Digital Commons Network^™

Validation Of A Multiplex Pcr Assay For The Simultaneous Detection Of Human Papillomavirus And Chlamydia Trachomatis In Cervical Preservcyt Samples., Helen Keegan, Alison Malkin, Mairead Griffin, Fergus Ryan, Helen Lambkin

Articles

No abstract provided.

Omnivory By The Small Cosmopolitan Hydromedusa Aglaura Hemistoma, Sean Colin, John H. Costello, William M. Graham, John Higgins Iii

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

We investigated the feeding of the small hydromedusa, Aglaura hemistoma (bell diameter < 4 mm), to determine if it occupies a trophic position similar to that of large medusae. Feeding was examined using gut-content analysis of preserved and unpreserved medusae and by analyzing prey-capture events using microvideographic techniques. Analysis of gut contents and prey-capture events revealed that A. hemistoma fed heavily on protistan prey and that it possessed a prey-capture mechanism, specifically a feeding current,that is effective at entraining and capturing protists with low motility. We suggest that many species of small hydromedusae possess prey-capture mechanisms adapted to capture small protistan prey and that many of these small hydromedusae feed omnivorously on microplanktonic prey. The trophic roles of small hydromedusae in different systems are not understood and more studies are needed. However, based on their often high abundances and the cosmopolitan nature, if small hydromedusae …

Prorocentrum Minimum(Clone Exuv) Is Nutritionally Insufficient, But Not Toxic To The Copepod Acartia Tonsa, Hans G. Dam, Sean Colin

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

This study tested whether the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum is nutritionally insufficient or toxic to the copepod Acartia tonsa. Experiments were carried out with adult female A. tonsa and the P. minimum clone Exuv, both isolated from Long Island Sound. Initially, the functional and numerical responses of A. tonsa feeding on exponentially growing P. minimum cells were characterized. These experiments revealed that A. tonsa readily ingested P. minimum cells, up to the equivalent of 200% of body carbon day⁻¹, but egg production was relatively low, with a maximum egg production rate of 22% of body carbon day …

Spontaneous Alternating Behavior In Paramecium Caudatum And Paramecium Multimicronucleatum, Nyron K. A. Bovell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Spontaneous alternating behavior (SAB) describes the tendency of an organism to spontaneously select the unfamiliar direction in a two choice situation. Paramecium is the only microscopic genus in which SAB has been studied. The two earlier studies regarding SAB in Paramecium have come to conclusive, but diametrically opposed results. Designing a single new experiment that incorporates the critical differences in the designs of both studies may help to clarify the results from these earlier studies, and provide an excellent opportunity to better understand the factors that influence SAB.

The overall objective of this research project was to determine whether or …

Seed Storage Reserves And Glucosinolates In Brassica Rapa L. Grown On The International Space Station, M. E. Musgrave, Anxiu Kuang, L. K. Tuominen, L. H. Levine, R. C. Morrow

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Although plants are envisioned to play a central role in life support systems for future long-duration space travel, plant growth in space has been problematic due to horticultural problems of nutrient delivery and gas resupply posed by the weightless environment. Iterative improvement in hardware designed for growth of plants on orbital platforms now provides confidence that plants can perform well in microgravity, enabling investigation of their nutritional characteristics. Plants of B. rapa (cv. Astroplants) were grown in the Biomass Production System on the International Space Station. Flowers were hand-pollinated and seeds were produced prior to harvest at 39 days after …

Changes In Population Structures Of The Major Species In Selected Satellite Lakes Around Lake Victoria Following Changes In Fishing Effort, E F B Katunzi, M A Kishe

Tanzania Journal of Science

This paper evaluates the impacts of reduction in effort, increase in mesh sizes, and prohibition of illegal fishing gears in selected satellite lakes around Lake Victoria. The study was carried out in six satellite lakes by making investigations on fish collected from experimental and artisanal fisheries. The fishes were analysed for length frequencies, weight and numbers caught to determine the population structure of the fishes. Indiscriminate fishing by deploying illegal gears and increased fishing effort due to open access policy, the catch and diversity of the species in these lakes has declined. Establishment of Conservation Management Units (CMUs) as an …

Ic138 Is A Wd-Repeat Dynein Intermediate Chain Required For Light Chain Assembly And Regulation Of Flagellar Bending, Triscia W. Hendrickson, Catherine A. Perrone, Paul Griffin, Kristin Wuichet, Joshua Mueller, Pinfen Yang, Mary E. Porter, Winfield S. Sale

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Increased phosphorylation of dynein IC IC138 correlates with decreases in flagellar microtubule sliding and phototaxis defects. To test the hypothesis that regulation of IC138 phosphorylation controls flagellar bending, we cloned the IC138 gene. IC138 encodes a novel protein with a calculated mass of 111 kDa and is predicted to form seven WD-repeats at the C terminus. IC138 maps near the BOP5 locus, and bop5-1 contains a point mutation resulting in a truncated IC138 lacking the C terminus, including the seventh WD-repeat. bop5-1 cells display wild-type flagellar beat frequency but swim slower than wild-type cells, suggesting that bop5-1 is altered in …

Characterization Of A Catechol-Type Siderophore And The Detection Of A Possible Outer Membrane Receptor Protein From Rhizobium Leguminosarum Strain Iari 312., Brianne Lee Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many gram-negative bacteria produce and secrete siderophores under iron-deficient conditions. Siderophores are low molecular weight compounds (600-1500 Daltons), which chelate ferric iron with an extremely high affinity, and the complex is actively transported across the outer and inner membranes of gram-negative bacteria. There are two main classes of siderophores: catechol and hydroxamate. Catechol-type siderophores chelate ferric iron via hydroxyl groups, and hydroxamate-type siderophores chelate ferric iron via a carbonyl group with an adjacent nitrogen. Rhizobia fix atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically in leguminous plants using the iron-containing enzyme nitrogenase. To satisfy their iron requirements, many rhizobia are known to produce siderophores. Rhizobium …

High Polymorphism In The K-Casein (Csn3) Gene From Wild And Domestic Caprine Species Revealed By Dna Sequencing, Oliver C. Jann, Eva-Maria Prinzenberg, Gordon Luikart, Ana Caroli, Georg Erhardt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We assessed polymorphisms in exon IV of the k-casein gene (CSN3) in ten different breeds of domestic goat (Capra hircus) from three continents and in three related wild caprine taxa (Capra ibex, Capra sibirica and Capra aegagrus). Thirty-five DNA samples were sequenced within a 558 bp fragment of exon IV. Nine polymorphic sites were identified in domestic goat, including four new polymorphisms. In addition to four previously described polymorphic positions, a total of 13 polymorphisms allowed the identification of 13 DNA variants, corresponding to 10 protein variants. Because of conflicting nomenclature of these variants, we propose …

Antimicrobial Activities Of Lipodepsipeptide Syringopeptins, Mekki F. Bensaci

Biology

Many strains of the plant bacterium Pseudomonas syringae produce two major classes of cyclic lipodepsipeptides, the syringomycins and the syringopeptins. Four groups of small cyclic lipodepsipeptides are well known: the syringomycins, syringostatins, syringotoxins, and pseudomycins. They all have antimicrobial activities and tend to be more active against yeasts than against bacteria. The syringopeptins are lesser-known. The best-studied syringopeptins are SP22 and SP25. They possess antibacterial and antifungal activities, but their mechanisms of action and antimicrobial spectra are less studied. Saccharomyces cerevisiae sphingolipid and sterol biosynthetic mutants were used to investigate the mechanism of action of syringopeptins against fungi. Similarly to …

Studies Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Sphingolipid C4 Hydroxylation And Ipt1 Function And Their Roles In Syringomycin E Action, Jolanta Idkowiak-Baldys

Biology

Sphingolipids are ubiquitous membrane components of all eukaryotic cells with important regulatory functions. The roles and biochemistry of two structural features of sphingolipids were studied: C4 hydroxylation and the addition of a terminal phosphoinositol. Structure-function studies of the yeast sphingolipid C4 long chain base hydroxylase (Sur2p) revealed that alanine replacement of any of eight histidine residues from three histidine-rich motifs, as well as additional histidine 249, eliminated hydroxylase activity. Seven additional residues were also found to be important elements of the active site. These results show that Sur2p is a member of the family of eight-histidine motif hydroxylases and desaturates. …

Snow Avalanche Disturbance In Intermountain Spruce-Fir Forests And Implications For The Spruce Bark Beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), Elizabeth G. Herbertson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Spruce beetle outbreaks are the primary biotic disturbance affecting forests in the Intermountain spruce-fir zone. Major snow avalanches can produce large quantities of host material for spruce beetle colonization; however, few studies have examined the influence of avalanche disturbance on outbreak initiation. The purpose of my research was to investigate potential relationships between these two disturbance agents. In the first study, I used dendro-ecological analyses to date major avalanche years on the Wasatch Plateau in south-central Utah, and then determined what climate factors were associated with avalanche occurrence. The results indicated that mean January snowfall was significantly related to the …

Micrococcus Luteus - Survival In Amber, C. L. Greenblatt, J. Baum, B. Y. Klein, S. Nachshon, V. Koltunov, R. J. Cano

Biological Sciences

A growing body of evidence now supports the isolation of microorganisms from ancient materials. However, questions about the stringency of extraction methods and the genetic relatedness of isolated organisms to their closest living relatives continue to challenge the authenticity of these ancient life forms. Previous studies have successfully isolated a number of spore-forming bacteria from organic and inorganic deposits of considerable age whose survival is explained by their ability to enter suspended animation for extended periods of time. However, despite a number of putative reports, the isolation of non-spore-forming bacteria and an explanation for their survival have remained enigmatic. Here …

Core Concepts In Biochemistry And Molecular Biology In An Integrated Mbbs Curriculum, M P. Iqbal

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Particle Removal Rates By The Mud Shrimp Upogebia Pugettensis, Its Burrow, And A Commensal Clam: Effects On Estuarine Phytoplankton Abundance, Blaine D. Griffen, Theodore H. Dewitt, Chris Langdon

Faculty Publications

The burrowing shrimp Upogebia pugettensis is an abundant intertidal invertebrate of Pacific Northwest, USA bays and estuaries where it lives commensally with the bivalve Cryptomya californica. Suspension-feeding activities by the shrimp and by its commensal clam, as well as particle settlement within the burrow, represent 3 different components that could remove phytoplankton from water drawn into shrimp burrows. These 3 components together comprise what we call the ‘U. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complex’. In laboratory experiments, we measured particle removal by each of these components. Our results indicated that U. pugettensis itself is responsible for filtering the majority of phytoplankton removed …

The Vascular Flora Of The Palo Alto National Battlefield Historic Site, Cameron County, Texas, Robert I. Lonard, Alfred T. Richardson, Norman L. Richard

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

A checklist is provided of the vascular plant taxa of the 1,376 ha Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site (PABNHS) in Cameron County of south Texas. PABNHS consists of four plant communities: resacas and tanks, salt flats, brush-grasslands and coastal marshes. Vascular plants of disturbed sites are noted. Two hundred forty-three taxa in 66 families are documented and their community affiliations are given. Three families, Poaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae contain 37.5% of the species richness at PABNHS.

Forest Fragmentation And The Distribution, Abundance And Conservation Of The Tana River Red Colobus ( Procolobus Rufomitratus), David N.M. Mbora, Douglas B. Meikle

Biology

Evidence suggests that habitat heterogeneity, disturbance, disease, predation and food resources influence primate population abundance. However, few studies have focused on what habitat factors determine the probability that a primate species will occur in a habitat fragment. We analysed forest habitat and colobus population attributes to determine factors that influenced occurrence and abundance of the critically endangered Tana River red colobus. The probability of colobus inhabiting forests was positively related to the relative amount of habitat edge and canopy tree species composition. Most of the variance in the density of colobus monkeys was explained by basal area of food trees …

High Levels Of Fluctuating Asymmetry In Populations Of Apodemus Flavicollis From The Most Contaminated Areas In Chornobyl, Taras K. Oleksyk, James M. Novak, James R. Purdue, Sergiy P. Gashchak, Michael H. Smith

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Random deviations from the perfect symmetry of normally bilaterally symmetrical characters for an individual with a given genotype occur during individual development due to the influence of multiple environmental factors. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is often used as a measure of developmental instability, and can be estimated as the variance of the distribution of differences between the left and right sides. We addressed the question of whether levels of FA were elevated in radioactively contaminated populations living around Chornobyl compared to those in reference populations of the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). In addition, we studied amounts of directional asymmetry (DA) when …

Review Of Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Plant Breeding And Related Subjects, Henry R. Owen

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Sex–Specific Effects Of Carotenoid Intake On The Immunological Response To Allografts In Guppies (Poecilia Reticulata), Gregory F. Grether, Shinji Kasahara, Gita R. Kolluru, Edwin L. Cooper

Biological Sciences

Rarely are the evolutionary origins of mate preferences known, but, recently, the preference of female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) for males with carotenoid‐based sexual coloration has been linked to a sensory bias that may have originally evolved for detecting carotenoid‐rich fruits. If carotenoids enhance the immune systems of these fishes, as has been suggested for other species, this could explain the origin of the attraction to orange fruits as well as the maintenance of the female preference for orange males. We used the classic immunological technique of tissue grafting to assay a component of the immune response of guppies …

Serpentine: A Model Habitat For Botanical Research In Sri Lanka, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Alan J. M. Baker

Biological Sciences

Serpentine (ultramafic) outcrops are found in most parts of the world and for many years have attracted the attention of soil scientists and plant biologists alike due to the unusual nature of both the substrate and the life forms they harbour. In this paper, we introduce serpentine outcrops as a model habitat for botanical studies and review preliminary findings of a recently conducted soil and floristic survey of four of the five known serpentine outcrops in Sri Lanka. We hope that this paper will stimulate much-needed studies, both exploratory and experimental, and point to the immediate need for conservation of …

An Isotopic Examination Of Cave, Spring And Epigean Trophic Structures In Mammoth Cave National Park, Zacchaeus Greg Compson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

AN ISOTOPIC EXAMINATION OF CAVE, SPRING AND EPIGEAN TROPHIC STRUCTURES IN MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK

Name: Zacchaeus Greg Compson Date: October 15, 2004 Pages: 56

Directed by: Philip Lienesch, Doug McElroy, Michael Stokes and Richard Bowker

Department of Biology Western Kentucky University

Abstract

High-water events in the Green River result in flow-reversals which flush native and introduced fishes into Mammoth Cave, posing threats to indigenous cave fauna. However, little is known about the trophic interactions between cave and epigean aquatic systems or their connectivity via natural springs. The purpose of this study was to use stable isotopes of C and …

Ecological Effects Of Transgenic Crops And The Escape Of Transgenes Into Wild Populations, Diana Pilson, Holly R. Prendeville

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ecological risks associated with the release of transgenic crops include nontarget effects of the crop and the escape of transgenes into wild populations. Nontarget effects can be of two sorts: (a) unintended negative effects on species that do not reduce yield and (b) greater persistence of the crop in feral populations. Conventional agricultural methods, such as herbicide and pesticide application, have large and well- documented nontarget effects. To the extent that transgenes have more specific target effects, transgenic crops may have fewer nontarget effects. The escape of transgenes into wild populations, via hybridization and introgression, could …

Tradeoffs In Community Properties Through Time In A Desert Rodent Community, Ethan P. White, S.K. Morgan Ernest, K. M. Thibault

Biology Faculty Publications

Resource limitation represents an important constraint on ecological communities, which restricts the total abundance, biomass, and community energy flux a given community can support. However, the exact relationship among these three measures of biological activity remains unclear. Here we use a simple framework that links abundance and biomass with an energetic constraint. Under constant energetic availability, it is expected that changes in abundance and biomass can result from shifts in the distribution of individual masses. We test these predictions using long-term data from a desert rodent community. Total energy use for the community has not changed directionally for 25 years, …

Temporal Dynamics In The Structure Andcomposition Of A Desert Rodent Community, K. M. Thibault, Ethan P. White, S.K. Morgan Ernest

Biology Faculty Publications

The rank-abundance distribution (RAD) represents the manner in which species divide resources. Community-specific division rules that determine resource allocation among species, and thereby the shape of the RAD, have been hypothesized to account for observed stability of local species richness over time. While the shape of the RAD has been well studied, the temporal dynamics of this distribution have received much less attention. Here we assess changes in the shape of the RAD through time in a desert rodent community in Arizona (USA). Because energy use may be more appropriate for studying resource division than abundance, we also evaluate an …

Effect Of Zooid Spacing On Bryozoan Feeding Success: Is Competition Or Facilitation More Important?, Marney C. Pratt

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Most Recent bryozoan species are encrusting sheets, and many of these colonies have densely packed feeding zooids. In this study, I tested whether tight packing of feeding zooids affects food capture. Colonies of a bryozoan with an encrusting sheet form (Membranipora membranacea) were dissected to produce individuals whose feeding zooids were (1) closely packed, (2) more widely spaced, or (3) isolated. For each type, rates of particle ingestion were measured in still water and in a freestream velocity of 2.7 cm s-1. Ingestion rate increased when zooids were closest together, probably because of reduced refiltration and increased feeding current strength …

Long-Lived Worms And Aging, Yuan Luo

Faculty Publications

Several investigators have generated long-lived nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) in the past decade by mutation of genes in the organism in order to study the genetics of aging and longevity. Dozens of longevity assurance genes (LAG) that dramatically increase the longevity of this organism have been identified. All long-lived mutants of C. elegans are also resistant to environmental stress, such as high temperature, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and ultraviolet irradiation. Double mutations of some LAGS further extended life span up to 400%, providing more insight into cellular mechanisms that put limits on the life span of organisms. With …

Comparative Population Dynamics Of Freshwater Dinoflagellates Of The Genera Peridinium And Peridiniopsis, Andy Canion

Honors Theses

Freshwater dinoflagellates, like their marine relatives, have the potential to reach large population sizes known as blooms. Though they are not toxic like some marine forms, freshwater blooms may have a large impact in their respective ecosystem. This study investigated the temporal and spatial changes in population density of four Peridinium species (P. deflandrei, P. volzii, P. wisconsinense, and P. limbatum) and one Peridiniopsis species (Peridiniopsis polonicium) in Boondoggle Lake, a shallow lake (4.5 m) in northern Mississippi (Lafayette Co.). On each sampling date, measurements of the abiotic environment were made, including dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and turbidity. Also, water …

Expression Of Mslec1 Transgenes In Alfalfa Plants Causes Symbiotic Abnormalities, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

Legume lectins have been proposed to have important symbiotic roles during Rhizobium-legume symbioses. To test this hypothesis, the symbiotic responses of transgenic alfalfa plants that express a portion of the putative alfalfa lectin gene MsLEC1 or MsLEC2 in either the antisense or sense orientation were analyzed following inoculation with wild-type Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021. MsLEC1-antisense (LEC1AS) plants were stunted, exhibited hypernodulation, and developed not only abnormally large nodules but also numerous small nodules, both of which senesced prematurely. MsLEC2-antisense plants were intermediate in growth and nodule number compared with LEC1AS and vector control plants. The symbiotic abnormalities of MsLEC1-sense transgene plants …

Multiple Domains Of The Co-Chaperone Hop Are Important For Hsp70 Binding, Gregory M. Nelson, Patricia E. Carrigan, Patricia J. Roberts, Jha'nae Stoffer, Daniel L. Riggs, David F. Smith

Faculty Publications

The Hop/Sti1 co-chaperone binds to both Hsp70 and Hsp90. Biochemical and co-crystallographic studies have suggested that the EEVD-containing C terminus of Hsp70 or Hsp90 binds specifically to one of the Hop tetratricopeptide repeat domains, TPR1 or TPR2a, respectively. Mutational analyses of Hsp70 and Hop were undertaken to better characterize interactions between the C terminus of Hsp70 and Hop domains. Surprisingly, truncation of EEVD plus as many as 34 additional amino acids from the Hsp70 C terminus did not reduce the ability of Hsp70 mutants to co-immunoprecipitate with Hop, although further truncation eliminated Hop binding. Hop point mutations targeting a carboxylate …