Biology Commons^™

Ethnoecological Studies Of Herbs And Shrubs Of Miani Sahib Graveyard, Lahore City, Punjab, Pakistan, Anis Ali Shah, Zaheer -Ud-Din Khan, Musarrat Ramzan, Rabia Saba

Journal of Bioresource Management

This survey was carried out to prepare a plant inventory for the exploration of the ethnobotanical importance of the plants in the Miani Sahib Graveyard and to understand the effectiveness of graveyards in conserving plant diversity. Plants were collected in different seasons of the year and were dried, pressed, mounted and identified with the help of Flora of Pakistan. Our ethnobotanical study was carried out by interviewing the herbal drug dealers, timber dealers, fuel wood sellers, and the local elderly people residing in the adjacent areas of Miani Sahib and hakims through a questionnaire. Cyperaceae was noticed as the dominant …

Effect Of Different Plant Extracts On Termite Species (Heterotermis Indicola), Nazeer Ahmed, Zelle Huma, Misbah Ul Haq, Saif -Ur- Rehman, Misbah Ullah, Saeed Ahmed

Journal of Bioresource Management

This study was carried out to find the effect of some commonly present plant products on termite species (Heterotermis indicola) which are a major threat worldwide. Three different concentrations (20%, 10%, 5%) of various solutions consisting of garlic, Neem and tobacco was used in hot and cold water. Hot and cold water results showed that a high concentration treatment of the garlic (20%) solution caused 100% mortality after 48 hours, but in the case of the tobacco concentration (20%) of the solution in only cold water resulted in 100% mortality. As the concentration become lower, the efficiency becomes …

Effect Of Canopy Cover Of Capparis Decidua Forsk. On Soil Conditions In Thal Desert, Ghulam Yasin, Muhammad Farrakh Nawaz, Faiz Rasool, Muhammad Talha Bin Yousuf, Muhammad Qaisar Nazir, Atif Javed

Journal of Bioresource Management

Desert shrubs have a deep root system which allows them to explore the soil minerals and moisture from deeper horizons of soil and strongly support the local dwellers’ livelihoods. Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew, generally known as karir, a xerophytic, densely branched shrub, is widely found in arid and semi-arid areas of Pakistan. The present study was conducted at four different sites in the Thal desert to determine the canopy effect of C. decidua on soil nutrients. Soil nutrients under the plant canopy (UC), at a distance of 150 cm away from the canopy (D150) and 300 cm away from the …

Evaluation Of Diver® Concentration Against Cotton Mealybug, Phenacoccus Solenopsis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) And Its Parasitoid, Aenasius Bambawalei (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) In Laboratory, Muhammad Arfat Ashraf, Saif -Ur- Rehman, Nazeer Ahmed, Muhammad Salman Hameed, Saeed Ahmed, Zelle Huma

Journal of Bioresource Management

Bio-assay of Diver® for mealy-bug and its parasitoid, A. bambawalei, was carried out during 2010-2011 in the IPM Laboratory, Department of Agri. Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. All the concentrations of Diver®, which were applied in laboratory conditions, were effective against mealy-bug. Diver® is the best mineral oil to control mealy-bug when compared to other synthetic pesticides. On the numerical basis of data, which were recorded on mortality basis, the highest concentration of Diver® was most effective against mealy-bug, followed by the other concentrations. All the concentrations of Diver® on the parasitoid of mealy-bug swerve less and their effects …

The Influence Of Juncus-Rhizosphere Dissolved Organic Matter On Coastal Plankton Communities, Brittany Zepernick, Robert Michael Mckay, George S. Bullerjahn, Jeffrey W. Krause, Behzad Mortazavi

Honors Projects

Many aquatic plants produce copious amounts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) which enters surrounding waters and potentially stimulates planktonic activity. In the northern Gulf of Mexico, Juncus roemarianus (i.e. black needlerush) is a dominant marsh grass species residing in coastal zones and barrier islands. The below-ground biomass i.e. rhizosphere, can be consistently submerged, serving as a potential source of DOM to the surrounding waters. The lability and possible stimulatory effect of J. roemarianus DOM was examined for three plankton communities collected within the discharge region of Mobile Bay and adjacent waters of Gulf Shores, Alabama (less affected by Mobile Bay). …

Impact Of Pre-Emergence Herbicides For The Control Of Weeds In Chick Pea (Cicer Arietinum L.) Under Hot Arid Climate, Ghulam Abbas, Aziz Ahmed, Marghub Amer, Zafar Abbas, Mudassir -Ur- Rehman, Aamir Hussain, Ghulam Abbas Khan

Journal of Bioresource Management

The experiments were conducted at Adaptive Research Farm Karor Lal Eason and farmers’ field, i.e. Mouza Nawan Kot, Tehsil Choubara during Rabi 2014-15. The purpose of the experiment was to evaluate the effect of different herbicides for the control of weeds on chick pea.Two pre-emergence herbicides with two different doses, viz. Pendimethalin330 EC @ 2500 ml ha-1 before sowing, Pendimethalin330 EC @ 3750 ml ha-1before sowing, Top Max 90% EC. (Metachlor 83% + Pendimethalin13%) @ 2250 ml ha-1 before sowing and TopMax 96% (Metachlor83% + 13%)@ 3350 ml ha-1, were tested. An untreated plot was also included in the experiment. …

Purification, Optimization, And Growth Of New Delhi Metallo-Β-Lactamase-1 Protein Crystals Mixed With Nz218 Inhibitor, Brandon M. Wills

Celebration of Learning

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 is a problematic gene found in certain strains of bacteria that cause them to become antibiotic resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. While some antibiotics are available to treat patients with a bacterial infection, most are toxic or do not have 100% success rates. With that being said, it is imperative that we search for a molecule that is successfully able to inhibit the effects of this gene every time. Such a discovery would help tremendously with new antibiotic drug development and also prevent further damage by these dangerous bacteria. In this presentation, I will describe the …

The Effects Of Urbanization On Leaf Breakdown Rates In A Rock Island Watershed, Jillian M. Jespersen, Laura Becker, Kortney Hix, C. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

The ability of streams to break down leaves is widely used as an indicator of stream health. In this study, a series of six streams within the Rock Island, Ill., watershed, which were similar in discharge, order, temperature and pH, were categorized as healthy or unhealthy based on chloride levels. This study was part of a broader study of the Rock Island watershed by Augustana. Maple leaves were collected shortly after abscission, weighed, packaged in mesh bags (approximately 5g per bag) and deployed in the streams for two- and four-week periods. After each time period, the leaves were removed, dried …

Current Status Of Marker Genes Of Bacteroides And Related Taxa For Identifying Sewage Pollution In Environmental Waters, Warish Ahmed, Bridie Hughes, Valerie J. Harwood

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Microbial source tracking (MST) endeavors to determine sources of fecal pollution in environmental waters by capitalizing on the association of certain microorganisms with the gastrointestinal tract and feces of specific animal groups. Several decades of research have shown that bacteria belonging to the gut-associated order Bacteroidales, and particularly the genus Bacteroides, tend to co-evolve with the host, and are, therefore, particularly suitable candidates for MST applications. This review summarizes the current research on MST methods that employ genes belonging to Bacteroidales/Bacteroides as tracers or “markers” of sewage pollution, including known advantages and deficiencies of the many polymerase chain …

Identification And Use Of Indicator Data To Develop Models For Marine-Sourced Risks In Massachusetts Bay, Marin M. Kress

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The coastal watersheds around Massachusetts Bay are home to millions of people, many of whom recreate in coastal waters and consume locally harvested shellfish. Epidemiological data on food-borne illness and illnesses associated with recreational water exposure are known to be incomplete. Of major food categories, seafood has the highest recorded rate of associated foodborne illness. In total, the health impacts from these marine-sourced risks are estimated to cost millions of dollars each year in medical expenses or lost productivity. When recorded epidemiological data is incomplete it may be possible to estimate abundance or prevalence of specific pathogens or toxins in …

Multisensory Integration In Weakly Electric Fish, Andrea Roeser

Theses

Animals integrate information from across sensory systems, such as vision and hearing, to improve perception. To understand how neural circuits in the central nervous system integrate information from different senses, the responses of midbrain neurons to two categories of electrosensory stimuli in Eigenmannia virescens were studied. The first category of stimulus is electrical signals with frequencies below 50 Hz that are encoded in the activity of ampullary receptors. The second category is amplitude modulations of the electric organ discharge, which are encoded by p-type tuberous receptors. Six multisensory neurons were found that responded to both categories of stimuli. However, when …

Study Of Alternative Functions Of The Mitochondrial Protein Bak, Ma Su Su Aung

Student Theses and Dissertations

Research in the past 15 years has established roles for the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bak in release of death signaling molecules from mitochondria. The process involves relocation of cytoplasmic Bax into the mitochondrial outer membrane to form a giant pore, MAC. Another MAC component, Bak, is constitutively present in the outer membrane regardless of apoptotic stimulation. In this study we investigated the role of Bak in mitochondrial function outside the context of apoptosis. We examined the effects of Bak elimination on emission of reactive oxygen species from mitochondria. Our results indicate a disturbance of free-radical production both in cultured …

Collybolide Is A Novel Biased Agonist Of Κ-Opioid Receptors With Potent Antipruritic Activity, Achla Gupta, Ivone Gomes, Erin N. Bobeck, Amanda K. Fakira, Nicholas P. Massaro, Indrajeet Sharma, Adrien Cavé, Heidi E. Hamm, Joseph Parello, Lakshmi A. Devi

Biology Faculty Publications

Among the opioid receptors, the κ-opioid receptor (κOR) has been gaining considerable attention as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of complex CNS disorders including depression, visceral pain, and cocaine addiction. With an interest in discovering novel ligands targeting κOR, we searched natural products for unusual scaffolds and identified collybolide (Colly), a nonnitrogenous sesquiterpene from the mushroom Collybia maculata. This compound has a furyl-δ-lactone core similar to that of Salvinorin A (Sal A), another natural product from the plant Salvia divinorum. Characterization of the molecular pharmacological properties reveals that Colly, like Sal A, is a highly potent and selective …

Investigating The Effects Of 17Α-Ethynylestradiol On Mitochondrial Genome Stability, Alicia M. Chivers

Dissertations and Theses

Environmental toxicants are ubiquitous throughout the environment as a result of human activity. Among these toxicants, environmental estrogens are a category of particular concern due to their environmental prevalence and potency in altering reproductive traits. While many studies have addressed the detrimental effects of environmental estrogens on both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, few have analyzed the potential for these compounds to alter mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are the primary energy-generating system for all eukaryotic life, supporting all aspects of development, metabolism, and growth. Each cell within the body contains many mitochondria which in turn contain multiple copies of their own DNA …

Hiv Vaccines: Progress, Limitations And A Crispr/Cas9 Vaccine, Omar A. Garcia Martinez

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

ABSTRACT: The HIV-1 pandemic continues to thrive due to ineffective HIV-1 vaccines. Historically, the world’s most infectious diseases, such as polio and smallpox, have been eradicated or have come close to eradication due to the advent of effective vaccines. Highly active antiretroviral therapy is able to delay the onset of AIDS but can neither rid the body of HIV-1 proviral DNA nor prevent further transmission. A prophylactic vaccine that prevents the various mechanisms HIV-1 has to evade and attack our immune system is needed to end the HIV-1 pandemic. Recent advances in engineered nuclease systems, like the CRISPR/Cas9 system, have …

Possible Radiation-Induced Damage To The Molecular Structure Of Wooden Artifacts Due To Micro-Computed Tomography, Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence, And X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Techniques, Madalena Kozachuk, Alexandra Suda, Lisa Ellis, Mary Walzak, Mark Biesinger, Sheila Macfie, Robert Hudson, Andrew Nelson, Ronald Martin, Arlen Heginbotham

Biology Publications

This study was undertaken to ascertain whether radiation produced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-computed tomography (μCT) and/or portable handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) equipment might damage wood artifacts during analysis. Changes at the molecular level were monitored by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. No significant changes in FTIR spectra were observed as a result of μCT or handheld XRF analysis. No substantial changes in the collected FTIR spectra were observed when XPS analytical times on the order of minutes were used. However, XPS analysis collected over tens of hours did produce significant changes in the FTIR spectra.

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Human Cytomegalovirus Pus27 And Pus28: Ascertaining An Independent Or Linked Evolutionary History, Jessica A. Scarborough

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread pathogen that is particularly skilled at evading immune detection and defense mechanisms, largely due to extensive co-evolution with its host’s immune system. One aspect of this co-evolution involves the acquisition of four virally encoded GPCR chemokine receptor homologs, products of the US27, US28, UL33 and UL78 genes. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are the largest family of cell surface proteins, found in organisms from yeast to humans. In this research, phylogenetic analysis was used to investigate the origins of the US27 and US28 genes, which are adjacent in the viral genome. The results indicate that …

Rickettsia Parkeri Colonization In Ambylomma Maculatum: The Role Of Superoxide Dismutases, Gary Crispell, Khemraj Budachetri, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

Background

The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) is an arthropod vector of Rickettsia parkeri, the causative agent of American boutonneuse fever and an infectious agent of public health significance. In this study, we evaluated the biological significance of the superoxide dismutases (SODs) of A. maculatum in hematophagy and R. parkeri colonization within the tick host.

Methods

An RNA interference approach was used to measure the functional roles of tick SODs (Cu/Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD) in R. parkeri colonization of the tick vector. Total microbial load, R. parkeri infection rate, and compensatory mechanisms by tick genes were …

Preserving Biodiversity For A Climate Change Future: A Resilience Assessment Of Three Bay Area Species--Adenostoma Fasciculatum (Chamise), Arctostaphylos Canescens (Hoary Manzanita), And Arctostaphylos Virgata (Marin Manzanita), Alison S. Pollack

Master's Projects and Capstones

Anthropogenic climate change is an undeniable threat to the future of the natural world and human civilization. These shifts will have profound impacts on vegetation, especially for species endemic to isolated regions or sensitive to climate change factors. However, species resilience can predict success into the next century. Resilience is defined as the ability to withstand climate change factors, whereas vulnerability is defined as susceptibility to climate induced stress or damage.

Chaparral and coastal scrub ecosystems within the Bay Area of California provide a unique context for examining resilience, as many species are adapted to high temperatures, drought, and wildfire—all …

Rescuing Perishable Neuroanatomical Information From A Threatened Biodiversity Hotspot: Remote Field Methods For Brain Tissue Preservation Validated By Cytoarchitectonic Analysis, Immunohistochemistry, And X-Ray Microcomputed Tomography, Daniel Hughes, Ellen Walker, Paul Gignac, Anais Martinez, Kenichiro Negishi, Carl Lieb, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan

Selected Works Temporary Series

Biodiversity hotspots, which harbor more endemic species than elsewhere on Earth, areincreasingly threatened. There is a need to accelerate collection efforts in these regionsbefore threatened or endangered species become extinct. The diverse geographical, ecological,genetic, morphological, and behavioral data generated from the on-site collection ofan individual specimen are useful for many scientific purposes. However, traditional methodsfor specimen preparation in the field do not permit researchers to retrieve neuroanatomicaldata, disregarding potentially useful data for increasing our understanding of braindiversity. These data have helped clarify brain evolution, deciphered relationships betweenstructure and function, and revealed constraints and selective pressures that provide contextabout the evolution …

Rescuing Perishable Neuroanatomical Information From A Threatened Biodiversity Hotspot: Remote Field Methods For Brain Tissue Preservation Validated By Cytoarchitectonic Analysis, Immunohistochemistry, And X-Ray Microcomputed Tomography, Hughes, Ellen Walker, Paul Gignac, Anais Martinez, Kenichiro Negishi, Carl Lieb, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan

Departmental Papers (Biology)

Biodiversity hotspots, which harbor more endemic species than elsewhere on Earth, areincreasingly threatened. There is a need to accelerate collection efforts in these regionsbefore threatened or endangered species become extinct. The diverse geographical, ecological,genetic, morphological, and behavioral data generated from the on-site collection ofan individual specimen are useful for many scientific purposes. However, traditional methodsfor specimen preparation in the field do not permit researchers to retrieve neuroanatomicaldata, disregarding potentially useful data for increasing our understanding of braindiversity. These data have helped clarify brain evolution, deciphered relationships betweenstructure and function, and revealed constraints and selective pressures that provide contextabout the evolution …

Water Quality And Fecal Coliform Levels In Georgia Oxbow Lakes Relative To Connectivity With The Savannah River, Carly B. Williams, John E. Weinstein, Claudia L. Rocha

Georgia Journal of Science

The state of Georgia has many bodies of water that provide important wildlife habitats as well as recreational opportunities. The objective of the current study was to investigate water quality and fecal coliform levels in oxbow lakes relative to their connectivity to the Savannah River. For most water quality parameters, no differences were observed between the Savannah River and the oxbow lakes. However, pH and turbidity values were lower in the oxbow lakes (both connected and disconnected) relative to the Savannah River. Fecal coliform values between connected oxbow lakes and the Savannah River were similar to each other and significantly …

Life In The Underworld: Anchialine Cave Biology In The Era Of Speleogenomics, Jorge L. Pérez-Moreno, Thomas M. Iliffe, Heather D. Bracken-Grissom

International Journal of Speleology

Anchialine caves contain haline bodies of water with underground connections to the ocean and limited exposure to open air. Despite being found on islands and peninsular coastlines around the world, the isolation of anchialine systems has facilitated the evolution of high levels of endemism among their inhabitants. The unique characteristics of anchialine caves and of their predominantly crustacean biodiversity nominate them as particularly interesting study subjects for evolutionary biology. However, there is presently a distinct scarcity of modern molecular methods being employed in the study of anchialine cave ecosystems. The use of current and emerging molecular techniques, e.g., next-generation sequencing …

The Function Of Shoc2: A Scaffold And Beyond, Eun Ryoung Jang, Emilia Galperin

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) cascade regulates a myriad of functions in multicellular organisms. Scaffold proteins provide critical spatial and temporal control over the specificity of signaling. Shoc2 is a scaffold that accelerates activity of the ERK1/2 pathway. Loss of Shoc2 expression in mice results in embryonic lethality, thus highlighting the essential role of Shoc2 in embryogenesis. In agreement, patients carrying mutated Shoc2 suffer from a wide spectrum of developmental deficiencies. Efforts to understand the mechanisms by which Shoc2 controls ERK1/2 activity revealed the intricate machinery that governs the ability of Shoc2 to transduce signals of the ERK1/2 pathway. Understanding …

Increased Androgenic Sensitivity In The Hind Limb Muscular System Marks The Evolution Of A Derived Gestural Display, Lisa A. Mangiamele, Matthew J. Fuxjager, Eric R. Schuppe, Rebecca S. Taylor, Walter Hödl, Doris Preininger

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Physical gestures are prominent features of many species’ multi- modal displays, yet how evolution incorporates body and leg movements into animal signaling repertoires is unclear. Andro- genic hormones modulate the production of reproductive signals and sexual motor skills in many vertebrates; therefore, one possi- bility is that selection for physical signals drives the evolution of androgenic sensitivity in select neuromotor pathways. We exam- ined this issue in the Bornean rock frog (Staurois parvus, family: Ranidae). Males court females and compete with rivals by per- forming both vocalizations and hind limb gestural signals, called “foot flags.” Foot flagging is a derived …

Non-Specific Phospholipase C1 Affects Silicon Distribution And Mechanical Strength In Stem Nodes Of Rice, Huasheng Cao, Lin Zhuo, Yuan Su, Linxiao Sun, Xuemin Wang

Biology Department Faculty Works

Silicon, the second abundant element in the crust, is beneficial for plant growth, mechanical strength, and stress responses. Here we show that manipulation of the non‐specific phospholipase C1, NPC1, alters silicon content in nodes and husks of rice (Oryza sativa). Silicon content in NPC1‐overexpressing (OE) plants was decreased in nodes but increased in husks compared to wild‐type, whereas RNAi suppression of NPC1 resulted in the opposite changes to those of NPC1‐OE plants. NPC1 from rice hydrolyzed phospholipids and galactolipids to generate diacylglycerol that can be phosphorylated to phosphatidic acid. Phosphatidic acid interacts with Lsi6, a silicon transporter that is expressed …

A Revisited Phylogeography Of Nautilus Pompilius, Lauren E. Vandepas, Frederick D. Dooley, Gregory J. Barord, Billie J. Swalla, Peter D. Ward

Publications and Research

The cephalopod genus Nautilus is considered a “living fossil” with a contested number of extant and extinct species, and a benthic lifestyle that limits movement of animals between isolated seamounts and landmasses in the Indo-Pacific. Nautiluses are fished for their shells, most heavily in the Philippines, and these fisheries have little monitoring or regulation. Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that multiple species of Nautilus (e.g., N. belauensis, N. repertus and N. stenomphalus) are in fact one species with a diverse phenotypic and geologic range. Using mitochondrial markers, we show that nautiluses from the Philippines, eastern Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Vanuatu, …

The Effects Of The Environmental Estrogens Cadmium And Arsenite On Phosphorylation Of Erk1/2 Via Gpr30 In Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells, Katarzyna Krauss

Undergraduate Theses

Nanomolar concentrations of both cadmium and arsenite, two environmental estrogens present in cigarette smoke, have been documented in rapidly phosphorylating ERK1/2, a type of MAPK, in the human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) line NHI-1793 in a manner similar to that of estrogen. Pretreatment of cells with a general, nonspecific estrogen receptor antagonist reduced the levels of phosphorylated MAPK, indicating that this phosphorylation event is achieved through use of an estrogen signaling pathway. The specific estrogen receptor involved in this process, however, is currently unknown. To determine whether GPR30, one of the three types of estrogen receptors, is necessary for …

Learning And Memory In A Drosophila Melanogaster Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Eric Robles

Honors Theses

Human Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent and lethal neurodegenerative disease; it involves the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles, loss of synapses and neurons in specific areas of the brain, and the presence of extracellular amyloid plaques, particularly Amyloid beta-42 (AP-42). In this study, two Drosophila transgenic fly lines carrying either elav-GAL4 driver or UAS-AP-42 transgene, were crossed to generate AD flies that expressed low levels of human Ap-42. Male AD flies (experimental) and elav-GAL4 flies (as parental control without AP-42) were tested for learning and short-term memory using the courtship suppression assay (Siegal and Hall, 1979). The courtship suppression …

Engineering Cre Recombinase For Genome Engineering, Chi Zhang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Cre recombinase recombines its DNA target, loxP sites, without help of accessory proteins or DNA repair systems. The simplicity of Cre-lox system has been widely utilized for genome editing, especially in mouse genetics. The goal of this dissertation is to constructCrerecombinase variants that will operate uponrecombination target sites (RTs) present within the genome, instead of perturbing the genome by inserting wildtype RTs for subsequent genome engineering. In general, the desired RTs native to the genome are asymmetric. However, the loxP sequence is pseudo-palindromic, requiring a homotetrameric formation of Cre recombinase. As a first step, I broke the symmetry of Cre …