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02. Animal Science, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

11. Genetics, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Environmental Pressures On The Reproductive Physiology Of Subpopulations Of Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis Bicornis) In Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, Elizabeth Freeman, Jordana Meyer, Jed Bird, John Adendorff, Bruce A. Schulte, Rachel Santymire

Biology Faculty Publications

Black rhinoceros are an icon for international conservation, yet little is known about their physiology due to their secretive nature. To overcome these challenges, non-invasive methods were used to monitor rhinoceros in two sections of Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, namely Addo and Nyathi. These sections were separated by a public road, and the numbers of elephants, predators and tourists were higher in Addo. Faecal samples (n = 231) were collected (from July 2007 to November 2010) from known individuals and analysed for progestagen and androgen metabolite (FPM and FAM, respectively) concentrations. As biotic factors could impact reproduction, …

2014 Annual Report Department Of Biological Sciences, Ronald L. Frank, Chen Hou, Yue-Wern Huang, Melanie R. Mormile, Dev Niyogi, Katie Shannon, Julie A. Semon, Matthew S. Thimgan, David J. Westenberg, Terry Wilson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Serpentine Soils, Nishanta Rajakaruna, R. S. Boyd

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Serpentine soils are weathered products of a range of ultramafic rocks composed of ferromagnesian silicates. Serpentine more accurately refers to a group of minerals, including antigorite, chrysotile, and lizardite, in hydrothermally altered ultramafic rocks. Common ultramafic rock types include peridotites (dunite, wehrlite, harzburgite, lherzolite) and the secondary alteration products formed by their hydration within the Earth’s crust, including serpentinite, the primary source of serpentine soil. Serpentine soils are generally deficient in plant essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur; have a calcium-to-magnesium (Ca:Mg) molar ratio of less than 1; and have elevated levels of heavy metals such as …

Energetic Demands Of Immature Sea Otters From Birth To Weaning: Implications For Maternal Costs, Reproductive Behavior And Population-Level Trends, Nicole Thometz, M. T. Tinker, M. M. Staedler, K. A. Mayer, T. M. Williams

Biology Faculty Publications

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any marine mammal, which is superimposed on the inherently high costs of reproduction and lactation in adult females. These combined energetic demands have been implicated in the poor body condition and increased mortality of female sea otters nearing the end of lactation along the central California coast. However, the cost of lactation is unknown and currently cannot be directly measured for this marine species in the wild. Here, we quantified the energetic demands of immature sea otters across five developmental stages as a means of assessing the …

Little Evidence For Local Adaptation To Soils Or Microclimate In The Post-Fire Recruitment Of Three Californian Shrubs, Annette Bieger, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Susan Harrison

Biological Sciences

Background: Seedling recruitment following fire is an infrequent yet critical demographic transition for woody plants in Mediterranean ecosystems.

Aims: Here we examine whether post-fire seedling recruitment of three widespread Californian chaparral shrubs is affected by local adaptation within an edaphically and topographically complex landscape.

Methods: We reciprocally transplanted 6-month-old seedlings of Adenostema fasciculatum, Ceanothus cuneatus and Eriodictyon californicum to serpentine and sandstone soils, and cool northerly and warm southerly slopes.

Results: At the age of 2 years, none of the species manifested higher survival or growth on ‘home’ compared with ‘away’ soils or slopes, indicating an absence of local …

The Role Of Elevation And Soil Chemistry In The Distribution And Ion Accumulation Of Floral Morphs Of Streptanthus Polygaloides Gray (Brassicaceae), A Californian Nickel Hyperaccumulator, Nathaniel S. Pope, Michael Fong, Robert S. Boyd, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Background: The flora of serpentine/ultramafic soils provides an excellent model system for the study of natural selection in plant populations. Streptanthus polygaloides is a nickel hyperaccumulator that is endemic to serpentine soils in the Sierra Nevada of California, and has four floral morphs (yellow, purple, yellow-to-purple and undulate).

Aims: We investigate three hypotheses: (1) the purple morph occurs in colder, wetter climates than the yellow morph; (2) tissue–soil ionic relationships differ among morphs; and (3) morphs occur on soils with differing elemental concentrations.

Methods: We queried herbarium records to investigate patterns of occurrence among the yellow and purple floral morphs, …

Migratory Connectivity And Carry-Over Effects In Northwest Atlantic Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta Caretta, L.), Simona Ceriani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migration is a widespread and complex phenomenon in nature that has fascinated humans for centuries. Connectivity among populations influences their demographics, genetic structure and response to environmental change. Here, I used the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta, L.) as a study organism to address questions related to migratory connectivity and carry-over effects using satellite telemetry, stable isotope analysis and GIS interpolation methods. Telemetry identified foraging areas previously overlooked for loggerheads nesting in Florida. Next, I validated and evaluated the efficacy of intrinsic markers as a complementary and low cost tool to assign loggerhead foraging regions in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA), …

Nitrogen Fertilization Has A Stronger Effect On Soil Nitrogen-Fixing Bacterial Communities Than Elevated Atmospheric Co2, Sean T. Berthrong, Chris M. Yeager, Laverne Gallegos-Graves, Blaire Steven, Stephanie A. Eichorst, Robert B. Jackson, Cheryl R. Kuske

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Biological nitrogen fixation is the primary supply of N to most ecosystems, yet there is considerable uncertainty about how N-fixing bacteria will respond to global change factors such as increasing atmospheric CO₂ and N deposition. Using the nifH gene as a molecular marker, we studied how the community structure of N-fixing soil bacteria from temperate pine, aspen, and sweet gum stands and a brackish tidal marsh responded to multiyear elevated CO₂ conditions. We also examined how N availability, specifically, N fertilization, interacted with elevated CO₂ to affect these communities in the temperate pine forest. Based on data …

Assessing The In Situ Fertilization Status Of Two Marine Copepod Species, Temora Longicornis And Eurytemora Herdmani; How Common Are Unfertilized Eggs In Nature?, Rachel S. Lasley-Rasher, Andrew M. Kramer, Victoria Burdett-Coutts, Jeannette Yen

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

We utilized an egg staining technique to measure the in situ fertilization success of two marine copepod species, Temora longicornis and Eurytemora herdmani from May to October 2008 in coastal Maine and correlated fertilization success with environmental conditions in their habitat. T. longicornis is a free spawning species that releases eggs into the ambient seawater after mating. In contrast, E. herdmani carries eggs in an egg sac until they hatch. The proportion of fertilized eggs within E. herdmani egg sacs was significantly higher than the freely spawned clutches of T. longicornis. This may be a result of the asymmetrical costs …

Formalizing Theories Of Development: A Fugue On The Orderliness Of Change, Scott F. Gilbert, J. Bard

Biology Faculty Works

This chapter looks at developmental biology as performance. Each animal inherits score (the DNA), mechanisms for interpreting of the score, and mechanisms for improvisation should the score be deficient. Developmental causation is found to be both upwards from the genome, downward from the environment, and laterally between cells. Developmental plasticity, organicism, phenotypic heterogeneity, symbiotic co-development, and cytoplasmic localization are each examples of causation from the environment downward. Stereocomplementary relationships are the key components of most developmental interactions. These interactions can be placed into a formal language of graph theory. Morphogenesis can be depicted in the general structure, where nouns cover …

Determining The Standard Metabolic Rate Of The Mantis Shrimp, Squilla Empusa: The First Step In Calculating The Heat Increment Of Feeding, Emeline Marie Kelley

Biology Theses

The heat increment of feeding (HI_F) is the metabolic response following a feeding period. There is an increase in metabolism following a meal. The heat increment of feeding of the mantis shrimp, Squilla empusa, has not been studied before, although almost half of the published invertebrate HI_F studies have been on crustaceans.

The standard metabolic rate is the minimum metabolic rate of a postabsorptive ectotherm, at rest, during its non-active period, at a defined temperature. The standard metabolic rate (SMR) of the mantis shrimp was measured using indirect calorimetry, measuring the dissolved oxygen concentrations of the …

Piwi Homologs Mediate Histone H4 Mrna Localization To Planarian Chromatoid Bodies, Labib Rouhana, Jennifer A. Weiss, Ryan S. King, Phillip A. Newmark

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The well-known regenerative abilities of planarian flatworms are attributed to a population of adult stem cells called neoblasts that proliferate and differentiate to produce all cell types. A characteristic feature of neoblasts is the presence of large cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granules named chromatoid bodies, the function of which has remained largely elusive. This study shows that histone mRNAs are a common component of chromatoid bodies. Our experiments also demonstrate that accumulation of histone mRNAs, which is typically restricted to the S phase of eukaryotic cells, is extended during the cell cycle of neoblasts. The planarian PIWI homologs SMEDWI-1 and SMEDWI-3 are …

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly From Fat Body And Flight Muscles Transcripts To Identify Morph-Specific Gene Expression Profiles In Gryllus Firmus, Neetha Nanoth Vellichirammal, Anthony J. Zera, Rudolf J. Schilder, Cody Wehrkamp, Jean-Jack M. Riethoven, Jennifer A. Brisson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Wing polymorphism is a powerful model for examining many aspects of adaptation. The wing dimorphic cricket species, Gryllus firmus, consists of a long-winged morph with functional flight muscles that is capable of flight, and two flightless morphs. One (obligately) flightless morph emerges as an adult with vestigial wings and vestigial flight muscles. The other (plastic) flightless morph emerges with fully-developed wings but later in adulthood histolyzes its flight muscles. Importantly both flightless morphs have substantially increased reproductive output relative to the flight-capable morph. Much is known about the physiological and biochemical differences between the morphs with respect to adaptations …

The Role Of Angiotensinogen In Atherosclerosis And Obesity, Congqing Wu

Theses and Dissertations--Nutritional Sciences

Angiotensinogen is the only known precursor in the renin-angiotensin system, a hormonal system best known as an essential regulator of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis. Angiotensinogen is sequentially cleaved by renin and angiotensin- converting enzyme to generate angiotensin II. As the major effector peptide, angiotensin II mainly function through angiotensin type 1 receptor.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and more recently renin inhibitors are widely known as the 3 classic renin-angiotensin system inhibitory drugs against hypertension and atherosclerosis. Here, we developed an array of regents to explore the effects of angiotensinogen inhibition. First, we demonstrated that genetic deficiency of …

Boron Nutrition Of Burley And Dark Tobacco, Laura Ann Frakes Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The incidences of suspected Boron (B) deficiency have increased recently in Kentucky tobacco fields, potentially due to recent changes in management practices. The symptoms observed in the field include; hollow stalk, stunted growth, deformed or no bud formation, small slits on the lower leaf midrib and uncontrollable breaking of the midrib approximately two inches from the stalk. B is a micronutrient tobacco needs in minute amounts, however excessive additions of B could cause toxicity. The objectives of this work were to 1) establish critical points for B sufficiency, 2) describe and define B deficiency and toxicity symptoms and 3) develop …

Belowground Advantages In Construction Cost Facilitate A Cryptic Plant Invasion, Joshua Caplan

Biology Faculty Research and Scholarship

The energetic cost of plant organ construction is a functional trait that is useful for understanding carbon investment during growth (e.g. the resource acquisition vs. tissue longevity tradeoff), as well as in response to global change factors like elevated CO2 and N. Despite the enormous importance of roots and rhizomes in acquiring soil re- sources and responding to global change, construction costs have been studied almost exclusively in leaves. We sought to determine how construction costs of aboveground and belowground organs differed between native and introduced lineages of a geographically widely dispersed wetland plant species (Phragmites australis) under varying levels …

Granivory Of Invasive, Naturalized, And Native Plants In Communities Differentially Susceptible To Invasion, Brian M. Connolly, D. E. Pearson, R. N. Mack

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Seed predation is an important biotic filter that can influence abundance and spatial distributions of native species through differential effects on recruitment. This filter may also influence the relative abundance of nonnative plants within habitats and the communities' susceptibility to invasion via differences in granivore identity, abundance, and food preference. We evaluated the effect of postdispersal seed predators on the establishment of invasive, naturalized, and native species within and between adjacent forest and steppe communities of eastern Washington, USA that differ in severity of plant invasion. Seed removal from trays placed within guild-specific exclosures revealed that small mammals were the …

Genomic And Physical Analysis Of Rnr1-Containing Autophagosomes During Environmental Stress, Tamir Danon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Physical & Genetic Analysis of Rnr1 autophagosomes during the DNA damage response

Instructional Scientific Humor In The Secondary Classroom, Francine Wizner

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study is an examination of the manner in which educators employ scientific content humor and how that humor is perceived by their students. Content humor is a useful strategy in drawing the attention of students and improving their receptivity toward scientific information. It is also a useful tool in combating the growing distractions of the electronic classroom. Previous studies have found that humor has a positive effect on knowledge, memory, and understanding. However, few studies have been conducted below the undergraduate level and mainly quantitative measures of student recall have been used to measure learning. This study employed multiple …

Molecular Characterization Of The Encoding Regions And Tissue Expression Analyses For 3 Novel Buffalo Akt Genes, Akt1, Akt2, And Akt3, Chunfeng Wu, Lixian Liu, Jinlong Huo, Dalin Li, Yueyun Yuan, Feng Yuan, Yongwang Miao

Turkish Journal of Biology

The objective of this study was to obtain the complete coding sequences (CDSs) of 3 buffalo genes (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3) using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and to depict their molecular characterizations and tissue expression patterns in buffalo. The buffalo AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3 CDSs were 1443 bp, 1446 bp, and 1440 bp in length and encoded 480, 481, and 479 amino acids, respectively. Nine, 13, and 3 nucleotide differences were found in the CDSs between buffalo and other bovine species. Phylogenetic analyses showed that buffalo AKT1 and AKT2 have close genetic relationships with other species in the family Bovidae, …

A Comparative Study On Plant Morphology, Gas Exchange Parameters, And Antioxidant Response Of Ocimum Basilicum L. And Origanum Vulgare L. Grown On Industrially Polluted Soil, Ira Stancheva, Maria Geneva, Yuliana Markovska, Nikolina Tzvetkova, Ivanka Mitova, Milka Todorova, Petar Petrov

Turkish Journal of Biology

The effects of Cd, Pb, and Zn uptake on plant morphology, photosynthetic parameters, antioxidant potential, and essential oil yield and quality in Ocimum basilicum L. and Origanum vulgare L. plants were evaluated. The plants were grown as a pot experiment in soil heavily polluted with Cd and Pb and on unpolluted soil. Both plants accumulated Cd, mainly in the roots, while Pb occurred in the oregano shoots only. The leaf blade thickness of both plants increased when grown in polluted soil. Basil plants responded to the action of heavy metals with increases in gas exchange, stomatal conductivity, and transpiration, but …

Improvement In Tolerance To Salt Stress During Tomato Cultivation, Mustafa Demi̇rkaya

Turkish Journal of Biology

This study was conducted to evaluate the physiological impact of seed priming on improving the salt tolerance of tomato cultivars H-2274 and Rio Grande. Tomato seeds were primed with 5 M NaCl solution at 20 °C for 3 days in a dark environment. The seeds of the control treatments were handled in a similar way, using tap water instead of NaCl solution. After the priming procedure, seeds were washed and sown in standard germination trays. From each treatment group, 21 homogeneous seedlings were transplanted into 10-L pots full of turf for subsequent salinity experiments. In order to avoid osmotic shock, …

Soil And Foliar Application Of Potassium Enhances Fruit Yield And Quality Of Tomato Under Salinity, Muhammad Amjad, Javaid Akhtar, Muhammad Anwar Ul Haq, Shakeel Imran, Sven-Erik Jacobsen

Turkish Journal of Biology

Potassium plays a key role in the survival of plants under saline conditions in mitigating the adverse effects of sodium. The effect of application of potassium to soil (0, 3.3, and 6.6 mmol/kg) and leaves (4.5 and 9 mM) on tomato yield and quality under 3 salinity treatments (0, 7.5, and 15 dS m^{-1}), using 2 salt-tolerant (Indent-1 and Nagina) and 2 salt-sensitive (Peto-86 and Red Ball) genotypes, was studied in a pot experiment. Salinity decreased growth and yield of all genotypes; however, salt-tolerant genotypes maintained better growth and produced higher yield than the salt-sensitive genotypes across all salinity levels. …

Serum Leptin Profiles, Food Intake, And Body Weight In Melatonin-Implanted Syrian Hamsters (Mesocricetus Auratus) Exposed To Long And Short Photoperiods, Bülent Gündüz

Turkish Journal of Biology

We have shown that circadian changes in leptin concentrations are inversely linked to circulating melatonin levels in the Syrian hamster. The present study aimed to assess the effects of subcutaneous melatonin implants under different photoperiodic conditions: did the implants affect serum leptin levels, body weight, food consumption, and/or testicular weight? Male hamsters were exposed to long and short photoperiods for 10 weeks and received subcutaneous melatonin implants (1 mg in 24 mg beeswax) every 2 weeks. Blood samples were collected every week at midday (1200 hours) or midnight (0000 hours) to assess leptin and melatonin concentrations. Testes were measured to …

Transgenic Nicotiana Tabacum Cultivar Samsun Plants Carrying The Wild Sugar Beet Hs1pro1 Gene Have Resistance To Root-Knot Nematodes, Çağla Sönmez, İbrahi̇m Hali̇l Elekci̇oğlu, Ayşe Meral Yücel, Hüseyi̇n Avni̇ Öktem

Turkish Journal of Biology

Nematodes are the principal animal parasites of plants, causing annual crop losses of more than US$100 billion worldwide. Conventional control measures against nematode infection include toxic nematicide application to soil, crop rotation practices, and classical breeding approaches. However, due to the limitations of each technique, biotechnology presents itself as an effective alternative in nematode control. To date, several resistance genes against nematodes have been cloned. One such gene, Hs1^{pro1}, cloned from wild sugar beet, Beta procumbens, shows resistance to the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii. Recent studies showed that Hs1^{pro1} has a broad target pathogen range. In this study, we transformed …

Photocatalytic Antimicrobial Effect Of Tio_2 Anatase Thin-Film-Coated Orthodontic Arch Wires On 3 Oral Pathogens, Fi̇gen Özyildiz, Ataç Uzel, Ayşe Serpi̇l Hazar, Mustafa Güden, Sultan Ölmez, Işil Aras, İsmai̇l Karaboz

Turkish Journal of Biology

The aim of this study was to introduce antimicrobial activity to stainless steel orthodontic arch wires by coating them with TiO_2 in anatase form. Stainless steel (0.016 × 0.022 inch), D-rect (0.016 × 0.022 inch), and multistranded hammered retainer wires (0.014 × 0.018 inch) were coated with TiO_2 anatase by the sol-gel dip coating method. The wires were assessed for their photocatalytic antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans, and Enterococcus faecalis. After illumination under UVA (315-400 nm) at 1.0 mW/cm^2 for 1 h, the reduction efficiencies of the anatase-coated arch wires were calculated by using colony-forming unit counts. All …

Production Of Biosurfactant By Pseudomonas Spp. Isolated From Industrial Waste In Turkey, Tayfun Kaya, Belma Aslim, Ergi̇n Kari̇ptaş

Turkish Journal of Biology

In this study, 26 Pseudomonas spp. were isolated from a stream polluted by factory waste and from petroleum-contaminated soil. The surface tension (ST) of the cultures was used as a criterion for the primary isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria. Biosurfactant production was quantified by ST reduction, critical micelle concentration (CMC), emulsification capacity (EC), and cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH). Two of the isolates, P. aeruginosa 78 and 99, produced rhamnolipid biosurfactant. The strains started rhamnolipid production in the logarithmic phase. They decreased the ST of the culture from 73 dyne/cm^2 to 29 and 33 dyne/cm^2, and the CMC of produced rhamnolipids were …

Activity Of Antioxidant Enzymes During Induction Of Morphogenesis Of Fritillaria Meleagris In Bulb Scale Culture, Marija Petric, Sladana Jevremovic, Milana Trifunovic, Vojin Tadic, Snezana Milosevic, Angelina Subotic

Turkish Journal of Biology

We investigated the activity of 3 antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase during morphogenesis of Fritillaria meleagris L. in vitro in bulb scale culture. Bulb cultures of F. meleagris were established on nutrition medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L^{-1} thidiazuron. Bulbs were grown at standard (24 °C) and low temperatures (4 °C) or at an increased sucrose concentration (4.5%) during the first 6 weeks (pretreatments). All bulbs were then grown for 4 weeks at standard temperature on 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and kinetin or thidiazuron (at concentrations of 1 mg L^{-1} each) in order to examine the influence of the …