Biology Commons^™

The Identification Of Alkaloid Pathway Genes From Non-Model Plant Species In The Amaryllidaceae, Matthew B. Kilgore

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Secondary metabolites are often restricted in their distribution to different groups of organisms. For this reason, attempts to study these often useful and interesting products of metabolism require an ability to work in a diversity of non-model species. Methods for gene discovery with low investment and high efficiency are needed to effectively identify the biosynthetic genes in these diverse pathways. During this work, a workflow for efficiently identifying biosynthetic genes was developed and applied to Amaryllidaceae alkaloid biosynthesis. Genes discovered during this work include a norbelladine 4’-O-methyltransferase, a cytochrome P450 capable of phenol-phenol coupling 4’-O-methylnorbelladine to noroxomaritidine, and a short-chain …

Transcriptional Regulation Of The Endoplasmic Reticulum In Dedicated Secretory Cells, Benjamin David Moore

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Differentiating cells express subsets of genes to build the cellular machinery necessary to perform their specific function as they acquire their mature fate. These subsets of genes are regulated by networks of transcription factors as cells progress through their developmental program. In secretory tissue, highly-specialized cells establish a complex secretory apparatus and scale up their cellular architecture to facilitate the production and secretion of large amounts of protein. Here, we identify a network of transcription factors responsible for the development of this cellular machinery in these professional secretory cells, and develop new tools to better study the molecular networks that …

Free Mate Choice Enhances Conservation Breeding In The Endangered Giant Panda, Meghan S. Martin-Wintle, David J. Shepherdson, Guiquan Zhang, Hemin Zhang, Desheng Li, Xiaoping Zhou, Rengui Li, Ronald R. Swaisgood

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conservation breeding programmes have become an increasingly important tool to save endangered species, yet despite the allocation of significant resources, efforts to create self-sustaining populations have met with limited success. The iconic giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) embodies the struggles associated with ex situ species conservation. Here we show that behavioural mate preferences in giant pandas predict reproductive outcomes. Giant pandas paired with preferred partners have significantly higher copulation and birth rates. Reproductive rates increase further when both partners show mutual preference for one another. If managers were to incorporate mate preferences more fully into breeding management, the production of giant …

Establishing The Microcrustacean Daphnia As A Model System For Research On Aging, Charles Andrew Shumpert

Theses and Dissertations

Aging is a ubiquitous process pertaining to all biological systems around the planet. Although much has been learned from studies so far on the molecular mechanisms that lead to aging, a complete understanding of a healthy life span and longevity still eludes us. In this dissertation, we will examine the use of a freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia as a model system for studies on the biology of aging. The Introduction chapter presents a review of the general molecular alterations associated with cellular and organismal aging, and discusses the core model organisms currently used to study the aging process. The introduction chapter …

The Effects Of Elevated Circulating Levels Of Lipocalin 2 On Liver Metastasis Of Colorectal Cancer, John Gerard Bonapart

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. In 2015, approximately 143,000 new cases will be diagnosed and 50,000 deaths are predicted. Liver metastasis is the major cause of death. To understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of liver metastasis, we used an orthotopic mouse model of CRC liver metastasis that recapitulated all stages of tumor growth and metastasis to perform whole genome microarray analysis to identify genetic changes in the liver microenvironment in response to primary tumor growth in the cecum. We identified lipocalin 2 (Lcn2) …

Vulnerable Species In A Changing Climate: The Genomic Response Of Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes To Predicted Oceanic Conditions As A Model Of Physiological Plasticity And Adaptive Capability, Troy James Huth

Theses and Dissertations

In its fifth report in 2014 the IPCC reinforced the contribution of anthropogenic CO2 to global climate change predicting widespread and significant changes to the global climate over a relatively short time scale. The polar regions, including the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, were identified as ecosystems that may experience the most rapid and severe changes. As the Southern Ocean is one of the coldest and most oceanographically stable regions on earth, the endemic fauna likely have no alternative habitats available for migration. Further compounding the challenge these species will face is the substantial degree of adaptation to the extreme cold …

Regulation Of Stress Response And Innate Immunity By DsRna-Binding Proteins Pact And Trbp, Lauren S. Vaughn

Theses and Dissertations

An integral aspect of innate immune response to viral infections is the ability to detect non-self molecules to initiate antiviral signaling via pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). One subset of these receptors are cytoplasmic receptors that contain double stranded (dsRNA) binding domains, which allow them to identify non-self dsRNA produced during a viral infection and mount a protective cellular response. PKR is a dsRNA-activated eIF2α kinase that is a key regulator of cellular antiviral and stress response pathways. Activation of PKR’s catalytic activity requires binding to one of its activators, viral dsRNAs or the cellular protein PACT (PKR activator). Although PACT …

Is The Zebrafish Zombie Mutant Caused By A Mutation In Cdc20?, Peyton Johnston

Honors Theses

The zombie mutant was identified as an early arrest mutant, stopping in development around the 10-somite stage (14 hours of development). Further inspection revealed that this mutant was a cell cycle mutant and cells in the mutant arrest during metaphase as early as the 5-somite stage (11.6 hours of development). A similar phenotype is seen in the Drosophila melanogaster cell cycle gene fizzy, known to be to be a homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, cell division cycle 20 (cdc20). CDC20 is an activator protein of the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), an ubiquitin E3 ligase that is …

Super-Killers: Environmental Isolates That Antagonize Pathogenic Vibrio, Abigail Joy

Honors Projects

Vibrio are members of a bacterial group that thrive in diverse aquatic environments including on the surface of aquatic animals, free-living in the water column, and in association with suspended particles. The total Vibrio counts in the coastal ocean ranges from 10³-10⁵ per milliliter of water depending on seasons and water temperature. Although many different species of Vibrio persist in the water column, pathogenic strains, such as Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are absent or rare in marine environments. We hypothesize that the low abundance of these pathogenic species may be due to interspecific competition among environmental …

Possible Synergistic Effects Of Thymol And Nicotine Against Crithidia Bombi Parasitism In Bumble Bees, Olivia Masi Biller, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin, Caitlin Mcallister, Evan C. Palmer-Young

Dartmouth Scholarship

Floral nectar contains secondary compounds with antimicrobial properties that can affect not only plant-pollinator interactions, but also interactions between pollinators and their parasites. Although recent work has shown that consumption of plant secondary compounds can reduce pollinator parasite loads, little is known about the effects of dosage or compound combinations. We used the generalist pollinator Bombus impatiens and its obligate gut parasite Crithidia bombi to study the effects of nectar chemistry on host-parasite interactions. In two experiments we tested (1) whether the secondary compounds thymol and nicotine act synergistically to reduce parasitism, and (2) whether dietary thymol concentration affects parasite …

Exploration Of The Range Overlap Between Cynomys Leucurus And Cynomys Ludovicianus, Kenneth D. Choi

Honors Theses

The ranges of two species of prairie dogs, Cynomys leucurus and Cynomys ludovicianus, overlap in a narrow area in the western Great Plains in Wyoming. We used GIS software to map their distributions and infer land cover preferences within and on either side of the zone of overlap. In general, both species used habitats in proportion to their availability and did not display strong selection of their expected vegetation types (based on the literature). However, both species of prairie dogs were overrepresented in areas of human settlements and crops, which may indicate that these species prefer human-modified habitats, or perhaps …

L3 Auditory Interneuron Responses To Dual-Frequency Calling Songs In Female Crickets (Acheta Domesticus), Jeong Bin Lee

Honors Theses

Female crickets exhibit positive phonotaxis in response to calling songs with specific carrier frequencies (4-5 kHz), syllable periods (SP; 50-70ms), and other parameters. Among a number of ascending prothoracic auditory neurons identified, only L3 has been proposed to be involved in SP selective phonotaxis. L3 responds with selective decrement to 5 kHz stimulus with attractive SPs. Furthermore, L3 is highly tuned to 16 kHz auditory stimulus, which has been correlated with aversive phonotactic behaviors. L3’s cellular responses to simultaneous 16 kHz and 5 kHz stimuli were examined through extracellular recording, thereby further establishing the connection between L3’s selective decrement and …

Oxidative Stress In Avian Embyros, Toshi Tsunekage

Dissertations

Oxidative stress has been implicated in mediating trade-offs in the evolution of life histories. Oxidative stress results from an imbalance in the production of free radicals and an organism’s antioxidant defenses. Higher metabolic rates associated with more rapid growth and shorter development periods may increase oxidative stress and accumulated cellular damage in embryonic tissues. In my dissertation I explored oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses in avian embryos. I measured levels of oxidative stress in tissues of different stage embryos of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), and tested if patterns of lipid peroxidation could be explained by changes in the developing embryo’s …

A Comparison Of Gastrointestinal Bacterial Population Between Indoor Cats And Outdoor Cats, Farhana Binti Ikmal Hisham

Honors Theses

This study used fecal samples from four indoor cats and four indoor-outdoor cats in order to identify the microbial communities in the gut of cats. This information was then used to compare the microbial phyla between both groups for any differences. Total microbial DNA was isolated from each fecal sample, and the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using Illumina MiSeq high throughput method. The sequences were identified using the bioinformatics program mothur. The results show that indoor cats had a more diverse microbial community as compared to outdoor cats. Indoor cat samples had 26% more microbial species, and eight more …

Extensive Dieback In Malosma Laurina In Coastal Exposures Of The Santa Monica Mountains Associated With Unprecedented Drought In California, Gina S. Gilderman, Kaitlyn E. Sauer, Gabriella N. Palmeri

Featured Research

Throughout coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) there is a recent emergence of widespread dieback in Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina). M. laurina is a keystone species of chaparral that dominates the SMM. A significant trait of M. laurina is an extensive root system exceeding 12 m in depth. We hypothesized that M. laurina was weakened by unprecedented drought in California (2013-2015) and predisposed to fungal pathogens. An initial study conducted in the summer of 2015 revealed all stem samples taken from dieback adult M. laurina plants were infected with Botryosphaeria dothidea, while zero stem samples taken …

Root Hydraulic Conductance In Laurel Sumac Experiencing Severe Dieback In The Santa Monica Mountains, Natalie M. Aguirre, Avery N. Davis, Sarah B. Nelson

Featured Research

Malosma laurina (laurel sumac) is a dominant species in coastal chaparral ecosystems, extending its roots down to an average of 40 feet in rocky, sandy soils. The deep root systems of M. laurina provide structural support for the steep Santa Monica Mountains. The roots also allow M. laurina to draw from the deep water table, increasing its drought tolerance. M. laurina dieback is prevalent in coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains presumably due to historic drought predisposing plant tissues to infection by the fungal pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea. In ecosystems that experience annual dry periods, a high hydraulic conductance …

Recent Dieback In A Keystone Chaparral Species Is Caused By A Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, Frida Morales, Mariah Taylor

Featured Research

Due to the recent drought in Southern California, the abundance of a keystone species within the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) has been dwindling. This species, Malosma laurina, has an average root depth of 40 feet, so it has little difficulty tapping into the watershed. Recently, this species has undergone extensive dieback, which is potentially attributed to the unprecedented drought and the introduction of the fungus B. dothidea. While this fungi appears to be innocuous to M. laurina when the plant is healthy, it is more susceptible to invasion under water stress due to the dry heated conditions of …

Thermal Biology And Immersion Tolerance Of The Beringian Pseudoscorpion Wyochernes 4 Asiaticus, Susan E. Anthony, Christopher M. Buddle, Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is a pseudoscorpion distributed across Beringia, the areas of Yukon, Alaska and Siberia that remained unglaciated at the last glacial maximum. Along with low temperatures, its streamside habitat suggests that submergence during flood events is an important physiological challenge for this species. We collected W. asiaticus in midsummer from 66.8N Yukon Territory, Canada, and measured thermal and immersion tolerance. Wyochernes asiaticus is freeze-avoidant, with a mean supercooling point of -6.9 C. It remains active at low temperatures (mean critical thermal minimum, CTmin, is -3.6 C) and has a critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of 37.8 C, …

An Evaluation Of The Genetic Structure Of Mapleleaf Mussels (Quadrula Quadrula) In The Lake Erie Watershed, Wendy L. Paterson, Traci A. Griffith, Robert A. Krebs, Lyubov E. Burlakova, David T. Zanatta

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Physical barriers, habitat fragmentation, invasive species and geographic distance have isolated remnant populations of unionids in Great Lakes coastal refuges. Dreissenid species (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) may be the greatest threat to the survival of unionids in the Great Lakes since their introduction in the late 1980s and early 1990s; however, native unionids remain in coastal habitats of western Lake Erie. One of the most abundant unionid species in Lake Erie, Quadrula quadrula, was collected along coastal areas within the lake and from three tributaries, the Maumee River, Huron River (Ohio), and Grand River (Ontario, Canada) and genotyped …

Ecological Niche Modeling Of Pteronotropis Hubbsi, The Bluehead Shiner: Evaluating The Effects Of Spatial Filtering And Maxent Features Across Various Spacial Extents, Justin Matthew Hernandez

Biology Theses

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) has been extensively applied as a reliable tool in conservation biology. Still, challenges abound in generating optimal models, especially when using limited occurrence data. The bluehead shiner, Pteronotropis hubbsi, a threatened species of concern, was modeled throughout its range within the U.S. South Central Plains Ecoregion. The portions of states that overlap this region include Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. I used the Maxent software package (Phillips et al., 2006), as the ENM algorithm for this project. A maximum of 14 geospatial environmental layers (climatic, hydrologic, and geologic) were chosen to determine the species' association with …

Resource Partitioning Along Multiple Niche Axes Drives Functional Diversity In Parrotfishes On Caribbean Coral Reefs, Thomas C. Adam, Megan Kelley, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Deron E. Burkepile

Biological Sciences

The recent loss of key consumers to exploitation and habitat degradation has significantly altered community dynamics and ecosystem function across many ecosystems worldwide. Predicting the impacts of consumer losses requires knowing the level of functional diversity that exists within a consumer assemblage. In this study, we document functional diversity among nine species of parrotfishes on Caribbean coral reefs. Parrotfishes are key herbivores that facilitate the maintenance and recovery of coral-dominated reefs by controlling algae and provisioning space for the recruitment of corals. We observed large functional differences among two genera of parrotfishes that were driven by differences in diet. Fishes …

Linking Energetics And Overwintering In Temperate Insects., Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

Overwintering insects cannot feed, and energy they take into winter must therefore fuel energy demands during autumn, overwintering, warm periods prior to resumption of development in spring, and subsequent activity. Insects primarily consume lipids during winter, but may also use carbohydrate and proteins as fuel. Because they are ectotherms, the metabolic rate of insects is temperature-dependent, and the curvilinear nature of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship means that warm temperatures are disproportionately important to overwinter energy use. This energy use may be reduced physiologically, by reducing the slope or elevation of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship, or because of threshold changes, such …

The Receptor For Activated C Kinase In Plant Signaling: Tale Of A Promiscuous Little Molecule, Tania Islas-Flores, Ahasanur Rahman, Hemayet Ullah, Marco Villanueva

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Two decades after the first report of the plant homolog of the Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1 (RACK1) in cultured tobacco BY2 cells, a significant advancement has been made in the elucidation of its cellular and molecular role. The protein is now implicated in many biological functions including protein translation, multiple hormonal responses, developmental processes, pathogen infection resistance, environmental stress responses, and miRNA production. Such multiple functional roles are consistent with the scaffolding nature of the plant RACK1 protein. A significant advance was achieved when the β-propeller structure of the Arabidopsis RACK1A isoform was elucidated, thus revealing that its …

Progesterone And Prostaglandin F2Α Induce Species-Typical Female Preferences For Male Sexual Displays In Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla Chrysoscelis), J. L. Ward, E. K. Love, Alexander T. Baugh, N. M. Gordon, J. C. Tanner, M. A. Bee

Biology Faculty Works

Endocrine systems play critical roles in facilitating sexual behavior in seasonally breeding vertebrates. Much of the research exploring this topic has focused on the endocrine correlates of signaling behavior in males and sexual proceptivity in females. What is less understood is how hormones promote the expression of the often complex and highly selective set of stimulus–response behaviors that are observed in naturally breeding animals. In female frogs, phonotaxis is a robust and sensitive bioassay of mate choice and is exhibited by gravid females during the breeding season. In stark contrast, females exhibit low phonotactic responsiveness outside the breeding season, but …

Plant Toxins Influence Diet Selection And Intestinal Parasites In A Specialist Herbivore, Marcella Rene Fremgen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Herbivores select plants and patches that generally maximize nutrient intake and minimize intake of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). Protein is important for growth, reproduction and maintenance, but maximizing intake of protein is often limited by concentrations of PSMs that are potentially toxic to herbivores and energetically expensive to process. However, the consequences of ingesting PSM are often dose-dependent. At high doses, PSMs generally have negative physiological effects and are avoided, but some PSMs can be therapeutic against parasites at low doses and could therefore be selected. We used Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter, sage-grouse) to test how PSMs influence …

Heat Dissipation During Hovering And Forward Flight In Hummingbirds, Don Powers, Bret W. Tobalske, J. Keaton Wilson, Keeley R. Corder

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Flying animals generate large amounts of heat, which must be dissipated to avoid overheating. In birds, heat dissipation is complicated by feathers, which cover most body surfaces and retard heat loss. To understand how birds manage heat budgets during flight, it is critical to know how heat moves from the skin to the external environment. Hummingbirds are instructive because they fly at speeds from 0 to more than 12ms−1, during which they transit from radiative to convective heat loss. We used infrared thermography and particle image velocimetry to test the effects of flight speed on heat loss from specific body …

Thermal Transgenerational Plasticity And Its Effect On Competitive Ability And Consumer-Resource Dynamics In A Population Of Daphnia Ambigua, Holmes Julian

Biology Theses - Archive

Global temperature increases are predicted to quicken in pace this century, and with them so will the likely impact on natural populations. The extent to which organisms will be able to keep pace with and adapt to these environmental changes is an unanswered question. It has been demonstrated that changing environments can induce changes in phenotypes that persist across generations. TGP may be an important means for populations to cope with climate change stress, but our understanding of these interactions is incomplete. Prior work showed that Daphnia program their offspring for faster development when reared under cooler temperatures. Here I …

A Shell By Any Other Name Would Be Mislabeled — Adventures In Nomenclature, David Campbell

Department of Natural Sciences Faculty Publications

Finding the right name for a specimen involves two major issues. First, there is the question of nomenclature-what names are appropriate designations for species? Is the name legally proposed or not? Is it spelled correctly? Secondly, there is the question of systematics - are these two forms different enough to deserve recognition as separate species, genera, etc.?

Review Of "Race Unmasked: Biology And Race In The Twentieth Century" By M. Yudell, John B. Jenkins

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Production And Harvest Of Microalgae In Wastewater Raceways With Resource Recycling, Alexander Colin Roberts

Master's Theses

Microalgae can be grown on municipal wastewater media to both treat the wastewater and produce feedstock for algae biofuel production. However the reliability of treatment must be demonstrated, as well as high areal algae productivity on recycled wastewater media and efficient sedimentation harvesting. This processes was studied at pilot scale in the present research.

A pilot facility was operated with nine CO₂-supplemented raceway ponds, each with a 33-m² surface area and a 0.3-m depth, continuously from March 6, 2013 through September 24, 2014. The ponds were operated as three sets of triplicates with two sets continuously fed …