Life Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Secondary Structure In Bacteriophage Programmed Frameshift Elements, Samuel Okabayashi, Sean Mcclory

HON499 projects

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and reproduce using host bacterial components. Part of the bacteriophage reproduction is assembly of the tail complex, which requires two assembly chaperone (TAC) proteins. In many phages the TAC’s are produced from a single gene through a non-canonical process called programmed translational frameshifting (PTF). The SEA-PHAGES program has produced hundreds of TAC genes that are accessible through phagesdb, a database of sequenced and annotated phage genomes. The sequences for the TAC gene were gathered from phagesdb and analyzed using ClustalOmega; a multiple sequence alignment (MSA) tool which revealed several positions where total conservation was …

9th Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium, University Of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Association

Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium Abstracts

The mission of the Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) is to provide a platform for talented postdoctoral fellows throughout the Texas Medical Center to present their work to a wider audience. The MD Anderson Postdoctoral Association convened its inaugural Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) on August 4, 2011.

The APSS provides a professional venue for postdoctoral scientists to develop, clarify, and refine their research as a result of formal reviews and critiques of faculty and other postdoctoral scientists. Additionally, attendees discuss current research on a broad range of subjects while promoting academic interactions and enrichment and developing new collaborations.

Investigating The Role Of Free Radicals In Huntington's Disease Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Jennifer Libov

Honors Theses

During normal cell metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced as a byproduct of oxidative phosphorylation. ROS are utilized in the cell as a signaling molecule and can be maintained at healthy levels by cellular antioxidants. However, when the cell experiences oxidative stress due to environmental or genetic conditions, levels of ROS can exceed healthy levels and inhibit necessary life functions by damaging biomolecules and cellular structures. This loss of function can lead to physiological decline and neurodegeneration, such as in diseases like Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and, potentially, Huntington’s disease. The following experiments use the model genetic organism …

Application And Refinement Of Molecular Ecology Techniques For Amphibian Conservation, Stephanie Marie Burgess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wildlife conservation has become increasingly difficult due to habitat loss habitat fragmentation and land use change. Thus conservationists have embraced advances in molecular ecology such as landscape genetics and microbial bioinformatics that employ genetic techniques to further understand the relationship between individuals and their environment. In landscape genetics model inferences can be used to identify features that facilitate or resist gene flow providing a framework for anticipating the impacts of land use changes on a species’ ability to disperse. However the factors that affect the transferability of landscape genetics inferences are poorly understood and little is known about the effect …