Biology Commons^™

Evaluating Effects Of Gene Mutation And Light Intensity On Arabidopsis Thaliana Development, Carolanne Bekus

Student Scholar Showcase

The completion of sequencing Arabidopsis thaliana’s genome has led to the next crucial challenge of determining gene function in these plants. A. thaliana is a model organism often compared to commercial crops. The discovery of gene function within these plants will aid in giving insight on how gene function can affect commercial crop production. Presented here is an analysis comparing wild-type Columbia (Col-O), to single gene mutants when knocking-out transcriptional factors VPI/ABI3-like 1 (val1) and basic region/leucine zipper motif (bZIP). These single gene mutations may affect several traits that in turn can result in morphological changes and/or …

Analysis Of Downstream Signaling Of Tlrs After U0126 Inhibition, Brandy Frazier

Student Scholar Showcase

Francisella tularensis (F. tularensis) is a pathogenic bacterium which causes the disease tularemia. F. tularensis is thought to be able to enter and multiply inside of liver cells because it interacts with toll-like receptors (TLRs). Examining the signaling pathway downstream of the TLRs will allow for better understanding of how this disease works and possible treatment strategies. In this study I propose to examine how molecular inhibitors affect signaling downstream of TLRs in HepG2 cells treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from E. coli. Mitogen-activated protein kinase is a cellular molecule in signaling cascades that directs cellular response mechanisms. MAPK can be …

Routes Of Pesticide Exposure In Solitary, Cavity-Nesting Bees, Andi M. Kopit, Theresa L. Pitts-Singer

Biology Faculty Publications

Declines of pollinator health and their populations continue to be commercial and ecological concerns. Agricultural practices, such as the use of agrochemicals, are among factors attributed to honey bee (Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) population losses and are also known to have negative effects on populations of managed non-Apis pollinators. Although pesticide registration routinely requires evaluation of impacts on honey bees, studies of this social species may not reveal important pesticide exposure routes where managed, solitary bees are commonly used. Studies of solitary bees offer additional bee models that are practical from the aspect of availability, known rearing …

Differential Susceptibilities Of Anopheles Albimanus And Anopheles Stephensi Mosquitoes To Ivermectin, Staci M. Dreyer, Kelsey J. Morin, Jefferson A. Vaughan

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Vector control is a crucial element of anti-malaria campaigns and works best when there is a thorough knowledge of the biology and behaviour of the Anopheles vector species responsible for transmitting malaria within a given locale. With the push to eradicate malaria stronger than ever, there is a growing need to develop and deploy control strategies that exploit the behavioural attributes of local vector species. This is especially true in regions where the vectors are exophagic (i.e., prefer to bite outdoors), exophilic (i.e., prefer to remain outdoors), and zoophagic (i.e., as likely to feed on non-humans as humans). One …

The Natural Variance Of The Arabidopsis Floral Secondary Metabolome, Takayuki Tohge, Monica Borghi, Alisdair R. Fernie

Biology Faculty Publications

Application of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics enables the detection of genotype-related natural variance in metabolism. Differences in secondary metabolite composition of flowers of 64 Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) natural accessions, representing a considerable portion of the natural variation in this species are presented. The raw metabolomic data of the accessions and reference extracts derived from flavonoid knockout mutants have been deposited in the MetaboLights database. Additionally, summary tables of floral secondary metabolite data are presented in this article to enable efficient re-use of the dataset either in metabolomics cross-study comparisons or correlation-based integrative analysis of other metabolomic and phenotypic features such as …

A Pex1 Missense Mutation Improves Peroxisome Function In A Subset Of Arabidopsis Pex6 Mutants Without Restoring Pex5 Recycling, Bethany Zolman, Kim Gonzalez, Sarah Ratzel, Kendall Burks, Charles Danan, Jeanne Wages, Bonnie Bartel

Biology Department Faculty Works

Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles critical for plant and human development because they house essential metabolic functions, such as fatty acid β-oxidation. The interacting ATPases PEX1 and PEX6 contribute to peroxisome function by recycling PEX5, a cytosolic receptor needed to import proteins targeted to the peroxisomal matrix. Arabidopsis pex6 mutants exhibit low PEX5 levels and defects in peroxisomal matrix protein import, oil body utilization, peroxisomal metabolism, and seedling growth. These defects are hypothesized to stem from impaired PEX5 retrotranslocation leading to PEX5 polyubiquitination and consequent degradation of PEX5 via the proteasome or of the entire organelle via autophagy. We recovered a …

A Pex1 Missense Mutation Improves Peroxisome Function In A Subset Of Arabidopsis Pex6 Mutants Without Restoring Pex5 Recycling, Bethany Zolman, Kim L. Gonzalez, Sarah E. Ratzel, Kendall H. Burks, Charles H. Danan, Jeanne Wages, Bonnie Bartel

Bethany Zolman

Innovations In High School Physiology: The Arduino Heart Rate L.E.D Monitor, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Physiology and Disease (PAD) is a Biology elective at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora, Illinois, which is a residential magnate school for students gifted in math and science. My PAD class is based upon student centered learning which has proven to be the best way to challenge students to take responsibility for their own learning. Students spend the most time on the cardiovascular unit, wherein they measure their heart rates, lung capacity and blood pressure before, during and after exercise, correlating their data to their understanding of neuronal controls. Students also build a working model of the mechanical …

Cuban Land Use And Conservation, From Rainforests To Coral Reefs, Gillian L. Galford, Margarita Fernandez, Joe Roman, Irene Monasterolo, Sonya Ahamed, Greg Fiske, Patricia Gonzalez-Diaz, Les Kaufman

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Cuba is an ecological rarity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its complex political and economic history shows limited disturbances, extinctions, pollution, and resource depletion by legal or de facto measures. Vast mangroves, wetlands, and forests play key roles in protecting biodiversity and reducing risks of hazards caused or aggravated by climate change. Cuba boasts coral reefs with some of the region’s greatest fish biomass and coral cover. Although Cuba has set aside major protected areas that safeguard a host of endemic species, its environment is by no means pristine. Its early history is one of deforestation and agricultural production …

Organismal Biology (Georgia Tech), Shana Kerr, David Garton

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Organismal Biology was created under a Round Six ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Principles Of Biology (Egsc), Martiana Sega, David Chevalier

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Principles of Biology was created under a Round Six ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Plants, Society, And The Environment, Thomas Harnden, Katie Bridges

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Plants, Society, and the Environment was created under a Round Six ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Reproductive Correlates Of A Perineal Gland In The Hispid Cotton Rat, Robert K. Rose, Julie A. Winchell

Virginia Journal of Science

During studies of the annual cycle of reproduction in the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) in southeastern Virginia, we discovered an anal (more specifically, perineal) gland that is present only in males during the breeding season. The perineal gland encircles the lower end of the rectum and has ductal connections to the urethra, through which its secretions likely are delivered. This fatty gland is highly developed in breeding males but, like the testes and seminal vesicles, regresses during the winter non-breeding season. The prominence and cyclicity of the perineal gland suggests that it somehow facilitates normal reproduction. The …

Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Is A Potential Therapeutic Target In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells, Abdul Manan Sanni-Adam

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Temporal Changes In Landscape Heterogeneity As An Influence On Freshwater Turtle Habitat In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Dibiase

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Human activity causes landscape changes, which in turn can influence habitat fragmentation and a loss of habitat connectivity. The purpose of this project was to evaluate temporal changes in landscape heterogeneity on potential habitat availability and accessibility for the painted turtle, Chrysemys picta. We hypothesized that the number of freshwater ponds has increased and that the landscape between freshwater ponds has become more heterogeneous from the 1960s to 2016 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We obtained historical wetlands and land use data from the 1950s to 1970s as well as wetlands and land use data from 2011 to 2016 to …

Octopus Resource Of Western Australia Harvest Strategy : 2018 – 2022 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries management papers

No abstract provided.

Association Of Vasp Polymorphisms And Infectious Disease Burden In Global Populations And Identification Of Candidate Resistance Haplotypes In Sub-Saharan Africa, Melinda Phun, Blake Rosenn, Danny Glenn, Dhanushi Rupasinghe, James Church, David Zuzga, Shaohua Fan, Sarah Tishkoff

HON499 projects

Enteric pathogens employ numerous strategies to breach the intestinal epithelial barrier. One critical target of these pathogens is the host cell cytoskeleton. Pathogens may induce cytoskeletal remodeling to disrupt tight junctions and increase the permeability of the epithelium to gain access to underlying tissue. Alternatively, the cytoskeletal machinery may be directly co-opted to facilitate the attachment, invasion, or intracellular motility of these pathogens. The vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) is a processive actin polymerase that induces membrane remodeling through the polymerization of actin cytoskeletal filaments. Interestingly, VASP is regulated by a variety of pathogens to induce cytoskeletal remodeling in host cells. If …

High-Throughput Screen Of Drug Repurposing Library Identifies Inhibitors Of Sarcocystis Neurona Growth, Gregory D. Bowden, Kirkwood M. Land, Roberta M. O'Connor, Heather M. Fritz

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

The apicomplexan parasite Sarcocystis neurona is the primary etiologic agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a serious neurologic disease of horses. Many horses in the U.S. are at risk of developing EPM; approximately 50% of all horses in the U.S. have been exposed to S. neurona and treatments for EPM are 60-70% effective. Advancement of treatment requires new technology to identify new drugs for EPM. To address this critical need, we developed, validated, and implemented a high-throughput screen to test 725 FDA-approved compounds from the NIH clinical collections library for anti-S. neurona activity. Our screen identified 18 compounds with confirmed …

Changes In Neural Activation Between Pre-Release And Post-Release Mouth Brooding Astatotilapia Burtoni Females, Victoria Oanh Huynh

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Ph Dependence Of Dna Binding By Dna Polymerase I From Pychromonas Ingrahamii And Single Stranded Binding Protein From Deinococcus Radiodurans, Olivia Leonovicz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.