Biology Commons^™

Water Purification Device For A Developing Country Constructed From Local Materials, Martina L. Houmann

Capstone Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Expression Of The Pair-Rule Gene Homologs Runt, Pax3/7, Even-Skipped-1 And Even-Skipped-2 During Larval And Juvenile Development Of The Polychaete Annelid Capitella Teleta Does Not Support A Role In Segmentation, Elaine C. Seaver, Emi Yamaguchi, Gemma S. Richards, Néva P. Meyer

Biology

Background: Annelids and arthropods each possess a segmented body. Whether this similarity represents an evolutionary convergence or inheritance from a common segmented ancestor is the subject of ongoing investigation.Methods: To investigate whether annelids and arthropods share molecular components that control segmentation, we isolated orthologs of the Drosophila melanogaster pair-rule genes, runt, paired (Pax3/7) and eve, from the polychaete annelid Capitella teleta and used whole mount in situ hybridization to characterize their expression patterns.Results: When segments first appear, expression of the single C. teleta runt ortholog is only detected in the brain. Later, Ct-runt is expressed in the ventral nerve cord, …

Novel Mouse Mammary Cell Lines For In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging (Bli) Of Bone Metastasis, Celeste Bolin, Caleb Sutherland, Ken Tawara, Jim Moselhy, Cheryl Jorcyk

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Tumor cell lines that can be tracked in vivo during tumorigenesis and metastasis provide vital tools for studying the specific cellular mechanisms that mediate these processes as well as investigating therapeutic targets to inhibit them. The goal of this study was to engineer imageable mouse mammary tumor cell lines with discrete propensities to metastasize to bone in vivo. Two novel luciferase expressing cell lines were developed and characterized for use in the study of breast cancer metastasis to bone in a syngeneic mouse model.

Results

The 4T1.2 luc3 and 66c14 luc2 cell lines were shown to have high …

Nuclear Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (Its) Region As A Universal Dna Barcode Marker For Fungi, Eric Tretter, Yan Wang, Eric M. Johnson, Merlin M. White

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Six DNA regions were evaluated as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life, by a multinational, multilaboratory consortium. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it is difficult to amplify in fungi, often includes large introns, and can be insufficiently variable. Three subunits from the nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron were compared together with regions of three representative protein-coding genes (largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, and minichromosome maintenance protein). Although the protein-coding …

The Us27 Protein Of Human Cytomegalovirus Enhances Signaling By Human Chemokine Receptor Cxcr4, Kathleen Arnolds, Juliet V. Spencer

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a prevalent pathogen that causes little disease except in immune-compromised hosts. HCMV establishes life-long latency by manipulating host immune responses. We have found that the US27 protein profoundly alters the activity of host chemokine receptor CXCR4. Cells expressing US27 and CXCR4 exhibited greater migration and calcium signaling than cells expressing CXCR4 alone. The mechanism for this enhanced signaling appears to be increased expression of CXCR4, and we are continuing to investigate how US27 causes up-regulation of CXCR4. This work is expected to clarify the role of US27 in immune evasion and provide insights into treatment strategies.

Comparison Of Regional Eggshell Porosity Between The Brood Parasitic Brown-Headed Cowbird (Moluthrus Ater) And Its Hosts: The Dickcissel (Spiza Americana), And Two Non-Parasitic Relatives, The Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus) And The Common Grackle (Quiscalus Quiscula)., Brittany Childs, W. B. Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor, R. G. Harper, Faculty Advisor, M. Kiefer, J. W. Rivers, B. D. Peer

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

An Adapted Method For Measuring Gas Exchange Across Avian Eggshells, Sarah Takushi, Given Harper, Faculty Advisor, William Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

A New Species Of Frog (Strabomantidae: Pristimantis) From Peru With Comments On Its Ectoparasites (Acari: Trombiculidae), Alan Brus, Edgar Lehr, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Roles Of The Drosophila Sk Channel (Dsk) In Courtship Memory, Ahmad N. Abou Tayoun, Claudio Pikielny, Patrick J. Dolph

Dartmouth Scholarship

A role for SK channels in synaptic plasticity has been very well-characterized. However, in the absence of simple genetic animal models, their role in behavioral memory remains elusive. Here, we take advantage of Drosophila melanogaster with its single SK gene (dSK) and well-established courtship memory assay to investigate the contribution of this channel to memory. Using two independent dSK alleles, a null mutation and a dominant negative subunit, we show that while dSK negatively regulates the acquisition of short-term memory 30 min after a short training session, it is required for normal long-term memory 24 h after extended …

Chemoarchitecture Of The Lateral Hypothalamic Area: Contiguous Mapping And Distribution Of Six Biomarkers In The Adult Male Rat, Briana E. Pinales^, Nicole Dominguez, Arshad M. Khan*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Spring 2012

No abstract provided.

Cholesterol Side-Chain Degradation Enzymes Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Brian Villalba^, Itzel Chavarria, Bernardo Terres, Johnathan Abou-Fadel, Rhone A. Mendoza, Hugues Ouellet*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Spring 2012

No abstract provided.

Sapl Annual Meeting 2012 : Dalliance With Dali's Ants, Deby L. Cassill, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Speakers: Peter Tush, Curator of Education, Salvador Dali Museum; Deby Cassil, Ph.D. Associate Professor, USFSP.

Ngf Causes Trka To Specifically Attract Microtubules To Lipid Rafts, Shona Pryor, Gretchen Mccaffrey, Lindsay R. Young, Mark L. Grimes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Membrane protein sorting is mediated by interactions between proteins and lipids. One mechanism that contributes to sorting involves patches of lipids, termed lipid rafts, which are different from their surroundings in lipid and protein composition. Although the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors, TrkA and p75(NTR) collaborate with each other at the plasma membrane to bind NGF, these two receptors are endocytosed separately and activate different cellular responses. We hypothesized that receptor localization in membrane rafts may play a role in endocytic sorting. TrkA and p75(NTR) both reside in detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs), yet they responded differently to a variety of conditions. …

Fused Traditional And Geometric Morphometrics Demonstrate Pinniped Whisker Diversity, Carly C. Ginter, Thomas J. Dewitt, Frank E. Fish, Christopher D. Marshall

Biology Faculty Publications

Vibrissae (whiskers) are important components of the mammalian tactile sensory system, and primarily function as detectors of vibrotactile information from the environment. Pinnipeds possess the largest vibrissae among mammals and their vibrissal hair shafts demonstrate a diversity of shapes. The vibrissae of most phocid seals exhibit a beaded morphology with repeating sequences of crests and troughs along their length. However, there are few detailed analyses of pinniped vibrissal morphology, and these are limited to a few species. Therefore, we comparatively characterized differences in vibrissal hair shaft morphologies among phocid species with a beaded profile, phocid species with a smooth profile, …

Contribution Of The Mnr2 Protein To Magnesium Homeostasis In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Nilambari Prafulla Pisat

Dissertations

Magnesium is an essential metal nutrient with diverse roles in biology. To maintain the optimal function of key biological processes, intracellular Mg2+ concentration is tightly regulated. Despite the importance of this process however, relatively little is known about mechanisms of Mg2+ homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. An understanding of homeostasis starts with defining the function of key transport proteins that allow the passage of Mg2+ ions across the membranes. Yeast geneticists have identified four proteins from Bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) involved in regulating the accumulation of Mg2+ within the cell (Alr1 and Alr2) and within the mitochondrial compartment (Mrs2 and Lpe10). …

Skin Regeneration In Adult Axolotls: A Blueprint For Scar-Free Healing In Vertebrates, Ashley W. Seifert, James R. Monaghan, S. Randal Voss, Malcolm Maden

Biology Faculty Publications

While considerable progress has been made towards understanding the complex processes and pathways that regulate human wound healing, regenerative medicine has been unable to develop therapies that coax the natural wound environment to heal scar-free. The inability to induce perfect skin regeneration stems partly from our limited understanding of how scar-free healing occurs in a natural setting. Here we have investigated the wound repair process in adult axolotls and demonstrate that they are capable of perfectly repairing full thickness excisional wounds made on the flank. In the context of mammalian wound repair, our findings reveal a substantial reduction in hemostasis, …

A Fap46 Mutant Provides New Insights Into The Function And Assembly Of The C1d Complex Of The Ciliary Central Apparatus, Jason M. Brown, Christen G. Dipetrillo, Elizabeth F. Smith, George B. Witman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Virtually all motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella have a '9+2' axoneme in which nine doublet microtubules surround two singlet microtubules. Associated with the central pair of microtubules are protein complexes that form at least seven biochemically and structurally distinct central pair projections. Analysis of mutants lacking specific projections has indicated that each may play a unique role in the control of flagellar motility. One of these is the C1d projection previously shown to contain the proteins FAP54, FAP46, FAP74 and FAP221/Pcdp1, which exhibits Ca(2+)-sensitive calmodulin binding. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii null mutant for …

Taxonomic Revision Of True Morels (Morchella) In Canada And The United States, Michael Kuo, Damon R. Dewsbury, Kerry O'Donnell, M. Carol Carter, John David Moore, Stephen A. Renner, Jean-Marc Moncalvo, Stephen A. Canfield, Steven L. Stephenson, Andrew S. Methven, Thomas J. Volk

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed the existence of at least 50 species of Morchella worldwide and demonstrated a high degree of continental endemism within the genus. Here we describe 19 phylogenetic species of Morchella from North America, 14 of which are new (M. diminutiva, M. virginiana, M. esculentoides, M. prava, M. cryptica, M. frustrata, M. populiphila, M. sextelata, M. septimelata, M. capitata, M. importuna, M. snyderi, M. brunnea and M. septentrionalis). Existing species names (M. rufobrunnea, M. tomentosa, M. punctipes and M. angusticeps) are applied to four phylogenetic species, and formal description of one species (M. sp. "Mel-8") is …

The Distribution Of 4-Nonylphenol In Marine Organisms Of North American Pacific Coast Estuaries, Jennifer Diehl, Sarah E. Johnson, Kang Xia, Amy West, Lars Tomanek

Biological Sciences

One of the chemical breakdown products of nonylphenol ethoxylates, 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), accumulates in organisms and is of concern as an environmental pollutant due to its endocrine disrupting effects. We measured 4-NP levels in the seawater, sediment, and twelve organisms within the California estuary, Morro Bay, and examined biomagnification of 4-NP using stable isotope abundances (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) to quantify trophic position. 4-NP concentrations in organisms from Morro Bay included 25000 ± 8600 ng g⁻¹ lw in liver of California sea lion, 14000 ± 5600 ng g⁻¹ lw in liver of harbor porpoise, 138000 …

Conserved Transcriptional Unit Organization Of The Cag Pathogenicity Island Among Helicobacter Pylori Strains, Linda H. Ta, Lori M. Hansen, William E. Sause, Olga Shiva, Aram Millstein, Karen M. Ottemann, Andrea Castillo, Jay V. Solnick

Biology Faculty Publications

The Helicobacter pylori cag pathogenicity island (cag PAI) encodes a type IV secretion system that is more commonly found in strains isolated from patients with gastroduodenal disease than from those with asymptomatic gastritis. Genome-wide organization of the transcriptional units in H. pylori strain 26695 was recently established using RNA sequence analysis (Sharma et al., 2010). Here we used quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction of open reading frames and intergenic regions to identify putative cag PAI operons in H. pylori; these operons were analyzed further by transcript profiling after deletion of selected promoter regions. Additionally, we used a promoter-trap system to …

Trehalose Transporter From African Chironomid Larvae Improves Desiccation Tolerance Of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells, Nilay Chakraborty, Michael A. Menze, Heidi Elmoazzen, Halong Vu, Martin Yarmush, Steven C. Hand, Mehmet Toner

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Dry preservation has been explored as an energy-efficient alternative to cryopreservation, but the high sensitivity of mammalian cells to desiccation stress has been one of the major hurdles in storing cells in the desiccated state. An important strategy to reduce desiccation sensitivity involves use of the disaccharide trehalose. Trehalose is known to improve desiccation tolerance in mammalian cells when present on both sides of the cell membrane. Because trehalose is membrane impermeant the development of desiccation strategies involving this promising sugar is hindered. We explored the potential of using a high-capacity trehalose transporter (TRET1) from the African chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki[21] …

Taxonomic Revision Of True Morels (Morchella) In Canada And The United States, Michael Kuo, Damon Dewsbury, Kerry O'Donnell, M. Carter, John Moore, Stephen Renner, Jean-Marc Moncalvo, Stephen Canfield, Steven Stephenson, Andrew Methven, Thomas Volk

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed the existence of at least 50 species of Morchella worldwide and demonstrated a high degree of continental endemism within the genus. Here we describe 19 phylogenetic species of Morchella from North America, 14 of which are new (M. diminutiva, M. virginiana, M. esculentoides, M. prava, M. cryptica, M. frustrata, M. populiphila, M. sextelata, M. septimelata, M. capitata, M. importuna, M. snyderi, M. brunnea and M. septentrionalis). Existing species names (M. rufobrunnea, M. tomentosa, M. punctipes and M. angusticeps) are applied to four phylogenetic species, and formal description of one species (M. sp. "Mel-8") is …

Do Thick Leaves Avoid Thermal Damage In Critically Low Wind Speeds?, A. Leigh, S. Sevanto, M. C. Ball, J. D. Close, D. S. Ellsworth, Charles A. Knight, A. B. Nicotra, S. Vogel

Biological Sciences

• Transient lulls in air movement are rarely measured, but can cause leaf temperature to rise rapidly to critical levels. The high heat capacity of thick leaves can damp this rapid change in temperature. However, little is known about the extent to which increased leaf thickness can reduce thermal damage, or how thick leaves would need to be to have biological significance. We evaluated quantitatively the contribution of small increases in leaf thickness to the reduction in thermal damage during critically low wind speeds under desert conditions.

• We employed a numerical model to investigate the effect of thickness relative …

Trait Convergence And Plasticity Among Native And Invasive Species In Resource-Poor Environments, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Albina Khasanova, Jeremy J. James

Biology

Premise of study: Functional trait comparisons provide a framework with which to assess invasion and invasion resistance. However, recent studies have found evidence for both trait convergence and divergence among coexisting dominant native and invasive species. Few studies have assessed how multiple stresses constrain trait values and plasticity, and no study has included direct measurements of nutrient conservation traits, which are critical to plants growing in low-resource environments. Methods: We evaluated how nutrient and water stresses affect growth and allocation, water potential and gas exchange, and nitrogen (N) allocation and use traits among a suite of six codominant species from …

Different Selective Pressures Lead To Different Genomic Outcomes As Newly-Formed Hybrid Yeasts Evolve, Jeff S. Piotrowski, Saisubramanian Nagarajan, Evgueny Kroll, Alison Stanbery, Kami E. Chiotti, Arthur L. Kruckeberg, Barbara Dunn, Gavin Sherlock, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Interspecific hybridization occurs in every eukaryotic kingdom. While hybrid progeny are frequently at a selective disadvantage, in some instances their increased genome size and complexity may result in greater stress resistance than their ancestors, which can be adaptively advantageous at the edges of their ancestors' ranges. While this phenomenon has been repeatedly documented in the field, the response of hybrid populations to long-term selection has not often been explored in the lab. To fill this knowledge gap we crossed the two most distantly related members of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group, S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum, and established a …

A Three-Dimensional Visualization And Projection Workbench For The Pace Hpc Initiative, Francis T. Marchese, Daniel Strahs

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Student Centered Physiology Learning Into Related High School Science Courses, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Student centered teaching was previously found to enhance student understanding and even improve performance of students in other courses taken in the same semester in high school (6). In an effort to improve student performance in related science classes, the same student centered methods used in my Physiology and Disease (PAD) class were implemented in a Biophysics class this semester. Initial student surveys showed that students felt that integrating physiology concepts into Biophysics helped them understand the material from two very different perspectives, giving them a "more complete picture". Test scores from each of the four units were compared in …

Characterizing The Role Of Pax And Six In An Emerging Model System, The Freshwater Sponge, E. Muelleri, Ian P. Winters

Honors Theses

Sponges can be viewed as a remnant branch of the earliest successful experiments in metazoan multi-cellularity. As such, these organisms hold many clues into the genetic elements fundamental to the formation of complex animalian life. Two of these elements are the transcription factor encoding genes PaxB and Six1/2. Homologs of these genes in animals more complex than sponges have been shown to be members of a gene regulatory network involved in organ development. This is of particular intrigue since sponges do not possess such organ systems. Here, I discuss the putative function of PaxB and Six1/2 in sponges, and whether …

Section Abstracts: Biology With Microbiology And Molecular Biology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Biology with Microbiology and Molecular Biology Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2015, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Section Abstracts: Natural History And Biodiversity

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Natural History and Biodiversity Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2012, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.