Life Sciences Commons^™

Synthetic Spider Silk Production In Alfalfa, Cameron L. Brock, Michaela R. Hugie, Randolph V. Lewis

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Diurnal Arousal In Learning And Memory, Jacob Blotter, Mona Buhusi

Biology Posters

The brain’s ability to learn and remember is a topic of extensive debate and research. Mammals share many similarities, including the way in which information from the outside world is processed and stored. Mammalian circadian rhythms have long been thought to be essentially involved with these processes. This experiment is designed to explore the brain’s ability to process and store information at different times of the day. Changes in or the absence of circadian neurotransmitters lead to serious impairments correlated with sleep and wakefulness [1]. Orexin, one neurochemical that will be examined in this experiment, helps mediate arousal and has …

Decreasing Bacterial Biofilm Formation On Medical Implants Through Surface Modification, Eric Schmidt, Sydney Bone, Tyson Holverson

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Determining Relationships Among Meadowbrome Cultivated Varieties, Andrew D. Tucker, Lisa Michaels, B. Shaun Bushman, Kevin B. Jensen

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Spider Silk For Future Scaffolds, Heidi Bringhurst, R. Decker, S. Frisby, C Tucker

Biology Posters

Spider silk, an ancient biomaterial, has many qualities worth replicating. With the use of genetic modification, relatively large amounts of the spider silk protein have been produced through goat milk. With access to this protein we have worked to create spider silk films and hydrogels. Through chemical and mechanical means, we are discovering treatments that maximize cell growth and cell attachment on spider silk films and hydrogels.

Producing Spider Silk Fibers, Cameron G. Copeland, Chad Christensen, Brianne Bell

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Transfection Of Cystic Fibrosis Sequence Into Host Cells, Richard Cromwell

Biology Posters

To better study the effects of Cystic Fibrosis on the human body, it is important to be able to effectively and efficiently recreate the disease in an appropriate mammalian model. New technology in transfection reagent, jetPRIME, hopes to allow us to efficiently transfer these Cystic Fibrosis sequences into sheep embryos to allow the traits to be expressed on a more reliable basis on the cloned sheep.

My research with this reagent was to test the reliability of jetPRIME to transfer our desired DNA sequences into cells at a more efficient rate then previously demonstrated by other reagents. Because of the …

Growth Parameters For Syringomycin Production In Pseudomonas Syringae Strain M1, Nathaly M. Carranza

Biology Posters

The cyclic lipodepsinonapeptide syringomycin E (SRE) produced by Pseudomonas syringae is being developed as a natural product agrofungicide. The purpose of this research is to identify the most effective P. syringae growth parameters for SRE production. P. syringae strain M1 was grown in 2L capacity fermenters and in capped test tubes both with agitation. A variety of compounds, including amino acids that are components of SRE, were added to the growth medium to study their effects on SRE production. L-histidine was found to be the best amino acid for promoting SRE production. Strain M1 extracts had strong antifungal activities. SRE …

Genetic Modification Of Host Acceptance By A Seed Beetle: Quasi-Natural Vs. Artificial Selection, Meagan Bridges, Jake Jones, Amberleigh Muller, Frank J. Messina

Biology Posters

Many plant-feeding insects use a fairly well-defined set of hosts, but are occasionally observed on an atypical host. The seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus infests several grain legumes, especially Vigna spp. It has rarely been reported to attack lentil, a distant relative of its typical hosts (Credland, 1987). In three previous mass-selection experiments, we showed that larval survival in lentil increased rapidly after a bottleneck, from 70% in only 5-7 generations. Host shifts by insects may also require modification of egg-laying behavior. Initial assays confirmed that most C. maculatus females fail to recognize lentil as a potential host. We used both …

Pattern Of Genetic Recovery In Daphnia Populations Following Experimental Removal Of Fish, Jaewook Chung, Leigh C. Latta, Iv, Michael E. Pfrender

Biology Posters

The establishment and maintenance of high levels of genetic diversity is an important consideration for populations that have experienced recent demographic collapse. Populations that have undergone demographic contraction or have been recently established generally lack standing adaptive variation. The level of adaptive genetic variation is a key determinant of population persistence, especially in changing environments, since dramatic changes in environmental conditions or community composition may impose severe or novel selective pressures. We obtained data for nuclear markers and conducted a common-garden experiment to assess the current levels of molecular genetic variation. Our results suggest that in the approximately eight years …