Genetic Impacts Of Deforestation On Mouse Lemurs,
2022
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Genetic Impacts Of Deforestation On Mouse Lemurs, Darice Westphal
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The impact of deforestation on the genetic structure of mouse lemurs is poorly understood. In this project, I assess deforestation of Madagascar’s terrestrial protected regions, quantify genomic wide genetic variation in two sympatric mouse lemurs, and evaluate the role of landscape structure in genetic relatedness patterns within two sympatric mouse lemur species. Overall deforestation rates across the 98 terrestrial protected areas in Madagascar are increasing, resulting in an average annual deforestation rate of 0.68% per year, with approximately 10,600 km2 lost between 2000 and 2019. In a comparison of relatedness patterns between the sympatric gray mouse ...
Gene Drives And The Consequences Of Over-Suppression,
2022
Virginia Commonwealth University
Gene Drives And The Consequences Of Over-Suppression, Cole Butler
Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference
No abstract provided.
Elevated Substitution Rates Among Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Species Results In Apparent Phylogenetic Discordance.,
2022
Georgia Gwinnett College
Elevated Substitution Rates Among Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Species Results In Apparent Phylogenetic Discordance., James E. Russell, Michael Saum, Rebekah Williams
Georgia Journal of Science
As one of the most widely distributed bacterial cytoplasmic symbionts on earth, Wolbachia pipientis Hertig serves as a model organism for the understanding of host-symbiont interactions. Many mosquito species are infected with Wolbachia strains that induce a form of reproductive manipulation called cytoplasmic incompatibility, in which infected females gain a reproductive advantage over uninfected females in mixed infection populations. The selective advantage of cytoplasmic incompatibility often results in a population sweep of Wolbachia and co-transmitted mitochondrial genomes. Mitochondrial evolution and phylogenetic inferences drawn from mitochondrial gene sequences are thus potentially compromised by reproductive manipulating symbionts, like Wolbachia. Our initial analyses ...
Investigation Of Dna Variability And Phylogenetic Relationships Of Perlesta (Plecoptera: Perlidae) In Mississippi,
2022
University of Southern Mississippi
Investigation Of Dna Variability And Phylogenetic Relationships Of Perlesta (Plecoptera: Perlidae) In Mississippi, James C. Valentine, Mac H. Alford
Master's Theses
The genus Perlesta Banks, 1906 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) consists of 35 species, 33 native to the United States and Canada and two native to China. For over a century these small, brown stonefly adults and freckled yellow nymphs have gone by the name of the type species of the genus, Perlesta placida, but taxonomic work in the genus since 1989 has resulted in the recognition of additional species. These species were mostly recognized and described using morphological characteristics, but two areas that are lacking include (1) linking nymphs to adults and (2) phylogenetic analysis of all species occurring in Mississippi using ...
Isolation Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Plants Homozygous For An Insertional Inactivation Mutation Within Atprp4.,
2022
Southern Adventist University
Isolation Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Plants Homozygous For An Insertional Inactivation Mutation Within Atprp4., Sydney Raitz, Timothy D. Trott
Faculty Works
The AtPRP4 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana has been shown to function in several specific parts of the plant’s cell wall. It is shown to be expressed in the seeds, radicles, roots, leaves, inflorescences, and embryos of Arabidopsis thaliana. These patterns have suggested unique functions for ATPRP4 in determining cell-type-specific wall structure during the development of a plant as well as contributing to defense reactions against physical damage to the plant and pathogen infection within the plant. In this study, a simple DNA prep was performed on the true leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. Subsequent PCR reactions were performed using AtPRP4F ...
Effects Of Sunrise/Sunset Lighting On Corticosterone Levels In Coturnix Quail (Coturnix Coturnix),
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Effects Of Sunrise/Sunset Lighting On Corticosterone Levels In Coturnix Quail (Coturnix Coturnix), Hannah Feuerborn
Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses
Both genetics and environment play an important role in the growth, performance and overall welfare of poultry species. Current commercial production practices typically do not mimic the natural environmental conditions of ancestral poultry species, specifically lighting requirements. In nature, poultry species are subjected to natural day length and the slow rising and setting of the sun. This is compared to commercial conditions in which lights are sudden on/off, not mimicking the natural trajectory of the sun in terms of light intensity and exposure. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of genetics and the effect of sunrise/sunset ...
Characterizing The Expression Pattern And Function Of Tartan During Drosophila Development,
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Characterizing The Expression Pattern And Function Of Tartan During Drosophila Development, Alaina Baggett
Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses
The development of complex structures and organs by multicellular organisms relies on the ability of epithelial cells to self-organize. Epithelia are sheets of connected cells, and compartment boundaries are formed between certain epithelial cells to create distinct tissue compartments. Compartment boundaries are specialized cell-cell interfaces that are enriched for the cytoskeletal proteins actin and myosin, leading to straight cell edges under relatively high tension that act as fences keep cells from moving between compartments. In the model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), compartment boundaries in the early embryo are established in response to the non-uniform striped expression of the cell-surface ...
Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max,
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) – endogenous chains of amino acids involved in natural plant defense – have been shown to decrease damage from herbivores and pathogens by inducing an immune response, increasing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCS), transcripts, and metabolites. Exogenous treatment of soybean seeds with plant elicitor peptide GmPep3 has been shown to induce these broad-spectrum defenses and offers a new method for increasing crop yield. However, the effects of GmPep3 on indicators of soybean health – root characteristics, growth stages, etc. – have not been fully realized.
Using the root-phenotyping platform RhizoVision Explorer, several root traits of soybean plants treated ...
Development Of The Ark Assay For Quantitating Dna- Protein Crosslink Accumulation And Fanconi Anemia Pathway Involvement In The Repair Process,
2022
The Texas Medical Center Library
Development Of The Ark Assay For Quantitating Dna- Protein Crosslink Accumulation And Fanconi Anemia Pathway Involvement In The Repair Process, Naeh Klages-Mundt
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are a common DNA lesion naturally arising in cells, wherein protein becomes covalently and irreversibly bound to the DNA. Given their excessive size, these adducts present a significant challenge to replication and transcription, thus requiring timely and efficient repair. However, the precise mechanisms involved with processing DPC removal remain unclear. Moreover, current methodologies to quantitate DPC accumulation and removal are restrained by a range of limitations. Here, we describe and discuss a new DPC detection assay – the ARK assay – capable of overcoming the limitations incurred by prior assays. The design, which uses dual chaotropic lysis and anionic ...
Utilizing Pharmacology To Target Transcription Factors Involved With Cancer Onset And Development,
2022
West Virginia University
Utilizing Pharmacology To Target Transcription Factors Involved With Cancer Onset And Development, Tristan D. Sanders
Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review
Transcription factors (TFs) are a vital part of every living organism on earth, as they allow for the correct genes to be expressed while much of the genome is never used. They can fall victim to mutations or manipulations that lead to the deregulation of many genes within a cell. If specific genes are over/under-expressed, a cell may become cancerous and begin replicating into a tumor. It has been demonstrated that common TFs associated with cancer can be targeted using small molecule drugs, and a popular target of these drugs is the DNA binding site on the TF along ...
Exploration Of Genes Controlling Grain Yield Heterosis In Hybrid Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Utilizing 3ʹ Rna Sequencing,
2022
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Exploration Of Genes Controlling Grain Yield Heterosis In Hybrid Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Utilizing 3ʹ Rna Sequencing, Nichole Miller
Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research in Agronomy and Horticulture
The implementation and future success of hybrid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is impacted by breeders’ inability to create consistent high yielding, high heterosis hybrids. This research addresses this problem by conducting an exploration of transcriptomes from hybrids and parent lines to determine what genes are active in heterotic or non-heterotic hybrids and how their level of expression can explain the phenotype of grain yield heterosis. Using hybrids that showed positive mid-parent heterosis (MPH), classified as heterotic in our study, and negative or no difference MPH hybrids, classified as non-heterotic, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) potentially related to heterosis and hybrid yield ...
Covid Susceptibility And Severity Correlation With The Ace2 Gene,
2022
University of Southern Maine
Covid Susceptibility And Severity Correlation With The Ace2 Gene, Natalie Taylor
Thinking Matters Symposium
A wide spectrum of susceptibility and severity of infection has been observed among COVID-19 patients. While some individuals remain unaffected by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, others have contracted the virus multiple times with varying levels of severity. This poster reviews some of the research demonstrating a link between the susceptibility of the Sars-Cov- 2 virus and the severity of infection, and a specific gene called ACE2. The ACE2 gene encodes an angiotensin-converting enzyme that acts as a functional receptor for the spike glycoprotein receptor binding domain of the coronavirus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses. ACE2 presents numerous amino acid variants ...
The Synthesis And Purification Methodology Of An Intermolecular Pyrophosphate Sensor: Applications For The Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction,
2022
Bowling Green State University
The Synthesis And Purification Methodology Of An Intermolecular Pyrophosphate Sensor: Applications For The Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction, Ethan Gevedon
Honors Projects
The optimized synthesis and purification methodology for an intermolecular pyrophosphate sensor scaffold molecule was performed: high performance liquid chromatography afforded the scaffold in excellent purity and yield. The applications of the sensor assembly in the quantitative polymerase chain reaction were discussed, and preliminary results show that
Phenotype Characterization Of Sas-7(Or1945) C. Elegans,
2022
Ohio Wesleyan University
Phenotype Characterization Of Sas-7(Or1945) C. Elegans, Chase Reinert
Student Symposium
The ability to form a bipolar spindle is crucial for accurate cell division. In the nematode C. elegans several genes have been described with roles in spindle assembly including sas-7. The centriole is a key organizer of mitotic spindles. The sas-7 protein is a centriole component that regulates centriole duplication, elongation, and assembly. To date, most work on sas-7 was using a conditional non-null allele. In this study, phenotypes associated with the loss-of-function sas-7(or1945) null allele were characterized. Homozygous sas-7(or1945) hermaphrodites have reduced brood sizes with no viable embryos compared to wild-type and heterozygotes. When they do produce ...
Cryptic Hybridization In The Temperate Bamboos: Is Pleioblastus Simonii A Species Of Hybrid Origin?,
2022
Jacksonville State University
Cryptic Hybridization In The Temperate Bamboos: Is Pleioblastus Simonii A Species Of Hybrid Origin?, Morgan Brown
Theses
Japanese river bamboo (Pleioblastus simonii, ‘medake,’‘kawadake’) is an ecologically important species of temperate bamboo native to Japan. This species is widely known and historically important in Japanese rural farm life. Based on morphological data, Japanese river bamboo is classified in Pleioblastus section Medakea (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) along with five other Japanese species, which are collectively considered to represent a phylogenetically distinct lineage. However, recent studies suggest that Japanese river bamboo may have arisen as a result of previously undetected hybridization (i.e., cryptic hybridization), while also calling into question the diversity of section Medakea. The role of hybridization in natural ...
Exploring The Functionality Of Putative Bop3 Post-Translational Modifications,
2022
Belmont University
Exploring The Functionality Of Putative Bop3 Post-Translational Modifications, Liliya Tkachuk
Honors Theses
All eukaryotic cells require that transcribed mRNAs undergo export form the nucleus to the cytoplasm where they can be translated into proteins. This process requires a host of proteins which are conserved between the unicellular budding yeast, S. cerevisiae, and humans. During this process, Mex67 and other associated proteins facilitate the mRNA to travel across the nuclear pore complex (NPC), doorways embedded in the nuclear envelope. Upon the exit of mRNA, Mex67 is released and recycled back into the nucleus to facilitate the export of more mRNA. This occurs through the action of Dbp5, whose activity is regulated through additional ...
Comparative Modeling And Evolutionary Comparison Of Serine Protease, A Timber Rattlesnake Venom Protein,
2022
Jacksonville State University
Comparative Modeling And Evolutionary Comparison Of Serine Protease, A Timber Rattlesnake Venom Protein, Qawer Ayaz
Theses
The aim of this study is to create a homology model of VG35 serine protease and evaluate the evolutionary comparison of secondary structure on basis of protein model using YASARA. This method was furthermore used to predict the potential epitopes which can help in the investigation of future studies.
The VG35 was used to run a BLAST search which gave most resembled serine protease of different species which was then translated and modeled in YASARA. The modeled protein data was then used to determine the secondary structure. This was then used for evolutionary comparison of all proteins to VG35. Then ...
Molecular Evidence Of Cryptic Hybridization In The Japanese Nezasa Bamboos (Pleioblastus Section Nezasa),
2022
Jacksonville State University
Molecular Evidence Of Cryptic Hybridization In The Japanese Nezasa Bamboos (Pleioblastus Section Nezasa), Ryan Long
Theses
The genus Pleioblastus is a complex group of Southeast Asian temperate bamboos with 7-21 species, depending on taxonomic authority. This study tests the hypothesis that taxonomic complexity in this group is due in part to hybridization and subsequent backcrossing in natural populations, resulting in a reticulate evolutionary history and a contemporary species assemblage that includes cryptic hybrids. This hypothesis is supported by recent research on the temperate bamboos that revealed intergeneric hybrids involving Pleioblastus and other genera of temperate bamboos (Triplett and Clark, 2021). The objective of the current study was to use data from Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP ...
The Roles Of Individual Proteins In De Novo Recruitment Of Pcg Repressive Complexes To Giant,
2022
Southern Methodist University
The Roles Of Individual Proteins In De Novo Recruitment Of Pcg Repressive Complexes To Giant, Anni Kum
Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations
Epigenetic gene regulation is the process by which external factors regulate the genome. This research studies Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins which function as epigenetic agents that work together in complexes to maintain gene silencing for multiple cellular generations. Drosophila melanogaster PcG proteins can be organized into three canonical complexes: Pho-RC, PRC1, and PRC2. Though there are multiple proposed models for the order of recruitment, it is generally accepted that PhoRC, PRC1, and PRC2 interact with each other to stably recruit to a target gene. Since these proteins are highly conserved, this project studies PcG proteins in the model organism, Drosophila ...
Fragile Foal Syndrome: Its Past, Present, And Future,
2022
Murray State University
Fragile Foal Syndrome: Its Past, Present, And Future, Alena Martin, Alena M. Martin
Honors College Theses
Though Fragile Foal Syndrome (FFS) has been around for some time, the public interest in FFS is recent. The hype spread rapidly from a public media announcement that a stallion at a prominent North American stud farm was a carrier (Brooks, 2021). As with most genetic mutations, FFS likely arose due to the increased inbreeding that results from human selection (Orlando & Librado, 2019). Fragile Foal Syndrome affects the enzyme responsible for developing the connective tissues. Two recent case studies highlighted the devastating effect of FFS on every part of the equine body (Metzger, et al., 2020; Grillos, 2021). So far, no one knows for sure where the mutation originated, but the strongest theory is that the origin lies with the Thoroughbred and its progenitors (Brooks, 2021). Future advances in reproductive technologies and techniques could reduce ...