Assessing The Phylogenetic Utility Of Dna Barcoding Using The New Zealand Cicada Genus Kikihia,
2010
University of Connecticut - Storrs
Assessing The Phylogenetic Utility Of Dna Barcoding Using The New Zealand Cicada Genus Kikihia, Megan Ribak
Honors Scholar Theses
DNA Barcoding (Hebert et al. 2003) has the potential to revolutionize the process of identifying and cataloguing biodiversity; however, significant controversy surrounds some of the proposed applications. In the seven years since DNA barcoding was introduced, the Web of Science records more than 600 studies that have weighed the pros and cons of this procedure. Unfortunately, the scientific community has been unable to come to any consensus on what threshold to use to differentiate species or even whether the barcoding region provides enough information to serve as an accurate species identification tool. The purpose of my thesis is to analyze …
Validation Of The Activation Of Aurora B Kinase By Caenorhabditis Elegans To Usled-Like Kinase And The Identification Of Cyclin B3 As A Phospho-Specific Tlk-1 Interactor,
2010
University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston
Validation Of The Activation Of Aurora B Kinase By Caenorhabditis Elegans To Usled-Like Kinase And The Identification Of Cyclin B3 As A Phospho-Specific Tlk-1 Interactor, Gary Michael Deyter
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
A hallmark of tumorigenesis and certain birth defect syndromes is the loss of ploidy that can result from incorrect chromosome segregation. Chromosomes that are not partitioned properly during mitosis are often fragmented, changing the genetic makeup of daughter cells. Inheriting extrachromosomal fragments that contain cell survival genes or losing chromosomal loci that encode tumor suppressors can promote tumor development. Thus, it is essential to elucidate molecular mechanisms required for correct chromosome segregation. Chromosomes are connected to mitotic spindle microtubules by way of a proteinacous, chromosome-bound organelle called the kinetochore. Two decades of research have confirmed that the conserved Aurora B/AIR-2 …
Xenoestrogen-Specific Mechanisms Of Developmental Reprogramming Correlate With Gene Expression And Tumor Development,
2010
University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston
Xenoestrogen-Specific Mechanisms Of Developmental Reprogramming Correlate With Gene Expression And Tumor Development, Kristen L. Greathouse
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Environmental exposures during sensitive windows of development can reprogram normal physiological responses and alter disease susceptibility later in life in a process known as developmental reprogramming. We have shown that neonatal exposure to the xenoestrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) can developmentally reprogram the reproductive tract in genetically susceptible Eker rats giving rise to complete penetrance of uterine leiomyoma. Based on this, we hypothesized that xenoestrogens, including genistein (GEN) and bisphenol A (BPA), reprogram estrogen-responsive gene expression in the myometrium and promote the development of uterine leiomyoma. We proposed the mechanism that is responsible for the developmental reprogramming of gene expression was through …
The Consequences Of Disrupting The Mdm2-P53 Balance In Hematopoiesis,
2010
University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston
The Consequences Of Disrupting The Mdm2-P53 Balance In Hematopoiesis, Hussein A. Abbas
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
The bone marrow accommodates hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors. These cells provide an indispensible resource for replenishing the blood constituents throughout an organism’s life. A tissue with such a high turn-over rate mandates intact cycling checkpoint and apoptotic pathways to avoid inappropriate cell proliferation and ultimately the development of leukemias. p53, a major tumor suppressor, is a transcription factor that regulates cell cycle, and induces apoptosis and senescence. Mice inheriting a hypomorphic p53 allele in the absence of Mdm2, a p53 inhibitor, have elevated p53 cell cycle activity and die by postnatal day 13 due to hematopoietic failure. Hematopoiesis progresses …
Cellular And Developmental Functions Of The Xenopus Arvcf-Catenin:Kazrin Complex,
2010
The Texas Medical Center Library
Cellular And Developmental Functions Of The Xenopus Arvcf-Catenin:Kazrin Complex, Kyucheol Cho
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Xenopus ARVCF (xARVCF), a member of p120-catenin subfamily, binds cadherin cytoplasmic domains to enhance cadherin metabolic stability, or when dissociated, modulates Rho-family GTPases. We previously found that xARVCF binds directly to Xenopus KazrinA (xKazrinA), a widely expressed, conserved protein that bears little homology to established protein families. xKazrinA is also known to influence keratinocyte proliferation-differentiation and cytoskeletal activity. In my study, I first evaluated the expression pattern of endogenous Kazrin RNA and protein in Xenopus embryogenesis as well as in adult tissues. We then collaboratively predicted the helical structure of Kazrin’s coiled-coil domain, and I obtained evidence of Kazrin’s dimerization/oligomerization. …
Temporal Regulation Of The Muscle Gene Cascade By Macho1 And Tbx6 Transcription Factors In Ciona Intestinalis,
2010
Cornell University
Temporal Regulation Of The Muscle Gene Cascade By Macho1 And Tbx6 Transcription Factors In Ciona Intestinalis, Jamie E. Kugler, Stefan Gazdoiu, Izumi Oda-Ishii, Yale J. Passamaneck, Albert J. Erives, Anna Di Gregorio
Dartmouth Scholarship
For over a century, muscle formation in the ascidian embryo has been representative of 'mosaic' development. The molecular basis of muscle-fate predetermination has been partly elucidated with the discovery of Macho1, a maternal zinc-finger transcription factor necessary and sufficient for primary muscle development, and of its transcriptional intermediaries Tbx6b and Tbx6c. However, the molecular mechanisms by which the maternal information is decoded by cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) associated with muscle transcription factor and structural genes, and the ways by which a seamless transition from maternal to zygotic transcription is ensured, are still mostly unclear. By combining misexpression assays with CRM analyses, …
The Ontogeny Of Muscle Structure And Locomotory Function In The Long-Finned Squid Doryteuthis Pealeii,
2010
Old Dominion University
The Ontogeny Of Muscle Structure And Locomotory Function In The Long-Finned Squid Doryteuthis Pealeii, J. T. Thompson, I. K. Bartol, A. E. Baksi, P. S. Krueger
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Understanding the extent to which changes in muscle form and function underlie ontogenetic changes in locomotory behaviors and performance is important in understanding the evolution of musculoskeletal systems and also the ecology of different life stages. We explored ontogenetic changes in the structure, myosin heavy chain (MHC) expression and contractile properties of the circular muscles that provide power for jet locomotion in the long-finned squid Doryteuthis pealeii. The circular muscle fibers of newly hatched paralarvae had different sizes, shapes, thick filament lengths, thin: thick filament ratio, myofilament organization and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) distribution than those of adults. Viewed in …
Very-Long-Chain Fatty Acids Are Involved In Polar Auxin Transport And Developmental Patterning In Arabidopsis,
2010
Institut de Biologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure
Very-Long-Chain Fatty Acids Are Involved In Polar Auxin Transport And Developmental Patterning In Arabidopsis, Françoise Roudier, Lionel Gissot, Frédéric Beaudoin, Richard Haslam, Louise V. Michaelson, Jessica Marion, Diana Molino, Amparo Lima, Liên Bach, Halima Morin, Frédérique Tellier, Jean-Christophe Palauqui, Yannick Bellec, Charlotte Renne, Martine Miquel, Marco Dacosta, Julien Vignard, Christine Rochat, Jennifer E. Markham, Patrick Moreau, Jonathan Napier, Jean-Denis Faure
Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications
Very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) are essential for many aspects of plant development and necessary for the synthesis of seed storage triacylglycerols, epicuticular waxes, and sphingolipids. Identification of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase PASTICCINO3 and the 3-hydroxy acyl-CoA dehydratase PASTICCINO2 revealed that VLCFAs are important for cell proliferation and tissue patterning. Here, we show that the immunophilin PASTICCINO1 (PAS1) is also required for VLCFA synthesis. Impairment of PAS1 function results in reduction of VLCFA levels that particularly affects the composition of sphingolipids, known to be important for cell polarity in animals. Moreover, PAS1 associates with several enzymes of …
The Differential Roles Of D-Pax2 Variants In Regulating Drosophila Eye And Bristle Development,
2010
Colby College
The Differential Roles Of D-Pax2 Variants In Regulating Drosophila Eye And Bristle Development, Colin J. O’Shea
Honors Theses
The ability to appropriately interact with the environment is crucial to an organism’s survival. The establishment of functional sensory systems, such as the bristles and eyes in Drosophila, is a critical event during the development of the organism. The transcription factor D Pax2 is involved in the differentiation of the shaft and glial cells in the developing bristle (Kavaler et al., Dev, 126:2261-2272, 1999) and of the cone and primary pigment cells in the developing eye (Fu and Noll, Genes Dev, 11:389-405, 1997). How D-Pax2 contributes to distinct differentiative pathways in different cell types is not known. Recent work by …
Unique Precursors For The Mesenchymal Cells Involved In Injury Response And Fibrosis,
2010
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Unique Precursors For The Mesenchymal Cells Involved In Injury Response And Fibrosis, J. L. Walker, N. Zhai, L. Zhang, B. Bleaken, I. Wolff, Jacquelyn Gerhart, Mindy George-Weinstein, A. S. Menko
PCOM Scholarly Works
We investigated an alternative pathway for emergence of the mesenchymal cells involved in epithelial sheet wound healing and a source of myofibroblasts that cause fibrosis. Using a mock cataract surgery model, we discovered a unique subpopulation of polyploid mesenchymal progenitors nestled in small niches among lens epithelial cells that expressed the surface antigen G8 and mRNA for the myogenic transcription factor MyoD. These cells rapidly responded to wounding of the lens epithelium with population expansion, acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype, and migration to the wound edges where they regulate the wound response of the epithelium. These mesenchymal cells also were …
Regulation Of Vcam-1 Expression By Tgfβ2 During The Formation Of The Epicardium,
2010
Medical University of South Carolina
Regulation Of Vcam-1 Expression By Tgfβ2 During The Formation Of The Epicardium, Margaret Elizabeth Grant Burton
MUSC Theses and Dissertations
The normal formation of the epicardium, the outer cell layer of the heart, is critical for subsequent development of the heart to proceed normally. Abnormalities in the epicardium lead to cardiac defects as shown in mice deficient in retinoid X receptor α (RXRα-/-), a model of congenital heart disease that exhibits many cardiac malformations including epicardial defects. The RXRα-/- epicardium is slower to form and once formed, it detaches from the myocardium. Previously an elevation of transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) has been observed in RXRα-/- hearts at midgestation and an alteration in vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) was …
The Cellular And Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Morphological Diversity Of Insects,
2010
Wayne State University
The Cellular And Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Morphological Diversity Of Insects, Nataliya Turchyn
Wayne State University Dissertations
The vast diversity of insect appendages provides an excellent model for examining the cellular and molecular basis of phenotypic changes in nature. One of the hallmarks of evolution of insect appendages is the differential enlargement of hind (T3) legs compared to their fore (T1) and mid (T2) counterparts. While basic information regarding the genetic mechanisms that regulate the size of the T3 legs became available in the past several years, virtually nothing is known about cellular mechanisms involved. To address this issue, we measured the relative mitotic activity (RMA) in Acheta domesticus (house cricket) and Oncopeltus fasciatus (milkweed bug), two …
