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open access

Phylogenetic and Functional Characterization of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) CENTRORADIALIS/TERMINAL FLOWER1/SELF-PRUNING Genes

Description: Plant architecture is an important agronomic trait driven by meristematic activities. Indeterminate meristems set repeating phytomers while determinate meristems produce terminal structures. The centroradialis/terminal flower1/self pruning (CETS) gene family modulates architecture by controlling determinate and indeterminate growth. Cotton (G. hirsutum) is naturally a photoperiodic perennial cultivated as a day-neutral annual. Management of this fiber crop is complicated by continued vegeta… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Prewitt, Sarah F.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Stability of Myosin Subfragment-2 Modulates the Force Produced by Acto-Myosin Interaction of Striated Muscle

Description: Myosin subfragment-2 (S2) is a coiled coil linker between myosin subfragment-1 and light meromyosin (LMM). This dissertation examines whether the myosin S2 coiled coil could regulate the amount of myosin S1 heads available to bind actin thin filaments by modulating the stability of its coiled coil. A stable myosin S2 coiled coil would have less active myosin S1 heads compared to a more flexible myosin S2 coiled coil, thus causing increased force production through acto-myosin interaction. The … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Singh, Rohit Rajendraprasad
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Expression of G-protein Coupled Receptors in Young and Mature Thrombocytes and Knockdown of Gpr18 in Zebrafish

Description: In this study, a novel method based on biotinylated antibodies and streptavidin coated magnetic beads was used to separate the thrombocyte subpopulations from zebrafish whole blood. DiI-C18, a lipophilic dye, labels only young thrombocytes when used at low concentrations. Commercially available biotinylated anti-Cy3 antibody was used to label the chromophore of DiI-C18 on the young thrombocytes and streptavidin coated magnetic beads were added subsequently, to separate young thrombocytes. The r… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Potbhare, Vrinda Nikhil
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Metabolism and Action of Polyunsaturated N-acylethanolamines in Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings

Description: The lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway plays an important role in the oxidative metabolism of polyunsaturated N-acylethanolamines (PU-NAEs). The LOX pathway functions in conjugation with hydrolysis by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and to produce oxidized NAEs during seed germination and early seedling development. When Arabidopsis seedlings were grown in low micromolar concentrations of lauroylethanolamide (NAE 12:0), growth retardation and elevated endogenous PU-NAE levels were observed due to the… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Keereetaweep, Jantana
Partner: UNT Libraries

A Sensitive and Robust Machine Learning-Based Framework for Deciphering Antimicrobial Resistance

Description: Antibiotics have transformed modern medicine in manifold ways. However, the misuse and over-consumption of antibiotics or antimicrobials have led to the rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Unfortunately, robust tools or techniques for the detection of potential loci responsible for AMR before it happens are lacking. The emergence of resistance even when a strain lacks known AMR genes has puzzled researchers for a long time. Clearly, there is a critical need for the development of novel app… more
This item is restricted from view until September 1, 2024.
Date: August 2022
Creator: Sunuwar, Janak
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identification of Hox Genes Controlling Thrombopoiesis in Zebrafish

Description: Thrombocytes are functional equivalents of mammalian platelets and also possess megakaryocyte features. It has been shown earlier that hox genes play a role in megakaryocyte development. Our earlier microarray analysis showed five hox genes, hoxa10b, hoxb2a, hoxc5a, hoxc11b and hoxd3a, were upregulated in zebrafish thrombocytes. However, there is no comprehensive study of genome wide scan of all the hox genes playing a role in megakaryopoiesis. I first measured the expression levels of each of … more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Sundaramoorthi, Hemalatha
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identification of Genes Involved in Flocculation by Whole Genome Sequencing of Thauera aminoaromatica Strain MZ1T Floc-defective Mutants

Description: Thauera aminoaromatica MZ1T, a floc-forming bacterium isolated from an industrial activated sludge wastewater treatment plant, overproduces exopolysaccharide (EPS) leading to viscous bulking. This phenomenon results in poor sludge settling and dewatering during the clarification process. To identify genes responsible for bacterial flocculation, a whole genome phenotypic sequencing technique was applied. Genomic DNA of MZ1T flocculation-deficient mutants were subjected to massively parallel sequ… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Prombutara, Pinidphon
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Isolation and Genomic Characterization of 45 Novel Bacteriophages Infecting the Soil Bacterium Streptomyces griseus

Description: Bacteriophages, or simply "phages," are the most abundant biological entities on the planet and are thought to be the largest untapped reservoir of available genetic information. They are also important contributors to both soil health and nutrient recycling and have significantly influenced our current understanding of molecular biology. Bacteria in the genus Streptomyces are also known to be important contributors to soil health, as well as producing a number of useful antibiotics. The geneti… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Hale, Richard
Partner: UNT Libraries

Role of MicroRNAs and Their Downstream Targets in Zebrafish Thrombopoiesis

Description: Previous studies have shown that human platelets and megakaryocytes carry microRNAs suggesting their role in platelet function and megakaryocyte development, respectively. However, there is limited information on microRNAs' role in zebrafish thrombopoiesis. Zebrafish thrombocytes could be used as a model to study their role in megakaryocyte maturation and platelet function because thrombocytes have both megakaryocyte features and platelet properties. In our laboratory, I identified 15 microRNAs… more
This item is restricted from view until June 1, 2025.
Date: May 2023
Creator: Al Qaryoute, Ayah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Anti-S2 Peptides and Antibodies Binding Effect on Myosin S2 and Anti-S2 Peptide's Ability to Reach the Cardiomyocytes in vivo and Interfere in Muscle Contraction

Description: The anti-S2 peptides, the stabilizer and destabilizer, were designed to target myosin sub-fragment 2 (S2) in muscle. When the peptides are coupled to a heart-targeting molecule, they can reach the cardiomyocytes and interfere with cardiac muscle contraction. Monoclonal antibodies, MF20 and MF30, are also known to interact with light meromyosin and S2 respectively. The MF30 antibody compared to anti-S2 peptides and the MF20 antibody is used as a control to test the central hypothesis that: Both … more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Quedan, Duaa Mohamad Alhaj Mahmoud
Partner: UNT Libraries

Defining Components Linked to Bacterial Nutritional Utilization of Cyanide as a Sole Nitrogen Source

Description: One of the challenges in biology is placing a function on the myriad of gene sequences having become available from rapid advances in genome sequencing. One such example is a gene cluster (Nit1C) found in bacteria that is tied to the unusual ability of certain bacteria to grow when supplied cyanide as the sole nitrogen source. The term cyanotrophs has been applied to such bacteria, for which a genetic linkage between cyanotrophy and Nit1C was demonstrated for 10 separate bacteria. In additio… more
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Date: May 2019
Creator: Jones, Lauren Brittany
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Development of Potential Therapeutic Anti-Myosin S2 Peptides that Modulate Contraction and Append to the Heart Homing Adduct Tannic Acid without Noticeable Effect on Their Functions

Description: This dissertation aimed to explore the S2 region with an attempt to modulate its elasticity in order to tune the contraction output. Two peptides, the stabilizer and destabilizer, showed high potential in modifying the S2 region at the cellular level, thus they were prepared for animal model testing. In this research, (i) S2 elasticity was studied, and the stabilizer and destabilizer peptides were built to tune contraction output through modulating S2 flexibility; (ii) the peptides were attache… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Qadan, Motamed
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Role of 5.8S rRNA in Zebrafish and Human Blood Coagulation

Description: Hemolytic disorders are characterized by hemolysis and are prone to thrombosis. Previously, it has been shown that the RNA released from damaged blood cells activates clotting. However, the nature of RNA released from hemolysis is still elusive. We found that after hemolysis, the red blood cells from both zebrafish and humans release 5.8S rRNA. This RNA activated coagulation in zebrafish and human plasmas. Using both natural and synthetic 5.8S rRNA and its synthetic truncated fragments, we foun… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Alharbi, Abdulmajeed Haya M.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Novel Approaches for Enhancing Resistance to Fusarium graminearum in Arabidopsis and Wheat by Targeting Defense and Pathogenicity Factors

Description: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important disease of small grain cereals including wheat that affects grain quality and yield. The fungus Fusarium graminearum (Fg) is the major agent of this disease. Lack of natural resistance has limited ability to control wheat losses to this disease. Developing new approaches is critical for increasing host plant resistance to this fungus. This work has identified four processes that can be targeted for enhancing host plant resistance to FHB. The first i… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Alam, Syeda Tamanna
Partner: UNT Libraries

Impact of Anti-S2 Peptides on a Variety of Muscle Myosin S2 Isoforms and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutants Revealed by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer and Gravitational Force Spectroscopy

Description: Myosin subfragment-2 (S2) is an intrinsically unstable coiled coil. This dissertation tests if the mechanical stability of myosin S2 would influence the availability of myosin S1 heads to actin thin filaments. The elevated instability in myosin S2 coiled coil could be one of the causes for hypercontractility in Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (FHC). As hypothesized FHC mutations, namely E924K and E930del, in myosin S2 displayed an unstable myosin S2 coiled coil compared to wild type as mea… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Aboonasrshiraz, Negar
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identification and Characterization of a Mutation Causing Stunted Growth in Arabidopsis that is Linked to Phosphate Perception

Description: Plant yield is an agronomic trait dependent on the transport of photosynthate from mature source leaves to sink tissues. Manipulating phloem transport may lead to increased yield, however in a previous study, Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing sucrose transporter AtSUC2 in the phloem resulted in stunted growth and an apparent P-deficiency. In the course of further characterizing the phenotype and identifying the causative mutation, this research included 1) reverse genetics to test genes hypot… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Shaikh, Mearaj Ahmed A J
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Rapid Metabolic Response of Plants Exposed to Light Stress

Description: Environmental stress conditions can drastically affect plant growth and productivity. In contrast to soil moisture or salinity that can gradually change over a period of days or weeks, changes in light intensity or temperature can occur very rapidly, sometimes over the course of minutes or seconds. So, in our study we have taken an metabolomics approach to identify the rapid response of plants to light stress. In the first part we have focused on the ultrafast (0-90 sec) metabolic response of l… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Choudhury, Feroza Kaneez
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Microbial Retting Environment of Hibiscus Cannabinus and Its Implications in Broader Applications

Description: Fiber-yielding plants is an area of increased interest due to the potential use in a variety of green-based materials. These biocomposites can be incorporated into multiple uses; for example, to replace building materials and interior vehicular paneling. The research here aims to focus in on the crop Hibiscus cannabinus for utilization into these functions. H. cannabinus is economically attractive due to the entire process being able to be accomplished here in the United States. The plant can b… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Visi, David K.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Analysis of the Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Families and Vitamin D3- Supplementation in Anoxia Survival in Caenorhabditis elegans

Description: Alteration in diet and knockdown of detoxification genes impacts the response of C. elegans to oxygen deprivation stress. I hypothesized that feeding worms a vitamin D3-supplementation diet would result in differential oxygen deprivation stress response. We used a combination of wet lab and transcriptomics approach to investigate the effect of a vitamin-D3 supplemented diet on the global gene expression changes and the anoxia response phenotype of C. elegans (Chapter 2). C. elegans genome consi… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Agarwal, Sujata
Partner: UNT Libraries

Identification, Characterization and Engineering of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases for Synthesis of Flavonoid Glucuronides

Description: Flavonoids are polyphenolics compounds that constitute a major group of plant specialized metabolites, biosynthesized via the phenylpropanoid/polymalonate pathways. The resulting specialized metabolites can be due to decoration of flavonoid compounds with sugars, usually glucose, by the action of regiospecific UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes. In some cases, glycosylation can involve enzymatic attachment of other sugar moieties, such as glucuronic acid, galactose, rhamnose or arabinose. Th… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Adiji, Olubu Adeoye
Partner: UNT Libraries

Role of Arabidopsis thaliana WRKY45 in Response to Green Peach Aphid Infestation, Drought, and Salinity Stresses

Description: This study shows that Arabidopsis thaliana WRKY45 gene has an important role in limiting green peach aphid (GPA; Myzus persicae Sülzer) infestation. WRKY45 belongs to the WRKY family of transcription factors, which is one of the largest transcription factor family in plants. In response to GPA infestation, expression of WRKY45 was systemically upregulated in leaves and roots, with highest expression in the vascular tissues, which are the site of aphid feeding. GPA colonization was better on the… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Patel, Monika A
Partner: UNT Libraries

Medicago truncatula NPF1.7: Structure-Function Assessment and Potential as a Phytohormone Transporter

Description: In Medicago truncatula, the MtNPF1.7 transporter has been shown to be essential for root morphology and nodulation development. The allelic MtNPF1.7 mutants, Mtnip-1 (A497V), Mtnip-3 (E171K), and Mtlatd (W341STOP), show altered lateral root growth and compromised legume-rhizobium symbiosis. To assess the role of a series of distinct amino acids in the transporter's function, in silico structural predictions were combined with in planta complementation of the severely defective Mtnip-1 mutant pl… more
Date: December 2022
Creator: Yu, Yao Chuan
Partner: UNT Libraries

Identification and Characterization of Two Putative Sulfate Transporters Essential for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula

Description: The process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) in legume root nodules requires the channeling and exchange of nutrients within and between the host plant cells and between the plant cells and their resident rhizobia. Using a forward genetics approach in the Medicago truncatula Tnt1 mutant population followed by whole genome sequencing, two putative sulfate transporter genes, MtSULTR3;5 and MtSULTR3;4b, were identified. To support the hypothesis that the defective putative sulfate transporter … more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2022
Creator: Pradhan, Rajashree
Partner: UNT Libraries

Toxicological and Biochemical Changes Induced by Sub-Acute Exposure of Biological Organisms to Silver Nanoparticles Using Soft-Landing Ion Mobility Instrument

Description: In this study, we have developed a novel way of generating and exposing biological organisms (both prokaryotic and eukaryotic) to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and studying the biochemical changes induced by these particles. We analyzed the various organs of Wistar rats for localization and quantification of these particles using mass spectrometric and molecular biological techniques. Highest levels of AgNP was found in the lung tissue in addition to being present in the liver and kidneys. Analy… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Nayek, Subhayu
Partner: UNT Libraries
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