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2021

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Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A High-Speed, Low-Cost Atomic Force Microscope Housing And Distance Measurement System, Jonathan Menke Jan 2021

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A High-Speed, Low-Cost Atomic Force Microscope Housing And Distance Measurement System, Jonathan Menke

All Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Advances to the state-of-the-art in fields like biology and material science often stand on the foundation of improved imaging. Here a low-cost Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) housing and distance measurement system was designed, fabricated, and tested. The instrument was developed around an Optical Pickup Unit (OPU) and designed for use as part of a high-speed AFM system. A structure to align the OPU with the probe holder was designed to ensure the beam of the OPU is positioned above the probe in addition to accommodating space, manufacturability, and cost constraints by using cost effective components. The designs were fabricated and …


Antibiotic Resistance In Manure- Amended Agricultural Soils, Maranatha Zelt, Zachary Staley, Xu Li, Bing Wang, Daniel N. Miller, Amy Schmidt Jan 2021

Antibiotic Resistance In Manure- Amended Agricultural Soils, Maranatha Zelt, Zachary Staley, Xu Li, Bing Wang, Daniel N. Miller, Amy Schmidt

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Manure application to agricultural land benefits soil health and agronomic yields. However, as antibiotic resistance becomes a more serious threat to public health, there is concern that antibiotic resistance originating from livestock manure could impact human health through contamination of the environment or food. This study sought to quantify this risk by monitoring concentrations of antibiotic resistance bacteria and genes in fallow soil during the period of October through April, representing fall manure application through spring planting. Resistance to three common antibiotics— tylosin, azithromycin and tetracycline— was monitored following application of fresh, stockpiled, or composted beef feedlot manure, or inorganic …


The Taste Of Blood, Veronica Jove Jan 2021

The Taste Of Blood, Veronica Jove

Student Theses and Dissertations

Human blood and floral nectar are both appetizing meals to a hungry female mosquito, yet each meal fulfills a distinct nutritional requirement. While protein obtained from blood is required for females to develop eggs and successfully reproduce, carbohydrates supplied from plant nectar are sufficient for energy metabolism in both females and males. To procure essential nutrients from these distinct food sources, females employ two mutually exclusive feeding programs with unique sensory appendages, meal sizes, digestive tract targets, and metabolic fates. When a female is ready to reproduce, she must selectively seek the taste of blood and ignore the sweet taste …


The Role Of Nutrient Availability In Therapeutic Response Of Leukemia, Rohiverth Guarecuco Jr. Jan 2021

The Role Of Nutrient Availability In Therapeutic Response Of Leukemia, Rohiverth Guarecuco Jr.

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tumor environment influences the response to anti-cancer therapy, but which extracellular nutrients impact drug sensitivity is largely unknown. In this work, we used functional genomics to identify metabolic modifiers of the response to L-asparaginase (ASNase), a therapy that depletes plasma asparagine and targets leukemic cells with insufficient asparagine synthesis. Our approach revealed thiamine pyrophosphate kinase 1 (TPK1), which converts vitamin B1 (thiamine) into the cofactor thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), as a metabolic dependency under ASNase treatment. In glutamine-anaplerotic leukemia cells, we found that TPP availability enables asparagine synthesis from extracellular glutamine. Mechanistically, TPP is critical for the activity of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase …


Not Black And White: Bmp Signaling Drives Melanocyte Differentiation Downstream Of Stem Cell Activation, Nicole Rai Infarinato Jan 2021

Not Black And White: Bmp Signaling Drives Melanocyte Differentiation Downstream Of Stem Cell Activation, Nicole Rai Infarinato

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tissue stem cells (SCs) maintain, regenerate, and repair the body over the course of an organism's lifetime. To preserve their long-term function, SCs must exert precise control over their cell state dynamics as they move from quiescence to activation and commit to full differentiation. My graduate research has been centered on investigating the molecular mechanisms that fuel these transitions in melanocyte stem cells (McSCs), a unique neural crest-derived SC population located in the hair follicle (HF). Through periodic bouts synchronous with HF cycling, quiescent McSCs become activated to proliferate, giving rise to committed proliferative progeny (McCP) that differentiate into mature …


Restriction Of Food Intake By Dorsomedial Hypothalamus, Caner Caglar Jan 2021

Restriction Of Food Intake By Dorsomedial Hypothalamus, Caner Caglar

Student Theses and Dissertations

Leptin deficient ob/ob mice eat voraciously and their food intake is markedly reduced by leptin treatment. Leptin acts in part by regulating the activity of AGRP neurons and POMC neurons in the arcuate nucleus and neurons in other brain regions. In these dissertation, I will describe how we identify novel neuronal populations that are regulated by leptin directly or indirectly. In order to identify novel sites of leptin action, we used phosphotrap, to molecularly profile leptin responsive neurons in the hypothalamus and brain stem. In addition to identifying several known leptin responsive populations, we found that neurons in Dorsomedial Hypothalamus …


Metabolic Coordination Of Stem Cell Fate Controls Tumor Initiation And Tissue Repair, Sanjeethan C. Baksh Jan 2021

Metabolic Coordination Of Stem Cell Fate Controls Tumor Initiation And Tissue Repair, Sanjeethan C. Baksh

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tissue stem cells balance fate decisions of self-renewal and differentiation to maintain homeostasis over the lifetime of an organism, as well as to repair tissues upon injury and wounding. Disrupting the balance between self-renewal and differentiation results in pathology: excessive self-renewal at the expense of differentiation is associated with tumor initiation, whereas failure to properly self-renew leads to stem cell exhaustion and aging. Stem cell fate is under tight regulation by the surrounding microenvironment, or niche, which includes neighboring cell types, signaling molecules, extracellular matrix, and nutrients. While the role of stromal cells and the signals they produce has been …


Genome-Wide Human-Specific Rna Regulatory Elements In The Brain, Elisabeth A. Murphy Jan 2021

Genome-Wide Human-Specific Rna Regulatory Elements In The Brain, Elisabeth A. Murphy

Student Theses and Dissertations

Advancements in DNA sequencing technology and the implementation of clinical genome and exome sequencing have allowed for the identification of candidate variants and genes essential in brain development and pathogenesis of neurological diseases, yet there is still much to be learned. It is estimated that the molecular diagnostic rate of whole exome sequencing (WES) of constitutional diseases is between 9-41%; however, it is thought that diagnostic yield could be much improved by gaining a better understanding of individual variation and regulation at the transcript level. Identifying the root cause of diversity between humans and specifically in the human brain has …


A Proteomic Approach To Elucidating The Function Of Picornavirus 2a Protease, Artem Serganov Jan 2021

A Proteomic Approach To Elucidating The Function Of Picornavirus 2a Protease, Artem Serganov

Student Theses and Dissertations

Human-infecting viruses have evolved diverse strategies to enter cells and hijack the host machinery to promote their self-replication. Viruses deploy their proteins to subvert a number of host functions, such as the cell cycle, cellular metabolism, protein synthesis, nuclear and RNA transport across the nuclear pore complex, apoptosis, and innate immune responses. Picornaviruses are the most dominant human disease-causing viruses and present an excellent clinical target for research studies into their molecular mechanisms. Picornaviruses have an RNA genome that is translated as a single polyprotein, which is processed into individual components by two proteases, termed 2A and 3C. In addition …


The Role Of Dna Methylation In Defining The Vocal Learning Transcriptome Of The Zebra Finch, Caitlin Sun Gilbert Jan 2021

The Role Of Dna Methylation In Defining The Vocal Learning Transcriptome Of The Zebra Finch, Caitlin Sun Gilbert

Student Theses and Dissertations

Vocal learning is a rare, complex behavior which is a critical component of human spoken language acquisition. It is convergent across several independent lineages of birds and mammals, including songbirds and humans. The development of speech and song production in humans and songbirds is strikingly similar, though the molecular mechanisms underlying these similarities are not yet understood. Our lab has previously found convergently differentially expressed genes in the vocal learning circuitry of humans and song-learning birds relative to adjacent non-vocal motor circuits. Most notably, the RA song nucleus in the songbird is molecularly convergent with the human laryngeal motor cortex. …


Accessory Nucleases Provide Robust Antiparasite Immunity For Type Iii Crispr-Cas Systems, Jakob Træland Rostøl Jan 2021

Accessory Nucleases Provide Robust Antiparasite Immunity For Type Iii Crispr-Cas Systems, Jakob Træland Rostøl

Student Theses and Dissertations

To protect against parasites like bacteriophages and plasmids, bacteria employ diverse and sophisticated defence systems. Clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas systems are adaptive immune systems that can integrate short "spacers" from a parasite into its CRISPR locus as a form of immunological memory. Upon reinfection, short RNAs transcribed from the CRISPR locus can guide Cas proteins to the viral genome through complementary base pairing. Cas nucleases then destroy the invader's genome. To date, six major types and multiple subtypes of CRISPR systems exist, each with their own signature genes and mechanisms of action. Type III CRISPR systems are …


Mechanisms For The Evolution Of Superorganismality In Ants, Vikram Chandra Jan 2021

Mechanisms For The Evolution Of Superorganismality In Ants, Vikram Chandra

Student Theses and Dissertations

Ant colonies appear to behave as superorganisms; they exhibit very high levels of within-colony cooperation, and very low levels of within-colony conflict. The evolution of such superorganismality has occurred multiple times across the animal phylogeny, and indeed, origins of multicellularity represent the same evolutionary process. Understanding the origin and elaboration of superorganismality is a major focus of research in evolutionary biology. Although much is known about the ultimate factors that permit the evolution and persistence of superorganisms, we know relatively little about how they evolve. One limiting factor to the study of superorganismality is the difficulty of conducting manipulative experiments …


A Role For Acsbg1 In Obesity-Accelerated Breast, Olivia Maguire Jan 2021

A Role For Acsbg1 In Obesity-Accelerated Breast, Olivia Maguire

Student Theses and Dissertations

Overweight and obesity affect more than 70% of American adults and are major risk factors for the development of comorbidities, including cancer. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in American women: 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes, and more than 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year. Obesity is associated with increased incidence and worse prognosis in breast cancer, including aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, which has a particularly poor prognosis with few treatment options. The goal of this thesis was to elucidate the mechanisms by which obesity promotes breast cancer progression. To …


The Role Of Compartmentalized Metabolism In Cellular Metal Homeostasis, Ross A. Weber Jan 2021

The Role Of Compartmentalized Metabolism In Cellular Metal Homeostasis, Ross A. Weber

Student Theses and Dissertations

The building blocks of cells are usually thought to be DNA, RNA, and proteins. However, life, as we know it, is not possible without iron. While the list of iron's vital cellular functions is extensive, iron is also quite cytotoxic. Thus, great pains have been taken, at the gene regulation level, to assure that a cell has sufficient iron to copy its genome and power its mitochondria but not too much to damage its membranes with lipid peroxides. Cellular organelles, which accompanied the rise of atmospheric oxygen and an increased need for iron, also play a key role in iron …


Developmental Dynamics Of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine And Its Role In The Terminal Differentiation Of Neurons, Elitsa Stoyanova Jan 2021

Developmental Dynamics Of 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine And Its Role In The Terminal Differentiation Of Neurons, Elitsa Stoyanova

Student Theses and Dissertations

While epigenetic dynamics in mitotic differentiating cells have been characterized in depth, little is known about how postmitotic neurons regulate their chromatin state. Modulation of transcription through the regulation of accessibility of transcription factor binding sites is essential for the regulation of migration, synapse formation and terminal differentiation. Although 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), the oxidized form of 5-methylcytosine, accumulates to high levels in neuronal lineages and refines the genomic binding of MeCP2, the functional consequences of 5hmC deposition in differentiating neurons have not been determined. We report high resolution characterization of the genomic landscape of developing postmitotic Purkinje neurons, confirm the relationship …


Non-Canonical Axonal Insulin Receptor Signaling Drives Aversive Olfactory Learning, Du Cheng Jan 2021

Non-Canonical Axonal Insulin Receptor Signaling Drives Aversive Olfactory Learning, Du Cheng

Student Theses and Dissertations

Animals rely on their flexible nervous systems to learn to navigate the changing environment around them. One important function of the nervous system is to form associative memories. A simple model of associative learning is provided by nematode C. elegans, which can form memories of different types of odor stimuli through its simple yet sophisticated nervous system. C. elegans uses its sensory neurons to detect and navigate towards the odors of its food source - edible bacteria. Thus, it is crucial for worms to form memories between odors and availably of food. The volatile chemical butanone is a common product …


A-To-I Rna Editing In Human Cells, Tony Sun Jan 2021

A-To-I Rna Editing In Human Cells, Tony Sun

Student Theses and Dissertations

RNA editing is a means of diversifying the transcriptome and regulating innate immunity. Among the different classes of enzymes that modify RNA, adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) is a type that catalyzes adenosine-to-inosine editing on double-stranded RNA molecules to regulate cellular responses to endogenous and exogenous RNA. Of the three ADAR homologs in humans, dysregulation of ADAR1 editing due to inherited mutations leads to disorders such as Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome, an inflammatory disease that manifests in the brain and skin, and dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria, a skin pigmentation disorder. ADAR1 is the primary A-to-I editor of RNA in humans, and the …


Single-Molecule Investigation Of Chromatin-Associated Factors In Genome Organization And Epigenetic Maintenance, Rachel Leicher Jan 2021

Single-Molecule Investigation Of Chromatin-Associated Factors In Genome Organization And Epigenetic Maintenance, Rachel Leicher

Student Theses and Dissertations

The central dogma of biology has laid the foundation for understanding gene expression through the mechanisms of transcription and translation. However, another layer of eukaryotic gene regulation lies in the complex structure of chromatin. This scaffold of structural proteins and enzymatic regulators determines what genes are expressed at what times, leading to cell differentiation, cell fate, and often disease. Currently, the field of chromatin biology has relied on basic biochemistry and cellular assays to identify key epigenetic regulators and their role in genomic maintenance. For this thesis work, I have developed a biophysical platform to study chromatin-associated factors at the …


Interactions Between Microbial, Neuronal, And Immune Cells In The Digestive System, Fanny Matheis Jan 2021

Interactions Between Microbial, Neuronal, And Immune Cells In The Digestive System, Fanny Matheis

Student Theses and Dissertations

The intestine is the largest continuous environmental interface of the body. As such, it exerts homeostatic tissue functions, including digestion, sensing and absorption of nutrients, and excretion of waste products. In performing these roles, the intestine faces the unique challenge of remaining tolerant to harmless or beneficial diet- and microbederived stimuli, while simultaneously protecting against pathogen invasion. To tackle these challenges, the intestine houses both the body's largest immune compartment, as well as a vast neuronal network, the enteric nervous system (ENS). In concert with the commensal intestinal microbiota, the enteric immune and nervous systems communicate with one another, and …


Biochemical Studies Of Peptidoglycan Hydrolases From Commensal And Pathogenic Bacteria, Juliel Espinosa Jan 2021

Biochemical Studies Of Peptidoglycan Hydrolases From Commensal And Pathogenic Bacteria, Juliel Espinosa

Student Theses and Dissertations

The intestinal microbiota consists of diverse bacterial species and their effectors that play key roles in regulating human health. Interestingly, cell wall, or peptidoglycan, fragments from commensal and pathogenic bacteria can activate host immunity. The mechanism(s) by which immunologically active peptidoglycan fragments are generated, however, are not well-understood. In this regard, peptidoglycan hydrolases are ubiquitous in bacteria and possess diverse activities to remodel the cell wall during cell growth and division. These peptidoglycan hydrolases can also generate cell wall fragments in this process that are shed or recycled and available for triggering host immunity. In this thesis, we describe methodologies …


Unraveling The Interaction Between Beige Adipocytes And The Sympathetic Nervous System, Jingyi Chi Jan 2021

Unraveling The Interaction Between Beige Adipocytes And The Sympathetic Nervous System, Jingyi Chi

Student Theses and Dissertations

Obesity affects more than one in three adults in the United States and is a significant risk factor for a constellation of chronic diseases. The crucial role of adipose tissue in energy balance has driven great interest in investigating this tissue as a target for treatment of obesity and its sequelae. While white adipocytes store excess energy, thermogenic brown and beige adipocytes convert lipids and glucose into heat, thereby increasing energy expenditure. Unlike classical brown adipocytes which are thermogenic under basal conditions, inducible brown adipocytes, commonly known as beige adipocytes, reside in white adipose depots and need to be activated …


Structural Study Of Disease Relevant Abc Transporters-Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator And Abca4, Fangyu Liu Jan 2021

Structural Study Of Disease Relevant Abc Transporters-Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator And Abca4, Fangyu Liu

Student Theses and Dissertations

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are primary transporters that utilize the energy from ATP binding and hydrolysis to transport substrates across membrane against their concentration gradients. Structurally, canonical ABC transporters consist of four subunits— two transmembrane domains (TMDs) which form the substrate transport pathway and two nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) which dimerize upon ATP binding to provide energy for substrate transport. Most mammalian ABC transporters are exporters, with three exceptions: SUR—a regulatory protein for the KATP channel, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)—an chloride channel and ABCA4 (aka the Rim protein and ABCR)—an retinylidene-PE importer. In addition to their unique functional …


Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy-Causing Beta-Amyloid Variants Have Altered Effects On The Clotting System, Steven Cajamarca Jan 2021

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy-Causing Beta-Amyloid Variants Have Altered Effects On The Clotting System, Steven Cajamarca

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), where beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposits around cerebral blood vessels, is a major contributor of vascular dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. However, the molecular mechanism underlying CAA formation and CAA-induced cerebrovascular pathologies, including intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is unclear. Hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy (HCAA) is a rare familial form of CAA in which mutations within the Aβ peptide cause an increase in vascular deposits. Since the interaction between normal wild-type (WT) Aβ and fibrinogen increases CAA and plays an important role in cerebrovascular damage in AD, I investigated the role of the Aβ-fibrinogen interaction in HCAA pathology. My …


Noggin Transport In A Model Human Epiblast, Tiên Phan-Everson Jan 2021

Noggin Transport In A Model Human Epiblast, Tiên Phan-Everson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Using self-organizing human models of gastrulation, the Brivanlou/Siggia labs previously showed that (i) BMP4 initiates the cascade of events leading to gastrulation; (ii) BMP4 signal-reception is restricted to the basolateral domain; and (iii) in a human-specific manner, BMP4 directly induces the expression of NOGGIN. In this work, I interrogate the interplay of the morphogen/inhibitor pair BMP4/NOGGIN within our model of the polarized human embryonic disc. Here, I report the surprising discovery that in human epiblasts, NOGGIN and BMP4 were selectively secreted into opposite sides of the polarized epithelium, effectively segregating the ligand and its inhibitor into distinct extracellular spaces. Moreover, …


Characterizing Inflammatory Mechanisms In Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Kristina Navrazhina Jan 2021

Characterizing Inflammatory Mechanisms In Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Kristina Navrazhina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory skin disease manifesting in painful nodules and abscesses, and malodorous draining tunnels in more advanced disease. Effective treatment options remain limited, with Tumor Necrosis Factor inhibitor adalimumab remaining the only approved biologic despite its limited efficacy. The development of novel therapeutics is impeded by our lack of understanding of disease pathogenesis and an absence of standardized approaches to study HS. In this thesis, we establish a translational approach to characterize HS by examining nonlesional, perilesional and lesional HS skin in comparison to site-matched control skin from healthy volunteers. We demonstrate that relatively healthy-appearing perilesional …


Chemical Tools For Exploring Metabolite Interactions With Nuclear Receptors And Beyond, Taku Tsukidate Jan 2021

Chemical Tools For Exploring Metabolite Interactions With Nuclear Receptors And Beyond, Taku Tsukidate

Student Theses and Dissertations

The identification and functional characterization of specific metabolite–protein interactions remains a major challenge in chemical biology and drug development. The functionalization of native metabolites and synthetic small molecules with bio-orthogonal detection tags (alkyne, azide, and others) has afforded chemical reporters for the biochemical analysis of metabolically labelled proteins, whereas functionalization with photo-crosslinkers enables non-covalent metabolite–protein interactions to be captured. While we and many others have employed this approach to different metabolites and synthetic ligands, the installation of bio-orthogonal detection tags and photo-crosslinkers to more complex and diverse small molecules can be challenging and limiting. In this regard, activity-based protein profiling …


Pathogenic Characterization And Therapeutic Development For Fiblrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Solomon N. Levin Jan 2021

Pathogenic Characterization And Therapeutic Development For Fiblrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Solomon N. Levin

Student Theses and Dissertations

Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC) is a rare liver cancer that primarily affects adolescents and young adults. There are no known successful systemic chemotherapies for this disease, and thus, surgery is the only potential path to a cure in patients with FLC. Once the disease has grown or metastasized to a point where surgery is no longer an option, a patient's chance for survival approaches zero. There is a recurrent genetic deletion in FLC cells, which has been found in almost all FLC tumor samples sequenced to date, but not in normal liver tissue from the same patients. The deletion encompasses …


Deciphering Cancer Metabolic Dependencies In The Tumor Microenvironment, Xiphias Ge Zhu Jan 2021

Deciphering Cancer Metabolic Dependencies In The Tumor Microenvironment, Xiphias Ge Zhu

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cancer cells face substantial pressure within the tumor microenvironment. Physical constraints and nutrient limitations in the tumor prevent excessive cell proliferation, while other cell types such as stromal and immune cells can compete with or kill cancer cells. To overcome these restrictions, cancer cells often possess oncogenic mutations or amplifications to divide rapidly but can also rewire their metabolism in adaptation to the environmental challenge. The metabolism of cancer cells exhibit high plasticity as many metabolic pathways and enzymes are redundant. This allows for cancer cells to adapt to the changing nutritional and intercellular context of the tumor. Though metabolic …


Quantifying The Release Of Protein Substrates From Aaa+ Atpase Clpx By Single Molecule Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy, Xiao Wang Jan 2021

Quantifying The Release Of Protein Substrates From Aaa+ Atpase Clpx By Single Molecule Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy, Xiao Wang

Student Theses and Dissertations

The safe disposal of proteins is an essential process for maintaining proteostasis in cells. AAA+ proteases, such as proteasomes, play a major role in selective degradation of proteins. Degradation by AAA+ proteases typically requires the substrate to be physically unfolded before proteolysis. The efficiency of the unfolding process is hence a critical parameter for determining the turnover rate of the substrate. However, the mechanism by which force is utilized to unfold the protein substrate is not fully characterized. One parameter regulating the efficiency of the unfolding process is the rate by which a substrate is prematurely released before unfolded. Importantly, …


A Translational Approach To Modeling Unique Aspects Of Germ Cell Development During Self-Organization Of The Primate Embryo, Rohan R. Soman Jan 2021

A Translational Approach To Modeling Unique Aspects Of Germ Cell Development During Self-Organization Of The Primate Embryo, Rohan R. Soman

Student Theses and Dissertations

The specification of germ cells during embryonic development is vital not only for the development of an organism, but quite literally for the survival and propagation of its entire species. Recent work has demonstrated that several aspects of human primordial germ cell (hPGC) development are specific to primates, necessitating model systems and in vivo validation that is also species specific. In this work, a synthesis of in vitro and in vivo techniques is used to investigate hPGC specification within a human embryonic stem cell model of a gastrulating embryo known as a gastruloid. An hPGC transcriptomic signature that indicates migratory …