Digital Commons Network^™

The Uptake Of Dissolved Molecules By The Freshwater Rotifer, Asplanchna Priodonta, Stephanie R. Ross, William Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Variable Absorption Of Dissolved Organic Material By Pilidium Larvae, Kristina Bennett, William Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Robert Koch, Creation, And The Specificity Of Germs, Alan L. Gillen, Douglas Oliver, Frank Sherwin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbiology is dominated by evolution today. Just look at any text, journal article, or the topics presented at professional scientific meetings. Darwin is dominant.

Microbiology is dominated by evolution today. Just look at any text, journal article, or the topics presented at professional scientific meetings. Darwin is dominant. Many argue that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” (Dobzhansky 1973). But it was not always this way. In fact, a review of the major founders of microbiology has shown that they were creationists.1 We would argue that a better idea thanevolution and one of much …

Candida Albicans Adhesion And Biofilm Formation On Phosphated And Non-Phosphate Containing Poly(Methylmethacrylate) Polymers, Kathryn Elizabeth Ryan

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Denture-induced stomatitis is prevalent among prosthesis users, particularly the elderly and institutionalized where it has been estimated to be present in over 60-65% of denture wearers. Treatment of this clinical condition is problematic due to incomplete disinfection of the acrylic surface and rapid microbial re-colonization. Moreover, ingestion or aspiration of pathogens in denture plaque exposes the elderly and immunocompromised to unexpected infections.

Acrylic polymers have generally been used to replace missing teeth and periodontal tissues in edentulous or partially dentate patients. Currently, edentulous adults in the US population are common, with complete edentulism greater than 41% among Americans aged 65 …

Inter-Island Variability In Above And Belowground Plant Biomass In Interior Marshes On The Virginia Barrier Islands, Staci B. Blecha

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The Virginia Coast Reserve's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site is of great interest because the barrier islands have been migrating, rapidly at times, and are exceptionally dynamic. The barrier islands have tidal saltwater marshes on the lagoon side and freshwater marshes on the island interiors. In these interior marshes on North Hog Island, South Smith Island, and North Parramore Island, salinity and depth to water table were measured to determine if these factors were influencing biomass and biomass allocation patterns in the marsh. Hog Island had the freshest interior marshes (0 and 0.7 ppm), and the most diverse (H'=0.84 …

Lead-Phase And Red-Stripe Color Morphs Of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon Cinereus) Differ In Hematological Stress Indices: A Consequence Of Differential Predation Pressure?, Andrew K. Davis, Joseph Milanovich

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Throughout the animal kingdom there are species that have two or more phenotypic forms or ‘morphs’, and many of these are amphibians. In North America, the red-backed salamander Plethodon cinereus can have either a red dorsal stripe or no dorsal stripe (lead-phase form), and evidence to date indicates the lead-phase form incurs a greater number of attacks from predators. In a recent collection of 51 P. cinereus, blood smears of both color morphs (35 red-stripe, 16 lead-phase) were examined to obtain numbers of circulating leukocytes (via light microscopy), which can be used to indirectly estimate levels of stress hormones …

Probing The Catalytic Roles Of Arg548 And Gln552 In The Carboxyl Transferase Domain Of The Rhizobium Etli Pyruvate Carboxylase By Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Saowapa Duangpan, Sarawut Jitrapakdee, Abdussalam Adina-Zada, Lindsay Byrne, Tonya N. Zeczycki, Martin St. Maurice, W. Wallace Cleland, John C. Wallace, Paul V. Attwood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The roles of Arg548 and Gln552 residues in the active site of the carboxyl transferase domain of Rhizobium etli pyruvate carboxylase were investigated using site-directed mutagenesis. Mutation of Arg548 to alanine or glutamine resulted in the destabilization of the quaternary structure of the enzyme, suggesting that this residue has a structural role. Mutations R548K, Q552N, and Q552A resulted in a loss of the ability to catalyze pyruvate carboxylation, biotin-dependent decarboxylation of oxaloacetate, and the exchange of protons between pyruvate and water. These mutants retained the ability to catalyze reactions that occur at the active site of the biotin carboxylase domain, …

Maternal Consumption Of Canola Oil Suppressed Mammary Gland Tumorigenesis In C3(1) Tag Mice Offspring, Gabriela Ion, Juliana A. Akinsete, W. Elaine Hardman

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background: Maternal consumption of a diet high in omega 6 polyunsaturated fats (n-6 PUFA) has been shown to increase risk whereas a diet high in omega 3 polyunsaturated fats (n-3 PUFA) from fish oil has been shown to decrease risk for mammary gland cancer in female offspring of rats. The aim of this study was to determine whether increasing n-3 PUFA and reducing n-6 PUFA by using canola oil instead of corn oil in the maternal diet might reduce the risk for breast cancer in female offspring.

Methods: Female SV 129 mice were divided into two groups and placed on …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

The Role Of Adaptive Trans-Generational Plasticity In Biological Invasions Of Plants, Andrew R. Dyer, Cynthia S. Brown, Erin K. Espeland, John K. Mckay, Harald Meimberg, Kevin J. Rice

Faculty Publications

High-impact biological invasions often involve establishment and spread in disturbed, high-resource patches followed by establishment and spread in biotically or abiotically stressful areas. Evolutionary change may be required for the second phase of invasion (establishment and spread in stressful areas) to occur. When species have low genetic diversity and short selection history, within-generation phenotypic plasticity is often cited as the mechanism through which spread across multiple habitat types can occur. We show that trans-generational plasticity (TGP) can result in pre-adapted progeny that exhibit traits associated with increased fitness both in high-resource patches and in stressful conditions. In the invasive sedge, …

Crop Updates 2010 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition And Soils, James Fisher, Désirée Futures, Peter Tozer, Mike Jackson, John Moore, Jamees Neilsen, Geoff Anderson, Wen Chen, Richard Bell, Paul Blackwell, Allan Herbert, Stephen Davies, Ross Brennan, Mike Bolland, James Easton, Ryan Guthrie, Rowan Madderm, Robert Belford, Wal Anderson, Ian Edwards, Reg Lunt, Bill Bowden, Nigel Metz, Peter Newman, Breanne Best, Chris Gazey, Joel Andrew

Crop Updates

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

1. Evaluation of the environmental and economic impact of Roundup Ready® canola in the Western Australian crop production system, James Fisher and Désirée Futures, York, Western Australia, Peter Tozer, PRT Consulting, Armidale NSW

2. Controlling wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) in Roundup Ready®¹ Canola: Outcomes from the Nufarm 2009 Roundup Ready small plot trial Program, Mike Jackson, Nufarm Australia Limited

3. Weed strategies for glyphosate tolerant crops, John Moore, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Results of the 2009 Western Australia Roundup Ready® canola trials, Dr James Neilsen, Canola Systems …

Positive Carotenoid Balance Correlates With Greater Reproductive Performance In A Wild Bird, Rebecca Safran, Kevin J. Mcgraw, Matt Wilkins, Joanna K. Hubbard, Julie Marling

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Carotenoids can confer somatic and reproductive benefits, but most evidence is from captive animal experimentation or single time-point sampling. Another perhaps more informative means by which to assess physiological contributions to animal performance is by tracking an individual’s ability to increase or sustain carotenoids or other health-related molecules over time, as these are likely to be temporally variable.

Methodology/Principal Findings: In a field study of North American barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster), we analyzed within-individual changes in carotenoid concentrations by repeatedly sampling the carotenoid profiles of individuals over the course of the breeding season. Our results demonstrate …

Analysis Of Primary Risk Factors For Oral Cancer From Us States With Increasing Rates, Anthony Bunnell, Nathan Pettit, Nicole Reddout, Kanika Sharma, Susan O'Malley, Michelle Chino, Karl Kingsley

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Objectives

To examine the primary risk factor for oral cancer in the US, smoking and tobacco use, among the specific US states that experienced short-term increases in oral cancer incidence and mortality.

Methods

Population-based data on oral cancer morbidity and mortality in the US were obtained from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for analysis of recent trends. Data were also obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to measure current and former trends of tobacco usage. To comprehensive measures of previous state tobacco use …

Detection Of Wuchereria Bancrofti L3 Larvae In Mosquitoes: A Reverse Transcriptase Pcr Assay Evaluating Infection And Infectivity, Sandra J. Laney, Reda M.R. Ramzy, Hanan H. Helmy, Hoda A. Farid, Ameen A. Ashour, Gary J. Weil, Steven A. Williams

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lymphatic filariasis is a disabling and disfiguring disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted by a mosquito. The life cycle of the parasite requires two hosts: the mosquito vector and the human host. Part of the developmental life cycle of the parasite occurs in the mosquito and the other part in the human host. The parasite develops through four stages in the mosquito, only the last of which is infectious to humans. The third larval stage (L3) is the infective stage that initiates human infections when infective mosquitoes bite humans. There is currently a global program attempting to eliminate …

Genome Sequence Of The Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon Pisum, International Aphid Genomics Consortium, Gregory K. Davis

Biology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Aphids are important agricultural pests and also biological models for studies of insect-plant interactions, symbiosis, virus vectoring, and the developmental causes of extreme phenotypic plasticity. Here we present the 464 Mb draft genome assembly of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. This first published whole genome sequence of a basal hemimetabolous insect provides an outgroup to the multiple published genomes of holometabolous insects. Pea aphids are host-plant specialists, they can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and they have coevolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont. Here we highlight findings from whole genome analysis that may be related to these unusual biological …

Chlamydomonas Mutants Display Reversible Deficiencies In Flagellar Beating And Axonemal Assembly, Mei Wei, Priyanka Sivadas, Heather A. Owen, David R. Mitchell, Pinfen Yang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Axonemal complexes in flagella are largely prepackaged in the cell body. As such, one mutation often results in the absence of the co-assembled components and permanent motility deficiencies. For example, a Chlamydomonas mutant defective in RSP4 in the radial spoke (RS), which is critical for bend propagation, has paralyzed flagella that also lack the paralogue RSP6 and three additional RS proteins. Intriguingly, recent studies showed that several mutant strains contain a mixed population of swimmers and paralyzed cells despite their identical genetic background. Here we report a cause underlying these variations. Two new mutants lacking RSP6 swim processively and other …

Sperm Morphometrics In The Diamond-Backed Watersnake, Nerodia Rhombifer Hallowell, With Reference To Possible Implications On Sperm Competition, Jonathan Wade Stanley

Student Theses and Dissertations

A total of 46 male Diamond-backed Watersnakes, Nerodia rhombifer Hallowell were collected from Mallard Lake in Mississippi County, Arkansas and a catfish farm in Desha County, Arkansas to determine effects that the farm may have on sperm morphometrics in this species. Snout-vent lengths (SVL) were recorded and blood samples were collected for hematocrit (Hct) determination. Sperm were collected, viewed by scanning electron microscopy, and measured for overall length, head length, and tail length. Snakes from the fish farm had significantly longer SVL than did snakes from Mallard Lake. No correlation was found between Hct values and SVL, but differences were …

Effects Of Small Increases In Corticosterone Levels On Morphology, Immune Function, And Feather Development, Michael W. Butler, Lynda L. Leppert, Alfred M. Dufty Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Stressors encountered during avian development may affect an individual’s phenotype, including immunocompetence, growth, and feather quality. We examined effects of simulated chronic low-level stress on American kestrel (Falco sparverius) nestlings. Continuous release of corticosterone, a hormone involved in the stress response, can model chronic stress in birds. We implanted 13-d-old males with either corticosterone-filled implants or shams and measured their growth, immune function, and feather coloration.We found no significant differences between groups at the end of the weeklong exposure period in morphometrics (mass, tarsus, wing length, and asymmetry), immunocompetence (cutaneous immunity, heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, and humoral immunity), or feather …

Genome Sequence Of The Palaeopolyploid Soybean, Jeremy Schmutz, Steven B. Cannon, Jessica Schlueter, Jianxin Ma, Therese Mitros, William Nelson, David L. Hyten, Qijian Song, Jay J. Thelen, Jianlin Cheng, Dong Xu, Uffe Hellsten, Gregory D. May, Yeisoo Yu, Tetsuya Sakurai, Taishi Umezawa, Madan K. Bhattacharyya, Devinder Sandhu, Babu Valliyodan, Erika Lindquist, Myron Peto, David Grant, Shengqiang Shu, David Goodstein, Kerrie Barry, Montona Futrell-Griggs, Brian Abernathy, Jianchang Du, Zhixi Tian, Liucun Zhu, Navdeep Gill, Trupti Joshi, Marc Libault, Anand Sethuraman, Xue-Cheng Zhang, Kazuo Shinozaki, Henry T. Nguyen, Rod A. Wing, Perry Cregan, James Specht, Jane Grimwood, Dan Rokhsar, Gary Stacey, Randy C. Shoemaker, Scott A. Jackson

Biology Faculty Articles

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important crop plants for seed protein and oil content, and for its capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbioses with soil-borne microorganisms. We sequenced the 1.1-gigabase genome by a whole-genome shotgun approach and integrated it with physical and high-density genetic maps to create a chromosome-scale draft sequence assembly. We predict 46,430 protein-coding genes, 70% more than Arabidopsis and similar to the poplar genome which, like soybean, is an ancient polyploid (palaeopolyploid). About 78% of the predicted genes occur in chromosome ends, which comprise less than one-half of the genome but …

Genome Sequence Of The Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon Pisum, The International Aphid Genomics Consortium

Biology Articles and Papers

Aphids are important agricultural pests and also biological models for studies of insect-plant interactions, symbiosis, virus vectoring, and the developmental causes of extreme phenotypic plasticity. Here we present the 464 Mb draft genome assembly of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. This first published whole genome sequence of a basal hemimetabolous insect provides an outgroup to the multiple published genomes of holometabolous insects. Pea aphids are host-plant specialists, they can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and they have coevolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont. Here we highlight findings from whole genome analysis that may be related to these unusual biological features. …

Lifelines Winter 2010, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Winter 2010 issue of Lifelines features articles on research done in the Southern Connections class, the retirement of Dr. David Ekkens, the death of Dr. Richard Seidel, the Allied Health Club's service projects, and a pictorial directory of the 2010 biology and allied health graduates.

Land Use And Climatic Factors Structure Regional Patterns In Soil Microbialcommunities, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Kerri L. Steenworth, Louise E. Jackson, Kate M. Scow

Biology

Aim Although patterns are emerging for macroorganisms, we have limited under- standing of the factors determining soil microbial community composition and productivity at large spatial extents. The overall objective of this study was to discern the drivers of microbial community composition at the extent of biogeo- graphical provinces and regions. We hypothesized that factors associated with land use and climate would drive soil microbial community composition and biomass. Location Great Basin Province, Desert Province and California Floristic Province, California, USA. Methods Using phospholipid fatty acid analysis, we compared microbial com- munities across eight land-use types sampled throughout the State of …

Niche Partitioning Among And Within Sympatric Tropical Seabirds Revealed By Stable Isotope Analysis, H S. Young, D J. Mccauley, R Dirzo, R D. Dunbar, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

The low productivity and unpredictable nature of resources in tropical waters would appear to make resource partitioning among predators difficult. Yet, stable isotope data from the present study suggest that substantial resource partitioning occurs among tropical seabird communities, both between and within species. In the present study, we compared δ13C and δ15N levels among 8 sympatric tropical seabird species. For a subset of these species, we also examined isotopic levels across years, breeding periods, and sexes. When breeding and non-breeding periods were both considered, we found that all species occupied distinct isotopic niches across at least one time period. Resource …

Effects Of Yogurt Starter Cultures On The Survival Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Elizabeth W. Ng, Marie Yeung, Phillip S. Tong

Biological Sciences

Recognized to confer health benefits to consumers, probiotics such as Lactobacillus acidophilus are commonly incorporated into fermented dairy products worldwide; among which yogurt is a popular delivery vehicle. To materialize most of the putative health benefits associated with probiotics, an adequate amount of viable cells must be delivered at the time of consumption. However, the loss in their viabilities during refrigerated storage has been demonstrated previously. This study focused on the effects of yogurt starter cultures on the survival of five strains of L. acidophilus, with emphases on low pH and acid production. Differential survival behavior between L. acidophilus strains …

Merits And Limits Of Ecosystem Protection For Conserving Wild Salmon In A Northern Coastal British Columbia River, Aaron C. Hill, Thomas S. Bansak, Bonnie K. Ellis, Jack Arthur Stanford

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Loss and degradation of freshwater habitat reduces the ability of wild salmon populations to endure other anthropogenic stressors such as climate change, harvest, and interactions with artificially propagated fishes. Preservation of pristine salmon rivers has thus been advocated as a cost-effective way of sustaining wild Pacific salmon populations. We examine the value of freshwater habitat protection in conserving salmon and fostering resilience in the Kitlope watershed in northern coastal British Columbia—a large (3186 km²) and undeveloped temperate rainforest ecosystem with legislated protected status. In comparison with other pristine Pacific Rim salmon rivers we studied, the Kitlope is characterized …

Functional Convergence In Reduced Genomes Of Bacterial Symbionts Spanning 200 My Of Evolution, John P. Mccutcheon, Nancy A. Moran

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The main genomic changes in the evolution of host-restricted microbial symbionts are ongoing inactivation and loss of genes combined with rapid sequence evolution and extreme structural stability; these changes reflect high levels of genetic drift due to small population sizes and strict clonality. This genomic erosion includes irreversible loss of genes in many functional categories and can include genes that underlie the nutritional contributions to hosts that are the basis of the symbiotic association. Candidatus Sulcia muelleri is an ancient symbiont of sap-feeding insects and is typically coresident with another bacterial symbiont that varies among host subclades. Previously sequenced Sulcia …

Are Forested Buffers An Effective Conservation Strategy For Riparian Fauna? An Assessment Using Meta-Analysis, Laurie B. Marczak, Takashi Sakamaki, Shannon L. Turvey, Isabelle Deguise, Sylvia L. R. Wood, John S. Richardson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Historically, forested riparian buffers have been created to provide protection for aquatic organisms and aquatic ecosystem functions. Increasingly, new and existing riparian buffers are being used also to meet terrestrial conservation requirements. To test the effectiveness of riparian buffers for conserving terrestrial fauna, we conducted a meta-analysis using published data from 397 comparisons of species abundance in riparian buffers and unharvested (reference) riparian sites. The response of terrestrial species to riparian buffers was not consistent between taxonomic groups; bird and arthropod abundances were significantly greater in buffers relative to unharvested areas, whereas amphibian abundance decreased. Edge-preferring species were more abundant …

Full Issue: Volume 3, Number 1

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

No abstract provided.