Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Effect Of Inflorescence Size On Female Choice In Wild Radish, Raphanus Raphanistrum, Mylenne H. Salinas

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Sexual selection is an important mechanism of speciation. Originally studied in animals, researchers now argue that plants also exhibit characteristics that have been altered by sexual selection. Flower size, nectar production, pollen load, flower scent, and petal color are plant traits that participate in attracting mates through an intermediate pollinator. Although female choice has been demonstrated to enhance offspring quality in animals, a thorough analysis remains to be conducted in plants. In this study, I experimentally altered female choice by manipulating flower number on the hermaphroditic plant, Raphanus raphanistrum. Plants with smaller floral displays had reduced female choice; thus, allowing …

Lineage-Specific Patterns Of Functional Diversification In The Α- And Β-Globin Gene Families Of Tetrapod Vertebrates, Federico G. Hoffmann, Jay F. Storz, Thomas A. Gorr, Juan C. Opazo

Jay F. Storz Publications

The α- and β-globin gene families of jawed vertebrates have diversified with respect to both gene function and the developmental timing of gene expression. Phylogenetic reconstructions of globin gene family evolution have provided suggestive evidence that the developmental regulation of hemoglobin synthesis has evolved independently in multiple vertebrate lineages. For example, the embryonic β-like globin genes of birds and placental mammals are not 1:1 orthologs. Despite the similarity in developmental expression profiles, the genes are independently derived from lineage-specific duplications of a β-globin pro-ortholog. This suggests the possibility that other vertebrate taxa may also possess distinct repertoires of globin genes …

Analysis Of Variation In Clubfoot Candidate Genes, Audrey R. Ester

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Isolated clubfoot, a common birth defect occurring in more than 135,000 livebirths worldwide each year, is associated with significant health care and financial burdens. Clubfoot is defined by forefoot adduction, hindfoot varus, midfoot cavus and hindfoot equinus. Isolated clubfoot, which is the focus of these studies, is distinct from syndromic clubfoot because there are no other associated malformations. Population, family, twin and segregation analysis studies provide evidence that genetic and environmental factors play an etiologic role in isolated clubfoot. The studies described in this thesis were performed to define the role of genetic variation in isolated clubfoot. Interrogation of a …

Damage-Induced Inflammation And Nociceptive Hypersensitivity In Drosophila Larvae, Daniel T. Babcock

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mounting an effective response to tissue damage requires a concerted effort from a number of systems, including both the immune and nervous systems. Immune-responsive blood cells fight infection and clear debris from damaged tissues, and specialized pain receptors become hypersensitive to promote behavior that protects the damaged area while it heals. To uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, we have developed a genetically tractable invertebrate model of damage-induced inflammation and pain hypersensitivity using Drosophila larvae.

To study wound-induced inflammation, we generated transgenic larvae with fluorescent epidermal cells and blood cells (hemocytes). Using live imaging, we monitored the …

A New Tumor Suppressor Gene Candidate Regulated By The Non-Coding Rna Pca3 In Human Prostate Cancer, Alessandro K. Lee

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death and the most common non-skin cancer in men in the USA. Considerable advancements in the practice of medicine have allowed a significant improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease and, in recent years, both incidence and mortality rates have been slightly declining. However, it is still estimated that 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, and 1 man in 35 will die of the disease.

In order to identify novel strategies and effective therapeutic approaches in the fight against prostate cancer, it …

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 …

Attitudes Of Parents At Risk Of Inheriting Li-Fraumeni Syndrome To Wards Predictive Genetic Testing In Their Minor-Aged Children., Leslie A. Newman

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is a hereditary cancer syndrome which predisposes individuals to cancer beginning in childhood. These risks are spread across a lifetime, from early childhood to adulthood. Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene are known to cause the majority of cases of LFS. The risk for early onset cancer in individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome is high. Studies have shown that individuals with LFS have a 90% lifetime cancer risk. Children under 18 have up to a 15% chance of cancer development. Effectiveness of cancer screening and management in individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome is unclear. Screening for LFS-associated cancers …

Factors Associated With Early Versus Late Development Of Breast And Ovarian Cancer In Brca1 And Brca2 Positive Women, Justine M. Cooper

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) is caused by a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Women with a BRCA1/2 mutation are at increased risks for breast and ovarian cancer and often develop cancer at an earlier age than the general population. However, some women with a BRCA1/2 mutation do not develop breast or ovarian cancer under the age of 50 years. There have been no specific studies on BRCA positive women with no cancer prior to age 50, therefore this study sought to investigate factors within these women with no cancer under age 50 with respect to reproductive …

Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci Associated With Chilling Requirement And Bloom Date In Peach, Shenghua Fan

All Dissertations

Chilling requirement (CR), together with heat requirement (HR), determines bloom date (BD), which impacts climatic distribution of genotypes of temperate tree species. The molecular basis of floral bud CR is poorly understood despite its importance to fruit tree adaptation and production. A peach F2 populations developed from two genotypes with contrasting CR values was used for QTL mapping for CR, HR and BD. Using the Contender × Fla.92-2c population, 20 QTLs with additive effects were identified for three traits including one major QTL for CR and two major QTLs for BD. Particularly, one genomic region of 2cM pleiotropic for the …

The Role Of Ecdysone Signaling In Fat-Body Tissue Remodeling And Pupal Metabolism, Nichole Dinell Bond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Holometabolous insects undergo an astonishing transition during their development. During metamorphosis, the larva dramatically changes form and becomes an adult fly. During this process obsolete larval tissues must be eliminated, while tissues required for further development are retained and often remodeled to meet the needs of the adult fly. Tissue remodeling is characterized by morphological changes of the cells in a tissue mass. In many cases, remodeling is characterized by dissociation of the tissue mass, releasing cells to move freely around the body cavity. This process is also common in wound healing and is a key feature of human disease …

Genomic Perspectives On Evolution In Bracken Fern, Joshua P. Der

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The fern genus Pteridium comprises a number of closely related species distributed throughout the world. Collectively they are called bracken ferns and have historically been treated as a single species, Pteridium aquilinum. Bracken is notorious as a toxic weed that colonizes open fields and poisons livestock. Bracken is also easily cultured and has become one of the most intensively studied ferns. Bracken has been used as a model system for the study of the fern life cycle, fern gametophyte development, the pheromonal mechanism of sex determination, toxicology, invasion ecology, and climate change. This dissertation places bracken within a global …

Molecular Analysis Of B3galtl In A Patient With Peters' Plus Syndrome, Taiyabah Naeem

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Chromosomal rearrangement such as microdeletions or microduplications, which can alter the dosage of one or more genes, are commonly seen in patients with multiple congenital anomalies (MCA). Alternatively, the discovery of a microdeletion may sometimes uncover an autosomal recessive disorder if the gene on the non-deleted allele carries a mutation. This study reports molecular analysis of a patient with MCAs, including an enlarged head, developmental delay, clouding of the corneas, and short stature. Peters Plus Syndrome (PPS) is characterized as an autosomal recessive disorder. Phenotypical symptoms include various eye abnormalities and structural organ defects. The B3GGALTL has been found to …

Functional Characterization Of Mat1-1-Specific Mating-Type Genes In The Homothallic Ascomycete Sordaria Macrospora Provides New Insights Into Essential And Nonessential Sexual Regulators, V. Klix, M. Nowrousian, C. Ringelberg, J. J. Loros

Dartmouth Scholarship

Mating-type genes in fungi encode regulators of mating and sexual development. Heterothallic ascomycete species require different sets of mating-type genes to control nonself-recognition and mating of compatible partners of different mating types. Homothallic (self-fertile) species also carry mating-type genes in their genome that are essential for sexual development. To analyze the molecular basis of homothallism and the role of mating-type genes during fruiting-body development, we deleted each of the three genes, SmtA-1 (MAT1-1-1), SmtA-2 (MAT1-1-2), and SmtA-3 (MAT1-1-3), contained in the MAT1-1 part of the mating-type locus of the homothallic ascomycete species Sordaria macrospora. Phenotypic analysis of deletion mutants revealed …

The Rho Family Gtpase: Determining Gef Specificity Through Recombinant Expression, Farrah Steinke

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Optimization Algorithms For Functional Deimmunization Of Therapeutic Proteins, Andrew S. Parker, Wei Zheng, Karl E. Griswold, Chris Bailey-Kellogg

Dartmouth Scholarship

To develop protein therapeutics from exogenous sources, it is necessary to mitigate the risks of eliciting an anti-biotherapeutic immune response. A key aspect of the response is the recognition and surface display by antigen-presenting cells of epitopes, short peptide fragments derived from the foreign protein. Thus, developing minimal-epitope variants represents a powerful approach to deimmunizing protein therapeutics. Critically, mutations selected to reduce immunogenicity must not interfere with the protein's therapeutic activity.

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, …

An Economic Analysis Of Title I Of The Genetic Nondis, Elizabeth Cozzi '10

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

An Entrepreneurial Approach To Librarianship, Flora Shrode, Jennifer Duncan, Wendy Holliday

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Librarians from Utah State University explain recent efforts to encourage subject librarians to take a more holistic view of their roles. We are shifting from a traditional emphasis primarily on collection development and refocusing on natural connections between collections, instruction, liaison, and reference service. The poster provides background about Utah State University’s situation and explains our approach to analyzing local needs and culture to inform development of a new organizational structure. We describe our vision of subject librarianship, the process by which we assessed librarians’ ideas and goals for performing as subject librarians, and the actions we are taking to …

Why Genes Evolve Faster On Secondary Chromosomes In Bacteria, Vaughn S. Cooper, Samuel H. Vohr, Sarah C. Wrocklage, Philip J. Hatcher

Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences

In bacterial genomes composed of more than one chromosome, one replicon is typically larger, harbors more essential genes than the others, and is considered primary. The greater variability of secondary chromosomes among related taxa has led to the theory that they serve as an accessory genome for specific niches or conditions. By this rationale, purifying selection should be weaker on genes on secondary chromosomes because of their reduced necessity or usage. To test this hypothesis we selected bacterial genomes composed of multiple chromosomes from two genera, Burkholderia and Vibrio, and quantified the evolutionary rates (dN and dS) of all orthologs …

Damage Agents And Condition Of Mature Aspen Stands In Montana And Northern Idaho, Brytten E. Steed, Holly S.J. Kearns

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.