Biology Commons^™

E2f6 Is Essential For Cell Viability In Breast Cancer Cells During Replication Stress, Inam Lafta

Turkish Journal of Biology

E2F6 is a member of the E2F family of transcription factors involved in regulation of a wide variety of genes through both activation and repression. E2F6 has been reported as overexpressed in breast cancers but whether or not this is important for tumor development is unclear. We first checked E2F6 expression in tumor cDNAs and the protein level in a range of breast cancer cell lines. RNA interference-mediated depletion was then used to assess the importance of E2F6 expression in cell lines with regard to cell cycle profile using fluorescence-activated cell sorting and a cell survival assay using (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide …

Proteomic And Physiological Responses In Mangrove Kandelia Candel Roots Under Short-Term High-Salinity Stress, Jianhong Xing, Dezhuo Pan, Lingxia Wang, Fanglin Tan, Wei Chen

Turkish Journal of Biology

Kandelia candel is one of the mangrove species that are most resistant to environmental stress. As a typical nonsalt-secreting mangrove plant, K. candel is an ideal biological material to analyze the molecular mechanism of salt tolerance in woody plants. In this study, changes in protein abundance and expression profile in K. candel roots under high-salinity stress of 600 mmol L-1 NaCl were analyzed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) assay. Moreover, the physiological parameters associated with metabolic pathways in which the differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) are involved were determined. A total of 5577 proteins were identified by …

Identification Of Streptomyces Strains Isolated From Humulus Lupulus Rhizosphere And Determination Of Plant Growth Promotion Potential Of Selected Strains, Fadi̇me Özdemi̇r Koçak

Turkish Journal of Biology

In the present study it was aimed to obtain novel strains of actinomycetes that have the ability to promote plant growth. For this, seven soil samples from the rhizosphere of Humulus lupulus (Pazaryeri, Bilecik) were used and potential isolates were obtained. 16S rRNA genes of 30 isolates were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Eighteen isolates were found to be closely related to Streptomycetes spp. and they were tested for their proteolytic activity, cellulase activity, phosphate solubility, IAA production, biofilm formation, and growth in nitrogen-limited medium. Two isolates, HCI 12 and HCI 36, were selected according to the results of these …

The Effects Hot Water Kill Time Has On Dna Degradation And Str Profiling From Lucilia Sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Crop Contents, Nicholas Alexander Haas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

he use of entomological specimens as a source of forensic DNA evidence has been studied since the late 20th century. Currently as it stands, to preserve both the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) and DNA evidence within fly larvae, two standards of preservation exist. For mPMI, the use of hot water kill with near-boiling water is used to fix larvae size for accurate age estimation. For DNA evidence, the standard technique of preservation is submersion in 70% ethanol. To help reduce the number of standard preservation techniques for practitioners, this study assessed the feasibility of the hot water kill preservation technique …

Comparing The Effects Of Swimming Exercise And Dissolved Oxygen On Important Performance Parameters Of Early-Rearing Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar And Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss., Thomas B. Waldrop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Swimming exercise (bodylenghts/sec), and dissolved oxygen (DO), are important environmental variables in aquaculture. While there is an obvious physiological association between these two parameters, their interaction has not been adequately studied in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar and Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Since both variables can be easily manipulated in modern aquaculture systems, we sought to assess the impact of these parameters, alone and in combination, on the performance, health, and welfare parameters of the two species. Atlantic salmon and Rainbow trout were stocked into twelve circular 0.5 m³ tanks and exposed to either high (1.5-2 BL/s) or low …

Influence Of Climate Change And Prescribed Fire On Habitat Suitability And Abundance Of The High-Elevation Endemic Cow Knob Salamander (Plethodon Punctatus), Carl David Jacobsen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Amphibians are facing global declines due to climate change, loss and degradation of habitat, invasive species, and disease. The Appalachian region of the eastern USA is a global biodiversity hotspot for salamanders, which are considered keystone species that influence nutrient dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic food webs. There are high rates of salamander endemism in the Appalachian region, with many species restricted to isolated, high elevation areas. The Cow Knob Salamander (Plethodon punctatus) is one such species. It is only found at elevations >675 m (most populations are above 900 m) on Shenandoah Mountain, North Mountain, and Nathaniel …

Soil And Tree Nutrient Status Of High Elevation Mixed Red Spruce (Picea Rubens Sarg.) And Broadleaf Deciduous Forests, Phillip M. Crim, Louis M. Mcdonald, Jonathan R. Cumming

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: Anthropogenic and industrial emissions have resulted in historically high levels of acidic deposition into central Appalachian forests. Despite the reduction in acidic inputs due to legislation curbing industrial emissions in the United States, continued N deposition may impact forest ecosystems. Soil and foliar samples were collected from four high elevation red spruce sites along a modeled gradient of historic N deposition. The three most abundant tree species at all sites, Acer rubrum L., Betula alleghaniensis Britt., and Picea rubens Sarg., were sampled. Bulk soil beneath the canopies of individual trees were collected from the top 15-cm and separated into …

Sodium Channel Distribution In The Apical Dendrites Of Pyramidal Cells Vary In The Hindbrain Of Apteronotus Leptorhynchus., Sree Indrani Motipally

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Apteronotid weakly electric fish heavily rely on their electrosensory system for behaviors like spatial navigation, communication and prey capture. Since the behaviorally important information about their environment is contained in the spatial and temporal modulations of the electrosensory signal, efficient mechanisms to process this information with great fidelity are of the utmost importance. Efficient sensory processing often involves having multiple parallel processing streams so that each stream can specialize to treat signals with different properties. This strategy requires the response properties and neural dynamic to be adjusted in each pathway to implement different neural coding strategies. One of the neural …

Age-Related Changes To Bone Microarchitecture In A Non-Weight Bearing Bone, Tyler Hicks, Janna M. Andronowski, Reed Davis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study explored the relationship between age, sex and bone microarchitecture. Using high-resolution images, we may better understand the factors affecting different aspects of bone microstructure. Statistical support was provided for the quantitative differences in bone microarchitecture between the sexes. The significant differences noted in Canal Volume (Ca.V), Cortical Porosity (Ca.V/TV), Canal Surface (Ca.S) and Canal Surface to Tissue Volume (Ca.S/TV) offer several interesting points when compared with pre-existing literature. All four parameters listed above that reported significance did so with respect to sex, in that each parameter differed between sexes.

However, no significant difference was noted among age within …

Cpef Is The Bilin Lyase That Ligates The Doubly Linked Phycoerythrobilin On Phycoerythrin In The Cyanobacterium Fremyella Diplosiphon, Wendy M. Schluchter, R. B. Cole, D. M. Kehoe, M. N. Boutaghou, J. A. Karty, A. Gutu, L. S. Hernandez, J. P. Frick, C. V. Hernandez, C. M. Kronfel

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phycoerythrin (PE) is a green light-absorbing protein present in the light-harvesting complex of cyanobacteria and red algae. The spectral characteristics of PE are due to its prosthetic groups, or phycoerythrobilins (PEBs), that are covalently attached to the protein chain by specific bilin lyases. Only two PE lyases have been identified and characterized so far, and the other bilin lyases are unknown. Here, using in silico analyses, markerless deletion, biochemical assays with purified and recombinant proteins, and site-directed mutagenesis, we examined the role of a putative lyase-encoding gene, cpeF, in the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon. Analyzing the phenotype of the cpeF deletion, …

Interplay Between Differentially Expressed Enzymes Contributes To Light Color Acclimation In Marine Synechococcus, Wendy M. Schluchter, D. M. Kehoe, F. Partensky, J. A. Strnat, S. Pokhrel, J. A. A. Karty, L. Garczarek, A. A. Nguyen, J. E. Sanfilippo

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine Synechococcus, a globally important group of cyanobacteria, thrives in various light niches in part due to its varied photosynthetic light-harvesting pigments. Many Synechococcus strains use a process known as chromatic acclimation to optimize the ratio of two chromophores, green-light-absorbing phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and blue-light-absorbing phycourobilin (PUB), within their light-harvesting complexes. A full mechanistic understanding of how Synechococcus cells tune their PEB to PUB ratio during chromatic acclimation has not yet been obtained. Here, we show that interplay between two enzymes named MpeY and MpeZ controls differential PEB and PUB covalent attachment to the same cysteine residue. MpeY attaches PEB to …

The Roles Of The Chaperone-Like Protein Cpez And The Phycoerythrobilin Lyase Cpey In Phycoerythrin Biogenesis, Wendy M. Schluchter, D. M. Kehoe, J. A. Karty, T. Blensdorf, A. Gutu, J. P. Frick, A. Biswas, C. M. Kronfel

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phycoerythrin (PE) present in the distal ends of light-harvesting phycobilisome rods in Fremyella diplosiphon (Tolypothrix sp. PCC 7601) contains five phycoerythrobilin (PEB) chromophores attached to six cysteine residues for efficient green light capture for photosynthesis. Chromophore ligation on PE subunits occurs through bilin lyase catalyzed reactions, but the characterization of the roles of all bilin lyases for phycoerythrin is not yet complete. To gain a more complete understanding about the individual functions of CpeZ and CpeY in PE biogenesis in cyanobacteria, we examined PE and phycobilisomes purified from wild type F. diplosiphon, cpeZ and cpeY knockout mutants. We find that …

Utilizing Immunopet To Measure Tumor Response To Treatment In Breast Cancer, Brooke Mcknight

Wayne State University Dissertations

With a broad spectrum of therapies available for treating breast cancer, the need for personalized medicine tailoring the cure according to phenotype is evident. Such an approach may be fully realized with the development of quantitative imaging technologies for disease detection, staging and diagnosis, without increasing patient burden. Immuno-positron emission tomography (PET) combines the targeted specificity of antibodies with the sensitivity of PET for whole body imaging by targeting molecular features amplified in lesions. ImmunoPET probes targeting different antigens and their utility to measure response to treatment were explored. 89Zr-trastuzumab was employed as a surrogate readout of Src inhibition after …

Dna Barcoding Cannot Discriminate Between Sardinella Tawilis And S. Hualiensis (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae), Alison Faye O. Chan, Adrian U. Luczon, Ian Kendrick C. Fontanilla, Perry S. Ong, Mudjekeewis D. Santos, Demian A. Willette, Jonas P. Quilang

Biology Faculty Works

Sardinella tawilis, the only known freshwater sardinella in the world, is endemic to Taal Lake, Philippines. Previous studies found the Taiwan sardinella, S. hualiensis, to be morphologically very similar to S. tawilis and identified it as the marine sister species of S. tawilis. In this study, DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was carried out to analyze species demarcation in the Sardinella genus, focusing primarily on the relationship between S. tawilis and S. hualiensis. The neighbour-joining (NJ) tree that was constructed using Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model showed a single clade for the two species with …

Ecological Factors Associated With Habitat Use Of Baird’S Tapirs (Tapirus Bairdii), Victoria Diane Monette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Baird’s tapir, the largest terrestrial mammal in Central America and a crucial seed disperser and ecosystem engineer, has experienced a 50% loss of habitat in its geographic range during the past 30 years. Efforts to conserve this species need to consider factors that have contributed to its endangerment, such as how human presence and human-mediated habitat change may influence tapir behavior, body condition, and disease susceptibility. In this thesis I had two goals: 1) understand how human disturbance affects tapir activity patterns, and 2) noninvasively determine the association of disturbance with tapir health. I first compared the activity patterns …

Diversification In The Neotropics – Evolution And Population Genetics Of The Armored Catfish Hypancistrus Sp. From The Xingu River, Marcella Goncalves Santos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Xingu River, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River, is currently in peril due to the recent construction of hydroelectric dams, but little is known about the numerous fish species it supports. This dissertation focuses on three pleco catfish species belonging to the genus Hypancistrus from the Xingu River with partially overlapping distributions: H. zebra, H. sp. (L174), and H. sp. (L66/333). Chapter 1 is a bibliographic review of Amazonian freshwater fish diversity, with the goal of discussing the hypotheses of speciation mechanisms that can be tested in this system, including the relative importance of ecological adaptation …

Perturbation Of Energy Metabolism At The Center Of The Mechanism Of Action Of Valproate, Michael Ghassan Salsaa

Wayne State University Dissertations

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common and debilitating psychiatric disorder. Valproic acid (VPA) is one of the major drugs used to treat BD patients. However, it is not universally effective and, in addition, causes severe side effects. Its mechanism of action is not known, which complicates efforts to develop more effective drugs. Studies have established that VPA perturbs metabolism, which is implicated in both the therapeutic mechanism of action of the drug as well as drug toxicity. However, the mechanism whereby VPA causes these perturbations is not understood. To address this knowledge gap, I investigated the acute and chronic effects …

Abelson Tyrosine Kinase Links Axon Guidance Receptors To Cytoskeletal Dynamics Through Protein-Protein Interactions Mediated By Its C-Terminal Domain, Han Sian Joshua Cheong

Wayne State University Dissertations

Abelson tyrosine kinase (Abl) is a key player in axon guidance, where it functions to link a multitude of axon guidance receptors to actin cytoskeletal dynamics. The C-terminal domain (CTD) of Abl is instrumental to Abl function, but its role is poorly explored due to a lack of conserved sequence elements. Here, we use a systematic approach to identify regions of the CTD important for Abl function, and define two regions (the first and third quarters, 1Q and 3Q) important for Abl function. We demonstrate that both these regions are likely intrinsically disordered, and function in scaffolding to recruit Abl …

Crystallographic Studies On Host-Interacting Proteins Of Phage K Virion, Antonio Pichel Beleiro

Theses

Phage K is a lytic bacteriophage that infects a broad range of staphylococci, including some methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Phage K attaches to its host via a baseplate. The contracted conformation of the baseplate contains a fiber and two receptorbinding proteins responsible for the interaction with the host. The native conformation of the baseplate also includes a tail central spike that shears off after contraction. The aim of the thesis is the structural characterization of phage K receptor-binding proteins and tail central spike. Experimentally, the thesis relies on crystallographic methods, which encompass: production of suitable sample, crystallization, diffraction, and data …

Seasonal Diet Variation In Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus) In Southernwestern Michigan, Austin Menzmer

Master's Theses

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) are omnivorous ground squirrels that range from Texas to Alberta and from Michigan to Utah. The amount and type of both animal and plant matter in their diet may vary both geographically and seasonally. The present study was motivated by prior work, based on δ13C analysis of incisor enamel of thirteen-lined ground squirrels from a colony in southwestern Michigan, suggesting that these animals underwent a pronounced, late-season shift in diet from predominantly C3 to C4 plants. However, this inferred dietary shift was not directly demonstrated. Here, I tracked diet of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in southwestern …

Investigating The Anti-Cancer Properties Of Novel Hybrid 1,4-Dihydropyridine Derivatives In U-87mg Glioblastoma Cell, Tendai Hunyenyiwa

Master's Theses

Glioblastoma is the most devastating of brain cancers with a very high death rate and a low survival rate of less than 15 months after diagnosis. Glioblastoma is a cancer of astrocytes which are the majority of the brain glial cells that support neurons and help create the blood-brain barrier among other functions. The current approach to treating this disease is surgical removal of the main tumor, followed by radiotherapy and limited chemical intervention by the use of temozolomide (TMZ). This disease is characterized by high invasion and recurrence after surgical removal of the main tumor as a result of …

Assessment Of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus Catenatus) In Berrien County Historical Sites, Roshelle M. Hall

Master's Theses

The Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus; EMR) is a small robust pit viper currently found in nine states and the province of Ontario, Canada. Wetland habitats have experienced significant destruction and fragmentation by humans; as a result, the current distribution of the EMR is a fraction of its historic distribution. For this reason, the EMR has been federally listed as threatened. In general, little is known about the current distribution of this rattlesnake (in the southwest corner of Michigan, the size of local populations or their stability and genetic diversity. Much of this knowledge is based upon historical data. My …

Synthesis And Screening Of Novel Hybrid Benzothiazoles In U-87 Mg Glioblastoma Cell Line, Priscilla Kyi

Master's Theses

Benzothiazole is a heteroaromatic compound known for its wide range of bioactivities including anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsant, anti-diabetic, anti-helminthic, and anti-tubercular activities. Research has shown that derivatives of benzothiazole exhibit inhibition of proliferation via apoptosis in various human cancer cell lines, such as liver cancer (Wang, et. al., 2011). In this study, a series of novel hybrid benzothiazole α-cyanostilbene derivatives and styrylbenzothiazole derivatives containing boronic acid and non-boronic acid pharmacophores were synthesized. The anti-cancer and anti-invasive properties of selected benzothiazole α-cyanostilbene derivatives on U-87MG glioblastoma cells were investigated in vitro.

U-87MG cells were incubated with synthesized novel hybrid compounds …

Effects Of Aquatic Acidification On Calcium Uptake In White River Shrimp Litopenaeus Setiferus Gills, Maria-Flora Jacobs

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research regarding aquatic acidification has examined the protonation of the carbonate and does not consider calcium to be a limiting factor. This is the first study to suggest that pH may affect the uptake of calcium in crustacean gills. This project describes ion transport mechanisms present in the cell membranes of white river shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus gill epithelium, and the effects of pH on the uptake of calcium by these means. Partially purified membrane vesicles (PPMV) of shrimp gills were prepared through a homogenization process that has been used previously to define ion transport in crab and lobster gill …

Finding Common Rules Of Robustness And Resilience That Span Multiple Levels Of Biological Organization, Robert Burnap, Jing Chen, Erica Crespi, Moumita Das, Rebecca Simmons, Zhen Wang, Jie Xiao, Bing Yang, John Yin

Biology Faculty Publications

Today, humans as a species face significant global challenges: meeting the needs of an ever expanding human population for food and energy from limited land, water and other resources; finding ways to counter rapidly changing pathogens that become resistant to current treatments; adapting to climate change that is linked to more frequent flooding, drought, wildfires and temperature extremes; and reversing the deterioration of ecosystems associated with human induced alterations of the environment. Owing to its resilience and robustness, life in one form or another will likely persist, but it is unknown by what mechanisms or in what forms. Much is …

Near-Field Electrospinning Of A Polymer/Bioactive Glass Composite To Fabricate 3d Biomimetic Structures, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Jie Li, Sonya Roberts, Julie A. Semon, Jonghyun Park, D. E. Day, Ming-Chuan Leu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bioactive glasses have recently gained attention in tissue engineering and three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting because of their ability to enhance angiogenesis. Some challenges for developing biological tissues with bioactive glasses include incorporation of glass particles and achieving a 3D architecture mimicking natural tissues. In this study, we investigate the fabrication of scaffolds with a polymer/bioactive glass composite using near-field electrospinning (NFES). An overall controlled 3D scaffold with pores, containing random fibers, is created and aimed to provide superior cell proliferation. Highly angiogenic borate bioactive glass (13-93B3) in 20 wt.% is added to polycaprolactone (PCL) to fabricate scaffolds using the NFES technique. …

A New Species Of Stygobitic Snail In The Genus Antrorbis Hershler & Thompson, 1990 (Gastropoda, Cochliopidae) From The Appalachian Valley And Ridge Of Eastern Tennessee, Usa, Nichlas S. Gladstone, Kathryn E. Perez, Evelyn B. Pieper, Evin T. Carter, K. L. Dooley, Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Annette S. Engel, Matthew L. Niemiller

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

A new species of cave snail (Littorinimorpha: Cochliopidae) in the genus Antrorbis is described from the dark zone of two caves in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge province in eastern Tennessee, United States. The Tennessee Cavesnail, Antrorbis tennesseensis Perez, Shoobs, Gladstone, & Niemiller, sp. nov. is distinguished from its only known congener, Antrorbis breweri, by the absence of raised tubercles on its finely spirally striate protoconch, and its unique radular formula. Moreover, A. tennesseensis is genetically distinct from A. breweri based on substantial divergence at the mitochondrial CO1 locus. This is the first cavesnail to be described from the Appalachian …

Examining The Persistence Of Enviromental Dna In Caves, Abby Guillemette

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

An In Silico Analysis Of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Lauren Elam

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Condensed Tannins In The Diet And Its Impact On Protein Intake Of Diademed Sifakas (Propithecus Diadema) At Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar, Emma Grace Thurau

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are compounds found in plant tissues designed to deter herbivores. Tannins, a type of PSM, can bind to proteins and reduce their availability to consumers. The detoxification limitation hypothesis suggests herbivores will prefer foods with lower amounts of PSMs and exhibit decreasing rates of feeding when PSM levels are high in order to stabilize the amount of PSMs ingested. Although this hypothesis has been supported by observations from other mammalian groups, it has not been tested in lemurs with regards to their consumption of tannins.

I observed diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) over a 2-month period (June-August …