Biology Commons^™

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

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.

Preparatory Assays For Development Of A Mouse Model For Adenovirus D1327, Spencer Skidmore

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Bartonella Prevalence In Fleas Isolated From Populations Of Uinta Ground Squirrels In Logan Canyon Utah, Raddison Veater, Lise M. Aubry, Susannah S. French, Laine Anderson, Scott A. Bernhardt

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 …

Spider Silk Coatings, Danielle Gaztambide, Chauncey Tucker

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

1597 Polymorphism And Preterm Birth In African American Mothers, Christopher Peterson, Anthony Torres

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Corticosterone And Acth On The Unken Reflex In Rough- Skinned Newts (Taricha Granulosa), Sydney Greenfield

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

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

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Genome Editing Of Bombyx Mori (Silkworm) With The Cas9/Crispr System For Potential Host Of Synthetic Spider Silk Gene, Ryan Pack, Lijin Xia, Xiaoli Zhang

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.

Giving The Honey Bear A New Home, Brianna Rhoads

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 …

Large Scale Production And Purification Of Chimeric Spider Silks In Eschrichia Coli, Jordan M. Wanlass, R. Chase Spencer, Sreevidhya T. Krishnaji, Paula F. Olivera

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Developing A Portable System For Measuring Human Motor Learning: A Work-In-Progress, Karen E. Tew

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

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

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Stress, Schizophrenia, And Latent Inhibition: What's The Connection?, Bret Guercio, Daniel Obray, Catalin V. Buhusi

Biology Posters

Latent inhibition is an attentional phenomenon under which conditioning to a given stimulus is retarded upon repeated stimulus presentation [1]. Interestingly, latent inhibition is impaired in individuals with schizophrenia as compared with individuals without schizophrenia. The close homolog to L1 (CHL1) gene has been linked to the genetic predisposition to f schizophrenia [2]. Mutations in the CHL1 gene are known to affect brain development, particularly neuronal migration and development of neuronal connections, as well as cellular signaling pathways [3,4,5]. In this experiment CHL1 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice received six weeks of chronic mild stress (CMS). We hypothesized …

Pcr Based Fetal Sex Determination In Bovine Circulating Maternal Plasma, E. Barkat, M. Labram, L. Rickords

Biology Posters

PCR-based fetal sex determination by use of fetal DNA in maternal plasma in bovine is a novel scientific method that has some cost advantages in the animal production industry. In this study, our objective was to determine fetal sex in pregnant cows and establish the lower boundary at which Y-chromosome specific fetal DNA could be detected in the circulating maternal plasma using Bov97M primers. In this experiment, our results showed that 10 pg was the limit in which the Y-chromosome specific DNA was detectable in the circulating maternal plasma. Future experiments will be conducted to determine the earliest gestational age …

Preventing Parasites: Developing A Deworming Protocol And Screening Animals At The Willow Park Zoo, Sydney Greenfield

Biology Posters

The primary object of this project was to research AZA and American Association of Zoo Veterinarian guidelines, write up a deworming protocol and schedule for the zoo, and finally begin screening collection animals.

Genotyping-By-Sequencing For Populus Population Genomics: An Assessment Of Genome Sampling Patterns And Filtering Approaches, M. Schilling, Paul G. Wolf, A. M. Duffy, H. S. Rai, C. A. Rowe, B. A. Richardson, K. E. Mock

Biology Faculty Publications

Continuing advances in nucleotide sequencing technology are inspiring a suite of genomic approaches in studies of natural populations. Researchers are faced with data management and analytical scales that are increasing by orders of magnitude. With such dramatic advances comes a need to understand biases and error rates, which can be propagated and magnified in large-scale data acquisition and processing. Here we assess genomic sampling biases and the effects of various population-level data filtering strategies in a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) protocol. We focus on data from two species of Populus, because this genus has a relatively small genome and is emerging …

Production Of Destruxins From Metarhizium Spp. Fungi In Artificial Medium And In Endophytically Colonized Cowpea Plants, P. S. Golo, D. R. Gardner, Michelle M. Grilley, Jon Y. Takemoto, S. B. Krasnoff, M. S. Pires, E. K. K. Férnandes, V. R. Bittencourt, Donald W. Roberts

Biology Faculty Publications

Destruxins (DTXs) are cyclic depsipeptides produced by many Metarhizium isolates that have long been assumed to contribute to virulence of these entomopathogenic fungi. We evaluated the virulence of 20 Metarhizium isolates against insect larvae and measured the concentration of DTXs A, B, and E produced by these same isolates in submerged (shaken) cultures. Eight of the isolates (ARSEF 324, 724, 760, 1448, 1882, 1883, 3479, and 3918) did not produce DTXs A, B, or E during the five days of submerged culture. DTXs were first detected in culture medium at 2–3 days in submerged culture. Galleria mellonella and Tenebrio molitor …

Between Two Fern Genomes, E. B. Sessa, J. A. Banks, M. S. Barker, J. P. Der, A. M. Duffy, S. W. Graham, M. Hasebe, J. Langdale, F. W. Li, D. B. Marchant, K. M. Pryer, C. J. Rothfels, S. J. Roux, M. L. Salmi, E. M. Sigel, D. E. Soltis, P. S. Soltis, D. W. Stevenson, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

Ferns are the only major lineage of vascular plants not represented by a sequenced nuclear genome. This lack of genome sequence information significantly impedes our ability to understand and reconstruct genome evolution not only in ferns, but across all land plants. Azolla and Ceratopteris are ideal and complementary candidates to be the first ferns to have their nuclear genomes sequenced. They differ dramatically in genome size, life history, and habit, and thus represent the immense diversity of extant ferns. Together, this pair of genomes will facilitate myriad large-scale comparative analyses across ferns and all land plants. Here we review the …

A Samoan Hebeloma With Phylogenetic Ties To The Western Pacific, Bradley R. Kropp

Biology Faculty Publications

Hebeloma ifeleletorum is described as a new species from American Samoa. Based on analyses of ITS and combined nLSU-ITS datasets H. ifeleletorum clusters with but is distinct from described species that have been placed in the genus Anamika by some. The phylogenetic relationship of H. ifeleletorum to the genus Anamika from Asia and to other species from Australia and New Caledonia suggests that H. ifeleletorum has origins in the western Pacific.

Constraints On Patterns Of Abundance And Aggregation In Biological Systems, Kenneth J. Locey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the mechanisms that structure biological systems is a primary goal of biology. My research shows that the biological structure is constrained in important ways by general variables such as the number of base pairs in a genome and the number of individuals and species in a community. I used a combination of macroecology, bioinformatics, statistics, mathematics, and advanced computing to pursue my research and published several peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and open-source software as a result.

I was funded through a combination of fellowships and scholarships awarded by the Utah State University School of Graduate Studies, College of Science, and …

Neighborhoods Have Little Effect On Fungal Attack Or Insect Predation Of Developing Seeds In A Grassland Biodiversity Experiment, Noelle G. Beckman, Ray Dybzinski, G. David Tilman

Biology Faculty Publications

Numerous observational studies have documented conspecific negative density-dependence that is consistent with the Janzen–Connell Hypothesis (JCH) of diversity maintenance. However, there have been few experimental tests of a central prediction of the JCH: that removing host-specific enemies should lead to greater increases in per capita recruitment in areas of higher host density or lower relative phylogenetic diversity. Using spatially randomized plots of high and low host biomass in a temperate grassland biodiversity experiment, we treated developing seedheads of six prairie perennials to factorial applications of fungicide and insecticide. We measured predispersal seed production, seed viability, and seedling biomass. Results were …

Consequences Of Seed Dispersal For Plant Recruitment In Tropical Forests: Interactions Within The Seedscape, Noelle G. Beckman, Haldre S. Rogers

Biology Faculty Publications

Seed dispersal sets the stage for the suite of biotic and abiotic interactions that determine the fate of individual seeds. In this review, we first focus on how dispersal influences the 'seedscape', or the combination of abiotic and biotic factors that affect the probability of recruitment once a seed has reached its final location. We review recent papers that examine the effect of different dispersal vectors on (1) the quality of the habitat in which a seed lands; (2) the distance seeds are dispersed from the parent tree; and (3) the density and composition of plant s within the neighborhood …

High-Throughput Rna Sequencing Of Pseudomonas-Infected Arabidopsis Reveals Hidden Transcriptome Complexity And Novel Splice Variants, Brian E. Howard, Qiwen Hu, Ahmet Can Babaoglu, Manan Chandra, Monica Borghi, Xiaoping Tan, Luyan He, Heike Winter-Sederoff, Walter Gassmann, Paola Veronese, Steffen Heber

Biology Faculty Publications

We report the results of a genome-wide analysis of transcription in Arabidopsis thaliana after treatment with Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato. Our time course RNA-Seq experiment uses over 500 million read pairs to provide a detailed characterization of the response to infection in both susceptible and resistant hosts. The set of observed differentially expressed genes is consistent with previous studies, confirming and extending existing findings about genes likely to play an important role in the defense response to Pseudomonas syringae. The high coverage of the Arabidopsis transcriptome resulted in the discovery of a surprisingly large number of alternative splicing (AS) events …

The Ecology And Genetics Of Schoenoplectus Maritimus, An Important Emergent Macrophyte, Across Diverse Hydrologic Conditions—Implications For Restoration, Amanda Clare Sweetman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wetlands in the Intermountain West are typically dominated by large monotypic stands of emergent wetland plants, are highly productive, and support millions of migratory birds as important stops along the Pacific Flyway. In systems with low species diversity, such as these, diversity within a species (intraspecific diversity) can play an important role in population fitness and ecosystem functioning and can impact restoration success. Our research was designed to inform future restoration and management activities by studying the pattern of diversity within and among natural plant populations, and by studying how hydrology and plant materials used in restoration (source and diversity …

Utilizing Remote Sensing And Geospatial Techniques To Determine Detection Probabilities Of Large Mammals, Patricia A. Terletzky-Gese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Whether a species is rare and requires protection or is overabundant and needs control, an accurate estimate of population size is essential for the development of conservation plans and management goals. Wildlife science has traditionally relied on human observers in airplanes, helicopter, or ground vehicles to count the number of individuals seen during wildlife surveys. However, these traditional surveys of wildlife require significant resources, are difficult to conduct quickly and safely over remote and/or extensive locations, are disruptive to the studied species, and are prone to significant error due to unobserved or missed animals and multiple counts of single animals. …

Presence And Function Of Tetrodotoxin In Terrestrial Vertebrates And Invertebrates, Amber N. Stokes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin found in a variety of species. This toxin has long been of concern to human health as it is found in puffer fish, which are a delicacy in Japan. Since the distribution of this toxin is so great, there are many questions regarding the evolution and ecology of organisms that have TTX. My research has focused on further investigating three topics with this research: production, predation, and identification of novel TTX bearing taxa. In order to perform this research I first refined a Competitive Inhibition Enzymatic Immunoassay methodology to quantify levels of TTX in …