Biology Commons^™

Comparing The Effect Of Four Propagation Techniques On Hybrid Chestnut Seedling Quality, Taylor Evans

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Extensive resources have been used to breed hybrid chestnuts for reintroduction into the historical range of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata). Improving seedling quality is an efficacious method to improving restoration outcomes and nursery propagation methods can be selected to improve seedling quality, increasing the likelihood of survival. Four production methods (bed grown, air prune beds, container grown, and the Root Production Method®) and three media types (field soil, peat-perlite-vermiculite mix, and pine bark-rice hulls-sand mix) were compared across four measures of seedling quality (height, root collar diameter, root volume, and number of first order lateral roots) to …

Stage Of Estrous Cycle Influences Behavior After Social Stress, Alexander Jonah Rodriguez

Honors Thesis

Since women are almost twice as likely to develop major depression compared to men, research into this and other potentially debilitating mood disorders using behavioral studies should involve females despite hormonal, physiological, and potential behavior changes due to reproductive cyclicity. Until recently, most studies exclusively used males, thus limiting results of previous research to half of the population. Using adult female C57BL/6N mice as model organisms, we exposed them to novel forms of social stress across five days which encompassed the four-day estrous cycle to determine if the stages of the estrous cycle had an impact on behavior when they …

Effects Of Synthetic Estrogen (17Α-Ethinyl Estradiol) On Male Fiddler Crab Aggression, Micayla Shirley

Honors College Theses

Pharmaceuticals, including hormones and antibiotics, are considered contaminants due to their widespread use and release into the environment. Hormones, like the synthetic estrogen used in oral contraceptives (17α-ethinylestradiol), are present in freshwater and marine systems, but with relatively unknown effects on the organisms that live there. Ethinylestradiol (EE2) accumulates in waterlogged soil (sediment) with potential to harm sediment-dwelling animals. For example, fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator) are vital members of salt marsh communities. Their burrowing adds oxygen to sediments and cycles nutrients, and they are an important food resource to birds and raccoons. Male fiddler crabs are territorial, aggressively …

Sodah: The Soils Data Harmonization Database, An Open-Source Synthesis Of Soil Data From Research Networks, Version 1.0, Marie-Anne De Graaff

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data collected from research networks present opportunities to test theories and develop models about factors responsible for the long-term persistence and vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM). Synthesizing datasets collected by different research networks presents opportunities to expand the ecological gradients and scientific breadth of information 55 available for inquiry. Synthesizing these data, are challenging, especially considering the legacy of soils data that has already been collected and an expansion of new network science initiatives. To facilitate this effort, here we present the SOils DAta Harmonization database (SoDaH; https://lter.github.io/som-website, last accessed 15 July 2020), a flexible database designed to harmonize …

A Year In Syntropy: Exploring Syntropic Agriculture, Ajah Eills

College Honors Program

Syntropic agriculture is a form of sustainable agriculture that originated in Brazil around 25 years ago. Although it has since spread throughout Brazil and Australia, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of the driving scientific principles behind syntropy. For my thesis, I conducted literature research and interviews with farmers, with the goal of describing the ecological principles on which syntropy is based, including its primary goal to improve soil health. Much of my thesis contrasted syntropic agriculture with conventional agriculture as practiced in the United States today, but I also explored the differences between syntropic agriculture and other …

Assessing The Presence And Concentration Of Microplastics In The Gizzards Of Virginia Waterfowl, Thomas Bustamante

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Microplastics are defined as plastics smaller than 5mm which originate from sources such as manufactured pellets, personal care products, and the breakdown of larger plastic items. They have become a ubiquitous water pollutant, and while a substantial amount of research on their impacts on marine ecosystems has been conducted, the presence of microplastics in freshwater systems and organisms remains less understood. In this study, we assessed the presence and concentrations of microplastic particles in the gizzards of the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Longtailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Ringneck Duck (Aythya collaris), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos …

Development Of A Habitat Model For An Endemic Leuciscid, The Sandhills Chub (Semotilus Lumbee), Garrett Mitchell Herigan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transmission Of Escherichia Coli Through Toilet Seats, Kenna Atienza, Diana Ludizaca, Carisa Davis

Kean Quest

Microbes are found on all kinds of surfaces, but not all are pathogenic. Bathrooms are perceived by the public as an important area in the transmission of pathogenic microbes, and the purpose of this project was to investigate the transmission of bacteria from toilet seats to skin. Escherichia coli strain K-12 was applied to the toilet seat and different methods were used to see which was the best way to prevent the transmission of bacteria to the skin. E. coli strain K-12 was identified in samples using the differential media, Eosin Methylene Blue agar. The experiment found that cleaning the …

Sickness Behaviors Across Vertebrate Taxa: Proximate And Ultimate Mechanisms, Patricia C. Lopes, Susannah S. French, Douglas C. Woodhams, Sandra A. Binning

Biology Faculty Publications

There is nothing like a pandemic to get the world thinking about how infectious diseases affect individual behavior. In this respect, sick animals can behave in ways that are dramatically different from healthy animals: altered social interactions and changes to patterns of eating and drinking are all hallmarks of sickness. As a result, behavioral changes associated with inflammatory responses (i.e. sickness behaviors) have important implications for disease spread by affecting contacts with others and with common resources, including water and/or sleeping sites. In this Review, we summarize the behavioral modifications, including changes to thermoregulatory behaviors, known to occur in vertebrates …

The Presence Of Transposable Elements In Actinopterygii, The Ray Finned Fish, Matthew Rock

Biology Student Scholarship

Purpose: My project developed after I was introduced to the idea of horizontal gene transfer in various species. I wanted to further understand one of the largest known mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer, SINE and LINE elements. This project is centered around the analysis of Transposable Elements in various Actinopterygii populations. Transposable Elements are extremely common in The Ray Finned Fish, however analysis of their frequency and position has yet to be done in a majority of the class. I plan to identify their presence in three groups of Ray Finned Fish – Atlantic Killifish, African Cichlids, and Guppies – …

Late Pleistocene Rodents From Clark Quarry, A Vertebrate Fossil Locality In Southeastern Georgia, Parker Rhinehart

Biology Theses

Clark Quarry is a Late Pleistocene fossil locality near Brunswick, GA, United States with a diverse vertebrate fauna. Morphological descriptions of Mammuthus columbi (Columbian Mammoth), snakes, amphibians, and birds from Clark Quarry have previously been completed along with a stable isotope analysis of M. columbi and Bison latifrons (Long-horned Bison) enamel. Herein, the rodent fauna is described using primarily teeth recovered by screen-washing quarry sediment. Nine rodent taxa have been identified, two of which are the extinct species Synaptomys australis (Florida Bog Lemming) and Neochoerus aesopi (Late Pleistocene Capybara). Of the remaining seven taxa, Erethizon dorsatum (North American Porcupine) and …

Research Towards Understanding Hox Regulation By Cdx, Joshua M. Fisher

Honors Theses

In this project, we aim to functionally test the contribution that individual Cdx binding sites have in hox gene regulation. We will achieve this by individually blocking Cdx binding sites using CRISPR/dCas9 in the zebrafish and then analyzing changes in the time, distribution, and levels of hox gene transcription.

We will focus our analysis in only one of the seven zebrafish hox clusters, the hoxca cluster. We are focusing on the hoxca gene cluster because it has lost the least number of genes relative to other clusters and is involved in specifying the axial identity of cells in …

Mitochondrial Distribution Of Glycine Receptors In Motor Neuron Cell Lines, Katsiaryna Milashevich

Student Theses and Dissertations

Although non-essential, glycine plays an important role in major metabolic reactions and is most known for its anti-inflammatory effects. An accumulation of contemporary research has shown that glycine is able to stabilize membrane potential using glycine receptors at the cellular level and to protect mitochondrial function directly, whether it is from inflammation, heavy metal poisoning, or ischemia-induced neuroinflammation. In this research, the existence of a hypothetical mitochondrial glycine receptor is examined. Immunofluorescence imaging was used to examine the presence of the glycine receptor subunits alpha 1 and alpha 2 in both non- differentiated and differentiated neuroblastoma cell lines. The preliminary …

The Impact Of Aquaculture On The Genetics And Distribution Of The Onuphid Annelid Diopatra Biscayensis, Matthew P. Galaska, David S. Wethey, Andrés Arias, Stanislas F. Dubois, Kenneth M. Halanych, Sarah A. Woodin

Faculty Publications

Aim

Evolutionary history of natural populations can be confounded by human intervention such as the case of decorator worm species Diopatra (Onuphidae), which have a history of being transported through anthropogenic activities. Because they build tubes and act as ecosystem engineers, they can have a large impact on the overall ecosystem in which they occur. One conspicuous member, Diopatra biscayensis, which was only described in 2012, has a fragmented distribution that includes the Bay of Biscay and the Normanno-Breton Gulf in the English Channel. This study explores the origin of these worms in the Normanno-Breton region, which has been …

The Impact Of Aquaculture On The Genetics And Distribution Of The Onuphid Annelid Diopatra Biscayensis, Matthew P. Galaska, David S. Wethey, Andrés Arias, Stanislas F. Dubios, Kenneth M. Halanych, Sarah A. Woodin

Faculty Publications

Aim

Evolutionary history of natural populations can be confounded by human intervention such as the case of decorator worm species Diopatra (Onuphidae), which have a history of being transported through anthropogenic activities. Because they build tubes and act as ecosystem engineers, they can have a large impact on the overall ecosystem in which they occur. One conspicuous member, Diopatra biscayensis, which was only described in 2012, has a fragmented distribution that includes the Bay of Biscay and the Normanno-Breton Gulf in the English Channel. This study explores the origin of these worms in the Normanno-Breton region, which has been …

Disentangling The Effects Of Vapor Pressure Deficit And Soil Water Availability On Canopy Conductance In A Seasonal Tropical Forest During The 2015 El Niño Drought, Yilin Fang, L. Ruby Leung, Brett T. Wolfe, Matteo Detto, Ryan G. Knox, Bryan Powell, Charlotte Grossiord, Chonggang Xu, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Pierre Gentine

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

Water deficit in the atmosphere and soil are two key interactive factors that constrain transpiration and vegetation productivity. It is not clear which of these two factors is more important for the water and carbon flux response to drought stress in ecosystems. In this study, field data and numerical modeling were used to isolate their impact on evapotranspiration (ET) and gross primary productivity (GPP) at a tropical forest site in Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, focusing on their response to the drought induced by the El Niño event of 2015–2016. Numerical simulations were performed using a plant hydrodynamic scheme (HYDRO) …

The Role Of Med31 And Med12 In Directing Adipogenesis Of Human Adult-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Joseph Straub

Master's Theses

Selective gene expression is crucial in maintaining the self-renewing and multipotent properties of stem cells. Mediator is a large, evolutionarily conserved, multisubunit protein complex that modulates gene expression by relaying signals from cell type-specific transcription factors to RNA polymerase II. In humans, this complex consists of 30 subunits arranged in four modules: head, middle, tail, and kinase. In our introduction, we show the state of the field of Mediator study with a focus on the critical kinase module. In the following chapters, we used siRNA knockdowns to investigate the roles of the highly-conserved core subunit MED31 and the kinase module …

Notch And Mediator Work Together To Direct Hasc Self-Renewal, Jaylen Mumphrey

Master's Theses

Stem cells are unique in that they possess totipotent, pluripotent, or multipotent differentiation capabilities and can also self-renew. Stem cells are in either a state of selfrenewal or differentiation, but never both. If we are able to gain a full understanding of the underlying mechanisms that allow stem cells to remain self-renewing and multipotent, we will better be able to control the fate of cells, ultimately allowing stem cells to be used to their full capabilities in regenerative medicine. My research focuses on MED12 and its effects on Notch signaling. Here we describe the expression profile and activity of MED12, …

The Role Of Med12 In Adipogenesis Of Human Adipose Stem Cells, Onyekachi Chinelo Idigo

Master's Theses

The interest in adipogenesis stems from the high rate of obesity in the world and the motivation to better understand the process of cell fate in relation to human diseases. Mutations in MED12 lead to developmental disorders and certain malignancies. To date, specific roles of Mediator and MED12 in cell state regulation are unclear, nevertheless, they are critical for understanding stem cell regulation and enhancement of their clinical applications. This study investigates the role of MED12 in relation to the Mediator complex kinase domain to better understand transcriptional control of adipogenesis in hASCs. In this study, MED12 expression was diminished …

The Role Of Med12 In Adipogenesis, Caroline Helen Rinderle

Master's Theses

In order for any function to occur within a cell, transcription factors must be able to interact with genes. When this occurs, genes are expressed, and ultimately, proteins are translated and perform the specific function that needs to be done within the cell. In order for this to occur, genes must interact with transcription machinery. The Mediator complex recruits transcription factors to genes in order to promote cell-type specific gene expression. The Mediator complex is a multi-protein complex consisting of four modules: head, middle, tail, and kinase. The kinase module is known to dissociate from the rest of the complex …

Pre-Existing Microfilarial Infections Of American Robins (Passeriformes: Turdidae) And Common Grackles (Passeriformes: Icteridae) Have Limited Impact On Enhancing Dissemination Of West Nile Virus In Culex Pipiens Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Jefferson A. Vaughan, Juanita Hinson, Elizabeth S. Andrews, Michael J. Turrell

Biology Faculty Publications

Microfilariae (MF) are the immature stages of filarial nematode parasites and inhabit the blood and dermis of all classes of vertebrates, except fish. Concurrent ingestion of MF and arboviruses by mosquitoes can enhance mosquito transmission of virus compared to when virus is ingested alone. Shortly after being ingested, MF penetrate the mosquito’s midgut and may introduce virus into the mosquito’s hemocoel, creating a disseminated viral infection much sooner than normal. This phenomenon is known as microfilarial enhancement. Both American Robins and Common Grackles harbor MF—that is, Eufilaria sp. and Chandlerella quiscali von Linstow (Spirurida: Onchocercidae), respectively. We compared infection and …

Choosing Life Stories: Body As Teacher, .O Love, S. M. Curry, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

Biological science and the larger society interact with each other. Biologists tell stories--stories such as fertilization, body development, and evolution--using the narrative structures given to them by the larger society. These stories have to be consistent with the scientific data; but what data are collected is also a social judgement. The stories that biologists have told have often emphasized competition and have often marginalized cooperative efforts. New research has shown that these competitive stories offer a very incomplete version of what is happening in our bodies, and that mutual cooperation is a major part of how the body develops and …

The Effect Of Circadian Phase Shifts On Cellular Respiration In Wild Type And Flies With Mutant Circadian Genes, Shannon Maguire, Michael Yarrows, Kathryn Donohue

Biology Student Scholarship

Shannon Maguire ’22, Major: Biology
Michael Yarrows ’22, Majors: Biology and Health Policy and Management
Kathryn Donohue ’22, Majors: Biology and Spanish

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pamelas Snodgrass-Belt, Biology

Over the past semester, our team’s research has focused on circadian rhythms in wild type and mutant flies. Circadian rhythms, our body’s internal clock, are the biological processes which regulate the sleep/wake cycle as well as other physiological rhythms in all living organisms. Following a 24-hour light/dark cycle, circadian rhythms influence eating habits, physical activity, and metabolism. An organism’s circadian rhythms can be disrupted by an offset light/dark cycle, food availability, or …

Investigating The Effects Of A P53 Mutation And Various Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors On Glioma Progression And Therapy Resistance In Drosophila, Kaitlyn M. Alleman

Honors Theses

Gliomas, which are brain tumors that arise from glial cells, are some of the most aggressive and lethal types of tumors. These brain tumors are difficult to treat because not enough information regarding the mutations present in these tumors exists. This project studies effects of a p53 mutation on Drosophila glioma progression and then will test to see if this results in resistance to current chemotherapy. The main goal of this endeavor is to investigate the numerous defects occurring at the cellular and biochemical level in gliomas, which will give insight into why these types of tumors are so difficult …

Temperature-Dependent Macrophage Activity In Rainbow Trout, Danica Mcgrevey

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fever is an essential component of the immune response. Fever enhances immune responses as well as creates an environment in which the body has advantages over pathogens. Macrophages are often the first cells that come in contact with pathogens, as they reside in tissues. They are important for their engulfment of pathogens that results in the digestion of the pathogen, but they also produce nitric oxide and cytokines that contribute to immune response in a variety of ways, including initiating adaptive immunity and directing the production and activity of other immune cells. We were curious about macrophages from other temperature …

The Mechanism Of Enzyme Stability And Specificity In Caspase-3, Liqi Yao

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The caspase family has been found as regulated proteins that play an important role in apoptosis and inflammation. Incorrect caspase regulation may cause serious diseases such as cancer. Knowing the mechanisms and evolution of how caspase prefers substrate may lead to finding drugs to cure these diseases. Our research mainly focuses on two major characteristics of caspase: specificity and stability. For enzyme specificity, by comparing the structural differences between human caspase-3 and zebrafish caspase-3a, a four-site combination was found that may play important role in the relax specificity of zebrafish caspase-3a. By doing molecular dynamic simulations, we reveal that two …

Effects Of Ph Shock And Heat Stress On The Growth Of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria And Their Phosphate Solubilization, Ishanka Udayangi Hemachandra

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Rhizobia are well known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N) into ammonia, so called biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), either as free-living bacteria in soil or as symbiotic partners of legume plants. Particularly, symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) gains much attention due to its compatibility as a source of N fertilizer in sustainable agriculture. Symbiotic association between Bradyrhizobium japonicum and soybean (Glycine max) has been used not only as a model system to study SNF, but also as a means of biological soil fertilization to improve crop yield. However, failure to perform optimal BNF in the field is the major …

Functional Genomics Reveals The Mechanisms And Evolution Of Extreme Physiological Adaptations In Snakes, Blair William Perry

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Previous studies examining post-feeding organ regeneration in the Burmese python (Python molurusbivittatus) have identified thousands of genes that are significantly differentially regulated during this process. However, substantial gaps remain in our understanding of coherent mechanisms and specific growth pathways that underlie these rapid and extensive shifts in organ form and function. Here we addressed these gaps by comparing gene expression in the Burmese python heart, liver, kidney, and small intestine across pre- and post-feeding time points (fasted, one day post-feeding, and four days post-feeding),and by conducting detailed analyses of molecular pathways and predictions of upstream regulatory molecules across these organ …

Evolutionary And Biochemical Characterization Of Effector Caspases, Suman Shrestha

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Caspases are an ancient class of cysteine-dependent aspartate-specific proteases that control apoptosis, responsible for cell differentiation, and maintain cellular homeostasis in multicellular organisms. Dysregulation of caspase functions leads to many human diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders. Due to the involvement of caspases in several diseases, it is crucial to understand how they are regulated. Extant human caspases have been studied extensively for over two decades. However, the success in the development of therapeutics against caspase dysfunctions has very little success to date. Hence, the evolutionary approaches for studying caspases could help understand their structure and function and the overall …

Effects Of Sex And Autism On Oxytocin Receptors In The Substantia Nigra Of The Human Brain, Kip Dooley

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Oxytocin, a hormone present in the mammalian brain, has been shown to be a vital component of social function in animals and may have a role in the social deficits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in humans. Based on previous studies from our lab, there are oxytocin receptors in the human substantia nigra, a basal ganglia structure in the midbrain that is important in both movement and reward pathways. The substantia nigra contains two subsections that are defined by the neurotransmitters they contain: the pars compacta, which is dopaminergic, and the pars reticulata, which is GABAergic. By localizing oxytocin receptors …