Developmental Biology Commons^™

The Role Of Daam1 In Kidney Development, Vanja Krneta-Stankic

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Kidneys, like most organs in our bodies, consist of a network of epithelial tubules. Kidney tubules are called nephrons, and their morphology is important for kidney function. Nephrons develop from mesodermally derived aggregates of progenitor cells. The nephric progenitors organize into nephric tubules lined with hair-like sensory projections called cilia. Many diseases of the kidney are characterized by abnormal nephron morphology with current treatment aimed at symptom control. To understand the mechanisms underlying kidney diseases and achieve the development of novel therapies, a better understanding of how nephrons develop is needed. Although the actin cytoskeleton is critical for cell behaviors …

Maternal Social Status, Offspring 2d:4d Ratio And Postnatal Growth, In Macaca Mulatta (Rhesus Macaques), Juan Pablo Arroyo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Early life exposure to stressors can disrupt growth and development, resulting in long-term compromised function and increased risk for disease throughout the lifecourse. Maternal exposure to psychosocial stressors (i.e., stressors derived from social status, social inequalities, and social interactions) during pregnancy has been associated with reduced fetal growth, adverse birth outcomes, and increased morbidity for the offspring later in life. Maternal hormonal responses to stress, such as fluctuations in glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol) and androgens (e.g., testosterone), can result in increased developmental instability, interfere with offspring growth in-utero, and may alter developmental processes of sexual dimorphism. Second digit to fourth digit …

The Encyclopedia Of North American Drosophilids Volume 2: Drosophilids Of The Southeast, Thomas Werner, Tessa E. Steenwinkel, John Jaenike

Open Access Books

The Encyclopedia of North American Drosophilids Volume 2: Drosophilids of the Southeast provides an introduction to the flies of the family Drosophilidae of the Southeast of the United States. The book strives to facilitate identification of most of the drosophilid species in this region and provides remarks on interesting aspects of their biology and suggestions for future research on them. The book is intended for researchers, teachers, and students wishing to discover the diversity of these flies.

Version 2 is a major update that covers new species and includes new pictures of previously covered species.

View the 3 Volume Series …

Flame Retardants And Neurodevelopment: An Updated Review Of Epidemiological Literature, Ann M. Vuong, Kimberly Yolton, Kim M. Cecil, Joseph M. Braun, Bruce P. Lanphear, Aimin Chen

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Purpose of Review: Flame retardant (FR) compounds can adversely impact neurodevelopment. This updated literature review summarizes epidemiological studies of FRs and neurotoxicity published since 2015, covering historical (polybrominated biphenyls [PBBs], polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]), contemporary (polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs], hexabromocyclododecane [HBCD], and tetrabromobisphenol A [TBBPA]), and current-use organophosphate FRs (OPFRs) and brominated FRs (2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobezoate [EH-TBB] TBB), bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate [BEH-TEBP]), focusing on prenatal and postnatal periods of exposure. Recent Findings: Continuing studies on PCBs still reveal adverse associations with child cognition and behavior. Recent studies indicate PBDEs are neurotoxic, particularly for gestational exposures with decreased cognition and increased externalizing behaviors. Findings …

Identification And Characterization Of Novel Genes And Genetic Interactions That Influence Iba Metabolism, Vanessica Jawahir

Dissertations

Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) is an endogenous storage auxin important for maintaining appropriate indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels that influences primary root elongation and lateral root development. IBA is metabolized into free IAA in the peroxisome in a multistep process similar to fatty acid β-oxidation. Although many components specific to IBA metabolism and peroxisome function have been identified, our understanding is incomplete. I sought to identify novel components of IBA metabolism or peroxisome function by conducting a forward genetic screen for Arabidopsis thaliana plants with enhanced resistance to IBA. I identified Long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4 (LACS4) as a novel gene functioning …

Expression And Localization Of The 14-3-3 (Ywha) Protein Family Within Mammals, Neha Kumrah, Santanu De

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The 14-3-3 (YWHA) are a family of homologous, acidic, and highly conserved proteins expressed abundantly and ubiquitously in a wide array of organisms ranging from plants to animals, including humans, which regulate important cellular events. Within mammals, seven isoforms of 14-3-3 exist: β, γ, ε, ζ, η, τ, and σ (stratifin), each of which is encoded by a unique gene. Studies have shown similar expression patterns among mammalian species. The 14-3-3 proteins are commonly expressed and have proven to play critical roles in proper cellular localization, function, and homeostatic regulation. Numerous researchers have investigated the expression and localization patterns of …

Transgenerational Plasticity Causes Differences In Uv-Tolerance Of Intertidal And Subtidal Populations Of The Purple Sea Urchin, Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Yareli Alvarez, Nikki L. Adams

Master's Theses

Planktonic larvae of marine organisms are increasingly being exposed and required to respond to a changing physical environment. Adult sea urchins occupy both intertidal and subtidal waters and broadcast spawn gametes into the water column to contend with variable physical conditions. To answer how populations of invertebrates residing at different depths adequately prepare their offspring to cope with different levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR), we collected adult purple sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, from four sites (two intertidal and two subtidal (~15 m deep)) on the central coast of CA to compare UV tolerance in offspring. Our measurements of UVA …

Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Their Extracellular Vesicles: A Potential Game Changer For The Covid-19 Crisis, Dina H. Kassem, Mohamed M. Kamal

Pharmacy

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health crisis. The high infectivity of the disease even from non-symptomatic infected patients, together with the lack of a definitive cure or preventive measures are all responsible for disease outbreak. The severity of COVID-19 seems to be mostly dependent on the patients’ own immune response. The over-activation of the immune system in an attempt to kill the virus, can cause a “cytokine storm” which in turn can induce acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), as well as multi-organ damage, and ultimately may lead to death. Thus, harnessing the immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal …

Regulation Of A Messenger: Raising Oskar, It Takes A Village, Livia V. Bayer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

D. melanogaster oogenesis serves as an excellent system to study the life of an mRNA. Tremendous work has been done to understand the numerous complex mechanisms of mRNA regulation, still there is still so much that is yet to be discovered. In this thesis, I present studies I carried out to address several aspects of oskar mRNA post-transcriptional regulation. Leading me to extend our current understanding of the carefully controlled regulation of oskar mRNA life cycle via a myriad of proteins. I found that a specific NPC component, Nup154 is necessary not only for its export from the nucleus, but …

Artificial Intron Technology To Generate Conditional Knock-Out Mice, Amber N. Thomas-Gordon

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Genetic engineering has been re-shaped by the invention of new tools in modern biotechnology in a way that offers precision and efficiency in modifying the genome at a single nucleotide level and/or allowing precise control of gene expression. Such gene manipulation brings about significant findings and revelations in comprehending more about embryonic development, cellular and physiological functions, and disease pathology. Current methods used to produce conditional knockouts have limitations on conditional allele placement and modification varies among genes in different organisms. Thus, a system for generating conditional alleles with fidelity remains a challenge. My goal was to examine an approach …

Aging, Gait Variability, And Adaptability, Collin Douglas Bowersock

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to study the relationships between age, measures of gait variability, and locomotor adaptability. Measures of gait variability are used to identify maladapted locomotor behavior, motor disease, and risk of falls. The first aim was to determine the relationships between age and measures of gait variability. Thirty-four participants (23-71 years old) walked on a treadmill for 6 minutes at their preferred speed. Variability of stride times and lengths was computed via linear measures (standard deviation and coefficient of variation) and nonlinear measures (sample entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis). Movement trajectory variability of the dominant knee …

The Role Of Homologous Cyclin B’S In The Cell Cycle And, In Their Absence, The Effect On Zebrafish Early Development, Tetiana Petrachkova

Dissertations

Regulation of cell division is essential for normal embryo development. The Cyclins and their Cyclin-dependent kinases are key regulators controlling this process. In this thesis, I examine the role of cyclin B1 and cyclin B2 in zebrafish development. It is thought that both Cyclins are necessary for a cell to progress past the G2/M checkpoint into mitosis. First, I show that zygotic Cyclin B1 is essential for normal cell cycle progression, but not for cells to enter mitosis. Lack of zygotic Cyclin B1 in the early arrest mutant specter, which carries a nonsense mutation in the cyclin B1 gene, …

Cellular Dynamics Of Double Fertilization And Early Embryogenesis In Flowering Plants, Ji Min Shin, Ling Yuan, Masaru Ohme-Takagi, Tomokazu Kawashima

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Flowering plants (angiosperms) perform a unique double fertilization in which two sperm cells fuse with two female gamete cells in the embryo sac to develop a seed. Furthermore, during land plant evolution, the mode of sexual reproduction has been modified dramatically from motile sperm in the early-diverging land plants, such as mosses and ferns as well as some gymnosperms (Ginkgo and cycads) to nonmotile sperm that are delivered to female gametes by the pollen tube in flowering plants. Recent studies have revealed the cellular dynamics and molecular mechanisms for the complex series of double fertilization processes and elucidated differences …

Insights Into Desiccation Tolerance: Properties Of Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins From Embryos Of Artemia Franciscana, Blase Matthew Leblanc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

LEA proteins are a family of intrinsically disordered proteins that are expressed in various life stages of anhydrobiotic organisms and have been strongly associated with survival during water stress. The brine shrimp Artemia franciscana is the only known anhydrobiotic animal that expresses LEA proteins from Groups 1, 3, and 6. Here, I report that AfrLEA6, a novel Group 6 LEA protein, is most highly expressed in embryos during diapause and decreases throughout pre-emergence development. Notably, there is an acute drop in expression upon termination of the diapause state and the titer of AfrLEA6 during diapause is 10-fold lower than values …

Deploying Big Data To Crack The Genotype To Phenotype Code, E. L. Westerman, S. E. J. Bowman, Bradley Justin Davidson , '91, M. C. Davis, E. R. Larson, C. Sanford

Biology Faculty Works

Mechanistically connecting genotypes to phenotypes is a longstanding and central mission of biology. Deciphering these connections will unite questions and datasets across all scales from molecules to ecosystems. Although high-throughput sequencing has provided a rich platform on which to launch this effort, tools for deciphering mechanisms further along the genome to phenome pipeline remain limited. Machine learning approaches and other emerging computational tools hold the promise of augmenting human efforts to overcome these obstacles. This vision paper is the result of a Reintegrating Biology Workshop, bringing together the perspectives of integrative and comparative biologists to survey challenges and opportunities in …

Gene Regulation And Cell Fate Choice In The Developing Vertebrate Retina, Sruti Patoori

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The diverse neuronal cell types in the vertebrate retina all originate from multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). These undergo a series of molecular changes driven by developmental gene regulatory networks (GRNs) as they divide to generate RPCs which are more restricted in their potential fates. It is crucial to understand these GRNs and changes to gene expression in order to understand how cell identity is established during retinal development. In particular, the GRN that promotes the development of cone photoreceptors and horizontal cells is not well-defined. This work focuses on two approaches to further elucidate the components of this regulatory …

Probing The Limits Of Singular Gene Expression Through The Activity Of High Representation Odorant Receptor Transgenes, Eugene Lempert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Singular gene expression is a common phenomenon in biology, making its appearance in immunoglobulin selection, protocadherin expression, X chromosome-inactivation, random monoallelic expression, and olfactory receptor choice. Singularity involves an activation and a feedback step. The mechanisms of singular gene choice have some capacity to integrate additional member genes while still maintaining singularity, but will activate an additional member if an earlier choice was incapable of triggering the feedback step. Odorant Receptor (OR) genes are substantially divergent from each other in terms of coding sequence, promoter structure, and genomic locus, all of which plays a role in how many Olfactory Sensory …

Dictyostelium Discoideum Protein Kinase C-Orthologue Pkca Regulates The Actin Cytoskeleton Through Interaction With Phospholipase D And P21-Activated Kinase, Sean Singh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Proper regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is crucial to many cellular processes. Many of these processes are regulated by extracellular signaling cues, which direct changes in the actin cytoskeleton, resulting in changes to cellular morphology, and directed motility. The social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, is used as a simple model system to study the translation of extracellular signals to the actin cytoskeleton. When starved, these unicellular amoebae undergo a multicellular developmental process characterized by a tightly regulated sequence of signaling events. This results in chemotaxis and formation of a multicellular aggregate, and ultimately cell differentiation and the formation of a fruiting …

Determining The Genetic Control Of Neural Tube Malformation Through Genetic Interactions With Idgf3, Elli N. Fox

Honors Projects

Genetic mutations disrupting human neural tube formation can lead to birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Defects can result in lack of neural tube closure in either the caudal (spina bifida) or cranial (anencephaly) regions. Little is known about the genes that cause these malformations. Researchers have been using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster in an attempt to determine genes responsible for neural tube malformations. Recently, an ortholog of human chitin-like protein, imaginal disc growth factor 3 (Idgf3), has been identified as important in the proper formation of Drosophila egg dorsal appendages. However, the molecular mechanism responsible for …

Developmental Programming Effects Of Maternal Obesity, Carolle J. Kassab

University Honors Theses

Population studies within the United States indicate increasing rates of obesity, considerably prominent for women within reproductive age. Maternal obesity is associated with the offspring’s hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, which have chronic consequences. Obesity in pregnancy causes metabolic and epigenetic perturbations within the fetal environment, disrupting future health of offspring. This phenomenon is known as developmental programming. Although the relationship between maternal undernutrition and developmental programming has been demonstrated, its relationship to maternal obesity remains understudied.