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Articles 1 - 30 of 69
Full-Text Articles in Microbiology
Filifactor Alocis Disrupts Efferocytosis To Sustain Inflammation In Periodontitis, Ella Dye, Silvia Uriarte, Ruth Idowu
Filifactor Alocis Disrupts Efferocytosis To Sustain Inflammation In Periodontitis, Ella Dye, Silvia Uriarte, Ruth Idowu
The Cardinal Edge
Background: Filifactor alocis is a Gram-positive, obligate anaerobe that has emerged as a diagnostic marker of periodontitis. Neutrophils and macrophages are key players in oral immune homeostasis. Neutrophils are short-lived cells and constitutively undergo apoptosis. This apoptotic program can be accelerated or delayed by bacterial interactions. Macrophages clear apoptotic neutrophils via “efferocytosis,” a crucial mechanism for resolving inflammation and preventing tissue damage. The efferocytic process downregulates the expression and release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-23 while promoting anti-inflammatory responses. Our previous findings demonstrated that F. alocis delays neutrophil apoptosis, with fewer apoptotic cells observed after 18 …
Activation Of Autophagy In Human Neutrophils In Response To Emerging Oral Pathogen Peptoanaerobacter Stomatis, Mya Philipose, Shikha Srivastava, Silvia Uriarte
Activation Of Autophagy In Human Neutrophils In Response To Emerging Oral Pathogen Peptoanaerobacter Stomatis, Mya Philipose, Shikha Srivastava, Silvia Uriarte
The Cardinal Edge
Background: Periodontitis is a chronic, inflammatory disease that affects over 50% of the global population and is a leading cause of tooth loss. It is associated with the accumulation of oral pathogens that thrive in inflamed environments and contribute to the destruction of gum tissue and underlying bone. Neutrophils, the most abundant immune cells in the oral cavity, serve as the first line of defense against these pathogens. However, some bacteria can alter neutrophil responses to promote their survival, leading to sustained inflammation and tissue damage. This study focuses on Peptoanaerobacter stomatis, a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium that is highly …
Impact Of Legacy Amf Communities On Vegetative Growth & Yield Of Soybean, Dylan Habeeb, Connor Morozumi, Natalie Christian
Impact Of Legacy Amf Communities On Vegetative Growth & Yield Of Soybean, Dylan Habeeb, Connor Morozumi, Natalie Christian
The Cardinal Edge
Soil microbial communities are increasingly recognized as an important factor in sustainable agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), are key players in these communities, known to benefit their plant host in a number of ways, such as increased nutrient uptake. Plants can partner with multiple AMF species; however, little is known about how interactions between multispecies communities of AMF impact plant growth and yield. In an agricultural setting, the long-term development of these communities following practices such as rotational planting or cover cropping is also an important consideration, but there is little research on the long-term legacy of AMF communities or …
A Toi Rna Editing In Three Members Of The Microbotryum Violaceum Fungal Complext And Characterization Of Adar Genes Of Microbotryum Superbum., Shikhi Baruri
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A-to-I RNA editing is a process that occurs post-transcriptionally. Through this process, adenosine (A) is replaced by inosine (I) in RNAs by adenosine deaminase enzymes that act on the single-stranded RNA. These enzymes, also known as ADARs, act on RNA. The translation and splicing mechanisms subsequently interpret inosine as guanosine (G), which effectively alters genetic information. This kind of RNA alteration can cause both nonsynonymous and synonymous changes in codon, which may have an impact on protein function. A group of over 89 basidiomycete fungal species known as the Microbotryum violaceum complex infects a similarly large group of plant host …
Investigating The Effects Of Prenatal E-Cigarette Exposure On Postnatal Liver Histology, Emma Mcclellan
Investigating The Effects Of Prenatal E-Cigarette Exposure On Postnatal Liver Histology, Emma Mcclellan
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses
The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) entered the American market in the mid-2000s and quickly became popular. This product poses a significant threat to youth with 1.63 million students reporting use in 2024. Adverse health effects to different organs are well known. The liver is less studied, and despite its role in detoxification of e-cigarette chemicals, is a target of injury. Unlike the known effects of cigarettes and nicotine on the liver from adult or prenatal exposure, effects of prenatal exposure to e-cigarettes on liver remain to be defined. The current study investigated the effects of prenatal exposure of e-cigarettes on liver …
Sars-Cov-2 Modulates Pla2g2d/Pgd2 Signaling To Manipulate Host Immune Response To Increase Disease Severity., Dante L. Hamiel
Sars-Cov-2 Modulates Pla2g2d/Pgd2 Signaling To Manipulate Host Immune Response To Increase Disease Severity., Dante L. Hamiel
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: Previous studies suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infection could cause diverse immune and metabolic dysregulations, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In addition, viruses may escape the immune response by modulating cellular metabolism, mitochondria, and protein functions indicating that immune or metabolic components may represent novel targets for anti-viral strategies. However, whether immune and metabolic disorders interact or affect each other waits to be determined. On the other hand, previous investigations identified the critical roles of a cell membrane-bound phospholipase PLA2G2D and its downstream products PGD2 in regulating the metabolism and inflammation in respiratory system. More importantly, …
The Impacts Of Management Practices On Industrial Hemp Chemistry, Physiology, And Microbiome Ecology., Allison Marie Rietman
The Impacts Of Management Practices On Industrial Hemp Chemistry, Physiology, And Microbiome Ecology., Allison Marie Rietman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Agroecology incorporates ecology and agronomy to inform crop management. Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a prime system to investigate agroecological questions because it has only recently been authorized for commercial cultivation and its sensitivity to biotic and abiotic stressors is unresolved. Here, I investigate how some conventional management choices, including the application of fungicide, plastic mulch, and irrigation, impact the physiology, chemistry, and microbial ecology of industrial hemp. Overall, I found that industrial hemp can be both resilient and resistant to these stressors, an important development for the industry. In Chapter II, I tested the impacts of fungicide application …
Integration Of Multi-Omics Datasets Evaluating Structural And Functional Features Of The Gut Microbiome In People With Hiv (Pwh)., Aakarsha Vijayakumar Rao
Integration Of Multi-Omics Datasets Evaluating Structural And Functional Features Of The Gut Microbiome In People With Hiv (Pwh)., Aakarsha Vijayakumar Rao
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Gut dysbiosis characterized by reduced abundance of beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria has been independently linked to HIV-1 infection and heavy alcohol drinking. Further, gut dysbiosis results in loss of gut barrier integrity, microbial translocation and host-specific systemic inflammation. Therefore, to evaluate the functional consequences of structural changes in the gut microbiome, integrated data analysis is imperative. In this dissertation, we perform integrated analyses using data from multi-omics platforms to examine the structural and functional features of the gut microbiome of PWH. Gut microbiome composition was evaluated by sequencing V4 region of 16S rDNA, concentrations of metabolites and host-specific immune markers were …
Differential Responses Of Human Neutrophils To Legionella Species., Hannah E. Hanford
Differential Responses Of Human Neutrophils To Legionella Species., Hannah E. Hanford
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Legionella species are Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens commonly found in freshwater or soil environments where they survive and replicate within their natural protozoan hosts. Humans serve as an accidental host for Legionella species after inhalation of contaminated aerosolized water droplets or soil particles enabling the bacteria to enter the lungs, infect alveolar macrophages, and result in severe pneumonia. Evasion of degradation and proliferation within alveolar macrophages by Legionella species and manifestation of “Legionnaires’ disease” is dependent on the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS). The T4SS apparatus is a needle-like channel for translocation of over ~350 effector proteins, depending …
Investigating Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi-Cover Crop Interactions To Improve Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Isabel M. Zanartu, Connor Morozumi, Natalie Christian
Investigating Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi-Cover Crop Interactions To Improve Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Isabel M. Zanartu, Connor Morozumi, Natalie Christian
The Cardinal Edge
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are fungal species that form beneficial relationships with plants. AMFs are known to help crops acquire important nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, and in return the plants provide carbon to the fungi. At least 80% of all plants partner with AMFs including staple crops such as rice, corn, wheat and soybeans. With so many plants likely relying on AMFs, current farming practices such as planting in monocultures and fallow overwintering may limit these relationships. On top of this, climate change challenges the reliability of these practices in the future. One sustainable agricultural practice …
Breaking Virulent: The Coincidental Evolution Of Virulence Factors In Bacteria., Rhiannon Emmanuelle Cecil
Breaking Virulent: The Coincidental Evolution Of Virulence Factors In Bacteria., Rhiannon Emmanuelle Cecil
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Understanding how innocuous organisms can evolve to be pathogenic to humans is of increasing global concern. Further, understanding how existing pathogens may evolved to be more virulent is also vital to our ability to provide healthcare to people afflicted with diseases that promote chronic bacterial infections, such as cystic fibrosis. With the rise of antibiotic resistance in both bacteria and fungi it is paramount that new therapeutics are identified. Understanding what mutations occur that result in increased virulence in microbes can potentially provide new targets for antimicrobial drugs to combat antibiotic resistance. The Coincidental Evolution Hypothesis is a fundamental hypothesis …
Impacts Of Bacterial Evolution On Host Lethality In Drosophila, Andrew Preston
Impacts Of Bacterial Evolution On Host Lethality In Drosophila, Andrew Preston
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses
Evolution is the process by which species change their genetic traits, such as the pathogenicity of bacteria, over time in response to changes in their environment. Although the genetic mechanisms underlying many evolutionary processes have been revealed, it is still not well understood how opportunistic pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, become virulent. The overall goal of this thesis is to test the Coincidental Evolution Hypothesis, which proposes that the virulence of opportunistic pathogens evolves coincidentally as a by-product of their interaction with their natural predators. I hypothesized that the virulence of ancestral Pseudomonas aeruginosa changes over time if it co-evolves …
The Alphaviral Capsid Protein Inhibits Irak1-Dependent Tlr Signaling To Promote Pathogenesis., V. "Trey" Landers
The Alphaviral Capsid Protein Inhibits Irak1-Dependent Tlr Signaling To Promote Pathogenesis., V. "Trey" Landers
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Alphaviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses spread by mosquitos. They can cause a severe multi-joint febrile arthritis or encephalitis resulting in death or life-long cognitive impairments. To date there are no approved antiviral therapeutics or vaccine strategies for the treatment of alphaviruses creating a critical need to better understand the host pathogen interactions of alphaviruses that enable pathogenesis. It is known that alphaviruses evade innate immune responses by shutting down host transcription and translation, but these methods are dependent on viral gene expression and leave a critical time frame during early infection before viral gene expression has begun that the virus …
Identification Of A Role Beyond Iron Acquisition For Yersiniabactin During Yersinia Pestis Infection., Sarah Price
Identification Of A Role Beyond Iron Acquisition For Yersiniabactin During Yersinia Pestis Infection., Sarah Price
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative re-emerging bacterial pathogen that is responsible for bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. Y. pestis and other bacteria require transition metals, such as iron, zinc, and manganese, to maintain intermediary metabolism, transcriptional regulation, and virulence. To inhibit infection, eukaryotic organisms have developed distinct mechanisms, called nutritional immunity, to sequester these important nutrients from invading bacteria. For pathogens to colonize the vertebrate host, they have evolved dedicated acquisition systems for transition metals. During infection, Y. pestis overcomes iron limitation by secreting the siderophore yersiniabactin. Additionally, Y. pestis requires zinc for infection and utilizes high affinity transporters to …
Microbial Community Interactions Between Honey Bee Symbionts, Jillian P. Lewis
Microbial Community Interactions Between Honey Bee Symbionts, Jillian P. Lewis
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Bombella apis is a bacterial honey bee symbiont that benefits larvae by supplementing their nutrition and protecting them from pathogenic fungi. B. apis co-occurs with another bee-associated bacterium, Apilactobacillus kunkeei, in certain hive niches: nectar, larvae, honey stomachs of nurse bees, the queen gut, and royal jelly. Because bacterial species existing in the same ecological niche are apt to form microbial communities that interact, these interactions may modulate B. apis’ positive impact on the honey bee larvae. We hypothesize that due to its faster growth, A. kunkeei outcompetes B. apis for shared resources in nutrient rich conditions such …
Variation In Synthetic Floral Microbiome Composition Is Largely Ignored By Foraging Bumblebees, Nevin P. Cullen
Variation In Synthetic Floral Microbiome Composition Is Largely Ignored By Foraging Bumblebees, Nevin P. Cullen
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Most flowers are occupied by diverse communities of microbes, which can alter floral attractiveness to key pollinators and floral fitness by interacting with floral traits. Different species of flower often acquire unique communities of microbes. Consequently, pollinators are frequently forced to choose between two flowers with distinct floral microbiomes while foraging. However, it is currently unknown whether pollinators have an inherent preference for flowers containing one floral microbiome over another, and whether microbial preference is modified by variation in floral traits. We investigated this knowledge gap using distinct bacteria and yeasts cultured from a nickel-hyperaccumulating plant and its non-accumulating relative. …
An Optimal Patch Use Model For Nitrogen Foraging In Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Xin Lin
An Optimal Patch Use Model For Nitrogen Foraging In Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Xin Lin
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Optimal Foraging Theory has been widely used to study animal foraging behaviors, but has seldom been applied to symbiotic microbes like arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. To date we know little about how AM fungi make decisions to forage in different nutrient patches. To help address this gap we here apply Optimal Foraging Theory to understand how AM fungi forage for nitrogen. We focus on nitrogen because AM fungi need more nitrogen than their plant hosts and soil nitrogen availability can shift the relationship between AM fungi and their hosts from mutualism to parasitism. We present a stochastic dynamic programming model …
Elevated Co2 Drives Community And Network Structural Change Within Foliar Microbiomes Of Soybean, Connor Morozumi
Elevated Co2 Drives Community And Network Structural Change Within Foliar Microbiomes Of Soybean, Connor Morozumi
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
Microbiomes within plants can play large roles in determining responses to stress or perturbation, increasingly common in a rapidly changing world. For example, foliar endophytes are known to increase stress tolerance to drought and decrease herbivory among many other effects. How these microbes are likely to respond to global change themselves is poorly understood. Global changes, such as increased atmospheric CO2, which can influence host plant physiological processes, have the potential to directly and indirectly alter microbiome community structure. Here, we assessed community and network structure of bacterial and fungal phyllosphere microbiomes within soybean (Glycine max). …
Initial Steps In Testing The Stress Gradient Hypothesis For Selenium Exposure In Soil Bacteria, Kristian J. Harris
Initial Steps In Testing The Stress Gradient Hypothesis For Selenium Exposure In Soil Bacteria, Kristian J. Harris
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
The Stress Gradient Hypothesis (SGH) states that interspecific interactions should shift from competitive to facilitative interactions as environmental stress increases. Selenium (Se) is a naturally occurring metalloid that acts as an environmental pollutant and as an essential micronutrient. Due to its metallic properties, Se acts as an oxidative stress and can be toxic to plants and animals. Given this, Se in soil systems acts as an abiotic stress that influences species composition and species interactions. Within soils, bacteria and fungi have evolved to tolerate Se via detoxification and Se processing for respiration and studies show that metal detoxification traits like …
Death Of A Bacterium: Exploring The Inhibition Of Staphylococcus Aureus By Burkholderia Cenocepacia., Tiffany Brandt
Death Of A Bacterium: Exploring The Inhibition Of Staphylococcus Aureus By Burkholderia Cenocepacia., Tiffany Brandt
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon of increasing concern as antimicrobial overuse and misuse eliminate current therapeutic options, ushering society into a post-antimicrobial era. Antibiotic discovery and synthesis efforts are urgently needed to counter the increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance. Staphylococcus aureus is a causative agent of a variety of clinical manifestations including bacteremia, endocarditis, soft tissue infection, osteomyelitis, and device-related infections. S. aureus infection presents additional treatment challenges due to its capacity for biofilm formation, which is a mode of growth that confers protection from antibiotics and physical elimination, and the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus …
Defining The Importance Of The Hnrnp I Interaction To The Sindbis Virus Subgenomic Viral Rna Using An Innovative Tethering Approach., Claire Westcott
Defining The Importance Of The Hnrnp I Interaction To The Sindbis Virus Subgenomic Viral Rna Using An Innovative Tethering Approach., Claire Westcott
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Old World alphaviruses cause significant outbreaks of illness and debilitating multi-joint arthritis for prolonged periods. Currently, there are no FDA approved vaccines or antiviral therapies; and thus, there is a critical need to identify and characterize the molecular biology of alphaviruses. Alphaviruses rely on the host cell machinery to complete the viral lifecycle and are dependent on interactions with host RNA binding proteins. Accordingly, several host heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoprotein proteins (hnRNPs) have been found to bind to the Sindbis virus (SINV) RNAs. Disrupting the interaction sites in the viral RNAs of these RNA:Protein interactions results in decreased viral titers in …
Nitrogen Availability In Dune Systems And Its Effect On Root Fungal Endophyte Communities., Haley E. Sage
Nitrogen Availability In Dune Systems And Its Effect On Root Fungal Endophyte Communities., Haley E. Sage
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses
As global change persists, changes in resource availability can influence plant-microbe interactions. To understand how resource availability can influence these interactions and species diversity, I focused this research on how varying nitrogen (N) levels affect root endophyte communities in the plant species Ammophila breviligulata, an ecosystem engineer in the dune system. I analyzed the relationship between nitrogen addition and microbial community composition across 60 plots treated with three nitrogen addition levels (control, low, and high) in a long-term experimental field site in the Lake Michigan dunes. I identified Ammophila breviligulata's root endophyte community after creating a culture collection and …
Functional Characterization Of A Putative Alternative Oxidase In Sporisorium Reilianum F. Sp. Zeae., Emma A Lamb
Functional Characterization Of A Putative Alternative Oxidase In Sporisorium Reilianum F. Sp. Zeae., Emma A Lamb
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses
Sporisorium reilianum is a pathogenic basidiomycete fungus with two formae speciales, each capable of infecting corn (SRZ) or sorghum (SRS), respectively. This fungus is also a dimorphic variety, meaning it can switch between its haploid, yeast-like sporidia and diploid teliospore stages over the course of its life cycle (Schirawski). When S. reilianum is found in a haploid state and conditions are favorable, it will mate with a compatible non-self mating type to begin filamentous growth and proliferation in the plant host (Zhao). S. relianum, like most fungi, utilizes the four classical components of the electron transport chain to produce …
Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Exploits And Modulates The Immune Response By Human Neutrophils For Survival In The Anaerobic Environment., Hazel Ozuna
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobe and an opportunistic oral pathogen, strongly associated with localized periodontitis and other inflammatory diseases. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammation of the periodontium resulting from the inflammatory response of the host towards the dysbiotic microbial community present at the gingival crevice. The host immune response creates a hostile environment for microorganisms; therefore, it is important for Aa to be able to regulate the necessary genes to survive and thrive in such an environment. Aaexpresses several virulence factors such as a cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and leukotoxin A (LtxA), …
Lysosomal Evasion Of Legionella Pneumophilia The Effector., Bethany Vaughn
Lysosomal Evasion Of Legionella Pneumophilia The Effector., Bethany Vaughn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium found in freshwater environments that has co-evolved to survive and proliferate in various amoeba and protozoan species, which serve as the natural host for the bacterium. Humans are an accidental host of L. pneumophila, where infection occurs upon inhalation of aerosolized water droplets that contain the bacteria. Intracellular proliferation of L. pneumophila in alveolar macrophages is essential for manifestation of pneumonia, designated as Legionnaires’ Disease. Biogenesis of the legionella containing vacuole (LCV) occurs via interception of ER-Golgi vesicle trafficking and avoids the default endosomal/lysosomal degradation pathway. Intracellular proliferation of L. pneumophila …
Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes, Samuel C. Kessler
Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes, Samuel C. Kessler
The Cardinal Edge
This study provides a mixed-methods approach in analyzing a potential closed-loop system between renewable biogas production from anaerobic digestion, vermiculture production, aquaculture production, and organic wastes with a particular focus on stillage wastes. Such system may hold significant promise for significantly reducing organic carbon and methane emissions from its components, and should be assessed for such. The 2021 IPCC report essentially identified methane reduction as the single fastest way to slow global warming (IPCC, 2021), making the study and implementation of methane-reducing systems and supportive policy for them critical. Knowledge gaps to implementing this system were qualitatively identified as disconnect …
The Sterilization Of Escherichia Coli With Black Diamond-Coated Silicon, Sarah M. Cawthon, Jesse L. Rozsa, Mark P. Running
The Sterilization Of Escherichia Coli With Black Diamond-Coated Silicon, Sarah M. Cawthon, Jesse L. Rozsa, Mark P. Running
The Cardinal Edge
In order to combat increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance, new antimicrobials are needed to successfully kill microbes. Silicon coated in black diamond is a material that is hypothesized to have antimicrobial properties. To test this hypothesis, Escherichia coli cells were placed on different black diamond-coated silicon surfaces and allowed to rest on each surface for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour. Cells were collected, and growth was assessed by counting colonies on plates or spectrophotometry growth curves. The results of this study indicated that the experimental samples have some antimicrobial or growth inhibition properties, but they may not be …
Implementing Crispr-Cas9 Gene Editing System In Microbotryum., Stevana Reese Schauer
Implementing Crispr-Cas9 Gene Editing System In Microbotryum., Stevana Reese Schauer
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses
Microbotryum dianthorum is a species of smut fungus which causes infection in plants in the Dianthus genus. The infection process is aided by small-secreted proteins known as effectors. Effectors may aid in the infection process because they are secreted by the fungus and can enter plant tissue, possibly to facilitate infection and/or manipulate the host. Thus, it is of interest to investigate the genes for these effectors to determine their role in the infection process. One method to study genes is through gene disruption, via the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system, but this has not yet been implemented in Microbotryum dianthorum …
Ecological, Evolutionary, And Molecular Mechanisms Driving Pyocin Diversity In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa., Aubrey A. Mojesky
Ecological, Evolutionary, And Molecular Mechanisms Driving Pyocin Diversity In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa., Aubrey A. Mojesky
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Bacteriocins are narrow-spectrum antibiotics produced in nearly all lineages of bacteria, meaning that these antimicrobials target closely related individuals. The bacteriocins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, called pyocins, are highly prevalent and diverse in populations of this species. Laboratory studies have shown that pyocins can function to mediate the outcome of interactions, often allowing for the coexistence of multiple strains, as no one pyocin genotype is competitively superior. Although this has been demonstrated under laboratory conditions, the function of pyocins in natural settings and the ecological, evolutionary, and genetic mechanisms underlying pyocin diversity remains unclear. As such, for my dissertation, I …
Determination Of The Biological Functions Of Undefined Domains Of Veev Nsp2., Andrew Michael Skidmore
Determination Of The Biological Functions Of Undefined Domains Of Veev Nsp2., Andrew Michael Skidmore
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Alphaviruses are positive sense, single strand, RNA viruses. These viruses occur on every populated continent. Alphaviruses are divided into two clades, the New-World and Old-World viruses. The New-World viruses include Eastern (EEEV), Western (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV), and cause neuroinvasive disease. The Old-World viruses include Chikungunya (CHIKV) and Ross River viruses (RRV), and typically cause multijoint arthralgia. There are currently no approved antiviral therapeutics or vaccines for any alphavirus, making them a high priority for antiviral drug design and discovery. A benzamidine inhibitor (ML336) of VEEV was characterized, and determined to inhibit replication of VEEV RNA during …