Microbiology Commons^™

โมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดีต่อโปรตีน Vp1 ของไวรัสโลหิตจางในไก่ และการระบุเอพิโทป, เอกราช สิทธิเดช

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

โรคโลหิตจางในไก่ เกิดจากไวรัส Chicken anemia virus (CAV) ไก่ที่ติดไวรัส จะมีภาวะโลหิตจางอย่างรุนแรงตัวแคระแกร็น ต่อมธัยมัสฝ่อ เซลล์ไขกระดูกลดลง และภูมิคุ้มกันบกพร่อง โปรตีน VP1 เป็นโปรตีนโครงสร้างของไวรัส ทำหน้าที่ในการรวมกันเป็นอนุภาคไวรัส มีคุณสมบัติในการเป็นแอนติเจน CAV งานวิจัยก่อนหน้านี้ สามารถผลิตรีคอมบิแนนท์โปรตีน Δ60N_VP1 ของไวรัสโลหิตจางในไก่ จึงเป็นที่มาของวัตถุประสงค์ของงานวิจัยนี้ คือ ผลิตโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดีต่อโปรตีน VP1 และ ระบุเอพิโทปต่อโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดี โดยนำม้ามที่ได้จากการใช้รีคอมบิแนนท์โปรตีน Δ60N_VP1 กระตุ้นภูมิคุ้มกันในหนูเม้าส์ มาหลอมรวมกับเซลล์ไมอีโลมา พบว่าได้ เซลล์ไฮบริโดมาที่ผลิตโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดีจำนวน 5 โคลน ได้แก่ โคลนที่ 1, 2, 3, 7 และ 21 สามารถจำแนกชนิดของแอนติบอดีได้เป็น IgG2a, IgM, IgG2b, IgM และ IgG1 ตามลำดับ การระบุเอพิโทป ทำโดยแบ่งชิ้นส่วนสารพันธุกรรม Δ60N_VP1 เป็น 6 ส่วน ได้แก่ Fragment 1(F1), F2, F3, F4 และ Separating 1(S1) และ S2 ซึ่งแยกมาจากชิ้น F1 จากนั้นเพิ่มปริมาณสารพันธุกรรมด้วยไพรเมอร์จำเพาะ และทำการย้ายชิ้นส่วนแต่ละชิ้นเข้าสู่เวกเตอร์ pET28a นำไปชักนำให้เกิดการแสดงออกใน E. coli Rosetta-gami รีคอมบิแนนท์โปรตีนแต่ละชนิดจะถูกใช้เป็นแอนติเจนเพื่อใช้ระบุเอพิโทปต่อโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดี ด้วยวิธี western blotting analysis ผลการทดลองพบโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดี ทั้ง 5 โคลน มีความจำเพาะต่อแอนติเจน Δ60N_VP1 และ ไม่เกิดปฏิกิริยาข้ามกับรีคอมบิแนนท์โปรตีนที่มี His-Tag ชนิดอื่น ในการศึกษานี้ใช้ โมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดีชนิด IgG เท่านั้น ที่จะถูกนำไประบุเอพิโทป ผลการทดลองพบว่าโมโนโคลนอลแอนติบอดีโคลนที่ 1 ทำปฏิกริยาจำเพาะกับโปรตีน …

การคัดแยกยีสต์เพื่อผลิตน้ำมันจากไฮโดรไลเสตของใบอ้อย, รัชนา พระนิมิตร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

คัดแยกยีสต์จำนวน 106 ไอโซเลตจากจังหวัดระนอง ประเทศไทย คัดกรองยีสต์ที่สะสมน้ำมันภายในเซลล์สูงโดยการย้อมเซลล์ด้วยสีไนล์เรด (Nile red) พบว่ายีสต์จำนวน 24 ไอโซเลต มีหยดน้ำมันภายในเซลล์ มากกว่า 50% ของปริมาตรเซลล์ และเป็นยีสต์ที่สามารถใช้น้ำตาลไซโลสเป็นแหล่งคาร์บอนเพื่อการเจริญได้ 16 ไอโซเลต น้ำตาลไซโลสเป็นองค์ประกอบหลักในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อยเช่นเดียวกับน้ำตาลกลูโคส ผลการวิเคราะห์ปริมาณน้ำมันที่สะสมภายในเซลล์ของยีสต์16 ไอโซเลตที่คัดกรองได้ โดยเลี้ยงในอาหารที่มีปริมาณกลูโคส 5% (น้ำหนัก/ปริมาตร) แต่มีปริมาณไนโตรเจนจำกัด พบว่าเป็นยีสต์โอลิจินัส (ยีสต์ซึ่งสะสมน้ำมันภายในเซลล์มากกว่า 20% น้ำหนัก/น้ำหนัก ของน้ำหนักแห้งเซลล์) จำนวน 5 สายพันธุ์ คือ Cryptococcus humicola NG2, Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans MG11-12.3, Cyberlindnera subsufficiens NG8.2, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa MG11-2.3 และ Yarrowia sp. NG17 ผลการวิจัยนี้นับเป็นการรายงานว่ายีสต์ T. mycotoxinivorans และ C. subsufficiens เป็นยีสต์โอลิจินัสเป็นครั้งแรก แต่เนื่องจากยีสต์ T. mycotoxinivorans เป็นยีสต์ก่อโรคจึงไม่นำมาศึกษาต่อ นำยีสต์ 4 สายพันธุ์ที่คัดกรองได้ มาผลิตน้ำมันโดยเลี้ยงในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อยซึ่งมีปริมาณน้ำตาลกลูโคสและน้ำตาลไซโลสเท่ากับ 18.7 กรัม/ลิตร และ 19.1 กรัม/ลิตร โดยการปรับสภาพด้วยกรดซัลฟูริคเจือจางและย่อยต่อด้วยเอนไซม์เซลลูเลสทางการค้า ผลการเปรียบเทียบปริมาณน้ำมันที่ผลิตได้ในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อยที่ผ่านการปรับด่างเกินเพื่อกำจัดสารยับยั้งการเจริญของยีสต์ และไม่ผ่านการปรับด่างเกิน พบว่ายีสต์ทั้ง 4 สายพันธุ์ผลิตน้ำมันในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อยที่ไม่ผ่านการปรับด่างเกินได้มากกว่า โดย Yarrowia NG17 ผลิตน้ำมันสูงที่สุดเท่ากับ 10.15% น้ำหนัก/น้ำหนักของน้ำหนักเซลล์แห้ง ผลการหาภาวะที่เหมาะสมสำหรับการผลิตน้ำมันของ Yarrowia NG17 โดยแปรผันการเติมและไม่เติม แคลเซียมคลอไรด์ (CaCl2) โพแทสเซียมไดไฮโดรเจนฟอสเฟต (KH2PO4) และแมกนีเซียมซัลเฟต (MgSO4) ในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อย พบว่ายีสต์ Yarrowia NG17 มีอัตราการผลิตน้ำมันสูงที่สุดเท่ากับ 1.52 กรัม/ลิตร/วัน เมื่อเจริญในไฮโดรไลเสตใบอ้อยที่ไม่เติมสารอาหารใดๆที่ทดสอบ ผลการแปรผันค่าพีเอชเริ่มต้นช่วง …

Navigating Human Cytomegalovirus (Hcmv) Envelopment And Egress, William Longeway Close

Wayne State University Dissertations

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous viral pathogen. In individuals with fully functioning and mature immune systems, HCMV is associated with mild symptoms prior to establishing latency. In individuals with naïve or compromised immune systems, HCMV is capable of causing severe organ damage. HCMV is the leading infectious cause of congenital birth defects and a major non-genetic cause of hearing loss. Unfortunately, antiviral treatment options lack diversity due to limited knowledge of virion replication. If HCMV replication were better understood, new antiviral treatments could be developed.

In this work, we describe the development and implementation of new tools to study …

Come Fly With Me: Using Amixicile To Target Periodontal Pathogens And Elucidating The Innate Immune Response In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kathryn Sinclair

Theses and Dissertations

Periodontal diseases (PD) affect 46% of American adults over age 30. These diseases cause symptoms including bleeding and swelling of the gums, bone resorption, and tooth loss, that affect quality of life and have a high economic burden. Periodontal diseases are caused by an imbalance in the oral microbiome, from a healthy state that contains anti-inflammatory commensals like Streptococcus gordonii and mitis, to a diseased state that has pro-inflammatory anaerobic pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Tannerella forsythia. The latter initiate disease progression in the oral cavity. However, it’s the host immune …

Discovery And Characterization Of Bile Acid And Steroid Metabolism Pathways In Gut-Associated Microbes, Spencer Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The human gut microbiome is a complex microbial ecosystem residing in the lumen of our gastrointestinal tract. The type and amounts of microbes present in this ecosystem varies based on numerous factors, including host genetics, diet, and environmental factors. The human gut microbiome plays an important role in normal host physiological functions, including providing energy to colonocytes in the form of short-chain fatty acids. However, gut microbial metabolites have also been associated with numerous disease states. Current tools for analyzing the gut microbiome, such as high-throughput sequencing techniques, are limited in their predictive ability. Additionally, “-omic” approaches of studying the …

Hub Proteins, Paralogs, And Unknown Proteins In Bacterial Interaction Networks, Neha Sakhawalkar

Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are the functional units of cells. However, a major portion of the proteome does not have a known functional annotation. This dissertation explores protein -protein interactions, involving these uncharacterized or unknown function proteins. Initially, protein – protein interactions were tested and analyzed for paralogous proteins in Escherichia coli. To expand this concept further and to get an overview, protein – protein interactions were analyzed using ‘comparative interactomics’ for four pathogenic bacterial species including Escherichia coli, Yersinia pestis, Vibrio cholerae and Staphylococcus aureus. This approach was used to study unknown function protein pairs as well as to …

In Search Of A Function For An Uncharacterized Conserved Protein In Streptococcus Sanguinis Sk36, Ayana Scott-Elliston

Theses and Dissertations

With the number of fully sequenced bacterial genomes increasing in the past 7 years, it has been discovered that a large percentage of the putative protein coding genes have no known function. This lack of knowledge leaves scientists with an incomplete understanding of bacteria. In this study, conserved hypothetical protein mutants from Streptococcus sanguinis SK36 were screened on solid media with various environmental conditions. From these screens, the candidate protein, SSA_2372, displayed a sensitivity to acidic conditions. Its homolog in Bacillus subtilis 168, BSU00030, also displayed a sensitivity to pH conditions at its acid tolerance extremes unlike its other homolog …

Structure-Function Investigation Of Proteins Involved In Cellulose Biosynthesis By Escherichia Coli, Thomas Brenner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Bacteria thrive within multicellular communities called biofilms consisting of a self-produced matrix. Biofilm matrices improve bacterial adherence to surfaces while creating a barrier from host immune responses, disinfectants, antibiotics and other environmental factors. Persistent colonization by the widely distributed pathogens, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., has been linked to production of biofilms composed of the exopolysaccharide cellulose. Cellulose-containing biofilms are also important to Acetobacter, Sarcina, Rhizobium and Agrobacterium species to form symbiotic and pathogenic interactions. In Enterobacteriaceae, two operons (bcsABZC and bcsEFG) are proposed to encode for proteins that form a cellulose biosynthetic complex that spans the …

Controlling Brochothrix Thermosphacta As A Spoilage Risk Using In Package Atmospheric Cold Plasma, Apurva Patange, Daniela Boehm, Carmen Bueno-Ferrer, Patrick J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

Articles

Brochothrix thermosphacta is a predominant spoilage microorganism in meat and its control in processing environments is important to maintain meat product quality. Atmospheric cold plasma is of interest for control of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in foods. This study ascertained the potential of dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (DBD-ACP) for control of B. thermosphacta in response to key parameters such as treatment time, voltage level, interactions with media composition and post treatment storage conditions. Challenge populations were evaluated as suspensions in PBS, as biofilms in meat model medium and surface attached on raw lamb chops under MAP.

ACP treatment …

Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Minnesota Soil Bacteria From Areas Of High And Low Ferric Iron, Gunner L. Drossel, Presley Martin Phd

Departmental Honors Projects

Naturally-occurring antibiotic resistance genes in soil bacteria represent a potentially important reservoir of genes that could contribute to antibiotic resistance of human pathogens. It has been reported that over 40 genes in bacterial genomes are controlled by concentrations of ferric iron. We examined the effect of soil metal content on the level of resistance to two antibiotics, ampicillin (Amp) and tetracycline (Tet), and the presence of multiple genes that code for efflux pump-mediated resistance. These pumps act to export toxins (e.g. heavy metals and antibiotics, perhaps). Because of this, growth in heavy metal-contaminated soils might select for antibiotic resistance. Ninety-six …

A Survey Of Β-Lactam Antibiotic Resistance Genes And Culturable Ampicillin Resistant Bacteria In Minnesota Soils, Emily M. Wollmuth

Departmental Honors Projects

Since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have been an essential tool in the treatment of bacterial infections and diseases. It is estimated that antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes have existed for billions of years. With the increasing appearance of resistant pathogenic bacteria, there has been growing concern. β-lactam antibiotics make up the largest portion of the global market, so resistance to these antibiotics is especially alarming. It has been theorized that frequency and type of antibiotic resistance genes vary by area. Previous studies suggest that these differences may be related to antibiotic use in agricultural and urban areas. To survey …

Antifungal Genome Mining And Genetics In Filamentous Actinomycete Bacteria Isolated From Local Soils, Jacob Alex, Kevin Lou, Bilal Makhdoom

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Actinomycetes are gram positive, filamentous bacteria that produce useful antibiotics, antitumor agents, and agricultural products. A series of enrichments were undertaken to isolate actinomycetes from local soils, varying enrichment media, antibacterials, and soil treatments (including heat and CaCO3). Isolates were characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing, phenotypic and morphological observations, and antibiotic production. The genetic tractability of select isolates was analyzed using a panel of integrating vectors derived from ɸC31, ɸBT1, and OzzyJ phage using intergeneric conjugation. Further, a semi-degenerate multiplex PCR assay to detect ɸBT1 genomic integrants was designed and tested for the first time. Finally, PCR screens were used …

Development And Characterization Of Histidine-Tagged Hpv16 L2 And Ms2-Arginine-Tagged Recombinant Proteins For Downstream Processes, Tahiyat Alothaim

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the most common sexually transmitted infections. Persistent infection with HPV can lead to anogenital cancers including head and neck cancers. Three prophylactic vaccines have been approved to prevent against some types of HPV infection. However, the vaccines are HPV-type specific and protect mostly against the HPV types included in the vaccines. To offer broader protection against more HPV types, studies in the field are developing candidate vaccines targeting a conserved minor capsid protein, L2. Nevertheless, reagents for developing and assessing L2 vaccines are limited. For example, antibodies to assess the antigenicity of some L2 epitopes are …

Contributions Of Gene Copy Number Variation To Genome Evolution And Local Adaptation Of The Cyanobacterium Acaryochloris, Amy L. Gallagher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Acaryochloris is a recently discovered genus of cyanobacteria, unique in its use of an uncommon chlorophyll as its major photosynthetic pigment, and in its peculiar genome dynamics. Members of this genus exhibit increased genic copy number variation (CNV), which is thought to be primarily derived from gene duplications and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Acaryochloris provides an ideal system to explore mechanisms behind maintenance of gene duplicates and the influence of CNV in local adaptation. Here, I propose a mechanism for retention of gene duplicates of the bacterial recombinase, RecA, in Acaryochloris genomes and provide preliminary evidence that these paralogs are …

A Rare Case Of Erythema Elevatum Diutinum Presenting As Diffuse Neuropathy, G H. Nguyen, E L. Guo, D Norris

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Rainbow Trout Cell Lines As A Model For Understanding The Innate Anti-Fv3 Immune Response, Graeme Robert Jones Lisser

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ranavirus infections are on the rise and have been implicated in numerous species die-offs across the globe. Frog virus 3 (FV3) is the type-species of the genus, yet the immune mechanisms governing susceptibility remain poorly understood. Arguably the most important immune response to infection is the type I interferon (IFN) response. Type I IFNs trigger an “antiviral state” in host cells via the production of numerous interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that act to inhibit virus replication in various way, including the induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis is an important antiviral defense mechanism to limit virus replication within infected cells. This study employed …

Influence Of Maternal Breast Milk Ingestion On Acquisition Of The Intestinal Microbiome In Preterm Infants, Katherine E Gregory, Buck S Samuel, Pearl Houghteling, Guru Shan, Frederick M Ausubel, Ruslan I Sadreyev, W Allan Walker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The initial acquisition and early development of the intestinal microbiome during infancy are important to human health across the lifespan. Mode of birth, antibiotic administration, environment of care, and nutrition have all been shown to play a role in the assembly of the intestinal microbiome during early life. For preterm infants, who are disproportionately at risk of inflammatory intestinal disease (i.e., necrotizing enterocolitis), a unique set of clinical factors influence the establishment of the microbiome. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of nutritional exposures on the intestinal microbiome in a cohort of preterm infants early …

Cullin-4 Regulates Wingless And Jnk Signaling-Mediated Cell Death In The Drosophila Eye., Meghana Tare, Ankita Sarkar, Shimpi Bedi, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

In all multicellular organisms, the fundamental processes of cell proliferation and cell death are crucial for growth regulation during organogenesis. Strict regulation of cell death is important to maintain tissue homeostasis by affecting processes like regulation of cell number, and elimination of unwanted/unfit cells. The developing Drosophila eye is a versatile model to study patterning and growth, where complex signaling pathways regulate growth and cell survival. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of these processes is not fully understood. In a gain-of-function screen, we found that misexpression of cullin-4 (cul-4), an ubiquitin ligase, can rescue reduced eye mutant phenotypes. Previously, …

Comparative Genomic Analysis Of Two Serotype 1/2b Listeria Monocytogenes Isolates From Analogous Environmental Niches Demonstrates The Influence Of Hypervariable Hotspots In Defining Pathogenesis, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Aidan Coffey, Edward M. Fox, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The vast majority of clinical human listeriosis cases are caused by serotype 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b isolates of Listeria monocytogenes. The ability of L. monocytogenes to establish a systemic listeriosis infection within a host organism relies on a combination of genes that are involved in cell recognition, internalization, evasion of host defenses, and in vitro survival and growth. Recently, whole genome sequencing and comparative genomic analysis have proven to be powerful tools for the identification of these virulence-associated genes in L. monocytogenes. In this study, two serotype 1/2b strains of L. monocytogenes with analogous isolation sources, but …

The Vibrio Cholerae Minor Pilin Tcpb Initiates Assembly And Retraction Of The Toxin-Coregulated Pilus, Dixon Ng, Tony Harn, Tuba Altindal, Subramania Kolappan, Jarrad Marles, Rajan Lala, Ingrid Spielman, Yang Gao, Caitlyn Hauke, Gabriela Kovacikova

Dartmouth Scholarship

Type IV pilus (T4P) systems are complex molecular machines that polymerize major pilin proteins into thin filaments displayed on bacterial surfaces. Pilus functions require rapid extension and depolymerization of the pilus, powered by the assembly and retraction ATPases, respectively. A set of low abundance minor pilins influences pilus dynamics by unknown mechanisms. The Vibrio cholerae toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP) is among the simplest of the T4P systems, having a single minor pilin TcpB and lacking a retraction ATPase. Here we show that TcpB, like its homolog CofB, initiates pilus assembly. TcpB co-localizes with the pili but at extremely low levels, equivalent …

Occurrence, Antibiotic Resistance, And Survival Of Fecal Enterococci In Turkey Litter, Steven Glynn Mcbride Ii

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Water Quality Inventory and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report show fecal bacteria to be the most common cause of impairment for both streams and estuaries. Human and animal sources have both been identified as significant contributors of pathogenic bacteria to surface waters. In this study, turkey litter from a farm in Shenandoah County, VA was surveyed for total culturable bacteria and total culturable enterococci before and after a transition to organic rearing practices. The enterococci were identified to species phenotypically using the Biolog Microbial Identification System and resistance …

Amino Acid Catabolism In Staphylococcus Aureus, Cortney Halsey

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus must rapidly adapt to a variety of carbon and nitrogen sources during invasion of a host. Within a staphylococcal abscess, preferred carbon sources such as glucose are limiting, suggesting S. aureus survives through the catabolism of secondary carbon sources. S. aureus encodes pathways to catabolize multiple amino acids including those that generate pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate, and oxaloacetate. To assess amino acid catabolism, S. aureus JE2 and mutants were grown in complete defined medium containing 18 amino acids but lacking glucose (CDM). A mutation in glutamate dehydrogenase (gudB), which generates 2-oxoglutarate from glutamate, abrogated growth in CDM suggesting …

The Influence Of The Invasive Chinese Tallow (Triadica Sebifera) Leaf Litter On Aquatic Chemistry And Microbial Community Composition, Raymond D. Montez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change and anthropogenic activity have facilitated the movement and invasive potential of nonnative plants in native environments. These invasions can have negative effects on ecosystem diversity and function. The nonnative and invasive plant, Chinese Tallow (Triadica sebifera), has already invaded much of the south eastern US where it is outcompeting native tree species and changing ecosystem diversity in a variety of habitats. Leaf litter from the Chinese tallow has been shown cause changes in dissolved oxygen and pH in the aquatic environment. Turbidity is also affected when Chinese tallow litter is present in water. A series of …

Review Of The Cultivation Program Within The National Alliance For Advanced Biofuels And Bioproducts, Peter J. Lammers, Michael Huesemann, Wiebke Boeing, Daniel B. Anderson, Robert G. Arnold, Xuemei Bai, Manish Bhole, Yalini Brhanavan, Louis Brown, Jola Brown, Judith K. Brown, Stephen Chisholm, C. Meghan Downes, Scott Fulbright, Yufeng Ge, Jonathan E. Holladay, Balachandran Ketheesan, Avinash Khopkar, Ambica Koushik, Paul Laur, Babetta L. Marrone, John B. Mott, Nagamany Nirmalakhandan, Kimberly L. Ogden, Ronald L. Parsons, Juergen Polle, Randy D. Ryan, Tzachi Samocha, Richard T. Sayre, Mark Seger, Thinesh Selvaratnam, Ruixiu Sui, Alex Thomasson, Adrian Unc, Wayne Van Vorrhies, Peter Waller, Yao Yao, José A. Olivares

Publications and Research

The cultivation efforts within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB)were developed to provide four major goals for the consortium, which included biomass production for downstream experimentation, development of new assessment tools for cultivation, development of new cultivation reactor technologies, and development of methods for robust cultivation. The NAABB consortium test beds produced over 1500 kg of biomass for downstream processing. The biomass production included a number of model production strains, but also took into production some of the more promising strains found through the prospecting efforts of the consortium. Cultivation efforts at large scale are intensive and …

Genomic Description And Annotation Of A New Colivirus; Kb1, Maggie Caswell

Honors Projects

KB1 is a bacteriophage with relatively few established characteristics. However, it is thought to be similar to the novel environmental isolate bacteriophage, JK5. The aim of this study was to describe and annotate the genome of this new colivirus, relative to the genome of JK5. This comparison confirms the hypothesis that these are similar, but distinct viruses, and provides a foundation for the further understanding of both of these novel environmental isolates.

Erratum To: Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia In Infants With G6pd C.563c>T Variant, Bushra Moiz, Amna Nasir, Sarosh Ahmed Khan, Saleema Amin Kherani, Maqbool Qadir

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

No abstract provided.

Epidemiology Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In The Daggerblade Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes Pugio) And The Gulf Sand Fiddler Crab (Uca Panacea), Muhammad

Dissertations

Ever since the first outbreaks of White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which causes White Spot Disease (WSD), in Asia in the early 1990s, the pathogen has been a major constraint to the profitability of the shrimp aquaculture industry across the globe. WSSV has a broad host range and is routinely detected in wild decapod crustaceans. In the present study, two common species in the tidal salt marsh along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the daggerblade grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and the Gulf sand fiddler crab (Uca panacea), were investigated for their role as …

A Microbiomic Approach To The Characterization Of The Impacts And Influences Of Viral, Bacterial, And Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins On The Bottlenose Dolphin, Corey David Russo

Dissertations

As apex predators that display high site fidelity Tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphin) are indicators of marine ecosystem health. Bottlenose dolphins, additionally, display pathogenesis and immune response similar to that of humans. Humans and coastal bottlenose dolphins, in particular, are constantly exposed to the same industrial, agricultural and domestic toxins and pathogens, contaminants and pollutants. Thus, studies on the bottlenose dolphin are also valuable in bridging the gap between ocean and human health. Bottlenose dolphins are susceptible to viral bacterial and toxin infection. Infection in the bottlenose dolphin manifests itself in the form of mass stranding events, unusual mortality events, chronic …

Complex Glycan Utilization Preferences Of Human Gut Bacteria, Yunus Emre Tuncil

Open Access Dissertations

Complex glycans, making up dietary fiber, have gained significance in recent years as they are the main energy source for the colonic microbiota which are physiologically important for the host health. Understanding glycan utilization strategies of the members of this community is essential to maximize beneficial health outcomes obtained from them. In order to investigate how the members of our gut microbiota utilize glycans and activate their respective polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), we performed a series of time-course assays in which two model organisms, Bacteroides thetaiotamicron (Bt) and B. ovatus (Bo), were individually grown in a medium containing carbohydrates utilized …

Xpert Mtb/Rif Assay Shows Faster Clearance Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Dna With Higher Levels Of Rifapentine Exposure., A Jayakumar, R M Savic, C K Everett, Debra Benator, D Alland, C M Heilig, M Weiner, S O Friedrich, N A Martinson, A Kerrigan, C Zamudio, S V Goldberg, W C Whitworth, J L Davis, P Nahid

Medicine Faculty Publications

The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is both sensitive and specific as a diagnostic test. Xpert also reports quantitative output in cycle threshold (CT) values, which may provide a dynamic measure of sputum bacillary burden when used longitudinally. We evaluated the relationship between Xpert CT trajectory and drug exposure during tuberculosis (TB) treatment to assess the potential utility of Xpert CT for treatment monitoring. We obtained serial sputum samples from patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB who were consecutively enrolled at 10 international clinical trial sites participating in study 29X, a CDC-sponsored Tuberculosis Trials Consortium study evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antimicrobial activity …