UNT Theses and Dissertations - 73 Matching Results

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Development of a Real-time Pcr Assay for the Detection of Campylobacter Jejuni and Campylobacter Coli.

Description: Campylobacter organisms are the most commonly reported bacterial causes of foodborne infection in the world, with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli responsible for over 99% of reported infections. Traditionally, Campylobacter species detection is an arduous process, requiring a special incubation environment as well as specific growth media for an extended growth period. The development of a rapid and reliable diagnostic tool for the detection of Campylobacter species would be a valu… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Lewis, Sally
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Linkage of a nitrilase-containing Nit1C gene cluster to cyanide utilization in Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764.

Description: Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764 (Pf11764) is uniquely able to grow on the poison cyanide as its sole nitrogen source. It does so by converting cyanide oxidatively to carbon dioxide and ammonia, the latter being assimilated into cellular molecules. This requires a complex enzymatic machinery that includes nitrilase and oxygenase enzymes the nature of which are not well understood. In the course of a proteomics analysis aimed at achieving a better understanding of the proteins that may be req… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Ghosh, Pallab
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A regulatory role for N-acylethanolamine metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds and seedlings.

Description: N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are bioactive acylamides that are present in a wide range of organisms. Because NAE levels in seeds decline during imbibition similar to ABA, a physiological role was predicted for these metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana seed germination and seedling development. There is also a corresponding increase of AtFAAH (fatty acid amide hydrolase), transcript levels and activity, which metabolizes NAE to ethanolamine and free fatty acids. Based on whole genome microarray s… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Teaster, Neal D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Applications of Molecular Genetics to Human Identity.

Description: The primary objectives of this project were: 1. to develop improved methods for extraction of DNA from human skeletal remains, 2. to improve STR profiling success of low-copy DNA samples by employing whole genome amplification to amplify the total pool of DNA prior to STR analysis, and 3. to improve STR profiling success of damaged DNA templates by using DNA repair enzymes to reduce the number/severity of lesions that interfere with STR profiling. The data from this study support the following … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Turnbough, Meredith A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Genetic and Cellular Analysis of Anoxia-Induced Cell Cycle Arrest in Caenorhabditis elegans

Description: The soil-nematode Caenorhabditis elegans survives oxygen deprivation (anoxia < 0.001 kPa of O2, 0% O2) by entering into a state of suspended animation during which cell cycle progression at interphase, prophase and metaphase stage of mitosis is arrested. I conducted cell biological characterization of embryos exposed to various anoxia exposure times, to demonstrate the requirement and functional role of spindle checkpoint gene san-1 during brief anoxia exposure. I conducted a synthetic lethal s… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hajeri, Vinita A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Expression analysis of the fatty acid desaturase 2-4 and 2-3 genes from Gossypium hirsutum in transformed yeast cells and transgenic Arabidopsis plants.

Description: Fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) enzymes are phosphatidylcholine desaturases occurring as integral membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and convert monounsaturated oleic acid into polyunsaturated linoleic acid. The major objective of this research was to study the expression and function of two cotton FAD2 genes (the FAD2-3 and FAD2-4 genes) and their possible role in plant sensitivity to environmental stress, since plants may increase the polyunsaturated phospholipids in mem… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Zhang, Daiyuan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Physical Map between Marker 8O7 and 146O17 on the Medicago truncatula Linkage Group 1 that Contains the NIP Gene

Description: The Medicago truncatula NIP gene is located on M. truncatula Linkage Group 1. Informative recombinants showed crossovers that localize the NIP gene between markers 146O17 and 23C16D. Marker 164N9 co-segregates with the NIP gene, and the location of marker 164N9 is between markers 146O17 and 23C16D. Based upon data from the Medicago genome sequencing project, a subset of the model legume Medicago truncatula bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) were used to create a physical map on the DNA in … more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Lee, Yi-Ching
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Evaluation of Zinc Toxicity Using Neuronal Networks on Microelectrode Arrays: Response Quantification and Entry Pathway Analysis

Description: Murine neuronal networks, derived from embryonic frontal cortex (FC) tissue grown on microelectrode arrays, were used to investigate zinc toxicity at concentrations ranging from 20 to 2000 mM total zinc acetate added to the culture medium. Continual multi-channel recording of spontaneous action potential generation allowed a quantitative analysis of the temporal evolution of network spike activity generation at specific zinc acetate concentrations. Cultures responded with immediate concentratio… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Parviz, Maryam
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Analysis of the Expression Profiles of Two Isoforms of the Antifungal Protein Osmotin from Gossypium hirsutum

Description: The expression of two cotton osmotin genes was evaluated in terms of the mRNA and protein expression patterns in response to chemical inducers such as ethylene, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium chloride. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) indicated that osmotin mRNAs are expressed constitutively in root tissues of cotton plants, and that they are rapidly induced in leaf and stem tissues upon ethylene treatment. Real time RT-PCR indicated that osmotin transcript levels were… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Spradling, Kimberly Diane
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Map-based cloning of the NIP gene in model legume Medicago truncatula.

Description: Large amounts of industrial fertilizers are used to maximize crop yields. Unfortunately, they are not completely consumed by plants; consequently, this leads to soil pollution and negative effects on aquatic systems. An alternative to industrial fertilizers can be found in legume plants that provide a nitrogen source that is not harmful for the environment. Legume plants, through their symbiosis with soil bacteria called rhizobia, are able to reduce atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, a biologic… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Morris, Viktoriya
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis and virulence factor production in wild type, Pyr- and Crc- mutants in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Description: Previous research in our laboratory established that pyrB, pyrC or pyrD knock-out mutants in Pseudomonas aeruginosa required pyrimidines for growth. Each mutant was also discovered to be defective in the production of virulence factors. Moreover, the addition of exogenous uracil did not restore the mutant to wild type virulence levels. In an earlier study using non-pathogenic P. putida, mutants blocked in one of the first three enzymes of the pyrimidine pathway produced no pyoverdine pigment w… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Asfour, Hani
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Impaired virulence factor production in a dihydroorotate dehydrogenase mutant (pyrD) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Description: Previous research in our laboratory showed that when knockout mutations were created in the pyrB and pyrC genes of the pyrimidine pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, not only were the resultant mutants auxotrophic for pyrimidines but they were also impaired in virulence factor production. Such a correlation had not been previously reported for P. aeruginosa, a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen in humans. In an earlier study it was reported that mutants blocked in one of the first three enzymes … more
Date: December 2005
Creator: Ralli, Pooja
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Microsatellite-based genetic profiling for the management of wild and captive flamingo populations.

Description: Flamingo species generate tremendous interest whether they are small captive groups or wild populations numbering in the thousands. Genetic pedigrees are invaluable for maintaining maximum genetic diversity in captive, as well as wild, populations. However, presently there is a general lack of genetic data for flamingo populations. Microsatellites are loci composed of 2-6 base pair tandem repeats, scattered throughout higher eukaryotic genomes, often exhibiting high levels of polymorphism an… more
Date: December 2005
Creator: Kapil, Richa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Isolation of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Aspartate Transcarbamoylase Mutant and the Investigation of Its Growth Characteristics, Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Enzyme Activities, and Virulence Factor Production

Description: The pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway is an essential pathway for most organisms. Previous research on the pyrimidine pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) has shown that a block in the third step of the pathway resulted in both a requirement for exogenous pyrimidines and decreased ability to produce virulence factors. In this work an organism with a mutation in the second step of the pathway, aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase), was created. Assays for pyrimidine intermediates, and virule… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Hammerstein, Heidi Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Purification and Characterization of Proteolytic Aspartate Transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from Burkholderia cepacia 25416 and Construction of a pyrB1 Knock-out Mutant

Description: Burkholderia cepacia is a common soil bacterium of significance in agriculture and bioremediation. B. cepacia is also an opportunistic pathogen of humans causing highly communicable pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis and immunocompromized patients. The pyrB gene encoding ATCase was cloned and ATCase was purified by the glutathione S-transferase gene fusion system. The ATCase in B. cepacia has been previously classified as a class A enzyme by Bethell and Jones. ATCase activity gels show… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Kim, Seongcheol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Bacterial Cyanide Assimilation: Pterin Cofactor and Enzymatic Requirements for Substrate Oxidation

Description: Utilization of cyanide as the sole nitrogen source by Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764 (Pf11764) occurs via oxidative conversion to carbon dioxide and ammonia, the latter satisfying the nitrogen requirement. Substrate attack is initiated oxygenolytically by an enzyme referred to as cyanide oxygenase (CNO), which exhibits properties of a pterin-dependent hydroxylase. The pterin requirement for Pf11764 CNO was satisfied by supplying either the fully (tetrahydro) or partially (dihydro) reduced … more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Dolghih, Elena
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Analysis of a Cotton Gene Cluster for the Antifungal Protein Osmotin

Description: Three overlapping genomic clones covering 29.0 kilobases of cotton DNA were found to encompass a cluster of two presumptive osmotin genes (OSMI and OSMII) and two osmotin pseudogenes (OSMIII and OSMIV). A segment of 16,007 basepairs of genomic DNA was sequenced from the overlapping genomic clones (GenBank Accessions AY303690 and AF304007). The two cotton osmotin genes were found to have open reading frames of 729 basepairs without any introns, and would encode presumptive osmotin preproteins o… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: Wilkinson, Jeffery Roland
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Pyrimidine Genes in Pseudomonas Species

Description: This thesis is a comparative study of gene arrangements in Pseudomonas species, and is organized into three major sections. The first section compares gene arrangements for different pathways in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 to determine if the gene arrangements are similar to previous studies. It also serves as a reference for pyrimidine gene arrangements in P. aeruginosa. The second part compares the physical, and genetic maps of P. aeruginosa PAO1 with the genome sequence. The final secti… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: Roush, Wendy A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Construction of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Dihydroorotase Mutant and the Discovery of a Novel Link between Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Intermediates and the Ability to Produce Virulence Factors

Description: The ability to synthesize pyrimidine nucleotides is essential for most organisms. Pyrimidines are required for RNA and DNA synthesis, as well as cell wall synthesis and the metabolism of certain carbohydrates. Recent findings, however, indicate that the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway and its intermediates maybe more important for bacterial metabolism than originally thought. Maksimova et al., 1994, reported that a P. putida M, pyrimidine auxotroph in the third step of the pathway, dihydroorot… more
Date: August 2003
Creator: Brichta, Dayna Michelle
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Dna Profiling of Captive Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia Ajaja) Populations As a Mechanism of Determining Lineage in Colonial Nesting Birds.

Description: Roseate spoonbills are colonial nesting birds with breeding grounds extending from the United States Gulf coast to the pampas of Argentina. The U.S. population suffered a severe bottleneck from 1890 to 1920. The population's recovery was slow and partially credited to migrations from Mexican rookeries, but a gene pool reduction would be expected. Five polymorphic Spoonbill autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci [three (GAT)n, one (AAAG)n and one (GT)n] and one Z/W-linked microsatellite exhibi… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Sawyer, Gregory M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Molecular cloning and analysis of the genes for cotton palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase (PATE) and Δ-12 fatty acid desaturase (FAD2-3) and construction of sense and anti-sense PATE plasmid vectors for altering oilseed composition of transgenic cotton plants.

Description: A cotton PATE cDNA clone has a 1.7-kb insert with an coding region for 410 amino acids, lacking codons for the three N-terminal amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence of the PATE preprotein has a characteristic stromal-targeting domain and a 63% identity to the Arabidopsis FatB1 thioesterase sequence. A cotton genomic clone containing a 17.4-kb DNA segment was found to encompass a palmitoyl-ACP thioesterase (FatB1) gene. The gene spans 3.6 kb with six exons and five introns. The six… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Nampaisansuk, Mongkol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Novel Mechanism for Site-Directed Mutagenesis of Large Catabolic Plasmids Using Natural Transformation

Description: Natural transformation is the process by which cells take up DNA from the surrounding medium under physiological conditions, altering the genotype in a heritable fashion. This occurs without chemical or physical treatment of the cells. Certain Acinetobacter strains exhibit a strong tendency to incorporate homologous DNA into their chromosomes by natural transformation. Transformation in Acinetobacter exhibits several unique properties that indicate this system's superiority as a model for tra… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Williamson, Phillip C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Possible Role of Ascorbate in Boron Deficient Radish (Raphanus sativa L. cv. Cherry Belle)

Description: The most apparent symptom of boron deficiency in higher plants is a cessation of growth. Deficiency causes a reduction in ascorbate concentration and the absorption of nutrient ions. Addition of ascorbate temporarily relieves deficiency symptoms. In boron sufficient plants the addition of ascorbate to media causes an increased uptake of nutrients. In an attempt to discover if ascorbate addition to deficient plants causes increased ion uptake, radish plants were grown hydroponically in four dif… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Sedlacek, Theresa D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Purification of Aspartate Transcarbamoylase from Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis

Description: The enzyme, aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis, has been purified. The holoenzyme has a molecular mass of approximately 510kDa, harbors predominantly positive charges and is hydrophobic in nature. The holoenzyme possesses two subunits, a smaller one of 40 kDa and a larger one of 45 kDa. A third polypeptide has been found to contribute to the overall enzymatic activity, having an approximate mass of 55 kDa. The ATCase purification included the generati… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Stawska, Agnieszka A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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