Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Factors Influencing Primate Hair Microbiome Diversity, Catherine Kitrinos

Masters Theses

Primate hair is both a substrate upon which essential social interactions occur and an important host-pathogen interface. As commensal microbes provide important immune functions for their hosts, understanding the microbial diversity in primate hair could provide insight into primate immunity and disease transmission. While studies of human hair and skin microbiomes show differences in microbial communities across body regions, little is known about the nonhuman primate hair microbiome. In this study, we collected hair samples (n=159) from 8 body regions across 12 nonhuman primate species housed at 3 US institutions to examine 1) the diversity and composition of the primate …

Investigating The Prevalence Of An Insecticide Resistance Gene In Culex Mosquito Populations Of Central Illinois, Kylee R. Noel

Masters Theses

The globalization of society has led to the spread of the vectors, mosquitoes, and diseases. Each year millions of people are killed by diseases vectored by mosquitoes. For example, West Nile Virus alone killed over 2,000 people in North America in 2017; 8 of those deaths being in Illinois. Two prominent vectors of West Nile Virus are Culex pipiens and Culex restuans; which are difficult to differentiate based upon morphological features. In this study, mosquitoes collected from two Illinois counties, Coles County and Champaign County, were first identified based upon morphology and this identification was then compared to probe-based …

Trends In Borrelia Spp. Prevalence In Ixodes Spp. Ticks From The Southeastern Coastal United States, Lauren Paul Maestas

Masters Theses

The Lyme borreliosis (LB) cycle, involving Ixodes scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss), is well documented in the northeastern US, where LB is becoming increasingly prevalent. In coastal North Carolina, I. affinis has been shown to have a higher incidence of Bbss than I. scapularis. My objectives were, to assess changes in prevalence of Bbss in Ixodes spp. along a transect from Virginia to Florida, and to assess the value of dogs and mesomammals as sentinels for spread of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

Ixodes spp. were collected at sites from 37.4^o N to 30.0^{o …}

Functional Cloning And Characterization Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes From The Chicken Gut Microflora, Wei Zhou

Masters Theses

A recent study using human fecal samples in conjunction with a culture-independent approach revealed immense diversity of antibiotic resistance (AR) genes in the human gut microflora. We hypothesize that food animal gut microflora also contain diverse and novel AR genes which could contribute to the emergence and transmission of AR in pathogens important in animal and human health. To test this, we examined AR reservoir in chicken gut microflora using a metagenomic, functional cloning method. Total genomic DNA was extracted from individual cecal contents of two free range chickens and two conventionally raised chickens. The DNAs were physically sheered into …

Method Of Karyotype Determination For Cercaria: Application To Family Azygiidae (Trematoda), James Everett Mick

Masters Theses

The development of a method for karyotype determination of cercaria provides a basis for comparative karyotype analysis between cercaria and adult, possibly eliminating the need for infection experiments for positive identification of cercaria. Snails (Goniobasis livescens) were collected from below the spillway of Lake Charleston, on the Embarras River, near Charleston, Illinois. Of a total of 196 snails collected 42 (21.5%) were found to be infected with undetermined furcocyticercous cercariae. Infected snails were detected through isolation procedure. From the infected snails, emerged and non-emerged forms of the cercaria were recovered. Whole mounts of the cercaria were made and …