Biotechnology Commons^™

Biowill - Characterising Willow Bark Bio-Actives For Skin Therapies, Arnold Marisa

ORBioM (Open Research BioSciences Meeting)

Willow bark is considered as a disposable by-product when processing willow for biomass. Willow (Salix) is known to contain high value bioactive compounds which include salicin and its derivatives, and other phytochemicals of interest such as polyphenols and flavonoids. The plant is historically known as the primary source of salicylates to which the well-known drug aspirin is derived from. The work forms part of the Interreg project BioWILL, which is focused on integrated “Zero Waste” biorefinery utilising all fractions of willow feedstock for the production of biochemicals and renewable energy. This project aims to investigate the crude and …

Dj-1 Is Not A Deglycase And Makes A Modest Contribution To Cellular Defense Against Methylglyoxal Damage In Neurons, Melissa Conti Mazza, Sarah C. Shuck, Jiusheng Lin, Michael Moxley, John Termini, Mark R. Cookson, Mark A. Wilson

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Human DJ-1 is a cytoprotective protein whose absence causes Parkinson's disease and is also associated with other diseases. DJ-1 has an established role as a redox-regulated protein that defends against oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Multiple studies have suggested that DJ-1 is also a protein/nucleic acid deglycase that plays a key role in the repair of glycation damage caused by methylglyoxal (MG), a reactive α-keto aldehyde formed by central metabolism. Contradictory reports suggest that DJ-1 is a glyoxalase but not a deglycase and does not play a major role in glycation defense. Resolving this issue is important for understanding how …

Characterizing Endogenous Dicer Products To Unravel Novel Rnai Biogenesis Pathways, Jacob Oche Peter

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

RNA interference (RNAi) is a pervasive gene regulatory mechanism in eukaryotes based on the action of multiple classes of small RNA (sRNA). Exploiting RNAi pathways in non-model systems have great potential for creating potent RNAi technologies. Here, we accessed RNAi-mediated control of gene expression in the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (T. urticae) using engineered dsRNA designed to modulate the host RNAi pathway and increase RNAi efficacy. Analysis of Dicer (Dcr) generated fragments revealed how exogenous RNAs access the host RNAi pathway in this animal, opening avenues for designing RNAi technology for their control. Further, some organisms …

Altered Collective Mitochondrial Dynamics In The Arabidopsis Msh1 Mutant Compromising Organelle Dna Maintenance, Joanna M. Chustecki, Ross D. Etherington, Daniel J. Gibbs, Iain G. Johnston

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Mitochondria form highly dynamic populations in the cells of plants (and almost all eukaryotes). The characteristics and benefits of this collective behaviour, and how it is influenced by nuclear features, remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we use a recently developed quantitative approach to reveal and analyse the physical and collective ‘social’ dynamics of mitochondria in an Arabidopsis msh1 mutant where the organelle DNA maintenance machinery is compromised. We use a newly created line combining the msh1 mutant with mitochondrially targeted green fluorescent protein (GFP), and characterize mitochondrial dynamics with a combination of single-cell time-lapse microscopy, computational tracking, and network …

Biomass Estimation Of Marine Biofilms On Plastic Surfaces, Kian Banihashemi, Fernando Javier Gil

Biological Sciences

Plastics have become a major source of marine pollution, which threatens food safety and quality, human health, and marine ecosystems. Due to the drastic negative effects of plastics in a marine environment, alternative biodegradable plastics are being generated that are more eco-friendly and have less environmental impact. Though some of these plastics are known to biodegrade, the process of degradation for bioplastics has not been heavily studied in a marine environment. This pilot project sought to both quantify the process of biodegradation and compare across different methods for effectiveness of biomass estimation, which serves as an indicator of biodegradation. Plastics …

Rhizosphere-Competent Actinobacterial Isolates With Acc Deaminase Activity Alleviate Salt Stress In Tomato Plants In The Uae, Alaa Ahmed Abbas Elbadawi

Biology Theses

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most popular vegetables in the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Salinity is a global menace to plant growth and development, causing significant economic losses to tomato and other crop plants. It is well-known that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase (ACCD) can increase plant tolerance to environmental stresses. This can be attributed to the increased activity of the enzyme ACCD, which breaks down ACC [the immediate precursor of ethylene (ET)] to ammonia and α-ketobutyrate, to lower the overproduction of ET levels in planta and to reduce the damages caused …

Optimization Of Palmitic Acid Production In Chloroidium Sp. Utex 3007 As A Sustainable Source Of Palm Oil Alternative, Amnah Salem Alzahmi

Theses

The increase in palm oil consumption and production has resulted in removing up to 90% of trees in some tropical forests. The green microalgae Chloroidium sp. UTEX 3007 can be an alternative sustainable source of palm oil due to its high palmitic acid content. The objective of this study was to generate a mutant Chloroidium population that is capable of producing and accumulating elevated levels of palmitic acid and to characterize the obtained populations’ lipid contents. The palmitic acid production optimization in Chloroidium sp. UTEX 3007 was conducted via a workflow of ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis and sorting of high-lipid producing …

Development Of Optical Nanomaterial For Enhanced Cerenkov Imaging, Qize Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Imaging has increasingly been used over the last two decades to improve the diagnosis and guidance of tumor tissue removal surgery. Among the most widely used techniques for in vivo imaging are planar and tomographic fluorescence imaging and bioluminescence imaging. Despite their utility, these techniques are primarily restricted to preclinical use. Factors that have prevented translation from the bench to the bedside include depth-penetration considerations, regulatory issues, and toxicity. A recent development in nuclear imaging has been the ability to …

In Silico Identification Of Potential Inhibitors Of The Sars‑Cov‑2 Nucleocapsid Through Molecular Docking‑Based Drug Repurposing, Rukhsar Afreen, Saleem Iqbal, Ab Rauf Shah, Heena Afreen, Maitreyi College, Mohd. Shkir

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects on people worldwide continue to grow. Protein-targeted therapeutics are currently unavailable for this virus. As with other coronaviruses, the nucleocapsid (N) protein is the most conserved RNA-binding structural protein of SARS-CoV-2. The N protein is an appealing target because of its functional role in viral transcription and replication. Therefore, molecular docking method for structure-based drug design was used to investigate the binding energy and binding modes of various anti-N inhibitors in depth. The inhibitors selected were originally developed to target stress granules and other molecules involved in RNA …

Producing Bacterial Cellulose From Coffee (Coffea Arabica) Kombucha Fermentation And Assessment Of Its Efficacy To Remove Pathogenic Bacteria From Contaminated Water And A Pollutant Dye From Aqueous Solution, Federico Bueno

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bacterial cellulose (BC), composed of cellulosic nanofibrils, is synthesized by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast during the fermentation of coffee kombucha (CK). BC may be used as a purification agent and adsorbent. The overall goal of this project was to synthesize BC from CK fermentation and assess its efficacy in removing pathogenic bacteria from contaminated water and a pollutant dye from aqueous solution. The objectives of this study were to: (1) compare BCs that were produced from different carbohydrate substrates in the fermentation of CK, (2) characterize dried BCs produced using various drying methods, (3) evaluate BC as …

Guard-Cell-Targeted Overexpression Of Arabidopsis Hexokinase 1 Can Improve Water Use Efficiency In Field-Grown Tobacco Plants, Liana G. Acevedo-Siaca, Katarzyna Glowacka, Steven M. Driever, Coralie E. Salesse-Smith, Nitsan Lugassi, David Granot, Stephen P. Long, Johannes Kromdijk

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Water deficit currently acts as one of the largest limiting factors for agricultural productivity worldwide. Additionally, limitation by water scarcity is projected to continue in the future with the further onset of effects of global climate change. As a result, it is critical to develop or breed for crops that have increased water use efficiency and that are more capable of coping with water scarce conditions. However, increased intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) typically brings a trade-off with CO₂ assimilation as all gas exchange is mediated by stomata, through which CO₂ enters the leaf while water vapor exits. …

Isolation And Characterization Of Α-Hcd7 Scfv Expressing Exosomes And Synthesis Of Hybrid Exosome-Liposome For Analyses, Sahil Patel

Biotechnology Theses

The goal of this thesis project is to isolate and characterize exosomes that express anti-human CD7 (α-hCD7) single chain variable fragment (scFv), which will be further utilized for T celltargeted gene editing. To reach this goal, exosomes from HEK 293 cells and Jurkat cells were isolated and characterized with different methodologies. To obtain α-hCD7 scFv-expressing exosomes, the HEK 293 cells were subjected to transfection of custom-plasmid pDisplay-αhCD7 scFv, and the expression of α-hCD7 scFv on the HEK 293-derived exosomes were then confirmed by immunogold staining, western blotting, and flow cytometry. To transfect 293 cells, calcium phosphate transfection was utilized, and …

Contributions Of Vibrational Spectroscopy To Virology: A Review, Iqra Chaudhary, Naomi Jackson, Denise Denning, Luke O'Neill, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Vibrational spectroscopic techniques, both infrared absorption and Raman scattering, are high precision, label free analytical techniques which have found applications in fields as diverse as analytical chemistry, pharmacology, forensics and archeometrics and, in recent times, have attracted increasing attention for biomedical applications. As analytical techniques, they have been applied to the characterisation of viruses as early as the 1970s, and, in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have been explored in response to the World Health Organisation as novel methodologies to aid in the global efforts to implement and improve rapid screening of viral infection. This review …

Molecular-Level Control Over Ionic Conduction And Ionic Current Direction By Designing Macrocycle-Based Ionomers, Shyambo Chatterjee, Ehsan Zamani, Seefat Farzin, Iman Evazzade, Oghenetega Allen Obewhere, Tyler James Johnson, Vitaly Alexandrov, Shudipto Konika Dishari

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Poor ionic conductivity of the catalyst-binding, submicrometer- thick ionomer layers in energy conversion and storage devices is a huge challenge. However, ionomers are rarely designed keeping in mind the specific issues associated with nanoconfinement. Here, we designed nature-inspired ionomers (calix-2) having hollow, macrocyclic, calix[4]arene-based repeat units with precise, sub-nanometer diameter. In ≤100 nm-thick films, the in-plane proton conductivity of calix-2 was up to 8 times higher than the current benchmark ionomer Nafion at 85% relative humidity (RH), while it was 1−2 orders of magnitude higher than Nafion at 20−25% RH. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and other synthetic techniques allowed us …

Consumer Preferences For Lab Grown Meat: The Effect Of Information On Consumer Choice, Aryn Blumenberg

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global population growth and increased meat demand present challenges for the agricultural industry to produce meat sustainably. In-vitro meat (IVM) is an alternative that could reduce negative impacts associated with livestock production. The goal of this study was to examine consumers’ preferences for IVM. A choice experiment was created with twelve choice tasks that varied across five attributes: production method (IVM or conventional), carbon trust label, organic label, animal welfare label, and price. 1,120 US consumers were randomly assigned to one of four information treatments, differing by information presented regarding IVM: 1) neutral (baseline), 2) positive, 3) negative, and 4) …

Functional Role Of Ppal And Potential For Moss In Industrial Applications., Susana Perez Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination and characterization of the functional roles of PPAL. PROTEIN PRENYLTRANSFERASE ALPHA SUBUNIT-LIKE (PPAL) is a recently discovered gene. PPAL homologs are present in all plants and many animals, where its function is largely unknown. It is possible that PPAL could participate in prenylation processes since it shares similarity to the α subunits of known prenylation enzymes. Prenylation is a post-translational modification of proteins that involves the addition of a lipid moiety to proteins to facilitate membrane targeting and association and promote protein-protein interactions. Prenylation has important roles in plant growth and development, including …

Expression And Functional Characterization Of Avocado Dgat1 And Pdat1 In Arabidopsis And Camelina, Josphat Kiunga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study is aimed to determine the role of avocado DGAT1 and PDAT1 in seed oil synthesis. Triacylglycerol (TAG) has a nutritional and industrial value and is essential for plant growth. DGAT1 and PDAT1 catalyze the final step of TAG Assembly. We hypothesized that both PaPDAT1 and PaDGAT1, although predominantly expressed in non-seed tissues, could contribute to oil accumulation in seeds. Agrobacterium transformants with PaPDAT1 and PaDGAT1 cloned in pCAMBIA were generated to test this. Subsequently, the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis mutant lines and camelina was carried out by floral dipping. The T₁ camelina seeds …

Identifying Genetic Differences Among African American And Caucasian Triple Negative Breast Cancer Genotypes, Christopher Jordan Dixon

Theses (2016-Present)

Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are closely related to basal-like cancers and classified based on their molecular signatures and their progenitor cell type. TNBCs lack the presence of three common types of receptors known to fuel breast cancer growth: estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptors 2 (HER2neu). TNBC represent 10-20% of all molecular breast cancer subtypes. Even though genomic and transcriptome analyses show that many of the molecular signatures associated with TNBC are not related to ethnicity, clinicians and researchers find that African American (AA) TNBC women have higher mortality rates compared to Caucasian …

Evaluation Of Current Methods To Detect Cellular Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (Lrrk2) Kinase Activity, Belén Fernández, Vinita G. Chittoor-Vinod, Jillian H. Kluss, Kaela Kelly, Nicole Bryant, An Phu Tran Nguyen, Syed A. Bukhari, Nathan J. Smith, Antonio Jesús Lara Ordóñez, Elena Fdez, Marie-Christine Chartier-Harlin, Thomas J. Montine, Mark A. Wilson, Darren J. Moore, Andrew B. West, Mark R. Cookson, R. Jeremy Nichols, Sabine Hilfiker

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Background: Coding variation in the Leucine rich repeat kinase 2 gene linked to Parkinson’s disease (PD) promotes enhanced activity of the encoded LRRK2 kinase, particularly with respect to autophosphorylation at S1292 and/or phosphorylation of the heterologous substrate RAB10.

Objective: To determine the inter-laboratory reliability of measurements of cellular LRRK2 kinase activity in the context of wildtype or mutant LRRK2 expression using published protocols.

Methods: Benchmark western blot assessments of phospho-LRRK2 and phospho-RAB10 were performed in parallel with in situ immunological approaches in HEK293T, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and lymphoblastoid cell lines. Rat brain tissue, with or without adenovirus-mediated …

Alterations Of The Gut Mycobiome In Patients With Ms - A Bioinformatic Approach, Saumya Shah

Honors Scholar Theses

The mycobiome is the fungal component of the gut microbiome and is implicated in several autoimmune diseases. However, its role in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been studied. We performed descriptive and formal statistical tests using the R language to characterize the gut mycobiome in people with MS (pwMS) and healthy controls. We found that the microbiome composition of multiple sclerosis patients is different from healthy people. The mycobiome had significantly higher alpha diversity and inter-subject variation in pwMS than controls. Additionally, Saccharomyces and Aspergillus were over-represented in pwMS. Different mycobiome profiles, defined as mycotypes, were associated with different bacterial …