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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Comparison Of Thaumarchaeotal Populations From Four Deep Sea Basins., Stephen Techtmann, Nagissa Mahmoudi, Kendall T Whitt, Maria Fernanda Campa, Julian L Fortney, Dominique C Joyner, Terry C Hazen
Comparison Of Thaumarchaeotal Populations From Four Deep Sea Basins., Stephen Techtmann, Nagissa Mahmoudi, Kendall T Whitt, Maria Fernanda Campa, Julian L Fortney, Dominique C Joyner, Terry C Hazen
Michigan Tech Publications
The nitrogen cycle in the marine environment is strongly affected by ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota. In some marine settings, Thaumarchaeotes can comprise a large percentage of the prokaryotic population. To better understand the biogeographic patterns of Thaumarchaeotes, we sought to investigate differences in their abundance and phylogenetic diversity between geographically distinct basins. Samples were collected from four marine basins (The Caspian Sea, the Great Australian Bight, and the Central and Eastern Mediterranean). The concentration of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes and archaeal amoA genes were assessed using qPCR. Minimum entropy decomposition was used to elucidate the fine-scale diversity of Thaumarchaeotes. We …
Risc-Interacting Clearing 3’- 5’ Exoribonucleases (Rices) Degrade Uridylated Cleavage Fragments To Maintain Functional Risc In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Zhonghui Zhang, Fuqu Hu, Min Woo Sung, Chang Shu, Claudia Castillo-González, Hisashi Koiwa, Guiliang Tang, Martin Dickman, Pingwei Li, Xiuren Zhang
Risc-Interacting Clearing 3’- 5’ Exoribonucleases (Rices) Degrade Uridylated Cleavage Fragments To Maintain Functional Risc In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Zhonghui Zhang, Fuqu Hu, Min Woo Sung, Chang Shu, Claudia Castillo-González, Hisashi Koiwa, Guiliang Tang, Martin Dickman, Pingwei Li, Xiuren Zhang
Michigan Tech Publications
RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) is composed of miRNAs and AGO proteins. AGOs use miRNAs as guides to slice target mRNAs to produce truncated 5’ and 3’ RNA fragments. The 5’ cleaved RNA fragments are marked with uridylation for degradation. Here, we identified novel cofactors of Arabidopsis AGOs, named RICE1 and RICE2. RICE proteins specifically degraded single-strand (ss) RNAs in vitro; but neither miRNAs nor miRNA*s in vivo. RICE1 exhibited a DnaQ-like exonuclease fold and formed a homohexamer with the active sites located at the interfaces between RICE1 subunits. Notably, ectopic expression of catalytically-inactive RICE1 not only significantly reduced miRNA levels; …
Proteomic Profiling Of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon Zizanioides) Under 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Stress, Padmini Das, Dibyendu Sarkar, Rupali Datta
Proteomic Profiling Of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon Zizanioides) Under 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Stress, Padmini Das, Dibyendu Sarkar, Rupali Datta
Michigan Tech Publications
Vetiver grass is an ideal plant for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) phytoremediation, due to its ability to tolerate and metabolize TNT as previously reported. The current study is the first attempt to investigate the changes in the proteomic profile of a plant under TNT stress. Vetiver plants were grown in nutrient media with varying concentrations of TNT (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg L−1) for 10 days. Although the plants appeared healthy, significant biomass reductions (p = 0.0008) were observed in treated plants. Total proteins in the root decreased significantly (p = 0.0003). Proteomic analysis of root proteins revealed the downregulation of …
Enhanced Neurogenesis In Subventricular Zone Of Rats That Voluntarily Ingest Fluoxetine And Simavastatin Combination Treatment, Tiffany L. Flannery
Enhanced Neurogenesis In Subventricular Zone Of Rats That Voluntarily Ingest Fluoxetine And Simavastatin Combination Treatment, Tiffany L. Flannery
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Stroke is one of the leading causes of deaths as the risk factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, are many. We first concentrated on a stress-free way to deliver the drugs. Our preference was to have the animals ingest the drugs, which led us to a reliable method for orally administering medication to the animal models. Using three different drug combinations, we tested the effects on neurogenesis without stroke. We found the drug combination of Fluoxetine/Statin/Ascorbic acid increases neurogenesis 19 fold when compared with control. Lastly, we looked at the gene changes in the cortex of the animal models that had …
Survey Of A Neotropical Anuran Assemblage (Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru), Eric Woebbe
Survey Of A Neotropical Anuran Assemblage (Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru), Eric Woebbe
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The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve of Peru is one of the largest protected areas of the Amazon rainforest, yet it has hosted only a few studies of frogs and toads (anurans). The primary goals of my study are: 1) To conduct an inventory of the local anuran species, 2) to quantify richness among habitats, 3) to compare differences in beta diversity across a river versus a continuous landscape, and 4) to compare difference in body size between nocturnal and diurnal individuals. After eight weeks of daytime and nighttime surveys during the dry season, a total of 601 individuals were identified across …
Infection Prevalence In A Novel Ixodes Scapularis Population In Northern Wisconsin, Mary Lynn Westwood
Infection Prevalence In A Novel Ixodes Scapularis Population In Northern Wisconsin, Mary Lynn Westwood
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Ixodes scapularis (i.e. the blacklegged or deer tick) is an important vector of emerging human pathogens. Over the past few decades, the incidence of blacklegged tick-associated zoonotic diseases have increased in accordance with an expansion of the blacklegged tick geographic range. Data concerning the infection prevalence of blacklegged ticks in this region is highly variable and fragmentary. Using a novel population of these ticks, constituting part of the invasion front in Vilas County, Wisconsin, I examined infection prevalence and vector aspects of their ecology. During the summer of 2016, I collected 461 blacklegged ticks and screened them using a standard …
Impacts Of Invasive Alliaria Petiolata On Two Native Pieridae Butterflies, Anthocharis Midea And Pieris Virginiensis, Danielle Marie Thiemann
Impacts Of Invasive Alliaria Petiolata On Two Native Pieridae Butterflies, Anthocharis Midea And Pieris Virginiensis, Danielle Marie Thiemann
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Invasion of Alliaria petiolata has negative direct and indirect impacts on the systems in which they invade. This study focuses on further identifying impacts which this non-native A. petiolata has on herbivores whose range they have invaded. Oviposition on A. petiolata by the specialist butterfly, Pieris virginiensis, is known to be a mismatch event leading to larval death from sinigrin and alliarinoside. To observe if the related specialist, Anthocharis midea, falls into the same oviposition sink paired plot comparisons between native Cardamine concatenata and non-native A. petiolata were conducted. Early in the season paired-plot comparisons showed a preference for native …
Feeding Selectivity Of An Algivore (Tropheus Brichardi) In Lake Tanganyika, Robin Richardson-Coy
Feeding Selectivity Of An Algivore (Tropheus Brichardi) In Lake Tanganyika, Robin Richardson-Coy
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Algivorous fish remove attached algae (periphyton) from the benthos in near shore areas of lakes. Periphyton has a complex three-dimensional structure dominated by Bacillariophyta (diatoms), Chlorophyta (green algae), and Cyanophyta (cyanobacteria). These three phyla vary in nutritional quality with diatoms providing essential fatty acids that consumers need for growth and reproduction. Selection of specific phyla may be driven by nutritional quality or it may be a function accessibility due to both mouth morphology of the fish and location of the algae in the periphyton community. I investigated whether Tropheus brichardi, an algivorous cichlid of Lake Tanganyika, selectivity feeds on …
The Impacts Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Herbivory On The Forage Quality Of Forest Vegetation, Jonathan David Becker
The Impacts Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Herbivory On The Forage Quality Of Forest Vegetation, Jonathan David Becker
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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are abundant across North America. Deer impact ecosystems, both directly and indirectly. These impacts are driven by the foraging preferences of deer. The energy, protein, mineral, fiber, and secondary metabolite content of plants are important factors that inform the selective herbivory of deer. I examined the interactions between forage quality and deer impacts in northern Wisconsin using deer exclosures. I examined the forage quality of four focal species (Acer saccharum, Maianthemum canadense, Dryopteris intermedia and Carex pensylvanica) in both control and exclosure plots. Forage quality parameters measured were energy, protein, ash, phosphorus, silica, fiber, and saponins. …
Determinants Of Host Use In Tachinid Parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) In Southwest Ohio, Matthew W. Duncan
Determinants Of Host Use In Tachinid Parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae) Of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) In Southwest Ohio, Matthew W. Duncan
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Tachinid parasitoids in the subfamily Phasiinae are important natural enemies of heteropteran bugs. Host location by these flies occurs via antennal reception to the pheromones of their hosts; however little is known regarding the mechanisms which underlie host selection. Halyomorpha halys, the invasive brown marmorated stink bug, represents a potential novel host species in North America. This study was conducted to determine the suitability of H. halys as a host for phasiine species, and to assess cues used in host selection by the species Gymnoclytia occidua. Field attraction to pentatomid pheromones by both phasiines and pentatomids in Southwest Ohio were …
Breeding Bird And Bat Activity Surveys At Dairymen's Inc., Mandy M. Salminen
Breeding Bird And Bat Activity Surveys At Dairymen's Inc., Mandy M. Salminen
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The purpose of this study is to conduct baseline inventories of breeding birds and bat activity for the Dairymen's Inc. property. In addition, I compared the breeding bird communities of two habitats, black ash swamp and alder thickets. I conducted line transects and point counts to collect data on the breeding birds. For bat activity levels, I conducted acoustic point counts on the Dairymen's lakes. The data from this study, was used to predict the outcome of the white-nose syndrome and emerald ash borer becoming part of the landscape. The inventory data will be used to create a baseline for …