Biology Commons^™

Denitrification And Oxygen Consumption In Sediments Of Two South Texas Estuaries, Won Bae Yoon, Ronald Benner

Faculty Publications

Spatial and temporal variations in rates of denitrification and oxygen consumption were measured in sediments of the Nueces and Guadalupe Estuaries in southern Texas, USA. Denitrification rates varied from 4.0 to 71.1 µmol N₂ m^-2 h^-1 in the Nueces Estuary and from 4.6 to 34.7 µmol N₂ m^-2 h^-1 in the Guadalupe Estuary. Denitrification accounted for 29 to 80% of total benthic N flux in the study areas. Oxygen consumption rates ranged from 176 to 818 µmol O₂ m^-2 h^-1 in Nueces Estuary and from 208 to 550 µmol O_{2 …}

Bacterial Numbers And Activity, Microalgal Biomass And Productivity, And Meiofaunal Distribution In Sediments Naturally Contaminated With Biogenic Bromophenols, Charles C. Steward, James L. Pinckney, Yvette Piceno, Charles R. Lovell

Faculty Publications

Sediment cores were collected inside and outside of a bed of a bromophenol-producing marine polychaete, Notomastus lobatus, and examined for impact of the bromophenols on sediment microflora and meiofauna around N. lobatus burrows. No significant differences were found between microbial parameters measured inside and outside of the N. lobatus bed. Integrated 6 cm cores taken adjacent to N. lobatus burrows contained 1.2 x 10⁹ bacteria ml^-1. Cell numbers were similar at control sites within the bed, but away from burrows, and not significantly different from cell numbers (1.0 X 10⁹ cells ml^-1) at a …

Elucidation Of The Complete Azorhizobium Nicotinate Catabolism Pathway, Christopher Kitts, Jerome P. Lapointe, Van Thai Lam, Robert A. Ludwig

Biological Sciences

A complete pathway for Azorhizobium caulinodans nicotinate catabolism has been determined from mutant phenotype analyses, isolation of metabolic intermediates, and structural studies. Nicotinate serves as a respiratory electron donor to O₂ via a membrane-bound hydroxylase and a specific c-type cytochrome oxidase. The resulting oxidized product, 6-hydroxynicotinate, is next reduced to 1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-6-oxonicotinate. Hydrolytic ring breakage follows, with release of pyridine N as ammonium. Decarboxylation then releases the nicotinate C-7 carboxyl group as CO₂, and the remaining C skeleton is then oxidized to yield glutarate. Transthioesterification with succinyl coenzyme A (succinyl-CoA) yields glutaryl-CoA, which is then oxidatively decarboxylated to …

The Expression Pattern Of The Tonoplast Intrinsic Protein Γ-Tip In Arabidopsis Thaliana Is Correlated With Cell Enlargement, Edward Himelblau, Herman Hofte, Dolors Ludevid, Maarten J. Chrispeels

Biological Sciences

The vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) contains an abundant intrinsic protein with six membrane-spanning domains that is encoded by a small gene family. Different isoforms of tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) are expressed in different tissues or as a result of specific signals. Using promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) fusions and in situ hybridization, we have examined the expression of γ-TIP in Arabidopsis thaliana. GUS staining of plants transformed with promoter-GUS fusions showed that γ-TIP gene expression is high in recently formed tissues of young roots. In the shoot, γ-TIP gene expression was highest in the vascular bundles of stems and petioles, as well as …

Gene Probe Analysis Of Soil Microbial Populations Selected By Amendment With 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, William Holben, B. M. Schroeter, V. G.M. Calabrese, R. H. Olsen, J. K. Kukor, V. O. Biederbeck, James M. Tiedje

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Soils with a history of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) treatment at field application rates and control soils with no prior exposure to 2,4-D were amended with 2,4-D in the laboratory. Before and during these treatments, the populations of 2,4-D-degrading bacteria were monitored by most-probable-number (MPN) enumeration and hybridization analyses, using probes for the tfd genes of plasmid pJP4, which encode enzymes for 2,4-D degradation. Data obtained by these alternate methods were compared. Several months after the most recent field application of 2,4-D (approximately 1 ppm), soils with a 42-year history of 2,4-D treatment did not have significantly higher numbers of 2,4-D-degrading …

Early Behavior Formation In Larval Fathead Minnows, Pimephales Promelas, Shamali Salgado

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was undertaken in order to identify the approximate times of recruitment of the senses of vision, mechanoreception and chemoreception into the feeding behavior of the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, during the first 15 days of life. Larvae were reared on diets of live or freshly killed brine shrimp nauplii and their feeding activity observed daily under light and dark conditions. On every third day during the feeding trials, the larvae were reverse-fed the type of food upon which they were reared. The first evidence of feeding occurred on Day 3, when larvae conditioned on dead food ingested …

Long Term Mobidity And Mortality Of Adolescent Obesity: A Follow-Up Of Third Harvard Growth Study Participants Of 1922 To 1935, Aviva Must Ph.D., Paul F. Jacques Sc.D., Gerard E. Dallal Ph.D., Carl J. Bajema Ph.D., William H. Dietz M.D., Ph.D

Peer Reviewed Publications

Background. Overweight in adults is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In contrast, the long-term effect of overweight in adolescence on morbidity and mortality is not known.

Methods. We studied the relation between overweight and morbidity and mortality in 508 lean or overweight adolescents 13 to 18 years old who participated in the Harvard Growth Study of 1922 to 1935. Overweight adolescents were defined as those with a body-mass index that on two occasions was greater than the 75th percentile in subjects of the same age and sex in a large national survey. Lean adolescents were defined as those with …

The Occurrence And Effect Of A Protozoan Parasite, Ophryocystis Elektroscirrha (Neogregarinida: Ophryocystidae) On Overwintering Monarch Butterflies, Danaus Plexippus (Lepidoptera: Danaidae) From Two California Winter Sites, Kingston L. H. Leong, H. K. Kaya, Michael A. Yoshimura, Dennis F. Frey

Biological Sciences

1. Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, from two overwintering populations, were found to have Ophryocystis elektroscirrha spores on their scales at rates between 53% and 68%. The frequency of butterflies with O.elektroscirrhaspores remained about the same between sites and throughout the winter.

2. The spores, recovered from all parts of the body of the butterfly, were most numerous on the abdomen, particularly near the posterior third.

3. Butterflies with spores survived as long as those without detectable spores at 10.1°C ±0.4 SE and 78.3% r.h. ±0.6SE. Insects with spores held at 19.4°C ±0.4SE and 44.9% r.h. ±1.5SE showed a …

Southern Nevada Effluent Wetlands: A Proposed Cooperative Venture Between The Bureau Of Reclamation & City Of Las Vegas, Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

Throughout North America there is a growing interest in constructed wetlands, both as relatively inexpensive, low-maintenance systems for removing nutrients from wastewater, and as a means of using municipal wastewater to enhance wildlife habitat and create public use opportunities. Because wetlands appear to have good potential as a component in the overall management of scarce water resources, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has undertaken several cooperative research and demonstration projects to evaluate their effectiveness in a variety of local environments.

While a number of projects have demonstrated that wetlands can be beneficially employed to improve water quality, few such projects …

Heterochromatin Protein 1, A Known Suppressor Of Position-Effect Variegation, Is Highly Conserved In Drosophila, Robert F. Clark, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

The Su(var)205 gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), a protein located preferentially within beta-heterochromatin. Mutation of this gene has been associated with dominant suppression of position-effect variegation. We have cloned and sequenced the gene encoding HP1 from Drosophila virilis, a distantly related species. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence with Drosophila melanogaster HP1 shows two regions of strong homology, one near the N-terminus (57/61 amino acids identical) and the other near the C-terminus (62/68 amino acids identical) of the protein. Little homology is seen in the 5' and 3' untranslated portions of the gene, as well …

Enhanced Bacterioplankton Production And Respiration At Intermediate Salinities In The Mississippi River Plume, Gerardo Chin-Leo, Ronald Benner

Faculty Publications

Bacterial abundance and production (thymidine and leucine incorporation) were measured along a salinity gradient from the Mississippi River (0 %₀) to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico (36 %₀) during July-August 1990 and February 1991. Bacterial production in surface waters was maximal at intermediate salinities (15 to 30 %₀). Nutrient enrichment experiments suggested that bacterial growth near the outflow of the river was C limited whereas bacteria in plume waters of intermediate salinities were P and N limited. Rates of plankton community oxygen demand measured during winter were also maximal at intermediate …

Rate Maintenance Of Cell Division In Escherichia Coli B/R: Analysis Of A Simple Nutritional Shift-Down, Arieh Zaritsky, Charles E. Helmstetter

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

A competitive (nonmetabolizable) inhibitor of glucose uptake, α- methylglucoside, was used to limit the growth of Escherichia coli. Cell division during such a nutritional shift-down was studied in batch cultures and with the 'baby-machine' technique. Following a brief delay, the rate of division was maintained for 60 to 70 min in batch cultures and for an extended period in the baby machine. Decreases in cell size were due, in part, to a possible reduction in the mass per chromosome origin at the time of replication initiation and a shorter time interval between initiation and the subsequent division. These unusual findings …

The Cockburn Sound Fishery Management Plan. Summary Of Submission And Final Recommendations For Management., A. Millington

Fisheries management papers

Identifiable "unit" fisheries in Cockburn Sound are: Beach bait fishing netting Fish set netting Crab netting Mussel diving Line fishing and pot fishing This report recommends measures for the longer term management of these fisheries In particular, that they be managed as limited entry fisheries under Section 32 of the Fisheries Act 1905. Strict entry criteria are proposed for continued access to these fisheries. Rules are proposed for boat replacement. Licence transferability is considered in detail. No decisions to be made on the policy for licence transfers until the final number of participants in each fishery is determined. Owner operation, …

Two Mechanisms For Growth Inhibition By Elevated Transport Of Sugar Phosphates In Escherichia Coli, Robert J. Kadner, G. Patrick Murphy, Craig Stephens

Biology

The Escherichia coli uhp T gene encodes an active transport system for sugar phosphates. When the uhp T gene was carried on a multicopy plasmid, amplified levels of transport activity occurred, and growth of these strains was inhibited upon the addition of various sugar phosphates. Two different mechanisms for this growth inhibition were distinguished. Exposure to glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate or mannose-6-phosphate, which enter directly into the glycolytic pathway, resulted in cessation of growth and substantial loss of viability. Cell killing was correlated with the production of the toxic metabolite, methylglyoxal. In contrast, addition of 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate, galactose-6-phosphate, glucosamine-6-phosphate or arabinose-5-phosphate, which do …

Avian Forelimb Muscles And Nonsteady Flight: Can Birds Fly Without Using The Muscles In Their Wings?, Kenneth P. Dial

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Intensity patterns of electromyographic (EMG) signals from selected muscles of the wing were studied during different modes of flight in trained Rock doves (Columba livia). Shoulder muscles exhibited a stereotypic pattern producing maximal EMG intensity during the deceleration phases of the upstroke and the downstroke, whereas the muscles of the brachium and antebrachium acted primarily as joint stabilizers during level flapping flight. During nonsteady flight (e.g. takeoff, landing, vertical ascending flight), the distal forelimb muscles exhibited maximal EMG intensity; their primary function appears to be associated with changing the camber and planform of the wing during rapid oscillation. During steady …

The Drosophila Period Gene And Dye Coupling In Larval Salivary Glands: A Re-Evaluation, Kathleen King Siwicki, K. K. Flint, J. C. Hall, M. Rosbash, D. C. Spray

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Multiple Phosphate Positions In The Catalytic Site Of Glycogen Phosphorylase, Stephen R. Sprang, Neil B. Madsen, Stephen G. Withers

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The three‐dimensional structure of an R‐state conformer of glycogen phosphorylase containing the coenzyme‐substrate analog pyridoxal‐5′‐diphosphate at the catalytic site (PLPP‐GPb) has been refined by X‐ray crystallography to a resolution of 2.87 Å. The molecule comprises four subunits of phosphorylase related by approximate 222 symmetry. Whereas the quaternary structure of R‐state PLPP‐GPb is similar to that of phosphorylase crystallized in the presence of ammonium sulfate (Barford, D. & Johnson, L.N., 1989, Nature 340, 609–616), the tertiary structures differ in that the two domains of the PLPP‐GPb subunits are rotated apart by 5° relative to the T‐state conformation. Global differences among the …

Nuclear Dna Content Variation Within The Rosaceae, E. E. Dickson, K. Arumuganathan, Stephen Kresovich, J. J. Doyle

Faculty Publications

Nuclear DNA content has been estimated using flow cytometry for 17 species and eight cultivars of Malus and for 44 species of 29 other genera within the Rosaceae. Compared to other angiosperms, diploid genome sizes vary little within the family Rosaceae and within the genus Malus. C-values of genera within the subfamilies Spiraeoideae and Rosoideae are among the smallest of flowering plants thus far reported. In general, the Maloideae have the largest diploid genomes of the family, consistent with their higher chromosome numbers and presumed polyploid origin.

Interaction Of Nutrition And Infection: Effect Of Copper Deficiency On Resistance To Trypanosoma Lewisi, A. Crocker, Clarence Lee, Georgiana Aboko-Cole, C. Durham

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The copper-deficient rat-trypanosome system was used to study copper deficiency in Sprague Dawley rats infected with Trypanosoma lewisi. Throughout the observational period, animals on the deficient diet had lower plasma and liver copper concentrations compared with complete and pair-fed animals. In all dietary groups, the food intake and body weight changes of rats inoculated with T lewisi showed significant increases over the noninoculated controls. The rate of these indices were significantly less in the copper-deficient animals compared with the animals fed complete diets. Copper-deficient and pair-fed control rats showed greater numbers of parasites than controls throughout the infection. The duration …

Synthesizing Embryology And Human-Genetics: Paradigms Regained, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Differential Expression Of Gap Junction Mrnas And Proteins In The Developing Murine Kidney And In Experimentally Induced Nephric Mesenchymes, K. Sainio, Scott F. Gilbert, E. Lehtonen, M. Nishi, N. M. Kumar, N. B. Gilula, L. Saxen

Biology Faculty Works

The expression of three gap junction (GJ) proteins, alpha-1 (Cx43), beta-1 (Cx32), and beta-2 (Cx26), and their transcripts were examined during the ontogeny of the mouse and rat kidney. These proteins were expressed in two non-overlapping patterns. The alpha-1 GJ protein was first observed in mesenchymal cells in the 12-day mouse kidney. By day 14 and thereafter, the ai protein was detected in the transient S-shaped bodies, but not in the podocytes of the maturing glomeruli. After birth the antigen was retained in a small subset of secretory tubules.The beta-1 and beta-2 GJ proteins were similar in their developmental patterns. …

Ua66/6/2 Bionews From The Hill, Wku Biology

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by and about WKU Biology highlighting the activities of faculty, students and alumni.

Dispersal In A Monogamous Rodent, Peromyscus Californicus, David O. Ribble

Biology Faculty Research

In view of theoretical interest in the relationships between mating systems and dispersal patterns and the paucity of empirical data on dispersal in monogamous mammals, I studied natal dispersal in the monogamous rodent Peromyscus californicus. Genealogical relationships were determined using fluorescent pigment transfer and DNA fingerprinting, and dispersal distances were determined using dispersal fences and intensive trapping. Minimum dispersal distances were greater for females than for males. Philopatric males (those settling within one home-range diameter of their birth site) tended to be from smaller litters than non-philopatric males. Minimum dispersal distances of males were positively associated with natal litter …

Promoter Sequence Containing (Ct)N.(Ga)N Repeats Is Critical For The Formation Of The Dnase I Hypersensitive Sites In The Drosophila Hsp26 Gene, Qin Lu, Lori L. Wallrath, Barbara D. Allan, R Glaser, J Lis, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

We have analyzed P-element-transformed lines carrying hsp26/lacZ transgenes with various deletions and substitutions within the Drosophila melanogaster hsp26 promoter region in order to identify the sequences required for the formation of the DNase I hypersensitive sites (DH sites). DH sites are generally found associated with promoters and enhancer elements of active and inducible eukaryotic genes, and are thought to be nucleosome-free regions of DNA that interact with regulatory proteins and the transcriptional machinery. There are two major DH sites located within the promoter region of the hsp26 gene, centered at -50 and at -350 (relative to the hsp26 transcription start …

A Histone Variant, H2avd, Is Essential In Drosophila Melanogaster, Angela Van Daal, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

H2AvD, a Drosophila melanogaster histone variant of the H2A.Z class, is encoded by a single copy gene in the 97CD region of the polytene chromosomes. Northern analysis shows that the transcript is expressed in adult females and is abundant throughout the first 12 h of embryogenesis but then decreases. The H2AvD protein is present at essentially constant levels in all developmental stages. Using D. melanogaster stocks with deletions in the 97CD region, we have localized the H2AvD gene to the 97D1-9 interval. A lethal mutation in this interval, l(3)810, exhibits a 311-base pair deletion in the H2AvD gene, which removes …

Dissection Of Nodule Development By Supplementation Of Rhizobium Leguminosarum Biovar Phaseoli Purine Auxotrophs With 4-Aminoimidazole-5-Carboxamide Riboside, Jeffrey D. Newman, Bruce W. Schultz, K. Dale Noel

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Purine auxotrophs of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli CFN42 elicit uninfected pseudonodules on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Addition of 4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide (AICA) riboside to the root medium during incubation of the plant with these mutants leads to enhanced nodule development, although nitrogenase activity is not detected. Nodules elicited in this manner had infection threads and anatomical features characteristic of normal nodules, such as peripheral vasculature rather than the central vasculature of the pseudonodules that were elicited without AICA riboside supplementation. Although 10⁵ to 10⁶ bacteria could be recovered from these nodules after full development, bacteria were not observed in …

Evidence For Helical Structures In Poly(1-Olefin Sulfones) By Transmission Electron Microscopy, George C. Ruben, W H. Stockmayer

Dartmouth Scholarship

Transmission electron microscope images were obtained of fractions of poly(1-tetradecene sulfone) and poly(cyclohexene sulfone) cast from very dilute solutions (0.007%, wt/vol) and rapidly freeze-dried on a mica surface. The samples were then vertically platinum-carbon (Pt-C) replicated with 9 +/- 0.3-A Pt-C and held together with 128 A of electron-transparent evaporated carbon. The Pt-C coating enlarges the molecular chain diameters by approximately 5 A, so that a single polysulfone chain has an apparent diameter of 9-12 A in the transmission electron microscope. Poly(1-tetradecene sulfone) forms short helical regions that show irregular helical turns of pitch 7-18 A, two to eight turns …

Genetic-Divergence Between The Wistar-Kyoto Rat And The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Mark L. Johnson, Daniel Ely, Monte E. Turner

Biology Faculty Research

A method of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was used to estimate the amount of genetic divergence between the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) strain and the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) strain. DNA from each strain was digested with eight restriction endonucleases and hybridized with six single copy gene sequences. The number of hybridization bands in each digestion was used to estimate the total number of bases analyzed and RFLPs were scored as single mutations. Divergence was then estimated by dividing the number of mutations by the number of bases analyzed. In a total of 808 bases analyzed in WKY rats, a …

Intermediates In The Constitutive And Regulated Secretory Pathways Released In Vitro From Semi-Intact Cells, Mark L. Grimes, Regis B. Kelly

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Regulated secretory cells have two pathways that transport secreted proteins from the Golgi complex to the cell surface. To identify carrier vesicles involved in regulated and constitutive secretion, PC12 pheochromocytoma cells were labeled with [35S]sulfate to identify markers for the two secretory pathways, then mechanically permeabilized and incubated in vitro. Small constitutive secretory vesicles, containing mostly sulfated proteoglycans, accumulated during an in vitro incubation with ATP. In the presence of GTP gamma S, the constitutive vesicles became significantly more dense, suggesting that a coated intermediate was stabilized. Larger immature regulated secretory granules, enriched in sulfated secretogranin II, also escaped from …

The Ratio Of Heinz Body Formation In Different Hemoglobin Zurich Subjects, Yenya Hu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hemoglobin Zurich is a hemoglobin anomaly that results when one amino acid (histidine) is substituted by arginine at position 63 in the beta chain of hemoglobin molecules [β 63 His—Arg]. When Hemoglobin Zurich individuals are exposed to sulfonamide medication, their hemoglobins denature and subsequently form Heinz bodies which attach to the surface of the plasma membrane.

Four Hemoglobin Zurich family members were the subjects of the current study. They included a splenectomized female subject, non-splenectomized female and male subjects, and a non-splenectomized female member without Hemoglobin Zurich as the control. The results collaborate that splenectomy increases the number of erythrocytes …