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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Assay Development For Isolation And Characterization Of Anticancer Properties Of Marine Fungi, Kyra Ricci Apr 2020

Assay Development For Isolation And Characterization Of Anticancer Properties Of Marine Fungi, Kyra Ricci

Honors Theses

Metabolites from fungi have potential use in the drug discovery process and have been used in the past to develop therapeutic agents for human use. Initial characterization of potential therapeutic properties of fungi is thus an important first step in identifying novel therapeutic compounds. In the present study, marine fungi were isolated from Myrtle Beach and assayed for anticancer properties using the soft agar colony formation assay in a 3D in vitro cellular environment. Many species were isolated from environmental samples, displaying unique morphologies and growth patterns. To optimize the soft agar assay in a six-well cell culture plate for …


Investigation Of Origin And Growth Of Fungi In Coastal Beach Sand, Ruth L. Wright May 2019

Investigation Of Origin And Growth Of Fungi In Coastal Beach Sand, Ruth L. Wright

Honors Theses

In a previous study from this lab (Stevens, Evans, & Aguirre, 2012) yeast colonies were isolated and grown grown from sand collection at pristine, medium use and high use beaches along the grand strand. In that study greater yeast abundance and greater diversity both correlated with higher census of human use, suggesting that some yeast growth of sites was anthropogenic. However the sand matrix itself also varied from very fine, uniform, dark sand at the pristine beach to coarser, color varying, less tightly packed sand at residential and commercial beaches. This suggested an alternative hypothesis to differential colonization and growth …


Microbial Stoichiometry And Homeostasis Of Nutrient Ratios In Fungi, Desiree Leach May 2010

Microbial Stoichiometry And Homeostasis Of Nutrient Ratios In Fungi, Desiree Leach

Honors Theses

Stoichiometry is the ratio of elements in a substance or microbial biomass. This paper investigates microbial stoichiometry and the responses of microbes to dissolved nutrient concentrations and ratios. The current work assesses both autrotrophic and heterotrophic responses to nutrient enrichment: autotrophic and heterotrophic states are defined mainly by ecosystem primary production and respiration. In ecosystems dominated by autotrophic microbes, nutrient enrichment can lead to increased biomass and biomass-specific rates of primary production. Heterotrophic ecosystems rely on subsides of organic carbon from outside the system. Their enrichment with N and/or P can accelerate microbial respiration rates and result in carbon losses …


Identification Of Potentially Pathogenic Yeast Species In Seagull Guano By Molecular Techniques, Tobias L. Banks May 2009

Identification Of Potentially Pathogenic Yeast Species In Seagull Guano By Molecular Techniques, Tobias L. Banks

Honors Theses

Although studies have been performed identifying bacteria present in seagull guano, limited studies have been done with fungi, leaving a significant gap in our knowledge of a potentially significant reservoir of human disease. If pathogenic fungi are being deposited by seagulls in their feces then it is possible that the Department of Health might elect to monitor sand, as well as water, for a broad spectrum of disease-causing microbes. Currently only water is tested for the presence of coliform bacteria. It is hypothesized that there are pathogenic yeast-like fungi present in the guano of seagulls, that these fungi are deposited …