Biology Commons^™

The Status Of Northern Flying Squirrels In The Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Phathit Renas

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Being able to determine the presence of a species is imperative to proper wildlife management. This is especially true if the species is sensitive or endangered. Common methods of surveying like live trapping are invasive, labor-intensive, and often fail to give sufficient detection rates. New methods utilizing technological advancements give the opportunity to survey more effectively for species. We conducted a comparison of three trapping methods with the U.S. forest service to determine the viability of each for surveying northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) which is a species of concern. We compared live trapping and two noninvasive techniques, camera trapping, …

Prediction Of Fungal Proteins Secreted Through Non-Classical Pathways, Jasmine Hedayati, Roxanne K Leiter, Michael H. Perlin

Undergraduate Research Events

The Microbotryum genus of smut fungi is known to parasitize flowering plants by colonizing the plant host and ultimately replacing pollen with fungal spores, which continues the transmission process with the help of pollinators to disperse spores A hallmark of this genus of fungi is host specialization wherein one fungal species is only capable of infecting one species of plant host However, there are rare generalists that flout this pattern and one of those generalists, Microbotryum intermedium is the subject of this analysis.

The life cycle of Microbotryum intermedium begins when a pollinator transmits spores to an uninfected flower Meiosis …

3d Bioprinted Sustained-Release Platform For Intravaginal Delivery Of Probiotics, Priyadarshini Chandrashekhar, Jill M. Steinbach-Rankins

Undergraduate Research Events

• Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent vaginal infection, affecting 30% of reproductive age women in the United States and worldwide.

• BV is characterized by a shift in the vaginal microbiome from a dominance of Lactobacilli to the overgrowth of vaginal pathogens (specifically Gardnerella vaginalis).

• Some common complications include adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases.

• Current treatment primarily involves antibiotics, but this is ineffective due to high antibiotic resistance and BV recurrence rates of 50%. Thus, a more permanent cure is sought.

• Lactobacilli probiotics are a promising alternative to antibiotics. They …

The Role Of System Xc- In Cognition: The Importance Of Neuron-Astrocyte Signaling, Evan Michael Hess

Dissertations (1934 -)

The biological basis of human intelligence is largely a mystery, but likely required evolutionary adaptations to achieve the information processing capacity needed to expand the complexity of cognition among species. The link between evolutionary expansion of signaling complexity in the brain and cognition has largely focused on neuronal mechanisms, in part because information processing has historically been attributed to these cells. However, astrocytes are emerging as a second type of brain cell that is capable of processing information due to their capacity to release glutamate and, thereby, regulate neural circuits. Hence, a modern question is whether astrocytes contributed to the …

Chronic Variable Stress Induces Avolition And Disrupts Corticoaccumbens Encoding Of Approach Cues, Mitchell Spring

Dissertations (1934 -)

Disorders in the ability to process, evaluate, and interact with rewards are hallmarks of a range of mental illnesses. Such disorders are multi-faceted and arise from altered activity throughout diffuse brain regions. Chronic variable stress (CVS) is an oft-used tool for modeling reward-related disorders in preclinical research because it impairs the function of multiple brain regions and causes a range of severe hedonic and motivational deficits. While much research has focused on the former, the latter is poorly characterized. A panel of behavioral tests was used to characterize the effect of CVS exposure on different facets of reward related behaviors …

Can Functional Traits Explain Plant Coexistence? A Case Study With Tropical Lianas And Trees, Felipe N. A. Mello, Sergio Estrada Villegas, David M. Defilippis, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Organisms are adapted to their environment through a suite of anatomical, morphological, and physiological traits. These functional traits are commonly thought to determine an organism’s tolerance to environmental conditions. However, the differences in functional traits among co-occurring species, and whether trait differences mediate competition and coexistence is still poorly understood. Here we review studies comparing functional traits in two co-occurring tropical woody plant guilds, lianas and trees, to understand whether competing plant guilds differ in functional traits and how these differences may help to explain tropical woody plant coexistence. We examined 36 separate studies that compared a total of 140 …

Gaba Metabolism Is Crucial For Long-Term Survival Of Anoxia In Annual Killifish Embryos, Daniel E. Zajic, Jason Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In most vertebrates, a lack of oxygen quickly leads to irreparable damages to vital organs, such as the brain and heart. However, there are some vertebrates that have evolved mechanisms to survive periods of no oxygen (anoxia). The annual killifish (Austrofundulus limnaeus) survives in ephemeral ponds in the coastal deserts of Venezuela and their embryos have the remarkable ability to tolerate anoxia for months. When exposed to anoxia, embryos of A. limnaeus respond by producing significant amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This study aims to understand the role of GABA in supporting the metabolic response to anoxia. To explore this, …

Minimal Structural Elements Required For Midline Repulsive Signaling And Regulation Of Drosophila Robo1, Haley E. Brown, Timonthy A. Evans

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Roundabout (Robo) family of axon guidance receptors has a conserved ectodomain arrangement of five immunoglobulin-like (Ig) domains plus three fibronectin type III (Fn) repeats. Based on the strong evolutionary conservation of this domain structure among Robo receptors, as well as in vitro structural and domain-domain interaction studies of Robo family members, this ectodomain arrangement is predicted to be important for Robo receptor signaling in response to Slit ligands. Here, we define the minimal ectodomain structure required for Slit binding and midline repulsive signaling in vivo by Drosophila Robo1. We find that the majority of the Robo1 ectodomain is dispensable …

Foraging Behavior Of Rafinesque’S Big-Eared Bats (Corynorhinus Rafinesquii) From A Barn Colony In Rural Arkansas, Crystal Ann Griffin

Student Theses and Dissertations

Studies have been conducted on the foraging behavior of Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii; CORA) in different habitats types; however, not much is known about their behavior on a highly fragmented, privately owned, agricultural landscape. Bottom land hardwood forests are the main habitat for CORA in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley but very little of this habitat exists due to large-scale conversion to agricultural practices. My objective was to assess the role of reproductive status in foraging behavior of females from a barn during July and August (2018 and 2019) in Jackson County, Arkansas. There was no statistical difference in foraging …

Comparison Of Thermal And Hydrotime Requirements For Seed Germination Of Seven Stipa Species From Cool And Warm Habitats, Rui Zhang, Kai Luo, Dali Chen, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Yanrong Wang, Xiaowen Hu

Biology Faculty Publications

Temperature and water potential are two important environmental factors influencing germination and subsequent seedling establishment. Seed germination requirements vary with species and with the environment in which the seeds are produced. Stipa species dominate large areas of the Eurasian zonal vegetation, but comparisons of germination requirements between Stipa species from different habitats is limited. We investigated the effects of temperature and water potential on seed germination of S. grandis, S. purpurea, and S. penicillata from habitats with low temperatures and relatively abundant rainfall (cool habitats) and S. glareosa, S. breviflora, S. gobiea, and S. bungeana …

Signaling And Other Functions Of Lipids In Autophagy: A Review, Alejandro Soto-Avellaneda, Brad E. Morrison

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The process of autophagy is integral to cellular function. In this process, proteins, organelles, and metabolites are engulfed in a lipid vesicle and trafficked to a lysosome for degradation. Its central role in protein and organelle homeostasis has piqued interest for autophagy dysfunction as a driver of pathology for a number of diseases including cancer, muscular disorders, neurological disorders, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. For much of its history, the study of autophagy has centered around proteins, however, due to advances in mass spectrometry and refined methodologies, the role of lipids in this essential cellular process has become more apparent. …

Effects Of Germline And Somatic Events In Candidate Brca-Like Genes On Breast-Tumor Signatures, Weston R. Bodily, Brian H. Shirts, Tom Walsh, Suleyman Gulsuner, Mary-Claire King, Alyssa Parker, Moom Roosan, Stephen R. Piccolo

Faculty Publications

Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 cause deficiencies in homologous recombination repair (HR), resulting in repair of DNA double-strand breaks by the alternative non-homologous end-joining pathway, which is more error prone. HR deficiency of breast tumors is important because it is associated with better responses to platinum salt therapies and PARP inhibitors. Among other consequences of HR deficiency are characteristic somatic-mutation signatures and gene-expression patterns. The term “BRCA-like” (or “BRCAness”) describes tumors that harbor an HR defect but have no detectable germline mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. A better understanding of the genes and molecular events associated with tumors being …

Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Global Education, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been one of the most dreaded, recent pandemics impacting multifarious global sectors, including education. To control contagion, affected nations ordered academic campus closures and home-schooling plans. Schools, colleges, and universities underwent a paradigm shift adopting internet-based delivery of lectures, synchronously or asynchronously (recorded), with virtual labs. Medical education suffered significantly; suspending student internships in hospitals decreased practical exposure to clinical specialties, impairing students’ performance, and competency.Teachers of traditional classes, with technical assistance, undertook rigorous trainings to restructure pedagogical and assessment strategies online using web/mobile applications and other digital tools.

A Rapid Caspase-11 Response Induced By Ifng Priming Is Independent Of Guanylate Binding Proteins, Sky W. Brubaker, Susan M. Brewer, Liliana M. Massis, Brooke A. Napier, Denise M. Monack

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In mammalian cells, inflammatory caspases detect Gram-negative bacterial invasion by binding lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Murine caspase-11 binds cytosolic LPS, stimulates pyroptotic cell death, and drives sepsis pathogenesis. Extracellular priming factors enhance caspase-11-dependent pyroptosis. Herein we compare priming agents and demonstrate that IFNγ priming elicits the most rapid and amplified macrophage response to cytosolic LPS. Previous studies indicate that IFN-induced expression of caspase-11 and guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) are causal events explaining the effects of priming on cytosolic LPS sensing. We demonstrate that these events cannot fully account for the increased response triggered by IFNγ treatment. Indeed, IFNγ priming …

Inhibition Of Mitochondrial Oxidative Metabolism Attenuates Emcv Replication And Protects B-Cells From Virally Mediated Lysis, Joshua D. Stafford, Zachary R. Shaheen, Chay Teng Yeo, John A. Corbett

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Viral infection is one environmental factor that may contribute to the initiation of pancreatic b-cell destruction during the development of autoimmune diabetes. Picornaviruses, such as encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), induce a pro-inflammatory response in islets leading to local production of cytokines, such as IL-1, by resident islet leukocytes. Furthermore, IL-1 is known to stimulate b-cell expression of iNOS and production of the free radical nitric oxide. The purpose of this study was to determine whether nitric oxide contributes to the b-cell response to viral infection. We show that nitric oxide protects b-cells against virally mediated lysis by limiting EMCV replication. This …

Roosting Ecology Of A Declining Population Of Northern Long-Eared Bats (Myotis Septentrionalis) In The Ozark-St. Francis National Forest Of Arkansas, Kyle Norris Edmonds

Student Theses and Dissertations

Ecological and monetary values associated with bat species are immense. Unfortunately, these benefits are at risk as disease and habitat loss have resulted in significant declines of bat populations throughout the eastern United States. Wildlife biologists and managers work tirelessly to combat the effects of these threats. Collections of species-level data during surveys provide managers with invaluable information that can be used in identification of emerging population trends. This material can then be used to generate new habitat management plans or revise existing plans in order to address the objectives of primary management goals. This thesis outlines anthropogenic factors, interspecific …

Ring Nmr Dynamics: Software For Analysis Of Multiple Nmr Relaxation Experiments, Martha A. Beckwith, Teddy Erazo-Colon, Bruce A. Johnson

Advanced Science Research Center

Molecular motions are fundamental to the existence of life, and NMR spectroscopy remains one of the most useful and powerful methods to measure their rates and molecular characteristics. Multiple experimental methods are available for measuring the NMR relaxation properties and these can require different methods for extracting model parameters. We present here a new software application, RING NMR Dynamics, that is designed to support analysis of multiple relaxation types. The initial release of RING NMR Dynamics supports the analysis of exponential decay experiments such as T₁ and T₂, as well as CEST and R₂ and R …

Rhizobacterial Species Richness Improves Sorghum Growth And Soil Nutrient Synergism In A Nutrient-Poor Greenhouse Soil, Mohammad Radhi Sahib, Zahida H. Pervaiz, Mark A. Williams, Muhammad Saleem, Seth Debolt

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Although microbes influence plant growth, little is known about the impact of microbial diversity on plant fitness trade-offs, intraspecific-interactions, and soil nutrient dynamics in the context of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research. The BEF theory states that higher species richness can enhance ecosystem functioning. Thus, we hypothesize that rhizobacterial species richness will alter sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) growth, soil nutrient dynamics and interactions (antagonism or synergism) in a nutrient-poor greenhouse soil. Using six rhizobacterial species in a BEF experiment, we tested the impact of a species richness gradient (0, 1, 3, 5 or 6 species per community) on plant growth, …

Ecological Factors Influencing Wild Pig Damage To Planted Pine And Hardwood Seedlings, Micah P. Fern, James B. Armstrong, Rebecca J. Barlow, John S. Kush

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Expanding wild pig (Sus scrofa) populations across the southern United States has the potential to impact longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) restoration efforts. The depredation of planted pine seedlings is the most widespread and economically costly damage caused by wild pigs in forest plantations. A better understanding of the ecological factors affecting depredation rates will allow managers to implement best management practices to reduce seedling mortality from wild pigs at their most vulnerable stage of growth. From March 2016 to March 2017, we evaluated wild pig preferences for planted pine and hardwood species at a 34.4-ha cutover …

Pollinator Assemblage And Pollen Load Differences On Sympatric Diploid And Tetraploid Cytotypes Of The Desert-Dominant Larrea Tridentata, Robert G. Laport, Robert L. Minckley, Diana Pilson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

PREMISE: Whole-genome duplication (polyploidy) is an important force shaping flowering plant evolution. Ploidy-specific plant–pollinator interactions represent important community-level biotic interactions that can lead to nonrandom mating and the persistence of mixed-ploidy populations. METHODS: At a naturally occurring diploid–tetraploid contact zone of the autopolyploid desert shrub Larrea tridentata, we combined flower phenology analyses, collections of bees on plants of known cytotype, and flow cytometry analyses of bee-collected pollen loads to investigate whether (1) diploid and tetraploid plants have unique bee pollinator assemblages, (2) bee taxa exhibit ploidy-specific visitation and pollen collection biases, and (3) specialist and generalist bee taxa have ploidy-specific …

Enhancement Of Abiotic Stress Tolerance In Rice And Soybean By Biotechnological And Nanotechnological Approaches, Sudha Shanmugam

Theses and Dissertations

Abiotic stress is one of the major factors which affects plant productivity. The generation of stress-tolerant crops is a pressing need and a major challenge in the field of plant biology. Rice and soybean are the major crops in Arkansas that significantly contribute to state’s economy. Arkansas is one of the hardest-hit states during the drought season. Several approaches have been used for the regulation of abiotic stress tolerance in crops. Here, we have used two different approaches: the classical genetic engineering approach and the nanotechnological approach for improving plant growth as well as enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in the …

Assessing Vulture Translocation As A Management Tool To Mitigate Airport Bird Strikes, Weber Galvão Novaes, Tarcísio Lyra Dos Santos Abreu, Rafael Soave Guerta

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Collisions between wildlife and aircraft are a major safety concern for international aviation. In the Americas, vultures (Cathartidae) are considered to be one of the most hazardous bird species to airport operations. In this study, we evaluated the use of translocations as a management technique to reduce vulture abundance near the Manaus International Airport (MAO), Manaus, Brazil. The MAO is one of the busiest and most strategically important airports in South America, often referred to as the gateway to the Brazilian Amazon. We captured, wing-tagged, and translocated 98 vultures between August and October 2013 and between January and April 2014. …

A Review Of The Preclinical And Clinical Efficacy Of Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, And Lopinavir-Ritonavir Treatments Against Covid-19, Dawid Maciorowski, Samir Z. El Idrissi, Yash Gupta, Brian J. Medernach, Michael B. Burns, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D., Ravi Durvasula, Prakasha Kempaiah

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In December of 2019, an outbreak of a novel coronavirus flared in Wuhan, the capital city of the Hubei Province, China. The pathogen has been identified as a novel enveloped RNA beta-coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus SARS-CoV-2 is associated with a disease characterized by severe atypical pneumonia known as coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Typical symptoms of this disease include cough, fever, malaise, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms, anosmia, and, in severe cases, pneumonia.¹ The high-risk group of COVID-19 patients includes people over the age of 60 years as well as people with existing cardiovascular …

Melding Modeling And Morphology: A Call For Collaboration To Address Difficult Questions About The Evolution Of Form And Function, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Jonathan Rader

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The nascent field of evolutionary biomechanics seeks to understand how form begets function, and researchers have taken two tacks towards this goal: inferring form based on function (comparative biomechanics) or inferring function based on form (functional morphology). Each tack has strengths and weaknesses, which the other could improve. The symposium, “Melding Modeling and Morphology – Integrating approaches to understand the evolution of form and function” sought to highlight research stitching together the two tacks. In this introduction to the symposium’s issue, we highlight these works, discuss the challenges of interdisciplinary collaborations, and suggest possible avenues available to create new collaborations …

Groundwater Quality In Two Semi-Arid Areas Of Algeria: Impact Of Water Pollution On Biodiversity, Redjaimia Lylia, Hadjab Ramzi, Khammar Hichem, Merzoug Djemoi, Saheb Menouar

Journal of Bioresource Management

The biodiversity and quality of subterranean waters were comparatively studied in the Tarf plain near Oum-El-Bouaghi and in the Ksar S’bahi in Oum-El-Bouaghi, in North-eastern Algeria. For this purpose, physicochemical and faunistic analyses were carried out on the water of ten stations located in the area of Tarf, and thirteen in the area of S’bahi. In the wells of Tarf, the average stygobiologic diversity was relatively high in the wells located upstream the dumping site from the city where the groundwater presented low contents of nitrates and orthophosphates. In contrast, the wells located in the spreading zone of Tarf wastewaters …

Functional Morphology Of Gliding Flight Ii. Morphology Follows Predictions Of Gliding Performance, Jonathan Rader, Tyson L. Hedrick, Yanyan He, Lindsay D. Waldrop

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The evolution of wing morphology among birds, and its functional consequences, remains an open question, despite much attention. This is in part because the connection between form and function is difficult to test directly. To address this deficit, in prior work we used computational modeling and sensitivity analysis to interrogate the impact of altering wing aspect ratio, camber, and Reynolds number on aerodynamic performance, revealing the performance landscapes that avian evolution has explored. In the present work, we used a dataset of three-dimensionally scanned bird wings coupled with the performance landscapes to test two hypotheses regarding the evolutionary diversification of …

Did You Wash Your Caving Suit? Cavers’ Role In The Potential Spread Of Pseudogymnoascus Destructans, The Causative Agent Of White-Nose Disease, Violeta Zhelyazkova, Antonia Hubancheva, Georgi Radoslavov, Nia Toshkova, Sebastien J. Puechmaille

International Journal of Speleology

White-Nose Disease (WND) has killed millions of hibernating bats in the US and Canada. Its causative agent, the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans was introduced to North America, but is native to Europe and Asia, where it is not associated with mass mortality. Although it is nearly impossible to eradicate an emerging wildlife disease, research on P. destructans spread mechanisms can aid in prevention of new introductions and development of better environmental management strategies. It is of particular importance to quantify the potential role of people visiting caves (cavers, tourists, bat researchers, etc.) whom inadvertently move P. destructans spores between sites, and …

A Novel Bioaugmentation Technique Effectively Increases The Skin-Associated Microbial Diversity Of Captive Eastern Hellbenders, Erin K. Kenison, Obed Hernandez-Gomez, Rod N. Williams

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Captive environments are maintained in hygienic ways that lack free-flowing microbes found in animals’ natural environments. As a result, captive animals often have depauperate host-associated microbial communities compared to conspecifics in the wild and may have increased disease susceptibility and reduced immune function. Eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) have suffered precipitous population declines over the past few decades. To bolster populations, eastern hellbenders are reared in captivity before being translocated to the wild. However, the absence of natural microbial reservoirs within the captive environment diminishes the diversity of skin-associated bacteria on hellbender skin and may negatively influence their ability to …

Activated Protein Kinase C (Pkc) Is Persistently Trafficked With Epidermal Growth Factor (Egf) Receptor, Carol A. Heckman, Tania Biswas, Douglas M. Dimick, Marilyn L. Cayer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Protein kinase Cs (PKCs) are activated by lipids in the plasma membrane and bind to a scaffold assembled on the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR). Understanding how this complex is routed is important, because this determines whether EGFR is degraded, terminating signaling. Here, cells were preincubated in EGF-tagged gold nanoparticles, then allowed to internalize them in the presence or absence of a phorbol ester PKC activator. PKC colocalized with EGF-tagged nanoparticles within 5 min and migrated with EGFR-bearing vesicles into the cell. Two conformations of PKC-epsilon were distinguished by different primary antibodies. One, thought to be enzymatically active, was …

Strategies Of Plant Biotechnology To Meet The Increasing Demand Of Food And Nutrition In India, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

A groundbreaking application of biotechnology research during the recent past has been improvement of crop health and production. India being one of the most rapidly developing countries with an enormous population and remarkable biodiversity, plant biotechnology promises significant potential to contribute to characterization and conservation of the biodiversity, increasing its usefulness. However, India’s green revolution was noted to be insufficient to feed the country's teeming millions. Therefore, novel approaches in crop biotechnology had to be aimed at ensuring better productivity and quality of cultivars. This paper provides a comprehensive review of research undertaken mainly in the last couple of decades …