Department of Biology: Recent submissions
Now showing items 21-40 of 195
-
Cell division in Mycobacteria: the role of SepIVA
(2023-05-11)Today, about a quarter of the world’s population are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and therefore, are at risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) disease. Tuberculosis, on average, takes about six months to ... -
Investigation of the Evolution and Structural Basis of Caspases: Insights into Conformational Dynamics, Stability and Allostery
(2023-05-01)Caspases, a class of cysteinyl proteases, are well known for their roles in apoptosis or programmed cell death. However, at lower levels of activation in the body, they also play other non-apoptotic roles in cell proliferation, ... -
Evolution of allostery and conformational dynamics of caspases involved in the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis
(2023-04-25)Caspases are a class of cysteine proteases that play a crucial role in programmed cell death (apoptosis). We complete an evolutionary picture of folding of caspases in the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. The folding models ... -
A DROUGHT-TOLERANT NITROGEN-FIXING SYMBIONT FOR SUSTAINABLE SOYBEAN PRODUCTION
(2023-01-02)Bradyrhizobia are an ideal model organism to study plant-microbe interactions due to dual lifestyles as free-living soil organisms and as endosymbionts for valuable cropping systems in agriculture. Farmers have been utilizing ... -
TRANSCRIPTOMIC SIGNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE MODES AND EARLY SPECIATION IN DAPHNIA PULEX-PULICARIA SYSTEM
(2022-12-16)Daphnia have been gaining recognition as a key model system for studies of evolution, ecology, toxicology, and more recently genomics. The defining characteristic of this particular model system is its phenotypic plasticity ... -
INVESTIGATING GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN DAPHNIA: THE ROLE OF EMS-INDUCED MUTATIONS AND REPRODUCTIVE MODES
(2022-08-03)Gene expression variation is a common source of phenotypic variation between species. Understanding how changes in gene expression are associated with a particular phenotype will aid in understanding the molecular basis ... -
Signatures of Genome Evolution in Two Divergent Lizard Species from Texas
(2022-08-31)The continual reduction of the cost of high-throughput sequencing is now making it feasible to sequence large genomic and transcriptomic datasets for non-model organisms. Many of these under study non-model organisms have ... -
ELUCIDATING THE MOLECULAR GENETIC BASIS OF BEHAVIORS RELATED TO THE LOSER EFFECT
(2022-09-01)Across the animal kingdom, when individuals experience social defeat (losing an aggressive conflict with a conspecific), it elicits stereotypical loser behavior such as isolation or submissiveness. In many species, social ... -
TAXONOMY, SYSTEMATICS, BIOGEOGRAPHY, AND CONSERVATION OF TOADS (ANURA: BUFONIDAE) IN THE SUNDA SHELF OF INDONESIA
(2020-09-04)After Van Kampen’s 1905–1911 visit to Indonesia culminating in his Amphibians of the Indo-Australian Archipelago (1923), there has been no extensive herpetological exploration and compendium for Indonesia, particularly for ... -
Combating Bacterial Infections with In-Situ Detection and Antibiotic Technology
(2020-08-10)Currently, there is a looming crisis in the field of antibacterial drug therapy. The emergence of antibacterial drug resistance because of poor antibacterial stewardship, coupled with booming elderly populations, economic ... -
THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE HISTORIES AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY ACROSS ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS IN DAPHNIA SP.
(2020-08-11)Understanding how environmentally-induced variation ultimately leads to speciation is a main component of evolutionary ecology. This dissertation uses Daphnia in experimental and comparative studies to address several ... -
GENOMIC STRUCTURE AND DIVERSITY IN NEOTROPICAL HERPETOFAUNA: THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY AND GENE FLOW
(2021-08-03)The effects of genetic introgression on species boundaries and how they affect species’ integrity and persistence over evolutionary time have received increased attention. The increasing availability of genomic data has ... -
EVOLUTIONARY AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF EFFECTOR CASPASES
(2021-04-16)Caspases are an ancient class of cysteine-dependent aspartate-specific proteases that control apoptosis, responsible for cell differentiation, and maintain cellular homeostasis in multicellular organisms. Dysregulation of ... -
ELUCIDATING THE EVOLUTION OF SEX CHROMOSOME DOSAGE COMPENSATION USING BEETLES
(2021-05-04)Sex chromosomes are unique because of their role in sex determination. More importantly, sex chromosomes spend an unequal amount of time between the sexes which has significant consequences since it provides an opportunity ... -
FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS REVEALS THE MECHANISMS AND EVOLUTION OF EXTREME PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS IN SNAKES
(2021-04-28)Previous studies examining post-feeding organ regeneration in the Burmese python (Python molurusbivittatus) have identified thousands of genes that are significantly differentially regulated during this process. However, ... -
EFFECTS OF pH SHOCK AND HEAT STRESS ON THE GROWTH OF NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA AND THEIR PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZATION
(2021-05-11)Rhizobia are well known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N) into ammonia, so called biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), either as free-living bacteria in soil or as symbiotic partners of legume plants. ... -
Ensemble and Consensus Species Distribution Modeling Approaches Applied to Freshwater Fish
(2020-05-19)The field of species distribution modeling has expanded rapidly over the past two decades along with increasing computing capability and the introduction of novel analytical techniques. SDMs relate species occurrence to ... -
Completion of RLE LINE Integration Involves an Open "4-Way" Branched DNA Intermediate
(2020-05-29)Long Interspersed Elements (LINEs), also known as non-LTR retrotransposons, encode a multifunctional protein that reverse transcribes its mRNA into DNA at the site of insertion by target primed reverse transcription. The ... -
Mechanistic insights into Gram-negative envelope remodeling for protection against severe outer membrane defects
(2022-05-23)Gram-negative bacteria account for the majority of antibiotic resistant infections. Regulated modifications within the cell envelope can promote resistance to clinically important antibiotics. The increased prevalence of ... -
Identifying the Distinct Adaptive and Plastic Gene Expression Patterns and Microbial Indicators that Mediate Coral Disease Resistance
(2022-05-18)Infectious diseases are an increasing threat to coral reefs, resulting in altered community structure and hindering the functional contributions of disease susceptible species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on ...