Biology Commons^™

Development Of Innovative Flocculation Technologies For Agricultural Water Treatment, Noor Haleem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of innovative flocculation technologies is essential for addressing the challenges of agricultural water treatment. These technologies play a crucial role in removing contaminants such as suspended solids and nutrients, thereby ensuring safer water for irrigation and livestock consumption. By enhancing water quality and wastewater management, they contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and public health in agricultural communities. This comprehensive thesis extensively explores various dimensions of flocculation, with a focused effort on methodologies and resources aimed at strengthening sustainability and efficiency. A pivotal aspect of the research involves synthesizing cationic starch (CS), a flocculant derived from an underutilized resource, …

Application Of Crispr/Cas9 Whole Genome Screens To Advance Macrophage Biology, Kevin Wanniarachchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advances in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technologies present opportunities to better understand the contribution of individual genes to complex eukaryotic cellular processes. I have applied CRISPR whole genome screen technologies to inform further mechanistic understanding of macrophage fitness and neutral lipid metabolism. This work is important because macrophages play critical roles in immune function and are implicated as causative agents in disease states. Chapter One of this dissertation provides insights into how CRISPR genome screening technologies have improved biological discovery and key findings from their application and discusses how this technology can be implemented to advance the discovery of novel macrophage …

C3 And C4 Grass Dominated Plant Communities Differ In Response To Future Larger And Less Frequent Rainfall, Zigeng Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is leading to larger and less frequent rainfall in the Northern Great Plains (NGP). We ask if this change in rainfall would influence carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in the NGP. First, we collected soils from C3 and C4 grass dominated plant communities from western South Dakota and conducted an incubation experiment to explore the effects of soil water content (SWC) and temperature on soil respiration (Rs) and N mineralization rate (ΔIN). Second, we conducted a three-year rainfallmanipulation (RaMP) experiment with two distinct rainfall regimes (frequent/small and infrequent/large events with constant total monthly precipitation) and two grasses …

Characterization Of Parp1-Dependent Poly-Adp-Ribosylation Of Sprtn, Quincee Simonson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are a type of DNA lesion that form when proteins become covalently linked to DNA. It is estimated that replicating cells experience approximately 6,000 DPCs per day per genome during exponential growth (Ruggiano & Ramadan, 2021). If left unrepaired, DPCs can be lethal to cells. For this reason, cells have evolved multiple pathways to repair or bypass DPCs to survive. One such pathway involves SPRTN, a nuclear metalloprotease that plays a key role in the repair of DPCs through direct proteolysis (Lopez-Mosqueda et al., 2016; Vaz et al., 2016). Once SPRTN degrades the bulky protein component of …

Seroprevalence Of Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies Among Rural Healthcare Workers, Jordan Neises

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this longitudinal cohort study was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV- 2) in healthcare workers employed at healthcare clinics in three rural counties in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota from May 13, 2020 through December 22, 2020. Three blood draws were performed at five clinical sites and tested for the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies using a fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA), neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-pseudotyped particles (SARS-CoV-2pp) assay, and serum virus neutralization (SVN) assay. The seroprevalence was determined …

Understanding Human Gut Bacterial Interactions And Their Role In Colonization Resistance Against Clostridioides Difficile Using Mini-Bioreactor Array And Caenorhabditis Elegans As Model Systems, Achuthan Ambat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although fecal transplantation has shown to be effective against Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), key species responsible for colonization resistance still need to be better identified. There needs to be more understanding of the rules governing the development of a healthy microbiome upon transplantation. The bottom-up approach of assembling simple to complex communities in model systems such as bioreactors is one of the ways to approach this problem. Studying synthetic communities with less complexity can yield a system-level understanding of microbial interactions. In the first study, we assembled a synthetic community of 14 bacterial species belonging to the core human microbiota …

Identifying Adp-Ribosylation As The Biochemical Signal That Marks Dna-Protein Crosslinks For Sprtn-Dependent Proteolysis, Katelyn Hurley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) form when proteins covalently attach to DNA. It is estimated that hundreds of DPCs form in our cells each day. Because these lesions are cytotoxic, mammalian cells have evolved multiple intricate repair systems to remove DPCs and restore genome integrity. One mechanism mammalian cells rely on for DPC repair is direct proteolysis by the metalloprotease, SPRTN. While it is known that SPRTN degrades a heterogenous array of DPCs, including both naturally occurring and chemically induced, how SPRTN selects DPCs amongst chromatin-associated proteins remains unknown. Our main objective is to determine how DPC repair is regulated. In Chapter …

Development Of Genomic Resources In Vitis Riparia For Discoveries On Pre- And Post-Transcriptional Molecular Regulators Of Early Induction Into Endodormancy, Michael Robben

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grapevine is one of the most important fruit crops in the world, responsible for billions in global sales annually. The largest threat to grapevine and other crop production is global climate change resulting human activities. This brings unpredictable and drastic changes in ambient air temperatures to many climates in which grapes are grown. Lower temperatures and inclement weather are already responsible for millions in lost revenue due to tissue damage of established plants. Thus, protecting grapevine crops from weather-related damage is the biggest concern to growers aside from pathogen- and diseaserelated crop damage. The primary mechanism for winter survival in …

Leveraging Queueing Theory To Develop Advanced Synthetic Biological Circuits, Prajakta K. Jadhav

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complexity and redundancy in the network topology of the cell hinder our understanding of the natural system, making it challenging to engineer living organisms with the desired functionality. The long-term goal of synthetic biology and bioengineering is to engineer cells to perform specific functions with increased robustness. The robust engineered systems can be easily applied to different species with the same outcome. An effective approach is a bottom-up approach where we tease apart the biological pathways and study them independently. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of biological pathways can be further applied to construct complex biological circuits that function similarly …

Modeling The Flow And Creep Compliance Properties Of Ice-Cream Mixes, Hiran Ranaweera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work documented the influence of the protein source (MPC80 and WPC80), protein content (4-12%), and temperature (5-35ºC) on the rheological behavior (flow curve, frequency sweep, and creep-recovery) of ice-cream mixes (ICM). For each protein source, the viscosity of the ICM was satisfactorily modeled (𝑅2>0.98, 𝑅2 𝑎𝑑𝑗>0.98, and E0.99), while the recovery phase was represented by an empirical model. The percentage of recovery (%R) of the ICM significantly decreased with the protein content.

Genome-Wide Identification Of Wrky Transcription Factor Encoding Genes In Amborella Trichopoda Baill. (Amborellaceae), Bijaya Pradhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are DNA-binding proteins, which play important roles in managing plant stresses and regulating growth and development processes. The WRKY TF family has expanded significantly through genome/gene duplications in the plant evolutionary process. Although the WRKY TFs have been identified in hundreds of plant species, they are yet to be identified in Amborella trichopoda, a species that represents the most basal group of Angiosperms. The main objectives of this study were to conduct genome-wide identification of the WRKY gene family in A. trichopoda and to assess their homologs in Angiosperms. In this study, we identified …

Exploring Bioprocessing Technologies For Diverse Industrial Application Of Canola, Ahmad Fawzi N Alhomodi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, canola is the second largest oilseed crop after soybean, which is processed for the commercial production of high value oil. The industrial processing steps for canola oil extraction include preprocessing (cleaning, pressing, flaking, and cooking), mechanical pressing, and/or organic solvents. This process results in large quantities of protein-rich (~ 40% dry basis) meal as a co-product. The meal is used partially in animal diet (<30% inclusion) due to high levels of antinutritional factors (ANFs) such as high fibers, phytic acid, and glucosinolates, and low metabolizable energy. Thus, this research was designed to examine various bioprocessing technologies (i.e., traditional sprouting, solid state fermentation, submerged state fermentation, co-culture fermentation, mild pretreatments, and their combinations) for possible advancement in canola use. Canola seed sprouting for 6-day period led to an increase in protein content and a reduction in ANFs and oil content of sprouts compared to ungerminated seed. Subsequent submerged state fermentation of 6- day old sprouts using three different strains (Aureobasidium pullulans, Trichoderma reesei and Neurospora crassa) further increased protein content and lowered ANFs. Solid-state fermentation of 144 h old sprouts using A. pullulans, N. crassa and T. reesei enhanced the protein content and reduced ANFs of sprouts. Sprouting canola seed for three days helped in hull removal, leading to high protein meal accompanied by low fiber and phytic acid level. Three-day seed sprouting had no effect on oil yield, but free fatty acid content was higher compared to seed oil. Co-culture fermentation of HECM under solid state process showed maximum reduction in fiber content with co-culture of A. pullulans and N. crassa while a combination of A. pullulans and T. reesei promoted the highest GLS and phytic acid reductions compared to other combinations, which indicated the advantage of coculture inoculation over monoculture in terms of ANFs reduction. Mild pretreatment of HECM using deionized water resulted in washed HECM (WHECM) with lower soluble sugars and GLS compared to untreated HECM, whereas protein and amino acid were concentrated due to the removal of soluble components. WHECM compared to HECM showed higher protein digestibility when fed to rainbow trout. Subsequent mono- and coculture fermentation of HECM and WHECM under submerged process resulted in higher protein and amino acid content and lower ANFs levels compared to uninoculated controls. The results of cellulase, endoglucanase and β-glucosidase activity indicated the crucial role of used substrates, fungi, fermentation modes (solid state/submerged stated) and inoculation methods (mono-/co-culture) on enzyme activities.

Characterizing The Lir Domain Of Abin1 And Identifying Its Role As A Regulator Of Mitophagy, Andrew Rhiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A20 Inhibitor of NF-κB (ABIN1/TNIP1) is a known regulator of TNFα signaling induced cell death and inflammation. The regulatory activity has been attributed to ABIN1’s recruitment of the ubiquitin editing enzyme TNF-α-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3/A20) to Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1). The regulation of RIPK1 by ABIN1 and A20 relies on a third player, linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), which is involved in the recruitment of ABIN1 to RIPK1. Loss of LUBAC or ABIN1 is embryonic lethal, but loss of A20 is not embryonic lethal. The embryonic lethality due to loss of ABIN1, paired with the lack of lethality …

Targeted Browsing With Goats For Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus Virginiana L.) Control, Alanna M. Hartsfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As eastern redcedar (ERC) (Juniperus virginiana L.) grassland encroachment progresses, all potential control methods should be explored in the interest of Great Plains grassland health and longevity. Targeted browsing with goats has been proven as an effective control method on some juniper species; however, little is known about its ability to control ERC. These studies intend to mend knowledge gaps of how targeted browsing with goats control ERC by causing tree death without chemicals or machinery. The first study is two 3x3 Latin squares comparing protein-supplemented diets. The second study is a randomized complete block design of five 0.224 ha …

Electrical Sensing In Non-Excitable Cells To Promote Galvanotaxis And Tissue Survival, Anyesha Sarkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weak DC fields have been shown to induce polarity, cell migration and cell proliferation in 2D cultures in vitro. To understand the mechanism by which non-excitable cells sense such weak EFs, we have investigated the mechanism of cathode-directed water flow (electro-osmosis) in the boundary layer of cells by reducing it with neutral, viscous polymers. Our results indicate that low molecular weight polymers decrease cathodal migration and promote anodal migration in a concentration dependent manner. High molecular weight polymers do not affect directionality and can be explained using porosity and hydraulic permeability between the polymers. These results provide the first evidence …

Identification Of Loci Influencing Teosinte Crossing Barrier 1 (Tcb1) Efficacy In Maize By Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Genome-Wide Association Study (Gwas), Namrata Maharjan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollen cross-contamination has been a major problem for maize breeders. Various mechanical methods applied to avoid the contaminations are ineffective. The genetic factors related to maize fertilization can be used to develop an effective method to prevent pollen contamination. Pollen rejection ability controlled by Teosinte crossing barrier 1 (Tcb1) is such a genetic system. Silks possessing dominant Tcb1-s reject pollen possessing the recessive allele (tcb1). Successful fertilization occurs when Tcb1-s pollen falls upon tcb1 silks. The efficacy of dominant Tcb1-s was, however, reduced when repeatedly backcross with maize inbred lines, which suggests that there are modifiers to Tcb1-s. To find …

The Effects Of Saline Soil On Microbiome And The Isolation Of Root-Associated Microbes To Relieve Salinity Stress, Duncan Jakubowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing levels of salinity in once-viable lands for crop production is a serious and growing problem in the Northern Great Plains. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of saline soil on the microbial composition of plant roots and bulk soil, to measure metabolic changes in plant roots from saline soil, to determine the viability of root-associated microbes as inoculants to increase stress tolerance in plants, as well as determine the impact of saline soil on nitrogen cycling genes linked to greenhouse gas production. This study hypothesizes that high soil salinity levels have a significant impact on …

Pollinator Ecology In Agroecosystems Of Eastern South Dakota, Isabela Beatriz Vilella-Arnizaut

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community structure contributes to ecosystem persistence and stability. To understand the mechanisms underlying pollination and community stability of natural areas in a human influenced landscape, a better understanding of the interaction patterns between plants and pollinators in disturbed landscapes is needed. Furthermore, understanding the potential conservation value in green spaces such as botanical gardens could assist in preserving and bolstering plant-pollinator interactions. Our study takes place in the Northern Great Plains which still retains extensive tracts of remnant temperate grassland habitat within a matrix of varying land-uses. First, we used a network-based approach to quantify how temperate grassland attributes and …

Bio-Inspired Materials For Electrochemical Sensors, Matthew Joseph Hummel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical biosensors are a rapidly growing research area that has greatly improved its specificity, accuracy, and precision in the detection of biomolecules in contemporary literature and industry alike. Typically, these systems exist in a three-electrode conformation with a working electrode functioning as the anode, a counter electrode functioning as the cathode, and a reference electrode allowing for the control of potential in the system. The method by which these sensors work is through the sharing of electrons via redox reactions with the target molecule and the working electrode or modifications on its surface. By exploiting the function of biomaterials that …

Fishes Of The Dakotas, Kathryn Schlafke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological reference materials play a critical role in studies of species biodiversity, biology, distribution, and historic diversity. Since the publications Fishes of North Dakota (Hankinson, 1929) and Fishes of South Dakota (Bailey and Allum, 1962), no new books have attempted to update the knowledge gained from the past decades of fish surveys and incorporate georeferenced collections at the state level. The last published book with the most complete accounts of fishes from North Dakota and South Dakota is the Distribution of Fishes in North and South Dakota Basins affected by the Garrison Diversion Unit (Owen et al. 1981) which includes …

Crispr/Cas9 Whole Genome Screens Reveal Novel Regulators Of Endocytic Processes In Macrophages, Jared Wollman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages maintain tissue homeostasis by identifying and eliminating threats within their tissue microenvironment. Pattern recognition receptors allow macrophages to recognize and internalize specific ligands while macropinocytosis allows the internalization of all extracellular solutes from their environment. Without pattern recognition receptors, pathogens may grow unchecked if they cannot be detected, and without macropinocytosis, macrophages struggle to detect and move around their environment. This thesis presents the results of CRISPR/Cas9 whole-genome screens used to identify the regulators of both endocytosis (Chapter 2) and macropinocytosis (Chapter 3). In Chapter 2, we report genes regulating dextran uptake in primary murine macrophages and reveal Mrc1-mediated …

Genetic Study Of Alkane Production And Oxic Nitrogen Fixation In Anabaena Sp. Pcc 7120, Jaimie L. Gibbons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is a filamentous, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium that uses spatial separation to perform photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation simultaneously. Under fixed nitrogen limiting conditions, Anabaena 7120 forms specialized cells, called heterocysts, to fix nitrogen. In this research, I sought to add to the knowledge surrounding the process of heterocystous nitrogen fixation in Anabaena 7120. Cyanobacteria universally produce alkanes, which have been suggested to play a role in helping the organism adapt to abiotic stress, such as diazotrophic conditions. In my first study, I sought to identify the genes required for production of the hydrocarbon heptadecane (C17H36). Through using a …

Exploring The Properties Of Chitin For Promoting Tissue Engineering And Repair, M. Jahir Raihan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Rhizospheric And Bacterial Endophytes For Use As Potential Bio-Fertilizers For Sustainable Agricultural Production, Vincent Peta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Brassica carinata crop production offers an exciting alternative approach to the energy crisis when looking at novel ways to power our motor vehicles. Bacterial endophytes, while residing in host-plant tissues, offer a wide array of plant growth promotion benefits such as nitrogen fixation to impart nitrogen (N) nutrition, phosphate (P) solubilization to make soil-bound phosphate more mobile in soil for plant uptake, can suppress pathogenic microbes such as fungus and produce plant growth hormones to offset stress incurred by the plant. Previous literature has shown that there is large interest in studying endophytes from economically important crops such as wheat, …

A Natural Antimicrobial From Bacillus Subtilis As A Biosanitizer For Resilient Membrane Biofilms, Pratishtha Verma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The microbial attachment and colonization on separation membranes lead to biofilm formation. Some selective isolates within the biofilm constitutive microflora acquire resistance and emerge predominant over prolonged use of the membrane. Thus, proving the cleaning and sanitization protocols to be ineffective in adequately removing resilient biofilms. This subsequently leads to selecting microbial resistance within the constitutive microflora to almost all antimicrobial treatments and hence, creates a need to develop novel alternative strategies to control biofilm formation on membrane surfaces. The first research project under this study was designed to understand the microbial interactions and emergence of predominance within biofilm constitutive …

Interaction Of Streptomyces Closely Associated With Bacillus In Nitrogen-Limiting Conditions, Aminya Baniya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological Nitrogen Fixation is the process of conversion of atmospheric dinitrogen into ammonia which is performed by symbiotic as well as free-living diazotrophic bacteria. A previous project to isolate free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria from a natural prairie yielded Streptomyces which grew on nitrogen free medium. Genome sequencing of three isolates revealed the presence of a second 16S rRNA gene sequence aligning with Bacillus, however repeated streaking only yielded Streptomyces colonies. The aim of this research was to characterize the interaction of three Streptomyces isolates that grow under nitrogen-free conditions, and appeared to be associated with Bacillus. The separation of Bacillus …

Development Of Methods To Improve Lactose Recovery From Permeate And Drying Characteristics Of Greek Acid Whey, Venkateswarlu Sunkesula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growth of higher protein dairy products and ingredients such as cheese, Greek yogurt, whey protein concentrates, and milk protein concentrates is limited by the amount of co-product generated and the ability to process them into value added ingredients. Finding value for all the co-products will help dairy industry to meet the growing demand for dairy protein products and ingredients. Commercial scale evaluation of new technologies for improving lactose crystallization and drying ability of Greek yogurt acid whey will help dairy industry to better utilize different dairy co-products. Commercially, lactose is manufactured from concentrated permeate by cooling and separating α-lactose monohydrate …

Analysis Of Two Maize Mutations That Arose After Exposure To Radiation From A Plutonium-Beryllium Source And Developing Molecular Markers For Antimorph Aei1-5180, An Alternative To Aei To Increase Amylose Content In Maize Endosperm, Prameela Awale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two independent projects dealing with two different aspects of maize. The first project is about the maize reproduction, where we try to uncover the candidate genes of two mutations that affect pollen viability and successful fertilization. The second project is about maize endosperm starch, where we developed molecular markers to characterize a mutant allele that knocks a major starch branching enzyme in maize.

Analysis of two maize mutations that arose after exposure to radiation from a plutonium-beryllium source
Maize is a monoecious and diclinous plant. Sexual reproduction takes place by the fusion of haploid male and …

Investigating Links Between Soil Microbial Structure And Function In Three Major Plant Communities Across Temporal Scales Of Arctic Alaska, Kaj Lynoe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Arctic microbial systems continue to get attention today as our understanding regarding their structure and function in a changing system is paramount to C feedbacks with warming and changes in precipitation. Plant communities and microbial community processes across the Arctic landscape are central to understanding tundra ecosystem processes because environmental conditions and plant community structure drive microbial cycling of soil organic matter. Here, we want to understand how soil microbial respiration, mineralization, biomass, and community composition are linked to three Alaskan tundra plant communities, namely Shrub, Tussock, and Sedge tundra and the seasonal variability in this system. A total of …

Increasing Accumulation Of Glyceollins In Soybeans Via Optimization Of The Fungal Incubation Process, Stephanie Wootton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Continual use of antibiotics in the feed of food animals was viewed a solution to the problem of disease outbreaks in livestock produced in confinement operations. This practice also improved animal performance, likely due to the reduction in sub-clinical infections. Unfortunately, this practice led to a new problem, the development of antibiotic resistant microbes. This increase in antibiotic resistance reduced the direct benefits of antibiotics in animal production. Moreover, as antibiotic resistance spread from animal to human pathogens, this practice created a major public health concern. This led the FDA to enact the Veterinary Feed Directive in 2017 that greatly …