Molecular Genetics Commons^™

Insights Into Halophilic Microbial Adaptation: Analysis Of Integrons And Associated Genomic Structures And Characterization Of A Nitrilase In Hypersaline Environments, Sarah Sonbol

Theses and Dissertations

Hypersaline environments are extreme habitats that can be exploited as biotechnological resources. Here, we characterized a nitrilase (NitraS-ATII) isolated from Atlantis II Deep brine pool. It showed higher thermal stability and heavy metal tolerance compared to a closely related nitrilase.

We also studied integrons in halophiles and hypersaline environments. Integrons are genetic platforms in which an integron integrase (IntI) mediates the excision and integration of gene cassettes at specific recombination sites. In order to search for integrons in halophiles and hypersaline metagenomes, we used a PCR-based approach, in addition to different bioinformatics tools, mainly IntegronFinder.

We found that integrons and …

Development And Evaluation Of A Combinatorial Rt-Qpcr Multiplex For Forensic Body Fluid Identification, Carolyn A. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Body fluid identification is essential in the forensic biology workflow that assists DNA analysts in determining where to collect DNA evidence. Current presumptive tests lack the sensitivity and specificity molecular techniques can achieve; therefore, molecular methods, such as microRNA and microbial signatures, have been extensively researched in the forensic community. Limitations of each method suggest combining molecular markers to increase discrimination efficiency of multiple body fluids from a single assay. While microbial signatures have been successful in identifying fluids with high bacterial abundances, microRNAs have shown promise in fluids with low microbial abundance. A disadvantage of RNA analysis in forensic …