Digital Commons Network^™

Micrornas Contribute To The Host Response To Coxiella Burnetii, Madhur Sachan, Katelynn Brann, Daniel E. Voth, Rahul Raghavan

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, are critical to gene regulation in eukaryotes. They are involved in modulating a variety of physiological processes, including the host response to intracellular infections. Little is known about miRNA functions during infection by Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of human Q fever. This bacterial pathogen establishes a large replicative vacuole within macrophages by manipulating host processes such as apoptosis and autophagy. We investigated miRNA expression in C. burnetii-infected macrophages and identified several miRNAs that were down- or up-regulated during infection. We further explored the functions of miR-143-3p, an miRNA whose …

Risk-Factor Induced Changes In The Breast Microenvironment Facilitate Inflammatory Breast Cancer Progression And Lymphovascular Invasion, Wintana Balema, Wintana Balema

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rapidly progressing, rare and highly lethal form of breast cancer. IBC is a clinical diagnosis, requiring >1/3 involvement on the affected breast and/or skin by erythema, and disease onset of < 6 months. The clinical symptoms of IBC vary in severity and presentation, these include redness, warmth, skin thickening and bruised or pink/purple discoloration appearance and skin changes such as peau d’orange. These skin symptoms are not attributed to inflammation, rather IBC is characterized by florid lymphovascular tumor emboli clogging dermal lymphatics. This leads to “classic” symptoms of breast swelling and skin edema or discoloration. To date, unique genomic drivers which differentiate IBC from non-IBC invasive breast cancers have not been identified highlighting a role for the microenvironment. Several epidemiological studies have unveiled subtype-specific risk factors associated with IBC that are known to alter the microenvironment. Obesity is an established risk factor for all subtypes of IBC. Never-breastfeeding increases risk for developing the most aggressive, triple-negative IBC. Further, never breastfeeding is associated with later clinical stage and worse outcomes. We worked to model these overlapping risk factors to understand microenvironment changes that may lead to the lymphatic change’s indicative of IBC.

First, we investigated the association of a “classic” triad of clinical IBC signs with overall survival among patients to demonstrate the most overt clinical findings of lymphatic involvement were impacting prognosis. We evaluated a triad of IBC signs, including swollen involved breast, nipple change, and diffuse skin change, using breast medical photographs from patients enrolled on a prospective IBC registry. We reported that the …

Immunological Tradeoffs And The Impacts Of Urbanization On The Reproductive Ecology And Physiology Of The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Emily E. Virgin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investing resources into reproduction can limit energy available to other competing demands, such as fighting off an infection; yet, both processes are necessary for organisms to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation. These strategies often follow patterns associated with lifespan, such that shorter-lived animals are more likely to invest more resources into reproduction over survival, and vice versa in long-lived animals. However, environmental change caused by urbanization can disrupt these relationships, and the within- and transgenerational costs of urbanization on females and offspring are unknown. I address these uncertainties in three research chapters to better understand …

Habitat Decline Of The Largest Known Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa Chinensis) Population In Poorly Protected Areas Associated With The Hypoxic Zone, Lang Guo, Dingyu Luo, Riqing Yu, Chen Zeng, Nuoyan Huang, Hongri Wang, Yuping Wu

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reserve planning based on the investigation of the core habitat distribution of wild cetaceans is a powerful conservation strategy for protecting target species. However, studies on core habitats and their variations at the large-scale distribution of cetaceans are limited. In this study, we conducted a seven years (2015-2021) boat-based field observation surveys with highly applicable and generalized methods to analyze the habitat changes and how these changes influenced the largest known Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) population in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China. Our findings revealed that there is 3204 km2 of dolphin habitat in the PRE, and dolphin …

The Ecosystem Value Of The Dominant Native And Invasive Shrubs In The Wsu Woods, Jaedynn Duell, John O. Stireman Iii

Runkle Woods Symposia

Jaedynn Duell presents her research in how invasive honeysuckle impacts the ecology of the Wright State University Woods, focusing on spicebush, a comparative counterpart to honeysuckle, and native a local caterpillar species.

The Effects Of Floral And Social Information On Bumblebee Forager Learning And Memory, Avery Hume Baker

Theses

Bumblebees rely on information gathered from their environment to make the best choices they can when foraging for pollen and nectar. The type of information gathered should influence how a bee learns and remembers it, but other factors such as the size of the bee’s brain may also play a role in the learning and remembering process. While social information learned from other organisms and information gathered directly from flowers can each be used alone to improve both the efficiency with which a bee learns to forage from a flower and how accurately and how long the bee remembers these …

Spatial Definition Of The Human Progesterone Receptor-B Transcriptional Complex, Xinzhe Yu, Ping Yi, Anil K Panigrahi, Lance Edward V Lumahan, John P Lydon, David M Lonard, Steven J Lutdke, Zhao Wang, Bert W O'Malley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We report the quaternary structure of core transcriptional complex for the full-length human progesterone receptor-B (PR-B) homodimer with primary coactivator steroid receptor coactivator-2 (SRC-2) and the secondary coactivator p300/CREB-binding protein (CBP). The PR-B homodimer engages one SRC-2 mainly through its activation function 1 (AF1) in N-terminus. SRC-2 is positioned between PR-B and p300 leaving space for direct interaction between PR-B and p300 through PR-B's C-terminal AF2 and its unique AF3. Direct AF3/p300 interaction provides long-desired structural insights into the known functional differences between PR-B and the PR-A isoform lacking AF3. We reveal the contributions of each AF and demonstrate their …

Variation In Symbiont Density Is Linked To Changes In Constitutive Immunity In The Facultatively Symbiotic Coral, Astrangia Poculata, Isabella Changsut, Haley R. Womack, Alicia Shickle, Koty H. Sharp, Lauren E. Fuess

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Scleractinian corals are essential ecosystem engineers, forming the basis of coral reef ecosystems. However, these organisms are in decline globally, in part due to rising disease prevalence. Most corals are dependent on symbiotic interactions with single-celled algae from the family Symbiodiniaceae to meet their nutritional needs, however, suppression of host immunity may be essential to this relationship. To explore immunological consequences of algal symbioses in scleractinian corals, we investigated constitutive immune activity in the facultatively symbiotic coral, Astrangia poculata. We compared immune metrics (melanin synthesis, antioxidant production and antibacterial activity) between coral colonies of varying symbiont density. Symbiont density was …

Combining Isotopic And Genetic Analyses To Quantify Microbial Facilitation Of Recalcitrant Resource Use By Terrestrial And Aquatic Consumers, Alexi Christina Besser

Biology ETDs

Quantifying the flow of energy and nutrients through food webs is foundational to understanding the structure and function of ecosystems. Here, I utilize the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of individual amino acids to trace the movement of essential amino acids through terrestrial and freshwater food webs in New Mexico, USA. I first explore isotopic patterns among co-occurring terrestrial plants and aquatic algae. I then combine this molecular isotopic approach with 16S and 18S rRNA sequencing to demonstrate the importance of gut microbiota as sources of essential amino acids to wild mammalian hosts. Next, I explore the roles of …

Evaluating Microneedle Impedance For Monitoring Water Potential In Vitis Vinifera And Helianthus Annuus, Erica Grace Pauer

Biology ETDs

Measurements of plant water potential provide fundamental insights into how plants are interacting with the environment to manage water needs. However, monitoring water potential is difficult, time consuming, and frequently destructive. Several methods have been in development that attempt to monitor the water status of plant tissues in a simple, continuous, and non-destructive manner. One of these methods, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), is emerging as a particularly promising tool that has several applications in plant biology. I used a new microneedle system that applies small electrodes to a range of tissues. By utilizing this tool in conjunction with a standard …

Extracellular Dnases Facilitate Antagonism And Coexistence In Bacterial Competitor-Sensing Interference Competition, Aoi Ogawa, Christophe Golé, Maria Bermudez, Odrine Habarugira, Gabrielle Joslin, Taylor Mccain, Autumn Mineo, Jennifer Wise, Julie Xiong, Katherine Yan, Jan A.C. Vriezen

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Over the last 4 decades, the rate of discovery of novel antibiotics has decreased drastically, ending the era of fortuitous antibiotic discovery. A better understanding of the biology of bacteriogenic toxins potentially helps to prospect for new antibiotics. To initiate this line of research, we quantified antagonists from two different sites at two different depths of soil and found the relative number of antagonists to correlate with the bacterial load and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the soil. Consecutive studies show the importance of antagonist interactions between soil isolates and the lack of a predicted role for nutrient availability and, therefore, …

Applications Of Covalent Chemistry In Targeted Protein Degradation, Dong Lu, Xin Yu, Hanfeng Lin, Ran Cheng, Erika Y Monroy, Xiaoli Qi, Meng C Wang, Jin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) are currently two exciting strategies in the fields of chemical biology and drug discovery. Extensive research in these two fields has been conducted, and significant progress in these fields has resulted in many clinical candidates, some of which have been approved by FDA. Recently, a novel concept termed covalent PROTACs that combine these two strategies has emerged and gained an increasing interest in the past several years. Herein, we briefly review and highlight the mechanism and advantages of TCIs and PROTACs, respectively, and the recent development of covalent PROTACs using irreversible and …

Resource Availability Affects Seasonal Trajectories Of Population-Level Learning, Matthew W. Austin, Aimee S. Dunlap

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

Environmental effects on learning are well known, such as cognition that is mediated by nutritional consumption. Less known is how seasonally variable environments affect phenological trajectories of learning. Here, we test the hypothesis that nutritional availability affects seasonal trajectories of population-level learning in species with developmentally plastic cognition. We test this in bumble bees (Apidae: Bombus), a clade of eusocial insects that produce individuals at different time points across their reproductive season and exhibit organ developmental plasticity in response to nutritional consumption. To accomplish this, we develop a theoretical model that simulates learning development across a reproductive season for …

Zebras Of All Stripes Repel Biting Flies At Close Range, Kaia J. Tombak, Andrew S. Gersick, Lily V. Reisinger, Brenda Larison, Daniel I. Rubenstein

Publications and Research

The best-supported hypothesis for why zebras have stripes is that stripes repel biting flies. While this effect is well-established, the mechanism behind it remains elusive. Myriad hypotheses have been suggested, but few experiments have helped narrow the field of possible explanations. In addition, the complex visual features of real zebra pelage and the natural range of stripe widths have been largely left out of experimental designs. In paired-choice field experiments in a Kenyan savannah, we found that hungry Stomoxys flies released in an enclosure strongly preferred to land on uniform tan impala pelts over striped zebra pelts but exhibited no …

An American Physiological Society Cross-Journal Call For Papers On “The Physiology Of Obesity”, Sue C. Bodine, Heddwen L. Brooks, Hilary A. Coller, Ana I. Domingos, Mark R. Frey, Barbara E. Goodman, Thomas R. Kleyman, Merry L. Lindsey, Rory E. Morty, Ole H. Petersen, Jan Marino Ramírez, Liliana Schaefer, Morten B. Thomsen, Gina L.C. Yosten

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Cheatgrass Invasion On Us Great Basin Carbon Storage Depend On Interactions Between Plant Community Composition, Precipitation Seasonality, And Soil Climate Regime, Toby M. Maxwell, Matthew J. Germino

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

1. Annual-grass invasions are transforming desert ecosystems in ways that affect ecosystem carbon (C) balance, but previous studies do not agree on the pattern, magnitude and direction of changes. A recent meta-analysis of 41 articles and 386 sites concludes that invasion by annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L) reduces C in biomass across the Great Basin (Nagy et al., 2021). Reanalysis reveals that whether cheatgrass affects biomass C stocks is not generalizable, but rather depends on the considerable variation in climate across the subject sites. Our analysis suggests that accurate Great Basin-scale estimates of cheatgrass effects on C …

County-Level Societal Predictors Of Covid-19 Cases And Deaths Changed Through Time In The United States: A Longitudinal Ecological Study, Philip J. Bergmann, Nathan A. Ahlgren, Rosalie A. Torres Stone

Biology

People of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, demographics, health, and socioeconomic characteristics have experienced disproportionate rates of infection and death due to COVID-19. This study tests if and how county-level rates of infection and death have changed in relation to societal county characteristics through time as the pandemic progressed. This longitudinal study sampled monthly county-level COVID-19 case and death data per 100,000 residents from April 2020 to March 2022, and studied the relationships of these variables with racial/ethnic, demographic, health, and socioeconomic characteristics for 3125 or 97.0% of U.S. counties, accounting for 96.4% of the U.S. population. The association of all county-level …

Evolution Of Immune Function In Response To Dietary Macronutrients In Male And Female Decorated Crickets, Corinne Letendre, Alejandro Rios-Villamil, Alexandria Williams, James Rapkin, Scott K. Sakaluk, Clarissa M. House, John Hunt

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Although dietary macronutrients are known to regulate insect immunity, few studies have examined their evolutionary effects. Here, we evaluate this relationship in the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus by maintaining replicate populations on four diets differing in protein (P) to carbohydrate (C) ratio (P‐ or C‐biased) and nutritional content (low‐ or high‐nutrition) for >37 generations. We split each population into two; one maintained on their evolution diet and the other switched to their ancestral diet. We also maintained populations exclusively on the ancestral diet (baseline). After three generations, we measured three immune parameters in males and females from each population. Immunity was …

Improving The Growth Performance Of The Mangrove Avicennia Marina Seedlings Using Plant Growth Promoting Actinobacteria, Alanoud Abdulla Al Shamsi

Theses

The combination of commercial fish emulsion (FE) and plant growth-promoting actinobacteria capable of producing plant growth regulators (PGRs) was evaluated as a biofertilizer to enhance growth and development of grey mangrove (Avicennia marina) in the United Arab Emirates. In vitro studies identified the rhizosphere-competent Streptomyces griseorubens UAE1 (Sg) that was able to solubilize phosphorus, produce auxins, cytokinins, gibberellic acid, polyamines, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase. Growth promotion, nutrient contents and PGR levels in tissues of treated mangrove plants with fish emulsion and/or S. griseorubens UAE1 were further assessed in vivo. Under greenhouse and natural open-field nursery conditions, …

Maternal Effects On Growth Parameters Of Chloris Gayana Under Co2 Enrichment, Ahmed Adnan Mohammed Mashli

Theses

Rhodes grass, Chloris gayana, is commonly used forage plant for grazers, livestock, and cattle. It significantly improves soil fertility and its overall structure by preventing nematode flourishment in soil. It is also used as a cover crop to upgrade soil health by reducing soil erosion and increasing water availability. The present study assessed the effects of CO₂ on the growth, development and maternal effects of C. gayana. The experimental setup was made in such a way that the potential impacts of CO₂ can be measured on the eco-physiological growth of C. gayana by studying successive generations. Generation 1 …

Screening For Endophytic Actinobacteria To Enhance Growth And Salinity Tolerance Of Tomato Plants In The United Arab, Amira Hamdy Hassan

Theses

Salinity is one of the most decisive environmental factors limiting the productivity of crop plants, mainly in arid and semi-arid regions. An eco-friendly technology can be used to boost crop production in saline areas by using plant growth-bacteria. Endophytic actinobacteria that produce the enzyme 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic acid (ACC) Deaminase (ACCD) can modulate the levels of Ethylene (ET) in plants to reduce the effect of abiotic stresses including high salt stress. The main objectives of this study were to: (1) Evaluate endophytic actinobacterial isolates from healthy tomato plants cultivated in the UAE that are capable of producing ACCD in vitro; (2) …

Impacts Of Intermediate And Long-Term Vitamin D Deficiency On The Murine Gastric Epithelial Cells And Acid Secretion, Shaima Raji Sirajudeen

Dissertations

The biological functions of vitamin D (VD) are diverse. It influences immunological response, cell proliferation and differentiation, and calcium homeostasis. However, over one billion people globally are VD deficient. The VD receptors, VDR and PDIA3, mediate the biological activities of VD. Studies on the biological roles of VD are numerous but very little on the stomach. The stomach is divided into three main parts – forestomach, corpus and antrum. Gastric glands, which make up the functional units of the stomach, are made up of numerous cell lineages and are located in the corpus and antrum, which are the glandular parts …

Interactions Between Juvenile Estuary-Dependent Fishes And Microalgal Dynamics, Ian C. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ontogenetic movement of juvenile estuary-dependent fishes upstream in estuarine settings is a phenomenon observed around the world. These movements usually coincide with a shift in diet from smaller prey, such as calanoid copepods, to larger prey, such as mysids. However, the mechanism that drives this pattern has yet to be conclusively described. Prior to the current study, zooplankton/hyperbenthos (“zooplankton”), primary production, and water quality data were collected from the Caloosahatchee River estuary in two concurrent and coordinated studies over a two-year period. One of the products of these sampling efforts was a classification of primary-producer types at the sediment-water …

Enriched Dietary Saturated Fatty Acids Induce Trained Immunity Via Ceramide Production That Enhances Severity Of Endotoxemia And Clearance Of Infection, Amy L. Seufert, James W. Hickman, Ste K. Traxler, Rachael M. Peterson, Trent A. Waugh, Sydney L. Lashley, Natalia Shulzhenko, Ruth J. Napier, Brooke A. Napier

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trained immunity is an innate immune memory response that is induced by a primary inflammatory stimulus that sensitizes monocytes and macrophages to a secondary pathogenic challenge, reprogramming the host response to infection and inflammatory disease. Dietary fatty acids can act as inflammatory stimuli, but it is unknown if they can act as the primary stimuli to induce trained immunity. Here we find mice fed a diet enriched exclusively in saturated fatty acids (ketogenic diet; KD) confer a hyper-inflammatory response to systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and increased mortality, independent of diet-induced microbiome and hyperglycemia. We find KD alters the composition of the …

A Latitudinal Signal In The Relationship Between Species Geographic Range Size And Climatic Niche Area, Tad Dallas, Andrew Kramer

Faculty Publications

Species with broader niches may have the opportunity to occupy larger geographic areas, assuming no limitations on dispersal and a relatively homogeneous environmental space. Here, we use data on a large set of mammal (n = 1225), bird (n = 1829) and tree (n = 341) species to examine the 1) relationship between geographic range size and climatic niche area, 2) influence of species traits on species departures from this relationship and 3) sensitivity of these relationships to how species range size and climatic niche area are estimated. We find positive geographic range size–climatic niche area relationships for all taxa, …

Evaluation Of Invasive Avifauna Management Strategies In North America, Christopher L. Castillo

Great Plains Graduate Review

Human action has long been the cause of species introductions into new ecosystems (Lodge 1993). Now, these non-native species are a major global problem both ecologically and economically (Bled et al. 2011). Invasive species can alter habitats, decrease biodiversity, damage human settlements, and destroy agriculture (Townsend Peterson and Vieglais 2001; Kumschick and Nentwig 2010). The United States has been particularly affected by invasive introductions, a multitude of which have been avian species. Various management techniques have been implemented in order to control problem bird populations, however often times these methods are used with a ‘trial and error’ strategy. This review …

The Effects Of Human Behavioral Changes Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Reservoir Of Lytic Escherichia Coli And Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteriophage On Humans At A South Carolina University, Korinne M. Swanson, Owen R. Smith, Paul E. Richardson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Bacteriophages are viruses, whose unique ability to infect and lyse bacterial cells may provide valuable insight for evading the repercussions of a post-antibiotic era in medicine. This study isolated and characterized Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage on students and faculty at Coastal Carolina University as a means to understand the viability of human bacteriophage reservoirs for bacteriophage therapy. From September 2021 to March 2022, nasal and postauricular swab samples and a behavioral survey were collected from ninety-three randomly selected participants. Additionally, sixteen participants contributed nasal and postauricular swab samples and a behavioral survey on a monthly basis in a …

The Effect Of Infection Risk On Female Blood Transcriptomics, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Patricia C. Lopes

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Defenses against pathogens can take on many forms. For instance, behavioral avoidance of diseased conspecifics is widely documented. Interactions with these infectious conspecifics can also, however, lead to physiological changes in uninfected animals, an effect that is much less well understood. These changes in behavior and physiology are particularly important to study in a reproductive context, where they can impact reproductive decisions and offspring quality. Here, we studied how an acute (3 h) exposure to an immune-challenged male affected female blood transcriptomics and behavior. We predicted that females paired with immune-challenged males would reduce eating and drinking behaviors (as avoidance …

Filamentous Green Algae (Cladophora Glomerata) In Near Shore Lake Ontario: An Investigation Of Tissue And Water Nutrient Dynamics Through A Period Of Growth And Decomposition., James L. Wagner Jr

Biology Theses

Cladophora glomerata, a filamentous green alga abundant in the Laurentian Great Lakes, has long been considered a nuisance throughout the region. Previous phosphorus (P) abatement practices and legislation successfully reduced the abundance of the algae, but with the introduction of dreissenid mussels, a resurgence has been observed. Though there is substantial literature and modeling of the growth cycle of Cladophora, relatively little research has been dedicated to the decomposition stage of the algae, a period which may contribute to a substantial influx of nutrients to near-shore environmental regions. By first examining a period of in-situ growth within Lake …

Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Towards The Use Of Iron And Folic Acid Supplements Among Pregnant And Lactating Women In Dar Es Salaam, Cecilia N. Mshanga, Elina J. Maseta

Tanzania Journal of Science

The current study investigated knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding the use of iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements among pregnant and lactating women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Dar es Salaam. A cross-sectional survey involved 294 pregnant and lactating women attending Prevention of Mother-To Child Transmission (PMTCT) clinics. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the subjects. The data were analysed using SPSS. Multivariate regression analysis was carried out to determine factors associated with IFA supplement use among the study subjects. The findings indicated that knowledge of IFA supplement use among the subjects was good …