Microbiology Commons^™

Intravenous Infection Of Mice With Naegleria Fowleri, Richard G. May

Theses and Dissertations

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis is a fatal disease of man caused by the free-living ameboflagelate Naegleria fowleri. In general, the victims have been active, healthy, young adults with a recent history of swimming or other fresh water-related activity. Infection with N. fowleri is apparently by way of nasal introduction of amebae-containing water. After nasal installation, electron microscopic and histopathologic studies with experimental animals reveal that amebae reside in the olfactory mucosa and then invade and migrate through the submucosal structures into the nerve plexuses. Amebae pass through pores of the cribiform plate and into the subarachnoid space. Subsequently, amebae invade the …

The Biological And Structural Characterization Of Transferable Bacteroides R Plasmids, Rodney A. Welch

Theses and Dissertations

In this literature review I will briefly describe the general biology of transferable antibiotic resistance in bacteria, the genetic elements involved (plasmids) and several specific plasmid associated phenotypes. This will be followed with a review of the general biology of Bacteroides, the information known concerning its plasmid reservoir and finally a review of the information documenting the emergence of transferable clindamycin resistance in Bacteroides. The latter aspect represents the central focus of research described in this thesis.

Fixation Of Dormant Tilletia Teliospores For Thin Sectioning, John Scott Gardner

Theses and Dissertations

Dormant Tilletia caries teliospores in fixative solution or distilled water were frozen onto specimen chucks of an FTS Sorvall- Christensen frozen thin sectioner and cut or fractured at various temperatures (-20 to -75 C) and thickness settings (10, 15, 20, and 25 um). Cytoplasm of dormant spores was well preserved and organelles were found to differ from those of germinated spores in morphology. Irregular electron dense and electron opaque areas of lipid bodies were sometimes evident in dormant and germinating Tilletia caries teliospores. When dormant teliospores were sectioned in buffered fixative, lipids had an appearance similar to lipids in thin …

Light And Electron Microscopy Investigation Of Developing Wheat Caryopses Infected By Tilletia, Melvin Douglas Grove

Theses and Dissertations

Caryopses of wheat were studied during infection by Tilletia caries and T. controversa. Initially the pathogens penetrated embryos of the host. After the embryo tissue was consumed by the fungi, endosperm tissue was penetrated and consumed. Initial penetration of endosperm tissue was in localized areas. During infection the fungus mycelium spread intercellularly, but occasionally was seen intracellularly. As the host tissue was consumed teliospores were formed. At maturity a host cell layer 4-6 cells thick remained which retained the mature teliospores. Histochemical studies indicated that carbohydrates and lipids of the host disappeared soon after invasion by the pathogens. Nuclei and …

The Molecular Nature And Replication Of R Factor 222 In Proteus Mirabilis, Dennis Jon Kopecko

Theses and Dissertations

The molecular nature and replicative behavior of R factor 222 was examined in Proteus mirabilis . In deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA} from R+ P. mirabilis , R factor 222 was identified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation as 2 satellite DNA bands at densities corresponding to 50 and 58 moles percent guanine plus cytosine (% GC) . Replication of the 50 and 58% GC components of R factor 222 in P. mirabilis was analyzed during growth in the presence and absence of chloramphenicol (CAM} and after shifting exponentialand stationary- phase cells to conditions which inhibit host protein or DNA synthesis . CAM …

Studies Of Teratogenic Viruses: Minute Virus Of Mice And Colorado Tick Fever Virus, Robert Eldred Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Studies were conducted in DUB/ICR mice with minute virus of mice (MVM), a single stranded DNA virus, and Colorado tick fever (CTF) virus, a double stranded RNA Virus, to determine if CTF virus had teratogenic potential and to characterize further MVM and its teratogenic effects. MVM is a known teratogen, whereas CTF virus had never been investigated previously for teratogenic potential.

In characterization studies of MVM infectivity, the following were determined: (a) Rat embryo cells proved to be superior to six cell lines in assaying for MVM infectivity; (b) MVM infectivity could be inactivated with common laboratory disinfectants, ultraviolet radiation, …

Lipids Of Fungal Spores, Identification And Metabolism, Jim L. Bushnell

Theses and Dissertations

The lipids of the spores of the Basidiomycetes: Ustilago bullata, Lycoperdon perlatum and Calvatia gigantea were investigated. The spores of U. bullata were found to have hydrocarbons ranging from C_9 to C_24, methyl esters of fatty acids ranging from C_14 to C_24, and free fatty acids from C_14 to C_24. The spores of L. perlatum were found to have few hydrocarbons (C_22 being the predominent one); no methyl esters were detected and the fatty acids were from C_15 to C_18. Long chain aldehydes (C_30) were also detected in low concentration. At the ultrastructural level the Lycoperdon spores were found to …

A Pectin Histochemical Study Of The Host Pathogen Relationship Between Pyrenochaeta Terrestris And Allium Cepa, Leroy Richard Cobia

Theses and Dissertations

The involvement of pectin and pectinases in the host pathogen interaction of P. terrestris and Allium cepa were investigated by use of pectin histochemical stains at the electron microscope level. Several different pectin histochemical stains were used, but only two (the hydroxylamine reaction, and the pectin stain developed in this study) gave reliable results. It was observed that by the time the fungus has reached the host cell wall pectinesterase and endoplygalacturonase have fully removed the pectin from the host cell wall. When this has occurred, cellulases are released which continue to degrade the host cell wall. Electron transparent areas …

Ultrastructural And Histochemical Investigations Of Ipomoea Batatus Lam. Infected By Rhizopus Stolonifer (Fr.) Lind, Kendall O. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The ultrastructural aspects of Rhizopus stolonifer (Fr.) Lind. Infection in Ipomoea batatus Lam. Roots and the histochemistry of cell walls affected by enzymes secreted by the fungus were investigated. Specimens were prepared for viewing in the electron microscope by thin-sectioning techniques. Degradation of cellular membreanes and host tissues in advance of the fungus was evident. Breakdown of the middle lamella was detected by special histochemical stains for pectin. Breakdown occurred in the following was: (1) maceration of the middle lamella before maceration of the cell wall, (2) simultaneous degradation of both the middle lamella and the cell wall, (3) maceration …

Characterization Of Deoxyribonucleic Acid From Actinomycetes, Lynn William Enquist

Theses and Dissertations

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyses were used to assess on a molecular level, the relationships among representatives of the genera Streptomyces, Nocardia and Mycobacterium. The methods developed in this study have been used for routine analysis of DNA from a large number of actinomycetes and have given reliable and reproducible data.

DNA isolated from various actinomycetes was characterized by buoyant density determinations in CsCl from which the mole fraction guanine plus cytosine (GC) content was calculated. All the streptomycete DNA preparations studied had buoyant densities in the range of 1.7287 to 1.7312 g cm^-3 which corresponded to GC compositions of …

Taxonomy And Ecology Of Fungi Imperfecti From Four Locations In Utah Lake, Utah Co., Utah, Laird Max Hartman

Theses and Dissertations

Fungi imperfecti were cultured from water and bottom sediment samples collected at four locations of Utah Lake. These study sites included: (a) The mouth of Provo River, the largest fresh-water tributary entering Utah Lake, (b) Mud Lake, a large shallow area known for its high nitrogen content, (c) the entrance of the Spanish Fork River into the lake, a large fresh-water tributary containing wastes from industry and agricultural enterprises, (d) Jordan River, the only natural outlet of Utah Lake. One hundred and thirty-eight species of fungi imperfecti were identified. A total of 89 species were isolated from the Spanish Fork …

Ultrastructural Investigations Of Tilletia Caries Teliospores, James Vincent Allen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructure of Tilletia caries teliospores. Specimens were prepared for viewing in the electron microscope by freeze-etching and thin-sectioning techniques. Thin-sectioning techniques gave excellent results with the teliospore walls and the lipid bodies within the teliospore but failed to adequately fix the membranes and internal organelle systems. Micrographs of Tilletia caries teliospores prepared using thin-sectioning show three major wall layers and two partition wall layers and abundant lipid bodies. The freeze-etch method of spore preparation proved superior to the thin-sectioning used in this study to reveal the internal organelle systems of the …

Surface Characteristics Of Conidia From Monosporous Cultures Of Penicillium Digitatum And Aspergillus Nidulans Var. Echinulatus, Raymond Kunito Fuji

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the possible taxonomic significance of the "rodlet" patterns and spore wall configurations of conidia from monosporous cultures of Penicillium digitatum Saccardo and Aspergillus nidulans Eidam var. echinulatus Fennell & Raper. Freeze-etching the conidiospores from single spore isolates of these fungi revealed that spore wall patterns and configurations vary much too greatly to be of taxonomic importance on the strain and subspecies level. Environmental factors and genetic influences are discussed as possible mechanisms causing the variations of the spore wall configurations. A membrane-like structure that covers the "rodlet" patterns and which hinders spore …

The Identification Of A Germination Factor For Basidiospores Of Psilocybe Mutans, Neal K. Van Alfen

Theses and Dissertations

Basidiospores of the Basidiomycete Psilocybe mutans have been found to germinate only in the presence of water extracts of animal dung. The chemical nature of the factor present in the dung that induces germination is not known, nor has it ever been isolated· Experiments showed that extracts of bile salts cause the basidiospores to germinate, indicating that since bile salts are found in dung, they may be the factor which stimulates the spores to germinate. Investigations of the properties of the factor in dung show that the factor has solubility properties that are similar to those of the bile acids. …

A Comparative Survey Of Soil Microfungi From Three Vegetation Types In Cedar Valley, Utah, Brent T. Wahlquist

Theses and Dissertations

Microfungi were isolated from soil samples by the soil plate method. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0-1", 1-4", and 4-8" both between and beneath the canopy of the dominant vegetation in stands of greasewood, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper. Salinity, pH, and percent organic matter were measured for each soil sample. A total of 148 strains of fungi representing 141 species and 46 genera were isolated and identified from these alkaline soils, Few strains, including some Aspergilli, occurred only in the more saline greasewood soils, while many strains, including several Penicillia, occurred in both sagebrush and piny-on-juniper soils but were …

A Study Of Aquatic Fungi In Powell's Slough, Chao-Chih Hsiao

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic fungi in-Powell's Slough were.studied in 1967 & 1968. Collections were made and water temperature, oxygen content & pH values were measured at weekly intervals. For collections, wire baskets containing substrata were submerged in water for one month. After collecting, substrata were brought to the laboratory. Identification was based on the keys of Sparrow, 1960. Aquatic fungi identified included seven orders, nine families, fifteen genera, and thirty species, from thirty-three collections of fifteen types of substrata. The substrata used in this study were: (i) fruits: apples, rose hips, plums, pears, haws; (ii) twigs: poplar, weeping willow, river birch, weeping white …

Ultrastructural Investigations Of Powdery Mildew Of Rose Caused By Sphaerotheca Pannosa (Wallr.) Lev, Ani Clipper Watene

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ultrastructural aspects of the host-pathogen relationship between the fungus Sphaerotheca pannosa (Wallr.) Lev. and a susceptible horticultural variety of floribunda rose "Eutin". Attention was given to the penetration of hyphal tubes, and their subsequent development into: haustorial elements in epidermal cells of rose. In addition, changes in the morphology of infected epidermal cells were described. Thin sections of rose leaves infected with S. pannosa were examined in a Hitachi electron microscope, model HS-7, after glutaraldehyde-acrolein fixation, OsO4-uranyl acetate staining, and embedding in Epon plastic. The components of S. pannosa haustoria consisted …

Aquatic Phycomycetes Of Lily Lake, Hugh Macmillan Rooney

Theses and Dissertations

Lily Lake, a subalpine lake in the Wasatch National Forest Tl5, R9E, S31, of the Uinta Mountain Region, Utah, is located about one-half mile west of Trial Lake at an elevation of 10,000 feet. This Lake, which is one of the acidic, cold, lentic bogs characteristic of this area, has been selected for a taxonomic and seasonal distribution study of acquatic phycomycetes. This study is a beginning to our knowledge of the role of the fungi in the hydrobiology of Lily Lake and will supply the first information on record of the water molds of this area. The study identifies …

The Taxonomy And Ecology Of The Fleshy Fungus Flora Of The Snowbanks In The Mirror Lake Region Of The Uinta Mountains, Mary Virginia Charlton Dublin

Theses and Dissertations

The ecology and taxonomy of the snowbank fleshy fungi in the vicinity of Mirror Lake, Uinta Mountains, Utah were investigated during 1963, 1964, and 1965. A total of 59 speciaes, representing the Agaricales, Polyporales, Thelephorales, Gastromycestes, Myxomycetes, Dacrymycetales, and Ascomycetes, were found associated with the snowbanks. Four of these species (Geupiniopsis alpinus, Polyporus alboluteus, Polyporus leucospongia and Sterile myclium I) have presence percentages of 100% and three (Stereum Rugisporum, Dasyscypha arida and Herpotichia nigra) had presence percentages of 90%. The lignicolous fungi were found to be more frequent around the snowbanks than either the terrestrial or coprophilous fungi. No fleshy …

A Phytosociological Study Of Coprophilous Ascomycete And Basidiomycete Communities From Santaquin Canyon, Utah, A. Clyde Blauer

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous reports have been published on the taxonomy and distribution of the coprophilous Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. No known quantitative work has been done, however, on the succession and structure of the communities formed by these higher fungi. This research was undertaken to study those two phases of the ascomycete and basidiomycete communities which grow and fruit on cow dung collected from Santaquin Canyon, Utah.

A Study Of Albinism, And Some Mating Reactions In Psilocybe Mutans, Henry L. Curtis

Theses and Dissertations

In recent taxonomic works albinism is not generally recognized as being present in the Agaricales. This study was made to find how albinism was inherited in Psilocybe mutans McKnight. Cultures of P. mutans were incubated in a constant temperature room at 20-22°C. With artificial lighting at 150 foot candles for 16 hours per day and on a laboratory bench at a comparable temperature with diffuse natural light of a lesser intensity. Numerous fruit-bodies were obtained from cultures which grew on substrates containing hot water extracts of rabbit fecal pellets and from cultures grown on substates containing no fecal extracts. In …

A Study Of The Coprophilous Ascomycetes Of Utah, David L. Hanks

Theses and Dissertations

Specimens of animal dung were collected from various areas of the state of Utah. These were cultured by placing a few small pieces in a culture dish over moistened sphagnum moss and filter paper. The cultures were observed periodically and specimens were studied as they matured upon the substratum. A total of eighty-four species representing three orders and fifteen genera are reported. Of these, nine species have not previously been described. Included is one species, Tripterospora erostrata, from the order Plectascales of the Series Plectomyceteae. Cited from the order Sphaeriales of the Series Pyrenomyceteae are forty-nine species as follow: Coniochaeta, …

A Study Of The Effects Of Different Substrates On Growth And Reproduction In Certain Coprophilic Agaricaceae, Raymond C. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Psilocybe mutans sp. nov. had ceased fruiting consistently in artificial culture several years prior to the initiation of this study. In the couse of this study fruiting bodies were produced on a number of different substrates. All cultures were inoculated by mycelial transfer or by spraying with a suspension of pre-germinated spores. All cultrues were incubated for one to two weeks in a constant-temperature room at 70°F. on a shelf fourteen inches below a fluorescent lighting fixture. Lighting was continuous with an intensity at shelf level of approximately 3,000 foot-candles. Fruiting on any particular substrate was improved if the substrate …

A Study Of Physoderma On Three Species Of Portulacaceae, David L. Mumford

Theses and Dissertations

Three species of the Portulacaceae each infected by a Physoderma parasite were collected at several locations in Utah. The hosts have been identified as Claytonia lanceolata Pursh., Oreobroma pygmaeum (A. Gray) Howell, and Erocallis triphylla (S. Wats.) Rydb. Since our present knowledge of Physoderma on members of the Portulacaceae is meager, it seemed desirable to learn as much as possible about the parasite, its hosts, and the relationship between parasite and host. Plants of all three hosts activated from perennating organs were grown for extended periods of time under uniform conditions. Cold treatments were most successful in activating host perennating …

A Study Of The Fleshy Fungi Of Utah, Kent Howell Mcknight

Theses and Dissertations

It is the purpose of this study to further the ends of Mycology by presenting the fleshy fungi which are known to grow in Utah. The term fleshy fungi as used here shall include those Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes which produce large or otherwise conspicuous sporocarps and their closely related forms. This includes portions of the sub-classes Pyrenomycetes and Discomycetes of the Ascomycetes; and portions of the Heterobasidiao and Eubasidiae of the Basidiomycetes (4). The sporocarps may be fleshy, woody, papery, leathery, carbonous or waxy in texture. This would exclude the Myxomycetes. However, since there have been no extensive studies of …