Microbial Physiology Commons^™

Characterization Of Streptomyces Nymphaeiformis Sp. Nov., And Its Taxonomic Relatedness To Other Polyhydroxybutyrate-Degrading Streptomycetes, Gary R. Hix, Muhammad S. Khan, Mikayla T. Miller, Elisha C. Napier, Allison L. O'Brien, Roger P. White, Stephen F. Baron Ph.D.

Biology Faculty Scholarship

A polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-degrading actinomycete, strain SFB5A^T, was identified as a species of Streptomyces based on its membrane fatty acid profile and the presence of LL-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall. It formed sporulating mycelia on most agar media, but flat or wrinkled, moist colonies on trypticase soy agar. Spores were smooth, cylindrical, and borne on long, straight to flexuous chains. It produced a light brown diffusible pigment, but not melanin. Comparison of genomic digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values indicated that strain SFB5A^T was related to Streptomyces litmocidini JCM 4394^T , Streptomyces …

Your Next Celebration At Us National Parks: A Case Emphasizing Lyme Neuroborreliosis (Bannwarth Syndrome), Ganesh Arun, Farhan Ali, Sowmya Srinivas, Harsha Surath, Justin Nistico, Dayakar Reddy

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Introduction:

Bannwarth syndrome is synonymous with Lyme neuroborreliosis. The neurological component consists of neuropathy, radicular pain, and lymphocytic pleocytosis. This is due to inflammation of the nerve fibers by Borrelia Burgdorferi. Borrelia Borgdorferi is a spirochete bacteria transmitted hematogenously from the Ixodes tick vector to the human host. The commonly known Lyme disease is diagnosed with symptoms of arthritis, heart block, and integumentary signs. Lyme disease can present as early disseminated or late manifestations of disease. Bannwarth syndrome takes it a step further and emphasizes the neurologic sub set of symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates …

Size Progression Of Oxygenic Photogranules (Opgs) And Its Effect On Opg Wastewater Treatment, Ahmed S.A. Abouhend

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, the oxygenic photogranule (OPG) process has gained increasing interest because of its potential to treat wastewater without supplemental aeration. Oxygenic photogranules (OPGs) are dense spherical aggregates comprised of phototrophic and nonphototrophic microorganisms. In OPG wastewater treatment reactors, photogranules grow in number as well as in size. The primary goal of this dissertation was to investigate how OPGs grow in size and how the growth affects their structure and functions. We found that OPGs undergo structural changes as they grow bigger in size. As OPGs grow larger, filamentous cyanobacteria become enriched while other phototrophic microbes diminish significantly. OPGs …

Mapping Selected Polyphenols Metabolism By Gut Bacteria And Their Genes, Ermin Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

The human gut microbiome is a huge enzyme repository for dietary polyphenols metabolism, especially considering most of the polyphenols cannot be digested in the host and their biological functions are limited. Poor bioaccessibility based on traditional pharmaceutical ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) assessment is the main problem facing the widely medical application of most polyphenols. Gut bacteria have the potential to mediate a wide range of biotransformation reactions of polyphenols, which leads to the production of many bioactive metabolites. In the past decades, mounting evidence in traditional ADME study have demonstrated gut bacteria play an irreplaceable role in dietary …

The Coxsackievirus And Adenovirus Receptor Has A Short Half-Life In Epithelial Cells, Poornima Kotha Lakshmi Narayan, James M. Readler, Mahmoud S. Alghamri, Trisha L. Brockman, Ray Yan, Priyanka Sharma, Vladislav Snitsarev, Katherine J.D.A Excoffon, Abimbola O. Kolawole

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) is an essential cellular protein that is involved in cell adhesion, cell signaling, and viral infection. The 8-exon encoded isoform (CAREx8) resides at the apical surface of polarized epithelia, where it is accessible as a receptor for adenovirus entering the airway lumen. Given its pivotal role in viral infection, it is a target for antiviral strategies. To understand the regulation of CAREx8 and determine the feasibility of receptor down regulation, the half-life of total and apical localized CAREx8 was determined and correlated with adenovirus transduction. Total and apical CAREx8 has a relatively short half-life …

Trait Energy And Fatigue May Be Connected To Gut Bacteria Among Young Physically Active Adults: An Exploratory Study, Ali Boolani, Karyn M. Gallivan, Kristin S. Ondrak, Courtney J. Christopher, Hector F. Castro, Shawn R. Campagna, Christopher M. Taylor, Meng Luo, Scot E. Dowd, Matthew Lee Smith, Lauri O. Byerley

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Recent scientific evidence suggests that traits energy and fatigue are two unique unipolar moods with distinct mental and physical components. This exploratory study investigated the correlation between mental energy (ME), mental fatigue (MF), physical energy (PE), physical fatigue (PF), and the gut microbiome. The four moods were assessed by survey, and the gut microbiome and metabolome were determined from 16 S rRNA analysis and untargeted metabolomics analysis, respectively. Twenty subjects who were 31 ± 5 y, physically active, and not obese (26.4 ± 4.4 kg/m2) participated. Bacteroidetes (45%), the most prominent phyla, was only negatively correlated with PF. The second …

An Integrative Investigation Of The Synechococcus A/B Clade During Adaptive Radiation At The Upper Thermal Limit Of Phototrophy, Christopher L. Pierpont

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Thermophilic microorganisms have been scientifically observed since the early nineteenth century and have spurred many questions about the limits of life and the capacity of organisms to survive extreme conditions. Decades of research on thermophile proteins and genomes have yielded several proposed correlates of temperature that may contribute to adaptation of bacteria and archaea to high temperature. However, many of the generalizations reported are drawn from analyses of deeply divergent taxa or from individual case studies in isolation from mesophilic relatives. Members of the Synechococcus A/B (SynAB) group are the only cyanobacteria with members able to grow above 65 °C …

The Influence Of Hydrogen Peroxide On The Enrichment Of Fe(Iii) Reducing Bacteria From Acid Mine Drainage, Susami Seth

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

It is hypothesized that the ocean of Europa, a Jupiter moon, hosts bacteria on its oceanic floor. Understanding how Fe(III) reducing bacteria (FeRB) from AMD utilize organic materials within its surrounding environment outlines how FeRB could thrive and tolerate extreme conditions. FeRB are known to tolerate metals and highly reactive oxidants species (ROS), but in this experiment, H₂O₂ was the experimental factor to further test FeRB tolerance. H₂O₂ is a common ROS and is damaging to living material such as proteins, DNA, and RNA. A range of H₂O₂ concentrations were fed …

Metabolic Heterogeneity And The Roles Of Cody And Ccpa In Central Metabolism And S. Aureus Biofilm Formation., Logan L. Bulock

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a metabolically versatile human pathogen, causing disease in many areas of the body. Its versatility can be attributed to the fact that it utilizes a variety of tools to adapt to many different environments, including toxins to scavenge from the host and multiple transporters to compete for its preferred carbon sources. S. aureus can also survive in harsh conditions through biofilm development, which are notoriously recalcitrant to antibiotics and immune defenses. Biofilms exhibit marked heterogeneity, with division of labor for production of matrix components and differential gene expression among various niches within the biofilm.

In this study, …

Determining The Ecological And Physiological Factors Contributing To The Competitive Success Of Prochlorococcus In The Oligotrophic Ocean, Benjamin C. Calfee

Doctoral Dissertations

Prochlorococcus is a genus of extremely successful marine cyanobacteria. This success is realized through its pervasive biogeographical range and presence in almost all open ocean environments where it usually it the dominant phytoplankton. Limited capabilities of culturing and genetic manipulation of this organism have resulted in assumptions about this success overwhelmingly based on field observations. These studies have assumed adaptations for resource uptake and utilization in nutrient limited environments to cause dominance of Prochlorococcus over other photosynthetic microbes. In an attempt to definitively explain this through laboratory culture, we developed a culturing system to assay questions of nutrient limitation effects …

Perturbing Fatty Acid Metabolism In Enterococcus Faecalis Disrupts Responses To Exogenous Fatty Acids And The Antibiotic Daptomycin, Rachel D. Johnston

Doctoral Dissertations

Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen. In the host, it is exposed to fatty acids which impact cellular physiology and induce tolerance to the antibiotic daptomycin. To determine the requirements for induction of daptomycin tolerance, I examined the impacts of blocking de novo fatty acid synthesis or protein synthesis and removing cell wall. I observed that removal of the cell wall induced daptomycin tolerance, indicating that peptidoglycan is necessary for daptomycin to function. As specific exogenous fatty acids induce protection against daptomycin in E. faecalis, I also opted to examine whether incorporation of these free fatty acids was necessary …

Image-Based Microbiome Profiling Differentiates Gut Microbial Metabolic States, Sarwesh Rauniyar

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Low-Molecular Weight Fungal Metabolites In Eutypa Dieback Grapevine Trunk Disease, Dana Sebestyen

Masters Theses

Eutypa dieback, one of several grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs), is of serious concern to the grape industry globally. This disease is caused by the fungus Eutypa lata but it is often seen in consortia growth with Phaeoacremonium minimum and Phaeomoniella chlamydospora. It is vital to understand the mechanisms for how this disease functions to develop control measures to combat it. Brown rot fungi are able to use a complex of low molecular weight (LMW) metabolites to induce a Fenton reaction to deconstruct woody tissue. These metabolites are part of a chelator mediated Fenton (CMF) chemistry that produces reactive oxygen …

Extracellular Polymeric Substances In Oxygenic Photogranules: Investigation Of Their Role In Photogranulation In A Hydrostatic Environment, Wenye Camilla Kuo-Dahab

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the critical role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the photogranulation of activated sludge, in a hydrostatic environment. The first section evaluates the fate and dynamics of different fractions of EPS in sludge-based photogranulation under hydrostatic conditions. The study shows that during the transformation of activated sludge into a photogranular biomass, sludge’s base-extractable proteins selectively degrade. Strong correlations between base-extracted proteins and the growth of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll a/b ratio suggest that the bioavailability of this organic nitrogen is linked with selection and enrichment of filamentous cyanobacteria under hydrostatic conditions. The …

The Role Of The Msaabcr Operon In Cell Wall Integrity And Programmed Cell Death During Biofilm Development, Bibek G C

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen in both community and health care settings. Biggest challenges with S. aureus as a pathogen is its ability to acquire antibiotic resistance and produce robust biofilms. In this work, we investigated the nature of the cell wall defect in the msaABCR operon mutant in the Mu50 (VISA) and USA300 LAC methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. Results showed that msaABCR-mutant cells had decreased cell wall thickness and cell wall crosslinking in both strains. These defects are most likely due to increased murein hydrolase activity and/or nonspecific processing of murein hydrolases mediated by increased …

Ecophysiology Of Toxic Bloom-Forming Cyanobacteria And Their Symbionts, Dominique J. Lockwood

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Currently, there is a pernicious microbe in the genus Microcystis that is putting the world’s freshwater resources at risk. A member of the phylum Cyanobacteria, otherwise referred to as blue-green algae, Microcystis forms massive algal blooms in lakes and has the potential to produce a toxin, which does not only harm humans, but also pets, livestock, and aquatic life. As recently as 2016, in the city of Toledo, Ohio, nearly 1 million residents went without clean drinking water for an entire weekend due to one of these Microcystis blooms. However, Microcystis does not only bloom in Ohio. In fact, …

Role And Regulation Of Staphylococcal Cell Death, Abdulelah Ahmed Alqarzaee S

Theses & Dissertations

The transition from growth to stationary phase is a natural response of bacteria to starvation and stress. When stress is alleviated and more favorable growth conditions return, bacteria resume proliferation without a significant loss in fitness. Although specific adaptations that enhance persistence and survival of bacteria in stationary phase have been identified, mechanisms that help maintain the competitive fitness potential of non-dividing bacterial populations have remained obscure. This dissertation demonstrates that staphylococci entering stationary phase following growth in excess glucose undergo regulated cell death to maintain the competitive fitness potential of the population. Upon a decrease in extracellular pH, the …

Unraveling Host-Gut Microbiota Dialogue And Its Impact On Response To Immune Checkpoint Blockade, Alexandria Cogdill

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Cancer is a disease with only one degree of separation, affecting one in two men and one in three women in their lifetimes; accounting for 1 of every 6 deaths. While cancer mortality rates continue to improve, incidence rates are expected to rise and shift through 2050 due to epidemiological and demographic transitions worldwide. As such, it is imperative to continue to investigate and improve our understanding of both disease etiology and hallmarks of response to treatment. Currently, conventional therapies include, but are not limited to, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, within the past decade, major advances have been made …

How Acetylation Regulates Metabolic Enzyme Function During Environmental Shifts, Jared Canonigo

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can regulate the mechanisms of proteins through post-translational modification. These modifications play a vital role in functional proteomic activity because they can regulate protein activity, localization, and interaction with other cellular molecules. Such modifications include phosphorylation, methylation, and acetylation. The metabolic mechanisms of yeast became of keen interest to our lab because our lab noticed many stress defense proteins were being acetylated during stress heat shock. Notably, Adh1p and Adh2p showed both an increase and a decrease in acetylation at two lysine residues (K315 and K314) overtime during heat shock respectively, though the exact function …

Identification Of Proteins That Contribute To Yeast Heat Stress By Lysine Acetylation, Weijia Shi

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Evidence is emerging that protein lysine acetylation may be a novel type of post-translational modification (PTM) contributing to the mechanisms of yeast heat stress responses. Proteomics studies including ours have identified over 1,000 acetylated proteins in the yeast proteomes that are composed of about 6,000 proteins. Our lab recently identified 596 proteins that underwent acetylation changes during heat shock by mass spectrometry. However, the role of lysine acetylation on specific residues of specific proteins in yeast thermotolerance remains largely unknown. This study selected 43 proteins from our lab’s previous work and examined their possible contributions to yeast heat stress responses. …