Biology Commons^™

Stress Hormone In White-Throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis) Is Not Influenced By The Cleanliness Of A Cotton Bag, Nidun Daniel, Gregory B. Cunningham

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

Bird banding stations are used throughout North America to trap and band birds, which allow researchers and government agencies to monitor populations, migration routes, health and a variety of other elements of avian physiology and biology. Birds are commonly trapped in mistnets, placed into a cotton bag, and brought to a research station where they are banded, weighed, measured and released. On some days, the number of birds caught may be so high that birds are left to hang in the bags for 10 – 20 minutes while other birds are processed. During this time in the bag the birds …

Central And Peripheral Regulation Of Circadian Gastrointestinal Rhythms, Jaclyn Malloy

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Circadian clocks are responsible for daily rhythms in gastrointestinal function which are vital for normal digestive rhythms and health. The present study examines the roles of the circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), and the sympathetic nervous system in regulation of circadian gastrointestinal rhythms in Mus musculus. Surgical ablation of the SCN abolishes circadian locomotor, feeding, and stool output rhythms when animals are presented with food ad libitum, while restricted feeding reestablishes these rhythms temporarily. In intact mice, chemical sympathectomy with 6- hydroxydopamine has no effect on feeding and locomotor rhythmicity, but attenuates stool output rhythms. Again, restricted …

The Biology And Management Of Brucellosis In Yellowstone Bison, John Joseph Treanor

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Disease management along the boundaries of wildlife reserves is a growing conservation problem worldwide, as infected wildlife can migrate outside protected areas and pose a threat to livestock and human health. The bison Bison bison population in Yellowstone National Park has long been infected with Brucella abortus, the bacterium causing bovine brucellosis. Concern over migratory bison transmitting B. abortus to cattle herds on lands adjacent to Yellowstone has led to proposals for bison vaccination. Model simulations suggest that vaccination is unlikely to eradicate B. abortus from Yellowstone bison but could be an effective tool for reducing the level of …

The Cell Division Gene Ftsz2 Of Sinorhizobium Meliloti Is Expressed At High Levels In Host Plant Medicago Truncatula Nodules In The Absence Of Sini, Muhamad Ali K. Shakhatreh, Jayne B. Robinson

Biology Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the role of quorum sensing (QS) in expression of the Sinorhizobium meliloti cell division gene ftsZ2 in free-living cells and within nodules of its host plant, Medicago truncatula. Using a ftsZ2 promoter reporter fusion, we were able to track the expression of this gene in wild-type S. meliloti cells and QS mutant backgrounds in planta. Our findings revealed that expression of ftsZ2 in free-living cells was changed or reduced in sinI mutant cells compared with wild-type cells while expression in planta was substantially higher in the absence of sinI. The results further clarify the involvement …

A Proposal To Test The Effects Of Factor Ecat1 On Pluripotency, From Reprogramming To Differentiation Of Human Somatic Cells, Vritti R. Goel

CMC Senior Theses

The field of stem cell research has been growing more because of the interest in using stem cells to cure diseases and heal injuries. Human embryonic stem cells, because of the controversy surrounding them—and subsequently the difficulties in acquiring samples of the existing aging cell lines—can only be used in limited capacities. While the development of induced pluripotent stem cells in the last decade has allowed the field to progress closer to medical treatments, the low efficiency of reprogramming a somatic cell to a pluripotent state, and the vast molecular and genomic differences between human embryonic stem cells and human …

Effect Of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning On Non-Majors Biology Students' Understanding Of Biological Classification, Breann Marie Wozniak

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in …

Lifelines Winter 2012, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Winter 2012 issue of Lifelines contains articles on Southern's ancient DNA project, the Pre-dental club, and a pictorial directory of the 2012 biology and allied health graduates.

Effects Of Ss3-Adrenergic Receptor Agonist On Gene Expression Of Leptin In Glioblastoma , Johnathan Lawrence, Nicholas J. Cook, Richard A. Rovin, Robert J. Belton Jr, Robert J. Winn

Journal Articles

In the 25 years since temozolomide entered phase I clinical trials, few new primary or adjuvant therapies have been developed for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumors. Our laboratory has been exploring novel methods for the treatment of GBMs. Recent studies indicate that the expression of the hormone leptin and its receptor (OBR) increases in gliomas and positively correlates with the malignancy of the tumor. Interestingly, ß3-adrenergic receptor agonists are known to decrease leptin expression in adipocytes but have not been examined in GBM cells. We hypothesized that b3-adrenergic agonists downregulate the expression of leptin and its receptor. In …

Biology News, Winter 2012, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Biology.

Biology News

Contents:

-- Greetings from the Biology Department
-- Focus on UNI Biology Alumni
-- Let us hear from you...
-- Science Teacher Pays it Forward
-- Reconnect with the Department of Biology
-- Taiwan exchange program - year one a success!
-- Dr. Steve O'Kane and Dr. John Ophus receive Dean's Awards
-- Field Research in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
-- Biology receives grant from Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust
-- Dr. Peter Berendzen receives State Wildlife Grant
-- Seed Grants from the UNI-Office of Sponsored Research
-- Focus on UNI Biology Students
-- Pre-Med Club
-- Student Nature …

Death- Associated Protein Kinase (Dapk); A Possible Modulator Of Neurodegeneration In A Caenorhabditis Elegans Model Of Excittotoxicity, John Smith Del Rosario

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Capturing Motion, Allison Marsh

Section 3: Imaging the Fast Moving

No abstract provided.

Images From The Exhibit, Page 2, Allison Marsh

Handouts

No abstract provided.

New Records Of Alien Gastropoda In The Hawaiian Islands: 1996–2010, Kenneth Hayes, Norine Yeung, Jaynee Kim, Robert Cowie

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The alien nonmarine gastropods of the Hawaiian islands were cataloged by Cowie (1997) and were reviewed by Cowie (1998a). Subsequent new records (both for the archipelago and for individual islands) were reported by Cowie (1998b, 1999, 2000), Kraus (2003), and, specifically associated with the horticultural industry between 2004 and 2006, by Hayes et al. (2007), reviewed and analyzed by Cowie et al. (2008). Subsequent surveys, covering 196 sites across the six largest main Hawaiian islands during 2006–2010, have resulted in the additional new records reported here. We surveyed 29 locations on Kaua'i, 48 on O'ahu, 13 on Moloka'i, 50 on …

Perturbing Microtubule Integrity Blocks Amp-Activated Protein Kinase-Induced Meiotic Resumption In Cultured Mouse Oocytes, Ru Ya, Stephen M. Downs

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The oocyte meiotic spindle is comprised of microtubules (MT) that bind chromatin and regulate both metaphase plate formation and karyokinesis during meiotic maturation; however, little information is known about their role in meiosis reinitiation. This study was conducted to determine if microtubule integrity is required for meiotic induction and to ascertain how it affects activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an important participant in the meiotic induction process. Treatment with microtubule-disrupting agents nocodazole and vinblastine suppressed meiotic resumption in a dose-dependent manner in both arrested cumulus cell-enclosed oocytes (CEO) stimulated with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and arrested denuded oocytes (DO) stimulated …

Levels Of CaV1.2 L-Type Ca2+ Channels Peak In The First Two Weeks In Rat Hippocampus Whereas CaV1.3 Channels Steadily Increase Through Development, Audra A. Kramer, Nicholas E. Ingraham, Emily J. Sharpe, Michelle Mynlieff

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Influx of calcium through voltage-dependent channels regulates processes throughout the nervous system. Specifically, influx through L-type channels plays a variety of roles in early neuronal development and is commonly modulated by G-protein-coupled receptors such as GABA_B receptors. Of the four isoforms of L-type channels, only Ca_v1.2 and Ca_v1.3 are predominately expressed in the nervous system. Both isoforms are inhibited by the same pharmacological agents, so it has been difficult to determine the role of specific isoforms in physiological processes. In the present study, Western blot analysis and confocal microscopy were utilized to study developmental expression …

Effects Of Drosophila Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase On Wing Growth, M. J. Stewart, J. L. Hunt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

In multicellular animals, organ size, cell size and total organism size are regulated by signaling through the insulin receptor and TOR signaling pathways. The ribosomal protein S6 kinase is a key component of these pathways. It has been shown that mice or Drosophila lacking this kinase have a reduced body size that is associated with a decrease in cell size. Ectopic expression of activated or dominant negative transgenic variants of the Drosophila homolog of ribosomal S6 kinase (dS6K) has been shown to cause phenotypes that are consistent with a role for dS6K in growth, but whether the phenotypes were due …

Patterns Of Gene Expression In Microarrays And Expressed Sequence Tags From Normal And Cataractous Lenses, Konstantinos Sousounis, Panagiotis A. Tsonis

Biology Faculty Publications

In this contribution, we have examined the patterns of gene expression in normal and cataractous lenses as presented in five different papers using microarrays and expressed sequence tags. The purpose was to evaluate unique and common patterns of gene expression during development, aging and cataracts.

Lens Regeneration In Axolotl: New Evidence Of Developmental Plasticity, Rinako Suetsugu-Maki, Nobuyasu Maki, Saulius Sumanas, Jie Zhu, Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, Panagiotis A. Tsonis

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Among vertebrates lens regeneration is most pronounced in newts, which have the ability to regenerate the entire lens throughout their lives. Regeneration occurs from the dorsal iris by transdifferentiation of the pigment epithelial cells. Interestingly, the ventral iris never contributes to regeneration. Frogs have limited lens regeneration capacity elicited from the cornea during pre-metamorphic stages. The axolotl is another salamander which, like the newt, regenerates its limbs or its tail with the spinal cord, but up until now all reports have shown that it does not regenerate the lens.

Conservation Of The Three-Dimensional Structure In Non-Homologous Or Unrelated Proteins, Konstantinos Sousounis, Carl E. Haney, Jin Cao, Bharath Sunchu, Panagiotis A. Tsonis

Biology Faculty Publications

In this review, we examine examples of conservation of protein structural motifs in unrelated or non-homologous proteins. For this, we have selected three DNA-binding motifs: the histone fold, the helix-turn-helix motif, and the zinc finger, as well as the globin-like fold. We show that indeed similar structures exist in unrelated proteins, strengthening the concept that three-dimensional conservation might be more important than the primary amino acid sequence.

Detection Of Mycobacterium Ulcerans In The Environment Predicts Prevalence Of Buruli Ulcer In Benin, Heather R. Williamson, Mark Eric Benbow, Lindsay P. Cambell, Christian R. Johnson, Ghislain Sopoh, Yves Barogui, Richard W. Merritt, Pamela L. C. Small

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU), a destructive skin disease found predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and south-eastern Australia. The precise mode(s) of transmission and environmental reservoir(s) remain unknown, but several studies have explored the role of aquatic invertebrate species. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental distribution of M. ulcerans in south-eastern Australia.

Why Wasp Foundresses Change Nests: Relatedness, Dominance, And Nest Quality, Perttu Seppä, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

The costs and benefits of different social options are best understood when individuals can be followed as they make different choices, something that can be difficult in social insects. In this detailed study, we follow overwintered females of the social wasp Polistes carolina through different nesting strategies in a stratified habitat where nest site quality varies with proximity to a foraging area, and genetic relatedness among females is known. Females may initiate nests, join nests temporarily or permanently, or abandon nests. Females can become helpers or egglayers, effectively workers or queens. What they actually do can be predicted by a …

Plastids And Pathogens: Mechanosensitive Channels And Survival In A Hypoosmotic World, Kira M. Veley, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

In bacteria, MscS-type mechanosensitive channels serve to protect cells from lysis as they swell during extreme osmotic stress. We recently showed that two MscS homologs from Arabidopsis thaliana serve a similar purpose in the epidermal plastids of the leaf, indicating that the plant cell cytoplasm can present a dynamic osmotic challenge to the plastid. MscS homologs are predicted to be targeted to both plastids and mitochondrial envelopes and have been found in the genomes of intracellular pathogens. Here we discuss the implications of these observations, and propose that MS channels provide an essential mechanism for osmotic adaptation to both intracellular …

Amino Acid Repeats Cause Extraordinary Coding Sequence Variation In The Social Amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum, Clea Scala, Xiangjun Tian, Natasha J. Mehdiabadi, Margaret H. Smith, Gerda Saxer, Katie Stephens, Prince Buzombo, Joan E. Strassmann, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

Protein sequences are normally the most conserved elements of genomes owing to purifying selection to maintain their functions. We document an extraordinary amount of within-species protein sequence variation in the model eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum stemming from triplet DNA repeats coding for long strings of single amino acids. D. discoideum has a very large number of such strings, many of which are polyglutamine repeats, the same sequence that causes various human neurological disorders in humans, like Huntington’s disease. We show here that D. discoideum coding repeat loci are highly variable among individuals, making D. discoideum a candidate for the most variable …

Mscs-Like10 Is A Stretch-Activated Ion Channel From Arabidopsis Thaliana With A Preference For Anions, Grigory Maksaev, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

Like many other organisms, plants are capable of sensing and responding to mechanical stimuli such as touch, osmotic pressure, and gravity. One mechanism for the perception of force is the activation of mechanosensitive (or stretch-activated) ion channels, and a number of mechanosensitive channel activities have been described in plant membranes. Based on their homology to the bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscS, the 10 MscS-Like (MSL) proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana have been hypothesized to form mechanosensitive channels in plant cell and organelle membranes. However, definitive proof that MSLs form mechanosensitive channels has been lacking. Here we used single-channel patch clamp electrophysiology to …

Mechanosensitive Channels Protect Plastids From Hypoosmotic Stress During Normal Plant Growth, Kira M. Veley, Sarah Marshburn, Cara E. Clure, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

Cellular response to osmotic stress is critical for survival and involves volume control through the regulated transport of osmolytes [1-3]. Organelles may respond similarly to abrupt changes in cytoplasmic osmolarity [4-6]. The plastids of the Arabidopsis thaliana leaf epidermis provide a model system for the study of organellar response to osmotic stress within the context of the cell. An Arabidopsis mutant lacking two plastid-localized homologs of the bacteria mechanosensitive channel MscS (MscS-like [MSL] 2 and 3) exhibits large round epidermal plastids that lack dynamic extensions known as stromules [7]. This phenotype is present under normal growth conditions and does not …

A Role For Mechanosensitive Channels In Chloroplast And Bacterial Fission., Margaret E. Wilson, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

The division site in both chloroplasts and bacteria is established by the medial placement of the FtsZ ring, a process that is in part regulated by the evolutionarily conserved components of the Min system. We recently showed that mechanosensitive ion channels influence FtsZ ring assembly in both Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplasts and in Escherichia coli; in chloroplasts they do so through the same genetic pathway as the Min system. Here we describe the effect of heterologous expression of the Arabidopsis MS channel homolog MSL2 on FtsZ ring placement in E. coli. We also discuss possible molecular mechanisms by which MS channels …

A Pre-Embedding Immunogold Approach Reveals Localization Of Myosin Vi At The Ultrastructural Level In The Actin Cones That Mediate Drosophila Spermatid Individualization, Marta Lenartowska, Mamiko Isaji, Kathryn G. Miller

Biology Faculty Research

Stable actin structures play important roles in the development and specialization of differentiated cells. How these structures form, are organized, and are used to mediate physiological processes is not well understood in most cases. In Drosophila testis, stable actin structures, called actin cones, mediate spermatid individualization, a large-scale cellular remodeling process. These actin cones are composed of two structural domains, a front meshwork and a rear region of parallel bundles. Myosin VI is an important player in proper actin cone organization and function. Myosin VI localizes to the cones' fronts and its specific localization is required for proper actin cone …

Whole Genome Sequencing Of Mutation Accumulation Lines Reveals A Low Mutation Rate In The Social Amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum, Gerda Saxer, Paul Havlak, Sara A. Fox, Michael A. Quance, Sharu Gupta, Yuriy Fofanov, Joan E. Strassmann, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

Spontaneous mutations play a central role in evolution. Despite their importance, mutation rates are some of the most elusive parameters to measure in evolutionary biology. The combination of mutation accumulation (MA) experiments and whole-genome sequencing now makes it possible to estimate mutation rates by directly observing new mutations at the molecular level across the whole genome. We performed an MA experiment with the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and sequenced the genomes of three randomly chosen lines using high-throughput sequencing to estimate the spontaneous mutation rate in this model organism. The mitochondrial mutation rate of 6.76×10(-9), with a Poisson confidence interval …

Structured Growth And Genetic Drift Raise Relatedness In The Social Amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum, Neil J. Buttery, Chandra N. Jack, Boahemaa Adu-Oppong, Kate T. Snyder, Christoper R L Thompson, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

One condition for the evolution of altruism is genetic relatedness between altruist and beneficiary, often achieved through active kin recognition. Here, we investigate the power of a passive process resulting from genetic drift during population growth in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. We put labelled and unlabelled cells of the same clone in the centre of a plate, and allowed them to proliferate outward. Zones formed by genetic drift owing to the small population of actively growing cells at the colony edge. We also found that single cells could form zones of high relatedness. Relatedness increased at a significantly …

Mind The Gap: A Comparative Study Of Migratory Behavior In Social Amoebae, Owen M. Gilbert, Jennie J. Kuzdzal-Fick, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

Social amoebae aggregate to form a multicellular slug that migrates some distance. Most species produce a stalk during migration, but some do not. We show that Dictyostelium giganteum, a species that produces stalk during migration, is able to traverse small gaps and utilize bacterial resources following gap traversal by shedding live cells. In contrast, we found that Dictyostelium discoideum, a species that does not produce stalk during migration, can traverse gaps only when in the presence of other species’ stalks or other thin filaments. These findings suggest that production of stalk during migration allows traversal of gaps that commonly occurs …