Developmental Biology Commons^™

Validation Experiment: You-Too, Psi, Barresi Lab, Smith College

Validation Experiment

No abstract provided.

Validation Experiment: You-Too, Raw, Barresi Lab, Smith College

Validation Experiment

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Meiotic Drive On Developing Eye-Stalks In Stalk-Eyed Flies, Christopher Lepore, Olivia Smith, Heather Wood, Josephine Reinhardt Phd

McNair Scholars Program

Teleopsis dalmanni, commonly known as Stalk-Eyed flies, are known for their sexually dimorphic eye-stalks which females use to pick mates. Within the Gombak-12 population, some individuals contain meiotic drive which is known to influence eye-stalk length and sex ratios. Our goal was to identify genes in developing eye tissue that play a role in causing meiotic drive. To identify these candidate genes, we determined the sex and meiotic drive status of individuals by dissecting 3rd instar larvae for their carcasses. After finding that Qiagen Puregene and Qiagen DNEasy columns DNA extraction techniques worked best—determined by using gel electrophoresis—we prepared …

Characterization Of Pth Type-2 Receptor ( Pth2rb ) And Its Endogenous Ligand Pth2 In Zebrafish Development, Nicholas Seitz

Theses and Dissertations

Members of the parathyroid hormone family of ligands, PTH (parathyroid hormone), PTH2, and PTHLH (parathyroid hormone-like hormone). These hormones interact with the class B GCPRs parathyroid hormone receptors PTH1R, PTH2R, and PTH3R to regulate a variety of biological processes. In mammals, PTH and PTHLH activate PTH1R and PTH3R to mediate serum calcium homeostasis, chondrogenesis, and bone maintenance. PTH2R activation by PTH2 has been studied primarily in regard to its neuroendocrine roles but is also found in the skin where it contributes to wound healing and keratinocyte differentiation. Still, little is known about the impacts of PTH2R signaling relative to PTH1R …

Network Analyses Of Glomerular Capillaries, Jason Cory Brunson, Justin Sardi, Mark Terasaki

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Herbicides On Zebrafish Embryo Development And Viability, Kayla Ray King

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Environmental contaminants are chemicals of anthropogenic origin that are found in water, soil, and air, and are harmful to a wide variety of organisms (ORD US EPA, 2018-a). One common group of contaminants are herbicides. Though herbicides are used to control unwanted vegetation in agriculture, aquatic organisms and humans may be exposed to these herbicides through run off into streams and rivers, by drinking contaminated water, by consuming treated crops, by direct exposure, or through bioaccumulation. Thus the effect of these herbicides on animals needs further investigation. In this study, I sought to determine whether six different herbicides, which have …

From Spinning Silk To Spreading Saliva: Mouthpart Remodeling In Manduca Sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), Istvan Miko, Sarthok Rasique Rahman, Anne C. Jones, Mark A. Townley, Brandon Gominho, Sulav Paudel, S David Stupski, Heather M. Hines, Rudolf J. Schilder

Biological Sciences

As a model organism, the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta (Linnaeus 1763) has contributed much to our knowledge of developmental processes in insects, and major developmental changes between different larval instars are generally well understood. Second and later instars of M. sexta do not produce silk, and their spinneret and accessory labial glands (=Lyonet’s glands), structures thought to be key players in silk production in other lepidopterans, are highly reduced. To our knowledge, mouthparts and labial gland morphology of the silk-producing first instar have never been described. In this study, we compared the mouthpart morphology and transcriptome profile of first and …

Notch Inhibitors And The Bet Inhibitor Jq-1 Decrease The Growth Of Primary Tumor Cells Derived From A Novel Mouse Model Of C11orf95-Rela Induced Brain Tumor, Ericka Randazzo, Jesse Dunnack, Justin Fang, Joseph Loturco Phd

University Scholar Projects

Brain tumors are the most common childhood solid malignancy, and because of remarkable advances in treating many cancers outside of the brain, they have become the leading cause of cancer mortality in children. Ependymomas are a class of brain tumors which can be further subdivided into three groups based upon their location and genetic features. Of the three classes, supratentorial ependymomas are the only subgroup known to be marked by an oncogenic driver gene, which consists of a fusion mutation between the C11orf95 and RELA genes. C11orf95-RELA positive tumors are the most aggressive and lethal of …

Phylogenomics And Geometric Morphometrics Define Species Flocks Of Snowtrout (Teleostei: Schizothorax) In The Central Himalayas, Binod Regmi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Schizothorax (Snowtrout) is a genus of medium-sized minnows (Cypriniformes) inhabiting glacier-fed streams, rivers, and lakes in the Himalayas. There are more than 30 species of Schizothorax across the region. The speciation and diversity of the Snowtrout in the vast hinterlands of the Himalayan Region has not been fully explored. Three species in Lake Rara, Western Nepal are considered a species flock, comprising endemic ecotypes that are morphologically differentiated and reproductively isolated.

My dissertation research examined the diversity of Schizothorax in the Central Himalayan region and evolutionary relationships among species distributed in the Tibet, Central and Southeast Asia. Chapter I describes …

The Role Of Ppal In The Moss Physcomitrella Patens., Noela M. Botaka

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Protein prenylation is a post-translational modification that involves the addition of lipid groups to the carboxy end of a target protein and is necessary for protein activity. Prenylation has important roles in the cell: targeting and localizing proteins to subcellular compartments and promoting protein-protein interactions. As a highly conserved process in eukaryotes, prenylation is especially important for plant development. In contrast to other eukaryotes, in which loss of prenylation components can be lethal, in the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the moss Physcomitrella patens, most are viable. Prior studies have shown that prenylation is involved in ABA hormone responses, …

Transcriptional Influence Of Retinoic Acid And Its Effects On Angiogenesis Of Murine Salivary Glands., Isaac Feinn

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Salivary gland hypofunction is a major disorder of salivary glands, and can arise either from diseases such as xerostomia, or from defective epithelial morphogenesis during embryogenesis. Hundreds of thousands of individuals suffer from dry mouth, and there is currently no restorative therapy for these patients. Investigation of salivary gland developmental biology will inform regenerative therapies. Currently it is known that retinoic acid (RA), the biologically active form of Vitamin A, is required for proper development of the salivary gland, but little is known about its cellular mechanism regulating organogenesis. This study sought to analyze salivary gland development in Rdh10 knock …

Attenuated Responses To Inflammatory Cytokines In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells: Biological Implications And The Molecular Basis, Bohan Chen

Master's Theses

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have attracted intense interest due to their great potential for regenerative medicine. However, their immune property is an overlooked but a significant issue that needs to be thoroughly investigated not only to resolve the concern for therapeutic applications but also for further understanding the early stage of organismal development. Recent studies demonstrated that ESCs are deficient in innate immune responses to viral/bacterial infections and inflammatory cytokines. Inflammatory conditions generally inhibit cell proliferation, which could be detrimental to ESCs, since cell proliferation is their dedicated task during early embryogenesis. Thus, I hypothesize that the attenuated innate immunity …

Defects In Fetal Mouth Movement And Pharyngeal Patterning Underlie Cleft Palate Caused By Retinoid Deficiency., Regina Friedl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cleft palate is a common birth defect. Etiologic mechanisms of palate cleft include defects in palate morphogenesis, mandibular growth, or spontaneous fetal mouth movement. Cleft palate linked to deficient fetal mouth movement has been demonstrated directly only in a single experimental model of loss of neurotransmission. Here, using retinoid deficient mouse embryos, we demonstrate directly for the first time that deficient fetal mouth movement and cleft palate occurs as a result of mis-patterned development of pharyngeal peripheral nerves and cartilages. Retinoid deficient embryos were generated by inactivation of retinol dehydrogenase 10 (Rdh10), which is critical for production of …

Embryonic Lethality Of Cranial Neural Crest Deletion Of Cdc73, Lilia Shen

Honors Scholar Theses

Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome is a disease characterized by parathyroid tumors, renal cysts or tumors, uterine tumors, and ossifying jaw fibromas. The cause of this syndrome is linked to a tumor suppressor gene called Cdc73, which encodes the protein product parafibromin. The loss of proper expression of Cdc73/parafibromin is implicated in the development of the tumors typical of HPT-JT, although the exact mechanisms of tumorigenesis are unclear. In particular, not much is understood about the development of ossifying fibromas (OF) of the jaw in this syndrome. OF is a benign bone neoplasm that can affect the mandible and …

Do Enallagma Exsulans From Streams And Lakes Show Patterns Of Divergence?, Savannah Rae Graham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Divergent selection across heterogenous environments could lead to adaptive divergence in populations resulting in potential local adaption. These populations have phenotypic differences that are fitness related and make native individuals more fit than non-native individuals. My research focuses on a species of damselfly, Enallagma exsulans, to explore local adaptation and morphological differences as a result of divergent selection or plasticity. My first study explored potential local adaptation of wild caught stream and lake E. exsulans using a reciprocal transplant design, a classic approach for this objective. The stream and lake sites chosen were on a small spatial scale allowing for …

A Novel Kinesin Adapter Directly Mediates Dendritic Mrna Localization During Synapse Development, Hao Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cytoskeleton based active transport with motor proteins is essential for mRNA localization and local protein translation in animal cells, yet how mRNA granules interact with motor proteins remains poorly understood. Using an unbiased screen for interaction between mRNA binding proteins (RBP) and motor proteins, we identified protein interacting with APP tail 1 (PAT1) as a potential direct adapter between the β-actin mRNA Zipcode-binding protein 1 (ZBP1) and Kinesin-1 motor complex.

Mouse PAT1 is similar to the Kinesin Light Chain (KLC) in amino acid sequence and binds directly to KLC. High-resolution images from structured illumination microscopy (SIM) indicates that synaptic stimulation …

The 5-Ht1a-R Knockout Mouse As A Model Of Later Life Anxiety Disorders: Implications For Sex Differences, Tatyana Budylin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety affects nearly twice as many women as it affects men across all cultures and economic groups. Importantly, girls have a higher chance of inheriting anxiety disorders than boys, and many anxiety disorders appear at a very young age. However, little is known about sex differences in brain and behavioral development and how they relate to anxiety in adulthood. Serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT_1A-R) mediated signaling has been implicated in depression and anxiety, however most studies that focus on the involvement of the 5-HT_1A-R have been conducted in adults. Little is known about how the 5-HT_{1A …}

Platiscity Of C. Elegans Germline Stem Cells Under Nutritional And Metabolic Stress, Kenneth Trimmer

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Stem cells are integral for tissue maintenance and fertility. Therefore, understanding how stem cells are regulated under stress is imperative. When confronted with acute starvation, stem cells must conserve energy and metabolites to cope with the lack of an external source. Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells (GSCs) are an excellent model for studying stem cell properties and regulation as they can divide throughout the life of the organism. While GSCs are an adult stem cell population, their cell cycle structure more closely mimics mouse and human embryonic stem cells with short G1 and long S phases. In this thesis, I …

Analysis Of Spheno-Occipital Synchondrosis (Sos) Fusion In A Contemporary Southern Nevada Subadult Hispanic Population Using Archival Cone-Beam Computerized Tomography (Cbct) Images, Megan Baker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study employs the three-dimensional visualization capability of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to investigate the relationship between chronological age and timing of fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis in a male/female subadult Hispanic population of Southern Nevada. The sample includes cross-sectional data of 374 orthodontic patients (166 males and 208 females) aged 8-20 years. The SOS is scored by a four-stage scoring system as completely open (stage 0), less than half fused (stage 1), more than half fused (stage 2), or completely fused (stage 3) as visualized in the midsagittal plane in the CBCT image. The relationship between SOS fusion stage …

Characterization Of Microtubule Organizing Centers In The Genus Protostelium, Including Evolutionary Implications, Ethan Taylor Ozment

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) are cellular regions of microtubule nucleation. The best known MTOCs are those associated with the centrosome, but several non-centrosomal MTOCs are known in eukaryotes, especially in land plants. MTOCs are poorly characterized across the breadth of amoebozoan diversity, but are well-known in certain amoebozoan lineages, including the genus of protosteloid slime molds Protostelium. The structure of the MTOC is known for two non-ciliated species, P. nocturnum and P. mycophaga, as well as P. aurantium, which can reversibly become ciliated under appropriate conditions. P. nocturnum and P. mycophaga have acentriolar centrosomal MTOCs while P. aurantium has a …