Biotechnology Commons^™

Characterization Of The Overexpression Of The Native H+-Pumping Pyrophosphatase In The Microalga Picochlorum Soloecismus, Kimberly T. Wright

Biology ETDs

Microalgae are of interest for the creation of sustainable and cost competitive alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. However, cultivation, extraction and processing of algal biomass requires improved yields to achieve economic feasibility. The advancement of microalgal biotechnology and various genetic engineering techniques allow the improvement of microalgae biomass for this purpose. Here, the characterization of the overexpression of the native vacuolar H+ pumping pyrophosphate (AVP1) in Picochlorum soloecismus was examined. AVP1 overexpression causes biomass increase in relevant plant crops. When overexpressed in this microalga it increases carbon storage in the form of starch in a closed laboratory photobioreactor. However, …

Fusion Of Elastin Like Polypeptides To Rna Binding Motifs For Programmable Binding Of Nucleic Acids, Dominic Medina

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) with RNA binding capability have recently been found to play important roles in several cellular processes, including the formation of phase separated membraneless organelles to regulate gene expression. An important class of membraneless organelles is stress granules, which enable cells to survive periods of environmental stress by regulating gene expression in the cytoplasm. Cells use a variety of ribonucleoprotein granules, primarily comprised of RNA and chaperone protein components, and can regulate cellular metabolism by sequestering and processing regulatory components, such as messenger RNAs, within these phases separated ‘organelles’. To recapitulate this cellular behavior, the genetically engineered …

Inactivation Of Hippo And Cjun-N-Terminal Kinase (Jnk) Signaling Mitigate Fus Mediated Neurodegeneration In-Vivo, Ankita Sarkar, Abijeet Singh Mehta, Prajakta Deshpande, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Udai Bhan Pandey, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a late-onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of motor neurons in the central nervous system, has no known cure to-date. Disease causing mutations in human Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) leads to aggressive and juvenile onset of ALS. FUS is a well-conserved protein across different species, which plays a crucial role in regulating different aspects of RNA metabolism. Targeted misexpression of FUS in Drosophila model recapitulates several interesting phenotypes relevant to ALS including cytoplasmic mislocalization, defects at the neuromuscular junction and motor dysfunction. We screened for the genetic modifiers of human FUS-mediated neurodegenerative phenotype using molecularly …

Optimisation Of Biomass And Lipid Production Of A Tropical Thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium Sp. Umacc-T023 In Submerged-Liquid Fermentation For Large-Scale Biodiesel Production, Sohedein Mohamad Nor Azzimi

Student Works (2020-2029)

A tropical thraustochytrid, Aurantiochytrium sp. UMACC-T023, was optimised for high biomass and lipid production in submerged-liquid fermentation (SLF). Biomass and lipid production were optimised based on glucose, polypeptone, and yeast extract concentration using response surface methodology (RSM). In RSM, the applied central composite design (CCD) showed that the optimisation model was significant for all variables studied. Yeast extract and polypeptone were associated with significant effects in UMACC-T023 biomass production with p < 0.05. The model was validated by employing the optimised media composition in shake flasks and in 1.4-L stirred-tank bioreactors. The optimised media composition for both biomass and lipid production was 10 g L-1 glucose, 15.08 g L-1 polypeptone, and 13.56 g L-1 yeast extract. Biomass production in the bioreactor increased 2.12-fold compared with the shake flask culture utilising the same optimised media composition. This result demonstrated that the optimized media composition can be utilised for large-scale lipid production of UMACC-T023 for potential biodiesel feedstock as it also fulfilled the international standards for biodiesel.

Suspended Carbon Nanowire Biosensor For Rapid And Label-Free Salmonella Detection, Thiha Aung

Student Works (2020-2029)

Carbon, the building block life, is rapidly becoming the building block of nextgeneration electronics and sensor materials. Of many ways to handle nanocarbon materials, Carbon Microelectromechanical Systems (C-MEMS) emerges as a unique way for top-down fabrication of three-dimensional carbon micro to nanostructures. In this work, the use of C-MEMS techniques in nanowire biosensor fabrication is explored. Two main hindrances in the use of C-MEMS carbon structures for biosensing lie in miniaturization to nanoscale sensor material and inertness of as-fabricated carbon. This dissertation presents ways to overcome these limitations. First, miniaturization to patterned sub-100 nm carbon nanowires was achieved by optimization …

Graphene Oxide Gold Nanostructure Based Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Dna Biosensor For The Detection Of Meat Species, Khalil Md. Ibrahim

Student Works (2020-2029)

Authentication, detection and quantification of the ingredients, and adulterant in the food, meat and meat products are of high importance in current days. However, the conventional meat species detection techniques based on lipid, protein and DNA biomarkers have been confronting challenges due to the poor selectivity, sensitivity, and unsuitability for processed food products or complex food matrices. Hence, nanoparticle based DNA biosensing strategies have attracted the most interests and considered as one of the best alternatives to conventional strategies. Among these, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has gained the substantial acceptance as an excellent, fast and ultrasensitive sensing technique due …

Bioavailability And Modes Of Action Of Novel Metal Based Phenanthroline Drugs, Tadhg O’Leary

Doctoral

Metal-basedcompounds have been utilised as chemotherapeutic agents for the last four decades due to their well-documented and clinically relevant anti-tumour properties.Acquired resistance is a challenge for the clinical use of these compounds and there is a continuing need to search for potential new therapeutic agents. Herein, the potential of two metal-basedcompounds containing chelated1,10-phenanthroline (1,10-Phen), one manganese-based (CMPD 73)andonecopper-based (CMPD 74), to act as novel therapeutic agents is explored.CMPD 73 displayed high micromolar (IC50>100μM) cytotoxic properties againstvarious cell systems but interestingly displayed increased cytotoxicity against ovarian (A2780), lung (A549) and cisplatin resistant mesothelioma cells(IC5040-50μM). CMPD 74 was equally cytotoxic against …

Enzymatic In-Situ Transesterification Of Neutral Lipids From Simulated Wastewater Cultured Chlorella Emersonii And Pseudokirchneriella Subcapitata To Sustainably Produce Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, Priyanka Priyanka, Gemma K. Kinsella, Gary Henehan, Barry J. Ryan

Articles

Alternative, more sustainable and environmentally positive, sources of energy are one of the current global challenges. One approach to achieving more sustainable sources of energy is to use waste from one system as a raw material for energy production, following the circular biosystem philosophy. This study successfully adopted this approach whereby microalgae strains Chlorella emersonii and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata were bioprospected and metabolically engineered in simulated wastewater supplemented with glucose to produce neutral lipids. Using a two-step cultivation approach neutral lipid content was enhanced in Chlorella emersonii and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata biomass. Via in-situ transesterification, these neutral lipids were subsequently bioconverted to …

Meeting Report Of The Third Annual Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium Symposium, J Philip Karl, Robyn A. Barbato, Laurel A. Doherty, Aarti Gautam, Sarah M. Glaven, Robert J. Kokoska, Dagmar Leary, Rebecca Mickol, Matthew A. Perisin, Andrew J. Hoisington, Edward J. Van Opstal, Vanessa Varaljay, Nancy Kelley-Loughnane, Camilla A. Mauzy, Michael S. Goodson, Jason W. Soares

Faculty Publications

The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) was founded to enhance collaboration, coordination, and communication of microbiome research among U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) organizations and to facilitate resource, material and information sharing among consortium members. The 2019 annual symposium was held 22–24 October 2019 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. Presentations and discussions centered on microbiome-related topics within five broad thematic areas: 1) human microbiomes; 2) transitioning products into Warfighter solutions; 3) environmental microbiomes; 4) engineering microbiomes; and 5) microbiome simulation and characterization. Collectively, the symposium provided an update on the scope of current DoD microbiome research efforts, highlighted …

Plant Defensin Antibacterial Mode Of Action Against Pseudomonas Species, Andrew E. Sathoff, Shawn Lewenza, Deborah A. Samac

Research & Publications

Background: Though many plant defensins exhibit antibacterial activity, little is known about their antibacterial mode of action (MOA). Antimicrobial peptides with a characterized MOA induce the expression of multiple bacterial outer membrane modifications, which are required for resistance to these membrane-targeting peptides. Mini-Tn5- lux mutant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Tn insertions disrupting outer membrane protective modifications were assessed for sensitivity against plant defensin peptides. These transcriptional lux reporter strains were also evaluated for lux gene expression in response to sublethal plant defensin exposure. Also, a plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae was modified through transposon mutagenesis to …

In Vivo Biosynthesis Of Inorganic Nanomaterials Using Eukaryotes - A Review, Ashiqur Rahman, Julia Lin, Francisco E. Jaramillo, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Clayton Jeffryes, Si Amar Dahoumane

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Bionanotechnology, the use of biological resources to produce novel, valuable nanomaterials, has witnessed tremendous developments over the past two decades. This eco-friendly and sustainable approach enables the synthesis of numerous, diverse types of useful nanomaterials for many medical, commercial, and scientific applications. Countless reviews describing the biosynthesis of nanomaterials have been published. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review has been exclusively focused on the in vivo biosynthesis of inorganic nanomaterials. Therefore, the present review is dedicated to filling this gap by describing the many different facets of the in vivo biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using living eukaryotic …

Metabolic Network Analysis Of Filamentous Cyanobacteria, Daniel Alexis Norena-Caro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cyanobacteria were the first organisms to use oxygenic photosynthesis, converting CO₂ into useful organic chemicals. However, the chemical industry has historically relied on fossil raw materials to produce organic precursors, which has contributed to global warming. Thus, cyanobacteria have emerged as sustainable stakeholders for biotechnological production. The filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. UTEX 2576 can metabolize multiple sources of Nitrogen and was studied as a platform for biotechnological production of high-value chemicals (i.e., pigments, antioxidants, vitamins and secondary metabolites). From a Chemical engineering perspective, the biomass generation in this organism was thoroughly studied by interpreting the cell as a microbial …

Docking Study Of Selected Citrus Flavonoids Towards Exploring The Potential Anti Estrogen Activity, Indira M., Krupanidhi S, Venkateswarulu T.C., Md. Nazneen Bobby, Keerthi P, Satya Kavya P, Amaze M, Abraham Peele K

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Breast cancer is one of the serious health issues for the women and it has been characterized with uncontrolled growth of cells in the breast tissue. An elevated level of expression of estrogen promotes survival to breast cancerous cells. The present study is focused on phytochemicals, to screen the inhibition of estrogen receptor activity. The selected phytochemicals’ are citrus flavonoids having anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic, anti-estrogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. The crystal structure of human estrogen receptor with PDB ID: 2IOG are retrieved from protein data bank (PDB) and citrus flavanoids from Pub Chem database. The drug behavior was studied using …

Analysis Of Biofilm Remediation Capacity For Octenyl Succinic Anhydride (Osa), A Bioactive Food Starch Modifier Compound, Matthew R. Borglin

Master's Theses

Matthew R. Borglin

This thesis demonstrates efficacy of Octenyl Succinic Anhydride (OSA), as a biofilm sanitizer. Biofilms allow bacteria to adhere to solid surfaces with the use of excreted polymeric compounds. For example, surfaces found in food production or processing facilities such as the interior of a raw milk holding tank, are some of the most susceptible to biofilm contamination. When present, biofilms can cause a variety of negative effects, which include; reduction of product shelf life, corrosion, and outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. The close association of biofilms with the majority of foodborne illness cases led the US Environmental Protection …

The Genesis Of Sars-Cov-2 Virus And The Origin Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alan L. Gillen

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The current outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, fig. 1), causing a respiratory-tract illness, first started in Wuhan, China, and has been escalating worldwide. The official disease name became known as COVID-19 in mid-spring 2020. It shares some characteristics of the SARS virus of 2002–3. Early on, with many cases in Wuhan, China, it was reported that the outbreak had some association with animal markets, which indicated that there was animal-to-person transmission. Like SARS-CoV-1, the suspected animal source of the virus is bats. We have not seen this virus before, and our bodies were not ready for this, nor …

Role Of The Hyaluronan Receptor, Stabilin-2/Hare, In Health And Disease, Edward N. Harris, Erika Baker

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Stabilin-2/HARE is the primary clearance receptor for circulating hyaluronan (HA), a polysaccharide found in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of metazoans. HA has many biological functions including joint lubrication, ocular turgor pressure, skin elasticity and hydration, cell motility, and intercellular signaling, among many others. The regulatory system for HA content in the tissues, lymphatics, and circulatory systems is due, in part, to Stabilin-2/HARE. The activity of this receptor was discovered about 40 years ago (early 1980s), cloned in the mid-1990s, and has been characterized since then. Here, we discuss the overall domain organization of this receptor and how it correlates to …

Polyhydroxyalkanoates For Innovative Electrodes And Proton Exchange Membrane Modification In Microbial Fuel Cell, Abdul Azeez Olayiwola Sirajudeen

Student Works (2020-2029)

The increase in global energy demand due to increasing population and industrialization demands renewable and environmental-friendly alternatives. Energy from fossil fuel are non-renewable, depleting and detrimental from environmental perspectives. Alternative energy, green and renewable such as hydrogen fuel, biodiesel, bioethanol, microbial fuel cell and many more have been extensively investigated. One possible solution lies with non-combustion method such as microbial fuel cell. A microbial fuel cell is a sustainable and environmental-friendly device that combines electricity generation and wastewater treatment through metabolic activities of microorganisms. However, low power output from inadequate electron transfer to the anode electrode hampers its practical implementation. …

Short Tandem Repeats Diversity In Indian And Pakistani Population Living In United Arab Emirates, Ruksar Salim Damji

Biology Theses

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), have become increasingly popular markers of choice due to its wide array of advantages in the sector of forensic investigation. It is necessary to expand genetic research into residing populations i.e., Indian and Pakistani, in the same geographic region such as in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the forensic efficiency parameters and population structure analysis of the autosomal STR loci for the most potent amplification kit (2) estimate the allele frequencies; and (3) determine the significance of increasing the number of STR loci used in forensic DNA …

Mir-590-3p Suppresses Cellular Migration And Clonogenicity And Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition In The Hepg2 Cell Line By Targeting Mdm2 And Setd7, Alaa Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

MiRNAs signature is dysregulated in various types of cancer, and several miRNAs have a dual regulatory role either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes depending on the tissue context. MiR-590-3p has been previously identified to regulate different cancers, yet its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still elusive with contradictory findings. In our study, the expression levels of miR-590-3p, as well as its function in HCC, were examined in two different HCC cell lines: HepG2 and SNU449 that represent an early and advanced stage of HCC, respectively. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction analysis revealed that miR-590-3p is downregulated in HCC and its …

Mutagenesis Of The Btea Gene Encoding A Bordetella Virulence Protein, Xiaolei Mao

2020 Symposium Posters

Bordetella Type III Secretion System Effector A (BteA) is a virulence protein found in members of the genus Bordetella which include important pathogens of humans and other mammals. Bordetella pertussis is a causative agent of the whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease that is especially dangerous, and sometimes deadly, for infants. The BteA protein appears to be an important factor in the ability of these pathogens to cause disease, as it leads to rapid killing of a wide range of mammalian cells. The aim of this project is to determine which regions of the DNA are important for mediating …

Additive Modulation Of Dna-Dna Interactions By Interstitial Ions, Wei Meng, Raju Timsina, Abby Bull, Kurt Andresen, Xiangyun Qiu

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Quantitative understanding of biomolecular electrostatics, particularly involving multivalent ions and highly charged surfaces, remains lacking. Ion-modulated interactions between nucleic acids provide a model system in which electrostatics plays a dominant role. Using ordered DNA arrays neutralized by spherical cobalt3+ hexammine and Mg2+ ions, we investigate how the interstitial ions modulate DNA-DNA interactions. Using methods of ion counting, osmotic stress, and x-ray diffraction, we systematically determine thermodynamic quantities, including ion chemical potentials, ion partition, DNA osmotic pressure and force, and DNA-DNA spacing. Analyses of the multidimensional data provide quantitative insights into their interdependencies. The key finding of this study is that …

Integrated Unicellular/Filamentous Algal Production, Harvesting And Remediation System, Paul N. Black, James Allen, Timothy J Nicodemus

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

A method of removing nitrogen-bound nitrate from at least one of groundwater, surface water, or waste water is disclosed. The method includes providing contaminant-containing water from groundwater, surface water, and/or waste water sources. The method further includes adding the contaminant-containing water to an algal photobioreactor system. The method further includes adding an alga culture to the alga photobioreactor system. The method further includes adjusting temperature, CO2 concentration, pH, light wavelength, and/or light intensity in the algal photobioreactor system to optimize the growth of the algea. The method further includes separating the aglae from the water and harvesting algal biomass.

Recovery And Purification Of Glycerine As By-Product From Philippine Coconut Methyl Ester, Briones Annabelle V.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The study is about the recovery and purification of glycerine as a by-product from coconut methyl ester production in the Philippines. The aqueous layer produced from settling or phase splitting of the methyl ester after the transesterification process was subjected to various treatments like acidification, neutralization, concentration in vacuo in order to get back the crude glycerine. The crude glycerine obtained from the laboratory and scale-up process conformed with the specification set by the British standard for crude glycerine. The recovered glycerine is composed of: 84.92%, glycerine; 8.03%, ash; 4.72%, H20; 2.32%, MONG. Further distillation yielded a refined glycerine that …

Minding The Gaps In Regulation Of Do-It-Yourself Biotechnology, Barbara J. Evans

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

No abstract provided.

Expression Analyses Of Hippocampal And Cortical Proteins In A Rat Model For Alzheimer’S Disease, Rangon Islam

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has no cure. Using a rat AD model, we identified aberrantly expressed proteins during pre-pathology as potential biomarkers. The expression of certain biomarkers was reversed by diazoxide, a repurposed hypertension drug. These results suggest that drug repurposing at an early stage of AD has therapeutic potential.

Design Of A 3d Printed Bioreactor For Bone Cancer Research, Brooklyn K. Vanderwolde, Katelyn Hillson

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bone cancer is an aggressive disease and has peak occurrence during physiological stimulation of growth and aging. Astronauts who undergo long-term space missions also acquire an increased risk of bone tissue degeneration and cancer. Few in-vitro models currently exist capable of reproducing the complex microenvironment of bone tissue to support multicellular activity in a three-dimensional structure. This limits the ability to understand disease progression and develop suitable treatment strategies. Therefore, developing a bone tissue model and an associated bioreactor is critical to understand the risks associated with cancer progression and improve treatment and preventions related to those risks. The goal …

Circulating Micrornas In Neuromuscular Disorders, Nahla Mousa

Theses and Dissertations

Identification of the mutations and genetic causes of the muscular diseases is performed for the muscular dystrophies, atrophies and other genetic diseases using current molecular high throughput techniques that precisely allocate the defected genes and detect the aberration in the expressed proteins responsible for any phenotype. For example, more than 2000 mutations in the DMD gene were identified in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients or the milder form of the disease Becker Muscular Dystrophy. Detection of different mutation in the same gene has critical role as biomarkers in disease diagnosis, since the severity of the symptoms is usually associated with the …

Using A Novel Cell- Penetrating Peptide Technology To Induce Pluripotency, Laura-Maria Oja

Master of Science in Chemical Sciences Theses

Somatic stem cells have been used as a regenerative medicine tool to treat diseases like leukemia for decades, but they are limited in their ability to self-renew and differentiate. A better alternative, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), has the ability to generate cells from all three germ layers and avoid tissue rejection as well as bypass the ethical concerns related to embryonic stem cells. In 2006, Takahashi and Yamanaka discovered that only four genes were required to induce pluripotency: Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM). Since then, pluripotency has been induced with OSKM most effectively by transfection or transduction. However, …

Understanding Covid-19 With Single Cell Immune Profiling, Alex Palacio

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Scientists all around the world are coming together for a single goal -- to find the cure for COVID-19; the virus that has sent millions of people worldwide to hospitals and hundreds of thousands of people to their death. While scientists are trying to uncover the mysteries of the virus, 10X Genomics product lines are able to help scientists achieve their goal. With the Single Cell Immune Profiling, scientists around the world are able to study the immune response and antigen specificity of the virus. The Immune Profiling product line is able to study millions of T-Cells and B-Cells on …

Chemoenzymatic Study Of Coa-Linked Rna In Bacteria, Krishna Sapkota

Dissertations

The ability of RNA to store genetic information and to catalyze biochemical transformations led to the speculation of the existence of RNA world before the evolution of contemporary ribonucleoprotein (RNP) world. Recent discovery of RNA molecules containing metabolic cofactors including coenzyme A and its various thioesters at their 5’ end further supported the RNA world hypothesis as these CoA-linked RNA molecules could be the molecular fossils with very ancient origin. As both RNA and Coenzyme A are believed to have co-existed since last universal common ancestor (LUCA) or even before, the CoA-RNA conjugates in current biology may reveal fundamental molecular …