Antarctic lakes are extreme environments. Contrary to temperate lakes, they never mix and hence present a permanent stratification, following gradients of different abiotic factors such as salt that increases with depth. As the nutrients are very limiting in such environments, the biological communities are dominated by autotrophic organisms that fix the inorganic carbon and make […]
A27: A Community Under Siege — Salinity Impact on Phycosphere Communities
The lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valley in Antarctica represent a stable environment with minimal external inputs and highly stratified aquatic ecosystems as a result of perennial ice-covers that prevent wind-mixing and atmospheric gas exchange. This environment imposes various stressors on its microbial communities such as low light, low temperature, and osmotic stress. Microorganisms within […]
A41: Unusual Cell Division in Cell Wall-less Bacteria
Cell division in most bacteria is a highly organized, regular process in which a single cell gives rise to two essentially equivalent daughter cells. Division is coordinated with parent cell growth and DNA replication and dependent upon cell wall synthesis. Mycoplasma is a genus of very small bacteria resulting from reductive evolution of the genome, […]
A72: Study of Factors Associated With E. coli Antibiotic Resistance in Mining Impacted Regions of Southeastern Kentucky and Implications on Stream Health and Risk Assessment
In rural Regions of Appalachia many homes and towns rely on septic systems to dispose of waste. However, for homes that are unable to replace or afford septic systems, many rely instead on Straight pipes which dump raw sewage right into streams and rivers. Well water & spring water sources quickly become contaminated by Escherichia […]
A73: The Inhibition of Apoptosis by Chlamydia
The focus of the experiment that was conducted during the summer of 2021 was to determine the effects of chlamydia on human host cells, specifically in regards to apoptosis. Apoptosis, commonly referred to as “programmed cell death”, is triggered in high stress environments in order to stop pathogens from spreading without causing inflammation in the […]
B41: Comparing ATAC-seq and RNA-seq Data to Understand How Chromatin Accessibility and Gene Expression Correlate in Differentiating Lens Epithelial Cells
This project focuses on lens cells by analyzing the genetic changes that happen as lens epithelial cells differentiate into lens fiber cells and how these changes correlate to gene expression. The main question I am asking in this project is how does the accessibility of chromatin relate to the expression of genes in differentiating lens […]
C02: Development of a Universal Influenza Virus Vaccine
Influenza virus is a RNA virus that can cause yearly epidemics worldwide. This virus has also been known to cause many pandemics in human history. This independent literature research will ask and answer the question: Why is influenza still a major public health issue and what steps can be taken to prevent future influenza pandemics? […]
C09: Elucidating Interactions between Adenovirus and DNA- PK
For Adenovirus (Ad) to undergo a successful replication cycle, proteins expressed from the early gene region 4 (E4) function in regulating the host’s DNA damage response (DDR). In mutant viruses with a deletion of the E4 region (E4-), one particular DDR kinase — DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK)— is able to ligate the ends of Ad […]
C10: Determining How Activation of the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Impacts Adenovirus Replication
While human adenovirus (Ad) infection can cause severe illness, antiviral treatments often cause serious adverse effects and have limited efficacy against severe Ad infection. Ad infection activates the cellular DNA damage response (DDR), which triggers activation of protein complexes such as the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) that hinder viral infection. However, Ad wields several viral […]
C68: Isolating the FCRL1 and SHIP-1 Interaction Domain
A major component of adaptive immunity is B cells, which produce antibodies. Fc Receptor-like 1 (FCRL1) is a receptor protein on B cells that interacts with the protein SHIP-1, but the details of this interaction are not well understood. SHIP-1 has 3 important domains: SH2, phosphatase, and proline-rich region. We seek to determine more about […]