Other Microbiology Commons^™

Unmasking Candidiasis: A Mechanistic Model For Innate Immune-Fungal Cell Wall Dynamics, Erica Hidu

Honors College

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that can cause a potentially lethal systemic infection in immunocompromised patients. Increasing drug resistance of Candida species to anti-fungal treatments makes the study of this pathogen ever more important. Study of the C. albicans cell wall provides insight into its importance in pathogenesis, immune recognition, and anti-fungal action. It has been shown that β- glucan, a masked component of the fungal cell wall and ligand for the immune receptor Dectin-1, becomes available for immune recognition in the mouse model of systemic candidiasis. To develop a mechanistic model to explain this unmasking, we investigated ...

Validation Of Microwave Heating Instructions For The Destruction Of Salmonella Spp. In Microwaveable Foods, Carol J. Valenzuela

Dissertations & Theses in Food Science and Technology

Microwave heating instructions for three products (chicken nuggets, turkey pot-pies and mashed potato) were developed and validated based on end point temperatures using two microwave ovens (2,459 MHz; 700 W and 1,350 W). Heating instructions for chicken nuggets were validated using different configuration of product placement (edge or center of the carousel) and number of units (4, 6 and 8). Salmonella spp. reductions of 6.56 log CFU/g (700 W) were observed in chicken nuggets heated in groups of 4 and placed at the center of the carousel with 1 min 26 s of heating time with ...

Is Your Immunity Compromised By Being Nice To Your Bacteria? Insights From A Social Amoeba, William E. Callison

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Eukaryotes are dependent on beneficial microbes, but can be killed by harmful ones. How have they evolved responses that protect themselves from harmful bacteria while coddling the beneficial ones? An ideal system for investigating this relationship is the eukaryote social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum because some clones carry commensal bacteria through the social state to use as future seed corn, while others do not. Most of its life, D. discoideum amoeba consume bacteria and divide by binary fission. Under starvation, amoebae aggregate into a multicellular body which crawls to light, then forms a fruiting body of 20% dead stalk cells and ...

Characterization Of Genes And Pathways Controlling Biofilm Formation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Neha Sarode

Doctoral Dissertations

Biofilms are a mode of growth where aggregated cells adhere to a foreign surface and grow as a complex community. Biofilms have found wide utility in commercial industries, however infections caused by biofilms in clinical settings are a major cause of concern. Understanding molecular details of biofilm formation could help in exploitation or elimination efforts.

We utilize Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to study biofilm formation. S. cerevisiae strain belonging to genetic background Σ [sigma] 1278b is capable of forming biofilms, on low density (0.3%) agar media. When grown at 25°[degree] C for 5 days, it develops ...

A World Review Of Fungi, Yeasts, And Slime Molds In Caves, Karen J. Vanderwolf, David Malloch, Donald F. Mcalpine, Graham J. Forbes

International Journal of Speleology

We provide a review of fungi, yeasts, and slime molds that have been found in natural solution caves and mines worldwide. Such habitats provide frequent roost sites for bats, and in eastern North America the environmental conditions that support white-nose syndrome, a lethal fungal disease currently devastating bat populations. A list of 1029 species of fungi, slime moulds, and yeasts in 518 genera have been documented from caves and mines worldwide in 225 articles. Ascomycota dominate the cave environment. Most research has been conducted in temperate climates, especially in Europe. A mean of 17.9±24.4SD fungal species are ...

Analyzing Environmental Microbes For Genomic Regions Promoting Ionic Liquid Tolerance In E. Coli, Ann Nguyen, Alison Richins, Thomas Rüegg, Steven Singer, Michael Thelen

STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program Posters

Ionic liquids (ILs) are promising as solvents to increase the efficiency of biofuel production; however, ILs are toxic to microbes used in the fermentation of liquid fuels. To engineer IL resistant biofuel hosts, environmental bacteria were screened for tolerance, and these were used to create gene libraries to test in E. coli. Future characterization of these libraries using molecular techniques will be used to identify genes that contribute IL-tolerance to transformed microbes.

Study Of Cellular Responses Under Chemically Induced Hypoxia, George Coricor

Theses

No abstract provided.

Sequesteration Of Lead, Cadmium And Arsenic By Lactobacillus Species And Detoxication Potential, Marc A. Monachese

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Toxic metals are a class of elements with no biological role but with extreme toxicity. On average only 50% of ingested toxins are absorbed into the human body, for reasons still unknown. It was hypothesized that the gut microbiota plays a role in reducing toxin absorbance. The aim of this study was to determine if constituents of the gut, namely Lactobacillus species, are able to sequester arsenic, lead and cadmium from the environment. Lactobacilli were incubated with the metals, both in vitro and with a Caco-2 cell line. Analysis of metal concentrations was conducted to determine if these were reduced ...