Microbiology Commons^™

Inhibition Of Lysine Acetyltransferases Kat 3a/3b And Its Effect On Poliovirus Proliferation, Eduards Norkvests

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ribosomes have been traditionally viewed as invariable machinery, but in recent years more and more evidence for their heterogeneity has emerged. Core ribosomal proteins, ribosomal-associated proteins, and post-translational modifications all contribute to the variations found within these crucial subcellular components.In our research, we focused on lysine acetylation – a post translational modification found on many ribosomal proteins. We used a chemical inhibitor of acetyltransferases KAT 3A and KAT 3B to observe the effect that inhibiting acetylation may have in the context of translation. By using poliovirus to shut off conventional cellular translation, we were able to look at a narrow …

Mechanisms By Which Protective Human Outer Surface Protein A Antibodies Block Transmission Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Amber M. Frye

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) is the causative agent of Lyme disease in the United States and Europe, which remains a major threat to public health. While currently no human Lyme disease vaccine is available, a previously licensed OspA-based vaccine was shown to effectively prevent transmission of B. burgdorferi from ticks to mammalian hosts. Concerning the vaccines mechanism of action, OspA antibodies enter the bloodmeal of a feeding tick and engage with B. burgdorferi producing OspA on their outer surface in a manner that impairs migration of the spirochete to the host; however exact antibody-spirochete interaction is unknown, despite the importance …

Genomic Epidemiology Of Clinical Salmonella Enterica In New Hampshire, 2017-2020, Madison R. Turcotte

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica remains a challenging public health threat. We aim to characterize the population structure and evolutionary history of 394 genomes of S. enterica isolates recovered from human clinical cases in New Hampshire, USA from 2017 to 2020. The population is phylogenetically diverse, consisting of 78 STs and 67 serotypes. We detected 61 genes associated with resistance to14 different antimicrobial classes. Rather than a single multidrug resistant clone expanding in the state, we found multiple lineages carrying different combinations of independently acquired resistance determinants. New or emerging lineages can therefore rapidly spread over relatively short timeframes. In …

Expanding Mouse-Adapted Yamagata-Like Influenza B Viruses In Eggs Enhances In Vivo Lethality In Balb/C Mice, Matthew J. Pekarek, Erika M. Petro-Turnquist, Adam Rubrum, Richard J. Webby, Eric A. Weaver

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Despite the yearly global impact of influenza B viruses (IBVs), limited host range has been a hurdle to developing a readily accessible small animal disease model for vaccine studies. Mouseadapting IBV can produce highly pathogenic viruses through serial lung passaging in mice. Previous studies have highlighted amino acid changes throughout the viral genome correlating with increased pathogenicity, but no consensus mutations have been determined. We aimed to show that growth system can play a role in mouse-adapted IBV lethality. Two Yamagata-lineage IBVs were serially passaged 10 times in mouse lungs before expansion in embryonated eggs or Madin–Darby canine kidney cells …

Response And Molecular Control Of Cd8 T Cells During Infection And Cancer, Nicholas K. Preiss Dr.

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

CD8 T cells are potent immune effector cells capable of vast clonal expansion and clearance of infected or cancerous cells. After control of the pathogenic insult, CD8 T cells develop into quiescent, long-lived memory populations that are poised to mediate rapid protection upon reencounter with cognate antigen. These properties make control of CD8 T cell responses a highly desirable outcome of vaccine strategies and immunotherapy. Therefore, understanding how the effector function and memory differentiation of CD8 T cells are controlled at a molecular level is of great importance. In the context of infection with gammaherpesviruses (γHV), which form a latent …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, January 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 1

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Outreach in Harrisburg, SD
Page 4 Geography Alumni Named Among 'Highly Cited Researchers', 53rd Annual Geography Convention
Page 5 Geography Convention Speakers, Brookings/SDSU Day
Page 6 Media Coverage of Natural Sciences
Page 7 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 8 Fall 2021 Dean's List
Page 9 Fall 2021 Dean's List, cont.

A Review Of Virus-Vectored Vaccines: Current Production Methods, Uses, Issues, And Future Perspectives, Jaden Marks

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

Viral vector vaccines have recently risen to the forefront of vaccinology, but there are multiple factors that must be addressed before they achieve widespread approval and use. The concept of using viruses as vectors is not new, and numerous attempts to create vaccines that utilize virus vectors have been made in the past 25 years. Despite this, only one viral vector vaccine has gained full approval by the FDA. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the types of viral vector vaccines, production and purification methods, current and future viral vector vaccines, the issues and …

Review Of A Chimeric Hemagglutinin-Based Influenza Vaccine Approach, Whitney Muck

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

Influenza virus has affected human populations for centuries, causing an acute respiratory effect on the body. Even with scientific advancements in vaccine research, there are still serious limitations to the influenza vaccine. Varying strains and the constant recombination of the influenza virus has caused annual influenza circulation to be difficult to predict. The ongoing 40 race to develop a more efficient vaccine to broadly protect against the variety of influenza strains remains a public health priority. Many strategies have been studied to improve the current vaccine. The use of a chimeric hemagglutinin-based vaccine is in the first stages of human …

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy In Cancer, Brian Stahl

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

The development of immune-checkpoint-inhibitors (ICIs) has led to promising advancements in the treatment of patients with cancers, leading with the use of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) as a negative regulator of T cell activation in the mid-1990s. With the discovery of two ligands for program cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and promising checkpoint blockades in 2010, this sparked a cascade of hallmark immunotherapy drug patents, focusing on the mechanism of anti PD-1 and anti PD-L1 antibody inhibitors. Since then, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T (CAR-T) cells have emerged into the immuno-oncologic scene for treatment of hematological malignancies. These genetically …

A Review Of T1d: Prevalence, Current Therapies, And Cellular Therapies For The Future, Fahd Nazir

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by the destruction of pancreatic β-cells and therefore, creating an insulin deficiency within the body. A deficiency of insulin within the body disrupts homeostatic glucose control leading to hyperglycemia and therefore, the need for exogenous insulin. Global incidence of T1D has been increasing for several decades and if current trajectory trends continue, incidence could double in the next year. In addition, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Current therapies for the treatment of T1D include insulin injections, insulin-pump therapy, pancreatic transplant, and …

Alzheimer’S Disease: An Overview And Current Phase 3 Disease-Modifying Biologic Treatments, Haley Jahnke

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease caused by cell damage leading to brain changes such as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Alois Alzheimer was a clinical psychiatrist and neuroanatomist in Germany who first discovered Alzheimer’s Disease through microscopic viewing of Auguste D’s brain. Through more research following Dr. Alzheimer’s death, they began to stage AD. The six stages are: pre-clinical, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and very severe. The current treatments approved by the FDA work to slow the progression of AD, rather than modify the disease. There are currently three Disease-Modifying Biologic clinical-trial drugs on the market …

Oral Microbiome And Its Effect On Respiratory Disease, Cole Pudwill

Biology and Microbiology Graduate Students Plan B Research Projects

The oral microbiome is composed of several different types of bacteria that can affect how our body operates. There are over 700 different bacteria living in our mouths. These bacteria can be helpful and harmful to our bodies, but they are synergistic in a way. There are several factors such as age, diet, smoking, and oral care that affect bacterial makeup. When there 10 is a significant difference, our immune system becomes weakened and respiratory disease set in. The immune system then works to return the microbiome back to homeostasis. When this fails, the diseases become chronic. Thus, the oral …

E. Coli Persister Cell Survival And Rhizobia Attachment To Soybean Roots, Tanim Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The theme of this thesis revolves around how bacteria respond and thrive during stress. Chapters 1-3 are about how bacteria deal with life-threatening antibiotics. Chapter 4 covers new research on how bacteria can move from a stressful individual lifestyle (free-living bacteria) to initiating a symbiotic relationship with a plant (a less stressful lifestyle). In Chapter 1, I briefly summarize the current state of knowledge in the field of antibiotic resistance and persistence. In Chapter 2, I add to this knowledge by providing new insights into several antibiotics' potency and exploring the antibiotic Eagle effect. In Chapter 3, I use pyruvate …

Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Plasticity By The Gut Microbiome, Taylor R. Valentino

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiome could play a role in skeletal muscle plasticity, providing novel treatments for muscle wasting diseases and/or performance enhancements. I first sought to determine if the gut microbiome is necessary for skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise. Forty-two, four-month old, female C57Bl/6J underwent nine weeks of weighted wheel running or remained in cage with a locked wheel, without or without the administration of antibiotics (treated). In response to wheel running, I found that antibiotic depletion of the microbiome led to a blunted hypertrophic response in the soleus muscle as measured by normalized muscle wet weight …

Dissecting The Role Of Actin-Myosin Motor And Calcium – Based Organelle Secretion In Motility Of Sarcocystis Neurona, Parul Suri

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Sarcocystis neurona is a protozoan parasite that causes a rare neurological disorder in horses called Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM). Apicomplexa use actin-myosin based motor and organelle secretion to interact with the host cell and invade it. Despite the importance of motility and invasion-needed factors, the mechanisms by which S. neurona employs host cell association strategies to interact remains largely undefined. To address this knowledge gap, we hypothesize that just like other Apicomplexa, S. neurona utilizes actin polymerization for substrate-dependent gliding. Moreover, we also hypothesize that micronemes of S. neurona secrete proteins that are calcium-dependent. Based on previous studies in T. …

Exploration Of Lignin-Based Superabsorbent Polymers (Hydrogels) For Soil Water Management And As A Carrier For Delivering Rhizobium Spp., Toby Adjuik

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Superabsorbent polymers (hydrogels) as soil amendments may improve soil hydraulic properties and act as carrier materials beneficial to soil microorganisms. Researchers have mostly explored synthetic hydrogels which may not be environmentally sustainable. This dissertation focused on the development and application of lignin-based hydrogels as sustainable soil amendments. This dissertation also explores the development of pedotransfer transfer functions (PTFs) for predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity using statistical and machine learning methods with a publicly available large data set. A lignin-based hydrogel was synthesized, and its impact on soil water retention was determined in silt loam and loamy fine sand soils. Hydrogel treatment …

Pre-Exposure Of Escherichia Coli And Staphylococcus Aureus To Sub-Bactericidal Concentrations Of Benzalkonium Chloride And Its Effect On Low-Level Antimicrobial Resistance, Logan Fette

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Antimicrobial resistance that develops in bacteria is a highly studied aspect of microbiology due to the concerns that it poses for public health. Antibiotics remain our primary care option when dealing with bacterial infections. The concept of tolerance of bacteria to disinfectants is similar and it also poses a significant health risk. Since use of disinfectants for sanitation is a primary manner in which we are able to prevent potential infections from occurring in the first place, it can be a helpful means to preventing development of antimicrobial resistance. However, what has not been explored to the same extent is …

Function And Expression Of Ribonucleotide Reductase-Encoding Genes In Flavobacterium Johnsoniae, Hunter Scott Doheny

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) are essential enzymes that are involved in DNA synthesis. While this makes them ideal targets for antiproliferative drugs, most known RNR targeting agents are nonspecific. This poses a problem when considering antimicrobials, but several groups of bacteria have RNRs that utilize unique mechanisms that could be exploited if fully understood. One such bacteria, Flavobacterium johnsoniae, has the gene for a class Id RNR with a novel activation mechanism. Class Id RNRs belong to the aerobic class I RNRs and seem to have a unique metallocofactor and activation mechanism involving superoxide and manganese. The goal of this research …

Development Of Genetic Manipulation Techniques For The Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium Psychrophilum, Seada Sloboda

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is a known fish pathogen, causing bacterial cold-water disease (BCWD) and rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS), predominantly in salmonids. The disease causes tissue damage and tail rot in young and adult fish. The issue is prevalent in fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and the treatments often entail the use of antibiotics. Genetic manipulations in F. psychrophilum are scarce, due to most of the strains’ ability to destroy foreign DNA via restriction enzymes. The virulence mechanisms of F. psychrophilum are not well understood. Lack of genetic manipulation tools in F. psychrophilum has also hampered the development of live attenuated …

Beneficial Plant-Microbe Interactions To Improve Nutrient Uptake And Biotic Stress Response In Crops, Jaya Krishna Yakha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mutualism is a very common phenomenon among living organisms on earth. Legumes because of their high protein content, serve as a great nutrient resource for animals. This group of plants can form a mutualistic symbiosis with beneficial microbes. For example, Alfalfa (Medicago) and soybean (Glycine max) can get colonized with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia bacteria simultaneously forming a complex tripartite interaction for nutrient benefits. Most of the previous research evaluated individual symbionts, either rhizobia bacteria or AMF, but not both. There are only a few reports which discuss the nutrient exchange mechanisms in a tripartite interaction. Thus, there …