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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Phenotypic Study Of Anthracnose Resistance In Black Walnut And Building A Mapping Population, Sadie D. Land Dec 2019

Phenotypic Study Of Anthracnose Resistance In Black Walnut And Building A Mapping Population, Sadie D. Land

MSU Graduate Theses

Black walnut anthracnose, caused by Gnomonia leptostyla, is the most widespread and destructive disease affecting black walnut trees (Juglans nigra). Breeding cultivars for a higher resistance to anthracnose is a natural and efficient strategy for improving the health and production quality of black walnut trees. The two goals of this study were to reveal that the ‘Sparrow’ cultivar of black walnut contains a significantly higher resistance to anthracnose than the ‘Football’ cultivar when separated from environmental factors, and to expand the ‘Football’ × ‘Sparrow’ F1 mapping population to evaluate how the trait of resistance is inherited in the progeny. A …


Cyclophilin A Enhances Hiv-1 Reverse Transcription In Human Microglial Cells, Zachary Michael Ingram Dec 2019

Cyclophilin A Enhances Hiv-1 Reverse Transcription In Human Microglial Cells, Zachary Michael Ingram

MSU Graduate Theses

Parenchymal microglia represent a susceptible cell type to HIV infection and contribute to HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND). Currently, HIV host-protein interactions in microglia are understudied, but relevant to the design of antiviral drugs. HIV replication events rely on host and viral proteins to evade an immune response while improve replication success. Post-fusion the HIV capsid is released into the cytoplasm and begins trafficking towards the nucleus. During transit viral RNA is transcribed to DNA through reverse transcription (RT). In addition, the HIV capsid that protects the reverse transcription complex disassembles in a step termed uncoating. Once the pre-integration complex …


Elucidating Immune Signaling Of Influenza A Virus And Aspergillus Fumigatus Co-Infections Through Pioneered Model Development, Meagan Danyelle Rippee-Brooks Aug 2019

Elucidating Immune Signaling Of Influenza A Virus And Aspergillus Fumigatus Co-Infections Through Pioneered Model Development, Meagan Danyelle Rippee-Brooks

MSU Graduate Theses

Bacterial co-infections with influenza A virus (IAV) are extremely serious and life-threatening. However, there exists limited understanding about the importance of fungal infections with IAV. Clinical case reports indicate that fungal co-infections do occur and suggest the IAV pandemic of 2009 had a propensity to predispose patients to secondary fungal infections more than previous IAV strains. IAV-fungal co-infections are marked by high mortality rates of 47 to 61% in previously healthy individuals between the ages of 20 and 60. Yet, the variables involved in this co-infection remain undetermined. I achieved effective recapitulation of this co-infection using a C57Bl/6 murine (mouse) …


Characterizing Nodule Endophyte Communities In Glycine Max And Lablab Purpureus Using Next-Generation Sequencing, Scott David Mcelveen Aug 2019

Characterizing Nodule Endophyte Communities In Glycine Max And Lablab Purpureus Using Next-Generation Sequencing, Scott David Mcelveen

MSU Graduate Theses

Biological nitrogen fixation by rhizobia in the root nodules of legumes is a significant source of agricultural nitrogen in global crop production systems. The influence of and interaction of factors involved in nodule endophyte selection remain poorly understood. In the present study, the influences of crop rotation (soybean-legume vs. cotton-legume) and recalcitrant soil organic matter (compost amendment) on the relative distribution of endophytic bacteria in the root nodules of greenhouse-grown soybean and lablab were investigated by extracting, amplifying, and sequencing 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and nifH genes. Neither preceding crop nor compost amendment were found to have an influence on …


Kinetics Of Hiv-1 Uncoating In C20 Microglial Cells, Melanie Anne Taylor May 2019

Kinetics Of Hiv-1 Uncoating In C20 Microglial Cells, Melanie Anne Taylor

MSU Graduate Theses

Uncoating is a poorly understood yet required step of HIV-1 replication that is defined as the disassembly of the viral capsid structure. The goal of this project is to characterize uncoating in C20 microglial cells. These cells are a natural target of HIV-1 that are infected to establish latent viral reservoirs and HIV-associated neurological disorders. A stable C20 cell line that expresses TRIM-CypA was established to study the kinetics of uncoating with the CsA washout assay. The expression of TRIM-CypA was confirmed by western blot and the functionality of the protein was confirmed by a viral infectivity assay. Using this …