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Response To Phototaxic Stimulation In Relation To Sex And Reproductive State In The Urban Adapted Mosquito, Culex Pipiens F. Molestus, Karen M. Catalina May 2020

Response To Phototaxic Stimulation In Relation To Sex And Reproductive State In The Urban Adapted Mosquito, Culex Pipiens F. Molestus, Karen M. Catalina

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The mosquito, Culex pipiens f. molestus, is a scientifically relevant species due to its impact upon both human and veterinary medicine. This city dwelling disease vector lives and reproduces in underground tunnels and sewer systems throughout the world. After reproducing, adults begin searching for food above ground, but little is known about the sensory signals that guide this seeking behavior. Because cues may have a major impact on feeding and reproduction, I compared the phototaxic response of adult male and female Cx. pipiens f. molestus at different reproductive states. Virgin females, mated females, virgin males, and mated males were monitored …

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Contrasting Seasonal Presence Of West Nile Virus In Mosquitos Between Coastal And Inland Communities Of New Jersey, Domenica Mousa May 2020

Contrasting Seasonal Presence Of West Nile Virus In Mosquitos Between Coastal And Inland Communities Of New Jersey, Domenica Mousa

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In 1999, West Nile Virus (WNV) was introduced to New York City, most likely by an infected bird or mosquito. Since then, West Nile has been detected in every one of the forty-eight continental states of the US, and outbreaks have occurred yearly. Mosquitos play an important role as the main vector for WNV transmission to mammals, birds and some reptiles. As New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the United States, WNV is an ever-present public health concern. High human population density may increase the probability of coming in contact with a WNV positive mosquito. The prevalence …

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The Antiviral Effects Of Embelin On Hsv-1 In Cultured Vero Cells, Tony Elias May 2020

The Antiviral Effects Of Embelin On Hsv-1 In Cultured Vero Cells, Tony Elias

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a linear double stranded DNA virus that is responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases within the United States. However, treatment drugs for HSV-1 could be costly and may have side effects. In recent years the number of cases of drug resistant HSV-1 has increased, resulting in interest for novel treatments. This study aimed to investigate the antiviral effects of the reagent Embelin on HSV-1 infection in cultured Vero Cells. Embelin is a benzoquinone isolated from the plant Embelia ribes. Cell viability and cell proliferation assays were conducted to determine …

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Tobacco Enhances Bacterial-Induced Periodontal Bone Loss In Mice., Mina Iskander May 2020

Tobacco Enhances Bacterial-Induced Periodontal Bone Loss In Mice., Mina Iskander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Tobacco smoking is the leading environmental risk factor for periodontal diseases. Delineation of the mechanisms underlying tobacco-induced or exacerbated periodontitis is hampered by the lack of an appropriate and reliable animal model. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that Porphyromonas-gingivalis-infected, cigarette smoke-exposed mice would represent reproducible models of acute (ligature model) and chronic (oral gavage model) tobacco-enhanced periodontitis that reflect multiple aspects of the disease noted in human smokers. Methods: In a chronic oral gavage disease model, Balb/c mice (6-8 weeks, 4 groups of n = 6 per group) were exposed to smoke produced by a Teague-10 smoking machine from 1R6F research …

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Reversible Inhibition Of Mycobacterial Dnab Protein Splicing By Zinc, Gabrielle Hardison May 2020

Reversible Inhibition Of Mycobacterial Dnab Protein Splicing By Zinc, Gabrielle Hardison

Honors College Theses

Inteins are emerging as post-translational regulatory elements, undergoing conditional protein splicing in response to a variety of environmental cues. Inteins are seamlessly removed by self-splicing from exteins, or flanking portions of the host protein, which they interrupt. DnaB of Mycobacterium smegmatis, a helicase essential for replication, harbors two inteins known as DnaBi1 and DnaBi2, each with discrete structural characteristics and insertion positions. DnaBi1 was used here to design a reporter system which links splicing with resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin. We built a construct that strictly requires catalytically active DnaBi1 for survival in the presence of kanamycin and used …

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Investigating The Interactions Between Individual Calmodulin And Hiv-1 Protein Domains, Riley K. Kendall, Jerry Larue May 2020

Investigating The Interactions Between Individual Calmodulin And Hiv-1 Protein Domains, Riley K. Kendall, Jerry Larue

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The World Health Organization found that 37.9 million people were living with HIV by the end of 2018. HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system through viral replication and the destruction of CD4+ T-cells, which are white blood cells that detect infection and make antibodies. A cure for HIV has not yet been discovered. HIV-1 contains a Gag polyprotein which regulates the stages of viral replication. Previous studies suggest that the myristoyl group of a matrix protein peptide found on the Gag polyprotein, MA, forms a complex with a calcium-binding, multifunctional regulatory protein called Calmodulin (CaM). CaM …

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Efficient Conditional Inactivation Of Rdh10 Reveals Important Role Of Retinoic Acid During Lung Branching Morphogenesis., Nhut Quang Huy Tran May 2020

Efficient Conditional Inactivation Of Rdh10 Reveals Important Role Of Retinoic Acid During Lung Branching Morphogenesis., Nhut Quang Huy Tran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Birth defects are complicated pathological processes. Many birth defects can be traced back to disrupted regulation of molecular signaling pathways during embryogenesis. One of the most important gene regulatory factors during embryo development is retinoic acid (RA). However, studying the specific roles of RA in each organ during embryogenesis in vivo is challenging. The Sandell laboratory has a conditional mutant mouse model that can potentially be used for studying the role of RA during embryogenesis by inducing stage-specific RA deficiency. This model allows retinol dehydrogenase 10 (Rdh10), a gene required for RA production, to be inactivated at a …

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Historical And Contemporary Variables Affecting The Range And Distribution Of Aedes Aegypti, The Yellow Fever Mosquito, In The United States, Nicole Mackey May 2020

Historical And Contemporary Variables Affecting The Range And Distribution Of Aedes Aegypti, The Yellow Fever Mosquito, In The United States, Nicole Mackey

Master's Theses

Aedes aegypti, the primary mosquito vector of the yellow fever virus, threatens global health by passing on this virus, as well as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses. Through its natural tendency to live in highly urban areas and bite human hosts; understanding the factors that affect the historical and current range of the pest is invaluable (Gubler, 1998). Although these viruses are not normally found in the United States, lack of vaccinations and wide-spread presence of the mosquito could lead to these diseases being reintroduced with potentially devastating effects (Monath, 2001). To determine a partial historical range of A. aegypti …

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Parallel Evolution Of Tobramycin Resistance Across Species And Environments, Michelle R. Scribner, Alfonso Santos-Lopez, Christopher Marshall, Christopher Deitrick, Vaughn S. Cooper May 2020

Parallel Evolution Of Tobramycin Resistance Across Species And Environments, Michelle R. Scribner, Alfonso Santos-Lopez, Christopher Marshall, Christopher Deitrick, Vaughn S. Cooper

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Different species exposed to a common stress may adapt by mutations in shared pathways or in unique systems, depending on how past environments have molded their genomes. Understanding how diverse bacterial pathogens evolve in response to an antimicrobial treatment is a pressing example of this problem, where discovery of molecular parallelism could lead to clinically useful predictions. Evolution experiments with pathogens in environments containing antibiotics, combined with periodic whole-population genome sequencing, can be used to identify many contending routes to antimicrobial resistance. We separately propagated two clinically relevant Gram-negative pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, in increasing concentrations of …

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Impact Of Epa And Dha Supplementation And 15-Lox-1 Expression On Colitis And Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Jonathan Jaoude May 2020

Impact Of Epa And Dha Supplementation And 15-Lox-1 Expression On Colitis And Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Jonathan Jaoude

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients not only suffer from colitis but also from increased morbidity and mortality of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). The enzyme 15-lipoxygenase-1 (15-LOX-1) is crucial to converting omega-3 fatty acid derivatives eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to resolvins, potent anti-inflammatory products. 15-LOX-1 effects on the conversion of EPA and DHA to resolvins that subsequently exert anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic effects have received little attention. To address this knowledge gap, we hypothesize that 15-LOX-1 expression in colonic epithelial cells is essential for resolvin biosynthesis from EPA and DHA to modulate immunophenotype, limit inflammation, promote resolution, and help …

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Immune System Detection Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Persister Cells, Grace Elizabeth Himmler Apr 2020

Immune System Detection Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Persister Cells, Grace Elizabeth Himmler

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Persister cells are a subpopulation of bacterial cells known to be tolerant to antimicrobials. Their reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials allows them to be the source of recurrence of many chronic bacterial infections. As a result, it is vital to understand the mechanisms that allow these cells to be able to evade further treatment. Furthermore, it is currently unknown whether the persister cells are detected and killed by the host immune response. In this work I explored the host-pathogen interactions between Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells, both persister and regular, and human macrophages. I hypothesized that persister cells would be engulfed at a …

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The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Gut Immune Response Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Clark Hall Apr 2020

The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Gut Immune Response Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Clark Hall

Honors College Theses

Fleas transmit numerous deadly and debilitating diseases, including the causative agents of murine typhus and plague. Because initial entry of these infectious agents occurs while blood feeding, the immune response in the flea gut is considered to be the first line of defense against invading microbes. However, relatively few studies have identified the flea immune molecules that effectively resist or limit infection in the gut. In other hematophagous insects, an immediate immune response to imbibed pathogens is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we utilized cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to investigate whether natural infections …

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Fact Or Myth: The Flu Can Be Caused By The Flu Vaccine, Arleigh Wood Apr 2020

Fact Or Myth: The Flu Can Be Caused By The Flu Vaccine, Arleigh Wood

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

To many, the flu vaccine seems like a threat to an otherwise healthy individual. People often get the flu after receiving the flu shot, which does not promote confidence in the general public. These and other reasonings have created a myth that the flu vaccine can cause the flu. Understanding how the vaccination is created and how it interacts with the immune system helps to realize why the flu vaccine cannot cause the virus. For the vaccine to work, adaptive immunity must be activated by the introduction of the viral particles in a safe manner. An effective immune response from …

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484— Modeling Social Distancing Methods And Their Effectiveness In Combating The Spread Of Ebola, Rachel Fair Apr 2020

484— Modeling Social Distancing Methods And Their Effectiveness In Combating The Spread Of Ebola, Rachel Fair

GREAT Day Posters

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a rare but severe disease that is transmitted among humans through direct-contact with, and close proximity to, infected bodily fluids. From 2014-16, West Africa experienced the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, infecting over 28,000 people, and killing over 11,000. Although the symptoms of EVD are treatable, the disease can be extremely deadly, with an average of 50% EVD cases resulting in fatality. In areas where healthcare is scarce and vaccinations are not readily available, the practices of social distancing and self-quarantining have been shown to be highly effective in combating the spread of EVD. To …

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147— The Effect Of A Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor On Pd-L1, Hla-Abc, Hla-E, And Hla-G On Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Nikhil Reddy, Alec Toufexis Apr 2020

147— The Effect Of A Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor On Pd-L1, Hla-Abc, Hla-E, And Hla-G On Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Nikhil Reddy, Alec Toufexis

GREAT Day Posters

Increased expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allows tumor cells to be more easily detected by the immune system. In previous research, epigenetic modifiers including the histone deacetylase inhibitor 3 (HDAC3), RGFP966, has been shown to decrease PD-L1 expression. PD-L1 expression inhibits T cell cytotoxicity, and decreasing it can enhance the immune response. We hope to elucidate whether or not HLA-ABC expression similarly decreases upon exposure to the HDAC3 inhibitor which would be detrimental to immune detection. Two breast cancer cell lines that express HLA-ABC are MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Our initial results show that HLA-ABC is expressed on the MDA-MB-231 …

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465— Modeling Vaccine Efficacy For Tuberculosis In A Prison Population, Kaitlyn Mundackal Apr 2020

465— Modeling Vaccine Efficacy For Tuberculosis In A Prison Population, Kaitlyn Mundackal

GREAT Day Posters

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease and is particularly problematic in confined communities such as prisons. I simulated how Tuberculosis moves through a prison population and tested how much vaccination effort is needed to control its spread. To explore this, I tested adding ever increasing numbers of randomly placed edges in a network and determined the size of the largest component. Afterwards, I removed edges in the model using two different methods, one illustrating if the edges were removed randomly and the other starting with prisoners that had the most connections, to simulate the effect of vaccination. My results show …

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Possible Roles For Essential Oils In Chemoprevention And Suppression Of Cancer, Chad Kirk Lillestolen Apr 2020

Possible Roles For Essential Oils In Chemoprevention And Suppression Of Cancer, Chad Kirk Lillestolen

Senior Honors Theses

Cancer represents one of the costliest and most prevalent diseases to afflict the modern world, even though treatments have evolved steadily over the years and produce an increasingly positive outlook with each development and innovation. Essential oils have been used medicinally- among other purposes- for thousands of years and have begun to attract attention for possible applications to the field of oncology. Numerous investigations and publications have shed light on the possible chemopreventative (antioxidant and antimetastatic) uses of these oils, alongside cancer suppressive (apoptosis-inducing and cytotoxic) abilities that they may possess. With the high annual incidence of cancer and the …

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Biol 250: Dna Identificaion Of Blue/Brown Eyed Snp Using Polymerase And Sequencing Data Analysis, Roxana Salas Apr 2020

Biol 250: Dna Identificaion Of Blue/Brown Eyed Snp Using Polymerase And Sequencing Data Analysis, Roxana Salas

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

The specific aim of this experiment was to determine the genotype of a SNP, collected from human cheek cells. The hypothesis is that sample 3a will have a heterozygous genotype.

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Biol 404- The Effects Of Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) On The Development Of Myeloid Suppressor Cells, Emma Rogers, Ryan Servis, Talbot Thames, Amorette Barber Apr 2020

Biol 404- The Effects Of Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) On The Development Of Myeloid Suppressor Cells, Emma Rogers, Ryan Servis, Talbot Thames, Amorette Barber

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a man-made organic compound consisting of two phenyl rings connected by a single bond, with any number of chlorine molecules occupying positions around the rings. They are most commonly used as a dielectric and coolant fluid in electrical generators and transformers. Manufacture has declined drastically since the 1970s in America due to their exertion of estrogen-mimicking effects in the body, although they continue to persist in harmful concentrations in the environment. PCBs are endocrine-disrupting, and through estrogenic or anti-estrogenic effects have been shown to increase breast cancer risk by changing gene expression in several genes common …

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Biol 404- Effects Of Estrogen-Mimicking Compounds, Progesterone And Estriol, On Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Development, Raquel Perez, Tatyana Green, Haley Bresnahan, Matthew Jones, Amorette Barber Apr 2020

Biol 404- Effects Of Estrogen-Mimicking Compounds, Progesterone And Estriol, On Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Development, Raquel Perez, Tatyana Green, Haley Bresnahan, Matthew Jones, Amorette Barber

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Estrogen is primarily known for being a female sex hormone. It has three major subcategories estrone, estradiol, and estriol. They are known to have a role within regulation of the reproductive system and menopause. Progesterone is also a well-known steroid sex hormone that is usually associated with menstruation. These sex hormones are commonly used in oral contraceptive pills. The purpose of this study is to see if progesterone and estriol will have the same effects that estrogen has on MHC II and B7 expression. With the use of flow cytometry, T cell isolation, T cell proliferation, and ELISAs we are …

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Biol 404- Effects Of Phytoestrogens - Lycopene And Trans-Resveratrol - On The Development Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (Mdsc), Kayla Cooksey, Adrianna Doggett, Debbie Pitt, Maya Young, Amorette Barber Apr 2020

Biol 404- Effects Of Phytoestrogens - Lycopene And Trans-Resveratrol - On The Development Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (Mdsc), Kayla Cooksey, Adrianna Doggett, Debbie Pitt, Maya Young, Amorette Barber

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Trans-Resveratrol and Lycopene are chemical compounds found in the skin of red grapes and tomatoes respectively. This study investigates the effects of these two phytoestrogens on MDSCs.We hypothesized that these phytoestrogens will bind to estrogen receptors and block estrogenic activity, effectively decreasing the production of MDSCs in murine cells.

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Biol 404- Dual Nature Of Phytoestrogens As Both Procancer And Anticancer Agents, Marcia Lanasa, Grace Freeman, Carrie Reaver, Natalie Wood, Amorette Barber Apr 2020

Biol 404- Dual Nature Of Phytoestrogens As Both Procancer And Anticancer Agents, Marcia Lanasa, Grace Freeman, Carrie Reaver, Natalie Wood, Amorette Barber

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived, xenoestrogenic dietary compounds found in various fruits, vegetables, soy products, teas, grains, beans, and more. There are different classes of phytoestrogens, including flavonoids, isoflavonoids, lignans, and coumestans, all of which can affect estrogen-mediated responses in different ways (Bilal et al, 2014). The aim of this project is to investigate the potential duality of phytoestrogens as both estrogen receptor antagonists in cancer cells, but also as potential activators of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Understanding the complex role phytoestrogens play in cancer progression will prove valuable in the potential development of novel phytoestrogen-base cancer drug therapies.

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Biol 404- Can A Soy Diet Mimic The Effects Of Estrogen?, Kelly Tarmon, Jonah Hottinger, Emily Humphries, Cody Gouyer, Amorette Barber Apr 2020

Biol 404- Can A Soy Diet Mimic The Effects Of Estrogen?, Kelly Tarmon, Jonah Hottinger, Emily Humphries, Cody Gouyer, Amorette Barber

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Phytoestrogens are estrogen-mimicking substances that can be found in many of the vegetables, beans, and grains we consume. One of the main phytoestrogens consumed by millions of people can be found in soybeans and tofu and are called isoflavones. We will be examining the first category of isoflavones, the aglycones. The aglycones are made up of daidzein, genistein, and glycitein which are found in soy products. We will determine the function of aglycones using flow cytometry by comparing the effect of these three compounds, estradiol, and the media given. As aglycones are estrogen mimicking compounds, we believe these three phytoestrogens …

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Cov Genome Tracker: Tracing Genomic Footprints Of Covid-19 Pandemic, Saymon Akther, Edgaras Bezrucenkovas, Brian Sulkow, Christopher Panlasigui, Li Li, Wei-Gang Qiu, Lia Di Apr 2020

Cov Genome Tracker: Tracing Genomic Footprints Of Covid-19 Pandemic, Saymon Akther, Edgaras Bezrucenkovas, Brian Sulkow, Christopher Panlasigui, Li Li, Wei-Gang Qiu, Lia Di

Publications and Research

Genome sequences constitute the primary evidence on the origin and spread of the 2019-2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Rapid comparative analysis of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 genomes is critical for disease control, outbreak forecasting, and developing clinical interventions. CoV Genome Tracker is a web portal dedicated to trace Covid-19 outbreaks in real time using a haplotype network, an accurate and scalable representation of genomic changes in a rapidly evolving population. We resolve the direction of mutations by using a bat-associated genome as outgroup. At a broader evolutionary time scale, a companion browser provides gene-by-gene and codon-by-codon evolutionary rates to facilitate the search for molecular …

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Evolutionary Ecology Of Host-Parasite Relationships: Role Of Host Ecology, Phylogeny, And Demographics In Shaping Parasite Evolution, Erika Taylor Gendron Apr 2020

Evolutionary Ecology Of Host-Parasite Relationships: Role Of Host Ecology, Phylogeny, And Demographics In Shaping Parasite Evolution, Erika Taylor Gendron

Biology ETDs

Host-parasite systems exist across complex and ecologically heterogeneous landscapes, and may occur across taxonomically and ecologically disparate host species. Under these conditions, mechanisms underlying microevolutionary processes (i.e. gene flow, genetic drift) are not always clear, and may be mediated by numerous co-occurring factors specific to individual hosts. Host traits such as host immunology, demographics, phylogeny and ecology may act in concert to shape host-parasite relationships, and ultimately evolutionary processes. The research described herein used phylogeographic, phylogenomic, and population genetic methods to further understanding of how host traits impact the evolutionary ecology of trematode systems, using avian schistosomes (Digenea: Schistosomatidae) as …

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Driver Of Avian Haemosporidian Diversity And Host Specificity In The Solomon Islands, Xena Marie Mapel Apr 2020

Driver Of Avian Haemosporidian Diversity And Host Specificity In The Solomon Islands, Xena Marie Mapel

Biology ETDs

Avian haemosporidians are protist parasites that are distributed worldwide. We investigated these parasites in a tropical South Pacific archipelago to answer two questions: 1) Which community characteristics influence haemosporidian diversity; 2) Does host specificity vary across islands? To answer these questions we sequenced a mitochondrial gene and created linear models to establish relationships between select variables and diversity. In addition, we calculated host breadth of each lineage and constructed models to infer predictors of diversity. The percent of infected individuals on each island was correlated with island area. Haemosporidian phylogenetic diversity on a given island was associated with the proportion …

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Genome-Wide Changes In Genetic Diversity In A Population Of Myotis Lucifugus Affected By White-Nose Syndrome, Thomas M. Lilley, Ian W. Wilson, Kenneth A. Field, Deeann Reeder, Megan E. Vodzak, Gregory G. Turner, Allen Kurta, Anna S. Blomberg, Samantha Hoff, Carl J. Herzog, Brent J. Sewall, Steve Paterson Apr 2020

Genome-Wide Changes In Genetic Diversity In A Population Of Myotis Lucifugus Affected By White-Nose Syndrome, Thomas M. Lilley, Ian W. Wilson, Kenneth A. Field, Deeann Reeder, Megan E. Vodzak, Gregory G. Turner, Allen Kurta, Anna S. Blomberg, Samantha Hoff, Carl J. Herzog, Brent J. Sewall, Steve Paterson

Faculty Journal Articles

Novel pathogens can cause massive declines in populations, and even extirpation of hosts. But disease can also act as a selective pressure on survivors, driving the evolution of resistance or tolerance. Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) is a rapidly spreading wildlife disease in North America. The fungus causing the disease invades skin tissues of hibernating bats, resulting in disruption of hibernation behavior, premature energy depletion, and subsequent death. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate changes in allele frequencies within a population of Myotis lucifugus in eastern North America to search for genetic resistance to WNS. Our results show low FST values …

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Host Patch Traits Have Scale‐Dependent Effects On Diversity In A Stickleback Parasite Metacommunity, Daniel I. Bolnick, Emlyn J. Resetarits, Kimberly Ballare, Yoel E. Stuart, William E. Stutz Apr 2020

Host Patch Traits Have Scale‐Dependent Effects On Diversity In A Stickleback Parasite Metacommunity, Daniel I. Bolnick, Emlyn J. Resetarits, Kimberly Ballare, Yoel E. Stuart, William E. Stutz

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Many metacommunities are distributed across habitat patches that are themselves aggregated into groups. Perhaps the clearest example of this nested metacommunity structure comes from multi‐species parasite assemblages, which occupy individual hosts that are aggregated into host populations. At both spatial scales, we expect parasite community diversity in a given patch (either individual host or population) to depend on patch characteristics that affect colonization rates and species sorting. But, are these patch effects consistent across spatial scales? Or, do different processes govern the distribution of parasite community diversity among individual hosts, versus among host patches? To answer these questions, we document …

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Antimicrobial Properties Of An Unknown Microorganism Isolated From The Local Environment, Danielle Duryea Apr 2020

Antimicrobial Properties Of An Unknown Microorganism Isolated From The Local Environment, Danielle Duryea

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Bacterial species that cause disease can usually be combatted with antibiotics; but as the years pass, more and more bacterial pathogens are becoming resistant to these treatments. In fact, the Center for Disease Control has identified eighteen classes of bacteria ranging from urgent to concerning threats due antibiotic resistance (2019), warning the advance of an antibiotic resistance crisis in which untreatable bacterial infections will become a leading cause of death (Bennadi, 2014). The Small World Initiative is a program created in 2012 at Yale University to address the antibiotic crisis through a crowdsourcing effort where undergraduate students are encouraged to …

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Acetylation Of Histone H3k27 Signals The Transcriptional Elongation For Estrogen Receptor Alpha, Yujing Gao, Lijia Chen, Yali Han, Fangrui Wu, Wen-Si Yang, Zheng Zhang, Tong Huo, Yingmin Zhu, Chengtai Yu, Hong Kim, Mark Lee, Zhen Tang, Kevin Phillips, Bin He, Sung Yun Jung, Yongcheng Song, Bokai Zhu, Rui-Ming Xu, Qin Feng Apr 2020

Acetylation Of Histone H3k27 Signals The Transcriptional Elongation For Estrogen Receptor Alpha, Yujing Gao, Lijia Chen, Yali Han, Fangrui Wu, Wen-Si Yang, Zheng Zhang, Tong Huo, Yingmin Zhu, Chengtai Yu, Hong Kim, Mark Lee, Zhen Tang, Kevin Phillips, Bin He, Sung Yun Jung, Yongcheng Song, Bokai Zhu, Rui-Ming Xu, Qin Feng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

As approximately 70% of human breast tumors are estrogen receptor α (ERα)-positive, estrogen and ERα play essential roles in breast cancer development. By interrupting the ERα signaling pathway, endocrine therapy has been proven to be an effective therapeutic strategy. In this study, we identified a mechanism by which Transcription Start Site (TSS)-associated histone H3K27 acetylation signals the Super Elongation Complex (SEC) to regulate transcriptional elongation of the ESR1 (ERα) gene. SEC interacts with H3K27ac on ESR1 TSS through its scaffold protein AFF4. Depletion of AFF4 by siRNA or CRISPR/Cas9 dramatically reduces expression of ESR1 and its target genes, consequently inhibiting …

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