Biology Commons^™

Circadian Rhythms Affect Electroretinogram, Compound Eye Color, Striking Behavior And Locomotion Of The Praying Mantis Hierodula Patellifera, Aaron E. Schirmer, Frederick R. Prete, Edgar S. Mantes, Andrew F. Urdiales, Wil Bogue

Biology Faculty Publications

Many behaviors and physiological processes oscillate with circadian rhythms that are synchronized to environmental cues (e.g. light onset), but persist with periods of ~24 h in the absence of such cues. We used a multilevel experimental approach to assess whether circadian rhythms modulate several aspects of the visual physiology and behavior of the praying mantis Hierodula patellifera. We used electroretinograms (ERGs) to assess compound eye sensitivity, colorimetric photographic analyses to assess compound eye color changes (screening pigment migration), behavioral assays of responsiveness to computer-generated prey-like visual stimuli and analyses of locomotor activity patterns on a modified treadmill apparatus. Our results …

Rna-Seq Analysis Reveals A Six-Gene Soxr Regulon In Streptomyces Coelicolor, Nawar Naseer, Joshua A. Shapiro, Monica Chander

Biology Faculty Research and Scholarship

The redox-regulated transcription factor SoxR is conserved in diverse bacteria, but emerging studies suggest that this protein plays distinct physiological roles in different bacteria. SoxR regulates a global oxidative stress response (involving >100 genes) against exogenous redox-cycling drugs in Escherichia coli and related enterics. In the antibiotic producers Streptomyces coelicolor and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, however, SoxR regulates a smaller number of genes that encode membrane transporters and proteins with homology to antibiotic-tailoring enzymes. In both S. coelicolor and P. aeruginosa, SoxR-regulated genes are expressed in stationary phase during the production of endogenously-produced redox-active antibiotics. These observations suggest that SoxR evolved …

Seasonal Patterns Of Microhabitat Selection By A Sub-Tropical Whip Spider, Phrynus Longipes, In The Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, Caroline A. Curtis, Christopher P. Bloch

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phrynus longipes (Pocock 1894) is a top predator among arboreal invertebrates in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico, but many aspects of its ecology remain poorly understood. We sampled four of the most abundant tree species in the Luquillo Mountains during the dry and wet seasons of 2008 to evaluate microhabitat preferences of this species. In the dry season, P. longipes occurred significantly less frequently on a palm, Prestoea acuminata var. montana (Arecaceae), than the other tree species. Carapace length and the diameter of the tree on which an individual was found were positively correlated, suggesting competition for substrates. Microhabitat …

Avoidance Of Canopy Gaps By A Common Land Snail, Christopher P. Bloch, Michael Stock

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Because canopy gaps are characterized by elevated temperature and decreased humidity relative to closed-canopy forest, terrestrial gastropods may be exposed to greater desiccation stress in gaps than in undisturbed forest. We placed individuals of Caracolus caracolla at the edges of canopy gaps in montane forest in Puerto Rico and observed their movements. Individuals preferentially moved out of gaps except in one gap on the first night of the study, and the proportion of individuals recaptured inside gaps decreased over time. Individuals moved, on average, farther into forest than into gaps. Juveniles and adults responded similarly. These results suggest that C. …

Conservation Assessment And Habitat Notes For Three Rare Alabama Crayfishes: Cambarus Cracens, Cambarus Scotti, And Cambarus Unestami, Stephanie L. Kilburn, Christopher A. Taylor, Guenter Schuster

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Over seventy percent of the world's freshwater crayfish species are found within the United States, and much of this diversity is concentrated in the southeastern United States. Yet many of these species remain understudied. Of particular interest is the conservation status of these understudied taxa. We conducted fieldwork in 2011 across northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia to review the occurrence, habitat, and in sonic cases, local population densities of three crayfish species (Cambarus scotti, C. unestami, and C. cracens) to determine current distributions in relation to historical surveys. All three species occur in flowing small to medium-sized streams with firm …

Airborne Staphylococcus Aureus In The Biology Labs At Southern Adventist University, Harrison Filler

Capstone Research Projects

Staphylococcus aureus has been of growing interest to the scientific community in recent years. It is not only easily transferred from one person to another, but its rapidly evolving antibiotic resistance has made it increasingly difficult to treat. Once thought to be a hospital-acquired disease, S. aureus is now often found in the community. Studies indicate that people and clothing can act as carriers of S. aureus not only directly, but through airborne particles. For these reasons a research experiment was designed to determine the prevalence of S. aureus in the microbiology lab and anatomy and physiology lab at Southern …

Lifelines Winter 2014, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Winter 2014 issue of Lifelines contains articles on a dinosaur dig in Wyoming, student missions to Lebanon, an alumni feature, undergraduate research, and a pictorial directory of 2014 biology and allied health graduates.

03. Biology, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

13. Mathematics, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

16. Physics, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

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 …

Bacteria Present In Carotid Arterial Plaques Are Found As Biofilm Deposits Which May Contribute To Enhanced Risk Of Plaque Rupture, Bernard B. Lanter, Karin Sauer, David G. Davies

Biological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Atherosclerosis, a disease condition resulting from the buildup of fatty plaque deposits within arterial walls, is the major underlying cause of ischemia (restriction of the blood), leading to obstruction of peripheral arteries, congestive heart failure, heart attack, and stroke in humans. Emerging research indicates that factors including inflammation and infection may play a key role in the progression of atherosclerosis. In the current work, atherosclerotic carotid artery explants from 15 patients were all shown to test positive for the presence of eubacterial 16S rRNA genes. Density gradient gel electrophoresis of 5 of these samples revealed that each contained 10 or …

Genome Sequence Of Microvirga Lupini Strain Lut6(T), A Novel Lupinus Alphaproteobacterial Microsymbiont From Texas, Wayne Reeve, Matthew Parker, Rui Tian, Lynne Goodwin, Hazuki Teshima, Roxanne Tapia, Cliff Han, James Han, Konstantinos Liolios, Marcel Huntemann, Amrita Pati, Tanja Woyke, Konstantinos Mavromatis, Victor Markowitz, Natalia Ivanova, Nikos Kyrpides

Biological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Microvirga lupini LUT6(T) is an aerobic, non-motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that can exist as a soil saprophyte or as a legume microsymbiont of Lupinus texensis. LUT6(T) was isolated in 2006 from a nodule recovered from the roots of the annual L. texensis growing in Travis Co., Texas. LUT6(T) forms a highly specific nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with endemic L. texensis and no other Lupinus species can form an effective nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with this isolate. Here we describe the features of M. lupini LUT6(T), together with genome sequence information and its annotation. The 9,633,614 bp improved high quality draft genome is arranged into …

Character Evolution And Microbial Community Structure In A Host-Associated Grasshopper, Tyler Raszick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The spotted bird grasshopper, Schistocerca lineata Scudder (Orthoptera: Acrididae), is a widely distributed species found throughout most of the continental United States and southern Canada. This species is known to be highly variable in morphology, with many distinct ecotypes across its native range. These ecotypes display high levels of association with type-specific host plants. Understanding the evolutionary relationships among different ecotypes is crucial groundwork for studying the process of ecological differentiation. I examine four ecotypes from morphological and phylogeographic perspectives, and look for evidence of distinct evolutionary lineages within the species. I also begin to explore the potential role of …

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 …

02. Animal Science, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

07. Criminal Justice, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

11. Genetics, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

18. Statistics, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.