Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Modeling Nonsegmented Negative-Strand Rna Virus (Nnsv) Transcription With Ejective Polymerase Collisions And Biased Diffusion, Felipe-Andres Piedra

Research Symposium

Background: The textbook model of NNSV transcription predicts a gene expression gradient. However, multiple studies show non-gradient gene expression patterns or data inconsistent with a simple gradient. Regarding the latter, several studies show a dramatic decrease in gene expression over the last two genes of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) genome (a highly studied NNSV). The textbook model cannot explain these phenomena.

Methods: Computational models of RSV and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV – another highly studied NNSV) transcription were written in the Python programming language using the Scientific Python Development Environment. The model code is freely available on GitHub: …

Challenges In Genetic Counseling In Hereditary Cancer Syndromes In A Mexican Oncologic Center, Diana Cristina Perez-Ibave, Diana Cristina De Lourdes Perez Ibave, María Fernanda Noriega-Iriondo, Omar Alejandro Zayas-Villanueva, Fernando Alcorta-Nuñez, Juan Francisco González-Guerrero, Adelina Alcorta-Garza, David Hernandez-Barajas, Oscar Vidal-Gutierrez, Carlos Horacio Burciaga-Flores

Research Symposium

Background: In Mexico, hereditary cancer is underdiagnosed, medical geneticists give genetic counseling, but the access is limited due to the socio-economic characteristics of the population. The CUCC (Centro Universitario Contra el Cáncer) Early Cancer Detection Clinic (CECIL) created a model in which patients without cancer are enrolled in a prevention cancer screening program.

Methods: From 2016 to 2021, 3014 patients were enrolled in the prevention program. Patients were evaluated with a hereditary cancer risk survey before a consultation. Those with at least one familial hereditary risk positive answer were assessed in a consultation. We also included patients with cancer diagnoses …

Ethical Issues And Standards Of Responsible Research Conduct And Monitoring In An Adventist Institution Of Higher Learning - The Babcock Experience, Kayode O. Ogunwenmo, Godswill N. Anyasor, Grace O. Tayo

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

Ethical issues and standards of responsible research conduct involving human participants are important considerations in any institution of higher learning and in particular Adventist institutions. Research conduct and ethics are reviewed and approved before they begin by the Babcock University Health Research Ethics Committee (BUHREC)

Effects Of Post-Translational Histone Modifications On Transcription Rate, Aaron Bohn

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Rnai Technology To Develop Novel Agricultural Pesticides, Ethan B. Zand

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A general description of why RNAi based pesticide technology is a breakthrough technology able to target only pests while not harming others. This presentation gives a summary of RNAi technology, the current drawbacks of conventional pesticides, and our research on how RNAi can be used against the two-spotted spidermite; a polyphagic pest that causes significant financial damage to Canadian and worldwide agriculture

Proteomic Analysis Of The Expression Of Masp1 Dragline Silk Protein In E. Coli, Sophie Rae Pazzo, Rajan Amit Patel, Kamrin Athwal, Edward Kim

Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC)

No abstract provided.

Fine-Scale Morphological Divergence Of Wing Trait Variables In Highly Fragmented Populations Of The Bog Copper Butterfly (Lycaena Epixanthe), Jessica L. T. Jeong

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Habitat fragmentation can adversely affect animal and plant species through subdividing their natural habitats into smaller, more isolated patches. Oftentimes, these isolated groups are subject to reduced dispersal and gene flow, leading to genetic divergence and, consequently, morphological divergence among populations. This study aims to quantify the morphological divergence of the bog copper butterfly, Lycaena epixanthe, between nine isolated bog sites in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, via seven quantitative morphological traits in their wing pattern. Statistical analyses demonstrate significant differences in wing trait measurements between populations. As bog coppers are small, weak fliers with a strict host-plant dependency, it …

Creating A Protein Chimera To Study Regulation Of Muscle Diversity, Shannon Scarboro

Symposium of Student Scholars

Creating a protein chimera to study regulation of muscle diversity.

Body muscles are made of many individual super-cells, called muscle fibers, that have distinct properties and determine every individual’s strength and endurance. Initially all muscle fibers have identical characteristics, but become differentiated into specific types in adults. The mechanism of such transition is not well understood, despite its obvious importance for shaping human physicality.

Remarkable conservation of the muscle tissue enables us to use fruit flies to study the mechanisms of muscle fiber diversity. We hypothesized that the transcription factor Mef2 acts as a molecular switch that activates structural genes …

Evolutionary Conservation Of The Heterochronic Pathway In C. Elegans And C. Briggsae, Maria Ivanova, Eric G. Moss

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Heterochronic genes control the sequence and timing of developmental events during four larval stages of Caenorhabitis nematodes. Mutations in these genes may cause skipping or reiteration of developmental events.

C. briggsae is a close relative of C. elegans. These species have similar morphology and share the same ecological niche. C. briggsae undergoes the same developmental pathway consisting of four larval stages before reaching adulthood. It also has the same set of heterochronic genes.

Lin-28 is one of the heterochronic genes that also exists in other animals from flies to humans. It conservatively blocks the maturation of let-7 miRNA, the process …

Genetic Polymorphism Of Bitter Taste Perception In Tempe, Arizona And Its Association With Nutritional Status, Daniel Woodley, Benjamin Cabrera

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Circadian Rhythmicity And Neurodevelopment Of Disco And Grim Mutations In Drosophila Melanogaster, John Patrick Story

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

The death gene grim and its pathway for apoptosis has been studied extensively in Drosophila Melanogaster. The effects of grim mutations on circadian neurodevelopment and locomotor assays have yet to be investigated. Mutations in the gene disconnected (disco) has been shown to disrupt the normal development of the circadian circuitry, specifically the small ventro-lateral neurons (s-LNv’s). Which has shown to severely decrease rhythmicity during free-running periods. Alternatively, we have observed an increase in rhythmicity during free-running periods in grim mutations. Our goal is to investigate the neurodevelopment of the circadian circuitry and their associated locomotor activities in these Drosophila mutations.

Performing A Genetic Screen To Identify Factors That Promote Lncrna-Dependent Gene Repression, Chrishan Fernando, Cecilia Yiu, Sara Cloutier, Siwen Wang, Elizabeth Tran

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were once thought not to have useful functions in organisms but rather to be products of aberrant transcription. However, roles are being found for lncRNAs in beneficial processes such as controlling gene expression. In some of these cases, lncRNAs form R-loops in vivo. R-loops are nucleic acid structures consisting of hybridized strands of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) as well as the displaced strand of ssDNA. Formation of these R-loops is important for gene regulation by the lncRNAs. However, factors that promote formation of lncRNA R-loops are not known. The gene PHO84 is being …

Tumor Formation In Response To Loss Of Chromatin Remodeler Chd5 In Zebrafish, Taylor R. Sabato, Erin L. Sorlien, Dr. Joseph P. Ogas

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 5 (CHD5) has been identified as a tumor suppressor in humans. Deletion or mutation of CHD5 has been observed in numerous cancers, including neuroblastoma and melanoma. We hypothesize that chd5 is also a tumor suppressor in zebrafish, a powerful model system to study tumorigenesis. Many genes involved in tumorigenesis are conserved in zebrafish, and they develop fully penetrant tumor phenotypes. We have created chd5 knock-out zebrafish using CRISPR/Cas9 and are monitoring them for tumor development. In addition to the chd5 knock-outs, we are undertaking a double-mutant approach by coupling loss …

Functional Characterization Of Recombinant Interleukin (Il)-17a/F1 In The Japanese Pufferfish (Takifugu Rubripes), Jun-Ichi Hikima Dr., Koshin Mihara, Shun Maekawa, Han-Ching Wang, Takashi Aoki, Tomoya Kono, Masahiro Sakai

2nd International Conference of Fish & Shellfish Immunology

No abstract provided.

A Screen To Identify Saga-Activated Genes That Are Required For Proper Photoreceptor Axon Targeting In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kaelan J. Brennan, Vikki M. Weake, Jingqun Q. Ma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The inherited human genetic disease spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and visual impairment that ultimately leads to blindness. SCA7 results from a mutation in the human ATXN7 gene that causes an expansion of polyglutamine tracts in this gene’s corresponding protein. Human ATXN7 protein serves as a component of the deubiquitylase (DUB) module of the large, multi-subunit complex Spt-Ada-Gcn acetyltransferase, or SAGA. SAGA is a transcriptional coactivator and histone modifier that functions to deubiquitylate histone H2B and allow for transcription of SAGA-mediated genes to occur. In Drosophila, mutations in SAGA DUB’s Nonstop and sgf11 components …

Preliminary Report On The Production Of A Shiga-Like Toxoid Fusion Protein As Associated With Novel Flic Vaccine, Michael Maulin

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.