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Manduca Sexta As An Animal Model Of Muscle Aging, David Melanson

Honors Thesis

Aging has a multisystemic effect on an organism’s functional physiology and quality of life. One such effect is the progressive loss of muscle mass, strength, and function, known as sarcopenia. A thorough investigation to the multiple factors that contribute to sarcopenia is required. Models are used to dissect the mechanistic understanding of the muscle aging process. Manduca sexta is emerging as a novel and complementary muscle aging model because their flight muscles are metabolically and functionally similar to vertebrate skeletal muscle. Manduca sexta is already a prominent invertebrate model organism in neurobiology, immunology, developmental research, and flight mechanics because of …

Comparison Of Skin Microbial Communities Between Striped And Unstriped Morphs Of Plethodon Cinereus In Massachusetts, Alyssa St. John

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The skin-microbial community on amphibians plays a large role in maintaining the general health of the organism. One of the most common patterns found in amphibian skin microbiomes pertains to the antifungal aspect of these communities: beneficial microbes protect amphibians against harmful pathogenic fungi. The eastern red-backed salamander is one of the few amphibian species with well-documented skin microbes that produce antifungal compounds. These compounds are potentially lethal to chytrid fungus, one of the deadliest amphibian pathogens. The eastern red-backed salamander also has two primary color morphs that coexist over a large geographic range. Physiological differences between morphs have been …

Evaluation Of Chili Pepper (Capsicum Annuum), Tiger Nuts (Cyperus Esculentus), And Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) As Sources Of Antioxidant Compounds For The Potential Of Antiaging-Like Activity, Chelsea Toyer

Theses

Aging is a natural process that living organisms go through as they become older. In humans and other animals, aging is accompanied by several morphological changes, including the formation of wrinkles. Wrinkles are also caused by various environmental factors such as excessive exposure to sun or pollution, and continuous sleep deprivation. These environmental factors cause oxidation of skin cells and the degradation of subcutaneous fatty acids, leading to the formation of wrinkles. Skin care and wrinkle treatment products are part of a multimillion-dollar industry. Plant-based products are an alternative method for treating wrinkles and premature aging. Several antioxidants naturally found …

Illuminating The First Bacteria, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The ability to sequence genes and, more recently, whole genomes has transformed our understanding of the tree of life by elucidating the tremendous diversity of microorganisms and by placing plants, animals, and fungi as branches nested among microbial lineages (1–3). The resulting evolutionary tree divides life into three domains: the exclusively microbial Bacteria and Archaea, and Eukarya, organisms whose cells contain nuclei (including ciliates, amoebae, and animals). Yet, the ordering of the earliest branching events on the tree and the nature of now-extinct ancestors remains unclear. On page 588 of this issue, Coleman et al. (4) provide a new estimate …

Hidden Consequences: The Effects Of Daikon Radish On The Microbial Communities Of Purple Vetch In Cover Crop Mixtures, Marcello B. Kuan

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Many microbes live in and on plants. Some of these microbes are mutualists, and help the plant, while others are pathogenic and cause harm. It is not always clear which will occur, because the outcomes are influenced by the host, the microbe, and their shared environmental context. A previous study from our lab of the microbes associated with cover crops at the oldest continually-operating organic farm in California, Star Route Farms, found that leaves of cover crops were frequently inhabited by fungi in the classes Dothideomycetes, Leotiomycetes, Sordariomycetes, and Agaricomycetes. Using the recently-published FungalTraits database, I determined the commonly observed …

Terrestrial Soldier Crab (Coenobita Clypeatus, Fabricius 1787) And Cerion Spp. (Röding 1798) Shell Relationship On San Salvador Island, Bahamas, Harley Hunt

Biology Theses

The Caribbean terrestrial soldier crab, Coenobita clypeatus(Fabricius 1787), coexist and utilize the shells of numerous species of land and marine gastropods. Soldier crabs rely on gastropod shells for protection as the crabs have a soft abdomen, leaving them vulnerable for predation and desiccation, threatening their survival. This creates a strong pressure to obtain well-fitting shells that provide adequate protection against water loss. Cerion of Röding (1798) shells are one of the most commonly used shells among living colonies of C. clypeatuson San Salvador Island. This study is interested in the frequency of shell use by C. clypeatus crabs …

Comparing The Effect Of Four Propagation Techniques On Hybrid Chestnut Seedling Quality, Taylor Evans

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Extensive resources have been used to breed hybrid chestnuts for reintroduction into the historical range of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata). Improving seedling quality is an efficacious method to improving restoration outcomes and nursery propagation methods can be selected to improve seedling quality, increasing the likelihood of survival. Four production methods (bed grown, air prune beds, container grown, and the Root Production Method®) and three media types (field soil, peat-perlite-vermiculite mix, and pine bark-rice hulls-sand mix) were compared across four measures of seedling quality (height, root collar diameter, root volume, and number of first order lateral roots) to …

Stage Of Estrous Cycle Influences Behavior After Social Stress, Alexander Jonah Rodriguez

Honors Thesis

Since women are almost twice as likely to develop major depression compared to men, research into this and other potentially debilitating mood disorders using behavioral studies should involve females despite hormonal, physiological, and potential behavior changes due to reproductive cyclicity. Until recently, most studies exclusively used males, thus limiting results of previous research to half of the population. Using adult female C57BL/6N mice as model organisms, we exposed them to novel forms of social stress across five days which encompassed the four-day estrous cycle to determine if the stages of the estrous cycle had an impact on behavior when they …

Effects Of Synthetic Estrogen (17Α-Ethinyl Estradiol) On Male Fiddler Crab Aggression, Micayla Shirley

Honors College Theses

Pharmaceuticals, including hormones and antibiotics, are considered contaminants due to their widespread use and release into the environment. Hormones, like the synthetic estrogen used in oral contraceptives (17α-ethinylestradiol), are present in freshwater and marine systems, but with relatively unknown effects on the organisms that live there. Ethinylestradiol (EE2) accumulates in waterlogged soil (sediment) with potential to harm sediment-dwelling animals. For example, fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator) are vital members of salt marsh communities. Their burrowing adds oxygen to sediments and cycles nutrients, and they are an important food resource to birds and raccoons. Male fiddler crabs are territorial, aggressively …

Assessing The Presence And Concentration Of Microplastics In The Gizzards Of Virginia Waterfowl, Thomas Bustamante

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Microplastics are defined as plastics smaller than 5mm which originate from sources such as manufactured pellets, personal care products, and the breakdown of larger plastic items. They have become a ubiquitous water pollutant, and while a substantial amount of research on their impacts on marine ecosystems has been conducted, the presence of microplastics in freshwater systems and organisms remains less understood. In this study, we assessed the presence and concentrations of microplastic particles in the gizzards of the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Longtailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Ringneck Duck (Aythya collaris), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos …

A Year In Syntropy: Exploring Syntropic Agriculture, Ajah Eills

College Honors Program

Syntropic agriculture is a form of sustainable agriculture that originated in Brazil around 25 years ago. Although it has since spread throughout Brazil and Australia, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of the driving scientific principles behind syntropy. For my thesis, I conducted literature research and interviews with farmers, with the goal of describing the ecological principles on which syntropy is based, including its primary goal to improve soil health. Much of my thesis contrasted syntropic agriculture with conventional agriculture as practiced in the United States today, but I also explored the differences between syntropic agriculture and other …

Development Of A Habitat Model For An Endemic Leuciscid, The Sandhills Chub (Semotilus Lumbee), Garrett Mitchell Herigan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sickness Behaviors Across Vertebrate Taxa: Proximate And Ultimate Mechanisms, Patricia C. Lopes, Susannah S. French, Douglas C. Woodhams, Sandra A. Binning

Biology Faculty Publications

There is nothing like a pandemic to get the world thinking about how infectious diseases affect individual behavior. In this respect, sick animals can behave in ways that are dramatically different from healthy animals: altered social interactions and changes to patterns of eating and drinking are all hallmarks of sickness. As a result, behavioral changes associated with inflammatory responses (i.e. sickness behaviors) have important implications for disease spread by affecting contacts with others and with common resources, including water and/or sleeping sites. In this Review, we summarize the behavioral modifications, including changes to thermoregulatory behaviors, known to occur in vertebrates …

Mitochondrial Distribution Of Glycine Receptors In Motor Neuron Cell Lines, Katsiaryna Milashevich

Student Theses and Dissertations

Although non-essential, glycine plays an important role in major metabolic reactions and is most known for its anti-inflammatory effects. An accumulation of contemporary research has shown that glycine is able to stabilize membrane potential using glycine receptors at the cellular level and to protect mitochondrial function directly, whether it is from inflammation, heavy metal poisoning, or ischemia-induced neuroinflammation. In this research, the existence of a hypothetical mitochondrial glycine receptor is examined. Immunofluorescence imaging was used to examine the presence of the glycine receptor subunits alpha 1 and alpha 2 in both non- differentiated and differentiated neuroblastoma cell lines. The preliminary …

Research Towards Understanding Hox Regulation By Cdx, Joshua M. Fisher

Honors Theses

In this project, we aim to functionally test the contribution that individual Cdx binding sites have in hox gene regulation. We will achieve this by individually blocking Cdx binding sites using CRISPR/dCas9 in the zebrafish and then analyzing changes in the time, distribution, and levels of hox gene transcription.

We will focus our analysis in only one of the seven zebrafish hox clusters, the hoxca cluster. We are focusing on the hoxca gene cluster because it has lost the least number of genes relative to other clusters and is involved in specifying the axial identity of cells in …

Notch And Mediator Work Together To Direct Hasc Self-Renewal, Jaylen Mumphrey

Master's Theses

Stem cells are unique in that they possess totipotent, pluripotent, or multipotent differentiation capabilities and can also self-renew. Stem cells are in either a state of selfrenewal or differentiation, but never both. If we are able to gain a full understanding of the underlying mechanisms that allow stem cells to remain self-renewing and multipotent, we will better be able to control the fate of cells, ultimately allowing stem cells to be used to their full capabilities in regenerative medicine. My research focuses on MED12 and its effects on Notch signaling. Here we describe the expression profile and activity of MED12, …

The Role Of Med12 In Adipogenesis, Caroline Helen Rinderle

Master's Theses

In order for any function to occur within a cell, transcription factors must be able to interact with genes. When this occurs, genes are expressed, and ultimately, proteins are translated and perform the specific function that needs to be done within the cell. In order for this to occur, genes must interact with transcription machinery. The Mediator complex recruits transcription factors to genes in order to promote cell-type specific gene expression. The Mediator complex is a multi-protein complex consisting of four modules: head, middle, tail, and kinase. The kinase module is known to dissociate from the rest of the complex …

Pre-Existing Microfilarial Infections Of American Robins (Passeriformes: Turdidae) And Common Grackles (Passeriformes: Icteridae) Have Limited Impact On Enhancing Dissemination Of West Nile Virus In Culex Pipiens Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Jefferson A. Vaughan, Juanita Hinson, Elizabeth S. Andrews, Michael J. Turrell

Biology Faculty Publications

Microfilariae (MF) are the immature stages of filarial nematode parasites and inhabit the blood and dermis of all classes of vertebrates, except fish. Concurrent ingestion of MF and arboviruses by mosquitoes can enhance mosquito transmission of virus compared to when virus is ingested alone. Shortly after being ingested, MF penetrate the mosquito’s midgut and may introduce virus into the mosquito’s hemocoel, creating a disseminated viral infection much sooner than normal. This phenomenon is known as microfilarial enhancement. Both American Robins and Common Grackles harbor MF—that is, Eufilaria sp. and Chandlerella quiscali von Linstow (Spirurida: Onchocercidae), respectively. We compared infection and …

Choosing Life Stories: Body As Teacher, .O Love, S. M. Curry, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

Biological science and the larger society interact with each other. Biologists tell stories--stories such as fertilization, body development, and evolution--using the narrative structures given to them by the larger society. These stories have to be consistent with the scientific data; but what data are collected is also a social judgement. The stories that biologists have told have often emphasized competition and have often marginalized cooperative efforts. New research has shown that these competitive stories offer a very incomplete version of what is happening in our bodies, and that mutual cooperation is a major part of how the body develops and …

Composition, Diversity, Abundance, And Spatial Variation In The Floral Nectar Mycobiome Of Rhododendron Catawbiense And Lobelia Cardinalis, Ayesha Khan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Plant nectar microbiome, primarily consisting of fungi and bacteria, can qualitatively and quantitively alter the floral rewards by exploiting the chemical composition of the nectar which can thus impact plant-pollinator interactions, and ultimately affect plant reproductive success. Evidence suggests that changes in the microenvironmental conditions across various spatial gradients can induce changes in the floral nectar microbiome, which can account for microbial variation not only across plant species, but also within. Furthermore, nectar microbiome is also contingent on the pollinator systems and nectar quality. In this study, we used Rhododendron catawbiense (bee-pollinated; highly toxic nectar) and Lobelia cardinalis (hummingbird-pollinated; mildly …

Temperature-Dependent Macrophage Activity In Rainbow Trout, Danica Mcgrevey

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fever is an essential component of the immune response. Fever enhances immune responses as well as creates an environment in which the body has advantages over pathogens. Macrophages are often the first cells that come in contact with pathogens, as they reside in tissues. They are important for their engulfment of pathogens that results in the digestion of the pathogen, but they also produce nitric oxide and cytokines that contribute to immune response in a variety of ways, including initiating adaptive immunity and directing the production and activity of other immune cells. We were curious about macrophages from other temperature …

The Mechanism Of Enzyme Stability And Specificity In Caspase-3, Liqi Yao

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The caspase family has been found as regulated proteins that play an important role in apoptosis and inflammation. Incorrect caspase regulation may cause serious diseases such as cancer. Knowing the mechanisms and evolution of how caspase prefers substrate may lead to finding drugs to cure these diseases. Our research mainly focuses on two major characteristics of caspase: specificity and stability. For enzyme specificity, by comparing the structural differences between human caspase-3 and zebrafish caspase-3a, a four-site combination was found that may play important role in the relax specificity of zebrafish caspase-3a. By doing molecular dynamic simulations, we reveal that two …

Effects Of Ph Shock And Heat Stress On The Growth Of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria And Their Phosphate Solubilization, Ishanka Udayangi Hemachandra

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Rhizobia are well known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N) into ammonia, so called biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), either as free-living bacteria in soil or as symbiotic partners of legume plants. Particularly, symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) gains much attention due to its compatibility as a source of N fertilizer in sustainable agriculture. Symbiotic association between Bradyrhizobium japonicum and soybean (Glycine max) has been used not only as a model system to study SNF, but also as a means of biological soil fertilization to improve crop yield. However, failure to perform optimal BNF in the field is the major …

Functional Genomics Reveals The Mechanisms And Evolution Of Extreme Physiological Adaptations In Snakes, Blair William Perry

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Previous studies examining post-feeding organ regeneration in the Burmese python (Python molurusbivittatus) have identified thousands of genes that are significantly differentially regulated during this process. However, substantial gaps remain in our understanding of coherent mechanisms and specific growth pathways that underlie these rapid and extensive shifts in organ form and function. Here we addressed these gaps by comparing gene expression in the Burmese python heart, liver, kidney, and small intestine across pre- and post-feeding time points (fasted, one day post-feeding, and four days post-feeding),and by conducting detailed analyses of molecular pathways and predictions of upstream regulatory molecules across these organ …

Evolutionary And Biochemical Characterization Of Effector Caspases, Suman Shrestha

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Caspases are an ancient class of cysteine-dependent aspartate-specific proteases that control apoptosis, responsible for cell differentiation, and maintain cellular homeostasis in multicellular organisms. Dysregulation of caspase functions leads to many human diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders. Due to the involvement of caspases in several diseases, it is crucial to understand how they are regulated. Extant human caspases have been studied extensively for over two decades. However, the success in the development of therapeutics against caspase dysfunctions has very little success to date. Hence, the evolutionary approaches for studying caspases could help understand their structure and function and the overall …

Effects Of Heavy Metal Pollution On The Antipredator Behavior Of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma Spectabile), Caleb S. O'Neal

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Heavy metal pollution can have numerous negative impacts on stream fishes, including both lethal and sublethal effects. Because of the sensitivity of fishes to toxins, they are excellent environmental indicators of stream and watershed health. The Tri-State Mining District is a Superfund site located in parts of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that offers a good opportunity to study sublethal effects of heavy metal pollutants on fish behavior. I observed the antipredator behavior of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma spectabile) from 3 streams that varied in the abundance of heavy metal pollutants. In the lab, darters from the most polluted site …

Elucidating The Evolution Of Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation Using Beetles, Balan Ramesh

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Sex chromosomes are unique because of their role in sex determination. More importantly, sex chromosomes spend an unequal amount of time between the sexes which has significant consequences since it provides an opportunity to understand how evolutionary forces act on the genome. For example, in the XY system of sex determination, males are heterogametic and carry XY chromosomes, whereas females are homogametic and carry XX chromosomes. This difference in the gene dose of X- linked genes between the sexes can be catastrophic for interacting proteins if not balanced. In chapter 1, I introduce the background and current state of understanding …

The Phylogeography And Molecular Systematics Of Woodrats (Genus: Neotoma) In The American Southwest, Katrina M. Derieg

Biology ETDs

The American Southwest is a region where many biomes converge, harboring a wide variety of habitats ranging from desert to alpine environments. Habitat heterogeneity and the confluence of multiple species ranges make the American Southwest a biodiversity hotspot. Climate cycling throughout the Quaternary has driven the dynamics of changes in species’ ranges that are recorded by genetic signatures. For example, range expansion may lead to secondary contact between previously isolated populations or species. Contact can result in multiple evolutionary outcomes, including hybridization or the reinforcement and maintenance of independent lineages. I used multi-locus species tree methods to re-examine the nominal …

Pectin And Alginate Extraction To Treat Liquid Cafo Manure, Clare Sunderman

Honors Projects

For this project, various extraction methods were used to extract pectin from Pastinaca Sativa and alginate from Macrocystis. These extractions were then dried and used in treating 250mL of manure along with a CaCl₂ or FeCl₃ coagulant. It was found that CaCl₂ was not as effective as FeCl₃ in coagulating manure. But the results obtained suggest that pectin and alginate obtained with a simpler extraction method is just as effective as the highly purified and refined pectin and alginate produced for the food industry, in the treatment of CAFO manure. The liquid portion of the …

On The Rocks: Changes In Substrate Alter Antipredator Behavior In Benthic Stream Fish, Sarah White

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Natural selection should strongly favor characteristics that make prey difficult for predators to distinguish from the background, including both morphological and behavioral crypsis. The Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) is a small, cryptic, benthic fish that inhabits gravel-bottomed streams and is preyed upon by predators such as the benthic Knobfin Sculpin (Cottus immaculatus) and the pelagic Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). In three experiments, I tested whether the behavior of darters was influenced by the opportunity for crypticity offered by their substrate and by the presence of cues from benthic and pelagic predators. First, darters in …