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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Engineering Natural Competence Into The Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Elongatus Utex 2973, Kristen Elizabeth Wendt
Engineering Natural Competence Into The Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Elongatus Utex 2973, Kristen Elizabeth Wendt
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 is the fastest growing cyanobacterium discovered to date. Using water, carbon dioxide, and light alone, this organism can double in 1.5 hours under optimal conditions. The accelerated doubling exhibited by Synechococcus 2973 makes it a prime candidate to serve as a model photoautotrophic system. However, Synechococcus 2973 lacks one highly desirable feature: it cannot undergo natural transformation. This thesis seeks to engineer this capacity into this fast-growing system in order to create an organism that is both fast growing and naturally competent. Synechococcus 2973 is a unique platform because it is >99% genetically identical to another …
Dendritic Cell Development And Function, Vivek Durai
Dendritic Cell Development And Function, Vivek Durai
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dendritic cells (DCs) are a group of immune cells that include both classical dendritic cells (cDCs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). cDCs are further comprised of two distinct subsets, cDC1s and cDC2s, which play critical roles in the initiation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Understanding how these lineages develop and function is therefore paramount. All DCs require the receptor tyrosine kinase Flt3 and its ligand Flt3L for their development, but the loss of Flt3L in mice leads to a more severe DC deficiency than does the loss of Flt3. This has led to speculation that Flt3L can bind to …