Biology Commons^™

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Evaluating Regional Agricultural Wastes As Substrates For The Mycelial Growth And Fruiting Body Yield Of Pleurotus Ostreatus, Daniel Rhiner

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly known as the oyster mushroom, is a widely cultivated culinary mushroom known for its ability to colonize a variety of lignocellulosic agricultural wastes. The ability of P. ostreatus to utilize these types of wastes as growth substrates suggests a potential for this organism to convert agricultural waste streams into locally productive and regenerative systems. Agriculture is a leading contributor to Georgia’s economy, but it also produces large amounts of plant-based agricultural wastes of little to no value. Repurposing these wastes into profitable culinary and medicinal mushrooms has become an increasingly appealing approach to mitigating these wastes. …

Disruption Of Pyoverdine Synthesis In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Through Periodic Disturbance Of Biofilm Structure, Rebecca J. Quinn

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Infections due to bacteria were once easily treated using antibiotics. However, the effective shelf life of antibiotics is diminishing due to the rise and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Accordingly, novel approaches to treating infections are required. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a multi-drug resistant, biofilm forming opportunistic pathogen. A determinant of P. aeruginosa’s pathogenicity is pyoverdine, a siderophore that is used to sequester iron from the environment. After being produced by a bacterium, pyoverdine is secreted into the environment where it complexes with iron. The pyoverdine-iron complex is then returned to the bacteria through diffusion, where it drives the synthesis of …

Can A Sex Bias Be A Good Thing: Modeling Spontaneous Clearance And Sexual Susceptibility In Hcv, Tanner K. Shea

Biology ETDs

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global epidemic that has been increasing for decades, afflicting millions of people who inject drugs (PWID) and is a major cause of liver disease. With novel direct-acting antivirals, treating the virus has become possible yet elimination remains out of reach. Prior research has shown significant differences in disease progression between men and women. These differences can lead to variation in incidence or what proportion of infections progress to chronic infections. We develop a mathematical model that accounts for potential differences between the sexes to evaluate the impacts on HCV transmission. We find that susceptibility …

Chronic And Acute Respiratory Pathogens: Evolutionary And Epidemiological Characteristics Of Tuberculosis, Influenza-Like Illness, And Covid-19, Julie Allison Spencer

Biology ETDs

Tuberculosis and influenza-like illness cause major disease burden for humans. In our first study, we conducted a pangenome analysis of 67 Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomes from Peru. We supported the paradigm that M. tuberculosis is highly clonal; however, a small amount of genetic diversity originates from infrequent recombina- tion events. In our second study, we reviewed the literature for parameters of five common viruses that contribute to influenza-like illness: influenza, RSV, rhinovirus, human coronavirus, and adenovirus. We found that their epidemiological parameters vary considerably, and can have broad ranges; their basic transmission rates are the most important for model outcomes. When …

Investigating Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Of Neurogenesis In Capitella Teleta Sheds Light On The Ancestor Of Annelida, A. Sur, A. Renfro, P. J. Bergmann, N. P. Meyer

Biology

Background: Diverse architectures of nervous systems (NSs) such as a plexus in cnidarians or a more centralized nervous system (CNS) in insects and vertebrates are present across Metazoa, but it is unclear what selection pressures drove evolution and diversification of NSs. One underlying aspect of this diversity lies in the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving neurogenesis, i.e. generation of neurons from neural precursor cells (NPCs). In cnidarians, vertebrates, and arthropods, homologs of SoxB and bHLH proneural genes control different steps of neurogenesis, suggesting that some neurogenic mechanisms may be conserved. However, data are lacking for spiralian taxa. Results: To that …

Comparative Whole-Genome And Phenotype Analyses Of Virulence Factors And Lethality In Nematode Challenge Assay Among Aeromonas Isolates, Pyeongsug Kim

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Aeromonads are bacteria found globally in fresh and brackish waters, with some species causing water-borne diseases vertebrate hosts such as diarrhea and wound-infections in humans and motile Aeromonas septicemia in fish. Although many virulence factors have been described, determining which factors are most important in pathogenesis is ongoing. To examine this further, the genomes of five Aeromonas strains isolated from various animals were sequenced and annotated in this study. Each isolate was further characterized using comparative genomic analyses and testing for production of selected virulence factors. Although previously identified as Aeromonas hydrophila, modern genotypic approaches including multilocus sequence typing …

Esociformes: Esocidae, Pikes, And Umbridae (Mudminnows), Frank H. Mccormick, Terry C. Grande, Cheryl Theile, Melvin L. Warren, J. Andrés López, Mark V. H. Wilson, Roger A. Tabor, Julian D. Olden, Lauren M. Kuehne

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The order Esociformes (Pikes and Mudminnows) comprises two families, Esocidae (Pikes) and Umbridae (Mudminnows). The Pikes are a small Holarctic (Northern Hemisphere) family, that includes large, elongate predators with duckbill-like snouts full of sharp teeth. Popular with sport fishers, the largest Pikes fight fiercely on hook and line. As piscivorous, voracious, ambush predators, the Pikes play an important functional role in the trophic ecology and fish assemblage structure of many aquatic systems, especially in northern lakes. Other esocids, such as the Olympic Mudminnow, Novumbra hubbsi, and Blackfishes, genus Dallia, are interesting because of their tolerance of low dissolved oxygen and …

Determination Of The Summer Origins Of American Kestrels ( Falco Sparverius ) Wintering In Northern And Central Illinois, Taylor P. Joray

Theses and Dissertations

The seasonal and interannual movements of the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) are not fully understood. Although one of the most widespread and abundant raptors found in North America, information on where many populations summer and overwinter is lacking. We used stable hydrogen isotope values obtained from feathers (δ2Hf) of known origin to create age-specific calibration functions for juvenile and adult American Kestrels. We then used these calibration functions to determine the most likely summer origins of the American Kestrels that wintered in northern and central Illinois during 2015-16, classified these individuals as year-round residents or wintering migrants, and validated these …

Host-Dependent Differences In Replication Strategy Of The Sulfolobus Spindle-Shaped Virus Strain Ssv9 (A.K.A., Ssvk1): Infection Profiles In Hosts Of The Family Sulfolobaceae, Ruben M. Ceballos, Coyne Gareth Drummond, Carson Len Stacy, Elizabeth Padillo-Crespo, Kenneth M. Stedman

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Sulfolobus Spindle-shaped Virus (SSV) system has become a model for studying thermophilic virus biology, including archaeal host-virus interactions and biogeography. Several factors make the SSV system amenable to studying archaeal genetic mechanisms (e.g., CRISPRs) as well as virus-host interactions in high temperature acidic environments. Previously, we reported that SSVs exhibited differential infectivity on allopatric vs. sympatric hosts. We also noticed a wide host range for virus strain SSV9 (a.k.a., SSVK1). For decades, SSVs have been described as “non-lytic” double-stranded DNA viruses that infect species of the genus Sulfolobus and release virions via budding rather than host lysis. In this …

Dissecting Dystrophin's Roles, Subcellular Organization, And Functional Network In Drosophila Oogenesis, Mina Amini Moghaddam

Theses and Dissertations

Mutations in the giant actin-membrane linker protein Dystrophin (Dys) are the cause of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). In the Drosophila model system, the highly conserved Dys protein is not required for viability but is required for proper wing and ovarian development. Dys mutations produce two visible phenotypes: posterior crossveins are detached from the longitudinal veins, and in oogenesis the developing eggs fail to elongate properly. This provides an opportunity to explore the less-understood cellular and developmental roles of Dys and gain a new insight into how tissues adopt their correct shapes.

Animals from worms to flies to humans express multiple …

A Study On Ecological Distribution Of And Selected Gene Expression In Amblyomma Americanum: An Insight Into The Alpha-Galactose Allergy Caused By Tick Bites, Leah Cuthill

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Ticks transmit a wide variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminthes to vertebrates. Their life cycle depends on blood meals from various hosts as well as on environmental conditions such as the temperature and habitat type. A newly recognized allergic disease has been identified and is characterized by a delayed reaction following the consumption of some mammalian meats. The allergy often results in life threatening reactions such as anaphylaxis, hives, and breathing problems 3-6 hours after the consumption of mammalian meat. Not everyone develops the allergy when they are bitten by a lone star tick, and the cause …

Fish Community Composition And Structure Near A Freshwater River Diversion In Southeastern Louisiana, Rachel L. Snider

LSU Master's Theses

Gulf of Mexico estuaries, particularly in Louisiana, are among the world’s most productive, with landings of commercially- and recreationally-important species exceeding all other contiguous US states. Coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate because they have been impounded from Mississippi River water and sediment. Although controversial, one proposed solution is to re-route the Mississippi River through diversions and siphons to supply the freshwater and sediments necessary to rebuild vanishing wetlands, particularly in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound, LA. This strategy is one approach outlined in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. This project aimed to describe the composition and structure …

Her9/Hes4 Is Required For Retinal Photoreceptor Development, Maintenance, And Survival, Cagney E. Coomer, Stephen G. Wilson, Kayla F. Titialii-Torres, Jessica D. Bills, Laura A. Krueger, Rebecca A. Petersen, Evelyn M. Turnbaugh, Eden L. Janesch, Ann C. Morris

Biology Faculty Publications

The intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate vertebrate photoreceptor specification and differentiation are complex, and our understanding of all the players is far from complete. Her9, the zebrafish ortholog of human HES4, is a basic helix-loop-helix-orange transcriptional repressor that regulates neurogenesis in several developmental contexts. We have previously shown that her9 is upregulated during chronic rod photoreceptor degeneration and regeneration in adult zebrafish, but little is known about the role of her9 during retinal development. To better understand the function of Her9 in the retina, we generated zebrafish her9 CRISPR mutants. Her9 homozygous mutants displayed striking retinal phenotypes, including decreased …

The Historic Fire Return Interval And The Ecological Effects Of Fire Suppression On Montane Longleaf Pine Dominated Ecosystems In Northwestern Georgia., Christopher Waters

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Longleaf pine ecosystems have experienced pronounced declines across the southeastern United States since Euro-American settlement took place in the late 19th century. These declines were primarily caused by federal fire suppression policies implemented in the 1920’s, in combination with resource harvesting and land use conversion. In an absence of fire, tree species composition of frequently burned xeric ecosystems progressively becomes more mesic and fire-intolerant (i.e. mesophication). The change in the species composition and historic fire frequency of a montane longleaf pine ecosystem located in Sheffield Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Paulding County, Georgia was investigated. The change in forest composition …

Investigating The Regulation And Role Of P38 Mapk In Collagen-Related Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, Briseida Oceguera-Perez

Theses and Dissertations

Aging is an expected and normal process across living organisms. It is characterized as a loss of stress resistance, degeneration of tissues, and decline in motor function that happen gradually across lifespan. Susceptibility to neurodegenerative and dystrophic conditions also increase, and unlike aging, are not a normal aspect of lifespan. Discerning the difference between normal and aberrant aging states will give insight into the mechanisms behind the progressive dysfunction shared among organisms. Previous work in our lab has shown that the aging gene p38 MAPK in Drosophila melanogaster plays a significant role in the aging process through its downstream effects …

Combined Edna And Acoustic Analysis Reflects Diel Vertical Migration Of Mixed Consortia In The Gulf Of Mexico, Cole G. Easson, Kevin M. Boswell, Nicholas Tucker, Joseph D. Warren, Jose V. Lopez

Biology Faculty Articles

Oceanic diel vertical migration (DVM) constitutes the daily movement of various mesopelagic organisms migrating vertically from depth to feed in shallower waters and return to deeper water during the day. Accurate classification of taxa that participate in DVM remains non-trivial, and there can be discrepancies between methods. DEEPEND consortium (www.deependconsortium.org) scientists have been characterizing the diversity and trophic structure of pelagic communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). Profiling has included scientific echosounders to provide accurate and quantitative estimates of organismal density and timing as well as quantitative net sampling of micronekton. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) can …

Brain Micrornas Among Social And Solitary Bees, Karen M. Kapheim, Beryl M. Jones, Eirik Søvik, Eckart Stolle, Robert M. Waterhouse, Guy Bloch, Yehuda Ben-Shahar

Biology Faculty Publications

Evolutionary transitions to a social lifestyle in insects are associated with lineage-specific changes in gene expression, but the key nodes that drive these regulatory changes are unknown. We examined the relationship between social organization and lineage-specific microRNAs (miRNAs). Genome scans across 12 bee species showed that miRNA copy-number is mostly conserved and not associated with sociality. However, deep sequencing of small RNAs in six bee species revealed a substantial proportion (20–35%) of detected miRNAs had lineage-specific expression in the brain, 24–72% of which did not have homologues in other species. Lineage-specific miRNAs disproportionately target lineage-specific genes, and have lower expression …

Plankton Dynamics In An Urban, Subtropical Lake Prior To Lake Restoration, Jennifer C. Pulsifer

LSU Master's Theses

This research assessed plankton dynamics in two urban, subtropical lakes (University Lake and City Park Lake) shortly before a proposed and approved lake restoration project. Plankton dynamics were determined in University Lake by the dilution method to attempt to quantify growth rates of phytoplankton and grazing rates of zooplankton. Landry and Hassett’s (1982) dilution method has been widely used in marine systems to estimate rates of growth and grazing. In many marine systems, nutrients must be added to prevent nutrient limitation. However, it is assumed, due to the hypereutrophic conditions, that nutrients would not be a limitation in University Lake. …

Impact Of Pyriproxyfen On Virus Behavior: Implications For Pesticide-Induced Virulence And Mechanism Of Transmission, Paula A. Faria Waziry, Aarti Raja, Chloe Salmon, Nathalia Aldana, Sruthi Damodar, Andre Rinaldi Fukushima, Bindu S. Mayi

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

More than 3 years since the last Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil, researchers are still deciphering the molecular mechanisms of neurovirulence and vertical transmission, as well as the best way to control spread of ZIKV, a flavivirus. The use of pesticides was the main strategy of mosquito control during the last ZIKV outbreak.

Methods

We used vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) as our prototypical virus to study the impact of insecticide pyriproxyfen (PPF). VZV-GFP infected and uninfected Jurkat, HeLa and trophoblast cells were treated with PPF and compared to untreated cells (control). Cell …

High-Resolution Mapping Of Fish Conservation Priorities Within The Mobile River Basin, James R. Carl

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Identifying potential protected areas is increasingly important as freshwater fishes and associated aquatic organisms are under increasing peril. Human population, growth and subsequent landscape alteration, is degrading water quality and changing the physical characteristics of streams, potentially threatening aquatic species. The goal is to assess the capacity for protected areas to maintain diverse stream fish communities within the Mobile River Basin, including the upper Coosa River basin, by overlaying projections of fish species distributions and footprints of protected areas. Tools for identifying fish species distributions, environmental predictors, and potential protected areas include spatial conservation prioritization algorithms combined with open access …

Morphological Evidence For An Oral Venom System In Caecilian Amphibians, Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, Marta Maria Antoniazzi, Cesar Alexandre, Daniel Carvalho Pimenta, Juliana Mozer Sciani, Edmund D. Brodie Jr., Carlos Jared

Biology Faculty Publications

Amphibians are known for their skin rich in glands containing toxins employed in passive chemical defense against predators, different from, for example, snakes that have active chemical defense, injecting their venom into the prey. Caecilians (Amphibia, Gymnophiona) are snake-shaped animals with fossorial habits, considered one of the least known vertebrate groups. We show here that amphibian caecilians, including species from the basal groups, besides having cutaneous poisonous glands as other amphibians do, possess specific glands at the base of the teeth that produce enzymes commonly found in venoms. Our analysis of the origin of these glands shows that they originate …

A Comparative Study Of Sleep And Diurnal Patterns In House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang, Lauren E. Guerriero, Dillon M. Huffman, Asma'a A. Ajwad, Trae C. Brooks, Sridhar Sunderam, Ashley W. Seifert, Bruce F. O'Hara

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Most published sleep studies use three species: human, house mouse, or Norway rat. The degree to which data from these species captures variability in mammalian sleep remains unclear. To gain insight into mammalian sleep diversity, we examined sleep architecture in the spiny basal murid rodent Acomys cahirinus. First, we used a piezoelectric system validated for Mus musculus to monitor sleep in both species. We also included wild M. musculus to control for alterations generated by laboratory-reared conditions for M. musculus. Using this comparative framework, we found that A. cahirinus, lab M. musculus, and wild M. musculus were …

A Health Evaluation Of Gulf Of Mexico Golden Tilefish (Lopholatilus Chamaeleonticeps) And Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Kristina Leigh Deak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A lack of baseline heath indices for offshore Gulf of Mexico (GoM) teleosts complicated impact assessments of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. While measurement of contaminant levels in fish after a pollution event can document exposure, such data fail to provide meaningful information about how this contact affects an animal's physiology. Controlled exposure studies have highlighted the utility of biomarkers that may indicate deleterious, long-lasting effects of pollutant exposure on various life stages of fish, however, their extrapolation to wild-caught, non-model species is challenging. In an increasingly chemically-saturated environment, it can also be difficult to separate the influence of …

Investigating The Direct And Indirect Effects Of Forest Fragmentation On Plant Functional Diversity, Jenny Zambrano, Norbert J. Cordeiro, Carol Garzon-Lopez, Lauren Yeager, Claire Fortunel, Henry J. Ndangalasi, Noelle G. Beckman

Biology Faculty Publications

Ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation alter the functional diversity of forests. Generalising the magnitude of change in functional diversity of fragmented landscapes and its drivers is challenging because of the multiple scales at which landscape fragmentation takes place. Here we propose a multi-scale approach to determine whether fragmentation processes at the local and landscape scales are reducing functional diversity of trees in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. We employ a structural equation modelling approach using five key plant traits (seed length, dispersal mode, shade tolerance, maximum tree height, and wood density) to better understand the functional responses of trees to …

Cognitive Control Errors In Nonhuman Primates Resembling Those In Schizophrenia Reflect Opposing Effects Of Nmda Receptor Blockade On Causal Interactions Between Cells And Circuits In Prefrontal And Parietal Cortices, Erich Kummerfeld, Sisi Ma, Rachael K. Blackman, Adele L. Denicola, A. David Redish, Sophia Vinogradov, David A. Crowe, Matthew V. Chafee

Faculty Authored Articles

Background: The causal biology underlying schizophrenia is not well understood, but it is likely to involve a malfunction in how neurons adjust synaptic connections in response to patterns of activity in networks. We examined statistical dependencies between neural signals at the cell, local circuit, and distributed network levels in prefrontal and parietal cortices of monkeys performing a variant of the AX continuous performance task paradigm. We then quantified changes in the pattern of neural interactions across levels of scale following NMDA receptor (NMDAR) blockade and related these changes to a pattern of cognitive control errors closely matching the performance of …

Influence Of The Nature Of The Medium On The Conformational States Of Macromolecules Of Anionic Polyelectrolytes And Their Flocculating Effect, Mapruza Dzhumamuratova, Amanbay Pirniyazov, Oleg Dormeshkin, Akhmed Reymov, Tleumuratov Kuanish, Saparbay Kalbaev

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

The properties of surfactants of anionic polyelectrolytes are investigated depending on the nature of the medium, conformational states neutralized by organic bases, differing in the length of the hydrocarbon radical. The concept of the role of the state of macromolecules in solution in the indicated processes has been developed. The anionic carboxyl-containing polyelectrolytes synthesized on the basis of methacrylic acid differed not only in the length of the hydrocarbon radical of the organic base - counterion, but also in their branching. The relationship between the state of polyelectrolyte macromolecules in solution and their ability to regulate the properties of natural …

Estimating Gene Expression From Dna Methylation And Copy Number Variation: A Deep Learning Regression Model For Multi-Omics Integration, Dibyendu Bikash Seal, Vivek Das, Saptarsi Goswami, Rajat K. De

ISI Best Publications

Gene expression analysis plays a significant role for providing molecular insights in cancer. Various genetic and epigenetic factors (being dealt under multi-omics) affect gene expression giving rise to cancer phenotypes. A recent growth in understanding of multi-omics seems to provide a resource for integration in interdisciplinary biology since they altogether can draw the comprehensive picture of an organism's developmental and disease biology in cancers. Such large scale multi-omics data can be obtained from public consortium like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and several other platforms. Integrating these multi-omics data from varied platforms is still challenging due to high noise and …

Does Devotion To God Push You Away From Science?: Using Religiosity To Assessing The Impact Of The Religion/Science Conflict Perspective On The Choice Of Academic Major Among Undergraduate Students At A Religious Institution, Jonathan Shephard, Tron Wilder, Aaron Corbit

Capstone Research Projects

Religion and science are often perceived to be in conflict. Science is thought to deal with facts and evidence while religion is thought to deal only with faith. This conflict perspective is pervasive in modern society and can manifest itself in many ways. One way it may exert its influence is in the academic decisions made by college students. Students who are less religious may be more likely to choose science majors while those who are more religious may avoid science majors. While research does support this hypothesis in a broad sense, there may be special cases where the impact …

Ajp-Regulatory, Integrative And Comparative Physiology: Looking Toward The Future, Gina L.C. Yosten

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.