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open access

A Genetic Approach to Identify Proteins that Interact with Eukaryotic Microtubule Severing Proteins via a Yeast Two Hybrid System

Description: Microtubules (MT) are regulated by multiple categories of proteins, including proteins responsible for severing MTs that are therefore called MT-severing proteins. Studies of katanin, spastin, and fidgetin in animal systems have clarified that these proteins are MT-severing. However, studies in plants have been limited to katanin p60, and little is known about spastin or fidgetin and their function in plants. I looked at plant genomes to identify MT-severing protein homologues to clarify which … more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Alhassan, Hassan H
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Transient Expression of BABY BOOM, WUSCHEL, and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS from Virus-Based Vectors in Cotton Explants: Can We Accelerate Somatic Embryogenesis to Improve Transformation Efficiency?

Description: Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is the world's most prominent fiber crop. Cotton transformation is labor intensive and time consuming, taking 12 to 18 months for rooted T0 plants. One rate limiting step is the necessary production of somatic embryos. In other recalcitrant species, ectopic expression of three genes were shown to promote somatic embryogenesis: WUSCHEL (WUS), SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), and BABY BOOM (BBM). WUS is responsible for maintaining stem-cell fate in shoot and floral … more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Alejos, Marcos
Partner: UNT Libraries

Manipulation of Lipid Droplet Biogenesis for Enhanced Lipid Storage in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana

Description: In this study, I examined the use of mouse (Mus musculus) Fat Specific Protein 27 (FSP27) ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana as a means to increase lipid droplet (LD) presence in plant tissues. In mammalian cells, this protein induces cytoplasmic LD clustering and fusion and helps prevent breakdown of LDs contributing to the large, single LD that dominates adipocytes. When expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana, FSP27 retained its functi… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Price, Ann Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries

Role of DEFECTIVE IN SYSTEMIC DEFENSE INDUCED BY ABIETANE DITERPENOID 1 (DSA1), a Putative O-Fucosyltransferase, in Plant Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR)

Description: Dehydroabietinal (DA), an abietane diterpenoid, was previously demonstrated to be a potent activator of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). DA also promotes flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana by repressing expression of the flowering repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) while simultaneously upregulating expression of FLOWERING LOCUS D (FLD), FLOWERING LOCUS VE (FVE) and RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6), a set of flowering time promoters. To further understand the mechanism underlying signa… more
This item is restricted from view until June 1, 2024.
Date: May 2022
Creator: Mohanty, Devasantosh
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigation of Gene Functions in the Cyanotrophic Bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764

Description: Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764 (Pf11764) is one of a group of bacteria known as cyanotrophs that exhibit the unique ability to grow on toxic cyanide as the sole nitrogen source. This ability has previously been genetically linked to a conserved cluster of seven genes (Nit1C), the signature gene (nitC) coding for a nitrilase enzyme. Nitrilases convert nitriles to ammonia and a carboxylic acid. Still, for the Pf11764 NitC enzyme (Nit11764), no in vivo substrate has been identified, and the… more
This item is restricted from view until June 1, 2027.
Date: May 2022
Creator: Gullapalli, Jaya Swetha
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Homologs of Mammalian Lysosomal Lipase in Arabidopsis and Their Roles in Lipid Droplet Dynamics

Description: Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles with many functions in cells and numerous protein interactors facilitate their biogenesis, maintenance, and turnover. The mammalian lipase responsible for LD turnover during lipophagy, LipA, has two candidate homologs in Arabidopsis: MPL1 and LIP1. One or both of these plant homologs may function in a similar manner to mammalian LipA, providing an LD breakdown pathway. To test this hypothesis, wild type (WT) Arabidopsis plants, MPL1 over-expressing (OE) muta… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: McClinchie, Elizabeth A
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Development of von Willebrand Factor Zebrafish Mutant Using CRISPR/Cas9 Mediated Genome Editing

Description: von Willebrand factor (VWF) protein acts in the intrinsic coagulation pathway by stabilizing FVIII from proteolytic clearance and at the site of injury, by promoting the adhesion and aggregation of platelets to the exposed subendothelial wall. von Willebrand disease (VWD) results from quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in VWF protein. The variability expressivity in phenotype presentations is in partly caused by the action of modifier genes. Zebrafish has been used as hemostasis animal … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Toffessi Tcheuyap, Vanina
Partner: UNT Libraries

Multi-Omics Based Investigation of Distinct Early Oxidative Stress Responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Various Oxidants

Description: The early signaling mechanism(s) that control oxidant perception and signal transduction leading to activation of the antioxidant defense response and survival mechanisms tailored toward specific oxidative insult remains unknown. Here, we identified early changes in metabolome and proteome of S. cerevisiae in response to hydrogen peroxide, menadione, cumene hydroperoxide, and diamide. Firstly, global untargeted LC–MS/MS analysis allowed us to identify 196 proteins in response to hydrogen peroxi… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Pandey, Prajita
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Cloacal Microbiota of Captive-bred and Wild Attwater’s Prairie-chicken, Tympanuchus Cupido Attwateri

Description: The Attwater’s prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri; APC) is a species of grouse native to Texas coastal prairies and is on the critically endangered species list as a result of habitat destruction and overhunting. All of the current populations were captively bred and released into the wild. Survivorship for released APCs is very low, and individuals seldom survive to reproduce in the wild. One factor contributing to this may be an alteration in the gut microbiota as a result of ca… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Simon, Stephanie E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analysis of Mature and Young Thrombocytes in Zebrafish

Description: Eukaryotic platelets are small cell fragments that are released into the bloodstream from megakaryocytes, and their production is initiated in the bone marrow. They are mainly involved in blood hemostasis and thrombus formation. The newly synthesized platelets are called reticulated platelets or young platelets. Zebrafish thrombocytes are equivalent to mammalian platelets and have similar characteristics and functions. Likewise, zebrafish has both young and mature thrombocytes. Only young throm… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Fallatah, Weam
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Revisiting the Neuroprotective Role of 17B-Estradiol (E2): A Multi-Omics Based Analysis of the Rat Brain and Serum

Description: The ovarian hormone 17β-estradiol (E2) is one of the central regulators of the female reproductive system. E2 is also a pleiotropic regulator since it can exert its non-reproductive role on other organ systems. E2 is neuroprotective, it maintains body's energy homeostasis, participates in various repair mechanism and is required for neural development. However, there is a substantial evidence suggesting that there might be a molecular reprogramming of E2's action when it is supplied exogenously… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Zaman, Khadiza
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Studies in Trypsin as an Alarm Substance in Zebrafish

Description: Previous studies have shown that fish release alarming substances into the water to alert their kin to escape from danger. In our laboratory, we found that zebrafish produce trypsin and release it from their gills into the environment when they are under stress. By placing the zebrafish larvae in the middle of a small tank and then placing trypsin at one end of the tank, we observed that the larvae moved away from the trypsin zone and almost to the opposite end of the tank. This escape response… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Alsrhani, Abdullah Falleh
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Lipogenic Proteins in Plants: Functional Homologues and Applications

Description: Although cytoplasmic lipid droplets (LDs) are the major reserves for energy-dense neutral lipids in plants, the cellular mechanisms for packaging neutral lipids into LDs remain poorly understood. To gain insights into the cellular processes of neutral lipid accumulation and compartmentalization, a necessary step forward would be to characterize functional roles of lipogenic proteins that participate in the compartmentalization of neutral lipids in plant cells. In this study, the lipogenic prote… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Cai, Yingqi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Compartmentalization of Jojoba Seed Lipid Metabolites

Description: Seeds from the desert shrub Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) are one of the only known natural plant sources to store a majority of its oil in the form of liquid wax esters (WE) instead of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and these oils account for ~55% of the seed weight. Jojoba oil is highly valued as cosmetic additives and mechanical lubricants, yet despite its value much is still unknown about its neutral lipid biosynthetic pathways and lipid droplet packaging machinery. Here, we have used a multi-"omi… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Sturtevant, Drew
Partner: UNT Libraries

Studies on Intrinsic Coagulation Pathway of Zebrafish

Description: In the past couple of decades, the zebrafish has been widely used to study hemostatic disorders. In this study, we generated a CRISPR/Cas9 mediated zebrafish mutant that contains a 55-nucleotide insertion in exon 29 of the von Willebrand factor (vwf) gene. The mutants had impaired ristocetin-mediated agglutination of whole blood, prolonged PTT and more bleeding in the lateral incision compared to wild-type fish. The bleeding phenotype observed here is similar to the phenotype observed in vwf kn… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Iyer, Neha
Partner: UNT Libraries

Exploring Flavonoid Glycosylation in Kudzu (Pueraria lobata)

Description: The isoflavones in kudzu roots, especially the C-glycosylated isoflavone puerarin, have been linked to many health benefits. Puerarin contains a carbon-carbon glycosidic bond that can withstand hydrolysis. The C-glycosylation reaction in the biosynthesis of puerarin has not been thoroughly investigated, with conflicting reports suggesting that it could take place on daidzein, isoliquiritigenin, or 2,7,4ʹ-trihydroxyisoflavanone. Kudzu species were identified for use in comparative transcriptomic… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Adolfo, Laci Michelle
Partner: UNT Libraries

Effect of Phosphorus Starvation on Metabolism and Spatial Distribution of Phosphatidylcholine in Medicago truncatula Wild-Type and PDIL3 Genotypes

Description: Symbiotic nitrogen (N) fixation (SNF) occurs in specialized organs called nodules after successful interactions between legume hosts and rhizobia. Within nodule cells, N-fixing rhizobia are surrounded by plant-derived symbiosome membranes, through which the exchange of nutrients and ammonium occurs between bacteria and the host legume. Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient, and N2-fixing legumes have a higher requirement for P than legumes grown on mineral N. First, I investigated the im… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Dokwal, Dhiraj
Partner: UNT Libraries

Studies on Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor in Zebrafish

Description: Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor (TFPI) is an anticoagulant protein containing three Kunitz domains, K1, K2 and K3. K1 inhibits Factor VIIa, K2 inhibits Factor Xa, and K3 enhances the Factor Xa inhibition by its interaction with Protein S. Since zebrafish is an excellent genetic model, we hypothesized that TFPI regulation could be studied using this model. As a first step, we confirmed the presence of tfpia in zebrafish. Subsequently, we performed knockdown of tfpia, and knockout of tfpia in K3 … more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Raman, Revathi
Partner: UNT Libraries

Proteomic-Based Assessment of Estrogenic Endocrine Disruption in Hyalella azteca

Description: In our studies, we used the environmentally important crustacean Hyalella azteca (H. azteca) as an invertebrate model and 17β-estradiol (E2) as a representative of environmental estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) for proteomics-based investigations of endocrine disruptions in an aquatic ecosystem. Using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, our investigation focused for the first time on the recognition of biological and molecular events affected by E2 expos… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2029.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Prokai, Marcel Laszlo
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Glucose-Induced Developmental Delay is Modulated by Insulin Signaling and Exacerbated in Subsequent Glucose-Fed Generations in Caenorhabditis elegans

Description: In this study, we have used genetic, cell biological and transcriptomic methods in the nematode C. elegans as a model to examine the impact of glucose supplementation during development. We show that a glucose-supplemented diet slows the rate of developmental progression (termed "glucose-induced developmental delay" or GIDD) and induces the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) in wild-type animals. Mutation in the insulin receptor daf-2 confers resistance to GIDD and UPRmt in a daf-1… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Nahar, Saifun
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigating the Molecular Framesworks of Phloem-Cap Fiber Development in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Description: The current study focuses on the vascular cambium and the reiterative formation of phloem fiber bundles in cotton stems. The role of the TDIF-PXY-WOX pathway was examined in regulating cambial activity and the differentiation of phloem fibers. A study was conducted to identify and characterize the cotton WOX family genes, focusing on WOX4 and WOX14, aiming to identify and analyze their phylogenetic relationships, tissue-specific expression profiles, functional roles, and metabolic consequences… more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2026.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Kaur, Harmanpreet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigating Novel Streptomyces Bacteriophage Endolysins as Potential Antimicrobial Agents

Description: As antibiotic resistance has become a major global threat, the World Health Organization has urgently called scientists for alternative strategies for control of bacterial infections. Endolysin, a protein encoded by a phage gene, can degrade bacterial peptidoglycan (PG). Currently, there are three endolysin products in the clinical phase. We, thus, are interested in exploring novel endolysins from Streptomyces phages as only a few of them have been experimentally characterized. Using bioinforma… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Maneekul, Jindanuch
Partner: UNT Libraries

Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolases in Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and the Legume Model Medicago truncatula

Description: Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a widely conserved amidase in eukaryotes, best known for inactivating the signal of N-acylethanolamine (NAE) lipid mediators. In the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, FAAH-mediated hydrolysis of NAEs has been associated with numerous biological processes. Recently, the phylogenetic distribution of FAAH into two major branches (group I and II FAAHs) across angiosperms outside of Arabidopsis (and in other Brassicaceae), suggests a previously unrecognized complexity … more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Arias Gaguancela, Omar Paul
Partner: UNT Libraries

Identification and Characterization of Genes Required for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula Tnt1 Insertion Mutants

Description: In this dissertation I am using M. truncatula as a model legume that forms indeterminate nodules with rhizobia under limited nitrogen conditions. I take advantage of an M. truncatula Tnt1 mutant population that provides a useful resource to uncover and characterize novel genes. Here, I focused on several objectives. First, I carried out forward and reverse genetic screening of M. truncatula Tnt1 mutant populations to uncover novel genes involved in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Second, I focused… more
This item is restricted from view until August 1, 2028.
Date: July 2023
Creator: Cai, Jingya
Partner: UNT Libraries
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