric T. Harvill

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated genes (cas) are widely distributed among bacteria. These systems provide adaptive immunity against mobile genetic elements specified by the spacer sequences stored within the CRISPR.

Methods

The CRISPR-Cas system has been identified using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) against other sequenced and annotated genomes and confirmed via CRISPRfinder program. Using Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) and Sanger DNA sequencing, we discovered CRISPRs in additional bacterial isolates of the same species of Bordetella. Transcriptional activity and processing of the CRISPR have been assessed via RT-PCR.

Results

Here we …

Image-Charge Detection €“ Novel Instrumentation And Applications, Brandon Lee Barney

Theses and Dissertations

Image-charge detection is an analytical technique in which a highly-charged particle is detected by the magnitude of the image current that it generates in a detecting electrode. This current is represented as a voltage between the charged particle and the sensing electrode. It is a single particle detection method, ideal for the analysis of large, variable mass particles such as biological cells. Some of the physical properties of Bacillus subtilis spores were explored using different applications of image-charge detection. B. subtilis is a gram-negative spore-forming bacteria that has been shown to exhibit extremophile behavior. The particular extremophile behavior that was …

Engineering Novel Detection And Treatment Strategies For Bacterial Therapy Of Cancer, Jan T. Panteli

Doctoral Dissertations

Finding and treating cancer is difficult due to limited sensitivity and specificity of current detection and treatment strategies. Many chemotherapeutic drugs are small molecules that are limited by diffusion, making it difficult to reach cancer sites requiring high doses that lead to systemic toxicity and off-target effects. Tomographic detection techniques, like PET, MRI and CT, are good at identifying macroscopic lesions in the body but are limited in their ability to detect microscopic lesions. Biomarker detection strategies are extremely sensitive and able to identify ng/ml concentrations of protein, but are poor at discriminating between healthy and disease state levels due …

Application Of Β-Lactamase Reporter Fusions As An Indicator Of Effector Protein Secretion During Infections With The Obligate Intracellular Pathogen Chlamydia Trachomatis , Konrad E. Mueller, Kenneth A. Fields

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Chlamydia spp. utilize multiple secretion systems, including the type III secretion system (T3SS), to deploy host-interactive effector proteins into infected host cells. Elucidation of secreted proteins has traditionally required ectopic expression in a surrogate T3SS followed by immunolocalization of endogenous candidate effectors to confirm secretion by chlamydiae. The ability to transform Chlamydia and achieve stable expression of recombinant gene products has enabled a more direct assessment of secretion. We adapted TEM-1 β-lactamase as a reporter system for assessment of chlamydial protein secretion. We provide evidence that this system facilitates visualization of secretion in the context of infection. Specifically, our findings …

The Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, Anna Kopf, Mesude Bicak, Renzo Kottman, Julia Schnetzer, Ivaylo Kostadinov, Katja Lehmann, Antonio Fernandez-Guerra, Christian Jeanthon, Eyal Rahav, Matthias Ulrich, Antje Wichels, Gunnar Gerdts, Paraskevi Polymenakou, Giorgos Kotoulas, Rania Siam, Rehab Z. Abdallah, Eva C. Sonnenschein, Thierry Cariou, Fergal O'Gara, Stephen Jackson, Sandi Orlic, Michael Steinke, Julia Busch, Bernardo Duarte, Isabel Caçador, João Canning-Clode, Oleksandra Bobrova, Viggo Marteinsson, Eyjolfur Reynisson, Clara Magalhães Loureiro, Gian Marco Luna, Grazia Marina Quero, Carolin R. Löscher, Anke Kremp, Marie E. Delorenzo, Lise Øvreås, Jennifer Tolman, Julie Laroche, Antonella Penna, Marc Frischer, Timothy Davis, Barker Katherine, Christopher P. Meyer, Sandra Ramos, Catarina Magalhães, Florence Jude-Lemeilleur, Ma Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, Shiao Y. Wang, Nicole Poulton, Scott Jones, Rachel Collin, Jed A. Fuhrman, Pascal Conan, Cecilia Alonso, Noga Stambler, Kelly Goodwin, Michael M. Yakimov, Federico Baltar, Levente Bodrossy, Jodie Van De Kamp, Dion Mf Frampton, Martin Ostrowski, Paul Van Ruth, Paul Malthouse, Simon Claus, Klaas Deneudt, Jonas Mortelmans, Sophie Pitois, David Wallom, Ian Salter, Rodrigo Costa, Declan C. Schroeder, Mahrous M. Kandil, Valentina Amaral, Florencia Biancalana, Rafael Santana, Maria Luiza Pedrotti, Takashi Yoshida, Hiroyuki Ogata, Tim Ingleton, Kate Munnik, Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, Veronique Berteaux-Lecellier, Patricia Wecker, Ibon Cancio, Daniel Valout, Christina Bienhold, Hassan Ghazal, Bouchra Chaouni, Soumya Essayeh, Sara Ettamimi, El Houcine Zaid, Noureddine Boukhatem, Abderrahim Bouali, Rajaa Chahboune, Said Barrijal, Mohammed Timinouni, Fatima El Otmani, Mohamed Bennani, Marianna Mea, Nadezhda Todorova, Ventzislav Karamfilov, Petra Ten Hoopten, Guy Cochrane, Stephanie L'Haridon, Kemal Can Bizel, Alessandro Vezzi, Federico M. Lauro, Patrick Martin, Rachelle M. Jensen, Jamie Hinks, Susan Gebbels, Riccardo Rosselli, Fabio De Pascale, Riccardo Schiavon, Antonina Dos Santos, Emilie Villar, Stéphane Pesant, Bruno Cataletto, Francesca Malfatti, Ranjith Edirisinghe, Jorge A. Herrera Silveira, Michele Barbier, Valentina Turk, Tinkara Tinta, Wayne J. Fuller, Ilkay Salihoglu, Nedime Serakinci, Mahmut Cerkez Ergoren, Eileen Bresnan, Juan Iriberri, Paul Anders Fronth Nyhus, Edvardsen Bente, Hans Erik Karlsen, Peter N. Golyshin, Josep M. Gasol, Snejana Moncheva, Nina Dzhembekova, Zackary Johnson, Christopher Daivd Sinigalliano, Maribeth Louise Gidley, Adriana Zingone, Roberto Danovaro, George Tsiamis, Melody S. Clark, Ana Cristina Costa, Monia El Bour, Ana M. Martins, R. Eric Collins, Anne-Lise Ducluzeau, Jonathan Martinez, Mark J. Costello, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Jack A. Gilbert, Neil Davies, Dawn Field, Frank Oliver Glöckner

Faculty Publications

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits.

High Salinity Stabilizes Bacterial Community Composition And Activity Through Time, Tylan Wayne Magnusson

Theses and Dissertations

Dormancy is a plausible strategy for bacteria to overcome the effects of temporal fluctuations in resources or stresses and await more “optimal” conditions to resume metabolic activity and growth. Seasonal changes in environmental conditions force microbes to adjust their metabolic activity accordingly, and community composition drastically shifts. In extreme environments, however, the overriding effects of a constant stress may constrain the need or benefit of bacteria entering dormancy. In hypersaline lakes, high metabolic activity is required to maintain adaptations that permit survival. Sampling from six lakes on a salinity gradient (0.05% – 30.3%), we measured seasonal fluctuations in bacterial dormancy …

Antibacterial Activity Of Native California Medicinal Plant Extracts Isolated From Rhamnus Californica And Umbellularia Californica., Maria G. Carranza, Mary B. Sevigny, Debashree Banerjee, Lacie Fox-Cubley

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global public health. Medicinal plants have long been used as remedies for infectious diseases by native cultures around the world and have the potential for providing effective treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. Rhamnus californica (Rhamnaceae) and Umbellularia californica (Lauraceae) are two indigenous California plant species historically used by Native Americans to treat skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. This study aimed to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of leaves and bark of R. and U. californica against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

METHODS: Methanolic …

Dna Analysis Of Surfactant Associated Bacteria In The Sea Surface Microlayer In Application To Satellite Remote Sensing Techniques: Case Studies In The Straits Of Florida And The Gulf Of Mexico, Bryan Hamilton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Several genera of bacteria residing in the sea surface microlayer and in the near-surface layer of the ocean have been found to be involved in the production and decay of surfactants. Under low wind speed conditions, surfactants can suppress short gravity capillary waves at the sea surface and form natural sea slicks. These features can be observed with both airborne and satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Using a new microlayer sampling method, a series of experiments have been conducted in the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in 2013 to establish a connection between the presence of surfactant-associated …

Anaerobic Detoxification Of Acetic Acid In A Thermophilic Ethanologen, A Joe Shaw, Bethany B. Miller, Stephen R. Rogers, William Robert Kenealy, Alex Meola, Ashwini Bhandiwad, W Ryan Sillers, Indraneel Shikhare, David Hogsett, Christopher Herring

Dartmouth Scholarship

The liberation of acetate from hemicellulose negatively impacts fermentations of cellulosic biomass, limiting the concentrations of substrate that can be effectively processed. Solvent-producing bacteria have the capacity to convert acetate to the less toxic product acetone, but to the best of our knowledge, this trait has not been transferred to an organism that produces ethanol at high yield. We have engineered a five-step metabolic pathway to convert acetic acid to acetone in the thermophilic anaerobe Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum.

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Comparative Analysis Of Anti-Bd Bacteria From Six Malagasy Frog Species Of Ranomafana National Park, Kelsey Savage

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As Malagasy amphibians are facing an impending extinction crisis from the lethal skin fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), it has become imperative to proactively mitigate the threat. Bd sporangia develop in the skin of infected amphibians and cause the skin to thicken, leading to ionic imbalance and eventual heart failure. It has been shown that certain bacterial species are able to inhibit Bd growth on amphibians by producing antifungal metabolites. Community-based probiotics are one approach used to combat chytridomycosis by inoculating an environment with Bd-inhibitory bacteria so that many amphibian species are treated at once. With this method, it is important …

Is There Specificity In A Defensive Mutualism Against Soil Versus Lab Nematodes, Dictyostelium Discoideum Farmers And Their Bacteria?, Boahemaa Adu-Oppong,, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Background: The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a soil-dwelling microbe, which lives most of its life cycle in the vegetative stage as a predator of bacteria and as prey for nematodes. When bacteria are sparse, amoebae aggregate into a multicellular fruiting body. Some clones of D. discoideum have agriculture (Brock et al., 2011). They carry bacteria through the social stage, eat them prudently, and use some bacteria as defence against non-farming D. discoideum competitors. Caenorhabditis elegans preys on D. discoideum in the laboratory but does not encounter it in nature because C. elegans lives on rotten fruit. The nematode …

Examining Phage Infection Utilizing Mycobacterium Smegmatis, Tanya L. Riddick

Undergraduate Research

Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are viruses that are ubiquitous and survive and replicate within the host of the bacterial cell, Mycobacterium smegmatis. They are considered one of the most abundant organisms on earth (10³¹). Structurally, they are 100-200nm in size and consist of a protein encapsulated head that contains DNA or RNA, a tail sheath and tail fibers. This research consisted of examining phage infection, by re-isolating a novel phage, Tango. Tango was originally isolated genetically in 2013 by a previous ISBT student, Anna Maccarrone. The phage was sent to genetic sequencing but two phages were discovered, …

Microbial Communities Of The Providence River, Jacqueline Kratch

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The Providence River has been industrialized for over one-hundred years. Industries such as oil storage and metal recycling facilities have left high levels of pollutant metals, including lead (Pb), in the soil and water. The elevated Pb concentrations in these environments influence the selection of Pb resistance mechanisms in the bacterial community1. One mechanism of heavy metal resistance is the Pb efflux pump, consisting of proteins in the cell membrane that aid in the transport of Pb out of the cell2. In this study we investigated the co-occurrence of Pb efflux pumps and antibiotic efflux pumps in bacteria from Pb …

Identification Of Bacterial Species Using Colony Pcr, Kaiti Walker

Honors Theses

My research consisted of two separate parts, both involving the PCR methods. In part one I was trying to identify bacteria isolated from a chicken coop. In part two I was trying to identify bacteria isolated from the bluff. In both parts, I used a technique called colony PCR. This concept uses a single colony of bacteria to complete the PCR reaction. One pipet tip from a single colony is selected from the plate and mixed into a tube containing ultrapure water. A small amount of this bacterial mixture is then added into the PCR reaction. In the first part …

Potential For Biocontrol Of Environmental Vibrio Spp. By Predatory Bacteria Bacteriovorax, Patrick Tennis

OES Theses and Dissertations

The scale of predator-prey interactions varies from the iconic (e.g., lions and gazelles) to the microscopic (e.g., protists and bacteria). Bdellovibrio-and-like-organisms (BALOs) are bacteria that prey upon other Gram-negative bacteria, including pathogens. In particular, the halophilic genus Vibrio, many species of which are disease agents, has been shown to be susceptible to attack by BALOs. One motivation of the present research is to assess the potential for biocontrol of Vibrio by Bacteriovorax. This investigation is the first to test the susceptibility of Vibrio strains (n = 26) originating from a variety of geographic locations to predation by …

A Response Regulator From A Soil Metagenome Enhances Resistance To The Β-Lactam Antibiotic Carbenicillin In Escherichia Coli, Heather K. Allen, Ran An, Jo Handelsman, Luke A. Moe

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Functional metagenomic analysis of soil metagenomes is a method for uncovering as-yet unidentified mechanisms for antibiotic resistance. Here we report an unconventional mode by which a response regulator derived from a soil metagenome confers resistance to the β-lactam antibiotic carbenicillin in Escherichia coli. A recombinant clone (βlr16) harboring a 5,169 bp DNA insert was selected from a metagenomic library previously constructed from a remote Alaskan soil. The βlr16 clone conferred specific resistance to carbenicillin, with limited increases in resistance to other tested antibiotics, including other β-lactams (penicillins and cephalosporins), rifampin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, fusidic acid, and gentamicin. Resistance …

Characterization Of Two Biochars Derived From Horse Muck And Their Ability To Reduce Pathogen Transport In Soil, David Griffith

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Biochars have been created and characterized from a variety livestock manure biomass including poultry, dairy, and swine. However, no research has been conducted on the physical and chemical makeup of biochar pyrolyzed from horse muck. Two horse muck derived biochars containing either straw (HS) or woodchip (HW) bedding were pyrolyzed at 700°C and characterized for their physical and chemical properties. Tests revealed both biochars had high alkalinity, moderate specific conductivity, and low surface area as compared to other biochars in the literature. HS contained more mineral structures than HW. Scanning electron microscopy presented differences in particle shape, size, and presence …

Anthropogenic Litter And Microplastic In Urban Streams: Abundance, Source, And Fate, Amanda Rae Mccormick

Master's Theses

The accumulation and ecological effects of anthropogenic litter (AL) and microplastic are well-documented in marine ecosystems, but these materials’ abundances in rivers is unknown. AL enters rivers from recreation, runoff, and illegal dumping. Microplastic fibers and pellets are abundant in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent which enters rivers. Our objectives were to: (1) quantify AL abundance and composition in urban streams, (2) measure AL flux, accumulation, and export, and (3) measure riverine microplastic concentration and analyze its bacterial communities. We collected AL from 5 urban streams and observed greater AL density in riparian habitats and greater mass in benthic habitats. …

Integrated Nanoscale Imaging And Spatial Recognition Of Biomolecules On Surfaces, Congzhou Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Biomolecules on cell surfaces play critical roles in diverse biological and physiological processes. However, conventional bulk scale techniques are unable to clarify the density and distribution of specific biomolecules in situ on single, living cell surfaces at the micro or nanoscale. In this work, a single cell analysis technique based on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is developed to spatially identify biomolecules and characterize nanomechanical properties on single cell surfaces. The unique advantage of these AFM-based techniques lies in the ability to operate in situ (in a non-destructive fashion) and in real time, under physiological conditions or controlled micro-environments.

First, AFM-based …

Mechanisms Of Antimicrobial Resistant Salmonella Enterica Transmission Associated With Starling–Livestock Interactions, James C. Carlson, Doreene R. Hyatt, Jeremy W. Ellis, David R. Pipkin, Anna M. Mangan, Michael Russell, Denise S. Bolte, Richard M. Engeman, Thomas J. Deliberto, George M. Linz

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bird–livestock interactions have been implicated as potential sources for bacteria within concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in particular are known to contaminate cattle feed and water with Salmonella enterica through their fecal waste.We propose that fecal waste is not the only mechanisms through which starlings introduce S. enterica to CAFO. The goal of this study was to assess if starlings can mechanically move S. enterica. We define mechanical movement as the transportation of media containing S. enterica, on the exterior of starlings within CAFO.We collected 100 starlings and obtained external wash and gastrointestinal tract (GI) samples. …

Molecular Characterization Of Salmonella Enterica Isolates Associated With Starling–Livestock Interactions, James C. Carlson, Doreene R. Hyatt, Kevin Bentler, Anna M. Mangan, Michael Russell, Antoinette J. Piaggio, George M. Linz

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bird–livestock interactions have been implicated as potential sources for bacteria within concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). In this study we characterized XbaIdigested genomic DNA from Salmonella enterica using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The PFGE analysis was conducted using 182 S. enterica isolates collected from a single CAFO between 2009 and 2012. Samples collected in 2012 were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The analysis was limited to S. enterica serotypes, with at least 10 isolates, known to occur in both European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and cattle (Bos taurus) within this CAFO. A total of five different serotypes were screened; S. Anatum, …

New Tracer To Estimate Community Predation Rates Of Phagotrophic Protists, Alexander B. Bochdansky, Melissa A. Clouse

OES Faculty Publications

Predation of eukaryotic microbes on prokaryotes is one of the most important trophic interactions on Earth, representing a major mortality term and shaping morphology and composition of prokaryotic communities. Here we introduce and validate a new tracer to determine predation rates on prokaryotes. Minicells of Escherichia coli marked with a bright green fluorescent protein (GFP) vector have many operational advantages over previously used prey analogs such as fluorescently labeled bacteria. GFP-minicells are similar in size to naturally occurring bacteria from a variety of environments including the oligotrophic open ocean and the deep sea. They are relatively stable against microbial and …

Assessment Of A Metaviromic Dataset Generated From Nearshore Lake Michigan, Siobhan C. Watkins, Neil Kuehnle, C Anthony Ruggeri, Kema Malki, Katherine Bruder, Jinan Elayyan, Kristina Damisch, Naushin Vahora, Paul O'Malley, Brianne Ruggles-Sage, Zachary Romer, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

Bacteriophages are powerful ecosystem engineers. They drive bacterial mortality rates and genetic diversity, and affect microbially mediated biogeochemical processes on a global scale. This has been demonstrated in marine environments; however, phage communities have been less studied in freshwaters, despite representing a potentially more diverse environment. Lake Michigan is one of the largest bodies of freshwater on the planet, yet to date the diversity of its phages has yet to be examined. Here, we present a composite survey of viral ecology in the nearshore waters of Lake Michigan. Sequence analysis was performed using a web server previously used to analyse …

Growth And Gas Production Of A Novel Obligatory Heterofermentative Cheddar Cheese Nonstarter Lactobacilli Species On Ribose And Galactose, Western Dairy Center, Utah State University, Megan Jane Ostler, Jeff Broadbent, Craig J. Oberg, Donald J. Mcmahon

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

An obligatory heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus wasatchii sp. nov., isolated from gassy Cheddar cheese was studied for growth, gas formation, salt tolerance, and survival against pasteurization treatments at 63°C and 72°C. Initially, Lb. wasatchii was thought to use only ribose as a sugar source and we were interested in whether it could also utilize galactose. We conducted experiments to determine the rate and extent of growth and gas production in carbohydraterestricted (CR) de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium under anaerobic conditions with various combinations of ribose and galactose at 12, 23, and 37°C, with 23°C being the optimum …

Characterization Of The Interaction Between Ftsz-Ring Stabilizer Zapc And The Conserved Protease Clpxp In E. Coli Cytokinesis, Andrea Cardenas Arevalo

Dissertations and Theses

Cell division in bacteria requires the assembly of a macromolecular protein machinery at midcell that is spatiotemporally regulated during the bacterial cell cycle. Central to the process of division is the assembly of a cytokinetic ring-like structure, termed the Z-ring, formed by polymers of the essential tubulin-homolog FtsZ. Polymerization of FtsZ is regulated by a number of proteins that bind FtsZ and regulate its assembly/disassembly mechanisms. Despite being extensively studied, the molecular nature of the diverse protein-protein interactions that regulate the assembly of FtsZ during early stages of division is not well understood. Here, I focus on an FtsZ-ring stabilizer …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Moose Rumen Microbiota And The Pursuit Of Improving Fibrolytic Systems., Suzanne Ishaq Pellegrini

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The goal of the work presented herein was to further our understanding of the rumen microbiota and microbiome of wild moose, and to use that understanding to improve other processes. The moose has adapted to eating a diet of woody browse, which is very high in fiber, but low in digestibility due to the complexity of the plant polysaccharides, and the presence of tannins, lignin, and other plant-secondary compounds. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the moose would host novel microorganisms that would be capable of a wide variety of enzymatic functions, such as improved fiber breakdown, metabolism of digestibility-reducing or …