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Full-Text Articles in Biotechnology

My Summer Working With Two-Spotted Spider Mites, Renée A. Smith Aug 2022

My Summer Working With Two-Spotted Spider Mites, Renée A. Smith

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Two-spotted spider mites are a polyphagous pest, capable of eating a magnitude of food crops which causes a large problem for Canadian agriculture. Their ability to consume various crops stems from their ability to adapt to various chemical defence mechanisms. This ability allows them to acquire resistance to many commonly used pesticides. This has resulted in large infections in Canadian farms with few options to prevent the pests from affecting crop yields. Take a look at my project if you'd like to see how the Grbic lab is working to combat this issue using genetic engineering techniques!


The Role Of Foxd1 In Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Kyle H. Bond May 2022

The Role Of Foxd1 In Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Kyle H. Bond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 8th most common cancer in the United States, with the clear cell variant (ccRCC) being the most prevalent. Over 14,000 people die every year to RCC, with rates continuing to increase with an aging general population. Patients suffering from metastatic RCC (mRCC) have extremely poor prognoses, with a 5-year survival of only 11.2%. Current treatment options include resection of primary lesions, tyrosine kinase inhibition (Sunitinib, Pazopanib), mTOR inhibition (Temsirolimus, Everolimus), and immune checkpoint inhibition (Nivolumab, Atezolizumab). Recent attention has been drawn to inhibition of transcription factors like HIF2α (Belzutifan). There is a need …


Metagenomic Identification Of A Novel Salt Tolerance Gene From The Human Gut Microbiome Which Encodes A Membrane Protein With Homology To A Brp/Blh-Family Beta-Carotene 15,15'-Monooxygenase, Eamonn P. Culligan, Roy D. Sleator, Julian R. Marchesi, Colin Hill Jul 2014

Metagenomic Identification Of A Novel Salt Tolerance Gene From The Human Gut Microbiome Which Encodes A Membrane Protein With Homology To A Brp/Blh-Family Beta-Carotene 15,15'-Monooxygenase, Eamonn P. Culligan, Roy D. Sleator, Julian R. Marchesi, Colin Hill

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The human gut microbiome consists of at least 3 million non-redundant genes, 150 times that of the core human genome. Herein, we report the identification and characterisation of a novel stress tolerance gene from the human gut metagenome. The locus, assigned brpA, encodes a membrane protein with homology to a brp/blh-family β-carotene monooxygenase. Cloning and heterologous expression of brpA in Escherichia coli confers a significant salt tolerance phenotype. Furthermore, when cultured in the presence of exogenous β-carotene, cell pellets adopt a red/orange pigmentation indicating the incorporation of carotenoids in the cell membrane.


Use Of Image Cytometry For Quantification Of Pathogenic Fungi In Association With Host Cells, Charlotte A. Berkes, Leo Li-Ying Chan, Alisha Wilkinson, Benjamin Paradis Jun 2013

Use Of Image Cytometry For Quantification Of Pathogenic Fungi In Association With Host Cells, Charlotte A. Berkes, Leo Li-Ying Chan, Alisha Wilkinson, Benjamin Paradis

Biology Faculty Publications

Studies of the cellular pathogenesis mechanisms of pathogenic yeasts such as Candida albicans, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Cryptococcus neoformans commonly employ infection of mammalian hosts or host cells (i.e. macrophages) followed by yeast quantification using colony forming unit analysis or flow cytometry. While colony forming unit enumeration has been the most commonly used method in the field, this technique has disadvantages and limitations, including slow growth of some fungal species on solid media and low and/or variable plating efficiencies, which is of particular concern when comparing growth of wild-type and mutant strains. Flow cytometry can provide rapid quantitative information regarding yeast …


Quantifying And Resolving Multiple Vector Transformants In S. Cerevisiae Plasmid Libraries, Thomas C. Scanlon, Elizabeth C. Gray, Karl E. Griswold Nov 2009

Quantifying And Resolving Multiple Vector Transformants In S. Cerevisiae Plasmid Libraries, Thomas C. Scanlon, Elizabeth C. Gray, Karl E. Griswold

Dartmouth Scholarship

In addition to providing the molecular machinery for transcription and translation, recombinant microbial expression hosts maintain the critical genotype-phenotype link that is essential for high throughput screening and recovery of proteins encoded by plasmid libraries. It is known that Escherichia coli cells can be simultaneously transformed with multiple unique plasmids and thusly complicate recombinant library screening experiments. As a result of their potential to yield misleading results, bacterial multiple vector transformants have been thoroughly characterized in previous model studies. In contrast to bacterial systems, there is little quantitative information available regarding multiple vector transformants in yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the …