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Viral Control Of The European Pine Sawfly, Neodiprion Sertifer (Geoffroy) In Turkey, Mustafa Yaman, Remzi̇ye Nalçacioğlu, Zi̇hni̇ Demi̇rbağ

Turkish Journal of Biology

The European pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffr.) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), is a serious pest of pine plantations and ornamentals. Chemical pesticides used to control this pest have a detrimental effect on the environment. The Neodiprion sertifer nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NsNPV) frequently causes considerable decreases in the populations but doses not harm other animals or plants. In this study, we tested five different concentrations of NsNPV against the larvae of N. sertifer and showed viral infection using Giemsa staining. When a viral concentration of 5x10^9 PIB/ml (Polyhedral Inclusion Body) was utilized, larval mortality started on the fourth day and reached 90.4% on …

Susceptibility Of Different Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) Cultivars To Agrobacterium Tumefaciens, Azi̇z Karakaya, Sebahatti̇n Özcan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Although several direct gene transfer techniques have been developed, Agrobacterium tumefaciens is still preferred for the transfer of foreign genes into many plant species. Perhaps the greatest weakness of A. tumefaciens is the host range limitation. Therefore, in this study, the susceptibility of different bean cultivars to oncogenic A. tumefaciens strain A281 was assessed. The cultivars 4F-2409, Karacaşehir-90, Akman-98 and Eskişehir-855 resulted in higher frequencies of tumor formation than the other cultivars tested. Tumor formation was not observed in Afyon-3, IVD-10, Göynük-98, Yunus-90 or Şehirali-90 bean cultivars. Tumor formation was observed on both the hypocotyl and epicotyl portions of the …

Biennialism And Vernalization-Promoted Flowering In Hyoscyamus Niger: A Comparison With Arabidopsis, Michael Schläppi, Monica Patel

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

There are genetic similarities between the biennial growth habit of Hyoscyamus niger (H. niger) and winter annual ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana, including the response to demethylating agents. One focus of our research group at Marquette is to determine whether FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) homologs or FLC-related MADS-box genes are involved in biennialism of H. niger. This review also summarizes our initial characterization of expression profiles of 4 groups of H. niger MADS-box genes. Our results suggest that B-class floral homeotic gene homologs of H. niger are differentially expressed in flowers of annual and …

Protransglutaminase (Factor Xiii) Mediated Crosslinking Of Fibrinogen And Fibrin, Kevin R. Siebenlist, David A. Meh, Michael W. Mosesson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Invasion Of Mouse Fibroblasts And Macrophages By Human Isolates Of Agrobacterium, Karmon Leigh Kriechbaum

Honors Theses

In the past few decades there has been growing evidence that species of Agrobacterium can be opportunistic animal pathogens. One of these species is Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which for years has been studied as a plant pathogen. The results of one published experiment suggested that an Agrobacterium toxin could kill mice (12). Other strong evidence for Agrobacterium as an opportunistic human pathogen is the over fifty published clinical cases in which humans were infected by Agrobacterium species (3, 13-25). In almost all of these cases the patient was immunocompromised in some way and they often had an invasive procedure such as …

Aquaporin 5-Deficient Mouse Lungs Are Hyperresponsive To Cholinergic Stimulation, Carissa M. Krane, Christopher N. Fortner, Arthur R. Hand, Dennis W. Mcgraw, John N. Lorenz, Susan E. Wert, Jennifer E. Towne, Richard J. Paul, Jeffrey A. Whitsett, Anil G. Menon

Biology Faculty Publications

Although aquaporin 5 (AQP5) is the major water channel expressed in alveolar type I cells in the lung, its actual role in the lung is a matter of considerable speculation. By using immunohistochemical staining, we show that AQP5 expression in mouse lung is not restricted to type I cells, but is also detected in alveolar type II cells, and in tracheal and bronchial epithelium. Aqp5 knockout (Aqp5−/−) mice were used to analyze AQP5 function in pulmonary physiology. Compared with Aqp5+/+ mice, Aqp5−/− mice show a significantly increased concentration-dependent bronchoconstriction to intravenously administered Ach, as shown by …

The Prevalence Of Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiae In Ixodes Scapularis Ticks In Southeastern Georgia, Heather Anne Merten

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

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is a newly emerging, tick-borne zoonosis in North America. The agent that causes HGE is very similar to Ehrlichia phagocytophilia and Ehrlichia equi, but has yet to be classified as a separate species.

This study was carried out in order to determine the prevalence rate of HGE infection in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in insular and mainland sites in southeastern Georgia using nested PCR techniques. Four locations were studied representing 2 barrier islands and 2 mainland sites. We hypothesized that areas that have low levels of human disturbance and are somewhat isolated will …

Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis (Rflp) Of Some Streptomyces Strains From Soil, Ekrem Atalan

Turkish Journal of Biology

To separate the unknown Streptomyces strains isolated from soil samples, the interspacer regions of 16S-23S rDNA of 14 isolates were amplified with PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and digested with three restriction endonucleases, namely, Bsp143I, HaeIII and MnlI. The restriction patterns were used for RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis. A dendrogram were constructed using the unweighed pair group method using arithmetic averages algorithm (UPGMA) after analysis restriction patterns. Five RFLP groups were obtained anone test strain was left as a single member group. RFLP profile indicated that unknown strains could be identified with data based on the interspacer region of …

Computer Aided Learning Environment For Biology, Pek Hin Foong

Student Works (2000-2009)

Traditional learning on biology requires of memory rather than understanding. As better educational technology emerges, we are able to utilise the computer as an important tool in learning. Many educational and pedagogical issues, particularly in the field or Artificial intelligence are looked at to help consider a good design for a computer learning tool. Existing computer aided learning materials are also studied to pinpoint their better features and incorporate them into the learning tool. A learning tool is proposed for effective learning in relating facts, rules, text and graphics. This system will have a Study Section containing notes that incorporates …

Hawaiian Freshwater Polychaeta: A Potentially Substantial Trophic Component Of Stream Depositional Habitats, M. Eric Benbow, Albert J. Burky, Carl M. Way

Biology Faculty Publications

In this paper we report the widespread occurrence of large annelids (Polychaeta: Nereididae) in Hawaiian stream depositional habitats, drawing attention to the lack of knowledge of Hawaiian stream energetics. Specimens of Namalycastis sp. were collected from five Hawaiian Islands from May–July 1995 and from the island of Maui from July–December 1999 and April–July 2000. Most specimens collected were N. hawaiiensis, while two specimens of N. abiuma were collected from a single site on the island of Molokai. Specimens were collected from elevations ranging from 3–240 m; several collections were from sites above at least one major (> 15 m …

Effects Of Depolarization And Low Intracellular Ph On Charge Movement Currents Of Frog Skeletal Muscle Fibers, Edward Michael Balog, Robert H. Fitts

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The low intracellular pH and membrane depolarization associated with repeated skeletal muscle stimulation could impair the function of the transverse tubular (t tubule) voltage sensor and result in a decreased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ release and muscle fatigue. We therefore examined the effects of membrane depolarization and low intracellular pH on the t-tubular charge movement. Fibers were voltage clamped in a double Vaseline gap, at holding potential (HP) of 290 or 260 mV, and studied at an internal pH of 7.0 and 6.2. Decreasing intracellular pH did not significantly alter the maximum amount of charge moved, transition voltage, or steepness …

Return To The Cumaca Cave, Trinidad, W.I, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Anuradha Singh, Annabelle Mckie, Michael Manna, Ruth Baker, Kelly M. Paulson

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Efficiencies In The Evolution Of Life Histories, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Darwinian fitness is expressed as the product of 2 cost/benefit ratios.

Density-Dependent Invariance, Dimensionless Life Histories, And The Energy-Equivalence Rule, Eric Charnov, John Haskell, S.K.M. Ernest

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Damuth's energy equivalence rule for mammals is studied in a population dynamic framework.

Rationale For A Focus On Biomphalaria Glabrata, Coen M. Adema, Eric S. Loker, Fred Lewis, Matty Knight

Biomphalaria Genome Initiative

No abstract provided.

Factors Mediating Cheatgrass Invasion Of Intact Salt Desert Shrubland, Susan E. Meyer, Susan Garvin, Julie Beckstead

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has recently displaced salt desert shrubland in many areas of the Great Basin. We studied the dynamics of cheatgrass invasion into an intact shadscale-gray molly community in Dugway Valley, Utah, by adding seeds and manipulating disturbance regime and resource availability. Shrub clipping or cryptobiotic crust trampling on large plots increased cheatgrass recruitment and biomass production slightly in a favorable moisture year (1997 to 1998), whereas in a less favorable moisture year (1998 to 1999) these disturbance treatments had a significant negative effect. In 1998 to 1999 small plot studies, recruitment was similar in intact shrub clumps and …

Acclimation To Hypoxia Increases Survival Time Of Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, During Lethal Hypoxia, Bernard B. Rees, F Sudradjat, J W. Love

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Survivorship of zebrafish, Danio rerio, was measured during lethal hypoxic stress after pretreatment in water at either ambient oxygen or at a lowered, but nonlethal, level of oxygen. Acclimation to nonlethal hypoxia (pO2 @ 15 Torr; ca. 10% air-saturation) for 48 hr significantly extended survival time during more severe hypoxia (pO2 @ 8 Torr; ca. 5% air-saturation) compared to survival of individuals with no prior hypoxic exposure. The magnitude of the acclimation effect depended upon the sex of the fish: hypoxia pretreatment increased the survival times of males by a factor of approximately 9 and that of females by a …

What Makes The Rhizobia-Legume Symbiosis So Special?, Michelle Lum

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Sugar-Binding Activity Of Pea Lectin Enhances Heterologous Infection Of Transgenic Alfalfa Plants By Rhizobium Leguminosarum Biovar Viciae, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

Transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv Regen) roots carrying genes encoding soybean lectin or pea (Pisum sativum) seed lectin (PSL) were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum or Rhizobium leguminosarum bv viciae, respectively, and their responses were compared with those of comparably inoculated control plants. We found that nodule-like structures formed on alfalfa roots only when the rhizobial strains produced Nod factor from the alfalfa-nodulating strain, Sinorhizobium meliloti. Uninfected nodule-like structures developed on the soybean lectin-transgenic plant roots at very low inoculum concentrations, but bona fide infection threads were not detected even when B. japonicum produced the appropriate S. meliloti Nod factor. …

Renal Function In Suckling And Fasting Pups Of The Northern Elephant Seal, Dorian S. Houser, Daniel E E. Crocker, Paul M. Webb, Daniel P. Costa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Elephant seals fast for prolonged periods without access to water. This is made possible, in part, by reductions in urine production. However, the mechanisms involved in reducing urine production are not understood. In this study, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured in five northern elephant seal pups (Mirounga angustirostris) via the inulin clearance technique. Measurements were made during day 9 and day 18–22 of nursing and the second and eighth week of the postweaning fast. Plasma aldosterone and cortisol concentrations, quantified by radioimmunoassay, were measured in eight other weanlings during the second and eighth week of the fast. …

Resilience And Recovery Of Coral Reefs From Large-Scale Disturbances: Contrasting Patterns For San Salvador Island, Bahamas, And Belize, Paulette Peckol, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral cover and diversity are declining while macroalgal abundance is increasing in most Caribbean coral reef systems. Although a complex interaction of natural and anthropogenic disturbances is likely causal, the effects of a specific disturbance may vary dramatically for different reef systems. The coral reefs off the coasts of San Salvador Island, Bahamas and Belize, considered to be in relatively good condition, recently experienced near-direct hits by Hurricanes Floyd (1999) and Mitch (1998), respectively. In addition, NOAA scientists indicated that during 1998, tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) reached their highest levels above the normal annual maximum for this past century. …

Taphonomic Evidence For Late Pleistocene Transitions In Coral Reef Community Composition, San Salvador, Bahamas, Thomas A. Rothfus, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Over the past 20 years, the composi­ tion of Caribbean coral reef communities has changed drastically. The ecology of modern reefs, however, has only been studied since the late 1950's. Thus, only a thirty year data set on changes in coral community composi­ tion exists with which to assess the current faunal transition. The need for longer term data has been recognized by marine ecologists as essential for determining whether the cur­ rent transition is part of a long tenn cycle or itself is an unprecedented phenomenon.

On Telephone Pole Reef, San Salva­ dor, Bahamas, a transition from Acropora cer­ …

Mean Time To Extinction Of A Metapopulation With An Allee Effect, Chad Brassil

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The incorporation of Allee effects into a simple metapopulation extinction model reveals a large non-linear reduction in mean time to extinction with small changes in an Allee limit. The extent of this reduction is dependent on the level of migration in the metapopulation. With small amounts of migration, small changes in the Allee limit result in large changes in the meantime to extinction. With higher levels of migration, the mean time to extinction is not as sensitive to changes in the Allee limit, becoming more similar to the single population case. The metapopulation modeled here is a set of nine …

Secreted Euryarchaeal Microhalocins Kill Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaea, Cynthia Haseltine, Tiffany Hill, Rafael Montalvo-Rodriguez, Samantha K. Kemper, Richard F. Shand, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Few antibiotics targeting members of the archaeal domain are currently available for genetic studies. Since

bacterial antibiotics are frequently directed against competing and related organisms, archaea by analogy

might produce effective antiarchaeal antibiotics. Peptide antibiotic (halocin) preparations from euryarchaeal

halophilic strains S8a, GN101, and TuA4 were found to be toxic for members of the hyperthermophilic

crenarchaeal genus Sulfolobus. No toxicity was evident against representative bacteria or eukarya. Halocin S8

(strain S8a) and halocin R1 (strain GN101) preparations were cytostatic, while halocin A4 (strain TuA4)

preparations were cytocidal. Subsequent studies focused on the use of halocin A4 preparations and Sulfolobus …

Biodiversity And Decomposition In Experimental Grassland Ecosystems, Johannes M. H. Knops, David A. Wedin, David Tilman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We examined the impact of biodiversity on litter decomposition in an experiment that manipulated plant species richness. Using biomass originating from the experimental species richness gradient and from a species used as a common substrate, we measured rates of decomposition in litterbags in two locations: in situ in the experiment plots and in an adjacent common garden. This allowed us to separate the effects of litter quality and decomposition location on decomposition. We found that plant species richness had a significant, but minor negative effect on the quality (nitrogen concentration) of the biomass. Neither litter type nor location had a …

A Synopsis Of The Ferns And Fern Allies Of Nebraska, With Maps Of Their Distribution, Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Robert B. Kaul, David M. Sutherland

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

An annotated list and country-by-country distribution maps are presented for the 32 species of ferns and fern allies native to Nebraska, based upon field and herbarium studies and critical evaluation of the literature. Native to the state are Isoëtes melanopoda, Selaginella rupestris, five species of Equisetum, and 25 species in 18 genera of ferns. Three native species are here verified for the first time, based upon recent collections: Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica, Ophioglossum engelmannii, and Pellacaglabella ssp. glabella. Isoëtes melanopoda was rediscovered in 2000, the first record since 1941. Rejected are published reports of …

A Comparative Study Of The Feeding Ecology Of Chelonia Mydas (Green Turtle) And The Incidental Ingestion Of Prorocentrum Spp, Karen Gayle Holloway Adkins

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The diets of green turtles from five dissimilar aggregations of juvenile C. mydas on the East Coast of Florida were analyzed. C. mydas were captured by tangle net from four of the study sites and a dietary sample was collected by an esophageal flushing technique. The gut content of stranded individuals was collected for the fifth site. The vegetation in these study areas differs in varying degrees of abundance and diversity. Analysis of the samples revealed the alga types preferred by green turtles from each population and provided the basis for examination of similarities and differences in their diets.

Large …

Chondrocranium And Visceral Skeleton Of Atelopus Tricolor And Atelophryniscus Chrysophorus, E O. Lavilla, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Atelopus tricolor and Atelophryniscus chrysophorus have gastromyzophorous tadpoles. Aside from specific differences, the larval chondrocrania and visceral skeletons show several shared character states, including an almost quadrangular, open chondrocranium , cornua trabeculae with expanded tips, cartilago suprarostralis as a single element, a posteriorly projected arcus subocularis quadrati, a closed muscular tunnel, and a simplified branchial basket, with only three pairs of ceratobranchiales. They are compared with diverse character states of suctorial larvae considering them as causally related to the stream life adaptations.

Firefly Flashing Is Controlled By Gating Oxygen To Light-Emitting Cells, G. S. Timmins, F. J. Robb, C. M. Wilmot, S. K. Jackson, H. M. Swartz

Dartmouth Scholarship

Although many aspects of firefly bioluminescence are understood, the mechanism by which adult fireflies produce light as discrete rapid flashes is not. Here we examine the most postulated theory, that flashing is controlled by gating oxygen access to the light-emitting cells (photocytes). According to this theory, the dark state represents repression of bioluminescence by limiting oxygen, which is required for bioluminescence; relief from this repression by transiently allowing oxygen access to the photocytes allows the flash. We show that normobaric hyperoxia releases the repression of light emission in the dark state of both spontaneously flashing and non-flashing fireflies, causing continual …

Expression Of Mslec1- And Mslec2-Antisense Genes In Alfalfa Plant Lines Causes Severe Embryogenic, Developmental And Reproductive Abnormalities, Laurence M. Brill, Cory J. Evans, Ann M. Hirsch

Biology Faculty Works

Although it has been proposed that plant lectins play a number of roles, the function of these proteins in normal plant growth and development has been unclear. To analyze the functions of putative alfalfa lectin genes, lines of transgenic alfalfa plants expressing approximately half of the open reading frame of MsLEC1 or MsLEC2, in the antisense or sense orientation, were established and analyzed. The antisense plants displayed severe abnormalities in embryogenesis, and both vegetative and reproductive development were perturbed. Some differences were observed between MsLEC1- and MsLEC2-antisense plants, and abnormalities were especially severe during the early stages of development in …