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Comparison Of The Neuroprotective And Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of The Anthocyanin Metabolites, Protocatechuic Acid And 4-Hydroxybenzoic Acid, Aimee N. Winter, Matthew C. Brenner, Noelle Punessen, Michael Snodgrass, Caleb Byars, Yingyot Arora, Daniel A. Linseman Jun 2017

Comparison Of The Neuroprotective And Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of The Anthocyanin Metabolites, Protocatechuic Acid And 4-Hydroxybenzoic Acid, Aimee N. Winter, Matthew C. Brenner, Noelle Punessen, Michael Snodgrass, Caleb Byars, Yingyot Arora, Daniel A. Linseman

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Anthocyanins are being increasingly investigated for their neuroprotective and antineuroinflammatory effects; however, the overall bioavailability of many anthocyanins is relatively low. In contrast, phenolic acids, metabolites of many polyphenols, including anthocyanins, have been shown to accumulate in tissue at higher concentrations than those of parent compounds, suggesting that these metabolites may be the bioactive components of anthocyanin-rich diets. We examined the neuroprotective capacity of two common phenolic acids, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and protocatechuic acid (PCA), in primary cultures of cerebellar granule neurons. Both HBA and PCA are capable of mitigating oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide, which is thought to …

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A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser Jun 2017

A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser

Dialogue & Nexus

The definition of altruism has been studied, explained, and even confused by many scholars in various fields. The term itself has been inappropriately used to describe prosocial behaviors that do not fall within the definition of altruism. An evaluation of Grant Ramsey’s taxonomy of altruism, which includes biological altruism, psychological altruism, and helping altruism, proves that it is not adequate in categorizing organism’s behaviors. A new taxonomy, with the branches of kin selection, reciprocity, and aesthetic altruism, is presented and explained to clarify the definition of altruism and alleviate confusion about how to describe prosocial behaviors. Both naming systems are …

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Evolution Of Mammalian Migrations For Refuge, Breeding, And Food, Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, William D. Pearse, Allison K. Shaw Jun 2017

Evolution Of Mammalian Migrations For Refuge, Breeding, And Food, Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, William D. Pearse, Allison K. Shaw

Biology Faculty Publications

Many organisms migrate between distinct habitats, exploiting variable resources while profoundly affecting ecosystem services, disease spread, and human welfare. However, the very characteristics that make migration captivating and significant also make it difficult to study, and we lack a comprehensive understanding of which species migrate and why. Here we show that, among mammals, migration is concentrated within Cetacea and Artiodactyla but also diffusely spread throughout the class (found in 12 of 27 orders). We synthesize the many ecological drivers of round-trip migration into three types of movement—between breeding and foraging sites, between breeding and refuge sites, and continuous tracking of …

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The Effects Of Nitrogen And Potassium On The Growth Of Brassica Rapa, Kimberly Truong Jun 2017

The Effects Of Nitrogen And Potassium On The Growth Of Brassica Rapa, Kimberly Truong

Best Integrated Writing

Truong conducted an experiment to observe the effect that nitrogen and potassium from organic sources has on plant growth. Truong makes suggestions for further research.

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Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah Jun 2017

Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah

Publications and Research

The colonization of decomposing remains by necrophagous insects such as blow flies is of forensic importance because the progression through the various stages of insect development can be correlated to time of death. The ability to infer this information hinges on accurate determination of the fly species that are associated with the entomological evidence collected. This evidence can include eggs, larvae, pupae, and puparial casings. Determination of the egg’s identity is particularly challenging because the eggs of multiple species are morphologically very similar. We report here that the species identity of fly eggs can be determined from their chemical fingerprint …

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Body Size Regulation Via Bmp Signaling In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Uday Madaan Jun 2017

Body Size Regulation Via Bmp Signaling In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Uday Madaan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The body size of an organism can be a crucial determinant of access to nutrition, reproductive success and overall survival in the wild. However, how body size of an individual is determined is incompletely understood. Body size is a complex trait determined by multiple pathways and genes, making it difficult to understand the role of individual genes and pathways in determining overall size. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a homolog of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMP) is a major regulator of body size; functional loss of DBL-1 leads to a small body size. Due to a drastic change in body size in dbl-1 …

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Animals And Their Epibiota As Net Autotrophs: Size Scaling Of Epibiotic Metabolism On Snail Shells, Nicole Lukens, Benjamin Kraemer, Vanessa Constant, Ellen J. Hamann, Ellinor Michel, Anne M. Socci, Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, Peter B. Mcintyre Jun 2017

Animals And Their Epibiota As Net Autotrophs: Size Scaling Of Epibiotic Metabolism On Snail Shells, Nicole Lukens, Benjamin Kraemer, Vanessa Constant, Ellen J. Hamann, Ellinor Michel, Anne M. Socci, Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, Peter B. Mcintyre

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Animals are heterotrophic by definition, but species from many taxonomic groups are hosts to epibiota that may alter their net metabolism. We tested the degree to which snail-shell epibiota can generate net ecosystem productivity for snails and their epibiota (snail–epibiota ecosystems; SEEs) after accounting for snail respiration. We focused on 3 species from the Lavigeria snail assemblage in Africa’s Lake Tanganyika and quantified the scaling of SEE metabolism with shell size under light and dark conditions. The metabolism of snails and their epibiota shifted significantly across the size gradient. SEEs of large snails (>20 mm) were consistently autotrophic during …

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Nitrogen Addition And Ecosystem Functioning: Changes In Species Composition Leaf Traits Amplify Increases In Leaf Area Index And Canopy Chlorophyll, Anna R. Tatarko Jun 2017

Nitrogen Addition And Ecosystem Functioning: Changes In Species Composition Leaf Traits Amplify Increases In Leaf Area Index And Canopy Chlorophyll, Anna R. Tatarko

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Increased nutrient inputs can cause shifts in plant community composition and plant functional traits, both of which affect ecosystem function. We studied community- and species-level changes in specific leaf area (SLA), chlorophyll, leaf thickness, leaf toughness, plant height and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) in a full factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) fertilization experiment in a semi-arid grassland. Nitrogen was the only nutrient addition to significantly affect leaf functional traits, and N addition increased community weighted SLA by 19%, leaf chlorophyll content by 34%, height by 26%, and resulted in an 11% decrease in LDMC while leaf thickness …

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Effects Of Food Consumption On Cell Proliferation In The Brain Of Python Regius, Stacy Star Habroun Jun 2017

Effects Of Food Consumption On Cell Proliferation In The Brain Of Python Regius, Stacy Star Habroun

Master's Theses

Neurogenesis is an important and vastly under-explored area in reptiles. While the ability to generate new brain cells in the adult mammalian brain is limited, reptiles are able to regenerate large populations of neuronal cells. Pythons exhibit a characteristic specific dynamic action (SDA) response after food intake with an increase in metabolic rate that facilitates processing the meal. Associated with this change in SDA, pythons (Python spp.) also exhibit impressive plasticity in their digestive and cardiovascular physiology due to the sheer magnitude of the increase in organ growth that occurs after a meal to speed digestion, absorption, and assimilation of …

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The Sunflower Genome Provides Insights Into Oil Metabolism, Flowering And Asterid Evolution, Hélène Badouin, Jérôme Gouzy, Christopher Grassa, Florent Murat, S. Evan Staton, Ludovic Cottret, Christine Lelandais-Brière, Gregory Owens, Sébastien Carrère, Baptiste Mayjonade, Ludovic Legrand, Navdeep Gill, Nolan Kane, John Bowers, Sariel Hubner, Arnaud Bellec, Aurélie Bérard, Hélène Bergès, Nicolas Blanchet, Marie-Claude Boniface, Dominique Brunel, Olivier Catrice, Nadia Chaidir, Clotilde Claudel, Cécile Donnadieu, Thomas Faraut, Ghislain Fievet, Nicolas Helmstetter, Matthew King, Steven Knapp, Zhao Lai, Marie-Christine Le Paslier, Yannick Lippi, Lolita Lorenzon, Jennifer Mandel, Gwenola Marage, Gwenaëlle Marchand, Elodie Marquand, Emmanuelle Bret-Mestries, Evan Morien, Savithri Nambeesan, Thuy Nguyen, Prune Pegot-Espagnet, Nicolas Pouilly, Frances Raftis, Erika Sallet, Thomas Schiex, Justine Thomas, Céline Vandecasteele, Didier Varès, Felicity Vear, Sonia Vautrin, Martin Crespi, Brigitte Mangin, John Burke, Jérôme Salse, Stéphane Muños, Patrick Vincourt, Loren Rieseberg, Nicolas Langlade May 2017

The Sunflower Genome Provides Insights Into Oil Metabolism, Flowering And Asterid Evolution, Hélène Badouin, Jérôme Gouzy, Christopher Grassa, Florent Murat, S. Evan Staton, Ludovic Cottret, Christine Lelandais-Brière, Gregory Owens, Sébastien Carrère, Baptiste Mayjonade, Ludovic Legrand, Navdeep Gill, Nolan Kane, John Bowers, Sariel Hubner, Arnaud Bellec, Aurélie Bérard, Hélène Bergès, Nicolas Blanchet, Marie-Claude Boniface, Dominique Brunel, Olivier Catrice, Nadia Chaidir, Clotilde Claudel, Cécile Donnadieu, Thomas Faraut, Ghislain Fievet, Nicolas Helmstetter, Matthew King, Steven Knapp, Zhao Lai, Marie-Christine Le Paslier, Yannick Lippi, Lolita Lorenzon, Jennifer Mandel, Gwenola Marage, Gwenaëlle Marchand, Elodie Marquand, Emmanuelle Bret-Mestries, Evan Morien, Savithri Nambeesan, Thuy Nguyen, Prune Pegot-Espagnet, Nicolas Pouilly, Frances Raftis, Erika Sallet, Thomas Schiex, Justine Thomas, Céline Vandecasteele, Didier Varès, Felicity Vear, Sonia Vautrin, Martin Crespi, Brigitte Mangin, John Burke, Jérôme Salse, Stéphane Muños, Patrick Vincourt, Loren Rieseberg, Nicolas Langlade

Biology Faculty Articles

The domesticated sunflower, Helianthus annuus L., is a global oil crop that has promise for climate change adaptation, because it can maintain stable yields across a wide variety of environmental conditions, including drought1. Even greater resilience is achievable through the mining of resistance alleles from compatible wild sunflower relatives2,3, including numerous extremophile species4. Here we report a high-quality reference for the sunflower genome (3.6 gigabases), together with extensive transcriptomic data from vegetative and floral organs. The genome mostly consists of highly similar, related sequences5 and required single-molecule real-time sequencing technologies for …

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Higher Predation Risk For Insect Prey At Low Latitudes And Elevations, T. Roslin, B. Hardwick, V. Novotny, W. K. Petry, N. R. Andrew, A. Asmus, I. C. Barrio, Y. Basset, A. L. Boesing, T. C. Bonebrake, E. K. Cameron, W. Dáttilo, D. A. Donoso, P. Drozd, C. L. Gray, D. S. Hik, S. J. Hill, T. Hopkins, S. Huang, B. Koane, B. Laird-Hopkins, L. Laukkanen, O. T. Lewis, S. Milne, I. Mwesige, A. Nakamura, C. S. Nell, Elizabeth Nichols, A. Prokurat, K. Sam, N. M. Schmidt, A. Slade, V. Slade, A. Suchanková, T. Teder, S. Van Nouhuys, V. Vandvik, A. Weissflog, V. Zhukovich, E. M. Slade May 2017

Higher Predation Risk For Insect Prey At Low Latitudes And Elevations, T. Roslin, B. Hardwick, V. Novotny, W. K. Petry, N. R. Andrew, A. Asmus, I. C. Barrio, Y. Basset, A. L. Boesing, T. C. Bonebrake, E. K. Cameron, W. Dáttilo, D. A. Donoso, P. Drozd, C. L. Gray, D. S. Hik, S. J. Hill, T. Hopkins, S. Huang, B. Koane, B. Laird-Hopkins, L. Laukkanen, O. T. Lewis, S. Milne, I. Mwesige, A. Nakamura, C. S. Nell, Elizabeth Nichols, A. Prokurat, K. Sam, N. M. Schmidt, A. Slade, V. Slade, A. Suchanková, T. Teder, S. Van Nouhuys, V. Vandvik, A. Weissflog, V. Zhukovich, E. M. Slade

Biology Faculty Works

Biotic interactions underlie ecosystem structure and function, but predicting interaction outcomes is difficult. We tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, we found increasing predation toward the equator, with a parallel pattern of increasing predation toward lower elevations. Patterns across both latitude and elevation were driven by arthropod predators, with no systematic trend in attack rates by birds or mammals. These matching gradients at global and regional scales suggest consistent drivers of biotic interaction strength, a finding …

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Revolution In Ideology: Crafting A Holistic Scientific Dialectic, Nathan Neill May 2017

Revolution In Ideology: Crafting A Holistic Scientific Dialectic, Nathan Neill

Dialogue & Nexus

Ideology drives scientific research far more than is acknowledged. Since science itself is conducted by individuals, each scientist has a biased conception of themselves and their surroundings relative to the rest of the universe, even if it is never explicated. This sense of relation to the greater universe is what defines the ideology of the individual. It is this sense of relation and self that creates the individual, who goes on to investigate the natural world by the scientific method. In this paper I will examine extant scientific ideology, particularly in Western science, and propose changes that could be helpful.

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“Bone Of My Bones And Flesh Of My Flesh”: A Feminist Analysis Of Christianity, Evolutionary Theory, And The Provenance Of Patriarchy, Heather Bishop May 2017

“Bone Of My Bones And Flesh Of My Flesh”: A Feminist Analysis Of Christianity, Evolutionary Theory, And The Provenance Of Patriarchy, Heather Bishop

Dialogue & Nexus

While perceived by many as conflicting in nearly every sphere, science and religion both play an important role in the promotion of patriarchal ideologies. My research has found that neither Christianity nor evolutionary theory are inherently patriarchal, neither do they justify patriarchy. Instead, it is the misinterpretation and misuse of these subjects that contribute to the justification of patriarchy for the deep-seated goal of reproductive power. I will show this by analyzing theological themes present throughout the Christian scriptures, as well as investigating findings of evolutionary psychology and hominid ancestry. The implication of this study is that there is no …

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Mitochondrial Damage Accumulation In Oocytes – A Potential Link Between Maternal Obesity And Increased Cardiometabolic Disease Risk In Offspring., Anna Louise Boudoures May 2017

Mitochondrial Damage Accumulation In Oocytes – A Potential Link Between Maternal Obesity And Increased Cardiometabolic Disease Risk In Offspring., Anna Louise Boudoures

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The developmental origins of health and disease (DoHAD) hypothesis suggests that negative maternal lifestyle choices, such as obesity, affect the health of her offspring. Clinical and laboratory studies support this hypothesis – offspring born to obese mothers are at increased risk for health conditions including cardiometabolic syndrome and congenital abnormalities. Maternal obesity damages the oocytes, contributing to the increased disease risk by transmitting damaged organelles and epigenetic modifications to the offspring. Mitochondria, the most abundant organelle in the oocyte, are damaged in oocytes from obese females. However, we do not understand if mitochondrial damage in oocytes is reversible nor why …

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The Effects Of The Gut Microbiota On The Host Chromatin Landscape, Nicholas Semenkovich May 2017

The Effects Of The Gut Microbiota On The Host Chromatin Landscape, Nicholas Semenkovich

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The human gut microbiota is home to tens of trillions of microbes belonging to all three domains of life. The structure and expressed functions of this community have myriad effects on host physiology, metabolism, and immune function. My studies focused on a facet of host-microbial interactions and mutualism that has not been explored to a significant degree in part because of the absence of suitable tools: namely, if, when, and how the gut microbiota produces durable effects on host biology through its impact on the epigenome. To address this area, I turned to gnotobiotic mice and developed a variety of …

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Immunology Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum During Pregnancy And Prenatal Development, Victoria L. Hansen May 2017

Immunology Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum During Pregnancy And Prenatal Development, Victoria L. Hansen

Biology ETDs

Vertebrate species that bear live young have overcome the evolutionary challenge of maintaining both a functional adaptive immune system and viviparous life cycle. In normal pregnancy, viviparous mothers are able sustain and nourish a fetus that is genetically half non-self without mounting an immunological attack. In 1953 Sir Peter Medawar brought attention to the “enigma of the fetal graft” and immunologists have been puzzling out the intricacies of fetal tolerance ever since. Although viviparity has evolved in all jawed vertebrate lineages aside from Aves, the vast majority of reproductive immunology research has been limited to eutherian mammals. There are insights …

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Spatial Structure Of The Mormon Cricket Gut Microbiome And Its Predicted Contribution To Nutrition And Immune Function, Chad C. Smith, Robert Srygley, Frank G. Healy, Karthikeyan Swaminath, Ulrich G. Mueller May 2017

Spatial Structure Of The Mormon Cricket Gut Microbiome And Its Predicted Contribution To Nutrition And Immune Function, Chad C. Smith, Robert Srygley, Frank G. Healy, Karthikeyan Swaminath, Ulrich G. Mueller

Biology Faculty Research

The gut microbiome of insects plays an important role in their ecology and evolution, participating in nutrient acquisition, immunity, and behavior. Microbial community structure within the gut is heavily influenced by differences among gut regions in morphology and physiology, which determine the niches available for microbes to colonize. We present a high-resolution analysis of the structure of the gut microbiome in the Mormon cricket Anabrus simplex, an insect known for its periodic outbreaks in the western United States and nutrition-dependent mating system. The Mormon cricket microbiome was dominated by eleven taxa from the Lactobacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Streptococcaeae. While most of …

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Identification Of The Potentiating Mutations And Synergistic Epistasis That Enabled The Evolution Of Inter-Species Cooperation, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, Christopher Marx May 2017

Identification Of The Potentiating Mutations And Synergistic Epistasis That Enabled The Evolution Of Inter-Species Cooperation, Sarah Douglas, Lon Chubiz, William Harcombe, Christopher Marx

Biology Department Faculty Works

Microbes often engage in cooperation through releasing biosynthetic compounds required by other species to grow. Given that production of costly biosynthetic metabolites is generally subjected to multiple layers of negative feedback, single mutations may frequently be insufficient to generate cooperative phenotypes. Synergistic epistatic interactions between multiple coordinated changes may thus often underlie the evolution of cooperation through overproduction of metabolites. To test the importance of synergistic mutations in cooperation we used an engineered bacterial consortium of an Escherichia coli methionine auxotroph and Salmonella enterica. S. enterica relies on carbon by-products from E. coli if lactose is the only carbon source. …

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Jaz Levels In Arabidopsis After Infection By Parasitic Root-Knot Nematode, Ashley Smith May 2017

Jaz Levels In Arabidopsis After Infection By Parasitic Root-Knot Nematode, Ashley Smith

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are a major problem in the United States; damaging millions of dollars’ worth of crops every year. It is believed that root-knot nematodes (RKN) alter the expression of JAZ gene family members in the plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, but there is not much documentation on which genes change expression and why. The JAZ genes are transcriptional regulators in the signaling pathway for the plant hormone, Jasmonic acid, which controls certain aspects of plant defense. There are twelve JAZ genes in Arabidopsis but it is unclear if they each have distinct roles in Jasmonic acid …

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High Fructose Corn Syrup Down-Regulates The Glycolysis Pathway In Apis Mellifera, Michelle R. Jennette May 2017

High Fructose Corn Syrup Down-Regulates The Glycolysis Pathway In Apis Mellifera, Michelle R. Jennette

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Over the past few years, honeybee populations (Apis mellifera) have drastically decreased due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). CCD occurs when most of the honeybees abandon their hive and queen, and do not return. Around the same time CCD became commonly identified, commercial beekeepers switched the bee’s food from sucrose to a less expensive, but more processed substitute of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), suggesting there might be a relationship between the types of food and CCD. Therefore, the goal of this project is to identify changes in carbohydrate metabolism due to HFCS. To determine these changes, gene …

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The Effects Of A High Fat Diet And Lithium On Social And Anxiety-Like Behaviors In Bipolar And Autistic Mouse Strains, Nicole L. Arruda May 2017

The Effects Of A High Fat Diet And Lithium On Social And Anxiety-Like Behaviors In Bipolar And Autistic Mouse Strains, Nicole L. Arruda

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Bipolar Disorder (BD), or manic-depressive illness, is a psychiatric disease in which an individual experiences sudden changes in mood, activity, and overall energy. Individuals with the disorder switch between excessive joy and excitement, and extremely sad and hopeless episodes. A common treatment of BD is lithium, a mood stabilizer that helps to relieve manic symptoms. Lithium has been known to contribute to the onset of diabetic-like symptoms, in addition to a large correlation, up to three times higher risk, of developing Type II Diabetes in individuals with BD. In general, individuals who consume a high fat diet (HF) are often …

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Functional Analysis And Treatment Of Self-Injurious Feather Plucking In A Black Vulture (Coragyps Atratus), Kristen L. Morris May 2017

Functional Analysis And Treatment Of Self-Injurious Feather Plucking In A Black Vulture (Coragyps Atratus), Kristen L. Morris

Thesis Projects

Feather plucking (FP) is a maladaptive behavior observed in captive avian species. This self-injurious behavior results in damage to and removal of feathers and skin tissue, resulting in animal welfare and financial consequences. The etiology and maintenance of FP have been hypothesized through medical and environmental processes, yet a definitive solution has not been found. The current study investigated the environmental variables maintaining the FP of a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), as well as evaluated a function-based treatment for this behavior. The behavior was found to be maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of contingent attention. Treatment …

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Deer Droppings As A Diverse Invertebrate Habitat, Allison Furr, Dr. Kevin Geedey May 2017

Deer Droppings As A Diverse Invertebrate Habitat, Allison Furr, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

This project was performed at Augustana's Green Wing Environmental Laboratory and studied the richness and diversity of soil invertebrates in two conditions, deer poop enriched and surrounding soil. Soil invertebrates play an important role in soil quality which greatly affects ecosystems. The hypothesis of this study was that the diversity and richness would be the higher in the poop enriched soil samples. Soil samples were collected, Burlese funnels were used to collect the invertebrates, the invertebrates were examined under the microscope, and were assigned to taxa. The number of taxa (richness) and the number of individuals in each taxa (Simpson's …

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Transciptome Analysis Illuminates The Nature Of The Intracellular Interaction In A Vertebrate-Algal Symbiosis, John A. Burns, Huanjia Zhang, Elizabeth M. Hill, Eunsoo Kim, Ryan R. Kerney May 2017

Transciptome Analysis Illuminates The Nature Of The Intracellular Interaction In A Vertebrate-Algal Symbiosis, John A. Burns, Huanjia Zhang, Elizabeth M. Hill, Eunsoo Kim, Ryan R. Kerney

Biology Faculty Publications

During embryonic development, cells of the green alga Oophila amblystomatis enter cells of the salamander Ambystoma maculatum forming an endosymbiosis. Here, using de novo dual-RNA seq, we compared the host salamander cells that harbored intracellular algae to those without algae and the algae inside the animal cells to those in the egg capsule. This two-by-two-way analysis revealed that intracellular algae exhibit hallmarks of cellular stress and undergo a striking metabolic shift from oxidative metabolism to fermentation. Culturing experiments with the alga showed that host glutamine may be utilized by the algal endosymbiont as a primary nitrogen source. Transcriptional changes in …

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Identification And Characterization Of Endophytic Fungi Associated With The Leaves Of Moringa Oleifera Lam, Vivian A. Panes, E.S Carbungco, N.B Pedroche, T.E De La Cruz May 2017

Identification And Characterization Of Endophytic Fungi Associated With The Leaves Of Moringa Oleifera Lam, Vivian A. Panes, E.S Carbungco, N.B Pedroche, T.E De La Cruz

Biology Faculty Publications

Fungal endophytes live within host plants and are recently gaining interest as sources of biologically active secondary metabolites. In this research, fungal endophytes associated with leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam. were isolated, characterized and identified. Leaf samples from two moringa trees were collected from Barangay Pandan, which is an urban area and Barangay Sapang Bato considered as a rural area with the highest elevation of all the barangays of Angeles City. All leaf samples were rid of debris by rinsing with tap water. A flame-sterilized one-hole puncher was used to bore 54 explants from leaves collected from each tree of …

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The Effects Of Various Therapeutics On Cystine Stone Formation, See Yang May 2017

The Effects Of Various Therapeutics On Cystine Stone Formation, See Yang

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by the defect of a renal transporter involved in cystine reabsorption. When this transporter is deficient, cystine cannot be broken down and reabsorbed by the body and is excreted via urine in high concentrations. The high levels of cystine present in the urine eventually lead to recurrent cystine urolithiasis due to its inability to solubilize. Despite having various forms of treatments such as thiol pharmaceutical therapies such as tiopronin and urine alkalinizing agents like potassium citrate, only few patients with cystinuria are able to successfully decrease cystine urine concentration. We observed the …

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Yeast Membrane Lipid Imbalance Leads To Trafficking Defects Toward The Golgi, Sara Elizabeth Woodman May 2017

Yeast Membrane Lipid Imbalance Leads To Trafficking Defects Toward The Golgi, Sara Elizabeth Woodman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Protein recycling is an essential cellular process that involves endocytosis, intracellular trafficking, and exocytosis. In mammalian systems, membrane lipids (including cholesterol, sphingolipids, and phospholipids) play a pivotal role in protein recycling. To address this role in budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, I utilized GFP-Snc1, a fluorescent marker for reporting the recycling pathway. Moderate to significant GFP-Snc1 recycling defects occurred upon overexpression or inactivation of phospholipid, ergosterol, and sphingolipid biosynthesis enzymes, indicating that homeostasis of membrane lipid levels is prerequisite for proper protein recycling. Expression of a truncated version of GFP-Snc1 that cannot be recycled from the plasma membrane revealed that abnormalities …

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The Effects Of Carbon Nanotubes And Silver Quantum Dots On Gas Exchange In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Maryam Ibrahim Subaylaa May 2017

The Effects Of Carbon Nanotubes And Silver Quantum Dots On Gas Exchange In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Maryam Ibrahim Subaylaa

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are increasingly being used in commercial products, and may accumulate in soils when the products are disposed. I examined the effects of two common ENPs, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silver quantum dots (Ag-QDs), on plant gas exchange. To do this, I grew Arabidopsis thaliana in soil (n=36) for 6 weeks and added a CNT suspension at increasing concentrations (10, 30, 90, 150, 190, 250 μg/ ml) each week. I also grew A. thaliana in petri dishes (n=83) containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, with a concentration of 4μg/ ml Ag-QDs or 4μg/ml CNTs. I measured carbon assimilation …

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Novel Effects Of Prefoldin Pathway On Intestinal Homeostasis Via Dietary Restriction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Jesse Simons May 2017

Novel Effects Of Prefoldin Pathway On Intestinal Homeostasis Via Dietary Restriction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Jesse Simons

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The field of medicine research is embroiled in a battle against aging. Particular focus is on the extension of lifespan and health-span. Lifespan duration is affected by many factors, one of which is the maintenance of the intestines of the organism. Homeostasis of the intestines is controlled by the regulation of intestine cell apoptosis and intestine cell proliferation. My research explores the role of two protein subunits found in a complex which may have possible functions in the regulation of these processes. The overall complex is formed from six subunit proteins, some of which are known to assist in other …

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Soxhlet Extraction Of Avocado Endocarp And Trituration Of Avocado Mesocarp For Biodiesel Production., Ifeoma Oraemesi May 2017

Soxhlet Extraction Of Avocado Endocarp And Trituration Of Avocado Mesocarp For Biodiesel Production., Ifeoma Oraemesi

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Finding alternative sources of renewable energy is on the rise globally. Renewable sources of energy are advantageous because they are biodegradable, less toxic, and combust efficiently. More importantly, raw materials for these sources can be replenished. One alternative source of energy is biodiesel. Biodiesel is a fuel which consists of mono-alkyl esters of long-chained fatty acids obtained from vegetable oil or animal fats. They serve as efficient fuels to run diesel engines. Biodiesel is produced via transesterification of oils wherein glycerin is a by-product. Avocado (Persea americana) is a fleshy fruit with high lipid content, mostly monounsaturated fats, which amounts …

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